Despite what Desmond said, he couldn't stand when the house was cluttered or chaotic. It brought back memories that he never intended on facing, so the house was cleaned up fairly quickly and he and Virgil settled into a routine. Class, home, dinner if they were hungry, go to bed and do it all over again. It was the same routine they always had when it was just the two of them. Desmond took classes at all times of the year. Having no family to return to during the winter holidays and no need for a job, he found it easier just to continue working on his degree in hopes of getting out of college quicker. It was a monotonous life but Desmond liked the routine. He liked the predictability of it all. It wasn't until a week before the summer semester started that their routine was shaken up. It was a predictable change but not something that Desmond wanted. Hopefully, after this roommate failed, the housing director would stop trying.

"Showtime," Virgil said sarcastically as a knock echoed through the apartment. He shoved his hands in his pockets, sitting on the arm of the couch and watched Desmond. "Ready to put on your game face snake man?"

Desmond rolled his eyes, he found himself doing that around Virgil more often than not, but it was easier than actually signing out what was going on in his head. Virgil understood anyway. He knew without the two of them having to say anything.

When he opened the door, Des was greeted with the most obnoxious smile he had ever seen. No one was actually that happy. "Hi! I'm Patton, are you Desmond?" A small nod and the man's blond curls bounced excitedly around his ears as he held out his hand. "I'm so happy to live with you. I hope we can be friends."

There was silence between them as Desmond attempted to size Patton up. They always acted nice in the beginning, it was human nature to pretend to be nice to someone your first time meeting them, especially if you were going to be forced to spend an extended amount of time with that person. He was even used to people pretending to want to be friends, but he wasn't used to such excited energy. Des pulled at his glove, making sure it was on tight before shaking Patton's hand. He was wary, he would be on his guard, but Patton just smiled.

"I was told that you don't speak much, but I can understand ASL, so feel free to use that if you want to talk to me." Patton began dragging his suitcase into the house, still smiling as he did so. "And just let me know if I am talking too loud. I can't hear well, so everything sounds muffled to me, so I know I can be a bit much." Once he got his suitcase in he let out an exaggerated huff, but the smile never faded. "We should talk about house rules too."

His eyebrow rose, 'House rules?' Desmond signed, trying to keep his surprise to a mask of minimal curiosity. He didn't want to give this many any indication that he was attempting to be friendly. He wasn't here to make friends.

"Yeah! House rules, like no noise after 10 pm, or don't turn the thermostat below 70F, things like that! Have you never had house rules before? I did a lot of research before moving out on my own and a lot of things said that proper communication is important to adultery."

"That's not..." Virgil looked at Patton and then shook his head laughing. "That's not what that means." Des gritted his teeth and Virgil got the message. "Alright alright. Good luck with that Des, I'm going to be in our room." He jumped off the couch, shoving his hands in his pockets before walking back to the room.

"Sorry, did I say something," Patton asked.

'Never had house rules before.'

"Well, if you've never had house rules before do you want some time to think about it?"

What was with this guy? What kind of things was he planning on demanding? Desmond slowly nodded, 'Over dinner?'

"Perfect." Patton clapped, smiling as he grabbed his suitcase again, "Which one is mine?"

Desmond pointed to the extra bedroom, watching as Patton walked away.

He wasn't going to fall for this again. Des didn't believe in honest people.

A sigh left his lips as he took the glove off of his good hand, gently rubbing his face. He hadn't expected his new roommate to basically be a puppy, and the cat and dog decals all over his suitcase weren't helping. Either Patton was genuinely sweet, and maybe a bit naive, or he was an amazing actor. Desmond wasn't ready to believe in other people, so he would keep a close eye on Patton, but for now, he had to focus on researching house rules. He had to be prepared for whatever tactics Patton might try to use to strong-arm him into rules that could be twisted in the blonde's favor.

Thankfully, Desmond was training to be a lawyer, and this was the exact kind of thing he was good at. A smirk twisted it's way onto his face as he walked back to his room. He would not be defeated.

AN: I feel like Patton was super cute in this one. Rereading it to edit it gave me such a happy fluffy feeling! I hope you all enjoyed the same.