#dukexieceit

[corescorner]

D3 remus virge janus in that order pls!

I am ecstatic that you asked for these three, I miss drawing my road trip boys!!

I hope you didn't want the canon sides :p

[darkboysroadtrip]

[I'm gonna preemptively get this out cause yesterday my internet cut out way too soon.

There's a big storm apparently coming my way soon so I may have no power and internet for a while.

Anyone have any requests/questions for drawings/answers? I'll see how many I can get traditionally drawn/doodled/sketched (⁠人⁠*⁠´⁠∀⁠｀⁠)⁠｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+]

[i-am-bitterly-jittery]

Soulmates?

Word Count: 2701

Rating: Teen

Pairings: uhhhhh Royalogicality, Anxceitmus, DLAMP

Warnings: probably swearing (I don’t remember), mentions of a car crash and car crash-related injuries, hospitals, yelling, anxiety, complicated relationships

~~~START~~~

It happened while Logan was at school. 

He had been in the middle of a lecture on the Schrödinger Equation for the hydrogen atom when Clarissa, a student who always sat in the front row, gasped. Her gasp was quickly followed by his entire class breaking out into a cacophony of noise, their confusion and concern clearly centered on Logan himself. 

“What?” Logan practically had to yell to be heard over his suddenly unruly students. “What has happened?” 

“Gurl…” Remy, Logan’s TA, looked completely shaken as they offered their phone to Logan, their camera open and set to selfie mode. 

Baffled, Logan checked his image on the screen only to be struck by a sudden wave of nausea. 

There, all over his face, were nasty, yellow and purple, bruise-like marks that definitely hadn’t been there the last time he’d seen his reflection. While the marks were the color bruises, many of them were shaped like cuts, and the yellow and the purple were continuous shades throughout. And it wasn’t just his face, he could see marks along the hand holding the phone, many snaked down into his sleeves. 

If Logan didn’t know better, he’d think they were soulmarks. 

Soulmarks were a different color for everybody, and appeared where one’s soulmate was injured. For instance, all throughout his life, but especially during his childhood, Logan would have bright blue and red marks that showed up whenever Patton or Roman were hurt respectively. When Remus had punched Roman in the face in the fourth grade, giving Roman a black eye, both Logan and Patton had gotten corresponding red eyes. Last week, when Patton hit his shin against the coffee table, a blue mark had appeared right where his bruise was on Logan and Roman. The marks were one continuous shade, and often looked more like paint than actual injuries (which made sense since the person with the mark wasn’t actually injured). 

A second glance at his face confirmed that the yellows and purples looked more paint-like than actual bruises, despite being closer to bruise-colored than red or blue. 

He had soulmarks on his face. 

He had two more soulmates. 

“They just showed up a second ago,” Remy was saying. “Suddenly, just all at once.” 

“I have to go,” Logan said evenly, face doing nothing to betray his utter panic. He handed Remy their phone back. “I have to go.” 

“Of course, gurl,” Remy replied, their sunglasses slipping down their face. “I’ll finish up here, you go.” 

Logan nodded stiffly before turning to gather his things. He didn’t spare a second glance to his class, just walked straight out of the room. 

A million thoughts were circling around his mind. Who were these soulmates? How had none of them ever noticed them before? How many marks had shown up that he’d dismissed as regular bruises? What happened? 

That last one took precedence. Regardless of everything else, he had two more soulmates, and something had happened to them both mere minutes ago that left a menagerie of marks around Logan’s face and hands — probably all over his body. 

He had two more soulmates out there and they were hurt. 

They were hurt and he didn’t know where they were. 

He couldn’t help. 

Logan had no idea how he got home. He wasn���t sure if he sprinted down the halls after leaving the lecture hall, or if he’d walked calmly. He didn’t know if he’d stopped by his office to grab his bag. All he knew was that he had somehow ended up in the driver’s seat of his car, in the driveway of the house he shared with his two known soulmates. 

Because he had two unknown soulmates. 

Regardless of how he got there, he had only one objective: find Roman and Patton as soon as possible. 

It didn’t take him long, they were both in the living room, Patton curled into a ball on the couch and Roman wearing a hole into the carpet in front of the window; both of them with yellow and purple marks matching Logan’s own. 

“Logan!” Patton cried, springing up from the couch and launching himself at Logan. “You’re okay!” 

“Where have you been, specs!” Roman ceased his pacing to join the hug. “I’ve been trying to call you!” 

“Apologies,” Logan said, wrapping one arm around Patton and the other around Roman. “In my rush to get home I must have forgotten to turn on my phone; I was in the middle of a lecture.” 

“What’s happening?” Patton asked, his face pressed against Logan’s chest. 

“I believe we have two more soulmates,” Logan replied slowly. 

~~~

Hours passed as the three of them tried to grapple with this new reality. 

It was no use though; the new marks had opened a floodgate of worry and anxiety. If there were two soulmates they hadn’t noticed, who was to say there weren’t more? Were their new soulmates able to receive the medical aid they clearly needed? How did they know that the connection wasn’t new? Did their other soulmates know each other? Could connections form at different times? 

…could their connections to each other fade? 

It was a stressful few hours full of extensive research on Logan’s part, restless pacing on Roman’s part, and nervous flittering from one task to another, never sticking to one for longer than a minute, on Patton’s part. 

About an hour and a half after Logan got home, Roman’s phone began buzzing. At first, Roman had jumped on it, hoping — illogically — that it might be their new mates. When it turned out to just be his brother, he threw his phone onto the couch next to Logan and redoubled his pacing. 

Two weeks ago, Roman and Remus had had one of their fights, Logan wasn’t sure what it was about as it had left Roman extremely agitated and incapable of talking about it without dissolving into unintelligible grumblings, but he was certain that it must have been worse than that one time that Remus argued that cereal was — of all things — a salad. This argument had resulted in complete radio silence. 

Until now. 

The call ended. The phone screen went dark. 

Then it started again.  

And again.  

And again. 

Roman’s phone continued buzzing for over an hour. With each missed phone call, Patton was growing more and more anxious. 

“Maybe it’s important?” He suggested hesitantly, eyeing the phone as it went dark once more. 

Logan had to agree, even at his most annoying, Remus rarely had the dedication to put so much effort into something with so little payoff; if he were really so desperate for attention, he likely would have moved on to a different source by now. 

“Remus never has anything important to say,” Roman waved his hand dismissively. “He probably just wants to annoy me.” 

“Perhaps,” offered Logan. “If you respond to him, he’ll stop.” 

“Ugh, fine!” Roman relented, picking the phone up. “Hey, he left me a voicemail.” 

“Hey Roman,” the message began, lacking all of Remus’s usual zest and energy. “I know we’re not talking right now, but I– *sob* –I really need someone right now, please? Please Roman, you can– *shaky breath* –you can go back to being mad at me tomorrow… please?” 

Logan glanced up at Roman’s face and found his usually rosy-cheeked soulmate to be white as a sheet. It was understandable, Remus sounded awful, and whatever happened must have been bad for the older twin to beg. 

Seconds later, Remus tried calling again, and this time, Roman answered. Remus didn’t give many details, but he gave Roman the location of a hospital, and mentioned something about getting into a car crash. 

Needless to say, they were on their way to the hospital immediately, mystery soulmates all but forgotten. 

As soon as they entered the main building, Roman was off. 

“REMUS!?” He yelled as he sprinted down the hallway, unconcerned with the dirty that nurses and other visitors shot him as he passed. 

Logan and Patton followed behind at a slower but still hurried pace, apologizing to people as they went. A few nurses gave them sympathetic looks obviously aimed at the matching soulmarks on their faces, making the knot in Logan’s stomach twist tighter — they weren’t here for their mysterious newly discovered soulmates, but there was a greater than zero chance that they could be here, or another hospital just like it somewhere else in the world. 

They finally caught up to Roman in the waiting room. He and Remus were on the floor, clutching each other and sobbing, their fight long forgotten. Patton let out a small coo and swerved past Logan to offer comfort. 

“Excuse me.” A nurse approached Logan before he could join them in trying to get the full story out of Remus. “Are you here for Virgil Neil and Janus Drake?” 

“What makes you ask that?” Logan inquired. Truthfully, he’d never heard the names before, but his curiosity was piqued. 

“Your soulmarks,” the nurse waved at Logan’s face in general. “They seem consistent with Mr. Neil’s and Mr. Drake’s injuries as well as the colors of their own soulmarks. Mr. Neil is out of surgery if you’d like to-” 

“NO!” Remus screeched suddenly. He’d gotten to his feet, leaving Roman confused on the floor, and was staring wildly at the nurse. “NO! THAT’S NOT FAIR! I-” 

“Mr. Fortescue,” the nurse interrupted, her tone and face no longer welcoming and polite. She stared at Remus as though he were a wad gum under her shoe and nothing more. “I’ve already told you, only family can visit Mr. Neil right now, and as you are neither a relative, nor a soulmate, you are not allowed to see him, or know the details of Mr. Drake’s condition.” 

“They’ve never even met Vee or Jan–” 

“Regardless,” the nurse waved her hand dismissively. “They have soulmate status, and you have nothing.” 

Oh, Logan thought as the final pieces of the puzzle fell into place. 

Remus didn’t have any soulmates. Being Roman’s soulmate and having known Remus for years, Logan was aware of this. Remus never had any soulmarks, and unless he had an exceedingly careful soulmate, he just didn’t have one. 

People could date outside of soulmate relationships, but it was generally frowned upon in society. Though, it was considered rude to ask someone if they were soulmates with their partner; there was always the chance that their actual soulmate had died or that they just didn’t have one after all. 

Remus dated; Logan knew this. He’d never met any of Remus's dates, but he did know that the man currently had two partners. 

Logan had been seeing details all day, but finally he could view the big picture: Remus was dating two people, these two people (and possibly Remus?) had gotten into a car crash earlier that day that landed them both in the hospital, these two people were Logan, Patton, and Roman previously unnoticed soulmates. 

“THAT’S NOT FAIR!” Remus's renewed yelling broke Logan out of his thoughts. He rounded on Roman, still shocked on the floor. “YOU ALWAYS GET EVERYTHING! WHY CAN'T YOU LEAVE ME WITH SOMETHING!? HOW COME AS SOON AS I FIND SOMETHING FOR ME YOU HAVE TO COME AND TAKE IT!?” 

“Remus…” 

“I HATE YOU!” Remus screamed, his purple eyeshadow running tracks down his face. “I HATE YOU!” 

“Mr. Fortescue!” The nurse scolded sharply. “Don’t make me call security to have you removed!” 

Remus tore his tear-stained gaze away from his brother and back to the nurse, then he squeezed his eyes shut. 

“I hate you,” he muttered to no one in particular before running from the room. 

“Remus!” Roman called. Then he was gone, running out after his twin. 

Patton flittered about nervously, his gaze bouncing from Logan, to the door still swinging back and forth behind Roman. 

“Patton,” Logan said gently. Patton’s attention snapped to him, and Logan offered him a small, tired smile. “Make sure they don’t kill each other?” 

Patton’s shoulders relaxed slightly and he nodded, giving Logan a brief hug before he took off after the twins. Logan watched him go for a moment before turning back to the nurse. 

“I’m sorry about all that,” she waved her hand at the area the twins had been a few minutes prior. 

“You should be,” Logan replied coldly. The nurse seemed shocked at his hard tone but didn’t comment further. “Now, what can you tell me about the conditions of Mr. Neil and Mr. Drake?” 

~~~

Patton had sent a text to Logan to tell him that the twins had been removed from the hospital by security. Logan had acknowledged, and informed Patton that he was going to check on the status of Remus’s boyfriends — he wasn’t prepared to think of them as his soulmates yet — and that he would be a while. 

Janus Drake was still in surgery, and the nurse couldn’t tell Logan much about his status, but Virgil Neil was out of surgery, and Logan was allowed to visit him. 

His first impression of Virgil was that he definitely looked like someone Remus would be into. His hair was dyed purple, and his unbroken arm was covered in a sleeve of tattoos. 

But most importantly, the unbandaged areas of his face were littered with yellow marks that seemed to match Logan’s own. 

He looked up when Logan entered the room. 

“Who are you?” he asked skeptically, eyes narrowing. 

“My name is Logan Sanders,” Logan said. He didn’t venture far into the room as he wanted to allow Virgil some sense of personal space in this stressful time. “I am Remus’s brother-in-law.” 

“Is Remus okay!?” Virgil demanded, the monitor catching his spike in heart rate. 

“He has some superficial marks,” Logan explained. “But he is otherwise alright. However, both he and his brother Roman have been removed from the hospital for causing a scene.” 

“Yeah,” Virgil chuckled nervously. “That sounds about right.” 

The two faded into an awkward silence for a moment as Logan came to a decision. 

“Virgil, I am going to be honest with you–” 

“I knew it! Remus is dead, isn’t he? SHIT!” 

“N-no,” Logan stammered, completely thrown off by the emotional — and irrational — outburst. “Remus is fine — as I said earlier. No, what I meant to tell you is that I, along with my two boyfriends, are your soulmates. But–” he added quickly as Virgil opened his mouth, most likely to panic again. “I am not here as your soulmate, and any discussion of this revelation can wait until you and Janus — who is incidentally also one of our soulmates — are out of the hospital.” 

“I’m not– Janus isn’t–” Virgil stammered, completely lost. “Janus and I aren’t soulmates!” 

“You and I have matching yellow soulmarks on our faces which appeared at the same time as these purple marks from you, I believe whether you knew or not, you and Janus are soulmates. But I am only here as Remus’s brother-in-law, my goal is only to alleviate his worry.” Logan held his phone up. “Would you like to talk to him?” 

“Yes,” Virgil answered immediately. He still looked lost and anxious, but his resolve hardened as he made his decision. 

Logan pulled up Remus’s contact and hit ‘call’ before handing the phone to Virgil. 

Virgil held the phone to his ear, chewing his lip nervously. Suddenly, all the tension in his body leaked out. 

“Re,” he sighed, a smile sneaking across his face and Remus no doubt began speaking on the other side of the line. 

Logan excused himself as Virgil settled into a conversation with his boyfriend. 

…his boyfriend who was Roman’s brother. 

What a mess. 

Logan pinched the bridge of his nose, wishing that he’d brought his laptop so that he could get some work done. Or at least email his students an apology for not finishing the lecture and missing his office hours. 

Or maybe just to google “what to do when two of your soulmates are dating your other soulmate’s brother”. 

Logan sighed. The only thing to do would be to talk it out until they reached a solution that was comfortable for everyone, but for now, he might as well find someone to tell him whether or not Janus was out of surgery yet. 

~~~END~~~

They reach a dynamic that works for all of them, but Remus is still mad at Roman for a while and sometimes uses it to guilt Roman into doing things that he wants

A few months ago I posted five titles and asked which ones you guys wanted to see, this was one of them but it got kinda put on the back burner for a while.

Taglist:

@royalty-of-all-things-snuggly @pixelated-pineapple @knight-shives @misunderstood-shadowling @virgil-sanders-the-gay-emo

[a-ghostlight-for-roman]

If you're still doing them, for the polyam trio: C3 with yellow being Janus, red being Virgil and blue being Remus. Please and thank you!

[snowe-zolynn-rogers]

Remus: *kisses Virgil in the heat of the moment after Thomas says he’s helpful*

Virgil: *completely dumbfounded*

Remus: Whoops. Bad touch day?

Virgil: Janus, I’m stealing your man.

Janus: More like my man is stealing you. Welcome to the relationship.

[daised-daisy]

Superhero duo Moralitron and Lawgic and Supervillain duo Deceptimony and the Stormy Knight both think they have each other beat with their secret weapon, which they’ve each grown quite fond of: Creativitorch and Corruptivity.

[zadi-jyne]

Sleebover,,, they're playing animal crossing

[lovelycatdraws]

Based on this post by @zombie-teeth

[saritaplantae795]

The entirety of the Birds of Prey Soundtrack could be on Remus' playlist and it honestly wouldn't surprise me

[yourelost-itsokay]

HI I WANNA HEAR ABOUT YOUR HC'S FOR THE SIDES! IDK WHO BUT YEAH

yay!! okay so i was gonna start with the basic stuff but then i really like angst and projecting onto characters because otherwise i can’t deal with my issues if they center around me so then i substitute in my favorite characters instead so

time for a little projecting and a little angst. I personally have a fear of abandonment and not being good enough due to some events in my past. hence, Dukexieceit.

Janus, Remus, and Virgil were an adorable poly throuple before Virgil left for the Light sides. Virgil had (and still has) his incredibly valid reasons for leaving, but Janus and Remus don’t know those reasons. They feel hurt and betrayed and they still miss him more than they want to admit, and so they cling to each other because the other is all they have left.

The Light sides don’t realize Remus is capable of being sad, so he can only let out his feelings around Janus. That being said, Virgil wasn’t the first one to leave. Once upon a time he had Roman, and then... he didn’t.

Remus still misses Roman. Roman..... doesn’t miss Remus all that much (he’s vulgar, he’s gross, he’s violent). But whenever Roman’s alone, in the quiet moments of the Mindscape, he feels this deep absence within himself and he never knows why.

[ftkd-arts]

B,, boyfriends...

Credit to @soupery​ for the poses

[darkboysroadtrip]

Helpful Guide To The Road Trip!

First and foremost, the ask box is always open, I haven't closed it before and I'm not gonna start! Which means, send in whatever whenever all the time forever! I will never not want more asks!

Okay! Here we go!

Like the title says, this will be a helpful little guide! Here's what you can expect!

I'll be putting in the story thus far in bullet points if anyone doesn't want to read through everything.

Links to my art (they will be categorized by story, memes, requests, reference sheets, and any others there may be.

Links to things sent in (art/writing/memes)

Links to important parts of the story.

Useful tags I use (even though we all know the tag system sucks but oh well)

A list of all the emojis/names anons have used.

A link to a ficlet I wrote for this.

Links for the boarding school years blogs.

And here we go!! Buckle up! There's this post which is the first five days. Then a link with the rest of the days and THEN another link with all the other things!!

The links are here and at the bottom.

Days Continue

The Other Stuff

If you do want to read the whole story in its entirety and not just the bullet points, AO3 is your best bet to go through it!

The Story Thus Far And Important Story Links! As bullet points!

Not all of the links provided are essential to the story, but I do find them amusing. If the bullet points are enough context for you it's fine if you don't want to read the post.

Day One.

Remus makes the blog, pesters Dee and Virgil to go on the road trip. Link

Remus' car is a 1969 VW buggy, nauseatingly toxic green in colour. He adores this car. (no there is no foreshadowing with this definitely not)

They pack and leave once Remus gets home. (He was at Roman's)

Yes the three of them are in a relationship.

Virgil quits his job to do this (he forgets to quit)

They all met in boarding school, under not so great circumstances.

They have no destination, they're just going and doing, taking suggestions from followers.

They stop to get slushes

They go to the post office? Because it was a suggestion

The post office gets stuck up by a gun toting hooligan

Murder was suggested, they (unfortunately) did not go that route

Virgil throws Remus' slush at the mugger then hides, Remus fights the guy, knocks him unconscious and zip ties him, they leave before the cops get there. Link

It's revealed that Remus has one eye. He always makes a new story on how he lost it.

They get to a campsite for the night. Link

Short answer on how they got together, Bonfire at school, Remus made the first move on both of them. Link

Their ages revealed! Virgil and Dee are 26, Remus is 25.

Their heights are revealed! Remus tallest then Vigil then Dee.

A couple of asks about murder, Remus is for it the other two not so much (dependent on specific situations)

Dee has vitiligo confirmed.

They have been up for a long time, they go to sleep.

Day Two.

Day two begins post. Link

Virgil might have done crimes before. (what crimes? Who knows)

They plan to have a picnic today. It doesn't happen this day.

Dee is used to camping.

Remus likes to cook, he's not bad but he is Inventive. Dee is the best at cooking.

Remus asks Virgil to put 'atrocities' to their list of things to do. He does not.

Remus says money is handled and he will not lose it anytime soon. We'll see.

The anons want Arson. Dee says maybe.

Virgil remembers that he did in fact, not quit his job yet. Oops. He was a manager at an art store, his boss sucks and the job was soul sucking. No loss here.

Dee will not tell you his name.

Virgil puts arson on the list at the request of the anons.

Remus gets into a fight with a rabbit (anon)

Dee knows how to hunt, skin and clean animals for food. His mother taught him survival skills.

His mother is a sore spot for him.

[The anons dub me CC]

They're leaving the campsite, Dee is voted to drive, he loves driving.

They need supplies.

They ask for suggestions on stuff to buy.

A skeleton, beer, chocolate, sandwich bags, rubber bands, lube and water is suggested.

The skeleton is named August.

Their phones gain signal again. Roman is Worried. Link.

Roman is now following the blog.

Favorite food: Remus' sweet spicy ribs, Dees Korean barbecue and sushi, Virgils coffee mocha ice cream.

They get to a mall, it has a Halloween store where they get August, Remus and Virgil also get Dee to dress up in costumes for them. Link

They dress August up in grunge clothes.

Remus is banned from having gum, for multiple reasons, but mostly the gum catastrophe of 2015. No they will not elaborate.

Dee is asked his exact height. It's 5'4, he's not bothered by it at all.

He gains an army of short anons.

They get to the grocery store. They are kicked out of the grocery store. Link.

We learn that Remus (or at least his family) is Rich.

An anon calls Dee and Virgil Remus' sugar babies. Virgil does not take kindly to it. Link.

Like really not kindly to it. He sprains his hand. Link.

We gain our first antagonist anon.

We find out why Virgil went to boarding school, he's trans with transphobic parents. Link.

Dee knows medical things. He went to medical school for about a year.

Remus goes to the pharmacy to get supplies for Virgils hand. He forgot to bring payment.

Instead of going to get payment he... just kinda steals the stuff. Link.

Chatting in the car while driving to a motel, the boys are tired and calming down, Dee reveals that his mom is dead and died the year before he was shipped off to boarding school.

End of day two! Link.

Day Three.

Day three start post! Morning starts, Remus gets breakfast for the boyfs. Link.

The anons want to play truth or dare. It's Remus' favorite game, they can't not do it. Remus will do anything he's dared to do.

The first dare is that Remus needs to paint something on his car. He's down for it, they plan to continue playing and go to the store for paints.

Second dare is also for Remus. Link

Three truths for Virgil. Link

Another truth for Virgil, about his parents sending him to boarding school. Link

They get to the hardware store. It is Life Changing. (more on that in the next bullet points)

A crying small child approaches them. Link

The anons suggest kidnapping.

Dee and Virgil take the kid to look for his parents. Remus is left alone with the paints. He doesn't notice.

Dee loves the child. They may kidnap. Link , Link

Remus is unattended. He's pouring brown paint in toilets. He was alerted about the kidnapping as he was doing so.

They are probably taking the child. Link

Well, that's their child now. They re-name him. Welcoming Thomas to the group! Link , Link

Do we see a hint of abandonment issues in Dee? Link

Thomas' dad got mad at him for making noise.

They go to a Toys R Us and a clothing store to get some essentials.

Remus gets antagonized, it doesn't work. Link

Remus gets antagonized more, it kinda works. Link

Virgil explains what arson is to Thomas. Link

Dee and Virgil realize Remus isn't following them anymore. Link

Thomas is really small for his age.

They finally step into the stores. Thomas gets some new stuff, Remus is weirdly really good with kids. Link

Thomas thinks all rodents are just different rats.

They get back to the hotel, they're just chilling now.

We are informed that Roman is in a relationship with both Patton and Logan.

They start to get ready for that picnic they were gonna do on the second day.

Oh yeah, technically still playing truth or dare, here's a Remus dare that is funny. Link

The last post of day three, they go on the picnic, Remus' car actually gets washed so he can paint it, the rest of the night is peaceful. Link

Day Four.

First post of day four, Thomas is the first to wake, he's quiet about it, his father didn't like being woken up. He unintentionally wakes Remus, Remus does not care. The morning is quiet, they pack up their stuff to get on with the trip, a magic coin is found. Magic anons are on. Link

Of course the first thing the magic anons do... gives Virgil a dick. It's free bottom surgery babeey. (He owes Rat anon a favor now.)

Virgil also now has a pet spider. She is fuzzy, black and purple and kinda sentient. (she doesn't have a name, we kinda forgot about her...)

Magic anon sends bad memories to the boys. A little bit of Lore Link

Talking about Dees mom and abandonment issues. Link , Link , Link , Link

On that same note, was she really sick? It hasn't had a direct answer yet ;p

They pull over to get some air after the antagonizing.

The anons Will Not Let Them Rest. Remus throws the magic coin away in the forest. Link (warning for fake gore)

An anon takes their clothes away for 10 asks, they still have underwear, Thomas is still fully clothed. Remus is loving it, Virgil not so much. Link

Some of the nice anons however come in and give encouragement to our boys. And treats! The coin is unfortunately (for them) back ~Magically~ . Link

They decide to go to another campsite to unwind and sleep, they are going to be there for a while this time. Remus texts Roman to tell him about an ask that came in for him. Thomas is awed by fire. Link

Two anons have hugged them for comforting.

The attack on Roman, basically saying how fake he is and how he's probably jealous of Remus cause he doesn't hide his real self and not 'perfect' saying that people wouldn't like the real him. Remus defends Roman. We find out they didn't always have a good relationship and we find out Roman is a Broadway star. Link

The Main Antagonist Anon asks for hugs. No One Liked That.

Another anon comes in to take away their warm things for the night their blankets are gone and they're not allowed to start a fire. Their clothes will be back soon though. It is still going to be cold.

Another anon... doesn't exactly hug them so much as envelopes them in a sensation of tongues.

Another antagonist anon gives Thomas only a hug. And and ominous message of "I'll be back soon".

People are very huggy today, but at least this time the anon asked first. Virgil is getting sick of them, Remus is enjoying them.

An anon takes away their food by putting it all in a bag and getting it stuck in a tree. Remus mourns the snacks loss.

A ladder is given to them, Remus immediately tries to get the food down but it's stuck with magic. He tries to cut it open with a butterfly knife, still doesn't work and the ladder falls. He falls with it, he lands in a bush, the ladder lands on his face and his nose is bleeding.

Someone gives them bandages, Dee checks for a concussion, he's fine. We learn Remus' full name. Remus Able King, he doesn't seem to like it.

Oh yeah, his knife landed in his thigh when he fell. And his ankle is sprained. Dee patches him up. Link

UFO Anon distracts Thomas with a light show.

Rat anon erases the adults memories of each other, they are mentally teenagers again. This lasts the rest of the night. It doesn't go well. The only thing they remember is school, they don't trust each other. UFO Anon tries to abduct Thomas, Wasp Anon tries to as well. Remus is Not Okay with Thomas missing. The rest of this night is a pretty important part of the story, so there will be many links here for it. Link , Link , Link , Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link.

Day Five.

Day five begins, everything is normal again. They decide today is for strictly relaxation. Link

They talk a little bit about how last night was crap, and about how much they've changed since high school, and that them meeting was the best course that their lives could have taken.

They're determined to have a good day, they decide that swimming is a nice idea.

They get to the campsite beach, they give more insight to how they got together. Link , Link

They talk about how much their lives would have completely sucked if they didn't meet. Link

Talking about their parents reactions to them getting together (hint none of them cared a bit for it). Link

On how the school reacted to it also was not good, but our boys like to go against authority if nothing else. Didn't stop the adults from targeting them and turning a blind eye to anyone else who was deemed 'good' i.e the favorites.

They also didn't like Roman just by association with Remus.

Virgil was roommates with his bully. Here are some pranks he pulled on her for payback. Link

They used to sneak out a lot, to Remus' room or to the forest.

Virgil used to do gymnastics.

Roman begged Remus to join a sports team with him, Remus didn't really enjoy it.

Remus speaks German. Virgil knows Latin. Dee speaks French and ASL.

Thomas knows a little bit of Spanish, so does Roman.

They have yet to get into the water. Dee pushes Virgil in, Dee ends up falling into the lake when Virgil tries to drag him in too.

Thomas does not know how to swim. Remus tosses him to Virgil who is in the water to teach him.

They realize that they should probably be more careful with Thomas. He seems to have no self preservation. Link

They go back to the campsite, Dee says he's going to go to town to get food stuff, he's taking Thomas with him, and the two injured should stay there.

Someone suggests finding Mothman, they want to but are injured. So they make it a plan to go to Point Pleasant.

Virgil and Remus want some *ahem* Alone Time, so they turn the anons to Dee. It is uneventful shopping (except for the fact that I had to have Thomas accidentally erase all the asks cause... I accidentally did that...)

Also the cashier at the store is Suspicious of Dee (he seems to recognize Thomas (though no one picked up on that))

He goes to buy some clean blankets then back to the campsite.

The rest of the night is nice and smooth.

Before sleeping Remus and Virgil tell Dee that they're handing the blog over to The Others for a few days so they can relax.

Days Continue

The Other Stuff

[i-am-bitterly-jittery]

A small set up to the next installment of My Best Friend’s Brother (Janus’s 100% Foolproof Five-Step Plan To Win Patton’s Heart)

Intended to be read as either a text conversation or notes written on a piece of paper idc

Minor warnings for caps lock and Remus being Remus

Winning Patton’s Heart

JAN’S FOOLPROOF PLAN TO WIN THE HEART OF ONE (1) ADORABLE PUFFBALL (PATTON)

that’s so much longer than jan’s title

WE SHOULD HAVE CODE NAMES!!! PATTON WILL BE MORALITY, V IS ANXIETY, JAN IS DECEIT, AND I’M DUKEY!

OH AND RO IS PRINCEY AND THE NERD IS LOGIC

we don’t need code names

OF COURSE WE NEED CODE NAMES! YOU NEED CODE NAMES WHEN CARRYING OUT COVERT OPS

1). Insert ourselves into his life

and how do you suggest we do that?

Easy. Princey and Logic are gone, we’ll simply take their place

IDENTITY THEFT!!!

2). One-on-one time

We need to establish that not only do we like him as a group, but each of us like him individually and he needs to like US individually

so i have to hang out with him and actually talk to him!?!? you know he sat on my lap for hours and i barely said two words to him that entire time!!!!

YOU SAID STUFF WHILE HE WAS THERE

not TO him though!!

You have to talk to him if you want to date him Virgil

:(

8===D

why are you like this

3). Prove we listen to him

meaning?

Do stuff he expresses that he enjoys, give him things he says he likes. We’re just trying to prove that we know stuff about him

WE COULD STALK HIM!

NO!

4). Increase physical touching and romantic subtext

ARE WE FUCKING HIM IN THIS ONE?

No

what's ‘romantic subtext’?

Doing couple-y things like giving him flowers or going through a tunnel of love together

are those even real?

DO SEWERS COUNT?

You know what I mean, and no, no sewers

:(

5). Grand gesture

This is where we get together

and what is this grand gesture

The grand gesture needs to be tailored to Patton and therefore cannot be planned until we learn more about him

EW YOU SOUND LIKE ROMAN

Well Roman appreciates romance and we’re trying to establish a romantic relationship with Patton

YOU’RE NOT USING THE CODE NAMES :(

you didn’t either

SHIT

~~~END~~~

Step 1 should be posted soon (it’s short, but it’s finished)

Taglist under the cut

@royalty-of-all-things-snuggly @pixelated-pineapple @knight-shives @misunderstood-shadowling @the-sunshine-dims @taylorxoxo22 @oatmealoatmealoatmealoatmealoatm @captain-gh0st @007ardra @fandomfan315 @sophiexteresa @smolemopotato @contemplativespectrum @xachery-apollo @sp4c3d-0ut @your-gay-enby-highness @sanderssides-angst @idont-freaking-know @mavenmush @imlovethomassanders @sourshadowling @frogsandcookies @aricana8 @cute-and-angsty-prince @why-is-everyone-pretty @angelgrace003 @a-chilly-pepper

(Lol it’s been so long since I last updated this series, if anyone doesn’t want to be tagged anymore lmk.

Also this has been in my drafts for a while so if you’re tagged and you’re thinking “that’s not my username anymore, how did she tag me?” that’s how)

[i-write-nsfw-sometimes]

Dukexieceit - Locker Room (short Nsfw A/B/O)

Virgil is sick of people flirting with their boyfriends

Omega!Virgil, Alpha!Janus, Alpha!Remus

Knotting, mating, not enough prep because I’m a lazy writer

Virgil shivered, the cold bite in the air not distracting them from the fiery jealousy they felt in their veins

"You played so well boys~" One of the cheerleaders smiled fakely at Remus, the other one near Janus

"Yeah... such strong alphas~" Virgil normally waited until the three got home... but then that skank touched Remus' shoulder. Virgil shot up, rushing towards the two

"Janus, you're so strong, and Remus! You can th-" The cheerleaders glared at Virgil as they interrupted.

"Yeah yeah yeah, come on you two." Everyone thought Virgil was a beta, with their brash attitude and general negative attitude they put a lot of people off. Virgil didn't feel the need to correct them. Virgil grabbed the two's wrists, pulling them to the locker room.

"Virgil? Doll? Something wrong?" Virgil kicked open the door, throwing the two onto the benches

"God fuck I'm so mad, they think they can just touch what's fucking mine?! Uh no, Tiffany can suffocate in her god damn fake ass tits-" Janus froze, processing what Virgil said... "...what's mine..." Janus felt warm, looking at Remus, he felt the same way.

"I'm so fucking angry!" Virgil punched a locker, denting it in the process before turning to glare at the two. Remus chuckled, waltzing over to Virgil

"Is someone jealous?" Virgil grabbed Remus' jersey, pulling him close to their face

"You and Jan better get your dicks in me right now before I go commit homicide." Virgil pushed their lips against Remus' making out with him furiously. Virgil pushed Remus back onto the bench, getting onto their knees and pulling off Remus' pants, freeing his cock

"You must really be angry if you're sucking my dick."

"Shut your fucking mouth you see this?" Virgil motioned to Remus' dick, his knot sitting below. "That's fucking mine, no one except for me or fucking Jan can touch this..." Virgil took Remus in their mouth, bobbing their head quickly, sucking hard

"Holy shit." Remus laced his fingers in Virgil's hair, letting them suck him off. Janus smirked, going behind Virgil, pulling their pants and panties down.

"Jan? what are you doing?" Remus huffed, cocking his head at Janus

"Well, since they seem so keen on having both of us in them, I intend on humoring them." He bent down, sticking his tongue into Virgil's ass.

"HOLY FUCK" Remus jumped as Virgil let out a loud moan against his dick, the vibration catching him off-guard, Virgil sucked with more energy, Remus growled

"Janus hurry the fuck up... I can't hold it much longer..." Remus fought to not thrust into Virgil's mouth

"Fine fine fine, come on then." Remus pushed Virgil off, letting Janus lift them into the air. Remus rushed forward, pulling down their pants and panties further down their legs

"I swear to fucking god you two, fuck me already, I want you two to fucking knot me and cum deep inside me, if you two wanna prove you aren't pussys then go ahead and mark me while your at it." Virgil glared

"Oh? You want us to mark you?" Janus teased, Virgil hissed

"Yeah dumbass I love this fucking pussy in front of me and I love you asshole, now how about you two fuck mine for christs sake" Remus chuckled, thrusting roughly into Virgil, Virgil whimpered, falling into subspace quickly

"Yes alpha, p-please..." Remus chuckled

"Jan?" Janus smirked, pushing into Virgil's ass

"O-Oh god, so big, feel so full"

"What do we say pretty omega?" Remus kissed Virgil's neck, making eye-contact with Janus, who moved to the other side, kissing Virgil's neck

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you-" Virgil rambled especially when the two started thrusting

"Yes please thank you thank you-" Remus chuckled already feeling close from Virgil sucking him. He felt his knot swelling, grabbing Virgil from Janus' hold and pushing them fully onto his knot, biting into their flesh, easily marking them. Virgil clenched around the two, feeling Remus' cum fill them up, Janus stopped thrusting as he felt Remus' knot expanding. Virgil whimpered

"P-please master... don't stop." Virgil whimpered, grabbing onto Remus to take his knot further

"You heard 'em Jan Jan, hurry up." Remus winked, Janus smirked, thrusting slowly back into Virgil.

"Yes please master, just like that, mark me and knot my ass, fill me with your cum... please, I've been so good, let me come please." Remus smirked, Virgil moaned

"Come doll." Virgil moaned, clenching around Janus and Remus, coming over Remus' deflated knot. Janus growled thrusting harder, feeling his own knot expand, catching on Virgil''s rim. Janus bit into Virgil's neck, claiming them on the other side. Janus filled their ass with cum, growling into their neck.

The three panted, catching their breath as their minds caught up with what happened, waiting for Janus’ knot to go down

"So that was...." Janus started

"Awesome? Incredible? Super fucking hot?" Remus chuckled, pulling out of Virgil carefully

"You bitches better let me mark y'all. I'm not going through the soreness alone." Janus chuckled

"Me first." Remus smiled, letting Virgil sink their teeth into his neck, marking him. Virgil pulled back, letting Remus pull them into a kiss

"Stop, you two are turning me on and I don't want to have a round two in a locker room." The two laughed as Janus complained. Janus pulled out, cum dripping out of Virgil

"Ewww." Janus put toilet paper in between Virgil's legs

"That's what you get for wanting to fuck when we weren't prepared." He teased

"Don't make me think about it or we are going again when we get to Remus'."

"No can do, Roman is home" Virgil looked in Remus' eyes

"And?" Remus chuckled

"I can't argue with that." Janus pulled up Virgil's panties and pants, stuffing more toilet paper in their panties, Remus sat Virgil on the bench, pulling up his boxers and pants

"What got you so fired up anyway?" Remus chuckled

"They touched you." Remus chuckled

"You're so cute." Janus smirked, offering his neck to Virgil. After Virgil marked him, Remus draped his varsity jacket over Virgil's shoulders

"C'mon doll, let's get you home so we can fuck you some more." Virgil laughed and hit Remus' chest, letting him pick them up and carry them out, Janus following behind. The three loaded into the car, Janus and Virgil going to the back

"Sleep on me my little shadow, you have a long night ahead of you."

"Damn straight" Virgil chuckled at Remus, sighing at the light music that played on the radio, enjoying the feeling of Janus running his fingers through their hair. And yeah... they made the right choice.

[snowe-zolynn-rogers]

Remus: JanJan has tattoos, not nipples.

Janus: HEY!

Roman: Really.

Janus: It’s not like I chose it! I’m half snake! Of course I don’t have nipples!

Logan: Is nobody going to ask why Remus knows this?

Virgil: Don’t worry, I’ve seen them too, I just wasn’t going to bring it up and harass Janus about it.

Logan: That doesn’t make me less worried or confused!

Remus: Oh, it’s because JanJan is both of our fu-

Janus, with his hands over Remus and Virgil’s mouths: We are not talking about anything that happens when we are alone. Got it?

Remus and Virgil: *fearful nodding*

[spacegaywritings]

Dark puzzles

I can finally post my gifts! Summary: Virgil visits the dark sides. He finally realised his actions may have been shit. Will they take him back or reject him like he rejected them after leaving? (Dee hisses a lot.) Tags: death/execution/stoning/slaughter mention, serial killer mention, politics implied, mass shooting mention, implied animal cruelty, Remus being fucking Remus and being absolutely odd, sexual innuendo if you wanna read it that way (nothing worse than canon Remus), emetophobia (mention), mentions of skinning, mentions of making out, a bit of crying, non-sexual nudity, mentions of body horror (slight bc Remus), mention of bugs/cockroaches, porn mention, reference to snake anatomy, “platonic safewords”, implied synethesia, mention of depression, ADHD Remus (implied, stimming mention), tentacles but nonsexual (it looks like a lot but is basically just remus being remus)

a3o link here.

My KoFi  - Support me ♥ or Commission me

Story under the cut:

The night struck the seemingly empty apartment. Silence hung in the air, heavy like a loaded truck. The whole place looked much like the rest of Thomas’ home if it was not for the rather dark looks. Some things were laying around carelessly, almost as if dropped right after the moment of use. It was so different from the light side’s space but it was still strangely similar. It was like looking into a mirror but one that twisted things and turned reality into something it was and was not at the same time instead of reflecting it properly.

Roman had explained it quite well when he had tried to explain his relationship to Remus, the other side of creativity. However, it never explained the relationship the dark sides had among one another. Virgil had not once spoken about it and while Deceit had teased the idea of their connection, it remained a mystery. As always, Remus seemed too confusing and changing like the flowing water in a river to actually get information out of him.

All the light sides knew were that Virgil used to be a dark side until Thomas started accepting and including him and even worked to hear him out as much as possible. Deceit was on the way to it but he still had not shared his name. Patton tried his best to pave the way for Thomas to accept him too but now it was their way to try and accommodate someone other than Virgil for once. Thomas knew about how Virgil used to be a dark side and it had prompted him enough to make a start and encourage Deceit to join their VLOG once. Patton did his best to ask the lying side to join their activities and general meetings such as eating together, just hanging out or accompanying Thomas during certain events.

Still, .. Deceit was not all in and neither was Remus. Remus was a lot harder to win over for one of the sides. Thomas had issues accepting the Duke as he was but he made an effort to go slow and ease up into it (which made it somewhat more manageable but it was still work). Logan kept warning him to never overdo it or force himself into acceptance since that would be counterproductive as well.

There was just so much to pay attention to and the light sides as well as the others were just in a myriad of shards, their respective spaces of the mind absolute messes compared to before. It counted for the mind space the light sides were in charge of. The space the others inhabited looked unusually clean for someone like Remus living in that area. Virgil carefully stepped through the dark version of the living room and carefully looked around. Remus’ whole outfit was there. Just dropped right on the spot and there was a banana peel, perked up on the table in all provocation it could come up with.

The anxious side ducked a bit as he let his gaze roam over the floor before him. Having Remus around was a lot since usually, things like Lego stones and similar things were jut laying around. Sometimes they popped out of his body for no reason or literally any reason at all. Magic trick? Sure thing. Oh, rather a random intermission? Right there for ya! Feel like lifting up the mood? Everyone likes Lego. Fucking around with Dee? Pull out the stones and leave them laying around on the floor just for getting on the perfectionist’s nerves.

Alright, sometimes Lego stones were needles, pins or straight up frozen nipples digging into your skin. One could never really know with Remus around. Consistency did not necessarily exist with him, neither did it in this place - probably correlation, as Logan would conclude.

Virgil carefully dipped closer to the kitchen. He could hear the steady flow of water running and the repetitive yet random ticking of the clock. There was no rhythm to the time flowing in here yet at least the sink did the trick of sticking to physics. If he had not gone into this space with a certain determination filling him, he would have been affected by the sound of measured time passing. But he came here for something.

Remus was probably asleep or some shit so he could not fuck around with the laws of nature. Or he just did not feel like it. That was more like it. His moods painted the mindscape and shaped the loose for it usually took.

Dee... Dee was around. He had to be around. Time running wild was his way of insisting that time was just another dumb concept society came up with in order to trap everyone in a certain system and enslave the people according to certain measures as were scales and the BMI or grades. Actually, everything was pure evil in the eye and a half of a frustrated snake.

The once-upon-a-time-dark-side carefully stepped closer, finally having reached over to the kitchen. Anxiety was sitting heavy in his gut. A big, dark pitfall of emotions and dread eating him up form the inside out. It was the pure panic as always. Virgil had always dreaded these moments but with his heart on his tongue at the moment, honesty up his sleeves and pure openness in his eyes, he was scared of bringing his vulnerable state into a conversation with the angry snake. He had all right to be angry. They used to have it all and now, all he had served to split up what they used to be. It was his fault.

The anxious trait took a shake breath and blinked over the snake and took off his big jacket.

“Damien.”

After this, a lot of things happened at the same time and Virgil could do nothing but blink.

Dee immediately spun around, something in his hands and immediately slipping from his exposed fingers. Too slipper to keep up an angry grip on all that was real and all that was a potential reality. Virgil flinched as the plate crashed onto the floor and burst into an uncountable amount of little fragments, only held together by the idea of how this used to be a plate once in a lifetime. Now not Remus painted the space but the white porcelain directed what this place would look like from now on.

The sound had Virgil let go off his jacket and freeze up like a deer in the headlights. Caught off-guard and prepared for nothing ever in his entire life, he inhaled sharply. Dee’s piercing eyes nailed him to the wall he had kept close to. There was no hat, no cape and no gloves either. They were both vulnerable. Equally so. The dark space was a place for them to be who they were at any moment and with any mood they could come up with. They were loosely bound to Thomas’ experience but they were much freer than the light sides. Partly because they were not as involved in his life but also because Thomas did not pull them into question of fulfilling tasks for him in his cognitive processes. He rarely took deception into consideration, neither did he often summon the darker themes of his creativity.

Hence, the sides varied their appearance when not with Thomas. The light sides just did not insist on it too much because they were legitimate parts of Thomas, they both identified as such. It was a mutual relationship. The others were not so lucky. They varied greatly from their origin. When Thomas did not imagine them to be in a certain way, they let their own imagination and potency flow and just existed, sometimes even without corporal form.

Virgil pressed himself against the wall, staring at his ex-friend with a blank expression. Purple panic dripped into his face. The lying side stared back at him. Silence stretched out between them like a lazy cat trying to get a tan.

Dee carefully patted his hands dry, the scaled fingers dancing around the towel and gently gripping it ever so slightly. Virgil wondered whether anyone knew how delicate Damien’s grip could be when he wanted to. No matter the temper tantrums, he had never been a violent or brutal type. He was a delicate touch, a person to stay in your mind for his mind, for his eyes and his arguments that would stick with you even months after your encounter.

“He-hey”, Virgil mumbled. He was speaking through his teeth as he bit down onto his lips and looked at the other. Dee was readily putting his hat and gloves back on as he let the first greeting slide and with a dull snip of his fingers, his cape was back in place.

“Hello, Virgil”

The anxious trait carefully shrug his shoulders and averted his gaze. The floor looked interesting again despite there being no more obstacles to worry about with Deceit working on consistent order and banishing Remus from wrecking havoc outside of his room. It was new.. but it seemed like a change he did not hate. If he was allowed to judge it after all... it did not feel as if he was all too welcome after all. He could not exactly blame Damien for that. Virgil sighed. He had been a bad friend. A truly shitty companion and he got what he deserved when the other’s gaze simply wandered through him as if he was made of glass and anything but his existence was more interesting than him.

“I-I’.. sorry.”

Damien continued looking through him. By now his clothed fingers worked to adjust his bowler head, the coal colour resonating with his aura. Virgil could feel darkness oozing from the other. It was common to be more sensitive to certain influences in this corner of Thomas’ mind but Virgil had forgotten just how intense it was for him to be around the liar, not too far away from the chaotic creativity either. The influence was undeniable and while it could shut up people like Logan, Virgil felt his tongue feel nearly freed.

“Ssssorry?”

The word hit him like a whip and made him jump. It lashed out onto him, revealing wrath and destructive powers while the hiss lingered after him. It was the sneakingly slow threat of a snake. Virgil nodded eager as the word shot into his ears and he carefully rubbed over his exposed arms. It suddenly felt so much colder. He was all exposed on his own, now.

He did not think he could deal with this.

“You are sorry why? Because you interrupted me?”, the words were glowing like the last piece of blaze in a campfire on a trip into the lonely woods. Virgil forced his eyes shut. He should just say it. Just rip it off like a band-aid. That was what he could do, yeah. He should just..just speak up and get it out. He knew he could, it was like saying his name, it was like saying Damien’s name-

“Dee, I -I fucked up!”

He dug his hands into his lower arms as he curled them around himself and pushed his limbs into his lower abdomen. Maybe he was not real, but the panic and the dread was. It was a dark shadow spreading within him and poking him in all the sensitive spots. It rose and spread and stretched all over him like ingested poison travelling through a body.

One of Deceit’s many arms ducked out from under his cape and he handed Virgil a tissue without further comment. All his hands were gloved in yellow. He just rarely used them all at once. When did you ever need six arms? Virgil took the little tissue with care. Warmth spread from one hand to another and he gently padded at his eyes.

The anxious side was obviously working hard to be absolutely in an extreme state of overdrive with his makeup darkening a large part of his face, eyeshadow opaque and thick on his skin. Damien must have realised Virgil would not just come down for nothing and try to force his tears back while talking to him. He might have his feelings about their situation but he was no fool. He could sense a special situation when it was in front of him. Or maybe he just wanted him gone because having him around was possibly bothering. Was it because the triggered memories pained him or simply due to Virgil taking up valuable time and space Dee could put to much better use than interactions with the former dark side.

“Sweetie, what brought you here? Does Patton need anything? Thomas, perhaps?”

He assumed, with mild interest, that someone had sent Virgil down to them because he was very much able to be rather unaffected by the other dark sides. He did feel their influence but it did ultimately not bring out anything excessive within him due to his own history of being one of them. That being the case, it would not corrupt Thomas in any way. Maybe this Virgil was just another of Remus’ experiments to show Deceit that he was, in fact, not over their previous friendship and started intervening with Thomas’ business for more than just benefits but also to show Virgil’s new “friends” that he knew more about him, that he had more power over him after all.

The other carefully shook his head and bit down onto his lip with more force. The snake could see the dark lips paling and caving as small dents appeared in it.

If Virgil could, he would cuddle into the depth of his jacket and curl into the oversized mess that was basically a whole fucking blanket to him. His body was meant to swim in this thing! However, right now he was standing in front of Dee, sweatshirt covering him as much as his bangs and the usual ripped black jeans. All he could do was play with his thin sleeves, pick at them and stare at his fidgeting fingers as he hunched over and shook his head.

If he came down into the comfort of Deceit’s space, then he needed to show he was of good intentions and reveal a bit more of himself that he other side did not quite know enough about. It was like playing poker and he had caught up on when to risk and when to play it safe. He needed to pay a tribute and raise the stakes.

“No, nobody sent me.”

He straightened his back, the curve around his shoulders disappearing and instead his body rose into a more straight-up position. His body was slightly hover over Damien. The lying side was slightly shorter and the tip of his head reaches about Virgil’s nose. Actually, he was not just smaller than Virgil but all in all, the shortest of the sides who have openly interacted with Thomas so far. Funnily enough, Remus was the tallest and nobody ever talked about it because everyone could just manipulate their heights anyway (given Thomas did not actively imagine them in a certain way).

“I sent myself”, he said with a shrug, eyes still darting into any direction but Damien’s piercing gaze, “I wanted to come.”

The shorter side shifted but stayed in place. Upon clearing his throat, he prompted his ex-friend again. Even the thought of the prefix to this term hurt.

“Oh, Virgil. Did Patton finally give up on you?”

Something sparkled in the other’s face and his cheeks pushed themselves upwards in circular-shaped hills of laughter.

“Did your happy friends finally get enough of you sso now you come crawling back to me because you are sscared to be alone. Because you refussse to be the only bad guy, sszweetie?”

His words rolled off his lavish tongue, heavy and sweet like honey but they were spice to his open wounds. The more he talked, the more hot and hurtful energy they seemed to charge. The boiling hiss shot its explosive load right at Virgil. It felt like Romans’ sword practice with the Dragon Queen had to feel for the latter party. They were directed at Virgil’s heart and thrusted right into it. At least Anxiety was more than ready for Deceit’s lies and attempts at hurting him in return for having been hurt before by his all he had done.

God, how could he ever have done that. He really fucking deserved and that just made it worse for him to cope with this. It was a last straw but it was all he could focus in when he felt panic creep into his system like the despicable hoard of cockroaches everyone tried to keep locked away.

“Inktea”

Damien blinked. For a moment, the force of his presence seemed to distance itself a bit It let Virgil breathe just a tad better.

“Pardon me?”

Without any other moment passing, the kitchen lights flickered and a rather happy yet naturally clothed Remus appeared in the room. Which was nothing but a euphemism for Remus being in all the glory of how nature had made him. ...Or Thomas, actually.

“You summoned me?”

His voice scratched over the kitchen surfaces and made the snake man groan in response. The room was immediately filled with the gradually intensifying reek of ivy and something unidentifiable. It smelled familiarly unpleasant but at the same time, it was a somewhat oddly comforting smell. Like one of those things that smelled bad but still made one smell them again because they were actually not that bad but kinda got one all hooked up but were ...reek after all.

Still, there was not a single moment in life during which Virgil was more relieved (or positively feeling at all) about the Duke being finally a part of the gathering. Especially considering the man did not even have the decency to cover his personal parts.

“Nobody ssssummoned you”, he hissed back at the other and picked up Virgil’s jacket with one of his many hands. “And Virgil isss on hiss way out!”

The Duke let out a cartoon-like huff. His voice was comically shrill and annoying. It was so high-pitched, it made Damien wonder just how the fuck this man was a part of Thomas after all. Then again, they were all differing to certain degrees for more than just good reasons. It did nothing to help anyone over the fact that a loud and intense contribution from Remus had the capacity to hurt ears.

“Eh- sounds like bullshit to me, Virgil called the safeword on us. I am here. The rules said for me to join if I can and I can. And you made the rules so fuck you, Dee. And you know I gladly will!”

While Remus’ voice made a leap from strong and confident, the good impression immediately yielded to yet another drop into the scratchy sound of his voice. And the even more horrible imagery to come with his words. Dee blinked in reply at the statement.

“He wh-”

Remus turned to look at Virgil, his eyes widening in his calm chaos.

“Emo!”, he cheered and spread his arms, approaching the unusually exposed figure, “you came back!”

Virgil let out a protesting sound and shoved the tall man away by his chest, his nose scrunching up just enough for it to show a difference on his facial features as they pulled into a little wrinkles for a moment just short enough for someone to notice.

“Yeah, still don’t like hugs, eh.”

Virgil threw the Chaos Creativity a look. Remus squeaked in delight like an excited puppy.

“Also you are kinda naked, dude. Not my comfort.”

Remus tilted his head, wide shockingly open eyes staring into the void that was Virgil before him.

“Oh. That sounds like a YOU problem, tho!”

Virgil squeaked and shook his head as Remus made a dove for him, trying to catch him in his hug but the usually rather lethargic man was quick to dodge and flee himself next to Damien instead who just eyes the two as if he was staring at a camera in The Office. Honestly, at this point, he might have just been in this show, considering how everyone around him behaved so ridiculously.

“Stop it, you two”

His voice interjected as Remus arched his back and ... uh,, kinda hissed like a cat in an attempt to mimic a war screech and be somewhat intimidating. At least that it what it seemed to be like when Virgil jumped away like chased prey getting trapped and Remus just got ready to drop down and jump after him. It was a lot like dog and cat since Virgil was such a little shit after all. It was almost like old times.

Deceit’s six arms jumped out and grabbed the two before they could run through the whole mindspace and ruin the whole order he had just established. (With Remus around, the whole place was just a second away from burning down or spontaneously combustion but..well, the short side somewhat decided to bother enough to care about any of this.)

“You sssit down. And we will talk about this. You do not get to walk out of our livess and just pop back in and play with Remus like he iss your best friend when you left without a word. He may have the attention span of a dying mayfly but you don’t get to jussst barge in here like that. Not on my watch.”

Virgil could nearly hear a pun in his ears, Patton’s cheerful voice and little giggle ringing in his memory with a hint of nostalgia to it. Something on his face must have given away enough of his mental images for Damian to let go and look him over for a minute.

“Nobody is forcing you. You can go. You can always walk out of here. I will not stop you and I will make sure Remus won’t either, sweetie.”

A little bit of soft sparked in Dee and for a moment, the reek from Remus was not as bad. For a moment, the past never happened and they were just .. friends.. like they used to be before Thomas had decided to change something about himself. Light blinked in Virgil’s heart. For just a moment. And there was warmth between them

“...okay.”

Remus whistled and gave the two a smirk. A seemingly knowing one. His eyes were reading books and porn at the same time as they reflected the couple before him.

“You two need to get a room”

And then, without another prompt.

“Are kitchens rooms? Kitchens are rooms but do not count as rooms. Such horrible thing! In rooms you do private things like slaughtering your pet and now you do not have any privacy in the kitchen? Did slaughter become a social event?”

Virgil blinked at him. Kinda.. Kinda did not miss that part of the dark sides.. not really. He sighed in vain. Remus continued on.

“Now, consider. Beheadings were public and so was the execution by guillotine and then there was also the case of stoning people - well actually that is still a thing! And also, there are bull fights and the media feasting on mass shootings anD-”

With a snap of Dee’s fingers, the kitchen was gone and the chaotic Creativity fell onto a leathery couch. Plain. Black. Remus sighed- possibly in distaste. The side felt insulted by how simple everything around here seemed to be. Damien was like the Logic of the dark sides. Boring (to put it maliciously) and simple and Remus had his thoughts on the lying short stack but he also has his thoughts on the lack of blood and man-eating jelly plants around here. It was shocking to say at least but well, it was not his fault the lying side decided to live without the true beauty of a precious life dedicated to creativity.

Virgil was seated next to Remus, rather unceremoniously falling into his corner of the couch and scrambling to shift into a more comfortable position on the icky feelings below him. He retreated his arms into his sleeves and let his palms push down onto his knees. Leather was so cold and stiff and - A shiver ran down his spine and he visibly shook. Just the thought of how much he disliked the feeling of it made him feel worse about where he was sitting

“Wait, I can dress up for you! I will make it super hot, tho!”

Remus shot up before Deceit could stop him and the Duke was gone for but a moment just to freshly pop up in an actual dress. It was short, barely covering his fine ass that Thomas had worked on so well. The long legs were covered in fishnets -probably made from actual fishnets he used to catch some octopus friends because why not. There was no reason to what he did, just ‘mood’ as Virgil would say and a sense of curiosity that Logan would envy to have. The black of his dress was slightly floating but it was rather simple compared to Remus' usual attire (given he was clothed at all). The front has strings to tie him into the dress and adjust his slightly bulky figure. He was a bit broader than Thomas but the dress easily reached up to the middle of his upper arms and concealed his inviting shoulders. Some intricate green ornaments decorated the part of the dress that could be tied together flexibly. The strings were silver, slightly sparkling and looking about as strangely fitting as the skunk streak in the garbage man's nest of a hair. The dress hugged Remus' body shape in all places, adjusting to his form like an actual birth suit.

Remus flopped down again and sprawled over the couch, excitement glimmering in his eyes like dreams and hopes of children a moment before it was time to receive gifts on the holy night. He really reminded Damien of a of a dog. It made him wonder how Patton had not tried adopting him yet but that was another part of hypocrisy he did not have the nerve to think about at the moment.

“uh... thanks, Ree”, he mumbled in reply and the dark creativity sniffed the little sounds the other made like expensive perfume gracing his nostrils. His head inched closer but Virgil did not make any inclination to meet him.

Damien was standing before them, his stance implying that he did not plan on joining them on the couch but instead stare into them. He cleared his throat.

“Yes, Double D?”

Ah. How original. Virgil giggled and Remus looked as if he would spontaneously hyperventilate if Virgil did any other thing around him, willingly, without even gaining a bit of dark eyeshadow. Dee blinked, unamused.

“You used the word, darling. Why are you here and why are you saying these things?”

The snake man let his eyes gaze at the puddle of black and purple once more, a clear sigh provided despite Remus’ clear intention to leap onto the ...the intruder. Deceit could not even think about how he felt about this but it was a strong sensation within him, from as far as he could tell. It felt as if he was about to split from his own existence or immediately vomit his guts out. ... difficult to describe but something within him felt sick, as if he had ingested poison he could not quite handle. It was something he rarely ever handled..

The bitter taste of the unwanted truth. A product by cold reality.

Virgil scratched the back of his head and carefully drew his legs closer to himself.

“Uh... I.. I thought it all over and.. I -I am sorry, okay? I fucked up, messed it all up big time and I get it. I..um did a lot of stupid shit and I regret it but I thought this was different.”

The anxious trait sighed and played with his sleeves, pulling at them a tearing at the ends of them.

“I thought.. I thought we were all bad for Thomas and then I tried to not be bad but you all still were and I really believed that we actually harmed him before and that you wanted to bring him down... when I am the only who really did.”

Dee blinked at the speaking person.

“I made a mistake and I.. I am sorry.”

Virgil shrugged and brushed through his bangs, the hazel strands falling through his fingers with ease.

“I should have talked to you or something”, he started and let out a heavy sigh, “literally anything rather than just fucking off like the coward I am. Uh, anxiety things I guess. Fight or flight and all..”

The man in question shrugged and Remus let out a little squeak in response. It reminded him of an aroused pig but with Remus, nobody could really tell with confidence. It was just assumptions and educated guesses.. or literally any random suggestions which are probably more likely to hit the spot than any logical deduction could ever get to.

Dee looked between Remus and Virgil for a moment. He could not feel the anxious trait lying at all. Usually he would feel a contradiction in himself, in the world itself. The liar would see the lie in the words, he would see the letters break and fall apart because they had no ground to stand on. There was no truth to build up on that that could keep the words together.

“Really, you get anxious?”, Remus piped up with his voice ending on a slightly increased volume in all the seriousness his chaotic mind could come up with. Virgil simply glared at him before rolling his eyes so hard, it looked as if they might as well just pop out and leave his face forever. Remus briefly wondered whether he could kinda suck on them but that would probably be a bit too close for the purple man.

“Yeah, no fucking shit, Sherlock. I AM Anxiety. I gotta do my job at least somehow.”

Remus snickered and stuck his tongue out at the other without further comments. Damien let out a little sigh and rubbed his temples. No word in the English language had the capacity to describe the emotional state he was in at this moment. It was a lot, akin to taking one of these depression showers after a big and greasy depression nap. When feeling better yet still bad, the feeling of comfort and ugliness clashed together in this weird mix. And at the end of all, there was Dee. Washed with the waters of truth and refreshed with new information and feelings but he was but a clean slate, a tabula rasa and absolutely void of experience to deal with this.

He knew how to handle Virgil before he left, he knew how to handle Remus before Virgil had left. Deceit used to have it all under control and now it was coming back but it was not quite the same.

“Virgil, let me be clear here”, he started eventually.

His voice was settled, sedated like a tired dinner in among loving family with young children.

“I am sorry, too.”

The anxious side blinked rapidly, jaw falling open just a tad for Dee to acknowledge it with a little nod and even a smile.

“Yes, I know.”

He shook his head.

“We all made mistakes, sweetheart. We made the mistakes to tale Thomas’ changes personal.”

For once, not a single lie or condescension weighed the value of his words down. The truth liberated his sentence and let the sounds of his verbalisations fly through the air like a happy bird baby that had finally learned how to navigate through the air and raise up into the sky.

Dee sighed and made a somewhat swipe-like gesture with his gloved fingers. Virgil shoved himself into the middle of the couch and Remus immediately retreated his legs to himself for his favourite emo to have some space next to him. Remus let out another squeal and started bouncing a little, his body trembling like some strange sea monster in the middle of the ocean that only moved for the sake of shaking the water and causing some waves.

Again, Remus was simply a fucked over yet absolutely endearing dog. Loyal, excited.

“Hug?!” Remus blinked. Somehow, his bouncing got more intense.. The fabric of his dress was slightly shifting here and there, his body budging along with him but his butt was mostly staying on the couch rather than wobbling up and down like the odd jell-o creature he made himself out to be.

This man was going to explode if he did not get to stim or at least have someone to be squished within the death grip of his arms. The touch-starved eyes glances over Virgil again and then continued on, eventually locking with Dee’s wondrous eyes.

“Still don’t like touches, Ree”

Virgil tried a soft smile in reply only to be countered with a scoff from behind him. He turned around, meeting Deceit’s intense glare as he shook his head slowly. His tongue clicked a few times for added suspense and the extra effect of scolding a kid.

“Virgil, I told you before. It takes a liar, to know a liar. You don’t need to save face here.”

The addressed man shook his head, heat rising to his face and painting red over his cheeks. His chest burned like hay.

“I-I am not lying! I told you before, I meant all I said, I-”

“Shhht”

Dee pressed a clothed finger to Virgil’s lips and winked.

“Sometimes, you need to be quiet, my little raccoon. You know as much as I do that there is touch you would never say no to.”

Damien’s voice dropped low, travelling over his skin and leaving imprints in the form of goosebumps all over his body as his words made their way over to Virgil.

“Darling, you and I both know that you enjoy touch if it is just the right one. Now, what is the matter? Do you have a problem with the touches Remus would give you? He is not Patton.”

Virgil curled up on himself and shook his head violently, gently hugging his legs and hiding in them. His sweatshirt was far from enough at this point. His skin screamed for more to cover him in these trying times of social interaction. Being put on the spot was an especially extreme case of socialising. At the same time, his body did not even burn enough to challenge whatever he felt whenever he was around Roman or Patton a lot. Logan was not even a person to throw him off.

“I-”

Remus already charged at him and rolled his heavy body onto Virgil’s in a sudden movement. Squeals and little squeaks accompanied his sudden leap and he threw his arms around Virgil to engulf his friend in the fluffy trap of his physical love. A muffled sound came from the emo but he finally wrapped his arms around the other and let his head be tucked under Remus’ chin and mumbled some words of little meaning.

Dee watched the scene for a moment, a warmth blooming within him, unfolding and spreading until he actually felt a warm sensation tug at him. Remus.

The chaotic trash master carefully pulled at him. His movements were soft and repetitive so he would not rip the other’s clothing yet still get his attention easily. Once his focus was acquired, the lying side did not wait for Remus to ask him again and he leaned in, his chest soft pressing against Virgil’s slightly bigger body. His muscles were tangible from under thin sweatshirt he was wearing after he had taken off his clothing as special sign of vulnerability.

Nobody made him regret it. Not a single act or word had given Virgil just enough of a shock to summon his clothing back around his body or transfer his body back into his room, into the safety he desired and required when he pressed the panic button of this last-minute appearance in his own four walls.

The three remained in the soft comfort of one another for several moment. Just breathing in the weird mixture of Virgil’s rather decent yet rather sweet smell, Dee’s scent that reminded everyone of nature and then there was the weird, oddly slimy and sticky smell of saltiness that emanated off the Duke. It also reminded him of ivy but that was covered by Deceit as well. Whatever it was, it felt like the weirdest yet somewhat greatest mix to ever exist. It was like chocolate and mint. It was weird but at the same time still tasty. To some people at least. For some reason, it was actually a real treat during winter time. Like pumpkin being an autumn thing, mint and cinnamon were the spices and scents of the cooler months in a year.

“How was that again?”, Dee teased softly, “ ‘don’t hug me, I’m scared’, isn’t that right?”

A low grumble could be heard from the violet spider in Dee’s many arms and Ree’s long limbs.

“Aw, come on, Virgil. Don’t be like that. I just want you to be honest with yourself. Who knows who long you will let me around this time.”

A growl could be heard but this time it came from the taller of the three.

“Deeeeeeeeeeee” The scratchy whine reached a nasty level. ��Don’t be meaaaaaan! He used the word for stopping and we are stopping! It is the rules! You made the rules and you have to play by the rules or you are a bad person to play with!”

Remus retreated to his corner of the couch again, slightly tugging at Virgil but ultimately leaving him in the centre. The snake man looked back at the dark Creativity and nodded.

“It had been so long anyone ever used the word, I nearly forgot. Oh honey, even before you left, you were the only one to really make use of the word.”

Virgil brushed through his precious bangs once more as if to brush off the sudden sweetness in Dee’s voice and the space he had gained despite Remus’ obvious desire for more affection and proximity.

“You kinda made that word a thing so I could clock out whenever you guys got too far with me. No wonder I am the only one to use this shit.”

Damien rolled his eyes playfully. He then allowed the others back into the hug and the pouting tentacle man was quick to squish their dark friend between him and the snake. Deceit’s body fit right together with Remus and Virgil, their position natural, almost necessary between them. Their existence was linked together. They were hooks - all attached to one another and difficult to get apart, even when trying a lot. It did obviously not really work out even now. They were just “simply meant to be”, as Roman would probably sing for them.

Remus carefully nuzzled Virgil’s neck and sent tickles and shivers down the other’s body.

“HEY!”

Virgil pushed his body as far away from Remus as he could. By far, a harsh activity to submit himself to, seeing that he was sandwiched between the two dark sides in a rather close hug. All he did was essentially drive himself into Damien’s many arms. Once he was pressed against Deceit, he looked at the Duke, lips pushed into a pout and head ducked like a cautious kitten.

And then he let out the most slurred excuse of a hiss one had ever heard in the history of human life. That man was threatening no one but children with a lisp who feared the idea of being put on the spot when working out their little speech impediment whenever they heard a faulty ‘s’ around them.

Remus giggled. Oh he giggled like a crazy maniac when he got started. The sounds quickly shot into a pitch so high, his voice doubled down on taking it further yet basically cracked and came out in nothing but squeaks that resembled the level of intrusion from a door creaking whenever someone as much as just looked at them. He pounced onto the emo again and hugged Damien and Virgil with his immensely long arms and inhumane power to just squish the two smaller sides together.

“Remus- What the actual hell”

Deceit’s words were met with no verbal answer. Instead, he was allowed to witness Remus being himself in all his shameless glory. A purr could be heard as the predator stuck his face close to Virgil’s neck much to the other’s dismay (which he voiced in several moments of squeaking out ‘no’ and hiding his head away in Dee’s cape).

And then. I t. happened.

Remus had gotten close enough to not just nuzzle Virgil again - which he did not, for that matter - but instead lick him all over his neck and make the light side freeze in motion and immediately fall silent.

“Mine.”

“Remus you sick fuck, howmst the fuck darest thou”

Virgil glared at the man. There was no fire in his eyes. Actually, he was even smiling while trying to rub the saliva off his neck, using the sleeve of his trusty sweatshirt. Remus had already pulled back in order to look at Virgil, a lazy grin spreading over his lips as they broadened.

“I think we need to claim Dee, so he is all ours only~ Care to give me a hand?”

Anxiety’s face reflected Remus’ own smirk all of a sudden. A true mirror at hand and without another blink of an eye, the two strove forward to launch themselves at Dee. However, the lying side was quick to jump out of reach and off the couch. Within a heartbeat, he was gone and quickly made a run for the hallway - all but in reach of the two dorks who wanted to wet his cheeks and claim him for some stupid reasons they made up in their tiny pea brains!

He dashed away, casting abandonment on the others as he sprinted forward. Heads clashed together and Remus jumped down to follow the lead of their prey while Virgil rubbed his forehead. A small yet visible patch of red started fading onto his pale skin and he could feel his head aching and wounded place throbbing uncomfortably.

They were mental projections of Thomas’ personality but if they could be hurt and get emotional, they might experience physical pain, temporarily. This one counted as one of these moments in which he felt actual agony and it was not over one of Logan’s issues with taking proverbs literal or Patton making puns or, behold, Roman serenading all his activities and generally breaking into songs at any given moment. ... they all had issues, and sometimes they were a lot, okay?

“Stay away from me!”

Remus screeched in laughter while Dee ran back to the kitchen, his hat flying due to the speed of his attempt at a dramatic escape as fast as possible from these lovable idiots.

“Don’t dare the Dukey ~”

Damien jumped out of reach once more but the kitchen had been the closest choice and then again just a dead end. He was trapped. Virgil was finally back on board and trailed after the others with sneaky, fast-paced steps. His movements echoed through the hall and let the yellow man narrow his eyes at the entrance to the kitchen. Shreds of white were flying across the floor as Deceit’s hurrying feet kicked them around.  

It was coming.

“Raccoon! Come over here~ Our friendo needs help with our affection”

Dee was glaring at the other.

“Keep your filthy tongues away, you heathens. I. dare. You.”

The Duke was suddenly silent and still and Virgil nudged him in the side as soon as he reached up to him. He was not that fast compared to the other sides.

“Yo snake, come on”

He did not budge.

“Talking about snakes, do you want to know what is up my butt th-”

“I can tell you for sure that nobody wants to know this right now, Ree”

The chaotic man snickered briefly, the sound resembling a shadow sneakily crawling away from its owner and moving on its own.

“Does this mean we can come back to this at another time?”

Virgil glared at him for a moment, scoffing but not minding the comment with any more words. Unbeknownst to him, Remus was using his Remusness for exactly this special time and promptly scooped up the trophy that was the lying side. During the whole exchange, he had used his tentacles to strive forward and reach for the man in cape and more. He was quick to work these things off so he could see the other in his usual attire again, the clothes he allowed himself to wear around The Others.

He was comfortable with them. The man dared to reveal himself when the was in the darker spaces of Thomas’ mind. Whenever he visited the light sides, he was notorious to cover up. Every patch of skin he could alienate from the original Thomas was to be hidden away. He was not him.

By now, he had to worry about several other things than just wearing clothing or losing his cape and glove to the tentacles. His tired glare merely graced over Remus. Deceit actually looked like a guys who has had his fair share of dealing with kindergarten children all day long, five days a fucking week for the rest of his time until fucking retirement.

“Do you feel better now that you removed my gloves, honey?”

Remus eagerly nodded at the man and his question. His voice dropped down into the usual tone he used to talk around the light sides, the sneaky sound of evading a straightforward answer.

“Now we can love you!”

Virgil shrugged, his lips twitching into a smile.

“Yeah, dude, you gotta stay with us so we can, like, be nice or whatever.”

Dee dropped his shoulders and his usually upright position reverted to a slight slouch. Instead of a proud position, there was a comfort rather than the attempt at ascertaining dominance as he did in court. There was no need to do this here, not around his dear ones. Not around the people he could trust with his life.

“Only if you stay”, he whispered. His voice was a needle dropped in absolute silence.

“At least come around a lot, just come over some time.”

The vigilant side looked up at him and carefully inched closer until they were close enough to hug. Remus quickly moved over to join the hug, drawing the two slightly smaller sides to his warm chest. His tentacles, with the life of their own, slowly retreated. They had some clothes to chew on for now. Their transluscent green forms gradually inched away from the deceptive side and left the three have their moment of intimacy over their reunion.

“Now, Now, Snake Whisperer, Virgin. We will always stay together. I can glue us together if that helps you-”

He gently nudged him, making the classic man sniffled.

“I’m .. I am not able to just come back but I can drop in as much as Thomas’ mind lets me. I will stay around for as long as I physically and mentally am able to manage.” Virgil took a deep breath and wiped at the salty liquids that formed in his heterochromatic eyes, the precious gems of different colours and wild secrets. They held all that Thomas knew and repressed, it was all the knowledge about lying and certain obstacles in life.

“If you leave, I might skin you”

Virgil giggled.

“Please don’t say that”

“Please don’t leave”

“Please, shut up, you two.”

They all chuckled and Virgil pressed a kiss to Dee’s cheek while Remus leaned in to push his tongue against the other’s scales.

“Mine!”

Deceit snorted.

“You are such a fucking mess.”

Remus kissed the top of his head and gently tugged him and Virgil closer once more. As they should be. This was where they belonged. They were the dark sides and they were the ones who would always stick together. Virgil may be a light side or not, they belonged together and with him around, they could finally complete their own puzzle. They had the little piece that made them whole and filled the void the other had left after his transition to the light sides (due to Thomas’ change in cognition and attitude).

“My room. I mean.. you are not really affected a lot by my room since I, uh... relocated it to the other side and all. I mean, like, you know. That is okay for you? Is it?”

Deceit nodded and the Duke simply wiggled his eyebrows at the suggestion.

“Can I visit Thomas? OW”

The snakey snake retreated and straightened out the wrinkles in his clothing that came from the little struggle they had together. His hand reached over to the wet spot on his cheek and he wiped over it before washing his hands under the sink.

“Disgusting.”

Another sound of giggles erupted from the creative side while he held his Virgil. Soon after, he could draw Damien back into their little cuddle pile. Deceit was the shortest side along with Roman but he was still a powerful and proud man. He had the power to pinch a man and evoke pain if he wanted to!

“Aw okay, then maybe we will just go to Virgil’s room already and stay there and then we can cuddle and finally get to make the fuck out! I wanna taste some tongues!”

Virgil let out a prominent noise that resembled a big old ‘blergh’ but he threw himself into the others and let them appear in his room. Their bodies crashed into his bed and foreheads bumped together as they embraced one another and giggled.

Sounds were swallowed and Remus’ idea was taken more serious than anyone would ever admit to one another or the sides outside of this room. Giggles drowned in the joy of feeling and tasting one another. Feelings sparked in colourful fireworks and there were smiles colouring their faces that could not and would not be wiped away.

Finally, all pieces were back together.