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i-am-bella-donna · 3 years ago

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Beautiful Trash Fire Chapter 2: Friendship

TS Winter Fic Exchange 2021–2022

AO3 | Previous Chapter

Story Summary:

Remus and Janus were ecstatic. After hours of preparation, their masterpiece was finally complete! It was a culmination of time and patience; a creation that was truly magnificent.

“You guys said you had a good idea! This is the exact opposite of a good idea!”

Apparently, Virgil disagreed.

Pairings: Platonic Anxceit, Platonic Dukexiety, Platonic Dukeceit

Word Count: 3,537

CONTENT WARNINGS: ARGUING, FIRE

~~~

Virgil facepalmed so loudly, it echoed throughout the room.

“Of course, I forgot the most obvious thing—” he groaned, his ears turning a bright shade of scarlet. “God, I am such an idiot!”

“Don’t say that!” Janus and Patton exclaimed in unison, the statement of self-deprecation snapping them both from their respective stupors. This was immediately followed by twin looks of surprise, the pair staring at one another as though the other had grown a second butt. Remus snorted at the ridiculousness of the situation.

Roman gave Virgil a flat look. “Firstly, quit talking bad about yourself, Scaramore,” he ordered, hands on his hips and disapproval in his expression. “Appreciate yourself, or dear Padre and I will make you appreciate yourself.”

“I can help!” Remus cheered, summoning his morning star and raising it with a bright grin.

Roman glared at him. “Shut it, Green Day,” he snapped before turning his attention back to Virgil. “But my annoying brother brings me to my second point. What are he and Deceit doing here? Do you need me to fight them?” Without waiting for a response, he summoned his sword, adopting a defensive stance.

“Oh, Virgin could definitely fight me himself—”

“Not the time, Remus!” Virgil cut him off with a snarl. Remus shrank back slightly at the sudden echo in his voice, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Janus had done the same. The Light Sides, meanwhile, all watched Virgil with varying degrees of surprise and weariness. Virgil faltered, surveying everyone around him and self-consciously tugging at the strings of his hoodie. “I—shit. Sorry about—”

Patton spoke up before Virgil could even finish his apology. “Don’t worry about it, Kiddo! The voice was an accident!” He paused, hesitantly scratching the side of his head. “But, uh…I guess we all thought that you hated the Dark Sides?”

Virgil sighed, shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets. Remus noticed he was wearing his hoodie and eyeshadow, even with his pajamas. It was adorable. However, his petrified expression and colorless pallor were anything but. “The short version is—”

Remus decided to take mercy on him and bite the bullet. “The short version is that Dee and I used to be at odds with Anxie, but we made up a couple of months ago, and now everything is right as acid rain. And he decided to help us out because—”

“Because our thermostat broke,” Janus interjected sharply. He looked significantly less uncomfortable than before, but was still shifting his weight from foot to foot. It was barely noticeable—but then again, Remus had known him for well over two decades.

He shared a look with Virgil, who coughed awkwardly, clearly having noticed the nervous tic as well. “Yeah. The thermostat,” Remus continued, acting as though nothing had happened. “Anyway, it was super cold—which Dee and I can absolutely deal with by ourselves, but apparently our solution wasn’t good enough for Virgil—”

“You two set a literal trash fire—”

“And it was way better than hypothermia, bitch!”

Patton jolted and stood up straight. “What?” he cried out in alarm.

Before Remus could even blink, Patton was holding two thick blankets and wrapping them tightly around him and Janus. Remus found himself exchanging a surprised glance with his friend; Janus seemingly just as taken aback by the sudden act of kindness as Remus. Virgil snorted at their reactions.

“If you two thought I was bad, wait until you see Pat go into Full Dad Mode.”

Remus stuck his tongue out at Virgil, a rebuttal already forming in his mind, but was interrupted by Logan suddenly clearing his throat. “I apologize for cutting in,” Logan said. He looked unexpectedly different in his constellation-patterned pajamas. Good different, though. “I just want to make sure I am getting this right—Virgil, you and the Dark Sides are on friendly terms?”

“Yeah, Doom and Gloom!” Roman exclaimed. He looked like he had only just caught onto that piece of information. “Did you never think to mention this before?”

Any trace of Virgil’s amusement immediately vanished. “I was…afraid of how you would react,” he muttered, chewing on his lower lip. “And after what happened when Deceit met Thomas, you already thought we hated each other, so…well, we decided it would be easier to keep the facade.”

“And if any of you have a problem with our friendship—” Janus began, only for Remus to laugh and tug him to his side, effectively cutting him off.

“Quit mothering, Bananaconda!” he joked, elbowing the other in the ribs. Remus then turned back to the Light Sides, the smile slipping off his face. “But seriously—if you guys have an issue with it, I’ll fill your sinuses with vomit.”

The Light Sides all looked thoroughly disturbed by the threat, and Remus felt a small burst of pride. Logan coughed, his cheeks slightly pink. “Not to worry, Remus. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we are more confused than upset. However, if your friendship makes Virgil happy, then…I suppose that is enough.”

Patton nodded earnestly in agreement. However, Roman hesitated, resolutely keeping his eyes trained on the floor. “Well…” he murmured.

Virgil stiffened, alarmed. “Wait, wait, wait—” he began desperately. “You aren’t going to…send them back, are you?”

“What? No!” Patton exclaimed before Roman could say anything else. He leapt forward once more, wrapping an arm around Remus and Janus each. “No one is doing anything to my new children!”

Remus froze at those words, his innuendo dying on his lips and his thoughts coming to a screeching halt akin to that of a train slamming into a wall. Beside him, Janus sputtered indignantly, squirming slightly in Patton’s grasp.

“Of course not!” Roman added, utterly horrified. “I—God, no! I’m offended you would even think such a thing!” He gulped audibly before continuing in a rush, “I only meant that it’s just a little…surprising, but I promise you—no one is getting kicked out!”

Virgil relaxed, sending Roman a relieved smile that the latter tentatively returned. Patton released Remus and Janus from his grasp—thank God—and clapped his hands. “You know what? We can sort this out later!” Patton said with a bright grin. “Since Deceit and Remus are already here, I say we have a truce for tonight!”

“A truce sounds amazing!” Virgil said hurriedly, his eyes wild and a little frantic. He gestured widely to the couch. “Take a seat.”

Remus laughed, yanking Janus away from said couch and onto the carpet, their backs just a few feet away from the fireplace. Nice and toasty. “Oh, this is gonna be fun!”

Janus however, seemed less enthusiastic. He shifted, pressing slightly into Remus’s side. “I suppose…”

The Light Sides all took a seat on the couch, and Virgil followed suit, although he opted to sit on the floor with his back against Logan’s legs. Roman fidgeted in his seat, poking at a loose thread in the upholstery. “Does anyone want to…play a game?” he tried, sounding as awkward as a teenage boy on his first date. Remus fought the urge to snicker, if only to save himself a kick to the shins from Virgil.

“I, for one,” Janus began in a clear attempt to regain some of his dignity, “would like to relax and warm up by this gorgeous fire.”

“How did you change the color, anyway?” Virgil asked, curious. At this, Patton, Roman, and Logan all did a double take, having only just registered the flames. This time, Remus was unable to stop himself from laughing at their reactions. “At first, I thought it had something to do with the trash you had been using, but you dumped a bunch of weird powder in—”

“Borax and salt,” Janus said simply. “Remus planned it.”

Logan sat up straight, glancing at Remus with a look of excitement that he had never received from anyone other than Janus or Virgil. “Oh?” His voice was hopeful. “I don’t suppose you like chemistry, Remus?”

Remus allowed a wide grin to creep across his face. “Sure I do!” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Especially biochemistry! Like, the combination of chemistry…and biology…”

Patton blinked, Roman blushed, Virgil coughed, Janus laughed, and Logan just looked confused. “Wha—”

“Why don’t we talk about something else?” Patton exclaimed, hugging himself tightly and refusing to meet anyone’s eyes. He looked like he would very much like for the ground to crack open and swallow him whole.

“Great idea!” Virgil added. He cleared his throat and shook his head, giving Remus a semi-playful glare before turning his attention back to Janus. “Feel any warmer, snakesicle?”

Janus narrowed his eyes and hissed fiercely at the other, fingers digging into the blanket that Patton had given him.

Roman shot Janus a mean look, and Remus tightened his grip on the forgotten morning star. “Don’t hiss at him for being concerned, you absolute—”

“Truce, remember?!” Patton exclaimed.

Roman huffed and looked away as Janus glowered and set his head on Remus’s shoulder, Remus’s hand unconsciously coming up to comb through his hair. Virgil simply rolled his eyes, an expression of embarrassed exasperation on his face. “It’s fine, Roman.”

“But you shouldn’t have to put up with their bad attitude—”

“It isn’t a bad attitude,” Virgil interrupted, rubbing the back of his neck. At this point, Patton and Logan looked just as confused as Roman. Virgil sighed, at a loss for words. “It’s…well, it’s hard to explain, but trust me, it had nothing to do with a bad attitude.”

Remus nodded in earnest, feeling Janus relax slightly against him. “Yeah! If someone pisses us off, we hiss at them. Harmless!”

Logan leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, looking interested. “This is something that all three of you do?”

“Yep!”

“But…” Patton scratched his head, as though unsure of how to broach his question without accidentally offending anyone. “But don’t you guys find it…rude?”

Virgil opened his mouth before closing it again, appearing frustrated by his own confusion. Then again, Remus thought it made sense—it was difficult to explain the meaning behind an ingrained habit. Virgil threw a helpless glance toward him and Janus. “Can one of you take this one?”

Much to Remus’s surprise, Janus was the first to speak up.

“In the long run, it’s actually healthy,” Janus explained. “Think about it this way: words are incredibly powerful. When people tease or bicker, there is always a risk of accidentally hitting a weak spot. There might also by confusion over reactions—is someone genuinely offended by your actions? Have you actually crossed a line? Or are they displeased, but not actually hurt?” He pushed himself off of Remus, leaning backward and putting his weight on the palms of his hands. “Hissing allows us to express distaste without the risk of damage via harmful or careless words.”

There was a moment of silence—and wow, that was probably the most Janus had ever said at once in front of the Light Sides; Remus was so proud—before Logan exhaled. “Fascinating,” he murmured, eyes alight with the obvious thrill of new information. With that, the spell was broken. Virgil and Patton laughed at his reaction, followed by Remus, and before he knew it, even Roman and Janus had joined in.

“You guys have your own family habits!” Patton was squealing. “It’s so cute!”

“I don’t know if cute is the word I’d use…” Janus said, trailing off. “But yes, we do have traditions and customs of our own.”

Once the ice was shattered, conversation flowed effortlessly between the six of them. Remus was genuinely surprised by how…easy it was to talk to the others. Apparently, the dumb Lights could actually be fun, when they ignored the giant sticks up their asses. Who knew?

Before long, Patton and Virgil were going downstairs to grab food. “Any requests?” Virgil asked, one hand on the doorframe with Patton on his tail. “Edible requests,” he added hurriedly before Remus could request some deodorant.

Remus pouted. “In that case, I don’t care.” he grumbled, his stomach grumbling with him.

“…Did you two forget to eat dinner again?”

“Of course not,” Janus sniffed, faking an air of superiority. Remus snorted.

“Yeah, we remembered. We just didn’t do it.”

“Remus!”

“What? It was freezing! We were trying to make the fire as quickly as possible, because your cold-blooded ass can’t handle the cold!”

“Remus!”

Virgil was laughing so hard he was holding his sides, and Roman looked like he was seconds from joining him. Logan, meanwhile, sat attentively at the edge of his seat, his fingers twitching as though he wanted to summon a notebook and write all this new information down. It was sweet, in a weird Logan way. Not that Remus had any room to speak. “Deceit, is that true?” Logan asked, eagerness coloring his voice.

Janus sank into his blanket and gave a very dignified reply of sticking out his tongue. Still chuckling, Virgil leaned over and ruffled Janus’s hair. “We’ll pick up some food.”

Remus bounced where he sat. “Ooh! Don’t forget the—”

“Yes, Remus, I’ll bring your abominable piss-scented zombie eyes.”

Virgil left with that, a very confused Patton throwing a questioning glance at Remus before following after him. Roman put a finger in the air and opened his mouth, pausing and letting it fall into his lap a moment later. However, it did not escape Remus’s notice—or Janus’s, apparently. “Do you need something, Prince?” the latter asked, raising an eyebrow.

Roman cleared his throat, glancing sideways at the wall. “Not—not particularly, just…” He hesitated and winced. “When Virgil said piss-scented zombie eyes—please tell me those aren’t literal—”

“Sure they are!” Remus said with a too-wide grin. “Delicious, crunchy, savory—”

“They’re olives,” Janus cut him off smugly. “He eats them with every meal. Virgil hates it.”

Remus gasped, affronted, and shoved Janus lightly. “How dare you!” he exclaimed dramatically. “And here I thought I could trust you with my secrets!”

“Consider it payback. Bitch.”

“Are you implying that Remus revealed a genuine secret when claiming you were cold-blooded?” Logan interjected, a smirk of his own playing on his lips. Realizing that he had been caught, Janus groaned and threw his head into his hands, the other three laughing at him playfully. Remus thought it was nice. For once, they were actually hanging out with the Light Sides—sure, it might have been a little tamer than his usual interactions with Virgil and Janus, but it was still pretty fun.

Logan continued to pepper Janus with teasing questions until Virgil and Patton returned with a large tray of food—and a beautiful jar of olives. Remus beamed at the sight, and Virgil handed them over with a huff, setting the tray of soup, pizza, and pasta on the floor. Roman and Logan joined the rest of them on the carpet, the six forming a circle around the tray of food.

“Leftover night,” was all Patton offered by way of explanation.

Remus could not care less, though. He practically inhaled his food, and beside him, Janus was doing the same. Virgil watched the two of them with raised eyebrows, any previous disgust now replaced with thinly-veiled concern. “Okay, seriously—how long ago did you two eat?”

“Breakfast.”

“Remusss!”

Patton looked concerned. “Is there a problem with your kitchen?”

Remus shrugged. “Nah. We spent all morning hiding in a blanket pile, and after we ate breakfast, we were busy collecting supplies for the fire. That Virgil shut down.”

“Fucking—just let it go, Remus!” Virgil snapped at him, although his poorly-concealed laughter indicated that he was not actually offended. To the Light Sides, he added, “Trust me—you should have seen how dangerous that thing was.”

Logan narrowed his eyes and adjusted his glasses, clearly having caught onto something. “Janus, Remus—if you don’t mind me asking, how long has your thermostat been broken for?”

“What thermostat?” Remus asked with a sly grin before Janus could say anything. By that point, the latter looked just about ready to murder him. “We don’t have one of those.”

“What?!” the Light Sides yelled in unison.

“Remus, you better sleep with one eye open…” Janus hissed.

Virgil sighed, one hand coming up to rub at his temples. “It’s true,” he muttered. “Basically, the Dark Mindscape is the same temperature as the real world. Like—the outdoors, not Thomas’s apartment.”

“Florida winters are usually fine,” Remus continued, “but during cold fronts, we have to stay in the Imagination. This time, though…” He coughed, a little embarrassed by what had happened.

“They waited too long, and the door froze shut.” Virgil rolled his eyes. “I was supposed to come over and keep them company, but it was way colder than I was expecting. Hence why I brought them here.”

This time, both Remus and Janus hissed at Virgil.

Patton and Roman looked thoroughly disturbed at that, and Logan did not look much better. “Well, that certainly won’t do!” Roman declared, slapping a hand against the ground. He looked at Janus and Remus with a determined expression. “You’ll stay here until the cold front passes!”

Virgil smirked at the two bewildered Dark Sides. “Would you look at that?” he teased. “Now you don’t have an excuse but to keep warm, you cold-sensitive creatures.”

“Are you cold-blooded as well, Remus?” Logan asked. “I know that octopuses are cold-blooded, and if Deceit’s trait carried over…”

“He isn’t as sensitive as I am, but that’s more of a Remus thing,” Janus explained, finally accepting that he could do nothing to conceal his secrets. “In short—yes, he is cold-blooded.”

Logan snuck a glance at Virgil, who picked up on it immediately. “What?” he asked, a little apprehensive. Catching sight of similar, semi-worried looks from Patton and Roman, he rolled his eyes as realization struck. “No, I’m not cold-blooded. My animal is a cat.”

Patton lit up, appearing ecstatic at the revelation, but before he could begin gushing over how cute that was, Logan spoke up again. “How far do your animal traits go?”

“Depends on each of us,” Janus said. “It is a little hard to describe. But I would say that Remus certainly has the most interesting contributions.”

“Oh?” He turned to face Remus, looking as excited as a little kid who had just been told that Christmas had come early, Remus himself grinning back from the contagiousness of Logan’s excitement. “Would you mind meeting up to discuss this in more detail? Perhaps we could talk about chemistry, too, if you are amenable.”

“Why not!”

“Excellent!” Logan was beaming—well, that was certainly something Remus never expected to see. “Do you have time next Sunday?”

Remus froze, his mouth turning dry. It took a moment of mental fumbling for him to regain his bearings, recovering with an eloquent, “Huh?”

“Was I unclear?”

“No, I, uh…” Remus shook his head. “Just—you were serious? About meeting up?” You weren’t just throwing around false promises like a politician throwing around lies?

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Logan asked, Roman and Patton looking equally confused. Janus also looked confused, but probably for the same reasons as Remus, whereas Virgil just looked…sad.

“Logan…” Virgil began, seeming a little hesitant. “I think he was expecting you to go back to ignoring him after this.”

Logan paused, features forming an expression that was neutral with a ghost of distress. “I—what?”

“Obviously not!” Patton yelled. He looked at Remus and Janus, appearing close to desperate. “We…we have a lot of stuff to work on. But we’ll figure it out. Everything will be okay, Kiddos.” He paused, chewing on his lower lip. “…We will be okay.”

There was a moment of silence before Roman stood with a huff, pointing a finger at Janus. Remus stiffened, ready to defend his friend. “You!”

“…Me?” The split-second hesitation had not been noticeable to the Light Sides, but Remus caught it instantly. From the way his eyes narrowed, Virgil had clearly caught onto it, too.

“If we’ll be seeing more of you and my brother”—Remus held his breath, but much to his surprise, Roman’s face split into a wide smile—“then you must visit me in my theater!”

“I—you—what?!”

Roman faltered, seeing the surprised looks on everyone’s faces. “What?” he asked, a little defensive. “No offense to the rest of you, but Deceit is the only one who truly understands the purpose of good dramatic flair! A fellow theater nerd? It would be a dream come true!”

“Hey! What about me?”

“Remus, your dramatic flair involved filling my bedroom with feral cats.”

Remus snickered at the memory. “Oh, yeah. That was fun.”

The conversation resumed at a light pace and the food slowly disappeared, and before long, voices were lulling into silence and yawning was filling the air. Roman conjured some extra blankets and pillows and Janus and Remus curled up by the fire, Virgil nearby, with Logan and Roman sharing the couch and Patton on the floor beside it.

The fire burned on. For the first time in days, Remus felt not just the absence of cold, but the presence of warmth. Breaths became slower and deeper and conversation dwindled off as one by one, they fell asleep. But just before he released his last shred of consciousness….

“You two never put out the stupid trash fire!”

~~~

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed! This was my first attempt at writing humor, so I was a little out of my depth.

Taglist: @ts-winter-fic-exchange @houser-of-stories

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ts-winter-fic-exchange · 3 years ago

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Welcome to the first TS winter fic exchange! Information about what this is, how you can participate, schedule, and more is down below. Everything's under the 'keep reading' so you always know it's up to date!

Hello! I'm the mod/person running this. You can call me Virgil (he/him) and find me here on Tumblr @im-an-anxious-wreck

Frequently asked questions:

This event is currently closed!

What Is This?

An exchange of winter themed fics for the Sanders Sides fandom (it's like a Secret Santa just more general winter). You tell me what kind of fic you would like to receive and then I'll match you to another participant who's willing to write it.

How Can I Participate?

This is a fanfic exchange for the Sanders Sides fandom so as long as you can write fanfic for that fandom, you can sign up! We also need betas & pinch hitters (and cheerleaders are always welcome, you just don't need to sign up)!

How Do I Sign Up?

As soon as the sign ups are open (refer to the schedule for the dates), I'll post the link both on discord and on tumblr. To sign up you will have to fill out a few questions in a google form as well as what kind of fic you would like, what you don't want to receive (aka squicks and triggers) as well as what you don't want to write for someone else. For that I'll give you a list of 31 words that you pick from (at least 3, 10 at most). Your matched writer then writes something based on those words (if you pick more than 3, they get to choose which they want to include) and your preferences.

When Does X Happen?

The schedule is detailed below. There will be several check-ins to ensure that if people forget, they'll be reminded or if they drop out, I can assign a pinch hitter in time.

Schedule:

Participant Sign Ups: Open October 26th - November 27th

Pinch Hitter & Beta Sign Ups: Open October 26th - January 16th

First Check-In: Available November 24th, due November 28th (acknowledgement that you signed up & still want to participate). Since the first check-in overlaps with the end of signups, if you sign up during the first check-in, you don't need to check-in

Prompts/Assignment Sent Out: November 30th

Second Check-In: Available December 16th, due December 23rd

Final Check-In: Available January 16th, due by January 23rd (just to make sure that you'll be able to post in the next week)

Posting: January 24th - 31st

(cut-offs for each thing are at [insert date] 11:59 PM CST)

How Does Posting Work?

You post your finished work (min. word count is 2k) on your own tumblr/AO3 and then tag the exchange blog or/and add it to the AO3 collection. With both you have to notify your giftee in some way (tag them in the post, gift it to them on AO3 etc.). If you want you can also post a link of the fic in the self-promo channel on discord although that is not required. Since the surprise is half the fun I ask that you do not reveal who you're writing for until you post your work

Can the fic I write have multiple chapters?

Definitely! There's no maximum word count, only a minimum (2k). Although my personal chapter length recommendation is 500 - 1,500

If I have multiple chapters, do I have to post all the chapters in one day?

Nope! I'd recommend it, but as long as the all chapters are posted and the work is done on or by the last day of posting (Jan 31st) you can spread posting the chapters between multiple days. However, in the author's note, do let people know that the fic is not finished and that it will be completed before or on the 31st of January

Is there anything I'm not allowed to write about in my fic?

Yes, there is a few limitations I've set:

Don't write anything your giftee has said they don't want to receive

No NSFW content

And no remrom, I don't care if you think it's okay or not, but it's squicks a lot of people out and is not allowed in this exchange

How will I know that my sign up/check-in was received?

I'll DM you via platform of choice* an acknowledgment of sign up/check-in within 24 hours of when you sent it in. If after 24 hours you haven't gotten the message, send an ask or DM letting me know!

*platform of choice is what platform you would like to receive your sign up/check-in acknowledgments and your assignment. It will be a question in the sign ups, and can be changed via check-ins when available, or a DM at any time. The current platform of choice options are Discord and Tumblr

Is a beta required?

Nope! Betas are recommended, but not required

I'm a beta, do I have to sign up/why is there the option to sign up?

You don't have to sign up, and can join the discord and wait for someone to request one on the 'request-a-beta' channel. But if you want to sign up then you'll be a part of the beta assignment program

What's the beta assignment program?

The beta assignment program is where betas sign up using the below Google form, writers can DM me asking for a beta, and I'll ask a beta (that's guaranteed to not be your giftee) for the writer

Betas are limited so there's no guarantee that one will be available but please feel free to ask!

(and betas, you can let me know if you want to be taken off the list)

I want to request a beta, but how do I do that/I'm worried that my giftee will volunteer?

You can request one on the 'request a beta channel' on our discord server, or you can DM me asking for a beta and I'll see if one is available

Do you have a discord server for this event?

Yep! Here's the link: https://discord.gg/nnmBYgpXQw

What if my question isn't in the FAQS, or it's been answered but l'd like further clarification?

You can send your question in an ask or DM me your question!

Sign ups/available check-ins:

Participant Sign Up Form: closed

Pinch-Hitter Sign Up Form: closed

Beta Sign Up Form: closed

#sanders sides #fic exchange #secret santa #ts winter fic exchange

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im-an-anxious-wreck · 3 years ago

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In Love At Christmas

AO3 link

Summary: Virgil was going to be alone for Christmas again, in fact, he'd probably spend the entire time cooped up in his room pinning for his friends/roommates.

Ugh, what was wrong with him? They'd never want to see him again if he told them that he loved them… right?

Warnings: Remus makes a suggestive joke, cursing, crying

Perspective/main character: Virgil

Side/secondary characters: Patton, Remus

Romantic relationship(s): Moxiety, Dukexiety, established Intruality

Word Count: 2,460

Link to my collection of TSS fanworks

This is for @mygenderisidiot through the @ts-winter-fic-exchange! The prompt words I used are: Christmas, blankets, and movie night

Virgil had been living with Remus and Patton for several months now, and while they had made him feel welcome in every possible way, this was different. This was Christmas. He couldn't invite himself, couldn't just barge his way into their Christmas.

Christmas was supposed to be a happy time to spend with family and friends — with loved ones.

And sure, Patton was so nice that he might even consider Virgil his friend —and perhaps would even invite him out of guilt or pity—, but Virgil was none of those things. He wasn't their bestie, wasn't family or like family, he wasn't a loved one. They were nice to him, and he shouldn't want more than that. He really shouldn't.

Besides, he shouldn't assume that they'd invite him and he certainly shouldn't accept even if they did. They were already so inclusive of him the rest of the time, even though Virgil was absolutely sure he was bothering them.

They invited him to most outings they had, asked if he wanted to play board games or video games with them, and offered to let him pick what they watched. They even didn't think it was stupid that his favourite movie was an animated kids' movie (although all of Patton's favourite movies and shows were animated and for kids so that made at least a bit of sense).

But as if Virgil didn't feel bad enough for inserting himself into their leisure time, Remus and Patton were dating.

Virgil was the metaphorical third wheel when he did anything with them (which was more often than he should let happen, but you try saying no to Remus and Patton. Especially with Remus' teasing and Patton's puppy dog eyes), and was a lurker the rest of the time.

But probably the worst thing, scratch that, definitely the worst thing was that, despite knowing full well that Patton and Remus were happily dating, Virgil had a crush, not just on one of them, but on both of them.

They'd so graciously let Virgil move in when he was kicked out of his apartment with nowhere to go, and he repaid their kindness by crushing— god, it wasn't even really just a crush anymore, he was absolutely in love with them.

Don't get him wrong, he absolutely didn't want them to break up by any means, but… he still guiltily thought about being in a romantic polyamorous relationship with them far too much and way more often than he should.

He couldn't get his feelings to go away, not for lack of effort, but it's not like he could just completely ignore Remus and Patton! Not only had they done so much for him, but they were his friends, and to be honest, he didn't want to ignore them. He didn't at all.

He wanted to be close to them, even if he was just their friend. He wanted to be there laughing at their silly dancing in the kitchen; he wanted to light-heartedly argue with Remus about what movie they should watch, and what constituted as real food; he wanted to make scrapbooks and watch Saturday cartoons with Patton. He had a horror podcast that wasn't too scary for him but was gruesome enough for Remus that he wanted to share. And he had a baking podcast that was full of puns that he wanted nothing more than to listen to it with Patton.

But he couldn't. He was just in the way, and as much as it pained him, he needed to distance himself from them. He needed to let them be happy without him. It made his heart twist with deep achy pain, but it was for the best… well, for their best anyway.

Virgil sighed, turning up the sad music in his headphones as he stared up at the ceiling.

They didn't need him, not like he needed them.

A soft knock echoed against Virgil's room door, making him frown and, pausing his music, he lowered his headphones down around his neck.

"Hey, Virgil?" Came Patton's soft voice.

"Yeah, Pat? Actually, wait, just a sec." Virgil half-rolled off his bed, catching himself and standing upright, before opening the door to reveal a patient Patton.

"Hi!" Patton waved and Virgil gave a small one in return.

Virgil could actually feel the tension fade away, his shoulders relaxing and face softening just at seeing Patton cheery expression.

"What's up, Pat? Something I can help you with?"

"Oh, um, well, Remus and I were wondering if you'd wanna play some board games with us."

"Uh, I… I was actually gonna..." If Virgil had thought it was hard to push them away in theory, based on the way it pulled at his heartstrings when Patton's shoulders slumped and the sparkle in his eyes dulled, in practice, it was going to be even harder than he'd originally thought.

"Well, if you had something you need to do, or would rather do, that's… that's okay, kiddo. Maybe next time?" Patton said it so dejectedly that Virgil could guess that he knew that the answer would probably be no then as well.

"Yeah, Pat. Um, maybe next time."

"Right. Next time," Patton hollowly said.

Virgil watched Patton walk down the hall, none of his usual bounce in his step. Virgil didn't shut the door, even when Patton was out of sight, just standing there staring off into space.

From the living room, Virgil heard Remus say, "He said no again? This is what, the fourth time in a row?"

"Fifth," Patton added, sadly.

"Fuck. If he doesn't like us anymore, or if something's wrong he could just tell us! I thought he liked hanging out with us."

"I did too! And he even seemed to be glad to see me when he answered his door, but then he was, I don't even know, sad? Upset? Well, anyway, he was not happy again."

Remus sighed loudly. "That's it, we should just ask him what's up. He's clearly not going to on his own."

"Yeah, you're right. I mean, the poor baby is probably too anxious to say anything about what's obviously bothering him."

"Okay, wait here. I'll go get him."

"Wait, right now?" Patton sounded surprised and Virgil couldn't help but agree.

"Yeah, we've talked about this enough between us, we've already said everything we know, and some speculation as well. No point putting it off."

Patton said something in reply but Virgil didn't catch it as he quietly shut the door, tossing his headphones on his pillow as he sat on his bed and panicked.

They wanted to talk to him, and while he hadn't overstayed his welcome yet and they still wanted him around, he couldn't exactly just tell them why he was distancing himself from them.

What was he going to say?!

It's not like he could just say that he was in love with th—

Three heavy knocks made Virgil jump out of his thoughts.

"Oh, Virgin? I know you're in there!"

"Um, what do you want, Remus?" Virgil didn't move from where he sat on his bed, desperately trying to get his breathing under control.

"Patton and I wanna have a chat with you. It's nothing bad! ...Unless it is, but that depends on what's up with you.

"Nothing's up!" Virgil all but squeaked, and mentally cursed himself. Yeah, real convincing, Virgil.

"Okay, I'm just gonna ignore that obvious lie." Remus softened his voice and said, "Please come talk with us?"

Virgil sighed, knowing he wasn't going to deny such a polite request from the usually vulgar man. Not because he had a soft spot for Remus… totally not.

"Fine, I'll… I'm coming."

"Oh, well, if I'd known you wer—"

"Don't finish that sentence!" Virgil cried, rushing to the door and glaring at Remus as he cackled.

"I'm only teasing, Virginia."

They walked into the living room, where Patton was already sitting on one side of the L-shaped couch. Remus sat down by Patton, and Virgil sat crisscross on the other section of the couch, turning so that he was facing them.

"So… y'all wanted to talk to me?"

"Yeah, we did, kiddo. Um… you're not in trouble by the way! We're just… a bit worried about you."

"...Worried about me? Worried about what, exactly?"

"Well, we've just… noticed that you've been… a bit reclusive for one, but of course, there's nothing wrong with needing some time for yourself! Um, but, you've also… shoot, how do I put this? Not moody, but like your emotions have been flipping back and forth a lot. If you don't want to hang out with us as much… I mean, we never wanna pressure you, or if… well, did… did we do something wrong? We just— wanna understand."

"No!" Virgil exclaimed as he leaned forward. "You haven't done anything wrong! I'm sorry I made you think that. I swear you guys didn't do anything. It's just a me problem, I promise."

"Oh, okay, kiddo. As glad as I am to know it's nothing we did, there's still clearly something bothering you."

Remus nodded. "We're not gonna make you talk if you don't want to, but maybe it would help? Even if we can't find a solution with you, talking about your feelings can really make you feel better and more in control."

"I…" Virgil looked down at his clenched hands in his lap. "I can't. You wouldn't—" Virgil sighed.

"Wouldn't what?" Remus asked. "Understand?"

"I— yeah, I guess. Or… or want me around anymore."

"Oh, kiddo! I can't really see that happening, but I'm sorry we made you feel that way."

"No, you didn't— I mean… I wasn't trying to— urgh. Sorry." Virgil pulled up his hood, despite knowing how weak and pathetic it made him look. "I didn't mean to make such a mess out of everything."

Remus leaned forward and set a hand of Virgil's knee. "It's okay, Virgie. You haven't made a mess out of anything. Just… take a deep breath, yeah? Whatever's going on, we'll work through it together. We're here for ya."

"Yeah, what Remus said. We want to help, we're not here to judge you, okay?"

"I… I think you would if— I mean, I don't think you'd want me to be around if…" Virgil tugged at his hoodie strings.

Remus huffed light-heartedly. "Damn, Virgin, did you kill someone?"

"No! It's nothing like that!"

"Then I don't think it's probably quite as bad as your brain is making it out to be."

"Or maybe it is," Virgil muttered.

"Oh, kiddo. I—" Patton sighed. "I'm sorry that it's bothering you that much. But I tell you what, we won't jump to any conclusions and will hear you out before we say anything, okay?"

"I don't think I can do this! You're gonna utterly hate me and think I'm such a creep if you find out that I'm in love with both of you!" Virgil slapped a hand over his mouth, and jerked Remus' hand off his knee, eyes wide as he resisted the urge to just run away. That'd only prolong the inevitable.

Virgil blinked back the burning feeling in his eyes. "I— didn't… um…"

"Wait, really!" Patton exclaimed as Virgil tried not to throw up.

"Yeah, we thought it was gonna be something bad," Remus added.

"Wh— you don't hate me for… I mean, I understand if you do—"

"Oh, honey! We don't hate you at all!" Patton exclaimed, seeming to be holding himself back from tackling Virgil into a hug.

"Yeah, even if we didn't like you back, it wouldn't be a big deal."

Virgil tried not to flounder like a fish. "Even… if… you didn't like me back? What do you… I mean… you— what?"

Patton flapped a hand happily. "He meant, we like you too!"

"Romantically!" Remus added.

"Wh— wait, really?"

"Really!" Patton started flapping the other hand as well. "We've been too nervous to tell you so we've been trying to see if maybe you like us back but you were always turning us down when we asked you to hang out."

"I— you really wanted to hang out with me? You… you didn't just feel obligated to?"

"Of course we want to hang out with you," Remus said. "You're smart and funny and you're Virgil! Besides, have you ever known me to do anything I don't want to?"

Virgil gave a shaky laugh. "True."

Patton's stimming settled down a bit as he frowned. "So, why did you avoid us?"

"I… well, I thought that you guys might think I was annoying, or just in the way. I also just didn't… think that you guys would ever like me back so I was trying to distance myself as if that could just make my feelings go away."

Patton sighed softly. "I know I just sound like a broken record, but I'm so sorry you went through that. You must've felt so lonely!"

"But we're not gonna let you feel like that again." Remus reached forward and squeezed Virgil's hand. "You're stuck with us now!"

"Yeah!" Patton cheered.

"Does…" Virgil chewed his bottom lip. "Does this mean I can come to Christmas? I understand if not! I was just—"

Remus frowned. "Wait, did you think we were gonna be having all sorts of fun out here and just leave you in your room all by yourself?"

"Um… weren't you?"

"No!" Patton exclaimed, a sad look on his face. "You're really important to us and even if you felt completely platonic towards us we still really care about you. Of course you'd be invited."

"What kind of dicks would we be if we didn't invite you? We want you around, Virgil. We really do."

"Oh, I— I really care about y'all too. I… think I'm gonna cry. Shit." A few years rolled his cheeks.

"Aww, it's okay, baby. Come here." Patton opened his arms in invitation.

Virgil got up and Remus pulled him down, tucking him in between Remus and Patton, their arm carefully wrapped around him. Patton gently ran his fingers through Virgil's hair as Remus rubbed circles on Virgil's back.

Patton took the blanket from on the back of the couch and threw it over them, tucking it around their legs. "Love you, Virgil."

"Yeah, we love you, Virgil."

"I— I love you guys too." Virgil pulled them even closer, laying his head on Patton's shoulder, and he squeezed Remus' hand.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Remus softly asked.

"Yeah. Um, what should we watch?"

"I think it's way overdue for it to be your turn to pick," Patton pointed out.

Virgil quietly laughed. "Fair enough."

Virgil knew that everything would be okay. They were together now, and for once, he was actually looking forward to Christmas.

~The End~

No reposting, likes are nice, and reblogs are very much appreciated! | Taglist (ask to be added or removed): @someoneiwasnt

#sanders sides #sanders sides fics #ts virgil #tss virgil #ts remus #tss remus #ts patton #tss patton #virgil writes #ts winter fic exchange

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hydra-collector · 3 years ago

Text

a lonely new year

AO3

Ship: Platonic Loceit

Characters: Logan Sanders, Janus Sanders

TW: crying, food

Words: 2093

Note: My gift for the TS Winter Fic Exchange for @lost-in-thought-20. Hope you enjoy! Credit to @raspberryjamus for being a beta reader and helping me with ideas!

Summary: Logan and janus don't have anywhere to go to on New Year's. So, they find each other.

The air was frosty, snow glittering on the sidewalk. It was dark out, as it had been on his trips home for over a month. Today it was especially late, as his first bus was late and he had to pick up a few groceries for dinner. Although there was no school during winter break, Logan’s dedication to the chess club and swim team had not wavered. There had been no official meetings today, not surprising considering that it was New Year’s Eve, but he’d gone to the pool anyway just to keep it up.

It wasn’t like he was doing anything for New Year’s anyway.

There were only a few cars on the street. His bus was supposed to come in around five minutes, but the public transportation schedules were inconsistent, especially on a holiday. Patton was out with his friends, like he had been all day, and his parents were off on a short vacation somewhere that Logan had declined. That was alright. He was almost eighteen and had responsibilities here at home. Someone needed to take care of the house, and it’s not like Patton was particularly good at that.

It was the third year in a row that he’d been (mostly) at home for New Year’s. No close friends who invited him anywhere, no partner to cheesily kiss at midnight. He’d gotten used to it by now. Patton did his own thing and Logan stayed home, making his own dinner, maybe watching a show.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t had anything much of a close friend for much of that time either. He didn’t really like Patton’s best friends, Roman and Virgil, and he hadn’t consistently talked to Remus or Janus for a long time. He’d never been very adept at keeping up relationships.

Though he knew this was going to happen, (and was rather judgemental of the arbitrary concept of New Year’s anyway) he couldn’t help but feel an uncomfortable weight settle in his chest at the thought. Patton was sleeping over at Roman’s, so he would be entirely alone.

He’d assured his family that he would prefer it that way, but the weight of loneliness was still there.

The bus pulled up at long last after a few minutes, and he was enveloped by the warmth inside. He headed straight for the back of the bus, ready to all but fall asleep until his stop. Before he could, though, the bus jolted and stopped suddenly, opening the doors for someone to dash inside, panting. They weaseled the bus driver out of their fare. They turned, and Logan recognized Janus’s face.

Janus’ eyes lit up in recognition, and he dashed towards Logan. “Been ghosting me, have you?” he said, plopping down in the seat next to him, giving a cheeky grin.

Logan rolled his eyes. “I’ve been busy. Haven’t gotten the chance to say hi.” It wasn’t his intention, really. He’d been spending time on chess or swimming or schoolwork. He tried to look sincere, but he wasn’t sure if it came across.

“People are supposed to hang out with their families and partners on holidays, you know.” Janus raises his eyebrow, leaning back into the seat and shaking snow off of his coat.

“We don’t really celebrate New Year’s together. I don’t mind doing it this way.” Logan looked away from Janus, feeling discomfort at the harshness in his stare. “I’m just heading home and coming up with something to eat, then I’m going to bed. It’s just like any other day.”

“Has anyone ever told you you’re a loser? You should be doing something fun or exciting. Perhaps illegal. It’s a holiday, you should be enjoying yourself.”

Logan shook his head, “Really, it’s fine. I don’t mind the solitude.” He began to rub his thumb over his jeans, considering the heavy weight in his chest. “But if you, perhaps, were lonely, I wouldn’t be opposed to spending time with you instead.”

Janus let out an overdramatized gasp. “To think that I would be lonely on New Year’s. You’re hilarious, Logan.”

Logan felt a twinge in his chest, perhaps shame. “Nevermind, then. I’ll just go home. I’m getting off in a few stops anyway.”

He didn’t look back at Janus, pulling his bag around his shoulder and standing up. Before he was even able to make it near the door, however, Janus grabbed his wrist, tugging him back towards his seat.

“I never said I wouldn’t go with you. C’mon, I know a good diner on this route.” Logan looked back, focusing on the space between Janus’ eyes.

Logan sat back down. “Alright then. It can’t be worse than my usual routine.” Janus chuckled, and Logan felt a sense of relief.

“Lovely. It’s a bit of a ride, but we shouldn’t get there too late.”

“Table for two?”

Logan nodded to the waitress. He checked his watch to see that it was nearly eleven (a “bit” of a ride had turned out to be an hour long) while Janus admired the cakes set up on display. Soon, his exhaustion would catch up to him and make him loose-lipped and scattered, but at this point he didn’t really care.

“Follow me, gentlemen.” Logan kicked Janus’ shin lightly, startling the other teenager into following him. The gesture earned him a scowl, but Janus had at least enough manners to wait until they were sitting down to say anything.

“Didn’t know you were such an asshole, Logan.” He said, pulling up his menu. Logan stared at him for a moment, considering the sentence. He’d been informed that usually when Janus said things like that, he was being sarcastic. He worried still, though, even if it wasn’t a severe incident.

“Are you going to look at the menu?” Janus lowered his, looking at Logan expectantly.

“Mhm.” Logan said absentmindedly, the exhaustion starting to catch up with him. He didn’t feel the hunger that he knew he should as he skimmed over the menu. Nothing really seemed all that appealing at the moment.

“I think I’m going to get steak and shrimp.” Janus said, placing down his menu.

“Do you even have the money for that?” Logan asked, skeptical.

“What do you take me for, a peasant? It’s a holiday, I’m allowed to splurge. Maybe I’ll even buy yours if you’re nice.” Janus threw in a gratuitous wink, making it clear the nature of his comment. Logan looked down awkwardly. He was fairly certain that Janus’ flirts weren’t serious, but he could never tell.

“I’m going to get something warm to drink. Maybe herbal tea. I don’t want to be up late.”

“Staying up too late on New Year’s Eve? Hun, isn’t that the whole point? I’m getting coffee.”

“Suit yourself, I don’t really care if you’re hyperactive at two AM.” He gently rubbed his thumb over the table, the pleasant texture easing his nerves a little.

“What are you getting to eat, anyway?”

Logan looked back at the menu. “I’ll just get a tomato soup. I’m not hungry.”

“If you say so, but you’re not getting any of my food.”

They ordered, sitting in an awkward silence afterward. Logan distracted himself by ripping up his napkin piece by piece until it was barely usable. Janus said nothing, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. Logan began to wonder why he even agreed to this at all. He knew he couldn’t talk to people, especially not someone like Janus who he wasn’t sure how to act around.

“You’re really not concerned about being alone on New Year’s?” Janus said once their drinks came, pouring in unspeakable amounts of cream and sugar.

Logan paused, the smell of peppermint wafting up from his mug. He took a sip, perhaps to delay his answer. “I don’t know. I’m used to it.”

Janus furrowed his brow, not seeming satisfied with that answer. Logan wasn’t sure what he could say. He didn’t know. Maybe Janus was just here to make fun of him.

“Why aren’t you hanging out with your friends?”

Janus laughed lightly. “You are my friend, dumbass. I’m not gonna ask you here on a holiday if I don’t want to hang out.”

“But why didn’t you already have plans? What were you even doing on the bus?”

Janus sighed quietly, looking at him. “I was getting away from my parents. They didn’t want Remus to come over. They don’t like him. And if I’d gone over to his house, his parents would’ve told mine. So I just left. Got on the bus. It’s pure chance that I found you.”

Logan wasn’t sure if anything he said could be helpful. “When are you going back?”

Janus pondered it for a moment. “As late as possible. Morning, probably. At that point they’ll probably start being really upset with me. Maybe they won’t even notice if I get back early enough. They’re not gonna be happy I skipped celebrating though.”

“You are lonely, aren’t you?”

Janus nearly exploded into defensiveness before the waitress brought them their food. He quickly composed himself, thanking her and shooting a glare at Logan before starting to eat. Logan picked at his food, feeling sick to his stomach from the emotional turmoil of the night.

He cradled his tea instead, sinking into the small bit of warmth. The hunger was kicking in now, but he still didn’t feel like eating. How long has it been? How long were they going to stay here?

They sat in silence while Janus ate and Logan’s soup grew cold. The minutes ticked by, drawing nearer to midnight. Eventually he started to ignore his tea, the sick feeling in his stomach overwhelming.

“When was the last time you talked to someone just to hang out, Logan?”

He looked up from his tea, only to avoid Janus’s piercing gaze. He supposed this feeling was why he avoided having friends. Even the most subtle possibility of scorn cut deep. This was the first time in what seemed like forever that he’d done anything with a friend. Pain welled up in his chest, the first tears he’d had in a long time imminent.

It had been so long since before he’d given up on keeping friends. So long since he thought it was worth it. So long since he’d been able to ignore his worries and just talk to someone without restraint. So long since anyone had wanted to talk to him, or hang out with him.

He kept his cool. He wasn’t about to dump this all on Janus. “I… it doesn’t matter. I’m not a very sociable person, if you can’t tell.”

“But you are. I know you are. I can’t count how many times I’ve had to let you talk my ear off about one of your interests,” Janus said, smiling in amusement.

Logan couldn’t take it that way, though. The threat of tears didn’t recede, and he didn’t dare look at Janus.

“You still haven’t answered the question, love. It could be anyone. Your brother, your parents, even some random kid in your class. When was the last time you talked to someone just because you wanted to?” The question was more intense this time, and it completely overwhelmed Logan. He shouldn’t need friends. He shouldn’t deserve friends.

Tears broke the surface. “I- I don’t know. I don’t know, Janus, I’m sorry!”

He choked on his tears, trying to prevent a sob. Janus didn’t need this. It was past eleven on New Year’s Eve and he was crying in front of a night-shift waitress and his friend who he hadn’t talked to in months. Janus may as well leave now, go find someone else to bother.

Instead, he took Logan’s hand, leaning over the table. He couldn’t see it, but Janus’s expression had softened into gentle worry and regret. “It’s okay. You don’t need to apologize. I’m sorry for prying,” he said, his voice inconceivably gentle in a near whisper.

“You’re right,” he continued as he leaned back, his voice a little louder. “I am lonely. I feel pathetic that the only reason I had someone to see on New Year’s is because I ran into you on the bus, running away from my problems. And maybe that’s the reason that we have to be here. For each other.”

Janus beckoned him over, taking him into a long-needed hug. He kept mumbling comforting words while Logan cried into his shoulder softly.

The alarm beeped on Logan’s watch. It was midnight.

Both paused for a moment. “Happy New Year’s, Logan,” Janus whispered.

“Happy New Year’s, Janus.”

#logan sanders #janus sanders #ts logan #ts janus #sanders sides #angst #logan angst #janus angst #ts sides #ts fanfiction #sanders sides fanfiction #grays fics

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astrathepasta · 3 years ago

Text

Fireworks

Beta'd by @edupunkn00b (tysm)

TS Winter Fic Exchange

For: @let-the-words-be-free

Characters: Remy, Emile, (background-ish) Virgil, Remus, Thomas, Janus, Roman, Logan, Patton

Ships: Remile and Anxceitmus

Words used: Solstice, snow, night, Icicles, peppermint, cold, party and warmth

Hope you enjoy!

The cold air brutally attacked anyone who dared to leave the safety of their homes, leaving none unaffected. It was the darkest day of the year, lit up by fireworks from a nearby neighbourhood celebration.

Colourful lights reflected into the nearby icy pillars that dangled from the rooftops, only enhancing the beauty. The falling snow flakes the sign for most people to stay inside during the crisp night.

Defying what normal people would do, resident coffee addict Remy Dormir sat on top of a rooftop, legs dangling off the edge. He wore a thick leather jacket, with a simple white shirt covered in multiple coffee stains, and snug black jeans. His black boots hit against the roof as he swung them back and forth. Despite the party raging downstairs, he preferred a quieter crowd from time to time—even if a party was considered to be his typical scene.

Loud, occasional explosions from the sky above were the only distractions from his thoughts. He didn't usually attend winter solstice parties, but his close friend Thomas had thrown one. At this point, Remy considered him more a brother than just a friend, since Thomas was the reason he hadn't overdosed on caffeine years ago. And so he showed up.

Remy had always liked fireworks, beautiful but destructive. It was worth bearing the nipping cold of winter. It was peaceful up here, unlike daily life threatening to sweep away anyone who dared to go against it.

"Hey." A voice interrupted his thoughts, one he knew quite well. "You okay? I was a bit worried when I didn't see you.."

Remy didn't turn to face the other, the lack of sunglasses on their face always made them feel vulnerable. It made him too open, the hurt too easily read across their face. He knew who it was anyway, how could he not?

"Rem?" The person sat next to him, holding two steaming mugs and a blanket. Always caring, Emile Picani. A short man, yet his big heart made up for it. The only one to rival his heart was Patton, the Dad friend of their friend group. He wore a beige sweater with the collar of a pink shirt poked through at the top along with grey sweatpants which didn't suit what people would usually wear to a party but it worked on Emile.

“Sorry.” A sheepish smile crossed their face. “Got a bit lost up here.” He gestured loosely to his head. “What are you doing up here, shouldn’t you be downstairs?”

Emile smiled, albeit a bit sadly. "It was lonely down there without you, hearing Roman and Virgil argue about the meaning of Disney films does get boring after a while, you know?" He handed Remy one of the mugs, peppermint filling the air around them. Of course Emile would remember his love for peppermint, since it reminded them of their childhood.

Remy chuckled a bit, both at the idea Emile would remember something so pointless and that Virgil and Roman were arguing yet again. "... thanks Ems." He said, as the other put the large fluffy blanket over them both.

Fondness swept into Remy's eyes at the other's thoughtfulness. Despite the weight in his chest, tugging at any happiness they found, he set down the mug and pushed themselves to their feet, not before putting the blanket to the side. Retrieving his iconic sunglasses and holding them in one hand, he reached out to Emile, who was looking at him curiously. "Care for a dance, m'lady?" They joked, a slight smirk ghosting his expression.

Emile chuckled, using Remy's hand to help them get up. “Of course.” He also reached for the sunglasses, successfully returning them to Remy's pocket. An odd expression fell over Remy's face but he didn't pull away, a win for the beige sweater wearer.

After five slightly awkward seconds, Remy grabbed the other's waist. There was a dusting of pink across both of their faces but, as they started swaying, a content expression joined.

Remy, the smaller of the two by a single inch, rested his chin on Emile's shoulder. It was a large house so they swayed in their own graceful way, with Emile humming an old lullaby. The smooth landscape of the rooftop made it an ideal place, the ivy creeping up on the outside walls being the only thing alive other than the two of them. Remy brought their hands up to Emile's cheeks, with a small smile but his happiness radiated off of it.

The fireworks reflected in their eyes as the soft pure snow fell around them. Of course, it wasn’t a very practised or well done dance but that didn’t matter to them, all that mattered was the warmth radiating off each other.

A soft chuckle was let out by Remy, joined in by Emile. Pressing their foreheads together, Remy opened their mouth "I—"

A loud hiss interrupted them. They both jumped and broke apart, faces red. "Oh, come on Virgil, I simply said the truth! The Black Cauldron isn't better than Cinderella!"

"The prince couldn't even remember her face!"

"Well clearly he had a foot fetish!"

The two first voices joined in. "Remus!"

A purple emo with a mischievous smirk on their face, a drama queen with a red face to match his clothing and a gremlin with a similar expression to the emo, stood there. It was obvious Remus had tagged along to cause chaos since the sibling rivalry was clear as day to anyone.

Remus had one of those plastic cups you typically found in any high school party, although Remy knew Thomas wasn’t using them at the party downstairs.

Virgil wore his typical racoon makeup and his hoodie (which after a particularly bad panic attack from him, confided in them that it was a comfort item). However, he wore black non-ripped jeans and a black t-shirt interlaced with a spider web pattern.

Roman wore a white jacket with nail polish stains from when they were all painting their nails and had made him laugh a little too hard. Underneath, he wore a white t-shirt with a red diagonal stripe that resembled a royal sash. His jeans were white, too, but they were covered in dirt and grass stains, making Remy smile at the memories.

Remus was wearing a tank top, with a pattern similar to Romans t-shirt except in green and black. You could see his binder, but he never hid the fact he had one (Remy remembered when he first grew a mustache, they all celebrated for the green twin). He wore fishnets along with almost ripped to shreds black jeans and had black boots identical to Virgil's.

The trio seemed to finally notice the couple, Roman's expression turned sheepish, Virgil seemed mortified, and Remus had an air of indifference. Virgil elbowed Roman. "Why didn't you tell me that people were up here?"

"Well, I clearly just noticed, Gerald Way!"

"I can't believe we walked into some for—" Roman slapped Remus on the back of his head.

Virgil rolled his eyes, before looking at Remy and Emile. "Sorry, we interrupted you, there were too many people downstairs so we came up here. We can go if you want."

Remy and Emile exchanged a glance, having a quick silent conversation before Emile turned to the rest of them. "It's fine! We were really just watching the fireworks anyway." Of course, it was a slight lie but the presence of each other's hand on the other's made up for it.

"They're letting us stay and watch." Remus wiggled his eyebrows. Despite the eye roll, the emo let out a stifled giggle.

"I'll get the blankets!" Roman called, running down the stairs. Remus went over to the edge, carefully avoiding the pair's peppermint tea.

"Well that wasn't entertaining,," injected a sarcastic but smooth voice, bringing their eyes over to someone previously unnoticed. A scarred face, that of Janus Ekans, smirked at the way they all jumped at the suddenness of his voice.

Janus wore much more formal attire, with a yellow shirt and black blazer along with black gloves. They wore black jeans along with a black rimmed hat.

"Our favourite double dee!" Remus chirped, a grin on his face. The joke about Janus being a snake stemmed from their current love of snakes and the fact they owned everything snake related when they were in their younger teens. Despite the sarcastic replies that they loved it, it was clear that they didn't actually mind it.

"Jesus, Dee. How long have you been there for?" Virgil said, slipping into a nickname that was reserved for him and Remus (Remy and Patton were convinced they were dating).

"Same as you, Aranea." They said, gliding over to where Remus sat and crossed their legs next to him (Emile noticed Janus held Remus' hand, but he said nothing, just smiled to himself).

Virgil huffed lightheartedly and joined them, leaning against Janus's side. Janus wrapped his arm to secure the other. "My, my, aren't we cuddly tonight?" That earned him a sticking out tongue from Virgil.

"You want to join them?" Emile asked, a fond and wide smile on his face. Remy kissed his forehead in response. Their peppermint tea was no longer steaming but now was at a perfect drinking temperature. Taking a sip, Remy closed their eyes. The warmth flowed throughout their body, causing him to shudder pleasantly.

"Patton and Thomas are wondering where you all are." Another smooth voice startled them out of their comfortable silence. They all turned to see Roman and a new figure. Logan, an unlikely addition to their family. They were introduced to the others by Janus and grew on them all, with his logical mind being something they needed and quick wit making them all laugh at times.

Similarly to Janus, they wore formal attire. A black shirt with a galaxy tie gifted by their dad friend which Logan quickly became enamoured with. They wore it along with black trousers and black dress shoes, all complete with their rectangular glasses.

Roman carried way too many massive blankets for them all. "When did Snakey McSnakerson get here?"

"Am I really here, Roman?" Janus drawled, smirking a bit.

Roman rolled his eyes and set the blankets down.

"Why are they looking for us, Lo?" Virgil asked, worry sketched onto his face once again.

Logan didn't even get a chance to reply until a certain blue clad dad came onto the rooftop along with a man who wore a pink t-shirt with a star. "There you kiddos are!"

Patton wore his cat hoodie around his shoulders along with a dog covered blue polo. His grey shorts didn't suit the weather at all but he didn't seem to be cold at all.

The other, the host of the party, Thomas, topped the pink tee with a white jacket laced with black. He wore blue jeans and dirty sneakers. "Hey guys!" Thomas wore a fond smile at the sight of all of his closest friends.

"Welcome to the real party!" Remus chirped, his hand held by a certain emo and his head almost resting on Janus' shoulder (Remy and Patton shared a knowing glance).

"Do you guys mind if we join you?" Thomas asked, looking at everyone. No one protested.

"Go ahead." Replied Remy, setting down his empty mug once filled with tea.

Logan and Patton sat on the other side of Remy and Emile, while Roman and Thomas sat next to Virgil, Remus, and Janus.

"This is why pockets are useful!" Patton said, seemingly having pulled two whole packets of cookie chip cookies from his cat hoodie pockets. Considering it was on his back it was shocking none of them had noticed. He passed one of the packets down to Thomas, who sat on the far right.

"Almost like a midnight snack, just not midnight!" Patton smiled, happily chomping on a (rebellious) second cookie, and passing the cookies to people who wanted them.

"...a regular snack then." Logan said, looking puzzled at Patton, causing a brief but amused laugh from the others.

They all fell back into a comfortable quiet, only broken by the dazzling fireworks and the rustling of a half empty cookie packet.

As the next firework went off, they felt a weight against their shoulder and the smell of peppermint. Maybe daily life wasn't so bad with their little created family being part of it.

"So, Remus. Were you going to tell me, your dear brother, about your partners?" They laughed while the three people mentioned blushed furiously.

#virgil sanders #sanders sides #roman sanders #sander sides #logan sanders #thomas sanders #patton sanders #remy sanders #remy dormir #actually but eh #emile sanders #emile picani #remile #anxceitmus

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the-panmixxia · 3 years ago

Text

Black Cat For Luck (1)

Fandom: Sander Sides

General Warnings: None

Potential Warnings: Mentions of being eaten/Animals dying, panic

Characters: Virgil, Patton, Remy

Relationships: Platonic

Pronouns:

Virgil - Spook/Spookself

Patton - Fae/Faem

Remy - He/She/They

Summary:

Virgil is currently facing a very annoying issue; spook pissed off some old friends badly enough to end up with a curse. One that turns Virgil into a cat at night fall. It was an inconvenience, sure, but Virgil was managing it. That is, until a certain werewolf that's been rumoured to enjoy cat meat comes along...

[Halloween Exchange Fic :)]

This is an entry for @ts-halloween-exchange, where I funnily enough ended up writing for a good friend of mine, @tiny-peter-rabbit

Super stoked about posting, it was intended to be much longer of a fic, but I'm very bad at keeping on top of things, so it is becoming it's own series/au

Shout out to @stemroses for being a lovely beta.

Read on AO3 [here]

part two [here]

Virgil yowled in frustration as spook rapidly pressed the elevator button, willing the carriage to arrive faster so spook could get to spooks apartment quicker. Spook couldn't afford to waste time.

Virgil was spellbound, after all.

At exactly nine twenty-five pm Virgil would turn into a very particular animal, and maintain that form until the same time the next morning. It was an awkward curse, especially in winter, and Virgil was even more thankful that spook worked at home.

The curse was for leaving, moving away from Jan and Re, the only sorcerers that would ever bother with a dumb human like Virgil - and how did spook repay them? By running away like a coward and ending with this stupid spell as punishment-

Ding!

"Oh thank fuck." Spook mumbled, stepping into the elevator, pressing the faded '16' button.

Before the doors could shut, however, someone was rushing towards spook, holding up the elevator to step in. The person was extremely big, though friendly looking, tanned skin covered in freckles and what appeared to be temporary tattoos. Their hair was curly and came to their shoulders, a small braid just behind their ear, the curls dip-dyed a soft blue colour.

They settled next to spook, seemingly very comfortable and smiling, pressing the '12' button. Virgil gritted spooks teeth at the delay it would cause, getting off on a floor before spooks own, but it wasn't like Virgil was ever going to say anything.

"Heya there, I don't think we've met before, so it's nice to meet you, neighbour!" The cheerful person smiled, turning to Virgil to try and talk. Virgil only shut down more, glancing away and willing the elevator to go faster.

It was nine twenty, spook only had four minutes.

"Oh, sorry, you're a little shy, huh? Well, I'm Patton. My pronouns are fae/faem and sometimes he/him, depends on my badge!" Fae explained, pointing to the sleeve of faer jacket - which was tied around faer's shoulders - and had a few badges on it.

The one fae was indicating to was twice the size of the others, a light salmon colour with 'FAE/FAEM' in big, green letters. It would have been hard to miss, but Virgil was pretty focused on not making any form of eye contact.

Virgil nodded to show spook had heard, eyes now drawn to Patton's forearm, and the impressive amount of hair on it - dark brown tufts almost completely hiding the few bracelets fae was wearing. A sudden, horrified thought crossed Virgil's mind as the dots connection on just who spook was in the elevator with.

Patton had to be one of the werewolves that had moved in a few floors down, the same family that spooks vampire roommate was complaining about.

"Werewolves, Virgey, I swear they're evil! It's no coincidence that my cat goes missing after they've moved in, I bet they ate her or something!" Remy complained, drinking from a blood bag that Virgil had provided.

Virgil sat a little dazed from providing, but managed to chip in. "Couldn't she have run away? She did manage to sneak out a few times."

Remy gasped in offence, plopping next to Virgil on the couch. "I bet Emile told you that! Well they don't know what they're talking about, Latte would never run away from me, I gave her the world!"

Virgil remembered Emile's advice to leave Remy when she was ranting, and wisely shut spooks mouth. It was best to just tune Remy out as Virgil chewed on spooks cookie.

"...I would like to get to know our neighbours a little but the folks in here don't seem very chatty and - oh, it was nice to meet you kiddo, but I'm getting off here, uh…hope we can talk again soon?" Patton smiled awkwardly, probably scared that fae had broken Virgil - since spook had not moved or spoken to them the whole ride - and promptly left.

Virgil checked spooks watch. Nine twenty three, spook was surely fucked.

After a moment the elevator opened once more, and Virgil flew out, very nearly hitting an elderly woman and not having the time to apologise - that would surely taunt spook as spook was trying to sleep for a good long while.

Keys jamming into the door, Virgil muttered curses and rapped on the door - though it was useless, spook knew that Remy would be at work by now. Virgil just had to get this stupid door open -

Clack.

Virgil smacked face first into the door, thrown by the momentum spook was placing in trying to unlock the door. The cause of the throw was clear, as Virgil realised that spook had snapped the key, half of it stuck inside the lock.

"Fu -"

Before Virgil could finish the curse, spooks body was thrown back, a familiar but uncomfortable feeling of magic flowing straight through spooks bone marrow.

The effect took less than a minute to finish, and soon Virgil's body was morphed into one of a small cat - the only saving grace was the fact that spooks cat form was all black, maintaining spooks edgy exterior. The downside was how small said cat was, kitten sized, fluffy with green eyes.

Let's face it, Virgil wasn't scaring anyone away from spook in this form.

Panic took hold, the thought of being stuck outside spooks apartment caused enough alarm that Virgil took off running, not sure where spook was going. Near the stairwell, Virgil could hear the click-clack of high heels, and wisely ducked away into a nearby potted plant. Expensive looking heels passed spooks view, and without much of a plan, Virgil bolted through the gap in the door that led to an extensive set of stairs that gave Virgil anxiety on a good day.

Breathing through the rising anxiety, Virgil decided it was best to go down, maybe try and find an old storage room to hide in until the stupid curse faded for the day. One step at a time, spook made spooks way down the steps, mentally muttering - and verbally chittering, not that Virgil noticed - to spookself.

It was taking longer than usual, and felt much more tiring, having to hop down each individual step in such a small body. After travelling down four set of stairs, Virgil decided to take a rest, not sleeping, but to form a plan - and hopefully soothe spooks anxiety a little.

Okay. Virgil mused, this situation isn't great but I can make it work. I just gotta get through tonight and then I'll…have to worry about tomorrow night…

Without warning, a hand twisted into Virgil's scruff, jerking spook backwards in an uncomfortable position. Spook yowled, flapping and flailing to try and scratch at the offending hand. How had Virgil not heard someone approaching? Was spook freaking out that much?

A childish voice gasped and cooed, chubby fingers poking at spooks belly.

"Momma, I found a kitty - kitty! Can we keeeeep it?"

Oh fuck oh no I'm going to be adopted by some clumsy toddler and forced to have tea parties and what if she squeezes me too hard and -

"Oh, sweetheart, we don't have time for a kitten," Larger, and more careful hands scooped spook up, and Virgil turned to peer up at spooks saviour. "I bet this cutie belongs to Patton, there's always new cats in that apartment! Come on, Liz, we gotta take this kitty home real quick."

"Okay!" The child chirped with way too much optimism, unaware they were sending Virgil to spooks impending doom.

Because surely they meant Patton as in the werewolf because how many Patton's could be in this building? Maybe Remy was right, and the wolf was eating cats - why else would fae always be getting more?

Hopefully being such a small cat would convince Patton not to eat spook because of how little meat fae would get.

Then again, veal is popular, perhaps it is a delicacy.

"Whoa, calm down, bud, I'm taking you home." The woman laughed nervously as Virgil swiped at her fingers with all the fierceness a kitten could muster, trying to entice her to give up and let spook down. No such luck, bony fingers instead coiled around spooks body - paws pinned uselessly. "Must be a feral baby, probably why it's so eager to get out."

The last part was mumbled quietly, as though musing to herself, and Virgil resigned spookself into just watching as they travelled down the row of apartments - the layout was practically identical, on floor twelve, and soon stopped in front of apartment '126'.

It was an unassuming, nice looking apartment, the door painted a light blue in contrast to the usual swamp green that the landlord liked to cover each door, skirting board, and window sill in. At least Virgil was getting eaten some place nice looking.

Two sharp knocks on the door and a moments pause later, said door was swinging open to reveal - predictably - the exact same werewolf Virgil had met in the elevator. This time Patton was dressed for bed, light blue tartan pants and a white shirt that seemed to be some form of pun; a cartoon turtle and giraffe, with the turtle asking the giraffe 'what's up'.

"Oh, hello Charlot- Aww! You have a kitty!" Patton smiled, attention wholly on Virgil, even more uncomfortably large in this form.

The woman holding him laughed gently, holding Virgil out for inspection. Virgil hissed spooks disapproval but it did little to dissuade her. "Hello Patton, sorry for knocking on at such a late time, this kitten was on its own in the stairwell - I thought it might've been yours?"

"Aww, I wish! Look how cute ~! But I can definitely take them for the night, try and find an owner."

"What's one more cat, right?"

Patton laughed as fae scooped Virgil up into much larger, more secure hands. Despite the situation, Virgil couldn't help but muse how gentle Patton sounded, surely a disguise to hide faes true intentions. "Absolutely! The more cats the better, its like, basic science."

The two chatted over Virgil's head, as spook spaced out and decided to muse over what led spook to this situation. Barely turned eighteen and already captured by a werewolf to be eaten. Maybe this was Janus and Remus' plan when they cursed spook, the saying was true - there's nothing more spiteful than a sorcerer seeking revenge.

"Now, kiddo," Patton started, and it took Virgil a moment to realise fae was talking to spook. "Let's see if we can get you all cosy, huh?"

Virgil meowed sadly, trying spooks hardest to wriggle out the wolf's hands. Patton simply laughed and rearranged fae's hold.

"Ooh, I've got a little wriggle baby. Maybe you need to become a purrito to chill out. Would that make you feel better, baby?"

Virgil may not have a cat spookself, but spook had been on the internet more than long enough to know what a purrito was - and the last thing spook needed was to be restrained. Spook whined sadly, willing spooks body to relax in the arms of a predator.

"Aww. We'll eat first, then try and sort out where you'll sleep. Now let's see if Pat can figure out how old you are…"

Without any more warning, Patton's fingers were in Virgil's mouth, tugging the jaw open with the utmost care. Virgil whined in vague disgust, not wanting to think about what Patton could've touched. At least they looked somewhat clean, painted light blue with white pawprints - though they were chipped slightly, and Virgil could see the tell tale black nails of a werewolf underneath.

"Hmm, about four or five weeks?" Patton mused, paying no mind as the kitten tried to bite fae's fingers in return. "You're a little small, kiddo, but that's okay. Papa Patton can fatten you right up."

Oh god, spook was going to be eaten, but only after spook was sufficiently chubby. Virgil thought of all the meat videos spook had watched, the ones that convinced spook to turn vegetarian, how the farmers would force feed the cattle to make more desirable cuts.

Obviously Patton planned to feed spook over the course of a few days, maybe even a few weeks. By morning Virgil will be human again, but would that make spook safe? Virgil was aware of the violent stereotypes around werewolves, and didn't personally believe that they were inherently bad - but if Patton was going to eat a kitten, would an anxious human really be above fae's morals? It's not like there'd be any evidence, or anyone looking for spook. Well, maybe Remy would try hunting spook down for Virgil's cut of the rent.

"And, whalla!" Patton's cheerful voice snapped Virgil out of spooks musings, placing spook down on the counter top with surprising gentleness. Then, a small plastic dish was placed next to spook. "There we go, some yummy milk for the cutest kitty."

Peering into the dish, it looked like rather like porridge, with way too much milk - lukewarm and completely innocent looking. Virgil made an odd chirp before looking at Patton. The Were was watching Virgil closely, smiling gently and leaning against the counter.

A few awkward moments passed where Virgil merely blinked at Patton, before testing spooks luck and trying to wander off. Predictably, gentle hands scooped spooks up, being placed back in front of the bowl.

"C'mon, kiddo, you need to eat up." After another awkward wait, Patton mumbled to faeself. "Hmm, maybe you haven't been weaned yet, might have to get the feeding syringe…"

That certainly caught Virgil’s attention, cringing inwardly at the thought of being force fed through a syringe. Would it be better to eat it now? This way spook has control over what spook eats, but what would happen when Virgil was full?

That train of thought was too intimidating, so Virgil shook slightly before inching forward, gently lapping at the milk. It didn’t taste particularly drugged, so all Virgil could do was hope it would be alright.

“Here’s the feeder, I’ll just make some milk -” Patton turned to the counter with a feeding syringe, before stopping and smiling. “Aww, you figured it out, good job, kiddo! Just, uh, you eat that, I’ll try and find the flea and worm treatments…”

Virgil grimaced, lapping away at the creamy milk. Tonight was sure to be long night.

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that-was-anticlimactic · 3 years ago

Note

13, 19, 22 for the fic asks :D

13. favorite writing song/artist/album of this year

hmmm, well, i listened to you matter to me a Lot when i wrote you never quite say (but i hear) because the title is from that and also i was Sad so it was great motivation, but i think my number one would actually have to be we will stand for everfree from the mlp equestria girls movie legend of everfree because it’s The song for when i work on every lovely bloom designed to defend haha but my top album when writing is probably the soundtrack to the musical starry !

19. any new fics to start next year

omg i have So Many Ideas ahhhhh !!! i have another mini sokka with ts oneshot that i want to write and post, i want to write a zukku oneshot based around my favorite line from much ado about nothing, and if time allows, i’d like to Finally have written more of my zukka frozen au and post that! but i also have a joe with depression sk8 fic in the works and i am going to be writing and posting a nanami with ts oneshot (jjk) hopefully in january ??? it will Not leave my mind lol and that is just like. Some of them oOPS

22. events you participated in this year

so i participated in the 18+ big bang which is what elbdtd is for (and i Will be updating that !!! i just Really want it to be good, so i’m saving finishing chapter three for when i have more time... aka winter break)!

i also participated in the reverse big bang and, unfortunately, i have Not Yet been able to finish or post it due to my classes being a Lot of work + a job and such, but that one Will be done !!! it’s my main priority during break!

then i am also doing the atla winter solstice exchange event but i can’t say much about that, haha!

i also did every day of femslash week this year and you can find all of those fics here (yueki, kyalin, tysuki, mailee, jinzula, korrasami, & sukitara!) and that was Super fun!

i also did three days of zukka week and you can find those fics here ! that was a fun one!

tHEN (almost done) i did two days of gen week, wanted to do more but i was busy at work :/ but you can find those two fics here !

lastly ! i was able to find time to write one fic for sokka week, wanted to do more but that was when work was at its busiest :/ anyways, it’s you are the best you and it’s an older sokka finding out that bumi ii got diagnosed with ts fic :)

fanfic end of the year asks

#jet tag #hELP THIS IS SO LONG I AM SO SORRY IUYGFCGHJ #I DID MORE EVENTS THAN I THOUGHT I DID AJUYGFVHJIUHG #thank you for indulging me and letting me screech about my fics <3 #corey rambles:)#corey writes:)

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e-tea-n · 4 years ago

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" (if you're gonna be the death of me) that's how I wanna go "

(content warnings in authors note)

It's finally done! Here's my entry for the Winter Fic Exchange!! Thank you @etn-bigbang for letting me take part in this :D

Guess it's reveal time-- this is for @alinadash101 !! A very merry Christmas to you my dear friend. It was a joy to write for you once more!!!! I really hope you enjoy it and I'm so glad I got it out on time ; you deserve the very best and I wanted to do what I could to help provide that. So yeah, I hope you enjoy it. I love you so so so much!

#escape the night #fanfic #winter fic exchange #etn-bigbang #ALINA I LOVE YOU #VERY VERY MUCH

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kernsing · 4 years ago

Text

A puzzling string of deaths afflicts a major Texas city. Healthy teenagers succumb to respiratory failure within minutes, their sole witnesses their fathers. Officials have issued an advisory for carbon monoxide poisoning and launched an investigation into nearby natural gas power plants, but the public remains disquieted.

SHIELD requests Tony and Peter’s aid, revealing a magical element at play targeting fathers and sons. Tony and Peter must go undercover to lure out the malicious spirit behind the deaths. Although uneasy, Tony allows Peter to decide if he wants to go. Of course, Peter says yes—oh? Does he want in on a STEM summer program too? Hell yeah he does!

But on the day they leave, SHIELD informs the adults alone that the respiratory failure story conceals something far more disturbing: the spirit actually possesses the fathers and uses them to kill their own children. Adamant on stopping it, Tony goes on the mission, even as he struggles with the directive to keep the information from Peter. It’s not right, but he understands. He hates that he understands.

Nobody wants a repeat of last winter. Nobody gets what they want.

(Irondad exchange fic for @parkrstark, beta read by @jean-and-diet-coke)

#k writes #marvel #fanfic #irondad #peter & tony #peter parker #tony stark #ao3 #link #irondadficexchange

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i-am-bella-donna · 3 years ago

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Beautiful Trash Fire Chapter 1: Family

TS Winter Fic Exchange 2021–2022

AO3 | Next Chapter

Story Summary:

Remus and Janus were ecstatic. After hours of preparation, their masterpiece was finally complete! It was a culmination of time and patience; a creation that was truly magnificent.

“You guys said you had a good idea! This is the exact opposite of a good idea!”

Apparently, Virgil disagreed.

Pairings: Platonic Anxceit, Platonic Dukexiety, Platonic Dukeceit

Word Count: 2,527

CONTENT WARNINGS: ARGUING, FIRE

A/N: This was written for the TS Winter Fic Exchange 2021–2022 for @houser-of-stories. The prompts used were blankets, fireplace, night, and party.

~~~

Remus beamed at the fireplace. Beside him, Janus smirked.

It was truly a sight to behold—much better than the boring fire in the Light Mindscape. Gathering supplies had taken the better part of their day, not at all helped by how cheery the stupid Light Sides were. With the amount of time they were spending in their common area, it had been almost impossible for Remus to steal from them.

Well—to discreetly steal from them, in any case. Remus, of course, was perfectly content to kick down the door, waltz in, and give the others a smack on the head when they inevitably tried to stop him. It would not even be a hard smack—he would not knock them out, or anything of the sort. He would be gentle! For the sake of the holidays!

However, for some dumbass reason, Janus had instructed him to be secretive. In other words, no smacking.

Which really sucked, since the Light Sides were being so fucking annoying by spending all of their time in the common room, like they owned the place! Which…they technically did, but still. Those jerks.

Now, though—as he gazed upon the beautiful, hungry flames, Remus felt his chest swell with pride. For once, he had put in things like time and patience, and it had paid off quite remarkably. The only thing left was the grand finale: showing the masterpiece to Virgil.

“So, Jay-nus,” Remus piped up cheerfully. He set a hand on his friend’s shoulder and shot him a wide smile, forcing his lips not to tremble from the biting cold. Unfortunately, the all-consuming chill was an unexpected consequence of completing their project—without the distraction, the reason they had built the fire in the first place was now living rent-free in his mind. He tried to force it down, regardless. “You gonna get Vee, or should I do it?”

The real question: which of them was willing to leave the beloved warmth of the fire for the cold halls of the Dark Mindscape in nothing but their regular clothes in order to retrieve Virgil?

Janus huffed out a misted breath and rolled his eyes fondly. “Well, sweetie, as much as I love you and your ideas, I doubt anyone would appreciate it if you barged in and dragged Virgil back here by the ankles—least of all Virgil himself, given all the effort he put into keeping these meetings a secret.”

“So…you want me to do it?”

At this, Janus actually barked out a laugh, making Remus grin wider. Both of them pretended not to notice as Janus leaned into the warmth of Remus’s hand before playfully shoving it off. “Of course not, you imbecile. I can take care of it.”

Before Janus could move away from the precious fire, however, a third voice spoke up from the doorway. “No need, idiots. You last track of time. Again.”

Remus spun around, face lighting up and thoughts of the damn cold disappearing as his eyes locked on the familiar emo across the room. “Virgin!” he squealed, racing forward and laughing at the sight of Virgil’s eyes widening in realization of what was about to come.

“Wait, don’t—” Virgil blurted out, taking a step back and throwing his hands out in front of him. His signature I-regret-every-decision-leading-up-to-this-moment look was plastered on his face, but it did absolutely nothing to deter Remus from tackling him to the ground.

“I missed you, Anxie!” he exclaimed. Every cell in him rejoiced at the unexpected amount of warmth radiating from his friend, and he was unable to stop his tentacles from appearing and wrapping tightly around the other. “It’s been so long!”

“It’s been three days—Janus, a little help here?!”

Remus could hear the smirk in Janus’s voice as he snickered. “I think you can handle this, darling Virgil. Besides, you brought it upon yourself.”

“By bringing it upon myself, are you talking about how I decided not to wait for you two to drag your heads out of your asses?” Virgil choked out, coughing. Remus did not bother to move. Given that Virgil had just come from the toasty Light Mindscape—it was the one good thing about that place—he was nice and warm. A perfect human space heater. “Or are you talking about my existence itself?”

“Yes.”

Remus snorted at Virgil’s sputtered-out rage before reluctantly deciding to take mercy on him. He internally mourned the loss of heat as he rolled over, accepting the hand that Janus offered and pulling himself to his feet, tentacles shrinking back into his skin. Virgil simply let out a loud breath, not bothering to move.

“What did keep you guys so long, anyway?” he asked, staring up at the ceiling. As he spoke, his breath formed miniature clouds, which he frowned at the sight of. “And why is it so cold in here?” His hands rubbed at his arms.

Remus and Janus exchanged a barely-suppressed smile, the excitement between them buzzing almost enough to eliminate the chill on its own.

Are you ready? Janus’s expression asked.

Of course! He’ll love it!

“Well, darling Virgil,” Janus began with more than a touch of dramatic flair. Remus grinned and stepped back, allowing the other to take control of the reveal. He could not help but remember the time between—the time when he and Janus considered their once-best friend to be an enemy; the space after Virgil moving to the Light Mindscape but before their subsequent making up around Halloween a year later, just after the puppet incident. The year that Remus and Janus had spent in grief, trying to move on, but still hollow inside.

They adjusted to the new normal more quickly than either would have liked, but Janus…changed. He became quieter; more serious and subdued; and Remus was sure that if he asked, Janus would point out changes in his behavior, too. After all, grief did funny things to people.

Reconciling with Virgil had not been an instant fix—it was like putting a bandage on a stab wound that had already scarred over. None of them were the same person they had used to be—all three had changed, both for the better and for the worst—and rebuilding their relationship had been a work-in-progress, taking a mountain of time, patience, and secrets from the Light Sides over the past month and a half.

Nevertheless, remnants of their old selves would occasionally shine through—memories of when Janus was more sassy than sarcastic; when Remus was more carefree than careless; when Virgil was more cautious than worried.

Watching a little bit of the Old Janus return warmed Remus’s heart. Or it would have, had the Dark Mindscape not been the same temperature as a polar bear’s butt.

“Remus and I,” Janus continued, dragging Remus back to the present, “have been hard at work preparing a glorious surprise.” And with that, he stepped aside and gestured behind him, revealing the beautiful fire.

Virgil paused and slowly got to his feet, clearly taken aback. He stared.

And stared.

Finally—

“What the fuck?!”

Huh?

“Something wrong?” Remus asked, trying to mask the hurt he felt at the unexpectedly hostile exclamation. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Janus trembling—though whether it was caused by anger or the cold, Remus could not tell. Probably both.

“Or have the Light Sides risen your standards to near-damn impossible?” Janus grumbled, crossing his arms and curling in on himself. Remus winced. Oh, that was—

Virgil glowered at Janus and pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly hit hard by the comment but struggling to remain patient. “This has nothing to do with them, Janus,” he said defensively. “I grew up here, too, remember? My standards are practically floor-level. And somehow”—he threw a hand toward the fire, a look of sheer exasperation on his face—“you two took a pickaxe and started digging!”

Remus rubbed his hands together, cupping them in front of his mouth and blowing into them to warm them up. “C’mon, emo. It’s not that bad—”

“Seriously?” Virgil snapped, leveling him with a hard stare. Realizing that he had raised his voice, he closed his eyes and exhaled slowly before continuing. “Ree, Jay—amazing Sides, friends, and family—you two. Set. A literal. Trash fire.”

The trash fire in question was indeed a trash fire. As in—trash. On fire.

Remus and Janus had gathered garbage from all over the Dark Mindscape—rubbish from trash cans, food scraps, old boxes and bottles; anything unnecessary, really—and dumped it into the fireplace. Remus had then prepared a mixture of salt and borax—yes, it had all been stolen from the Light Mindscape—and added fuel to the fire.

Borax made fire green.

Salt made it yellow.

Overall, it was beautiful—

“You guys said you had a good idea! This is the exact opposite of a good idea!”

—or not.

Janus hissed and rubbed at his arms, definitely shivering now. He was wearing a bitter expression. “And what exactly do you propose we did instead?” he snapped. “We did the best with what we had—”

“Whoa—Snake Face, calm down,” Virgil cut him off, appearing surprised by the sudden aggression. He blinked, staring between Remus and Janus as though he was seeing the two of them for the first time. “I’m not criticizing you—”

Remus snorted. “I mean, you kind of are.”

“Fine. I don’t mean to criticize you, then, and I’m sorry that I am. But I get it. I lived with you guys for, like, two decades. I know how hard it is to live like this. I understand how important the little victories feel. Normally, it would be fine—but listen, this is serious! The temperature is almost freezing. Janus, you can’t handle low temperatures at all, and Remus, don’t act like you’re much better. And trash fires are super dangerous, not to mention whatever the fuck this green-and-yellow thing is—I get that you were desperate, but there is a giant difference between being independent and being stupid, so both of you idiots better put your damn pride aside and let me help you!”

Janus wordlessly looked at his feet. Remus rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, glancing between his two friends as though waiting for one of them to explode.

“Great,” Virgil said when there was no objection. He tipped his head toward the door. “Then come with me.”

Janus glanced helplessly at Remus, who only shrugged and grinned, grabbing his—ice cold—hand and yanking him after Virgil. As much as Remus hated the verbal defamation of his beautiful masterpiece—which he fully intended to avenge—the emo had made some good points. Namely when he mentioned Janus becoming a snakesicle. As much as he loved body horror, Remus would rather have his friend full of squishy guts than ice.

But Remus was bringing the borax and salt, and if Virgil thought he could stop him, he was going to be a dead man.

Walking into the Light Mindscape was…an experience, to say the least. Remus was used to barging in uninvited, but he never stayed for long, and it was never this much warmer by comparison. And walking in through the actual door? Like it was something ordinary and not forbidden? A quick glance at Janus’s expression told Remus that his friend was equally unnerved by the situation.

Virgil paused as they passed the kitchen. “…Wait, are we forgetting something?”

Silence.

“Probably not.” He shrugged and continued walking.

The three of them were silent as Virgil guided them up the stairs, Janus and Remus visibly drinking in the sheer warmth of the place. Nice and toasty—like the inside of a polar bear’s butthole! The warmth persisted as they were led down a hallway that, unlike the Light Mindscape common areas, the two had rarely seen. Virgil stopped at a room that appeared to be…

…a den.

The game room-type of den, too—not the cool caverns where creepy and dangerous animals dwelled. The walls were a plain cream; the carpet soft but still scratchy. Just a boring room with board games—bored games—and books and a television and a fireplace—

Remus stopped short, causing Janus to crash into him. He paid it no heed.

A fireplace?!

Squealing, Remus grabbed Janus’s arm—ignoring his squeak of protest—and gestured flailing to the budding orange flames. “Jay, Jay, Jay—” he gasped in excitement, bouncing on the balls of his feet. An idea began to take form in his mind. “There’s more fire!”

Janus’s face lit up as he realized what Remus was trying to suggest.

“Wait—what are those smirks for?” Virgil demanded, crossing his arms and stepping between them and the fire. “What are you two planning?”

Janus paid Virgil no heed and turned back to Remus instead. “Should I summon it?” he asked, a hand already raised.

“No need!” Remus cackled. He held up the jar of white powder. “Already got it, Snakey!”

“What the hell are you doing to the fireplace?!”

Remus shot Virgil an innocent grin. “Relax, Vee! You lived with us for over twenty and you still don’t trust us?”

“I’m pretty sure I don’t trust you because I lived with you for over twenty years.”

Janus scoffed, any traces of his previous anger toward Virgil now forgotten. He folded his arms, not-so-subtly inching toward the small fire and basking in the warmth. “Rude.”

“Cry me a river,” Virgil deadpanned. He gestured to the jar that Remus was holding, eyeing the white powder suspiciously. “Seriously, what is that shit?”

Remus grinned and held up the jar. “It’s the stuff that makes fire turn pretty colors! Like the one back home!”

“You mean, like your dangerous trash fire back home?”

“Yeah!”

Janus rubbed his hands together, still leaning towards the heat. Remus wrapped an arm around his waist and joined him, hoping whatever body heat he had left could help warm Janus. He himself was still cold, but Janus had always been more sensitive to extreme temperatures. That was a big yikes.

“So,” Remus continued. “What do you say? Can we add some of this to the fire? Pretty please with butts on top?”

“Since when do you ask for permission to break the rules?”

“Yay or nay?”

Virgil’s sigh was akin to the bellow of a foghorn. “…Fine.”

Janus let out a whoop of joy as Remus cackled, unscrewing the lid and dumping half of the jar onto the flames. The fire flared for a split second, burning bright shades of green and yellow before settling into a nice and steady glow. Virgil stumbled backward, eyes wide and startled but grinning.

“…Wow.”

Before any of them could say anything else, though, Remus heard a loud gasp from the doorway.

“What are they doing here?!”

The three of them spun around and froze, their eyes meeting those of the three Light Sides. Patton stood completely still, wearing his cat hoodie normally and clutching it like a Victorian lady clutching her pearls. Logan looked confused, eyes darting between Remus, Janus, Virgil, and the fire, whose green-and-yellow light reflected on his glasses. Roman, meanwhile, had the expression of a man who had just been told that Disney was canceled. Remus laughed at their shell-shocked impressions.

“So that’s what we forgot, Virgin!”

~~~

A/N: The second chapter will be posted before the end of the exchange.

Taglist: @ts-winter-fic-exchange @houser-of-stories

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life-happened · 4 years ago

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Tamersona Gift Exchange!

Okay, ya’ll I did it!!! The tamersona winter gift exchange is a go!

Here is the discord link: https://discord.gg/UMbFf4T2cN

Last day to sign up will be December 15th, the exchange will happen January 14th.

Art and fics are both welcome! Please help me spread the word!

#digimon #tamersona #digimon ocs #digimon tamersonas #tamersona gift exchange

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im-an-anxious-wreck · 3 years ago

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Snake And Snow? Brr, No Go

AO3 link

Summary: Solstices used to be joyous days, full of laughter and fun, but in more recent years, Janus couldn't even bear to leave his room, let alone do an activity with Remus.

But this year, this year he was going to finally ignore the old traditions and what once was.

This Solstice was for new —albeit currently undetermined— traditions and Janus was absolutely determined to spend the day with Remus…

Now if only he could find Remus.

Warnings: descriptions of being very cold, a bit of Virgil leaving angst, medically dubious hypothermia (the Imagination is magic so it's fine), cursing, physical and emotional hurt/comfort

Perspective/main character: Janus

Side/secondary characters: Remus

Mentioned: Virgil, Roman

Platonic relationship: dukeceit

Word Count: 2,431

Link to my collection of TSS fanworks

This is for @i-am-bella-donna through the @ts-winter-fic-exchange ! The prompt words I used are: Solstice, blizzard, and blankets

Janus used to love the Imagination, with its perfect weather and beautiful landscape… and by perfect weather, he meant drizzling and cold, and by beautiful landscape, he meant the dead, twisted trees and human-eating sand pits. And yes, he might've meant it sarcastically, but Remus' side of the Imagination did have its own, albeit disturbing, sort of charm.

Usually, he almost looked forward to trips in the Imagination, but tonight… tonight was really making him consider retracting that statement.

He huffed out another puffy breath as he tucked his frozen hands farther into his armpits.

It hadn't been quite so bad when he'd first entered the Imagination, the sun shining and soft ankle-deep snow bright and whimsical. But now the harsh winds blew big swirls of the knee-deep snow over Janus as more continued to pelt down, leaving him miserably cold and bitter.

And after all that, he hadn't even found Remus yet, the entire blasted reason for his trek to begin with.

All he had wanted to do was see if Remus wanted to do something for Solstice —something they hadn't dared to do since Virgil left— but Remus wasn't in the Mindscape, so here Janus was, wandering through Remus' dangerous —especially since Remus wasn't with him— lands, freezing his scales off.

Why was it so damn cold to begin with? Sure, Remus liked to have unpredictable and oftentimes not pleasant weather, but this was a whole other thing.

Janus' shivering only seemed to be worsening and he almost desperately tried to blink the snow out of his eyes. The right side of him was cold, but it had absolutely nothing on how truly icey his left was. He couldn't feel his left hand and that arm was so frozen that it was almost warm as a sharp tingling sensation ran up and down it.

His feet were somehow numb but also frigid, which was just frustrating. If they were going to be a pain and whine about the cold, then couldn't they at least just pick one?

At least Janus was almost at Fallest Castle, the tall, crumbling bricks coming into view as he continued to fight the urge to close his eyes and collapse.

Hopefully he'd find Remus there, but at the very least he could light one of the fireplaces and maybe not completely freeze to death.

Cold was very dangerous for snakes, and while Janus was only part-snake, the cold still very much bothered him.

He just hoped that Remus would be there. While the fireplace in the castle could provide warmth quicker than the ones in Thomas' world, Remus was like a space heater for your insides and that was only amplified in his side of the Imagination.

As Janus bitterly cursed the bitter weather yet again, his thoughts drifted to Solstices long past, of days spent laughing around the fire instead of the cold loneliness that had only been present in more recent years.

God, he missed Virgil.

Most of the time he pretended that he didn't, it felt easier to just ignore the hurt, but it didn't truly make it go away.

Virgil's absence was still painfully obvious, there always seemed to be a gap in everything Janus and Remus did. A pause as if they were waiting for Virgil's witty retort, space on the couch for him as if he would just —out of nowhere— plop down beside them. They even left his chair at the dining room table, although they couldn't bring themselves to eat at the table anymore. It just didn't seem right without him.

Janus wasn't sure they'd ever fill the negative space. if they were going to, surely they would've by now. It'd been years at this point.

Virgil wasn't there anymore… but that didn't mean that they couldn't still do things. Even though it was just the two of them, they could still have a good time.

And really, all this moping Janus had been doing wasn't helping anyone, he needed to move on, not only for Remus' sake but for his own as well.

It was about time —long overdue really— that they had a fun Solstice together. Just because three was now two, didn't mean that they couldn't at least watch some movies together.

Maybe Janus could make popcorn… well, it'd all have to be after he warmed up though.

Janus sighed and took in his surroundings, looking up to see that the castle now was so close that it loomed overhead. He puffed out a breath of relief and, pressing on, tried to push past the pure exhaustion and finish his uphill journey.

There'd be plenty of time to think about Virgil later.

The snow still whipped at Janus' eyes and he'd only closed his eyes for a second, just to rest his dried out eyes, but it was just long enough, just at the wrong time for the world to tilt around him.

He wasn't even quite sure what happened for a second, one moment he was standing, then he blinked, and was laying down with the snow piled high around him, and hands burning from either the cold or having flown out to catch himself.

After a second of letting the realization that he'd just fallen sink in, he tried to push himself up with shaky arms onto his knees, only to fall back down when the cold, yet searing, pain in his hands and knees grew tenfold.

He let out a small sound — that was nothing like a sob, thank you very much. Cold stung his eyes and his entire front felt like it was on fire, but whether it was from hitting the ground hard or from the snow, he couldn't tell.

Janus gritted his teeth and tried again. After almost tumbling back down, he finally made it to his feet. He brushed the packed clumps of snow off of his front, but when he got to the snow on his knees, his sense of balance was still wonky, and he was only barely able to jerk a foot forward to catch himself as he nearly toppled over again.

After taking a deep breath, he finally steadied himself and looked up to see Remus barreling down the castle path and towards him.

"Janny!" Remus' rough but comforting voice called.

"Remus?"

Remus slid to a stop next to Janus and slung one of Janus' arms over his shoulders, leaning some of Janus' weight on him. Everywhere that Remus was pressed up against Janus was practically and very pleasantly burning with warmth.

"Janny, you dumb fuck, you good? You just like, completely fell over… Shit, you're practically an ice cube!" Remus looked at Janus in concern as he began to carefully help Janus walk up the hill.

"Y— yeah, no shit. It's not like it's s— so fucking cold or a— anything."

"Oh, fuck. Yeah, sorry 'bout the cold weather, Janny."

Hold on… "Isn't the weather tied to your emotions?"

"Uh… why do you ask?"

"Remus. You k— know why."

"Anyway!"

Janus sighed but dropped the subject, at least for the time being.

They'd have to continue that conversation when Janus could actually make it through a sentence without stuttering and shivering.

They finally got to the large oaken doors of the castle, which magically opened for them, and they hobbled through the foyer and over to the fireplace in the living room.

Janus hummed in relief as the warmth from the blazing fire washed over him and he all but melted into the couch.

Remus disappeared for a moment and came back with a green, yellow, and purple quilt.

It was one they'd all made together, back when Virgil was… was still there.

Janus closed his eyes, trying to, yet again, remove his focus from Virgil's absence, and instead decided to focus on the tingling in his toes and fingers.

He could hear Remus shuffling around at the tea cart in the corner of the room, but paid him little mind.

Janus sat there for a few minutes, the warmth from the fire and Remus' magical ambience almost making him sleepy. He was finally able to relax.

A quiet clearing of a throat made Janus finally open his eyes and turned to his right to see Remus kneeling with a cup of tea.

"I didn't even poison it this time!" Remus announced.

Janus raised an eyebrow amusingly. "G— glad to hear. Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Remus exclaimed before carefully sitting beside Janus on the couch. He looked almost like he thought Janus would kick him off at any second, if the way he was perched on the edge of the couch and how his face was pinched in nervousness and concern was anything to go off of.

"...What's that face for?" Janus asked before taking a sip of his warm ginger, lemon tea.

"Nothing! Just… just wondering why you're here."

"Well, you didn't answer when I tried summoning you, so I had to find you manually."

"Oh, yeah, forgot I turned that off. Well… I'm afraid coming here was a moot point, whatever it was, I didn't do it. I've been in here for all of today and part of yesterday."

Janus huffed a laugh. "No, I'm not here to blame you for anything; you're not in trouble." Janus sipped some more tea.

"Oh… then why are you here? Why… why did you risk yourself in the snowstorm… just to talk to me?"

"I…" Well, it did sound a bit ridiculous when he worded it like that. "I just… thought I'd check on you."

"Check on… me?"

"Yes, it's…" Janus set his empty cup on the end table next to the couch and turned back to Remus with a sigh. "Well, today is a… lonely day, I suppose, and so I… I thought perhaps…" Janus picked at a loose thread on the blanket. "We could do something, if you want to, that is."

"I… you want to hang out with me?"

Janus blinked in surprise. "Of course I want to hang out with you. Why wouldn't I?"

"Well… I don't know. You just… usually don't on… today."

"Ah, it's true that…" Janus sighed. Honestly, it was hard to be honest at times. "Today, Solstice that is, um, well, it's usually quite difficult for me, as you know, and I'm sure you're well aware that it's because it just reminds me of the Solstices spend with… with Virgil. Of course, the memories themselves are not the issue, they're very fond memories, in fact… but time has…"

"Made them bitter? Like they used to make you smile but now they just stab at your eyes and twist the knife in your gut?"

"Thank you for that lovely imagery but yes, that's it exactly. Solstice, along with his birthday and the day he left, is one of the most… difficult days for me."

Remus looked down at his twisting hands and bit his lower lip. "Hmm, I think I get what ya mean…

"So why's this year different? Like, it's been years, so why do you want to do something different this year?"

"I… I'm not exactly sure, but I do know that I'm tired of being sad on this day. This used to be such a happy day for us, and granted, we're not as many as we used to be, but it's time to be able to celebrate today again. Even if we don't do anything fancy or anything we'd do with— I mean, anything we used to do, I think it's time to make new traditions, don't you?"

Remus beamed. "Hell yeah! Ooh, one of our new ones should be to prank the light sides! Or at least my brother, I'm not too picky."

Janus chuckled as a smile tugged at his lips. "Nothing mean, but yes, that sounds like a terrible new tradition."

"Oh, but not quite yet. You're still not completely warmed up and I took a bath yesterday so we should snuggle!" Remus exclaimed as he wiggled in place. "For warmth of course."

"Ah, yes, for warmth. Not because we're both touch starved bitches who need physical contact."

Remus giggled. "Right! Definitely not."

"...Well?"

Remus tilted his head to the side.

Janus light-heartedly rolled his eyes and, lifting the edge of the blanket, patted the spot next to him. "Get over here."

After squealing, Remus curled up under the blanket next to Janus and Janus draped his arm over Remus' shoulders.

They sat there for a bit, and eventually, the tingling in Janus' toes quit and, after wiggling his toes experimentally, he concluded that they actually almost felt normal again.

"...Remus?"

"Yeah, Janny?"

"Why was the weather so…" Janus gestured with the hand not on Remus when he couldn't think of the right word.

Remus sighed and sat up. "Damn, I was hoping you'd forget. It was… well, you said it earlier, 'today is a lonely day', so I was just… really sad and kinda missing you and Virgie. But it's okay now!" Remus exclaimed, forcing energy into his voice.

"Remus, it doesn't have to be okay."

Remus' maniacal grin faded. "No, it really is o… well, I mean, I don't even have a reason to be sad. It was a long time ago anyway, and besides, we're together this year now."

"It's alright to still be sad about something that happened a long time ago. Time does help, but you can still be sad. It's alright to feel."

"I… I know that, I really do! It's just…" Remus trailed off and bit his lip thoughtfully.

"Hard to think about?"

"Yeah."

"I… I have a really hard time thinking about it too. I… I still miss Virgil, and I don't think I'll ever stop missing him, but, as hard as it may be, it's important to feel those feelings. Not all the time, of course, sometimes you just need a distraction, but repression isn't healthy."

"I—" Remus cut himself off with a snort. "You… you speak good."

Janus huffed. "Was that a Mulan reference?"

"Yep, sure was!" Remus fluttered his fingers quickly on his collar bone. "…But in all seriousness —well, as serious as I ever am— thanks. My brain can be really loud and annoying sometimes."

"You're welcome, and yes, I understand. Mine's the same way."

"Just a regular pair of jokers, huh?"

"Excuse you, I'm much more like… well, the wit of Riddler and the grace of Catwoman, but I'm certainly not Joker."

Remus giggled and gently shoved Janus. "If you say so. Now shut up and cuddle me!"

And Janus did just that.

~The End~

No reposting, likes are nice, and reblogs are very much appreciated! | Taglist (ask to be added or removed): @someoneiwasnt

#sanders sides #sanders sides fics #janus sanders #ts janus #tss janus #remus sanders #ts remus #tss remus #my writing #ts winter fic exchange

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edupunkn00b · 3 years ago

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A Winter's Tale

Written as a gift for @justmeandmygayships for the @ts-winter-fic-exchange. I hope you like it! :) And check out @braingoburr's super cute fan art he drew for this story! (zoom!)

CW: swearing, Remus-typical innuendo (surprise), enemies-to-lovers, past divorce, happy ending - WC: 5662 - [ AO3 ] Playlist available on Spotify.

“Roman, are you quite certain I am at the correct cabin?” Logan trudged through the snow, the weight of his duffel bag seeming to increase with each step up the winding driveway. The rental car he’d reserved had heated seats, four-wheel drive, and snow tires.

The rental car he’d received barely had enough chassis clearance to avoid scraping the axles on every speed bump in the parking lot, let alone anything better than nearly bald tires, rear wheel drive, and a sub-optimal heating system. The car had skidded out at the bottom of the hill, forcing Logan to finish his journey on foot. At this point, Logan considered himself lucky to have made it up to the Prince family's old winter cabin in one piece.

“Really, Roman… I don’t see your truck up here.” Logan squinted against the glare coming off the fresh snow. It had snowed all night, which was another reason why Logan had arrived late to Xenia—and the car rental office—in the first place. His connecting flight out of Austin had been delayed, forcing him to spend the night in a cold terminal.

Ironically, the Tom Hanks movie with the same name had played on a loop on the large screen near his boarding gate. Someone in that airport had a sick sense of humor.

“Trust the magic. I can see where you dropped a GPS pin on my phone. Lo, you’re in the right place. Look up, I bet you can see smoke coming from the chimney.” Roman laughed as his best friend audibly gasped over the phone. “See? I told you, Professor.”

Logan sighed. “Alright, alright, I will trust The Magic next time. I do think I still should throttle you, though. You have a giant pickup truck. Tell me again why you couldn’t drive me here from the airport?”

“Because then I wouldn’t have been able to get your little surprise ready,” Roman’s voice was thick with a barely contained laugh.

Logan stopped walking. “I don’t like surprises, Roman.” He looked around the snow on the path. No footprints, no signs of odd trip wires or fake trees, no drone-operated fireworks… Just because he’s done it once, doesn’t mean that’s how he’d do it again, Lo.

“You’ll find out in just a minute.” Roman purred over the line, each day he spent with his new husband serving to increase the degree to which they sounded alike. “Just stay on the phone, okay?”

“Roman, what have you—” Logan grit his teeth when he was interrupted by Roman’s laughter.

“Just knock on the door, Lo….”

Sighing heavily, he snapped into the phone. “Fine, Roman, I’m knocking on the door!” He banged the ornate brass knocker several times. “Do you hear that? And then I am going to use up all of the hot water with a long shower and—” His voice died away when the door opened and there stood, not Roman, but Roman’s twin brother, Remus.

Logan’s ex-husband Remus.

“Surprise!” Roman cooed into the phone. “Enjoy your holiday!”

“Is that Ro?” Remus asked, arms crossed in front of him.

Logan held out the phone, Roman’s deep belly laugh clearly audible from a few feet away. “He’s your brother.”

“He’s your best friend.”

“He was certainly your brother before he was my friend.”

“Oh knock that shit out right now.” Roman said over the phone.

Rolling his eyes, Logan tapped on the screen. “You are on speaker phone, Roman. Care to explain yourself?”

“Yeah, what the fuck do you think you’re doing, Ro?

“I am sick and tired of listening to the two of you continue to talk about each other every single day.” Logan’s eyes widened and he adjusted his glasses as he looked down, stomping the snow off his boots. Remus didn’t notice. He’d looked away, his scowl deepening. “It was annoying enough before you got married, and then I guess it was kinda cute while you were married, but now it’s back to annoying again.”

Roman paused over the phone, and Logan and Remus looked at the phone instead of each other. “‘Skip to the song already, it’s getting boring.’”

The former couple yelled at Roman at the same time, voices overlapping.

“Yeah, thanks a lot, Mels!,” sneered Remus “Don’t use a Doctor Who reference against us,” Logan snapped.

“Thank you both for making my point.” Roman said, one layer of the joviality gone from his voice. “Look. Logan, your flight back to LA isn’t for a week—”

Glancing up at Remus, he interrupted. “I can change my flight.”

“Yes, but you won’t because it’s non-refundable and you would consider it an egregious waste of money to make the change simply because of a little emotional discomfort.”

Remus chuckled, “It’s almost like he’s met you before.”

“And you, Re.” Remus tightened his arms across his belly. “You aren’t going anywhere because you still can’t drive until you get re-authorized”—Logan’s brow furrowed and he watched Remus out of the corner of his eye—”and I’m not picking up your gremlin ass early.”

Again Roman grew quiet over the phone and Logan thought he heard quiet murmuring in the background. Apparently Roman wasn’t the only one on speakerphone. “Just enjoy your vacation. It’s a beautiful cabin. It’s been below zero degrees all December, so there’s ice skating on the lake, and plenty of firewood out in the woodshed, plus a backup generator. The kitchen is stocked and there are two bedrooms if you insist on doing things the stupid way.”

“Re, I’ll pick you up in a week.” Roman let out one more little laugh. “I’ll be sure to knock first.” Scoffing, Logan ended the call.

“Thanks,” Remus muttered, jerking his chin toward the phone. He half-raised his hand toward Logan’s duffel bag. “Do you want a hand—”

“I can handle it,” Logan snapped. The canceled flight, the disaster of the rental car, the cold, the snow, and Roman’s surprise all caught up with him at once. “I’m not a complete weakling.”

“Dammit, Lo, I didn’t fucking say that. I just offered to—” Remus rubbed the back of his neck and blew out a long breath. “Yeah, whatever.” He stormed off somewhere in the cabin and Logan turned around to close the door.

“‘Yeah, whatever,’ indeed.” Logan muttered to himself. He sighed, untangling his scarf from his neck, wincing as a clump of wet snow slipped down his coat. “Fuck, it’s going to be a long week.”

~~~~~

As the afternoon stretched into the evening, hunger drew both men out of their self-imposed isolation and they found themselves together in the kitchen, awkwardly poking around the pantry and the refrigerator.

“Well, Ro certainly planned ahead,” Remus muttered, fishing through the vegetable bin before closing the refrigerator door.

Logan was checking cans in the pantry. “Hm… Indeed,” he hummed. Remus chuckled, quietly mouthing ‘indeed’ with a little smile. “It appears that there are the raw ingredients for well over a week’s worth of meals, however…”

“However, everything requires a fuckton of prep.”

Logan poked his head out from the pantry, lips twitching. “Eloquent,” he finally said.

Remus gave him a little bow. Logan watched Remus for a moment as he pulled open the freezer drawer and rooted around, then shook his head and returned to the pantry. “I could make a stir fry for tonight. That’s pretty quick. And there’s some chicken already defrosted in the fridge.” He pulled a package of chuck beef from the freezer. “And maybe do some prep for a stew for tomorrow night.”

“You always did make a nice stew,” Logan said quietly.

Remus stood up and leaned toward the pantry. “Say again?”

“I’ll chop the vegetables,” he said, closing the pantry drawer and moving to the sink to wash his hands.

~~~~~

After dinner cleanup was done, they settled in opposite ends of the living room, the warmest room in the house. Logan finished counting the splits of wood then looked out the window. “At the rate at which we are consuming firewood, we will likely need to replenish this stock before tomorrow night.” He adjusted his glasses and glanced toward Remus, who’d put down the book he’d been reading, listening to Logan. He cleared his throat. “Well, the weather is clear right now.” He shrugged. “It would behoove us to gather more before the need is urgent and while the weather holds.”

Remus put down his book and stood. “Sure thing, Lo—gan. I’ll get my coat.”

The pair left through the back door of the cabin. Stepping down from the porch, Logan was surprised when his first step left him in snow nearly up to his knee. “The snow is significantly deeper back here than in the front of the house.”

Remus smiled sadly, looking around the small clearing between the cabin and the trees lining the trail to the lake. “Yeah. It’s the way the wind blows coming off the lake. Creates these big snow drifts back here.” He pointed to a tree with a thick, low branch about chest-high. “One year, the snow covered that branch and Ro and I climbed up there and pelted our cousins with snowballs.” Remus laughed and Logan smiled, looking up at the tree.

“You used to talk about this place quite a bit.” Remus’ smile shrank at Logan’s words and he shoved his hands in his pockets. “I regret we never made it up here while…”

“Yeah,” Remus said. He pointed to a small dark spot about ten yards away. “The woodshed’s up there.”

They were still a few feet away, trudging through the knee-deep snow, when they spotted the shiny new combination lock on the shed. “Oh, fuck no, Ro.” Remus swore, taking out his phone. Roman answered on the third ring. “What’s the combination, Ro?”

Logan stood to the side, shivering slightly, arms wrapped around himself.

“Fine, you’re on speaker phone.” Remus rolled his eyes. “Oh, tell us, oh great one, what the fucking combination is!”

Roman’s warm laugh did nothing to chase away the chill. “I will happily send you the combination… after you send me pictures of both of you ice skating.”

“Roman! It is negative eighteen degrees centigrade” Logan finally hissed.

“Dammit, Ro. This isn’t a fucking game,” Remus swore.

His laugh fell away. “I know.” He let them sit in silence for a while before continuing. “Look. I know how much you both enjoy ice skating. This isn’t meant to torture either of you. It’ll be fun. You’ll see.”

~~~~~

The following morning, Logan’s attention had been focused on his weather app as they ate breakfast together. He scrolled through the hourly forecast, finishing a bite of his oatmeal before glancing up at Remus just in time to catch him refilling his coffee cup. He narrowed his eyes. “Have you been doing that all morning?”

Remus covered a smirk with his own cup and shrugged. “What, you’re picking today to cut back on caffeine?”

“Well, no.” He shifted in his seat, crossing his legs before taking a sip of the freshly hot coffee. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Remus tore the crust off his toast and took a bite. “So what does your app say?”

“We’ll have the best chance of avoiding the worst of the windchill if we leave for the lake after lunch.” Logan put down his phone, eyes still trained down at his place setting. He finished his coffee and rose to clear his dishes. “Thank you for breakfast…” He looked down at his cup. “And the coffee. I’ll make breakfast tomorrow.” He brought them to the sink, calling back over his shoulder. “If you clear your place, I’ll wash up.”

“Nah,” Remus drawled. “Imma leave ‘em out so we get rats in here.”

“Remus!” Logan said, spinning around, coming face-to-face with Remus as he offered his empty dishes with a cocked eyebrow.

“Wow, you’re easy.” He waggled his eyebrows. “But not as easy as you were—”

“Remus!” Logan snapped again. “If we’re going to be stuck together all week, I am going to have to ask you to refrain from those kinds of comments.” He turned back to face the sink. “Please.”

“Sure, Logan. It was just…” Remus crossed his arms and stepped back. “Never mind. I was gonna do sandwiches for lunch. Use the bread while it’s fresh then bake another loaf when we need it.” He stared at Logan’s back as he scrubbed the oatmeal pot. “See you then.”

After a minute, Logan turned around, mouth falling open to speak, but Remus was gone.

~~~~~

The pair ate lunch together, cleaned up, and made their way out to the frozen lake in near silence. The sat on a log near the edge of the ice and laced up their skates before stepping out gingerly. Logan frowned at the ice. “I have not actually been out skating since…” He looked down at his skates, tapping the toe pick and testing the tension of his laces. Logan risked a glance over at Remus, who was adjusting the cuffs on his gloves. “Well, since that time we saw the tree in New York.”

Remus nodded, a little smile pulling on the corner of his mouth. “That was something.”

It had been their last big trip before everything fell apart. At that time, neither Remus nor Logan had ever made it much further from their hometown than Cleveland, let alone out to either coast. It had become something of a drinking game between them since they were newlyweds. Anytime either of them spotted the tree or the rink in a film or television show, they would shout, “Tree!” and clink their glasses or mugs or, one time, ice cream cones.

And then, one year, for Logan’s birthday, Remus had surprised him with plane tickets to New York. They’d found a cheap AirBnB out in Queens, two miles from the nearest subway stop, and lived on bagels, cheap pizza, and dirty water dogs from street vendors. And coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.

On the last night they spent in New York, they’d skated together at Rockefeller Center, where the shining warmth of thousands of lights on the famous tree cast a glow over the couple that they’d carried with them long past the trip had ended.

“That was the last time for me, too,” Remus said at last. He sucked in a breath and clapped his hands together. “Well, let’s get out there. Um…” He blew into his gloved hands, sniffling against the cold. “How do you wanna do this?”

Logan re-fastened the top button of his peacoat and frowned. “I suppose we… each go out there and…” He waved his hand, shifting from one skate to the other. “And the other takes a picture?”

“Yeah. Yeah, that should work.” He looked down at Logan’s feet where they stamped in place. “You wanna go first?” Logan’s eyes flicked up at him, guarded. “C’mon, man, your skates look like they’re about to take flight.”

Logan looked out over the ice, eyes tracing the edge of the lake, fingers twitching at his sides. He looked like he had music playing in his head. Finally, he nodded. “That is acceptable.” He turned around and glared at Remus. “However, if I fall and you are tempted to laugh, you would do well to recall that I have an advanced degree in chemistry and know where you are sleeping tonight.” Face still stern, he winked, then pushed off onto the ice.

Remus watched as Logan started to skate. His first two pushes were tentative, a little softer than they needed to be, and at first he wobbled, but then he picked up speed and the wind whipped at his scarf and the fringe of his hair peeking out from underneath his wool beanie. Logan’s arms, initially tight, with his hands clasped behind his back, soon loosened, moving softly on either side of him as he skated in a wide, smooth ellipse over the border of the ice.

Logan looped around again, faster this time, adding little crossovers and bunny hops as he regained his confidence. Remus caught a bright smile splitting Logan’s face as he passed him, the scrape of the blades on the ice and the wind whistling through the trees the only sound. Soon, Remus’ smile matched Logan’s and he nearly forgot to take pictures.

Pulling out his phone, he got one of Logan just as he’d stretched out into a glide, his free foot almost parallel to the ice. A light dusting of snow began to fall and, with Logan spinning around on the ice, framed in the golden afternoon sun, Remus just snapped picture after picture, wishing he could capture this moment in a bottle and hold it forever.

After a while, Logan skated back to him, his breath rapid puffs of white, cheeks red, smile still curving his full mouth. “The ice is great.” His face grew serious as his breath slowed. He tilted his head toward Remus’ phone. “Did you get a photo to satisfy your brother?”

Remus chuckled, putting away his phone as Logan took out his. “Yes, I think I got something that will satisfy your best friend.” Remus stomped in his ice skates. His toes had gotten a little cold from standing still for so long and he wanted to get the blood flowing a bit more before attempting to skate. While they had a shared love of ice skating, the skill was heavily weighted on Logan’s side of their broken partnership.

“I’d say don’t laugh if I fall,” Remus tried to joke, his voice falling flat. “But we both know I’m gonna fall on my ass so… uh, just don’t laugh loudly enough that I can hear.” With that, he pushed off, taking little step-step glides across the ice. He avoided looking in Logan’s direction, afraid to see a smirk at his impression of a drunk baby fawn.

He’d made it half-way around the diameter of the lake when he fell for the first time, landing hard on his backside. He sat on the ice for a moment, grateful, at least, that he was far away enough from Logan to not be able to hear any laughter. He clambered to his feet, forgetting just how difficult it could be to get up again after falling on ice. Without, at least, someone’s hand to hold.

He kept skating, heading back to Logan and hoping he’d gotten enough pictures to satisfy his brother—and hopefully none of which included him on his ass. He’d just started to pick up speed again when he didn’t lift his foot high enough and his toe pick caught on the ice and he fell again, this time nearly face planting. His hands and his knees hurt, and so did his pride.

Remus managed to get his knees under him and back up on his shaky feet and had gotten another few yards before his legs just went to jelly and he went down again. He looked around. This side of the lake was bordered by a high snow embankment. The only way back from his position was across the ice.

Slower this time, he again got up and got only a few dozen yards before he wiped out again. He was really starting to feel the impacts on his knees and back.

He hung his head, trying to catch his breath before struggling to his feet again. Remus briefly imagined staying there until the ice thawed. The surface of the lake would crack around him and he’d just slip into the cold water. By then, he’d probably be too numb to even feel it, wouldn’t he? Just the water closing over his head, pulled down by the weight of his heavy skates and water-logged clothing.

The scrape of metal on ice nearby stirred him from his thoughts and he looked up. “Come to laugh where I can hear you?” he asked.

Logan didn’t speak, just examined his eyes and offered his hands, angling his own blades to brace himself against the ice. Remus closed his eyes. This was how they’d met.

Remus had been determined to learn how to ice skate and had shown up at “Beginners” hour at the local ice rink. Beginner Olympiads, maybe. After he’d been lapped by more eight-year-olds than he could count, Remus had tried to get off the ice, but had instead stumbled, falling into the path of one of the college-aged teachers. He’d stopped and pulled him to his feet and convinced him to keep trying.

Shaking away the memory, Remus took his hands as Logan, again, pulled him to his feet. “Thanks. I, uh… I hope you got Ro what he wanted out of this.”

Logan nodded, “Yes, I believe I did.”

~~~~~

It was nearly dark by the time they got back to the cabin. As they approached the back door, both of their phones buzzed. Roman sent the combination. Logan sighed heavily, eyeing the distance between the cabin and woodshed. “Perhaps, as long as we’re out here, it would be wise to gather a cord or two and bring it in?”

Remus stopped and nodded, covering a wince as his back twinged from the change in movement. He pocketed the woodshed lock after he opened the shackle. “Ro’s smoking crack if he thinks I’m not keeping this.” Logan chuckled as he helped Remus open the doors and piled several split logs into his arms.

“I fully endorse your minor larceny,” he muttered dryly. Arms full, they worked together to nudge the doors closed, latching them shut to protect the wood against the elements.

The pair trudged inside, laying the wood on a bench while they peeled off their damp coats, scarves and boots. Logan shivered as the wet edges of his trousers clung to his ankles. “We—I should change into dry clothes and hang these somewhere.”

“Yeah.” Remus stood up, his boots half-laced. “Um, Lo—Logan…” Logan turned around and Remus opened his mouth, but no words came out for a moment. “Th—thank you for—” he jerked his head toward the door. He licked his lips and shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, Remus.” Logan nodded and made his way to his room, shuddering at the cold blast that hit him as soon as he opened the door. He immediately tried to adjust the thermostat but couldn’t get the panel to activate. Swearing under his breath at the fragility of the fancy WiFi-connected system Roman had installed sometime last year, he walked down the hall to Remus’ room.

The door was open, so he knocked gently and opened it further. His room felt just as frigid. “Remus? Is your thermostat broken—” He let out a yelp and turned his back. Remus’ was already stripping off his wet clothes, dressed only in his boxers. “I—I—I apologize… I—”

Remus chuckled, “It’s okay Logan. I’m not naked. They’re like swim trunks,” he joked, referencing an old argument.

Narrowing his eyes, Logan swallowed back his usual counter argument that at a minimum, swim trunks couldn’t possibly be the same as boxers because they had two layers and not only one. Instead, Logan turned around, averting his gaze. Until, that is, he caught a glimpse of dark purple on Remus’ legs. He looked closer and saw dark red and purple bruises forming on Remus’ knees.

Logan met his eyes. “Oh, my god, Remus, are those from the ice?” He stepped closer.

Shrugging, he looked down at his legs. “Yeah, I think so. No wonder that last fall hurt like a motherfucker.” He turned around, unzipping his bag and pulling out a pair of heavy joggers.

Logan’s eyes widened again. More fresh bruises were blooming across his lower back and along his shoulder. “Remus, your back,” he whispered, face pained.

Twisting with a grimace to catch a glimpse of his back in the dresser mirror, he shrugged. “Yeah.” He raised his eyebrows and smirked. “Good to know I can still skate as well as I always could.”

“They look painful.”

“Eh,” Remus said as he dug through his clothes, finally pulled out a T-shirt.

“Wait,” Logan said, rushing from the room. He came back with a small tube of bruise cream. “Let me at least get your back.”

“Hey, what other goodies did you pack away?” Logan glared at him and made a turning motion with his finger. “Oh, I get it… You packed to spend the week with my brother… Thought things might get a little rough?” he cackled, smirk bright, but Logan caught something wounded behind his eyes in his reflection above the dresser. “That’s right. Keep it in the family.”

Logan scoffed, lips curled in disgust. “I am not interested in your bro—This is—” He scowled, but he didn’t miss how Remus’ shoulders relaxed when he said that he did not wish to pursue a romantic relationship with Roman. “It’s a basic first aid supply.” He jerked his thumb toward the door. “I can leave.”

“No,” Remus reached for his shoulder, smirk gone. “Please don’t go. I’m sorry.”

Nodding once, Logan uncapped the cream and spread some on his fingers. “This is cold, I apologize.” Remus flinched wordlessly when Logan touched it to his shoulder, gently rubbing it into the bruise. “That is actually what I came in here for. The thermostat in my room appears non-functional.” He looked at the panel on the wall and Remus followed his gaze. “It seems mine is not the only one.”

“The rest of the house seemed fine.” Remus met Logan’s eye in the mirror. “I can feel the heat coming in from the hallway.”

Nodding, Logan applied cream to another part of his shoulder. “It would appear your brother doesn’t want us in our rooms.”

“Yeah, better to let us annoy each other in the living room,” Remus laughed.

Logan applied more cream, starting on Remus’ lower back. He nodded. “Yes, I—” He caught Remus watching his expression in the mirror. Remus looked away. Focusing on the bruises, Logan murmured, “Yes, I suppose so.”

After a few minutes, Logan finished treating the bruises on Remus’ back, and he offered him the tube. “Here, for your knees. You can reach those, use as much as you need. I’ve got a back up.” He blushed, anticipating Remus’ usual joshing about his ‘just in case,’ back up supply of, well, everything.

Instead, Remus looked down at the tube. “Uh, w—would you? Um… It… kinda hurts to bend that way.” Logan raised an eyebrow with a deep frown. Stepping back, Remus raised his hands and shook his head. “Nothing dirty, I swear! I just… Never mind.” Remus sighed and reached for the tube.

“Sit,” Logan said. Remus sat down slowly on the edge of the bed, wincing as he moved. Logan tilted his head. “You were serious.”

Remus looked away and nodded. With the same diligence he’d used on Remus’ back, Logan applied the cream to the constellation of bruises along his knees and shins. When he was done, he stood up, capping the tube. “We should reapply after your next shower.”

“Thanks, Lo—gan. It actually feels a little better.”

He nodded, then gestured to Remus’ clothes. “I’ll let you change. I suppose I will see you by the fireplace.”

Remus let out a breathy laugh. “Yeah. Then we can call Ro and yell at him.”

“If we need to,” Logan said quietly as he stepped into the hall and closed the door behind him.

~~~~~

Logan and Remus decided to wait Roman out and delayed calling him until after dinner when they saw the thermostats in the bedrooms were still disabled. Remus rolled his eyes as they listened to his phone ring. “Ugh, son of a—”

“Your mother is a lovely woman,” Logan interrupted, a smile tugging at his lips despite the circumstances. “It’s not her fault Roman thinks he’s Loki.”

Remus laughed. “That’s quite the reference. I didn’t know you liked Marvel.”

“Comic books?” Logan shook his head. “No, the Norse trickster god.”

“You haven’t heard of Loki and the MCU? I know you’re above all—” Finally, Remus looked up from the phone and noticed Logan’s smirk. He laughed. “Alright, alright, you got me.”

“Give me some credit. I know about Marvel. I loved Heath Ledger’s performance—” Logan burst out laughing at the brief outrage that splashed across Remus’ face.

“Oh, ha ha ha,” Remus said, grinning as he tried to call Roman one more time.

Logan stood, looking around the room. “Given the advanced hour, I suspect we will need to spend the night out here.” He checked his weather app. “It’s due to go down to negative 21 centigrade.” He briefly met Remus’ eyes then looked away, scanning the couch and the area around the fireplace. “While it may be a… regrettable lack of privacy, the bedrooms will become dangerously cold tonight.”

Remus shrugged, getting up and plugging his phone into a charger in the kitchen. “You want something to drink?”

“I do not believe these are the best circumstances for alcohol, particularly this close to bedtime—”

He raised his hand, “I meant like hot chocolate, Mr. Rogers.”

“Oh,” Logan looked down, feeling his face flush. “I… Ah, yes. Hot chocolate sounds nice.”

~~~~~

While Remus prepared the drinks, Logan retrieved the pillows and blankets from their bedrooms. He made a nest for himself on the floor near the couch, then made up the large sofa with the blankets from Remus’ bed.

“Lo—” he began.

“Nope. No argument.” Logan crossed his arms in full strict teacher mode. “You are already bruised. You do not need to spend a night on the floor.”

Remus fidgeted with the bottle of vanilla extract. “Thanks, that’s… that’s really nice of you.”

“Basic courtesy,” Logan mumbled as he adjusted the pillows on the couch. He went back to his room and returned a few moments later with a thick book.

“You’re re-reading The Overstory,” Remus remarked.

Logan looked down at the book, blinking in surprise. “Yes, how did you—”

“I recognized the cover.” Remus poured the completed hot chocolate into the first mug.

Thumbing through the book, Logan shrugged. “It seemed appropriate… Given the venue.” He chuckled. “It was either this or Annihilation…”

Remus laughed. “I’m glad you chose The Overstory.” He put the now-empty pot in the sink and filled it with hot soapy water, then carried the two mugs to the coffee table. He sat down carefully, and picked up the book. “Do you remember when you read to me from this book… That year I had the flu?”

Logan’s mouth hung open for a moment before he consciously closed it. “I—I thought you were too sick to notice.”

Smiling sadly, Remus shook his head. “I probably didn’t get a lot of it, but… But yeah, I noticed. I liked it.”

They sat together in silence for a long while, Remus on the couch and Logan under the blankets on the floor. They sipped at their drinks and listened to the crackling fire and the wind whistling outside. Remus held the book in his lap, stroking the textured cover. Finally, Logan broke the silence. “Remus?”

He hummed, taking another sip of his drink and putting down the book. He looked at Logan.

“Yesterday, Roman said that you needed to be reauthorized to drive.” Remus clenched his jaw and stared down at his lap, mouth tight. “What was that about? Did you have another seizure?”

Remus looked away and tugged at his ear. “Yeah. I did.”

“It… it must have been some time ago to already potentially qualify for a re-authorization.” Logan frowned, counting months in his head. “It would’ve had to have been before we—” His eyes widened and he put down his mug. “Remus? You never told me you had a seizure. Wh—what happened? Were you—”

Remus shook his head and waved away Logan’s concerns. “I was fine. It happened at work. They brought me in, got me checked out. The no driving thing was the biggest hassle, but you know I don’t like to drive anyway, so…” He shrugged and drank more of his cocoa. “The worst that happened was a few crazy glue stitches in my hair and I got paint all over me from the mural I was working on.”

The crease in Logan’s forehead only increased. “But… how did I not notice you—” Logan froze, his voice falling away. He slowly looked up at Remus. “It was that night. That night you came home so ludicrously late. I was already in bed. You took a shower before you even said hello.” Logan paled, hugging his knees to his chest. “You made up some story about a flat tire and having to wait for AAA but… But it never showed up on the records.”

Remus looked down at his hands. “Yeah.”

“I thought—”

Remus looked away. “Yeah, I know what you thought.”

“But why didn’t you tell me the truth?”

“I didn’t want you to worry.”

“No, I mean… When you realized what I thought had happened… What I… What I accused you of…” Logan’s chest heaved as he rubbed at the blank spot on his ring finger. “When I filed for the divorce? Why didn’t you tell me then?”

Remus shrugged. “I figured that… that if you thought I could ever do something like that to you, that… That I was doing a really lousy job of… of loving you.” He swallowed the last of his drink and stared down into the mug. “I figured I should let you find someone better.”

Logan peeled back his blanket and moved to Remus’ side. He took his empty mug and placed it on the coffee table, then held both of his hands. “There’s no-one better than you.”

He reached over and wiped away a tear tracing down Remus’ cheek, then leaned in and whispered against his lips. “There is no-one better than you, Meus.”

Remus gasped at the old pet name, then wrapped his arms around Logan’s shoulders, their mouths coming together in a kiss, one year late and six days early.

Image by Paul Itkin, via Wikimedia Commons, CC License 1.0

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astrathepasta · 3 years ago

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