#Winged!Patton

[i-lov-them-beans]

Patton backed up, only to feel the wall behind him hit his back. He looked around at the monsters closing in on him, thining of what to do. He clenched his fists, and wings of fire burst from his back. He lept up and in a flash flew above above the monsters, and away

[stillebesat]

Accidentally a Creature

Patton shoved the window open, his breath coming in heaving gasps as he scrambled out his room into the pouring rain, rushing to escape from Roman’s voice...no his screams. 

He yelped as his back, no not his back, the things sprouting from his back caught on the window frame, briefly yanking him back into the room. The too tight, too claustrophobic space of his bedroom. He had to get out. Get into open air. 

With shaking hands he grabbed onto the thin--the wings. He should call them wings, oh heavens, he could feel the sensation of his fingers over those large things, moving through the feathers like he was covered in a swarm of sp-spi-- 

Patton recoiled, pulling his hands away from the feathers, somehow managing to twist himself out onto the balcony with those giant white wings doing their best to keep him inside. Inside. Where Roman was dying. Where he had killed his friends. Where it was all his faul--He sobbed, shakily scrambling up the slanted roof, heading up, up to the chimney, up to the highest point he could reach to huddle there getting soaked.

Some father figure. 

Some paternal protector.

Some Dad. 

How could the others ever...ever...if they lived...if they Patton curled up in a ball, struggling to breathe as the feathered wings twitched, spreading to cover him like some big fluffy white umbrella, sheltering him from the raging storm. 

He shouldn’t be up here. Shouldn’t be away from the others. He needed to be down there, helping to--

Screw everything up. 

That’s all you do.

Every single time.

Mess things up.

Some Father Figure. Patton thought curling up in the shadow of the chimney, hidden from view. He was supposed to be the support, the one the others went to when things went wrong. And well….things had gone horribly wrong. Because of him. And he...he couldn’t deal with it. 

Patton didn’t usually go up on the roof. He usually preferred to hide out in his room when he’d screwed things up with the others. But this time his bedroom’s walls had been too thin to drown out Roman’s fury. Fury at him. 

Patton buried his face into his knees, breath hitching as he shivering in the pouring rain. He flinched as the unfamiliar limbs...wings...he needed to call them wings, twitched and spread out to cover him, their large white fluffy feathers acting like an umbrella to keep him sheltered from the storm.

[hootnhoney]

[piliiiiiconfusionf]

Wanted to make myself a new wallpaper! Have them XD needed to jump into the winged sides train too

[pencilpat]

I see your Ro and Re merms and raise you:

A Side of your choice with wings!

"Macaw-ll me Patton!"

[thegoldenduckie]

Winged Patton! He’s such a silly

He has blue dove wings and I love him very much

[glacierruler]

My own headcanons for winged sides:

Virgil: Crow Wings

Logan: Raven Wings

Roman: Phoenix Wings

Patton: Blue Jay Wings

Janus: Bat Wings

Remus: Phoenix Wings (He is twins with Roman after all lol) or Mosquito Wings

[edupunkn00b]

On a Butterfly's Wing - Spoiler About Patton

Tumblr ate the last private link post, so this one is public. A major spoiler for every single story in the Happily Ever After universe is below. If you're reading On a Butterfly's Wing, certain things may be a little confusing without this knowledge.

Kelly Croft is Patton's mother in every universe.

Patton is Logan's son in every universe. In Happily Ever After 💙💚, Overruled💙💚💛, The Uses of Adversity💙❤️, and In Sickness and In—💔.

Logan is not Patton's biological father in any universe. And Logan knows it. The full backstory of how Logan knows this is explained in The Uses of Adversity and how Patton became Logan, Janus, and Remus' son is explained in Guardian ad Liber.

[oatmealdaydreams]

Wings (Art Dump)

Was inspired by the designs drawn by @thegoldenduckie, so of course I made some of my own.

Just the wings because I can't draw human anatomy worth anything (lmao).

I'll revisit these later and make the wings more accurate to their bird model. Just did this on a lil whim.

Also, this is my first time in a while doing digital art, so bear with me. Not the greatest.

Please do not repost, thank you.

[see art under the cut]

^Logan's wings as a carrion crow

^Patton's wings as a bluebird

^Roman's wings as a cardinal

^Virgil's wings as a violet-backed starling

^Janus' wings as a saffron finch

^Remus' wings as a mitred parakeet

^Orange's wings as a guianan cock-of-the-rock

(yes, that's its actual name)

^Thomas' wings as a mix between a scarlet macaw & a purple-backed thornbill

And as a lil treat...

^King Romulus' wings as a wood thrush

[tacom-literatureu-blog]

@hermitadaymay Day 24! Friends of Hermitcraft! This time it's two for one, with Lizzie and Shubble! - Patton

[floralcavern]

Kinnie Bingos I made

[exsqueezememacaroni]

A little better in Buffalo

X

[hyperfixated-homo]

its missing old sasi aus/fics hours everyone

[milkhoney531]

Sanders Sides Fanfic Masterlist

OMaM Series:

Ships in Series: Roman x Virgil, Logan x Remus, Patton x Janus

Of Monsters and Men (omam): Not everyone can pay for college, so it's not unheard of to join the military for the expenses. But despite careful planning and no real interest in the military, plans can go awry. The rise of the zombie apocalypse and vampire attacks were definitely not in these boys plans, especially since they can no longer persue their dreams, right? We'll see.

Neither Deity nor Man (ndnm): (SEQUEL TO "OF MONSTERS AND MEN") Death isn't always the end. It can be a new beginning as well. This is true for Janus. But even in death, there is trouble that lies in wait. Hiding in the dark. Can our boys come out on top? Or will they face a Fate worse than death?

Neither Gone nor Forgotten (ngnf): (TAKES PLACE AFTER "NEITHER DEITY NOR MAN" THIRD BOOK IN SERIES, FIRST BOOK IS "OF MONSTERS AND MEN") After choosing to be reborn, our favorite boys are scattered apart without their memories. Reborn in a new world where some are born with a superpower gene, or created to be supers. Will our boys survive such a world? Will they meet again? Or, once again, will their lives end much too soon?*

Easter Eggs and Epilogues (eeae): Having become deities and gaining access to the multiverse, our favorite boys now witness other universes and guide them to the afterlife as they discover what it means to no longer be human and navigate through issues they had ignored as new issues erupt around them. Fans of my stories might find this infrequent epilogue mini series a nice read. Especially if they have read my sanders sides au Of Monsters and Men, its sequel Neither Deity nor Man, and the triquel Neither Gone nor Forgotten, as these characters might have little easter egg appearances in some of my other works. This does contain spoilers to my other works, so proceed with caution. Due to the nature of this mini series it will have extremely infrequent updates due to it being full of epilogues of specific stories.*^

HoE Series:

Ships in Series: Roman x Virgil, Logan x Remus, Patton x Janus

Hell on Earth (hoe): In a small town isolated by mountains, demon possession is on the rise. Right when two kids find themselves in the town after the suspicious death of their parents. Convenient timing or total coincidence, the town has its eyes on Roman and Remus. Are they connected to the rise in demonic activity? Will they be safe? No one knows.

Heaven on Earth (hoe2): (SEQUEL TO "Hell on Earth) Having escaped from a recluse town known as Hell's Portal and a murderous priest, their friend died as they made it to the safety of a town known to be Heaven's Gate. But danger is still out there. Secrets have still yet to be uncovered. A friend back from the dead. But is everything as it seems?*

RaF Series:

Ships in Series: Roman x Virgil, Remus x Janus, Logan x Patton

Rise and Fall (raf): After getting hired to capture a wandering merchant suspected to be a monster, Roman sets out to find him. Taking on his first task as a monster hunter, he must travel far and fast to catch up with the merchant. With his best friend at his side, who will he meet on his journey and what secrets will he discover?

Risen to Fall (raf2/rtf): (Sequel to Rise and Fall) Having found a promised land, the twins raise their families in safety until danger knocks at their door. Secrets of the past and cults alike will force them into action to save themselves and future generations.*

FoF Series:

Ships in Series: Roman x Virgil, Logan x Remus, Patton x Janus

Fact or Fiction (fof): An isolated mountain town surrounded by deep forests has some interesting rumors and tourist attractions. Tales of an inhuman creature terrorizing those who come across it, if they leave alive. Logan decides to move in and discover the truth.

Everyone Fucking Dies (efd): (SEQUEL TO FACT OR FICTION) In a new dimension, scattered and hunted, who survives? Who dies? Will they ever return home? Or will they have to live in a world if eldritch monsters?

Strange Happenings (shtl): Janus and Virgil move back to their hometown. While Virgil is at college, Janus has an investigation to conduct under the strict orders of his mother. He knows what will happen if he refuses her. What will he discover? What secrets will unravel? (an alternate timeline for Fact or Fiction and Everyone Fucking Dies)

SOS Series:

Ships in Series: Roman x Virgil, Logan x Remus, Patton x Janus

School of Secrets (sos): A secret boarding school in the center of the Bermuda Triangle has accepted a new batch of students. Each one harbouring a secret or two that could get them killed outside of the school. Although not every child taken to the island attends the school, the island is protected by school staff from impending doom. Hunters and war alike threaten the children, will they be able to see a future free of harm, to be themselves?

Unintended Consequence: Things have changed. One decision with unintended consequences made Remus immortal, with only Virgil at his side, they watched their friends die. After countless years, with their mental health deteriorating, they see a familiar face. What happens when two immortals meet their friends' reincarnations?

GaG Series:

Ships in Series: Roman x Virgil, Logan x Remus, Patton x Janus

Gifts and Gifted (gag): After the tragic death of their parents, brothers Roman and Remus moved to a new state, new city, to get a fresh start. They try to assimilate in this odd historic town, getting new jobs and friends, but they also find some people they can't stand or are simply suspicious. But circumstances force them together and many secrets come to light.

Fae and Man (FAM): Sequel to Gifts and Gifted, Fae and human relations are difficult. Patton has taken over his grandma's business of finding and helping the fae home, Remus helping in hiding them after taking over the mortuary from Logan's uncle. If that wasn't difficult enough, Remus is going through strange changes and Virgil is struggling to adjust to being human. Will they suffer in silence or ask for help? What conflicts will arise?

New Normal (NN): (Takes place after Fae and Man, third book in the GaG series) After secrets have been unveiled and the world forever changed by the merging of realms, how will everyone fare under this new normal? Will the Fae still be hunted? Will humans be subjected to abuse? Will selkies still be at risk of being trapped? How will so many different species interact with each other? Will there be peace or war?

SOAB! Au:

Ships in Series: Logan x Patton x Janus

Son of a Bitch (soab): Patton and his son have moved into a new town. The once hopeful move turned sour when two chance encounters throws everything off course. A fight and a mix up leading to three single dads making an unfortunate acquaintance. (Where everything started)

SOAB! Rocky Start: Virgil is sent to a new foster parent. Logan does his best, but it's a rocky start. (Takes place before Son of a Bitch)

SOAB! Yuletide Fun: The kids are on winter break and Logan and Janus are feeling the holiday blues. They miss their families despite everything, luckily, Patton has an idea and a good relationship with his own family. So he decides to introduce his parents to his partners and their kiddos. What holiday mischief will happen? What stories will Patton's parents' tell about their now grown little boy? (Takes place after Son of a Bitch)

SOAB! Take a Bite out of Life: (Takes place before the events of Son of a Bitch) Janus has been running his restaurant for nearly two years in the town he grew up in. Stressed, depressed, and having recently cut off his family, he has thrown himself into his work. He doesn't know what to do with his life or himself, but when he gets his first catering order for the local orphanage, everything changes for the better. He never planned to be a father, but maybe it's time for him to take a bite out of life?

SOAB! Surprise Attack: (Takes place after Son of a Bitch) Virgil is still getting used to his new family and being part of a family that genuinely loves him. But it is nearing November 8th, his birthday. A day he is certain will be forgotten. With how his family is acting and the hushed whispers that cut off right when he enters the room, he fears the worse. No one mentions the whispers or his birthday, he's afraid and trying not to show it as his anxiety eats at him. As he questions if they still want him to be part of their family. What will ensue?

SOAB! Police Station, Fire Station, and Apartment: (Takes place before the events of Son of a Bitch) How did the twins end up in separate orphanages? Why was Virgil placed in foster care? Who were their family before they were adopted? Let's take a peek into the past.

SOAB! Gender? Fuck!: (Takes place after Son of a Bitch) Gender can be confusing and hard to navigate. Virgil and Roman are struggling, Remus forgot something important, and they navigate it together. Some changes, confusion, and stress won't stop them from supporting each other.

SOAB! Cupcakes and Dragons: (takes place before Son of a Bitch) How did Roman come into Patton’s care? Patton Cross wasn’t always a baker. One night of work changed his life. He’d always say it was for the better. And it was. He discovered a passion and discovered his little Star.

SOAB! A New Kind of Spectrum: (takes place after Son of a Bitch) Self discovery is a continuous journey. Sometimes you need some help in your journey. It's the summer before Virgil, Roman, and Remus enter high school. Virgil is made aware of something during a sleepover with two of his friends that leads the family to some interesting discoveries.

Stand Alone Stories:

Win or Lose (wol): Ships: Roman x Virgil, Logan x Remus, Patton x Janus Life was a series of battles, win or lose, they would have to fight again. Sometimes, they could rest before they fought once more, sometimes they could not. One day, they face a new discovery, a new challenge. Will they win or lose?

Out of this World (ootw): Ships: Roman x Virgil, Logan x Remus, Patton x Janus In a small desert town, a UFO has landed. While the local government explores the crash, an extraterrestrial being is on the run with time sensitive information trying to leave and stop an intergalactic war. An unlikely group of friends might be the key to saving thousands of lives. Secrets will be revealed, some new, some old. Lies will come undone. Will this group of unlikely friends survive it all?*

Knife to Meet You (ktmy): Ships: Roman x Virgil, one sided Virgil x Patton, one sided Patton x Logan, Remus x Janus x Logan Four years ago, a steady but concerning statistic rose. Murders. New information comes to light, revealing that these seemingly unconnected murders are actually the product of an infamous serial killer. Tensions are high, stress is high, and there's something in the air. What will happen? Who is this mysterious killer? And who is next?*

Ghost of You: Ships: Logan x Virgil, Remus x Patton, Roman x Janus Karma comes in many different forms, sometimes it is even passed down. When an old house is passed down, more than just a new home is inherited. Surely an old house only needs some repairs? But its new occupants will wish they'd hired an exorcist. Will the ghosts and mortals learn to coexist or will they destroy each other?*

Running Out of Time (root): Ships: Remus x Logan, Janus x Patton, Roman x Virgil Time is unraveling. A time traveler is trying to save the known universe, but at what cost? Will the world be saved? Is the world even worth saving? Six people will have to make that decision.

Body in the Water (bitw): Ships: Remus x Logan, Patton x Janus, Virgil x Roman Summer school is supposed to be easy. But with strange deadly accidents and rumors of ghosts filling the air, maybe hope for a decent college is a farther reach than Roman bargained for?

Son of a Witch (soaw): Ships Janus x Patton x Logan On the run from the king's guards, Janus finds refuge in a dangerous neck of the enchanted woods. But he isn't alone. What else lurks in the woods? Will he get out alive? Is he in for more than he bargained for?

Forgotten Gods (fg): Ships: Remus x Janus, Patton x Logan, Roman x Virgil The gods of old are no longer needed, no longer known. Did they simply fade away or do they still lurk around the corner? What happens when a god is forgotten? What happens when a new god appears?

Stolen? Borrowed? Same Thing. (sbst): Ships: Janus x Remus, Patton x Logan, Roman x Virgil Borrowers, Pixies, and Brownies have always lived under human's noses. Each one thinking the other is a myth. Each one views humans as an enemy, a tool, or a friend. What happens when they all meet? Will the four species get along?

Coffee and Zombies (CaZ): Ships: Janus x Patton Life and Death, two very contrast things. Or are they? In the zombie apocalypse, what is death? What is life? Is anyone truly living? A scientist searching for a cure to his mistake, a firefighter bent on helping survivors, two supernatural brothers struggling to adapt and survive, and two brothers who desperately want to rest and find safety. Will they survive?

Currently Writing:

New Normal (NN): Ships: Patton x Janus, Remus x Logan, Roman x Virgil (Takes place after Fae and Man, third book in the GaG series) After secrets have been unveiled and the world forever changed by the merging of realms, how will everyone fare under this new normal? Will the Fae still be hunted? Will humans be subjected to abuse? Will selkies still be at risk of being trapped? How will so many different species interact with each other? Will there be peace or war?

Strange Happenings (SH!tl): Ships: Janus x Patton, Virgil x Roman, Logan x Remus Janus and Virgil move back to their hometown. While Virgil is at college, Janus has an investigation to conduct under the strict orders of his mother. He knows what will happen if he refuses her. What will he discover? What secrets will unravel? (an alternate timeline for Fact or Fiction and Everyone Fucking Dies)

Back Burner:

Stories in this section are on hold and may be rewritten

Easter Eggs and Epilogues (eeae): Having become deities and gaining access to the multiverse, our favorite boys now witness other universes and guide them to the afterlife as they discover what it means to no longer be human and navigate through issues they had ignored as new issues erupt around them. Fans of my stories might find this infrequent epilogue mini series a nice read. Especially if they have read my sanders sides au Of Monsters and Men, its sequel Neither Deity nor Man, and the triquel Neither Gone nor Forgotten, as these characters might have little easter egg appearances in some of my other works. This does contain spoilers to my other works, so proceed with caution. Due to the nature of this mini series it will have extremely infrequent updates due to it being full of epilogues of specific stories.*^

Coming Soon:

SOAB! One shots

Dragons, Krakens, Unicorns, Oh My! (DKUOM!TL): Ships: Roman x Virgil, Logan x Remus, Patton x Janus (alternate version of Fact or Fiction and Everyone Fucking Dies) Six children are separated from their parents and once peaceful lives only to discover they aren't as normal as they thought, that they're part of not one dimension, but two.

Meet Again (MA): Ships: Roman x Virgil, Patton x Janus, Remus x Logan (Takes place after School of Secrets and Unintended Consequences) Centuries of waiting and careful planning have bared their fruit. Years of glimpsing a mysterious figure. A strange invitation leads four strangers to the palace. The King has waited long enough.

Put the Rom in RomCom (PtRiRC): Ships: Roman x Logan, Remus x Virgil, Patton x Janus Sometimes, you stumble into something unplanned for, unexpected. It can be life changing in the most unexpected ways. Changing who you are, what you are, or even just your plans. Three different people stumble into these changes unexpectedly and love is in the air.

More Than Blood (MTB): Ships: Patton x Logan x Janus Son of a Bitch sequel, They say family is more than blood. What happens when the twins and Virgil's biological parents come back into the picture? Struggling with high school was hard enough, now it's getting more and more complicated as the days go by.

Accruing a Crew (AaC): Ships: Logan x Remus, Virgil x Roman, Patton x Janus Remus went out on his ship, The Morning Star, and never returned. Roman searches the seven seas for his brother when he sees The Morning Star once more, but his brother’s vessel is led by a filthy pirate. He must arrest this man, as is his duty, and hopefully he can discover the whereabouts of his dear brother, even if just to know if his dear brother was met with a watery grave.

Saving Time (ST): Ships: Roman x Virgil, Logan x Remus, Patton x Janus rewrite of Running out of Time, info coming

Resident Sides (RS): (name may change) Resident Evil au, info coming

Space Unfilled (SU): Ships: none, found family and QPR Logan studied hard, worked harder, and now he is finally achieving his dream. He is going to touch the stars with his fellow astronauts. But his dream will quickly turn to a nightmare he fears he will never escape as regret writhes deep within him.

First Murder and the Grief that Follows (FMatGtF): Blood of a brother on his hands, he is cast out from his home and the afterlife. Cursed to walk the world alone, immortal and unchanging. One day, he sees a familiar face. His brother. What will he do?

My Ao3:

* = Has a chapter reference in Easter Eggs and Epilogues to read after the story

^= On the back burner

[delimefularchives]

Next

just a little rush (1)

G/t July Day 2: Bird 

patron prompt: patton & remus comforting each other through touch!

warnings: dehumanization, captivity, highly improper handling of a little guy, injury & muscle cramps, mention of past injury & abuse, many remus-typical nsfw & gore-adjacent comments, swearing, lmk if i missed any

-

Patton wiggled his shoulder through the bars and craned his neck, straining to get a good enough angle to see the other half of the clock across the room.

Enough of the clock’s face was visible that he could guess the time most of the day, except for the stretch of time in which both the hour and minute hands were out of sight. Patton wasn’t usually overly concerned about the loss; Normally, it didn’t really matter either way.

Now, when it had been what felt like ages since he’d last seen Remus, it mattered a lot more.

Of course Remus had chosen the most inconvenient timing possible to stage his latest escape attempt. Patton would smile if he wasn’t so worried.

Heavy footsteps came down the hall, and Patton hurriedly yanked his arm back through the bars, his wings prickling up with nerves at the thought of being caught ‘outside’, even if it was only a single limb.

The door was shoved open heavily, and Patton was greeted by the face of their captor, creased sharply by a disgusted sort of annoyance.

Heart pounding in his ears, Patton flattened his wings against his back on automatic, making himself smaller in the face of the man’s clear anger. He ignored the urge to dart away, find a small place to hide in until the threat had passed.

Even if it wouldn’t only make their captor more upset, there was no point. Their cage didn’t have any hidden-away nooks or crannies; it was designed first and foremost as a display case.

After all, what was the point of having a rare treasure if you couldn’t see it and show it off whenever you wanted?

Instead, he kept himself rooted firmly in place, ducking his head slightly so that he could subtly scan the man’s hands for— there.

His heart skipped an agonizing beat at the sight of Remus’s wings, askew and rumpled— but they were still attached. It was just a constricting hold, clamping the wings together between two fingers so they couldn’t flap around or beat against the hand clenched tightly around the rest of Remus.

Remus was quiet, which was never a good sign, but Patton could see the way his pinned wings were twitching slightly, and knew that he was still alive and hopefully still mostly intact, as well.

“Idiot fucking bird,” their captor muttered, stepping close to the cage and undoing the locking mechanism with sharp, irritated yanks.

He’d had the lock upgraded several times, enough that it was now far more difficult to unlatch, especially from inside, but the unfortunate side effect was that the complexity of it was nearly as agitating to him as it was to his captives.

Patton could see now why Remus hadn’t butted in with a mocking comment to torment the human more: the man’s gloved thumb had been pressed over a good portion of his face, completely concealing his mouth and getting dangerously close to covering his nose, too. Remus had turned his head as far as he could manage to keep his last airway unsealed.

With a final noisy clatter, their captor pulled the door down and wasted no time before shoving his hand inside and dropping Remus into the cage like he couldn’t stand to hold him a second longer. He immediately pulled his hand back out and slammed the door shut, as though he thought Remus would instantly jump to his feet and lunge at the open exit.

From where he’d collapsed into a tangle of limbs on the cage floor, Remus’s mouth curled into something smug even as he took deep, gasping breaths. He’d always enjoyed earning his reputation by getting a reaction out of the human, no matter how negative, no matter the cost.

And this time, the cost was certainly high.

Patton could tell from the way his only friend’s vibrant green wings were spasming that some of the muscles had been sprained, forced to bend just slightly too far in the wrong direction, and they’d be too sore to fold reliably for days.

It wasn’t the worst that could have happened, but it was a bad sign. An injury like this, coming from the human that prized their ability to flutter around so highly? Remus was pushing too far, and soon he’d get burned for real.

“Bluebird, at least try and be a good influence, won’t you? Make sure he stays in there. Next time, I won’t be so nice,” their captor snarled, smacking a hand against the bars of the cage to create a metallic ringing that made Patton cringe away, his head aching slightly from the sound.

Remus’s gaze went dark, and he inhaled harshly, like he had something to say, only to start up a hacking cough as the air went down wrong.

Their captor dismissed the noise with a flick of his head, already turning away to return to whatever he was doing before he caught Remus. Patton hurried forward the moment his attention was off of them, folding down to his knees at Remus’s side and immediately reaching out to grab the thickest muscle of his wing.

They were still twitching, and if they were left as is and Remus reacted too poorly to an uncontrollable spasm, one of those fragile joints could dislocate entirely. Patton dug his thumbs in, massaging the closest knot of muscle as firmly as he could.

“If you’re going to work me over like this,” Remus gasped, “at least— ghng— buy me dinner first, will ya?”

He twitched his head sharply to the side and clenched his fists through the pain as Patton continued working his fingers against the arch of his wings, easing them through the convulsive cramps as he slowly folded them out of their overextended position.

“Why, of course,” he answered a beat late, trying not to let the strain of the work infect his tone. “Only the finest of sunflower seeds for my most pheasant of friends.”

Remus barked out a laugh, the unhinged grin not leaving even as his wing muscles jumped painfully under Patton’s thumbs. “I think that’s the first time anyone’s ever called me pleasant.”

“Not even, erm, in the bedroom?” Patton said, his unpracticed delivery falling a little flat as Remus flinched a little at a particularly painful feeling cramp.

He’d grown plenty used to hearing innuendos of all shapes and sizes over the past few months Remus had been here, but that didn’t mean he was any good at saying them. Not even to distract his friend.

Remus processed the words a bit late, his breathing a bit strained, and then threw his head back a tad and cackled.

The noise briefly turned into something closer to shrieking laughter as Patton finally smoothed out one last twitching length of muscle, but then it was over, the worst of the cramps over and done with, with only the aching and torn muscles left behind.

Patton sat back on his rear heavily, and Remus dragged himself close enough to flop over one leg, still panting slightly.

“Nah,” he said after a moment, waggling his eyebrows. “In the bedroom they call me nasty. And outside the bedroom, really. I’m a freak on the streets and in the sheets!”

Patton laughed despite himself, a far cry from the flushed ears and fluffed out feathers he used to sport whenever Remus said anything remotely… saucy.

“I guess that’s the nast-key to your success, huh?”

“The nastkeys,” Remus echoed. “There’s a BDSM joke about handcuffs there somewhere, I can feel it.”

Patton snorted, and reached over to carefully shuffle one of Remus’s limp wings so that it stretched across his lap. It went taut for a moment before sagging again, the wing spreading wide over his other leg so he could see the extent of the damage.

Patton whistled, his lips going thin the more he looked. “He did a number this time, huh.”

“Bastard’s just jealous he doesn’t have my swagalicious escape artist skills,” Remus replied, glancing over at the many disturbed and torn feathers and averting his gaze sharply. “The nast-key to that particular skillset is lubrication. Lots and lots of lubrication.”

“I think that joke is the opposite of the handcuffs one,” Patton murmured, slowly working his way through the top layer, adjusting and aligning feathers where he could and pulling the damaged and loose ones free where he couldn’t.

“I always manage to work one in somewhere,” Remus said, turning the phrase into an innuendo through tone alone. “I’m just flexible like that.”

Patton’s ears were growing pink now. He hadn’t built up as much tolerance as he’d thought. He opened his mouth to change the subject, hopefully with a pun.

“I wish you would stop,” he said instead, voice so quiet it was barely audible.

There was a pause.

“I wish you would grow a pair and help me, but I don’t ask anymore, do I?” Remus replied, his voice blunt for all that the words were harsh. “I can’t stop. The minute I give it up, I might as well roll right over the nearest ledge and decorate the bougie tiles with the resulting splatter.”

Patton didn’t stop his gentle grooming, but his hands did gain a barely-there tremor. He bit back any possible responses, keeping his eyes locked on his task.

“…Sorry,” Remus grumbled, ungraceful but sincere. “I know you have your reasons. I’ve got mine too, though.”

“I know,” Patton said, bobbing his head in a hurried nod. He hesitated, his wings tucking even further against his back, before continuing. “It’s getting more dangerous, though. If you keep pushing him, he’ll get too mad to remember that we’re… valuable.”

The silence this time was much more charged. Patton smoothed his hand over a patch of feathers that had already been all straightened out, still not looking up.

“That sounds like you’re speaking from experience, Sunshine,” said Remus, solemnly.

That nickname was a lot more welcome than the one their captor had given him. Probably because they both knew it wasn’t meant to replace his actual name.

Some days, he asked to just be called Patton. Just so he could remember the name was real. That he was still a person.

(He was so glad to have someone to say it again.)

“I used to argue with him,” Patton started, and then corrected himself, “I would try to convince him that what he was doing was wrong.”

Remus made a sound that might have been a laugh, if it wasn’t so unhappy.

“Yeah,” Patton agreed, lips twisting to the side in a miserable half-smile. “He, uh. He started to get sick of it, give me warnings like he just did. And I didn’t listen. And, uhh…”

His voice trailed off briefly, and Remus turned to look at him, no pity in his stare.

It gave him the courage to stretch a wing out and stare at the soft blue-grey plumage, finding the two points of his wings that still ached on stormy days. He touched his finger to each spot, one after another. “The bones snapped here, and here.”

There was the briefest beat of silence, and then, “You know this doesn’t really motivate me to stop, right? Now I just want to make a pit stop mid-escape to tear Bastard’s throat out with my teeth personally.”

Patton laughed a little despite himself, his mind shying uneasily away from the gory imagery, but... not quite as much as it might have for anyone other than their captor.

“He complained about the vet bills for a long time,” he replied, softly. “If it happened again, I don’t think he would try to fix us. Fix you.”

Remus gnashed his teeth for a moment, visibly chewing on whatever he wanted to say. Patton continued before he had a chance, fingers still ghosting over Remus’s primaries.

“I don’t want to be alone again.” His voice was nearly a whisper.

Whatever he’d been about to say, Remus swallowed the words with a sour expression, melting further against Patton’s lap with a gusty sigh.

“I’ll take a little vacation,” he finally said, reaching a hand up to card his own fingers through the lower feathers on Patton’s half-outstretched wing.

He couldn’t often preen Patton back, not with his persistent worry of impulsively yanking out feathers, but his touch now was anything but rough.

“Not forever,” he warned, “but I can turn down the heat for a little bit. Let Bastard settle back down to a simmer before I start our little looney-toons game of cat and bird once more.”

Patton felt the little ball of tension inside him unwind a little, sniffling a bit from the force of the quiet relief that washed over him. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, yeah, don't be a sap. Anyways, those old cartoons with the animal chases are actually super fucked up. I’m talking graphic violence, adult jokes, unethical cat-and-dog rivalry stereotypes…”

Patton gestured for Remus’s other wing, keeping half an ear on his friend’s rambling as he began repairing as much of the dishevelment and damage as he could.

As long as they had each other, they would be okay. He had to believe that, just like Remus had to try to escape. So he did.

Around them, their gilded cage continued to glitter.

[loganslowdown4]

Logan: *writing down orders* What flavor of wings do you all want? Virgil?

Virgil: The hottest ones. I want to suffer-

Logan: *sighs* Right, ok, Roman?

Roman: Something sweet for this sweet prince-

Logan: *sighs again* Sure, whatever. Patton?

Patton: I don’t know, just WING it for me Lo-

Logan: -fine! Don’t give me the actual flavours, you’re all dead to me actually, I will to let you all starve-