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samders-sides · 7 months

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The Hunt for Prince Roman - Chapter One

Summary: Roman has been in the Imagination for two weeks straight and Virgil has grown concerned. What starts as a welfare check on the wayward Prince turns into a full on quest to find him because things…are not adding up.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51469459/chapters/130071607

Note: Hi! I am back again. I have two WIPs on here but this walked into my mind and I spent the weekend writing pretty much all of it… Will be updating twice a week until it is all posted on Thursdays and Sundays. Also I'm not great at titles. If anyone has any ideas I would be happy to hear them!

Chapter One: The Begining

It had been two weeks.

Virgil shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulders, shifting his satchel strap to a more comfortable position on his shoulder and moodily glaring at the scene. There were many places that he liked to while away his spare time. Cuddled up into the smallest ball imaginable in the soft armchair in the living room with his headphones on; sitting on the benchtop while he supervised Patton baking in the kitchen (ready to jump in at any notice with a fire extinguisher, should one be needed); sinking into a warm bubble bath…

Virgil smiled at the last thought. For his birthday, one of the gifts he had received was his own bespoke brand of bubble mixture, which, when mixed with water, created large sparkly purple and black bubbles. Blackberry and lavender scents soothed his nerves, and he swore that the bath water would remain the exact right temperature, no matter how long he soaked his troubles away. Roman had really outdone himself on that one.

Roman. Virgil’s frown returned to his face. The reason that he was here, in the imagination, instead of literally any other place that Virgil would care to be. His skin crawled.

Roman had been acting strangely since…well Virgil couldn’t quite pinpoint it exactly. He had been so focused on the threat of Janus, Remus and the Others, and the stresses of a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic that he hadn’t paid enough attention to the three knuckleheads in the light. Recent events sure had blown his failure on that point wide open.

The wedding was a big one, that had felt like an atomic bomb going off in the mindscape. In the space of a day everything had turned upside down. New friendships. New rules. New high score in Candy Crush…one big gaping hole in the fabric of his close-knit family. And maybe the hole itself wasn’t new but it sure as hell wasn’t anything like what it is now. Virgil could name a handful of days that were so significant in their lives to have had as big of a fallout as that one.

But pinning it all on just one (freaking terrible no good) day, was just one more mistake Virgil had to chalk up on his list.

Virgil shook his head and started walking. He was here for a reason.

Two weeks.

Two weeks with no Princey.

Lengthy absences weren’t necessarily unheard of, or even rare – especially when they were between major projects or Princey was working on something big. He was still functioning, Thomas still had his fanciful thoughts, reckless romantic urges, his ego, and his creative spark. They could all feel Roman’s presence in the mindscape, like he had sprinkled glitter over everything. Patton still set the dinner table for four. There was a growing pile of books outside of Princey’s bedroom door that Logan had come across and thought would be of interest to the creative side. Virgil still peeked into his room on his nightly rounds of the mindscape. Usually, the Prince would send some sort of message to them by now though.

“He’s probably just busy defeating some illogical amalgamation of fictional and non-fictional creatures and has lost track of time,” Logan had said, his voice clipped as he turned the page of his book, not even looking up at Virgil. Logan had said something further under his breath about the creative sides’ appreciation for time and schedules, but Virgil had chosen to ignore it. Instead, Virgil’s eyes had flicked to the four empty coffee mugs on the table, and the glass of red wine in the logical sides free hand, then to the clock on the wall which read 11:46 am. A feeling that Virgil could not quite place welled up within him.

“Yeah kiddo, Roman just needs some space at the moment, I’m sure there is no need to worry.” Virgil turned to look at the other side in the living room, Patton. Virgil had a retort ready to snap back about how could you claim to know anything for certain especially about Princey, but it died in his throat as he took in the newest addition to the father figure’s ensemble – a clumsily made yellow friendship bracelet. Virgil knew what feeling had been welling up inside himself that time.

Virgil blinked himself back to the present, not for the first time since the scene from earlier had occurred. One at a time. He had to sort out these buffoons one at a time before they destroyed themselves and Thomas. Something in his heart of hearts told him that Roman had to be top of his list.

He had appeared on a hill in Roman’s side of the imagination and had immediately breathed a sigh of relief. The weight in his gut lessened just a fraction.

The grass was an impossibly perfect shade of green, and the beautiful baby blue sky held no clouds. There were forests to the right and left of him, an expansive ocean behind him, and towns littering the path up to a magnificent Disney castle ahead of him. Cartoonishly cute birds and animals filled the scenes, and the ambiance could only be described as magical.

This hill had become a favourite spot of Virgil’s, on his journeys here. A large cherry blossom tree grew at the crest, with brilliant gardens radiating out around it in ever growing circles, paths weaving their way through the beds. Gardens weren’t entirely strictly his vibe, but Roman had created this one just for him. The flowers were all different shades of purple (with a few tasteful black roses dotted about here and there) and Roman had fashioned a bench underneath the cherry blossom tree, which was always in bloom. It was a peaceful place at a strategic vantage point so no one could sneak up on him while he was there. It was perfect.

Virgil had wavered here for a few moments, his eyes staring at the table in front of the bench which was set up with a Battleships board.

Roman and Virgil had tried chess, but admittedly Roman had struggled with the rules. The Game of Life had stressed Virgil out with the inevitability of death and taxes. Neither of them would ever emotionally recover from that Monopoly game…

Battleships was as much skill as luck. It had been the perfect medium to bridge the gap after Virgil had been accepted.

At least the imagination seemed to be in good nick. In ways that Virgil had yet to understand (and that Logan would kill to know), the imagination was inextricably linked to the Creative sides and their emotions. For the first time, Virgil started to doubt himself and his mission. If the imagination was this picture perfect, maybe the wayward Prince was fine. Maybe Patton was right…

And it was that thought that hardened Virgil’s resolve to continue, as he steadfastly made his way along the cobblestoned road to the first small town.

Since the wedding, and especially since the mall, Virgil had been spending a lot more time with Roman than he ever had before – including in the imagination. It wasn’t entirely his cup of tea but Roman had kept things low-key for him.

The imagination was always in flux, but there were a few constants. “Video game logic” is what Roman had dubbed it. The first golden rule – walk to a location and find a person to ask a question of. A tavern or a brightly coloured shop were your best bets to find such a person. Virgil’s gut said that he would find the Prince at the castle, but the imagination had spat him out onto that hill for a reason. Virgil had long since learned to trust Roman’s guiding hand when it came to the imagination.

And so, Virgil walked into the quaint town of Brightstar.

Roman had eagerly walked him through Brightstar before, and it was a favourite setting of Virgils’. The small French village had a beautiful fountain marking the centre of town, with cobbled streets reaching out from the fountain like a star. The houses had thatched roofs and were built with stone. It was very Beauty and the Beast.

Which is why Virgil frowned when his feet left cobblestone and hit a tar sealed road.

Brightstar was a hive of activity – which was not unusual. What was unusual was the kind of activity. People in high-vis-vests scrambled about in teams. One team hauled a massive machine down the cobbled streets, covering them in tar. Virgil wrinkled his nose at the smell. Another team were pulling up streetlamps and connecting them to electricity. The crew clapped as the first bulb flickered to life.

Virgil broke off into a run, his anxiety flickering to life. There were only a few streets in between him and the town centre and he didn’t stop until the water fountain came into view, blessedly untouched. Virgil slouched and clutched a stitch in his side, cursing Thomas for not going to the gym more often. The city centre had already been paved and electrified, but the local vendors and citizens seemed unbothered. Virgil took a seat on the fountain and dipped his hand into the cool water, forcing his breathing to come right and his heart rate to chill out.

Everything is okay.

Once again, Virgil chided himself. It was silly getting himself into a panic over nothing. Roman decided to update and change his realm almost on the daily, why was he so panicked over him deciding to update the facilities in Brightstar? Virgil tried not to feel too disappointed. It’s not like he was invested in the old school cobble streets at all…though they were far more his aesthetic than modern paving systems. Didn’t Logan once say that the old Ancient Roman roads were far better quality than anything we could construct now? Virgil looked up from his spot at the fountain and saw that another team of workers were replacing a thatched roof with tiles.

“Howdy stranger.”

Virgil just about fell backwards into the fountain, only just managing to catch himself in time. One of the workers had come over to him while he was contemplating the meaning of change. Virgil hurriedly stood up and tried not to look like he had just let out a screech that a banshee would be jealous of.

“Urgh, hi there.” Virgil grunted, shoving his hands into the safety of his pockets. The worker was clearly of elvish origin if his pointy ears were anything to go by. He had an orange hard hat on his head, green eyes, and a kind smile. He clutched a clipboard against his portly stomach and rocked back and forth on his feet.

“Sorry there friend, didn’t mean to startle you.” The man gave a reassuring smile. “The name is Bertram.”

Virgil sighed.

“No problem, er, Bertram.” Virgil cast his eyes about nervously. This was it; he was sure of it. He had found a person, now, to get the right question. “What’s going on here?”

“New orders from the big guy in charge, massive infrastructure upgrades realm wide and we have a week to do it! Management, eh? In truth, I liked the old look, but not complaining here. It makes sense to move away from combustible materials like thatched roofs. Never know when a dragon will take a special interest in our little old town eh?" Bertram laughed as if he hadn’t just made a joke about a dragon burning his home down. Virgil doubted he would ever understand the folk in the imagination.

“Management…yeah.” Virgil swallowed. He didn’t know why he was so anxious talking to a person that literally did not exist. “So, the Prince has done this? Is he around?”

“Where have you been?” Bertram laughed again. “We don’t have a Prince anymore.”

Virgil’s blood ran cold.

#sanders sides #roman sanders #virgil sanders #sander sides fanfiction #logan sanders #patton sanders #imagination adventure #roman sanders angst

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meowthefluffy · 1 year

Note

For the Cupid AU-

Plz tell me They end up actually getting married, that Virgil decides he loves Roman enough to actually get married 🥲 Plz?

Virgil is breaking off the marriage because he loves Roman.

If he loved Roman any less he would probably be okay selfishly going along with the wedding, but he can’t now.

This is because, even though Virgil wasn’t an abusive boyfriend by any means he was a shitty one. He never went out of his way for Roman, he never took him on dates, he never initiated anything romantic, the first gift he ever got Roman was the wedding ring itself, and he had at that point not even confessed his feelings. It was because he didn’t know they were dating but from Roman’s perspective? Virgil was just a bad partner. And it really disturbs Virgil that Roman was just okay with it. He looked at his unsupportive, inattentive partner and went “yeah okay that’ll do”

Virgil hates that Roman doesn’t respect himself enough to want more or even ask for it. He hates how shocked Roman is when he does the bare minimum of effort.And he looks at what he did to earn his place at Roman’s side he knows he doesn’t deserve it. And he knows that someone else could be the partner Roman deserves instead.

Someone who loves him from the start, who swept him off his feet and made him feel special. And Virgil knows he can’t do that, and that he needs to tell Roman the truth.

#prinxiety #cupid au #cupid! au #they are sad

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fangirlwriting-stories · 2 years

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Well This All Went According To Plan

Summary: Virgil and Janus are behind on rent, and decide to invite a billionaire to a fake wedding so they can sell the expensive gift he sends as an apology for not coming.

Unfortunately, their plan doesn't really work out when he says he's going to come.

“This,” Janus said, looking down at the RSVP that had been responded to with brutal efficiency. “Was not the plan.”

“You don’t say?” Virgil cried, throwing his hands up. “Really! I thought this was exactly what we wanted! You’re telling me this wasn’t what you signed up for? Janus, I’m shocked! I thought this was the end goal!”

“Alright,” Janus said, glaring up at Virgil. “You don’t have to rub it in.”

“Janus!” Virgil snapped. “He was supposed to send a reply saying he couldn’t come to our damn wedding that doesn’t exist and send a very expensive gift as an apology!”

“Dammit, don’t you think I know that?” Janus snapped, dropping the RSVP onto the table and running his hands through his hair.

“Well what are we supposed to do now?”

Janus raised his hands up and turned to look at Virgil again. “We’ve gotta get married, Virgil.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“You’d rather be called out by billionaire philanthropist Thomas Sanders?” Janus asked. “Look, we’ll just put on a fake wedding. What can it cost, a thousand bucks?”

“Because we have that kind of money!” Virgil said, dropping his head in his hands. “It’s not like we were trying to get a really expensive gift to sell or anything.”

“Okay. Okay, how about this. We ask Remus to make us the cake so we don’t have to spend a hundred dollars on that. We borrow Judge Aspen’s courtroom for a day because he likes me and he’ll think it’s funny. And we borrow two of Roman’s tuxes that he uses for fancy dinners.”

“Remus will just make us a wedding cake shaped like a dick.”

“That’s a feature, not a bug.”

“Janus.”

“I’ll supervise him to make sure he doesn’t,” Janus said, rolling his eyes. “Come on, you know we have to do this now.”

“I regret ever moving in with you,” Virgil said, dropping his head to the table. “Fine. When did we say the wedding was again?”

“In two weeks.”

“I’m going to strangle you.”

…

“Wait wait wait, you did what?” Remus asked with a beaming grin on his face. “That’s hilarious.”

“Thank you Remus,” Janus said, crossing his arms. “That’s exactly the reaction I wanted when I told you what was happening.”

“Happy to help! So you want it shaped like a dick right?”

Virgil gave Janus the best “I told you so” look he could muster.

Remus made… unusual cakes. Sometimes he added unconventional ingredients like dragonfruit, lettuce, or burger spice. Sometimes he made a large enough one that a man could jump out of it, that man usually being him. Sometimes he shaped them in abnormal ways. He probably would have gone out of business by now if he and his brother weren’t both rich enough to fund a small country.

Okay, that was an exaggeration. But seriously, they were loaded.

“No, Remus,” Janus sighed. “We do not want it shaped like a dick. Can you please, please try to make a relatively normal wedding cake?”

“Is anyone going to be eating it?”

“Yes.”

“Aww, so I can’t add paprika?”

“Please don’t,” Janus said.

“You don’t know what you’re asking of me Janny!”

“Make it normal and I’ll eat your paprika cake next week,” Janus said, looking like he regretted even making the offer.

Remus seemed to consider this. “Do I get to come to the wedding?”

“No.”

“Oh no, the paprika is slipping out of my hand—”

“Fine,” Janus growled, and Remus beamed.

“Deal!” he called happily.

Virgil snorted. “Have fun with that.”

“What do you mean? I look forward to it already,” Janus deadpanned, and Virgil laughed again.

“Want me to eat it with you, dummy?” he said, nudging Janus in the side as they turned to walk out of Remus’ cake shop.

“You didn’t make the offer, you don’t have to do that.”

“Well, I can’t stand the idea of letting you be miserable alone.”

“You’d rather be miserable with me?”

“Of course, it reinforces my view that the entire world is miserable all the time.”

It was Janus’ turn to laugh at that. He shook his head, but still had an amused smile on as he pulled out their list. “Okay, now do we want to get the next terrible part over with and ask Roman for the tuxedos, or do we want to take a breather and ask Judge Aspen for the courtroom?”

“Let’s just get it all out of the way.”

…

“Sure you can borrow some tuxedos,” Roman said lightly. “I’ll even have them fitted for you, you can keep them.”

“Why would you do that?” Virgil asked, crossing his arms suspiciously.

“Because I can afford them, of course,” Roman said. “And you’re my dear friends and I love you.”

“You want to come to the wedding, don’t you,” Janus said.

“Of course I want to come to the wedding!” Roman exclaimed, grinning. “That sounds amazing!”

Virgil sighed and dropped his head into his hands. “He’s going to tease us about this until the end of time,” he said, looking up at Janus.

“And you weren’t expecting that anyway?” Janus asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I do have one more condition though,” Roman said brightly, meaning this was going to be a nightmare.

“What?” Virgil asked.

“You are not getting married in a courtroom, that’s ridiculous. I’m booking you a venue.”

“We’re not getting married at all, Roman,” Virgil snapped. “It’s a fake fucking wedding!”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t do it in style,” Roman said. “Look, you’ve got the cake and the tuxedos, let me handle the rest. I’ll get the venue and the decorations and I promise it’ll look amazing, and I won’t charge you anything!”

“And why would we agree to that?” Virgil asked, looking up at the ceiling.

“Because if you do I won’t hold over your head until the end of time the fact that you could have just asked me to help with this month’s rent instead of asking a billionaire to come to a fake wedding?”

Virgil looked over at Janus. “I hate my life.”

“I hate your life too,” Janus said. He turned back to Roman. “Fine. Deal.”

“Excellent!” Roman said happily, already pulling out a notebook and starting to write things down. “Don't worry your pretty little heads about this anymore, Roman will take care of everything!”

And with that, he headed out of the room, muttering to himself and calling someone on his phone.

“How does he have the energy to exist?” Virgil grumbled, turning to sink onto one of Roman’s unfairly comfortable couches.

“He’s rich, he can buy extra energy,” Janus said, sitting down next to him. “So, what does he mean by everything? I mean, I’m sure he means everything, but he’s Roman, so he’s going to forget something.”

“Did he say anything about someone to officiate? Or I mean, fake officiate?”

“Nope.”

“Cool. Let’s ask Patton.”

…

Patton did not have the authority to officiate weddings, meaning he was perfect for their fake wedding where they weren’t getting married. He was all too enthusiastic to do so too, and he didn’t ask to be there in exchange.

Well. He’d be there anyway, and that probably had something to do with it. But he didn’t ask for anything else in exchange.

So with Roman handling all of the decorating and venue issues, and Remus making the cake, and Patton as the officiate, all that remained was for the two of them to write vows they would apparently be giving.

Let it be known that Virgil was not a good person to write a wedding vow, but he somehow managed to get it done in time.

On the day they’d picked, they all gathered at the venue that Roman had picked out, which was actually surprisingly beautiful. Roman had asked Logan to get rings, and Logan had thankfully seemed to realize that getting actual wedding rings for a fake wedding would be a huge waste of money, and showed Janus and Virgil the cheap plastic ones he’d gotten. Janus had also asked him to grab a blank piece of paper they could sign as a fake certificate of marriage.

Remus had managed to make a relatively normal looking cake with Janus’ constant supervision, and it was now sitting over on the table with enough snacks for the total of seven people who were coming.

Patton was standing up at the front of the isle ready to officiate, and everyone else was going to sit.

Finally, by the time Thomas Sanders was due to arrive, the only problem left was getting Remus and Roman to stop laughing.

“And how long exactly does it take you two to get it out of your system?” Virgil asked, leaning back against the chair he was sitting on.

“Just give them a few hours,” Logan said with an amused smile of his own.

“Logan I swear to god—”

“It is rather humorous, Virgil,” Logan said. “You could have simply asked one of us if you needed help making rent for the month.”

“Yeah, well if we did, Patton would get his sad puppy dog gaze, you would start lecturing us about budgeting, and Remus and Roman would try to convince us to move into their mansion again.”

“We’ve got five spare bedrooms,” Roman said, managing to stop laughing long enough to wipe a tear from his eye. “And you know none of us look down on you for needing help with money.”

“I’d look down on you,” Remus said from his spot in a chair across the isle.

“Remus, someday I’m going to work for an expensive law firm and be drowning in money, and so help me when that day comes I’m going to buy your bakery out from under you,” Janus snapped.

Remus snorted. “Good luck with that.”

“Hey guys,” came Patton’s voice, and they all turned to look at him. “I think Thomas is coming. There’s a limo outside.”

“Alright, everyone shut up and get into your places,” Janus said, grabbing Virgil’s hand and pulling him up to the front.

Thomas came in with surprisingly little fanfare and headed up towards the front of the room and smiled at everyone there before sitting.

“Hi there,” he said. “You weren’t lying about the wedding being small.”

“We are a small but merry party today,” Roman said with a bright smile. “Which is why we appreciate your coming so much more.”

“I’m happy to be here,” Thomas said, sitting in one of the chairs in the second of two rows. “What time are we starting?”

“We’re starting right now,” Patton said with a smile of his own. “Everyone’s here.”

Virgil took a moment to accept how humiliating the next hour was going to be, and headed up to the front to stand in front of Patton. He took Janus’ hands between them both and they both turned, trying to stand just enough at an angle that Thomas couldn’t see them both looking incredibly uncomfortable.

“Dearly beloved,” Patton said, before launching into a speech that sounded pretty accurate, actually, from Virgil’s limited knowledge. He must have really done his research. At least he went pretty quickly, because Virgil didn’t think he could stand here for a long time and not give something away. Eventually, he made it to the vows, which was definitely going to be about the most humiliating thing in Virgil’s life.

“And now, you may begin with the vows,” Patton said, smiling at them both.

Virgil looked at Janus, who looked back at him for a second before clearing his throat.

“Virgil,” he said, somehow managing to keep his voice perfectly smooth. “You have affected my life in ways I never would have expected. I never know what will come next when we are together. And despite the trouble it can land us in, I find that’s usually a positive thing. I don’t know how I could imagine life without you in it. When I met you—”

“At a furry convention!” Remus called.

“That is most definitely not where we met,” Janus said, giving him a look. “But it was… wonderful. And I’m so glad I get to keep you.”

Virgil stared at Janus for a second. Did the asshole just have to go and one up him on their fake vows? Virgil’s was going to be shit compared to that.

“Uh, Janus,” he said anyway, because they were all in way too deep at this point. “You annoyed the hell out of me when I first met you. But now I guess I’d say you’re kind of okay.”

Janus snorted and despite himself, Virgil started to smile a little too.

“Okay enough that I want to keep you too,” he said, because now Janus was smiling and that made it a little less mortifying. “And I can’t wait for all of this to be over so I never have to do it again.”

Janus laughed louder, leaning over slightly and using Virgil’s hands to hold himself up, and Virgil grinned down at him.

“Uh. Love you and all that junk,” he finished, and a second later Janus stopped laughing and pulled himself up.

“May we have the rings please,” Patton said, and Logan stepped forward with the fake plastic rings, handing one to Virgil and Janus each.

“Janus,” Patton said. “Do you take Virgil to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?”

“Why not,” Janus said with his own slightly teasing smile. It was Virgil’s turn to snort.

“And Virgil,” Patton said, turning to face him. “Do you take Janus to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?”

“That sounds like a lot of commitment, but what the hell,” Virgil said, and Janus laughed again.

“Then, by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you married!” Patton said happily. “You may now kiss the— uh.”

Virgil stared up at Janus, positive he looked like a deer in headlights. But before he could think about it too much, Janus leaned forward and gave him a very quick kiss. Meaning all that was left for Virgil to do was to die of embarrassment.

The few people out in the audience started cheering a second later, so at least now all the horrible stuff was over and they could eat cake.

Remus hopped up to do just that, and since they weren’t really leaving to go anywhere for the reception, after a second the other people did the same.

Janus grabbed Virgil’s hand and pulled them both over towards the table, and Virgil was currently trying very hard not to look at his lips again, which was ridiculous.

“Hey dummies,” Remus said as they arrived at the table. He shoved a piece of paper at them. “Here’s your fake marriage certificate. And here’s a pen.”

Virgil was pretty sure he and Janus both signed the thing without really looking at it, because a second after they did they were both staring at each other again.

“We didn’t talk about the kiss thing,” Virgil said finally, quietly enough that Thomas couldn’t hear.

“We did not,” Janus agreed with a small nod. “Sorry, I just kind of… went for it.”

“It’s okay,” Virgil said. “Uh— let’s have cake.”

“Yes! That’s a wonderful plan!” Janus said, turning very decidedly away from Virgil and heading towards the cake.

The rest of the night was actually kind of nice. They’d been to plenty of hangouts with their friends before, this kind of just felt like that. Well, with the addition of a random billionaire none of them knew.

The night finally ended when that billionaire came up to them at around seven.

“Hi, I’m sorry to rush out,” he said. “But this was really the only time I had to be here. I have a lot to do tomorrow. I just wanted to say congratulations.”

“Thanks so much,” Janus said, with what was at least a believable smile. “We uh, we didn’t at all think you’d actually come.”

Thomas laughed a little. “I can understand that,” he said. “I just…” he smiled a little and shook his head. “This kind of thing never would have been possible when I was a kid. I never thought I would get married at all. It just makes me very happy. I’m very happy for you both.”

Well. Shit.

“Thanks so much,” Janus said, with a slightly strained smile.

“Of course. I left my gift over on the table by the door, by the way. It’s just a set of silverware, I’m sorry, I’m bad at gifts.”

“That’s okay,” Janus said. “Thanks so much for bringing anything.”

“Well that’s what you do when you come to a wedding,” Thomas said with one last smile. “I’ll let you get back to your night. Have a wonderful life.”

And with that, he headed out.

“So,” Virgil said, clapping his hands together and turning to face Janus. “Do you also feel like a piece of shit now?”

“Oh no, not at all,” Janus said, clearly lying. “We just called him down to see something that ended up being incredibly important to him and it was all entirely fake.”

“Oh, no it wasn’t, don’t worry,” came Remus’ voice.

Both of them jumped and turned to face him.

“Jesus, Remus,” Virgil said, putting a hand to his chest. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“What, Patton didn’t tell you?” Remus asked, grinning in a way that meant nothing good. “He did a whole bunch of research for an online officiate thing, and they sent him something in the mail when he finished.”

Virgil’s blood ran cold. “What are you talking about, Remus?”

“Patton,” Janus said, and Patton glanced over at them from further down the table. “Did you actually get officiated for our fake wedding?”

“What? No, I just went through this course thing so I’d know what to do,” Patton said with a confused smile. “And they sent me a little certificate once I finished.”

“Patton,” Janus said, bringing his hands up in front of his face and then clenching them into fists. “That means you can legally officiate weddings now.”

Patton’s smile dropped. “Oops.”

“It’s okay,” Janus said instantly, turning to face Virgil. “It’s okay, because we never actually signed a marriage certificate. It was just a blank piece of paper.”

“Oh you mean this one I got from a courthouse?” said Remus, grinning at them and holding up a very official looking piece of paper with Janus and Virgil’s signatures on it. “I told Logan I’d handle it.”

“You. Did. What,” Virgil growled.

Remus started cackling.

“I’m going to murder you!” Virgil screamed, and before anyone could stop him, he leapt at Remus and tackled him into the table. But Remus kept cackling, even after Virgil managed to pin him down.

“Well even if you do, Janus can’t testify against you now,” Remus said, and then started cackling again.

“REMUS!”

Remus leaned back in his chair and started cackling. Virgil walked up to the table that had the remains of Remus’ wedding cake on it, picked it up, and walked back over to Remus and dropped it on top of him.

Remus continued to laugh and did not seem at all bothered.

“This is what you get for not getting over your pride and asking for help,” Remus said in what sounded like the most sing-song, asshole voice that he could manage.

Virgil growled, but before he could strangle Remus and watch the life fade from his eyes, Janus grabbed his arms from behind and pulled him away from him.

“No, let me murder him!” Virgil screeched, kicking his legs back towards Remus.

“Virgil, Virgil,” Janus said, putting a hand on Virgil’s chest to hold him back. “There’s witnesses.”

Virgil supposed that was a fair point, and he took a minute to try to shove his anger back down. But then Remus said “Yeah, they’re a crucial part of a wedding.”

Janus couldn’t hold him back after that. Remus was at least smart enough to run for his life.

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #janus sanders #remus sanders #roman sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #character thomas sanders #anxceit #fake dating #fake marriage #virgil and janus are idiots #my fic

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podcast-pet-tournament · 1 year

Text

Now we are really getting into the actual play pets!

"He's just a very good very sweet boy. He's from an actual play dnd podcast, and although we usually only see him as a background character, there was a pets arc, and he was such a helpful little child to the other pets! I just think he's neat, your honor." (Virgil, a giant hedgehog)

"1) Teeny mechanical dragon squeaks 2) She sets fascists on fire 3) she was a proposal gift ring alternative made by a magical pirate artificer for her butch chef girlfriend 4) she was the ring bearer at a (different) lesbian wedding" (Diamondis, a mechanical dragon)

#podpetfight #polls #the descriptions are lifted from the submissions

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goodieghosty · 2 years

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OMG! Roman knew that his roses in all it's variaties were often gifted to ones love. But not until they go to earth does he learn that mortals have atributed different meanings to different colors! And he is delighted to hear about how accurate they are? Considering when he made the specific variaty in question. Thomas reading an article on the subject. "Okay so the clasical red rose means passion, romance and true love. The deeper the color the more serious the meaning." Roman leaning over the couch smiling proudly of his creation while everyone is gathered in the living room and listens allong cause it is honestly a little interesting and also it will keep Roman from explaining it to them a million times later, maybe. "Fitting for my first creation. Considering i am a god of love," "Are not!" Virgil objects with a smirk. Roman doesn't take the bait. "Moving on... Yellow roses... friendship. Joy and caring," Roman a little sadened. "In memento of my first friendship." Janus was the first person he'd thought he'd befriended. Until that percieved betrayal. Janus flinched a little, though no one noticed. "Blue roses, appreciation of a unique personality," Roman laughed. "Oh defenitely fits. Doesn't it?" Looking at Logan and Patton in honor of whom's friendship he had created the blue variant. "Purple... Hm... It says Lavender specifically. Wait hold on. Ah here. Lavender and deep purple." Roman blushes a little as he glances to the god he most associates wiht that color. "Lavender. Enchantment, mystical love, love at first sight." Defenitely blushing now. "Deep purple, Sophistication, elegance, luxury and Lasting love. Often a gift for wedding aniversaries past the 25 year mark." Roman is a bit speachless. He... He had created a field of lavender roses for Virgil when they first met. Wanting to woe the handsome god on sight. But he knew that wasn't love now, though he had thought so at the time. And... Deep purple, he'd given him those when they'd been friends for a few decades. To commemorate his personal growth and their lasting bond. "Anything about black roses?" he asks curiously. His creation when he tried to help Virgil find true love. What meaning had mortals connected to that? "Well. Mourning mostly but also... The start of a new chapter. Meant to inspire courage to pursue something new," Roman nodded thoughtfully, glancing at Virgil who was staring at his lap. "That... Is also accurate," he allowed

AHHHH MY H E A R T

Virgil attempting to tease Roman later on, as if his own cheeks aren't positively flaming. "Mystical love, huh?"

#They're cute your honor #godsides au #godsides au asks

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imma-potatoo · 3 years

Text

I need more of Janus being genuinely nice but hiding it under the guise of being self preservation.

Logan being stressed out of his mind, pulling all-nighters constantly, he forgets to eat due to the work load and forgetting the time period, his eye bags are darker then Virgil's eye shadow. But he gets a note attached to his door one day telling him to go to the living room, he finds a full batch of crofters jam tarts, a set up a doctor who marathon, and a note of assurance that the others will leave him alone so he can get a break.

Virgil being overly anxious due to the new relationship in Thomas's life, fretting over every tiny thing, and staying up late watching shows that would trigger his anxiety. But Janus leaves a basket of new stress toys,a new pair of headphones, a hand sewn weighted blanket with his aesthetic, and a box of chamomile tea to help calm his nerves. All in one basket, so Virgil wouldn't have to even talk to him.

Roman being in a creative slump after the wedding and barely being able to lift a pencil, let alone getting the energy to write anything. All Roman can do is stare at the ceiling and think about what he did wrong, but then an envelope gets slipped under his door. Inside is 4 tickets each to the musicals Hamilton, Be More Chill, Heathers, Grease, Chicago, and many many more. There's tickets to over 20 shows in one envelope. There's also a small note that simply reads to have fun with no sign of who it's from. Roman takes Patton, Logan, and Virgil to the shows.

Patton completely tearing himself apart with guilt. Blaming himself for every little thing that goes wrong in the the mindscape, only to have recipes slid under his door every night. Some days it's cookies, others its muffins, another is for grilled chicken. While the food is cooking, Patton's favourite movies was already queued up in the living room and his playlist waiting to be played on the radio.

Remus generally feeling bad about himself and feeling as if he isn't worthy of love, only to have an ornate letter slipped under hia door, inviting him on an adventure, where he could terrorize towns, help the evil, and use his new weapons without the other sides yelling at him. Remus also gets a plain maple baseball bat, and a note saying to decorate it how he wants too.

The five of them meeting up one day and discussing whats been happening and the strange acts of kindness that they keep encountering. Piecing together the clues slowly.

Janus feeling sleep deprived and worthless, feeling like everything was his fault and if he only tried a little harder then things would be okay. Him throwing himself into his work, taking on the patreon as a distraction from his swamped work on both the deception and self care fronts, but also taking every ounce of his free time working on things for the others. Janus believing that he's only there to work. Only for a knock to sound on his door. The others standing there with thoughtful handmade gifts made to fit the snake's aesthetic. They drag him out of his room and give him his favourite dinner and put on his favourite movie. Assuring him that the night has just begun and that they can't thank him enough for his work.

I need more of Janus being genuinely nice and the others appreciating that fact.

#sanders sides #logan sanders #remus sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders #patton sanders #janus sanders #tw self deprecation #tw self hatred #tw self blame #Tw poor self care #tw food mention #cw food mention #Ask to tag

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starry-knight-skies · 2 years

Text

“Title: A Simple Request

Summary: Despite being deeply in love, Logan still has trouble initiating any kind of affection towards his new husband. Luckily for him, Virgil’s more than happy to give him a little nudge when needed. Hades!Logan and Persephone!Virgil au (title pending)

Sure, steady footsteps echoed quietly down the empty hall, Logan’s head held high and gaze focused, determined. He knew he had the habit of losing track of time and focusing too much on his many, many duties of ruling over the Underworld. But ever since meeting Virgil, since falling in love and getting married, he had been actively working on making more time for the two of them to spend together. Virgil was very good at slipping away when things got busy, but Logan was pretty good at finding his hiding spots.

One of his favorites was just at the end of the hall, and Logan pushed through the rather large door and stepped into the light that spilled out. It had been a gift for their wedding, their own little getaway up on the Surface where no mortals can travel. It was rather vibrant, green grass as far as the eye can see, and flowers and plants of every color imaginable, all lovingly grown and tended by Virgil. Since its creation, many different bugs and animals have made their way in, lured by the magic of a peaceful life that the space offered, and Logan can hear birds chirping as he made his way further through the greenery.

“Virgil?” Logan called out, tilting his head this way and that, listening for any sounds to indicate where he could be hiding. A muffled giggle to his left had him pushing through a bush and barely being able to squeeze himself through some trees, his cloak getting snagged.

He spotted Virgil just ahead, his back too him and he was unable to stop the dopey grin spread across his face. His hair looked soft, trailing down his back in a loose braid, and Logan wanted to reach out and touch it, bring it to his lips for a kiss of devotion. But before he could make contact, a vine came out of nowhere, wrapping around him and lifting him up off his feet and hanging him upside down, his glasses slipping off his face.

Virgil turned then, eyes sparkling in mischief. He reached out and caught the glasses as they fell, a fond smile tugging at his lips. “Hey Lo, fancy seeing you here.”

Logan let out a small sigh, shifting slightly and testing the hold of the vines on him. He might be able to get himself free, but he would play along for now. ”My Light, would you please let me down? I’d like to enjoy a lovely walk through these gardens with you.”

Virgil hummed softly as if he was debating it, stepping a little closer to Logan. “Sure, I’d be happy to.” He lifted a hand when Logan opened his mouth, stopping whatever it was he was going to say. “If you do something for me.”

Logan wiggled, managing to get an arm loose from the vines that bound him and he reached a hand out to gently stroke Virgil's face. "Release me from this hold, Dearheart, and I'll move the Earth and the Heavens to give you what your heart desires. Just say the word and -"

"Kiss." Virgil cut him off, a hand lifting to gently hold Logan's hand to his face, leaning into the touch.

Logan's face flushed red, nerves twisting in his chest. Grand gestures he could do, but he always seemed to get shy and nervous when it came to anything more intimate. "You want a..."

"A kiss." Virgil repeated, a small, fond smile on his face. He took a step closer, angling his head up, eyes sparkling in anticipation. "All my heart desires is a kiss from my dear husband."

It was a simple request, really, and it wasn’t like it was something they haven’t done before. He could do this. “Okay. I would be more than happy to grant your request.” He watched Virgil lean closer still, and he pulled his hand back. “Let me down first.”

Virgil pouted for a second before nodding, fingers giving a little twitch and the vines gently set Logan down. Hands reached out to straighten out Logan’s cloak before fingers curled expectantly in the fabric, keeping him close. Not that he thought Logan would try to slip away, but he didn’t want to chance it.

Fondness swelled in Logan’s chest and he stepped a little closer, a hand reaching up to brush some stray hair from Virgil’s face before gently cupping his cheek. He angled that beloved head up and leaned down to press their lips together, humming softly when Virgil seemed to melt into it, pushing himself closer. Logan wrapped an arm around Virgil’s waist, losing himself in the moment.

He lost track of how long they stayed like that, but when he pulled back, Virgil’s face was flushed and he was a little breathless. He gently stroked his thumb along a cheek before stealing one last kiss and taking a step back. “You know you don’t need to trap me in order to get affection from me, right?”

Virgil just grinned, taking hold of his hand and intertwining their fingers. “I know, but it’s more fun this way.”

Logan let out an amused little huff, giving Virgil’s hand a little squeeze before tugging him along. “I’ll remember that the next time I want something from you.” He couldn’t help but laugh at the pout forming on Virgil’s face, love swelling in his chest and he pulled his husband a little closer, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

#analogical #logan sanders #virgil sanders #starry writes #lemme know what I should call this au #underworld love

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i-am-bitterly-jittery · 2 years

Note

May I request some Janus angst?

A Gift So Humbling

Word Count: 2912

Rating: Teen

Pairings: background Logicality, Dot/Larry (Cartoon Therapy), Janus/OC (short-lived)

Warnings: this is an Encanto AU as has all the emotional neglect/abuse and disfunctional family dynamics that come with with it, mentions of death (prophecy), mentions of a stillbirth (prophecy), possibly an incorrect use of Spanish words (idk, I don’t know Spanish), Janus trying his hardest

Janus!centric

~~~START~~~

Janus loved his family, he loved his home, he loved his village. He wanted to be helpful; his family was given a miracle, it was only right that they should share their gifts with the village — they wanted to be able to share their gifts with the village.

Janus tried to be helpful. He really did.

When he saw visions of other people, he told them about it, he wanted to help them.

He wanted to help.

Dot was helpful, people liked her. Dot could cure illness and injury with just an arepa. When she tried to help people, she really helped them, and people adored her for it.

Logan was helpful, people liked him well enough. Logan’s mood controlled the weather, if he had enough control of his emotions, he could end droughts, or keep the sky crystal clear for a party. He could help people, and people liked him.

Janus tried to be helpful. He tried, and he tried, and he tried.

People didn’t like Janus much. They took his prophecies as a curse, his innocent comments as prophecies, and his mere presence as an unsettling omen.

Sometimes Janus could make people feel better. When Dot was getting married, she got nervous, she thought about calling off the wedding. Janus was able to help her; he told her how he saw happiness in her future with Larry. Dot’s wedding was beautiful, she and Larry were so happy together, and Janus had helped with that.

Most of the time Janus only served to make people feel worse. When Logan got married, Janus knew that he and Patton would be happy, but when he saw Logan looking nervous, what came out of his mouth was a joke about how it looked like rain. His comment stressed Logan out to the point where he and Patton ended up saying their vows in the middle of a hurricane.

Janus tried to be helpful.

But he just wasn’t.

Mamá never looked at him with that same soft proud look that she gave to Dot so often, she never gave him a tight hug and a sincere compliment like she did with Logan. No, whenever Janus opened his mouth, she looked nervous, like she knew nothing good would come of whatever he had to say.

Mamá loved him, he was sure she loved him. She just wasn’t proud of him, not in the same way she was proud of Dot and Logan.

Lupita was different from most people in town; she didn’t fear him the way everyone else did, and he loved her for it. She was the only person who got excited when he walked into the room — his family loved him, but they were afraid of his gift. Whenever Janus walked into a room, people got nervous. “What will he say?” they’d wonder apprehensively “what does he know?” Lupita was always eager to hear what Janus had to say, she was always curious about what he knew; she found his power to be amazing and fascinating.

Lupita didn’t tell him that she was pregnant, but she didn’t have to, he knew. He saw visions of himself holding a tiny, perfect little baby, swaddled in a purple blanket. He couldn’t wait to hold that swaddle for real, for his son to be real.

Virgil was mamá’s third grandchild, born a little over a year after Dot had Missy, and a few months after Logan had Remy.

Lupita was tired after Virgil’s birth, so Janus let her sleep while he introduced their son to the family. For the first time in years, mamá looked proud of him. He memorized the look of love and pride on her face as he handed her her neito for the first time; it was a memory he pulled out whenever he was feeling low.

Lupita was tired for a long time; a very long time. Worried, Janus looked into the future. He saw Lupita get better — though never back to full strength. He saw her become pregnant again. He saw complications with the birth. Neither she, nor her second son would make it. Janus saw — as he so often did — death.

He was devastated; Lupita couldn’t die, Janus loved her. So, he took the only solution he could see: he told her.

“If you don’t get pregnant again, you can’t die giving birth,” he reasoned. It would work, they could avoid death this time!

But Lupita wasn’t having it. “I want more children, Janus!” She cried. “I want a whole football team! Please! You must be wrong! Look again!”

He looked, but all he saw was death.

Things changed after that. Lupita no longer looked at him with love, she looked at him with contempt. His visions that she had once loved now drove her away. The way she saw it — the way everyone saw it — her inability to have more children was a result of Janus’s vision, not the cause.

Because it was always Janus’s fault, wasn’t it? Your goldfish didn’t die because it was a goldfish and goldfish die, it died because Janus saw that it would. You didn’t lose your hair because male-pattern-baldness ran in your family, you lost your hair because Janus said you would.

Janus saw it. Janus said it. Janus caused it.

That was how everyone always saw it. Now, that was how Lupita saw it too.

He knew she would leave. He also knew that nothing he could do or say could stop her. Janus had ruined her life; she had every right to leave.

Mamá never looked proud of him again after that.

He saw Lupita find a new home, a woman who made her happy, a life that Janus couldn’t give her. And after that, he stopped looking. She didn’t want him in her life, but knowing that she would be happy again was enough.

Janus spent most of his time with Virgil after that. No one wanted him around, and Virgil loved him unconditionally — he was a baby, he had to.

(He tried not to think about the fact that Virgil would probably leave him too someday. He never looked into Virgil’s future for fear of seeing his own son afraid of him.)

As Virgil and the other grandkids grew older, Janus took to entertaining them with little plays he made up. He donned costumes, and flailed about dramatically as Missy, Remy, and Virgil laughed. And when Logan had Thomas, he laughed too. Janus was helpful, and the kids loved him.

Maybe that was why Janus let his guard down.

After Missy’s gift ceremony, where she gained the ability to create and control plants, she asked him if he could see her future. She’d asked with such wide eyed, trusting innocence that he completely forgot how badly her request could turn out.

In Missy’s future, he saw her powers grow like the plants she created, he saw her marry a kind and caring man from the village and have a large family with him. In her future, he saw happiness, and he told her. She absolutely glowed with joy over the prophecy, and once again, Janus felt helpful.

After her ceremony, Missy started going into the village to help people with the rest of their family after breakfast. Every morning, after breakfast, she gave everyone a flower special for them; to Janus she often gave a sunflower, symbol of good luck, admiration, and familial love. Janus cherished it every day.

Even though Missy no longer had time to play with Janus and the rest of the kids, the show must go on! Now with new audience member: Toby.

Things went a little more lopsided after Remy’s gift ceremony. Remy received the gift of super hearing, and, knowing that Missy got a prophecy after her fifth birthday, they asked Janus for a prophecy.

And Janus gave it to them.

“You’ll pine for a man who will marry another,” Janus told them, oblivious to the way excitement morphed into regret on their face. “You’ll hear him every day, but he will never see you, not in any way that matters.”

It wasn’t until Remy burst into tears and ran off that Janus took a moment to consider that that might not have been the best thing to say, despite it being what he saw.

A few minutes later, a very angry, very pregnant (identical twins due in thirteen days) Logan, with thunderclouds building over his head, came storming around the corner.

“Why in the hell would you say that to my child!?” Logan screamed, completely immune to the torrent of wind and rain he’d created.

“Logan!” Mamá called. “The cloud!”

“I’m sor-”

“It was inappropriate and cruel!” Logan continued, ignoring both of them. “You gave Missy a nice prophecy! Why do you not have the decency to do the same for Remy!? Why do you feel the need to make everyone around you miserable!?”

“Logan,” Janus whispered, desperate, remorseful.

“LOGAN!” Mamá yelled as the wind carried away her shawl.

“Logan!” Patton called, hurrying over to open an umbrella above his husband’s head to protect him from the rain he wasn’t bothered by anyway.

Logan visibly reeled himself in, his face going completely blank. The rain stopped, and the wind died; the clouds remained, dark and ominous overhead.

“Don’t you ever give my kids prophecies again,” he warned flatly. Logan turned to walk away before seeming to recognize Patton’s presence. “Patton, it is incredibly irresponsible to open an umbrella in a thunderstorm.”

“Sorry, mi querido,” Patton said, not looking at all sorry.

The two walked away, and mamá hurried off (likely to ask Logan to get rid of the cloud), but Janus could feel the eyes of everyone else in the house on him. Dot and Larry, Missy, Remy, Thomas.

Virgil.

“Papi?” A quiet voice spoke up behind him.

Janus turned to find Virgil, half-hiding behind a support beam, wide eyed with fear.

“I’m sorry, arañito,” Janus whispered, dropping to his knees and opening his arms. Virgil took the invitation at once, barreling into his padre’s chest. “That was scary, wasn’t it?”

The soon-to-be five-year-old, smearing tears and snot over Janus’s shirt.

“I’m sorry.”

There were no more sunflowers after that, only yellow carnations (rejection, disappointment).

Virgil’s birthday came, and he received the ability to glow purple in the dark, as well as being able to see perfectly no matter how dark it was.

“Papi?” Virgil asked as he took Janus on a tour of his new room. “Why doesn’t anyone want to see my room? Everyone was so excited about Missy and Remy’s rooms.”

“I think they’re afraid of how dark it is in here,” Janus answered honestly. “But that’s their loss, because I think you have the coolest room by far.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely.” It was too dark to actually see Virgil’s room, but he glowed bright enough that Janus could make out a few things as they walked through it. It was a cave with many stalactites and stalagmites, several of which were shaped in such a way that they would make nice chairs or tables. The walls of the cave glittered with gems and crystals when Virgil’s light reached them, and the river that ran through the cave had clear, sparkling water.

It was a beautiful room, and much nicer than Janus’s stair-and-sand-filled tower.

“Papi?” Virgil asked again, several minutes later. “Do I get a prophecy for my birthday?”

Janus stopped short, confusing the niño.

“Papi?”

“Virgito, have I ever told you what happened to your mami?”

Virgil shook his head, eyeing his papi curiously.

“Well, after you were born, I looked into your mami’s future, and I saw something she didn’t like.”

“Like when you looked at Remy’s future?” Virgil asked quietly.

“Yes, exactly like that. Except instead of having tío Logan yelling at me, she left. I’ve never looked into your future because I’m afraid I’ll see you leave too.”

“I’ll never leave you, papi!” Virgil promised, hugging Janus fiercely around the legs. “Never!”

“I’ll never leave you either, arañito,” Janus promised, kneeling down to hug Virgil properly. “And if you really want a prophecy, I’ll do it.”

Virgil shook his head. “No, I don’t need one, not if I’ll always have you.”

“You will.”

“I love you, papi.”

“I love you too, Virgito.”

Janus continued to entertain the little kids during the day while the rest of the family was busy, Thomas was the only one old enough to understand him, but he liked to think that the blank stares he got from Toby, Roman, and Remus were the baby-equivalence of applause. Virgil was usually there too; mamá had apparently decided glowing in the dark wasn’t particularly useful during the day, but the twins in particular seemed to enjoy it.

Thomas’s gift was talking to, and understanding animals. And true to his word, Janus did not offer him a prophecy — he did notice Logan watching him particularly closely, just to make sure. Janus was sure that Thomas could remember that he’d given Remy a prophecy, but clearly, he also remembered what had happened after that.

Life went on, Janus stopped looking at prophecies unless he needed to; unless he was asked to. Mamá continued to not look at him with the pride she gave freely to Dot, and Logan, and Missy, and Remy, and Thomas.

Mamá didn’t look at Virgil with pride either, and Janus couldn’t help but wonder if that was his fault too. Maybe mamá would be prouder of Virgil if he was Logan’s child, or Dot’s…

Toby’s gift was shapeshifting, and though Dot had never explicitly told Janus not to give her children prophecies, he understood that no one wanted him to.

Then the day came that the twins would receive their gifts. It was especially exciting not only because it would be the last gift ceremony for a while (what with there being no younger children in the family), but also because it would be the first time since Janus and his siblings that multiple gifts would be received on the same day. Everyone in town showed up for the party (everyone in town always showed up, but this evening’s events had a certain electricity to them, an extra layer of excitement).

Roman and Remus were both dressed in white, as was traditional, but instead of gold detailing, Roman had red, and Remus had green. Janus watched with the rest of his family as the two excited little boys made their way through the crowd, and up the stairs to their doors, where mamá, Logan, and Patton were waiting.

Mamá said her usual spiel about gifts, responsibility, and strengthening their community, and after both twins had promised to use their gifts to help people, it was time.

As with everything they did, Roman and Remus reached for their doorknobs in perfect sync. As their fingers brushed the knobs, Roman’s door glowed brighter, symbols of strength appearing around his likeness.

Remus’s door, however, dimmed.

Mamá candle — the family miracle — flickered, threatening to go out entirely as Remus’s door disintegrated before everyone’s eyes.

Alarmed murmuring started up in the crowd as mamá looked around helplessly.

Janus felt Dot’s hand slide into his and squeeze. “Do you know anything?” She asked, her voice nearly drowned out by the ruckus around them.

Janus shook his head. He never looked at the gift ceremonies, he barely looked at anything anymore.

Remus started to cry as mamá continued to do nothing to comfort or reassure him. With Remus crying, it didn’t take long for Roman to start crying too, and storm clouds gathered overhead as Logan and Patton rushed past mamá to comfort their sons.

Remy and Thomas rushed up the stairs to join their family. And, without having any other idea of what to do, Janus, Dot, and Larry ushered the crowd of guests out of the house until only the family remained.

Once the initial shock wore off, mamá approached Janus.

“What have you seen?” She demanded, her harsh tone warning enough for everyone other than Janus to make themselves scarce as quickly as possible.

“Nothing, mamá,” Janus answered. “I never look at the gift ceremonies, you know that. I don’t know what happened, I don’t know what will happen.”

“You need to look,” she begged. “Janito, we need to know what this will mean for the family.”

She looked at him so pleadingly, and Janus could never say no to whatever she asked. He could never pass up a chance to make her proud of him, never pass up a chance to help.

So he looked. He looked into Remus’s future to see what it all meant, and what he saw…

He knew how people would take it. He knew how mamá would take it.

He was Janus, he caused bad things to happen. It was always his fault, but usually, it was only his fault.

This one though, this one wouldn’t be his fault and his fault alone. It would be Remus’s fault too, and that was too much to place on a child.

Janus loved his son. He loved his home. He loved his family.

And he tried to be helpful, all he wanted was to be helpful.

But Janus wasn’t helpful. He wasn’t ever helpful. He hurt people, he made people miserable, he pushed people away and ruined their lives.

Janus loved his family, so he decided to finally do the one thing within his power that would really help them.

He left.

~~~END~~~

Do I want to write Encanto fanfiction? Idk, maybe. Might write more of this specific AU

I only have two requests left to fill after this and I should be able to post them tomorrow and Sunday!!

General taglist:

@royalty-of-all-things-snuggly @pixelated-pineapple @knight-shives

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jwillowwolf · 2 years

Text

Wish-Bouquet

Analogical Week 2022! Day 1: Fear/Warmth

Tag List: @analogicalweek

Masterlist | Day 2 >

Summary: Virgil was pulled out of his thoughts and jumped slightly in surprise. “Geez, kid, are you trying to give your old man a heart attack?”

Thomas rolled his eyes. “You don’t have a heart condition, so you’ll be fine.”

“You sound like your Papa,” Virgil muttered with a fond shake of his head. “Did you need something?”

“Actually, I, um, I wanted to ask about this,” Thomas said, holding up a certain scrapbook that Virgil had nearly forgotten existed.

Or, Thomas finds an old scrapbook in the attic and asks his dad about looking through it. Virgil decides to take a stroll down memory lane and reflects on his past with Logan as he and their son look at the photographs of days past.

Warning/s: food mention.

Characters: Virgil, Thomas, Janus, Patton, Remus, Roman, and Logan

Read on AO3

Virgil frowned at the recipe card in his hand. He’d probably need to double the ingredients if he was going to have enough for everyone tonight. But he didn’t have enough eggs, so he’d either have to get them himself or ask Logan to bring some home, the second option however meant putting off his baking until later.

“Dad?”

Virgil was pulled out of his thoughts and jumped slightly in surprise. “Geez, kid, are you trying to give your old man a heart attack?”

Thomas rolled his eyes. “You don’t have a heart condition, so you’ll be fine.”

“You sound like your Papa,” Virgil muttered with a fond shake of his head. “Did you need something?”

“Actually, I, um, I wanted to ask about this,” Thomas said, holding up a certain scrapbook that Virgil had nearly forgotten existed.

“Where did you find this thing?”

“The attic.”

“The attic?”

“I was looking for the old clothes you keep up there and found this in a box labelled momentos.” Thomas explained. “I wanted to look inside, but it’s locked. Do you know what happened to the key?”

“It’s been a while since I saw that book, but I think I should have the key with my jewellery. How about we look at it together?” Virgil suggested.

Thomas lit up and nodded excitedly.

Virgil smiled and sent a quick text to Logan about getting eggs on his way home, before proceeding to his room to find the scrapbook key. The scrapbook itself was an old gift from his parents for his eighteenth birthday. With numerous pictures from his childhood as well as plenty of empty pages for him to fill with whatever he wanted.

The small heart-shaped padlock had a special key that was attached to a necklace, which made up the second part of this gift. Even though he hadn’t seen the book in a while, Virgil did still wear that necklace from time to time. He found it in his jewellery box mixed with his other few necklaces and bracelets.

Thomas and Virgil then settled themselves in the living room with the scrapbook between them. On the first page was a beautiful picture of Patton holding a newborn Virgil, with proud tears brimming in his eyes. Janus was also in the photo, smiling softly at both of them.

“Wow, Grandpa and Nini look so young,” Thomas remarked.

“Hmm, yeah.”

“And you were really small.”

“You were that small too once, you know.”

The next couple of photos were mainly a collection of firsts. First steps, first Halloween, first Christmas, first lost tooth. There was even a photocopy of Virgil’s first drawing. The original belonged to a different scrapbook that Pat and Jan kept of all their children’s art.

Eventually, they came to a particularly stunning photo of ten-year-old Virgil smiling brightly and holding hands with a distracted Logan.

“Is that Papa?”

“Yeah. This was taken on the day we met, actually.”

Virgil’s mind wandered back to that day. It was his tenth birthday/his dad’s twenty-ninth birthday/his parents' fifth wedding anniversary. A memorable day to be sure.

The park that they always went to was far enough from their home that it felt extra special to visit. And big enough that Virgil and eight-year-old Remus could both run to their heart’s content with poor Patton chasing after while Janus saw to Roman. The two-year-old could not run like his brothers, but he was enough of a handful for their Ren without the ability.

Eventually, the family settled down for a picnic underneath the familiar old willow tree. Patton took over caring for Roman, trying to keep the toddler from messing up his clothes with food, while Janus listened to Remus rant about pirates. Virgil finished his lunch quickly enough and found himself utterly bored.

“Can I go for a walk?”

Patton looked up distractedly. “Sure, but try to stay where Jan and I can see you.”

Virgil nodded and began to wander off, looking for dandelions that he could maybe turn into a little wish-bouquet. His search led him down the hill, closer to the lake, and to one particular tree where he found a book abandoned at its base.

This distracted him enough to forget about his wish-bouquet as he inspected the book. A notebook with the name Logan Brookes neatly written across the front.

Excuse me, but that’s mine, a voice from above declared.

Virgil jumped and looked up. “God?”

“No, I’m Logan.” Said a small boy who was perched on one of the branches.

“Oh. Why’d you leave your book down here?”

“I didn’t. It fell from my grip when I was climbing up here.”

“Why didn’t you come back for it?”

“The duck.”

“The duck?”

“That duck,” Logan explained, pointing over to a white duck that was floating on the lake. “It chased me up here.”

Virgil blinked in surprise. “It chased you? Why?”

“Because ducks are evil.”

“Well, it’s gone now. Are you going to come down?”

Logan nervously shifted on the branch. “I, um, I don’t know how.”

“You just go the way you came, but in reverse.”

Logan frowned, glancing from the tree to the ground in an anxious manner. Virgil watched closely and realised that he was probably afraid of falling. Virgil would be too if their roles were reversed.

“I can catch you if you slip.”

Logan looked surprised at the offer. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Virgil nodded. “I catch my little brother all the time when he’s climbing down from the trees in our backyard, so I have experience.”

Technically, he’d only caught Remus twice, but that didn’t really matter. Logan seemed much braver with the knowledge that there was someone to help him, just in case. So, Virgil stood readily with his arms out while the smaller boy carefully made his way down the trunk. Logan was really close to the bottom when suddenly his foot slipped and he lost his grip. He fell into Virgil’s arms and the other boy fell backwards onto his butt at the sudden weight in his arms. Afterwards, though, they both just laughed and got back onto their feet.

“My name is Virgil, by the way. I like the stars on your cover.”

“Thanks. I drew them myself. Sorry about your dandelions.”

Virgil glanced at the now crushed wish-bouquet. “It’s fine. I can collect new ones. Would you like to help me?”

Logan nodded and that was all it took for the two to become friends…

#analogicalweek2022 #sanderssides #sanders sides #sanders sides fanfiction #sanders sides logan #logan sanders #ts logan sanders #ts logan #sanders sides virgil #virgil sanders #ts virgil sanders #ts virgil #analogical

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just-some-gt-trash · 3 years

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8.- Fortune

Pairings: DR LAMP (Roman and Remus are not in a relationship)

Summary: The sides receive some interesting fortunes that will help them come through the doubts on their relationship.

AN: this is a part 1, but the other parts are not going to be written for the October prompt list since I didn’t find how to fit them wit the prompts.

———————————————————

Roman opened the door of the imagination and let the others come back into their house. All the sides were laughing and talking with each other as they made their way to the kitchen.

Today was an amazing day! They all went out on a date at a park in the imagination and then went to pick up some Chinese food to eat back at home.

Patton and Logan started taking out the plates since they didn’t like using disposables. Remus and Janus took the containers out of the bags and handed everyone their food. And Roman and Virgil were just being gay with each other.

Once everything was ready, Patton sat next to Roman, Logan next to Virgil, and Remus and Janus were at opposite ends of the table.

Dinner was also fun. Remus teased Logan and Virgil with his tentacles under the table, Janus scolded him as he held Patton’s hand, Patton’s other hand was being kissed by Roman as well as his face, and Logan and Janus were talking about current issues with Thomas’ schedule, all perfect!

Well, maybe not all. Even if they all had agreed on dating each other, except for Remus and Roman for obvious reasons, there were some of them that still had some trouble connecting with each other.

Roman was very close to Patton since he could always be cheesy with him. His dinamic wit Virgil included a bit of a rougher love but they still got to flirt aggressively with each other. And was able to forgive Janus for the wedding fiasco, they still had some moments of tension here and there, but nothing they couldn’t talk through. Roman was having troubles connecting with Logan. They had always fought in the past due to their nature and that was still bugging both of them. He had tried throwing some romantic comments here and there but nothing. Even their first kiss was… awkward, so much they preferred to say it never happened.

Ever since Janus was accepted into the family, he has had the chance to have a moment with each side. He convinced Logan to let Thomas have some time for himself. He used his extra arms to give Janus the double of hugs. He helped Roman with his acting. And his interactions with Remus stayed pretty much the same. But it didn’t seem like Virgil was working to give him a chance. They both agreed to the polycule, but there was something about staying alone with him that made Janus go back to his deceiving nature, and Virgil didn’t like that.

Patton was always full of love to give. To Logan and Roman, and then Virgil and Janus when they were accepted. He was able to express his love in different ways with all of them! Roman loved the overly romantic stuff. Logan liked the quiet of them enjoying a book together or doing chores around the house. Virgil loved the gifts Patton gave him. And Janus was the best for cuddling. Remus… wasn’t as easy to understand. He was just so loud and random all the time, Patton never knew what kind of reaction he would get out of him and that scared him…

They still had troubles with each other, but none of them wanted to address them.

Everyone was quite tired once dinner was done, so they decided to just ditch the movie night and go straight to sleep. They weren’t even in the mood for dessert, but they still grabbed a fortune cookie each before they left to their rooms.

They all decided to open them before sleeping. Patton and Remus ate it but the others only read the fortune.

Logan’s said, “Those obstacles you’re avoiding are the key to achieving success.”

Virgil’s said, “Love can last a lifetime, if you let it.”

Remus’ said, “Let your mind set, confidence will lead you on.”

Janus’ said, “You treasure what you lost the most.”

Patton’s said, “Love is like medicine, no matter how bitter it tastes, it will make you feel better.”

And Roman’s said, “Rest has a peaceful effect in your life, let someone else be the hero this time.”

So they all went to sleep, not knowing what waited for them once they started dreaming.

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ember-da-toon · 3 years

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Remus headcanon time✨✨

Since yall seemed to like Janus' headcanon of candle making, I came up with a little continuation? But in like Remus' way.

Anyway, to the headcanon we go!!

-Remus makes candle holders

-Im sure yall already know where this is going

-Hes actually had this hobby for quiet a while ago

-When he was younger Tia Atina used to teach him and Roman hand made candle holders

-It was to help hold the many stress reliever scented candle she owns (stress from the two little brats)

-Remus hasnt done any candle holder making in years since Tia didn't need any more

-He went back to it when he received the custom scented candles from Janus

-He made some out of clay, glass, some out of wood and scrap metal he could find in Logan's work room

-After trying to make his first candle holder in forever, he succeded

-Used it to hold his candles on top of his dresser

-Fortunetly he was pretty happy that it turned better than he thought that he made some for the others

The candle holders he gifted;

Patton

Logan

Roman

Janus

Virgil

-They were something of course

-The others appreciated it no matter how peculiar and... quirky it is

-Yes even Roman even if he didn't want to admit he liked the star one

-As a wedding aniversary gift for Janus, he made one out of gold and real emerald

-There were two of it

-And to this day they have it on the side tables if their bed

-With their very own special scented candle they both like (Wine and cupid's blood)

Sorry I just cant not put in Demus. Its not that popular of a ship soooo. Anyway Tia Atina is what I call The Dragon Witch. I'll explain her relationship with the Creatitwins another time.

#sanders sides #headcanon sanders sides #headcanon #remus sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #my headcanon #candle holder #demus #dukeceit #janus x remus #amberdatoonrambles #ill explain tia atina later #im sure of it #writting prompt #dragon witch

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iclaimedtobethebetterbard · 3 years

Text

pasta & posies

Fandom: Sanders Sides Characters: Logan, Virgil Rating: Teen & up Relationships: Analogical Warnings: Language, food Word count: 1818

Read on AO3!

My writing masterpost

Starlight Universe masterpost

analogical week 2021 start - previous - here - next - masterpost

Summary: Virgil loves his husband, but he’s pretty darn sure today is not their anniversary. So why the flowers?

Notes: Day 1 of Analogical Week 2021! @analogicalweek Takes place in my Starlight Universe, does not need context to read.

Virgil had just set a pot of water to boil on the stove when he heard the front door unlock and Logan clearing his throat as he stepped in, just like he did every time he arrived home. Virgil was pretty sure Logan didn’t realize he did it; he had no plans of telling Logan, in case he tried to break the habit, because Virgil thought it was kind of ridiculously endearing and didn’t want him to stop. Then again, most things about Logan were that way, so maybe Virgil was just a sap.

“Hey, babe,” Virgil called. He glanced at the clock on the microwave; as usual, Logan was home from work right on time, practically down to the minute. Virgil appreciated the fact that Logan was a creature of habit more than he knew how to put into words. The familiarity of Logan’s routines was a regular source of comfort to him.

Logan appeared in the kitchen doorway, smiling, something green and purple in his hand that Virgil vaguely registered but didn’t focus on. “Hello, dear.” He set down his briefcase—and god, Virgil was never going to be over how hilariously on-point it was that Logan had a fucking briefcase, not now after seven months of marriage and probably not ever—and crossed the room to kiss Virgil hello, his free arm easily sliding around Virgil’s waist and holding him close as gently as he had the first time they’d kissed.

Logan lingered in the kiss for longer than usual, though it stayed soft and sweet. Not that Virgil was complaining about any of that. He wrapped his arms a little more securely around his husband’s neck, rising up on his toes so his head was at a more comfortable angle.

Logan smiled and broke away at last, only to tip his head down and press his forehead against Virgil’s.

“You good, L?” Virgil asked, half laughing, reaching up to caress Logan’s cheek.

Logan nodded, humming assent. “I love you,” he said simply. He stepped back. “These are for you.” He offered the thing he’d been holding, which turned out to be a bouquet of purple flowers.

“I—thanks?” Virgil accepted the flowers, blinking down at them. Had something happened to prompt this? “I love you too.”

Logan nodded, leaning in to kiss Virgil’s cheek. “How can I help with dinner?”

“Uh, can you chop… things?” Virgil said, still preoccupied with the flowers. Was today something specific? Had he forgotten something?

“Certainly.” Logan pulled out a cutting board and knife. “We’re having that pasta salad you like, correct?”

Virgil nodded. “Mmhm.” October sixteenth… there wasn’t anything special on October sixteenth, right? Right?

Logan rummaged around in the fridge, pulling out cherry tomatoes and a bell pepper and the second half of a can of olives. The olives were stored in a reusable container, because Logan had casually rattled off the health risks of leaving food in open cans the first time he’d seen Virgil do it, and the next weekend Virgil had dragged him to the nearest slightly pretentious suburban outlet mall to buy a whole kitchen’s worth of storage containers.

Logan rinsed the tomatoes in a small colander and glanced over at Virgil, who was still standing in the middle of the kitchen staring at the flowers in his hands, mind racing. (Virgil couldn’t think of anything he was forgetting about today, but then, that was the thing about forgetting, wasn’t it?)

“I do not believe we own any vases, which I should have thought of; I’m sorry—but I think we have some jars on the top shelf that we could put those in,” Logan said. He reached up with one hand to the shelf in question and pulled down a jar, proffering it.

“Sure thing,” Virgil agreed, accepting the jar, in the back of his mind appreciating that Logan had clearly assessed his distress and tried to help, even if he’d misread what the actual problem Virgil was having was. “Cool cool. Cool cool cool. Um.”

Logan raised an eyebrow, set down the colander in the sink, and turned to give Virgil his full attention. “Is something wrong, dearest?” he asked, bringing the unspoken out into the open.

Virgil chewed on the inside of his cheek for only a beat. “Uh, how come you got me these?”

“The color reminded me of you,” Logan said, and Virgil began to relax. “And I believe flowers are considered a traditional anniversary gift,” he added, and Virgil panicked again.

Anniversary? It wasn’t their anniversary, right? Right? No, it definitely wasn’t. So what on earth was Logan talking about?

But Logan seemed to think this was all the explanation that was needed, turning back to the counter and beginning to slice the tomatoes in halves.

Virgil bit his lip and set the flowers down on the table so his hands were free to fill the jar with water. He set that down, too, and went to the cupboard to pull out a large bowl for the dinner to go in; he set it down on the counter beside Logan.

“Thank you, dear,” Logan said absently, transferring the small pile of tomato halves he had already accumulated into the bowl.

“Mmhm,” Virgil mumbled, heading back to the table and beginning to arrange the flowers in the jar. He had to snip quite a bit off of the long stems in order for them to sit properly in the jar, but after some shuffling, they didn’t look too bad at all.

Logan had gotten started on the bell pepper by now, and the pot on the stove had steam leaking from beneath the lid, hinting at the boiling water inside. Virgil pulled out the bag of dry pasta and the salt and began adding them to the pot.

“Hey, Lo?” he said cautiously, stirring the pasta in the pot.

“Yes, dearest?” Logan didn’t look up from the pepper he was dicing.

“Our anniversary—our wedding anniversary—is March 25. Right?” Virgil reached up and set a timer for the pasta on the microwave. They had been married at sunset in the garden outside the museum that they went to on their first date. Virgil had worn a black suit with a blue vest and tie, and elaborate black eyeliner reminiscent of a masquerade mask filled in with blue and purple eyeshadow, and Logan had worn a white suit with a purple shirt and bowtie.

“Yes, dear,” Logan agreed.

Virgil held back a sigh of relief that he hadn’t somehow totally misremembered. “And our boyfriends anniversary is December 6.” He had been the one to ask, nearly five years ago now. He had no idea he’d gotten the words out, sitting at a tiny table in the coffeeshop and holding hands across it as their third date drew to a close, but he’d somehow stammered out the question, and Logan had lit up and nodded so hard his glasses had slipped down his nose and nearly off his face before Virgil reached out and caught them.

“Yes.” Logan smiled to himself.

“And our first date was on November 13, and we got engaged on September 30. Yeah?”

Logan nodded. “All of that is correct. What—?”

Virgil sucked in a breath. “Okay, so this is probably totally stupid and obvious and I should know it already—”

“No, hey—” Logan began to protest.

Virgil forged on anyway. “—but what the fuck is it the anniversary of today?”

Logan blinked. “Oh.” He set down the knife beside the now fully chopped pepper.

Virgil cringed. “I know, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t—”

“No!” Logan interrupted. “No. I’m sorry for making you anxious, dear. I forgot. I don’t think I ever told you.”

That… was unexpected, and Virgil couldn’t quite figure out what it meant. “Uh. Never told me what?”

Logan glanced away, looking flustered. “I—well.” He looked back and reached over for Virgil’s hand, squeezing gently. “Five years ago today, I realized I loved you.”

All Virgil could do was stare for a moment, his chest filled with something achingly sweet at the sight of Logan’s earnest face, dark brown eyes searching Virgil’s as he clasped his hand reassuringly.

“Oh,” Virgil choked out, reaching for Logan’s other hand and squeezing back, feeling a smile stretch across his face. “Yeah?” He reached up, taking one of Logan’s hands with him, and caressed his husband’s cheek.

Logan glanced away again for a second, biting his lip, then brought his gaze back to Virgil’s. “Yes. I—I wrote it down. In my Notes app. And this year I set a reminder for it on my phone.”

Virgil let out a tiny laugh. “You did?”

“I did.” Logan nodded, a smile creeping onto his own face. “It was important.”

“You are such a nerd,” Virgil said, his voice shaking with emotion. He moved forward until the toes of his purple converse almost bumped into Logan’s plain black work shoes and reached up to wrap his arms around Logan’s neck. “I love you so much.”

Logan wrapped an arm easily around Virgil and cradled Virgil’s cheek in his other hand. “I love you too,” he murmured, his expression soft and tender and open and just for Virgil and perfect.

Virgil leaned up and kissed him, cupping the back of Logan’s head in both his hands and drawing him in closer as Logan kissed back, marveling yet again over the fact that Logan was his husband and he had somehow gotten lucky enough that this was the everyday they were creating together, this was the thing that was going to be ordinary for the rest of his life, and he was pretty sure he would never get enough of Logan and his thoughtfulness and the way he worked so hard to be vulnerable with Virgil and the way he kissed Virgil and his curiosity and passion for learning new things and everything about him, he was Virgil’s favorite everything and Virgil loved him so much—

The timer on the microwave went off, startling them both.

Logan was the first to start laughing, and that set Virgil off, pressing his face into Logan’s shoulder and giggling helplessly as Logan reached over to turn off the timer and then the stove, his other arm still holding Virgil close.

Virgil collected himself, gasping in a breath and forcing the laughter back into a fond grin. He pressed another, quicker, kiss to Logan’s mouth, then pulled away and reached for the potholders so he could drain the cooked pasta.

As Virgil set the now-empty pot back down on the stove, Logan touched his elbow to get his attention.

“Hm?” Virgil said, turning to face him.

“You are a wonder,” Logan breathed, pulling him close again and simply hugging him.

Virgil grinned, reaching up to touch Logan’s cheek and gazing into his eyes.

He had picked a pretty good person to build forever with.

#analogical #analogical week #analogicalweek #sanders sides #thomas sanders #thatsthat24 #logan sanders #virgil sanders #ts logan #ts virgil #romantic analogical #ts fic #ts fanfic #fanfiction #fanfic #language #food #peregrin's starlight universe

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sanders-sides-fic · 3 years

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Soulmates we (didn’t) choose

He smiled as he bade the last of their guests farewell. It wasn’t even any of his own family members, he noticed, just strangers. Most weren’t even from his clan. Well, not that it should surprise him. He knew their opinions on him quite well. That didn’t mean that it didn’t sting, though. But he was determined not to let that show. And why would he? It wasn’t like that would change anything at all.

Next to him was his… his… Logan stood next to him, a curt nod and a firm handshake dismissing everyone he himself graced with his smile and an empty thanks for showing up at all. And he had no idea where Virgil had run off to, or when he’d done so.

Finally the last guest was gone and he let the smile fall from his lips. He didn’t want to be here, and he didn’t want to be alone with Logan. He wouldn’t have liked being alone with Virgil any better, to be fair, but he certainly didn’t want to be alone with Logan. So he schooled his posture into something acceptable again, took his distain out of his mimic even though he didn’t fake a smile and turned around. “I’m tired. We should find Virgil and head to the house.”, he said.

Logan looked at him for a few moments with that awfully unreadable face before he gave a nod, hands still clasped behind his back formally, and let his sapphire eyes scan the room. When nothing grabbed his attention, he sighed and looked back at Janus a little hesitantly. “Would you like to split up to search efficiently or go together?”

Well, Janus didn’t want to spent a lot of time with Logan alone. But as he already said earlier, he didn’t want to be alone with Virgil either. Besides, he was tired. So he shook his head in the end. “No, it shouldn’t take too long, so let’s stay together. That way we don’t have to wait when we found him.”

All he received from Logan as an answer was a nod.

They found Virgil about half an hour later, curled up on the windowsill of the bathroom with headphones on and his eyes closed. And Janus had to admit to himself that Virgil looked… cute. But he also looked asleep. So what now?

But before Janus could come up with an answer to that, Virgil opened his eyes slightly and jumped when he realised he wasn’t alone anymore. “Ah, I, uh…”, he muttered pushing his headphones back down to rest around his neck and jumped down from the windowsill. “I was just… Well… It got bit loud in there.”

Ah. Okay, Janus could respect that. He himself had wished to just disappear during most of it. But he had always felt the need to make others like him, so he’d stayed, tried to stay away from his… from Logan and Virgil and made idle conversation. If Virgil had actually acted on that wish, though, he didn’t blame him. So he flashed a quick smile and nodded. Stealing Logan’s thing, apparently.

Logan himself spoke up from behind him: “Yes, your mother did mention that you had a problem with heightened anxiety and large crowds. I can imagine this must have been quite draining for you.”

She did? Must have been when Janus had tried to get away from Logan. Well, no matter. “In that case it’s a good thing that the party is over now. We were planing on driving to the house, so if you would join us…”

Virgil nodded and the three of them went downstairs in silence. Logan didn’t seem to mind, but Virgil was obviously on edge, his eyes shifting to both Logan and Janus every few seconds. Still, Janus was too riled up about being here to say anything. So he found himself sitting in their drive home a little later, the driver up front having waited a little impatiently for them, with no word exchanged. He closed his eyes and rested his head against the cool glass. It was soothing.

The marriage had been an act of political sacrifice. That was why he hated this so much. He understood why, though. And he did understand why it had to be him, too.

The three clans had been in uproar again. They’d never gotten along quite well, of cause. Take a society and divide it into three parties based on their soulmarks and see what happens. But lately they had become more and more elitist again, more so than they had already been, and the prejudice against each other had grown stronger each day. They had been close to an eighth war of the clans at this point. So an arranged marriage between the three clans wasn’t as rediculous as Janus would have liked it to be. That was the only reason he was here at all, if he was honest.

And why them? Well. Janus didn’t know about the other two, but he’d been diagnose as soulless when he was six. Six years old, and suddenly the entire clan watched him with distaste and didn’t care about him anymore. Suddenly his parents hadn’t had time for him anymore, and parents forbade their children to be his friends. Six years when he learned that he had, in fact, no soulmate destined for him.

It wasn’t impossible for a soulless person to have a soulmate anymore. After decades of research - research that got more barbaric the further back you looked - a ritual had been developed with which a soulbond could be placed on soulless people. It was risky for the body, and it only worked on soulless people. Originally, Janus thought he remembered reading, the goal had been to help soulless people like him. To offer them the opportunity of having their marriage viewed the same way any other marriage would be viewed or something. Yeah, well, that hadn’t worked. Instead any marriage without soulbond wasn’t really seen as a real marriage and when a soulless person hadn’t gone through a ritual yet they were discriminated against harshly. People would say that they had the choice to have a soulmate, so not making that choice was like social suicide.

That was also why the three of them had been chosen. Three young men, all in some way blood related to the clan leaders and all soulless. No wonder they’d decided to go with the arranged marriage approach.

Virgil, the youngest of the three, was the cousin of the Storm clan’s leader. Logan, the oldest, was the second cousin three times removed of the Forest clan’s leader, if Janus remembered correctly. That was why Logan had been called the one with the least important opinion in this marriage, the weak link. Janus had heard them talk earlier, and he’d hated it. And Janus himself was the Serpent clan’s heir. Or, he had been until he had been diagnosed as soulless at six years old.

That had been when his parents had taken in Remy, who very much did have a soulmate, and made him heir. Even though Remy had always been… irresponsible and uninterested in politics. If his clan was about to be destroyed, it wouldn’t surprise Janus too much. Sometimes a darker part of himself actually wished for that to happen, if he was being honest. Though it wasn’t as though he disliked Remy as a person, he still felt angry about it. They had basically adopted a son just to legally disown him, after all. And said adopted adopted son had just gone and disappeared one day, leaving him behind with two parents that couldn’t be bothered to spent any time on the soulless disappointment prior to his engagement. Sure, he’d left his phone number at home, but his parents couldn’t be bothered to give it to him either. Or pass the phone when they had their nightly check-up calls. So, yeah, he was salty about that. Just a bit.

Just like he was a bit salty to have been married of to two strangers as political sacrifice, and had been forced to do a ritual that was supposed to be his choice and was actually illegal to force someone into. But, well, since when had that interested anyone.

So now he had two “chosen soulmates” that he hadn’t chosen at all. And he was in the car driving to the house their families had had build for them as a wedding gift. Yay.

From what he understood his family had taken care of the architecture and the interior design, furnishings included; Logan’s family had taken care of all the technological knick-knacks, such as electric cars, computers, interactive boards in their separate studies, the TV room, smart home components and the like; and Virgil’s family had taken care of the outside. The garden, a small pond from what he’d heard, flowerbeds, trees, a glass pavilion, stuff like that. All the families had also given them some books for the library in the attic, and also enough money to live comfortably for a while, since none of them wanted to appear stingy to the other families.

The clans and their pride…

Janus wasn’t sure when he’d fallen asleep, but when he woke up it was in a bed he had no memories of getting into. At least no one had undressed him, he realized with relief. They may be married now, but they were still strangers other than that.

As quietly as he could, he sat up. On the other side of the bed was Logan. And that meant, on the other side of the bed. It looked as though the tall man had tried to put as much space between them as humanly possible. And at that thought, he could feel a little twinge in his chest. Ah. That was their newly formed soulbond, then? That little hurt feeling of knowing his… his husband didn’t want to be close to him. Even though he himself had no intentions of reducing the space between them either. Truly a hexing concept. Why did people choose this for themselves again?

He took a moment to admire Logan’s sleeping form. The way the sun hit his raven hair, making it look almost blue. The way his chest moved up and down rhythmically. The way the soft dust of freckles on Logan’s nose seemed to dance with every breath that moved his face. The way he had one hand not quite under his face but more against the front of his neck, the other arm cuddling the blanket almost desperately. The way he looked a little like a flamingo with one leg stretched out and the other bowed.

But then Janus saw the golden ring on Logan’s finder and caught himself, deciding to quietly leave the bedroom before he could turn into any more of a creep.

Maybe he could make breakfast for everyone. Cooking calmed him and he couldn’t exactly put off talking to his newly wed soulmates forever, as compelling as that sounded. Food was a good ice breaker. When you were eating it lowered your defenses a lot, so you were more honest and willing to talk about yourself. That was one of the reasons why many first dates took place in restaurants and such. So breakfast could be like the weirdest, most fucked up first date in the history of first dates.

If he was to find the kitchen, that was. He had caught a glimpse or two of the blue prints when his family had designed the house, but he’d never actually been here or seen what they came up with in the end. He only knew the earliest drafts, and knowing his father that meant that he actually had a disadvantage, because he didn’t know anything but felt he did.

He sighed again, putting his face into both his hands. He wanted to go home. Back to his room. Away from mandatory living arrangements and obnoxiously strong smells of freshly painted walls and new furniture. But if wished were horses, beggars would ride. As salty as he was about this arrangement, this was his life now. So he’d better get used to it quick and figure out a way to deal.

Coffee and cooking sounded really nice right about now. And what was the worst that could happen? He would get lost in the house of ridiculous size for three people? It wasn’t even half the size of any of the main families’ estates, so he guessed he’d be good.

…

He would deny until the day he died that he had found the library, the ballroom - And why was that even there?! It wasn’t like they would use that much. What exactly did their families expect them to do here? -, the poolroom, the tea room - Again, as beautiful and tranquil as it was, what for? -, one room obviously designated to art and painting including a dark chamber, as well as the music room - This… Okay, he would probably actually come back to this. He’d caught a glimpse of a piano and a guitar amongst the other instruments. He hoped his husbands wouldn’t mind if he played them. - before he spotted the rosy glass sliding door. It was open just enough for him to see the marble counter. When he entered, though, he realised that it had not been open enough to alert him of the presence of his second husband.

Virgil sat on the counter, a black cup clutched in hand, a pot of coffee right next to him. The bags underneath his eyes had grown more prominent since the last evening, or maybe that was just because he didn’t wear foundation yet. He looked kind of cute, how he watched the steam float up with half a smile on his lips, one leg pulled up against his chest and the other dangling down. His socks were mismatched, Janus noticed after a few moments. Similar, but one had a blue and the other a red stripe. He’d changed out of his suit, too. Instead he was wearing sweatpants and an oversized hoody. His purple hair was disheveled just a bit, not from sleep but from running his hands through it if Janus had to guess.

He was almost sorry to disrupt him. Still…

“Good Morning.”, he greeted with a nod and a friendly smile. Virgil jumped at those words, looking up startled and sliding down from the counter.

“Oh! Uh, hi. I was just, eh… coffee?”

Janus couldn’t help the chuckle, really, he couldn’t. Virgil was just way too cute for that. “No, thank you. I was just thinking about making a little something for breakfast. Don’t worry, you don’t have to get up on my behalf.”

Virgil relaxed a little, but eyed him wearily as he jumped back onto the counter. When Janus didn’t say anything and just went over to the cabinets he hummed and Janus could hear him take a sip. “Did you… sleep okay?”

Janus did not blush.

“Oh, yes. I was just a little tired. Apologies for falling asleep on you then.” He heard Virgil hum dismissively behind him, but didn’t look. Instead he searched the cabinets.

And, ah, yes, he would definitely need to go buy groceries later. They had essentially nothing. Or, rather just random things. Vegetable broth, eggs, ketchup, soy sauce, different spices, whipped cream, sugar, sweetener, a variety of instant coffees and chocolates, coffee powder he assumed Virgil had used earlier, a few types of juice, butter, cheese, apples and chocolate chip cookies. Who the hell had bought that? And How? Why? Just… why?

After a few moments Janus sighed. Alright, at least he knew something he could do with those ingredients. He was just hoping his husbands would like tamagoyaki.

As he got to work, he could feel Virgil’s eyes on him. But he didn’t say anything and Janus stayed quiet as well. He knew why Virgil would be confused about what he did there. Pouring juice and putting broth into a breakfast dish was weird when you first encountered it. But, well, it tasted good. Besides, he favoured the version free of alcohol anyways. Maybe that was because he had more practice in doing this version, though.

Janus had learned how to make the Japanese dish out of spite when he was younger. He’d been underage at that time, and his father had been annoyed with Remy’s preference for Asian take-out. So he, passive aggressive as he was, had perfected his tamagoyaki-making-skills and served it one day. Remy had been laughing, his parents hadn’t been so happy. The memory still brought the beginnings of a smile to his face. It was a bittersweet memory.

“So...” Janus finally asked as he carefully begun to roll up the egg based dish in the pan “How’s the bond treating you? Any discomfort anywhere?”

It was a horrible attempt at starting a conversation. But, Janus had to admit that he actually was a bit curious about it. The ceremony hadn’t taken too much of a toll on him, nothing more than a bit of annoying exhaustion, but he also knew that it was different for everyone. And that there were theories about the ceremony having worse side effects with the other clans, especially the Storm clan. Virgil... He wasn’t hurt, right? For some reason - Janus actually knew the reason already but preferred not to think about for now - his heart clenched at the thought of Virgil being in pain because of him.

But Virgil sighed. “Not really. I expected it to be bad, but it’s just... weird? Unfamiliar? Strange?” He sighed again, and Janus could hear him sip from the mug in his hands. “Logan said he’s good too. He’ll say something if anything changes. You?”

“Me? Oh, I barely noticed any difference, really.”

It was a lie. Such a lie. He could still feel the patches of scales on his body. There were some covering half of his face, some on the left side of his waist, some on his right leg and some on different parts of his wrists. Serpent, huh? How very fitting. Those scales had been unexpected, even a little humiliating. As a Serpent he should have received shape shifting abilities based on Virgil’s and Logan’s favorite animals. But, no, instead his skin had permanently changed, like a Storm’s, and portrayed his soulmates in colour, like a Forest’s. Embarrassing. And worst of all, it had been his favorite animal to top it.

Logan had received eyes that changed colours according to their mood, the usual type of invasive mark for his clan. Virgil for his left eye, Janus on the right side. Purple and gold respectively as the base colour for when there were no extreme feelings, apparently.

Virgil was now sporting beautiful flowers wherever either of them had touched his skin, a hydrangea still coiling around the hand Logan had taken at the wedding yesterday. He knew there was a chrysanthemum where he himself had come against Virgil’s collarbone during their dance, but he didn’t look at that. Anyways, Virgil’s skin had turned into a beautiful canvas for flowers of his soulmates’ touches, just like it was supposed to.

Just Janus was a freak once again. He couldn’t shift, his mark wasn’t the favorite animal of either of his soulmates and he’d just ended up as a weird mix of all three types of marks. He was pretty sure some of the guests yesterday had laughed at his new soul mark. But what had he expected, really? He’d been a joke to them for years now, and the Serpent’s mark was known to trap you in a certain form at times. Sure, that was only when your soulmates died, but...

Glad that he was a pretty good liar, Janus smiled at Virgil as he sliced up the dish and set the table behind his husband. Virgil didn't say anything for a while, but he could almost feel his husband's concern burning into him. So, after a few moments, he looked at him, raising an eyebrow. The silent prompting earned him a blush. Cute.

"Oh, uhm. I was just wondering how it… They look smooth, so I was wondering how they would, uhm… feel? Sorry for staring. I didn't mean to be, well. Yeah."

Virgil was not a sociable one, was he? He truly hoped they'd be able to break the ice soon enough. He couldn't really stand the thought of his husband staying a stranger who couldn't talk to him comfortably. Stupid bond.

"Do you want to touch them? I don't mind."

What was up with him? This wasn't how he usually would react to it. The bond was really messing with him, huh? And yet he couldn't find it in himself to mind as Virgil bit his lip, nodding hesitantly and slipping off the counter to walk towards Janus. He smelled like lavender. And when Virgil touched the scales on his face, after making sure Janus really didn't mind with a look in his eyes, he shivered. His hand was cold, Janus knew that from yesterday. But when they came into contact with his skin, it felt like his scales started to burn in the most pleasant way.

Had he become coldblooded in the scaled areas or was the bond reacting to the close proximity of his new soulmate? He wasn't sure. He didn't care much, though.

Not much later, Logan joined them. They sat down and ate. Breakfast was much like an awkward fist date. They found out that none of them had known much about the others before. Also, none of them had been very happy at home. Logan and Virgil both had someone to support them, though. Roman and Remus, and Patton. Janus would remember to invite those three to Christmas, though he doubted they would want to attend even if invited.

In Janus's opinion, they hadn't been treated quite as harshly as he himself. He didn't say it out loud, but they both had had people to support them, both had been loved, both had been accepted as part of the family. It truly did seem that Janus's parents were especially bad, with adopting someone just so he wouldn't be the heir and all that. And yet he didn't feel all too jealous. In fact, he was even more angry at the Forest and Storm family than his own. What a dumb thought.

Afterwards, Logan proposed to set boundaries and make rules they would all have to follow. Janus didn't like the latter part much, but Logan was nervous and Virgil admitted that it would make him feel better. So Janus cursed the bond again as he agreed to it. And as they worked on that list… Well. He didn't know either of his husbands. But normal soulmates didn't know each other either when the bond formed. And he hadn't chosen this, not at all. But he did secretly choose to make this work. Not that he would ever acknowledge it out loud, though.

Janus was a perfectionist, who lied in a fruitless effort to be liked.

Logan was a smart man, who tried to impress with his intellect.

Virgil was an anxious bean, who tried to avoid society altogether.

Their marriage was nothing but a political sacrifice. But that was only for now. With a bit of luck and a lot of effort, this morning after their wedding might be the beginning of something wonderful. And though Janus wasn't usually a very optimistic person, he found that he was willing to hope, just this once.

Truly, what a stupid bond.

Link to all soulmate AU stories: here

Taglist: @gattonero17 @alias290

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