#janus is like six years older than the twins in this au

[noblest-roman-of-them-all]

Writing siblings is almost as much fun as writing little kids.

(The only reason Remus isn't swearing here is, in fact, because of little kids.)

[nutmeg-mayonnaise]

I think you mentioned in one of your older posts that Trucy starts her own family in your AU at some point? Are there any details you can share? Trucy being a mother, and Phoenix, Edgeworth and Maya being grandparents, sound like fun ideas to explore.

Hello, friend! It's actually funny, I could've sworn I spoke about Trucy's fankids in more detail than "they exist", but I guess I haven't!

Anyway, here are her twin boys!

Their names are Ace and Jack Hyde, but they perform as one person named "Janus Gramarye" on stage. Their father is a Troupe member named Timothy "Tim" Hyde, and the gag with him is that despite how much Trucy talks about him, Phoenix has never seen him--not even at their wedding--so he thinks Trucy made him up.

Trucy and her show are on the road quite a bit in the AU, and since the AU is focused on the Mayonarumitsu family, there's not too many details about Trucy's family other than what I've shared above.

When Trucy's family is in town, it's not a given that Maya and the Fey girls are in town at the same time, so she sees them even less than she sees Phoenix, Edgeworth, and Gregory Wright. Trucy was far too old for Maya to adopt her when she and Phoenix had to marry to appease Kurain Village Customs to have the kids, so Maya is not technically her parent. Regardless, Trucy does start calling her "Mama" once Gregory was on the way and her twins call her "Mama Maya".

They call Phoenix "Grandpa" (obviously), and Phoenix always felt strange being a grandfather especially since Trucy's twins were born when his and Maya's youngest was only six years old. They also call Gregory "Uncle Grey".

Edgeworth is a little more distant, but the twins still call him "Papa Miles" regardless. He doesn't really see himself as their grandfather, but it's not something he will dare tell them straight to their face. He tries his best to be family, though.

Thanks for the question!

Some info about how I haven't been active lately below the cut! :)

Hello friends! I know I haven't posted in a couple months, and I still have a few asks that haven't been answered. I'm sitting on a pile of WIPs for artwork I want to have with those asks, so I'll get to them eventually!

I've been really busy with work this summer and I've spent most of my time with the AU writing that same fanfiction I mentioned before--the one that details how the OT3 went from where they were at the end of "Spirit of Justice" to being parents together. I wound up rewriting most of it and I'm very pleased with how it's turning out so far, and I can't wait to share it!

I'm not sure how often I can post since I'm still very busy, but I want to try do maybe make more simple artwork to post and answer asks so I could be more active! We'll have to see what happens!

Thank you all for your love and support for the AU. Your notes, kind words, tags, and comments all make me smile!

[stillebesat]

Be My Dad

Sanders Sides: Janus, Logan  A Vague AU Writing Prompt: @wildhorsewolf​ asked: Guess I'm a parent now with Janus being the dad and Logan being the kid Blurb: Janus has no interest in being a parental figure to a kid, but trying to convince the universe of that is another thing entirely.  Fic Type: Familial Soulmate!AU Overall Fic Warnings: Mentions of Scars  Taglist in Reblog.

To most souls, a food court was a necessary evil. Loud. Lots of people. But plenty of food options all together in one place. Perfect for those who liked a variety of choices or those who had picky eaters in tow.

It was a place to meet up with friends, family, or business associates. A place where one could sit back and observe society at work. To see people at their best...and most definitely at their worst. 

There was something soothing about the chaos that Janus enjoyed...as a spectator. He could never imagine being right in the middle of it.

Not unless he was doing what he was doing right now. Trying to hide in plain sight in the middle of a crowd.

After all. He was thirty now. Single. Childless.

Obviously a menace to society in a universe that seemed obsessed with everyone being part of a ‘family.’ 

A Universe that had decreed that all adults who remained childless by the age of thirty, would then be subjected to being bombarded with children in need of a proper parent figure to bond with in their lives.

He exhaled, absently brushing against the raised scar on his cheek, barely looking up as a child burst out wailing nearby.

He’d checked earlier. That particular wailer hadn’t had the golden sparks. It meant he was safe. 

For now.

He ran a hand through his hair, flipping another page in his notebook before he continued scrawling on the page. Maybe Virgil had actually been onto something when he said he was vanishing into the wilderness of Europe for the rest of his life. 

Sure, Janus had laughed six months ago when his best friend had turned thirty and begun complaining about all the kids coming out of the woodwork to ask him to be their Dad.

It’d seemed impossible at the time. To have children want to come up to Mr. Shadows Incarnate and expect Virgil to put them to bed and tell a bedtime story.

Now though, he understood why Vee had become more reluctant to leave his house as the year had worn on. Because the mini spawns really had come out of nowhere once his own thirtieth birthday hit. 

And it was awful. 

Wherever he went, it was inevitable that some child would approach him, shimmering golden sparks floating around them indicating that they were looking for a Parent Bond. 

It was also as inevitable that he would scare them away just as quickly. 

After all, his halfmoon scar and creepy yellow eyes had caused plenty of kids to scream and run with a single look years before his thirtieth birthday. 

No, at least Virgil had a bit of that shy emo charm that made him more approachable, even if the merest appearance of anyone under four feet had his best friend going pale as a corpse and ducking out before the kid could take more than two steps towards him.

Privately he was certain Virgil would find a kid perfect for him before the year was out, despite his best friend’s attempt to avoid the inevitable.

He knew Virge would make a good dad. Compassionate. Protective. His best friend had a dozen other traits that would benefit him when the right child flared with him. 

Unlike Janus.

Who could make a grown man cry with less than four words and a glower.  

No. He couldn’t imagine having any child coming to him in the middle of the night expecting comfort. 

He knew he was intimidating.

He knew he could be scary.

It wouldn’t be fair to subject a child to that on a daily basis.

Honestly, it felt like a slap to the face that no matter how much he achieved, how many degrees he got, or businesses he owned, or careers he pursued, or money he made…

The universe felt that one couldn’t be complete unless said person also had a screaming, slobbering, dirty child in tow.

Janus ran a hand through his hair, again brushing the crescent scar on his cheek as he looked up long enough to watch a cluster of mothers with their dozen and a half children in strollers rush by, seeking salvation at the nearest set of golden arches with at least four of the kids already screaming for their happy meal toy. 

Even if he did make a connection with any kid brave enough to approach him...Janus could never imagine trying to coerce a screaming brat into eating their chicken nuggets all by himself. Could never stand to walk around with food, slobber or worse, vomit stains on his best suits like a badge of honor. Could never be patient enough to listen to the long and rambling and pointless stories he’d heard multiple parents suffer through while observing them here in the food court.

No. There was no way Janus would allow the universe a say in how he ran these next five years of his life.

He had goals.

Life plans.

And he didn’t need some interfering Being with an obviously unhealthy parent complex ruining that.

The scrapping of a chair being pulled back broke through the gentle hum the noise the chaos of the food court had receded to, causing Janus to look up from his paper in time to see a boy, wearing a faded black long sleeved shirt with matching glasses and thankfully older than the screaming toddler throwing french fries six tables over, plop down in the seat across from him.

A child. With golden sparks shimmering in the air around him. 

Oh goodie.

Janus barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes. And here he’d thought that the fact that he’d caused a pair of twin girls, a baby, three boys, six preteens, and four other children under the age of five to scream in terror and/or burst into tears before the lunch rush had even started would have been enough for the universe to call it quits for the day on attempting a Parent Bond.

“I have a prospersition for you.” The boy said, making eye contact. Janus blinked, pen pausing mid stroke as he raised an eyebrow to the child. Prosper...prosper? Oh. “A prop-osition?” He asked, careful to pronounce the word correctly. 

The boy nodded once, pushing his glasses back up his nose. “Prop-osition” he repeated, saying it properly this time. “Will you listen to it? Please?” 

Oh, now there was a please? The kid hadn’t even said hello. Janus exhaled, running a hand through his hair, again fingering the raised scar on his cheek, eyes darting about without much hope for any sign of a frantic adult looking for their wayward offspring as he sat back, tapping his pen on the table. “I’m busy.”  

The boy’s eyes flashed. “No you’re not.”

Janus scoffed, gesturing to his papers. “I assure you that I a--”

“Are doing what you do every Friday. You’re not busy. You just sit here. All day. Reading. Writing.”  

Observant. Janus frowned, again glancing around for a guardian figure. He didn’t think children thought much beyond eating, sleeping, and playing with their peers. “That is considered being busy by most people, I don’t have time to tal--”  

The boy shifted to his knees, the golden sparks dancing around him as he carefully placed eight quarters on the table before pushing the pile over to him. “For your time.” He said, looking up to meet Jansus’s eyes once more.

Clever. Not quite the amount he usually took for a consultation, but he doubted a child could come up with that much cash. Still. It was the first time one of these golden sparked spawns of the devil decided to pay him instead of screaming bloody murder. 

Janus exhaled, laying down his pen, sitting up as he clasped his fingers together, resting his chin on them. “I’m listening.” Though he doubted anything good would come from this proposition. He could already predict the direction this would go.

The boy relaxed, though he stayed half kneeling on his chair. “I need you,” his mouth twisted slightly, grey eyes glittering. “to pretend to be my Father.” 

Father? Ha. Called it. “No.”

Golden sparks flared as the boy lifted his chin. “You didn’t even ask ‘Why.’”

He smirked, ignoring the sinking feeling in his stomach as he pushed the coins back. “I don’t need to.” It was obvious why the kid wanted to play pretend. After all, the sparks surrounding him were only visible to those like Janus. Single. Between the age of thirty and thirty-five. Childless. If the kid needed a fake dad...well this wasn’t his first rodeo with the concept. “You either need protection from some bullies, which--” He gestured to himself. “You think I look scary enough to intimidate them.” Though not scary enough to keep the kid from bugging him in the first place. “Or else you have lied to your friends about who your Dad is or what he does and so--”

“You’re wrong.”   

Janus cut off, tilting his head. “Am I?” He was certain he wasn’t. 

“You are.” The boy kept eye contact, grey blue eyes hard as stone. 

It would be an intimidating gaze once he grew older, Janus was sure. “Enlighten me.”

The boy pushed the coins back across the table. “The Aquarium is having a Father/Son day today. I want to go.” 

Not what he meant by enlighten, but he’d humor the kid. “So?”

The boy rolled his eyes, shifting to his knees so he could better rest his arms on the table. “I can’t exactly partisiis--partissee--par--” 

“Participate?”

He nodded. “I can’t exactly participate if I go by myself, dummy.”

Dummy? Who just helped the kid pronounce ‘participate?’ 

Janus shoved the quarters back to the boy before picking up his pen, tapping it against the table. He could see the kid’s problem though. It made sense why the aquarium wouldn’t want to let hordes of little demon spawn run around tapping on the glass, licking the floors, and breaking things unsupervised. “I’m not spending fifty dollars to play your Dad, kid, just so you can look at some fish.” 

A pet store would work just as well and wouldn’t cost a dime. If he was willing to go along with this.

Which he wasn’t.

He didn’t even like fish. Not since that stupid childhood fishing accident that had given him the lovely scar on his face in the first place.

No way would he willingly go along with some brat to a place filled to the brim with the creatures.

Despite how brilliant of a scheme it was. One Janus would have used himself though under different circumstances. 

Though he supposed, if he felt like admitting it, which he didn’t, but he still---it….hurt in a way, that the kid, even having the sparks, just wanted to use him to get in to see some boring fish instead of trying out a real Trial with him to see if they had any sort of parental bond. 

It was a stupid feeling. 

He should be used to being used. 

The boy adjusted his frames, barely blinking as he shoved the quarters back across the table, staring Janus down. “Adults get in for only ten dollars today. Kids get in free. If.” He emphasized the word. “Their Father brings them.” He shifted in his seat, pulling out a twenty and slid it across the table. “For your ticket.” He said simply, eyes flashing. “I’m only asking for your time. I don’t want to go on a Trial with you. I don’t need or want a Dad. I just need an adult with the time on his hands to pretend to be one and let me esplore the place for two measlely hours.”

Double ouch. At least some kids attempted to do an actual Trial Run with him to see if their sparks would Flare before being so blunt in telling him he wouldn’t be their Dad. 

Janus frowned, already shaking his head. “Kid, I don’t--” 

The boy pulled out another twenty, placing it on the table. “Two hours.” He said simply.  

“You don’t even know me--” Sure, he knew the boy knew he was in the Trial stage of life since the stupid floating sparks thing, even if he couldn’t see his own, went both ways. But that didn’t mean that he should just shove--

The boy placed a third twenty on the table. 

Janus exhaled, running a hand through his hair, again fingering his scar as he glared at the child. “You’re seriously bribing me? Where did you even get that much cash?” Hopefully it wasn’t stolen, but he’d applaud the boy for being so prolific in his thievery. 

“Not important.” The boy stated, pulling out a fourth twenty without breaking eye contact. 

Why was he being so persistent?! Any other child would have run away by now. 

“Why me?” He demanded, leaning forward, sneering in a way he knew made his eyes look even more creepy. “Why not bribe some other--”

The boy hesitated, a fifth twenty already in his fingers as his steely gazed wavered. “If I tell you why, will you go with me to the Aquarium?” 

That was hardly a fair exchange. The answer could be super simple and he’d be stuck with the kid for two hours. “I’m going to stick with my ‘I’m scary theory,’” Janus said instead, gesturing to his face. That was the usual reason kids gave in most circumstances. 

The boy frowned, lifting his chin. “I can be scary enough on my own without your help.” He said shoving the sleeve of his shirt up, revealing an angry red corded scar that wrapped around his arm from wrist to shoulder. “We match, kinda. Your scar looks similar. Makes it easier to pretend that you’re my Dad. That we were in the same accident.” He pushed the pile of money towards him. “And if anyone suspects you aren’t my birth father, then the sparks will show them that we’re on a Trial and that our scars mean we’re meant to be.” 

Meant to be. 

It took a lot of effort to not touch the crescent mark on his cheek. To ignore the fluttering in his chest at those words.

They’re just pretty little lies. 

Sure, there were ongoing theories that families all shared a similar trait that marked them. Whether that was having a mole on the same part of their stomach, sharing a taste in mustard, having an allergy to hay, hair having the same cowlick, or having similar looking scars--Janus kept his hands firmly on the table as he pulled his eyes back up to meet the kids. 

It was hearsay though. Nothing had ever been proven. Not when the sparks flaring between parent and child was a far more accurate indicator that they were meant to be a family. 

No, he highly doubted anyone would Flare with him during this five year tortrue period. Not even this kid despite the sparks dancing between them. 

Janus took a steadying breath. It was fine. He didn’t need a family. Not even a pretend one for two hours. He was better off alone now that Virgil had harred off to who knew where. “How long do I have to wait before you run out of twenties and give up?” He said, keeping his voice cool. “Because I’m not taking your bribe, kid, regardless of the amount. You’d be better off hiring a nanny or something.” 

Though he was curious just how much the boy thought it would take to convince him to go along with this farce. 

The kid made a face. “I don’t want to be coddled the entire time.” He snapped, the fifth twenty vanishing as he shoved his sleeve down. “All anyone ever does is treat me like I’m breakable since--” he gestured to his arm, the scars once more hidden. “And I’m sick of it. You look like you’d happily let me fall off a bridge if I wasn’t careful and I just...I just--” He shook his head. “I need to not be cared about for a bit.” 

Let him fall off a bridge? Ouch. Janus focused on relaxing his clenched hands, one finger at a time. “So you have a death wish? I’m not gonna be complacent to--”

The boy growled, slamming his hands on the table, steel grey eyes hardening even as they shimmered with unshed tears. “No. I just want to look at the fish.” He hissed. “I want to esplore. Learn. SEE. Without having a grown-up hovering over me like I’m freaking china. All you would have to do is stay near enough to keep any other metaling adults away. That’s all I want. For two hours. To be treated like a normal kid.” His hand clenched as he took a breath, bottom lip trembling. “I thought you of all people would understand that.” He whispered, eyes flickering to the scar and back.

It took a lot of effort to not touch his face. To maintain eye contact. 

Sure.

He understood. 

Janus had wasted years chasing that particular dream throughout high school and well into his first couple of years at college. 

It had all been for nothing. 

People judged the book by the cover. Few ever took the time to look deeper. 

And it sucked that Janus was being forced to reckon with the fact that if he didn’t go with this kid and pretend to be his Dad, he’d be like every other adult unwilling to give the boy a chance to be ‘normal.’  

…Great. Just. Great.  

He’d just been guilted into spending two hours looking at the fish. 

Janus broke eye contact, cursing under his breath as he shoved his papers into his book bag and stood, grabbing his jacket and hat off the chair. 

Maybe he should follow Virgil’s lead and disappear into the wilderness for the next four and a half years if the kids were going to start pulling this type of act on him. 

“You got a name, kid?” He asked, fishing out a single twenty from the stack before shoving the pile back at the boy. Enough for the ticket. That’s it. 

The boy caught his breath, eyes going wide. “You mean--”

How could eyes hard as steel one second go so soft like freshly fallen ash the next?

You know what. He didn’t want to know. If the kid knew how to do puppy dog eyes, then he knew how. That was that, but after today Janus would not be falling for them again.

“Name.” He repeated, impatiently gesturing for the boy to follow him as he tugged his hat down over his eyes. “Else I’ll make one up and I guarantee you will not like it.” 

The boy was by his side in a flash, golden sparks swirling. “Logan.” He said, adjusting his glasses with a small smile. “My name is Logan.”

[holyfuckthisfishcandrive]

@meepishme deceided the first one who’s backstory I should elaborate on (in the pirate au) is Virgil! @alias290 idk if you still wanna be tagged in this stuff just let me know if not

(I’m doing this in fic form (which is why this too so long, sorry) it’s jumping a bit in the timeline (only after the deathday) All in all I’m not sure how happy I’m with the end result but whatever.)

Also the other four crew members are half other characters belonging to Thomas Sanders with two minor OCs sprinkled in.

Word count: 2340 (not betaed)

Warnings: abandonment, memory issues (not really but issues with forgetting shit), abusive parents (no violence in fic, but mention of parent wanting their kid dead)

Virgil leaned on the wood of the railing, his post in the crowsnest long abandoned.

It had been five days since they had spotted this island and discovered that once the low tide set in the Eye of God was stranded on the beach, free to leave as soon as the high tide came back.

It had been four days since Remus, Roman, Nija, Kai and Elliott had gone to scout the island.

It had been two days since Logan had gotten so restless he couldn’t wait anymore and had gone out to search for them together with Janus, Patton and Muk, leaving Virgil behind with those so familiar words.

“Keep watch over the ship, okay?”

Just that Logan always followed it up with “I’ll be back soon.”

He did it since he’d gone to pull the last lever and Virgil had broken down. They all made sure to promise that they’d be back since then. That they wouldn’t abandon the ship and him with her.

Logan didn’t really have to say it with the request.

Virgil would agree anyway.

He always watched over the ship.

He had to.

But it had been two days since they’d left.

The island wasn’t that big.

At least the first group should be back by now.

Unless something bad had happened to them.

Virgil anxiously glanced to the horizon, where the sun was steadily moving closer to the sea.

Soon it would be six and three days.

“I should do something...”

Nobody answered.

“But I need to watch the ship... I could take the ship with me. It would be hard on my own but I could do it. But then I’d have to...”

His gaze wandered towards the steering wheel and he swallowed past the forming clump in his throat.

“No...”

Virgil sunk down until his head rested on his arms.

“Sundown,” he decided. “I’ll wait till sundown. Then I’ll go look.”

He looked down at the sand.

“If I can.”

The twins both like to wonder what he was. They never listened when he said human, but they did listen when they asked if he could leave the ship and he didn’t answer. They’d listened and taken it as a no.

But it wasn’t.

It was an “I don’t know.” An “It’s been so long since i tried that I can barely remember.”

Maybe Remus was right. Maybe he was a ghost tied to the ship and he had just never noticed that he’d died.

What would happen then if he tried to leave? Would he just disappear?

The thought scared him.

But the thought of losing yet another crew was scarier. Because how long would it take this time before their faces became too blurry to recall? How long until he didn’t know their names anymore or couldn’t be sure if they’d been part of this crew or one of the others?

He sighed.

About an hour later the last rays of sunlight barely tinted the horizon orange, lingering even though the sun was already gone.

Carefully Virgil climbed down the strick ladder. Inches above the ground he stopped.

Just underneath his foot was the sand.

He bit his lip and stared down at it.

Taking a deep breath he scrunched his eyes shut and lowered himself to the ground.

The sand was soft and shifted under his bare feet. Virgil curled his toes into it and opened his eyes again.

Slowly he let go of the ladder and took a step back.

A mix of anxiety and exitement swirled in his stomach.

He could leave. He wasn’t a ghost. That was good, very good, because that meant that he could find the others and be back before anything happened to the ship.

“I’ll be right back,” he told her. Then he turned and ran towards the forest.

The rough ground, sticks and stones felt strange but at the same time brought back echos of memories he’d long forgotten.

At another time he might’ve stopped and chased these echos, but right now he had to find his crew, before they became nothing but an echo as well.

It took him less than an hour to find a building hidden between the trees.

Well, that was an explanation at least.

Virgil snuck downhill to the gate and looked around uneasy. He didn’t like this place and the longer he was away from the ship the more he felt like it was a bad idea to leave at all.

-_-_-_-_-

Janus cursed and let the lock fall back against the metal bars.

“I can’t open it,” he muttered, stuffing the toothpick back in his pocket. He muttered something about “If I had an actual lockpick-” but no one was listening anymore.

Logan sighed.

“Great. So we’re stuck here,” he rubbed his temples. “I fucking hate cults.”

“If they at least wanted us for our bodies,” Remus spoke up, sounding genuinely disappointed. “But nooo... We’re just human sacrifices. I’m too hot to die.”

“Bitch, you’re gross,” Roman elbowed him in the ribs. “I’m the hot one.”

“Guys, we’re about to be killed, can you argue about who’s better looking some other time?” Nija groaned. “Besides, I’m obviously hotter.”

The door to the hallway opened and Logan tensed.

A guard fell to the ground with a chatter.

“What the-?”

A small figure slipped inside.

“Virgil?” Logan stepped up to the cell bars.

“You can leave the ship?” Janus raised an eyebrow. “That’s new.”

“Are you okay?” Virgil’s voice shook slightly.

“About to become god sacrifice but other than that okay,” Roman smirked. “Can you break the lock?”

“I can try,” Virgil raised his knife and took the lock in hand.

It fell just moments later and the cell door slid open. Nobody listened when Janus muttered that it was easier with a knife.

They only encountered two people on their way out but they didn’t even get the chance to shout before they were knocked out.

Logan let his gaze linger on Virgil.

Even though it had been over ten years he was still a teenager. Maybe a bit older than back when they’d met but barely.

He was shorter than Nija and didn’t even have that awkward lankyness most teens had, as if he hadn’t even reached his growth spurt yet.

Logan heard Remus chuckle behind him which was usuall a bad thing, but before he could react Remus had swooped past him, taken his hat and dumped it on Virgil’s head.

It slid over his eyes and Virgil stumbled before pushing it up slightly.

He shot Remus a confused look and went to take the hat off but Logan stopped him.

“Keep it for now. It suits you.”

-_-_-_-_-

Logan pulled the grip slightly and watched the ship pass though ‚the curtain‘ as Roman had named it. There was something nervwrecking about sailing through the very fabric of reality into another world.

He also had to be ready for any terrain they might end up in and had to be ready to adjust as needed.

„Sky!“ Virgil called and immediatly everyone was moving.

The main mast was split in half into wing like constructions in seconds, far quicker than the first time they‘d flown.

Logan streered them higher until they broke through the clouds and were under the bright morning sky of another world.

„There‘s something starboard!“ Virgil called. „I think it‘s an Island!“

„Can we check it out?“ Patton turned to Logan with a wide smile.

„Sure, why not?“

It didn‘t take long for the island to come into view and Virgil climbed down to lean against the railing.

„How…?“ Logan heard him whisper and he leaned over it, nearly falling. „It is!“

„Do you know this place?“ he asked.

If Virgil heard him he ignored him completely. He dashed over the ship towards the bow.

“The island has a harbour,” Janus called over to Logan. “Should we land?”

He glanced over to Virgil and back to Logan.

“Yes, let’s land.”

“Can I come with you?” Virgil asked as soon as they landed in the harbour. “Please?”

He had left the ship only two times even after the cult island, usually refusing when Patton or anyone else offered to take him on shore.

“Of course,” Logan answered. Virgil still hadn’t answered how he knew this place, but if it was this important to him, Logan couldn’t exactly say no.

While Patton, Janus, Mul and Nija stayed behind, Logan, Virgil and the twins wandered away from the ship, and Logan watched Virgil grow more and more restless, looking for something.

They didn’t meet a single person in the narrow streets of what looked like had once been a rich town. Remus wondered aloud if they’d find corpses anywhere, earning himself a playful smack from Roman.

The sudden sound of footsteps made them stop on a crossroad.

Logan let his hand rest on his cutlass.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had guests around here,” a man’s voice spoke up behind them.

Virgil swirled around in a heart beat.

“Dad!”

He dashed towards the man and tackled him in a hug.

“What?!” Roman blurted out.

The man looked down at Virgil slightly confused. He had a scruffy beard and dark tanned skin. He looked like someone who worked outside in the sunlight a lot.

He reached up to put his hands on Virgil’s shoulders and pushed him off slowly.

“Virgil?” he asked, sounding just as surprised as Roman. “You’re alive?”

“I watched over the ship,” Virgil smiled up at the man. “Just like you told me to!”

But the man didn’t even seem to listen.

“How are you alive?” he asked, louder this time. “I sent you out of this world into time so you could age. You shouldn’t be alive!”

“What do you mean?” Logan could hear the smile slip off Virgil’s face.

“I put you on that ship to die. What are you doing back here?” the man nearly growled this time.

“What-? You said you needed me to watch over her,” Virgil sounded so much more like the kid he was, than Logan had ever heard him.

Following an impulse he stepped forward and put his body between Virgil and the man.

“Who are you?” the man hissed at him.

He was intimidating, sure, but Logan had messed with gods before. He wasn’t afraid of this asshole.

“I am Captain Logan Conley. Who the fuck do you think you are?”

-_-_-_-_- 

Virgil heard Dad answer but he couldn’t really hear what he said. His ears were ringing.

Here on the Island there was no time, he knew that. It was why Dad had taken him elsewhere a lot when he had been little. Just so he would actually age.

But this time Dad had wanted him to stay gone.

He’d sent him away to die.

Suddenly everything was too loud.

The Captain was yelling and Dad was yelling and Dad had lied, he’d lied to him, he’d wanted him dead!

He had to get away.

Virgil ran past the twins, through the familiar paths back to the ship.

Muscle memory wanted him to climb up into the rigging - “You have to watch over the ship, it’s important” - but that was a lie too, wasn’t it?

“Hey, kid-” he barely heard Patton as he rushed past and down into the ship’s hold.

Down in the cargo bay he curled up, hiding behind a crate.

For a while he was alone. Long enough for him to catch his breath and stop crying at least.

Then he heard footsteps.

“Can we sit down by your side?” Remus asked, his voice softer than usual.

Virgil glanced up.

The twins stood a few feet away, waiting for an answer.

He nodded.

Remus sat down to his left, Roman to his right.

“Hey, kid,” Roman said.

“Hey,” Virgil’s voice sounded brittle even to his own ears.

“So, this is where you’re from,” Roman nodded. “It’s a nice Island... How long did you live here?”

Virgil shrugged.

“There’s no time here,” he said even though he was pretty sure they had gathered that much by now. “Physically,” he added after a moment of thought,” I think I was... six?”

His voice wobbled on the last word as more tears threatened to spill.

Remus sighed.

“You know, family is pretty complicated sometimes,” he spoke up. “You always think, and people tell you, that family is your blood and the people you grow up with. Like your dad for you, my father and mother, so on and so fourth. But... That’s bullshit. It’s absolute crap. Family has nothing to do with blood.”

Virgil glanced up at him again.

“But you and Roman are brothers. You’re blood. You’re family.”

“We are,” Roman nodded. “But we’re family that just so happens to also be blood.”

Virgil frowned.

“I don’t get what you mean.”

“Family are the people you choose. The people you feel safe around, who you trust and who just... feel like home,” Remus tried to explain. “I know this sounds cliche but I don’t know how else to put it.”

“What we’re trying to say is... It’s hard when the people who you thought were supposed to love you don’t and you don’t know why, but it’s not your fault. And it doesn’t mean you’re alone. There are people who will love you,” Roman put an arm over Virgil’s shoulder. Lightly enough that Virgil could easily shake it off if he wanted to.

He didn’t.

“If you want us to, we could be your family,” Remus suggested.

“I-” Virgil’s breath hitched. “I’d like that.”

“Come here,” he could hear Roman smile and the next thing he knew he was being hugged from both sides.

He couldn’t stop himself from crying again.

“Don’t tell him I said this,” Remus spoke up again after a while,” but I’m pretty sure the Captain thinks of you as his son.”

“Patton definitely does,” Roman nodded.

“Patton thinks we’re all his kids,” Virgil managed between sobs.

“And honestly, I think we are.”

[yellowmagicalgirl]

So I recently binge-read the Anarchy Dreamers webcomic, which is about a world where often when kids (and maybe some adults? I can't remember) die, they come back from the dead with supernatural powers and/or physical changes (but their nightmares can wreak havoc on the world). Those who come back from the dead are called both dreamers and dreamwalkers, though occasionally death isn’t neccessary. And now I kind of want to write an AU about it, so...

AU where the Reckless Club+Darci all got Saturday detention with Senor Uhl... however, there was a fire that would later be blamed on faulty electrical. Only Senor Uhl and Shannon made it out alive. The other seven students all made it out undead. Now, five of them are illegally fighting nightmares.

(Warning: below the cut there are mild Wizards spoilers)

Reckless Dreamers

Jim

Physical changes: he basically became troll!Jim but the changes are almost entirely cosmetic.

Powers: He can manifest armor and weapons.

Jim is one of the first of the seven of them to start fighting nightmares.

Claire

Physical changes: her blue streak turned white, and her irises turned purple. When she feels intense anger or fear, her hair turns fully white, her sclera turn black, and her pupils turn pale purple.

Powers: She can control shadows so they take other shapes. In addition, she (and up to two other people; she has to hold their hand) can use shadows to travel from one place to another.

Claire holds off on fighting nightmares for a while because of her mom, but when her own nightmare threatens Enrique she is able to fight back against it - something incredibly rare for dreamwalkers... then again, there could be an outside influence affecting her.

Toby

Physical changes: his teeth are now orange crystals; at least he no longer needs braces!

Powers: Gravity manipulation

Toby finds out that Jim is fighting nightmares, alone, and immediately decides that he needs to help his best friend.

Steve

Physical changes: he has small horns that probably look like either Draal’s or Gunmar’s

Powers: not much beyond enhanced physical strength

Steve started fighting nightmares soon after Jim and Toby started, but it was a while before he and Eli teamed up with Jim, Toby, and Claire.

Eli

Physical changes: if you shine a light at his eyes, his pupils will reflect green light

Powers: mild telekinesis, enhanced reflexes and dexterity

He has theories about the fire and the nature of nightmares, and he’s going to get answers, dammit!

Darci

Physical changes: Pink mole ears

Powers: Unknown

Darci doesn’t fight nightmares because it’s illegal and there’s people with actual training who are doing so, but she also won’t snitch on the others to her dad because she knows they’re trying to do the right thing

Mary

Physical changes: her hair is now more of a really dark red than a true black

Powers: Invisibility

Mary chooses not to fight, but she does casually help the others avoid detection

Other Dreamers

Blinky

Powers: He can make things combust

Physical changes: Four arms, six eyes.

Blinky is the school guidance counselor, and he’s been trying to get the Reckless Dreamers into his office to try and help them cope with their changes. He’s also trying to monitor Shannon to see if she manifests dreamwalker traits. Unfortunately, there are only so many hours of the day. He lives with his husband Arghamount in Trollmarket, a suburb of Arcadia Oaks where a large percentage of the population is dreamers.

Strickler

Powers: knife summoning

Physical changes: wings, horns

Strickler is the only other adult dreamwalker at Arcadia Oaks High (not counting the occasional 18-year-old who is about to graduate). He is secretly a member of the Janus Order, a political group that believes dreamwalkers are better than most humans (but does not advocate for the deaths of normal humans, unlike more extreme dreamwalker supremacist groups)

Aja & Krel

Physical changes: They now have four arms each and cyan blood. Their eyes are now the same as their Akiridion eyes. Aja was shorter than Krel before they died; now she’s taller.

Powers: They both have light manipulation, which allows them to look like their living forms. Aja is able to create hard light weaponry/shoot lasers. Krel can create portals.

The Tarron siblings really are a pair of human twins (Aja will not shut up about being four minutes older) who escaped the violent coup of their home country of Cantaloupia. Varvatos was supposed to get the two of them and their parents to America, where they would live with Fialkov’s eccentric second cousin (Lucy) and her husband (Ricky). All four Tarrons were gunned down as they escaped via a truck. Aja and Krel came back from the dead; Fialkov and Coranda did not.

Merlin

Physical changes: honestly he’s so old and the changes were so subtle that he no longer remembers

Powers: longevity, among other things

Merlin helped to start Camelot LLC with Arthur’s grandfather, Aurelius Pendragon. As the years have gone on, Merlin has been slowly locked out of Camelot LLC. He has a license to fight nightmares internationally.

Morgana

Physical changes: Five tiny gold horns have formed along her brow. Her nails also naturally grow in as gold claws.

Powers: levitation, shadow manipulation, low-level telepathy

Morgana died when she was sixteen, due to a camping accident gone wrong. She also lost her left hand in this accident. No one’s sure, but it’s suspected that Guinevere’s death was caused by Morgana’s nightmare. Morgana is secretly channeling Camelot LLC funds into the Janus Order. She’s going to take interest in Claire’s abilities sooner or later.

Douxie

Physical changes: His bangs are naturally blue. When he feels intense emotions his eyes glow blue.

Powers: part of his soul effectively split off into a talking dragon-cat; though Archie might actually be the result of a nightmare. Douxie might have other powers as well.

Douxie became a dreamwalker as a homeless orphaned five-year-old, and his circumstances didn’t get better until three years later, when Merlin rescued Douxie from his own nightmare, adopted him, and brought him back with him to California. Merlin has encouraged Douxie to fight against nightmares, even though it’s not legal. Now that Douxie is nearly an adult, Merlin often leaves him alone with Archie in their Arcadia Oaks apartment for days at a time. Morgana will often check up on Douxie, if she’s visiting the Janus Order. It’s technically neglect, but Douxie doesn’t see anything wrong with this considering his life before Merlin.

Zoe

Physical changes: gills, fins, and scales as seen in this post where I illustrate them

Powers: lightning control

Zoe drowned in a swimming pool when she was twelve. She’s one of the few dreamers at Arcadia Oaks Academy other than Douxie.

Seamus

Physical changes: he gained swirling tattoos across his upper back. They faintly glow when he uses his powers.

Powers: Density control

Seamus died of a bad case of food poisoning when he was eleven. He joined the Junior Dreamer Guard (it’s like JROTC) in hopes that it’ll help him get a scholarship.

Araceli Conrad

Physical changes: her bones are now crystalline in nature

Powers: magnetism (if she teamed up with Zoe they could use light manipulation)

Conrad was crushed by falling furniture when she was 14. The only people allowed to call her by her first name are her grandmother and her girlfriend, Shannon, but that doesn’t mean that everyone respects this.

Nana

Physical changes: Her eyes are a brighter shade of green than they were prior to becoming a dreamer

Powers: Longevity

Nancy became a dreamer in World War One

The Living

Shannon

Has survivor’s guilt. She’s looking into the fire, to see if there was anything suspicious about it.

Arthur

Known for being the CEO of the company Camelot LLC, and also having anti-dreamer political policies despite his sister and one of the company founders both being dreamers. His politics have become harsher ever since Guinevere died under mysterious circumstances.

Kubritz

Military; she’s been experimenting on ways to fight nightmares while not involving dreamers. She’s also conducting illegal experiments on dreamers.

[sanders-sides-fic]

There is no nice deathworlders! (Right?) [Chapter 1]

AU-Masterpost: here

ZH-8 was a horrible planet. It had terrible weather that affected spaceships even far above the thick atmosphere. There were lots of poisonous plants here, too. One wrong move and your legs would be covered in ethanol. Really, no one wanted to be stranded on ZH-8.

Somehow they had managed to get just there, though. And, even worse, seperated from each other.

Patton, a sylemn with bright blue wings and cream colored feathers, had been stranded on what looked like a beach. He made sure not to touch the clear water-like substance, though. Logan had informed him multiple times that a lot of planets had salt mixed in to some of the water on the floor. It wasn’t safe to touch.

As much as Patton wanted to get away entirely from the beach and find his friends, though, he was stuck. He could barely even feel his right wing and his left leg was at least severely twisted. Enough to make standing up hurt too much to try and find anyone. But how long would he last like this? Surely there were some flesh-eating animals here and they probably didn’t get easier pray than him, all helpless and vulnerable right now. Patton shivered at the very thought.

On the planet his species originated from there were no such things as animals that ate other living things with faces and such. They had all been living off of plants and minerals. Surely that had to be one of the reasons his species was supposed to be so incredibly soft when it came to handling other species. He was usually pretty proud of this, but in his current situation he couldn’t help but wish for the aggressiveness of his proud creathen friends. Roman and Remus surely wouldn’t be devoured without a fight. No matter where they were.

One of said creathen was currently trying not to leave their body to his twin. Remus screamed at Roman, a demonic screech that chilled the older creath down to his bone. He still wouldn’t let Remus have control, though.

»You know, if you want to go destroy everything around here, great. But you’re gonna hurt yourself and than I’ll be hurt too. So stop whining and let me get a grip on the situation, will you?«, he tried to convince his feral counter part.

Remus’ laughter echoed through their skull. »Oh? Think you can do this on your own? I’m the only one around, RoRo~«, he sung.

Damn that green demon of a creath! He was right. Roman sighed. »Alright. I’ll probably regret this, but… Shared body? Because if you think I’ll grant you full control you are delirious!«

»Aw, Roman! I’m touched you wanna share the time, but whatever do you mean delirious? I’m perfectly capable of handling ourself!«

»Don’t even try. I am still very much aware of the last time I made that mistake. I’m not letting you do that so soon.« After this comment Remus was quiet for a little while, until a sigh filled the silence in their mind again. Remus made a sound of agreement at last and Roman sighed in relief of his brother agreeing to compromise. Perhaps he’d actually been sorry of the thing he did back then.

A soft glow grew around them for a few moments as the body adapted to the change inside. In their shared form Roman and Remus had obsidian black skin, with crimson scales growing diagonally across their chest. Their horns were golden and the claws were silver. And they did not have that hideous, green scar over their mouth, as Roman was relieved to know every single time. As much as Remus loved that scar, Roman hated it.

The body let out a heavy sigh. “Argh! Finally! Freedom!”, Remus screamed in full volume. He then shook his head. “You have no idea just how cramped it gets inside the mind after a few days! Urgh, no wonder I go crazy every time~”

Roman laughed inside their mind as he let Remus start to walk around, searching for the other two. “I know what you are playing at and I will not give you more time in control, brother. By now I am immune against your guilt-tripping.” And with that the bickering started.

Maybe they were too immersed in their conversation, but they didn’t notice the other person observing them. What the hell? That thing right there looked like it was an creathen, but he was talking with himself! An entire conversation. Virgil had seen many of them being slaughtered and had done so with a hand full himself if he couldn’t help it. But never before had he seen one of them talking with himself like that. Sure, he had seen the so called twin-souled alien change from the peaceful version into the feral one, had known that they lived with two people charing the body in a way that reminded him of what he’d heard about multiple personalities. But actually seeing one - or two? - engaging in a conversation outside of their head? For everyone to hear?

Then again, Virgil didn’t have much experience with non-threatened aliens, not even at this point. He had been here for months now, maybe even years. He’d lost his sense of time. All he knew was that he had lost Janus and he was supposed to be somewhere around here. Maybe Janus would know how long ago they’d meet and made a run for it? Did it even matter?

Anyways.

The point was that Virgil, as a human, hadn’t gotten to know any aliens. Only when they didn’t know who, or rather what he was, had they ever been somewhat calm around him. However, the hight that was usual for humans seemed to be uncanny for other aliens, so they always felt somewhat intimidated by him. And interactions had either been short in order to avoid being found out or with an alien that was certain he was going for the kill or something worse any minute now.

Vigil knew it was rude to stare. Still, he was kind of intrigued by the creathen trying to get along with themselves while searching for something. He should know what they were doing here, too. After all, what if they would appear to be a threat? What if they’d heard the rumors as well and wanted to hunt Janus down? What if- What if he was overthinking again? Virgil sighed quietly. He would still observe and make sure that the two-for-one-alien-deal over there was safe.

It was night wherever they were located on ZH-8 and Virgil knew that most aliens had terrible night vision. Like, absolutely horrendous night vision. They were almost blind once the sun set. Some barely had any adjustment capabilities, but most weren’t able to adjust to lightning at all. The pupils had one setting and that was day-light. It was unnerving, really, because they most likely would still end up having an iris anyways. And from a previous… “chat” with a creath had proved that they were no exception from this. So the alien over there probably couldn’t see him, even though the tree-like plant he was hiding behind was about was thick as three apples next to each other. It had a similar rounded-triangle shape as well. Virgil tried not to think about what the hell this plant was.

But it also meant, Virgil realized a little too late in utter horror, that the creathen didn’t notice the edge they were walking towards. Not until the slipped with a terrified scream, that lead to a sickening thud, which in turn lead to deafening silence.

There was no sound. None at all, not even leaves rustling in the wind. The air barely circulated here. Virgil waited and waited and waited in the silence of the absence of the alien. Nothing. Nothing at all. After what felt like an eternity, he gulped down his remaining shock and slowly walked towards the edge himself. Maybe this was a trick? Maybe the creathen had noticed him? Maybe they hadn’t been alone after all? Maybe… Maybe there was anything happening here but them having died because Virgil hadn’t warned them?

But nothing happened. And when Virgil took a look down, the creathen lay there, motionless. But the scales were still red and the horns and claws still not white. That was all that mattered, really, because it meant that the creathen was unconscious, but not dead. It wasn’t too late yet! He could safe them.

But… Should he? The creathen would probably freak once he woke up next to a human. And Virgil couldn’t afford being attacked and/or killed. He was kind of in the middle of finding and saving his best friend here. On the other hand, if he didn’t help with those wounds, the creathen would die. Only a fatal wound could make both halves of the alien pass out at the same time. Well, that and sleep, but the second option appeared to be kind of unlikely in this situation.

With a groan Virgil turned around and started to climb down carefully. It wasn’t high - only about six and a half feet - but enough to break a bone. And enough to be fatal for the presumably ten inches shorter creature with the less sturdy body. So he hurried. A big mistake when you were climbing down unknown mud-walls.

Suddenly, Virgil lost his grip and was sent falling down. He could feel the pain of a scrap on his hand and shortly after the sensation of the air being knocked out of him. Shit! Why didn’t his muscles work?! Why couldn’t he get any air in?! He was suffocating! He was definitely dying here and then janus would think that he had abandoned him and the creathen would think he had tried to kill them and the creathen’s friends would think so too when they would finde the inevitably dying creathen and-

Oh.

Just as suddenly as he had lost the air, it returned back into his lunges. As he coughed, Virgil decided not to question why that had happened for once and just be grateful it did. It took a lot of time for him to get rid of the black dots in his vision, but when he finally had…

There was a storm brewing. Unmistakably a storm, those clouds looked the same on every planet. And he was hurt and had to help this also hurt creathen here. It was just one thing after the other today, wasn’t it? He sighed, heaving the heavy creature in his arms as he started to walk in the direction of the hills a little further away, hoping to find shelter there and grumbled unhappily as he did so: “If you attack me when you wake up, I’ll give you hell, little creathen.”

What Virgil didn’t notice was the single, red scale that had come loose when the creathen had lost balance. He didn’t notice how it lay there, on top of the muddy edge, painfully obvious. And he surely didn’t notice how another alien found it long after he had carried the creathen away. That also meant he couldn’t see the desperately hopeful look in his eyes at the life sign of his creathen friends.

[sparrow-flies-south]

Ten Things [2]

Fandom: Sanders Sides Pairings: Anxceit, Royality Intrulogical Summary: Ten Things I Hate About You AU When Roman Prince learns that Patton Foster isn’t allowed to date until his older brother, Virgil, is, Roman is crushed. Roman’s twin brother Remus, however, comes up with a plan: find someone who is willing to date Virgil. And who better to ask than Janus Verona, who according to rumours is willing to do anything for the right price? Taglist (ask to be added!): @someone-idk-is-here

Notes: Been awhile, so have an extra long chapter to make up for it! I want to switch to updating every Saturday now this is my main project.  I've switched to using Janus instead of Dee, so I edited the first chapter and summary to reflect that. There's no other differences to the first chapter. Also *pokes tags* there's intrulogical in this now.

AO3 Link - Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six

Roman cleared his throat and looked over the ragtag group of students he’d gathered before him.

Luc Edwards, Scott Brown, Tyler Ellis, Pete Campbell and Alex Swift. Three of Virgil’s friends, and two boys Roman knew sat next to Virgil in class. He and Remus had spent all of Monday spying, making notes of who Virgil spoke to, who he sat by, who he ate lunch with. After much debating, and a fair dose of stalking on social media, the two had come up with a shortlist.

That morning, he and Remus had both ended up late to their first class because they’d been delivering notes to each of the five, telling them to meet in one of the maths classrooms that Roman knew would be empty at this time.

“I’m sure you’re all wondering why I brought you here today,” Roman began.

“Who are you?” Alex Swift, a gangly boy with greasy hair and acne covering his face asked.

“That not important,” Roman dismissed. “What is important is that one of you is going to take Virgil Foster out on a date.”

“Who?” asked Tyler Ellis, who Roman knew ate lunch with Virgil every day.

“That weird emo kid,” Scott Brown answered.

“Why do you want one us to date Virgil?” Alex asked.

“As a part of a scheme to allow me to date his brother,” Roman replied. “But that’s not important.”

“Question,” said Luc Edwards, who, unlike the others, was perched on a table. “What’s in it for us?”

“Uh, the joy of Virgil’s company?”

Luc snorted. “Are you sure we’re talking about the same guy?”

Okay, Roman was beginning to hate everyone in the room. Weren’t they supposed to be Virgil’s friends?

“Quite sure,” he said through gritted teeth.

Luc shook his head. “He’s a freak. He never even speaks.”

“I heard him speak once,” Pete said timidly. “He asked how often the school tested the fire alarms.”

“Probably planning on burning the place down,” Scott muttered.

Roman stared at him. He knew that outsiders judged his friendships for the friendly insults he handed out like candy, but even he had limits, and talking about someone like that behind their back broke all of them. He was beginning to get the urge to defend Virgil’s honour.

“Do any of you actually like him?” Roman asked.

“He doesn’t speak,” Luc repeated. “We let him hang around with us because he doesn’t have anywhere else to go. Honestly, it’s kinda pathetic.”

Roman looked from person to person. None of them met their eyes.

Luc sighed. “Look, good luck with your search, but honestly? Don’t get your hope up.”

With that, Luc jumped down from the table and left the room. Roman looked at the four remaining boys, but his hope was dying. Luc had seemed to be the unofficial leader of Virgil’s group, commanding their attention. He’d been Roman’s favourite, though Remus had disagreed.

The other boys exchanged glances. For a moment, no one spoke.

“Sorry,” Pete said at last, “But he’s not my type.”

“He’s a loser.”

“Forget it.”

“I still don’t know who that is.”

One boy one, the boys left the classroom, until Roman was alone. He groaned, and thudded his head against the wall. So much for that idea. So much for Virgil’s shitty friends.

He sighed, and then went to find Remus.

 ***

“Maybe it’s for the best,” Logan said.

The two of them were sat at their favourite table in the library, hidden away among the stacks. In front of them was their homework, which Patton was currently face down on, bemoaning his current romantic status.

It had been the fifth time they’d had that conversation since Friday. Logan had kept track.

“Maybe,” Patton mumbled into the desk, which was an improvement on the last four conversations, when he hadn’t been willing to listen.

“It will give you more time to study,” Logan pointed out.

Patton lifted his head and pulled a face. “Okay, I get it.” He sat up fully and sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I hate French.”

“Just be glad you didn’t take Spanish,” Logan said, drily.

Mischief suddenly danced in Patton’s eyes. “Oh? Why’s that, Lo?”

“Because-“ Logan stopped himself. “No. You are not going to distract me like that.”

“Like what?” asked a new voice, and Remus Prince slid into the third seat at the table.

Patton and Logan exchanged glances, and then looked back at Remus, who looked as if sitting with them was the most normal thing in the world, even though they’d never had a conversation together.

They knew who Remus was, of course, even outside of Patton’s crush on his brother. Everyone knew who Remus was. It had taken him less than a year at Padua High to reach a level of infamy most students could only aspire to. Patton still shuddered every time he saw a duck.

Remus looked between them. “Are you guys having a stroke?”

“No,” Logan said. “We’re merely… surprised you chose to sit with us.”

Remus shrugged. “Gotta keep an eye on who my brother’s dating,” he said, and grinned at Patton like a shark.

Patton swallowed. “Roman and I aren’t dating.”

“Right,” Remus said, and then muttered something that sounded like ‘yet’. “So,” he added cheerfully. “What are we talking about?”

“Spanish,” Patton said sweetly.

Logan glared at him. “No, we’re-.”

“Ugh,” Remus threw his head back. “Spanish is the worst. Mrs Richards has no idea what she’s talking about.”

“Yes,” Logan agreed. “And her pronunciation-,”

“It’s awful!��� Remus finished. “Like, has she ever seen a native speaker?”

Logan nodded, and then narrowed his eyes. “How would you know? Don’t you sleep through most Spanish classes?”

“Yeah, but it creeps into my dreams and gives me nightmares.”

“No, I mean- how do you how bad she is if you don’t pay attention to what she’s teaching.”

Remus looked at him like he was stupid. It was not a look Logan got very often. “I… speak Spanish?”

“You do?” Logan asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Remus said. “I grew up speaking it. You guys didn’t know that?”

“We don’t exactly know you,” Patton pointed out. “And you are taking it as a class.”

“Yeah, because it’s an easy A.”

“Of course,” Logan muttered.

Patton gasped and clapped his hands together, making the other two jump. He glanced around guiltily at the noise, but there was no one nearby to get annoyed.

“Remus, you speak Spanish!” Patton exclaimed.

“That’s… what we were just talking about?” Remus said.

Patton turned to Logan. “Remus can tutor you!”

“What?” Logan and Remus asked at the same time.

“Well, you’re always talking about how you wish you had someone to practise with! Here’s your chance.”

Logan and Remus looked at each other uncertainly.

“I don’t think Remus wants to do that,” Logan said.

“You don’t know what I want,” Remus protested.

Logan narrowed his eyes. Remus gave his biggest shit-eating grin.

“I wouldn’t want to presume-,”

“It’s not presuming if you just ask me.”

“I don’t have the money for a tutor.”

“I’ll do it out of the goodness of my heart!”

Logan and Remus stared at each other. Remus’s smile took on a slightly sinister nature.

“Unless,” Remus said, “There’s some reason you don’t want me to tutor you.”

It was a challenge and a game all wrapped into one. Remus was watching Logan carefully, waiting to see what he’d do, if he’d admit to not liking Remus or come up with an excuse.

Logan had never backed down from a challenge. Not when he was eleven, and his teacher had given him advanced work and not bothered to explain it because ‘other people need my time more’, which Logan had taken home and researched until he understood. Not when he was fourteen, and his teacher had asked if he’d like to teach the class instead, and Logan had snapped back ‘I’d probably do a better job than you’. Not when he was fifteen and the history teacher had dismissed his comments with ‘you don’t know more than the textbook’, so Logan had compiled a ten page list of sources that showed the textbook was wrong.

He certainly wasn’t going to back down when Remus Prince was staring at him with those infuriating brown eyes.

So he changed the game.

“In that case,” Logan said, forcing his face into a smile, “I accept your offer.”

Remus gaped at Logan, and Logan raised an eyebrow.

“Unless there’s some reason you don’t want to tutor me?”

Remus burst into laughter. “Oh, this is going to be fun.”

Patton, whose eyes had darted back and forth between them like a spectator at a tennis match, now smiled as if everything was fine. Remus suspected that Patton hadn’t understood what was happening. Logan knew better.

“What the hell are you doing in the library?” someone called, and the trio turned around.

Roman stood there with his arms crossed, looking exasperated at Remus. It was a common look on Roman’s face.

Remus raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, am I not allowed to be a good student?”

“Not when it means I have to search the entire school looking for you!”

Patton cleared his throat. “Is… everything okay?”

Roman jerked when he noticed Patton sitting there. “Ah, Patton! Yes, everything’s fine, I just need to borrow my brother here.”

“Smooth,” Remus commented.

Roman’s only response was to grab Remus by the arm and pull him out of the chair.

“Ow! Hey! Okay, okay, I’m going. See you later, Nerdy Wolverine!”

The librarian glared at Roman dragged Remus past her desk. Roman gave an apologetic look. Remus grinned and blew a kiss.

“You’re not very subtle,” Remus pointed out when they were standing in the corridor outside.

“Shut up,” Roman snapped.

“Ooh, grumpy! So how did the meeting go?”

Remus began walking through the halls and Roman did too.

“How do you think?”

“I think Operation: Get Virgil Foster Laid has hit a wall.”

Roman rubbed a hand over his face. “We are not calling it that.”

“But fear not!” Remus continued. “I have a solution.”

Roman narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “What solution?”

“I’m so glad you asked! See, there was one big flaw with your plan-,”

“It was your plan!”

“-And that’s that you lacked incentive! No one’s going to do things for the goodness of their hearts!”

“So what do you suggest?” Roman asked.

“Use money! What else are you going to do with it- use it to pay for dates?”

“Okay,” Roman said. “Let me get this straight-,”

“Hah!”

“-You want me to pay someone to date Virgil Foster.”

“Not just anyone! It’s all about finding the right person.”

They had reached the cafeteria now. Remus pulled open the door with a flourish.

“Fortunately, I know exactly who that person is.”

Roman followed Remus’s gesture to a table near the back of the cafeteria, where a boy was sat wearing a black leather jacket over a yellow shirt. A hat hid most of his face, but Roman could just about make out a large burn scar from underneath his left eye to his jaw.

He sat alone, attention on the book in front of him. The crowd at the tables near him seemed electrified. Everyone was aware of his presence, but no one dared look over.

Roman shook his head. “Isn’t that Janus Verona?”

When Roman and Remus had first joined the story, Janus had become an urban legend in his absence. The boy with the strange name and scar on his face, which should have made him the perfect target for bullies, but instead he became something else. Everyone had a friend who’s sibling or cousin had messed with him, or who he just hadn’t liked, and had their lives ruined for it.

If you wanted dirt on someone, he probably already had it. If you wanted a fake ID, or alcohol, or tickets to a sold out concert, he could get it for you. He’d do anything you asked, if you had the money.

He hadn’t shown up what should have been his senior year because he was in prison for murder. Because he’d quit school and joined the mob. He was in prison, but it was extortion, not murder. The murder part was true, but he’d fled the country because of it.

Roman had wondered whether he’d even existed in the first place.

And then Janus had come back, and started his senior year one year late.

Janus had become ten times more powerful through not being there, and the school had its resident bogeyman back. Roman had seen him a handful of times in the halls, and had always kept his head down and stayed away.

Whatever the rumour were, Janus Verona was clearly trouble.

“It’s perfect,” Remus said, cutting off Roman’s thoughts. “We pay him, he takes Virgil out, you and Patton get to be together and I don’t have to listen to your whining.”

“It’s Janus Verona,” Roman hissed, because clearly Remus was not getting how insane that was.

“I know,” Remus said, starry eyed. “Isn’t he great?”

Roman did manage to resist the urge to scream, but it was a near thing.

“Look,” Remus said. “We tried it your way. It went down like the Hindenburg.”

“That doesn’t mean we should resort to hiring a criminal!”

“Got any better ideas? I’m all ears.”

Roman opened his mouth, then shut it again. He glared at Remus.

“Great!” Remus said, and dragged Roman over to Janus’s table.

Janus did not look up from his book as the two of them approached. They stood at in front of the table. Janus still didn’t look up. Roman glanced at Remus, who shrugged. He cleared his throat.

“Roman and Remus Prince,” Janus said, his eyes still on the book. “Why ever would two model citizens like you come to someone like me?”

Remus took this as an invitation to pull out a chair and throw himself into it. “I just want to say, I’m a big fan of your work.”

That was enough to get Janus to look up from his book. He had the same confused and mildly horrified look most people got upon meeting Remus. “…Thank you?”

Roman sat down. “Ignore my brother, he’s morally deficient.” Remus kicked him under the table. “We want to hire you.”

Janus hummed. “I charge extra if you want it to look like an accident.”

“What?” Roman exclaimed. “No! We don’t- are you offering to kill someone!?”

Janus met his eyes and raised an eyebrow for a moment, the most terrifying one of Roman’s life. Then he threw his head back with loud, cackling peals of laughter. Remus beamed.

“Oh,” Roman said, laughing nervously. “You were joking. You- you are joking, right?”

“Certainly,” Janus said. “You wouldn’t be able to afford my fee.”

“This is the greatest day of my life,” Remus whispered.

“So.” Janus leaned back in his chair, “What can I do for you? Don’t bother getting all embarrassed, I promise, I’ve heard it all before.”

Roman glanced at Remus, who nodded. “We’d like to hire you to date Virgil Foster,” he said.

“Okay,” Janus said after a moment’s silence. “I haven’t heard it all before. You do realise I’m not an escort, don’t you?”

“I don’t want you to have sex with him,” Roman cried, then ducked his head, blushing, when he realised everyone had probably heard that. “I just- look, I want to date Patton Foster, okay?”

“Whatever you’re about to tell me, I assure you I don’t care,” Janus drawled.

“So I asked Patton out, and he was like, ‘I’ll have to ask my dad’, but then his dad was like ‘not unless Virgil dates’, which apparently is impossible. So Remus and I came up with an idea-,”

“I came up with it,” Remus interrupted.

“So Remus came up with, and I improved upon, an idea: we find someone to date Virgil.”

“And how did that go?” Janus asked, looking mildly interested despite himself.

“Terrible,” Remus chimed in. “So we figured we’d ask you.”

Janus tilted his head, considering. “Alright,” he said at last.

“Seriously?”

Janus smiled, and spread his gloved handswide. “Who am I to get in the way of true love?”

“Well, great.” Roman was suddenly transported to a reality where Remus’s plans worked. It was not a pleasant experience. “Uh, so how’s ten dollars sound?”

Janus gasped, and placed a hand on his heart. “Roman. Are you suggested that I take a fine young man like Virgil on a date that’s worth ten dollars?”

Roman gritted his teeth. “Well, what do you want?”

“Well, let’s see,” Janus mused. “Say we go to the cinema. The tickets cost, what, fifteen dollars? And then, of course, I’ll be buying him popcorn. And then there’s the price of gas…”

“How much?”

Janus smiled. “Let’s say $75.”

Roman balked. “No way.”

Janus shrugged. “All right then. Plenty of fish in the sea, after all.”

He turned his attention back to his book, though Roman got the sense he was still watching them.

“Roman,” Remus hissed.

Roman glared. “I can’t afford seventy five dollars a date.”

“It only needs to be a couple of times,” Remus pointed out.

Roman groaned. “Fine,” he spat, and Janus looked up from his book and smiled. “But I don’t pay you until after the date.”

“Half up front, half after,” Janus said. “Otherwise there’s no deal.”

Roman considered. He didn’t seem to have much of a choice. “I’ll pay the first half once Virgil agrees to it.”

Janus nodded. “Deal.” He reached out a hand, and Roman shook it. “A pleasure doing business with you, Mr Prince. Now, if you excuse me, it appears I have a boy to seduce.”

Janus pushed away from the table, picked up his book – Kant, something he’d read before but which gave him the opportunity to watch the cafeteria without anyone noticing - and swept out of the room.

People scurried out of his way as he walked through the hallways, but their whispers and dirty looks trailed after him. He was not well liked in this school, and he knew it – had known for a long time that he would never be liked, and so he had become something else.

Janus Verona did not need to be liked to be powerful.

He arrived at his destination- a corridor that contained only a set of toilets, a supply closet, and a side door that led to a set of steps down to the parking lot, hidden behind rows of cars. For years, it had made the best spot for smoking without getting caught.

Virgil Foster did not smoke, but he did hang around with people who did.

Janus leaned against the wall of the corridor and opened his book again, pretending to read but really watching Virgil through the window in the door. He was sat on the top step with his head phones on, but he was watching the other boys, even though presumably he couldn’t hear the conversation. At the bottom of the steps Luc Edwards stood, waving his eyes as he spoke. The other boys alternated between listening to him and paying him no attention.

The group was a scattering of losers and outcasts, the kind that banded together not through any shared friendship, or even through liking each other. They were there because there was safety in numbers and nowhere else to go.

In another life, Janus might have been one of them, keeping his head turned away so no one saw his scar.

In this life, the bell rang, and the group outside got up, and started heading to class. Most of them barely glanced at Janus as they passed, safe in being too low in the hierarchy to be bothered. Luc Edwards shoulder checked him as he walked past.  

Janus narrowed his eyes at Luc, but before he could do anything, Virgil came inside, his head down, hood pulled up. Janus pushed off the wall, and fell into step with him. Virgil glanced over at the movement in the corner of his eye, then did a double take when he realised who was next to him.

“What?” Virgil asked gruffly, pushing one headphone away from his ear.

“Janus Verona,” he introduced, holding out one hand. Virgil looked at it suspiciously, but didn’t say anything.

“We have English together,” Janus explained. “Why not walk together?”

Virgil shook his head. “Why are you talking to me?”

“Is there a reason why I shouldn’t?” Janus asked.

“I can think of a few,” Virgil snapped, and sped up.

Truly, it was shocking that Roman and Remus had been so unsuccessful.

Virgil was already in his seat by the time Janus entered the classroom. He didn’t look up as Janus sat down, didn’t even glance in his direction, which meant he was putting in the effort to seem as uninviting as possible.

The teacher- Mr Williams- began his lesson as the last stragglers had taken their seats, introducing the Shakespeare module they were about to begin and handing out copies of The Taming of The Shrew. Janus payed attention only enough to know what was happening. Nothing interesting would be in this lesson, and he wanted a chance to review what he already knew about Virgil.

He’d never had much to do with Virgil, before. Virgil had been in the year below, and even if their paths had crossed, Janus had never had much reason to pay attention to the emo boy at the back of the class.

He knew that Virgil had a younger brother, Patton, and that their parents were divorced. He knew that, if Luc Edwards was anything to go by, he had terrible taste in friends.

He was also, Janus noticed when he snuck glances at Virgil, not bad looking.

“Before we get started,” Mr Williams said, “Why doesn’t everyone share their thoughts on Shakespeare’s works?”

Janus rolled his eyes at the pointless attempt to make the lesson interactive.

Mr Williams made a show of scanning the class. “Virgil Foster,” he said, announcing both names as if there was another Virgil in the school, let alone the class. “What are your thoughts?”

And that was one other thing Janus knew about Virgil: Mr Williams hated him.

Janus didn’t know whether Mr Williams had convinced himself that he was helping to bring a shy boy out of his shell, or if he admitted that he just wanted to torment someone and went for the weakest option. Janus hoped it was the latter, because it would take a lot of denial to believe that calling on him every lesson was a good thing. Either Virgil would stammer out an answer, face pale and voice shaky, or he would say nothing, and Mr Williams would tell him to pay more attention and threaten him with detention.

It made Janus’s fists clench, that a man would go through such efforts to feel like he had power over someone he already had power over.

Still, it gave Janus a chance to look at Virgil, shoulders hunched and head down.

“He’s fine,” Virgil muttered.

“Fine?” Mr Williams echoed. “William Shakespeare, the greatest poet in the English language, is fine.” A smattering of giggles, not because Mr Williams was right, but because there was someone for the class to laugh at. Virgil’s shoulders tightened. “I’m sure you can come up with something better than that.”

Virgil said nothing.

Mr Williams sighed dramatically. “We don’t have all day,” he said. “Really, you must have some original thoughts in that head.”

Virgil lifted his head, glaring fire at the teacher. “I think people should stop putting him on a pedestal,” he said. His voice was shaking but the foundation was steel. “I think there are a lot of aspects of his works that people don’t talk about.”

“Care to give an example?” Mr Williams asked.

Virgil tapped the book in front of him. “Guy abuses his wife for the whole play and he’s supposed to be the hero?”

Mr Williams hummed. “Thank you for your feedback, Virgil. I’m sure Shakespeare would be devastated to know you don’t approve of the play he wrote in the sixteenth century.”

Laughter from the class. Virgil flushed and ducked his head, shoulders tense, fists clenched.

It was obvious Virgil hated Mr Williams, but he had never done anything about it before. Somehow, the boy in the back of the class had managed to surprise Janus Verona.

Virgil stayed with his head down until the bell rang, when he was the first to dash out of the classroom, stuffing his books back into his bag as he went. Janus didn’t bother trying to catch up.

He sent a text to Roman as he walked through the halls, asking for more information on Virgil. The first response came back almost instantly, asking how Janus had his number. He ignored it, and pulled up Google while he waited for Roman to get back with something useful. Excitement rushed through him as he typed, the kind that always came in these early stages of a plan.

Virgil was more than he seemed, which meant that this was going to be interesting.

[song-fox]

Inspired by this post

AU where Thomas is a struggling not-so-popular YouTuber, recently out of school and looking for a better job and, since he’s apparently pretty good with kids according to his friends Joan and Talyn, decides to set up a small business babysitting.

It’s all fun and games and the occasional diaper change, until… (long post ahead) (I got a little carried away lol)

Thomas is, obviously, pretty good and experienced with kids. He’s been in the babysitting business for a couple of months now, and he wouldn’t call himself a professional, but he’s making his way through it

One day a woman asks him to babysit her kids

Naturally, Thomas agrees. It’s just a couple of kids, how bad could it be?

Then he realizes that the woman never specified how many kids

Alright, no biggie. Most people have maybe two kids, four at most

Then the woman shows up at his doorstep with six kids, all different ages

Oh god. Oh god. Six kids?! I can’t handle this. Fuuuuu-

“You sure you can take care of these guys by yourself?”

“Oh, of course! No worries!”

He’s in trouble

The oldest is Janus, at fourteen years old. He’s sarcastic, snarky, clever, and hates Thomas. “I don’t need a babysitter, I can take care of myself!”

Next is Logan, twelve. Reserved, cold, and smart. Prefers to be alone with his books.

Then come the twins at ten years old, Roman and Remus. Apparently they aren’t actually the woman’s kids, she’s their adopted them from an ex-friend who never gave them enough attention

As a result, these kids will do anything to get noticed. Anything. Set a couple trash cans on fire, scream from the top of the roof sometimes, whatever.

Then Patton, nine. Sweet, naïve and almost annoyingly empathetic, he keeps the twins in line with compliments and a ton of hugs. He’s probably Thomas’ favourite.

And lastly, baby Virgil. Surprisingly quiet for a baby, his personality is mostly just spite and a fear of loud noises

Thomas is astounded that this woman can even keep track of their names, let alone take care of them

The first day with them is horrific

Logan is arguing with the twins. Patton is desperately trying to get them to stop. Janus is holding Virgil and trying to get him to sleep. The house is absolute anarchy.

Things are seriously getting out of hand when Remus accidentally sets the microwave on fire

(Remus claims it was an accident, but Thomas could easily see the matches in his hand)

He picks up his phone and hastily dials Joan

“Hey, hey Joan? Joan?! Is Talyn there with you? Oh my god, I need you to come over, quick! Remus set the microwave on fire- one of the kids that I’m babysitting! The baby is crying, the older one is yelling at everyone, I think there’s a feral cat loose in the garden- jANUS WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?! PUT THAT DOWN! Oh god, the fire–”

“Huh. Have you tried making s'mores?”

“jOAN PLEASE TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY–”

Eventually everything is under control. The fire is put out, the cat is back to its owner, Virgil has stopped crying and the twins are content to listen to Janus plan out exactly how he’s going to overthrow the government

Thomas is sure he should be more concerned about that, but as long as there’s no more fires

Joan and Talyn are there to support him too

It’s been a very long day, but eventually the kids go home to their mother

The trio flops onto the couch, absolutely exhausted

“Those kids were fun, but I never want to see them ever again.’

Surprise: it’s a weekly thing now

Haha… yeah

Their mom has a new job now, and with her shift requiring her to work for most of the day and their dad working every weekday, Thomas to look after the kids for five hours a week

Five

Hours

Thomas is sure he’s gonna die

The next time they meet goes just about as well as you’d think

There’s crude drawings on the wall, Logan has threatened to smack Janus with a book at least three times, and there’s a knife missing from the kitchen

Next week there’s a food fight

After that Patton shows up with a stray hedgehog

After that Virgil somehow manages to get stuck in the kitchen sink

After that Logan almost accidentally starts a pillow fight with Thomas’ couch cushions

Then suddenly, everything is chill

The twins are more energised than chaotic, Virgil is calm, the rest are content with simply chatting

Mostly they’re just bored and too tired to do anything

Thomas, Joan and Talyn get to talk more leisurely this time as the kids simply talk with one another

Well, until Patton pipes up

"I really like your eyebrows!” he whisper-shouts and points to Talyn, trying not to wake up Virgil

Talyn’s got bright scarlet and pink eyebrows to match their dyed red hair

They look at him for a second. “Oh- uh, thanks!”

“Can you do makeup?” Roman asks

Talyn shrugs. “Sure.”

“Can you do makeup on us?”

Talyn looks to Thomas. “Are we-?”

“Their mom said they can do just about anything as long as they don’t get hurt or break the law.”

The next two hours or so are full of just Talyn putting makeup on all the kids who want them. Full stage makeup for Roman, a moustache and purple eyeshadow for Remus, and a sheepish request for snake scales for Janus

“Hm, dunno what I can do for that one… oh! Thomas, do you have like, fishnets or something?”

“What? Why would I have those?”

Talyn raises a colourful eyebrow.

“…I’ll go get them.”

Half an hour later, Janus looks amazing

Patton can think of a million puns for his snake side

Virgil seems to find it cool

Logan is listing off snake facts for the whole half hour, pointing out mistakes in colouring or shape until Talyn has it perfect

The kids leave that week happier than last time and with bright faces of makeup

The weeks go on and on, and after a few months, Halloween comes up

Their mother is incredibly sorry that she has to work instead of being with her kids, but she has no choice and has to leave them with Thomas

She also leaves a giant bin bag full of costumes

“They like to go Trick-or-Treating,” she explains.

Thomas as actually kinda hyped this time

Outfits! Makeup! Candy! What’s there not to love?!

Apparently the kids share his enthusiasm

Janus asks Talyn if they can do his snake makeup again, to which they gladly agree. He’s going as a generic villain, with a black capelet and cane and everything

Remus is, to nobody’s surprise, Beetlejuice. He’s got temporary neon green hair dye and a cheap-looking striped tuxedo. Remus loves it

Roman is going as a prince. It looks crudely made and even a little tacky, but altogether the costume is pretty good

Logan is going as Dr. Frankenstein, and no he is not the monster, and no that isn’t accurate to the story, and nO GODDAMMNIT ROMAN I AM NOT GOING AS THE MONSTER

Patton is a werewolf, although he doesn’t really get the whole supernatural vibe of it

It’s okay though, his little floppy dog ears look very cute

Virgil is a pumpkin

That’s it

Nothing too special, just a pumpkin

He looks adorable though

The night starts off great, with all the kids chattering away and baby Virgil being the world’s cutest source of attention

The twins are loving all the compliments that come with their costumes

Logan is actually recognized as Dr. Frankenstein and isn’t able to shut up about it

Thomas doesn’t mind, though

After a couple months with the kids, it’s kind of endearing how chaotic they are

The night ends and the kids go back to Thomas’ place, waiting for their mom to come back

Thomas goes to get some DVDs to watch while they wait, and overhears their conversation

“I miss mom,” Patton sighs

“She’s at work. She’ll return soon,” Logan assures him.

“He doesn’t mean it like that.” Janus.

“Oh?”

“Our parents are never around anymore. Thomas has taken more care of us in a couple months than they have in years.”

“Because they’re always working to support us.”

“Well it wouldn’t kill them to stick around a little more,” Roman pipes up

“They’re not abandoning us.”

“I know that!” Roman snaps

Everyone knows the twins’ issues with negligence

There’s a pause, before Remus speaks. “She’s just never around. Dad, too. They don’t want us.”

“Remus, that’s not-”

“They don’t want us!”

There’s another silence as Virgil threatens to start crying again

Janus clears his throat. “We can take care of ourselves. We don’t need our parents any more than each other.”

Another silence.

“C'mon, let’s trade candy. I’ve got a KitKat bar–”

Thomas doesn’t listen to the rest of the conversation

He knows they have it hard

Their parents are always working, and they don’t always care enough to stick around for too long

So he’s determined to do the best he can with these kids

“Hey, guys! I’ve got Nightmare Before Christmas, yes Patton we can watch Elf afterwards if we’ve got time, and yes Roman you’re allowed to sing along. C'mon, let’s get on the couch-!”

[sparrow-flies-south]

Ten Things Chapter 9

Fandom: Sanders Sides Pairings: Anxceit, Royality Intrulogical Summary: Ten Things I Hate About You AU When Roman Prince learns that Patton Foster isn’t allowed to date until his older brother, Virgil, is, Roman is crushed. Roman’s twin brother Remus, however, comes up with a plan: find someone who is willing to date Virgil. And who better to ask than Janus Verona, who according to rumours is willing to do anything for the right price? Taglist (ask to be added): @glitchybina @ellietempest @imlikeaghostzombiejesus @someone-idk-is-here @anxiety-ismy-name @what-aboutno

Masterpost

AO3 Link - Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six - Chapter Seven - Chapter Eight

Two days after their date, Virgil sat next to Janus in the cafeteria for the first time. He managed to stay there for a whole five minutes before the feeling of everyone’s eyes watching them got to him. Janus had asked if he wanted to go somewhere quieter, and then showed him a staircase that led only to a locked door; the boiler room, according to Janus.

“How do you even know about this place?” Virgil had asked.

“I was born knowing everything about the school,” Janus had replied. “I certainly didn’t find it when looking for good places to eavesdrop on people.”

In the weeks that followed, Virgil spent most of his lunches with Janus, either in the cafeteria or their staircase. He never missed his friends, and he had a feeling that they didn’t miss him, either.

The Monday after Thanksgiving, Virgil managed to brave the cafeteria. The school must have gotten used to him by now, because only a few people ever glanced their way. It didn’t stop the prickling feeling against his skin, as he imagined everyone whispering about the two of them.

“Wonderful,” Janus scoffed, pulling Virgil out of his thoughts.

Janus was looking at the doors to the cafeteria, where a girl was hanging up a poster reminding everyone that the Winter Ball was less than two weeks away.

“Considering the dance happens every year,” Janus said, “You’d think they’d realise we’re not stupid enough to need reminding.”

“Yeah, well, they probably need to drum up attention,” Virgil said.

“As if. Give people a chance to dress up and show off and they’ll jump on it ever time.”

“Like what you do every day?” Virgil joked.

Janus spluttered. “That is not- I have style. And I haven’t been brainwashed to think that the greatest thing I could achieve is a decent sexual partner.”

Virgil began to head to English as Janus followed, continuing to explain every way in which school dances are a scam designed to get high schoolers to spend money or something. Virgil wasn’t really paying much attention.

He’d never gone to a school dance before. He’d never had anyone to go with, so what was the point? If he was going to stand around feeling miserable, he could do that at home, where it was quieter.

If he’d known Janus before, maybe it would have been so bad. They could just find somewhere to sit and make fun of people. And even if Janus did want to dance, well, maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.

They were almost at the English classroom, when Janus suddenly stopped talking, and narrowed his eyes at Virgil.

Virgil felt his shoulders hunch up defensively on instinct. “What?” he asked.

“You didn’t join in,” Janus said, slowly. “You never let me monologue.”

Crap, did Janus think he’d been ignoring him? Worse, he kind of had been ignoring him.

“Sorry,” Virgil said. “I zoned out.”

Janus hummed. “That doesn’t have anything to do with the subject matter, does it?”

Virgil felt his cheeks go red, even though Janus wasn’t actually accusing him of anything. He ducked into the classroom to avoid having to reply.

“Really, Virgil, if you were interested, you could have just said something.”

“I’m not!” Virgil said. “I mean, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course you don’t.” Janus followed Virgil over to his desk. Most of the other students were filing in to the classroom, which meant Virgil only had to distract Janus for a couple more minutes before class began.

Though, knowing Janus, he’d probably just pick up the conversation as soon as class was over.

“Fine, I was thinking about it,” Virgil admitted. “Doesn’t mean I want to go. I think about a lot of things.”

Janus didn’t look convinced, but eventually he nodded. “Fine, if you’re certain.”

“I am,” Virgil lied.

Janus nodded, and went to his seat. Virgil sighed, and pulled out his notebooks. Time to spend the whole hour avoiding Mr Williams’ attention.

They’d moved on to studying the sonnets, now. Virgil hadn’t actually hated it as much as he thought he would. He’d actually enjoyed some of it. He’d even been able to give an answer to a question that Mr Williams wasn’t able to make fun of, though he did eye Virgil suspiciously as if Virgil had somehow cheated.

“Each of you will produce a sonnet,” Mr Williams announced, and Virgil sat up straighter. “It must follow the standard rules for sonnets. Which, before you ask, means it has to rhyme.”

Virgil flipped to a new page in his notebook, already thinking about what he could do. Finally, an assignment that was actually interesting. He jotted down a couple of ideas as Mr Williams continued to talk about the assignment.

“Mr Foster,” Mr Williams said suddenly, and Virgil jerked his head up. Mr Williams was frowning at him. Great. What had he done now?

“Do you understand the assignment?” Mr Williams asked.

Virgil glanced at Janus and met his eyes. It was enough to make him feel slightly better.

“Actually,” he said, “I had a question.”

Mr Williams looked satisfied. “Oh? Well, perhaps if you were paying more attention you’d know what the assignment was.”

“Did you want the sonnet in iambic pentameter?”

Mr Williams stopped, and frowned. “Very funny,” he snapped after a moment, before returning to his teaching.

Well, he hadn’t gotten mocked for it. And, judging by that reaction, he assumed the iambic pentameter was not necessary. Still, with Janus looking impressed, it felt like a victory.

 ***

Once school had ended, Roman Prince was stood hidden behind a corner near Patton’s locker, waiting for Patton to come closer.

“This is going to be so good,” he whispered.

“What if he’s allergic to flowers?” Remus asked.

Roman froze, and then his face filled with horror. “Oh, God, I didn’t think about that. This was a terrible idea. We have to take it down!”

“Too late,” Remus sing-songed.

Sure enough, Patton had walked into the corridor with Logan at his side. He stopped and stared at his locker, the door of which had been covered with flowers.

“Well,” Logan said. “I think I can hazard a guess as to who was responsible for this.”

Remus snorted. Roman screwed his courage to the sticking place and stepped out into the corridor. Patton and Logan had their backs to him, staring at the locker, so Roman cleared his throat. Patton spun around, and his eyes lit up as soon as he saw Roman.

“What do you think?” Roman asked.

He’d barely finished the question before Patton was moving, throwing himself into Roman’s arms. Roman caught him and hugged him, smiling. Patton kissed Roman on the cheek.

“They’re beautiful,” Patton said. “Thank you.”

Roman leaned down, and pulled Patton into a deep kiss. Behind the two love birds, Remus slunk over to where Logan was watching them.

“This is going to take forever,” he said. “Walk me to my car?”

“It’s Roman’s car,” Logan corrected, though he still followed, lips twitching in the barest hint of a smile.

Roman and Patton finally pulled out of their kiss, Roman stroking his thumb along Patton’s cheek.

“I wasn’t planning on kissing you just yet,” Roman admitted. “That was meant to be the finale.”

“Finale to what?”

Roman took a deep breath, and then dropped to one knee. Patton giggled.

“Patton Foster,” Roman said, “Would you do the honour of going to the Winter Dance with me?”

“Oh, of course I will!” Patton replied.

After that, there was more kissing, so Roman got the finale he’d planned. By the time the two of them walked to the parking lot, Virgil was already waiting by Patton’s car. He wasn’t alone. Janus Verona stood next to him, saying something. Whatever it was, Virgil laughed.

“He seems so happy,” Patton murmured.

“Who, Virgil?”

Patton nodded. “I was worried when Janus started talking to him. But Virgil has never acted like this before.” He took Roman’s hand and leaned against him. “Guess it must be love.”

Roman looked away. “Right,” he said. “Love.”

Patton frowned, and looked over at him. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” Roman said quickly. “I just, uh, remembered Remus is probably waiting for me! I should go before he decides to start a fire.”

Patton didn’t look convinced, probably because Roman had always been happy to make Remus wait in the past, but he just smiled and said goodbye. Across the parking lot, Virgil must have noticed Patton, because he was saying goodbye to Janus, too.

Roman looked away quickly and hurried to find Remus. Seeing Virgil and Janus together made something twist uncomfortably in his gut.

 ***

Virgil didn’t leave Roman’s head for the rest of the night. Roman didn’t even like the guy, but every time he closed his eyes, he kept imagining Virgil, broken hearted at the end of it all. And fine, Virgil was a dick, but that didn’t mean he deserved that.

Remus was strangely quiet whenever Roman was around, until right before they went to bed, when he told him that if Patton hadn’t wanted to go to the dance with him that made Patton an idiot. Roman just shook his head, and told Remus that everything was fine, which just made him more confused.

It wasn’t like he could talk to Remus about the Virgil problem; Remus probably wouldn’t even see the issue. And there was nobody else who knew about the deal.  So it was just up to him, lying awake in his bedroom. And, when he thought about it, there was only one obvious solution.

So the next day, Roman grabbed Janus’ arm and pulled him to the side of the corridor. Janus went along with it, an indulgent look on his face.

“We need to end this,” Roman whispered.

Janus sighed. “We discussed this,” he said, as if he was talking to a child. “Ending it too soon will just arouse suspicion.”

“I don’t buy it,” Roman snapped. “It’s been weeks. Why would Virgil be suspicious now?”

“And if you’re wrong?”

If Roman was wrong, Virgil would probably murder him with his bare hands. Worse, Patton would know what he’d done. He might never forgive Roman for it.

Janus took Roman’s silence as agreement. “Just a little longer. I’m the one who knows what he’s doing, remember.”

Roman shook his head. “But when is it enough? Tell me, at what point will it be safe to end things? And in the meantime, we just keep hurting Virgil.”

Janus stiffened. “He won’t get hurt,” he snapped.

Roman rolled his eyes. “Some people have feelings, you know.”

“Oh, I know,” Janus replied. “They’re wonderful to manipulate.”

“You’re terrible.”

“Perhaps. But you’re the one paying me.”

“Well, not anymore. I meant what I said. This is over.”

“And I meant what I said. You want to take Patton to the dance, don’t you? Why not keep it going until that, at least.”

Roman shook his head. Something in Janus’ eyes, the way he held himself, the speed at which he answered, made him seem almost… desperate. But why would he be? Sure, Roman was paying him an extortionate amount, but it wasn’t like Janus needed the money.

And then there was the glimpses Roman had seen of him and Virgil together. How relaxed he seemed, the way he looked at Virgil as if Virgil had singlehandedly created every Disney film. Roman had admired Janus for his acting abilities, the way it looked so natural. So real.

“You don’t want this to end,” Roman realised.

Janus looked at him as if he were stupid. “Yes, I told you that.”

“No, you told me that it shouldn’t end. But you’re not worried about Virgil finding out; you’re worried about not being able to date him.”

“Right,” Janus said. “If you’re done being ridiculous?”

“Deny it all you want, but you can’t change the truth. Not that you’d have much experience with that.”

“You’re right,” Janus deadpanned. “I was cursed as a baby so that I can only speak in lies. I am forced to always say the opposite of what I mean. It’s incredibly inconvenient.”

“Don’t try to change the subject!” Roman snapped. “The truth is, you’re in love with Virgil. Admit it.”

“I don’t have to admit to anything. Certainly not to your fanciful daydreams.”

“Would it really be so bad if you were?”

Janus said nothing.

“Look,” Roman said, softer, “It doesn’t have to be either or. If you want to keep dating Virgil without the money, what’s to stop you?”

For a moment, Janus seemed to consider it. He looked hopeful, but the kind of hope that was tinged with the fear of what you wanted being taken away. It was the most vulnerable Roman had ever seen him. Quite possibly the most vulnerable that anyone had ever seen him. Then head snapped up, his face smoothed into his usual blank mask.

“Very well,” he said. “If you truly think our arrangement should come to an end, I’ll respect that.”

Roman relaxed. Already, some of the guilt was ebbing out of him. “Okay, good.”

“And to show I mean it, I’ll end things with Virgil straight away. It’s only proper.”

“Wait, that’s not-”

But Janus was already walking away, not listening to Roman’s protests.

“That’s not what I meant, asshole,” Roman shouted, but Janus didn’t even break his stride.

Roman scowled. Well, he’d done the right thing at least, even if Janus had refused to listen to him.

 ***

Their staircase was empty. The cafeteria wasn’t empty, but it didn’t have Virgil in it. That wasn’t surprising; Janus had doubted Virgil would have braved it on his own. Virgil must have gotten out of class and not been able to find Janus, which meant he’d probably gone to his friends so he wouldn’t have to spend lunch alone.

Sure enough, when Janus reached the fire escape, he saw the familiar patchwork hoodie, slightly further away from the group than he had been last time. Virgil was staring at his phone, foot tapping on the floor. If Virgil looked up, he would probably smile when he saw Janus, would probably start frowning when Janus asked to talk to him somewhere private, would worry about what Janus wanted but wouldn’t say anything.

And then what would Janus say? The simplest option was to not offer any explanation, to just say it was over and then leave. Let Virgil come up with the reason, sometime around three am. The easiest option would be to make it complete, suggest he’d found someone else, or that he was never really interested. Destroy the bridge so completely that there wouldn’t even be ashes left to find.

“What are you doing here?”

Luc Edwards had stepped inside, his arms folded. Wonderful. Behind him, Virgil had twisted around to look, eyes wide.

It was Janus Virgil spoke to. “I need to talk to you.”

Virgil nodded and quickly stood up and stepped inside. Before he could get to them, Luc took another step closer. Janus tried not to flinch back. It was fine, Luc hadn’t tried anything physical for years, wouldn’t dare try anything now.

“What do you want to talk about?” Luc asked.

“Is that any of your business?”

Virgil tried to get around Luc, but Luc held out an arm, blocking his path. Virgil scowled.

“Get out of the way,” he said quietly.

Luc ignored him. “You’ve been talking to Virgil a lot. What do you see in him? Can’t be his personality.”

“Knock it off, Luc,” Virgil growled, shouldering past him. He grabbed Janus’ arm and muttered, “Let’s go.”

“You know what I think?” Luc asked. “I think you’re just using him.”

Janus’ blood turned to ice. He forced himself not to react, to keep his face blank. There was no way Luc could know the truth.

Luc must have sensed some of Janus’ fear because he grinned. “Are you really so obsessed with me you need to cosy up to my friends?”

The surprise and relief made Janus laugh. “Oh, honey, why would I possibly be interested in you? You’re a nobody.”

His words hit their mark. Luc took a step forward, so they were toe-to-toe. His hand was clenched into a fist, and maybe he shouldn’t have been so harsh, because this was going to hurt.

And then he was pulled back, and Virgil was pushing his way between them.

“Back off,” Virgil snarled.

For a moment, they both stood ready to fight, and Janus waited for Luc to hit Virgil. But then Luc just turned away.

“Whatever,” he muttered.

Outside, the rest of the group were watching them intently. One kid looked about to say something, but Virgil tugged Janus away before anything else could happen. Janus followed, letting Virgil drag him across school.

“Are you okay?” Janus asked when they had stopped.

Virgil looked at him incredulously. “You’re the one who almost got hit! Are you okay?”

Janus’ hands were shaking. He hadn’t realised that. He quickly stuffed them in his pockets so no one could see, and then sank to the ground. They were in their staircase. Virgil sat down next to him, eyes wide with worry.

“I’m fine,” Janus said. “Thanks for stopping him. His punches hurt.”

Virgil snorted. “Yeah, Luc’s an asshole. Wait” –his eyes narrowed- “how do you know what his punched are like?”

Oh. He hadn’t meant to say that. He should probably come up with a lie, say that he’s seen enough kids get hit by him to guess, but all that came out was, “How do you think?”

Virgil stood up quickly. “I’m going to kill him,” he snarled.

“Don’t bother,” Janus said. “My revenge was very thorough.”

“The cheating,” Virgil guessed. Janus nodded.

“But then why did he hit you?”

Janus shrugged. “I was there.”

Virgil sat back down. He didn’t say anything, though he looked confused, just rested one hand on Janus’ arm; an invitation. And, though Janus knew that he should keep quiet, keep his secrets hidden, the words began to tumble out of him.

“I’m sure you can imagine what middle school was like with my scar.”

“You were bullied,” Virgil said softly. It wasn’t a question, but still Janus nodded.

“Luc wasn’t the worst, but he was the leader. Believe it or not, he used to be popular. One day I overheard him telling his friends that he cheated on his tests. So I told him that if he didn’t leave me alone, I’d go to the school.”

“And it worked?”

“Luc and his friends stopped bothering me. And then the rest of the school followed their lead. And I knew how to get what I wanted.”

But it was about more than just that. Luc had been scared of him back then, and that had made him untouchable. It was a feeling he’d wanted to keep.

“That’s how you got started,” Virgil said. “But then what happened with Luc?”

“He fell back into old habits,” Janus explained. “Not with me, but with others. I confronted him about it; it didn’t go well.”

It made him sound so altruistic. In reality, he hadn’t been thinking about those other kids at all when he went to the principal. But Luc had threatened him, and that was something he couldn’t allow.

Virgil processed Janus’ story silently. Finally, he turned so his body was facing Janus, and held his arms open.

“Can I hug you?”

Janus nodded, and Virgil’s arms wrapped around him. Virgil’s body felt warm pressed against his.

“Thank you for telling me that,” he whispered into Janus’ ear.

“Go to the dance with me,” Janus said. Virgil pulled back to stare incredulously at him.

That was not what Janus had meant to say. And yet, he didn’t want to take it back.

“What?” Virgil asked.

“Go to the dance with me,” Janus repeated. “I know you want to go.”

“Why?”

“Does there need to be a reason?”

Virgil hesitated a moment longer before nodding. “Okay,” he said. “Take me to the dance.”

Perhaps Roman had a point after all. There was no reason for their relationship to seem anything less than real.

[sparrow-flies-south]

Ten Things [Chapter 7]

Fandom: Sanders Sides Pairings: Anxceit, Royality Intrulogical Summary: Ten Things I Hate About You AU When Roman Prince learns that Patton Foster isn’t allowed to date until his older brother, Virgil, is, Roman is crushed. Roman’s twin brother Remus, however, comes up with a plan: find someone who is willing to date Virgil. And who better to ask than Janus Verona, who according to rumours is willing to do anything for the right price? Taglist (ask to be added): @glitchybina @someone-idk-is-here @ellietempest @imlikeaghostzombiejesus @anxiety-ismy-name Notes: Better late than never, right?

Hopefully I won’t have as many more delays in the future, but in other news, we’re halfway through! (According to my outline, at least) I’m really excited about getting into the second half, which has a lot of fun things in it!

AO3 Link - Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six

Remus meandered along the school corridors in the hopes that someone would see him, take pity on him, and offer him a lift home. So far, his plan wasn’t bearing much fruit.

With Roman in detention for hacking the schools intercom system (not that it counted as hacking if it was left alone in an unlocked room) Remus was forced to either wait around for an hour or make his own way home. Waiting around meant boredom, but going home meant walking, which was only slightly better.

He turned a corner, and grinned when he spotted Logan talking to a guy Remus didn’t really know. At least Logan might offer some entertainment – he was fun to wind up, and, best of all, never seemed to take his antics too seriously. Well, other than when Remus deliberately got science wrong.

Remus waved, but Logan didn’t notice. The other guy was leaning close to him, saying something, and Logan had his head down, his shoulders hunched. Remus faltered. Clearly, only one person was happy to be having that conversation.

The guy laughed, and shoved Logan, hard enough to make him stagger back a step. Rage twisted up in Remus’ gut, and he strode forward, but the guy was already walking away.

“Hey!” Remus shouted. The guy didn’t look back, just disappeared through the doors that led out of the school.

Remus began to follow, but Logan’s hand caught his arm, freezing him in place.

“Leave it,” Logan said.

Remus frowned, turning to Logan. “Who the hell was that?”

“That was Jake,” Logan said, sounding resigned. He began walking out of the school, and Remus followed him.

“What did he want?” Remus asked.

“Nothing.”

“He was clearly messing with you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Bullshit,” Remus snapped, grabbing Logan’s arm and holding him in place. “C’mon, Lo, tell me what’s going on.”

“Why?” Logan snapped. “So you can join him in making my life miserable?”

Remus dropped Logan’s arm and took a step back. “Logan, that’s not -”

“Of course not,” Logan said before Remus could figure out how he was going to end the sentence. He shook his head. “I have work to do.”

Remus watched Logan walk away, frozen in place. Something was definitely wrong, but Remus didn’t know what to do about it. How did you make someone feel better?

He could go beat up Jake. Remus spun on his heel, and marched to the car park.

You’ll get suspended, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Logan warned. Remus ignored it. Who cared if he got suspended? It would get the dude off of Logan’s back. It might even make everyone else think twice before messing with Logan.

Remus arrived at the car park just in time to see Jake get into a shiny new car and drive away. Remus scowled; so goes that idea.

He could still fight the guy tomorrow, but it wouldn’t feel the same. He wanted a way to cheer Logan up now. Make it so that Logan wasn’t bothered about Jake and his shitty, perfect car.

Huh. That gave Remus an idea. Sure, beating him up might be off the table for now, but there were other ways to get revenge. Ways that would probably make Logan feel better, too.

Smiling to himself, Remus began walking away from school. He’d need to go on a recon mission around the neighbourhood, and then visit Logan when it got dark, but first, he was going to the grocery store.

 The date was perfect.

Roman had driven them to the park, where they had walked hand in hand. When they got to the lake, Patton noticed Swan boats and mentioned that he’s always wanted to go on one. So Roman had decided that the best time to try it was right there and then, even though the sun was setting.

They stayed on the lake until it got dark, when they went back to shore and Roman drove Patton home. Patton wished the day wouldn’t end – everything felt so magical, that he was scared it would disappear at any moment.

They pulled into Patton’s driveway far too soon.

Roman insisted on opening Patton’s door for him, and then walking him up to the house.

“I’ll see you at school then,” Roman said when they were standing on the porch.

Patton nodded. He opened his mouth to say something – to ask Roman to kiss him again – when the door slammed open, making both of them jump. Virgil stood in the doorway, looking furious.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Virgil snarled.

Roman stiffened. “I was just taking Patton home.”

“I told you to leave him alone!”

Patton moved between the two of them. “Virgil, stop. It was just a misunderstanding.”

“I don’t care! You said you weren’t going to waste your time on him!” Virgil said accusingly.

“No, I didn’t,” Patton protested. “You did.”

“And you agreed!”

Patton said nothing, and Virgil narrowed his eyes.

“You did agree,” Virgil said.

Patton hugged his arms close to his body. “Virgil, can we talk about this later?”

Virgil glanced between Patton and Roman, and then shook his head. “Fine,” he said dully. “Do what you want.”

“Virgil, that’s not-” Patton began, but Virgil was already going inside. The door shut between them.

“Well,” Roman said lightly. “He’s a real charmer.”

“He’s a good person,” Patton said. “He just… worries about me. You must feel the same way about Remus.”

“Sometimes,” Roman said. “But Remus can look after himself. And so can you.”

Patton tried to smile. He wished Roman hadn’t had to see that. He reached out and grabbed Roman’s hand.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“You don’t need to apologise for your brother,” Roman said. “Trust me, I get it.”

Patton smiled. He wasn’t sure what to say, so he just stared down at their entwined hands. He ran his thumb over Roman’s hand.

“Are you okay?” Roman asked.

“Of course,” Patton said, as cheerfully as he could manage. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“If you’re sure,” Roman said, but he sounded doubtful.

“I am sure,” Patton asserted. “I had a really good time today.”

“Me too.”

“I should get inside,” Patton said. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“And every day after that,” Roman said, making Patton giggle.

Despite what he’d said, Patton stayed on the porch until Roman had gotten into his car and driven away. Only when the car had fully disappeared did he go inside.

By the time he did, Virgil was hidden in his room.

 Logan was unable to focus. The very idea should be absurd – Logan prided himself on his attentiveness to his studies. And yet, every time he tried to solve the maths problems in front of him, his mind kept wandering.

Jake had been a metaphorical thorn in Logan’s side for years, though he had not caused problems for a while. Apparently, Jake had been bored today, because he had decided he had nothing better to do than harass Logan. It had made Logan reluctant to go to the cafeteria when Remus had asked – an irrational fear, as Jake could very well find him anywhere in the school.

A knock sounded at the door, but Logan ignored it. Patton was with Roman, so there was no chance that whoever it was at the door was there to see him. Instead, he tried to focus on his work, only to realise that he’d forgotten what the problem was, and had to reread it again.

This wasn’t right! Logan had never had this problem before, and now that he did, it was because of Jake? Someone who would likely amount to nothing after graduation? Normally, Logan would be completely unaffected, even as Patton rushed to comfort him.

The thought of Patton made something twist in his gut. Another irrational thing; Logan was not entitled to Patton’s time, and so had no reason to be upset that Patton wasn’t there. Surely, Jake’s teasing on how Patton had found a new boyfriend (in this scenario, Logan was apparently Patton’s previous boyfriend, despite never having romantic feelings for him) couldn’t have gotten to him.

“Logan!” his mother, Martha, called.

“I’m busy,” he called back, because he didn’t need another distraction when his head was already providing one.

“You have a guest.”

Logan frowned, and made his way out of his room. If Patton was here, that would imply something had gone wrong between him and Roman, which meant that Logan would need to have a conversation with Roman about the consequences of him hurting Patton.

But then, if Patton was here, his mother would have just said that.

“Who is it?” his other mother, Amy, asked, poking her head out of the office.

“I don’t know yet,” Logan pointed out. “Shouldn’t you be working?”

Amy had decided that this year she was going to write the book she was working on for sure. This was a process that involved very little actual writing, and a great deal of seeking out distractions. It led to a mother who was suddenly fascinated by everything Logan did.

Amy pouted. “Isn’t say that meant to be my job?”

Logan just fixed her with a stare.

Amy rolled her eyes dramatically. “You’re not me real dad,” she declared, before slinking back into her office. She left the door open.

Logan continued down stairs, but he only made it halfway down the staircase before freezing, because Remus Prince was standing in the hallway, talking to his mother.

Remus spotted him and waved with one hand – the other hand, Logan noticed, was carrying a shopping bag. Martha turned and smiled.

“There you are,” she said. “Sorry about the wait, he’s an extremely rebellious child.”

“One day someone will believe you when you say that,” Logan said as he walked down the final steps.

“Not if they’ve spent five seconds around you, they won’t,” Martha shot back. She touched one hand to Logan’s hair in a display of affection, before gliding back to the living room.

“You have two mums?” Remus asked. Of course, he had seen Amy when she had picked him up from the party.

“Yes. Surely I’ve mentioned it before?”

Remus shrugged, fiddling with the handle of the bag. “Probably. I don’t always pay attention that well.”

“Pardon my abruptness,” Logan said, “But what are you doing here?”

“I’m here to torment you, obviously,” Remus said.

It was meant as a joke, like many of Remus’ statements were, but Logan could see the defensive curl to his shoulders. Logan grimaced when he thought back on what he had said earlier.

“I apologise for how I acted,” Logan said. “You are nothing like Jake.”

“Yeah, I hope not,” Remus said. “What’d he do?”

“The details are irrelevant. Suffice to say we have been rivals for a while now.”

“Seems kinda one sided for rivals. What happened, he get mad you did better at him on a test?”

“That would require him to be mad at the whole school,” Logan said drily, and Remus snorted. “No, he takes issue with me choice of friends. Or, more accurately, with Patton’s choice of friends.”

“He’s mad you stole his bestie?”

Logan nodded, and Remus groaned. “Ugh, that’s so boring.”

Logan fought down a smile. “What were you hoping for?”

“Drama! Betrayal! An illicit love affair!”

He was unable to stop the smile now, though he was able to smother it as much as possible. Why on earth did he find Remus’ antics amusing, when by all rights he should be infuriated by them.

Well, he normally was infuriated by them. He just also found them amusing.

“Still,” Remus said, “We have to do something.”

“About what?” Logan asked.

“Jake! He doesn’t get to just mess with you!”

Logan shook his head. “There’s nothing to be done. He doesn’t constitute a big enough problem for the school to step in.”

“That’s why we’re not asking the school.” Remus grabbed Logan’s arm. “C’mon.”

“I have homework,” Logan objected.

“Well, I’m kidnapping you, so there,” Remus said.

Logan sighed. “Mum,” he called. “I’m being kidnapped.”

“Let us know if you’ll be staying out late,” Martha called back.

Logan shook his head as he let Remus drag him out of the house. “What exactly is the purpose of this?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Remus asked. He held up the shopping bag. “Revenge, my dear Watson.”

 Dinner was an awkward affair, with both brothers eating in silence, despite Remy’s attempts to initiate conversation. Virgil fled back upstairs as soon as he was able to, and Patton wanted nothing more to follow him.

“Okay,” Remy said. “What happened?”

Patton swallowed uncertainly. “What do you mean?”

Remy fixed Patton with a stare. “Don’t play dumb, Pat. Since when are you and Virgil fighting?”

Patton sighed. “Something happened, and, uh, Virgil and I disagree on it.”

“What happened?”

“Nothing bad,” Patton quickly assured him. “At least, I don’t think it’s bad.”

“That’s not as reassuring as you think it is,” Remy remarked. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

“I know,” Patton said. “And I’m going to – I was always going to, it’s just…”

“Hey.” Remy placed a hand on Patton’s shoulder. “If you really don’t want to talk about it now, you don’t have to.”

It wasn’t something Remy had offered before. Normally, he would push harder, worried about what could possibly be so bad.

“No, I want to,” Patton said, and it was suddenly true. “Do you remember when I was talking about Roman?”

Remy looked confused, before his face morphed into resignation. “I think I can see where this is going.”

“Virgil is dating Janus now,” Patton said. “He told me. Which means that I’m allowed to date now, too.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Remy said, waving a hand. “When did both my sons turn into Casanova’s? Fine, I guess you can go on a date with him.”

“Oh,” Patton said. “Actually, uh-“

“You already went on one, didn’t you?” guessed Remy, who was well experienced with the tactic of doing something before your parents could ban you.

Patton, at least, looked sheepish when he nodded, something that Remy never had.

“Wait,” Remy said. “Let me get this straight – you and Virgil are fighting over a boy?”

Patton sighed, and nodded. Somehow, he ended up spilling the whole story – or at least, an abridged version of it, leaving out the amount of alcohol he’d drank on Friday.

“Virgil doesn’t trust him,” Patton said. “But Virgil doesn’t even know him.”

“Well, if it makes you feel better, I don’t trust Virgil’s boyfriend either.”

It didn’t make Patton feel better.

“That’s just it,” he complained. “I’m happy for Virgil, why can’t he be happy for me?”

“He is happy, probably,” Remy said. “He just worries about you. We both do.”

“But I don’t want to be worried about. I like Roman, isn’t that enough?”

“I wish it was,” Remy said ruefully. “Look, Virge will come round. You know how he gets about change.”

“I guess,” Patton said with a sigh.

Still, it felt wrong, not having his big brother to gush to.

  “Okay, jeez, I won’t call you Watson again,” Remus said when Logan paused for breath. “I didn’t realise you took Sherlock Holmes so seriously.”

“I take insults to my character seriously,” Logan said. He frowned and looked around, noticing their surroundings for the first time. “Where are we?”

It was night now, with only the streetlights illuminating the quiet, residential street they were standing on. They were by a fence between two perfectly normal houses, out of sight from the windows.

“You don’t recognise it?” Remus asked. “Look at the car.”

Logan squinted at the two cars parked in the driveway. One of them looked familiar, but it took him a moment to realise that he’d seen it at school, and another one to realise who he’d seen driving it.

“Remus is – is this Jake’s house?”

“Yep,” Remus said, reaching into the bag.

“Why are we at Jake’s house? How do you even know where he lives?”

“To answer your second question, I know a guy who knows a guy. And for the first one,” – Remus pushed a carton of eggs into Logan’s hands – “We’re here for revenge.”

Logan stared at the carton, then back at the car, which Remus was moving closer to. He realised what Remus was suggested in a sudden rush.

“Absolutely not,” he hissed.

“C’mon, aren’t you mad about everything he’s done?”

“That doesn’t mean we should egg his car.”

“Do you have a better solution? One that will actually work?” Remus challenged.

“I fail to see how this solution will do help.”

“It helps because it’ll make you feel better.”

Logan stared at the eggs. It was normally Patton that made him feel better, but he’d almost never had that. Jake had tried to drive them apart, telling Logan that Patton didn’t really want him around, that he just felt bad for Logan. Barely aware of what he was doing, he took an egg out of the carton. When he looked back up, Remus was watching him, face earnest.

It would have been easy to dismiss Remus as just wanting to cause trouble, but if that was the case, he would have started throwing eggs by now. He really was there just for Logan’s sake.

Logan threw the egg.

Remus whooped as the egg went splat against the car’s windshield, and Logan felt a rush of exhilaration.

Remus quickly tossed his own egg, which hit the passenger door. Logan grabbed the next one without think about it. It was like a dam had broken, and now all of Logan’s frustrations came flooding out. He kept throwing eggs, and Remus cheered whenever one hit the car.

The car alarm went off, shocking Logan into stillness. What had he just done? The car was now a runny, goopy mess.

Remus didn’t stay still. He grabbed Logan’s arm and shouted, “Run!” just as a window opened.

The remaining eggs dropped from Logan’s hand as they raced down the street. He could hear the sound of someone shouting behind him, but Remus kept a grip on his arm, pulling him when Logan became out of breath.

Eventually, Remus decided that they were far enough away, and came to a stop. Logan crouched on the ground, gasping for breath.

“We lost them,” Remus said proudly.

“That,” Logan said between pants, “Was the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever done.”

“Worth it, though.”

Logan nodded, unable to speak. When he finally caught his breath and looked up again, Remus was staring at him.

“What?”

Remus blinked, seeming to come out of a daze. “Nothing, it’s just – you’re smiling.”

“Oh.” Logan was suddenly aware of the grin that threatened to split his face in two.

Remus smiled, and sat down next to Logan.

Remus had figured out that something was wrong with Logan, and then figured out what was wrong. He’d gone out of his way to help Logan, albeit using a rather chaotic method. And for what? The only thing that seemed to have come out of it was that Logan felt better.

“Remus?” Logan asked.

“Hm?” Remus didn’t turn his head. The half-light shone eerily on his features, like someone in an old horror movie.

“Are we friends?”

It was a foolish thing to ask. Surely, Logan should know who his friends were. If he had to ask, wouldn’t that imply that they weren’t friends?

Remus didn’t seem to take offense, though. He just smiled. “I don’t do this for every guy I tutor.”

“I’m the only person you tutor,” Logan said drily. “But thanks. I… consider you a friend, too.”

Strangely enough, Remus’ smile looked brittle after Logan said that. It must have been a trick of the light though, because when Remus spoke it was with his usual irreverent tone. “Well, you’re stuck with me now, Calculator Watch.”

Logan could imagine worse people to be stuck with.

[song-fox]

Inspired by this post

AU where Thomas is a struggling not-so-popular YouTuber, recently out of school and looking for a better job and, since he's apparently pretty good with kids according to his friends Joan and Talyn, decides to set up a small business babysitting.

It's all fun and games and the occasional diaper change, until...

Thomas is, obviously, pretty good and experienced with kids. He's been in the babysitting business for a couple of months now, and he wouldn't call himself a professional, but he's making his way through it

One day a woman asks him to babysit her kids

Naturally, Thomas agrees. It's just a couple of kids, how bad could it be?

Then he realizes that the woman never specified how many kids

Alright, no biggie. Most people have maybe two kids, four at most

Then the woman shows up at his doorstep with six kids, all different ages

Oh god. Oh god. Six kids?! I can't handle this. Fuuuuu-

"You sure you can take care of these guys by yourself?"

"Oh, of course! No worries!"

He's in trouble

The oldest is Janus, at fourteen years old. He's sarcastic, snarky, clever, and hates Thomas. "I don't need a babysitter, I can take care of myself!"

Next is Logan, twelve. Reserved, cold, and smart. Prefers to be alone with his books.

Then come the twins at ten years old, Roman and Remus. Apparently they aren't actually the woman's kids, she's their adopted them from an ex-friend who never gave them enough attention

As a result, these kids will do anything to get noticed. Anything. Set a couple trash cans on fire, scream from the top of the roof sometimes, whatever.

Then Patton, nine. Sweet, naïve and almost annoyingly empathetic, he keeps the twins in line with compliments and a ton of hugs. He's probably Thomas' favourite.

And lastly, baby Virgil. Surprisingly quiet for a baby, his personality is mostly just spite and a fear of loud noises

Thomas is astounded that this woman can even keep track of their names, let alone take care of them

The first day with them is horrific

Logan is arguing with the twins. Patton is desperately trying to get them to stop. Janus is holding Virgil and trying to get him to sleep. The house is absolute anarchy.

Things are seriously getting out of hand when Remus accidentally sets the microwave on fire

(Remus claims it was an accident, but Thomas could easily see the matches in his hand)

He picks up his phone and hastily dials Joan

"Hey, hey Joan? Joan?! Is Talyn there with you? Oh my god, I need you to come over, quick! Remus set the microwave on fire- one of the kids that I'm babysitting! The baby is crying, the older one is yelling at everyone, I think there's a feral cat loose in the garden- jANUS WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?! PUT THAT DOWN! Oh god, the fire--"

"Huh. Have you tried making s'mores?"

"jOAN PLEASE TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY--"

Eventually everything is under control. The fire is put out, the cat is back to its owner, Virgil has stopped crying and the twins are content to listen to Janus plan out exactly how he's going to overthrow the government

Thomas is sure he should be more concerned about that, but as long as there's no more fires

Joan and Talyn are there too to support him too

It's been a very long day, but eventually the kids go home to their mother

The trio flops onto the couch, absolutely exhausted

"Those kids were fun, but I never want to see them ever again.'

Surprise: it's a weekly thing now

Haha... yeah

Their mom has a new job now, and with her shift requiring her to work for most of the day and their dad working every weekday, Thomas to look after the kids for five hours a week

Five

Hours

Thomas is sure he's gonna die

The next time they meet goes just about as well as you'd think

There's crude drawings on the wall, Logan has threatened to smack Janus with a book at least three times, and there's a knife missing from the kitchen

Next week there's a food fight

After that Patton shows up with a stray hedgehog

After that Virgil somehow manages to get stuck in the kitchen sink

After that Logan almost accidentally starts a pillow fight with Thomas' couch cushions

Then suddenly, everything is chill

The twins are more energised than chaotic, Virgil is calm, the rest are content with simply chatting

Mostly they're just bored and too tired to do anything

Thomas, Joan and Talyn get to talk more leisurely this time as the kids simply talk with one another

Well, until Patton pipes up

"I really like your eyebrows!" he whisper-shouts and points to Talyn, trying not to wake up Virgil

Talyn's got bright scarlet and pink eyebrows to match their dyed red hair

They look at him for a second. "Oh- uh, thanks!"

"Can you do makeup?" Roman asks

Talyn shrugs. "Sure."

"Can you do makeup on us?"

Talyn looks to Thomas. "Are we-?"

"Their mom said they can do just about anything as long as they don't get hurt or break the law."

The next two hours or so are full of just Talyn putting makeup on all the kids who want them. Full stage makeup for Roman, a moustache and purple eyeshadow for Remus, and a sheepish request for snake scales for Janus

"Hm, dunno what I can do for that one... oh! Thomas, do you have like, fishnets or something?"

"What? Why would I have those?"

Talyn raises a colourful eyebrow.

"...I'll go get them."

Half an hour later, Janus looks amazing

Patton can think of a million puns for his snake side

Virgil seems to find it cool

Logan is listing off snake facts for the whole half hour, pointing out mistakes in colouring or shape until Talyn has it perfect

The kids leave that week happier than last time and with bright faces of makeup

The weeks go on and on, and after a few months, Halloween comes up

Their mother is incredibly sorry that she has to work instead of being with her kids, but she has no choice and has to leave them with Thomas

She also leaves a giant bin bag full of costumes

"They like to go Trick-or-Treating," she explains.

Thomas as actually kinda hyped this time

Outfits! Makeup! Candy! What's there not to love?!

Apparently the kids share his enthusiasm

Janus asks Talyn if they can do his snake makeup again, to which they gladly agree. He's going as a generic villain, with a black capelet and cane and everything

Remus is, to nobody's surprise, Beetlejuice. He's got temporary neon green hair dye and a cheap-looking striped tuxedo. Remus loves it

Roman is going as a prince. It looks crudely made and even a little tacky, but altogether the costume is pretty good

Logan is going as Dr. Frankenstein, and no he is not the monster, and no that isn't accurate to the story, and nO GODDAMMNIT ROMAN I AM NOT GOING AS THE MONSTER

Patton is a werewolf, although he doesn't really get the whole supernatural vibe of it

It's okay though, his little floppy dog ears look very cute

Virgil is a pumpkin

That's it

Nothing too special, just a pumpkin

He looks adorable though

The night starts off great, with all the kids chattering away and baby Virgil being the world's cutest source of attention

The twins are loving all the compliments that come with their costumes

Logan is actually recognized as Dr. Frankenstein and isn't able to shut up about it

Thomas doesn't mind, though

After a couple months with the kids, it's kind of endearing how chaotic they are

The night ends and the kids go back to Thomas' place, waiting for their mom to come back

Thomas goes to get some DVDs to watch while they wait, and overhears their conversation

"I miss mom," Patton sighs

"She's at work. She'll return soon," Logan assures him.

"He doesn't mean it like that." Janus.

"Oh?"

"Our parents are never around anymore. Thomas has taken more care of us in a couple months than they have in years."

"Because they're always working to support us."

"Well it wouldn't kill them to stick around a little more," Roman pipes up

"They're not abandoning us."

"I know that!" Roman snaps

Everyone knows the twins issues with negligence

There's a pause, before Remus speaks. "She's just never around. Dad, too. They don't want us."

"Remus, that's not-"

"They don't want us!"

There's another silence as Virgil threatens to start crying again

Janus clears his throat. "We can take care of ourselves. We don't need our parents any more than each other."

Another silence.

"C'mon, let's trade candy. I've got a KitKat bar--"

Thomas doesn't listen to the rest of the conversation

He knows they have it hard

Their parents are always working, and they don't always care enough to stick around for too long

So he's determined to do the best he can with these kids

"Hey, guys! I've got Nightmare Before Christmas, yes Patton we can watch Elf afterwards if we've got time, and yes Roman you're allowed to sing along. C'mon, let's get on the couch-!"