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katelynn-a-fan · 3 months

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Somewhere Over The Rainbow: Chapter 10

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Summary: Remus and Patton deal with some...... things...

Word count: 3.9k (3871)

Warnings: Overt Homophobia, Abuse of Authority

“Mr. Cortés? I see that you are… otherwise occupied, but I have been informed you have pertinent information on this child?”

Looking up, Patton was met with a stranger’s eyes to go along with the unfamiliar voice that had so easy cut through his mind like butter, pulling him from the last dregs of the comfortable numb in his bones into the harsh light and sound and smell-

“Woah… Don’t force yourself to take everything in all at once, Pat. Just tell me if you want to answer the officer’s questions.”

Officer? Like police? He- What? Why are the police here? I didn’t do anything illegal, what- I- Why-

“Sir? Are you alright?”

Reeling back, Patton blinked as he clung suddenly to Remus as to not fall completely over. Once again, Patton met this officer's eyes, this time able to take in the officer's full face.

Once again, Patton’s face frowned automatically as he watched the officers eyes linger elsewhere.

“Are you okay with answering their questions? You just need to indicate yes or no and I’ll tell them later for you. You’ll have to answer their questions at some point, but you don’t have to right now.”

His finger fumbling for a moment, he squeezed Remus, moving his lips to Remus’s ear. With barely a breath, Patton mouthed into Remus’s ear.

“Eat. Breakfast. Still hungry. Talk later….please”

Pulling back, Patton’s eyes searched Remus’s incase Patton had been too quiet for him to hear. Remus smirked as he did so, and Patton’s cheeks barely tinged at the sight.

“Sorry officers, Patton will get to you, but events happened at inopportune times and Patton (and me for that matter) haven’t had proper food in over 12 hours and we already have our meals here to eat. So Patton wants to talk after he’s had that, and he made great care to say ‘Please’ as well. Surely you officers can wait until then?”

Staring at the officers, Remus shot them a completely deadpan look. The closest officer simply nodded in agreement, shooting Patton a sad sort of smile. It was enough for Patton to manage a small smile at her. But the same couldn’t be said for the other officer, who’s expression wasn’t too out of the norm, but even out of the corner of his eye, he saw the flicker of… some kind frown on his face.

At the barest glimpse of whatever was happening with the other officer, Patton’s smile immediately dropped and turned back to Remus protectively.

Wh- I just… want to… I… don’t know exactly what I want right now.

“Okay, sir, I must stress that me and my partner are on a schedule, but we won’t deprive you of your meal. We’ll just be down the hall, so wherever you’re done, just get our attention and we can get your story then.”

Peeking out of the very corner of his eye, he saw the first officer still smiling that same way. He quickly nodded, barely able not to glance at the other officer.

That other officer… just… don’t think about him for now. For now, it’s time to eat.

Holding Patton closer to his chest, Remus’s body shifted against Patton as nodded to the officers once again.

“Thank you for understanding officers. We have been awake nearly since last night like I said, so I appreciate this.”

Relishing in the warm vibrations of Remus’s chest, Patton gently pressed his face into Remus’s chest. He was so focused on Remus’s voice within his chest that he never heard the officers’ boots walking away from only a few feet away. The only thing he did hear was Remus speaking to him once they were probably already halfway down the hallway.

“Patton? Are you okay? I’m glad they understood that you needed at least a little bit of space. You- I’m still concerned… You just shut down after I came out of Thomas’s room and you latched onto me.”

Mouth opening wide, Patton went to say he was completely fine, just tired, or the thousands of other excuses he could come up with. But the words caught in his throat instead, everything wasn’t true, he was not fine in the slightest. Should- should he admit that? Should he ignore it? Should he lie?

Patton’s mouth snapped shut.

Instead, he wrapped his arms around Remus’s shoulders and gently squeezed the back of his neck as he pulled back to look into Remus’s misty, cloudy gray eyes.

“I… I want to tell them… but… Something… I don’t know,” Patton rasped as he bent forward to press his forehead to Remus’s neck before pulling back almost immediately. “Something just doesn’t feel right… Can- Can you stay with me? When they question me? You were there too at some point, so it would make sense.”

Running his hands along Patton’s arms, Remus tilted his neck until he made eye contact with Patton again. His eyes immediately softened when they met Patton’s watery brown eyes.

“Of course, Patton. But… you didn’t answer my question. Are you okay? What’s going on in that head of yours?”

Biting his lip slightly, Patton gazed down as his mind whirred.

Was he okay?

Truth be told, nothing was okay in this situation. Thomas was hurt, Patton couldn’t reach him, Remus likely couldn’t work until his next shift to help him. Really, all Patton wanted to do was grab Thomas’s hand again and cry.

But instead of saying all that, Patton wiped at the moisture on his face from his long ago shed tears and twisted his expression into a weak form of his usual smile.

“Um… yeah… as okay as I can be… I’m willing to talk to them now.”

Raising an eyebrow as Patton evaded the true question for the second time, Remus sighed as he began to rub tiny soothing circles on Patton’s back before waving down the hall to the officers. Midconversation, the officers stop conversing for a moment and the closer one waves back before they finish their conversation as they approach the two of them.

“Mr. Cortes? Are you ready to come with us?” The nicer officer asked, stance wide but face a bit more welcoming.

Patton clung tighter to Remus at the mere idea of being apart.

“Yes- But he has to come with me as well.”

The other officer frowned, “I apologize, but I’m afraid we are only interested in interviewing you, Mr. Cortes.”

Shaking his head, Patton’s hand clenched around Remus’s now very rumpled scrubs. He couldn’t leave Remus, not now.

“No. If you can’t take him, then you can’t take me. It’s both of us or nothing.” Patton scowled, leveling a glare at the closest officer.

The words were foreignly harsh in Patton’s mouth, sharp and unforgiving, but at the moment, Patton could not care less. Remus was with him and for now that’s all that mattered. Officers be damned, he wasn’t budging an inch away from Remus.

Sighing heavily, the first officer pinched their nose after running them along their brow.

“Sir. All I need to know is the process of how you found this child and when you’re done you can get back to your… friend and-”

“It’s both of us or nothing.” Patton repeated with a snarl. Rotating around Remus, Patton subtly placed himself protectively between the officers and Remus.

“Yes. When you hear what happened, you’ll be grateful I’m there to support him. As a friend, I must support him any way I can including when they are being questioned during a time where they are obviously distressed.

The officers, to their credit, stepped back a moment and deliberated between the two of them for a bit, debating something with a few hand gestures before they turned back to the two of them.

“Okay, Mr. Cortes. We will allow… Mr…?”

The officer gestured towards Remus.

Grinning back, Remus’s smile never reached his eyes

“Mr. Remus for now. If you need more info than that, you can query the front desk for more. Now please, I’m sure you have inquired about a room where we can take your questions.” Remus’s too chipper voice chirped.

No one moved as the question hung in the air, the officers shifting uncomfortably before Remus’s thin facade smile finally fell and Remus huffed.

“Okay… you didn’t… Hffph. Well...I know a discrete place then. Follow me.” Remus ground out, his expression leveled and hard until he turned to Patton where it immediately softened as Remus pulled back just slightly even as Patton’s grip tightened. ”Patton, hold my hand, I’m not going to leave. I promise.”

Managing to free his arm, Remus leaned back as much as he could and stuck his hand towards Patton’s with wide sympathetic eyes that had Patton’s insides melting immediately.

Remus was sad? Because of him? He wanted Patton to do something… Patton would do it so Remus wasn’t sad at him anymore. Remus should never be sad. He was Patton’s friend and Patton’s friends should be happy even when Patton wasn’t.

Despite how much it pained Patton to do so, Patton slowly let go of Remus and placed his hand in Remus’s. Even then, each bit of him that left contact with Remus was as if parts of his very soul were being yanked from his being. Eventually, all Patton had left was the measly presence of the fingers in his, a paltry substitution for what he had before.

Breathing deeply a few times, Patton managed to get the fluttering in heart to die down as he squeezed Remus’s hand a few times. And then…

“I’m ready to go.” Patton whispered only loud enough for Remus to hear and was met with an answering squeeze.

Pulling lightly, Remus stepped forward to signal Patton to follow just slightly behind. The officers trailed behind the two of them awkwardly as well, their pace interrupted every so often when they had to stop for a doctor or another nurse or the various inattentive patients they encountered.

As a bed was pushed out of a room suddenly, Remus pulled sharply to a stop, causing one of the officers to run into Patton from behind.

“Oof!

In an instant, Remus whipped around and glared at the officer after registering what had happened. The officer backed up immediately, holding up one of their hands up in apology while the other dipped to their belt. Tugging on Remus’s hand, Patton shut down the moment with a frown.

Unaccustomed to the building, Patton was lead down an endless number of corridors before Remus slowed and announced a bit too cheerfully to the group.

“We’re here!”

Slowing down, Patton could help but frown as they stopped at a non assuming looking door that at first appearance didn’t appear to be capable of housing a room big enough for the 4 of them.

“SIr, I don’t think-”

The officer was cut off as Remus tugged Patton forwards, Patton’s frown slowly fading as Remus opened the door.

Patton froze, eye wide as he let go of Remus’s hand.

The room around them was decorated in brightly colored animal patterns on the walls, boxes of toys in the corner, but the creme de la creme was the pure mound of stuffed animals ranging from smaller than a beanie baby to at least as big as a toddler and bigger.

Unable to contain the impulse to make a sound, Patton let out a squeal as heran over nabbed the giant frog plushie that was nearly half the size of him, hugging it so hard he would’ve squeezed it to death if it were alive. Running his hand along the material, the texture of the frog mesmerized Patton as he sat down that he didn’t snap out of it until Remus’s quiet “Patton” snapped him out of it.

Gazing up with a no doubt dazed expression on his face, it took a moment for Patton to stiffen and bolt up, still clinging to the giant stuffed animal.

“Sorry. I got a little excited. It’s been years since I’ve seen or had one of these this big. I’m…” Patton glanced to Remus, shuffling closer to him as subtly as he could. Eyes flickering to Patton, Remus stepped beside Patton once again, placing a gentle hand on Patton’s back “...ready to answer your questions.”

With an expression that oozed a “ugh,finally” sort of attitude, the farthest officer crossed their arms as the other officer nodded.

“No worries, Mr. Cortes. Now…” Producing a notepad and pen, the closer officer began.

“Okay. First. I need to ask, how much do you trust Mr. Cortes here? And Mr. Cortes, how much do you trust this man?”

Remus didn’t even glance a moment at Patton before he responded, the hand on Patton’s back slowly beginning to move in circles on Patton’s back.

“With everything I am, officer.”

His shoulders still trembling slightly, Patton nodded, pressing his face half into the stuffed animal..

“As do I.”

The notepad officer blinked, but dutifully jotted something down quickly before continuing.

“Where did you find this child? Do you have any idea who could’ve done hat happened? Do you know….”

And so the questions went.

The officer let Patton explain what he had seen, with a couple of pauses for Patton to press his face into the stuffed animal to stifle a sob. But all the while, they simply asked questions to prompt more details, nothing that dug deeper than Patton was willing to go.

Thomas’s tiny body was still etched into Patton’s brain, curled up and frozen half to death on his front porch, no parent to be found. In a lull in the questioning, he found himself wondering exactly how long Thomas was in below freezing cold with nothing so much as a coat or any protection past the rags Patton found him in. He was so thin and cold and unmoving and blue and-

“Mr…. Cortes?” The nice officer gently prompted, enough to still jolt Patton out of his thoughts abruptly. Bringing his head up, he smiled apologetically at the officer who had tilted their head curiously.

“Sorry, Officer… Um.. Officer….”

Smiling warmly, the nice officer shook their head slightly.

“Call me Officer O’keefe.”

A note of familiarity rang through Patton’s brain, but he didn’t pursue the feeling as he instead smiled warmly back at Officer O’keefe.

“Thank you, Officer O’keefe. I apologize for becoming distracted, I just… I just keep seeing him… the way I found him…”

“Hah-” The officer at the door scoffed, arms crossed as they leaned back against the far wall.

Tensing, Remus’s hand halted where it had shortly resumed rubbing Patton’s back. Much like back near Thomas’s room, it was Remus that stepped in front of Patton protectively.

“What’s so funny, Officer? You don’t appear to be taking my friend’s words seriously.” Remus’s tone was low and dangerous. It took only a moment for Patton to try to get past Remus to stop him as surely the Officer didn’t mean it, but the moment Remus stuck his hand out to stop him, the Officer made another sound and finally pushed themselves upright.

“Oh nothing’s funny. It's that I find it hard to believe you didn’t hear anything. I find it hard to believe you would just find this child on your doorstep.”

Oh.

Oh no they didn’t.

If Patton had any doubts about their intentions and if they meant it, there was absolutely none in Pattno’s mind now.

“Are… you suggesting we didn’t see what we saw?” Patton’s voice was borderline challenging, but he didn’t care. He cared about this child with literally all he was, damn it! No one could get in between them, much less someone who won’t respect and completely disbelieve the very man who saved them!

I shouldn’t have to justify myself like this! This person… how can they be so unprofessional? Asking questions like this to us- me?

“That’s exactly what I’m saying-”

“Officer-” Officer O’keefe tried to interject, but the other Officer continued.

“-because faggots like you are not the most trustworthy people. With whom you ‘want’ to marry and all.”

Patton’s vision tinging red, he’s surprised he isn’t the one pouncing on the officer as Remus’s expression morphed into complete and utter fury and Patton has to latch onto him just to keep him from doing the same.

“Ah! Patton, let me go! I won’t let you be talked to like this! LET GO!”

The unidentified officer immediately had both their hands hovering at their waist, both near their taser and their gun.

But the room grew instantly still and quiet as Officer O’keefe’s voice filled the room.

“Officer Dexter! Come here. And Mr...Remus, I would propose that you do not attempt to physically attack an officer of the law. Neither of us want to do something that we would regret, would we now?“

Struggling in Patton’s hold only a moment longer, Remus abruptly stilled, blinking as he looked over to Patton who had a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead from the effort of holding him back. It was as if a truck hit him as Remus immediately cupped his arms as gently as he could around Patton, murmuring apologies quiet enough only Patton could hear. It didn’t escape Patton, however, that every so often Remus would glare over towards the two officers.

The officers, on the other hand, were nestled in the corner of the room, with the nice officer half-yelling yet managing not to fill the small room with their commanding voice. Ducking their head, the other officer had their eyes on the ground as they were getting reamed out by the other officer.

“Officer Dexter! I am ashamed of your conduct with civilians! If you have personal convictions of a victim or a witness, I suggest in the future, you fucking keep them to yourself or you might find they won’t hesitate to lash out for the comments, much like Mr. Remus rightfully fucking did. Be grateful I’m not reporting you directly to our boss for this, as I don’t want to deal with your bullshit much longer. After this, you have to explain to them why the last willing officer to train you also rejected you,“ Officer O’keefe snarled, lowering their voice as they turned around to Patton and Remus, their eyes sympathetic and apologetic even without words. “I apologize for my trainee’s misconduct. They will be punished accordingly. I hope the added stress they caused was not too detrimental.”

Shaking their head, they gestured vaguely to Officer Dexter to peel themself from the corner and pointed to the door without even looking. The moment the door clicked shut after Officer Dexter silently slunk to the door, sending a surprisingly half-hearted glare to the two embracing men, Officer O’keefe sighed and pinched the bridge of their nose as some of the tension in their forehead finally smoothed over.

“Is there anything else you can think to mention about the night? Any information that would help the investigation?”

Opening his mouth, Patton was about to tell them that they didn’t have anything more, but the words stalled as all that had happened the last 24 hours re-ran through his head. Instead, he straightened up cupping Remus’s hand on him.

“They… Whoever did this… did… unspeakable things to him. If you or any of your friends find out who did this, don’t go easy on them. It’s the least they deserve.”

It took a moment, but as a flash of comprehension gleamed in Officer O’keefe eyes, their fist clenched and when they replied, their voice was barely steady.

“Of course, Mr. Cortes. You can go back to the boy now, I hope the complications will be resolved… You are very caring and kind, don’t ever lose that. And Mr. Remus,” Remus’s hands twitched on Patton’s back as the glare still trained on the door where Officer Dexter had fled glided over to Officer O’keefe, softening only slightly. “Never stop protecting the things you care about.”

Nodding stiffly, Remus patted Patton lightly on the back, guiding him to the door.

“Goodbye Officer O’keefe.”

“Thank you, both of you.”

Quickly pushing open the door, Patton hesitated only to throw the frog stuffed animal back into the pile where it belonged. After he turned back, he wrapped his arm around Remus like Remus had before as they squeezed through the narrow doorway.

Outside in the hall, they passed Officer Dexter making themself as scarce as possible when the two of them passed.

“I’m sorry.” Out of earshot of Officer Dexter, Remus whispered quietly as other nurses walked by, giving both of them a vaguely confused look. Waving vaguely back to the nurse, Remus met their eyes and shook his head.

Remus would probably have a story to tell later. But for now, held fast to Patton instead.

“For what?”

Gazing down, Patton blinked innocently even as Remus’s brows drew together as he met Patton’s eyes. However, Remus’s eyes just as quickly escaped the gaze back to the ground.

“What do you mean? I’m sorry for freaking out and trying to- Trying to-”

Hand around Remus’s side, Patton squeezed gently enough to raise Remus’s eyes right back to Patton’s. Eyes so suddenly full of regret and pain that Patton stepped to the side against the wall of the hallway.

“Hey, no! I meant that you had nothing to apologize for when I asked that. You had every right to be angry at what that officer said. I would never fault you for having emotions.“ Running his hands up Remus’s arms, Patton quietly whispered barely above a mere breath as he wiped under Remus’s eyes where moisture had gathered.

“But- but I made you hold me bac-” Remus’s voice tapered off as Patton’s stern look met his.

Pressing a gentle kiss on Remus’s forehead, Patton’s face softened.

“You did no such thing. I did that because I wanted to. Don’t you dare put yourself down like that.”

Leaning into Remus, the edges of Patton’s lips turned up as Remus melted into him, those same apologies in the room coming back before Patton murmured assurances silenced them.

It took a long moment, the quiet back and forth cut short as a random announcement was projected over the overhead intercom, both of the men jumping even as they held the other. Both of them looked around wildly and they both faced each other at the same time, bursting out in giggles as the tension of the situation finally dissipated.

In moments, the giggles tapered off into heavier than usual breaths until Patton gripped Remus’s shoulder with a sigh.

“Come on. It’s been more than enough time away from the other two. Let’s get back.”

Between shuddering breaths, Remus nodded and groaned quietly as Patton wrapped his arm around his back and leaned the barest amount on him.

“Okay. I- I...” The words died on his lips as he perked his head up, an echoing announcement reverberating from down another hallway. Eyes cast randomly to a nearby wall, Patton opened his mouth to ask what had caught his attention when Remus’s back tightened in an instant.

“Wha-”

“They called Dr. Kagan for something. We need to get back now.”

#sotr #sort #sanders sides #roman sanders #patton sanders #janus sanders #remus sanders #royaliceit #dukeceit #platonic royality #eventual romantic dlampr #sotr chapter 10

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katelynn-a-fan · 4 months

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Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Chapter 9

First | Previous | Next | Masterlist | Ao3

Summary: Patton is dealing with some stuff and it's... not going well.

Word count: 3k (2953)

Warnings: Self-deprecation, slight Remus-style imagery

Patton's heart was tearing in two separate halves. Unlike when he found Thomas for the first time on his doorstep, the destruction wasn’t immediate, instead, it was excruciating and painfully drawn out as Patton listened desperately to the sounds coming from Thomas’s room for anything other than the beeping that had started this whole thing.

Not getting any closer to the door despite his attempts, Patton had a sneaking suspicion past the sharp pain in his heart that something was holding his body back. Judging by the fact he had been trying to get back in for a number of minutes by then, it was quite likely.

But even as Patton was aware of it, it didn’t mean that Patton could tear his focus away from that beeping.

He just wanted everything to go right, but everything had just gone oh so wrong.

Beep!

Roman jumped in Patton’s tender embrace, as did Patton himself. Unfortunately, that meant that Roman’s head knocked directly into Patton’s chin, but the dull ache of pain barely registered over the warmth that had flooded into Patton during their embrace.

Patton’s eyes turned to Thomas, his hand still flush in his. One of the monitors had to be the cause of the noise, but there were more of them than Patton had an idea of what they did, which made Patton’s mouth run dry. After searching the more unfamiliar machine, the familiar image of the heartbeat monitor caught Patton’s eye.

The beep continued as Patton’s eyes found the monitor and Patton’s blood ran cold. His fingers twitched in the folds of Roman’s dress, his eyes widening as he continued to stare at the monitor.

The heart monitor’s…. not supposed to have a line, it’s supposed to be zig zaggy… right? Surely- ha... surely that’s a mistake. Right?

Under Patton’s embrace, Roman’s body stiffened and began to shake.

“Patton… the… Thomas’s- heart monitor.” Patton’s hands twitched in Roman’s dress yet again. Tears came to his eyes when he slowly shook his head.

Patton’s arms held Roman back when Roman began to get up. The grip rooted Roman in place, a prison made of Patton’s arms around him.

“Patton, he-”

Squeezing Roman tight, Patton shook his head again. He purposefully ignored the strangled note of protest from under him, looking everywhere but at the monitor like that would change it.

It wasn’t until the sound of shoes squeaking slightly on the linoleum met Patton that he dared glance at the monitor again to prove it was real. The flat line was unmistakable, no denying it when it was right in front of both of them. Patton’s hand squeezed Thomas’s hand tight.

His mind still warring about what to do, he barely flinched when the door to Thomas’s hospital room burst open. A nurse Patton was not familiar with burst into the room first. The nurse jumped immediately to Thomas’s side.

Patton could swear the nurse said something, but it was virtually indecipherable over the roaring beep that drilled into his ears.

What did get to his muffled brain was the vibrations Roman’s voice made against his chest and through Patton’s ear where he was obliviously resting it on Roman’s head just moments before.

No.

He couldn’t pay attention to them, Thomas was… he was….

Not on my watch.

Patton finally let go of Roman’s back. His still intertwined fingers in Thomas’s leading him along directly to Thomas’s bedside. Hands trembling, Patton gripped Thomas’s hand tight thoughtlessly babbling to Thomas.

“Come on Thomas wake up. Show them you’re okay. You’ve… got to be okay…”

Clinging to Thomas’s hand like a lifeline, Patton immediately recoiled when a set of hands alighted on him. A thoughtless cry came from his lips as he threw off the hands. He couldn’t leave Thomas. Thomas needed him, Patton was sure of it.

With his hands wrapped around Thomas’s hands, the distinct sensation of Thomas’s wrist growing cold where Patton ran his fingers over it slowly grew.

“No, no, no, no!”

Another set of stronger hands grabbed him, and this time they were too strong, A different set of hands ripped Thomas’s hand out of Patton’s grip, judging by the other set still gripping him. The cry before was nothing compared to the unholy shriek that came from his mouth as he was pulled from the room.

But still, all Patton could focus on was Thomas. How Thomas was getting further away., how Thomas needed him.

He couldn’t budge the arms around him, though, no matter how much he squirmed and writhed and protested. The arms didn’t let go.

Quickly, the desperation of getting back into the room clouded Patton’s mind, his eyes nearly glazed over as the only thing Patton could think about was Thomas and how he….

How he...

No, he’s not dying! He’s not dying! I won't allow it.

Why? Why is everything just going wrong? Can I do anything right?

The pain in Patton’s heart still remained, even growing stronger the more Patton resisted against them and could’t get into the room.

“Stop- you- please-”

Patton caught only small snatches of what was being said… or maybe shouted at him. But he couldn’t just stop when the ache in his chest demanded he continue. By now, he wasn’t going for anything painful, he didn’t want to cause anyone else unnecessary pain, but the pain in his own heart nearly had him doing it.

Opening his mouth after a particularly painful wave of heartbreak, Patton let out a heartbroken wail. He strangely wasn’t able to hear himself much, his own cry muffled.

After a few moments, the sounds of footsteps approaching distantly filtered into his awareness. The sound was nothing Patton turned to look at, so it was nothing.

A set of two voices joined the footsteps, one of them maybe calling out Patton’s name, but that didn’t matter.

It didn’t matter when another set of arms pressed on his shoulders, not the squeeze, not the words and the set of eyes in front of him that were oddly familiar.

What did finally get Patton’s attention was how the set of eyes turned to the room and actually ran into the room. Patton trusted those eyes. Those eyes would take care of Thomas. They would… take care of… Thomas.

Patton’s struggling stuttered as those eyes ran into the room, the concept that the eyes he trusted were going into the room to help Thomas finally snapped him out of his frenzied stupor.

It was then that all the sound finally cut back in and a voice that was most definitely Roman’s slammed into his ears, making him cringe. The voice was right in his ear and it was overwhelming when the sound came all at once. Roman had been the one holding him, that made sense to Patton as the memories that had never truly left settled back into Patton’s awareness.

After fighting off Roman for so long, Patton’s mind began to finally wind down enough to let his body start to slow down in it’s fighting. Patton’s vision slowly expanded from the ever tightening tunnel that he wasn’t even acutely aware of until it was expanding again.

Blinking heavily, Patton rose his hands slowly to come up to grasp Roman’s arm. At the actions, Roman’s arms squeezed around Patton a little tighter, as if Patton was about to try to dart into the room again.

“Ro-” Patton coughed, his throat suddenly full of shooting pain like he had slowed a set of razor blades. “Roman… I’m… okay now.”

Patton’s world blurring, he was abruptly facing Roman as Roman’s hands had directed him. Another round of heavy blinks ensued as Patton recovered from the move. When his vision did coalesce, Roman’s face was then only inches from his own. He leaned back a little with his lips parting slightly open, but the movement wasn't’ enough to unbalance either of them.

“Woah, hey, don’t try to speak too much. I don’t know if you were aware of what you were doing, but you were screaming your lungs out for a long while there.” Hands gently squeezing Patton shoulder’s, Roman’s face was neutral except for the crease in his brow and the utter concern reflected in his eyes as they made eye contact with one another.

The outside of his neck area hurting less than the inside of his throat, he nodded stiffly. He parted his lips to start to whisper, but a passing thought hit him.

Isn’t whispering worse than talking for your voice when it’s almost gone? I think I heard that somewhere? I better not speak then…

Roman continued on anyways, changing their embrace into a proper hug. Guiding Patton’s face into his shoulder somewhat uncomfortably, Roman’s voice turned soothing

“It’s alright. It’s going to be alright. Remus is in there now, and he’ll help patch up Thomas good okay?” Roman squeezed Patton gently.

Staring at the wall behind Roman, Patton took a moment to process that.

Remus was in Thomas’s room now according to Roman. When had he gotten in there? He-

The eyes. It was his eyes. That’s why I thought Thomas was in good hands. That- Remus would take care of Thomas. I’m so glad Remus was here… I… don’t know what would’ve

Tears were falling from his cheeks before Patton was aware he was beginning to shake with silent sobs that shook both of them.

God… oh god please let Thomas be okay. He has to be okay, please!

His legs were slowly crumpling underneath him as his cries raged on. Roman’s arms gently helped him safely to the floor, his knees barely insulated on the cold hard linoleum by his pajama pants. All the while, Patton desperately clung to Roman as if the moment he let go, Roman would disappear. It was a stupid fear, but Patton couldn’t argue with his feelings much right now, so he let himself hang on Roman instead.

Now that his blind panic had subsided, the pain in his chest was much more noticeable, but much less painful than before.

Right, then, Roman’s hands twitched on his back much like his had not moments earlier.

Against his better impulse, Patton drew back from Roman to search his eyes.

“Roman what-?”

At the same moment Patton watched Roman’s eyes train on something behind him and flicker to him, a familiar voice grumbled behind him.

“Fucking...bitch...hours…ullshit…”

Remus’s voice, it was Remus’s voice…

A new set of tears blooming in his eyes, Patton immediately scrambled up to his feet and turned around as Roman began to say something. But if he finished the sentence, Patton had no clue as his focus once again zeroed in on the door to Thomas’s room. There indeed was Remus standing in the doorway, looking nearly as bad as he was when Patton first saw him when he collapsed in the hospital lobby. He wasn’t in the room, helping them revive Thomas. He wasn’t…

Patton’s eyes widened as it hit him, the downcast expression on Remus’s face, that fact he, a nurse, wasn’t needed in a time of crisis…

A cry to rival the one he barely remembered making just before Remus bolted into the room was ripped from his lips as his knees began to buckle once more. His only saving grace was when Remus rushed forward and caught halfway to the ground.

Remus’s arms struggled only for a moment as he clung onto Patton, his words only audible because they were suddenly so close to his ear.

“Patton? It’s okay, or it’ll be okay! Wait… do you…? Hey, hey!” Remus’s words sped up as he gently cupped Patton’s cheek with one hand, forcing Patton to look into Remus’s eyes.

“Patton, please calm down. Do you think I’m not there because-” Remus visibly gulped as he took a step towards the wall Roman had brought him close, his hand still gently skirting across Patton’s face. “Patton listen to me. I’m not in there because it’s literally illegal for me to work any more until my next shift unless there’s a large emergency or something. They’re still trying to figure it out, but Thomas is going to be okay, I promise. If I can help it, this boy is going to live until he’s our age. You hear me Patton? Please… Please calm down…”

The world came to a stand still as Remus’s words bounced his skull. What had been a reality and a devastating one at that now became a distant possibility down the line. Thomas wasn’t dead.

He isn’t dead.

Even with the devastation slowly ebbing away, Patton’s legs still failed him, bringing him helplessly to the ground once again. This time, though, Remus didn’t let him sit there while he sobbed.

Suddenly, he was being swept up into the air by a set of strong arms that belonged to Remus. The gesture gave Patton’s stomach a butterfly feeling, and Patton’s eyes lingered a little longer than they should’ve on the rippling of the muscles as they subtly shifted him as Remus carried him down the hallway a little.

Wrapping his arms tightly around Remus’s neck, Patton pressed his face to Remus’s shoulder. Through Remus's shoulder, Remus’s voice traveled muffled through it into his ear much like it had with Roman whether Patton wanted it to or not. There was a fleeting moment of clarity in Patton’s fluttering eyes before his eyes went glassy all over again.

Eyes quickly drifting closed, Patton held onto Remus for dear life. Hands came up to lightly grab him and pull him down and away from Remus, but they didn’t understand. He had to hold onto Remus. Remus was safe, and he couldn’t let go.

Remus would make things okay. He just had to keep holding onto Remus and everything would work out.

It didn’t matter that Patton was hardly aware of the sensation in his body, a sense of heaviness and utter numbness overcome his limbs. All that mattered was Patton’s heart was dragging everything down and Remus was holding Patton up from following it.

Words were being spoken around him, but like when Patton had been trying to get back into Thomas’s room, they held little meaning.

The only thing Patton was concerned about were two things, Thomas and holding onto Remus. If something else was happening, it didn’t matter.

Time held no meaning to Patton as he held tightly to him, it could’ve been seconds or hours as Patton refused to let go. Every time a set of hands grabbed at his back, he immediately bucked them off, clinging tighter to the one person who could fix this.

As long as he was holding onto Remus, he would be okay. He couldn’t let go.

No.

No!

He couldn’t just let Remus go!

It took awhile for the hands to stop pulling on him and instead softly cradle him. Not that he gained anything from being held. But it did… feel good in some distant way.

His body was still there, but his senses had completely numbed to the point where the outside world was still more than an afterthought to him now.

He’s dead. Thomas is dead. Why is this happening? He has to be dead. Why else would everything be so upside down and turned around?

If not for the numbness, Patton would have surely begun to sob at that thought, but instead, he simply sat there, barely aware of his face still pressed into Remus’s nurse uniform. Slowly, he began to run his fingers across Remus’s uniform, a steady hum passing through his body like Remus was speaking.

It was… nice….

Oh… Remus was speaking a lot, like… a lot.

Now he was shaking, was… was he shaking, or was he shaking Patton?

Oh…

A low voice hit Patton’s ears from nearby, the feeling of the low sound registering rather than the full sound of the words spoken. It was no one he had met, it was someone else?

A stranger? No, no! Patton trembled, curling tighter into Remus.

No, go away. No strangers, I just need Remus and my partners. No no no no no.

“-tton!”

Jumping in Remus arms, Patton clung tightly to Remus as sound forcely came back proper into Patton’s ears. Patton’s hand came up to cover his ears, but Remus’s familiar hands gently caught his hands.

“No, Patton. There is someone, multiple someones, actually, that need to speak with you right now. I’m sorry for distressing you if I have or whatever happened, but you need to be here for this.”

A frown teased Patton’s lips, his eyes lifting up to Remus’s wide, soft eyes..

Someone else? Stranger? No, no strangers! Strangers don’t matter right now! Thomas is- Thomas-

Shaking his head Patton attempted to press his head back into Remus’s chest. Brand new tears sprung to his eyes, but as Remus placed his arms so that Patton was lightly pressing into his arms, causing the new tears to fall down Patton’s cheeks instead of soaking into the front of Remus’s uniform.

“N- no…” Patton’s voice grated out, barely above a whisper. However, that was all Patton apparently had to do to get Remus to smile.

Why? Why is he smiling? There’s nothing to smile about- I-

A sob bubbled in Patton’s chest, his body convulsing as he prepared to let it out. Before that could happen, Remus cupped Patton’s face directly, making eye contact with Patton for a moment before turning Patton 90 degrees to his right.

Eyes training downwards immediately, it took a few moments longer than it should have to take in the pair of black boots standing only a few feet away that most definitely did not belong to any of his partners.

#sotr #sort #sanders sides #roman sanders #patton sanders #janus sanders #remus sanders #royaliceit #dukeceit #platonic royality #eventual romantic dlampr

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