#and then janus and remus use they/them for v and the rest of them are like ''wot''

[sanders-sides-uncorrect-quotes]

This is the fic I was talking about btw

I read a fic where the writer used they/them pronouns for Virgil and after that I can't stop myself from headcanoning Virgil as an enby

[naminethewriter]

Monstrously Simple Days at College

Chapter Four: An Unusual Trade

Masterpost | First | Previous | Next | Ao3

Story Summary: Humans and Monsters live together in harmony and that means they all get to go to college together. Roman, Remus, Janus, Virgil, Logan and Patton are big group of friends that may be a bit chaotic with all the different monster cultures they hail from. College itself is hard too, but with them all supporting each other, it can’t be that bad, can it?

Content Warnings: None

~~*~~

A loud and insistent knocking breaks through the calm classical piano music playing in Virgil and Logan’s dorm. Beethoven, Bach and Mozart are common composers the two listen to, since Logan found it the best background music for him to study to and Virgil associates them with their childhood as Beethoven and them share a birthyear. Their mother, who had already been a big fan of Bach, kept up with Mozart and Beethoven for their entire careers and often played their music on the piano. Virgil can always feel the tension in their body leave them when he hears one of their pieces played.

Now that tension was returning however as the knocking doesn’t stop.

“Would you mind getting it, V?” Logan asks, hunched over their desk. “I am almost finished with this text and would hate to lose my place.”

“Yeah, I got it, L. Might just punch whoever it is in the face.” They mutter that last part under their breath as they swing their legs off the bed and head towards the door. “Who the hell—”

“I’m here for a trade, guardian of night!” Remus interrupts them as soon as the door is open.

Virgil just stares at her, then at her brother who is just behind them.

“What?”

“A trade!” Remus proclaims again, louder this time. “The witch for this inferior dragon!”

“Inferior!” Roman sputters, wings flaring out behind him in offense. “How dare you besmirch my honor, you filthy—”

“Would you both shut up before you make this entire corridor hate us!” Virgil hisses, massaging their temples. “What you’re saying is that you want to spend time with Logan and to do that you’re kicking Roman out of your dorm and pushing him on to me?”

Roman pouts at them and Virgil just slyly smiles back which earns them an eyeroll from their partner.

“Got it in one, Scaramore! Now where’s my witch?”

Remus pushes past Virgil, and only then do they notice that it is literally dragging Roman along by gripping his wrist, though Roman doesn’t seem to give him much resistance. At least until they’re in the room and Remus bounds over to Logan. That’s when Roman shakes his arm free and Remus lets him go without even looking at him, instead standing behind Logan’s chair and gently resting its head on theirs, silently waiting for them to stop reading.

“Sorry for just barging in,” Roman sighs after Virgil closed the door and comes to stand next to him. “Remus was just getting super antsy because Logan wasn’t answering her texts, so I told them to just go and check on him in person and then it came up with this whole trading idea. And I would love to just hang out with you, no fancy dates, just chilling but if you’d rather be alone, I can suffer third wheeling them.”

He nods over to the desk where Logan has allowed Remus to place her hand over theirs while they finish up.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Virgil shrugs. “I wasn’t really doing anything anyway. And I wouldn’t leave you to suffer those two being their weird interpretation of sappy.” Roman snorts, lightly bumping against their shoulder before sitting down on their bed, sighing contently and shaking out his wings. Virgil lets themselves plop down next to him, pulling their phone over to close Tumblr. They’ve already been scrolling through their dash for at least an hour. It was good to have a distraction.

Their phone screen just went black when a thump from the desk announces that Logan is done reading. He and Remus talk quietly between themselves for a moment and while Virgil has good enough hearing that he could’ve listened in if they wanted to, they don’t. Then Logan stands, smiling over to them and Roman.

“I will be over with Remus in her room then,” they nod to Virgil. “If you need anything, you can text me.”

“Nothing’s gonna come up, L,” Virgil shrugs and Logan adjusts his glasses.

“You never know. Anyway, since I have classes early tomorrow, I will return before 10pm.” They give a sharp look to Remus, who pouts at them but doesn’t protest. “Have a nice evening, you two.”

“You, too, Pocket Protector!” Roman salutes as his brother impatiently pulls Logan out of the room. The door clicks shut behind them and Roman lets himself collapse on the bed with a sigh. “I love it, they’re my brother, but she can be so much sometimes.”

“Maybe look at a mirror,” Virgil laughs. “You’re both so similar and so different, it’s insane.”

“Shut up,” Roman whines, weakly throwing his arm in Virgil’s direction. “I know that already. I just wanna chill and watch a movie or something. I’m beat.”

“Fine, fine,” Virgil huffs fondly. They all had a long week behind them. They still needed to survive tomorrow but afterwards was finally the weekend. “Any ideas on what to watch?”

“Disney.”

“Yeah, I figured, but that hardly narrows it down.”

Before Roman can say any more, a knock again sounds through the room.

“You think Logan forgot something?” Roman wonders, sitting up.

“Nah, he would knock once and then come in. Maybe he sent Remus to get something? Though I doubt it.”

Virgil gets up to open the door again, at least this visitor was a more polite knocker than Remus.

As the door swings open, it reveals a very displeased looking Janus, who immediately groans.

“Hello to you too,” Virgil says amused, though they step aside to let his second partner in, who immediately makes a beeline to the bed and let’s himself fall down on it, placing his head in Roman’s lap.

“I am so done with this week,” Janus whines, not even hiding his annoyed-ness behind his usual snark. That immediately clues both Roman and Virgil in that something is seriously bothering him.

“What happened?” Roman asks, stroking Janus’ hair, pulling a soft purr out of him. Virgil joins them on the bed, moving Janus’ legs so he can sit down beneath him, gently massaging his shins.

“Ugh, Patton’s been driving me up a wall. I love the guy, you know I do, but he’s been just insufferable the last few days.”

“How so?”

“He has some coursework due and been struggling with it. I offered him my help, but he insists that he can get it done by himself. Which would be fine if he wasn’t constantly whining and yelping unhappily while he does so! Plus, his tail goes haywire, too, hitting against his chair. He’s not even aware of it most of the time so even if I ask him to stop it only helps for like a minute at most. Which is also why he can’t do it in the library! I just wanted to read a book in peace, but he just wouldn’t shut up! So, I decided to get out of there before I force him to let me help.”

“A good decision,” Roman agrees. “I’m sure Pat will make it up to you with cookies.”

“He better.” Janus takes a deep breath, the tension in his shoulders slipping away. “I’m not really mad at him.”

“We know,” Virgil reassures.

“It’s understandable that it can get frustrating though. But you’re here now and we can just have a relaxing evening.”

“Yes please,” Janus sighs, pushing his head more into Roman’s hand.

“We were trying to find out what to watch before you came in.”

Janus sits up abruptly, staring at them both accusatory.

“How come I wasn’t invited to this little hangout in the first place?” he pouts. “How often do you do this, leaving me all alone to the coldness of my bed?”

“Oh, stop being dramatic. That’s Roman’s schtick.”

“Hey!”

“And we didn’t plan this. Remus decided he wanted its boyfriend to themselves, so she dragged Roman over here to get their room to himself. We probably would have texted you after we picked something to do.”

“Probably? You wound me, Virgil!”

“We literally just sat down,” Roman adds, again patting Janus’ hair which gets him to relax a bit. “You seem more on edge than usual, are you not sleeping well again?”

Janus sighs, rubbing his temples.

“With the whole Patton thing, I had a hard time concentrating on my own work. And maybe I had a nightmare a few days ago.” He says that last bit quietly and Roman simply hugs him from behind, gently wrapping his wings around him.

“We’re here for you if you want to talk about it.”

“I know.”

“That sounds like someone who doesn’t want to talk about it,” Virgil guesses, eyebrows raised. Janus nods.

“Maybe tomorrow.”

Roman squeezes him one more time before letting go and moving further onto the bed to get comfortable.

“Then let us rest the topic and find something to watch. My vote is for the Emperor’s New Groove!”

“Yeah, I’m cool with that,” Virgil shrugs, pulling out their box full of Disney DVDs. What can they say? They were there for the invention of VHS and DVD and they 100% prefer them over streaming services. Logan and them have a nice set-up of a tv connected with a DVD player, a switch and a PS4.

They pop the DVD in and move back to the bed where Roman is waiting for them with open arms. They’re leaning back against the headrest, wings spread wide and invitingly. Janus has already squished himself between the wall and Roman, his head resting against their thigh. His eyes already seem to grow heaving and Virgil hopes that he can find the rest he clearly needs.

“Want any snacks?” they ask, keeping their voice low. Janus just hums noncommittally, probably in no mood to move while Roman looks thoughtful.

“If you have something not messy or sticky?”

“I’ve got some gummy bears?”

“Sounds good.”

Virgil opens the snack cabinet they share with Logan and pulls out a bag of candy and a bowl, transferring the gummy over so that the rustling of the bag won’t disturb them during the movie. Then they get back to the bed, plop the bowl onto Roman’s lap before taking their seat at his side.

“Thank you, my darling knight,” Roman smiles, pressing a kiss to their cheek before fishing out a gummy from the bowl.

“Shut up and watch the film,” Virgil laughs, leaning into his side. This wasn’t what they had planned for the night, but this works just fine for them.

[tastic-in-its-finest]

Strike Midnight

Ao3

For the @tss-october-ghostwriters event, the prompts transformation, full moon, midnight, ancient, and a little bit of magic were used :)

Warnings and tags: Minor violence, tw blood, mentions of murdering/killing, and animal attacks

Summary: To improve an imperfect world, he does what needs to be done. Roman, a human, hunts the feral and out of control monsters in his path while sparing the misunderstood, along with his twin brother Remus.

However, it's hard to hunt a werewolf when it turns out to be your own brother.

Written by: @tastic-in-its-finest, for my lovely Giftee @edupunkn00b

...

He searched every corner and crevice yet couldn’t find it. Roman checked almost every burrow, climbing many trees of the dark and deep thicket of the forest to survey the area. He knew he wasn’t trying as hard as he should. He wasn’t desperate enough to cannonball into a lake just yet. Yet the ancient bracelet he was trying to find seemed unreachable.

He was given instructions by Janus, a snake deity, of which surrounding area to look, and bribing them with the sweet ‘rewards’ to come with it.

He could try to enjoy the rewards, if not for him, then for his brother Remus. He didn’t hate the Janus, harboring only a slight dislike for him since he’d met him, but they bonded over theater and a love for drama. And he wasn’t about to let his brother down, who was enthralled with any ideas Janus had in mind, even if they were clueless of their prize.

He took a short break to wait for the impending sunset, in the middle of a semi-open clearing with rocks nearby, he could mentally hear Janus scolding him. Where is he meant to find this anyway? Janus didn’t tell them too many specifics to find the bracelet; like a key hidden under a rock.

Well, what did he have to lose?

Looking under one, two, three stones, and the fourth, much larger and stuck in the ground. He pulled harder, and harder, before it popped out and he almost decked his beautiful face. It isn’t stuck to mud however, a shiny silver pendant, or bracelet somehow found itself lost. The bastard who stole and threw it away knew where to hide it. It was the exact description he needed.

“Eureka,” he whispered, drying the wet and dirt, wearing the ancient bracelet, golden, fabulous, the smell of metal grazing his wrist, quite charming, preparing to speak with Remus about his discovery.

A hesitant twig broke close, near one of the large bushes. Roman felt eyes prying the back of his head. He wanted to think Remus was attempting to scare him, poorly, but Remus knew better.

The handle of his sword proved a sturdy grip, seethed in his lightweight holster for now, he waited.

“Show yourself!” He yelled, as he swung his sharp sword out and a fast figure tripped him down, standing unfazed in front of him dark and stormy. A sharp face he found all too familiar these days.

“You.” He pointed his sword, finding the means to pull himself up while looking at the unimpressed emo nightmare, V, short for vampire, held an black spider web umbrella one-handed, big enough to cover him completely.

“You’re too easy sometimes… princey,” Roman glared, remaining serious, yet slightly relaxing the tip of his sword towards the vampire's turtleneck.

“What sort of a nickname is that?”

The pale emo grinned, “If you don’t want to be called a prince, don’t act or dress like one,” the vampire gestured towards his favorite red sash over his hunting clothes.

“Should I call you a dark and stormy knight then, cause that’s exactly what you are,” with layers upon layers of black and gray clothing in the hot grueling sun.

“Real original of you.”

“It’s the only thing I can call you, unless you give me a name.”

“In your dreams.”

His name was not V, but he was called Virgil. Stuck in an open area, one of his many obstacles, he ran into him, all of his stamina diminished, the sun already tiring him. The extremely skilled and dangerous monster hunter, his sword resting near his side, ready to strike him at any moment, “What’s your play vampire?”

“Why does it matter to you?”

"My brother will be here any minute. I'd hate for him to kill you before I do,” he playfully tapped him, but Virgil internally wondered if he was being serious or not.

"Lower your sword, then we can talk," Virgil tried to put the most nonchalant voice imaginable, he cringed when he croaked the words out. The hunter listened.

"...Have you been stalking me?"

Virgil couldn’t help but laugh, “Don’t flatter yourself, you’re not the only reason I’m out here,” he stepped forward, looking distantly behind Roman. The side dense area of trees were difficult to traverse by, more difficult with an umbrella no less, however, he could make a run for it, only, a sharp and cold blade tapped and pressed the tip of his bicep before he could move forward.

He blinked rapidly, “You want to do this now?”

“We don’t have a truce at the moment,” The hunter flashed a cocky grin, stance in the ready. He was testing him, always, but Virgil never wanted to believe he couldn’t be. Didn’t think he noticed the wooden stake slotted near his sword holster. Make sure he never touches it.

“Cocky, princey,” Virgil looked into the deadly rays of the sun, the dark umbrella his only protection, assessing his situation. He put his hood up.

From what he could gather, it was a pure coincidence they met again. But Roman was ready to defeat him this time, defend his honor and beat his brother to the kill.

He took the first swing, missing by an inch, another, another, and another, the monster ducked, shielding the blow meant to strike his face as his back sizzled from a lack of protection. The vampire hissed, scratching Roman’s cheek, burning and painful.

Backing away, Roman got stunned by such a violent reaction, furthermore, V remained in defense. Taking a chance, he kept stepping forward, swinging fast, failing to kick his chest, and swiping his legs from under him with a katana. The fiend stumbled into the grass. He tried stomping to the side of his pale face yet rolling out from under him, swiping at Roman’s spine, getting a hard grip on his hands, flipping him onto his back as his hood fell off.

Groaning in pain, pushing himself up, the monster tried kicking him to the ground while he was vulnerable. Roman ducked, slashing the torn Umbrella. Hissing, cowering and retreating from the sun, Roman rushes forward and trying to pin him to the tree, his head hit it too hard, knocking him out cold.

Roman leaned on the tree, catching his breath, the vampire lucky enough to be left in the shade of the leaves. Seething his sword, somehow without a trace of vampire blood, in his holster, fitting the wooden stake in his hand.

Standing over V, blissfully unaware of what could be a stake about to be driven in his heart, turned Roman’s stomach. He gripped the stake, he could do it, rid the world of one more evil. Yet he blanks trying to search for an evil deed V committed. He isn’t feral. This wasn’t honorable, it felt so wrong. He would have hated to be murdered this way.

The stake is slit in its rightful place, along with neatly folding the umbrella. Leaving after his slight distraction.

…

Remus is having the time of his life. Swinging upside down on trees, squeezing his bum into every burrow, and cannonballing into a lake to find an eensie weensie ancient trinket bracelet thing and the magic to neutralize the strengths of those who weld it. He was given sort of clear instructions by his close friend Janus, an idea of the whereabouts, and the sweet long morningstar to come with it.

Like any good friend, he lamented on a large stone, reeking of wet dog, cuddling his stick and staring at his reflection in the water, throwing small stones that emerged in the water at himself. It was going to be hard to earn his trust back, after what he did. One bracelet and he can have his weapon back instead of using a sad and sharp stick to murder monsters when he needs to, and of course, Janus’ unconditional love that he cherished more than anything. If only he could see how hard he is trying now.

Echoing through the thicket, a low whistle drew his attention, a call to warn him of his twin's return, in case Remus tried stabbing him.

“Back so late?”

“I have what we need, let's go,” Roman’s shoulders were unusually tense, Remus didn’t question it. Pulling out a large map to guide them out of the unfamiliar area.

“Want to make time for hunting feral werewolves or Rougaros?”

“Well, if only he thought about that on a night other than a full moon,”

“Boo, you’re such a bore. We can do both.”

Roman gasped, feigning annoyance. They crowd the map. Only a few paces north to reach Umbra, a magical spirited place, reachable by oak trees where Janus resided most of his time. The journey was easy however long it was, hopefully they could get back to do some proper werewolf hunting.

…

The confusing fuzziness began to emb. The bark was rough on his pounding head and scarred back, the tingling burn on the side of his face slowly reconstructing the skin, remembering how he ran away and the umbrella broke.

The hunter is nowhere in sight, he waited, and nothing came of it.

Virgil huffed, moving the umbrella folded neatly in his lap, flexing the panel, a large obnoxious ripe in the fold, great.

Moving along, he couldn’t believe the hunter let him go with only a mild headache. It could have been much worse. Dying wasn’t too far of an option. Probably sparring him out of pity, he wouldn’t doubt it. Virgil just wanted to leave the clearing.

His boot clinks, glaring down, a round metal bracelet under his foot. He reaches down, probably something the prince owned. He tries it for himself, a sudden wash of drowsiness and fatigue traveled from his arm, a scary amount of relaxation as he couldn’t see sharper or hear farther, he yanked it away shrieking.

He’d rather not touch it ever again, but maybe he really wanted to get back at the hunter, maybe repay him for not killing him, as pathetic as it sounds. He pocketed the bracelet and avoided touching it as he squeezed through the bushes, following an obvious trail left by its rightful owner.

…

The sunset started, yet the sky wasn’t fully darkened. Remus’ watch going off and being silenced immediately to watchfully and carefully listen to any howls from werewolves, ready to use his long stake for one they both heard close by. Whilst his brother preoccupied himself, Roman read the map, not surprised if they’ve been walking in circles for the past hour.

“Do you know where we’re going?” Remus took a peek over his shoulder.

“Of course,” he sighed, “We have a long way to go,” Remus held a manic grin, mussing, “Not too far, we can run there.”

“Too risky,” folding the map in his pocket, preparing to traverse first through the tight narrow trees, sticks stabbing his torso, through the rough patch then another path, passed the building, and arriving at the tree, Roman imagined it all going perfectly, hating chopping through the bark. A high pitched whistle turned his attention.

Remus froze, a finger over his lip. Roman stops moving, confused. While it might have been funny to see Roman become frazzled and get attacked by whatever growled in his ear, Janus would chastise him, and Roman would never forgive him. Roman looks petrified, a hand easing down, reaching for his sword.

Remus turns his head around, a black threatening wolf stalks behind them, big, with human eyes, a werewolf, staring at Remus through the trees, a far enough distance where they can run, the closeness of the trees restricting their movements, they decide to run.

Roman is ahead, breaking and hurting his arms as he hurls himself out of the forest.

Remus can’t breathe, he feels the warm breath and slobber on his legs, fighting, fight to get out, he jumps getting yanked by his leg, a sharp and tight bite on his ankle, he kicks its snout shouting, shielding his face, the long jaw chewing on his tough leather jacket, with no weapon but a stupid stick.

“Roman!” He punches, punching as hard as he can until Roman finally stabs it’s head. The wolf whimpered and cried, scattering away into the darkness.

“Are you ok?” Roman kneels down.

“Where were you?!”

“Remus-“

“You watch me get mauled by a wolf and ask me if I’M OK?!” Roman didn’t know how to respond.

“… Are you?” It quieted, Remus never got so frustrated before, it felt off.

“Sorry. I’m fine, check for bites,” Remus prompts his arm, rolling up the sleeve, Roman finds nothing but a tear in his jacket.

“All good, but your leg…” ominously, his boot is torn, notably a sliver of skin, Remus shrugs, pulling off his boot, no need to roll his socks, exposing a long nasty fresh bite on his ankle.

His heart sunk. Was— was he about to turn? No, no, they had until midnight, reach the Umbra and Janus will cure him before he feels anything.

Remus pushes his boot back on, unable to walk properly, letting Roman support his body with his arm on the path.

“Stay calm. You’re going to be fine, I promise,” it was beginning to turn dark.

Doubt seeped in.

“How much longer?”

“Just a bit, past the building, near the tree.”

Remus starts laughing, “Imagine me turning and ripping into your face, blood everywhere, then both of us wouldn’t make it with Janus’ stupid pendent.”

“Don’t think like that,” Remus was silenced for a moment, giving Roman time to check his wrist for the bracelet. All the rest is bare skin.

He lost it.

“… I don’t have the pendent anymore.”

Remus starts to laugh hysterically, Roman jostles him, “Hey, it doesn’t mean anything. Who cares about the pendent, we need to get you someplace safe.”

He hurries his pace, and Remus goes uncharacteristically quiet.

Numb, unconsciously going from zero to hundred, to hearing every chirp, creak, snap, Roman’s booming echoing voice and his own, to utter nothing. His ankle hot flashes every now and again, aching, throbbing, and in need of rest. Remus should have suggested Roman cut off his ankle in favor of ridding him from turning into.. a werewolf, slowly starting to accept that to be his reality, and how unsafe Roman would be once he does.

He needed to get away from him, away, run, limp as fast as he could.

Remus gently loosens his grip then pulls away from Roman, “Remus! What are you doing?”

He couldn’t let Roman get hurt, or bitten.

Roman holds him in a tight embrace, Remus scratches his face instead, straying away from the path running and half limping, going through a narrow path to lose his trace.

Roman covers his bleeding cheek, regaining his focus and chasing after Remus, weaving through the deep forest, his footsteps getting further away, lost to the wind of the woods. He continued forward. Sighting the large building in the distance, reaching the gate and the entrance to the abandoned boarding school from the map, left slightly ajar, pushing through and closing behind him, an air of death and a bone chilling cold, as if something invisible watched him, the place abandoned for years.

The caved in roof glowed the full moon's light on Remus, curled into himself stomach growling, he is a physical ball collapsed in the room, barely holding himself together. Roman slowly whistles, and kneels, rubbing a comforting circle on his back. Remus looked up to him, his eyes more navelly green and sharp, but he smiled a toothy sharp grin upon seeing him, contracting in pain again, shriveling.

He shushes, calms him down, doesn't let his emotions get to him. They can prevent this from happening.

The door creaks open. He can hear Remus’ breath hitch, the animalistic panic in his eyes, no, he rubs more circles and stares at a surprised and concerned figure, in all black and gray, a broken umbrella in his hands.

He’s going to kill that vampire.

He rushes as fast as he can to not disturb Remus any further, “V, what are you doing here!?”

“I-I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt,” V backed into the loud door cowering, the bracelet held in his hand snatched from him, “You had this?” Roman couldn’t believe it.

“Leave now,” Roman couldn’t stress enough how in much in danger he was there.

“I wanted to-“

Roman grabbed his neck scruff, pulling out his stake, “Go, I mean it or I will make you!” V’s eyes widened, about to protest or argue.

A large crack interrupted the room, turning around, Remus’ hand was covered in fur, nails sharpening into claws, ears pointing and morphing, screaming in agony, Roman couldn’t look away. Roman lets go, stepping closer, V holds his shoulder, preventing him as his clothes ripped and his back arched of brown fur, except for a silver streak.

(Wolf?) Remus growled, he couldn’t recognize him, and he was stalking towards them as if they were a fresh meal.

“Truce?”

“Truce.”

Wolf Remus snarls and bites the air, they dodge out of the way. Roman held the handle of his sword, but he didn’t feel the urge to pull it out, even with a hungry, feral, and vicious wolf lunging at him, he used his fists, barely able to miss Remus from biting him, scratching him instead. He’s too large, it’s too easy to let him overpower. He couldn’t hurt him, but he needed to defend himself, he took out the stake… he couldn’t do it.

V pushed Remus from attacking Roman again, but dazing him for a bit, “Look, I know that’s your twin, but you are going to need to wake up right now or he is going to have to live with the fact that he murdered his own brother!!” V yelled, bringing all of his attention to him, toying with Remus, giving Roman time to readjust his focus.

Virgil jumps out of the way of Remus’ lunge on the opposite side of the room, letting one of the twins think over his options, to which they barely had any left. He had no inkling of what to do, other than distract Remus until morning, his stamina during the night was exponentially better, yet he could tell he was already losing his focus and Roman would be bit, skilled hunter or not.

At that moment, he remembered the numbness and tingling feeling of the bracelet, making him more powerless than he’d remembered in a long time. It seemed him and the hunter had a similar idea.

“V pin him down!!” Roman waved the bracelet in the air, along with gaining the wolf’s attention. Virgil sprints towards the doorway, gripping his abandoned umbrella, jumping on the wolf's back and blinding him with its leftover remnants. He wiggles and snarls trying to throw him off, a hand on his snout, torso, lightly stepping on his leg and balancing himself.

Roman rushed over, pinning the furry pastern, sliding on the jewelry, holding it in place until it took effect. His escaping efforts faded into slow breathing, enough Virgil removed his blindfold and respectfully removed his strong hands and feet from pinning him, almost lulled to peaceful sleep. It took a long time but then he stopped moving into a slumber.

V and Roman shared a deep breath of relief as they waited until morning.

…

During the night, Virgil and Princey were careful to make a makeshift bed for the werewolf, they debated keeping watch, neither were too comfortable with watching the others sleep and letting the other watch over them, collectively deciding to stay up most of the night.

Virgil zipped up his jacket, needing to leave early to avoid the sun and any prolonged interact with the twins bound to end in despair, seeing the Prince succumbed to sleep either way, he tiptoed to the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Prince stared at him, somewhat close to the exit, standing up.

He sighed, “I have to leave before the sun rises, since someone ruined my umbrella,” the hunter blushed in embarrassment, “I apologize for that.”

V couldn’t stop thinking, if he didn’t intrude, he never would have caused such a butterfly effect.

“Look, I feel like a major jerk. Here,” Roman thought he must have been glaring. V rummaged through his pocket, he pulled out a lavender paper colored roll, “What’s this?”

“Wolfsbane bandages, it’ll heal your wounds and his so.. yeah,” V awkwardly walked to open the door.

“V, or, whatever your name is, thank you. Don’t let me catch you,” they shared a smile, the dark of the night beginning to lighten.

“Yeah,” he mumbled.

He probably was going to regret this.

“My name… is Virgil,” he noticed the hunter's eyes widen before softening again, mentally assessing the name and accepting it.

“See you around.. Virgil.”

He gave a military salute, “See you Princey.”

He closed the door behind him.

…

The next day in Umbra

Remus felt completely fine, a sore throat and a headache, along with a few bruises cooled by the bandages the hot and mysterious vampire they’ve been hunting for months, given to Roman while he was out cold, were his only issues.

“You can’t move in your state darling. I know it’s going to be impossible. You’re the best couch potato I know, why don’t you stay for a few days?” Janus tried convincing him to remain hostage in Umbra, surprisingly Roman agreed.

The calm and alluring waves of Umbra smoothened his muscles, the hot chamomile tea mixed with potion infusion Janus brewed eased his ribs, and Roman checked on him every now and then while he laid on bed rest. Roman didn’t talk much about what Remus did as a werewolf, his memory went blank, he barely remembered that he had even gone inside the boarding school without one of Roman’s passing comments. But he knew did remember Roman happy to see him awake.

His eyes blared open, blinking ever so slightly to a ruined ceiling laying on the floor. Remus was running, his ankle throbbed, he found a gate, then…

“Remus?” Remus was running away from Roman, he was about to turn into a werewolf.

He hummed in response, the blankets enfolded with his naked body were ragged but warm.

“How are you feeling?” he tilted his head.

Remus grinned, “I’ve never been better.”

...

[lily-janus]

The Hardest Thing

hey guys! I finally did my first Big Bang yayyy! For now I'll post the first chapter and hopefully post the rest soon after! Ty so much for @bonker-bananas for the amazing art she made for this fic! @tss-storytime

summary link (check it out for all the content and trigger warnings for the entire fic)

Word count: 4,359

Chapter 1 - Don't Worry, Virgil!

It was a day like any other. Nothing special or note-worthy about it. The weather was a bit cloudy but there was no storm, no thunder, just a light breeze and some clouds that dimmed the light of the sun slightly.

Virgil was walking on his usual route to school, the familiar sights doing nothing to ease his nerves. 

He didn't know why he felt so anxious, his eyes kept darting around as if expecting some creature to jump from the bushes or… something. And no matter how much breathing exercises he did, his breath kept hitching and there wasn't enough air in his lungs-

"Virgil?" 

He suddenly feels a hand on his shoulder and jumps a few good feet in the air before he realizes it was only Janus.

Wait… Janus? When did he…

Virgil blinked, looking around, he spotted Janus' house a few feet behind them… he didn't even notice he walked past it, never mind that Janus joined him in their usual meeting spot in front of it…

Janus puts his arms up in surrender. "Sorry, you just seem a bit jumpy today." Janus says gently, Virgil's shoulder slumping after his initial panic.

He grabs his left arm with his right, nails digging into the sleeves of his hoodie trying again to do his breathing exercises. "Yeah… sorry, just one of these days…" he mumbles. "I got this vague feeling that something bad is coming…" he trailed off, it sounds so stupid when he says it out loud…

Janus raised a skeptic eyebrow at that and Virgil wanted to kick himself for saying anything. It's obviously just his stupid anxiety acting up for no reason, he should know better than to listen to it.

But still…

 "I know it sounds stupid but-"

"Oh heavens no! I think you're right! Look, behind you!" Janus points behind Virgil.

Virgil rolled his eyes. Of course Janus would mock him for it, what else did he expect? He should have kept his mouth shut… 

"Very funny Janus-" but he's tackled to the floor before he can finish his sentence.

His entire body immediately tenses up even more than before and he feels his lungs being crushed by the weight above him as he struggles to breathe, clawing and writhing on the floor in a desperate attempt to get away, to run from the unknown threat, to-

"Sneak attack!" Remus shrieks in delight.

He slamps in relief and exhaustion when he realizes it's just Remus and his annoying sneak tackles… really, how many times did he need to explain to him that these are not fun for someone with a high functioning anxiety like him?

Virgil groans, struggling to breathe under his weight. "Remus… we talked about this…" he chokes out.

Remus giggles, crushing Virgil even more as he uses him as leverage to get back on his feet, offering his hand to him once he's up.

Virgil glares at him before ignoring his hand and standing up on his own. "You gotta stop doing this, man, I'm jumpy enough as it is." He folds his arms over his chest, hugging himself tightly. That attack did not help his nerves, if anything it made them tense up more.

"Sorry, V, couldn't help it." Remus grinned apologetically at their anxious friend. "Why are you jumpy anyway? Nothing special is happening, just a boring school day." Remus shrugs.

Virgil rolls his eyes at the question. He stopped counting the amount of times he tried to explain to his friends how his anxiety works, they just never seem to listen. The fact that there's nothing happening nor anything to be worried about doesn't mean he won't worry. 

It just means his brain will come up with things that might happen and make him worry about those, which is honestly worse than having one, clear and specific thing to worry about.

"He says he feels like something's about to happen" Janus snickers.

Virgil flushes, he again regrets voicing his imaginary concerns to Janus. "Hey! I was right a few times before!" He protests, tacking his hands into his hoodie pocket. His anxiety isn't always wrong…

"You were also wrong a lot of the times" Janus points out, because of course he did. "Just breathe, Virgil, you're safe, we're all safe, ok?" Janus says soothingly.

For now…

Virgil thinks then sighs. "I know but-"

"Great! Boring talk over! Now let's get to the good stuff." Remus rubs his hands together in anticipation.

Well… those words coming from Remus' mouth never led to anything good, maybe his anxiety was right today…

"Ah, surely nothing bad will follow this statement." Janus smirks, gesturing for Remus to continue.

"Today's a very special day!" Remus starts excitedly.

Virgil frowns as the three of them started walking again towards school. What's special about today? Was he missing something or is Remus just making stuff up for fun? Wouldn't be the first time..

"Tuesday?" Janus raises an amused eyebrow.

Remus pouts. "No silly! It's my birthday!" He says, complete with jazz hands.

Virgil frowns. "Isn't that in two weeks?" He asked as he looked at the date in his phone to confirm his question. It wasn't any of them's birthdays, what is Remus talking about?

Remus shrugs. "Potato tomato, it's the same thing!"

"It's really not…" Virgil tried to say but was interrupted by Remus' annoyed groan.

"Ugh you two are so boring! Let's just skip school and have a fun time together! You know, to celebrate." Remus looks at his friends hopefully.

Virgol huffed, he's not boring, he's cautious. There's a difference, why would they risk getting in trouble for nothing?

"Celebrate what? It's not your birthday yet darling." Janus pointed out.

Remus shrugs again. "It's someone's for sure! So let's celebrate them!"

Remus is being weirdly insistent about this…

Janus chuckles. "That's not how this works."

Remus pouted. "What are you, birthday police? C'mon, let's get out of this stupid place and have some fun!"

Janus was still chuckling, shaking his head. "Sure why not, not like any of my parents will notice anyway… or care, I'm in." 

Not surprising, Janus' parents were usually either too busy arguing or trying to best the other in everything than to actually pay attention to their son and his behavior. Suffice to say, holidays were a nightmare. And Virgil should know, since Janus made him accompany him for some for moral support, he couldn't blame the guy for needing it.

Remus whooped in triumph and they started walking in the other direction.

Did they even think about waiting for his response? Or did they just assume he'll follow them like a puppy?

Virgil froze in place. "W-wait, skip school? My parents will kill me!"

Unlike Janus' parents, Virgil's parents micromanaged every tiny detail in Virgil's life. They weren't too strict like Remus', but they knew everything about everything concerning him and his actions at any moment… or at least tried to. 

Janus and Remus helped him get away with some things in the past, but it wasn't an easy task. The fact that he's diagnosed with an anxiety disorder makes them even more protective of him than any other protective parent he's seen.

Don't get him wrong, Virgil loves his parents to bits… he just wished they'd give him some room to breathe every once in a while…

Janus rolled his eyes, going back a few steps to look Virgil in the eyes. "No one's going to know, ok? We'll fake sick letters from our parents so the teachers won't tell them, it'll be fine, don't you trust me?"

Of course he does… that's not the point he's trying to make. They didn't think this plan through enough… his parents will surely find out…

Virgil hesitated. "Of course I do, I just… I'm worried-"

"You alway are, Scare Bear! Now let's go! School's for losers!" Remus shouted in delight as he ran forward.

Janus sighed. "And now we have to follow to make sure he's not breaking anything… or anyone." He snickers to himself before running after Remus.

Both of them leaving Virgil no choice but to follow.

Virgil looks back in the direction of the school for a few seconds, before shaking his head and following them. Not like he can face school alone anyway.

"What are we doing at a grocery store again?" Janus asked, faking a yawn to show how bored he was. "I thought this day would turn out to be exciting."

Virgil was standing awkwardly next to them, trying his best to look like he's supposed to be here and not like a guilty student who's skipping school. He wasn't sure he's doing a very good job…

There were a few grown ups browsing the shelves, some of them eying the three of them suspiciously… though it might just be in Virgil's head.

"It will! I just need to find… ah ha! Gotcha!" Remus snatched something off one of the shelves and showed it to his friends.

Janus smirked at the sight but Virgil shook his head violently.

"Graffiti? Seriously? Remus, we could get in serious trouble for this, let's just go to the arcade or something." Virgil insisted, looking around fearfully.

What is he thinking? Does he want to end up in prison?

"Ugh you are sooo boring! C'mon it'll be fun, don't be a buzz-kill! Here, I found a purple spray bottle for you!" Remus shook the bottle in front of Virgil's face.

"Yeah Virgil, come on, we won't get caught if we'll be cautious." Janus piped in, picking a yellow spray bottle from the shelf.

"You don't know that! What if someone sees us? What if a cop walks by? What if-" he, once again, tried to get some sense into his impulsive friend. But he was cut off… again. Why does he even bother?

"Virgil, my guy, relax, we're not planning a murder just some silly writing on walls! We can table murder for later." Remus slang his arm around the back of Virgil's neck, grinning wildly.

Relax? Relax?! How is he supposed to relax when his friends seem determined to break so many rules today? And drag him down with them?

You don't have to go with them, you can go back to school and make up an excuse for being late. They're the ones that want to do this, not you…

"No murder, Remus, ever." Janus sighed then turned to Virgil. "If you don't want to join us, you don't have to, but we want to have fun with you too, it's your choice."

Virgil scoffed, there was no choice, it's not like he can go home when he's supposed to be in school, and he can't show up this late to school either, and wondering the streets alone is out of the question.

"Whatever…" he mumbled, taking the purple spray bottle from Remus.

He sighed as he turned the spray bottle in his hands, why is it so hard for him to make himself be heard?

"That's the spirit! Let's go!"

"If we get caught I'm killing both of you and then myself." Virgil said as they paid for the spray bottles and walked out of the store.

"If you're trying to threaten me you're doing it wrong, that sounds like fun!" Remus laughed.

….

"Hey, you! Stop right there!"

Virgil froze, his hand still up in the air with the spray bottle, in the middle of spraying his drawing on the wall.

He knew it! He fucking knew it! This is it, they're all going to jail, their parents will bail them out but then ground them until they're 30! How did he let himself go with this stupid, pointless, risky plan?

He would have stayed there, frozen, if Remus hadn't grabbed him by the arm and pulled him effortlessly with them as they ran before the cop saw their faces.

They stopped after a few blocks to catch their breath and Virgil wasted no time punching Remus in the arm. "I fucking told you! Idiot, we could have been arrested."

"But we didn't."  

"But we could have."

"But!" Janus jumped in. "We didn't, so let's stop this annoying arguing hm?" 

Virgil sighed. "Can we just go to the Arcade now? You know, like every normal kid does when they skip school?"

Remus grinned. "You got it, V-man! But you bet I'm cheating to get all the tickets and buy the coolest prize!" He giggled.

Virgil shook his head. "It's like you want to get in trouble…" but he followed his two friends anyway.

Janus slowed to walk beside him while Remus walked at the front, smirking as he watched their wild friend.

"So, what do you think he's hiding?"

Virgil frowned. "What?"

Janus raised an eyebrow. "Oh please, don't tell me you didn't notice, he's been acting weird all day."

He hesitated. He did notice something was off about Remus' behavior today. He seemed way more insistent and careless than usual but… hiding something? Remus is always so blatantly honest, what would he feel the need to hide from them?

 "It's Remus… he always acts weird." Virgil pointed out, refusing to admit Remus might be hiding secrets from them, making Janus roll his eyes.

"Different weird, trust me, there's something he's not telling us, something he tries to avoid thinking about. I bet his super strict parents punished him again or something. He always acts out in protest when they do that, what do you think?" Janus explained, seeming to enjoy speculating about their friend's personal life, which wasn't surprising.

He remembered one time, he was being more quiet than usual and Janus was utterly delighted when his endless probing finally broke Virgil and made him confess about his fight with his parents the other day.

Virgil shrugged. "How should I know?" He tried to end this conversation as quickly as possible, he didn't like talking about Remus behind his back… literally.

Janus shook his head. "It's not about knowing, the fun is in speculating, c'mon, just guess something." He urged him.

"Ah… I don't know, secret crush or something?" Virgil tried, hoping that's satisfy Janus.

Janus snickered at that. "Maybe, now that will be an interesting development."

"This is stupid, he's right here, why don't we just ask?" Virgil asked, slightly confused. Janus always does this, making things overly complicated instead of just being direct.

Janus looked at him like he just said the dumbest thing ever. "Where's the fun in that? Besides, he could have told us all day but didn't so obviously if we confront him about it he's just going to deflect and get defensive." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

He's also insanely good at reading people and predicting their reactions, it's honestly scary sometimes.

"How have we been friends since forever and you two still manage to confuse me?" Virgil mumbled.

Janus snickered. "It's part of our charm." He said easily.

Virgil huffed a laugh. "Calm down Charming."

"Hey! Are you two done flirting?" Remus joked, "because it's time to get your game face on! We're here!" He gestured to the Arcade dramatically.

Janus and Virgil rolled their eyes with a smile and followed Remus inside.

The Arcade was as loud and colorful as Virgil remembered, with endless beepings and sounds emitting from the hundreds of games that lined up the place, the colorful lighting moving around and changing constantly.

The three friends looked around with growing excitement, looking at all the games and weighing their options.

"Hey! Janny! Check this out!" Remus suddenly shouted, pointing excitedly at the DDR game at the center of the Arcade. "Bet I can still beat you to the ground at dancing!" He grinned provkingly at Janus.

Remus was all talk, no one ever has been able to beat Janus at dancing, in DDR or not, his graceful way if moving his body was unbeatable.

"Now, Remus, I know what you're trying to do…" Janus started, "but we both know, you have never beaten me in the classic game of Dance Dance Revolution, and you never will." Janus smirked at Remus smugly.

"Oh yeah? Why don't you put your money where your mouth is and show us what you got?" Remus challenged, grinning wildly.

"Hm gladly, just you watch and learn, my parents didn't put me in dance lessons for nothing, see how a true master does it." Janus said, walking towards the game with his chin up.

Virgil and Remus watched him go. "You just love provoking him, don't you?"

"Virgil, buddy," Remus put a hand on his shoulder, "it's my reason for living."

Virgil snorted, "you're awful."

Remus grinned at that. "Why, thank you Vee, I try my best. You have to admit how entertaining he is though." He jerked his head in Janus' direction, already deep in his dancing, eyes glued to the screen and legs gracefully going for the right arrows, clearly smiling.

Remus sighed contently, patting himself on the shoulder. "I know how much he loves dancing, you're such a good friend Remus! Why thank you, Remus!"

Virgil rolled his eyes. "Dork…" he muttered.

"Hey! I heard that!" Remus punched his arm playfully, making Virgil laugh.

They then heard a faint ping coming from Remus' pocket and he fished out his phone to check what it was.

As he read whatever message it was, his expression started to change to… something Virgil never saw on him before, and something he quickly decided he didn't like at all. After a moment's hesitation, he tapped Remus lightly on the shoulder.

Remus jumped as if he got zapped by lightning, quickly locking his phone and turning around sharply to face Virgil, looking at him as if he forgot he was there.

"You okay, Re? Who messaged you?" Virgil asked with a frown of concern, he had never seen him act like it before… maybe Janus was right and he was hiding something…

Remus blinked a few times then grinned his usual grin, though it felt… off. "Eh, nothing important, just some stupid chores my parents asked me to do when I come back from 'school' "

"Um… okay? You just seemed a bit-"

"Know what? Changed my mind, this place is boring! I have a better idea, let's go!" He went to grab Janus and dragged him outside with him, Virgil worriedly trailing behind them.

What aren't you telling us, Remus?

…

"Remus, why are we at your house-"

"Shh" Remus shushed, "no one can know we're here, we're supposed to be in school remember?"

Virgil rolled his eyes, "you said that way louder than me but okay mister Stealth."

Janus snorted quietly at the comment as they continued to walk towards Remus' house.

But when they neared the front door, Remus took a sharp turn, going around the house instead.

Virgil and Janus exchanged worried glances behind Remus' back as they followed him.

"Remus, dear, you know how much I love sneaking around but… what exactly is your plan here?" Janus whispered to him as he stopped in a seemingly random place in their back yard.

"Do you know what my dad's job is?" Remus asked, turning to face his two friends.

Confused, they both shook their heads.

"Yeah neither do I, but I do know how to get inside his secret office, no one is allowed in there but my dad, which is why today we're gonna pick inside." Remus explained excitedly, rubbing his hands in anticipation. 

Every part of Virgil's brain and body screamed at him to not do exactly what Remus just suggested, his mind already came up with at least 30 things that could go wrong and quickly going up to 50 scenerios.

Virgil bit his lip in hesitation, "I don't know Re… maybe it's a secret for a reason, what if there's something dangerous inside?"

"Oh c'mon, it's my boring ol' dad! It's probably just some personal stuff he's ashamed of or something." Remus dismissed Virgil's worries, like always… Seriously, why does he even bother? 

"What do you say, Janny? You're usually not as boring as Emo over here."

Virgil huffed at that as Janus considered this. He then shrugged, "I must admit, I am curious to see what your father's up to, though I doubt it'll be too interesting, or even close to dangerous. Remus' dad is… many things, but exciting is not one of them." 

"Yes! Knew you'll be on board, now." He turned to the wall of the house, considering it for a moment before pressing on random places on it. "Saw him do it so many times." He explained when he was done.

For a moment, nothing happened, then a soft beep of approval was heard and a section of the wall sunk down to the floor, revealing a hidden passage.

"That's… kinda overdoing it for just personal stuff you're ashamed of…" Virgil pointed out as he looked into the passageway. Bad potential scenarios are up to over a hundred now.

Remus groaned, "fine, stay here as a look out or something, me and Jay will check it out, I heard chickens like it outside more." Remus teased, making Janus snicker and Virgil roll his eyes.

"Well sorry for being cautious, geez." He tacked his hands into his hoodie, watching Remus walk inside.

"You really want to stay here? Alone?" Janus raised an eyebrow at him.

Virgil hesitated for a moment, glancing at the passage then out in the street… where anyone can walk by… and think Virgil's weird and suspicious for standing in someone else's yard for so long…

He sighed, he can't believe he's actually letting them convince him to do this… But if there's something he hates more than this dangerous plan… it's being alone.  

"...whatever."

Janus smirked and walked inside, Virgil soon following, the 'door' closing behind the three of them. Making Virgil jump and turn towards the once open door… that's not a good sign…

They all walked in silence, trying to be as quiet as possible, and taking in the strange, secret passage they found.

They soon came into a bright lighted room, full of strange looking devices and various tools scattered around each of them, it almost looked like-

"A lab?!" Remus screeched in bewilderment, "I've had a secret lab in my house this whole time?! I should have snuck down here a lot sooner, damn!"

Janus shook his head, "what happened to 'be quiet, no one can know we're here'? " he asked with a smirk.

Remus just shrugged, "there's a limit to how long I can stay quiet and did you see what we found?!" He grabbed Janus' shoulders, shaking him in excitement, "my dad's a secret scientist! How freaking cool is that!" 

Janus broke away from his grip, "apparently cool enough to forget what personal space means." He huffed, straightening his clothes, "but I admit this is… not what I was expecting, I wonder what your dad is researching."

Remus nodded at that looking over the various devices curiously.

"Holy shit, is this for real? …we should probably not touch any- Remus!" Virgil said in a panic when he saw Remus pick up a strange watch, "put that down! We don't know what it can do-"

A secret lab is like, horrible scenario number 122, complete with them accidentally activating some sort of doomsday device and bringing the end of the world!

"Geez, calm down, will ya? Nothing happened!" Remus huffed, putting the watch down.

"Yet.." Virgil added quietly, "this place gives me the creeps, let's get out of…" he trailed off, tilting his head as he looked at a full body-sized mirror… that didn't seem to reflect the room they were in, "...here." he finished quietly, frowning.

Virgil tilted his head, looking at the strange 'mirror' more closely. Its frame had strange carvings and drawings on it that looked like they're depicting battles. At the top of the mirror there were three small figures and a sentence in a language Virgil has never seen anything like it before…

"Vee? Everything- wow what is that?" Remus came to stand near Virgil, staring at the strange mirror and reaching a hand towards it.

Janus stopped him, "idiot, what do you think you're doing?" He growled at him.

Remus shook his head, seemingly waking up from something, "s-sorry, I just had the weirdest feeling…" he mumbled.

"Okay, this place is crazy, I'm leaving-" he paused, looking around in confusion, "ah… guys? Where's the passageway?"

They all started to look around, but all the walls seemed solid and closed with no openings. Janus and Virgil turned ro Remus, looking at him hopefully.

"Hey! I only saw him get in! I didn't think-"

"Yeah that's the problem! You don't think and somehow you always manage to convince me and… now we're stuck here! We don't have any food and no one knows where we are… I knew I had a bad feeling about today, but you two never listen to me!" Virgil yelled, breath becoming shallower with every word until he was panting.

He's tired of doing things he doesn't really want to do, he's tired of always following his only friends around and feeling as though it's his only choice…

And he's tired of constantly being scared of everything.

"Virgil, you need to breathe-"

"No! I have a right to panic, stop telling me to fucking calm down! News flush, telling someone anxious to calm down is not calming!" Despite that, he tried catching his breath without much luck.

"I'm…" they both turned to Remus at the sound of his unusually weak voice, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

Virgil reached his hand to try and ground himself… and realized a second too late he wasn't leaning on a wall… but the strange mirror. His hand suddenly sunk into it, like it was made of water, and he cried in alarm when it started sucking him in.

Janus and Remus grabbed at his free arm, trying to pull him out, but nothing worked.

Before any of them realized what happened, the three of them disappeared into the mirror, leaving the lab quiet and empty.

[touchtranscendslanguage]

hey there,

i was wondering how you see characters apperences in the story. we know like their eye colours, and like remus has his black hair and sharp teeth, virgil has black and purple hair but is there anything else you can tell us? im loving the story so far, youre honestly a fantastic writer man, be proud of yourself and what you have created

Hi! Okay, so one thing to know about me is that I am NOT a visual thinker. Like, I have a lot of trouble just imagining images in my head. But! I have facts about my character's appearances that I know for sure. Some of them are I have to look through my notes and search my memory for, but they're there.

Luckily I do have Virgil's and Remy's descriptions already completely fleshed out because I was talking to an artist who wanted to draw them.

Virgil has a lot of lean muscle mostly obscured by his clothes. Very angular face, sharp jawline and sharp cheekbones. Pale white like a human who doesn't get enough sun. Virgil's scars aren't usually visible. They're mostly on his torso front and back but there are some on his limbs too. He also has self-harm scars on both arms. His hair is black.

Virgil likes to wear pants that are tight around his legs and purple shirts under his black and grey checkered hoodie. In the faerie hill and the forest he doesn't wear shoes.

Remy is more a classic twink. Skinny, thin limbs, twig legs, some muscle but not a lot. Like, you can't really see it. Face more rounded than Virgil's. Pale ivory white that could not pass as human skin. Remy has a verticle scar on the right side of his chin and two scars on the left side of his neck that run parallel to each other and go from the point when his neck meets his shoulder around and down to his collarbone. He often wears pink-tinted lipgloss. He has fangs. Not super long or anything, but there. His hair is black with tiny silver dots like stars in the night sky.

Remy likes wearing white silk-like shirts with v-necks under his leather jacket. The jacket has zippers. Don't ask me where the zippers are, I just know that they're there. He favors black skinny jeans though sometimes he wears white or grey ones. He also does not wear shoes in faerieland.

Fae anatomy can be very different. The royal's anatomy is more humanoid than most. They're among the most likely to be able to blend in with humans.

A few differences all fae have in common:

pointed ears

very sharp canines. Not fangs, just sharp. Remus is an exception in that all of his teeth are sharp.

long limbs

unnaturally long fingers

exceptionally beautiful. Who's to say whether that's magic or they're actually that beautiful.

They don't wear shoes unless they're on Earth for some reason. The exception is Janus when it's cold out.

I would also like to note that they are all strong but don't normally build muscle unless they are ridiculously strong (such as knights and other warriors). Otherwise, they have the muscles of an average person. Also note that the royal family doesn't have scars. They've had access to exceptionally powerful healing magic their entire lives. Also, the royals are all tan, with the twins being tanner than the rest and Janus being the tannest.

Janus has light brown hair. His faerie eye is yellow and his naga eye is gold. He has six arms and scales covering the left half of his body. His left hand and foot have black claws that look like longer and sharper nails. He has a long neck, fangs, and six arms. The fangs are noticeably longer than regular fae's sharp canines. Forked tongue and he can unhinge his jaw.

Janus wears his canon outfit in public. In the privacy of the royal quarters, he wears soft yellow sweaters and comfortable, loose clothing.

Roman has chestnut brown hair and red eyes. He is fucking strong and has the muscle to prove it. Nails are always breaking during training but he tries to keep them well-manicured. He's very particular about his hair which is styled the same as in the show.

Roman wears his prince outfit most of the time. Casually he wears a lot of crop tops and comfortable but revealing shirts.

Thomas looks like Thomas. Casually he wears roughly the same things but more fae. I haven't thought at all about what he wears formally.

Remus looks like Roman except all of his teeth are sharp, his cheeks are slightly sunken in, his hair is black with a white strip and styled the other way, he has a mustache, and his eyes are neon green. They're fraternal twins that just happen to look very similar. That includes muscle, Remus is a warrior too.

Remus wears his usual outfit formally. Casually he wears crop tops, booty shorts, anything fishnet, and just the weirdest clothes he can find that are still comfortable. Well, his definition of comfortable.

Logan has black hair and blue eyes. He wears formal fae clothing, though I'm not sure what that would look like. He wears his color and black a lot. No tie. I haven't thought much about him.

Patton has curly, blonde, shoulder-length hair and light-blue eyes. I also haven't thought much about him. He wears his normal outfit but his shirt and pants are made of different materials and his shirt isn't a polo, it's a more fae design.

That's all I can think of right now! If anyone has more specific questions about the characters' looks feel free to ask!

[sidespart]

this was meant to be a question and turned into a theory..

genuine question does Logan actually get ignored more than the other sides or is that just his perception??

Like obviously there are points where they talk over him/Roman calls him a nerd but I don't think it's anymore than Logan talks over them /calls Roman/Patton stupid or what have you?? Especially in season 1

And then in season 2....

like i remember the whole 'ducking out' in moving on but that's resolved by the end of the episode (and tbf, he himself admits that his methods were not helping with that particular emotional problem) and he gives Patton the cat hoody, they apologise and explain that intense emotional situations makes it hard to hear him, he gets it, it all ends v maturely.

and then he has like a WHOLE SEASON of wins. He's stage manager in CLBG, he lectures on the different aspects of lying and everyone listens and engages. he's the one who identifies deceit by name AND he's the one who clams Thomas down and helps explain how having deceit as part of his personality doesn't make him a bad person. Thomas explicitly thanks him

then you have WWGOOBITM - him and roman both spend the episode ignoring each other, shouting over each other, explaining their side and eventually praising each other and being referred to as a team. they're both explicitly praised.

CTM - the man gets his jam

Learning new things about ourselves - so in this one he gets angry that the others arnt listening to him, but again he's equally not listening to them and refusing entertain the idea of using puppets to help Thomas learn. Vigil has some line that explicitly points out that Logan gets angry and lashes out when he feels frustrated, Roman admits that Logan is so critical of his ideas it makes it hard to be creative, Logan acknowledges that and explains his own frustrations, they all listen to each other, it ends positively

embarrassing phases - even tho its a Virgil driven episode he's the narrator, he delivers a load of mini lectures about phases, again everyone engages with it. They all remember the Yerks dodson stuff from season 1

SVS: OKAY so now he IS being ignored- but its very deliberately done, by Deceit, who benches the logical reasoning, and further tries to drive a wedge by saying its roman/pattons idea. Its very clearly not done by Thomas or the others.

DWIT - absolute king shit. runs the whole episode. 'You're so COOl' etc

SVS2 - gets yoinked away by deceit and comes back PISSED 'Not that any of you care, but I am unharmed, and I don't want to talk about it. I'm just here to deliver one last fact, then I will do you all a favor and spare you my company.' which seems like such a weird stance after DWIT???? And the rest of them were so worried when he got yoinked. Now you do have the 'skipping' thing but tbh. This didnt feel too different from moving on - the logical reasoning is not helping (when youre stressed enough that the embodiment of your feelings is about to turn into a giant frog, lectures dont help) but logan isn't able to see that. He's just mad.

WTIT - okay so THIS feels more like a Logan whose developed since moving on. He sets up a strict schedule but when Thomas can't stick to it, Loagn's able to acknowledge that his emotional state isnt conductive and offer alternative activities. Remus has to deliberately needle him, for a LONG time, to get him to snap and then Remus is the one feeding him the 'but its not really me you want to scream at' line

AND THEN you get the organe glow and Deceit talking to the camera at the end. and we KNOW he's the one responsible for keeping other sides hidden/revealing them...

like part of me thinks between SVs1/2 and the latest ep, Janus and Remus are deliberately fucking with Logan in order to unleash Orange....

even tho Jan has been accepted and is on Thomas's side, he's demonstrated several times that he's very much an 'ends justifies the means' kind of guy. So if he thought for whatever reason Thomas needed to meet Orange, and that the way to do that was through Logan?? I think he'd do whatever he thought was necessary

[princeanxious]

"Through the Bars of My Cage"(name is still a WIP bc I cannot decide on one for the life of me) aka my first post for Remus-Centric Magic au

[text from the pic above:]

-Magic AU where Remus can see all magic, can even see past glamours and spell affects. Because his own magic is wild and wont be let itself tamed, he's placed in a home for magic users struggling to harness their magic, for the safety of themselves and the general public.

-His magic can manifest in the form of tentacles, especially when excited/overwhelmed

-signs as an easy means to speak when words are too much, and has specific signals for his tics, specifically a 'scream/shout' tic that happens when hes very stressed

-Roman made him a wooden Octopus fidget toy. It's his Favorite toy.

[End of text from image]

Under the cut is the rest of my ramble for this au:

I was going over a few different ideas bc I didn't know where to go with it but

The whole thing is that remus's magic is very chaotic but he suffers from a magical phenomenon that causes ones magic to have difficulty being harness-able the way one uses magic to cast spells, ect. But can still physically manifest and requires an outlet for pent-up magic to release itself to be healthy. So, Remus, like his Brother, has powerful magic within him, but because he specifically suffers from this, it leaves his magic untamed, and often pent up, making his body an erratic and dangerous conduit

But, like i said, there are ways he can work around the phenomenon, it just requires alot more effort on re's end to use his magic

But one of the scenes i was thinking of was of showing off how his magic manifests unconciously, aka through sight.

He has no control over ot, but he can see right through things like Glamours and /know/ that he's seeing through a glamour(bc people dont often walk around with chromatic-like glitter glued to their whole face, usually, yknow?) and see when things are enchanted or when a spell has affected something, or when a curse looms

So, said scene involves a very Glamoured Janus coming to visit him for whatever reason, theyve never met before, but he has a glamour to cover half his face.

Maybe hes a visitor to the home/center that Remus stays in, come to keep people company who have very little, like Remus, ect. And Remus sees right through it

But he knows well enough not to bother saying anything bc this man is very nice and very funny and doesnt treat him rudely

And maybe he lets it slip quietly that the green scales that cover half the mans face are fucking gorgeous, and grins when the man flushes and double checks his glamour, only to get a wink in return from Remus that he's good. "Glamours cant hide much from my eyes, but dont worry, I think theyre[jan's scales] pretty fucking awesome if you ask me"

And maaaaybe Janus keeps coming back for him, to meet him and talk about his progress, because Remus's magic is very fickle and very mean and most of the center-staff just dont know how to deal w/ him and often just resign to letting his magic fester.(not good, but i never said he was in a particularly /good/ place)

(Since his magic is often left to fester, it develops itself on itsown, and thus manifests the tentacles mimicking his favorite toy)

Roman visits him as often as he can?? But he's also having to work to support himself and his brother obvi

But thats kinda all ive got thats actually solidified

One of the thoughts i had was that janus could be a prince

And maybe he'd have his advisor Logan with him during these meetings, and they realize that, one: wow this kid(Remus is like. 17. Roman is also such but Roman's got a secured place to stay) is powerful in a very unique way, and two: this kid and his brother are in a very bad living situation. Like. This isnt fair to eother of them. Remus is v obviously the patient thwt gets neglected the Most bc hes been deemed 'unfixable' but Janus and Logan, and especially Roman, see right through that lie. So they offer to transfer Remus to the castle instead, where Logan can work 1v1 with Remus to actually harness his magic. He will probably never be able to fully control it, like most magic users can, but thats bc Remus's magic is rare enough that its powerful enough to nearly be its own self. His magic does what it wants, thank you. It simply just doednt have hold of the trigger. Remus does. So the best hes really gonna get is learning to work with his magic and go with the flow they make together, rather than forcing either side to take control. As soon as Remus grasps that method of practice, he makes a fuckton of progress in just. Unleashing all that pent up magic.

"My magic wants to manifest like 18 tentacles!"

"Well, could you?"

"Mmm dunno? Most I've ever gotten to was 6 before.. Well, before I was told to put them back, anyway!"

"..I see. Well. Go on, then. Let's shoot for.. 10?"

"Wait, seriously?"

"Obviously. Necktie.

If you can, and you can deduce that it, 1: wont cause harm, 2: wont break valuables, and 3: will bug you more if you don't do it and thus feel worse when you hold it in, then I do not see a problem with opening the metaphorical 'floodgates'. You and your brother share the magic core of creativity. Your core is starved. Let it out, let it play, and in turn, you will begin to thrive and feel more okay."

Manifesting 8 purple rubber ducks! Toads appearing on stools, castle paintings occasionally swirling to life, puppies that can sing, 4-6-10-15 tentacles! Manifested! all! the time! Gils for swimming in the lake! A streak of hair grown white, flipping from walking upright to on the ceiling! It's.. Really chaotic, but mostly just temporary. He's put in a more secluded part of the castle to start off, bc they really cant tell his cores intent yet, but it seems to match Remus quite well the moment hes given the greenlight to match it.

It's just. Enthusiastic curiosity! It's random and fleeing and while it took an hour or two to really gain momentem, by the end of the sixth hour, Remus all but crashes tiredly into his brothers waiting arms, and the rest of them all watch as most of the chaos melts away, back to the way itd been, as if practically untouched by magic as he drifts to sleep from sheer exhaustion.

He doesn't really reach morbid and creepy for a bit while theyre still young but by the time he does, he has built enough balance with his core that that shit doesnt manifest on reflex

Aaaand that's about all ive got so far???

[edupunkn00b]

What Mr. Flores Heard

Prev - Pintroverts Week Day 3: Free Choice - [ AO3 ]

Rated G - one mild swear word, teensy innuendo - WC: 1367 ---

"Oh my goodness!!!" Patton's squeal was at least two octaves higher than his usual voice. "Look at those pretty flowers!"

Roman leaned over Patton to peer through the back window of Nico’s car. "Oh, great Persephone's Posies! Those flowers are potted perfection!"

"Hey, Nico—" Thomas began.

Nico flicked the turn signal and checked his mirror and his blindspot—”He signaled to turn in a parking lot, Meus, did you see?"—and then pulled into a spot.

"I see them, Thomas. Those carnations would look lovely out on your patio." Nico set the parking brake, then moved the gear shift into park.

Logan tugged at Janus' sleeve, pointing and smiling like he’d found a fresh jar of Crofters. "Our Nico's a very safe driver, yes.” Janus’ human side flushed slightly as he watched Nico’s careful movements. “I am impressed."

Everyone piled out of the car and stood around Nico's bright red CR-V. "Do you have your keys? Don't forget to lock it! Car prowlers count on dumb drivers who think this is such a safe neighborhood and leave their cars unprotected. Or someone could sneak in and hide in the back seat, waiting for you and—”

chirp-chirp

Virgil's spiral was interrupted by the sound of Nico's car alarm engaging. Nico smiled at Thomas and held out his arm. "Ready?"

Roman and Patton ran straight for the rows and rows of red and yellow and pink blossoms. Roman stood in the center of the display and sighed, closing his eyes and tilting his head to the heavens. “It’s like being in a peaceful meadow, surrounded by nature’s beauty. And then—” He opened his eyes and looked out toward Nico as he approached the flower flats. “And then your very own Prince Charming arrives.”

Giggling, Patton walked a few steps ahead of Thomas and Nico as they explored the display, pointing to flowers in lemon yellow, a bright fuchsia, and a deep, deep red that even rivaled Roman’s sash. The large U-boat cart Nico pushed was soon filled.

“Shall we head inside?” Nico laughed.

Blushing, Thomas nodded. “We might need to find another one of those carts, huh?”

“Garden tools, Thomas.” Logan muttered. “Your current tools are in a terrible state of disrepair.”

“And you are in desperate need of proper gardening gloves,” Janus added, examining his own yellow-clad fingers. “You can’t keep using your old batter’s gloves from the college softball team.”

Nico and Thomas stopped in front of several wooden pallets laden with twenty-pound bags of potting soil. “Do you ever wonder if organic soil tastes better than traditional?” Remus asked, poking at a bag with a sharp nail.

Logan tilted his head, examining the labels on two different products. “There is likely more of a chemical aftertaste to the traditional soils whereas the organic likely tastes more like a mixture of manure and fish carcasses.”

“You coulda just said it tastes like shit, Lo.”

“Language, Kiddo!”

“Whatever you say, Cap!”

“Ohhhhh!” Patton suddenly gasped, jaw falling open and pointing with both hands to a row of carved pots dotted with stones in every shade of the rainbow. “Look, look, look! Janus, look at the yellow and black planter… that would look great in your room! You could put your succulents in it and—” Patton interrupted himself to dance in front of a large circular pot encrusted in bright red faceted faux gemstones. “Roman! Look at this one, Roman! Roman, look!”

“Oh, what about one of those?” Thomas nudged Nico toward the planters.

“Hm, those are beautiful.” Nico tilted his head and reached in his pocket for a small measuring tape as Thomas grinned.

“Is—is that a metric measuring tape?” Logan asked breathlessly.

“Prepared for anything, as usual!" Thomas laughed.

“It’s what makes me so lovable!” joked Nico, bending over to measure the true depth of the planters.

Patton sighed, resting his chin in his hand as he leaned on the side of the cart. “Oh, does it ever!”

Thomas crouched down next to him, taking one end of the tape to capture the width of the long planter.

“Remus, he’s using the metric side!” Logan grabbed Remus’ arm with both hands, watching Nico measure the planter with wide eyes. “He’s using the metric side!”

Thomas and Patton said together, “Well I guess that explains why I love you so much!”

Nico dropped the tape with a clatter and it skid and wobbled its way across the floor. “I’m sorry, what?”

Thomas froze. “I….”

“Don’t say a word, just zip it right now, Sanders! Stop talking now!” Virgil growled in his Tempest voice.

“Uh…” Thomas stuttered.

Remus shook Thomas’ shoulders, “Go ahead… if he drops the back seat in the CR-V, you’ll have”—he nudged Logan—”Hey, Sexy Nerd, how much cargo space is in the back of a 2017 CR-V?”

“With the seats down,” Logan furrowed his brow, calculating. “I would estimate approximately 1.85 meters long or 2.14 cubic meters in volume.”

“I uh,”

“Oh, Remus,” Roman scoffed. “Must you debase true love this way? Thomas’ love is worth more than a quickie in a parking lot.” He rolled his eyes at his brother. “This is about true love…”

“I think, um…”

Remus pulled off his tongue and waggled it at Roman before quickly growing a new one. “You’re so limited, Ro Bro! You can have both!” He sidled up to Thomas, bumping his shoulder, “C’mon Thommykins,” Remus waggled his eyebrows at Thomas. “There’s plenty of room….”

“What?” Thomas finished at last, staring at Nico with saucer-sized eyes.

Nico focused his attention on Thomas and attempted to tune out the cacophony of voices that had exploded around them. “You just said—”

Janus and Thomas blurted out together, each frantically shaking their heads. “I know what I said. I mean, I didn’t say that. What? No. I didn’t say anything. I mean—”

Nico sat back on his heels and smiled at Thomas. “I’d say the shovels are on aisle 10 but I think you’re digging that hole for yourself just fine without one.”

Thomas opened his mouth to protest. “I….”

“I would dig a thousand holes with a thousand shovels if it meant spending one more second on this earth staring into the breathtaking beauty of your eyes.” Roman dropped to one knee, one hand on his heart and the other reached toward Nico. “Your eyes are the rich color of melted chocolate, or the warm, soft, glow of polished wood, or the buttery soft cover of an antique drawing journal, or a perfect Pantone 732…”

“Would you believe I’m already blind drunk and don’t know what I’m saying?”

Pointedly checking his watch, Nico shook his head. “Blind drunk at 11:15 in the morning?”

Janus shrugged.

Nico plucked a red carnation from one of the flats of annuals they’d picked up from the display outside the Garden Center. He smiled and leaned in to tuck the flower behind Thomas’ ear, then cupped his face with both hands and pressed a soft kiss against his lips.

“That’s what I would have done if you’d said you loved me.” He pulled back, staring into the stunned actor's eyes. “Are you sure that isn’t what you meant to say?”

“W—well, maybe—” Thomas’ voice cracked and he cleared his throat before nodding. “Yeah. Yeah that would've been….”

“Awww… so sweet!”

“Ooo… So hot!”

“Royally romantic…”

“Fantastic!”

“Terrifying.”

“Incredible. I mean, actually incredible. I know he’s some sort of a writer, but I know a lie when I hear one and—”

“Nice,” Thomas whispered.

“Well, Mr. Sanders?”

“Oh, y—you want me to—to say it?”

Nico smiled softly, brushing his fingers over the flush spreading across Thomas’ face. "Only if it's true," he whispered.

Cheeks as bright as the flower in his hair, he took a deep breath and held Nico’s hand close to his chest. “Nico,” he bowed his head slightly, “Mr. Flores… .”

“We love you,” the Sides whispered.

“I love you,” Thomas said.

“‘Dude, shut up, that is awesomesauce!’” Nico bit his lips, fighting a grin. He started to stand, finally exploding in laughter when Thomas pulled him back down into his arms and they both fell over.

“I knew it!” Janus shouted, tears pricking his eyes. He turned and stormed off. He hadn’t gotten far when Patton grabbed him by the shoulders and marched him back to re-join the group.

“Really? Fifteen and a half times wasn’t enough for you to get that reference, Jannie?”

Wrapping his arms around Nico’s shoulders, Thomas’ laugh broke through his feigned stern expression. “Excuse me?”

Nico kissed him again, a bubble of shared laughter tickling their lips. “Of course I love you, too, Tommy.

“All of you.”

---

@pintrovertsweek2021

[theimprobabledreamersworld]

I just about managed to get this little story written for Loceit Week! :D I enjoyed writing it, and I can't wait to write more for the rest of the week! This is for the prompt 'Hobbies' and it's a pre-romantic/confessed feelings for the pairing :)

Anyways, it was a little rushed, but I hope you enjoy it! <3

@loceitweek2021

Writing taglist: @psychedelicships @jwillowwolf @red-imeanblue @lost-in-thought-20 @the-duke-of-nuts @writerwithtoomanyships

Read on Ao3!

Crossword Confessions

Logan Sanders and Janus Sanders

Janus loved peace and quiet. His favourite hobby was to read his classic novels, but if he wanted to explore every page and embrace every word, he could only read in the company of one person. He had to constantly explain the story to Patton who would try to read over his shoulder, then he would always have to practically run away from Remus because he would try to either draw pretty… rude drawings on the pages; or rip the pages out completely. Thankfully, Roman and Virgil didn’t care enough about classic novels to bother him so at least there was that bonus.

Logan was quite literally his savior; his hobby was another silent type. Janus always smiled when he saw Logan coming to join him with the newspaper in hand. Logan was the smartest man Janus knew, and their debates over literature and philosophy was enough to make his heart pound and his head spin. So the fact that he was invested in crossword puzzles wasn’t a surprise to Janus. The sound of the pen scratching on the paper was surprisingly comforting, and Janus always knew when Logan was stuck on a clue. He laughed every time because when Janus asked if he could help, Logan would stubbornly insist that he could work it out on his own… before shuffling closer to him and placing the newspaper delicately on top of his book, silently asking for his help. The thing that Janus loved the most though was that Logan wouldn’t move away after they had worked through a clue together. In fact, they ended up sitting even closer together and Logan would take to leaning on Janus’ shoulder long after the crossword was finished. Janus happily rested his head on top of Logan’s and slowly moved the book so it was in the middle of them, and he could feel Logan’s eyes steadily reading the pages with him.

He tried to lie to himself, he didn’t have feelings for Logan… no. Absolutely not, what a ludicrous idea! He laughed to himself as he ironically got to the heartfelt confession scene in the book. So, Logan makes him smile, he makes him laugh, he makes him think more in depth about literature and philosophy, and he’s the one person who always makes time for Janus no matter how busy he is. Never mind the fact that he is the most talented, smartest and stunning guy he has ever met. So yes, no feelings at all.

Janus sighed and slammed the book on the coffee table… great. Now he couldn’t focus on his book, Logan had taken over his mind. To top it off, Logan had just walked into the room looking to see if Janus was there. He was holding his newspaper and smiled as he saw that Janus was sitting at the table with his book, he walked over and Janus’ heart skipped a beat. He couldn’t help but smile when he sat down much closer than usual.

“Well, well, well. Is there something I can help you with?” He smirked as he saw Logan smile and look down, staring at the crossword intently.

“… Yes, you can. I hate to admit it, but I can’t solve this clue… I’ve been trying for half an hour, and it’s starting to annoy me.” He had a neutral facial expression, but the tone of his voice showed a playful side with a hint of nerves that Janus couldn’t help but smile at.

“Aww you’re asking me for help? This must be an incredibly hard clue if you’re immediately asking me to assist you…” He gasped in fake surprise and shuffled even closer to Logan, he leaned over the newspaper and scanned through it trying to find the clue. Surprisingly, it was the only one left unanswered.

“Urmm, Logan? Not for nothing, but it’s only four letters… You’re practically the smartest person I know, apart from me of course… You really need my help with a four-letter answer? Are you feeling okay?” He chuckled lightly as Logan looked perplexed and titled his head to the side.

“I’m perfectly fine, but it’s an important clue that I need you to solve for me… Please?” He smiled brightly, the nerves in his voice from earlier were gone, replaced with a confidence that Janus added to his mental list of things he liked about Logan. He finally stopped gazing into Logan’s eyes and finally looked at the clue again.

‘Affection that counts for nothing at court…’

He wracked his brain trying to work out the answer, and it didn’t take long for it to manifest. He held out his hand and Logan immediately placed the pen in his palm. He felt the spark as Logan let their fingertips linger for much longer than usual. Janus missed the contact when their fingertips finally separated. He clicked the pen and slowly filled in the gaps with the letters ‘L, O, V, E’ then looked up at Logan with surprise but also hope.

“Janus, ever since we started sitting together with our separate hobbies. I knew I felt a connection between us. When I took that first step and starting the conversation about your books, which went on for hours… I couldn’t deny that I started to develop stronger feelings for you. I spend so much time making excuses to find you reading so I can join you. Being in your company makes me feel safe, calm and happy. I know that it’s not love that I feel yet, but I can’t deny how much I like you. I hope in time though, it could turn into love… That is… if you feel the same way.” Logan smiled as he placed his hand gently on top of Janus’ as he spoke in such a delicate way, as if he was talking to a piece of glass. His heart pounded a million miles a minute and he did look around quickly to make sure there was no-one around waiting to jump out declaring this some elaborate prank or something. When he was certain it was just the two of them, and only them, he knew he needed to give Logan an answer.

“You have no idea how much I was hoping that we would end up feeling the same way. I like everything about you, Logan. I enjoy talking with you and helping you solve the crossword puzzles. This. This is my favourite thing, just being here with you, sitting here and just being together. I agree with you. My feelings for you are undeniably strong, but it isn’t love yet. If we give it enough time though, I would really like it to become that.” He smiled as Logan’s shoulders relaxed at the sound of their feelings being mutual. He wrapped Janus up in a warm hug and they held each other for what felt like a lifetime.

They decided that they would go out for coffee the next day; and call that their first official date. Logan joked about bringing some crossword puzzles with him, but Janus decided that would be a great idea, and the perfect excuse to sit close to each other for the whole date.

This was not how Janus thought his day would go, but he was sure of one thing now. Thanks to Logan; crossword puzzles were his new favourite hobby.

[teacupfulofstarshine]

fly high!!

summary: logan has carried the nickname of "ice king" with him since middle school. he has never successfully meshed with a team before. his opponents think him incapable of growth.

his opponents are wrong, and their mistakes carry a heavy price.

(OR: a haikyuu!! au; one game featuring logan the genius setter and his team)

a/n: rewatched haikyuu!! got inspired. here's 3.5k! HUGE huge thank you to josie ( @flamingfawkes ) for beta reading! title comes from haikyuu!! s2 opening 2

CW: trash-talking, insults, minor injury/blood mention, references to past mistakes, making assumptions based on past actions, swearing, nonspecific v-mit mention

wordcount: ~3.5k

read it on ao3!!!

“Hey, isn’t that the crazy setter from that middle school tournament last year?”

“Yeah, they called him the Ice King!”

“Whoa, what a cool nickname!”

“Not so cool if you’re on the court with him. I hear his teammates kicked him out of his last game because he’s incapable of being a team player.”

“No wonder he ended up at that garbage school - I bet none of the good schools would take him!”

“How stupid does that team have to -”

“Hey!” Remus barks loudly, jerking his chin up and leering at the suddenly-terrified players. “You got somethin’ to say about my teammate, you absolute rat bastard -”

“Remus!” Thomas grabs the libero by his collar and picks him up like a drowned cat. “I apologize for my teammate. He gets a bit . . . overzealous at times. Remus, apologize.”

“Go to hell!” Remus says cheerfully, twisting around to try and lick Thomas’s arm. Thomas drops him in disgust, but Remus lands like a cat and rolls to his feet, bouncing away with a cackle.

“What was that all about?” Roman asks. Remus takes his bag back and slings it over his shoulder, looking up at his twin. “I thought we talked about causing trouble at tournaments - they’re going to kick you out, and we don’t have a backup libero anymore.”

“People were being assholes about Logan. You think I can just let that slide?” Remus bares his teeth, and Roman levels a glare at the opposing players.

“Oh, well in that case,” he mutters, pushing up his sleeves. Before either of them can respond, Logan reaches out and grips their shoulders.

“Please do not get into fights on my account.”

“Well, it’s not like you’re not going to get in them on your own account, are you?” Remus says. “You can pretend you don’t have feelings all you want, Logan, I know the shit they say bothers you.” Logan flinches, just barely, and Remus reaches up to pat at his shoulder. “You’re not alone anymore, Logan. You don’t have to fight these battles on your own. We’re not going to let them shit-talk you and get away with it.”

“I might not be as willing to fistfight people for your honor as my deviant brother over here, but I know for a fact that the whole team shares his sentiments. You’re not the person you were in that middle school tournament.” Roman places his hand over Logan’s, and Logan offers him a small smile.

“Are we fighting people?” Janus asks. “Remus, darling, you know we’re not supposed to do that in uniform. What if you get blood on it? I know you didn’t pack a spare, and I won’t have time to launder it before our game. Besides, you know better than to make threats where there are witnesses with recording equipment present.”

Remus slips out of Logan’s grip and bounces off towards the court, chattering idly to Janus and waving his hands around. Thomas turns back to them, setting a hand on Logan’s shoulder.

“You okay?"

“I am adequate.”

“Not what he asked you,” Roman says, shoulder-checking Logan as they keep walking.

“I know what people say about me. I am aware of the toll my past behaviors took on my working relationships with my team. I am . . . working to be better than I was, but I am not sure I have made much progress.”

“You’re already loads better than you were,” Roman says. “You’ve got a great eye for tosses, and you’re learning to talk to the rest of us. We’re getting there. We are.”

Logan blinks, looking back and forth. “Where’s Virgil?”

“Probably in the bathroom, trying not to throw up.” Logan looks alarmed, which is to say that his eyes widen slightly. “Don’t worry, he usually doesn’t. He just has nerves that get the better of him, so he takes some alone time in the bathroom to calm himself down.”

Virgil rejoins them at the doors of the gymnasium, looking pale and faintly green. “You okay?” Thomas asks. Virgil nods, winding a stray lock of hair around his finger. “It’s gonna be alright. You’ve been working on that pinch serve for how long now?”

“Months, but it could still go wrong, it -”

“It won’t. You’re called a pinch server for a reason, Virgil. We bring you in when we’re in a pinch.”

“Which puts even more pressure on me to not mess up!”

“You will be fine,” Logan says. He turns around, peering at Virgil through his sports glasses. “I have faith in you. You are more than your serves - you are also an excellent blocker with swift reflexes. You are a multi-purpose tool, and I will utilize you to the best of my ability.”

Virgil stares at him, mouth slightly open, and Logan blinks, leaning back, eyebrows creasing. “Was - that an insensitive remark? I meant no disrespect.”

Virgil blinks at him, once, and then laughs, gently socking Logan in the arm. “Maybe other people would have found it insensitive, but I found it comforting. Thanks, Lo.” Logan crinkles his eyes and curves the corner of his mouth up, gently bonking his forehead against Virgil’s shoulder.

*~*~*~*~*

“I’m sorry!” Roman sprints across the court and pulls Janus to his feet. “I hit you in the face, are you alright?”

“I’ll never recover,” Janus says, rubbing his face. “Am I bleeding?”

“Not that I can see.”

“Still have all my teeth?”

“Yep.”

“Then I’ll be fine.”

“You really gotta get better at receives, Jan!” Remus laughs.

“And why would I do that when I have my darling libero looking out for me?” Remus grins, pleased, and Janus ruffles his hair fondly.

“Can you please not be gross with my brother right the fuck in front of me?”

Janus raises a single eyebrow at him before leaning down and very deliberately sliding his tongue into Remus’s mouth. “What the fuck, I officially retract my apology for hitting you in the face, I’m done, I’m leaving, goodbye -”

“That’s an . . . unusual warmup strategy,” the opposing captain tells Thomas.

“They’re unusual players,” Thomas says.

*~*~*~*~*

“Thomas, nice serve!”

Thomas spins the ball between his hands, takes a deep breath, tosses it in the air, slams it forward. “Damn it - straight to their libero!”

“It’s a quick from the left! Janus, that’s you -”

“On it!”

“Nice one-touch - pick it up!”

“Remus -”

“Got it!”

Logan turns, runs, leaps up into position, scans over the team. Where are the blockers - where are the spikers - what’s the position - who can he use - what can he do -

“Logan, to the ace!”

“Number two, number two!”

Roman jumps on the left, Janus on the right, and coming from the back row - the pipe, he can do it, where is Thomas, he’s running from the back, he’s in the air, twist lift and set -

Thomas slams it straight past the opposing blockers and hits cleanly. The referee blows her whistle, and the score changes. One point in their favor.

“Logan, I wanted a toss!” Roman complains. Logan squints at him - is he really upset? No, his eyes are crinkled like when he laughs at Remus’s stupid jokes, and he shows Logan a thumbs-up.

“You can have the next one,” Logan says.

“Telegraphing your next move so loudly? I guess the Ice King has lost his touch,” Number Eight calls. Remus begins snarling from the back row, but Logan turns a cool stare at his opponent.

“I have more than one weapon in my arsenal.”

Number Eight scoffs, but Logan just turns away. “Thomas,” he says. Thomas looks at him, and Logan lifts his hands, signing quickly. Setter-back-row. Aim-receive-9. Thomas nods, taking the volleyball again.

Remy touches Emile’s shoulder gently. When he turns to look, Remy nods at Logan and Thomas. “What is he saying?”

Emile turns more fully towards him. “Their setter is in the back row. He’s not allowed to move to the front row until after the serve, so there’s a moment of confusion where he has to run in front of someone. If you aim a serve correctly, there’s a delay, which can mess up even the strongest receiver.”

Sure enough, the setter darts in front of Number Nine, and the receive goes flying out of bounds.

“He really is something else, isn’t he?” Remy asks.

“Logan? Yeah, he’s got great analytical skills, and they’re fast to boot. His problem is communication, but this team . . . it’s not gonna let him get away with being silent for long.”

Thomas serves again, and they receive it more cleanly. The set goes up, the spike goes down, and Remus dives to catch it. “Nice receive!” Logan moves into position, his hands go up, Roman gets into position and jumps, the blockers move in front of him, and Logan shifts at the last second and dumps the ball right in front of the net.

Number Eight glares at him again. Logan stares back impassively. “Was that supposed to impress me, Ice King?"

“Was that supposed to intimidate me . . .” Is Logan supposed to insult him back? How would Remus insult him? He will never understand the art of trash talking someone. “For someone playing a team sport, you seem to be incredibly self-centered right now.”

Number Eight scoffs at him and turns away; Logan just blinks.

“Was he trying to insult me?” he asks Roman.

“Probably,” Roman says.

“Oh. Was I supposed to insult him back?”

Roman grins at him, sharp and bloodthirsty. “Let your tosses insult that pesky motherfucker. Don’t be afraid to rely on me to help you, hmm?”

Logan nods. “As you wish.”

Remus has to dive for the next receive, and it comes off-kilter. “Sorry!”

Nothing to apologize for, Logan thinks. You got the ball in the air. That’s all I need. 

Roman slams the ball past two blockers without even trying.

*~*~*~*~*

They take the first set narrowly, 25-20. Their opponents attack with a vengeance in the second set, and it isn’t long before the player-swap whistle blows and Virgil steps up to serve.

Logan hands him the ball; their fingers overlap. Virgil looks at him, and Logan looks back, crinkling his eyes. “You can do this,” he says, voice low. “They underestimate you the way they underestimate me. I can see it in their eyes. Show them why that is a mistake.”

Virgil blinks at him, taking the ball. “You got it, Lo.”

“What’s he gonna do?” Number Eight laughs. Logan returns to his front line position next to Janus.

“You know, you really run your mouth quite a bit for someone who has yet to show me anything truly impressive,” Janus drawls. Number Eight looks like he wants to flip him off, but before he can, Virgil serves.

“It’s out!”

Number Eight smirks, chin up, but Logan doesn’t look at him. He keeps watching the ball as it travels, travels, wavers, wobbles, and drops to the court, just within the line.

The opposing team turns to stare in shock as the whistle blows.

“Nice serve!” Remus and Roman yell, sprinting over to slap their hands against Virgil’s in victory.

“I knew all that practice was gonna pay off!”

“You’re amazing!”

“Guys, it’s just one point,” Virgil says, rubbing the back of his neck. His face has a pleased flush.

“It’s one more point than we had!” Remus says. “One point is the beginning - it’s all we need! Now go out and get us one more!”

Virgil serves, again and again, and racks up three more points before the opposing team figures out what to do with his jump float serve.

*~*~*~*~*

Not all blocks are equal, Janus thinks. The goal is not always to shut the ball down. Sometimes, a wall is not possible. 

Janus is not a tall middle blocker; he isn’t nearly as short as Remus is, but he’s only average height. He cannot shut down the opposing spikers the way that someone else might. He hears what people say when they see him take position.

How can he possibly be a middle blocker with that height?

Aim for the middle, he’s too short to make any difference!

Even if he jumps, he can’t stop you!

They are all fools.

Janus does not need to stop a ball to block effectively.

He jumps, and Number Six smirks at him, aiming right for him. Janus can see Remus moving behind him from the corner of his eye, and he smirks right back at Number Six.

I don’t have to stop your spike to shut you down. 

He shifts his fingers, and the ball bounces off of them. “A soft block?!” Number Six shouts. Janus hears the ball make contact with Remus’s forearms, and he’s running when he lands. By the time Logan’s hands are in the air, Janus is all the way at the other side of the net, and he swings his hand as though he’s going to slam the ball down. Number Six jumps in front of him, snarling, and Janus shifts to the tips of his fingers again and feints.

The ball drops to the court just behind Number Six, the referee’s whistle blows, and Janus lands. “Was the toss alright?” Logan asks, jogging over. “Do you need me to make any adjustments for you?” Janus notices the way his eyes widen, as though he’s afraid he’ll get yelled at, and he smiles. It’s genuine; despite the popular misconception, he is capable of those.

“It was wonderful,” he says. “Nice toss, Logan.”

Logan smiles up at him. “Nice feint!”

“Damn it!” Number Six shouts. Janus turns to him and smiles with all his teeth, no mirth behind it.

You underestimate me at your own peril.

*~*~*~*~*

Their opponents call a time-out, and Logan grabs his water bottle. Remus slaps him on the back before he has a chance to take a sip. “Logan!”

Logan turns, startled, and Remus grins up at him. “You’re on the back row when we go in, right?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t run forward.”

“What?”

“Don’t move forward to set. Focus on getting the cleanest possible receive you can, okay? Just get it into the air.”

“If I receive, I cannot set,” Logan says. “I do not understand.”

Remus drops his grin, showing Logan his ‘I’m-being-serious’ hand sign. “I know you’re a genius setter, but trust me, Logan. My brother and I have a trick or two up our sleeves. It’ll be okay.”

Logan blinks at him. “I am unsure of this plan.” Remus just keeps watching him. “However . . . I trust you. I trust my team. If you say that you can handle it, then you can.” Remus grins at him, holding up his hands for a high ten. Logan tucks his bottle between his legs and high-tens him back.

Before they step back onto the court, Remus grabs Roman’s wrist. “Wh -”

“I told Logan to focus on receiving this next spike.” Roman turns to look at him.

“What the hell - why would you do that?”

“He’s all the way in the back row! And it must be tiring, setting all those balls one after another. Don’t you think it’s Wonder Twin time?” Roman’s expression changes from angry to joyous in an instant.

“You know what? You’re absolutely right.”

The serve comes in, and Logan shifts into a receiving stance. Remus and Roman make eye contact across the court, and Roman’s eyes flick to the left. Remus nods. Logan receives the ball cleanly. “Nice receive!”

“Their setter received it!” Number Two yells. “They’re limited!”

Not on my watch, motherfucker, Remus grins. He sprints forward, touches down right in front of the attack line, jumps, twists, and lifts his hands. Roman heads for the left, all three blockers surge up to meet him, and then he pivots and sprints to the center. Remus tosses, Roman jumps, and the ball slams down onto the opponent’s court.

Remus, who isn’t used to being in the air, lands on his ass, but he rolls to his feet quickly. “Take that, you son of a -”

“Remus!” Thomas snaps. Roman sprints back and gives him a high ten, grinning, and Logan looks at him.

“You can set?”

“I’m better at receiving, and I’m not really tall enough to play any position other than libero. But that doesn’t mean you’ve seen my whole bag of tricks! I can set in a pinch, as long as I jump from behind that attack line, but I really only practice setting for Roman, so I don’t do it for anyone else.”

Logan blinks, and then his face breaks out into a wide, unrestrained grin, one hand flapping rapidly at his side. “You’re so cool!” he bursts. “That’s amazing, that’s so so cool!”

Remus grins, flushing under the praise. “I know! I am amazing, aren’t I? Marvel at my power!”

“Don’t compliment him like you mean it, Logan, he’s gonna get a big head!” Roman scolds. Remus sticks his tongue out, and Logan laughs.

*~*~*~*~*

Logan lifts his hands to the back of his head, like he’s covering it against the serve. He shifts his fingers to signal: synchronized attack.

The serve goes up, clean receive, which means the most likely course is -

“Center attack!” Logan shouts. Number Three scoffs as his center straight comes down right against Remus’s waiting hands.

“It’s all yours, Logan!”

All four of them move in unison - Virgil, Janus, Roman, Thomas, all running forward in unison. Logan shifts, watches the confusion of the blockers, lifts his hands. The toss that will work the best, the toss that can score a point, the spiker who will carry the momentum of this match is -

“Watch out, it’s number 13!”

Virgil slams a cut shot across three blockers and scores without breaking a sweat. “Unlucky,” he smirks, fistbumping Janus.

*~*~*~*~*

The second set comes to a deuce, and they call a time out. “We need to gain a two-point lead to take this match, but don’t get so caught up in the idea of the next point that you miss the one in front of you. Keep your focus in the moment, not the future. Understand?”

“Yes!”

Logan tosses the ball into the air, jumps, and serves. As the other team receives, he grabs Roman’s shirt. “Roman, instead of a wall, try an umbrella!”

“What?”

Roman’s eyes widen in recognition as they jump to block the spike, deflecting it towards the back. “Remus!” Thomas shouts.

“I got it - it’s up!”

“Roman!” Logan shouts, turning to set.

“Thanks for the heads-up, Ice King!” Number Eight laughs. All three blockers converge on Roman, who jumps and bounces the ball off the block.

“What?!”

“A rebound?!”

“Remus, pick it up!” Roman shouts.

“I got it!”

“Come on, let’s go!”

Roman and Janus jump at the net, but Logan is already setting for the pipe. Thomas jumps from the back, slams the ball past the block, and scores.

“Nice kill!”

“You couldn’t use lingo that’s a little more clear next time?” Roman complains

“Why would I need to? You understood what I meant, didn’t you?”

Roman ruffles his hair, and Logan swats at his arm. “Hey, that hurts, don’t do that!” Roman just laughs and keeps going.

*~*~*~*~*

The rally has been going for almost two minutes now, the ball constantly in the air, and the exhaustion is setting in. They have the lead by one point, and they only need one more to take the match. “Come on, come on!”

“They’re gonna use the ace! Cover Number Three!”

Roman jumps, Logan’s hands go up, the blockers move to cover Roman, and Logan dumps the ball. Number Ten dives for it, but it drops to the ground right in front of him.

They take their second set, and the match, 26-24.

*~*~*~*~*

Patton tucks his manager notebook into his bag and starts handing out water bottles. “You were all amazing! Logan, I think that’s the most you’ve communicated in a match, and it really showed!”

Logan takes the water bottle, nodding. “It took me a while to learn how to communicate most effectively with my teammates. I was trying to carry the entire weight of the team on my shoulders as the setter. But I . . . am not the only one on my team thinking. I can give options, and trust that they will utilize those options effectively.”

“That’s right!” Remus crows, slapping his back. “We have brains too, Logan!”

“The rest of us, maybe. You? Debatable,” Virgil says. Remus immediately tackles him to the court.

“Are you trying to injure me?” Virgil shrieks. Roman rolls his eyes and sighs.

“I do not know how you put up with him on a regular basis, I truly do not,” Logan sighs.

“It’s a miracle I haven’t suffocated him in his sleep, it really is.”

*~*~*~*~*

The bus ride home is quiet. “I’m sorry,” Logan says.

Virgil passes him an earbud. “What do you mean?”

“I did not toss to you nearly as much as I have in previous and practice games when you were on the court.”

“No need to apologize for that, man. I wasn’t in as much as normal, and you utilized the rest of the team to the best of your ability. And we won, didn’t we? I’m not offended, I’m not gonna break up with you over it.”

Logan smiles, and Virgil tilts his head to press a gentle kiss to his cheek. “Take your post-tournament nap, Popsicle. We gotta build up our strength for tomorrow.”

Logan puts the earbud in, leans his head against Virgil’s shoulder; Virgil leans against him in turn, and they’re asleep before the bus crests the next hill.

[ask-fantasy-sanders-sides]

hey mango! how would you say the boys fit into the five man band trope? not just in their current group, but in the two trios they were beforehand. i'm really curious, and I have a hard time figuring out what patton is in either combination

Well, that is an interesting question, with some interesting answers >:)

First, let's make sure we're working on the same definitions:

Leader — Center of the team! Rallies the other characters around them without too much difficulty, tends to take charge of the team and give orders, often also makes the plans. Usually the defacto protagonist, but not always; they can also play a mostly support role, complimenting the rest of the team by finding ways for them to bounce off of each other.

Lancer — A foil for the leader, and usually their second hand! They contrast the leader, and typically have a complicated and/or deep relationship with them, since they must have opposing characterization. They must challenge the Leader, but don’t have to be antagonistic. Often, they are allowed to be more evil/morally dubious than the Leader, since they function as a contrast. Just as often, the Leader and Lancer can switch roles back and forth depending on the situation!

Heart — The emotional glue of the team! Responsible for keeping everyone else grounded and bound together. Compassionate towards their teammates and aware of their needs and feelings, but not always nice. An advisor to the Leader, and the most common second hand, if it’s not already the Lancer.

The Big Guy — Tough, loyal, reliable, and notably impressive in a specific martial/combat skill (usually strength). Don't have to be physically "big," just more individually powerful/capable than the rest of their teammates (though the Leader can be an exception here). Usually a tank or one man army, and sometimes a point man, but not always. Usually a foil for The Smart One, though they can be the same character.

The Smart One — Notably the most intelligent member of the team! This intelligence can be specialized or general, but it is a defining part of their team role. They give exposition, make plans, and usually are better at predicting the enemy's plans. Usually a foil for The Big Guy.

The Sixth Ranger — A semi-wildcard who usually joins the party later than others. They are not as tightly knit into the team as everyone else, and are usually Lone Wolf types, or were previous to joining the band. They function as a powerhouse ally, who can step in as an additional Big Guy or second Lancer. More morally dubious than the rest of the team (even more so than the Lancer), and generally one of the most capable individual fighters, which also makes them prone to the Worf Effect and/or late game betrayals.

Tag-Along Kid — The small child that somehow joins the party and is dragged into their shit! Can function as a primary or secondary Heart, Smart One, or Big Guy if they are competent, but they can also be dead weight and/or a potential repeat captive of the villain’s.

Ok, so now that we’ve got that down, lets start from the beginning! (Only doing groups of 3 or more people, no duo dynamic analysis here)

      When Remus and Virgil semi-forcefully adopt Janus into their group, Remus acts as their Leader (used to playing the role for Virgil and Roman), Virgil as their Big Guy, and Janus fell in as Remus’s Lancer. Remus tended to do whatever he felt like in the moment, impulsively start fights, and let Virgil engage on the surface as if he was still working under Underdark rules, while Janus liked to plan his every move, rely heavily on diplomacy, and tried to reel Virgil back. This combination was clearly not the best for them, and made them a very ineffective team.

      Janus leaves the team for a while to handle some personal mission. When he returns, Janus demands to be recognized as the team’s new Leader. The other two have no complaints, and quickly fall in place behind him; Remus becomes the team’s Heart, and Virgil becomes Janus’s Lancer while still being The Big Guy. In opposition to Janus’s scheming (often, at first, making plans without telling anyone what they are), patience, and total lack of battle prowess, Virgil is in no way a talker. Instead, he’s fiercely protective, brash, violent, and incredibly capable in battle. Virgil and Janus switched Leader/Lancer positions whenever they ventured into the Underdark, and Virgil slowly but steadily taught Remus to be an incredibly skilled warrior, allowing him to be a second Big Guy. With Remus to keep their emotions in check, Virgil’s dedication to honing the skill of their team, and Janus’s emphasis on leaning the party towards patience and diplomacy, the three quickly grew to trust each other absolutely.

      Markedly, they do not have a Smart One. To the shock of absolutely nobody.

      Then, Logan and Patton meet Roman! Logan is instantly recognized as their trio’s Leader and Smart One, at least by onlookers, with Roman as his primary Lancer, and Patton as a secondary Lancer / their Heart. Logan is somewhat challenged by Patton’s distaste for professional diplomacy, Patton’s higher emotional intelligence, and Patton’s refusal to be open with his feelings (Logan is much more of an open book and Patton frustrates him), but he’s much more challenged by Roman’s refusal to ever use his brain when he could instead go apeshit and play Protagonist. Logan is well aware that he functions best as a team player and supportive coordinator, but Roman likes to think himself a Lone Wolf Hero, and refuses to defer to Logan when he thinks his own plan is better. Which is all the time. Patton tends to listen to Logan’s instructions out of respect, but also isn’t afraid to defect from Logan’s careful plans when he sees fit. 

      Unlike J/R/V, they do not have a foundation of trust: Logan doesn’t trust Roman or Patton to listen to him (because they don’t) or to keep themselves safe without him hovering over them. Patton doesn’t trust Logan and Roman to have his back when he needs them (because they haven’t), or to not claw each other’s faces off while he’s not looking. Roman is afraid that Logan and Patton don’t really respect him (because they don’t), and doesn’t trust Patton and Logan to work well with him anyway, so he would rather they just sit back and let him do his thing. They stick together because they are best friends, and Patton and Roman are certain Logan will get himself killed without their protection, but they don’t actually function as a cohesive team.

      Notably, they do not have a Big Guy. But, then they are joined by Virgil, their Sixth Ranger! Virgil refuses to be absorbed into their team at first, keeping himself at a distance, but still does his best to protect them with his superior battle prowess. Eventually (largely due to the Whisper’s and Patton’s meddling) he starts to feel more comfortable engaging them as actual teammates, and he is starting, very slowly, to lean into a new role as their Big Guy. Then Aninsliee joins the group, and, of course, she is their Tag-Along Kid!

      Then, finally, Remus and Janus join the party! But, this causes some problems...

      Remus joins as the team’s Big Guy, but Janus is still determined to be the Leader. Remus seconds this, and still acts as if Janus is his leader, refusing to respect Logan. Virgil is still functioning mostly as a Sixth Ranger, but the more comfortable he grows with the return of Remus and Janus, Virgil will fall into his old role as their Big Guy, also deferring to Janus over Logan. 

      Patton refuses to engage with Janus and Remus quite the same as he does with Logan, Roman, and Virgil, so Patton is quickly being edged out as the team’s Heart, being replaced by Roman, who has fully embraced Virgil & Annie, and also trusts Janus and Remus (though Remus is on a very fine line with him). Patton is now a sort of tertiary Big Guy.

      Janus is Logan’s new primary Lancer, as someone who both contrasts his characterization in almost every way and explicitly challenges him all the time, on purpose, for fun. Logan is still the defacto Leader & Smart One, though Janus is pretty transparently attempting a party coup under his nose...

~

So, TL;DR 

Remus, Janus, and Virgil pre-breakup:

Janus — Leader

Remus — Heart, Big Guy

Virgil — Big Guy, Lancer

(No Smart One)

Logan, Patton, and Roman pre-Virgil:

Logan — Leader, Smart One

Patton — Heart, Lancer

Roman — Lancer

(No Big Guy)

Present Time:

Logan — Smart One, Leader

Patton — Big Guy?, Heart?

Roman — Heart, Lancer?

Virgil — Sixth Ranger

Janus — Lancer, Leader?

Remus — Big Guy

Ainsliee — Tag-Along Child

[asoftervirge]

Say No To This

RATING: M

PAIRINGS: V. Sanders/J. Sanders (main); Re. Sanders./V. Sanders (platonic); E. Picani/V. Sanders (therapist-client relationship); other Virgil-centric relationships (mentioned)

CHAPTER WARNINGS/KINKS: Neopronouns galore, trans!Janus, enby!Virgil, genderqueer!Remus, Smoking (mainly cigarettes with mentions of weed), Exes wih Benefits relationship, Kissing/Making Out, implied Smut, mentions of Alcohol, Sensory Overload and Panic Attacks, Relationship status go brrr, Remus being Remus-- but its also a protective friend, Swearing, Open/Ambiguous Ending

SUMMARY: Virgil and Janus have been broken up for over a year now; it was amicable and they remained on friendly terms afterwards. However....neither one of them can stop seeing each other, which is why they’ve been having an Exes-With-Benefits sort of relationship....even if Virgil is planning on meeting others for potential dates, and he’s in therapy with Emile. Remus messages vem to make a decision about whether or not ve should get back together with Janus or not.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Hello everyone! It’s been a while since I wrote something...last Halloween to be exact. It’s been a long and difficult year for all of us, and I wasn’t really sure if I would ever write anything again...but here I am! This is my piece for the @sandersidesbigbang, and I just want to thank all the mods for letting me participate in this, it was truly an experience. <3 I haven’t written a one-shot like this in a very long time, it isn’t my longest one (that belongs to a fic for a different fandom), but I still hope you all enjoy it nonetheless. Artwork for this fic was created by @bisexualoftheblade, thank you very much for putting up with me and my shitty-ass mental health these past couple months. XD And remember, this fic has some pretty heavy themes in it, so please heed the tags at the top of this and on AO3! Thank you very much and I hope you all enjoy! xx Virge

AO3 || Buy Me A Ko-Fi!

Virgil stood by vir apartment window as the rain drizzled against vir building, seemingly tapping in a rhythmic beat of the music ve was listening to through vir headphones. As ve drifted along in another universe as ve placed a cigarette between his lips. The smell of mint wafted through vir nose as ve lit the butt, the flick of the lighter coincidentally matching the sound of thunder rolling in the distance.

Ve blew a long stream of smoke against the glass as ve fiddled with vir phone currently resting in vir pocket. Grey eyes staying focused on the various sights of the city in front of vem; whether it be the passing cars speeding by, the building lights switching between off and on, or the people sprinting along the sidewalk. Eventually, ve pulled out vir phone, turning it on as ve read the time on vir lock screen. Almost 8 o’clock at night. No one had called or texted vem about anything, which is good because ve was having a personal moment, not really in the mood to talk to anybody presently. Vir index finger scrolled and tapped aimlessly as ve inhaled a breath from vir cigarette; that is until ve found vemself staring intensely at vir contacts.

The nickname “Snakey” gazing back at vem, little snake and yellow heart emoji and all.

All noises ceased to exist as ve debated whether or not to send a message to vem. Truth be told, ve had been contemplating that idea for most of the evening, but it finally came to head. Ve thought a lot about vem, more so than usual lately; there was a lot that went into this particular relationship. Maybe it wasn’t as complex on their end as it was for Virgil, but this was mainly for the harbored feelings in regards to them, some ve had been dealing with for about six months or so.

READ THE REST ON AO3

[tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors]

This whole thing came from the single thought of “Wait, can I think of a single fic where Roman is actually a prince?” which was followed with “What if Roman was the Faerie Prince in LAOFT?” The thought wouldn’t leave me be until I wrote it down, and I figured, hey, since I wrote it down, might as well share it. (I think everyone here is sympathetic, because that’s how we roll.)

Now, without further ado, I give you… LAOFT role swap au headcanons!

In which Roman and Remus were Lords of the Forest until a mortal witch came between them. Roman, who had always views the humans as nothing more than, say, characters in a story (small and rather unimpressive), learns one, to never piss off a teenager with a sharp tongue, and two, the meaning of ~friendship~ when a somewhat cocky witch strolls into their forest. Remus, who rarely showed interest in humans aside from the occasional “game,” becomes worried that this witch is going to take his brother from him (be that by the witch betraying Roman, or by Roman choosing his human sister over his faerie brother), and acts accordingly, which, for Remus, probably means a murder attempt or four. Furious that his brother attempted to harm his friend, Roman retaliates. Unlike in LAOFT, where Dee uses trickery to incapacitate Virgil, Remus goes for more of a blunt-force route (see: their first canonical interaction, where Remus hits Roman over the head with a morningstar). Roman is put in the casket though one method or another. Remus probably viewed the whole thing as a prank or sorts, where Roman would be out of the picture until the witch was long gone, and problem solved. Greta, however, may not have gotten that memo, and goes ahead with the deal to awaken Roman. This, to Remus, is where the prank evolves into a game. 

We pick up a century-or-so later to meet Patton and his “twin,” Thomas (I’m just switching around the six sides, and leaving everyone else where they were, for the most part). Pat is just the sweetest soul ever, but most are too leery to come anywhere near him.

Exception number one is Virgil, the boy who was blessed by a fairy to have a charming voice. However, something happened (insert angst), and poor V accidentally weaponized his gift (see: tempest tongue), resulting in lots of anxiety and being generally quiet out of fear of hurting someone (instead of using qualifiers to avoid telling people to do things, like LAOFT Pat does, Virgil just doesn’t really say anything at all). Upon learning that Patton is immune to his curse, the two became inseparable.

Exception number two is (one of my favorite concepts in Sanders Sides fics ever: Feral Logan) Logan, the witch’s great-great grandson, who lives with his grandmother and probably already knows all about witchery and will not hesitate to hex someone who acts rudely to his two best friends seven ways from Sunday. Logan stumbled upon Roman when he was younger and decided that awakening the sleeping prince would be a perfect test of his magic. Logan views magic as another type of science, and loves to test all sorts of hypotheses, which is… stressful for any and all other parties involved. 

Remus, meanwhile, is doing a wonderful dance of denial. Does his miss his brother? Pshhh, absolutely not! That’s crazy! He’s having a grand old time ruling the first by himself, if you can call what he’s doing “ruling.” Remus doesn’t really put much effort into controlling the fair folk, so they do steal the occasional human from the woods, but he doesn’t actively encourage messing with the humans. (We still have the same dragon-witch-monster-ghost, who is desperately looking for Roman.) Remus might even be a little afraid of the mortals, though he’d never admit it. This may be one of the reasons whatever faerie who gave Virgil his gift wouldn’t be allowed to see him— why give the humans more power then they already have? 

Janus I’m not really sure about, but I am gonna pretty much ignore LAOFT’s Dee because I want sympathetic!Janus (that reads kinda rudely, sorry, I do really love how you wrote him, but I’m in a sympathetic!Janus sort of mood)— maybe he’s one of Remus’s knights. Maybe he’s Virgil’s fairy godfather. Who knows? He’s Janus, he can do what he wants. 

Plot wise, I’m not sure how much would change. I don’t think Logan would make a deal resulting in the Day/Night split— maybe Virgil would? If we go with that, we’ve got V running about with the faeries at night (that explains the eyeshadow, haha)(though that would open up some questions and plot holes about his gift/curse/blessing/whatever), and him letting Roman out (maybe this follows the magic sword thing from The Darkest Part of the Forest as opposed to your spider-shawl)(which, personally, I think is so much cooler). Roman then goes to Logan, and the two of them collect Patton and Virgil, who’d just come back from the revel? I’m not sure how it’d end, but probably with Roman and Remus getting along, Greta going to rest, true love saves the day, etc. etc. 

Anyway, hope you enjoyed reading my mess of a “What if.” I really, thoroughly, truly loved reading LOAFT, and I get excited every time I get an email to tell me there’s been an update. Thanks for making such a cool series!

(Also, it’s worth mentioning that I’d never heard of The Darkest Part of the Forest before reading LAOFT. I borrowed it from my local library to read, and I don’t think you’ll ever understand how disappointed I was when there were not any witches, haha.)

---

V: this is so interesting, i love it sm!!!!!

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

Snap Part 3

Read on Ao3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 4

Warnings: roman angst and everything that goes with it. self-esteem issues, self-hatred, insecurity. sympathetic everyone

Pairings: roceit, platonic DLAMPR

Word Count: 4446

Most things in life are flexible to some degree. You can push and pull and bend them in certain ways and, to some extent, they will comply with you. There are some things that you can bend and bend and bend. Creativity is one of these things. Creativity, imagination, dreams...they can be shaped and changed into whatever you want.

Bend...and bend...and bend...until they snap.

They’re in the living room. Everyone is doing…something. Remus isn’t paying a whole lot of attention to anything but rewrapping his grip on his morning star and the gentle press of Roman’s leg against his. Every now and then, Roman will reach over and lay his hand on Remus’s knee. Remus always reaches out to cover it.

 “Come on, Princey!”

 That gets Remus’s attention. He looks up to see Roman shaking his head, Patton staring at him with pleading eyes.

 “Just one?”

 “No thank you,” Roman says softly, “I...I’d rather not do it today.”

 “What isn’t happening today?” Logan closes his book.

 “Princey doesn’t want to do the brainstorm,” Virgil huffs crossing his arms.

 Logan frowns. “It has to be done soon,” he insists, “otherwise it will put Thomas behind schedule.”

 “We’re in the middle of a pandemic, Logan,” Roman mumbles, “it’s not like this is a normal thing.”

 “It is important to look after ourselves first,” Janus agrees with a quick glance at Roman, “especially now more than ever.”

 Virgil squints at him. “Why’re you suddenly so on board?”

 “It couldn’t be because I’m trying to maintain Thomas’s mental health.”

 Patton tilts his head. “I think Virgil’s right...is there another reason you don’t want to do this, Roman?”

 Roman glances at Janus and sighs. “Yes. I don’t want to.”

 “..is,” Logan says hesitantly, “is that it?”

 “Yes.”

 “Well, forgive me—“ Remus growls low in his throat— “but that sounds a little...selfish.”

 Remus growls again. These fucking idiots.

 “Yeah, kiddo,” Patton says, giving Roman a small smile, “it does.”

 “Didn’t we just establish that wasn’t inherently bad?” Roman buries his face in his hands and for a moment, Remus readies himself to chase the others out. Then Roman sits up.

 “I...I can’t do it. Not yet.”

 Virgil frowns. “What do you mean, ‘not yet?’”

 Roman gives Remus’s hand a quick squeeze. Then he stands up. “Not yet.”

 Remus can’t help the surge of pride that shoots through him as Roman sinks out.

 Virgil glances around. “Does anyone have any idea what the fuck just happened?”

 “I…” Patton hugs himself. “I don’t know.”

 “Perhaps something happened,” Logan says, “and Roman is upset by it.”

 “Why the fuck wouldn’t he just say that, then?” Virgil shakes his head. “I shouldn’t be surprised that Princey’s being dramatic, but…”

 “He’d been doing so well,” Patton agrees, “I don’t know what happened.”

 Remus glares at Janus, daring him to say something. Janus just shifts in his chair. Fucking snake.

 “Remus?” What does Logan want with him? “Are you prepared to have the brainstorm session?”

 Are you fucking serious? “Shouldn’t we wait until Roman’s ready?”

 “Who knows how long that’ll be,” Virgil mutters.

 “We can at least get started,” Logan reasons, “and it’s not as if we’ve failed to perform with—“

 Remus raises an eyebrow when Logan cuts himself off. “No, no, please, finish your sentence.”

 “…one Creativity,” Logan mumbles, “my apologies, Remus.”

 Remus sits back, forcing himself to put down his morning star. “Why was it so easy for you to apologize to me?”

 Logan frowns. “Because I made an offensive comment. That warrants an apology.”

 “Mm.”

 Logan falters. God, these guys can be so slow.

 “Not yet,” he prompts, “why would Roman say that?”

 Remus looks around, sees a load of empty faces. “No? No takers? Come on, let’s give you some prompting.”

 It takes barely a flick of his hand to create suspenseful countdown music, gleeful fury rising as the other sides begin to panic, shifting around like they should say something but having absolutely no idea what. Remus pouts.

 “Aww, you’re outta time!”

 “Remus,” Logan huffs, “if you know, why don’t you just tell us?”

 “Because I shouldn’t fucking have to!”

 Remus growls, glaring at one Side after another. “I shouldn’t have to tell you why Roman’s upset. I shouldn’t have to tell you why he didn’t want to tell you. I shouldn’t have to because you should’ve paid attention.”

 “R-Remus?” Patton twists his hands together. “C-can you tell us anyway?”

 Patton shrinks under the glare that Remus gives him, Virgil stepping in front of him. “Fine. Just because nothing will get better unless I do.”

 “…thanks.”

 “What is Roman,” Remus asks, planting his hands on his hips, “what is he?”

 “C-creativity?”

 “What else?”

 Virgil frowns. “Thomas’s hopes and dreams?”

 “What else?”

 “Passion,” Logan tries, “romance?”

 Remus huffs, turning to stare at Janus. Janus hasn’t moved, his hands balled up in his lap, his head bowed.

 “The ego,” Janus mumbles, “Roman is the ego.”

 “Correct!”

 “Roman’s what?” Patton glances between Remus and Janus.

 “Makes sense,” Virgil mutters, only for Remus’s head to spin exorcist-style around to glare at him.

 “And why, Plain White V,” Remus says sweetly, “would that ‘make sense?’”

 Virgil shuffles.

 “Could it be because Roman is dramatic? Could it be that you see him as self-obsessed? Or maybe—“ Remus fake-gasps, covering his mouth— “it’s because an ego is a bad thing?”

 “Stop it,” Virgil mutters, “stop it, Remus.”

 “An ego isn’t a bad thing,” Logan says quickly, “it is a sense of self, especially when contrasted to another self or world. In psychology, the ego typically refers to your own image and opinions of yourself as the active mediator of trying to accomplish the wishes of your unconscious mind within the boundaries of the real world.”

 Logan freezes. “…oh.”

 “Yes,” Remus mutters, “oh.”

 “R-Roman needs a structure,” Logan says weakly, closing his eyes, “a—a role that he can play to do his job. He…he is shaped directly by what others think of him.”

 “Now you’re getting it.” Remus claps when Virgil goes even paler behind his foundation.

 “Thomas’s sense of self,” he mumbles, “R-Roman’s sense of self…”

 Remus stands victoriously in the middle of the room, watching the horror and realization dawn on their faces.

 “Roman doesn’t know who he is anymore,” Remus growls, “because everything he’s ever had has been ripped away from him. And it’s not like he has the strength to do anything about it.”

 “I truly hesitate to ask this,” Logan mumbles, “but…why not?”

 Remus looks at Janus and raises an eyebrow.

 “The ego is kept healthy by positive affirmations and care,” Janus says, still refusing to make eye contact.

 “And you’ve done such a fantastic job of that, haven’t you?” Remus tries not to delight in the way Janus flinches.

 “B-but—“ Oh. Patton’s crying. “—we love him.”

 Remus laughs. He throws his head back and lets the cackles ring around the room, not caring that they get so loud it doubles back and makes him want to split his own skull open.

 “Do you? Do you really?” Remus spreads his arms wide, gesturing at the Roman-less living room. “Do you even know the extent of what you’ve done to him?”

 He points an accusing finger at Patton. “You forced him into a role he never asked for, one that he’s long since forgotten how to stop playing. You scold him for daring to express an opinion different to yours and guilt-trip him into compliance.”

 He turns to Logan. “You tear him apart every chance you get. You think it’s hard not being listened to? You think it’s hard being silenced? Then you should know how it feels when someone dismisses you without hearing you out. Let alone telling them they don’t deserve to feel that way.”

 Virgil cowers when Remus looks at him. “Do you have any idea how many times you’ve insulted Roman? Any idea? At all? No? Here’s a better question. Do you know how many times Roman’s sniped back and he’s the only one who has to apologize? Don’t worry, it’s not like you’re the only one who doesn’t fucking apologize.”

 “And you.”

 Janus winces.

 “Look at me.”

 Aw, that’s cute. Janus is crying too. Too bad.

 Remus doesn’t bother to hide his contempt. “What is your job?”

 Janus mumbles something.

 “Louder.”

 “To protect the ego.”

 “And what,” Remus asks in a soft, dangerous voice, “have you been doing instead?”

 “I apologized,” Janus tries weakly.

 “What for?”

 “For calling Roman the evil twin. For comparing him to you.”

 Remus scoffs. “No wonder he said ‘not yet.’”

 The snake flinches.

 “You apologized—“ Remus takes a step forward— “for the last straw. And you let everything else get swept under the carpet. You set him up to take the fall no matter what happened in that courtroom—don’t pretend you didn’t, you put the gavel in his hand—you spent the whole time buttering him up, you made fun of his name first, and you strung him along like your favorite little puppet.”

 Remus bends down, forcing Janus to look right at him.

 “You knew exactly what you were doing,” he whispers, “and you didn’t care.”

 He turns to look at Patton again. “You love him? Maybe you do, maybe you don’t. Whether or not you do, you still did this to him.”

 Remus takes a deep breath.

 “There is one reason you are all not currently splattered across the walls,” he says in a perfectly calm voice, “and that is because Roman does not want you hurt. That is the only reason I am being very calm right now.”

 “…what do we do,” Patton whispers, tears still running down his face, “what do we do?”

 “Here’s a thought,” Remus growls, “why don’t you think about what you make Roman do?”

 “Listen,” Logan says quietly, adjusting his glasses.

 Virgil fiddles with the strings of his hoodie. “…apologize.”

 Patton shuffles and hugs himself. “Do better.”

 They all turn to look at Janus.

 Janus clenches his fists in his lap as he looks up, hot guilty tears standing on his cheeks. “Care.”

 “Good.” Remus takes one look at the rest of them. “Mess this up, and I won’t give you another chance.”

 He sinks out.

 Janus buries his face in his hands. He can hear the others muttering worriedly to each other, can hear Patton sniffling and Virgil zipping and unzipping his hoodie. There’s a horrible black pit in his stomach that won’t go away, the guilt simmering patiently at the back of his throat.

  Pathetic.

  Worthless.

  You’ll never be accepted now, you can’t ever have them, look what you’ve done.

 The words pile up, burning his ears, the guilt filling his head so much that it takes a moment for him to realize how bitter his mouth tastes. Then realizes he’s hearing another voice say those words too.

 The others startle a little when he stands up, jaw set.

 Remus was right. He knew exactly what he was doing because he knows Roman. For better or for worse, he knows him. And he’s been abusing that for as long as he can remember.

 Time to change that.

  By the time someone knocks on Roman’s door, Roman’s already worked himself in and out of at least three different freak-outs, trying his best to keep them as low as possible so he doesn’t accidentally summon Virgil.

 The knock comes.

 “Come in,” he says instantly, only to wince a moment later.

 “…second chance?”

  Janus.

 Roman falters. He doesn’t really want anyone in his room right now, he’s…he’s not ready to do the brainstorm session, but he craves the gentle affection Janus has been showing him recently. Especially after this morning.

 “…come in, please.”

 His door swings open, revealing Janus, fiddling with something in his hands. Roman stands up, wobbling slightly.

 “Don’t get up,” Janus says softly, shutting the door, “I’ll come to you.”

 Roman sits, watching Janus walk to stand in front of him, tucking the thing he’d been fiddling with into some mysterious pocket. Then he carefully reaches out, hand hovering in front of his head.

 “May I?”

 Roman nods only to positively melt the next second when Janus cards his hand through Roman’s hair, fingers scratching across his scalp. Distantly, he hears Janus chuckle, another hand joining the first.

 He must be losing it, or at least significantly more off his game than he normally is, because he thinks he hears Janus murmuring to him.

 “Aren’t you lovely,” he thinks he hears, “that’s it…relax, sweetie, let me hold your head.”

 Well…maybe?

 Roman warily lets his head droop, leaning further into the touch, only to have a second pair of hands cup his head. He takes a shuddering breath, letting the warm touches wash over him. It feels so warm.

 “J-Janus?”

 “Yes, sweetie?”

 “Can you…a l-little to the left?”

 “Here?”

 “Hhhh.”

 Janus chuckles, focusing on the spot just below the crown of Roman’s head. “Does that feel good, sweetie?”

 Roman hums, easily getting lost in the gentle touches, the soft voice.

 W-wait.

 “…stop.”

 The hands freeze. “What?”

  “Stop.”

 The hands are gone. Roman takes a deep breath, trying to fight off the wave of stopdon’tnocomeback that rushes through his chest before looking up at Janus. The worried look on his face is almost enough to get Roman to cave.

 Almost.

 “What are you doing?”

 Janus frowns. “I’m trying to look after you.”

 “Why?”

 The frown deepens and Janus reaches out for him again, stopping when Roman draws back. “Because I want to.”

 “What do you want?”

 “To take care of you, Roman, like I just…” Janus’s eyes widen. “…oh, honey, do you think I’m only taking care of you so you’ll do what I want?”

 Roman looks away. “You know the answer to that.”

 He closes his eyes, expecting Janus to scoff, to turn away, or to just tell him what it is that he actually wants. He hears the soft sounds of rustling fabric, then—

 “I’m sorry.”

  What?

 Roman stares, eyes wide. Janus finishes tucking his gloves into his pocket and nervously adjusts his hat. The scales on his hand glimmer in the faint light of Roman’s room.

 “…what?”

 “I’m sorry,” Janus repeats, “for everything. F-for using you. For manipulating you. For letting you think everything was your fault. And for not doing my job.”

 “Y-your what?”

 Janus reaches for him again, pleading, and Roman lets him gently cup his cheek. His scales are smooth, cold, and he shudders.

 “My job,” Janus repeats in a hoarse whisper, “is to protect you. To take care of you. And I have been failing miserably.”

 Is…is Janus’s hand…trembling?

 “I used your insecurities to manipulate you,” comes the whisper, “to…to isolate you and make you easier to control. I let the others constantly undermine you, convince you that you had no idea what was right and what was wrong, made you reliant on them.”

 Roman’s heart clenches at how horrified of himself Janus sounds, how the hand on his cheek touches him like he’s something precious, like Janus is afraid he’ll ruin him if he touches him wrong.

 “I have hurt you.” Janus’s thumb strokes lightly across his skin. “And I have never, ever, apologized for it. So I’m doing that now.”

 Janus presses his hand there for a moment longer, then pulls his hand away. Roman can’t stop the wounded noise that escapes his throat at the loss of contact, nor can Janus help flinching at the noise.

 Three long seconds pass, each wanting the other to reach out, do something, say something.

 “I…I am not asking you to forgive me,” Janus manages, “not now. Not right away. N-not ever, if you don’t want.”

  No…no—

 “But I am willing to do what it takes to earn it,” he finishes, clasping his hands in front of him and bowing his head, “both your forgiveness and your trust.”

 “…th..that’s what you want?”

 Janus peers up at him. “…yes, Roman. That’s all I want.”

 “…s-so…”

 Janus sighs. “If you wanted to, you could throw me out of your room right now. You could yell at me, scream at me, call me every awful name you can think of. I wouldn’t stop you.”

 “…do you want me to?”

 “It’s not like I don’t deserve it.”

 Roman frowns. “Second chance?”

 Janus’s head jerks up, his eyes wide. “W-what?”

 “Second chance?”

 “I—I…” Janus sighs again. “…I would prefer it if you didn’t. But this isn’t about what I want, Roman.”

 Roman swallows, still overwhelmed by Janus’s apology. It’s…it’s so much more than he ever expected to get. And yet…even hearing Janus say all the awful things he’s done, it doesn’t change the fact that Janus is the only one apart from Remus that makes Roman feel like it’s okay to want something.

 “I…” Janus looks at him intently. “I want…”

 “Say it,” Janus whispers when Roman hesitates, “go on, Roman, say it.”

 “…I want you to take care of me,” Roman whispers, shame burning his face, only to be chased away by cool scales against his skin.

 “May I—“

 “Please.”

 As soon as Roman chokes out the word, the hands are back. Tangling in his hair, stroking his face, holding his head securely. This time, Roman doesn’t fight it, sinking into Janus as much as he can, feeling the hands drift down to rub at his shoulders, drawing little patterns into his back. Janus keeps murmuring to him the whole time.

 “It’s okay, Roman,” he says, finding that spot on Roman’s head again, “I’m right here, I’m right here, I’m not going to hurt you…don’t fret, it’s alright, sweetie.”

 Roman reaches out and fists Janus’s cloak, tugging the other side closer.

 “I’m so proud of you, honey, you made me so proud today…you stood up for yourself and what you wanted, you did so well, you’ve been so strong…”

 “J-Janus?”

 “Yes, my prince, I’m right here, what can I do?”

 “It—it hurts.”

 “What hurts, honey, where does it hurt?”

 “Everything,” Roman cries, the dam finally shattering in the face of all of this, “everything hurts, I want—I want—“

 “Yes, honey, you’re allowed to want, come on now…”

 A sob chokes out of his throat and he’s gone.

 Janus holds him through it, never shushing him, letting him get every single drop out, murmuring soft encouragement that pulls it out of him like some terrible poison. Roman bawls into his chest, letting the prince, the performer, the actor, the good twin shatter, leaving Roman, just Roman, crying in the arms of someone he loves.

 When it’s over, when he can’t move, can hardly breathe from how much, when he sags into Janus’s arms, he feels…lighter.

 “You did so well, sweetie,” Janus says softly into his ear, “so well. That was a lot, wasn’t it?”

 Roman nods, his throat exhausted. “…there’s more.”

 “You get it all out then. I’m not going anywhere.”

 “…I…I…”

 “Talk to me,” Janus pleads, “you can talk to me, honey, I won’t tell a soul, let me care for you.”

 Roman tucks his head against Janus’s shoulder and breathes. Janus is slightly cool to the touch, his cloak is soft. He rubs his cheek against the fabric. His tired brain manages to come up with the word ‘safe.’

 “Of course you’re safe,” comes the instant murmur, “I’ll keep you safe.”

 Roman hates his traitorous brain for instantly flashing will you?

 It’s barely noticeable, a hitch that lasts scarcely more than half a second, but Roman, pressed right up against Janus with Janus’s chin on top of his head, notices.

 “S-sorry—“

 “Don’t,” Janus says immediately, a scaled hand tenderly cupping Roman’s cheek, “you needn’t apologize. I…haven’t exactly given you much reason to trust me.”

 Roman gently bonks his head against Janus’s. “This.”

 He feels more than sees Janus’s sad smile. “And that’s supposed to make everything better, is it?”

 He has a point.

  Doesn’t he always?

 Roman squeezes his eyes shut and takes a deep, slow breath. Then another. On the third one, he pulls away. Janus lets him go, lets him sit up, and scrub his hands over his face.

 “No,” he says finally, “it doesn’t make everything better.”

 Janus sits there quietly.

 “I’m angry,” Roman murmurs, “I’m so angry with you. With a-all of you, but especially you.”

 No response.

 “It’s like…it’s like I’m constantly watching myself in third person. I—I have to make sure I’m always playing the role right, that my voice is right, my words are right, because you don’t want me unless I’m always right, you won’t—“

 Roman’s voice chokes off. He swallows the lump in his throat.

 “…you won’t love me if I’m not right.”

 He bows his head, hair flopping in his face, twisting his hands together.

 “And I’m so mad right now because I have so many reasons to be mad at you and I am mad at you and I can’t fucking think of any of them because all I want to do is beg you to take care of me and never let me go.”

 He tangles his hands in his hair and pulls, despite Janus’s soft noise of protest.

 “I hate you,” Roman mumbles, “I hate you.”

 He pulls harder.

 “But not as much as I h-hate myself for loving you.”

 His eyes slip shut as yet more tears well up behind his lids. He squeezes them tighter, taking shuddering breath after shuddering breath.

 “I love you,” he says through the breaths, “I love you so much it hurts and it’s everything I know and I’m so angry that I can’t stay angry and I can’t—I can’t—“

 He rakes his nails down his face, leaving angry red lines.

 “Why can’t I stop,” he whispers, “why can’t I stop loving you?”

 “Hate and love aren’t opposites,” comes the hoarse murmur from beside him, “the opposite of love is indifference.”

 “I don’t want to be indifferent toward you.”

 He hears Janus shuffle around and keeps his eyes shut. If he looks…if he looks and sees Janus’s face he won’t get to say the things he needs to say.

 “Why did you change,” he asks suddenly, “what…what made you change?”

 “…you did, Roman.” Roman can’t stop the scoff. “I’m serious. You…that day. When you…snapped, it made me realize something.”

 “What?”

 “That you were far better at pretending than I thought.”

 Janus shifts on the bed.

 “…I thought your hurt would be loud. Brash. Uncompromising. I thought you were the type to sing it to the heavens, shout it from the rooftops. But it’s…it’s not. It’s quiet. It’s solemn. It’s…it’s resigned.” He takes a breath. “And you weren’t even that angry that day. You were just…exhausted.”

 The bed shifts.

 “And you were right.”

 Roman shakes his head slowly from side to side, feeling his hair swing back and forth. “I want to trust you. I do. A-and I’m trying to.”

 “Let me earn it,” Janus says immediately, “let me—let me show you.”

 “I want to,” he says, the vulnerable shake in Janus’s voice tugging on his heartstrings.

 “…second chance?”

 Roman sighs. “I do want to, Janus, but I…I don’t want to get hurt anymore. I—I don’t want to start trusting you again only to have everyone tell me it’s wrong.”

 “If it helps,” Janus says gently, “it’s highly unlikely.”

 “Don’t lie to me right now,” Roman says, “please.”

 “My gloves are off,” Janus reminds, “I’m not lying. And…I did just come from the others.”

 Roman opens his eyes, staring at Janus who smiles gently.

 “Remus…helped us understand,” he says, “how much we’ve hurt you.” He tilts his head. “He loves you, Roman.”

 “I love him too,” Roman mumbles.

 “We—we promised we’d do better,” Janus says, “not just for you, but for…for all of us. And we agreed that starts with making things right with you.”

 Roman can’t help the traitorous flutter of hope in his chest. The scar tissue around his heart burns, the hope pressing up against the damaged nerves, threatening to leave him breathless.

 “When you’re ready,” Janus continues softly, “the others want to apologize to you too. Logan wants to help you figure out what you want. Virgil wants to learn how to recognize when you need help. And I’m fairly certain Patton wants to cuddle you into next week.”

 “N-now?”

 “No.” Janus shakes his head. “Not now. Not if you don’t want to.”

 “…I don’t want to.”

 “Then you won’t.” He hesitates, then slowly reaches for Roman’s hand on the blanket. Roman lets him take it, feeling the subtle shake of Janus’s fingers. “…thank you, Roman.”

 Roman blinks. “For what?”

 “This,” Janus says, squeezing Roman’s hand lightly, “for trusting me with all of this.”

 Roman nods, only for his hair to flop in his face and completely ruin the moment. Janus chuckles as he tries to blow the offending clump away, only for it to resolutely stay exactly where it is. He huffs. Rude.

 “Here,” Janus says before he can reach up to move it away, “let me?”

 Roman nods, expecting Janus to reach up and move it himself, and maybe run his hand through his hair a few times, but Janus reaches into his pocket and takes out…a hairclip? Is that what he’d been fiddling with?

 Janus holds it up so he can see it and Roman’s breath catches in his throat. It’s…it’s a slender clip, in his signature red, with a tiny golden crown on the end. Janus lets him look, then slowly brushes Roman’s hair back, lifting the clip up and gently clipping Roman’s hair out of the way, brushing any lingering strands to the side.

 “There…” He looks back down at Roman’s face. “Now I can see you.”

 Oh.

  Oh.

 “I know this doesn’t fix everything,” Janus murmurs, cupping Roman’s face in his hands again, “but…I hope it’s a start.”

 Roman swallows. “It’s a start.”

 Janus smiles. Then it fades as he slowly leans forward, resting his forehead against Roman’s, both of their eyes falling shut.

 “We love you,” Janus whispers, “I love you.”

 Roman should want to say it. But the scar tissue around his heart groans in protest. Still, he opens his mouth.

 “Don’t,” Janus says softly, resting his finger lightly against Roman’s lips, “not like this. Let me earn it.”

 “…I’ve already told you, though.”

 “You have,” Janus agrees, even though he doesn’t move his finger, “but let me earn it.”

 He presses his mouth to Roman’s forehead.

 “Let me earn you.”

 The soft brush of lips against his skin and the sincerity in Janus’s voice makes Roman’s head spin. “…earn me?”

 “Yes, my prince,” Janus murmurs, “let me show you. Let us show you.”

 Roman closes his eyes. He wants that. He wants Janus to show him. He wants Patton to cuddle him. He wants Logan to talk things through with him. He wants Virgil to know when he needs things. He wants.

 He wants.

 And for once, for once, when he wants, the voice in his ear doesn’t say he’s an awful person for wanting, that he’s pathetic, that he’s wrong for wanting.

 Instead, when Janus pulls away a little bit, and asks Roman if that’s alright, if that’s something he wants, Roman answers.

  Yes.

General Taglist: @frxgprince @potereregina @reddstardust @gattonero17 @iamhereforthegayshit @thefingergunsgirl @awkwardandanxiousfander @marshmallow-fluffy @creative-lampd-liberties @djpurple3 @winterswrandomness @sanders-sides-uncorrect-quotes @iminyourfandom @bullet-tothefeels @full-of-roman-angst-trash @ask-elsalvador @ramdomthingsfrommymind @demoniccheese83 @pattonsandershugs @el-does-photography @princeanxious  @firefinch-ember @fandomssaremysoul

Snap Taglist: @romanvirgil @arodynamic-enby @meandmacats @the-sunshine-dims @whydoifeeltheneedtoorganizestuff @sweet-hibiscus-tea-art @frida0043 @mk-wastebin @princemesscharming @cali-the-dreamer @lovesupernova25

[sleepless-stories]

The Light Plans of the Light Sides (2/2)

Part 1

Summary: Janus misses Virgil, it has been 3 weeks since he last saw him and Janus decides it’s time he pays his storm cloud a visit. Though it didn’t meet his expectations

Warnings: U!Patton, Manipulation, Gaslighting, Implied brainwashing?, threats

__________________________________________

It had been three weeks, three long weeks. Janus didn’t look at any mirrors, not looking in or checking up on Virgil. He just went through his day ignoring Virgil’s door.

Remus constantly was annoying Janus, checking in on him. Remus knew that Janus missed their raccoon already. 

It had been 20 days… Janus couldn’t wait any longer. He grabbed his hat putting it on before slithering out. 

Janus appeared in the light sides’ living room looking around. He turned around seeing Virgil standing on the bottom step of the stairs leaning against the railing.

 There were several things Janus didn’t notice or see, firstly Virgil was glaring at him in a way one would look at their least favorite person, secondly Virgil wasn’t alone, Patton was standing in the kitchen not far from them and observing. 

Janus smiled walking over to Virgil, “V-”

Virgil slapped him in the face glaring, “Deceit,” he said the name as if it was the worst thing ever. 

Janus took a step back a hand on the side of his face where he had been slapped, “V-”

“It’s anxiety!” Virgil growled his voice loud. “Now what do you want? Villain.”

“Anxiety… what happened?” Janus asked softly, putting his hands out showing he meant no harm. “Please, Stormcloud, what happened?”

“What do you mean, what happened? I saw the light. I’m not blind anymore.” Virgil replied, rolling his eyes and looking away, his eyes flashing a bright glowing aqua for a moment. 

Janus noticed and turned instantly when he heard a soft giggling. “Morality? What did you do?”

“Me? Do something, oh Deceit, You know I’d never do anything. He’s not lying is he? He hates you.”

“No… No he can’t.” Janus shook his head holding back tears before looking at Virgil pleadingly, “Please.”

“Get out, before you regret it, Deceit!” 

Patton went over standing behind Virgil feigning fear. “Logan! Roman! Come quick!” He called out, “There’s a dark side!”

Roman popped up sword in hand, “Get out snake!” 

Logan came into the room, “It’s illogi-” his eyes flashed aqua before going back to normal. “Come on, we have to get out of here! Patton, hide in your room!”

Patton nodded wiping nonexistent tears of fear away, he grabbed Virgil’s hand pulling him away and sinking out quickly. 

Janus looked at Roman standing there and put his hands up, “I didn’t come to harm anyone!” he pleased then quickly dodged roman’s attack. 

“Vile villain.” Roman spat swinging his sword. 

Janus looked arounds defeated before disappearing just as roman’s sword hit the place he had just stood. Janus went to his room collapsing in bed, his stormcloud… was gone.

______

Patton kneeled on the floor of his room with Virgil sitting in front of him. He lightly put his hand on the anxious side’s cheek, “you did perfectly, I knew you really were one of us… were good.” He whispered, “Ah… but you keep resisting me.”

Virgil started shaking his head.

“Oh, my dark strange son, you know I could feel it. Forget about the dark sides, they’re evil. They’re only trying to hurt thomas… they’re only out to hurt you, and your Family.” Patton’s eyes glowed brighter as he talked and kept looking in Virgil’s eyes. 

Virgil slowly nodded, his eyes glowing with Patton’s. The Aqua suddenly going purple when Patton mentioned family, “No, they-” 

Patton grabbed Virgil pulling him closer, “No they already hurt you. Deceit already hurt you, he lied. All he does is lie. He doesn’t love you. We’re your family. The dark sides will hurt you if you go back, they’ll hurt Thomas if they come back here. Say it… they’re evil.”

“Th-they are evil…” Virgil repeated tears streaming down his face.

Patton smirked, wiping away a tear, “Now go to your room, you need to rest.” He whispered and watched Virgil disappear from his room. 

_________________________ General Tag List @crazy-multifandomfangirl @aceawkwardunicorn​ @mistythegenderqueermess

[vintage-squid]

Vulture Culture

Summary: Remus loves living in his little cabin in the woods with his two gorgeous, snarky partners. Coming home from another scavenging adventure to Virgil and Janus being their wonderful selves, Remus has a very important question to ask them.

Pairing: Virgil/Janus/Remus Rating: G Warnings: Animal bones, use of scavenged bones for art, a whole truck load of fluff

Huge thank you to @rosesisupposes for beta’ing for me! 

-----

“Ohh honey-bunny-bums! I’m home!”

The front door slammed against the wall, echoing through the house as Remus stomped inside, a wide grin spread on his face and his backpack heavy over one shoulder. Bracing the toes of one foot against the heel of the other, he aggressively yanked his feet out of his boots, laces still tied. He haphazardly tossed his jacket and toque over the back of the nearby armchair - on top of other outdoor outfits that had already received a similar treatment. With much more care, he set his bag on the floor.

“We’re in the kitchen, Re!”

“And I swear to the gods, your boots better not be on your feet when you get in here, because I am not mopping up after you again!”

“Yeah, yeah, no need to get your knickers in a twist,” Remus snorted, grabbing his backpack by one strap and slinging it over one shoulder. He made his way further into the house, following the sound of his loved ones' voices. “I’m still wearing socks, though, so no peeping at my toes for you! You’ll have to wait ‘til later for that treat.” Coming around the corner into the kitchen, Remus gave an exaggerated wink to his partner standing on the step-stool by the window.

Virgil rolled their eyes, shaking their head and setting aside the small scissors they had been using to tend to their plants. “I offer to give you a massage one time for your sore feet, and suddenly I’m the one with the foot fetish, I see how it is.”

Smirking, Virgil turned to face Remus, but before they could hop off their stool, a pair of burly arms cinched around their middle and swept them into the air.

“Remus!” They shrieked, dissolving into laughter as their boyfriend held them close and spun them around the room.

“I’ve got a Virgil!” Remus hollered, bouncing them both as he giggled. Even in play, Remus was cautious not to spin too fast and actually upset Virgil’s nerves; it was a delicate balance, one he had perfected over the years. Both of them were snickering breathlessly when Remus finally came to a stop and set Virgil’s feet back on the floor, though his arms remained snug around their chest. The pair faced Janus, who was smirking at them with a raised brow.

“If the children are done playing in the kitchen where I am currently working over a hot stove?” Despite her tone, Janus’ smile softened fondly as she flicked her wrist to cut the heat. The fire witch stepped forward and planted a smooch on Remus’ nose, her hand following quickly to cup his face and smooth her thumb over the boisterously grinning chub of his cheek. “Welcome home, possum. I’m glad to see you’ve returned safe and sound, and not covered in pond scum.”

Remus only grinned wider and hugged Virgil a little closer, much to their grumbling delight. “The grime feels so good, though! Oozing between your fingers and squelching when you bend your knees! Come on, you have to admit that my skin was so soft for, like, a week after I fell in last time!”

“I will admit to nothing, other than that you smelled like a rotted fish for that week too,” Janus retorted. “I still think you did that on purpose; there’s no way a water witch wouldn’t be able to bathe himself properly to get rid of that odor.” Pushing up onto her toes, she pressed a tender, lingering kiss to his lips. “I, however, much prefer your natural musk.”

Leaning in to Remus again, Janus yelped as Virgil suddenly grabbed her by the front of her shirt and tugged her into a searing kiss that made bursts of colour flash behind her eyelids. Melting against their mouth, she gripped Remus’ forearm with one hand while the other ran through Virgil’s long hair over and over, dragging them back for more when they tried to pull away. When the pair finally parted, panting heavily, Janus couldn’t help the lazy satisfaction that settled over her when she was greeted with Virgil’s smile.

“What?” They asked innocently. “You gave Remus kisses, and I wanted some attention too.”

Janus rolled her eyes, thumb tenderly rubbing the back of their neck. “So needy, I swear.”

Remus snorted, gently depositing Virgil into a dining chair and scooping his bag off the floor where he had left it in favour of his favourite tiny plant witch. “You’re one to talk, mixter-”

“Ah, she/her now, darling, changed about an hour after you left this morning. I just haven’t had the mind to swap out my necklaces while Virgil and I have been working in here. Sorry, possum,” she murmured, fiddling with the sparrow’s skull resting at the hollow of her throat from a braided rope.

“Well, princess,” Remus adjusted smoothly, kissing the top of Janus’ head and petting over the buzzed side of her hair. “First off, you have no grounds to complain about me being needy, Miss clings-with-all-four-limbs-every-night. And secondly,” his voice softened, “you never have to apologize for expressing whatever gender feels best for you, ever. Okay? Do you want me to grab Trip for you?”

Laying her hand - slimmer than his, but still larger than Virgil’s - atop Remus’, Janus nuzzled into the calloused warmth of his palm. “I would appreciate that, possum. I think I left her on the smaller bookshelf in the bedroom.”

“Anything for you, dandelion. Lemme take Kee, too.”

Obligingly, Dee lifted her hair, long only on the right side of her head and curlier than a pig’s tail, to allow Remus room to remove her current necklace. She glanced up, feeling a tingle down her neck that had nothing to do with her boyfriend’s wandering fingers. Virgil was seated at the table across the kitchen, their cheek propped on one fist, a dreamy haze over their normally snarky features.

“See something you like?” Janus asked with a snort.

“Only the loves of my life,” Virgil replied, grinning wider when Dee scoffed to hide her fluster. “Ohh, you thought I meant you two? No, no, the coffee machine and a bag of chips are on the counter behind you, babe.” They cackled as both their partners squawked in indignation, hiding their wide smile behind their sleeve.

Janus rolled her eyes, stepping away from Remus and lightly kicking the leg of Virgil’s chair before sitting across from them. “Ha ha, you’re so funny, V.”

“I knew it was only a matter of time before you recognized my true genius.”

“Alright you gaggle of gossiping gophers,” Remus cut in, dropping his bag on the table between them. “Why don’t you have a look through what I found today while I get Janus’ necklace and change into something a little more cozy.” He exaggerated a wink at his partners, taking their snorting laughter with him as he swaggered off in the direction of the bedroom.

Virgil and Janus shared a look before diving for the ties on the bag. Janus worked the flap open, allowing Virgil to reach their hand in for the first discovery. Their eyes lit up, with a sparkle that had nothing to do with the green magic flowing through their veins, as they pulled out a neatly tied bundle of watercress, the pale roots intact and cleaned of any potentially parasite carrying soil.

“Ah! Where did he manage to find this!? I’ve been needing more since that doe and her fawns have started coming by,” they murmured, bringing the bundle up to their face and inhaling deeply. “Mother Earth, there is no better smell in this world.”

“And of course you’re selflessly going to plant it all outside in the pond for our little ungulate neighbours without keeping some as a snack for yourself,” Janus drawled while reaching into the bag herself.

Virgil finally looked away from the watercress to smirk at their girlfriend, plucking a plant free from the bundle and nibbling on it like a rabbit. “I never said anything of the sort.”

Heart throbbing fondly, Janus snickered and pulled out the next of Remus’ finds. Her fingers wrapped around a small burlap bag and she squealed. Pulling it out, she eagerly opened the drawstrings and carefully dumped the contents onto the tabletop: a grey, spherical rock, seven small vertebrae of assorted shape, and three colourful, river-polished stones. Janus cooed, smoothing the tips of her fingers over her new treasures, eyes wide with wonder and ideas for her latest art project.

When she looked up to share her excitement with Virgil, they were already rifling through the next of Remus’ gifts, a collection of plucked flowers spread out across their side of the table. Their wide smile softened as they glanced up and made eye contact.

“Reme really went all out today, I can’t believe some of these blooms he managed to find at this time of the year!”

“I wonder what we did to deserve such a spoiling?”

“You two were absolutely perfect, that’s what.”

Virgil and Janus perked up, turning to look at their returned third. Both seated witches felt their stomachs lurch with affection as Remus stood in the doorway dressed, for once, in a clean shirt the same colour as his intelligent blue eyes. It was buttoned up only halfway, his burly chest exposed to the warm air of the kitchen and his partners’ hungry gazes. Both hands were held suspiciously behind his back.

Virgil recovered first, trying to appear nonchalant by tousseling their fingers through their shaggy bangs. The effect was betrayed by the glowing vines that had begun to creep up their forearms like living tattoos, pulsing in time with the rapid fluttering of their heart. “Whatcha got there, possum?”

Biting his lip, Remus couldn’t stop himself from breaking out into a wide grin as he shrugged one shoulder in a not-answer. “We all know that Janus is usually the sappy one among us-

“Hey!”

“So, I’m sorry sunshine, but I’m about to borrow your role for a second.”

Virgil and Janus exchanged a glance as Remus paused again to exhale slow and deep, almost as if he were running through one of Virgil’s breathing exercises. What could have made their fearlessly boisterous possum so uncharacteristically nervous? Their attention snapped back to their third as Remus stepped forward, stopping at the head of the table between the seated pair.

“Most of the people I meet in my life haven’t been overly enthusiastic to meet me in turn. Lotsa people don’t want to put up with my magic or my brain, or really anything about me, and even among those who do, most of them just don’t really get me, y’know? But... but you two...”

Remus looked from Virgil to Janus, love welling in his eyes like the rising tide he so adored. His hands tightened on the objects still hidden behind his back.

“You two not only understand me, but you encourage me to be myself and are actually fucking comfortable being around me? Like, holy shit. I don’t even have the words to explain to you what that means to me - and I usually have no problem describing anything! Like how some sharks are so gluttonous they will gorge themselves and then throw up everything they just ate so that they can keep eating! Isn’t that so cool!?” As he got more and more excited, his shoulders began to hunch and roll in a mimicry of his usual out of control gesturing. Somehow, he managed to hold onto enough sense of mind to keep hidden his hands, and the precious cargo they held.

Janus leaned forward, tapping one manicured nail on the table to draw Remus’ attention back. “C’mon, possum, you can tell us all about vomiting sharks after you finish our surprise speech.”

Shockingly, a faint blush coloured Remus cheeks. He cleared his throat and glanced to the side with a sheepish grin. “Ah, right.” Looking back to the loves of his life, Remus set his shoulders square and dropped down to one knee, delighting in his partners’ gasps and widening eyes.

“What I was trying to say, is that I love you two so fucking much, and I wanna spend the rest of our lives together. So…” Remus brought his hands out from behind his back and held them up.

In front of Janus he presented a gaboon viper’s skull, meticulously cleaned with the top few vertebrae still attached at the jaw hinge so the mouth could remain propped open to show off the elongated upper fangs. The larger bones were intricately carved with runes for love, protection, and strength all twined together. Looking closer, the grain of the pattern wasn’t rough, as it would be if the markings had been made with a knife, but smooth and even like a stone polished by the endless waters of a river.

Cradled in his left hand for Virgil was a delicate crested gecko skeleton. Every minute bone was present, complete down to the tiny claw tips on each foot. With the tail slightly raised, and the front right foot lifted in step, the tiny skeleton looked like it was moments away from coming to life and skittering up their arm. Only the skull was large enough for the carved depictions of hyacinths to be visible - Virgil’s favourite flower. They had always favoured constancy, after all.

“Will you marry me?”

Though Virgil covered their mouth with both hands, it couldn’t hide the smile crinkling the corners of their watery eyes. Sniffling, they nodded rapidly. “Y-Yes! A million times yes!” Reaching out to cup the fragile skeleton in their hands, they brought it up to their face to briefly admire the little bones. By the time they had carefully set it aside on the table, Janus had already slid out of her chair and into Remus’ arms on the floor. She was pressing kisses all over his face, and the snake skull was resting on the countertop above them.

Quickly dropping to their knees and squirming their way up under Remus’ free arm, Virgil joined Janus in covering their third in smooches. The flurry of joyous affection softened as lips finally met in languidly. They traded off, kissing what they could of the other two when their lips were free.

Both smaller witches suddenly squealed with laughter - though they would aggressively deny it later - as Remus cinched his arms around their waists and rolled to his feet, easily hoisting them up and spinning them around.

When he finally slowed to a stop, Remus was speechless at the sight of their flushed cheeks and wide smiles.

“I love you both so much,” he whispered.

Janus smiled and leaned up to kiss his cheek once more with a loud smack of her lips. Virgil was quick to mirror her on the other side, tucking their face into the crook of Remus’ shoulder and neck afterwards with a content hum.

“We love you too, possum.”

“Always and forever, Reme.”

----

Janus' pronoun charms are three necklaces, each a different skull on a rope chain that Virgil braided. Sparrow skull - Kee - they/them Salamander skull - Trip - she/her Squirrel skull - Riz - he/him