Trustfall || Sanders Sides Equestrian AU

Chapter 23 - Think, Know, Hesitate

A/N: sorry for the huge delay!!!! no excuse, I was just lazy. :')

okay yeah and i guess i was also really really busy.

Regularly training with Puzzle for the show behind his parents' backs did not help Patton's feeling of being a criminal. He'd never hid anything from them before; in fact, he couldn't come up with one thing about himself that he never told them. He and his parents were extremely open with each other growing up – he would tell them everything and they did so as well, and now that he was hiding such a huge thing for them, Patton couldn't help but avoid their eye contact as dedicatedly as Roman would listen to Hamilton on repeat.

And together with the secret, came that mysterious friend of his. The more that Patton spent out of the house battling his own head with Puzzle, the more they seemed to show up. When Patton asked once again for their name they said that he can call them Māori, but didn't give away a single detail more. There was something disturbingly fascinating about them, but something made Patton almost scared to ask more, as if the answer would unsettle him.

Though regaining every last bit of his weight would take Puzzle longer, his pelt recovered its previous shine quite fast, and the thing Patton had missed the most – the spark in his eyes – was back where it belonged; gleaming in Puzzle's eyes, reflecting in Patton's. Training sessions turned even more fun than they used to be, as Puzzle was thrilled to be back home and flying over the obstacles.

"I swear this horse acts twenty years younger than he is," Laura mumbled with an amused astonishment as she watched the two clear the course with the agility and lightness of a doe.

Patton tried to push back the snippet of anxiety that stirred in his stomach in response to the analogy. "I know! We're so ready for this show, Laura."

"We're definitely placing first in this one," Roman said from the other side of the arena, where he and Trigger were practicing transitions from a complete halt into a canter. "And we'll save Daybreak's ass like we always do."

Laura chuckled faintly. "Just focus on having fun, boys, okay? Don't worry about us. Besides, you don't even have to place first. Anything that gives us a pass to the finals is perfect. It's the annual show that would save our asses."

"But placing first is more fun."

"Have at it, Ro. Who am I to stop you."

Patton couldn't help but catch how quiet Virgil was in the background of the conversation. He'd always been the quieter type, but this time there was a certain paleness that had accompanied the silence of his. He always turned that way when they spoke about the upcoming competition.

Patton cleared the thought from his head and squeezed his calves against his horse's sides to get his attention, and got back to work.

-

Wherever Māori came from never mattered. It was always the same way; one moment Patton was alone, swimming around in his thoughts, and the next they were walking by his side and saying all those weird, nice things they would say.

"What am I even supposed to do once Puzzle's retired?"

Māori spread out their arms to keep their balance as they skipped along the narrow, elevated stripe by the side of the sidewalk. "You take him on fun trail rides once a week and make him an Instagram account. He can be an internet icon, I'm just saying. Do you know that old dog that has an Instagram account filled with videos of him playing in the grass and doing tricks and stuff?"

"That does sound nice."

His friend hopped onto the next stripe once the one they were balancing along had ended. "Have you ever considered dragonflies?"