Empathetic Puppy

Patton came home after a long day at the bakery. Even with the rush hour, the need to take over various tasks for the other employees, and the occasional entitled customer trying to yell at him to compensate for the fact that they were the ones in the wrong and not him, he still loved his business. Since he grew up with a sweet tooth, yet had more self control than Augustus Gloop, it was easy for him to keep a smile on his face throughout the day without thinking about any other feelings or the pain in his cheeks. No matter how long he keeps the smile on his face and no matter how cheery he sounds when he speaks to others, though, there was someone at home who was, somehow, always able to see right through him.

Once Patton put his stuff away and sat on the couch, his dark furred pooch with the purple collar would approach him and leap onto his lap. Usually, he would jump around and play when Patton would feel genuinely ecstatic, but he mostly just snuggled against the baker however he could, stay calm when his fur was stroked, and occasionally nudge his nose against the man as a way of communication.

"Hey, my Virgie. How was your day, my cute little muffin?" Patton asked with genuine happiness while scratching the dog's fur.

Due to denial of needing to see a therapist, a friend of Patton's recommended getting a pet for emotional support. The following day, Patton went to his local animal shelter and saw so many dogs that were playing around and barking. They all seemed very social except for this one dog with dark fur. He was curled into a ball on one of the donated doggy beds and seemed timid when Patton approached him. They bonded with each other after a good while and Patton decided to give him a purple collar and one of his favorite names: Virgil. Though Patton did make sure Virgil had a good amount of exercise and fresh air (especially when it came to going to the bathroom), they both seemed to understand that the quality time they shared was what they were both in the mood for rather than just the high quantity of energy-spending play time.

One evening, Patton was on the phone with his boyfriend, Logan, and he did his best to sound cheery while talking about a potential date to the museum that weekend. However, the week had caused Patton to feel more comfortable spending time at home than going somewhere and, as usual, Virgil recognized it. Heck, how can the pooch not notice when he peeked through the bathroom doorway as Patton looked in the mirror questioning how long he's been "playing pretend" for. Virgil nudged his nose against Patton's knee while he was on the phone, but Patton just stroked Virgil's fur and agreed to go to the museum with Logan. After the phone call, Virgil whined as Patton lied down.

"I know, Virgil, I know, but he doesn't understand like you and I do. Besides, if I want to be mature for Logan, it's better if I just suck it up and avoid rambling," Patton told the dog before they both fell asleep.

The next day, before Patton could wake up, Virgil awoke and walked over to the counter where Patton's keys usually were. He jumped up, picked them up in his mouth, and placed them in a flower pot. Eventually, Patton woke up and was having breakfast with Virgil before taking Virgil out to stretch his legs. Once they got back inside, the doorbell rang and Virgil hid under the table. Patton went to open the door and was surprised to see Logan on his porch.

"Logan! What are you doing here? The museum's not open yet," Patton reacted.

"Yea, well, I guess I was eager enough to get ready rather quickly and figured spending time with you would be a good way to kill some time," the teacher responded.

They heard growling and Patton went to the table to comfort Virgil. He said some things like, "Logan is friendly, he won't hurt us" and "He hasn't been unkind to me" before approaching his boyfriend again.

"Sorry, he's still not that great with people. Do you think you can help me pick an outfit?"

"I understand. And I don't mind helping you out. I'm sure you'd look precious in what you choose to wear."

The two walked over to Patton's bedroom and talked a little about "Sherlock" before they closed the door. Virgil was about to walk in that direction, but the familiar look of middle stuck out from the corner of his eye. He saw Logan's keys on the table and proceeded to leap onto it to place them in the same flower pot. Virgil ran around for a little while the two lovebirds were in Patton's room and decided to lie down by a window where the sun was shining through. He never really grew out of spending time on his own since he was brought home from the shelter, but he liked the feeling of being cared for and belonging that was attached to it.

Eventually, Patton came out of the room while wearing a blue and white sweater vest and khakis. Logan followed the proud man and smiled at his sense of style.

"How long have you had that in your closet again?" Logan asked.

"Since I've been out of it, so over a decade," Patton responded.

They both went to where they knew they put their keys and were surprised to come across their absence. Patton, with wide eyes, looked in Virgil's direction, and he gave a smirk on his fuzzy face that was enough for Patton to understand. Instead of telling Logan that Virgil had something to do with the misplacement of their keys, Patton just went ahead and helped look for them. They checked in between couch cushions and on the table and counters as well as other places that seemed reasonable. Patton continued to glance in Virgil's direction, which confused Logan, and Patton became worried that they had ruined the teacher's weekend.

Logan walked by flower pot and saw both of their sets of keys. However, before he could say anything, Logan was greeted by the sound of the bathroom door closing and locking. Logan was on his way to the bathroom, but was blocked by a growling Virgil. He wasn't sure what was up with the dog until the growling was quieted down enough for Logan to hear muffled cries from the other side of the door. Virgil ran to the bathroom door to whine and nuzzle his nose against the door. At that moment, Logan remembered the two were pretty much joined at the hip and there seemed to be more to it than that. Virgil scratched at the door and it was unlocked and opened. Logan quickly pushed the door before it could be closed again and he saw Virgil licking Patton's tears and nuzzling his nose into his chest.

"I'm not mad at you. I know you mean well," Patton whispered to his dog.

"Umm, I found our keys," Logan proclaimed.

Before Patton could stand up to ask, Logan immediately closed the door.

"You weren't in the right mind to go to the museum, were you?" Logan half-asked based on the observations.

Patton looked at Virgil and sniffled before looking at Logan.

"I'm sorry, Logan. You were just so eager to go to the museum and, as much as I wanted to lie down and try to forget the world's attempts to break me, I wanted to spend time with you and maybe seem more adult in your eyes. If it meant that I had to plaster a shallow smile on my face for the weekend as well as the week, well, sacrifices must be made," Patton explained without really finding it in himself to look at Logan.

Logan approached the two and sat down right by them.

"If you wanted to just do something together at home, you could've just told me and I'd be eager to oblige," Logan told him.

"Well, when you're with someone who's not as easily empathetic as this fluffy pup, it's not that easy to confidently remove the mask."

"He clearly loves you. Differently than how I do, but he obviously loves you."

Logan reached for Virgil's fur slowly and, though he backed up in Patton's embrace, he soon allowed the teacher to touch him.

That day, Logan and Patton spent time watching movies on the couch together while Patton took care of his responsibilities several times. Patton rested on Logan's chest and the teacher stroked his hair, that is until Virgil managed to get comfortable against Patton's head, causing Logan to stroke his fur instead.