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Patton loves his friends.
A lot.
Shocker.
Patton loves his friends so much. They’re just the best, okay?! He loves them to the moon and back, actually, scratch that, to the new planet scientists know exists but can’t find and back (thanks Logan)! Patton loves all his friends equally (okay, maybe he likes Logan a little more … but the others don’t have to know). The only thing Patton doesn’t love about his friends is the fact that they’ve never met before.
Or, well, a particular two.
Roman and Patton had been randomly selected roommates when they’d enrolled at the same college, and had become fast friends. Patton had met Logan in his first semester freshman year, and Virgil his second. As soon as Patton made new friends, he’d wanted to introduce them to each other. Fate seemed determined to beat him to that.
See, Roman and Logan had met back in freshman year, when their college put on the spring production of Cinderella. Roman was Prince Charming, and Logan had been a new techie, and then Patton hadn’t had to worry about introducing them to each other. Because as it turned out, Logan and Roman already had passionate conversations about Shakespeare that were known throughout the drama department as being the best backstage entertainment ever.
Then Patton had met Virgil during his anatomy course, but before he could introduce Logan to him, Logan was randomly assigned to tutor Virgil for his math course (it was something advanced, and Virgil seemed embarrassed about needing help, but Patton took one look at the equations and realized Virgil was probably one of the smartest people he’d ever met. He and Logan make a genius team).
The last step was just to introduce Roman, his first friend, to Virgil, his newest (but no less-loved) friend. He has a feeling they would be perfect for each other, and though Patton would deny it, he’s a bit of a romantic-meddler. Logan told him so (if only he knew).
Except fate seemed to disagree with him.
Every single time Patton tried to introduce the two boys, something happened. First, Virgil had called off because of a huge assignment he had forgotten. Then Roman had a pop-up rehearsal and had to cancel. Then both managed to rain-check on the same night because of different group projects.
And on and on it went, with each or both of the boys canceling on the night the four of them (because despite his views on Patton’s meddling, Logan was always part of the schemes) were scheduled to go to dinner, or roller skating, or to the movie on the lawn. Patton continues to attempt, but he gets the feeling he’s missing something.
He starts his questioning with Roman.
*****
“Roman?” Patton asks the next time the three of them (don’t think about how close Logan is sitting at this table, don’t think about how close Logan is sitting at this table, don’t think about-) are eating together in Roman and Patton’s shared dorm room.
“What’s up Pat?” Roman doesn’t even glance up from the script he’s reading. If he hadn’t known Roman for a while, he would chastise him for being distracted at the table. But if Patton knows anything, it’s that Roman only brings it to dinner if it’s really important, so he lets it slide. This time.
“Why are you avoiding Virgil?”
The reaction is not what Patton is expecting.
Roman chokes on the sip of water he had been taking, which spirals into a coughing fit. Logan gives three customary slaps on his back, and Roman’s eyes are watering when he responds.
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh, c’mon, it’s really obvious,” Patton says, giving one of his uncommon eye-rolls at Roman’s lame attempt at avoiding the question. “If you don’t want to meet him, it’s really fine Roman, I promise,” Patton softens his tone. He doesn’t understand why his friend is being so weird about this, but he has to assume it’s for a good reason.
Roman looks guilty for a second.
“Have you talked to Virgil about this?” He asks calmly, and nods when Patton shakes his head. “You should. See what he says.”
As if that wasn’t confusing, Roman stands, makes an excuse about learning lines, and retreats to his room. They had gone for a suite this year when they chose to be roommates again, reasoning it as a way for more privacy, but now Patton is regretting it because it gives Roman more of a chance to hide his feelings. Patton knows his friend has a bad habit of it.
The curly-haired boy sighs and rests his head in his hands glumly. He’s not sad, per-say, but a little confused. He wants all of his friends to be together. Patton is sure nothing good has come from tonight.
But when Logan rests a comforting hand on his leg under the table, Patton might rethink this.
*****
He waits to question Virgil until they’re in the library. It’s quiet, there aren’t a lot of people, it’s perfect for his friend’s anxiety. Patton will have to make an effort to watch his volume, but he’s gotten better at staying quieter when he’s around Virgil so as not to spook the other boy.
“Virge.”
“Yes, Patton?”
“Pssttt, Virge.”
“Pssttt, Patton.”
“Virge look at me.”
The darkly-dressed boy finally looks up from his textbook to see his friend hanging upside down in his chair. He grins (a rare, but wonderful thing, Patton thinks), and rolls his eyes playfully.
“Very nice.”
Before Virgil can get distracted again (or focused again, technically), Patton swings right-side-up.
“So why have you been avoiding Roman?” Patton asks.
Virgil’s reaction is less physical than Roman’s, but Patton can still see him stiffen and dart his eyes around.
“Why … why do you ask?” Patton wants to grumble about how no one answers his questions, but sighs.
“You and Roman have both been avoiding each other. I just want my friends to meet, ya know?” He tries to employ his puppy dog eyes, but Virgil isn’t paying attention. He’s sweeping his notebooks into his backpack and zipping it closed as fast as he can.
“I have to go, right now, immediately,” he says without preamble.
“Wait, Virge, I’m really sorry I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable!” His friend pauses at this and offers a gentle smile, and Patton’s confused, because the smile seems genuinely gleeful.
“It’s alright Patton, I just forgot I have a … test. Across campus. I’ll be late, I gotta go-” Virgil is steadily backing away from his friend, and when he’s sure Patton isn’t getting up to follow, dead sprints out of the library.
Patton lays his head on the table and groans.
(Logan finds him half an hour later, and they go for coffee.)
(Patton counts this as a half-win.)
(Okay, maybe a whole win.)
*****
It only takes two more months before Patton finds out why his friends have been avoiding each other. Two more months of canceled plans, of trying to corner them and find out what joke he’s missing. He spends more time with Logan, and while some of their conversations revolve around Virgil and Roman, Patton learns more about his friend-turned-crush. He doesn’t even realize the change because he’s so focused on his friends: Logan starts to walk him to and from classes. They go for coffee more and more. When Virgil and Roman both cancel plans he and Logan still go to the movie on the lawn, or out for dinner, or roller skating.
Patton sometimes forgets that he’s trying to get his two friends together.
It all comes to a head on a Friday night. Patton comes back to his dorm with Logan, having just finished dinner (both of the other boys had canceled, so they just went to the cafe on campus). Patton unlocks the door, and is greeted with a sight he’d never thought he’d see.
Virgil is curled up to Roman, his head leaned on the taller boy’s shoulder. A Disney movie plays quietly on Roman’s laptop, set on the coffee table. The boys are sharing a tub of ice cream, and have frozen with the spoons halfway to their mouths.
Patton is confused.
All four boys stand frozen for a second, and Logan is the first to move.
“Honestly Roman,” he says as he flips on the lights, “you have a room in this suite for a reason. If you wanted to engage in PDA with your boyfriend, you could have done it in your own bed.”
“Boy … friend?” Patton mumbles confusedly.
“Yeah, well the wifi is better out here, Specs, and we wanted to watch Moana because Lin Manuel Miranda’s music is a gift to mankind,” Roman responds, and Virgil has buried his face in Roman’s neck. Patton watches as his more-dramatic friend wraps his arm tighter around Virgil, both of them flushed red in what Patton assumes to be embarrassment.
“Alright. Say more right now,” Patton’s voice breaks the silence that settles in the room after Roman’s statement.
So the whole story comes out. Roman and Virgil had met in one of their first classes, but they had never really gotten close. And then Roman’s grades started slipping, and he had begged Logan to tutor him. Logan’s only free time had been during his tutoring sessions with Virgil, and the quieter boy had agreed to let Roman sit in on the lessons so he could learn as well. As it turned out, they had a lot in common, and thanks to their banter, studying became easier.
They had gotten together one late night for a cram session without Logan, and sleep-deprived and caffeine-filled as they were, had shared some kisses (Virgil had buried his head in his hands when they got to this part of the story. Patton is hard-pressed to be angry with him about keeping this secret). Patton had started trying to introduce them to each other around this time, but they had started avoiding one another. Logan got fed up with their skipping out on sessions and excuses, so tricked them into attending the same study lesson again.
They had become a couple after talking it out, and a lot of the canceled plans after that truly had been circumstantial (though a few had been because the game was funny, Roman admitted. Virgil scoffed at his boyfriend’s statement, but Patton could see the corner of his lips turned up).
Patton only got one thing from this.
“You knew?” He exclaims loudly as he turns his attention on Logan, who’s eyes widen.
“Well, yes but I-”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Patton whines. He can forgive his friends, because the coincidence is a little funny (plus this means Patton is right; they are perfect for each other), but Logan? His crush?
“Well I didn’t- I mean I-”
“L kept it quiet because he wanted us to keep canceling plans, because he’s got a crush on you,” Virgil is the one who speaks up, and Patton’s eyebrows raise in surprise.
“You … have a crush on me?” He asks softly, and Logan nods, looking anywhere but at him.
“Oh, Logan,” and then Patton is giggling, and shaking his head, and tugging his crush (boyfriend?) into his room and closing the door.
Virgil and Roman decide to make themselves scarce for the remainder of the evening.