Patton's POV:

"I don't want to sleep, I'm not tired guys," Virgil complains, groaning.

Well, that was surely impossible, because we'd been driving for almost eight hours so far, and he didn't get any sleep last night. He always gets anxious about road trips or travel.

"Virgil, if you don't get some sleep now, you're going to be exhausted and cranky when we actually get there," Logan warns from his place behind the steering wheel. "I can speak for all four of us when I say, no one wants to deal with that."

I laugh a little to myself as the darkly dressed boy in the back seat next to me glared at him. "He's correct, as usual," Roman agrees from his place in the passenger seat.

"Come on guys, don't be mean," I chime in as Virgil looks away with a scowl. I reach out to put my hand over his shoulder, massaging it gently. He relaxes under my touch and sighs. "You know he has trouble getting sleep the night before a trip."

He bits his lip and looks away, embarrassed. "Pat, what have we talked about with the whole... 'Dad' thing?" he says, raising his eyebrow at me.

I grin mischievously, biting my tongue as I laugh a little. So maybe he doesn't always love when I baby him, but I know he appreciates me sticking up for him when the others get overbearing. I also know that there's a spot right there.

He keens gratefully and relaxes against me as I massage the junction where his neck meets his shoulder. Roman and Logan both smile when they see him getting more and more at ease. "Come on Virge, lay down," I coo, unbuckling his seat belt and guiding him so that his head rested in his lap. We were in a pretty empty, forest part of the country. "Just get some sleep, kiddo."

The boy nodded and relaxed, my fingers running through his hair to further ease him. Within a couple minutes, Virgil was asleep, and there was a peaceful air in the car.

"He's really cute when he keeps his mouth shut," Roman comments, looking back at him fondly.

I giggle, smiling up at him. "I'm sure he'd say the same about you," I tease. He reddens, and yeah, I'm right. I'm the 'Dad' of the group. I'm always right about this kind of stuff. The two of them had been circling each other for a while. I knew they had feelings for each other, but they seemed reluctant to act on them. This little vacation getaway to a lake cabin that belonged to Logan's parents seemed like the perfect opportunity to get them to make a move. "How about you ask him to go for a walk with him when we get there? A pleasant little stroll, you know? It's really beautiful up there."

The princely boy's eyes widen and drop down to the sleeping boy in my lap thoughtfully. "Yeah, maybe I will."

"Mmf... will what?" Virgil mumbles sleepily.

I shush him, winking at Roman to tell him silently that I'd keep his secret. "Just sleep kiddo," I tell him with a smile. "We'll be there before you know it."