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starlocked01 · 2 years ago

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Dukexiety Week Day 7- Soulmates

Summary: Virgil makes a pet food run with disastrous wonderful results

WC: 2441

Warnings: swearing, panic attacks, non-consensual touch (non-sexual), negative self talk, past abusive relationship, past Anxceit, nonbinary Remus

A/N: Who would I be if I didn't write the soulmate prompt and post it late for Remus' birthday? Happy Birthday my favorite intrusive thot! 💚

@dukexietyweek

"Look alive, Sunshiiine~"

Virgil groaned and rolled over in bed, ignoring his alarm. Truthfully, he wasn't sure why it was still armed since he had nothing to wake up for anymore.

The alarm jarringly skipped from the Danger Days opening to Brendon Urie screaming about something or other. Virgil groaned and wrapped a blanket over his head. He just didn't want to get up and he could feel it becoming an awful day already.

Fuck fuck fuckity fuck.

After three more screaming emo songs, Virgil finally managed to sit up to the softer tones of Evanescence, rubbing at his eyes and groaning in general protest of the concept of mornings. More like mournings.

He grabbed his favorite edgy hoodie and threw it on over his nightshirt, yawning as he smacked the shit out of the alarm clock. Wincing at the cracks and pops in his joints as he stood, Virgil made his way over to the full length mirror hot glued to his bedroom door. Most of his decorations were hot glued in place because of Ryuk.

As if on cue, the slinky little black kitten pushed her way in the slightly ajar door, meowing her own protest against Virgil’s inability to wake up and feed her promptly in the morning. Virgil smiled softly and bent down, petting her and ruffling the fur between her ears.

"Easy, baby. I'll get your food soon," he promised as the kitten stretched up to paw at the strings of his hoodie. Ryuk was about the only one in his life who he let see him without his daily make-up routine, and the only one who didn't flinch upon seeing his dead black soulmark.

Virgil scooped her up and stood to examine himself. The deep dark markings under his eyes and streaking down his cheeks to his neck were a complete enigma. Most soulmarks were on shoulders, hips, hands, or elbows, places people commonly accidentally bumped each other. He had no idea who would touch his face this way the first time they met. It didn't look like a kiss, it looked like he was going to get beat up and his soulmark was just the dark omen of how shit his soulmate would be.

He sighed and let Ryuk perch on his shoulder- he swore his cat wanted to be a parrot- and pulled out his concealer from the make-up bag on his dresser. Ryuk watched carefully as he covered the dark soulmark, the little kitten hardly blinking. She only shifted her weight to counterbalance Virgil’s movements.

Several layers of concealer and foundation later, Virgil’s face looked as pasty as a boo ghost made of a bed sheet. He smiled sharply, grabbing eye liner because emo has got to emo and finishing the look with black lipstick. He didn’t bother to cover up the three pads of his fingers that were inky black. Hardly anyone noticed them. Ryuk meowed her support of her dark strange dad and jumped all the way to the floor, waiting impatiently for Virgil to follow.

"Alright! Food time," Virgil giggled and opened the door for her. At least Janus had left him the cat, right?

Virgil frowned as his thoughts swirled right back around to his ex. Of course they knew they weren't soulmates, but it had been reassuring being with someone else who had a strange facial soulmark. And Janus had been amazing at helping Virgil stay calm and focused enough to survive reasonably well despite near crippling anxiety.

That was until Virgil found out Janus had been lying about his soulmark for the three years they were together.

For three years, that snake had been covering up his activated soulmark with black makeup, making Virgil think he didn't know exactly who he was supposed to be with. All so he could live rent free and do almost nothing to contribute to their household, because Janus' actual soulmate wanted him to get a job. Sometimes, Virgil even wondered if the man he'd shared his bed with was actually gay.

The break up had left Virgil absolutely devastated, and Ryuk was the only good thing to come of the relationship. So he spoiled her as responsibly as he could, taking care of the only being who truly loved him.

Depressing. Welcome to the life of the most pathetic-

Ryuk mewled as if to chastise Virgil for delaying feeding her even longer. Virgil followed the little black kitten down to the kitchen, stretching and trying to forget the previous train of thought. He picked up Ryuk’s personalized food dish (that had been an awkward request at Pet’s Mart), dumping the few soggy pellets left over from the night before and giving the dish a good rinse. He rubbed it dry with a towel while Ryuk sat patiently at his feet, waiting for her food now that she knew Virgil was actually working on it.

He set the bowl on the counter and reached up to the cabinet where he kept her food. “Soon, pretty kitty. Just be patient for me,” he cooed at her, finding a small amount of pleasure in her responsive mew. He smiled until his hand hit nothing but the wooden shelf of the cabinet.

“What the-” Virgil’s attention snapped right back to the cabinet, swearing when he discovered that Ryuk had finished the last of their food stores last night. He groaned and glanced down at the expectant kitten, “I am so sorry- I forgot to stock up, baby.”

Ryuk tilted her head, not understanding why the magic food door wasn’t providing her the food she desperately needed to survive in this house.

“Shit- I’ll be right back-” Virgil stepped away from the counter, followed by a loud cat cry protest. He winced, hating to leave her wanting as he found a pair of ripped up black skinny jeans to throw on. The last thing he wanted right now was an impromptu shopping trip, but that was exactly what was happening.

Ryuk kept meowing as Virgil slipped on his favorite Converse and nudged her away from the door so he could leave. He locked the door and double checked by trying to open it before walking briskly down the sidewalk with head down.

Of course he’d forgotten his headphones to drown out the annoying shoppers around him. Virgil’s mood soured more with each step towards the store. It was truly shaping up to be a terrible day.

Virgil glanced around as he entered the store with his hood pulled all the way up. He felt acutely aware of how suspicious he looked right now. But that couldn’t be helped. He just wanted to grab Ryuk’s food and get out of there as soon as possible. He made a beeline for the Pets section, scanning the shelves for her preferred brand. He sighed in relief seeing there was one bag left. He bent down to pick it up when he heard a loud shrill whistle behind him.

“Day-um! What an ass! Is there another bag down there, sweet cheeks?”

Virgil inhaled sharply and stood up slowly, clutching the bag to his chest, “N-no, and I need this bag-” he balked at the acrid smell of pickle brine and sharp tangy iron coming from the barely dressed person standing far too close to him. He took a tentative step back toward the shelves.

“Fuck! You just had to take that one- it’s the only brand that tastes any good! Can’t your pooch or whatever settle for something else?” The person wearing what Virgil could only describe as a studded lime green bikini bottom and full body fishnets was staring at him, hands firmly on their hips. Virgil noted a nonbinary they/them pin before a wave of nausea washed over him as the smell intensified and mixed with a very deep seated feeling that this stranger was about to attack him over cat food.

“N-no, Ryuk only eats this,” He managed to stammer.

“Wait- like from Death Note?” their eyes gleamed with recognition, “You named your dog after a Shinigami?”

“She’s a cat!” Virgil exclaimed, taking another backward step and gulping as his back hit the edges of the shelving behind him, knocking a few bags off, “please- please leave me alone-”

“Hey, I’m just trying to negotiate here,” they complained, stepping closer instead. Virgil could feel tears welling up in his eyes as his terror skyrocketed.

“Go- leave- please leave me alone-” He whispered as they stepped right up in his face. He felt his logical brain shutting down, wishing he wasn’t pinned against the shelves so he could run.

“Whoa- for one, you’re really cute,” The stranger smiled a strange wide grin, “I’d love to get to know you- wait- are you crying? What the shit?”

Virgil’s knees buckled underneath him and he slid the ground, clutching the cat food like it was his only lifeline. His breathing was rapid and shallow as he curled in on himself, praying the stranger would go away.

“Woah, buddy, I didn’t mean-”

The stench of the rude stranger with zero sense of personal boundaries increased tenfold and Virgil felt as if he was about to pass out.

— — —

Remus stared at the emo laying in the fetal position at their feet. Goddamn it they’d been trying to come across less creepy when they were flirting. They crouched down and tried to gently push the man’s hood off his face to see if he was still conscious.

How the fuck did things like this keep happening to Remus?

They saw the tears slipping down the man’s cheek. Oh fuck-

“Woah, buddy, I didn’t mean-”

The emo clutched at the bag of cat food and didn’t even respond to their voice. Remus figured the best way to help would be to help him ground himself so they could apologize for being so terrifying. Not that they were trying to be scary. If people were scared of them, that was their problem and Remus would not take responsibility for it.

They kneeled in front of the man and reached out slowly, “hey- can you take a deep breath with me? Shit dude, I really didn’t mean to scare you over a bag of kibble-” When the man didn’t respond, only crying softly and breathing like a bunny, Remus inhaled and swore under their breath. Fuck Fuck Fuck. What would a smart person do? Remus sighed. If they knew that answer, they wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place.

Gently they reached to cup the man’s face, wiping their thumbs at the tears staining his bottom eyelids. No sooner had Remus touched the man than his hand came up to smack his wrist away. Remus gasped and pulled back, their palms and wrist stinging.

Remus rubbed their wrist and harrumphed, “I’m just trying to help!” They glanced back at the stranger and gasped. Shimmery purple glowed beneath what looked like several layers of makeup on the man’s face. It spread from under his eyes to all the way down his neck. Remus stared, absolutely transfixed. Of course they had seen activated soulmarks before. But they’d never caused an activation…

Remas gasped again and spread their palms out in front of them. They started in disbelief at the green shimmery swirls that settled into a Lichtenberg figure before their eyes. They knew soulmarks sometimes formed into patterns that represented the soulmate. They looked back at the man on the ground to find him staring at his fingers, the ones he’d used to smack Remus away.

“Holy shit-”

“Read my mind, emo. What’s your name?”

The man blinked up at Remus as if taking them in for the first time.

“Oh- Oh it’s really you…”

Remus grinned, “yeah- sorry that was so stressful.”

“I- yeah, but it’s fine,” the man shrugged, “I’m… MyNameIsVirgil,” he rushed out and Remus grinned, “he/him, by the way. I saw your pin.”

Remus nodded, “thank you, Virgil. Remus. God, I want to see your mark without all that makeup… but maybe that’s a second date idea.”

Virgil laughed sharply, “that’s assuming there’s a first!”

“There better be! I have got to meet this shinigami pussy that’s been stealing my food!”

“You… eat cat food? For real?’

Remus shrugged, “It’s cheap. Please?”

Virgil sat up and offered Remus his hand, “what’s with the ninja stars?”

Remus broke into raucous laughter, “Oh Fuck! Lolo is not gonna believe this-”

Virgil squinted, “Who? No. Too much to process right now. Um.. could you please let me get up?”

Remus scooted away on the linoleum floor, giving Virgil space to get his legs beneath him. They stood and offered Virgil a hand, subtly showing off the lightning soulmark.

“Woah- oh that’s- is gorgeous okay?” Virgil asked, staring at the mark.

“Yeah, for sure.” Remus nodded and offered again to help him up. “Let’s go pay and talk this out at your place.”

Virgil paused a long moment before eventually nodding in agreement. He took their hand and stood, admiring how they held his hand gently yet still supported him enough to get up. Remus twisted the hold to interlock their fingers with his. Something about the gesture felt incredibly comforting.

Virgil smiled weakly and followed him to the checkout. His heart was still racing, but he suspected for a different reason now.

The real test would be how Ryuk took to this new person.

— — —

Virgil stood in his bathroom with the door ajar, carefully wiping the makeup off his soul mark while Remus played with Ryuk in the living room. She very much enjoyed snagging her claws on their fishnets and they seemed absolutely delighted with the kitten. Virgil sighed softly and kept wiping away at the layers, marveling as sparkly purple tentacles revealed themselves, twisting and turning all over the previously dead black area. His lip trembled and the rag dropped from his fingers.

He met his actual soulmate, and they’d turned his greatest fear and shame into something so beautiful.

Remus gasped from behind him, staring in the mirror at the swirly purple soulmark. “Oh my god- Virge-”

Virgil smiled back at them in the mirror before turning to face them, “Yes?”

“You’re super pretty now- and that ass is still magnificent. Do- do you want to date?”

“Let’s get to know each other a bit better before getting all official with labels,” Virgil chuckled, reaching to pull Remus close.

Ryuk mewed and headbutted at Remus’ leg, feeling left out of the family hug. Both of them grinned and Virgil let her climb him back up to his shoulder before hugging Remus close.

After all, she’d basically set them up.

#dukexiety #dukexiety week 2023 #soulmates #remus sanders #virgil sanders #janus sanders #past anxciet #cute animals #swearing #panic attack #soulmarks #soulmark au #nonbinary remus

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oatmealdaydreams · 1 year ago

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Birthday Boys

A new lil series of old works from my past Wattpad days. This one is 13k+ words. She LONG.

Pairings: Creativitwins, romantic Logicality, gen

Trigger/Content Warning: mention of abandonment, abandonment issues, anxiety attack, vague mention of past abuse, brief body dysphoria, mention of someone being in jail again, mention of Hell & church, mention of Heteros, cake knife (for cake only), food mention

Description: The twins celebrate their birthday with their family and friends, though it's still a little surprising they still have them as theirs.

Extra: inspired by Please Don't Leave Me by smn021 on Wattpad. This is old as hell. This also has uncensored cussing.

[Masterlist] | ao3 link

[Read under the cut]

It had been a while since they left the orphanage.

About six months, to be exact.

The twins, Remus and Roman, had their birthday day coming up. They were turning fifteen. And honestly? They didn't think they'd be spending their birthday with their friends, let alone a family to call their own.

And it made them both kind of anxious.

They usually didn't last long with a family. In the past, things never seemed to work out well. They've never made it to their birthday after getting adopted before being thrown back (sometimes literally) to the orphanage.

Their birthday was so close, and the brothers knew Logan and Patton Berry were very kind people. They were great parents to the twins.

But the brothers couldn't shake the feeling that they could get sent back on their birthday. Again.

Which had led Remus and Roman to sit on their bunk beds, trying to distract themselves from the growing pits in their stomachs.

Remus sat on the top bunk, listening to Cavetown and sketching in his sketchbook. He had a comforting green blanket over his lower half. He absentmindedly hummed along to the song Home. He had only one earbud in.

Roman, who laid on the bottom bunk, was listening to the Hamilton soundtrack. He blasted it loud enough that you could practically hear it from his headphones. One of his ears had no headphone against it. He laid on his stomach. He was writing in a messy notebook. Ideas were swarming out onto the page as he wrote with a taped-up pen. A red blanket laid over his back.

As soon as the song Alexander Hamilton came on once again, Roman started singing softly to himself.

And of course, though Remus had his own music, he heard his brother and joined him. Both of them loved musicals, Hamilton being one of the few they bonded over because of their differing tastes.

And that's what Patton saw as he leaned against the doorframe. He smiled fondly. Hearing the boys sing together was a rare sight, unless it was for a school musical. He let them be for a moment, before he remembered why he was there in the first place. He knocked softly on the doorframe, causing the twins to silence themselves. Roman stopped his music as soon as he heard Remus stop singing.

"Nice singing, kiddos," Patton smiled gently at them. "Logan said dinner is almost ready."

The twins nodded, their nervousness slowly crept back. Roman fidgeted with the cord of his headphones, and Remus was focused hard on his sketches. Remus' binder under his octopus hoodie felt a little tighter.

Patton seemed to have noticed his boys' unease, wearing a look of concern.

"You boys alright?" he asked.

Remus didn't move, not acknowledging he heard Patton aside from a brief nod. Roman forced himself to stop messing with the cord, and he nodded as well. Patton wasn't convinced, but he didn't push it.

"Okay. If you two wanna talk, just know both me and Logan won't judge you for anything. Love you, kiddos," he reassured.

As he turned to leave, he heard a small, "wait."

He looked back to the twins. Remus now looked up with a little uncertainty in his eyes. His earbuds were in his lap, his music off. Roman's headphones were off and to the side of him.

Patton waited patiently for Remus to talk again, giving an encouraging nod.

"It's just... um," Remus tried to get the words out, but they sat in his throat.

His throat felt dry. He didn't need to be so nervous about talking to Patton, he knew that logically, but his nervous system thought otherwise.

"You won't leave us on our birthday tomorrow, right?" Roman finished for him, understanding what he wanted to say.

Patton gave a look of sympathy.

"No, we would never! We want you two here, to be safe and happy," Patton tried to reassure them.

It worked. The twins felt a little better hearing his words. Remus muttered an, "okay." and Roman smiled.

"If you're comfortable with me asking, has that happened before?" Patton gently asked.

"Yeah, more than once. I think, uh, you two are the first family that actually wants us to stay," Remus said quietly, a few nerves still in his gut.

"You know you didn't deserve that, right, Kiddos?"

Roman and Remus silently nodded. Patton smiled and left, going back downstairs to check up on his husband.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Remus climbed down from his bunk and plopped onto the foot of Roman's. Roman didn't say anything as Remus leaned against the wall, laying his legs out and putting some of Roman's blanket over them. He'd left his phone and earbuds on the top bunk, but had brought his sketchbook and pencil with him. He was doodling something.

Roman looked up at his brother, taking off his headphones that he'd put on again. He closed his notebook and set it to the side. Remus seemed to be a little off. He was being quiet. Remus was hardly ever quiet, except for when he was feeling anxious or really tired.

So, of course Roman took notice.

"Rem? Are you okay?" he asked his twin.

Remus groaned. He kept doodling, focusing harder on his drawing.

"Re?"

Remus remained silent.

"Bro-bro?"

Remus abruptly stopped doodling as he bit his lip. Tears gathered in his eyes. His anxiety was getting the best of him, and he really didn't want to speak. He slammed his pencil and sketchbook down on the bed by him, and he huffed. Roman instantly crawled over to his brother, the blanket slipping off of him. He engulfed Remus in a hug as Remus let a few tears fall down his face. His binder felt tight again. He whined as he silently cried into his brother's shoulder, unable to voice his worries.

Talking about his fear of abandonment always overwhelmed him.

Roman rubbed small circles on his back, and kissed the top of his head. Remus let out a shaky breath as he tried to calm himself. He started taking deep breaths as Roman tapped a pattern on his back with his other hand.

4, 7, 8, went the pattern.

After calming down enough, Remus sniffled and sighed. He hated when he got so overwhelmed that he couldn't speak. Communication was very important to the twins, considering their past. It gave them comfort, in a way, to always talk and communicate with each other. Having someone you could trust and feel safe with always helps in the dark times. And while they were no longer in the dark times, Remus still needed that sibling communication.

"Can... just talk? Please?" Remus mumbled.

Roman gave a small smile that Remus couldn't see and hummed.

"Do you want to hear about my story I've been working on?" Roman spoke calmly while holding his brother.

"Yeah..."

"Okay, so there's this kingdom called Loishire, right? And it's ruled by a pair of benevolent kings, which recently found these twin orphans, and..."

As Remus listened to Roman's story, he felt himself relax. He closed his eyes, his tiredness from his anxiety attack catching up with him. As he snuggled into Roman, he felt himself drift off into a restful sleep.

>>> Time Skip brought to you by Oat's obsession with writing Creativitwins <<<

A soft knock on the doorframe woke up Remus, who rubbed his eyes as he sat up. He looked around and realized he was laying next to Roman, away from the pillows. Roman was resting his head on his pillows, scribbling down more ideas for his story in his notebook. He was so absorbed that he almost didn't notice Remus waking up, nor Patton's knocking.

Patton smiled fondly at his sons.

"Dinner's ready," Patton said simply, and left as fast as he came.

Remus hummed in acknowledgement, and Roman kept writing. Remus lightly slapped Roman's foot, to which Roman kicked his arm with the same amount of force.

"Fooood," Remus whined.

Roman rolled his eyes, finishing up a sentence. He flipped a page, wrote a couple more words, and then shut the notebook. He placed his pen and notebook down beside him.

"Alright, alright. Come on," Roman said, jumping off his bed.

Remus followed him as he walked down the stairs to the dining room.

Once downstairs, Roman sat in his designated chair at the table. Remus went over to the island in the kitchen as Logan grabbed plates from a cupboard.

"What's for dinner?" Remus asked.

Logan held back a small smile. His sons, though not originally his, always made him smile. He'd smile at the simplest, smallest things they did. Sometimes it could just be one of the twins talking. He hadn't always understood how kids could affect parents, that is, until he'd become one.

"Steak and vegetables for most of us, and a vegan wrap for you," Logan answered simply.

"Oooh, what's on the wrap?" Remus loved wraps.

"Hmm, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, a few peanuts, and some of that hot sauce you like."

"Yay, hot sauce!"

Logan couldn't hold it back any longer, especially not with Remus' excited voice. He smiled, turning to look at his son fondly.

"Go sit with your brother. I'll bring it out in a minute," Logan said.

"Okay!" Remus ran off to sit in his designated seat next to Roman.

A few seconds later and Patton appeared by Logan's side as he gathered silverware. He set everyone's food on their own plates as he felt an arm around his waist. He flinched slightly before quickly reminding himself it was just Patton, not anyone unwelcome from his past.

Patton gave him a look of concern, loosening his arm around Logan. Logan, of course, noticed this and gave a reassuring smile to his shorter husband.

"I'm alright, darling. Just startled me, that's all," Logan whispered to Patton.

"Yeah?" Patton made sure his partner wasn't putting up a facade.

"Yeah."

Patton smiled as he heard the truth on Logan's lips. He gave him a quick peck, standing on his tippy-toes a little bit.

"Okay. I'm gonna go sit with the kids," Patton stated as Logan grabbed everyone's plates.

Logan held back from correcting his partner's grammar as Patton sat down at one end of the table, right next to Roman. Logan brought out the food, setting everyone's plates in front of them before sitting down on the other end of the table near Remus.

Roman's eyes sparkled at the sight of steak, since he was the carnivorous twin. Remus looked at the wrap and spare vegetables on his plate, grateful to have supportive dads. Remus was a vegan for moral and allergy reasons. So, the fact that his dads made sure to make things he'd eat was a very heart-warming sentiment.

He didn't remember his birth parents ever doing that before they left. In fact, before the Berrys, Roman was the only one who ever advocated for Remus' food restrictions. Which had led to 'interesting' times at the orphanage and with past foster parents.

As they all munched on their preferred food, Logan cleared his throat and gained his family's attention.

"We should discuss what you two want to do for your birthday tomorrow," he started, figuratively 'opening the floor' for discussion.

Remus swallowed another bite of his wrap as a few nerves grew in his stomach. They won't abandon you, he reminded himself, Roman is fine so you should be fine. He glanced at Roman, who seemed okay. He wasn't fidgeting with nerves like he usually did when he was anxious. He bounced his leg, sure, but that was just his ADHD.

Remus took a breath quietly, calming himself down a little.

"Can Jay and Virge come over?" Roman asked, hope glittering in his eyes.

Patton and Logan both nodded.

"Sure bud. You'll have to ask them, though," Patton said.

"Or we could just drag them along," Remus jokingly suggested, feeling a bit calmer.

"You'd still have to contact them either way, Remus," Logan commented.

Remus hummed.

"What do you guys wanna do? Movie Night, Game Night?" Patton continued the conversation.

"Bowling!" Remus practically shouted.

He liked the most random of things. Remus was a pretty random kid. Logan and Patton chalked it up to his short attention span.

"And we can watch Hamilton afterwards!" Roman joined in.

Roman wasn't much different from his brother.

"Yeah, can Jan-Jan and Virgy stay the night? Oh, and can we have cake? Chocolate cake?" Remus rambled on with questions.

"But I want vanilla!" Roman whined.

"But chocolate is better, ya dingus!"

"Lang--" Patton tried.

"No, it's bitter. Vanilla is sweet like how cake should be!"

"Vanilla is such a basic bitch flavour!"

"Remus--" Logan also tried, using his stern voice.

"Chocolate is yucky!"

"What about hot chocolate? There isn't a hot vanilla, now is there?"

"Ugh!"

Some bickering and offended Princey noises later, Patton lightly tapped the table with his fork. Both boys immediately shut up and looked to Patton. It was a strange technique to get people's attention, but the clinking of silverware against wood wasn't exactly a sound you'd miss.

"Why don't you get a half-and-half? Half chocolate, half vanilla?" Patton calmly suggested with a smile.

The boys stayed silent for a moment before a loud, "Oh, like that black and white movie Mama likes?"

Logan sighed, fighting another smile from Roman's comment. What gender roles are we pushing here? he thought sarcastically. In all honesty, he didn't mind being called mom or dad or parental. Whatever his sons were comfortable with was okay with him. He never really understood the 'importance' of society's gender roles anyway.

If a man was okay with being called Mom, then let him be called Mom. Same goes for a woman not minding being called Dad. It didn't fucking matter.

And don't get me started on people trying to impose binary roles on enbies--

Sorry.

Anyway, Logan nodded to his son's comment.

"That's one example," Logan said.

"Oooh, what about a swirl cake? Like marble?" Remus wondered outloud.

"Oooh, swirl," Roman's brain felt captivated by the suggestion.

"S W I R L," both boys said at the same time, their brains liking the word 'swirl'.

Patton smiled at the twins.

"Yeah, we can do that," he said.

After that, everyone finished their dinner, helping each other clean up the dishes and food. The boys ran upstairs to go chill in their room. Roman had mentioned something about needing Remus to draw 'a map of Loishire'.

Logan and Patton were left in the kitchen as they started the dishwasher. Patton hummed a familiar tune (probably the theme song of Winnie the Pooh) as he put away a container of leftover meat from dinner. He turned to Logan for a brief moment as Logan combed his own hair back. He quickly looked away, focusing hard on the closed fridge in front of him as heat burned his face red.

No matter how long they've been married, Patton always blushed at Logan.

His husband was really fucking hot, and he didn't think he'd ever get fully used to his partner's attractiveness.

Logan dried his hands on a dish towel and set it down, noticing out of the corner of his eyes Patton being flustered. He smirked. It was amusing how Patton could get flustered over the simplest things when it came to him.

Sure, Logan could get flustered, but it was rather by words than appearance.

"Are you okay, darling?" Logan asked slyly.

"Mhm," Patton's voice cracked a little.

"Okay, then you won't mind looking at me?"

Logan gently grabbed Patton's chin and made him face him. Patton only blushed deeper as he stared into his beautiful husband's eyes. They were light blue and steely grey, a wonderfully calm vibe of heterochromia. Logan smirked, letting go of Patton's chin. He chuckled as Patton stood there for a moment, processing what just happened.

"You're flustered so easily," Logan said, amused.

"It's not my fault you're so hot!" Patton exclaimed, his face still trying to calm down.

It was Logan's turn to blush. His cheeks lit up pink as he froze for a second before averting his eyes from his cute husband. He rubbed the back of neck awkwardly.

They'd been married for at least five years, and still managed to have awkward moments. Nothing bad, of course, but still awkward, nonetheless.

The Berrys' house was one of love, of comfort, of laughter.

And the twins couldn't have been happier to share their birthday with such a family.

>>> Time Skip brought to you by Logicality being very gay parents <<<

Morning approached.

The twins' birthday.

It was a weekend, a Saturday, and even the annoying birds outside the boys' window were excited. The birds chirped happily on the windowpane, jumping about.

But they were silenced as soon as Remus threw a pillow at the window, causing them to flee and fly away. The pillow thumped uselessly under the window, which was right by Roman's bunk (near where his head usually rested). Remus groaned and rolled over on his other side. He wasn't a morning person, unlike his brother.

Speaking of which, Roman was humming Sincerely, Me as he brushed his hair in front of the vanity. It was his birthday, and he just couldn't risk having a bad hair day. It was meant to be a good day. No one is abandoning us this year, he reminded his mind. They said they wouldn't. I trust them. I trust their word. After brushing his hair to his own standard of perfection, he did some light makeup. He did wings on his eyes with his eyeliner and applied shimmering lip-gloss to his lips. It made him feel secure in himself, something to have control over. He was used to not having control over a lot of things, so controlling how he expressed himself helped.

After finishing his makeup, Roman noticed Remus still hadn't gotten up yet. If they were going to have a nice birthday, Remus would have to get up soon. But how would Roman get him up? He was a very stubborn brother.

Roman's face lit up for a second before he smirked, an idea hatching in his head.

"Oh, darling brother~" Roman sung dramatically, placing a hand on his chest.

Remus just groaned in response, not wanting to get up.

"The birds are up, and therefore, so are we!" Roman exclaimed dramatically.

Roman heard a muffled, "Piss off."

"Oh, come on, Re! We must get ready for our glorious birthday!"

"Ehh."

"Reeeee, what if Patton makes the special pancakes?"

Remus shot up straight (HA) in his bed at the mention of 'special' pancakes. Roman chuckled at this. Remus hurried off his bunk, almost throwing himself down the bunk bed's ladder.

"Hold on, I gotta get my binder," he muttered to no one.

Roman left the room, giving Remus his preferred privacy as he got on his binder and some gender-euphoric clothing. He quickly put on some basic eyeliner and green eyeshadow, liking the way the green made him feel. It wasn't much, but it still looked cool.

He raced downstairs as Roman watched him zip on by. He followed his pancake-excited brother, smiling to himself that he fooled him with the promise of 'special' pancakes.

In reality, 'special' pancakes were just chocolate chip pancakes, but they were special to the boys (especially since they never had pancakes before joining the Berry family). So, of course Remus took the promise of 'special' pancakes seriously.

And when he arrived downstairs to see no 'special' pancakes?

"Hey Dad, where's the pancakes?" Remus asked as he watched Patton cooking bacon, vegan sausages, and eggs.

"Uh, there is none. I can make some, though, if you want," Patton offered.

Remus stood there for a moment, realizing Roman had duped him.

"No, it's okay," Remus didn't want to make Patton do any more work than he was already doing.

Patton nodded and went back to cooking breakfast. Logan stood by him, getting himself some coffee from the coffee-maker with a book in hand. He went to the couch in the living room, consumed with his mystery novel.

Remus spotted Roman sitting on the loveseat in the living room, whistling innocently. He'd noticed Remus go up to Patton and decided to sit in the living room nonchalantly. He hoped Remus wouldn't go after him for his false promise.

His hopes were wrong, of course.

Remus stalked over to Roman, standing in front of him. Roman avoided looking at Remus as he crossed his arm and huffed at him.

"Pancakes, huh?" Remus questioned Roman.

Roman looked at him and stopped whistling, and then immediately ran away. Remus chased after him, thudding around in the house. This caught the attention of both Logan and Patton. Logan bookmarked and set down his book as Patton set up the silverware at the table, peering from the dining room.

Remus chased Roman up the stairs, shouting at him.

"Come back, you fucking bastard!" Remus cussed.

Roman just screamed as he ran, trying to evade his brother's wrath. It didn't seem to be working, though.

"I'm gonna punt you into the Sun, Roman!" Remus yelled at Roman tried to turn a corner into the Dads' room.

Roman pulled a 'pro-gamer move' and slid past Remus, gunning it to the stairs. Remus groaned loudly as he pivoted and sprinted after his brother. His ribs felt tight and hurt a little, considering he was wearing a binder. He really shouldn't run around in it. He stopped, huffing and panting, putting his hands in his knees as he tried taking a breather.

"Motherfucker," he muttered under his breath.

He sat down and leaned his back against the wall. The stairs were only a few feet away. His lungs felt a little restricted, and he knew he'd have to take off his binder for a moment so he could breathe.

But he really didn't want to.

His ribs started to hurt worse. He groaned, frustrated with himself. He knew his dads and his friends (and his freaking brother) would all tell him to take it off for a few minutes so he could breathe again. Self-care, and all that.

But he would rather not deal with the dumbass dysphoria that came with taking it off.

He heard a faint "Remus?" from downstairs. Then came the soft thudding of someone walking up the stairs.

"Re, you okay?" Roman asked, appearing from the stairs.

Remus didn't look up at him. He still couldn't really breathe, and he was in pain. He gripped the hem of his shirt tightly, making a dismissive sound. He huffed, annoyed with himself.

"Rem?" Roman tried again.

Remus felt tears prickle his eyes as the pain in his ribs only got worse. He groaned painfully.

"Can't, no breathe," Remus managed out, a bit upset.

"Oh, right. We were running around. You gotta take off your binder, bro," Roman said.

Remus made a noise of protest.

"I know, but you need to breathe. I'll get one of your baggier hoodies, okay?"

Roman sped to their shared room to grab a hoodie he knew Remus would feel comfy in. Remus felt more icky feelings surfacing as he anticipated taking off his binder. He really hated taking it off sometimes. There were times where it wasn't as big a deal, but other times it affected him a bit more. This was one of those more emotional times, especially since it was his birthday and he didn't want anything bad to happen this time.

Roman sped back to his brother with a green and silver hoodie in hand. He handed it to Remus before turning his back and sitting on the stairs, trying to give Remus some privacy as well as avoiding forcing him to move while he struggled to breathe. Remus unfolded the hoodie, noticing it was a Slytherin hoodie with a hand-sewn octopus on one of the sleeves. It was from the first few months of the twins being adopted by the Berrys. The dads had noticed the boys' liking of Harry Potter and had asked each of them what house they liked. After getting their answers, Patton ordered them gifts and gave them to the boys. Roman got a Gryffindor hoodie with a hand-sewn crown on one of the sleeves, while Remus had got the Slytherin one. It turned out Logan knew how to sew, among other things.

Remus smiled slightly at the memory. It was back when the boys were starting to come out of their shells, and the hoodies had helped a lot. He sighed, and he took off his shirt and binder. He felt the icky feelings linger and slightly intensify before he quickly slipped on his hoodie. He felt the things he didn't like on his body, and he really didn't like it. He huffed again.

He tried breathing in slowly, his ribs hurting less than before. His lungs felt better as he took another deep breath, both trying to breathe again and trying to ease his feelings of dysphoria. As soon as he felt his breathing was better, he made a noise to get Roman's attention.

"You can turn around now," Remus' voice was quiet.

Roman turned around and saw Remus clutching his binder and shirt in one hand. He offered a smile to his brother, knowing full well he probably wasn't feeling good at that moment. Remus gave a weak smile back. Roman walked over and slid down against the wall, sitting next to his brother. Remus leaned his head against Roman's shoulder.

"I think Dad's almost done with making breakfast," Roman said after a few minutes.

"Figured. I can smell it from up here," Remus sniffed the air before he spoke.

"Smells nice."

"Eh, smells like disgusting bacon."

"You only say that because you can't have bacon."

"Uh, duh, dingus."

They chuckled lightly at each other. After a few more moments of random words exchanged between the twins, they heard a faint "breakfast is ready!" from downstairs. Most likely from Patton.

"Is your breathing okay now?" Roman asked.

"Yeah," Remus said.

"'Kay. You should be fine to put your binder back on, by the way."

Roman tossed Remus his binder. He had to hold on to it earlier so that Remus didn't put it on before his lungs and ribs were ready. Remus got up with the binder and walked in the twins' room, putting the binder back on under his hoodie. Roman stood up as Remus came back out of their room, and they both headed downstairs.

As they all sat around the table, Remus was noticeably feeling better. That made Roman smile. He liked seeing his brother happy.

"So, when are Virgil and Janus coming over?" Logan asked the boys, assuming they remembered to ask their friends to come over.

He assumed incorrectly.

The boys looked at each other for a second, realizing they'd forgotten to call their friends.

Logan quietly sighed, "Did you two forget?"

Roman nodded and Remus ate another piece of his vegan sausages.

Logan smiled slightly, a little amused at his boys' forgetfulness.

"It's alright. Why not call them after breakfast?" Patton suggested.

"M'kay," Remus replied, still chewing on a piece of his food.

"Mouth closed, kiddo."

Remus hummed as he finished chewing his food.

>>> Time Skip brought to you by Oat's laziness <<<

After breakfast, the Berrys all went to chill in the living room as Roman called Janus. He sat in the loveseat again.

"Yo Janus," he said as soon as his friend picked up the phone.

"What do you want?" Remus could hear Janus through the phone.

"Today is our birthday, Dumbo. You wanna come over? We're going to go bowling--"

"Oh, something I can beat you at? I'm in."

"Hey! I'll totally beat you, Kaa of the jungle."

"You're forgetting one of mis mamás es a retired bowling campeón."

"Whatever. Remus is gonna call Virgil, so he should be over as well."

"'Kay, loser. See ya there."

"Bye."

"Adiós."

Roman hung up the phone, putting it in his pocket. He looked up at his dads.

"Janus said that they'll be here," he told them.

Logan nodded, acknowledging his son as he flipped the page in his book. Patton nodded as well.

"Remus, you gotta call Virgil," Roman said.

"But why?" Remus asked.

"Because."

"Bruh."

Remus pulled out his phone and dialled Virgil's number. It rang a few times before Virgil picked up.

"Yellow, it's ya boi," Remus greeted Virgil.

"Ugh, hi. Why didn't you just, like, text me?" Virgil asked, feeling nerves rise in his gut because phone calls are terrifying.

"Cause I love to watch you suffer. And I keep forgetting you hate phone calls."

"Then text me, bitch."

"Actually, I'm a bastard, not a bitch--"

Virgil hung up on Remus. Remus rolled his eyes as he typed out a text to Virgil, asking if he felt up to going bowling and staying the night over. After a few minutes, he got a text back from his anxious buddy.

"Virgey says he'll come for Hamilton and the night over. He's not sure if he's gonna bowl, though," Remus told his family.

"Eh, either way I'll still kick Janus' butt," Roman commented.

"Ya know what? I'm gonna be on Jan-Jan's team."

"Traitor!"

"Fight me."

Before the boys could bicker further, Patton spoke up.

"Alright, boys, let's settle down. Do Janus and Virgil have a ride?" Patton asked.

"Uhh, I think Janus does, since they drive. I don't know about Virge, though," Roman said, momentarily distracted by Patton's question.

"I think his aunt is driving him. He texted something about his dick uncle being in jail again," Remus said, only sharing what Virgil had texted Remus to tell the Dads.

"Aww, I hope he's okay," Patton said with genuine concern for his sons' friend, ignoring Remus' foul language because Virgil's uncle deserved Hell.

"He's fine. Probably," Roman commented.

"Well, it's not like it hasn't happened before. Maybe he'll actually stay in jail this time so he and his aunt can be safe," Remus said.

"Let's hope so," Logan commented, not looking up from his book.

>>> Time Skip brought to you by Virgil's uncle being a little bitch <<<

After Patton came back with the twins' cake from the bakery, Janus arrived. They unlocked the door and came in, since they had a spare key because of a past situation where they had to stay with the twins for a few weeks.

"¡Hola! I'm home, motherfuckers!" Janus called out, ignoring the "language" from Patton as they came into the living room.

"Hello, Janus. How have you and your moms been?" Logan greeted the snake-loving child as he sat on one of the loveseats.

"Good. Mamá has been working a little overtime, though. Haven't seen much of her lately," Janus replied.

"Well, you see her at dinner time, don't you?" Patton tried to give some optimism.

"Not really. A lot of night shifts. I just hope she's not getting fucked over again like last time she did this. Estoy preocupado por ella," Janus said.

"Oh, well, tu mamá is a strong woman, Janus. She'll be fine," Logan reassured his nibling.

"You're just saying that cause she's your sister. Like you did last time."

"She's learned from her past mistake. She'll be fine. I called her a few days ago and made sure of it."

"If you say so, Tío."

Not long after Janus settled in the living room on the couch with Remus, Virgil arrived. Roman recognized the familiar sound of his aunt's beat-up car stopping in the driveway. Roman got up from the other loveseat as he heard Virgil knock instead of just coming in. He also had a spare key to the Berrys' household, especially because of his uncle. After a particularly gruesome accident, Patton and Logan made sure he knew he was welcome to come over whenever he needed to so he could be safe.

He tended to come over a lot, but he always knocked anyway.

Roman opened the door as Virgil and his aunt waved goodbye to each other.

"What's up, Princey?" Virgil greeted Roman, fidgeting with his sleeves.

"Come in, Emo. Janus beat you here," he said, stepping aside so Virgil could walk in.

They both went to the living room, Roman sitting back on his designated loveseat and Virgil sitting next to Janus. The quartet of friends chatted away as the dads waited a few minutes for them to catch up a little.

"Okay, everyone. We're going to have dinner at the bowling alley and do some bowling. Then, we'll come back here and watch Hamilton. Then it's off to bed," Patton shared the plan he and Logan mapped out the night before after the twins had gone to bed.

"Virgil, do you feel up to bowling?" Logan asked the nervous kid calmly.

Virgil shook his head and muttered, "Sorry, but no."

"It's alright, Virgil. I can stay here with you while the others go," Logan reassured him.

Virgil gave a small smile.

"Alright. That means cake happens after bowling. Everyone going, get ready and head to the Fun Mobile," Patton instructed.

The Fun Mobile was just Patton's name for the family SUV. It was blue and had a built-in, small, squarish TV for when they did road trips.

Remus, Roman, Janus, and Patton all got ready while Virgil and Logan just chilled in the living room. Logan picked up the book he'd been reading, and Virgil watched YouTube on his phone. He used his large headphones that usually rested on his neck. Patton went over to his husband and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"Bye, honey! Bye, Virgil! Love you both!" Patton called as he left, car keys in hand.

"Love you too, darling!" Logan called back to his husband.

Virgil hummed in acknowledgement, pausing his video and watching Patton leave before going back to his video again.

The twins left next, shouting, "Bye Mom! See ya later, Emo!"

Then came Janus, clipping on a pocketknife attached to their key chain. It clipped into their pretty yellow and black long skirt that they wore, complete with pockets and belt loops.

"Adiós, perdedores!" Janus yelled as they left, locking the door behind them.

Virgil rolled his eyes at his friends as they all left. Logan smiled slightly as he read his book. Whether he'd ever admit it or not, he adored the mismatched family he ended up with. They were all he'd hoped for as a kid. Kid Logan would've been so proud and happy for Adult Logan. Not only did he have an empathetic and considerate husband, but he also had kids he could help give a good life to. The kind of life he wanted as a kid, the kind of life he'd been deprived of before he met Patton.

Logan and Virgil sat in comfortable, introverted silence as they heard the Fun Mobile leave the driveway and drive off to the bowling alley near the neighborhood.

>>> Time Skip brought to you by 'this would have been over 10k words if I didn't stop myself' <<<

As soon as Patton and the kids arrived at Marley's Bowling Alley, Janus couldn't stop the sly smirk on their face. They were really excited to kick Roman's ass. Remus couldn't stop bouncing, very much a lover of bowling. Roman couldn't stop plotting ways to beat Janus. I mean, someone had to humble them.

They went in, found a place to sit, and went over what the Alley had for food options. Luckily, the owner (who was Marley themself) was a known vegan and made sure to have plenty of inclusive options for people like them and Remus. After figuring out food, Patton went over to order, mentioning to the workers that it was the twins' birthday. Since Marley was Patton's step-parent, one of the workers called them and told them to come down to wish their grandsons a happy birthday. The worker, whose name was Maria, told Patton that they'd be there soon. Patton thanked her and headed back to his family's table. Janus and the twins chatted away, something about making bets to see who a better bowler between and Roman Janus was.

"I'm just saying that I've had a lot more experience because of mi mamá. She taught me things not even her bowling league knew," Janus gloated as Roman rolled his eyes.

"Well, I'm me, so obviously I'd win," Roman retorted.

"Is that really the best you got, prededor? 'I'm me'?"

"Oh, I've got better things, but it'd make you quiver in your unoriginal, ugly little heeled boots."

"Jealous cause I got style?"

"Piss off, Janus."

"Oooh, I'm shaking in my designer clothing."

"It's only 'designer' cause your bowler mom makes good clothes now as a fashion designer for that one brand."

"You say that as if she wasn't the one to give you and Remus those special suits for your papá's job's family dinner party last month."

"Tell her we said thank you, by the way."

"I will. Anyway--"

They were interrupted by Remus' loud, excited gasp and Patton's "yay!" as the door to the bowling alley opened. Marley walked in with their cane, dressed in cozy but stylish clothing. Janus and Roman both flinched slightly at the sudden loud noise, but Roman beamed as he saw his grandparent walk over to the table.

"Oh, it's my favourite birthday boys! Happy birthday, kiddos," Marley greeted their grandsons as Remus jumped up and hugged them.

Roman followed suit and hugged Marley.

"Hi, Marley!" Roman said excitedly.

"Grandpea!" Remus exclaimed.

Marley smiled, hugging the twins back with one arm. After a little bit, they all separated from the embrace. Marley turned around and hugged Patton, patting him on the back.

"Hey, son. How've you been? How's Logan?" Marley asked as they hugged.

Patton laughed, "We're doing good, Mar. How's Mom?"

"Oh, she's doing good. Still kicking, somehow."

"That's good."

"Maria told me the twins came to the bowling alley for their birthday, so I just had to come over. I also brought presents."

Patton and Marley left their embrace. Marley pulled out two gift bags, seemingly out of thin air. One was red and gold themed, the other was green and silver. They set the presents on the table as the twins huddled around it, excitedly examining their own gift bags full of presents.

"These are for us?" Roman asked in disbelief.

"Of course! You're family, aren't ya?" Marley answered.

"Really? It's not... not a joke?" Remus didn't quite believe his grandparent.

"Really, it's not," Marley said, raising a concerned eyebrow at the twins.

Tears gathered in both of the boys' eyes as they stared at the gifts. They weren't sure they believed it. Nice presents, for both of them? They'd never gotten any presents before, let alone their own. Patton quickly noticed the boys tearing up and rushed over to them, putting a hand on each of their arms and rubbing them. He hugged his boys like that.

"Hey, it's okay. What's wrong?" he asked softly.

Remus and Roman gave a quick look to each other before turning around and hugging Patton back, burying their now crying faces in him. Patton hugged the twins tighter.

"Oh, it's alright. You're okay, kiddos," he reassured his sons.

Marley walked over and put a hand on Patton's shoulder. Patton glanced back at Marley as he comforted his sons. Marley gave a nod, and Patton slowly let go of the twins. He kissed the tops of their heads as they wiped their tears away and sniffled, looking down. Marley let go of Patton and embraced the twins, grunting as they hugged them tightly back. They three stayed like that for a few moments, Patton standing to the side and slightly smiling at the heart-warming sight. Janus simply sat in their seat, watching helplessly. They struggled with empathy sometimes and weren't very good at comforting others, even though they really wished they knew how so that they could be a 'better friend' (their words).

"Alright, kiddos. Ya feeling better? Feeling up to opening presents before food gets done?" Marley asked after a little bit.

The twins nodded, and them three left their embrace. They sat down by Janus as Marley sat down by Remus. Patton sat next to Marley, taking out his phone to get pictures for Logan. The boys wore smiles now as they both grabbed and slid their gift bags towards themselves. Patton took plenty of pictures as the boys excitedly opened their presents and took things out of the bags. They would show Patton what they got, and Patton would take pictures of it.

Remus got a few more hoodies, some art supplies, a fidget toy, and a Rubex Cube. He was surprised by the Rubex Cube, but decided to give it a try. He slowly moved it around, focusing hard on getting it right. Patton took a video. As Roman organized his presents back into his bag, Remus managed to solve the cube most of the way pretty quickly. He showed this to Patton, who chuckled and gave a thumbs up. He noticed the phone pointed at him and excitedly showed what he did to the camera.

"Hey, record time, Bud. Maybe even faster than Logan," he said as he recorded.

"Hear that, Mom? I'm better than you!" Remus exclaimed to the camera, waving the Rubex Cube.

Patton laughed and Marley chuckled, shaking their head affectionately. Remus was a lot smarter than people gave him credit for, and a lot more than he let on. Patton switched over to Roman.

"Hey, Ro. Show Logan what you got," Patton said, vaguely gesturing to the camera.

Roman reached into his bag, pulling out a present from the top. He didn't want to undo his organized stuff when he literally just did it. Roman got some hoodies as well, notebooks and pens, a fidget toy, and a book. He held up the book, which was about different writing tips and exercises to help with any creative blocks a person could have. He beamed as he showed it, thrilled to use it soon, since he was already facing creative blocks with one of his stories.

"Oooh, a book? What's it about, Ro?" Patton urged him.

"It's about things to help me write. There are tips and exercises and stuff!" Roman exclaimed excitedly at the camera.

"Neato, kiddo."

Patton turned the camera to Janus, who'd been quietly conversing with Marley.

"Hey, Janus, what's it like being the only one with style in your friend group?" Marley asked them.

"It's like being the ringleader to a trio of middle school heteros, even though none of us are hetero," Janus told them, humour evident in their eyes.

"Oh, I hear ya. Back when Patton was a little kid, his mom and I took him to a barn dance-party the community put together for the kids. When I say most of the other parents were obviously heteros, I mean it. No style within a 50-mile radius."

"Ah, a farmer's community, then?"

"You have no idea. I was one of the only two nonbinary folks that went to the church, and she was this much older demi-woman who only went for the lunch served afterwards."

"Sounds like she knew the best part."

"Ha! Oh, they did. They taught me how to style good with the church dress code, too. A real smart one. She always knew how to tell off the 'phobes, and it was darn funny every time."

Janus caught a glimpse of Patton recording them, and they did a dramatic hair flip though they didn't have long hair.

"I see you've taken notice of the stylish people," Janus commented dramatically.

Patton giggled and pointed the camera at Marley, who copied Janus (though they had no hair at all, just a pretty hat).

"Okay, okay, I get it. You're both good-looking," Patton teased.

"Darn right," Marley commented, smiling at their son.

As Patton stopped the recording, Maria came over with all of the family's food. She set it all down and greeted her boss.

"Hey Marley, how you doing?" Maria asked politely.

"Oh, doing well, Maria. How's your kid doing? Still causing trouble?" Marley replied.

"She's doing alright. Still a bit stubborn, but eh."

"I see where she gets it from."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Marley chuckled at that.

"Thanks for the food, Maria," Patton said.

"Yeah, thanks for the food!" Roman copied.

"Thank you!" Remus repeated.

"Oh, anytime, boys. Happy Birthday," Maria said as she walked away.

Everyone grew silent and idle as they all ate, including Marley who stole a few bits of lettuce from their son. The bowling alley's weird music played in the background and there were sounds of bowling balls hitting pins from the other couple of groups that were there. It was kind of nice, just spending time with loving family.

That, and Janus' and Roman's bet were in the forefront of their minds.

And Roman honestly believed he'd best Janus.

>>> Time Skip brought to you by 'this is longer than an average chapter length of a novel by now and I'm a little scared it might never end' <<<

Roman was wrong.

He'd severely underestimated his friend, all thanks to his ego that liked to pop up every so often. And every time it popped up? It got bested.

Usually by Janus.

Janus smirked as they looked up at the scoreboard. They were first place, yet again, and Roman was placed in third. Remus was second. Patton wasn't playing that round, simply sitting in one of the seats and watching the kids play instead. Marley had left a little bit after food, since they got tired easily. Roman groaned as he got another gutter ball.

"Told you I was better~" Janus taunted him.

"Oh, shut it, Reptile Rapscallion," Roman grumbled.

"Aw, is el principito losing?"

"Shut up, don't call me that."

Janus snorted unintentionally. Their smirk fell, and they averted their eyes from Roman. They felt bad for a moment, not meaning to sound rude. They remained silent, respecting Roman's words.

Usually Logan would call Roman that, since Logan knew some Spanish. So, Roman didn't really like it when other people said it.

Roman also knew Janus hadn't meant to make him feel uncomfortable, or even snort at his boundaries. He knew Janus well enough to know they weren't ever intentionally mean.

As the round ended, both Remus and Janus beat Roman. Remus won his way into second and Janus came in first place, which left Roman in last. Janus and Remus chuckled lightly at Roman's slightly defeated look. He pouted.

"That's not fair," he whined, crossing his arms. "I should've used 'birthday rights' on you."

Remus snorted at his brother.

"But you didn't. And you still would've had to beat me, bro," Remus commented.

"I would've defeated you easily," Roman retorted.

"Nuh uh."

"Yeah huh."

"Nuh uh--"

"Boys, it's fine. We can always play another round, if it's not too late," Patton ended their sibling bicker.

"Besides, you owe me five bucks anyway," Janus said, smirking.

"Fine, I'll give it to you when we get back then," Roman sighed dramatically.

"Well, that was easier than usual. You good there, Ro?" Remus asked, knowing his brother usually wouldn't back down so quickly unless something was off.

"Just a little tired," Roman mumbled, uncrossing his arms and rubbing one of his eyes.

"Well, maybe we should go back home? We still have cake and Hamilton, after all," Patton suggested.

Roman was immediately a bit more awake as soon as he heard something about Hamilton.

"Can we go now, then? Can we, can we?" Roman was now a bit bouncier.

"Oh yeah, can we?" Remus joined, almost forgetting about the musical.

"Yes, yes. Come on, let's go, kiddos," Patton said, getting up from his seat and grabbing the car keys from his pocket.

They all returned their bowling shoes and waved goodbye to Maria, who wished the twins another happy birthday. They left, getting in the Fun Mobile as Patton started it up.

As they drove off back to the house, the twins held small smiles on their faces as they watched the bowling alley disappear slowly in the distance.

>>> Time Skip brought to you by Oat being lazy yet again <<<

After getting back to the house and stopping the car, the twins grabbed their gift bags from Marley. They almost ran into the house as Patton unlocked the door, and Janus trailed behind the energetic birthday boys. The boys set their bags on the table and walked to the living room, seeing what Virgil and Logan had been up to while everyone else was gone. Logan sat next to Virgil on the couch, almost finished with his book. Virgil leaned against his arm, watching something on his phone. The sight brought a smile to Patton's face as he walked in behind the boys. Janus smiled slightly, glad to see Virgil comfortable with an adult that wasn't his aunt.

Sure, he knew he was safe with the Berrys, but it took a lot for him to get comfortable around someone. Janus had been his friend for years, even before they'd met the twins. Even then, he still was a bit closed off with a few things with Remus and Roman.

So, seeing him physically comfortable around Logan like that? It was a pretty good improvement on Virgil's part, and Janus couldn't be prouder of him.

Virgil only ever leaned on those he trusted, both literally and figuratively.

"Hey boys, having fun?" Patton asked with a smile.

Virgil immediately tensed at the sudden voice and looked up, but he relaxed again when he saw it was only Patton and the rest of the gang. He pulled back a headphone to rest behind his ear, nodding silently.

"Oh, hello, my dear. Yes, we're doing fine," Logan said, looking up from his book briefly at the sound of his husband's voice.

"That's good," Patton commented, sitting down on the loveseat where Logan usually sat. "The twins have some things to show you."

Logan bookmarked his book and set it down.

"Oh?" he said.

The twins quickly grabbed their bags and headed back into the living room. Roman sat in the other loveseat while Remus sat on the floor in front of him. Janus walked calmly to the couch and sat near Virgil, who flashed a smile at them. Janus returned a smile, a silent acknowledgement of Virgil being okay.

"Look, look!" Roman said as he pulled out the book he'd showed Patton earlier.

Logan couldn't help but smile at Roman's excitement about the book. It reminded him of himself when he was younger, back when all he had was the books in his little room. The adventures he had with the hardbacks on his shelves; those nice memories flooded into his mind for a moment as he looked at his son.

"See, it's a book! I'm really excited to read it. It's gonna help me with writing and stuff!" Roman said, showing Logan the cover.

Patton held in a snort, thinking about how much Roman acted like Logan when it came to books.

"That's pretty cool, Roman," Logan commented, making Roman smile wider.

"Thanks, Mama. Oh, and I got some hoodies!" Roman said, putting the book aside and grabbing a hoodie to show Logan.

Logan smiled at his son as he excitedly showed him his hoodies.

Then, Remus decided it was his turn to show the gifts he got, practically bouncing in his seat.

"Hey, hey Mom! Look what I got!" Remus exclaimed, showing his mostly-solved Rubex Cube.

Logan turned his attention to his other son. His eyes slightly widened at the sight of the Rubex Cube, and he just couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

"I got a cube puzzle! And look, I almost solved it," Remus said as he waved the cube in his hand.

"Very smart of you, Remus," Logan responded, fondness and pride filling his chest.

Like I said, Remus was a lot smarter than people thought. And Logan? Well, he always felt pride when Remus would show his intellect.

Remus blushed lightly at the praise; his smile unable to fall from his face.

"I took a video of it. He solved it pretty fast. Almost better than you, Lo," Patton said.

Logan raised an eyebrow at his husband.

"Oh yeah? Show me," Logan was intrigued to see his son's intellect in action.

"Later," Patton replied.

Logan rolled his eyes playfully, focusing his attention back to Remus.

"What else did you get?" Logan urged him to show his other presents.

"Oh! I also got a fidget thingy," Remus set his cube to the side and showed the fidget toy to Logan.

Janus and Virgil sat quietly on the couch, watching their friends show off their presents. Janus was glad the twins were able to be excited for once, holding a slight smile on their face. Virgil still leaned against Logan's arm, listening to music as background noise to help keep his mind quiet. He held Janus' hand, the small physical comfort reminding him that he was in a safe place. Sometimes his anxiety clawed at him at the weirdest times, like when he was safe without any danger present. And when that happened, small physical contact helped along with music.

Janus rubbed Virgil's knuckles as Roman and Remus rambled on about their gifts to Logan.

It was a nice moment, and it felt peaceful. And peaceful it stayed, at least for the twins' birthday.

But that's not important right now.

>>> Time Skip brought to you by 'I lied! This is getting a bit too close to 10k and I can't stop' <<<

After the twins finished showing their gifts to Logan and put them away again, Patton told everyone to grab a paper plate and a fork from the counter. After they all had their utensils, Patton brought out the cake and set it on the coffee table. Everyone was sat at their previous spots. Patton put number candles on the cake, the number 15 remaining unlit. The twins gazed and awed at the decently-sized, marble cake. It was a bit bigger than they'd imagine cake would be.

"Woah, is that for us?" Remus asked.

"Yeah," Patton said.

Roman simply stared at the cake, a tingly and guilty feeling rising in his chest. Remus seemed to be feeling the same. They looked at each other for a moment, then back to the cake. They felt a little sick, old memories of forcibly limited food clawing at their minds. Janus seemed to notice, as well as Virgil and the dads. The dads shared a confused look as Janus and Virgil moved over to the twins. Janus sat on the floor next to Remus. Virgil sat next to Roman, plopping down on an arm of the loveseat. He leaned against Roman, giving silent comfort as Roman leaned on him. Janus grabbed Remus' hand, giving him a light and reassuring squeeze.

"Well, you're obviously sharing," Janus said sarcastically, which seemed to ease the twins a little.

The dads noticed the comfort being given and figured the twins were worried. They didn't push the twins to talk about it. Patton's face lit up as he remembered something.

"Lo, remember that thing we got for the twins?" Patton whispered to Logan, the twins perking up at the sound of a possible surprise.

"Which-- oh. Yes, I do," Logan whispered back to him, starting to smirk.

"I think now's a good time, don't you?"

"Yeah. I'll go get it."

Logan got up and walked up the stairs to his and Patton's room, grabbing a pleasant surprise for his sons. After a few minutes, Logan came back downstairs with a laptop in hand. He sat down in his spot, turned it on, and faced it towards the kids. Patton sat down next to Logan, and the both of them couldn't help but smirk.

Then, a video call popped up, showing a pair of friends. The twins' eyes widened and they both smiled, seeing their online friends on the screen.

"Wassup, babes!" greeted Remy, sipping an iced latte from Starbucks.

"Hi ReRo!" greeted Emile, who waved excitedly at the twins.

Emile always had nicknames for groups of people, and he dubbed the twins 'ReRo' almost a week after they'd all met.

The twins gaped and remained speechless at their surprise. They hadn't seen Emile or Remy in a long while, due to recent time zone changes since the pair of friends had recently moved states (again). Janus smiled at the sight of their other friends, and Virgil smirked as he gave a small wave hello.

The twins forgot about their unpleasant memories momentarily, happy to see their long-distance friends again.

"Emmy! Remy! We haven't seen you in a while," Roman exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's a been a bit for sure," Emile said.

"No duh," Remy commented.

"Where did you even move to?" Remus asked.

"Closer, actually. A lot closer," Emile said.

Remy smirked as they sipped more of their Starbucks.

"What do you mean, 'a lot closer'?" Roman asked as a small shard of hope sprung up in his chest.

"Open the door, babes!" Remy said as she pushes up on her sunglasses.

The twins stared in disbelief. They looked to Patton and Logan.

"No way," Remus gasped.

Patton nodded his head.

"Oh my stars, really?" Roman said, and Logan nodded his head this time.

Janus and Virgil sat there, processing what that meant. Their faces lit up as they realized what was happening. Janus smiled, their heart pounding with anticipation. Virgil smiled bigger than he usually did, muttering a "holy shit" under his breath.

The twins got up and raced to the front door as Janus and Virgil trailed behind them. Logan shut down the computer as the video call ended, putting it on the couch as he and Patton got up. They walked over to the kids, wanting to see their reactions.

Roman unlocked and opened the door, bouncing on his feet. He gasped loudly as he saw Emile and Remy right in front of him, in real life. Remus stood next to him and gaped. They both lurched forward. Remus hugged Emile tightly, and Roman embraced Remy as well. Remy grunted at the sudden hug but smiled nonetheless, hugging back awkwardly with the hand that wasn't holding their Starbucks. Emile hugged Remus back as tightly Remus hugged him. The twins felt joyful tears gather in their eyes, and so did Emile and Remy.

Janus and Virgil stood there in half-disbelief, tears also gathering in their eyes.

Needless to say, all of the kids were getting a bit tearful, and so were the dads who stood behind them and watched with warm hearts. Patton brought out his phone and took a video, wanting to scrapbook this memory forever. Logan smiled slightly, happy to see the kids happy.

Emile noticed Janus and Virgil standing there and gestured to them to join in. Virgil immediately pulled off his headphones and placed them on his neck, nearing running to embrace Emile. Emile opened an arm and hugged right back as Virgil practically crashed himself into him. Janus walked over to Remy and hugged him, burying their face in his shoulder as Remy opened his Starbucks arm and hugged back with it.

Patton nearly squealed at the cuteness, and Logan quickly wiped the few tears the went down his face.

He muttered something about, "Only you and the twins can make me cry like this."

This birthday truly was a great one.

>>> Time Skip brought to you by 'It's over 10k by now because I gave up and just kept writing like freaking Hamilton' <<<

After the tearful and joyful embrace, everyone separated and moved to the living room, the cake waiting for them. Janus, Virgil, and Patton sat on the couch. Roman sat in his loveseat, and Logan sat in his. Remy and Emile sat in front of the couch by Janus and Virgil. Remus sat in front of Roman. Patton passed two more plates and forks to Remy and Emile.

Patton stood up, grabbing a small lighter and lit the candles. He then pocketed the lighter and grabbed a cake knife to cut the cake with, setting it carefully next to the cake. Now that they could see without their minds trying to ruin their day, the twins noticed words drawn in coloured frosting on top of the cake below the candles. Happy Birthday, my beautiful sons, it read. Patton sat back down as he noticed the twins staring at the writing.

"Lo and I both picked out the writing," he said, smiling at his sons. "We planned ahead the day before after you two went to bed."

Logan blush slightly, embarrassed that he was exposed for being a bit cheesy. Still, he nodded along to what Patton said. He looked at his boys for a moment, seeing their unmistakable bright smiles on their faces. Their eyes got a little glassy, but not enough for tears to form. He smiled to himself, knowing no matter what he tried, he just couldn't hold it in when it came to the twins.

His family was his heart's weak spot.

"Do you guys like it?" Logan asked the twins.

The twins looked up at Logan and nodded vigorously. Patton smiled softly at the sight.

"Okay, everyone. Now's time for the song," Patton announced as the fire on the candles danced.

The twins looked confused for a moment, and Emile seemed to have noticed quickly.

"Have you guys never heard the birthday song before?" he asked.

The twins shared a puzzled looked before looking back at Emile.

"Um, no??" Roman answered.

"Well then, we must fix that! It's very important for birthdays," Emile said, giving a sympathetic smile.

"Okay, everybody!" Patton started.

And everyone, excluding the twins, started singing.

Well, Logan spoke the words instead of singing, but that's not the point.

Roman and Remus sat in awe as they heard the nice song, sung specifically for them. They almost felt overwhelmed with all of the love they felt in that moment, hearing their dads and all of their friends wish them a happy birthday like they were in a musical. Their hearts swelled, and they both felt a little surreal. It was surreal for them to be in a safe space, to be with loving and honest people. It was surreal to have a happy birthday. It was surreal to celebrate their birthday away from the orphanage.

It was their first time being away from the orphanage for so long.

It'd been six months, and as their found family sung to them, it finally hit them that they weren't going back. They weren't being abandoned again.

They were finally home.

Of course, this made both of them cry silently as the song ended.

Their family and friends noticed their tears, and noticed how they held comforting hands. Patton gave a sympathetic smile, opening his arms a little bit to welcome any needed hugs. Logan gave a slight smile, concern clear on his face. Their friends stared with varying faces of sympathy and worry.

Remus immediately let go of Roman and ran into Patton's arms, hugging tightly. Patton hugged back, just as tight, and rubbed soothing circles on Remus' back. Remus whined, burying his face in Patton's shoulder. Roman quickly got up and went over to Logan, making grabby hands towards him. Logan nodded and opened his arms for his son. Roman embraced him and Logan held him tightly. Roman placed his forehead on Logan's neck, snuggling into him. Logan kissed the top of his head.

"Are you two alright, principito?" Logan asked softly.

Roman smiled softly at the endearing nickname that he let only Logan call him. He nodded slightly into Logan, and Remus did the same with Patton.

"Overwhelmed," Remus muttered into Patton's shoulder.

"By what, Kiddo?" Patton inquired softly.

"Feels like home. You guys feel safe," Roman mumbled, and Remus nodded along to his words.

Patton's heart soared hearing that, and he wanted to cry. And he did. Joyous tears slid down his face as he planted a loving kiss on top of Remus' head. Remus felt a few of Patton's tears fall on his head, and he gripped Patton as an attempt to ground his dad. Patton weakly smiled, though unseen since he hid his face on Remus' head. Logan felt himself start to cry as his heart squeezed at his son's words. You guys feel safe, Roman's voice echoed in Logan's mind. It was everything he'd hoped to give to the twins, and he succeeded in that. The twins felt safe with them, felt at home with them. He'd managed to give the twins the one thing he never got as a child: a safe and loving home. Of course, since it was the twins, he got a little emotional.

Roman noticed Logan's tears, as well as Patton hiding himself in Remus. He felt worry creep up from his gut to his chest. He grabbed Logan's forearm as Logan kissed his head again.

"Mama?" Roman's voice gave away his concern.

Logan hummed, acknowledging that he heard Roman.

"Are you and Padre okay?" Roman absentmindedly started rubbing Logan's forearm to comfort him.

Logan smiled at him with a fond look in his glassy eyes.

"Yes, principito. Just glad you feel at home. It's all I ever wanted for you, to feel safe," Logan explained softly, knowing if he spoke any louder then his voice might crack.

"'m so happy you feel safe here," Patton muttered quietly.

Janus, Virgil, Remy, and Emile all smiled fondly (in their own ways) at the nice, heartfelt moment. The twins deserved this, at the bare minimum. They deserved to be happy and safe, and their friends were glad that they finally were.

The happy, tearful moment lasted for a little longer before Remy broke the comfortable silence.

"Okay, this is sweet and all, but I want cake," they said, sipping their Starbucks drink for the millionth time in the last hour.

Roman snickered at Remy, and Remus snorted in laughter. The pair of dads smiled at the sound of their sons' laughter, and Patton lightly chuckled.

"Alright, alright. Give me a minute, and I'll cut the cake," Patton said.

Remy muttered a dramatic "finally" as Patton carefully separated Remus from himself and got up to cut the cake.

The twins had found such a loving family, hadn't they?

>>> Time Skip brought to you by Oat getting emotional over their own writing <<<

After cake was passed out to everyone and the twins had their first bites (per birthday traditions), Patton put on Hamilton and sat back down in his spot with his own slice of cake. The cake was a swirling mix of chocolate and vanilla in a marble design, just as had been discussed the day before. It had buttercream frosting, dyed red and green (which were the twins' favourite colours). There was even buttercream filling, since it was a two-layered cake.

Remus was eating his slice a bit carefully, trying not to make a mess on his paper plate. He wanted to consume every last bit of his cake, which included the tiny smears of frosting on the plate. His lips were almost stained red and green.

Roman, on the other hand, didn't care whether or not he was being messy. He happily chomped on his cake slice, frosting on his face. There was even some frosting on his nose, somehow. He kept licking his fork every time he ate a slice as to get all of the frosting he could.

Virgil snickered at the twins, which caught Roman's attention. Roman raised an eyebrow at his friend.

"What?" he said, still chomping on some of his cake.

"How are you the messy twin?" Virgil asked, still snickering.

Roman finished his bite of cake and swallowed it.

"Oh, ha ha, My Chemically Imbalanced Bromance. I am the cleaner twin," Roman retorted playfully.

"Then explain why Remus has hardly any mess on his face and you do," Virgil smirked.

Roman looked over at his brother as Hamilton started playing its beginning scenes. Virgil was right; Remus had hardly any frosting or cake crumbs on his face. Remus looked at him as he finished a bite of cake.

"What?" he said, confused as to why both Virgil and Roman were looking at him.

"Nothing..." Roman muttered.

Remus shrugged and turned his attention back to the TV.

Roman and Virgil followed suit, watching intently as the first song came on. Roman tried to fight the urge to sing along, but alas, he was weak for musicals.

And Remus joined in as soon he heard his brother singing along.

The dads smiled as they watched their sons sing along to the musical. Virgil rolled his eyes playfully as Emile enthusiastically joined in. Janus snorted at their friends, amused. Remy simply sipped her Starbucks while a small smile tugged on her face.

All in all, they were having a good time. The twins were having a good birthday. Finally.

They were surrounded by all of the safe and loving people in their life.

They couldn't ask for anything more.

>>> Time Skip brought to you by 'I gave up near the end. Sorry folks' <<<

After Hamilton was over and the TV had been turned off, everyone got up and threw away their paper plates and plastic utensils. Emile, Remy, and Janus all had their own pajamas in overnight bags. Patton put what little cake was left in the fridge as the three friends went in separate rooms to change. Logan went into the kitchen with Patton as the twins got up and went to their room to take turns changing.

Roman changed first, changing into a pair of red pajama pants and a Disney shirt (specifically a Mulan one with Mushu on it). Then he left the room to give Remus his space, silently reminding him to take off his binder for bedtime. Remus reluctantly took off his binder, thankful his dysphoria was a bit better than it'd been earlier. He managed as he put on an oversized, forest-green hoodie and a pair of grey sweatpants. He took a deep breath, calming his mind down a little bit. He opened the door, signaling he was done. The twins went back downstairs.

The kids were all having a slumber party in the living room. The coffee table had been moved to make space. The furniture was moved back a little bit to also help with space.

Janus had already claimed a loveseat to curl up on, which had been the one Logan usually sat in. They wore black sweatpants and a cozy-looking, snake-themed yellow sweater. They had a couple blankets with them, probably from their house. Emile had taken the other loveseat along with Remy, even though it wasn't quite big enough for the two of them. They were practically attached at the hip, being so close as friends that they were basically siblings. Emile wore baby blue pajama short with clouds on them and a pastel Winnie the Pooh shirt. Curled up with Emile was Remy, a coffee bean themed, big fluffy blanket draped over the two of them. It was most likely Remy's, but no one knew for sure. Those two always shared blankets. Anyway, Remy wore dark fleece pajama pants and a comfy, dark brown sweater with the words 'Wake me up when the Sun implodes' on it in black font. He was practically already asleep, leaning on Emile and snuggling into him. Remy had always struggled a lot with insomnia, so it was nice to see them sleeping for once.

Emile took their sunglasses when he noticed them sleeping. He kissed her forehead as Remy smiled in her sleep. The lights were dimmed and dark enough for Remy not to be disturbed by any bright light. Emile smiled at the sight of his sleeping friend. He turned his attention to the twins as they entered the living room. Virgil sat at the foot of the loveseat where Janus sat, still not in pajamas. He hadn't brought any. To be honest, sometimes they all wondered if he had any at all. Considering his home situation, they wouldn't have been surprised.

The twins took the couch, which folded out into a bed. The bed had already been put out, so the twins simply sat on it. They put their own blankets on themselves; Roman has a red and white one, and Remus has a green and black one. As Patton and Logan came over to wish the kids a good night, and they both noticed Virgil in his street clothes. He held a sleeping bag tightly in his arms.

Patton wore a look of concern. Logan felt a pang of familiarity and recognition at the sight of Virgil with a lack of pajamas. It reminded him a little bit of when he was younger, growing up in an unstable and poor household. Logan kept calm as he went over to Virgil and sat in front of him on his knees. He gave him plenty of space, not wanting to make him feel trapped.

"Do you have any pajamas with you, Virgil?" Logan asked softly.

Virgil slowly shook his head, feeling a little embarrassed.

"That's okay. Do you want to borrow something?" Logan said.

Virgil felt a little better hearing that. Logan hadn't made him feel bad for the lack of pajamas, and that felt relieving. Virgil nodded his head. Logan gave a soft smile, slowly standing up and extending a hand to Virgil. The emo kid took it, keeping his sleeping bag hooked under his other arm. Patton gave a kind smile as Logan passed the child off to him. Patton put a gentle hand on his shoulder as he and Virgil went upstairs.

"I have some spare purple 'jamas. You want shorts or pants?" Patton asked as they disappeared upstairs.

Logan waited for a little bit for Patton and Virgil to come back. After a few minutes, they came back down. Patton went over to Logan as Virgil came down the steps, still carrying his sleeping bag. Virgil now wore a pair of comfy violet pajama pants and a Nightmare Before Christmas hoodie. The hoodie was a bit baggy on him, but it was comfy nonetheless. Patton smiled at him.

"Comfy now, Kiddo?" Patton asked.

"Yeah, thanks for the clothes," Virgil mumbled.

"No problem. Anytime, little Nightmare. When ya want your clothes in the morning, just knock on our door and I'll let ya in to grab them."

"Okay."

"Oh, and do you want an extra blanket? We have so many."

"You've already done a lot, though. I don't mind just the sleeping bag."

"It's no problem, really, Virgil."

"Um, sure then, I guess."

"'Mkay."

Patton went over to a storage closet briefly and got a couple of blankets. He came back and gave Virgil the blankets. They were generic black and purple blankets, made with soft and cozy fabric. Virgil smiled at he took them, muttering a quick "thank you" before going back to his previous spot. He set up his sleeping bag and the blankets as the dads went around the room, wishing them all a good night. Virgil finished setting up, getting in his sleeping bag, and used one of the blankets as a folded-up pillow. Patton and Logan tucked in Emile and Remy, then wished Janus a "good night", and then went to Virgil. Patton bent down and softly brushed Virgil's hair out of his face as he curled up. Patton planted a soft kiss on his forehead. Both Logan and him wished him a "good night", and Virgil gave his signature soft sleepy smile.

"Thank you for being a safe place," Virgil muttered as he closed his eyes, sighing calmly.

Patton's heart warmed at that, and Logan's heart clenched as he heard those words. Logan smiled as his words echoed in his head. A safe place. Logan hummed softly.

"Anytime, Virgil. Sleep well," he muttered to Virgil.

The dads moved on to their sons. The boys were cuddled up under their own blankets, laying on their sides. They faced away from each other. The dads smiled at their sons.

"Good night, boys. I love you," Patton spoke, kissing each of their foreheads.

The boys each leaned into Patton's affection before he pulled away.

"Love you, mis hijos. Sleep well," Logan muttered to his son's as he tucked them in.

The twins smiled as they closed their tired eyes, each muttering a, "Love you too, Dad, Mama."

The dads felt their hearts warmed again as they left to go upstairs. They took one last look back as the kids all tried sleeping. Then, they turned to the stairs and went up to bed.

The twins slept soundly, smiles on their faces as their birthday concluded nicely.

The twins had a great birthday, surrounded by love and comfort. They couldn't have asked for anything more.

And, for once in their troubled lives, they felt at peace on their birthday.

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