#janus shirt already finished

[anxiousgaypanicking]

Sweat

Roceit (Roman x Janus) Kinktober 2023 Day Five: Sweat Warnings: sex, hickeys, sweat/musk fetishes

"Can I help you work out?" Janus asks, stepping into Roman's workout room. Roman was still getting ready, unzipping his jacket  before tossing it onto his workout bag, already set to the side, out of the way on the floor. He looks like he's finishing up stretching, as he gives his toes one last touch, before standing up fully and twisting side to side. 

Though, he looks a little surprised at Janus's question, and moves to grab his water bottle and towel out. As he sets both nearby a mat, he shrugs. 

"Sure, I guess," Roman responds, before then peeling his shirt off, revealing his nice, muscular chest. Janus eyes him up without a second thought. "I don't know how exactly you're going to help, but it's nice to have a partner." 

Janus moves closer to him, and glides his hands briefly over Roman's muscular chest. Roman lets him, cheeks pink, before backing up and kneeling onto a mat on the floor, in a planking position with one knee on the ground.

"I could 'spot' you, perhaps," Janus muses, leaning over Roman as he takes out his earbuds so he can better hear Janus. They're placed into a neat white case, and tossed into his bag, before Roman turns to look at Janus. He stares for a moment, before cracking a smile and laughing softly, shaking his head before allowing it to fall back to the mat. 

"You have to be able to lift a good amount of weight to spot somebody," Roman responds, still smiling, "and you complain when I make you carry the jug of milk inside." 

"It's always cold," Janus complains, as he watches Roman flex briefly as he lifts his knee up, and fully holds himself in a plank. "And slick with condensation. I can never get a good grip. It's much better when you carry it inside." 

Roman laughs again, but doesn't turn to look at him this time, instead letting his elbows bend to a nine degree angle as he sinks, thick pecs nearly pressing against the mat below him, before Roman lifts himself back up, successfully doing one push-up. Watching Roman sink down a second time, Janus develops an idea. 

He kicks his shoes off, before suddenly Roman feels extra weight on his back. 

His head cranes up to look at Janus as he pushes himself back up to his starting position. A little surprised, he asks "what are you doing?" 

Janus crosses his legs into a criss-cross position, sitting prettily atop Roman. He reaches to run his fingers through Roman's hair, as he merely responds "helping you out. After all, you must be used to regular push-ups. I'm adding a bit of extra weight." 

"This is hardly more of a workout. I carry you around all the time!"

Smiling wide, Janus claims "then surely doing fifty-or-so push-ups will be easy!" 

Roman's bottom lip juts out in a pout, a bit bitter at Janus's underestimation of him. Doing fifty reps in a single set is no problem, and of course Roman didn't intend on stopping after a single set! So, he huffs as he replies "fine. I will. Get comfortable."

He lowers himself down, and pushes himself back up with practiced ease, making Janus laugh softly as he offers Roman a few compliments of "good job," and "you're so strong." Janus's words make him flush, but he keeps his head steady as he pushes himself down again. 

However, as he nears ten, he feels a bit of strain in his arms. 

After all, Janus sitting on his back wasn't the same as carrying him around bridal-style. Roman was actively moving his body weight up and down with each push-up, and while that may normally be easy, Janus was an extra hundred-and-fifty pounds atop that, of which Roman had neglected to account for. It was extra weight he was now having to lift with every push upwards, and weight he had to keep balanced when he'd lower himself down. 

"Come on, darling," Janus encourages, as if noticing Roman's newfound difficulty. "You've got this. You were so confident in yourself!" 

Roman lets out a little noise - akin to a whine - but finally lets his head hang as he sinks down into another low push-up position. 

He knows it's improper form. His head should stay up; his eyes should not be trained on the floor, and yet he's staring directly at the mat beneath him. Up, and down, and up, and down. It's a nice repetitive motion, and when he starts to focus on that, as opposed to Janus on top of him, he's actually able to finish his set. Albeit trembling by his fiftieth push-up. 

"Good job!" Janus congratulates him, sliding off of Roman as Roman allows his knees to fall back onto the floor, sitting back on them as he reaches for his towel. He dabs the soft material against his glistening forehead, before turning to look at Janus's smiling form. 

He's standing straight, hands clasped behind his back as he watches Roman. When he realizes he has Roman's attention on him, he asks "what's next?" 

Roman glances around his work room, before sitting back on his mat. He needs to give his arms a rest, and so he stretches his legs out, before laying back and pulling his knees up. 

"Sit ups." 

Janus raises an eyebrow. "Really; more core workouts? No weights, or pull ups?" 

"Do you want my arms to fall off?" 

Janus laughs as Roman tucks his hands behind his head, and moves closer to him, straddling Roman's waist. He makes sure to sit far enough back so that he wouldn't be pushed backwards when Roman sits up, and rests his back against Roman's knees. 

This position makes Roman smile slightly, as he asks "now what are you doing?" 

Janus grins right back as he responds with "motivating you. Now go on; get going. Show me how a big, strong man like you does a sit-up." 

So, Roman does. His core flexes as he pulls himself up, until he comes face to face with Janus, who stares at him for a minute, before quickly pecking Roman's lips. 

"One," he says, before he sets his hands on Roman's chest - specifically on his pecs - and pushes him back down. He can't help himself from giving his muscles a squeeze, and grinning at the way Roman's eyes dart between Janus's hands and his face. 

Roman's cheeks are bright pink as he seemingly realizes what Janus meant when he said "motivation." 

Pushing himself up again, this time Roman's more ready to accept the kiss, cocking his head slightly to the side in order to make it a little less awkward when they press their lips together, before Janus is pushing him down again, all too quickly in Roman's opinion. He hardly gets through ten sit-ups before he's whining about that fact. 

"Let me kiss you a little longer!" he protests, hands sliding from behind his head to Janus's thighs, holding them firmly. 

Janus merely laughs at him. "That wouldn't be very good motivation from my end. If I let you kiss me all willy-nilly, you won't have to keep doing sit-ups to earn my affection!" 

"I shouldn't have to earn you affection!" Roman pouts.

Janus leans over Roman slightly, hands once again running over Roman's muscular torso, dipping his fingers into the crevices of his abs, and then between his cleavage, which had build up quite a bit of sweat from just a minimal workout. 

Janus's forked tongue briefly flickers out of his mouth, and his eyes flutter shut as it draws back in. 

"You stink," Janus says, making Roman promptly frown, but Janus is clearly offering the words as a compliment. 

"I'll shower when I'm done." 

Janus strokes Roman's face, before twirling one of his pretty locks of hair. "You must let me join you when you do, but for now, I think you're onto weights." 

"I haven't even finished my sit-ups-" 

But Janus is already standing up, leaving Roman on his back as Janus moves to a nearby cushioned work-out bench, and Roman's little shelf of weights nearby it. They range from five pounds to fifty pounds, but Janus has only ever seen Roman use the thirties. He's half tempted to grab them for Roman, but decides quickly after that this isn't his workout, and he doesn't really feel like lifting. 

Roman, like a clingy puppy, scrambles to follow. 

He grabs a pair of weights from his weight rack, and sets himself down on the bench, struggling to stay still as Janus shamelessly slides onto Roman's lap. He faces Roman, or more specifically Roman's chest, and presses a few soft kisses over his muscles. 

"Get going," Janus then says, as he presses his cheek against Roman's torso. "You haven't even completed a full set though. What's your routine? Fifty push-ups, fifty sit-ups, fifty reps?" 

Roman mutters something about how he didn't even do fifty sit-ups, but gets easily distracted when Janus's tongue slips out of his mouth again, as Janus drinks in the musk slowly filling the room. 

Roman lifts a weight with his left hand, folding his elbow in as he raises the dumbbell to his shoulder, before it's lowered, and his right hand is raised instead, repeating the action. He alternates between them, lifting the left dumbbell up, and lowering the right down, and then lifting the right up as the left descends. 

He tries to ignore Janus's lips pressing over his front, worshipping his chest with small kisses and an occasional suck, leaving a few pretty red-purple marks over Roman's skin, but this proves continuously difficult. 

"Janus," Roman whines, as his arms shake. He tries to focus on his reps, but he can't. 

"You're not done already, are you?" Janus asks, not bothering to look up at Roman as he instead drags his tongue between Roman's cleavage, sweat tainting his tongue and invading his mouth and nose, which Janus likes a lot more than he should. Roman's face goes dark red, and he finally drops his weights to the floor as Janus moves from between his pecs to one of them in particular, and wraps his mouth around it. 

His tongue drags over the sensitive bud, licking circles around it, as his eyes finally flick upwards, catching Roman's. Roman groans out of embarrassment, before one of his big hands comes to tangle in Janus's hair, holding him firmly against Roman's relaxed - and thus soft - pectoral. 

Panting, Roman's forced to feel Janus's other hand climbing his torso to squeeze and grope at his other breast, pinching his nipple almost painfully until Roman finally lets out a moan, and, very carefully, flips their positions. 

Instead of Janus being on his lap, he's laid against the workout bench, his mouth finally detaching from Roman's chest and leaving his nipple a dark red, and swollen. It'll hurt by tomorrow, but for now it just makes Roman whine when Janus reaches his hand up to roughly drag his thumb over it. 

"What workout is this?" Janus murmurs, as Roman struggles to position himself on the thin workout bench. It definitely was a lot more inconvenient than a bed, but he was making due with what they had. 

Roman, flushed, answers "sex." 

Humming, Janus nods. "Ah, I see. Did you know sex allows you to burn three-to-five calories per minute? And it involves the use of various muscles!" 

"Did Logan tell you that?" 

Janus's eyes shine mischievously. "No, I researched that myself." 

Janus's shirt is pulled off, and his pants follow suit, with his boxers joining the messy pile of discarded clothing mere seconds later. Thanks to the bit of working out that's already been done, and Roman's general fluster being quite pungent, the room was warm enough for Janus to be comfortable, and smelled so much like Roman that Janus's tongue kept sneaking past his lips in order to taste the musky air. 

Roman briefly has to abandon Janus to go dig through his workout bag, from which he sheepishly pulls out a small bottle of lube. 

"Aw," Janus begins, teasingly, "do you think of me sometimes while you're in here?" 

Roman avoids meeting his eyes. "The room gets hot... and... you know..." He can't complete a full sentence, but the implications are clear, and quite adorable. 

Roman sits between Janus's legs - spread so that they were hanging off the side of the bench - and lets Roman maneuver him so that his lubed up fingers could be comfortably pressed against Janus's hole. 

And Janus just lets out a soft moan as Roman pushes his fingers inside of him. 

Roman's thick digits stretch him out, and feel so nice scissoring his hole open, despite the fact Janus quite frankly didn't need it. Slowly, Roman pumps his fingers in and out of Janus, flushed at the visual of Janus leaning so casually back against his workout bench and stretching his arms above his head like some sort of harlot tempting him to be rougher. 

Roman's fingers drag out slowly, but he lubes his cock up quick, making sure it's covered fully and pressed against Janus's hole before he's setting his forearms on either side of Janus's face. 

The faintest of blushes dusts Janus's cheeks, leaving Roman to briefly wonder if he's truly flustered, or if the room is just getting too warm for the two of them to handle. 

"Ready?" Roman asks, which just earns a soft laugh as Janus reaches up to smooth Roman's sweaty hair back. 

"Of course I am."

Roman needs no further prompting as he pushes into Janus's hole, slow and steady, groaning into Janus's ear as Janus's hands slide up his arms, and then slide across his back. 

"You're glistening," Janus moans, as Roman's cock slides deep into him. "Is this making you hot?" 

"It's still exercise," Roman responds, breathily. He's already panting into Janus's ear, which is adorably cute. As Janus's nails scratch at Roman's head, he feels moisture soak into the pads of his fingers. Furthermore, Roman's forehead shines with sweat threatening to roll down in beads and drip off. Janus hopes they do. 

 Roman pulls his cock out slow, and then pushes it back in quick, making Janus moan as his nails dig hard into Roman's head and shoulders. 

"So- so strong," Janus pants, which has Roman whining pathetically. 

He fucks slowly into Janus's hole, but pulls out shortly after, and lifts Janus off the uncomfortable workout bench. Janus hardly has the time to ask what Roman's doing before he's being shoved up against a nearby wall. Roman's hands are on his hips, holding him up, and Roman's cock is being pushed back into Janus, fucking roughly up into him. Roman leans forward, pressing his forehead against the wall and unintentionally smothering Janus in his slick chest, which has Janus flustered and moaning, as he wraps his arms around Roman's torso to try and pull him closer. 

Roman moans as Janus's hole clenches around his cock, as he lifts Janus up and then slides him back down, hoisting Janus up, pushing him back down, up, down, up, down.

Until the tip of Roman's thick cock slams against his prostate. 

Janus immediately moans, loud, but muffled in between Roman's thick breasts. As his mouth opens, sweat invades his tastebuds, and Janus shamelessly presses his tongue against Roman's chest. Being so close to him is starting to make Janus sweat, as heat from their "exercising" permeates throughout the room. 

And, if Janus remembers correctly, he'd closed the door on his way in, trapping them both in the humid air. 

Roman's panting above him, holding tight to his hips as he forces Janus up and down on his cock like a toy, forehead thumping against the wall as he fucks with enough vigor to rock both their bodies constantly. 

As Janus moans loud into Roman's muscular pecs, a salty taste fills his mouth, leaving him flustered and essentially suffocating due to the thick musk trapped between their bodies. 

If Janus could praise Roman anymore right now, he would, as Roman whimpers above him while repeatedly shoving his cock against Janus's prostate, making Janus cry or scratch Roman each time he's moved. And Roman does move him, like he weighs nothing. He's basically just another piece of exercise equipment, allowing Roman to lift him up and down, hold him still, keep standing straight, until Roman's own body aches from the complexity of their position. 

He can feel Roman's legs shaking. Maybe it's the fact Roman's semi bent over, keeping Janus nearly horizontal aside from his shoulder still being pressed against the wall, with his hips continually thrusting against Janus. 

"Fuck," Roman curses, sounding breathy and whiny. He sounds so cute when he gets close, which is what Janus immediately identifies this as. 

Janus's forked tongue draws in so much sweat it's overwhelming both his sense of taste and smell, making him shiver. His own cocks are rubbing repeatedly over Roman's muscular stomach, sliding against the crevices of his abs and leaving precome in their wake. The friction makes him groan, as heat overtakes his body. He's hot. The room is hot. Roman, and his muscles, and his sexy strength and tendency to sweat is hot. 

Roman's hands move from Janus's hips to his upper back, arms hooked under Janus's armpits and wrapping around his back fully as Roman squeezes him ever closer as though he's a stuffed toy. Janus feels crushed by the action, and yet comes immediately. 

His cocks spurt streams of semen over Roman's already sweaty chest, but Roman doesn't notice. 

The latter's eyes are squeezed shut as he whines repeatedly, moans and cute needy pants filling the room as he squeezes Janus tighter and tighter, threatening to snap him in half if he holds him any firmer. 

And then, Roman's coming in Janus with a shaky moan. 

He holds Janus tightly one last time, before finally relaxing his arms, and letting Janus fall limp in his arms. Janus's face is glistening with sweat, though it's blurry who that sweat exactly belongs to. 

His cock stays buried in Janus's hole for a few seconds, before he's adjusting his grip on Janus and gently lifting him off his cock, cringing at the amount of come that immediately spills down Janus's thighs and splatters against the floor. Roman's more than used to wiping up sweat in his workout room, but come is a new one. He keeps Janus lifted for a few minutes, and then pulls him against his chest one last time, this time with the intention to carry him. 

"Shower?" Roman asks, voice breathy. Janus laughs, and kisses the sweat from Roman's forehead. 

"Shower."

[typically-untypical]

The Saint and the Manipulator

AU: Vampires

CW: Biting

WC: 1,962

Date: 12/14/2023

"Look at him Jannie, he just looks cute enough to eat," Patton cooed, watching the man at the bar mixing drinks for other people. His fingers were long, almost spider like and his shirt was wide enough at the neck to show off his warm flesh.

"Patience," Janus hissed, drawing a line from Patton's neck to his chin. For the past few months he had been talking with the bartender, slowly getting him to open up to the ideas of the occult. It hadn't been hard, Virgil was apparently an avid conspiracy theorist and so when Janus started spouting off about Vampires, the bartender had listened with rapt attention. Everything working out in their favor, Janus was enjoying Virgil's company and Virgil seemed excited by the possibility of something so macabre. It had been a long road preparing the human, but everything was going according to plan. Janus had to move one more piece into play, Patton. His husband was a joy and a sweetheart, full of wonder for the world around him. Unfortunately, as a vampire, Patton had a thirst that couldn't be satiated. Unlike most stories, vampires weren't reckless killing machines, at least not all of them. Much like humans, they had the capacity to be evil or kind and though Janus didn't believe such labels were helpful, he did hope others understood, as a human he could be far crueler than he actually was. Patton, on the other hand, was far kinder than most humans Janus met.

"Oh I hope we get his consent, I would love to have him as part of our family."

Patton was probably a big reason why Janus was the way he was. Being such a kind and open hearted man, even as a vampire he wouldn't drink from someone he didn't have permission from. The first time he had drank from Janus he had begged, pleaded in a dark alley. Janus had only been so gracious to shut him up, but when Patton had finished drinking the smile on his face had been captivating. He had complimented Janus' health and given him advice for his future. It had been such a strange encounter that Janus had gone back again and again until they were linked. Vampires could get blood from any random humans, but it wasn't nearly as fulfilling as blood from someone bound to a vampire. If a human agreed, their soul could be intertwined, giving them the life span to stay by the vampire's side while also promising their health to the vampire. This bond was a neigh unbreakable, which meant one couldn't go into it lightly. Janus had given his life to Patton over a century ago, but Patton's hunger continued to grow. This was his way of helping his husband. He had been laying the groundwork to woo the bartender. He would later take on the role of manipulative villain, but he would do anything for Patton's sake.

"Last call, you two," Virgil said, walking over to their table and leaving the bar unattended. It seemed like most of the regulars had already cleared out leaving only a few stragglers behind.

"I think we're good in terms of alcohol, but might we have a conversation once you're off work? Patton and I are curious about a few things." Not a lie, not the truth.

"Oh, so this is the infamous Patton," Virgil held out his hand. "Jay has told me a lot about you, give him a few drinks and he actually can't shut the fuck up about you. I've been curious." 

Patton giggled, covering his mouth to hide his fangs. "You are a sweet talker. He has mentioned you a lot as well. I think he and I are going to have to have a stern talking to because he undersold how pretty you are."

Virgil blushed, heat and blood rising to his face. "Well, that's good to hear. I have to start cleaning the bar, but I'll tell the others you're walking me to my car, that way they should leave you be even after we close."

"Thanks Kiddo." Virgil raised his eyebrow at that but didn't say anything as he started walking away.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Patton grabbed Janus' leg trying to control his obvious giddiness. "He's handsome, and that voice, and that smell." Patton seemed to melt a bit and Janus wrapped his arms around his husband, pulling him close. 

"Yes, I'm aware he's pretty. I figured he was just your type."

Patton giggled, "Why because I like dramatic emos who hide their true feelings with sarcastic quips?"

Janus pretended to look offended as he put his hand to his chest. Patton only laughed, leaning up to kiss Janus' chin. "I love you," he whispered.

Janus would never admit that he melted a bit too, returning Patton's kiss. "You are too saccharine for your own good." He kissed Patton's neck, desperately trying not to be obvious about their love and affection for one another. He didn't need Virgil's coworkers to think they were sketchy, lecherous, or anything of the sort. They needed to be seen as a good couple, and good tippers.

It was less than an hour before Virgil and the others had the place cleaned up and shut down. He started walking toward them and the two got out of their chairs, putting them up on the tables like they had seen the others do. 

"So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Virgil asked, after walking them both out locking the door behind him. "You're not going to proposition me into your harem are you, Jay?" He asked teasingly, causing Janus to roll his eyes. That wasn't what he was planning on doing but he also understood that it almost seemed like that was exactly what he was doing. He was asking Virgil to potentially be a blood donor for Patton for the rest of his life, but all in due time.

"Actually, I wanted to tell you a secret, Pat, darling, would you like to show him your teeth?"

Patton looked to Janus for confirmation before he opened his mouth, allowing his fangs to slide out. Virgil's mouth fell, and he floundered for words. Janus let him process, making sure that he and Patton were at least 5 feet away so Virgil could feel like he could escape. No one could truly escape a vampire, but Patton also wasn't a hunter.

"Alright, so those are either really expensive, or..." He looked at Janus as if hoping to hear that it was all a lie, that Janus was playing a prank. 

"I am fully human, but my husband..." Janus allowed his sentence to taper off, allowing Virgil to fill in the rest. 

"He's a vampire, and you... you knew?"

"That's why I was so knowledgeable about them." Janus pulled Patton into him and as expected, Patton nuzzled his neck gently. "You're not in any danger from him, Patton is very sweet and never drinks from someone unless he has permission. However, it is an experience."

Janus watched as Virgil swallowed, looking over to his car before taking a step forward. "So vampires are real? You aren't just fucking with me? You do seem to like to do that." Virgil countered and Janus nodded.

"An unfortunate trait of mine, but I'm sure Patton would be happy to demonstrate as long as you don't mind watching. It can get a bit... intense." There was a bout of silence, the three of them standing there waiting for Virgil to make a move. Finally he nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, okay. I need to see this to believe it."

"Are you sure kiddo? You don't have to believe if you want. You could pretend it was a bad dream and go on with your life."

At Patton's suggestion, Virgil shook his head furiously, something Janus also expected. Virgil had anxiety and though he managed it well while he was bartending a discovery like this would haunt him for the rest of his life if he didn't verify it was fake. Then again, finding out it was real would most likely shake him to his core. He would come to them more often for comfort and Janus and Patton would both be waiting with open arms; Patton because he was kind, and Janus because he knew it would be a way to get Virgil to trust them. No other reason.

"Alright, if you're sure." Janus felt Patton shift, hands gently wrapping around his face was Patton looked at him. "May I?" He asked in the sweetest voice. He always started this the same way and it felt like a ritual at this point. 

"Always," Janus whispered in response, getting to see Patton's soft shy smile before his head was tilted to the side. Patton didn't just sink his teeth in. He kissed at Janus' neck, sucked a small bruise on the crook to bring the blood to the surface. Then he bit down. It was a brief moment of pain followed by a flood of endorphins. He felt like he was floating, like the whole world disappeared beneath his feet. Janus reached out for Patton, clinging to his arms, fighting the sounds that desperately bubbled from his chest. He was partially aware that Virgil was still here, was still watching them and that was not the thing to think about right now. He moaned out the bartender’s name softly before Patton pulled back, kissing his neck and sealing the wound. He left only a hickey behind. 

Vaguely, he could hear Patton speaking and Virgil was saying something as well. This had been the risk of going this route, letting the two of them talk alone. However, if Patton and Virgil were going to fall in love they needed to actually like each other. He was being swept off his feet, cradled in the strong arms of his husband. 

"Let me walk you to your car. If you're okay with it, we can talk more tomorrow?" Patton was doing great. He had managed to get them an invite back. Virgil wasn't running away. Janus knew he probably needed to stay awake, to do everything he could to manage the situation, but his head felt heavy. Patton's venom was still coursing through his system, desperately pulling him into a relaxed state. Elevated heart rates meant more blood, but it also meant a higher chance of someone dying and though there were enough humans now that culling the population wouldn't have a dramatic effect, that hadn't always been the case. 

Janus had done the research, Janus knew what was needed to keep Patton safe, to keep him healthy. Janus knew why things were happening, but he couldn't access it all his brain was too fuzzy. 

"This hit you hard didn't it?" Patton whispered, "Seems like you enjoyed someone else watching you feed me." He sounded more lucid and Janus felt himself falling closer and closer to sleep. "I do really like Virgil, but I think maybe you like him a bit too." Janus felt a slight kiss on his forehead and the warmth of a blanket being pulled over him. "At least I hope you do. You deserve to have a life's companion as much as I do. I'd love to build a little commune where you could have more friends, more family." Patton pushed his hair away from his face before laying down next to Janus. 

"Rest, it's okay, honey. I can take over from here. You've done such a good job but it's my turn to care for you."

Janus finally relaxed, allowing sleep to take over. This was why he loved his husband. He was too kind for his own good.

@tsspromptmonth

[candied-peach]

ao3: "gag gifts" rating: T warnings: moceit, dukeceit, platonic intruality, remus typical humor, food mention genre: fluff description: Patton loves his gift so much, he wants to spread the Christmas cheer a little further this year.

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse...

Just a happy pappy father figment, Patton thinks, creeping over to the door that separates the dark sides' living area and looking at it. Roman added a yellow crisscross of caution tape to it at some point, but the tape is peeling, and 'Juicy Ass' has been added to it in acid green marker. He has three tubes of different Christmas wrapping paper under one arm, a variety of cardboard boxes stuffed into a bigger box under the other, and his heart is pounding so loud, he thinks it's a miracle no one has come out of their rooms to investigate the ruckus. Logan is busy trying to solve Virgil's puzzle, Roman is most likely listening to Christmas carols in his own room or perhaps putting the finishing touches on a winter wonderland in the Imagination, and Patton already checked on Virgil earlier- he's fallen asleep early, with his headphones in, emo music filtering out into the air.

He juggles everything to open the door, wincing when the hinges creak. Dim light spills out, what looks like the glow of Christmas lights in rainbow colors. Despite himself, Patton feels a twinge of curiosity. He's never seen what it looks like when the others decorate for Christmas. Hadn't really paid much thought to it before. It shouldn't surprise him, but a little squeak escapes when he reaches the first garland of lights and realizes all the light bulbs are actually shaped like dicks. Red spreads across his face like a stain. Clearly Remus's touch.

"Whatcha doin', Daddy?" Remus breathes into Patton's ear, suddenly right behind him, and Patton nearly screams as he whirls around, dropping the tubes of wrapping paper. Remus doesn't look apologetic at all.

"Remus!" Patton hisses. "You startled me!"

"I know," Remus says. His eyes nearly glow poison green in the dark. Bioluminescence. His grin is just a little too wide. "And I repeat, whatcha doin', Daddy-O?"

"I just-" Patton sighs. "Is Janus asleep?"

"Yep," Remus answers. "Why? Didja wanna put something in his bed?" His eyes gleam, much like his teeth. "I can help ya if you want, but only if it's dangerous!"

"No," Patton blurts out. The side in front of him almost looks disappointed. "No, I just- I wanted-" Patton huffs a sigh, bending down and retrieving the wrapping paper. "I wanted to return the favor," he admits. "His gift really- really tickled my funny bone, and the card was sweet, and I just-" Patton fumbles for a moment, before tilting the cavalcade of boxes so Remus can see the homemade cards nestled inside.

"I wanted to make him a little gag gift of his own," Patton says. "And leave it down here. Is- is that okay?" He feels like holding his breath, waiting for Remus's response. Luckily, it's not long in coming.

"Yeah, sure!" Remus agrees, willingly enough. "Ya know, you could have wrapped it all over there." Patton flushes crimson. In all the subterfuge he had been plotting, he...hadn't considered that.

"Lemme help," Remus pleads. "I can make the boxes different shapes! To confuse him more!" 

"Okay," Patton says, as Remus grabs his shoulder and tugs him over to a ratty plaid-patterned couch that had more stains on it than Patton wanted to think about. Remus plops down on the thin carpet, hands held up for the boxes, and Patton grabs the cards out of the top box before handing them over. Remus raises an eyebrow when he notices that there are two, and Patton reddens again.

"For you, too," Patton says. "But you can't see until Christmas."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Remus says, agreeably enough. Patton doesn't trust it at all. When Remus looks down, chewing on a stray piece of cardboard, Patton tucks Remus's card under his shirt. Just for the time being.

Remus summons scissors and tape (the tape is strangely fuzzy the first time, until Patton pleads for a more normal one- Remus looks like he wants to argue until Patton admits in a quiet voice it's a sensory thing, and then he gets new tape without blinking), and they spend a surprisingly amenable time together, arranging and rearranging present boxes until the final product looks like Janus is unwrapping a vacuum cleaner.

"Here ya go," Remus says, handing Patton a second box. This one is shaped like a trashcan and already wrapped. "For my card."

"Thank you, but I-" Patton pauses, patting the front of his shirt. The card is gone. He blinks at Remus, astonished. "How did you-"

Remus grins.

"That's for me to know and you to find out!" He singsongs, cackling to himself. "Nighty night, Pattycake!"

"Good night," Patton says, climbing to his feet with the help of one of Remus's surprisingly hot hands. He finds himself smiling. "Thank you for your help, Remus. You'll- you'll make sure Janus gets it, right?"

"Of course! What do you take me for?" Remus asks, mock offended as he puts a hand to his heart. He tilts his head impossibly far to one side. "Oh! Oh, Janny's awake!"

"Oh!" Patton exclaims. He attempts to bolt out of the living room, only to run smack into the side in question. Janus blinks, staring down at Patton's sprawled form with sleep-blurred eyes.

"Patton?" Janus asks, his voice raspy and addled with fatigue. He's still wearing his Christmas sweater, but he's added snake-patterned pajama pants to the ensemble, and to Patton's slight surprise, he is wearing the socks Roman gave him. "What are you doing here?" He offers a hand to help Patton up, and Patton realizes that he's not wearing his gloves.

"Helping me!" Remus chimes in brightly. "Come on, Jan Jan, we gotcha somethin'!"

"Perish the thought," Janus says dryly, as Remus plants a sloppy, enthusiastic kiss on Janus's scaled cheek. "Thank you. What do you mean?"

"Look!" Remus giggles, pointing at the vacuum-shaped box. Janus's eyebrow raises. Patton flushes red, as both Janus and Remus tow him forward. He finds himself coaxed back onto the couch, surrounded by the pair.

"Whatever could it be," Janus muses, as he reads the tag. "To Janus, from Patton (Remus helped!) Patton, why did you-?" He turns a little, surprised, and Patton just motions toward the gift.

"Go on," Patton encourages, his mouth a little dry. His face is still flushed, and his heart feels a little fluttery. Janus looks very pretty in the dim light.

"Is it...a vacuum?" Janus asks, delicately unpeeling the paper.

"No," Remus nearly shouts, cackling again. "Try again, Janny!"

The next box shouldn't be possible, but it is shaped like a canoe. Janus blinks at it, then grins.

"Oh, I see," Janus says, turning slightly to Patton. "Have you gotten me back then?"

"Maybe," Patton says, trying to sound innocent. "I don't know. Maybe you should keep opening them."

Improbable sizes and shapes slip past in a flurry of Christmas-themed wrapping paper, and Patton is enraptured by Janus's soft laughter and sparkling eyes. Remus refuses to unwrap his own until Janus is down to his own actual card.

"Oh, Patton," Janus says softly when he's finally holding the holiday card, carefully crayoned two-headed snake sprawled across the front. "Thank you."

"Merry Christmas, Janus," Patton murmurs, feeling like he's full of fizzy bubbles.

"Patton!" Remus exclaims, having finally torn the wrapping paper off his own. "You kraken me up, too!" He grins, holding up the card covered in cephalopod puns. Patton had asked Virgil several veiled, completely obvious questions about what Remus had ever showed interest in.

"Would you like to join everyone for breakfast?" Patton asks. "I could make pancakes...?" For a moment, Janus looks like he is going to decline, and Patton feels disappointment weigh down his stomach.

"Why not?" Janus gives in gracefully. "Don't let Remus near the syrup."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Patton promises. To his surprise, he finds Janus's arm settling itself around his shoulders.

"Is this okay?" Janus asks, nervous. Patton beams.

"Of course, Janus," he says. The Christmas dick lights twinkle down on them as Remus springs up from the couch and disappears for a moment.

"Oh, Janny-" Remus starts, running back in.

"You are not putting mistletoe over us," Janus interrupts. Patton tries not to feel a tiny bit disappointed at that.

"You're no fun," Remus pouts. "Fine. Over me instead?" He puts a sprig of mistletoe over his head and wiggles his shoulders in a shimmy. Janus laughs.

"Fine," he says, and tugs Remus down to kiss his cheek.

Patton leans his head against Janus's shoulder, tired from staying up so long.

"Merry Christmas, Patton," Janus says quietly, as Patton's awareness starts to slip away. "I'll wake you up before breakfast, I promise."

[elementary-my-dear-daddy]

Earning Your Keep - Chapter 3: "Being for the Benefit of Virgil Sanders"

Analogical (Virgil and Logan)

Read the previous chapter Here or on AO3

Chapter Summary: Logan attends an event for Virgil's charity and they share a drink.

Virgil was sitting on the edge of his sofa, biting his nails as he waited for Janus to finish up getting ready in his bathroom. The benefit dinner tonight started at 7, it was currently 5, but the both of them needed to be there around 5:30 to help set up and it took 20 minutes to get to the venue- wait, would an hour and a half be enough time to set up? What if there was traffic on the way or a problem with the venue. They were so going to be late!

“Janus, what is taking you so long?” Virgil called from the couch.

“Do not rush me, Virgil, I will just put my make-up on slower and unplug the iron that’s heating up just to make you suffer.” Janus called back, “Stop worrying, I’ve got everything under control. Honestly, we could show up late and things would be fine.”

Virgil got up and went to go give himself a once over in the mirror. He looked fine, but he was still worried about looking unprofessional or something. He kept pacing around until Janus was finally ready to leave.

“Alright, have you called a car for-” Janus asked, being interrupted by Virgil tugging him towards the elevator.

“Yes it’s been waiting downstairs for ten minutes now come on we’re late!”

~~~~~~~~~~

Logan was looking through his clothing, determining what to wear tonight. He wasn’t in this sort of predicament often since he rarely found himself going out to events frequently, but tonight was Virgil’s event. Luckily, he wasn’t scheduled for a shift tonight, allowing him to attend. He sifted through various shirts and polos with his job’s logos stitched on in some way, but nothing really compared to what he imagined would be a ‘business formal’ event. He settled on a clean blue button up with a tie to add a flair of professionalism and began to get ready.

After combing his hair and stuffing his phone, wallet, and keys into his pocket, he left his one-bedroom to leave for the event.

He took the bus since his car was currently in for repair. Fortunately, there was a stop not too far from the address the flyer provided, and once he reached it he only had to build up the nerve to enter the building.

Logan didn’t quite understand why he was so nervous. Perhaps it was due to the fact that he wouldn’t know anyone here except Virgil, and he was likely busy socializing already. It also could have been the type of people attending. Just from looking in from the sidewalk, he could see that he was obviously underdressed, but he owed it to Virgil to go, so he marched up to the entrance and waited to be allowed in.

There was a small line of attendees marking down their names in a guest book, which Logan assumed would be used to track the donations that Virgil had mentioned at lunch. When it was his turn, he neatly added his signature before entering the venue. It was a large space, with multiple small tables placed throughout and a stage towards the back. A bar stood off to the side, offering drinks to its patrons, as well as a long table that had a spread of snacks and sandwiches. He held off from beelining it over to the food, despite the fact he was limiting himself to two meals a day for budget reasons and his stomach growled with want. He stuck to a corner, merely observing the crowd and watching people mingle. That was, until a sharply dressed man walked up on stage and spoke into the microphone. 

“Evening, everyone. If you don’t already know me from working with the foundation, my name is Janus, and I’m one of the associate directors here. Thank you all for attending-”

Logan watched as the man gave a short speech about the charity and their upcoming projects. It was interesting to see what went on behind these sort of organizations, since he never really knew. It wasn’t long though before the man passed the mic off, however.

“We have one last interruption as our founder would like to say a few words, Virgil?” Janus looked to the stairs going up to the stage. Lo and behold, Virgil was making his way up them and towards the stand. He appeared in much more business-like attire, a black suit with a checkered purple tie. Logan couldn’t place why but seeing him in such a state made his stomach drop much like the last time he was dragged on a roller coaster.

“Um, hi. I’m V-virgil Sanders, the f-founder of the organization.” He stammered, “I just wanna say thanks for coming and have a good night. Thanks, um, yeah. Thanks.”

He quickly hurried down the stairs as scattered applause sounded throughout the room. They were quickly replaced by the low thrum of chatter that Logan heard when he first entered. He wanted to seek out Virgil, since he was the only person who he really knew here, so he scampered through the crowd to find him. He couldn't have gotten that far from the stage.

Once he was on the other side of the venue, he gazed over the area, trying to find the man who invited him. After a few minutes, he sighed and resigned himself to grab a quick drink and snack before heading out. This felt like his high school prom where he played the role of wallflower for the night. He turned to head to the bar, but didn’t see the figure blocking his way until it was too late and he bumped into them, spilling the drink they had in their hand over the both of them.

“Oh, I’m so sorry I-” Logan now saw that the figure was Virgil, “Virgil! Um, hello, I’m incredibly sorry, I didn’t see you-”

“No no, my bad I saw you and was trying to, sorry I-”

“We should probably find some napkins to-”

“Clean up.” They said in unison, causing both men to give a small laugh.

Virgil looked around, “Uh, the bar might have some napkins?”

The both of them took one of the stacks resting on the edge of the bar and began patting down the spilled liquid on their clothes. Virgil had the brunt of it, the drink staining his coat and tie.

“Again, Virgil, I’m sorry about all this. It was entirely my fault.” Logan said, throwing the soaked napkins into a nearby trash can.

“It’s really ok, I don’t really like this jacket anyway.” Virgil took it off and folded it over his arm, “Janus said I needed to look nice or something, but I’d have rather just come in a hoodie and jeans.”

“Oh, well you did succeed in looking nice.” Logan responded, not quite realizing that his words might have been taken in a more intimate sense until they’d already left his mouth. He blushed lightly, “I mean, as in formal, since the event called for this type of attire.”

Virgil smiled, “Right. Look, uh, this might be a shot in the dark but I was going to head out since I don’t really know anyone here. But I don’t wanna leave you stranded, unless you wanna stay! Then yeah stay here but I was gonna go home and change and you know, if you wanna come with or something…”

“Oh,” Logan was sort of taken aback at the sudden invite, “Um, are you certain? I don’t want to intrude-”

“No! No, I invited you so…” Virgil stared at the floor, not wanting to meet Logan’s eye’s in fear of rejection, “Just if you wanna.”

Logan gave it some thought before responding, “I don’t know, I rode the bus here and don’t know if there will be any stops close enough for me to walk to.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, I can get you a ride back.” Virgil added, “Wait, what happened to your car is it ok? Did something happen?”

Logan shook his head, “No, I used the money you gave me to fix it. It’s currently with a mechanic.”

“Oh… that’s great. I’m glad, but uh, did you wanna come with or not? You never answered the question.”

Logan bit his lip, “Well, I suppose, but I really do not want you to feel as though you’re obligated to.”

“I don’t, I promise.” Virgil offered with a smirk, “Now I kinda wanna split before I get too overwhelmed with how many people are here, c’mon.”

[waeziverse]

Royal Punch: The Brick

There was flour all over her light-brown skin as well as in her black hair that had been braided in a fishtail-styled braid. She adjusted the apron around her slim waist.

Connie the Human didn't like sweets. She didn't like eating them nor making them. She actually liked baking in general, especially making bread. But she could not stand cakes. And she had a special distaste for apple pies.

So she cursed the satyr who had ordered twenty of these pies for a birthday party. Connie disliked birthdays as well.

As she mumbled something rude while putting the last pie in the oven, a broom was cleaning the floor. Connie was perhaps not the most powerful aquamancer, but she was a creative one. Like how she had figured out that while she couldn't move the broom magically as such, she could manipulate the water on the floor that the broom got into contact with.

"Goodie, you already cleaned up." Agnes, the baker centaur that Connie was the apprentice of, leaned through the window that connected the kitchen of the baker-shop. "I will take over then, you can front the desk."

"One second." Connie took off her apron and used it to clean her face.

Agnes stepped into the kitchen that was a room made big enough for the horse woman. "And today, how about you try to smile a bit more for the customers, eh?"

Connie narrowed her eyes as she crossed her arms. "I'm not gonna smile on command, that's just weird."

Agnes sighed. "Look, just… try to seem more friendly, more welcoming to our customers."

Connie rolled her eyes. "Fiiine…"

Agnes watched, first fascinated then horrified as Connie's eyebrows rose up towards her hairline and her eyes widened as if she stared into her soul. Connie's lips stretched as if her cheeks had been grabbed by an invisible force that wished to harm her. And as if it wasn't bad enough, she then exposed the top set of her teeth that bit down on her lower lip.

Agnes gasped. "Dear gods, don't ever do that again!"

Connie's face returned to her neutral expression as she shrugged.

***

After a long day's work, Connie got herself a clean blouse and went up the stairs to her room above the bakery where she lived till she had finished her apprenticeship. As she opened the door, she saw that someone sat on her bed, waiting for her.

He was tall, had jade-green skin and red hair collected in a style the young man insisted on calling a "wolf-tail" that was somehow different from a pony-tail. He was dressed in a sleeveless shirt, making his thick, muscular arms visible. This orc would have looked like a tough guy you wouldn't want to meet alone at night, had it not been for his goofy smile that made him look like a giant puppy.

Atsidas the orc held a basket in his massive hands. "Happy birthday! Surprise!"

Connie sighed. "I don't know why I told you when I was born..."

"Come on, don't be like that." Atsidas made a grin that exposed his teeth and tusks. "I got you walnut bread, your favorite."

"From Janus' bakery near the courthouse?"

"Yeah!"

Connie raised an eyebrow. "So you went and bought bread from my bakery's rival?"

Atsidas blinked. "Oh, um..."

Connie smirked. "Good. Their bread is twice as good as ours." She sat next to the orc and leaned against him, resting her head on his left shoulder. Then, she grabbed a loaf of bread, then took a big bite. "Okay, this is good. As long as you don't have cake or a present then I can enjoy this without it being a birthday thing."

"Well..."

Connie narrowed her eyes. "Oh gods, you didn't."

"Come on, I just wanna do something nice for you." Atsidas handed her a small package he had wrapped (poorly) in brown paper. "Come on, open it!"

Connie was about to say something cynical, but Atsidas looked so excited and proud. So she made a small but genuine smile as she ripped off the paper that had been glued to a small box. She opened the box, and inside it was a necklace.

"Look, I know what you are gonna say." Atsidas scratched the back of his head and blushed a little. "That a pearl necklace was probably a waste of money or something."

Connie took the necklace out of the box and looked at it. "Sid... you shouldn't have."

"It's not that I want you to get me anything. I just wanted to do something special, so when I saw this in the store, I thought you would look pretty wearing it. Not that you aren't pretty-"

Connie held the necklace and looked concerned at her orc boyfriend. "No, Sid. You really shouldn't have."

"And is it really a waste of money if it makes me happy to do something nice for-"

"SID!" Connie was now annoyed. "I'm serious, you shouldn't have bought this. The pearls are fake!"

Atsidas stopped smiling and now just looked confused. "Ah... they what now?"

"These are not pearls, they are made of glass." Connie groaned. "Please tell me you knew this was not the real deal and you got it because it looked nice."

Atsidas felt embarrassed. "But... He told me... that faun, Mr Raymond, he seemed so nice and-"

Connie slapped her forehead. "Sid, you bought something from the Brick?! He is a piece of shit!"

***

Raymond the Faun was half a head shorter than an average dwarf. His walnut-colored fur was starting to turn grey as he was no longer a young goat-man. He had black horns and they were probably the only thing about him that didn't seem square-shaped. Some thought that his almost quadrangle-like figure was what earned him the nickname "Brick". Though there was one or two who theorized that it was because he was hard as rock. Others thought it was because it rhymes with "prick", something he was.

The real reason for Raymond's nickname was an incident that happened when he was a child and had eaten a bad egg. But The faun liked this nickname, he thought it made him sound tough as nails, or rather rock.

And the Brick was completely calm and smiled stiffly as the young orc he had played for a sucker had returned to his pawnshop with two members of the city guard squad.

"That's him." Atsidas pointed at Brick. "That's the faun who sold me the fake necklace!"

One of the guardsmen was also an orc, his name was Nicolas, he had just recently been transferred to Nesredna.

The other guardsman who was his superior officer was a satyr named Cedar. He was wearing leather cuirass that had a lemur drawn on the area where his heart was. The lemur represented justice, so did the color blue that the color of the rest of his clothing. Cedar held his helmet under his arm that was specially made so that he could wear it despite having a massive set of four horns. It was this set of horns that made creatures respect and even be intimidated by this lawman despite Cedar recently celebrating his 58th birthday.

"Morning, Brick." Cedar dragged his hooves over the wooden floor when he entered Brick's shop, deliberately scratching it. "Still taking the piss on boys, eh?"

"Officer Cedar, lovely day for it." Brick kept smiling, hiding the fact that he was furious as he had just recently had the floor waxed. "So what can I do you for? Perhaps a pair of shoes designed for-"

"Let's cut to the chase, eh?" Cedar patted Atsidas on the shoulder. "The young fella here tells me you sold him a necklace with glass pearls."

"Yes, and what of it?"

"He told me they were real pearls." Atsidas was so mad that his cheeks turned red. "He cheated me! I lost 500 coronets because of him!"

"No, I said it was a real nice pearl necklace, not that it was real pearls."

"Don't be cute, Brick." Cedar narrowed his eyes.

Brick raised an eyebrow. "You aren't flirting now, are you Mr. Officer?"

"You made a mistake this time, the orc here says he has a receipt."

"Yeah!" Atidas said, then taking a small jar out of his pocket.

Brick laughed and Cedar looked confused. He studied the jar and saw that there was something red in it that looked like blood. "Sorry, what's that?"

The orc guardsman cleared his throat. "It's their blood pact, sir."

"Their what?!"

"Ah, their blood pact." The orc guardsman looked confused at his superior officer. "The orc here and Mr. Raymond has mixed blood as proof that he has bought jewelry from-"

"Hold it, stop." Cedar sighed. "Nicolas, is that a way to seal a business deal in your old kingdom?"

Nicolas blinked. "We don't use that here? But... I assumed-"

"Well, you assumed wrong, son." Cedar nudged his eyes before putting on his helmet again. He gave Brick a mean glare as the despicable faun laughed his head off. "Have a bad day. Come on, we are leaving, Nick."

"What?!" Atsidas was confused as the two guardsmen left the shop.

"I do have a real pearl necklace." Brick still snickered as he pointed towards the large display window next to the front door. "I feel sorry for you, so only 1000 for you."

"Piss off." Atsidas grunted as he stormed out the door to catch up with Cedar. "Is he gonna get away with it?!"

"Young man, in this kingdom we don't use blood to sign deals."

"Not yet at least." Said Nicolas.

"So you actually just gave him your money as far as the law is concerned."

Atsidas' left eye started to twitch. "But... I lost 500 coronets. What should I do?"

Cedar shrugged. "Accept that sometimes life sucks a lemon."

***

"I don't want to suck a lemon..." Atsidas pouted as he sat on the edge of Connie's bed.

Connie had just entered her bedroom after finished taking a bath. Being an aquamancer meant that warm water was not a luxury for her. Her bathrobe she had just put on however was a luxury. After drying her hair with a rag, she sat next to the orc and patted him on the shoulder.

"Okay, fine. So you got suckered. It happens to everyone."

"I know, but it still stinks." Atsidas growled. "My older sister Megara got shoes that one day later were itchy. She got so pissed she threw a big rock through the shop's window. I always thought she was overreacting..." He sighed. "Now... I don't."

"Sid." Connie grabbed the orc by his chin and gave him a stern look. "Don't throw rocks through the Brick's window."

"What? No. Noooo!" Atsidas giggled nervously. "I would never do that. Just... Just saying that I get it now, you know?"

"I'm serious." Connie narrowed her eyes. "Don't do something stupid... again."

"I'm just saying that I get it." Atsidas sighed. "It's not just the money, I feel dumb, embarrassed. He knew I was looking for something special for a girlfriend and he made it sound like he was giving me a discount and being nice-"

"Stop. You got me a necklace and that was very sweet of you. Stupid, but sweet. Look." Connie stood up and fetched a box from a shelf next to her door and took the fake pearl necklace out of it and put it around her neck. "I think I would actually have been pissed at you if you had bought a real set of very expensive pearls for me."

Atsidas shrugged. "I just... I just wish I could stop thinking about Brick and his smug face."

"Yeah?" Connie untied the knot of the cotton belt tied around her rope. She shrugged, and now the necklace was the only thing she was wearing as the robe fell to the floor. "Are you thinking about Brick right now?"

Atsidas' grim expression was replaced with an excited grin. "Ah, no. No! Not thinking about Brick at all right now!"

Connie smirked as she pushed the orc, making him land on his back on the bed. "You better not."

***

Connie turned in her sleep. That was fortunate for Atsidas as she now did not have her arms around him when he snuck out of bed. He quietly put on his shoes and got out of the window where his usual ladder waited for him.

"Screw this." Atsidas mumbled for himself. "He is not gonna get away with it..."

***

Atsidas was not very bright and didn't understand the concept of irony. So the fact that he was gonna throw a brick through the window of the pawnshop was a total coincidence.

Atsidas was sweating and his throat felt tight as he stood on the street in the middle of the night. There was a light pole that provided enough light so that Atsidas could see the Brick's shop. His heart was beating like crazy as he looked left and right, hiding his brick under his shirt. There was not a living soul to be seen, a guardsman had crossed the street earlier but she had gone on with her route, tipping her helmet at Atsidas who felt like he was gonna get a panic attack.

He was now alone in front of the pawnshop. Or so Atsidas thought. He was about to take aim at the large display window... and then he heard a familiar and very annoyed voice.

"I told you not to do something stupid!" Connie marched toward him, looking pissed.

"How did you know I was here?" Atsidas' green hide turned pale.

"Oh, please, I sleep lightly, I heard you get down the ladder. Is that a rock?"

"No." Atsidas said, then trying to hide the brick behind his back. He hadn't felt like this since his dad caught him hiding his boiled carrots under a rug.

Connie held out her right hand and gave the big orc a stern look. "Sid, give me the brick."

Atsidas blinked nervously. "What brick?"

"Don't be cute, give me the brick. Now."

The young orc opened his mouth. Then, he closed it. He opened it one more time and finally spoke. "No."

"What the hells are you gonna do, genius? Break a window and feel good about it for five seconds before you get arrested?"

"Everyone is asleep-"

"Yeah, and I bet the sound of shattering glass will lull them even deeper into their sleep."

Atsidas blinked. "Really?"

"No! That was sarcasm." Connie rolled her eyes. "You will be arrested in no time, jackass."

"I will run away-"

"To where?"

"Ah..." Atsidas was a head taller than Connie, but the irritated look she gave him made him feel extremely small. "Home?"

"You won't make it. Gods, you didn't think this through at all!"

"It's not fair!" Atsidas kicked some dust in frustration. "He is a jerk, he made me trust him and made me think he did me a favor. Don't you think I should make him pay for that somehow?"

"No."

Atsidas was now about to blow a fuse. "What?!"

Connie sighed, she still held her hand out, waiting for him to give her the brick. "I don't think you should do this at all. Forget about how zero-brained your plan is, and I'm being generous calling this BS a plan... You would feel bad about it."

Atsidas narrowed his eyes. "No I won't, he deserves-"

"Sid, stop. The Brick is an asshole, but you aren't, you are a... well, you are..."

Atsidas was confused. "I'm what?"

Connie rolled her eyes. "It just sounds so stupid, but you are... Well, a good guy. Gods... that is such a cringe thing to say. But you are, okay?"

"Ah, I don't-"

"You are nice, friendly, you are a super decent creature. I get you are pissed. But if you do this, if you go through with breaking that window? You will have a low opinion of yourself."

Then followed a moment of silence. Atsidas still held his brick, he had even tightened his grip around it. Connie patiently held her hand out, waiting for him to hand it over.

Atsidas broke the silence. "I will have a what now?"

Connie sighed. "It means you won't like yourself, stupid. You are too good to go down to scumbags like Brick's level. It's not worth getting arrested for. So once again... Give me the rock." Connie's face softened a bit. "Please."

Atsidas looked at the human girl, then looked at his brick. "Okay... okay, you are right. You are always right." He made a dry laugh. "This... this isn't me. You... Here you go." He hesitated, then placed the brick in Connie's open hand. "Okay, wow... Wow, I do feel sort of better." He snickered. "Man, I must have gone nuts or something. Thanks, Connie, I-"

There was a loud crash as the window of the pawnshop was shattered.

Atsidas dropped his jaw. "Wait, what?!"

"EAT SHIT, BRICK!" Connie held up her hands as she made rude gestures at the shop. The light in several of the windows in the neighboring houses was turned on.

Atsidas was completely lost. "Connie, I don't get it, why would... Wait, are you stealing now?!"

Connie had grabbed a necklace that had been on display in the frame of the window she had just crashed. "He gave you a fake necklace, I'm taking a real one! It's fair!" She then grabbed the orc's wrist. "Now, let's get outta here!"

Two guardsmen had arrived as they had heard the crash as they were on their night shift. It was officer Cedar and his new partner Nicolas. They spotted two figures running away in the dark. Cedar used the horn that followed with his uniform and blew on it loudly as he and Nicolas followed the assumed culprits. But the two suspects had reached the docks and jumped into the water.

But there was no splash.

"Shouldn't we have heard two bodies hit the water, sir?" Nicolas asked, clearly baffled.

"Well, it's not like they could have vanished into thin air... or could they?" Cedar scratched the area between his left ear and one of his four horns. "Either they fell into the ocean without a sound, which sounds like a load of rubbish, or it was two humans who could magic their way out of here..."

"Can humans do that, sir?"

"Hell if I know, they have so many magic skills I can't keep track of them... Say, which shop was it that they attacked?"

"Raymond the Faun's pawnshop."

"Hmm...." Cedar weighed his option. He could either spend all night trying to track down two creatures he had not gotten a chance to see properly to know what they actually looked like... Or he could stop the chase, meaning that the Brick would have no one to hold accountable for breaking his window. "Well, they got away. We did our best, eh?"

"Right, sir."

Then the orc and satyr guardsmen went on their way, not noticing a small area of the water surface having been frozen. How could they, it was night and the few light poles that provided light for the streets did not illuminate the water.

Under the water was a room that Connie had made by moving the water around herself and Atsidas, then froze the water around them to make ice walls and more importantly something for them to stand on.

"We will stay down here for a while." Connie started to sweat.

Atsidas was still flabbergasted. "Connie... why would you do that?!"

"Because he scammed you, and no one makes my boy-toy upset. Now, shut up, I'm concentrating."

"But... you said-"

"I said you are a good guy and above petty revenge, not that I was."

Atsidas leaned against the ice wall behind him and crossed his arms. "I'm so confused..."

[wolfprincesszola]

The Fate of the Marked Six Chapter 12

i just realized that a couple of the old chapters have some formatting issues but i'm not sure where, so ig they're staying there until i get it pointed out or find it T-T. but anyways, WOAHHHH WE'RE HALFWAY THEREEEEE~. can't wait to finish with this because the climax keeps building. as always, reblogs and likes are appreciated! enjoy <3 ——————– Summary: Virgil moves into a new town and meets Roman, a ghost that he promises to help in finding the unfinished business needed to pass over. However, Roman's past seemed to be deeply muddled with trouble, an uncurable disease that has started to affect a classmate, and a certain tight-lipped valedictorian. Friendships are made and Virgil finds himself thrown into a situation far more complicated and twisted than he signed up. Hopefully, with the help of his new five friends, he can find a way to bring peace to the town once and for all.

Trigger Warning: None

Content Warning: Possible Death, Illness, Swearing

<Masterlist>

<Previous> <Next> ——————–

Chapter 12

Patton was going to be honest, he hated the idea of having a crush on Logan. It made his skin crawl with the uncertainty of how his feelings would one day be happy to see Logan, and the next be absolutely devastated. He had crushes before, but not like this. Not like him.

He thought the worst part about the idea of having a crush on Logan was the fact that he knew Logan wouldn’t reciprocate his feelings back. Logan was too apathetic, too robotic, too studious, too reserved. Not only that, but he didn’t know anything about Logan. Sure, Patton knew his favorite color, but he didn’t know Logan's darkest secrets or what Logan wanted to study. Yet, Patton couldn’t stop talking about Logan to all his friends.

He knew that everyone was already getting annoyed at how much he could say about Logan. It was already annoying to Patton to continue talking about Logan. Patton learned more just by observing Logan. He wore the same style every day, with a pair of khaki pants (or jeans if he was feeling risky), dress shoes, a black polo shirt, and a tie. He almost looked like he was wearing a school uniform, but the tie was always different. Logan even had a system. Dark blue on Monday, light blue on Tuesdays, black on Wednesdays, brown on Thursdays, and finally striped dark blue and light blue on Fridays. On occasions, he would wear a goofy pattern that had anatomical brains or of books, which Patton admitted was the best on Logan. It gave Logan personality that he severely lacked with such roboticism.

However, after Patton dumped paint on Logan and had felt bad, he realized how pretty Logan looked in the outfit Patton picked for him. He looked more like himself in the clothes he had stolen out of his own closet. Even if it was Patton's style, Logan decided not to wear the cardigan over his shoulders the same way Patton did. Instead, he wore the cardigan like it was supposed to be worn and it looked sophisticated on him. However, it was short lived as soon enough, Patton found a bag filled with neatly folded and freshly washed clothes containing the outfit Patton had given Logan.

Patton decided to try to make it his goal to help Logan feel like he belonged in the world. Because it seemed the way Logan was dressing and the way he was acting was not the true way Logan wanted to act.

-+=~=+-

“Hey guys, what’s going on here?” Patton asked as he walked up to the group huddling. Logan and Virgil were in the middle with notes, with Remus and Janus over them, looking at the notes.

“We’re discussing Remus’s illness.” Logan spoke, pointing to his neatly written notes about what he’s gathered.

“I’m currently stuck with him.” Janus clicked his tongue as he lifted his hand to show Remus’s hand intertwined with his. “We can’t let the ghost hear.”

“Tragic.” Remus grinned at Janus to show that he was almost ecstatic to try and goof off with Janus, but Janus was keeping him from doing just that.

“And yet somehow, you guys don’t seem too sad about it.” Patton remarked as he patted Remus’s back, “You feeling alright, kiddo?”

“Yeah.” Remus nodded, looking up at Patton, who yelped and leaped back.

“What?” Logan looked up immediately, a flash of concern fading away as soon as he saw Patton was unhurt.

“Wait…it’s not there anymore.” Patton raised an eyebrow.

“What’s not there anymore?” Virgil asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Sorry. It’s just that….for a second, I swore I could’ve seen something engraved on Remus’s forehead. It looked like a symbol.”

Janus and Remus exchanged a knowing look.

“What did you do to see that symbol?”

“I just pat Remus’s back.” Patton muttered.

“Okay, stay still and try not to jump.” Logan muttered before he motioned for Remus to do something. Remus reached out and gripped his arm, just tight enough so that Patton couldn’t move it easily and just loose enough to not hurt him.

Patton watched as the symbol faded in, and soon enough he could see it on everyone around him. “Everyone has symbols.”

“Can you write Logan’s down?” Janus and Remus asked at the same time.

Patton accepted the pencil that Logan had given, and he opened a new page for him to write it down.

As soon as they did, Logan, Janus, and Remus read it. It almost sounded synchronous.

“憦.” They all murmured.

"Wait, how do you know Chinese, Logan?" Janus raised an eyebrow, "I had to learn it because it was my power and I forced Remus to learn it."

"I took 2 years of Chinese because I already knew Spanish and Latin. Our school does not offer French, therefore I chose to learn Chinese." Logan remarked, almost as if it was obvious.

"How do you already know Spanish and Latin?" Patton asked with curiosity. "That would make you quadrilingual."

"Because my brother learned Spanish, so I learned it to tell him he was stupid in several other languages. Latin, I learned to help me ace the SATs. Are you telling me you haven't learned more than two languages?"

"Alright, before we get severely off-topic, what does that character mean?"

“It’s the fate of regret.” Janus explained, “I think Patton can see my power.”

“There’s no way.” Logan replied as he went to touch Remus’s arm. Immediately, he blinked. “Hey, Virgil, check this out.”

Then, all four of them were holding onto Remus, and were all staring at each other’s foreheads.

“死.” Logan murmured, earning a kick from Janus.

“Who has that?” Remus asked, his shoulders tensing up.

“You.” Logan stared at the symbol above Remus’s head.

“Janus told me that mine was 爱.”

“Maybe it changed.” Logan looked away, clearly haunted by what he had seen.

“Please explain to the two people that cannot understand whatever language that is.” Patton scowled.

“As you know, we're looking at Chinese characters." Logan replied, “Patton, your symbol is 爱. The fate of love.”

“Great!” Patton felt his heart swell. Maybe that meant he'd have amazing luck in love.

“No, not great. It’s not a fate really.” Janus murmured, “It’s a curse most of the time. Those marked with 爱 are destined to be cursed when it came to love.”

Patton screamed internally, knowing that it meant that it was probably why he had awful luck in his crushes with Logan being the worst of the pile.

“So what does Remus’s mean?” Virgil asked.

“Death.” Logan murmured, “He has a mark of death.”

“The mark of death, the baby’s breath, the favorite sun…” Remus murmured.

Logan scribbled something down in his notebook before turning to Remus, “What are you talking about?”

“Hm?”

“The rhyming. The mark of death, the baby’s breath, the favorite sun poem.”

“Oh…it’s just something in my mind. It’s nothing really.”

By the way Patton saw Janus look at Remus, he knew it really wasn’t nothing, but he wasn’t about to call them out if Remus wasn’t ready to talk about it.

Logan let go of Remus, “Either Patton or Virgil, try to touch the other instead of Remus.”

Virgil moved his hand two inches until he was only touching Patton, “I can still see the marks, even if I’m not touching Remus.”

Janus turned to Patton, holding his arm out, “Let go of Re and hold onto me instead.”

Patton stared at him, watching the symbols fade away as he let go of Remus. Then as he made contact with Janus again, he blinked. “I can see the symbols. They went away as soon as I let go of Remus, but they came back upon touching Janus.”

“Interesting.” Logan murmured before he walked over to grab onto Remus’s wrist. “You can let go of his hand, Janus. I need as much power as I can get. Once you see my eyes turn a different color, I need you to grab onto me. I want to see if something happens.”

“Your power of precognition?” Patton raised an eyebrow. “I thought it was a passive power.”

“When Remus’s power strengthens my magic, it allows for a vision.” Logan murmured as he readied himself, relaxing. Almost immediately after he did, he blinked and his eyes flashed into a different color. The beautiful brown that came from the dirt he used to plant flowers changed into a dark blue he saw in the ties Logan wore on Monday and Fridays.

Janus took that time to grab onto Logan’s wrist as well, and soon Patton was put forth into a vision.

It was a dark room. Patton could see Logan, sitting against the wall in chains, yelling out someone’s name. He looked worse than usual. His clothes looked like they had been worn for the last five days straight and his glasses were nowhere to be found. His hair was a mess. He looked tired and as if he could fall asleep at any minute, but still, his body persisted because his mind didn’t seem to want to fall asleep.

“Caleb!”

Who was Caleb? Did Logan trust him?

“Come out, you bastard, and face me!” Logan shouted. The room echoed.

Then, out of the darkness, there was a light that shone directly on Logan. He had to blink before he stared at the man in a black tux, holding a cane. The man's hair was slicked back, and looked about 40 to 50 years old. He grinned, using his cane to lift Logan’s chin up, “You smart little boy. Thank you for using my name.”

Logan moved his face away from the cane, glaring, “Where’s Patton?”

“Ah yes, your beloved-”

“He’s not-” Logan began frustratedly.

“Of course not.” Caleb scoffed, rolling his eyes as he cut off Logan, “It’s just that you came all the way here under the pretense of thinking he was in danger because of me.”

“Under the pretense…so you don’t have him?”

“No, you dolt.” Caleb scoffed, hitting Logan’s head with the cane, causing the cane to scrape against his head. He flinched in pain, but even after the cane drew blood, he didn’t scream of pain. “You’re the bait for him.”

“Why?” Logan croaked, “There is nothing I could offer him. I have been nothing but cruel to him all his life.”

“Oh, but you’re wrong. He was the first one to authorize a search party for you. He is still looking for you, even when the search party disbands for the night. Even when your parents have stopped looking for the night to get some rest, he shows up to school after getting an hour of sleep with no luck of finding where you were. Right now, he has been a mess since you’ve been gone.”

“It doesn’t make sense.” Logan scoffed, “You’re lying.”

Caleb rolled his eyes before he waved his hand and suddenly, Patton was on screen. He was walking around a hill, calling for Logan. Patton could see the bags under his eyes and the way his shoulders drooped. He looked like he was about to collapse but still continued, trying to find Logan.

“Patton!” Logan tried to reach out to the mirage, being pulled back by the chains still clasped to his wrist.

“Believe me now, sweetheart? He cares about you because to him, you have been kind.”

Logan swallowed, his expression different than before, “Leave him alone. Leave Remus alone. In fact, leave all my friends alone.”

“Sure, but that risks you forever losing contact with your brother.”

“What?” Logan’s voice cracked. “Leave my brother out of this!”

“Unfortunately, I can’t. He's a ghost, so he’s under my territory. He may not know it yet, but I have complete control of him.”

“What did he ever do to you?” Logan let the emotions in his voice take him over. He sounded angry and sad. He sounded like he was feeling for once in his life, “He was a good kid. He had a good life. He had good potential. Why is it that he should have to be under your control when he has been nothing but good his entire life?”

“Why, he has control over you, and you have control over Patton.”

“I didn’t know Patton before Roman’s death!” Logan scoffed.

“Because I made sure of that.” Caleb rolled his eyes. “Everything has been laid out for your life, for your brother’s life since you were born. Because I knew you were the one thing most important to the special one.”

Recognition flashed in Logan’s eyes, as he tried to process the saying. “He’s the special one. Patton has something you want.”

“Yes and I am going to get it, no matter how long it takes or how difficult the task is.”

“He doesn’t deserve this.” Logan shook his head, “You can’t do this to him.”

“Oh? But I already am.” Caleb grinned, turning around and snapping his fingers. The lights went out and Logan coughed, collapsing to the ground. Despite it being all dark, with no idea of where Caleb was anymore, Patton saw the flame that burned within Logan’s eyes. The determination burned in his soul, and he knew that whatever he was up to, he wouldn’t allow anyone else to come in the way of his plans.

Patton blinked, coming out of the vision and looking around to see everyone staring at him.

“You were in that vision a lot longer than we were.” Remus remarked. “Your eyes turned brown.”

“What color of brown?”

“My color of brown.” Logan replied as he pulled Janus to grab onto Remus again as he separated from the group to go write stuff down. “What did you see, Patton?”

“Well…a vision.”

Logan rolled his eyes, “I mean, in specifics.”

“Uh…if you got the vision, shouldn’t you know?” Patton asked, not really wanting to remember the vision. The man, whoever he was, terrified Patton.

“That’s the thing though. While you were still in your vision, we were all discussing. We all had different visions.” Janus began.

“Well…Logan was in a dark room. He's chained to a wall, and he looks like he’s been there for a few days. He doesn’t look like he’s slept, but he has been well fed. He yells out for someone named Caleb to come out. A man in his middle ages walks out and they have a conversation together.”

“Anything important in the conversation?” Logan asked as he was scribbling in his notepad.

“Apparently, to Caleb, your life has been laid out from the very start. So has your brother’s. He can see ghosts because he knew about your brother being a ghost. He can definitely control the afterlife, and he seems to have a lot of powers. He was able to create a mirage, and other things.” Patton shrugged, “Oh, and he mentioned I was the special one?”

“Shit.” Janus let the word slip out of his mouth.

“What?” Logan raised an eyebrow as he finished scribbling it down.

“Nothing.” Janus squeaked, “Let’s talk about the others’ visions first.”

“Right.” Logan sighed, “There’s an earthquake in mine. Everyone is trying to escape…except for me and Patton.”

“Where are you two?”

“Don’t know, but clearly in the middle of the earthquake because someone tries to go back for me, only to be stopped.” Logan muttered.

The other visions consisted of nicer things like the six of them hanging out, but Virgil’s was especially horrifying.

“All of us collapsed on the ground unconscious. The only one awake was my ghost friend. He tried going to each of us to try and get us to wake up, but no matter what, we wouldn’t. I wouldn’t. We looked scratched up. Logan looked the worse off. There’s blood pooling from him. My ghost friend tries so hard to wake me up to try and help him. Then, a scratchy voice mentions that there was no way for us to wake up.” Virgil shuddered, “It belonged to a ghost. A different, evil one.”

Patton blinked, “What kind of a scratchy voice?”

“It sounded like an older man, who sounds like he constantly has flem in his throat. He sounds like he’s always on the verge of coughing in front of my face.”

Patton blinked, “Does he have a deeper voice and an accent when he pronounces his ‘th’s?”

“Yeah.”

“That ghost is Caleb.”

“Caleb has to be the ghost inhabiting you then.” Janus turned to Remus.

Remus made a face, “Who decided it was a good idea to put a Caleb in charge of everything?”

“Don’t ask me.” Patton held his hands up in the air, defensively. “I wasn’t in charge of naming him.”

“Alright, that’s not a problem. Patton, I know you have connections. Find anything you might have on a Caleb that died around his 40s to 50s. Virgil, connect with your ghost friend and see how they’re doing on finding out about a way to contact the ghost.” Logan ordered the two.

Patton blinked. “Sorry what?”

Logan flicked his head, “Go.”

“Now?” Patton was caught off guard.

“Yes, now!” Logan huffed, pushing Patton away, “I’ll see you later. I need to talk to Remus and Janus alone. Go.”

“Alright, you’re so pushy.” Patton chuckled as he walked out of the area, deciding to help Logan out.

-+=~=+-

Patton walked into the detention room, fully expecting to see no one else in the room. Instead, he found Logan sitting at the front of the classroom, reading next to the teacher’s desk where their principal sat.

“Oh, hello, Principal Sanders.” Patton sat down near the front of the classroom.

“It’s come to my attention that you haven’t made up any of your 60 hours.” Logan's mother raised an eyebrow, “Mr. Morris, I’ve also learned you’ve been tormenting my son and that’s what most of those hours have come from. I will now be supervising all detentions until you make up all 60, and this is a warning to-“

“Mom!” Logan yelled, slamming his book shut, “I already told you, he’s the furthest from bullying me. Stop threatening to suspend him!”

His shoulders seemed tense, and everything about his position showed he was hostile.

“Honey, I know that you are friends with him, but I think it’s perfectly unacceptable that-“

“No. You don’t get to say that.” Logan scoffed, standing up, “I thought it was weird that for the first time in forever, you decided to try and do your job as a principal. Patton doesn’t deserve the punishment you give him because I have been endorsing this behavior.”

“What are you talking about-”

“Let me finish.” Logan glared, standing up from his chair, “Maybe if you stopped living in your little bubble and for once looked outside you would see that I am not myself when I’m around you.”

“Well, sure you’re quieter, but that comes with grief.” His mother began.

“No, I’m not just quieter. I don’t feel like myself anymore, Mom. I don’t even think I feel and it didn’t come from grief.” Logan’s voice cracked, “And for once, Patton gave me that ability to feel again. Even if it was annoyance, or some sort of irritation, he let me feel and he let me be myself around him. I could’ve gone away with not giving him a fair amount of detention hours, but the truth is that I enjoy spending time with him, and the only time we can spend time together is through detention hours. It helps the both of us, because I get to feel like myself for one second that I don’t have to keep a wall of perfection around him, and he gets to feel safe in an environment where there’s no yelling. He’s a little troubled, and sometimes he lashes out in a way I don’t enjoy, or sometimes we go head to head because the both of us can’t communicate in a proper way, but that isn’t his fault. It’s yours. It’s Dad’s. It’s his parents’. We are like this because of you four, and he shouldn’t be punished for something that I purposely inflicted on myself.”

Patton was speechless. He didn’t know that Logan had felt that way about him. He didn’t know that while a part of Logan was helping Patton escape from his parents, a part of Patton was helping Logan escape from his.

“Mom, just go.” Logan sighed coldly, turning around and looking up in an attempt to not let the tears fall out, “I can deal with all of Patton’s detention hours. Fix them to where they’re accurate to the number of hours he’s supposed to have. I’ll do detention how it’s supposed to be and I’ll have him write the behavioral statements for an hour before he has to stay silent and do his homework. Just…don’t suspend him or put him on warning.”

“Logan-”

“Go.” Logan adjusted his glasses to the top of the his nose, closing his eyes.

Logan’s mother sighed, walking out, “You better have that fixed by the end of the day.”

Logan didn’t answer, still facing away from everything with his eyes closed until he was certain his mother was out. Then, he turned to close the door and walked back to the desk to pull out a box of chalk. “Alright, Morris, you heard me. You know the statements. Go ahead and fill the entire board.”

He took out a chalk and placed it gently on the table before going back into his book. Patton treaded carefully, knowing that if he tried to ask if Logan was okay, it might end in either Patton getting punched or Logan walking out, never to be seen again.

Instead, Patton grabbed the chalk and started to write the sentences he knew by heart. Logan had made him write the sentences for the first 15 hours that he served detention before he was over it and allowed him to do whatever he wanted, as long as his homework was done.

He was not even a sentence in when he heard Logan sniffling and Patton turned to see Logan trying to wipe his eyes before the tears could fall out. Then, he knew he would take the risk of bodily harm if it meant he could comfort him, and calm his aching heart.

Patton walked up behind him, wrapping his arms around Logan and squeezing him.

“What are you doing this for?”

“I’m sorry that I’m a little annoying all the time, and I’m sorry that I haven’t been the best at keeping my promise of being a little kinder to you.” Patton mumbled, “But my goodness…you just have to tell me that you want to spend time with me. If I knew that I was your escape, I would’ve spent every day after school in detention with you.”

Logan didn’t say anything, but Patton felt something cold hit his hand, and he turned a bit to see Logan’s face streaked with silent tears still falling down his face.

“Jesus, you idiot.” Patton snorted, pulling the boy closer and squeezing him tighter. Logan’s arms wrapped around him as well, and he tried to ignore his pounding heart to continue comforting the boy. “Just tell me next time. I would’ve helped. I’m so sorry.”

Logan choked out a sob, burying his head in his chest as he let it all out. All the regret, grief, and anger built up inside of his for the past four years finally released and for the first time ever, Patton saw a gateway into who Logan really was.

“There, there, let it all out.” Patton mumbled as he rubbed his back.

Patton didn’t care that his shirt was being used for a tissue, nor did he think about the fact that Logan was currently hugging him like his life depended on it. He cared about the fact that Logan had never felt like himself and he wanted to give Logan that experience.

“I’m sorry.” Logan murmured.

“Take all the time you need.”

That sentence was enough to establish the relationship between his and Patton. It was enough for Logan right now. It was enough for him.

-+=~=+-

Patton stared at the post-it hung in his room. Although the rest of his house was a mess, his room was the only thing neat, organized and color coordinated. The only thing out of place was the white paper hung up on his corkboard in the middle with Logan’s name and number on it in his neat handwriting. He had yet to need to use it, but he had stared at the number so much that he had it memorized to heart.

Then again, he always had a good memory.

However, a phone call interrupted his thoughts.

Without looking at the caller ID, he picked it up, “Hello?”

“Patton. It’s Janus.” his voice sounded worried.

Patton took that time to look at the caller ID, knowing for a fact that he had never gotten Janus’s number. The name “Remus Porter” lit up and it clicked in his head. Remus had given Patton his phone number after they were paired up together the last year for a class and although they never used it again for each other, it came in handy.

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you doing anything right now?”

Patton heard a crash in the living room, along with the yelling he had learned to block out. “Yeah, why?”

“That sounds bad. Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Patton pressed the phone to his shoulder and cheek as he went to grab the shoes he hid in his closet. He learned that he should always have a way to escape his house through his room. He started to put it on, “What do you need?”

“Remus is in the hospital. Just…come here quick.”

“Wait, wouldn’t you need Virgil and Logan though? They know everything related to his illness.”

“It’s not that. I know everything there is to know about Remus’s illness too. The doctors just aren’t listening to me. They don’t understand that Re will die if he gets put on more pain killers. Just please…come quick.”

“On my way.”

Patton rushed over to the hospital, getting there in less than 5 minutes on foot. He was always a fast runner, and he attributed it to the fact that he had longer legs. It came with the advantage of being tall, and also living close to the hospital.

“Hi, sir, what can I help you with?” The nurse asked as Patton came into the hospital all breathy.

“Where’s Remus Porter being held?”

“Sorry, sir, but the family only permitted relatives to see him.”

“Patton! There you are!” Janus’s face melted into relief, “Remus is in the ICU and I need you to see this for yourself.”

Patton stared at the nurse who sighed, allowing him in and he rushed to Janus, “See what?”

Janus just rolled his eyes as the two of them dashed to Remus’s room where Remus was. He seemed weak, especially attached to all the machines. There was no one else in the room, but the room seemed so loud with the heartbeat monitor continuously beeping.

“Re…I brought Patton.” Janus’s voice was gentler than usual.

“Patton.” Remus croaked, holding his hand out. Patton slowly took it.

“Hey buddy. You don’t look so good. You feeling alright?”

“Shut up.” Remus laughed, “Don’t be like everyone else.”

No quip. No dirty saying. Nothing. Remus truly wasn't feeling good.

Patton snorted, “Janus called me over.”

“I caught a fever from school. Since my immune system is weaker because of my cancer, they have to look me over.” Remus coughed.

“That’s not the problem.” Janus murmured, grabbing Remus’s hand as well. He watched as the Chinese symbols soon appeared on both their heads. “The problem is that he doesn’t feel any better when I am in contact with him. He still feels just as weak, if not even more, and look at the symbol above his head.”

He watched as the symbol of death faded in and out of existence. When Patton could see the symbol, it burned bright red, almost like the color of fire. It looked like it was burning Remus’s forehead.

“Woah.”

“Usually, his symbol goes away after some time of physical contact, but that’s not the case now. And usually it’s not that color.”

“It looks bad. What does that color mean?”

“I’m not exactly sure, since the only place I’ve seen it was on Logan, and he’s very unreadable. I’m guessing it doesn’t mean something too good though. Right now, I think that it means that it means you’re closer to your curse.”

“Yikes.” Patton sighed, “How long they keeping you on bed rest?”

“Until I get better and then a day after.”

“And you don’t think you’re going to be good anytime soon?”

“Nope.” Remus laughed, turning his head to sneeze.

“Bless you.” Patton snorted, “So what you’re telling me is that he’s on the verge of death right now?”

“Everytime he eats a new painkiller, his symbol glows brighter.” Janus murmured, “The doctors won’t stop. They just keep putting him on different medications, hoping one will just stick but it won’t and it’s only hurting him.”

“How do you want me to convince them?”

“I don’t know. You’re charismatic though! You’re the class clown, everyone loves you! You’re the fun, loving Pat! There’s got to be something that you can do!” Janus begged, “Please.”

Patton sighed, “Alright, I’ll see what I can do.”

Remus sneezed, and a nurse came through at that moment.

“Ah, have you brought reinforcements?” The nurse raised an eyebrow, “You have to give some reasoning to him. He’s saying we should get him off the painkillers. It’s almost a death wish for someone with cancer.”

“Except Remus’s a special case. His heartbeat’s weaker and faster ever since you started giving him painkillers. Sure, he may be sneezing less, but his blood pressure is higher. I know you’re recording everything related to his health every hour and giving him new medicines, but the thing is that it’s getting harder and harder to measure them, and you’re afraid that you’ll be sued for getting him off, but you’re actually killing him right now. Do all four of us a favor and stop giving him it. Otherwise...I'm sure you wouldn't want to see me disappointed, missy."

The nurse raised an eyebrow looking at the clipboard in their hand. They sighed, and stared at Janus, “Be glad that your friend here has better reasoning than you.”

With that, the nurse took Remus’s blood pressure and wrote down his heartbeat before leaving.

"Fun, loving Pat to the rescue." Patton flashed a smile at Janus.

Janus sighed before admitting, "Thank you. I couldn't have convinced them without you."

"Of course, Janus! Anything for my bestest friends. If that's all, I'll be going out then."

"Wait, Patton?" Remus coughed as he tried to sit up.

"Yes, Remus?"

“Can you keep this a secret from Logan and Virgil?” Remus asked.

“Why?”

“I haven’t been the most truthful about my illness.”

“What do you mean?” Patton was very concerned now.

“The ghost that’s sucking all my power…has been contacting me more recently when no one’s around. He’s getting more powerful. I can feel him fighting back against my powers, against the painkillers, and more. I feel him fighting back against the blockage of everyone, but Janus.”

“You…don’t want to tell Logan or Virgil? Why? They’re helping you!”

“And I’m so grateful for that, but there are things I just can’t explain to them. I'd rather joke around about my illness and say weird and out-of-pocket things instead of facing the truth that I am dying and there's no workaway around it."

“I’m the least knowledgeable about your illness.”

“That’s exactly why. You won’t try to find an explanation or anything. You just accept it, and will try to help me find a solution. The other two are too obsessed with finding out why it’s like that before they find how to help me.”

Patton sighed, “Logan can see through my lies, so I can’t promise…but I’ll try to keep it a secret.”

“Thank you.” Remus seemed relieved.

Janus rubbed Remus’s forehead, “Alright, get some rest. I’m going to talk to Patton outside.”

“Have fun.” Remus murmured.

The pair walked outside, and Patton turned to Janus, expecting him to say something.

“How’d you know all those things about Remus? I didn’t even pay attention.” Janus asked.

“I didn't. I just winged it, and used a bunch of terms I thought Logan would use.” Patton snorted.

“Nice.” Janus smiled, “I’m not going to stop you from telling Virgil or Logan about Re in the hospital. He’s too important for me to lose. I know Virgil and Logan are going for the slower approach, but I know that approach is probably a stronger cure than the one that Remus wants. He wants a quick and easy way out of his suffering, but it’ll be temporary. Logan wants to find out why so he can find a permanent solution. Virgil wants to make sure that nothing like this happens to anyone else again. I get his point of view, but I also get theirs. I want Re to get better now, but I know that it won’t help him in the long run, and even if we expel the ghost, there’s a chance we could end up hurting someone else. It’s your choice to make on the matter.”

Patton hated the fact that it had to be his choice.

“I trust you either way. I believe we’ll make the right decision.” Janus pat Patton’s back, “I promise you that either way, the group will find a way to get over your choice.”

“Thanks.” Patton gave a small smile. “I think I'm going to head out now. Let me know about anything that changes.”

“I will.” Janus smiled weakly. Patton could see a look of terror and worry flash in Janus, and Patton just pulled Janus into a short hug.

When he left the hospital, he opened up the phone app.

Then, he started to type in numbers. One by one, he typed in the phone number he memorized.

Hovering his finger on dial, he took a deep breath, and let it fall onto the button.

He answered right away and Patton caught a breath, waiting for him to speak.

“Hello?” Logan’s voice sounded sleepy, almost as if he was either just waking up or about to fall asleep.

“You sound awake.” Patton joked.

There was shuffling on the other side, and Patton concluded the boy was still in bed. “Shut up, Morris.” he murmured, “Sundays are my recovery days.”

“You picked up, even if you didn’t know my number?”

“Usually, the person on the other end answers first, and then I reply afterwards, based on the voice and what they say. It has to be someone I know for them to not want to say anything after dialing me first.”

“What if it’s a stalker?”

“They’d have to get through my father who has an extensive knowledge of guns, and me who was trained to use a firearm since I was 10.”

“Fair enough. Just to make sure, I haven’t crossed you enough for you to take out a gun yet.”

“Hm…” Logan yawned, “I’ll think about that.”

Patton couldn’t help the smile that came to his face, “Sorry for bothering you, Sanders.”

“Mh, you always do anyway. What can I do for you?”

“Ah, I can always talk to you later. You sound sleepy and I should let you get back to sleeping.”

“No, you’re already here. Just tell me.”

“You sure you’ll be awake to answer it?”

“I will be if you don’t keep stalling.”

“Fair enough.” Patton chuckled, “I wanted to ask about Remus.”

Logan groaned, “You’re going to make me get up to get my notebooks, aren’t you?”

“I am.” Patton admitted as he walked to a nearby park to sit down at.

He heard shuffling for a while before Logan answered, “Alright, I have gotten it, and have cozied back in bed. What do you need about him?”

“His social security number.”

“Be serious.” Logan scoffed. “I will hunt you down if I find out you made me do all of that for nothing.”

“I wanted to ask about how Remus was. Is he getting better?”

Logan was quiet for a second. “I didn’t need my journal for that.”

“Is it obvious?”

“He’s getting worse. I don’t know what’s going on, but I know the ghost is getting stronger, and there is nothing I can do about it. I’ve tried using precognition, but nothing is showing up. I think the rosary is affecting my powers too since my powers expel both negative and positive energy. The rosary sucks up any negative energy, which protects me from the ghost, but…it also hurts my power.”

“Have you tried it in the shower when you can’t have the rosary on?”

“I’m too paranoid to try taking it off. There’s no doubt I’m a target.”

“I’m sorry.” That was all Patton could say.

“Is that all you wanted to say?”

“Uh…I got records for a Caleb Covington. I’m not certain, but I think it’s our guy. He looks like the dude I got in the vision, and he matches the description, but at the end of the day, he could be one of the workers or pawns for the ghost that’s possessing Remus.”

“Specific details?”

“He died almost 120 years ago in this city, in a freak magic show. He was a magician, apparently he was very well known for being charismatic. After he died, mediums would see him all over the place, and he was seen as pretty friendly. Then, people started to notice that he started to be worse off. Then, one day, he completely disappeared. That happened about 10 years after he died. Then, 30 years after that, ghosts started to disappear. Then, they disappeared completely about 15 years ago, and mediums started to move out of the town. Virgil’s probably the only medium in town right now.” Patton cited off all he could remember from the research he did with his friend who had access to records.

“Huh.” Logan mumbled and he heard scribbling noises being picked up by the mic.

“Did you bring a pen into bed with you?”

“Of course I did. The pen was attached to the journal. I’m not stupid.” Logan scoffed, “Right…thank you for telling me that. I’ll keep my eye out for that.”

“Let me know if you need anything else.” Patton replied numbly.

“I will definitely come to you.” Logan mumbled as he shifted.

“I should really let you sleep.” Patton thought it was endearing that Logan still listened to him fully despite still being half asleep, “What time did you go to sleep last night?”

“Ungodly hours.” Logan sighed, “Are you sure you don’t have anything else you want to tell me? I can hear it in your voice that there’s still something.”

Patton thought about it. Logan knew him too well, but he was also respectful. If Logan believed Patton wasn’t ready to tell him or didn’t want to, Logan wouldn’t press it.

Then, Patton remembered the mark that burned above Remus’s head, and he remembered Janus’s pained face, and the trust Janus had in Patton to make the right choice, and he knew that Remus’s safety was worth more than his pride.

“Remus is in the hospital.”

Logan’s steady breathing, picked up on the mic, hitched as he processed what he said, “Is he okay?”

“He definitely has been better.” Patton remarked, “He caught a cold, and I just only managed to convince the nurse to get him off the painkillers that seemed like they were killing him."

“Good. He shouldn’t be on any pain killers. I told him to stop taking the ones he got from his doctors. He should’ve known his rights. He could’ve refused them himself. Why did he have to be so stubborn and get you to have to convince the nurse?”

“I don’t know.”

“Jeez, Virgil told him to be careful around others because it’s flu season. His immune system is already at risk since we told him to stop taking any of the ones he gets from the doctors treating him.”

“You sound like a worried mother.”

He could practically hear Logan rolling his eyes.

“He’s okay, genuinely?”

“Yeah, for now. I just think that we might need to hurry the process of catching this ghost off guard because right now, he has the upperhand. If it is truly Caleb, he is continuing to get more powerful, and he’s not going to stop until he’s gotten what he’s wanted.”

“Right…” Logan trailed off, yawning again.

“You should go to sleep, Sanders. Sorry for keeping you awake.”

“Mhph, it’s fine.” Logan shifted in bed, “I’ll talk to you later though. I have a lot of thoughts about this.”

“Me? What about Virgil?”

“I’ll talk to him about it after I get more details. Until then, I’ll be sleeping again.”

“Alright. Good night, Logan.”

“Good night, Patton.”

With that, the two hung up, leaving Patton to be smiling at the thought of letting Logan be in his contacts now.

-+=~=+-

Patton liked to think he had a good sleep schedule, but that was later refuted by Logan calling him at 3 am, and him immediately picking up.

“You should be asleep” was the first thing Logan said to him over the phone.

“So should you, Lo. Don’t you need your beauty sleep?”

“Just because I’m a hypocrite doesn’t mean you should point it out.” Logan remarked, “Tell me more about how you know that Remus is dying with the painkillers.”

“So you know how he has the mark of death above his head?”

“Uh huh…”

“In the hospital, it was fading in and out, when usually after some time, it just fades. Then, when it was visible, it looked like it was burning into his forehead, and the color was more of a reddish-orange fire color.”

“Yikes. What does that mean? Does Janus know?”

“Well no, because it had never happened until this year.”

“So Remus’s the first time he’s ever seen it?”

“No…he’s seen it on someone else.”

“Who?”

“You.”

Logan fell silent.

“And I’d love to tell you what I know and what he knows about that, but it isn’t something I can answer, because no one can read you. You don’t tell us anything about yourself, and I’m glad you feel safe with us enough to even talk to us, but please, Logan, Remus’s life is at risk and-”

“It’s probably related to my brother. I hold a lot of regret towards stuff I did to my brother, or stuff I said. I guess, I’d rather keep it away from me, and yet Janus always finds a way to make me feel bad again and remember all the promises I kept to my brother.” Logan sighed, “If that’s the case, and if I feel this intense amount of regret that makes the mark like that, then we need to do something about it. Let’s call a meeting.”

“Right now? At 4 in the morning?” Patton asked, staring at the clock.

“Remus is in the hospital right now, currently dying. Do you really want to stall?” Logan pointed out.

“Good point. How are we supposed to get in contact with them?”

“I’ll deal with that. Meet me at the clock tower at school.”

“How long is this going to be? Because you have to remember that we have school tomorrow.”

“Good thing tomorrow’s a school field trip for the five of us.”

“What?”

“Hey, I promised my brother I’d save the living, but I never promised my parents I wouldn’t abuse my powers. Remus is the living who is on the verge of dying, and I’m willing to abuse a few of my powers to authorize an unplanned school field trip that doesn’t use school funds for a club that does not exist.” Logan remarked.

It was the first time Patton ever heard personality in Logan's voice, and he knew that the Logan he used to be was coming back full force. ——————– angsty logan is my fav to write fr <3 (see porch tears for one example that's so real), but logicality will always be my fav ship, even if it's not really shown in how much i make these two be tortured. but remus having development and being in so much pain that he can't even make his jokes is so sadddd :((((. ANGST DOES GET BETTER LATER THO I PROMISE <3

If you enjoyed this, please consider reblogging! Reblogging helps me a lot and it's just two clicks of a button (trust me, likes don't do anything to help me). Check out my masterlist for more, feel free to request any writings, and stick around if you want to see the rest of what I have in store for this! :)

[prodigal-explorer]

evening star - sanders sides fanfiction - iv

(let me know if you want to be on the tag list!)

previous part | next part

word count: 2.6k

(cw -> broken bones, blood, implied ptsd, resetting a dislocated joint, knife wounds, muzzles, collars, begging, dehumanization, infected wounds, needles, medical stitches)

summary: janus and remus discover what's been happening to roman, and as they fix him up as well as they can, roman starts to panic. the idea of having more people owning him is paralyzing, and it's all roman can think about while he's at the mercy of the "dark sides".

---

The living room had a dim feel to it, but it wasn’t scary. Roman wasn’t sure what he had expected the dark mindscape to look like, but it certainly was not this. 

It just looked like a normal living room. No cobwebs, no torture devices. It even smelled like someone had just finished baking bread. The couch was large, and a homey dark brown. It looked even more comfortable than the couch in the light mindscape. There was a fireplace too, though it was off. But the room was already so warm that Roman didn’t think a fire was necessary anyway. 

“Here, sit,” Janus said without a moment of hesitation, leading Roman to the couch. “I need to look at that arm, it looks broken.” 

Roman sat down and winced as he noticed the still-wet blood staining the couch where he leaned against it. His face burned with dread as Janus’ eyes wandered towards the stain, and Roman had a feeling that this false kindness, this game that Janus was playing, would be over very soon. 

“Oh my gosh…” Janus mumbled, his eyes widening. 

He reached a hand out towards Roman, and violently, Roman flinched back, his eyes squeezing shut as he braced his body for punishment. 

But none came. 

Janus put a hand on Roman’s uninjured shoulder, gently turning him around so his back was facing Janus. With the utmost care and tenderness, Janus lifted the red t-shirt Roman had been wearing, and his stomach twisted in horror when he saw what had caused such a bloodstain on his couch: a large gash down Roman’s back, clearly created by a knife. It was haphazard, deeper at some points than others. And judging by the graying skin and the sickly yellow liquid leaking out of the wound, Janus had a feeling that it was badly infected. 

“Roman, little one, who did this to you?” 

Roman averted his gaze, and when Janus questioned his silence, he realized that Roman still had that dreadful thing on his mouth. A dark black contraption, made with a strange amalgamation of metal and plastic. A bit that was pressed so far into Roman’s mouth that it was a wonder he could even make a sound at all. Immediately, Janus unclipped the device, relieved at how easy it was to do. Roman coughed as he was released, a wet, hacking cough. 

“I’m sorry,” Roman whispered, his voice hoarse. 

Janus’ heart sunk to the floor. This was a huge red flag. Roman hardly ever apologized, and for him to apologize unprompted was simply unheard of. 

“I’m sorry,” Roman repeated, the words hitting with more urgency and desperation, as more tumbled out of his mouth. “I’m sorry, please let me go, please don’t tell them you did this! Don’t tell them you saw me! I’ll do anything, I’ll do anything for you! Anything! Please, just leave me alone! Please! Please…” 

His begging slowly transitioned into a primal, animalistic whine. Roman looked to be so overtaken by panic, his mind clouded over with fear and the possibility of being hurt again. Janus didn’t know what to do, but he couldn’t stand the sight of Roman like this. 

“My dear prince,” Janus murmured, taking Roman in his arms, and trying to give him the gentlest of hugs that was possible to provide. “You don’t have to do anything for me, alright? Calm yourself…please, calm yourself. I’m here. I’m going to help you. We’re going to try and clean up your back. Okay? And then, we’re going to work on that arm, get it feeling a little better. I don’t have all this stuff just laying around, so I’m going to need you to summon for me. Can you do that?” 

Eyes widening, Roman shook his head, partly in disbelief, and partly in fear. He couldn’t summon. That was strictly forbidden. Summoning was the reason why he had that gash in his back. It was the reason why he had this muzzle. He had been forced to summon it as a lesson: summoning was bad. Summoning would only hurt Roman in the end. 

“I can’t,” he wheezed, “I’m sorry, I can’t- I can’t- break the rules. I won’t, I’m a good boy. I’m good. I’m not going to break the rules, see? I’ll be good. I’ll be the best puppy you’ve ever had, I promise.” 

He wore a terrifying smile that made Janus’ insides crawl. The tears shining in his eyes, the way he trembled and shook. The disgusting words coming out of his mouth. Janus felt like he was in a hazy, dizzying nightmare. Like he would wake up gasping and sweating any second. 

But he didn’t. 

This was real, whether he liked it or not. 

“It’s okay, little one,” Janus whispered, unable to speak any louder out of pure shock. “It’s okay. Please don’t cry. Please don’t fret. I won’t make you summon if you can’t. I’ll go ask Remus for what I need. I’m going to have to leave you here for a moment, okay? Just for a moment while I get the things I need.” 

Roman went completely silent. 

“Is that okay?” 

No response. 

Janus sighed, and approached Roman, lifting his chin ever so gently with his finger to try and make eye contact to assure himself that it would be okay leaving Roman alone. But when he did, he saw that Roman’s eyes were closed. And he was barely breathing. 

Janus’ breath caught in his throat, and his heart felt like it was going to explode. 

“Shit,” he whispered, “Shit, shit, I- I- Remus! Remus! I need you, Remus!” 

Janus’ cries were desperate, pleading. He didn’t want it to come to this. Considering how panicked Roman looked when Janus discovered him, Janus imagined that the idea of Remus finding out about this would make the poor prince have a heart attack. 

But Remus was difficult to locate. Janus didn’t have time to go searching for him, and he had no idea how severe Roman’s condition was now. All Janus knew was that he couldn’t lose Roman. He just couldn’t. The dear little prince who he had a soft spot for, the lovely man who always knew how to put a smile on Janus’ face. This couldn’t happen. 

Thankfully, Remus rose up into the room in response to Janus’ cries. It wasn’t normal at all for Janus to act this way, hysterical and wound up. Usually, Janus was very calm under pressure. But this was too much for anybody to bear. 

“I need- I need!-” Janus gasped for air, trying to gain control over his panicking body. “I need gauze, medical stitching, antibiotics for wound infection, a sling, a splint- what are you doing?? Hurry! I need- I need them. Now. I need- water, I need food- don’t just stand there!” 

Remus had been staring at Roman for the entirety of Janus’ hurried speech. But Janus’ demand spurred him into action, his eyes still glued onto his brother as he summoned each item with lightning speed, the objects crashing to the ground haphazardly. 

“What the fuck happened to him??” Remus demanded when all the objects were on the ground, and Janus was scrambling to pick them up and get to work. “Fuck- this is all my fault, I knew something was wrong, and I still didn’t- what the fuck is going on- what happened??” 

“I’m still trying to figure that out myself.” 

Janus was trying to get a hold of himself. He couldn’t stitch Roman up if his hands were shaking. He cleared away the yellow liquid, used antibiotic ointment, and sterilized the needle before going in, praying to whatever was up there that Roman was too out of it to feel the pain. 

In, out. In, out. Moving up Roman’s back, Janus repeated the motion, creating neat little stitches. He tried to be careful with Roman’s delicate body, his beautiful skin dark from sun, but littered with countless cuts and bruises. When he was finished, he tied off the stitches and got to work on bandaging up the other cuts, and then splinting Roman’s arm. It was hard to tell exactly where the break was, but Janus assumed it was around Roman’s elbow, considering how his arm hung limply. After tightly tying the splint to Roman’s arm, he bandaged up the arm and set the sling around Roman. 

And now was the hard part: resetting Roman’s shoulder. 

It was so far out of Roman’s socket that looking at it made Janus feel sick. But he couldn’t let his weakness prevent Roman from getting the treatment he needed. Remus was frozen still as he watched the procedure, unable to tear his gaze away from Roman’s face, strangely peaceful in his unconscious state. It was a stark contrast to the extreme panic he had been exhibiting before, but Janus was too worried to be relieved. He pushed Roman’s shoulder upwards, trying hard to be gentle and effective at the same time. In circles, he pushed, and in linear motions he pushed, and in horizontal motions he pushed. He pushed and pushed, until finally, Roman’s shoulder popped back into place with a dizzying noise, and Roman startled awake from the pain. 

“What…?” he whispered, clearly disoriented. “What’s going…” 

He wasn’t even able to finish his question before his eyes fluttered closed again. Remus slunk out of the room. Not only did he not want to set off Roman even more with his presence, but he also had some…research to do. 

Janus was alone with Roman again. Holding the man in his lap, Janus cradled him back and forth, being sure to keep all pressure off Roman’s injuries. Patiently, he waited for Roman to wake up, hoping that he would do so before the food got cold and the water got stale. 

It looked like Roman hadn’t eaten in days. His muscles twitched with fatigue, and his eyes were clouded over and vacant. His ribs were showing, and he had deep-set, purple bags under his eyes. The Roman Janus knew would never tolerate such imperfections. But this wasn’t the Roman Janus knew. Not anymore. 

Gently, Janus continued to cradle Roman. Though Roman was taller than him, Janus found it easy to hold the man in such a way. It was as if it came naturally to care for the creative side. A song parted from Janus’ lips, quiet and lulling. A song that he and Roman knew very well. 

“Ou mata e matagi…” (Your eyes so full of wonder…) 

Roman stirred slightly in Janus’ arms. 

“Ou loto mamaiana toa…” (Your heart an innocent warrior…) 

Janus smiled fondly, and he couldn’t stop the hope that rose in his chest. 

“Manatu atu…taku pelepele…” (There’s a task for you…our dearest one…) 

Roman’s eyes slowly opened, and adjusted once again to the dim but comforting light of the dark sides’ living room. 

“You’re singing the Moana song,” he whispered dreamily, as if he was still partly asleep. “The Moana song…I love the Moana song…” 

“Do you want to finish it, my dear?” Janus asked, his voice a loving mumble. 

For a long, comfortable moment, the room was silent, except for the rising and falling of Roman and Janus’ breathing, practically in sync. 

“Pa mai to mafanafanaga…” (Let it flow over you…) 

Roman’s voice was dry and cracked, but Janus’ eyes filled with tears regardless. 

“Saolotoga tenei…” (This freedom you feel…)

His breathing hitched, and gently, Janus guided him through the next words. The two sang together, their voices quiet as a breeze blowing through trees. 

“Manatunatu…ki tamafine..” 

Roman opened his mouth to keep singing, but instead of words, a terrible coughing fit wracked through Roman’s body, rendering him breathless. 

“Oh, dear…” Janus mumbled. “You might be really sick. Here. Drink this, and take this pill with it. It’s an antibiotic, for…your back.” 

Numbly, Roman did as he was told without a second thought. He seemed used to this, following commands to the letter. He drank from the glass of water like he had been stuck in a drought for days, and he didn’t stop until it was empty. Blinking, he stared down at the sling, noticing that it limited his arm movement. In his exhausted, drugged-up state, Roman didn’t put the pieces together right away. He assumed this was some kind of restraint to keep him from leaving. He tugged at it, trying to move his arm and figure out what it was, but quickly, Janus held Roman’s arm and kept it in place firmly. 

“Don’t do that, please,” he said, his words spilling over each other in worry. “You might risk damaging it even more. It’s…a sling. See? It’s to keep your arm from moving so the bone can heal.” 

“Oh.” Roman relaxed, not moving his arm anymore. “I’m sorry.” 

His voice sounded just as numb as he looked, and his tone was almost robotic. Like he was reading from a script without any sort of emotion. He just looked disoriented and confused, like a child lost in a grocery store. Janus just wanted to protect him from everything. He knew that if the roles were reversed, Roman would stop at nothing to make sure that a fellow side was safe and taken care of, preening about how it was his princely duty to assure the wellbeing of every side. Even when they fought and squabbled, Janus could still sense the unflinching respect and admiration that Roman felt towards him. The poor thing made his feelings grotesquely obvious at every given moment he had them. But Janus didn’t mind. It only deepened his own love towards Roman. 

After all, love comes in many different forms. 

“Don’t apologize, lovely,” Janus reminded. “This isn’t your fault.” 

Silence hung over the room like a thick blanket. Janus was relaxed, but the stiffness made Roman uncomfortable. 

“I don’t understand,” he finally said, starting to sound just a little more like himself. “Why are you doing this? Why are you…erasing all their progress? Aren’t you worried they’ll get mad? Aren’t you mad at me?” 

“Roman, I have no reason to be mad at you,” Janus said, opting to use the side’s real name instead of a pet name. “Why would I get mad at you for getting hurt? There’s no point in that. You need help. I want to help you, I don’t want to see you hurting.” 

Roman winced. Anger bubbled in Janus’ chest. 

“Who are you talking about?” he whispered. “Who’s they? Who did this to you, Roman? Who made you think that you- that you deserve this?” 

Roman’s gaze went vacant once again, and Janus wanted to smack himself for causing Roman to retreat further back into the corners of his mind. 

“I’ll be good,” the creative side whispered. “I’ll be good, I’ll be so good. I’ll follow all the rules. I’ll never make a mistake. I’ll do everything you ask me to, I’ll take any punishment you have for me. I promise. I promise.” 

“Roman, what do you want from me?” Janus asked softly, tilting Roman’s chin upwards to initiate eye contact. “What do you want me to give you in exchange for…all this you’re offering?” 

Janus just didn’t understand. Usually, he was very adept with deals and bargaining and the like. But Roman’s words were scattered, as if he were drunken and rambling. 

“For you not to join them,” Roman said immediately. “Please, please don’t join them. You can take me, you can use me for whatever you want. I’ll do anything you ask, I’ll be a puppy, I’ll be a servant, I’ll be anything. I’ll do whatever you ask. I’ll go back to them, and I’ll not say a word about you if that’s what you want. Just- please- don’t tell them you know. Don’t join them. I can’t have three. I can’t.” 

“Three what, darling?” Janus asked, his heart sinking to the floor. 

Roman sniffled, and it was then that Janus realized the creative side was crying. Genuinely crying, not creating tears for an audience. He gasped and swallowed a sob as he answered Janus’ question. 

“Three owners.”

[i-am-bitterly-jittery]

Friends? (pt 1 Logan /4)

Soulmates? (Unhappy Accidents): Part 1, Part 2

Friends?: •, Patton, Roman, Part 4

Word count: 2595

Rating: teen

Pairings: platonic Analogical, Anxceitmus, background Royalogicality

Warnings: anxiety, strained relationships

~~~START~~~

My apologies, but I am running fifteen minutes late  

Virgil felt his heart rate spike just from reading the text. Logan was considerate enough to text him forty minutes before they were supposed to meet up, but Virgil was already almost to his destination. Now forty-five minutes early.  

Ever since the accident two months ago, just being in a car was enough to give him a panic attack. Even when he was walking sometimes if a car was coming his way, no matter how slowly or how far away, he’d freeze up in fear, praying it would stop before it ran him over. It was so bad that even when he took the bus — somehow the least stressful form of transportation for him — he had to have his head buried in his phone the whole time, lest he notice a car outside slightly too close for comfort.  

Knowing how public transportation was, coupled with an anxious desire to be slightly early, Virgil had given himself a half hour cushion time, none of which had been used up.  

He could still go to the café he and Logan had planned to meet at, but then he’d be faced with a dilemma, order a drink and wait out the time, or wait out the time without ordering anything. If he ordered a drink, he’d likely finish it before Logan got there and would then either awkwardly not have a drink while Logan got his own drink, or order a second drink and risk getting too wired. But if he ordered nothing and just hung out, he’d feel like the employees would hate him, he’d be taking up space without actually funding the function of said space — which was basically trespassing.  

Virgil spent the final ten minutes of his bus ride in an anxiety spiral.  

Caffeine was definitely out of the question, and Virgil was beginning to resign himself to the employees hating him when he noticed a bookstore right next to the café. A bookstore was perfect! He could kill time without feeling like a nuisance.  

He ended up wandering the bookstore thinking more about how he got here than the books themselves.  

A couple weeks before the accident, he’d been laid off from his job, and then after the accident, he could barely stand to leave the house at all. He’d never had many friends, and then he was only ever talking to Janus and Remus — except for that one day when they’d gone to Remus’s brother’s house to talk to Virgil and Janus’s soulmates… 

He hadn’t wanted to contact them afterwards — not because they didn’t seem nice, but because he thought Janus and Remus might be upset. He thought Janus would be upset because he hated the concept of soulmates and only accepted Virgil because they’d been together for years before either of them had known about the connection; and he thought Remus might be upset because of how insecure he was about both his brother and the topic of soulmates.  

In the end, it was Janus who snapped at him to “stop looking like a kicked puppy and call them if it means so much to you!” 

He’d decided to start with Logan because he seemed to be the one that Remus liked best. Logan had been quite amenable — to use his words — to hanging out explicitly in a friendship capacity and had suggested a café halfway between Virgil’s home and Logan’s university.  

Five minutes before Logan was set to arrive, Virgil entered the café with a small bag from the bookstore containing a book on snakes and a toy octopus whose eyes popped out of its head when you squeezed it — he couldn’t just leave the store empty handed after wandering around it for so long. Virgil sat at a table, and exactly fifteen minutes after their previously scheduled meeting time, Logan Sanders walked through the door.  

Logan was wearing a crisp black polo shirt and a blue tie, leaving Virgil feeling awkwardly underdressed in his well-worn hoodie — which he had luckily not been wearing the day of the accident.  

“Hello Virgil,” Logan greeted him, making a beeline straight for Virgil’s table rather than the counter to order. “I hope I did not inconvenience you too much.” 

“Uh, no, it’s all good,” Virgil shrugged awkwardly.  

“Ah, I see you have already discovered the bookstore next door,” Logan observed, gesturing to the bag on the table. “I suppose my undiscussed idea to go there after coffee can be crossed off the list of potential activities.” 

Virgil’s face grew hot. Of course Logan had plans beyond coffee, and of course those plans involved books! How could Virgil be so stupid! 

“S-sorry,” Virgil managed to stutter over the staccato of his heart. “I didn't mean to ruin your plans.” 

“Not at all,” Logan waved him off. “I did not discuss my idea with you, and I had no expectations that you were a mind reader. There are plenty of other activities around here, the bookstore is just one thought of many. Have you ordered yet?” 

“Um, no, I was waiting for you.” 

“Excellent! Then allow me to treat you, as remuneration for my tardiness.” 

“Isn’t anticipating your thoughts supposed to be one of those soulmate things?” Virgil asked as they got in line, still hung up on the bookstore.  

“Not at all. In fact, I find open and explicit communication to be much more effective than relying on some sort of soulmate-driven precognition — heaven knows that if I tried to anticipate Roman or Patton’s desires without speaking to either of them first that I would, at least half the time, be wrong.” 

“Right,” Virgil answered, still somewhat skeptical.  

“And even if that were not the case,” Logan continued. “You have met me on two separate occasions, and on neither of those occasions did my love of books come up.” 

Virgil couldn’t press the matter further — not that he particularly wanted to — as they were the next to order. Virgil ordered a plain coffee with cream and sugar since it would be the cheapest option, while Logan ordered a surprisingly foofy drink.  

“Roman called my order of a black coffee ‘boring’ and insisted I try this once,” Logan explained after he’d paid, noticing Virgil’s raised eyebrow. “I am quite hooked.” 

Virgil shrugged, fair enough. Remus had certainly turned him onto his fair share of odd orders over the years.  

“So, what else is there to do around here?” Virgil asked as they waited for their orders. He had expected coffee to be the entire thing, he hadn’t put any thought into other activities.  

“There are quite a few stores we could look at, including an odd gift shop and a music store that has quite an impressive array; there are also three different museums in the area, an aquarium if you don’t mind a slightly longer walk, and a park. I am, of course, open to any other suggestions you may have, but these are the things I know about.” As Logan spoke, Virgil looked for any twitch in his face, any tone in his voice that might suggest which option was his preferred one, but Logan’s genuine demeanor gave nothing away. He sounded just as interested in one option as the next, it seemed it was up to Virgil to choose which one he wanted to do.  

“A music store sounds good,” Virgil said, somewhat noncommittally so he could change his answer if Logan seemed disappointed.  

Logan’s face lit up. “Excellent. The music store it is.” 

Coffee in hand, Virgil followed Logan down the street and around the corner to a music store absolutely stuffed with CDs, vinyl, and cassette tapes. The sheer amount of stuff in such a relatively small space was overwhelming.  

“I know that not everyone is a fan of structured time,” Logan said as Virgil took in the organized chaos. “And I certainly respect if all you would like to do is casually look around, but I have a suggestion if you’d like to have an activity.” 

“Yeah, activity is good,” Virgil shrugged, shoving his free hand into his pocket to hide his nerves.  

“In the interest of full disclosure, this activity is adapted from one of Roman’s favorite date night activities, but I do not believe that there is anything inherently romantic about the activity itself.” 

“Sure.” From what Virgil knew about Roman, romance was kinda his thing, so whether or not this activity would cross any of Virgil’s boundaries — and whether or not Virgil would let it — was now another entry on Virgil’s list of worries.  

“When Roman, Patton and I are here, we are each tasked with finding an album for one of our partners that combines our musical tastes with theirs. I do not know your musical tastes and I do not believe you know mine, so if you’d like, I suggest a music exchange where I will find you an album that I feel is important to me, and you find an album important for you.” 

“Important how?” Virgil asked nervously. Logan was right that this wasn’t inherently romantic, but music was something that could get intensely personal very quickly and Virgil was not ready to bear his soul to Logan.  

“In any way you choose to interpret it,” Logan answered. “It could be something your parents liked to listen to when you were young, it could be an album that has your favorite song on it, it could be something you pretended to hate in middle school; you do not have to justify your reasoning to me, I merely thought this could be an enjoyable icebreaker, so to speak.” 

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Virgil shrugged, mind already racing with possibilities. “Sounds good.” 

“Excellent! Let us reconvene in ten minutes, unless you feel like you need more time, of course.” 

“Sure.” 

It took Virgil a couple minutes to figure out the layout of the store, and then the whole rest of the allotted time was spent trying to choose an album that he knew well enough to justify its importance, but he was emotionally removed enough from that Logan wouldn’t be able to read too much into it. When he finally ran out of time, he panicked and grabbed a CD of The Black Parade — an album he was decidedly not emotionally removed from — before rushing to meet Logan back at the front of the store.  

“Hello Virgil, did you find something?” Logan asked, Virgil had noticed him wandering around the store too, but he didn’t look nearly as anxious as Virgil felt — what if Logan hated emo music and decided never to talk to Virgil again? 

“Yeah…” Virgil fiddled with the plastic case in his hands. “It’s stupid.” 

“No such thing,” Logan replied, matter-of-factly. “If you asked Patton to do this, he would likely bring you a CD from the television program Arthur; Roman would likely choose multiple CDs as one would not be enough; I do not consider either of these choices to be ‘stupid’.” 

“The… the children’s cartoon?” 

“Yes.”  

“…okay. Uh, here,” Virgil shoved the MCR CD at him. “Is that how this works?” 

“Thank you, Virgil. This one is for you.” 

Logan handed him a CD of 8 Mile. Virgil blinked at it. People could like any genre, of course, but Logan did not strike him as a rap guy.  

“This is the first thing I bought when I got my first paycheck,” Logan explained.  

“C-cool,” Virgil shifted uncomfortably, he hadn’t offered an explanation for his choice, and he wouldn’t unless Logan asked for one, but he still felt like he was failing at something. “Um, what do we do now?” 

“We can look around some more if you would like. I do not mind if you don’t buy the CD, picking one out was just meant to be a small activity.” 

“No, it’s cool. I, uh, I don’t have this one.” Logan smiled and the knot in Virgil’s chest loosened a little. Logan didn’t hate him and he wasn’t completely bombing this social interaction.  

Virgil and Logan spent almost an hour looking around the store together and discussing music. Virgil did end up buying 8 Mile, as well as a couple albums for himself; Logan bought The Black Parade. After the music store, they actually did go back to the bookstore so Logan could purchase a few items from his personal wishlist.  

“Where did you park?” Logan asked as they were wrapping up at the bookstore.  

“I didn’t. I took the bus here.” Virgil had actually been enjoying himself, to the point where he’d completely forgotten that he'd need to take the bus home, but now that thought was at the forefront of his mind. He needed to look up the bus schedule.  

“Ah, well if you would like, I could drive you home.” Virgil knew he’d been trying to be friendly, to help Virgil get home quicker, but Virgil's heart still tried to leap out of his chest at the suggestion.  

“No thanks!” He said, much too quickly. “I mean, it’s fine, I like the bus.” 

Logan gave him a strange look, but nodded anyway. “If that is what you wish.” 

“Yeah. Uh, bye.” 

“Goodbye Virgil, I hope the rest of your day is satisfactory.” 

“Yeah, you too.” 

^(^.^)^ 

Virgil's heart didn’t stop pounding until he was off the bus, standing a block down from his building. Logan’s innocent suggestion to take a car had put Virgil so on edge that his phone was barely enough to keep him from having a panic attack on the bus.  

Much to his surprise, Janus and Remus were both sitting at the apartment’s kitchen table when he finally made it up to his floor. Remus’s head whipped around to stare at him with the most heartbreakingly anxious look in his eye while Janus stayed staring straight ahead, a tightening around his eyes was the only indication he’d noticed Virgil’s arrival.  

“Um, hey,” Virgil waved at Remus awkwardly, hoping that would be enough to get his boyfriend to stop staring at him like that.  

“You’re back late,” Janus commented, still not looking at him.  

Virgil frowned. “Sorry, mom, I didn’t realize I had a curfew.” 

Janus’s fingers twitched around the coffee mug he was holding.  

“Damn right you do, young man!” Remus said suddenly, slightly too loud and with a forced-playful look in his eye. “Your mother and I have been worried sick!” 

Virgil rolled his eyes and tried to get a handle on his temper. “I got you both something.” 

He tossed the octopus at Remus and set the book down in front of Janus, more forcefully than necessary. Janus stared at the book, taken aback; Remus put the octopus in his mouth and shook it like a dog with a toy.  

“Thanks, Virgie!” Remus said after spitting the now wet toy into his hand. “Love you!” 

“Love you too.” Most of the anxiousness had drained from Remus’s face, and the rest disappeared at Virgil’s words.  

Janus pulled the book to him and tapped his fingers on the cover a few times before speaking. “And how was Logan?” 

“Fine,” Virgil answered quickly. “Good. It was good. Nice to hangout with someone as a friend — been a while… since I’ve had a friend.”  

With every word, Virgil could feel himself losing confidence, but when he was done, Janus turned to him with a soft look in his eye.  

“Good, I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” 

Tension he hadn’t even known he’d been holding drained out of Virgil’s shoulders as he returned Janus’s smile.  

“Yeah, it was good.” 

~~~END~~~

I love writing Logan, he can just explain everything without the dialog reading as weird

I got rear ended a few months ago and ever since I’ve been really anxious about cars coming up behind me when I’m stopped (I was stopped at a stoplight when the guy behind me for some unfathomable reason thought the light had turned green and just didn’t realize that I wasn’t moving?), and I can only imagine how bad my anxiety would be if I had actually gotten injured

Soulmates? taglist:

@royalty-of-all-things-snuggly @pixelated-pineapple @aeternum-ablaze @misunderstood-shadowling @vash-the-trans-catboy @dazzling-in-diamonds

[therearesomanyegos]

Catch me making mockups of Sanders Sides merch for the fun of it 

[littlecloudprince]

Birthday Boy

Summary: It's a certain little boy's birthday! Because we all need more Agere!C!Thomas in our lives, don't we? Plus I wanted to write something for Thomas' birthday :3

Warnings: None!

A/N: Just a little something I came up with for Thomas' birthday! Even though it's technically already the 25th over here in Finland, haha

"Biwthday, biwthday, biwthday! Biwthday, biwthday, biwthday!" The very little Thomas chanted, running around the living room in his pyjamas and flapping his hands. It was six in the morning, and Thomas had woken up the Sides just moments prior. Despite adult Thomas not being a morning person, little Thomas was already more than awake, stopping his running just to excitedly jump in place. Patton was in the kitchen making breakfast, and Roman and Remus were watching the little one in the living room. Logan was helping Patton, and Janus and Virgil were situated on the couch, eagerly waiting for coffee, trying to stay awake for the birthday boy.

"Excited?" Roman affectionately ruffled Thomas' hair, the boy clinging to his sleeve.

"Uh-huh!" Thomas nodded, pressing himself against the prince before wrapping his arms around him, tightly gripping to his shirt. He hid his face in the crook of Roman's neck, just staying in the other's embrace for a moment.

"Aw, is it hug time?" Roman smiled, giving Thomas a gentle kiss on the top of his head.

"Mmm. Cuz I wuv you," Thomas smiled, squeezing the other one slightly tighter. Roman slightly teared up at Thomas' adorableness, having to stifle a squeak.

"I love you too, pipsqueak," the prince returned the squeeze, subtly wiping his eyes.

"Bleh! Gross!" Remus stuck his tongue out, pretending to gag. Thomas and Roman let go of each other, turning to look at the green twin.

"You're ruining the moment," Roman groaned.

"Yeah, duh. That's the point," Remus grinned.

"Maybe you're just jealous that I got a hug and you didn't," the red twin shot back. Both twins knew that the other wasn't serious, but Thomas didn't seem to quite understand. He tugged at the hem of Roman's shirt.

"Mus want hug too?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I think he does," Roman nodded. Before Remus had a chance to react, Thomas ran to him and gave him a tight hug too.

"Is okay, wuv Mus too," the little boy assured, clumsily patting Remus' back.

"Mus famiwy too," Thomas continued. Remus could've sworn his heart was being squished to mush, as he finally realised to return the hug.

"Okay, you little booger, you got me, I love you too," he said, ruffling the little's hair.

"I'm not a boogew!" Thomas giggled, as the two let go of each other. Thomas took off, not wanting to leave Janus and Virgil out. Roman gave Remus a smug look.

"You shut up," Remus gave his twin a light push.

"Hey, I didn't even say anything!" Roman pretended to be offended.

"Breakfast is ready!" Patton hollered from the kitchen.

After everyone had finished their pancakes and Janus and Virgil had gotten themselves caffeinated, it was finally time for Thomas to open his presents. The boy could barely contain himself, vibrating in excitement. He was sitting on the couch, having gotten himself dressed, waiting for the others to bring out the gifts. He was wearing his Steven Universe -shirt, khaki shorts, and kitty paw socks. Thomas couldn't stay still at all, constantly kicking his feet, flapping his hands or wiggling on his bum. After waiting what felt like forever, the others finally made their reappearance.

"Happy birthday, Thomas!" they all exclaimed in unison. The boy jumped off the couch, frantically flapping his hands, running and jumping around the Sides. He went to hug Patton, who set the cake he was carrying down on the coffee table before returning the gesture.

"Happy birthday, lovebug!" the paternal side smiled, planting kisses all over Thomas' face. The latter giggled, squirming lightly.

"Wuv you!" he squealed. Patton ruffled the boy's hair before he took off, situating himself back on the couch. He rocked side-to-side as the others set down all the presents.

"I love you too, honey bear! Are you ready to blow out your candles?" Patton asked. Thomas nodded eagerly, and the others began singing as the little boy took a big breath, and blew out his candles. He closed his eyes and made a wish as everyone clapped. Virgil was the first one to hand Thomas a gift to unwrap. It was wrapped in purple giftwrap, and it had black string around it. The little began shredding the wrapping paper, soon revealing a box that, once opened, revealed a sensory cube and a Cheer Bear plushie.

"Thank you!" Thomas squeaked, picking up the plushie and hugging it tight to his chest before getting up and running to Virgil.

"Wuv you!" he smiled, wrapping his arms around Virgil. The emo returned the affection, gently cradling Thomas' head for a bit.

"You're welcome, kiddo. Love you too," Virgil smiled, ruffling Thomas' hair.

Soon enough, Thomas had opened all of his presents, and was now running around, wearing his new cape and crown, and swinging his new toy sword and shield about. He'd also gotten a 120 box of crayons and five colouring books, three chewie necklaces, shaped like a yellow star, a red Lego brick and a purple light saber, a footie onesie, a new Lego set, a few new story books and a red pacifier with a yellow star sticker on the button and a matching sippy cup. Thomas was more than happy with these gifts, and occasionally thanked one of the others amidst their game. Thomas and Roman were princes, and Remus and Janus were the bad guys.

"Gonna get you!" Thomas squealed, running toward Janus. The yellow Side gasped, pretending to run away, but letting the little boy collide into him.

"Wuv you!" Thomas gave Janus a tight squeeze. The older one returned the gesture, gently rubbing the little one's back.

"Love you too, tiny tot," Janus ruffled Thomas' hair affectionately.

The rest of the day went by, Thomas playing with his new gifts and with the others. They had tacos for dinner, and then watched Aladdin, Thomas' favourite Disney movie. By the movie's end, the boy was yawning and rubbing his eyes, and Logan proposed it was bath time. They got through it with ease, and soon enough Thomas was wearing his new onesie and new pacifier in his mouth, hugging Cheer Bear tightly against his chest, waiting for Logan to come tuck him in. Before long, Logan entered the bedroom with Thomas' new sippy cup, and one of the new books, Winnie the Pooh, that Thomas had picked to be his bedtime story. Logan set the sippy cup on the night stand, and tucked the little boy in before sitting down next to him.

"Did you have a good birthday?" Logan asked. Thomas nodded, making grabby hands toward the older one. Logan obliged, wrapping his arms around Thomas, and gently patting his back.

"Wuv you," Thomas mumbled tiredly around his pacifier, tightening his grip slightly.

"I love you too, starlight," Logan assured, ruffling Thomas' hair once they let go of each other. The logical one opened the book, and made sure Thomas was comfortable before starting to read. Thomas was exhausted enough that it didn't take long for him to fall asleep. Logan stopped reading, and carefully got up. He tugged Thomas in one more time, before planting a gentle kiss on the little boy's forehead.

"Sleep well, stardust," he smiled.

[anxiousgaypanicking]

Merry Christmas

!this is also very old and was never posted, so.... merry christmas i guess?!

Intrulogical (Remus x Logan) Warnings: bondage, degradation, orgasm denial, hair pulling, choking

Logan opens his door, lacing a hand through his greasy hair. He'd spent the past three days cooped up in his room, working, only leaving when he had to grab some water or a snack.

The only reason he did so was because he couldn't work efficiently if he was malnourished. Their bodies are imaginary; logically, one would think they wouldn't have to indulge in typical human things, but sadly, Logan was forced to eat and drink in order to keep awake and (somewhat) healthy.

He heads downstairs, noticing the darkness outside. How late was it?

He passed a clock on the wall... around midnight. Huh. He heads into the kitchen, filling a cup up with water. He catches sight of a calendar on the wall, the red markings on it drawing his eye. He moves towards it, eyes squinting as he looks over it.

Red "X"'s were marked over the squares, leading up to the 25th, which was circled. "X-MAS" was written in the middle of it.

Oh shit... was it Christmas already?

Logan glanced at the clock again. It was past midnight, so technically it was.

He knew it was close to Christmas; it's hard to miss Patton screaming over Christmas cookies, Roman's persistence on decorating everything just right, Virgil worrying over everyone not getting a gift, and then worrying about him not getting a gift himself (and then worrying about whether or not that sounded selfish), and Janus trying to keep a destructive Remus in line by twisting Christmas tales that rivaled horror stories.

But he didn't expect it to be this close already.

Guess he missed a bunch of time by staying cooped up in his room for long amounts of time.

He finishes off his water, before heading upstairs. He heads into the bathroom and glances at himself in the mirror. He has eyebags that would rival Virgil's own eyeshadow and messy hair that looked wet from how greasy it was. He was also wearing the same clothes he'd been in for the past few days.

He sighs, before starting a shower. He takes a fast one, wanting to get back to work (or, at the very least, head to bed, considering Patton will probably wake him up early to come celebrate Christmas with them), so he only does the bare necessities.

He washes his hair and his body, before turning the water off and drying himself using a towel. He carries his glasses back to his room, opening the door and flicking on the light, before he's greeted with a blurry blob of colour in the middle of his floor. Logan quietly mutters "what the hell" under his breath, before he slips his glasses on. Oh. It's a box.

More specifically, it's a large gift. Wrapped in a pretty, navy blue that shined due to the reflection of the light, and a glossy black ribbon tied in a pretty bow at the top.

Logan rolls his eyes at it.

He ignores it for the time being, dropping his towel and quickly pulling some clothes on. Black pajama pants and a long sleeved, dark blue shirt. His room often got cold during the night, so he wore more clothes to keep himself warm.

He then turns back to the present. It's definitely bigger than most of the others under the tree...

Logan spots a tag attached to the bow, and he grabs it and reads it.

To: Logie Bear From: Big Dicked Duke

Logan sighs. Great; a gift from Remus. That just provided more reason Logan definitely shouldn't open it. But, alas, curiosity got the better of him. So, he took hold of the black ribbon and carefully untied the box, before lifting the lid off.

He sighed when he saw what was inside.

Remus was, in fact, inside, and was looking up at him with a dumb smile. "Hiya Logie!" Remus greets him, sounding cheery as ever.

Logan doesn't respond, too busy scanning over Remus's nude body. Or, more accurately, semi-nude body. While he wasn't clothed, he had more of the silky black ribbon wrapped around his thin figure. It seemed to begin at his ankles, wrapped prettily around them before it went up to his thighs and knees. It was wrapped around both areas, securing his thighs to his knees and forcing his ankles to stay pressed to his butt. The ribbon moved up his body, tight around his waist before crossing over his chest in an "X" like manner, showing off his nipples. It came to an end around his neck, where the ribbon was tied neatly into a bow.

Upon looking further, Logan also saw that Remus's wrists were tired behind him by more length of the black ribbon, also secured tightly with a bow.

Remus was also hard and already leaking precum.

Logan sighs. "What's the point of this?" he questions, clearly unamused with what Remus has done. Remus just seems to smile wider at Logan's question, though.

"It's Christmas!" Remus exclaims. "I'm your gift!"

"Gifts are typically inanimate objects, with the exception of the cliche pet given to eager children sometimes," Logan counters. "You are neither an inanimate object or a pet, therefore this doesn't appear to be a customary gift."

"Jokes on you, I can be both your personal fucktoy and your sexual pet!" Remus argues.

Logan sighs again, grabbing the lid of the box and putting it back on. Remus whines, thrusting his chest forward against the side of the box and knocking it over, the lid flopping back off.

"Logan!" Remus whines, looking up at him best he can, with half of his face pressed against the floor. He's pouting, clearly upset that Logan indirectly denied his offer. "Come on! It'd be like a double Christmas gift, because I really want this too." Logan still looked unimpressed. Remus frowns, but continues "I even got Virgil to help tie me up, because I know how much you value control!"

Logan stares at him, not displaying anything for a solid minute, before he leans down and sets the box back the right way, thus setting Remus back onto his knees.

He doesn't stay that way for long though, as Logan leans down and picks him up by his waist, seemingly effortlessly carrying him back to the bed. He sits down on the edge of it, setting Remus on his lap, Remus's legs straddling either side of Logan's.

"Ooo, is this a yes?" Remus asks, clearly delighted by Logan's hands softly rubbing over his waist.

"Yeah," Logan answers, sounding defeated as he says it. Seems like even the nerd couldn't resist sexual temptations. And, boy, Remus was one determined temptress.

Logan's hands run up Remus's sides slightly, before running back and over Remus's ass. He squeezes Remus's cheeks, Remus grinning at the contact, before Logan's hands move back over his chest. They travel up his chest, teasingly brushing over his nipples, before he can't resist the temptation anymore and he leans in, connecting his and Remus's lips. Remus happily kisses back, leaning into the kiss as much as he could with his restraints.

How he wanted nothing more than to tangle his hands in Logan's neat hair, both to pull him closer and to mess him up a bit more.

But, alas, he could not. He wanted to fully tie himself up as to allow Logan complete and sole control over his body. Which was also a super fucking hot idea to him, as Logan could technically do anything.

Logan breaks the kiss, before his lips travel down and press kisses to the side of Remus's neck. He's hesitant in the kisses he's leaving, but his hands seem anything but, running over him and feeling him up endlessly. Squeezing his thighs and his ass, or messing with his nipples - providing him with constant stimulation to make up for what he was slower to do.

His kisses come to an abrupt end, however, as Logan suddenly bites down, puncturing Remus's skin with his teeth. Remus moans at the action, shifting on Logan's lap, attempting to grind his ass down on Logan's crotch. Logan's breath stutters, before his hands are back on Remus's waist and he moves their positions entirely.

He pins Remus beneath him, now leaning over him, and Remus looks momentarily uncomfortable (as his hands were now stuck behind him), but ends up just looking back at Remus, trusting Logan and waiting eagerly for whatever he wanted to do.

Although, he doesn't have to wait long, as Logan's quick to lean back down and place more bites along Remus's neck.

Remus seems to enjoy that, tilting his head to the side in order to allow Logan better access, which Logan immediately takes advantage of, biting and sucking at the skin that was shown.

Remus continues to moan and whine at each mark, before he laughs suddenly, following it up with "for someone who didn't initially want their gift, you seem to be enjoying it." His words are surprisingly light and teasing, and when Logan pulls back he can clearly see the dorky grin on Remus's face.

Logan looks unamused with his words, so he just presses a quick kiss, muttering "shut up, toys don't talk," afterwards. A shiver courses through Remus's body, as he bites tongue, eager to make sure Logan loves his gift.

And, well, he thinks that listening will get Logan to please him more, and Remus adores being pleasured.

That slight interruption does seem to cause Logan to shift focus, however, as his hands trail down Remus's body. They dip into his thighs momentarily, before Logan flips Remus over. Remus's knees and thighs spread immediately, and his ass is raised in the air while his chest is hovering just above Logan's all too clean sheets.

Half of his face is pressed into the bed as well, while the other half displays an eager smile.

Logan's hands slide down his back, before reaching his ass, where Remus hears Logan snort.

"A butt plug?" Logan muses, finally showing a hint of something other than boredom. "Really?" It was silver, and there was a sapphire jewel in the shape of a heart at the end.

"Were you expecting to be able to open all of me up?" Remus teases, before whining as Logan pulls it out.

He hums, scrunching his nose up at the sight of the plug before setting it to the side. "Well, to be fair, being able to open and unwrap everything is often customary with Christmas gifts, and gifts in general." He reaches around Remus and into the nightstand. "So you can't fault me for being at least a bit disappointed."

"I wanted to speed up the process."

"You always were impatient." Remus laughs lightly at Logan's all too true words. He had always been impatient; waiting was just so boring.

Seemed like he didn't have to wait much longer, though, as he heard Logan uncap the lube.

He smiled, shivering in anticipation. God, he couldn't wait for Logan to use him. Hopefully, he'd enjoy his gift as much as Remus would enjoy being said gift. He could only fantasize the things Logan could do to him while he was all tied up and vulnerable...

He was snapped out of these thoughts as he felt Logan penetrate him. He groans, back arching almost painfully. Anyone else in that position would be extremely uncomfortable, but that only seemed to add to Remus's pleasure.

"Oh... fuck, you don't waste time," Remus says, as Logan's cock quickly thrusts into him. He doesn't move quite yet, but Remus is already trying to roll his hips against it.

"Of course I don't," Logan says, with a scoff. "Why would I dawdle?"

"You're dawdling now," Remus counters, before snickering at the word 'dawdle.' It was weird, and very... Logan-like. "I don't need to adjust. Please, sir?" Remus says that in an innocently shrill sounding voice, that Logan both hates and adores. He does definitely dislike the fact Remus is using his sir kink against him.

Fucking bitch.

Logan rolls his eyes, before pulling out and sharply thrusting back into Remus.

Remus moans quietly, before whining out "faster!"

Logan scoffs, before his hands tangle in Remus's hair and he tugs Remus's head back. "Quit being so impatient. You're my toy; you don't get to tell me what to do." Just for that, Logan doesn't move. Instead, he leans over Remus and places light kisses over his neck and shoulder blades.

Remus whines again, upset that Logan was being so torturous, but he did want to be good.

This was about giving Logan a good Christmas gift, even if that meant he had to wait to be pleasured. Ah, the things he did for some nerd cock.

Logan takes the opportunity to leave a few marks down Remus's back, whether they be scratches or bites, before he pulls out and thrusts back in. Remus whimpers at the action, hoping that Logan won't stop again.

He's been painfully hard this whole time! He could at least hope Logan would hurry and get to pleasing him.

It seems like his wish is granted, though, as Logan starts thrusting into him. He's still going slower than Remus would have liked, but he's thankful Logan's moving, at least.

He's also thankful for Logan's hands feeling him up. He figures Logan just wants to explore the new territory, but his cold hands running over Remus's warm chest feels nice. Especially when they reach Remus's nipples and start teasingly pinching at them. Remus whines at the contact, trying to arch his chest further into Logan's hand without smashing them between Remus's chest and the mattress.

Logan's thrusts slowly start to speed up, and Remus moans as he rolls his hips back on Logan's cock.

"Fuck," he moans out, eyes fluttering closed as he bites his lip. "Your cock is so big, sir. Fuck, so big and so thick inside of me."

"My cock literally has not changed size since entering you."

"Shut up; it's huge." Drool is dripping from the corner of Remus's mouth, a happy smile on his face as Logan continues to thrust into him. "I love your cock, sir! I love it so much- fuck you feel so good."

Logan groans above him, and that just makes Remus smile wider. He likes hearing that Logan is enjoying himself as much as Remus is. Also, Logan is just very fucking hot.

"Remus," Logan moans out, rather quietly, as he buries his face in Remus's neck.

Remus wonders to himself how someone can be both so hot and so cute at the same time, and how he got lucky enough to have the cutest hot man fucking into him.

"Fuck, sir oh!" Remus suddenly lets out a high pitched moan, his eyes squeezed shut in pleasure as Logan suddenly nails his prostate. "Oh fuck! Sir- sir right there! Please- oh hell, please!" His back arches and his chest presses into the bed, Logan's hands stuck beneath his chest now. Logan doesn't seem to care much, though, as he grits his teeth and focuses on pounding Remus's prostate, drawing louder and louder moans from him.

"Sir, sir please I need to come-" Remus eventually babbles out. When met with no response, he whines. "Please, sir! I need to come so bad."

"Toys don't get to come," Logan finally growls out, one of his hands wiggling out from under Remus's chest. He wraps it around the base of Remus's cock, squeezing it tightly. "You're here for my pleasure only."

Remus whimpers, "Sir, please- I need-"

Logan tangles his other hand in Remus's hair, yanking his head back. "Did you not here what I said, slut?" Logan hisses into his ear, sounding rather unlike him. "Now shut up. Toys don't talk, either."

His hand in Remus's hair slid down to his neck, before he squeezed it tightly, Remus choking out a moan at his actions, his eyes rolling back into his head. Drool continued to drip out of his mouth, strangled moans and whines escaping his mouth, only spurring Logan to squeeze tighter around his throat.

Logan is breathing hard, and he mutters something incoherent before he comes into Remus with a gritted moan. Remus moans as he feels Logan's come spilling inside of him, before he stops moving. Logan's hand falls from Remus's throat, and Remus sucks in a large breath of much needed air, before he lets out a cry as the hand around his cock starts stroking him at a fast pace. Remus comes quickly over Logan's hands and the sheets, before he lets his face fall onto the pillows.

He's panting heavily, before he feels the ribbons come loose around him. Logan undoes the ribbon around his wrists first, before untying the ribbon over his body. Now fully unrestrained, Remus collapses onto the bed, before rolling himself onto his back.

He's grinning wide as he stares up at Logan. "Wow," he pants out, between fits of giggles. "That was fun. Did you enjoy your gift?"

"Very much so," Logan answers, leaning down to carefully pick Remus up. "But we need to shower. Come on."

Remus whines at the notion of showering, but let's Logan pick him up anyway, thinking of ot as Logan giving him better access to kiss other places, such as Logan's neck. Logan just hums as Remus presses kisses all over his neck, starting the shower. They'd shower and Remus would probably demand cuddles (and claim it was a must after sex, solely just so he could lay next to a (hopefully) naked Logan), before falling asleep and celebrating Christmas Day with the others.

Hopefully, they wouldn't question why Remus didn't get Logan a gift.

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

Tell the Truth

Prompts: aaaa the way you write angst is just *chefs kiss* wonderful. I’ve been really enjoying the butterfly project series, it has made me cry multiple times. May I request some fluff to balance the angst? - anon

Excuse me while I sob over Redemption Never Came and politely grabby hand for more angst with a happy ending (Roman angst my beloved) (Also you are an amazing fanfic artist :D) - anon

This is so heartbreaking and whumpy but so soft in the end and I would devour a second part about everyone trying to help undo all the negative patterns they've all instilled in Roman and just showing him affection and everyone's hearts breaking a little more each time he's surprised they actually want to be around him. - LadyofhteWoods

And now a part of me wants to see all those scenarios again, only this time Roman gets loved- walk in the kitchen, get a hug. Sit on the couch? Cuddle pile. Go on a quest? Bring friends, if hurt, patch up and movies. Crying in bed because you had a bad time and your brain is screaming that you suck and a wave of depression has rippled through you and you feel horrible? Have some tea… cry it out…. We’re here. - A_tiny_star_prince

Read on Ao3 Part 1

Warnings: self-doubt, self-deprecating thoughts

Pairings: dlampr

Word Count: 7688

Roman lies. A lot. Maybe it's time they did something about it.

Roman’s lies don’t vanish overnight. How could they? When he’s so used to repeating them, over and over, in a horrific little mantra before he goes to sleep, how can he be expected to get rid of them in only one night?

That doesn’t make them less difficult to hear.

Janus is downstairs, helping Virgil fold up one of the blankets strewn about the living room, when he winces and hisses.

“J? You okay?”

Janus nods, jerking his head upward. Virgil follows his gaze and winces too.

“…Princey?”

“I think so.” That’s a lie. He knows it’s Roman.

“I got this,” Virgil says quietly, taking the blanket from Janus, “you go. He seems to let you help more than he lets us.”

He never really had the choice to let me.

Janus swallows heavily as he appears outside Roman’s door. The lies aren’t nearly as poisonous as they were a few days ago, but they’re strong enough to curl his tongue at the bitterness in his throat. He raises a hand to knock on the door.

The lies falter for a moment before another one floats through.

Don’t come in.

He smirks, gently pushing the door open to meet a darkened room.

“Impressive,” he says softly, making his way over to the figure in the bed and perching on the end, “that could’ve been one of mine.”

He’s rewarded with the quietest of huffs before a head shyly peeks out at him from the covers. Janus smiles and tilts his head.

“Hello, sweetie.”

“Hi.” Roman shuffles a little. “Sorry. Didn’t realize I was summoning you.”

“There’s no need to apologize.” Janus glances around the room. His computer is off and shut. The bathroom light and fan are off. He looks back. “Can I help, sweetie?”

A shuffling of the blankets that’s probably supposed to be a shrug.

“Let me come find you, then,” he murmurs, standing and moving to where the head was a moment ago, “how did you get this many blankets on top of you?”

He slowly starts to move them out of the way, peeling back layer after layer, only briefly wondering whether or not Roman can breathe properly under these. It’s a careful act, one he treats with the same reverence as cleaning his gloves or his scales, creating a little cocoon of blankets as he gets further and further into the covers.

The last one puffs just the slightest amount, up and down.

So you can breathe, good.

Janus doesn’t move this one all the way out of the way, just lifts it up enough to peer inside. Roman’s little face peers back at him, partially covered by another blanket clutched tight to his chest. He looks so…child-like.

The realization makes something warm turn in Janus’s chest.

“Knock knock,” he says softly, “anyone home?”

Roman blinks. “Mm.”

“May I come in, sweetie?”

“Mm.” Roman jerks his chin toward Janus’s clothes. “Lose the sharp bits.”

Janus snaps his fingers, transforming his usual clothes into a soft yellow shirt and sleep pants. “Better?”

“Mm.”

“How did you manage to get so many blankets balanced on your bed,” Janus asks as he slips beside Roman, “mine always fall off after three.”

“Practice.” Roman shifts to make room.

Janus frowns. “Come here, sweetie, let me cuddle you.”

“You don’t have to.”

The frown deepens. “Sweetie?”

Roman buries his face a little deeper into the blanket. “You don’t like cuddling. Virgil an’ Remus said so.”

Oh, Roman…

“Come, sweetie,” he insists, tugging Roman gently into a proper hug, “there.”

“But—but—“

“I may not be as big a fan of cuddling as you and Patton,” Janus says firmly, cupping Roman’s face, “and I’m certainly the type that enjoys being tackled by Remus—“

Roman snorts.

“—but you’re upset,” he finishes gently, “and I want to help.”

Burden.

Needy.

Don’t understand boundaries.

Don’t deserve help.

Janus hisses. Roman sighs.

“Sorry.”

“No need for that,” he assures, still cradling Roman’s face as he pulls him close, “I understand. It’s alright.”

“I know, and I—I don’t want you to leave, but—“ Roman swallows— “I just—I still don’t believe you’re here.”

Janus wraps a pair of arms around Roman’s waist and squeezes. “I’m real, I’m here.”

“I just—“

There’s another lie swirling in Roman’s brain, too nebulous to make it all the way to Janus, but present enough that it makes his mouth tingle. He leans down to kiss Roman’s forehead.

“…you said it was your job to protect the Ego.”

“That’s right, sweetie, it is.”

“I guess I…I just…”

Janus gives Roman another encouraging squeeze. Roman brings the blanket further up his face.

“…I guess I figured that if you—if you could h-hate me that much or h-hurt me that badly and not—not care, then you…maybe you…”

Janus’s heart clenches as the lie finally makes itself known.

Not worth protecting.

He pulls away, shushing the heartbroken whine that Roman makes, taking off his gloves and wrapping every arm around the poor thing. He presses another kiss to his forehead, letting the hiss out into his hair.

“That’s not true, sweetie,” he promises, “and you’ll never know how sorry I am for hurting you and letting it get this far.”

And the poor thing is so tired, so weary that he goes limp in Janus’s arms, save for the blanket clutched tightly to his face. Janus frowns, opening his mouth to say that might be a little uncomfortable, what with Roman’s arms tucked between them, when he starts putting the pieces together.

Roman is still wearing a fair amount of clothing, he’s got something pressed up against his face, under his chin, and he’s got so many blankets piled on top of him that even Janus feels warm.

“And here I thought I couldn’t feel more rotten,” he whispers, carding one hand through Roman’s hair, another scratching gently between his shoulder blades, “but you must be in agony.”

A questioning hum is let out against his throat.

“You’re still touch starved, sweetie,” he says in way of answering, squeezing a little tighter, “are you still cold?”

There’s a soft rush of breath as Janus cups the back of his neck and then a noise is just about torn from his throat as he uses it to pull Roman close.

“Oh, shh, shh, you poor thing,” he murmurs, pressing another kiss to his cheek, “I’m right here, sweetie, I won’t leave you.”

They lie there for a while longer, Roman’s arms slowly lowering the blanket until he shyly puts his arms around Janus in return.

“There you go, sweetie,” he encourages, “hold onto me, that’s it.”

“Why—why are you letting me hug you?”

“Because it seems like you’d like to hug me.” Janus squeezes him again. “You don’t need to have a reason, sweetie, if you need a cuddle, you can have one.”

I need a reason. I need an excuse. I need an argument. I have to convince you.

Another hiss. “You can always ask for hugs, sweetie, you don’t need to convince me to hug you.”

“…really?”

Oh, Roman… “Yes, sweetie, you can ask any of us.”

The wave of disbelief that hits him makes him grit his teeth.

“I promise, sweetie. I promise.” Another kiss to his forehead. “You’re not unwanted, you’re not a burden.”

The silence he gets implies that Roman may not want to prove that—or disprove it—for himself right now.

“…can we just stay here for a bit?”

“For as long as you need, sweetie,” Janus murmurs, settling them in for some rest, “for as long as you want.”

——————————

Patton is in the kitchen, the first one downstairs this morning. There’s already a pot of coffee brewing and he sets the kettle up on the counter. He reaches up to pull the mugs for everyone. The plain black one for Logan, the Nightmare Before Christmas one for Virgil, the sparkly one for Remus, and the blue puppy one for himself. He frowns.

Roman used to keep his mug down here too. This really big red one with a golden crown on the side. He hasn’t seen it in ages.

Footsteps on the stairs.

He turns and sees Roman walk into the kitchen, smiling brightly as if there’s nothing wrong in the world, not a seam or stitch of his prince costume out of place. He strides into the room like he owns it, as if he’s just come down the stairs in his resplendent palace to a crown of adoring onlookers.

“Ah! Patton!” Goodness, he speaks like it too. “Good morning!”

“Roman!” Patton rushes forward and wraps him in a hug.

This is where everything goes wrong.

Roman tenses. Not in a way that means he wants out, but out of sheer surprise. Patton waits for Roman’s arms to wrap around him but instead, there’s just a very, very soft touch to his shoulder.

“Patton,” he asks quietly, “are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m great, kiddo, why?”

“W-well, you’re…you’re hugging me.”

“Sure am.”

“…why?”

Suddenly Patton feels very cold.

He pulls back, not enough to let Roman go completely, but enough to look up and see a truly heartbreaking look of confusion on his face. He can’t help the soft noise that comes out of his mouth as he raises one hand to his face.

“Are you asking why I’m hugging you?” Roman nods. “I want to hug you, kiddo. You’re hug-shaped.”

“I’m…what?”

“Hug-shaped,” Patton repeats, tugging him a little closer with the arm still around his waist, “you’re worth hugging, I like hugging you.”

“O-oh.”

And Patton has to watch as every scrap of confidence falls from Roman’s expression, his shoulders slump, and he looks like he loses some of his height, even. The shift is so drastic that it almost springs tears to his eyes at how much Prince Roman suddenly looks like a lost child, swimming in a costume too big and too heavy for him. Roman face contorts as he looks at a spot on the counter, furrowing his brow as if it’ll explain everything to him if he just glares hard enough.

There’s something fragile about the way Roman leans into Patton’s hand, something breakable about how warm he is right now. Patton shifts his weight to his other leg and there’s a flash of panic in Roman’s eyes, quickly stifled but there.

“Oh, kiddo, I’m not going anywhere,” he murmurs, pulling Roman back in for a proper hug, “I’m right here, it’s okay. You just let it out, okay?”

Roman’s breathe shudders a little into Patton’s shoulder. Then he starts pushing Patton away.

Patton listens, confused, until he watches Roman shake himself and put the mask of the prince right back on.

“Terribly sorry,” he says in the awful, awful cheerful voice as he rakes a hand through his hair, “don’t know what came over me.”

“Don’t,” Patton blurts before he can stop himself, “don’t do that, sweetheart.”

“Don’t do what, Padre?”

“Don’t pretend,” he says, reaching out for Roman again, “you don’t have to pretend you’re okay. Or that you don’t want something.”

“I don’t like being needy, Patton,” Roman says in a soft voice that’s just this side of wobbly, “and you don’t like me needy.”

And doesn’t that just feel hot and guilty in Patton’s throat?

“I like you, sweetheart,” he says instead, “and you’re not being needy if you want comfort or even just a touch. You’re allowed to want something, Roman, you are.”

Roman huffs in disbelief and turns.

“No, Roman—“ Patton hurries to get in front of him— “you are.”

Something flickers across Roman’s expression. Patton doesn’t even need Janus to tell him that Roman thinks he’s walking into a trap.

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” Patton says quietly, “I’ve hurt you so much, haven’t I? I’ve made you think that your job is wrong, that you—that you’re wrong and you’re not, kiddo. You’re not wrong. You’re not awful. I promise.”

Roman’s lip wobbles.

“Oh, come here, sweetheart,” Patton coos, wrapping him back in a hug, and finally, finally Roman’s arms come up to wrap around him too, before he’s being squeezed so tight it borders on painful.

Patton doesn’t care.

“It’s gonna be okay, sweetheart, I promise.” He rocks them back and forth a little as Roman buries his face in his shoulder. “We’ll figure it out, I know we will.”

They stay like that until the kettle goes off and Roman startles, jumping back a little bit. Patton soothes away the last of the jitters and smiles, watching Roman look like…Roman. Not the Prince, not the horribly lost child, just…just Roman.

“I think that’s my cue to make you the biggest mug of hot chocolate you’ve had since Christmas,” he says quietly, “now what mug would you like?”

Roman glances at the cabinet. “Anyone is fine.”

“Then why don’t you go grab one while I get the hot chocolate?”

Patton busies himself with the box, purposely letting Roman have his privacy as he picks out a mug, trying not to make his smile too blinding when he turns and sees Roman shyly hold out a big red mug with a sparkly crown.

“Good choice,” he says softly as he takes it from him, “I missed this mug.”

Judging by the way Roman’s mouth curls up in a little smile, he knows what Patton meant.

——————————

Virgil walks into the room and sees Roman sprawled out across the chair. He almost doesn’t see it.

He’s got to give it to Janus; even though he knows he can hear lies, he’s not sure he would’ve believed that they were actually coming from Roman. Because Roman looks the fucking picture of relaxed right now. It looks like he saw Patton and Logan on the couch and decided there wasn’t enough room for him to take up as much space as he wants. It looks like he’s occupying the entire fucking corner and not just the chair. It looks like he’s every bit the arrogant prince they used to think he was.

Then he sees how tight his jaw is and the slight tremble of his hands.

The room isn’t warm, there’s no reason for Princey to be shivering. There’s certainly no reason for him to be so tense as he sits in the chair, tapping a pen against his cheek in a fabulous impression of mindless thinking but is actually a carefully controlled way of preventing himself from moving any further.

He’s gotta hand it to him. Princey’s good.

Virgil walks up to Roman and shoves his hands into his pockets as Roman looks up.

“Dark and Stormy,” he says in a perfected casual lilt, “is there something I can do for you?”

And wow, okay, if this is what Janus hears all the time then Virgil has no idea how he fucking does it.

Janus hears lies, Virgil hears fears.

Please don’t make me leave.

If you want the chair I’l give it to you, I’ll move, I’ll sit on the floor, I’ll be quiet, but please don’t make me go. I want to stay, please, can I—can I stay? Is that okay?

Virgil tilts his head. “Move the book.”

Roman furrows his brow. “What?”

“The book.” Virgil nods to the notebook in Roman’s lap. “Move it. Move your arm.”

Confused, Roman does as he asks only to squeak in surprise when Virgil pronounces it perfect and plonks himself in Roman’s lap.

“Virgil!”

“Yeah?” Virgil pulls out his phone and leans his head against Roman’s shoulder. “What’s up?”

“You—you’re—“ Roman still doesn’t move— “you’re in my lap.”

“Sure am.” Virgil looks up at him and lowers his voice to a whisper. “No?”

Roman’s voice drops too. “What?”

Virgil indicates his weight. “No? This okay?”

“Y-yeah, it’s fine, I just—what?”

In lieu of a verbal answer, Virgil reaches behind him to take Roman’s free hand and pull it close, tucking it under his chin and clutching it there. Roman’s hand trembles. He finds himself absentmindedly running his thumb over the knuckles, the palm, the fingers. He keeps his eyes on Roman’s face.

Roman’s other arm lowers, gingerly resting on Virgil’s legs. Virgil smiles and squeezes his hand.

“I’m sorry, Princey,” he whispers, “I’ve been fucking awful to you.”

Roman’s face twitches. “…so have I.”

“What, been awful to me or awful to you?”

For a moment, he thinks Roman’s just going to say that he’s been awful to Virgil. Which, yes, he was in the past, but not like Virgil’s been. But instead, Roman opens his mouth and shakily whispers: ‘both.’

“I know, Princey.” Virgil squeezes his hand again. “You’re all good with me, and we can…if you want, I can help with the second part too.”

Roman’s eyes widen and godfuckingdamnit that hurts.

“I gotcha, Roman,” he says softly, lacing their fingers together, “and ‘m sorry I haven’t been there for you recently.”

Roman swallows, Virgil’s eyes drawn to the roll of his throat. “You…you want to help me?”

Roman, you’re gonna ruin my reputation of not having a heart by smashing it into fucking pieces.

“Yeah, Roman,” he reassures, “I wanna help you. You’re important.”

“I am?”

“Sure are, Princey.” He lightly knocks his head against Roman’s. “And if it ever feels like I don’t believe that, call me out on my bullshit. ‘Cause that’s bullshit.”

“What are you two muttering about over there?” Patton shakes his head fondly when Virgil decides to just turn his head upside down instead of turning around. “Virgil, that’s not good for your spine.”

“We’re metaphysical, Pop-star, who cares?”

“When you start complaining about neck pain,” Logan says wryly, “me.”

He glances up too and Virgil hides a smirk at how his face softens when he spots Roman’s expression.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yes, yes,” Roman says hurriedly, “everything’s fine.”

“It’s Hug Roman time,” Virgil says immediately after, “so I’m hugging Roman.”

“I think that’s less of a hug than you sitting on his lap,” Logan says, standing, “but we’ll never fit all of us on that chair.”

Virgil feels more than hears Roman’s inhale as Logan and Patton start moving the couch cushions to the floor. He sits back upright just in time to see Roman’s hopeful face and butts his head against his again.

“Come on, Princey, let’s go.”

“…are you going to stand up, or…?”

“Or you could carry me.”

“Virgil,” he hears Patton chide.

“No, no,” Roman says, “it’s fine, I can carry him if he wants to be carried. I will need my hand back, though.”

Okay, yes, Virgil does enjoy Roman carrying him a bit too much for altruistic purposes but it’s worth it when Roman goes to gently set him down and the other two pull him down instead.

“There,” Logan says softly as Roman’s head comes to rest against the base of the couch, “much better.”

Roman opens his mouth to say something when Logan’s hand tangles in his hair and it turns into a slightly strangled sound. Patton chuckles, wrapping his arms around Roman and sighing softly.

“Hey, who wants to play a game?”

Remus’s head pops up from behind the couch.

“We’re already playing a game,” Virgil says, “it’s called Cuddle Roman, now get your butt down here.”

Remus gasps. “My favorite!”

“Okay good,” Virgil mutters as he moves out of Roman’s lap to make room for Remus, “I totally thought he was talking about butts.”

“I have a feeling, my dear,” Janus sighs, striding from the shadows and totally not making Virgil jump, “that it’s both.”

Remus just cackles. Janus takes a seat, reaching out to take one of Roman’s hands in his. Roman frowns at him slightly, his head still spinning from the amount of people around him.

“What—is there something wrong?”

Janus shakes his head. “It’s Hug Roman hours. So I’m here.”

Vigil chuckles at the blush on Roman’s face. “So this is becoming a regular thing, right?”

“Oh, absolutely.”

“Indeed.”

“Yay!”

Remus just holds his brother tighter.

——————————

“…come in.”

“If you’d like to reschedule, Roman, it’s no trouble, I’m happy to…”

Logan trails off as he walks into the room, Roman’s back to him as he hunches over a table near the door to the Imagination. He shuts the door quietly behind him and tucks the notebook under his arm.

“Roman?” He takes a step forward. “Are you alright?”

“Never better, Specs,” Roman says cheerily, too cheerily, “just give me one moment and I’m all yours.”

Logan frowns. “If you’d like to reschedule, Roman,” he repeats, softer this time, “I can assure you, it’s fine.”

“No, no, that’d be rude.” Something crinkles in Roman’s hands. “Just—just one moment.”

There’s a heavy clunk and a barely contained hiss.

“Roman—“ he starts forward— “are you hurt?”

“Not hurt.” Another clunk. “Just…incredibly clumsy, it seems.”

“Can I help?”

If he weren’t paying attention, he would miss the way Roman’s shoulders tense with disbelief.

“N-no, that’s alright,” Roman says, the first time his voice has slipped, “I’m just…no, it’s alright.”

He jerks his head toward the desk, being very careful not to let Logan see his face.

“It’s over there, I’ll be with you in one moment.”

Logan looks, then walks over to the desk and carefully sets down his notebook. He glances up at Roman and can’t stop the soft noise at seeing Roman’s hands shake and fumble with a large bottle.

“Roman,” he calls softly, “Roman, please.”

Roman freezes.

“…please what?”

“Let me help you,” he says, walking over, “let me help you with this.”

Roman shudders and tries to laugh again. “You don’t need to busy yourself with inane and worthless tasks, Logan.”

Oh. Oh, dear.

“You’re not inane or worthless, Roman,” he says firmly, “nor are you a task.”

Roman’s shoulder is cold under his hand. He cups it nonetheless and leans closer, mindful to keep his gaze down and away.

“Please?”

Under his hand, Roman sighs. “…if that’s what you want.”

He’s not prepared for when Roman turns around, a bottle of micellar water in one hand and cotton ovals in the other. His makeup—done so wonderfully this morning—is smeared and wearing away, his nose bright red under the concealer. Logan lets out another soft noise, taking the proffered items and gently pushing Roman to sit on the table.

He takes one of the cotton ovals and gets it damp, cupping Roman’s chin in one hand.

“Let me know if anything starts to sting or hurt,” he instructs softly and starts to clean the smudges from his face. Roman sits perfectly still, his gaze down at Logan’s tie. His hands fold neatly in his lap and he looks every bit the cooperative ideal.

Except for the way he looks terrified every time Logan so much as shifts his hand.

“You are not worthless,” Logan says quietly as he works, swapping out the cotton ovals when needed, “you are not annoying me. You are someone I care about very deeply and someone I enjoy helping.”

Roman’s chin wobbles.

“I am always impressed by the ideas you create,” he continues after quietly bidding Roman to turn slightly, “and you never cease to amaze me with your creativity.”

Roman’s throat works against his hand as he swallows. “Remus—“

“Remus is Remus,” Logan interrupts gently, “turn—yes, there you go—and you are Roman. You are clever, you are kind, and you are wonderful, and I care about you very much.”

He takes a new cotton oval and takes Roman’s chin again, tapping gently until Roman makes eye contact.

“Close your eyes,” he bids, “and let me know if they start to sting at any point.”

Roman closes his eyes and Logan carefully, carefully starts to clean off the eyeshadow. The golden sparkles are stubborn, clinging to the skin, but he works patiently until the last of them come off. He realizes after that the oval is wetter than it was when he began.

“Oh, little star,” he breathes, glancing around and summoning a soft washcloth to clean Roman’s face the rest of the way, “it’s alright, you can cry if you need to. I won’t mind.”

“It’s stupid,” Roman mutters, raising a hand to swipe angrily at the tears, “it’s stupid.”

“If it’s making you upset, it’s not stupid.” Logan gently but firmly places Roman’s hands on his own shoulders and replaces them with the cloth. “Tell me?”

“I—it’s not even a quest.” Roman’s voice cracks horribly on the last word. “It’s just—I was making something and it broke and I—I worked really hard on it and now it’s ruined.”

Logan lets out a soft noise. “I’m sorry.”

His chest aches when the apology makes Roman shake himself. “It’s fine. Sorry, I didn’t want to just dump that on you.”

“I asked you to tell me what was wrong,” Logan chides, patting his cheek dry, “you’re not dumping anything on me.”

He sets the cloth aside and cups Roman’s face with his hands.

“And I am also sorry,” he whispers, “that I have made you believe that I do not worry about you the same way I worry about Thomas.”

Roman’s eyes fly open. “You—you what?”

“I care about you very deeply, Roman,” Logan says, “you’re very important to me. So yes, of course, I worry about you. You’re upset, and I’ve made you feel like you can’t come to me. I…I have not behaved well toward you. And I will remedy that.”

A new wave of tears meets Logan’s thumbs carefully swiping them away.

“Bonk?”

Roman leans forward and lets Logan rest their foreheads together. After a moment, his hands move to give Roman a proper hug, leaning up to press a kiss to his forehead.

“What were you making, if I may ask?”

“…just a house.” Roman sniffles. “It got destroyed in the last brainstorm.”

“Would you like help?”

“…don’t we have to work on the ideas?”

Logan smiles, resting their foreheads together once more. “This feels more important, doesn’t it?”

Roman’s small but warm smile is more than worth the extra hours they’ll have to spend working on the videos.

——————————

Somehow they forgot.

Somehow they forgot that Roman was scared of the dark.

It wasn’t common that thunderstorms plagued the Imagination, simply because—well, Thomas didn’t need literal brainstorms when he’s got Logan working with him. Sure, sometimes Remus decides he’s going to make his entrance extra cliché and arrive in a literal flash of lightning. Or Roman will create a field of flowers larger than the eye can see and soft bruised purple clouds will roll across the sky, quiet thunder and light rain that feels like a cushion.

But it’s never enough to cause a blackout.

For a moment, they’re all just confused. Thomas’s apartment is fine, Thomas is fine, so they don’t understand what’s happened. Then Remus points out that they, uh, maybe didn’t close the door to the Imagination as tightly as they should have.

He gets smacked upside the head for that.

So they’re here, in the middle of the dark, trying frantically to figure out how to not run into everything. Well, three of them are fine. Virgil can see in the dark. Janus can see in the dark. Remus can see in the dark.

“Is that because you’re the Dark Sides,” Patton mumbles as he puts his glasses back on for the fifth time in the past minute, “or do you each have some kind of ability?”

Remus smiles, even if Patton can’t see it. “It’s more fun!”

“That doesn’t—“ Logan pinches the bridge of his nose— “that doesn’t even answer the question, Remus.”

“I think you’ll find that’s his justification for most things,” Janus says wryly, taking Patton carefully by the arm and guiding him to sit on the couch, safely out of harm’s way.

Virgil elbows Remus to get him to put down the Morningstar, please, and sits down next to Patton. “How long is this going to take to go away?”

Remus shrugs. “Dunno. Probably won’t be that long. We all just gotta sit tight.”

Janus raises a hand to his mouth—not that Logan can truly appreciate his expression—and mock gasps. “Remus, suggesting that we don’t do anything?”

“Oh, fuck off, Snakey.”

“Language!”

Remus blows a fat raspberry. “Even I know it’s a bad idea to try and do something right now. I mean ask Roman—“

It takes a moment for them to realize that Roman isn’t sitting there.

“We should go get him,” Logan says after a moment, “just to make sure we’re all in the same place.”

And with that, Remus is off, stomping up the stairs and conveniently forgetting that two Sides can’t see past the little pinpricks of light at the bottom of the windows. Virgil rolls his eyes and makes to stand, only to frown.

“Virgil?” Logan touches his elbow when he notices him pause. “Are you alright?”

“Feels like I’m being summoned.” He rubs his chest absentmindedly. “But not really.”

“Well, let’s just keep an eye on—hey!”

Virgil doesn’t even hear the end of Logan’s sentence before he’s yanked into another room.

He blinks, disoriented, shaking his head to figure out where he is. Only when Remus bursts up the stairs and pouts that how dare Virgil sink out to beat him here does he realize why he’s here.

Judging by the way Remus’s face falls a second later, he does too.

Remus knocks lightly on the door. After a moment, he curses and goes to knock louder.

“Don’t,” Virgil mutters, grabbing Remus’s arm, “you’re gonna freak him out more.”

“Well, I can’t just blow the fucking door open,” he growls, shaking him off, “that’s gonna make it worse.”

He opens his mouth but another sharp tug from his chest makes him wince. “Okay, then don’t bust it down. Just—oh, god, we gotta get in there.”

“Don’t gotta tell me twice.”

Remus doesn’t rear back and kick the door open, which says something about how concerned he is. They can’t see much of anything except for—

—oh.

Oh, no.

Roman notices immediately when the blackout happens. How could he not? He’d been in the middle of trying to sort out his journal for the day when suddenly he was drowning.

Oh god.

Oh, god.

Within an instant, his chest seizes. He can’t see. He can’t see. There’s something—

No. No, it’s fine. He’s in his room. Everything is fine. Because he’s safe. He’s in his room, he knows where everything is, he knows what everything is in here, he’s fine.

There’s nothing here to be scared of. There’s nothing here to be scared of.

So why is Roman so scared?

He shouldn’t be. He shouldn’t be. He’s a prince, for Disney’s sake, he’s the protector of the Mindscape, he’s—he’s—

He’s Prince Roman. Not some newly minted squire crying because he’s away from home for the first time and it’s all dark and scary and he can’t see anything because he doesn’t know what’s going on and he can’t tell where anything is and he swears he can see things moving in the shadows and—and—and—

Roman shoves his fist in his mouth before he can whimper.

No. No. He’s fine.

He’s fine.

…besides, what would the others say?

He’s a prince. He’s Roman. He’s not some scared weak thing. He’s just—he’s just—it’s—it’s—

They can’t see him like this. He’s supposed to be strong. He’ll never be taken seriously if they don’t see that he can be strong. They don’t take him seriously already, do they? Let alone if they could see him in the dark, alone, hyperventilating, terrified.

But he is.

He’s—he—

Something moves.

Oh, god, something moved.

He freezes, goes absolutely still, tries frantically to still his heaving chest, be small, be unnoticeable, his pride doesn’t matter right now, it doesn’t, he’s not gonna be hurt if he can’t be seen—

“Ro-Bro?”

His next inhale is a whine.

No, no, not Remus—he can’t—not Remus, Remus is strong, Remus will laugh at him, Remus loves the dark, he can’t cry in front of Remus, not for this—

“Oh, Ro-Bro,” he hears through the haze, “Ro-Bro, I’m so fucking sorry, I forgot, hey—hey—“

He won’t cry. He won’t cry. He won’t cry.

“Hey,” Remus calls, tugging carefully at the hand clapped over his mouth, “hey, don’t do that, Roro, you’re gonna hurt yourself, stop it, it’s gonna fucking hurt if you do that, you know that—“

The sob that tears itself out of his throat as Remus pries his hand away hurts his ears.

“Hey, Roro,” Remus soothes, taking his hands and squeezing them firmly, “hey, you gotta just be here for me, you focus on me, okay?”

“Re—“

“Come here, Ro.”

Remus scoops him up into his lap. To hell with whatever is twisting around in the shadows, Remus is holding him in his lap, rocking him back and forth and Remus is of the dark.

A rush of shame through his stomach and the first real sob into Remus’s shoulder hurts.

“Nuh-uh, Ro,” comes the mutter over his head, “don’t hold it in.”

The shame only grows. Then Remus tightens his grip until it’s all he can feel.

“I’m right here, Ro, I’m right here. It’s okay. You can be scared.”

“N-not scared.”

A gentle hiss in his ear as something—someone presses against his back and more arms than he can count wrap around his chest.

“Shh, shh,” Remus murmurs as he starts, “it’s just Janny.”

“Boo,” Janus whispers as he presses a kiss on his shoulder. Why—why is he here—did he—did he lie too much? He’s not scared, he’s not scared—

“Shh, sweetie,” he whispers as Roman starts to flinch, “I’ve got you, you’re okay, sweetie, stop that. We’ve got you.”

“You’re scared, bud.” Is that—is that Virgil? “Hey, hey, buddy, we got you. I’m sorry, Roman, I forgot you were so scared of the dark.”

Can’t be scared, can’t be scared—

“Shh, shh, sweetie,” Janus murmurs, “stop that. You’re allowed to be scared, it’s okay. You don’t have to be ashamed of it.”

Virgil presses closer, nudging Janus’s head out of the way and replacing it with his own. He leans down to nuzzle into the crook of Roman’s neck, finding the place his collar digs into his neck and loosening it. Curse him. Curse him.

“Hey, bud,” Virgil murmurs, “you’re okay. You’re okay.”

“N-no—“

Janus hisses gently in his ear again.

“No—“ Roman’s breath hitches— “no, no, no—“

“Roman,” comes Logan’s warm voice from somewhere above him, and no—

“Give him to me,” he hears again after a moment, and when he feels Remus’s arms begin to loosen and Janus pulls away he mewls—

“Hush, little one,” Logan says softly, gathering the poor prince into his lap, “you’re safe, you’re right here, it’s just a blackout.”

“You’ll—“ Roman hiccups, his hands still pushing Logan away from him— “you’ll laugh—“

“Never,” comes the chorus, Logan’s arms firmly around his waist. Then another pair of hands covers his and pulls them away.

“Hey, kiddo,” Patton murmurs, gently but firmly placing his arms around Logan’s neck so Logan can cuddle him properly, “sorry it took us a little longer to get here, we had to take it slow up the stairs.”

“Pat—Pat—“

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Patton coos, crouching down to run a hand through his hair as Logan tucks him into the crook of his neck and Virgil rests his head on his shoulder, “we’re all here, it’s okay.”

“Stupid—st—stupid,” Roman mumbles, “I’m stupid—“

Another hiss, followed by a kiss to the nape of his neck. “Stop lying, sweetie,” Janus whispers, “stop it. You’re not stupid.”

“I’m a prince afraid of the dark,” Roman spits out, disgusted, “of course I’m stupid.”

“Falsehood,” Logan murmurs with more tenderness than Roman can remember, “you’re not stupid. You’re not.”

“I’m crying because I’m afraid of the dark,” he spits again, “I’m af-fraid of the dark—I’m afraid of the dark, I’m—I’m afraid—“

He’s afraid of the dark.

Patton presses a kiss to his forehead. “I don’t like the dark either, sweetheart.”

“You’re—you’re not—you’re not crying—“

“No, I’m not.” Another kiss. “But you are, Roman, and that’s okay.”

“Come on, Princey.” Virgil butts his head gently against Roman’s. “You just gotta breathe first, okay? We’re not going anywhere.”

Remus calls from somewhere over his shoulder—what has he been doing? Where’s he been?— “come on, I got all the pillows.”

“Re?”

“Come on, Ro-Bro,” Remus murmurs, appearing at his other shoulder, “close your eyes.”

“It’s already d-dark, Re.”

“I know, but I don’t wanna get the blanket in your eyes.” Suddenly, there’s a swath of fabric hitting him in the face. “It’s just for a moment, Roro.”

“Ready?” Logan scoops him up. “Up we go.”

“H-how can you see?”

“He can’t,” Janus says, suddenly appearing behind him, “but I can. Come now, my prince, we’re just over here, come on…”

Roman lets out a soft noise of surprise when his back hits something soft.

“Snap yourself into something more comfortable, sweetie,” Janus murmurs, “we’re all just going to stay here for a while.”

Patton takes his hand and kisses the back of it as Logan helps tug down the t-shirt he’s poofed himself into.

“I’m sorry,” Roman mumbles, “I’m sorry I’m so scared.”

“None of that now, sweetheart,” Patton chides, cuddling into his side—oh, Patton’s in soft things too now— “you’re gonna be taken care of now. We’re right here.”

“I’m right here, Ro-Bro,” Remus says, promptly flopping down over Roman’s legs, “and no one else is going anywhere.”

Virgil huffs, curling around his head and ruffling his hair. “He’s right, Princey. Just relax for a little.”

“H-how long is the blackout going to last?”

“I don’t know, sweetie,” Janus says, snuggling into his other side, taking his hand between two of his, “but we’ll be here the whole time. Now please, sweetie, breathe.”

He tries. But it’s still dark and even though he knows the others are here, he can still feel the darkness pressing in on top of him. He can still see things moving in the shadows. He can feel it. He can see it. It hurts.

“Roman,” comes Logan’s voice, warm in the dark, “Roman, listen to me.”

“L-Logan?”

“Yes, dear,” he says, “it’s alright. Virgil is by your head, and he can see in the dark.”

Virgil gives his hair a little tug. “Right here, Princey. I’ve got you.”

“Patton is on your left. He won’t let anything hurt you.”

“I’ve got you, sweetheart.” Patton kisses his cheek. “I won’t leave you.”

“Janus is on your right. He can also see in the dark, and it’s his job to protect you.”

Janus leans down to kiss his temple and squeezes his hand. “My prince,” he murmurs tenderly, “my sweetie.”

“And Remus…”

“Nothing’s laying a fucking finger on you, Ro-Bro,” Remus growls from down by his feet, “they’re gonna have to get through me first.”

Logan chuckles. “See?”

“L-Logan?”

“I’m right here, little star,” he says softly, “what do you need?”

“W—where are you?” Roman’s hands tense in Patton’s and Janus’s. “Where—I—I can’t—“

“Hush now,” Logan says, so softly, so softly, as a hand cups his cheek to brush away his tears, “I’m right here, I know you can’t see me. I’m sorry. I know it’s dark. I know you’re afraid. It’s okay, my dear, shh.”

Roman tries to reach out for him only to be thwarted by the grip on his hands.

“Hush, Roman, it’s alright, what can I do?”

“S-stay, please, stay—I want you to stay—“

“I’m right here, can I—“

“Please—“

He almost sobs again with relief when Logan lies down, his head tucked over his shoulder, curling his arms about his waist.

“We’re right here, sweetie,” Janus murmurs, “we’ve got you.”

“I’ve got you, sweetheart.” Patton kisses the back of his hand.

“It’s okay to be scared, Princey.”

“We won’t let anything happen to you, Roro.”

It takes another half an hour for the storm to end and the lights to flicker back on. Roman stays tucked up in their arms, their soft words in his ear, gentle hands wiping away his tears, until he can blink up at all of them and murmur ‘thank you.’

“Of course, sweetie.”

“We’re here for you, Roman.”

“It’s no problem, Princey.”

“We’ve got you, kiddo.”

“All you gotta do is ask, Roro.”

——————————

Remus knocks on the door, the present in his hands. Roman opens the door and tilts his head.

“Re?”

“Can I come in, Ro-Bro?”

“Yeah, yeah, come on.” Roman shuts the door. “What’s up?”

“This is for you,” Remus says, holding out the box.

“Oh—Remus, I didn’t—I’m sorry—“

“You didn’t miss anything, Ro,” Remus says quickly, “and I’m not expecting anything in return. Just wanted to give you something.”

He shuffles.

“And I, uh, I also haven’t really apologized for the shit I’ve done to you, so…it’s that too.”

“O-oh.” Roman clutches the box. “Thank you, Remus. Can I open it now?”

“Sure.” He watches as Roman carefully opens the box and pulls out the stuffed octopus.

“Oh, Re, this is so cute!” He holds it up, looking at the little face. “I love it, thank you.”

He turns it over.

“Wait, what’s…”

“It’s a mood toy,” Remus says quietly, “if you flip it this way, it’s happy.”

The cream side of the octopus has a little smiley face.

“And if you turn it inside out—“ Roman flips the plush so that a red face frowns at him— “it’s sad.”

Roman’s eyes widen and he looks up at Remus.

“I know you find it hard to ask for things,” Remus says, edging a bit closer, “so I thought this could…help.”

“Re…”

“And I—oof!” Remus lets out a grunt as Roman tackles him onto the bed. He chuckles, his arms wrapping tightly around his brother. “I’m glad you like it Roro, just promise me you’ll use it?”

He gets his request a few days later.

It’s been quiet, Thomas is taking a break, and they’re all in various corners of the living room. Janus and Virgil are lazing about in the patch of sun by the window, Patton is in the kitchen, Logan is working on something on his laptop, and Remus is toying with the grip on his Morningstar.

Roman walks down the stairs and he’s clutching a little red octopus.

“Hey, Ro,” Remus says quietly, hopping up and scurrying over to meet him as he comes down the stairs, “you wanna go be alone?”

Roman shakes his head, pushing gingerly into the living room. Remus turns to see everyone paying attention to them, including Janus, who’s sat up fully and is reaching out to Roman.

“Come here, sweetie,” he calls, “is your brain being a bastard?”

Distantly, Remus hears Patton huff at the language but no one says a word as Janus gathers Roman into his chest, bending to murmur softly in his ear. Virgil scoots closer, acting as the guardian, letting Roman relax with the knowledge that nothing will surprise him right now. A gentle tap on Remus’s shoulder and he turns to see Logan, who bends closer.

“What do we do to help?”

“Help me make a mattress big enough for all of us?”

Under Logan’s guidance, Remus manages to make a normal mattress with lots of comfy blankets and pillows. Patton comes from the kitchen with a glass of water set on the table near the three on the floor. He pauses as he turns and quickly sets a cup of tea next to it.

Roman’s grip on the octopus doesn’t lighten up, even after he’s been in Janus’s arms for a while, even after Logan’s gone over and helped Virgil walk him through coming out of the spiral. Janus walks over to Remus and Patton and quietly tells them they should try and get them all to eat something. Nothing too straining for Roman’s system, but something.

Patton brings out a few bowls of snack food and sets them at the foot of the mattress. Then he goes and gently cards his hands through Roman’s hair.

“Come on, kiddos,” he says softly, “let’s move to the mattress.”

Logan scoops Roman into his arms, depositing him safely in the center of the mattress, little red octopus in tow. The rest of them cuddle around him, some Disney movie playing on the TV. Roman eats, then lays his head on Remus’s shoulder. Logan takes Roman’s free hand into his lap and cradles it there, stroking it with his thumb.

About halfway through the movie, Roman turns the octopus so that the cream side smiles at the screen too.

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[thisaccisdead]

montreal - roman hurt/comfort

pairing: this was written to all be platonic prinxiety, but can definitely be interpreted romantically !

warnings: unconventional self harm, non-graphic descriptions of wounds/injury

summary: a post-POF roman hurt/comfort fic in january 2021? yes <3

word count: 3.2k

notes: large portions of this were salvaged from one (1) night last summer at 4am when i was having a . time. the rest has been mainly recently written before i go to bed, with some extra bits added during my history classes B)) also shout out to [REDACTED]. u may not read this but if u do, i hope u know who u are & ilu

Virgil had been trying to calm himself down for the better part of an hour, as soon as they got back from the wedding fiasco; and he was doing a relatively okay job. Considering the circumstances, at least. Or so he thought, when he registered a spike in Thomas’s anxiety. This only served to make Virgil more anxious, because he had thought he had been doing well—until, he realized it wasn’t anxiety, not exactly, not fully—and it wasn’t coming from him.

Once he'd figured that out, it wasn't hard to trace the feeling to the imagination. He paused at the door. If this was where the strongest negative emotions were coming from, he already knew which side this was about. And could he really be surprised? Roman had wanted that callback for so long. Even at the court case, even when Roman gave Thomas his sentence, Virgil knew it killed him. And Virgil didn't do anything. Because he was so fucking scared of Thomas being bad, or of Janus winning, or something, and now whatever was going on was his fault, and--

And now was not the time for these thoughts. He breathed in. He opened the door.

Immediately, he was coughing out soot, heat burned his cheeks, his eyes blurred with protective tears forming against the smoke. It was hard to see, let alone process, what was happening. Then, he caught sight of the Dragon Witch. And he caught sight of—

“Roman!” Virgil choked on the yell, coughing again.

Obviously Roman couldn’t hear him from the distance, especially considering the brutal roar of the creature. Adrenaline kicked in, and as Virgil began to sprint towards the prince, he took in the entirety of the scene with alarm. Roman was...fighting, sure, except that Virgil had seen him fight before, and this... wasn’t right. Roman bested manticore-chimeras like it was a breeze, he HAD bested the Dragon Witch herself in every form she took, “just for training.” He always moved like he was in a ballet, not a battle, like it was more for show than challenge, and now...

Virgil watched Roman fall to a hard swish of the creature’s tail, and stay there. He almost expected the Dragon Witch to take mercy, or at least, to accept an early victory. But he watched her rear back, raise a taloned hand, the magma-red in her throat glowing brighter and brighter—just as Virgil got close enough to let fight win over flight.

Virgil crashed into Roman; they rolled just far enough that the swipe of claws only ripped the edge of Virgil’s jacket.

Immediate danger out of the way, Virgil clenched his eyes tight, trying to do it how Logan taught him. He found something that didn’t make sense--the grass. The grass was dry, therefore it should have been burning, but it wasn’t. He took that foothold to dispel all the fantastical elements of the scene, Dragon Witch and all her carnage blinking from existence. The new calm of the scene was jarring.

That just left a great big field, Virgil, and one absolute dumbass.

"What the fuck, Princey?!"

Virgil’s voice was distorted with stress, and Roman stared up at him wide-eyed, unsure—even terrified in a way that hurt. Virgil quickly pushed himself up so he wasn't pinning the other. Roman tried to copy this movement, only to groan, start coughing, and fall back again.

“Shit, I—“ Virgil looked at his hands and found red on them, looked at Roman and saw the color painting his chest. “I thought I dispelled all the imaginary stuff, why—?“

“Left brain sides can only dispel so much of what right brain sides feel,” Roman said, voice rough and thin and upsettingly casual, “Since they feel so real to me, you can’t get rid of them.”

“They feel…? Christ, ok, you need a medical kit, uhm—“ Virgil closed his eyes again; he was notoriously shitty at summoning things, and he had to concentrate for this—

“That’s ok; I’ve got it,” Roman said, letting out a quiet hiss as he propped himself up on one arm, and summoned the medical kit with the other, “You can go now.”

Virgil gaped at him in disbelief. When Roman attempted to stand up, and Virgil could no longer deny he wasn’t joking, he exclaimed, “Like Hell am I going, idiot!”

Roman just stared at him, and Virgil cursed under his breath. “Ok ok, let’s just... we should do this in the bathroom, uhm—“

Virgil awkwardly clambered over to Roman again, taking his hand, so he could blink them over together. He knew it would probably be more comfortable for Roman to sink in and out, but considering Virgil wasn’t practiced at that, he wasn’t going to risk screwing it up.

They apparated into the bathtub, and Virgil scrambled up, taking the med kit from Roman's hands.

Ok, ok, now Virgil just had to remember that one time Logan lectured them all on “Side Safety.” He took a shaky breath and washed his hands quickly, before turning back to Roman. He allowed himself to fully assess the prince this time and… Jesus. He was slumped against the back of the tub, having given up his attempts at composure while he thought Virgil wasn’t looking. His litany of scrapes, cuts, bruising, his shallow breathing, and--most of all--the wet, red patch slowly growing on his shirt, sparked renewed panic in Virgil.

“Ok, fuck, ok--let’s do this,” Virgil said, mostly to himself, as he knelt down by Roman to undo his already tattered shirt and take a wet towel to his chest. He had to suck in a breath at the sight of the jagged wound, a nauseous feeling catching up to him.

“You’ve already done a lot, you know,” Roman insisted. “You can--”

“If you tell me to go, Princey, I swear I’ll make these wounds worse myself,” he said, not meaning it in the slightest, which he would assume Roman knew--but the way Roman flinched and shut his mouth told a different story. “Shit, I didn’t mean that. Of course I didn’t mean that!”

Roman glanced away, and Virgil reached to cup his cheek, an instinct he didn’t know he had. Luckily, he caught himself in time to retract his hand. They both avoided eye contact for a second; Virgil cleared his throat; and he reached for the bottle of hydrogen peroxide before pausing. He vaguely recalled Logan mentioning how strong alcohols would only cause more harm, and they should just stick to mild soap instead. He gave the cut a longer look-over—it was certainly not a pretty sight, but probably not as bad as it looked. It was large, but not too deep. Plus, as sides, it would heal itself without needing anything like stitches or professional medical work. The past scars littering Roman’s body were proof of that. Actually--had he always had this many scars? Virgil squinted. How often did he do this?

Virgil finished cleansing and bandaging the wound to the best of his ability, with little talk beyond the occasional, soft “sorry” at Roman’s winces. When he had finished, he gave Roman his hoodie (an action the Prince was too tired to take much notice of), since summoning a new shirt seemed like a waste of whatever energy he had left.

“Ok, Princey, all done. Uhm, are you—how, how are you?” Virgil mentally kicked himself.

A small, bitter smile tugged at Roman’s lips for just a moment. He opened his mouth and then closed it, and finally shrugged. “Thank you for your help.”

It hurt, Virgil realized. Roman’s quiet voice, where near-shouting was his usual speech. His unkempt hair sticking to his forehead, where it was usually styled to be very lightly and intentionally ruffled. The bags beneath his eyes where there was usually concealer. All of it hurt.

Virgil sucked in a breath. “Look, I’m sorry if I’m being annoying, but I hope you know there’s absolutely no way I’m leaving yet.”

“Virgil,” Roman almost said it as a whine, which was closer to his usual style, so Virgil considered it progress.

“Roman,” Virgil deadpanned back.

Roman huffed. “Maybe I need space to really explore my feelings, and you’re actually being a terrible friend right now,” he argued.

“Uh-huh, well being a terrible friend is always my favorite, so,” Virgil leaned down, fumbling slightly as he picked Roman up bridal style, “We’re gonna get you to bed, and you can explore your feelings by sleeping.”

“Great, now you’re damsel-in-distressing me,” Roman said sarcastically, but he leaned his head into Virgil’s chest as he did so, which kind of ruined his point.

“Yeah, yeah. Act more like Megara next time, and maybe it’ll be different.”

•••

Roman groaned upon waking up. His whole body ached, but mainly it was focused around a sharper pain in his chest. He let his eyes flutter open, only to find Virgil staring at him from his desk.

“Ah,” Roman uttered, a jumble of memories from the past few hours returning. They felt foggy and mildly icky, but mainly the pain in them was the numb kind of pain, the tired kind. Really, it was indistinguishable from the dull ache of his bruises and cuts.

“Yeah,” Virgil said, as though he understood, even though he couldn’t possibly. “Uh, wanna talk about it?”

It was clear Virgil felt awkward asking the question. It was unclear whether that was due to his tendency to be embarrassed by everything he said, or—far more likely—that he wanted to stop babying a stupid prince, and just go about his business.

Roman sat up, suppressing a wince as best he could. “Do you want to hear about it?”

“Of course I do.” Virgil said it without an ounce of hesitation. Roman’s breath caught.

“Oh.” Roman shifted slightly over, and Virgil took a seat by him on the bed. “Okay. Uhm. I don’t know, I just—I messed up.” What else was new?

“...What did you mess up?” Virgil asked, with an inkling of suspicion, like he knew what this was about. But it wasn’t that; it wasn’t the callback—that was over and done and dead. Roman had created so many fantasies, so many crazy scenarios where they could somehow still make it in that stupid movie, and it had always filled him with hope or crushing pain or something, but as of this afternoon? He didn’t even care. It didn’t matter.

So, Roman ignored the question, and instead commented, “Janus got accepted.”

“What the fuck.”

Roman observed Virgil’s stricken expression like an unsettling kind of mirror of himself when—

My name is Janus.

“Yeah,” Roman sighed, “I didn’t take it so well either.”

Virgil looked at him for a long moment, seeming to go through several series of emotions, before he was able to ask, “...What happened?”

Roman inhaled sharply. “I was wrong about being wrong about the wedding. Patton was also wrong; Janus was right, and then Patton was right because he wasn’t a total asshole to Janus, and I’m evil; Thomas hates me; whatever, you get it.”

He thought he would break down, saying it, but he felt oddly… fine. He sat, staring at the same spot as he was before, absentmindedly annoyed at the way his bandages itched. The normalcy of the situation almost made it worse. This sucked. This wasn’t even bad.This was the worst he had ever felt.

“Oook,” Virgil said, clearly not knowing where to start, “I—you—what do you mean: Thomas hates you?”

“Thought that one was self-explanatory.”

“He can’t hate you,” Virgil said with a laughable amount of conviction. “You’re still his… y’know.. goals. Desires. Hopes. Whatever. Just because this one didn’t go… perfectly, doesn’t mean you won’t keep—“ he struggled to find the phrasing for a moment— “...fighting, uh, valiantly for Thomas’s dreams!” he attempted at the encouragement with a weak smile.

Roman just shook his head. “No. I don’t know what he wants.”

Virgil’s smile dropped into confusion. “But… you are his wants.”

“That’s kind of the problem.”

Virgil seemed at a loss, and Roman felt like an asshole. Here he was trying to help him, and Roman couldn’t even be bothered to put on a smile to dismiss him from the duty.

“Please go,” Roman attempted weakly when he couldn’t find a more convincing argument in himself. He was meant to be an actor, but he knew he couldn’t hide the fact that he wanted him to stay, of course he did, so badly. He hoped Virgil would just quit with the chivalry and go despite that.

Virgil sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Shit, I'm going about this all wrong.”

Roman knew it probably wasn’t really him Virgil was mad at, but it was hard not to shrink away anyway.

“Look, Roman—“ Virgil turned to him, looked at him seriously, took his hands in his— “To be honest? I don’t care what happened. I don’t care who was right or wrong—I mean, we all know I’ve been in the wrong more than my fair share. It doesn’t change how I feel about you.”

Roman didn’t miss the ambiguity of the end statement. “But… look, you don’t get it. When you mess up, you’re still you. You’re still...,” Roman gestured vaguely, which upset his bandages, and when he looked down at himself, he took note of the black/purple hoodie he was wearing. He melted slightly. This was exactly the point he was trying to make, “You’re still... y’know. Important.”

“Wh—? Of course you’re important, Ro. You’re creativity—“

“Thomas has two of those.”

Virgil looked at him like he was stupid. “Right, as if you’re anything like Remus.”

Roman’s lip quivered at that, and he had to look away, which was so stupid. And suddenly he felt all of the embarrassment at once—of this situation, of everything that had happened before, of the way he was about to cry, in front of Virgil, after he said that, which must look so—

“Roman?”

A hand was on his cheek, softly turning his face towards Virgil’s, though Roman still refused to meet his eyes.

Virgil cursed to himself under his breath. “Shit, this is exactly what I was trying not to say.” He sighed, and Roman hesitantly looked up at him. “Look. Even if you weren’t creativity, if you weren’t hopes or dreams or any of it—if you were a completely pointless side, which you aren’t, but if you were—I wouldn’t care. What I care about is that you’re... Roman. That you bother me until I sing Disney with you, that when you put your heart into something, you do it to a stupid amount, that you make Thomas take trashy buzzfeed soulmate quizzes when he’s stressed, and that you fucking try so hard for everything, even when I’m being a little bitch about it,” he paused. With the hand on Roman’s cheek, he traced the line of a scar down his jaw. It was one of the ones Roman usually made sure to put an illusion over, he noted offhandedly. “I care, because you’re my best friend.”

“Don’t say that,” Roman choked out. He couldn’t handle it if it was a lie, and part of him couldn’t manage hearing it as anything but exactly that. “Just—just—“

“Oh, Princey..”

Virgil held him as he broke. Roman didn’t know how long they sat like that as he let everything wash over him for a final time, let it all truly sink in at long last. He took heaving, messy sobs, no doubt ruining Virgil’s shirt in the process—he was quiet, though. He shook silently, save a couple choked breaths, in the other’s arms--that was a habit he had taught himself long ago.

When Roman had tired himself out, when all that was left was the pain in chest, (which was also suddenly duller—he was healing fast, even for a side—) he pulled back from the embrace. Virgil didn’t move by much, kept them so their fingers were laced together, as they sat staring at each other.

“Uhm. Thanks,” Roman gave a shaky smile, “You really—uh... I... I said some stupid stuff, huh?”

Virgil hesitated before he spoke, as if he knew he shouldn’t ask this right now, but needed to anyway. “...Roman, why’d you go to the Imagination?”

Roman felt ice stab at his chest upon the question. He didn’t want to do this. They had already talked about so much that he shouldn’t have gotten into; this was meant to be the part where they either parted or watched a stupid movie. And this, out of everything, was the conversation he most needed to avoid.

“Uh—I mean, to let off steam?” Roman gave a laugh as best he could. “Obviously, it didn’t go to plan—“

“Didn’t it?”

Roman’s face fell immediately. He struggled to come up with an answer, and even if he had had one, he didn’t think the sound would come out. This was enough of an answer in itself

“Shit,” Virgil breathed. Roman couldn’t help but be mildly annoyed by his surprise—clearly he had already known, he didn’t have to make it a big deal now.

“I… Princey—Roman…” Virgil looked him up and down, and Roman wanted to curl up and hide. “...how many times?”

“Not many,” Roman mumbled. Virgil must have known he was pushing the subject too far, because he just frowned and said,

“OK. I mean...it’s not OK, obviously, but you already know that, I just—“ he sighed. “Just… can you talk to me? Instead? Please? When you feel like… that.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Roman responded hastily, wanting an out from this topic.

Virgil gave him a look. “I’m serious. I mean—look, you don’t even have to talk about it if you don’t want. Just, come to me first, yeah?”

Roman’s face burned; he was embarrassed; he wanted to shrug this whole thing off, or roll his eyes, or maybe scream in annoyance. But the rational part of him knew Virgil was right. “OK,” he agreed softly, “...Thanks. For everything.”

Virgil looked surprised, and then flustered, and then waved off the earnest reply. “I mean, it wasn’t--I didn’t--it’s not like I did anything really--”

“You did.”

Virgil’s face softened. “Yeah, well... you’d’ve done the same for me. You... have done the same for me.”

Roman smiled gently at him. “By the way, Virge--” He hesitated. He was about to sound like a real dumbass if Virgil had only been saying this stuff for comfort’s sake. But making a fool of himself was becoming a theme for him anyway, so he continued, “You’re my best friend too.”

I love you.

In the same beats Roman thought it, Virgil squeezed his hand lightly 3 times. A breath passed between them. An understanding. That Roman couldn’t say it out loud, and Virgil wouldn’t.

Instead, Virgil fell back across the bed, bringing Roman with him in the motion. Roman let out a startled gasp and elbowed him lightly. “Hey! I’m injured, that could have been a fatal impact for me!” he whined.

Virgil snorted. “Yeah, yeah, OK. So, do you wanna watch a stupid movie, or what?”

[nyssaalghul124]

Darkiplier’s Little Snake - Custody Battle Part 1

Little thing you need to know. Sides can sense each other if they’re within a certain range in this au. it’s why none of the sides sensed Janus, bc he wasn’t in range. Anyways, there’s the beginning of the custody battle in this, and ngl, it was real fun to write. Enjoy!

———

Virgil was shifting nervously at the food court. Patton insisted on having a fami-I-L-Y outing, and the crowds were making Virgil anxious. Thankfully, Logan agreed to grab Virgil some Chinese takeout, so Virgil was stuck waiting.

Virgil stiffened when he saw Darkiplier walk into the food court, followed by his entourage of look alikes. Everyone knew the Ipliers were a dangerous bunch. They had everything, from a psychopathic journalist to a genocidal robot to a suspected cannibal.

Virgil frowned when he could sense another side within his radius. As far as he was concerned, all of the other sides already present. Patton and Logan were at the smoothie kiosk and Roman was trying to talk Remus out of buying an overpriced keychain. There was no new side that should have entered.

Virgil watched cautiously as Darkiplier moved through the food court, holding something in his arms. He leaned over to say something to the bundle. Wilford Warfstache roared in laughter, making Virgil flinch away.

Darkiplier turned towards the Chick-fil-A next to the smoothie kiosk. Virgil watched as Patton and Logan both stiffened, clearly sensing another side. Remus and Roman were also looking around curiously.

Virgil watched Patton and Logan freeze when they saw what Darkiplier was holding. Virgil felt his own eyes widen when Darkiplier put the bundle down to reveal a small boy, having the same face as Thomas did when he was a kid, only covered in scales on one side.

The boy was wearing a skirt with happy yellow sunflowers printed on it and a shirt with a cute snake wearing sunglasses. The boy wandered over to the genocidal robot, and Virgil had a half mind to yank the boy and run home. Before he could do that, Google picked the boy up, holding him gently. The boy beamed and pressed his face into the robot’s chest.

Patton and Logan rushed towards the table, the twins in tow. “That is a side!” Roman hissed. “Darkiplier is holding a side hostage. And it’s a little kid!”

“What do we do?” Remus asked, fiddling with his sleeves nervously.

“Darkiplier will not allow any of us to go near him. The smartest course of action would be to wait until the boy is alone,” Logan suggested, pushing his glasses in place.

“That poor kiddo,” Patton said sadly. “I hope they haven’t done anything to him!”

“He looks happy,” Virgil muttered. “If they’re gonna do something bad to him, I think they’ll do it when he’s older.”

The Sides finished their food in tense silence, none of their eyes leaving the boy as he happily chattered with an Iplier wearing a red shirt and a crown. Virgil was confused at the fond looks the Ipliers kept shooting the boy. Their doctor gently reminded the boy to finish his lunch.

Finally, the Ipliers got up and started cleaning up. The Sides grabbed their chance when everyone got up to throw their trash, leaving the boy at the table. Patton approached the boy, wearing a reassuring smile on his face. “Hey, kiddo. That’s a cute skirt you’re wearing.”

The boy jumped in surprise. He turned and hugged his stuffed snake closer. “‘M not supposed to talk to stwangers.”

Patton bit his lip to keep from cooing at the boy. “Well, kiddo, we’re your real family.”

“No you’re not,” the boy said softly. “Dark and my uncles are my family. Uncle Bim bought me this skirt!”

“Well, I’ll make you all the skirts you want if you come with us,” Roman tried.

The boy squeaked in alarm and hastily jumped off the bench. “Oh no,” Logan muttered. “Please don’t - “

“DARK!” The boy screamed. “UNCLE WIL! GOOGS! UNCLE HOST! UNCLE DOC!”

Quicker the Sides could comprehend, Dr. Iplier was scooping Janus into his arms, soothing the boy’s tears away and glaring at the Sides. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“That boy is one of us!” Roman yelled angrily. He approached the doctor, but took a step back when Dr. Iplier cocked an unimpressed eyebrow.

“We’ve been raising him since he was two. We changed every diaper, soothed away every nightmare and handled every shed. What makes you think you’re his real family?”

“He’s a Side,” Patton said softly. “He needs to be with the rest of us.”

“Is that so, Morality?” Dark sneered. By this point, the rest of the Ipliers had ran over to the confrontation. “You think I don’t know how you treated them when they were first formed?” Dark directed to Remus and Virgil, who flinched. “You think I don’t know how you lock away and suppress things you don’t think are right? You think I’d let you do that to our boy?”

“We’ve grown from that,” Logan replied. “We’ve learned to be better than that. That boy needs to grow up with others like him.”

“We are all like him!” Dark snarled back. “We’re all figments of a grown man’s imagination. He is just fine with us!”

“For now,” Virgil growled. “What about when he starts developing his abilities. Is he still gonna be so happy?”

All of the Ipliers looked outraged. “How dare you?” Google demanded. “Our primary objective regarding Janus is to ensure his happiness and safety. That will never change.”

“So you say,” Remus muttered.

“Like you’re any better!” Bim exclaimed. “You only want to take Janus away because you want to make sure he won’t get in your way!”

Patton gasped. “No! We just want to make sure he grows up in an environment where he’s cared for and loved.”

Dark pursed his lips. “He represents Deceit.”

“Wrong,” Logan interjected quickly. “Deceit would be the facet he chooses to display himself in. He is, in fact, Self Preservation.”

“And you’re good with having someone who’s secondary name is Deceit living in your home, Morality?” Dark sneered.

“Of course I am!” Patton yelled back. “He’s just a sweet little kiddo. I would never hurt him!”

By this point, Dr. Iplier had put Janus down in favor of making sure Wilford kept his gun in his pocket. No need to get unnecessarily violent. He looked over as a security guard came wandering over, the shouting match having caused a disruption. “Would you all keep it down?”

“They nearly abducted my child!” Dark snapped.

“He’s one of us!” Patton argued.

The security guard looked carefully at Janus, who’s began fidgeting with his sleeves when he realized he was under scrutiny. “He looks like one of them.”

“What?” Dark demanded.

“Just look at his face. He ain’t one of you,” the security guard reasoned.

Before the Ipliers could do anything, Patton scooped up Janus into his arms. Janus froze. “We’ll be taking our kiddo home.”

“Dark?” Janus questioned softly.

“Don’t worry, kiddo,” Patton murmured softly. “Everything’s gonna be okay now.”

By now, Janus had started sobbing. “Dark! Uncle Wil! Dark!”

Janus nearly squirmed out of Patton’s grip and ran to the Ipliers, but Logan had scooped up the boy into his arms before he could get far. “Take some deep breaths. We are going home now.”

The last thing Dark saw was Janus sobbing, trying to fight Logan, who held him in a firm grasp, calling out for him.

—-—

Phew, that happened. I guess the sides lowkey kidnapped Janus. Dw, Dark won’t stop until his little snake is back in his arms. Hope you liked this! Tag list under the cut, let me know if you want to be added.

@pattonvirglsanders

[ineffablesnakegender]

A little bit of autistic Janus for your soul <3

Hurt/comfort fic in which Janus has a meltdown because his of his hair (based off of true events in my life) and is comforted by the rest of the squad

Familial dlampr

Characters: main character Janus, Remus, Logan, Roman, Patton, Virgil, Thomas mention

First time writing in a while so please be easy on me also sorry if formatting is weird

If there was one thing Janus hated it was his hair. His hair that would constantly fall on his forehead and become a disgusting distraction. His hair that tickled his ears and sent him into a frustrated flurry. His hair that was now all over the bathroom floor. He hadn’t meant to do it, really he hadn’t, but he had become increasingly frustrated with his hair through the month. You see this whole thing started when Janus decided it was time to finally do that big stack of paper work from the lies he had told at an obnoxiously loud and irritatingly bright party that Thomas promised to go to for his friend.

Janus was sitting there at his desk and was hunched over his work, and with one last wriggle of annoyance, he had finally finished with the large stack of papers, now with every box checked I dotted and t crossed, Janus looked up from his desk and the first thing he noticed before he had gotten the chance to straighten his back was, of course, the wretched mess of itchy, bothersome hair that was now doubled in length sense the last time he checked. Janus grimaced and mumbled some colorful words directed at the ever so unaware strands that sat atop his skin, stretching his back and standing Janus noted to himself the mess he had made on his desk and promptly added cleaning it to his to do list choosing instead to be rid himself of the scratching at his neck, ears, and forehead.

It had been about a week since Janus cut his hair but the phantom itching persisted causing Janus to, on more than one occasion, consider asking Remus to simply cut his head off to make the insufferable feeling go away.

Another week passed and the itch was still not gone and Janus just couldn’t stop focusing on his hair, the way it fell into his ears and forehead and ran up his neck, it was as close to torture you could get without any actual torture involved, and Janus had just about had enough of it, and to make matters worse whenever he would tug at or scratch his hair even a little to much Remus would always be right there with a “Dee you are bleeding!” Or “Janus you’re pulling your hair out!” Didn’t he see that was the goal? Well the blood was just a side effect but it resided the pain of the ants crawling on Janus’ head.

Another week and Janus was ready to snap, NO, he had snapped! Janus would refuse to be without a hat on and even that was irritating to his skin, only small bits better that the hair on its own. He made the decision he had just cut it to long and so, in the middle of the night, Janus crept his way into the bathroom trying to be as quiet as possible and picked up the scissors. He had only intended to cut a little bit but it wasn’t enough and so he cut more hair off and some more and just a bit more just one more chop and soon he found him self reaches for the clippers and completely shaving his hair down to a thin layer of spikes. By now he was crying, his increasingly manic race to rid himself of the painful feeling forcing him to spiral into a frenzy of cursing, shaking, and stimming frustratedly, he had abandoned being quiet somewhere between the crying and the clippers and as he turned the clippers off their quiet but oh so loud buzz stopped abruptly and Janus could finally hear a very concerned Remus on the other side of the locked door, when had he locked the door? He reached up to unlock the door, when had he sat down? Remus flung the door open.

“Janus are you alright?!? What happened?!!” Remus spun his head around until he found Janus on the floor, who was suddenly not crying at all?

“Janus-“ Remus cut himself off with a sigh “what are you doing in here?”

“Why were you yelling kiddo?” A very anxious Patton said from beside Remus, when had the others got here?

“I was?” Janus finally said after what felt like forever. Patton let out a very concerned noise that Janus failed to catch his head spun in captivating circles of emotion.

“Yes Janus the whole house could hear you” “and then some” Patton said cut off by Roman who’s head appeared out from underneath his velvet sheets, Janus shivered at the thought of it, velvet? Seriously Roman velvet? Do you enjoy pain?

“Sorry guess I wasn’t paying attention.” Janus said far to nonchalantly for Patton’s taste. A long silence rung out from everyone as they all seemed to get what had happened and collectively waited for Janus to come back from his spiral, Virgil and Roman backed off from the situation, Logan and Patton went to prepare things to possibly help the situation such as water, Janus’ favorite gloves, and a heating lamp that Janus liked a lot. Remus just stood in the doorway and kept watch over Janus as his brain cleared of the fog and static that prevented Janus from being able to process what had happened.

“I’m bleeding.” Janus said so quiet it was almost a thought.

“Where? Do you want help?” Remus said equally as quiet

Janus nodded and pointed to the back of his ear and sure enough a small River had formed down his neck and seeped into his shirt.

Remus healed the wound without touching Janus as much as possible and after a while the two of them walked to the living room where Patton and Logan where setting up Janus’ favorite fidget toys and sensory gadgets. Janus immediately snatched up the black and white chew necklace that was in the shape of a crystal. He flopped down on the couch tired from the emotional outburst.

It was already the afternoon by the time anyone spoke next, everyone trying to give Janus the necessary time to cool down. It was Janus who spoke first.

Everyone was in the living area reading or listening to music through headphones or doing some arts and crafts, something quiet to let Janus rest, and Janus himself was simply sitting on the couch and watching everything around him.

“….thank you..” he whispered out “for helping me..” he looked entirely too unbothered but anyone who knew him could tell he was everything but.

“No reason to thank us Janus it’s not like you choose to have a meltdown.” Remus responded distracted by the bloody picture he was drawing.

“Yes but still… it means a lot to me.” Janus smiled the smile not reaching his eyes but still genuine.

They all silently agreed that it was ok to be noisy again and life went on as normal, but Janus would never forget the incident. Sure he had had meltdowns before but it was just him and Remus then and while Remus always did a great job and tried his best he didn’t always know what to do. Janus felt lucky and loved more than ever when he was with everyone and he knew deep down that no longer would there be days where Remus was left to scramble to help him because they weren’t alone anymore and he knew it would always stay that way forever.

[hannahdra-ws]

and now (you’re hyper paranoid)

Summary: 

hypochondria; n; abnormal anxiety about one's health, especially with an unwarranted fear that one has a serious disease.

(or: Janus has a very bad time.)

Romantic, established dukeceit

TWs: hypochondria, covid-19, panic attacks, unspecified eating disorder, coughing, crying

----------

Through the uneasy feeling, Janus knew he was being a little unrealistic.

He's perfectly healthy, he rarely gets sick. He hasn't even had the flu before. He's double vaccinated, and he wears his mask everywhere. He's certainly never gotten food poisoning before.

So he doesn't know why he's freaking out so much.

read on ao3

Janus stared at the plate in front of him, heart thumping so loudly he was almost sure the others at the table could hear it. It wasn't anything major, it was just meatloaf with a side of mashed potatoes and corn, and Patton and Logan (mostly Logan) spent a lot of time on it, so there's no reason he shouldn't eat it.

The others are enjoying it too, bantering and joking across the table without a care in the world. Roman was basically sitting in Logan's lap, and Four Idiots (as Janus and Remus dubbed them as) kept sending each other equally besotted expressions. Remus was next to him, gesturing animatedly while he talked with one hand and the other hand tightly gripped in Janus's own.

He felt off kilter and shaky, watching everyone eat their food. Janus knows he should be eating too, and logically he knows that there is a very small chance of him getting food poisoning. But that doesn't make the debilitating anxiety welling up inside him go away.

Oh God, he's going to get sick, somethings wrong with the meat he'll get sick and vo-

Ugh. Virgil's the one that has the anxiety problem, not him. Why did his brother have to give him his mental illness? Bitch.

Suddenly, a loud noise happened, forcefully dragging Janus out of his mind. It was Roman, coughing loudly. He kept hacking, and hacking, and Janus abruptly felt faint. 

The others were watching with concern, and Logan was patting Roman on the back to get whatever had lodged in his throat out. Eventually, he did clear his airways, after a long breath in and a particularly violent cough. 

Patton inquired if he was okay, and Roman nodded, face red and tears streaming down his face from coughing so much. "Sorry, I choked." His voice was scratchy from coughing. But he was smiling, and that should have been an indicator that he was okay, he just choked, he's fine-

Remus made some comment, and Virgil flipped him off while still looking worriedly in Roman's direction, but Janus suddenly couldn't hear through the ringing in his ears. Remus must have noticed either the way he abruptly went still, or the fact that he had barely eaten anything, because he squeezed his hand in question. Janus abruptly stood up from the table, almost knocking his chair down in the process.

Remus frowned, a small, confused thing, "Jaybird? You alright?"

"I'm sorry, if you'll excuse me," Janus managed to choke out, before quickly ripping his hand from Remus's and stumbling away, ignoring the protests and calls from the table behind him. 

He hopes no one noticed that he didn't finish his meal.

----

Janus stumbled to his room, heart beating out of his chest, thump, thump, thump. He quickly locked the door and slid his back down to the floor, digging his gloved hands in his hair and pulling.

Roman's dry hacking wouldn't leave his head, oh God he sounded sick, but he's not he just choked he's fine, he doesn't have covid none of you do you're all vaccinated, fuck-

Janus was acutely aware that he was crying, now, his chest tight and his throat sore from the tears. He was trembling, small and terrified against the back of his door, and he couldn't stop thinking.

Janus had to go back to school in a week. School, with its crowded areas and unvaccinated people and possible removal of masks. The very thought of it makes his heart jump into his throat, dizzy with terror.

What if one of them had covid, and we just didn't have any symptoms, what if the vaccine doesn't work against the variant, fuck, he's going to get it, maybe he already has it, he's going to die he's going to die he can't breathe-

He suddenly had the image of his own funeral in his head, his boyfriend and his friends and his brother at his own funeral, crying softly and holding each other. He envisioned himself in the afterlife, waiting for them, watching Remus suffer alone because he wasn't there-

And that horrifying image in his head is what turned his soft crying into desperate sobs, shaking and pulling his hair so tight it stung. 

And that's also when he finally registered the frantic knocking on the door, how long has that been going on? and Remus's panicked voice coming from the other side.

"Jan? Baby, I can hear you crying, fuck, are you hurt? If you want me to fuck off, tell me, but- Oh, Jay, please answer, even a knock, just let me know if you're alright-"

Janus reached with trembling hands to unlock the door, even as his mind went no don't he could be sick, and he quickly moved away from the door a little so Remus wouldn't smack him in the face with the door when he came bursting in.

And burst in he did. In a flurry of motion, Remus quickly came in and shut the door behind him, then sat on the floor with panicked, worried eyes looking at Janus.

"Janus? Can you- fuck, I'm not good at this- can I touch you?"

Somewhere, in the back behind the panic, Janus found his stumbling endearing.

Janus debated for half a second, social distance 6 feet apart you'll die you'll die you'll die, before crumbling to his desire to be held.

"Pl- Please, hold me, I- I can't-" Janus's voice came out absolutely pathetic, broken up in sobs and small and trembling, but Remus paid it no mind. He quickly scooped up Janus in his arms, and Janus held onto him for dear life, like he'll be swept away if he doesn't. He cries so hard he's almost heaving, shaking like a leaf in Remus's strong, tattooed arms.

Oh, Remus, make it go away, He thought, and then cried harder because what a childish thing to think.

"Shh, shh, you're alright, I've got you. Can you breathe with me, darling? In and out, you're okay," Remus's voice was calm and soothing, the panic deliberately gone from his voice, probably to not make him feel worse. He breathed in deeply, over exaggerating his breaths so that Janus could follow along.

Janus tried to follow the rhythm, hiccupping through his tears. He stumbled a few times, and it took a bit, but he eventually was able to settle his breathing. His tears had started to slow, and he suddenly felt overwhelmingly childish. 

He just had a breakdown over something so stupid. It's not like he's the only one affected by covid, they're in a fucking pandemic, and he has no right to panic when he's not even sick. He's fine. 

Janus and Remus had only been together for a few months, so Remus hadn't seen this side of Janus yet. This was sure to make him leave. Fuck, he's so stupid.

"There you are, baby," Remus crooned with a soothing voice, and Janus flushed despite himself. Remus wiped away one of his lingering tears, his palm cupping Janus's cheek, and Janus leaned into the warmth, suddenly exhausted. He felt boneless and hollowed out inside of Remus's arms, like his limbs were made of lead.

"I'm sorry," Janus croaked, and Remus was shushing him before he could get more words out.

"No, shut up, you're not allowed to apologize for having a panic attack. You have nothing to apologize for." Remus was strong and steady, and Janus opened his eyes that he didn't mean to close. For some reason, he wanted to deny that what just happened was a panic attack. "You're okay, love, we're okay."

Janus gave a small laugh in spite of himself, and Remus huffed, indignant. "What?"

"Nothing, just- you use a l- lot more cutesy nicknames when you're calming me down." Janus noted, and Remus puffed up like a peacock, but he was smiling. 

"Would you rather I use my normal names? J-anus? Two Dicks? Hot ass? Da-"

Janus cut him off with laughter and a smack to the arm, "Shut up, you awful man, that wasn't an invitation-" 

Remus was laughing too, grin blinding. When they both stopped laughing, they just sat there for a while in comfortable silence. Remus traced the vitiligo patches on Janus's back through the clothes (Janus flushed at the fact that Remus just knew where they were) and Janus traced the tattoos on Remus's brown skin.

After several long, quiet moments, Remus's quiet voice broke the silence. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Instantly, Janus went tense, before shaking his head no. He couldn't explain it without sounding stupid, and he didn't want Remus to leave.

Besides, there was nothing Remus could truly say that he hasn't heard before. 

Nothing will make it go away.

Remus nodded, content with not pushing. "Well, I say we move the cuddling to the bed and not the floor, how does that sound?"

Before Janus could respond, Remus just scooped him up, effortlessly in the air. Janus squeaked and held onto Remus before Remus just dumped him down unceremoniously onto the bed, bouncing a little on the springs. 

Remus laid down on his back, and Janus immediately crawled to him and curled up next to him, laying his head on Remus's chest and Remus wrapping an arm around him.

"Nap time," Janus mumbled into Remus's shirt. Janus felt more than heard him chuckle.

"Well, if the king says it's nap time, then I have no choice but to obey." Janus swatted at him lazily, and he couldn't see it, but he bet Remus grinned. Remus laid a quick kiss to his temple and his heart swelled.

The worry still pricked in the back of Janus's mind. He was sure that later, he was going to freak out over this moment, that the sudden contact made him contract an illness.

But right now, at this moment, he's fine. He's with his boyfriend, and his other friends and his brother are in the house somewhere too, no doubt worried about Janus. They're all vaccinated, healthy, and safe. 

I'm okay, he thought, the thought not panic induced this time, and fell asleep next to Remus, and dreamt of nothing but warmth.