1 Unexpected Visitor

WARNING: Domestic violence/Abuse

Patton sat at the table in the kitchen. He was serenely humming to himself, eating his breakfast. The others had gone out, and he had elected to stay home. He had just finished washing up his bowl and putting it on the drying rack when he heard a thump from the living room.

He turned around and took in a disheveled Deceit, missing his hat, cape crumpled, ripped sleeves, and what looked like a scar across his cheek. It looked fresh.

"Deceit!" Patton exclaimed, running over to him. "What happened? Who did this to you? Are you okay?" Being closer, Patton could see a tiny trickle of blood coming out Deceit's nose. Patton guided him to the couch, where he collapsed. Patton went and got an ice pack and a small bandage.

Deceit coughed. "Can... Can I have some water?"

Patton dropped the ice and bandage on the couch and ran back to the kitchen to get him a glass of water. "What happened?"

Deceit gulped down the water in swallow. Patton went to get more. "It.. It was R-Remus.. He d-did this..."

Patton dropped the glass. "But.. Why would he do this?"

"I don't know... He-he just d-does.." Deceit was rapidly becoming more and more incoherent. "He j-just gets in these m-moods and he.. He..." Deceit finished in tears.

At that moment, the door opened, and Patton and Deceit turned to see a smiling Virgil, talking with Roman, facing away from them. Logan was smiling momentarily, but then a look of shock crossed his face. "Guys..."

"What? Really, Logan, you need to loosen up a bit-" said Roman, before Logan cut him off quietly.

"No.." Logan gestured to the living room.

Virgil and Roman spun around to the sight of Deceit, looking like he'd been mugged, sitting on the couch, and Patton standing in the kitchen, broken glass shards pooled around his feet.

Virgil stormed to Patton and threw his arms around him. "Are you okay, Patton?" he asked quietly. He turned his head in Deceit's direction. "What happened?" he snarled.

Deceit was making small gulping noises, trying to compose himself.

"It wasn't his fault, Virge," said Patton, voice muffled by the fact that Virgil had Patton's face squished into his shoulder.

Virgil had had his family destroyed by Deceit before. He wasn't going to let it happen again.

Deceit wasn't going anywhere near Patton.

"Then what did happen?" asked Roman, looking nonplussed.

"Deceit just.. Showed up, looking like that. I was getting him some water when he said that Remus did that to him, and I dropped the cup," Patton told Virgil's shoulder.

Roman looked shocked and strangely... Scared.

"Deceit came here for help?" asked Logan.

"Yes." Patton replied simply.

"Fine," said Virgil. "We help you, and then you leave. Okay?"

They all looked at Deceit, who nodded slightly.

"Well then." Logan walked to the medicine cupboard to pull out a few more bandages. "We might as well get started."