I was in my room, listening to MCR, when Morality appeared. He looked behind him at the spider curtains, then immediately teleported in front of the Nightmare Before Christmas posters instead.

"That's better. I don't like spiders." Morality said.

I slipped off my headphones and looked at him, confused.

"What're you doing here, Dad?" I asked.

"I wanted to talk to you about something." Morality said.

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked, assuming the worst. It's what I do best.

"Not at all, kiddo!" Morality assured me. "This is... different."

"Okay...?" I asked, inviting him to elaborate.

"Do you ever feel like Roman and Logan try to push you away and control Thomas themselves?" Morality asked.

I slowly nodded, facing the floor instead of Morality. "Those two are arrogant. They want everything their way, because they think their way is best."

"They treat me like a kid." Morality said. "I'm not a kid."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but... Why haven't you done something about it?" I asked.

"You mean like stop doing my job and disappear?" Morality snapped, uncharacteristically harsh.

I flinched at the trait's sudden outburst. He wasn't usually like this.

"Look, so me leaving wasn't the smartest choice. I know that now." I said. "But if you're hurt by how the others treat you, then why do you go along with it?"

Morality hesitated. "They sort of make me out to be this child, and they expect me to be this child. They think they know who I am, and they think I'm childish. So I go along with it, because it's not worth it. It doesn't matter. I can play along. They expect a certain reaction out of me, and I know them well enough to know what they expect. So I give them that."

"Have you ever considered telling them the truth?" I asked.

"What good would it do?" Morality said.

"You never know until you try." I said.

"But c'mon, you've felt this same way before too, haven't you? Roman and Logan have singled you out even more than they've singled me out." Morality said.

"Ever since day one." I said.

"I'm just not good for anything besides knowing the difference between right and wrong. That's all I am." Morality said, fiddling with his cardigan in his anxiousness.

"Patton? I think the room's getting to you. Maybe you should go." I said.

"No, Virgil! It has nothing to do with your room!" Morality snapped. "I've been feeling this way for a while. It's not your room."

"I didn't think a trait like you could get anxious." I said. "I'm supposed to be the anxious one."

"A trait like me? What's that supposed to mean? I'm more than just morality, Virgil! I'm Patton!" Morality said, but he sounded like he was trying to convince himself, not me.

"Patton, are you okay?" I asked.

"No! I thought you of all people would understand!" Morality said.

"I do understand." I said quietly.

"No, clearly you don't!" Morality said.

"I know what you're feeling because I felt it too! I felt unimportant, unwanted, useless. I thought I was hurting Thomas and so I left. Then you guys came to get me and I realized that maybe that wasn't the case. I think maybe it's the same with you." I said.

"It's all Logan and Roman's fault! They try to do everything themselves!" Morality said. "They make it seem like the don't need us. They do. Without you, Thomas could've gotten into serious trouble. Without me, he would be doing all the wrong things, and he wouldn't be happy."

"Exactly. He wouldn't be happy." I said. "I think that's a good enough sign as any that you're more than just the difference between right and wrong. You're Thomas's heart, his emotions, his happiness."

"His happiness." Morality repeated. "I wish that meant I could only be happy."

I walked over to Morality. "I know what you're feeling. We're in this together, alright? We're both neglected traits."

"You're right." Morality said.

"Us lesser traits stick together, right?"

Morality gave me a weak smile.

"That's why we're the best."