#remus and janus mentioned

[edupunkn00b]

On a Butterfly's Wing, Ch. 8: Navigating

Prev - Navigating - Next - Masterpost - [ AO3 ]

WC: 2448 - Rating: M - CW: implied past abuse, scars

Overruled Logan Sanders wakes to a world he could never imagine.

-

Monday, August 19, 2024

A sharp pain at the back of Logan’s neck woke him, and the hand that moved automatically to massage away the fire crackled with an ache all its own. “Meus?” he groaned, feeling blindly at the bed beside him. “Jay? Are you—”

A rapid vibration at his wrist dragged him further into consciousness and he cracked open his eyes, the blurry light of his watch blinding in the dark room. He slapped the watch face and squinted at the time.

05:45 AM

“Wha…” Fiddling at the strap with stiff fingers—how had he forgotten to put it on its charger when he’d gone to bed?—he looked over his shoulder and came face to face with a large pillow. Abandoning the effort to remove his watch, he pushed up to see beyond the barrier. Soft golden curls peeked out from the blankets on the other side. “Aw, Pat…”

It had been years since the boy’s nightmares had stopped regularly driving him to their room in the middle of the night. Eyes slowly adjusting to the dark, he saw no evidence of either Janus or Remus in their bedroom. He must have slept through his husbands trading spots to make room for the boy. “Poor kid,” he whispered to himself, reaching out to stroke his hair. “Must’ve been a really bad night. I’m so sorry I slept thr—”

The bedroom door cracked open, the hallway light cutting a wedge of dim illumination across the carpet. Carpet? “Dad?” Patton whispered, poking his head inside.

Heart stuck in his throat, Logan froze, hand centimeters from the matching curly blonde hair splayed on the pillow next to him that most certainly did not belong to his son.

Patton tiptoed into the room and, after watching the figure next to him for a long moment, moved around to Logan’s side of the bed, crouching down to eye level. “It’s okay, Mom’s still asleep. Are you alright? I didn’t hear you up. I thought… Well…”

Klaxons blared in Logan’s head. Mom?

Logan couldn’t see Patton’s face in the dark, but the worry in his whispered voice dragged Logan’s thoughts away from the woman laying next to him.

“I—I am… awake.” Logan swallowed and squinted again at his watch.

Patton’s grip tightened on his sleeve—what was he wearing? Where were Janus and Remus? Who the hell was in his bed? Why did Patton call her ‘Mom?’ Questions piled up, snagging in his mind’s gears until a tremor in Patton’s hands yanked him back.

“Dad?” he whispered again.

Logan took a slow breath and nodded in the dark. “I am a little groggy,” he half-fibbed and stroked Patton’s hand. “Once I get moving, I will be all right.” And maybe then he could figure out what the fuck was going on.

After a long moment, Logan felt Patton's nod in the dark. “Okay… See you downstairs in a few?”

“Yes. I will be right down.”

The sooner he got away from the stranger in his bed, the sooner he could think.

Patton squeezed his arm one more time before effortlessly making his way through the darkened space back to the hallway. He closed the door with barely a click, plunging the bedroom into full darkness.

Logan slid out of the bed, fumbling on the nightstand for his eyeglasses. They were gone, the surface bare save for an half-filled water glass. No charging dock, no phone, no book. And no glasses. Even the nightstand felt… off. Lower to the ground and smaller.

He found the catch to a drawer and pulled it open, feeling inside. His fingers closed on an eyeglass case and brushed over a worn bookcover. He pulled both out and slid the frames onto his face before checking his watch. The glowing face had perfect clarity. These were his glasses, but…

Get out of this room and get downstairs.

But he still didn’t know where his phone had gone. Clutching the book to his chest, he stood and felt a solid weight in his pocket. He reached inside and pulled out a battered, early model iPhone.

He nearly dropped it when the unfamiliar phone unlocked with his fingerprint.

Sleeping with his phone was foolish. Smothered under blankets or caught between his own body and the mattress, the likelihood of the battery overheating was great. It would run down the battery faster—Logan frowned at the gauge as it ticked down to 17%—and repeated nights would reduce the phone’s overall power capacity. He would never make a habit of this.

And yet… His worn pajama pants had a tiny divot where the phone had been wedged into the pocket night after night. And he’d felt no power cord on the—his?—nightstand. The presence of the book he was reading and his eyeglasses seemed to mark the nightstand as his and the phone…

A sigh came from the woman in his bed—Logan’s brain hurt at even the thought—and he froze, listening. But she slept on. Shaking away the rest of his questions, he refocused. He didn’t understand what was going on but he sure as hell wouldn’t figure it out standing here. What was certain was that Patton was waiting for him downstairs. Tucking the phone back into his pocket, he moved to the closet.

The majority of the rod was consumed with blouses and dresses. A few skirted suits and two longs racks of stilettos and pumps. At the far end, though, were a handful of mens’ dress shirts and slacks. Two belts on a small hanger. No ties. None in the bottom dresser, either, where he finally found boxers and dress socks. Grabbing the clothes, he slipped into the en suite bathroom and flicked on the light.

A different man stared back at Logan from the mirror.

It was him, he couldn’t deny that. Same eyes, same hair color. Same jaw and lips… The reflection in the mirror was undeniably him, but Logan didn’t recognize the creased forehead, the drawn mouth, the puffiness in his cheeks and under his chin. His arms and chest had atrophied and his shoulders sloped, a perpetual slouch. Dark shadows circled his eyes and dry, cracked lips frowned at him from his reflection.

And the scars.

Head tilted far to one side to better see his ear, Logan leaned closer until his eyes ached under the strain. A jagged, keloid scar showed where his earlobe had been torn and poorly healed. Another scar traced the curve of his temple and a third was hidden just under his jaw. He started to peel off his shirt and stared down at his hands. His left palm and insides of his fingers were taut and shiny, an old, old burn. Deckled scars lined his inner wrist, peeking beneath the edges of his watchband. And his right hand…

The cause of the ache in his right hand was now clear. Crooked, misshaped fingers throbbed as he struggled to completely straighten and flex them. Gently, he felt the bones through his skin, tracing lumpy, knotty cracks, fractures healed before they were properly set.

He’d last seen injuries like this… Unbidden, Logan’s eyes trailed back to the door and the stranger sleeping in his bed. He shivered. Logan had last seen injuries like this in a pro bono DV case.

Logan dressed quickly and hurried downstairs before he’d left Patton alone any longer.

He had to get his son the hell out of there.

Backpack already strapped on, Patton met him at the foot of the stairs.

The kitchen and entry were all in the same dull palette as upstairs, varying shades of flat millennial grey. He'd passed a few family portraits along the stairwell, and a large mirror stood just outside the front door. Several month’s worth of Real Simple and 425 magazines were stacked at one end of the coffee table, a thick commercial tome of architectural photography at the other.

He’d yet to spot a single bookcase, nor had he seen any art. No paintings, no sculptures, nothing.

The homey scent of fresh coffee and eggs lingered in the air, but the counter and dining room table were empty and pristine. It took a moment for Logan to register the thermoses Patton had tucked under one arm and the towel-wrapped packets in his hands.

“Ready?” he asked, grinning.

“Y—yes,” Logan nodded and looked at his watch again. August 19. “Patton… You don’t have school today, do you?” he asked before thinking better of it. Summer school exists and though it had been years since Pat had needed to re-take failed classes that didn’t mean…

Instead of another worried look, Patton only smiled brighter. “I have a sleepover at Jax’s after the library. They’re going to drop me off tomorrow afternoon when Mom’s—”

A muffled squeal followed by the rush of water through pipes from upstairs pulled both their gazes toward the ceiling. Juggling the food, Patton picked up a bulging canvas messenger bag from the hall and took out a set of keys from his own pocket before handing both to Logan. “Right on time,” he nodded and bounced down the hall to the front door, holding it open for Logan with another smile. Bright morning sunlight spilled over the floor. “It looks like it’s going to be a nice day.”

Logan stepped out onto a street he did not know.

Gone was his own narrow, tree-lined street filled with its cozy mix of one, two, and three-story homes and duplexes. No hiss of the city bus at the north end and the Capitol Hill streetcar at the south. Flags, flowers, dog walkers and joggers passing each other on the sidewalk… It was all just gone.

Instead, Logan was faced with a long, bland block of die-cut two-story houses. Each painted in one of three of the most boring versions of brown, orange, and green he could imagine, a tiny patch of yellowed grass cut across the fronts of each, valiantly fighting the summer’s sun. Ephemeral rainbows flickering in the sprinklers’ spray were the brightest spots of color on the entire block.

Wide driveways ate up most of the space in front of each house and the house from which he’d emerged was no different. Patton skipped past the shiny red BMW coupe closest to them and waited next to a more sensible—if much older—minivan. Looking down at the big H on the keys in his hand, Logan tapped the unlock icon and the door chirped.

After he climbed into the driver’s seat and turned on the engine, Logan’s phone connected with the car’s bluetooth. His watch buzzed again, a tiny map asking if he wanted to drive to Kirkland High School. He glanced out the window and caught the edge of a street sign. Kirkland Avenue NE.

Patton sat mostly still in the passenger seat, worrying his lip between his teeth. By this time of the morning, Patton would have ordinarily shown him five different memes from his group chat and described at least three ideas for his senior year film project. This morning? He was…

“Jax lives on 124th now,” he said, tapping the car’s navigation and pulling up an address from his phone’s contacts.

“Thank you,” Logan managed, biting back the instinct to ask for their last name. He himself seemed to be the only part of Patton’s morning that was out of the ordinary. He couldn’t worry the boy further with questions he should know the answer to.

Logan put the car in reverse and started the route.

“How’s your head?” Patton asked. He didn’t wait for Logan to answer before opening the console between them and pulling out a tiny tactical first aid kit. At the red light, Logan spotted butterfly bandages, several creams, even a small tube of vetbond.

There had been no pets in that house.

Patton tore open a foil packet of ibuprofen, then opened the taller thermos, passing first one than the other to Logan.

“Thank you,” he murmured, quickly swallowing the pills. “How—ah, thank you,” he repeated, letting the green light interrupt his fumbling words.

Following the car’s navigation, Logan turned left. It was only then that Patton sank back into his seat and unwrapped one of the breakfast packets he carried. Humming to himself, he took a big bite. “I added extra mushrooms and spinach to yours, too,” he said after a few chews.

The return of Patton’s softer smile loosened the knot growing in Logan’s chest and he nodded. “Thank you, that sounds wonderful.” Logan’s stomach grumbled of its own accord and Patton giggled before taking another bite.

“Oh,” he said, mouth half-full. “I didn’t tell you yet! I talked to Mr. Hopkins like you suggested. We’re doing Cabaret in the fall!”

“You are?” Controlled by decade-old muscle memory, Logan passed him a napkin from the center console.

Patton accepted the napkin and nodded. “Yeah! Hopkins said we’d hafta adapt it a little but he’s sending out emails next week.” The car slowed to a stop at a red light. “Send it to your work email, right?”

Logan glanced down at the steering wheel, gripped between his scarred left hand and a gnarled, crooked right hand. Ripped from the almost-ordinary morning conversation with his son, Logan nodded. “That would be best.”

The light changed and the car’s navigation beeped as he passed through the intersection. Jax’s house was rapidly approaching. Patton wrapped up the remains of his egg sandwich and tightened the cap on his own thermos. Once Logan pulled over, Patton gave him a half-hug and grinned. “See you tomorrow after she leaves for Dublin!”

He clambered out of the car and up the steps to Jax’s door before Logan could figure out how to respond.

Logan sat in the car for a long moment, debating following Patton up the path. He could make some excuse, sit with Jax’s parents, see what he could learn. This had gone on too long to be a mere nightmare.

Copying Remus’ trick, one he ordinarily discouraged, Logan pinched the back of his hand until the bit of flesh grew pale and stung. The minivan remained around him, the winding suburban street sprawled outside the windshield.

Whatever this was, it was no nightmare. No delusion.

As he wondered what to do next, Logan’s watch decided for him with another buzz.

Drive time to work: 23 minutes

He tapped to bring up navigation on his phone. It would take him to the QLaw offices in Seattle. Putting the car in drive, Logan pulled in a deep breath and nodded.

At least some things hadn't changed.

[maddragonfruit]

I can just tell that Janus has had that insult locked and loaded for YEARS

[ssslimyboy]

Roman: I'm immune to mean and hurtful words because Patton says nice things to me every day and his love protects me.

Remus: I'm immune to mean and hurtful words because Janus says mean things to me every day, so I'm prepared.

[firewolf111]

Remus: I have an idea to get away with drunk driving.

Janus: By not driving while drunk?

Remus: No, stupid. By bringing a sober friend with you. That way, when you get pulled over, you kiss them and inhale their sober air to pass the breathalyzer.

Janus: That's not- why wouldn't you just have the sober friend drive?

Remus: *stares at Janus with a wide grin while blinking one eye at a time*

Janus: ...

Janus: Are you just creating an excuse to make out with me?

[loganslowdown4]

Janus: Darling, can you do me a favour?

Remus: I would literally cover up a murder you committed, plant my DNA at the scene of the crime, and take the blame for you-

Janus: Cool, can you do the dishes?

Remus: No

[myapathyhaspeaked]

janus: *leaves*

remus: welp, there goes my impulse control. you guys wanna try crack?

[radioactive-yuri]

not thought out at all but i find it interesting how roman is the only 'light' side who actually has the color white prominent in his outfit. logan's color scheme is obviously dark blue and black (very interesting choice), and patton's is light blue and...grey. virgil's is purple and black with notably hints of white in it. to me, patton's hoodie being grey reads as a slight jab at the fact that morality is inherently subjective and can lean in either direction depending on personal biases and beliefs. virgil having his hints of black and white entirely seperated instead of blending into a grey could be because he sees his past as a dark side as inherently seperated from his present as a light side; to him, the two are fully seperate with no room for ambiguity.

but roman's color scheme is red and white. i think this is because he's not actually a fully realized, entire side onto himself: he's half of creativity. him and remus were supposed to be one full side with both dark and light aspects to it, but because they were split into two, those two became literally black and white.

well. either all that, or thomas just has a limited wardrobe to work with

[dikdikpronouncedxylophone]

Virgil: Do either of you have any healthy stress outlets?

Remus: Yelling!

Janus: Drinking.

Remus: Murder!

Janus: Manipulation.

Virgil: Ok, so we have yelling...

[confusedasever]

I love your human designs!! Did something inspire them? Especially Logans and Virgils

How I made the human au designs!

All my designs are based off common fandom headcanons I’ve seen and enjoyed. I’m sure it’s pretty obvious lol. I loved taking inspiration from the other amazing human fander artists out there. It’s like a group project also isn’t it cute how the “light” sides hair goes one way and the “dark” sides hair goes the other? That was accidental.

(Fun fact a former dear friend helped with the designs of Patton and Virgil. So props to them. Thanks star!)

The designs:

🌩️Virgil: short, black hair, purple streak to look cool, (the eyes were my friends idea) really good fashion. He’s part of the freckle club. Plus he has pointy elf ears! Often wears earrings and is haunted by the ghosts of his past. My friend did the heavy lifting so if you like Virgil’s design thank them.

🪐Logan: tbh it’s just character designs I like + normal Logan, dark eyes, eye bags, freckles, ties, glasses, why change perfection any more than you have to right? I just draw him like first try every time too it’s scary lol he just appears

🍰Patton: (Another design I got help with) rounder body type, fluffy curly blonde hair, round glasses freckle club member. Manages to look like the worlds cutest man. He’s the only one with a fully rendered drawing. Logan steals his clothes.

🥇🥈Roman & Remus: these identical twins look like Alex and Alex’s evil twin from stardew valley ngl but they’re designs are inspired by Roman typically being coloured tanner than the others. Remus dresses like he wants attention, Roman dresses like he’s a cartoon character. They’re ahoge’s are crowns cause why not?

🐍Janus: first Janus appearance. Pale, angular and blonde. The scales are now a scar that covers most of his body. (Blind and dead on that side) Still managing to slay. Even if he dresses very oddly. Tries to look rich looks lame instead. Kinda a bad person. Sorry Janus at least you still have a hat. I hate drawing hats.

☕️🍬Remy&Emile both have designs but tbh they’re pretty much entirely just ocs me and my friend made very loosely based on sander sides so idk if I’ll ever share them.

[where-are-the-spooky-gays-2]

Sander sides ghosts au where they haunt Thomas on the same property

Remus: the oldest ghost/the first dead. He and his brother had an argument and Roman killed him

Roman:the second. Grief and guilt succumbed to him and died in his sleep. He spends his time with Remus trying to pretext him from basically everything.

Janus:won the house in an auction and got beheaded. His head falls off sometimes

Virgil: died in a witch trial and is DEATHLY afraid of everything and fire.

Patton: kindergarten teacher that died in a car collision and landed on the property

Logan:fell out of a window of the property when he stayed the night after getting stranded. (He was an aspiring lawyer)

(This is the order of death lol)

Character!Thomas is certainly gonna have an interesting time hearing those stories when he asks them XD /light hearted

[edupunkn00b]

The Flirt, The Perv, and the Sarcast

Virgil had it bad for his three roommates. His three roommates in a committed relationship with each other. The worst part? Each of their little quirks made it hard for Virgil to keep telling himself he didn't have a chance. The best part? He's one hundred percent wrong.

Written for @jinxunzel as part of @tss-camp-and-coffee's Camp Cartoon writing event - WC: 1728 - Rated: G - CW: pining, fluff, a low detail panic attack, happy ending - More of my Camp stories

“Hey, Babes, is this lap free?” Remy smirked up at him from the lap he was asking about then spread out on the couch. Head warm and comfortably heavy on Virgil’s thighs, Remy moved just enough to sip his ever present iced coffee, seemingly waiting for an actual response, if not permission.

“Um—“ Wow, brilliant locution. Did Logan teach you that?—“No, well, I guess maybe now it is?”

“Damn right it is,” he grinned and tucked his coffee close to the edge of couch then turned to face the t.v.. “So, what are we watching?”

Anything you want.

Remy’s hair, dyed raven black, glowed under the light of the conspiracy video on the screen. A lock of it fell across his forehead and Virgil had to grip the armrest to keep himself from reaching out and brushing it back ever so gently.

That was the kind of thing a boyfriend might do. And Remy was not his boyfriend. But Remy had asked him a question.

“Uh, this guy.” Arm flailing, he gestured at the screen in an attempt to drag his mind back from dangerous paths. “He debunks all those 'aliens built the pyramids' conspiracies.”

“Hmmm,” Remy turned and looked up him. He’d taken off his sunglasses and his coffee-brown eyes looked right through his soul. “But you like conspiracy theories. Or are we hate watching?”

“We—well, yeah.” He hoped to the god Remy didn’t catch his voice crack. “But even I can get behind debunking the stupid racist ones.”

“Fair,” he nodded and rolled back. With Remy's cheek pressed to his thigh, Virgil imagined he rubbed against him a little more than necessary to get comfortable. But that was a stupid theory if he ever heard one.

Keys jangled at the door and Remus called out in his best Ricky Ricardo, “ Lucy, I’m homo!” Really, though, he just sounded like his and Ro's dad.

“We’re in here,” Remy called, voice buzzing against his leg.

“We’re?” Remus emerged from the hallway and grinned. “Oooh, don’t you two look cozy.”

“Babes, join us!” Remy took a sip of his coffee and waved him closer with the cup.

“I can find another seat.” Remus’ eyebrows danced and he licked his lips the way he did before he made some raunchy joke. “You know I like to watch.”

“That you do,” Remy chuckled, sending Virgil’s mind racing with thoughts he should not be having about Remy, Remus, and the third in their little constellation, Janus. “Come,” he said, patting the floor at Virgil’s feet. “Settle in, Babes. You know you’ll only last five minutes in a proper chair anyway.”

Remus grinned. “So gay I can’t even sit straight.” He moved closer to Virgil and glanced down at the floor between his feet. “Is it okay?” he asked, voice suddenly serious.

“Ye—yeah, ‘course,” Virgil stammered, adjusting his feet to give him more room.

Remus sat on the floor between Virgil’s shins, knees tucked up to his chest. He turned a little so he wouldn’t block Remy’s view, half leaning on the side of the couch, half leaning on Virgil’s leg.

As they watched the video, Remus’ arm gradually slid between Virgil’s shin and the couch. By the time the next episode started, he was fiddling with Virgil’s laces, happily zoned out.

By the time Janus got home a couple hours later, the two of them were asleep, Remy on his lap and Remus with his head propped on the arm rest, Virgil’s hand tucked beneath.

“Well aren’t you a lovely sight to behold after a long night’s work?” he purred, slipping off his shoes and tiptoeing closer. Unreadable as always, Janus’ smirk hid whatever was actually going on in his head.

Coming home to seeing Virgil with his boyfriends draped over him, it wasn’t hard for Virgil to imagine what he might be thinking.

“Uh, yeah.” He looked down. Remy’s long lashes almost brushed his cheeks, shining under the t.v.’s flickering light. A faint smile played at his lips as he was caught in the depths of a pleasant dream.

And Remus… Even at rest, Remus twitched and mumbled, eyes dancing behind closed lids. One quiet 3 AM when the pair had found each other seeking a tonic to the night’s insomnia and overly vivid dreams, Virgil had asked Remus what he dreamed about.

He'd waggled his eyebrows and blew him a kiss over the open fridge door. “Everything.”

“I guess they were both more tired than they realized,” Virgil whispered, reluctant to disturb them, even as he knew he should so they could join Janus in the big bed in their own room.

“Either that or you’ve seduced them into a restful sleep with your wily ways,” Janus remarked as he moved to the other side of the couch. He crouched down and brushed that stubborn lock away from Remy’s forehead. “It must be simply torture to have them so close,” he said, winking at Virgil in the semi-dark.

As the sun had set, Virgil had left the side table lamp off, allowing the room to gradually darken as night took hold. And as Remy’s head grew heavier in his lap and Remus’ had begun to loll against his hand, he’d muted the t.v., the pictures on the screen splashing dim light over their sleeping faces. He really had done all he could to keep them sleeping around him—and on him—for as long as possible.

Virgil didn’t know how to interpret Janus’ teasing sarcasm. Was he mad? He didn’t seem mad. He didn’t seem to be in a big rush to wake them, either. No doubt, returning home after an unexpected double shift, he wasn’t exactly looking forward to the task of putting both of his sleeping boyfriends to bed.

Fuck, Virgil really shouldn’t’ve let them fall asleep like this. They’d just looked so comfortable and, really, felt so comfortable, he just couldn’t make himself break the cozy spell. He just let them—

“Spiderling,” Janus murmured, brushing the baby tarantula tattoo near his thumb. “Shhhh… breath for us,” he whispered. Remus and Remy were both awake. Remy at his side and Remus knelt before him next to Janus.

When had that happened?

It was only then that Virgil heard his own stuttered gasps, each breath like inhaling through a coffee straw. Remy took one hand and Janus the other. Remus hugged his leg.

He sucked in a breath. The air burned his nose and his throat.

“That’s it,” Janus murmured, tapping a steady beat on the back of his hand. “Now let it out,” he said, voice soft and calm, golden brown eyes fixed on his.

Virgil pushed out the breath, ruffling Remus’ wild curls.

Remus nodded and grinned back at him, a little sharp. A little scared.

“Very good,” Janus said, low and even tone rumbling through him. “And again now.”

Virgil wasn’t sure how much time passed as they sat together like that, but after a long, long while, he started anticipating the steps, breathing with the commands instead of needing them to remember what to do next.

“That’s good, Babes, real good,” Remy murmured next to him.

Remus’ manic grin softened on the edges and he curled forward, arms folded over Virgil’s knees, chin pillowed by his own arms.

“Spiderling?” Janus murmured. The old childhood nickname had never really gone away and the tattoo had only cemented it. But using it twice in one night meant he’d really freaked him out.

“Sorry,” Virgil mumbled, eyes burning. “I’m better now,” he said. “I didn’t mean to—“

“Fuck ‘sorry’,” Remus shook his head. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, we’re fine, Babes,” Remy said, sliding a little closer. “We’re not the ones who just had a panic attack in the middle of”—he glanced at the screen—“Twelfth Planet Debunked.”

Virgil didn’t know where to look, so he just hung his head, eyes shut. “I’m okay, I promise,” he said, cracking a smile that felt more like a grimace. “You all can go to bed.”

Remus scritched the seams on his jeans, shoulders shimmying. “It’s okay if you’re not up for it right now, but to tell you the truth, Emo, I was hoping tonight might be the night you joined us—”

“Remus!” Remy and Janus hissed in unison and Virgil snorted.

“It’s okay,” he said to both of them, pushing a smile onto his face. “I know he’s not serious.”

“The hell I’m not,” Remus said, reaching for both his hands and connecting them all together.

Virgil scoffed but the room went dead quiet as the three boyfriends looked from one to the other.

It was Janus who broke the silence. Cupping Virgil’s cheek with his free hand, he gently turned his face until their eyes met. “Do you really not know?”

Virgil’s heart beat faster, a noisy, stupid hope battering on the inside of his ribs. He shook his head again. “That he’s joking?”

“That I’m not,” Remus said, voice still and quiet. “I thought… “ Remus’ thumb rubbed little circles on the inside of his wrist. “I thought you were just… doing it for the bit, y’know… acting like…”

For the first time Virgil could remember, Remus looked uncertain.

“We all did, Babes,” Remy whispered.

“Wait—“ Virgil stared at each of them. “You all?”

“You can blame me as the first,” Janus said, stroking his cheek now. “But once Remy and Remus got to know you, too, they didn’t need any convincing.”

“So… all…” Virgil’s mouth wouldn’t let him form the words and he looked at each in turn, willing one of them, any of them to just say it so he wouldn’t have to. And be wrong.

Janus lifted Virgil’s hand to his lips and Remus—reluctantly?—let go. “We’ve all fallen for you, Spiderling,” he whispered against his knuckles then pressed a soft kiss against each.

“Babes, we got the feeling it was, y’know…” He squeezed their shared grip with Remus. “Mutual?”

“I… it… it is,” he finally admitted, cheeks flaming. He nodded and took a deep breath. “It is very… mutual.”

Remus practically vibrated, fingers thrumming on his knee as he squeezed his and Remy’s hand tight. Remy curled closer and laid his head on Virgil’s shoulder.

Still smiling that damn crooked smile, Janus turned his hand over and pressed a soft, wet kiss against his palm. “Good.”

[maddragonfruit]

Roman having an app downloaded that shows you what your identical twin would look like, gives off the same energy of Virgil pretending he doesn’t know facts about Remus and Janus. Neither of you are fooling anyone I fear

[ssslimyboy]

Logan and Janus, watching Remus play a trumpet with his nose:

Janus: He's so talented.

Logan: I've never been so repulsed and intrigued in my entire life.

[pumpkin-padparadscha]

thinking about a dynamic

aromantic janus needs someone to be his fake boyfriend when he goes home for the holidays so his well meaning parents don't try to set him up like they inevitably do every year

roman KNOWS he's hung up on remus, and he's sick of getting dumped over his fixation, or his prioritizing remus constantly, or his tendency to say remus' name in bed

roman wants a friends with benefits thing or a steady casual hookup. someone he can sleep with who won't expect anything from him romantically bc he is Not emotionally available for romance rn.

remus has clocked that roman isn't dating? or that whatever thing he has going on with his current "boyfriend" isn't his usual lovey dovey type deal, and he wants to meet the guy bc he's worried about roman. roman SAYS he's fine and has exactly what he wants from his relationship, but remus still wants to suss the guy out and make sure his brother isn't being strung along or taken advantage of.

roman's house of cards is about to come crashing down the minute janus learns "my twin brother" and "remus" are the same fucking person.

janus knew roman was keeping something from him but honestly it wasn't any of his business for the casual thing they had going on but this is honestly WAY more interesting than he thought his evening was going to be

remus is GOING to figure out what all the loaded pauses and pointed looks between janus and roman mean. half of janus' sentences are being cut off by roman or suddenly change halfway through when roman starts making frantic "stop" hand motions.

if you want virgil can be there too because i want him to show up partway through the evening and janus to introduce remus like "this is remus, he's roman's twin brother." and for virgil to be like ?! THAT'S remus? i thought he would. look different." and remus to be like "you thought that roman's twin. would look different. twins usually look alike!" and virgil can be like "yeah i get that! still wasn't expecting it though, given," gestures to roman, "everything"

remus is going out of his mind, what does that MEAN, what has roman been telling these people about him!!!

[monkeythefander]

My Body’s Looking Wrong

Summary: Despite how Janus presents himself to Thomas, the other Sides, and the camera, the Deceitful Side feels uncomfortable in his skin. If his scales had always been there he probably wouldn’t mind them, but that’s not how his story went.

(The title of this fic is lyrics from the song “The Other Side of Paradise” by Glass Animals)

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Content Warning(s): Janus angst, partial nudity (Janus is in his boxers and examining his scales in the present, and shirtless briefly in the past), feeling uncomfortable with your body/skin (specifically Janus’ scales), wanting to/trying to pick at your skin with tweezers (specifically Janus’ scales), body freezing up/not being able to move, mention of Christianity/Christian beliefs, fighting and just saying upsetting things to others (Patton, Janus, and Virgil aren’t the nicest to each other at times throughout this fic), self-hatred/deprecation, crying. Let me know if I missed anything else.

Click below the cut to read the fanfic

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Despite how Janus presents himself to Thomas, the other Sides, and the camera, the Deceitful Side feels uncomfortable in his skin. Currently, Janus is standing in front of his bedroom mirror, wearing only his boxers. He just finished showering and was getting dressed, but got distracted by his reflection. Normally, Janus left his mirror covered or just avoided looking at his reflection. He even showered with the lights dimmed so he wouldn’t be able to see himself as clearly. This time though, he couldn’t help but give in to his self-deprecating desire to look at himself.

Janus knows he could be considered attractive with his long hair that he takes very good care of, as well as his pretty heterochromatic eyes. However, he knows his attractiveness is tainted by the scales covering the left side of his face and body. The scales on their own, with no awareness of their meaning/origin could be considered beautiful. Janus kept the ones of his face shiny because he couldn’t exactly hide them from sight easily. When sunlight hit his face, his scales would almost glitter in the light. All these positive descriptions of his scales mean nothing compared to why the scales exist in the first place though.

Janus had completely human skin once, just like the other Sides. It wasn’t until a young Thomas and Patton began to develop a strong sense of morality that the scales began to appear. The scales first appeared on Janus’ hands, and he immediately felt overwhelmed. His body was changing in ways he didn’t want, and the fact that he was getting scales meant something. It meant Thomas and Patton saw deceit as the snake, the Devil, the universe’ first deceiver. Janus refused to accept this information at first though. He started wearing gloves to cover the new scales and pretended he didn’t see the upset looks he got from Patton whenever the Deceitful Side got Thomas to lie about something. Surely Patton would eventually understand that Janus was just doing his job and trying to protect Thomas. Patton was his friend and Thomas was his human, so they wouldn’t just start hating Janus, right?

The Deceitful Side’s hopes were slowly crushed as more scales spread across the left side of his body and he got into frequent fights with Patton over Thomas. When the scales reached his face, Janus knew there was nothing he could do to get Patton and Thomas to like him. The Deceitful Side couldn’t easily hide his face, so as soon as Patton saw the scales he gasped in shock and fear. Logan was in the room at the time as well, but he just looked neutrally at the situation. Janus almost hoped Logan would be able to calm Patton down, but the Moral Side quickly began calling Janus all sorts of horrible names. Janus could still hear them playing in his head whenever he looked at his scales.

“Evil, Monster, Unwanted, Dangerous!”

Along with those horrible names, Patton proceeded to tell Janus to leave this side of the mindscape. The Deceitful Side clearly wasn’t meant to fit in with them and would only hurt Thomas with his devilish nature, so Janus fled.

Janus cried a lot during his time alone in the Dark Side of the mindscape. He didn’t remember much from that time due to all the sadness he felt. Eventually, he was joined by Remus and Virgil which was nice. Janus decided he’d protect his fellow Dark Sides from the hurtful Light Sides. Deceit kept Virgil and Remus away from the Light Side and made sure that Virgil and Remus didn’t try to help Thomas face to face. Everything was going fine until Virgil decided to introduce himself personally to Thomas, and then met the Light Sides. Whenever Virgil came back from hanging out with Thomas and the Light Sides, Janus would try to remind Virgil that the Dark Side was his true family. Patton, Logan, and Roman were only putting up with Virgil and didn’t like having him around.

All these harsh reminders resulted in Virgil ducking out, which Janus hated himself for causing. Deceit felt grateful for the Light Sides and Thomas when Virgil came back safely. Janus went to apologize when Virgil snapped at him. Anxiety let out all his anger at Janus and said he’d be leaving to stay with the Lights. Virgil had been accepted and now knew how much of an “evil, lier” Janus was. At least that’s what Janus remembered hearing Virgil say, as Deceit was kinda spacing out at points due to stress and the reminders this fight gave him of the fallout with Patton.

That night after Virgil left, Janus locked himself in his room and screamed into his pillow. Patton and Virgil were right, he was evil and hurting everyone he cared about. That’s why the scales were there. They represented everything wrong with him. Janus then found himself getting up from his bed and standing in front of his mirror. He took his shirt off and looked angrily at the scales covering his left side. He removed his gloves and looked at the scales on his left hand as well. He needed to get the scales off. Janus quickly walked into his bathroom, grabbed a pair of tweezers and went back to the mirror. He brought the tweezers to his left shoulder and began to try and pull a scale off when suddenly his entire body froze up. What was happening?! Why couldn’t he move?! He stood there panicking for a few minutes until he was able to move again and took some calming breaths. He probably just froze up because of nerves. It was fine. He went to pick a scale with the tweezers again and the same feeling overcame his body, freezing him in place for a few minutes.

Through his panic Janus recalled his function as self-preservation, and this freezing up suddenly made sense. As self-preservation, he was physically unable to physically harm himself. This realization made him scream in frustration and sadness, dropping to his knees on the floor. He finally accepted that he was evil, and he couldn’t even cure himself. He was doomed to be hated.

At least, hated by everyone but Remus. After that day, Remus was still sticking around. Janus thought Dark Creativity would just leave with Virgil, but Remus seemed determined to keep Janus company.

“Why would I want to join my brother and the other party-pooper Light Sides? You’re more fun Janny!” Remus said when Janus initially asked him why he stayed.

Janus considered asking Remus to pull the scales off for him. Deceit may not be able to harm himself, but he knew other Sides would be able to. However, despite Remus being a fan of gore, Janus knew the Intrusive Side didn’t like seriously harming those he cared about, and for whatever reason, Remus liked hanging out with Janus. So Deceit was stuck looking like a snake.

Janus tried to act confident in himself and happy around Remus despite his extreme self-hatred of his scales. Janus avoided looking at his reflection, showered in dim lighting, and wore outfits that would hide most of his scales. Things were fine, and then Janus came up with a new plan. He’d get Thomas to listen to him and Remus, and once they’re accepted not only will Thomas be happier and more comfortable with himself, Janus might finally be freed of his scales. If Thomas’ perspective of deceit changed, surely Janus’ snake attributes would disappear. Janus was a genius!

So the plan began, and Janus disguised himself as Patton and then Logan to get his voice heard. Thomas sadly ended up missing out on the callback, but the missed opportunity helped Thomas and Patton start to understand that selfishness is okay sometimes. And Thomas and Patton accepted Janus. Deceit was so happy after that conversation and returned to his room afterwards, hoping his scales would start disappearing. He began standing in front of his mirror everyday, checking to see if his scales have changed at all. After a month of checking daily, Janus gave up. His scales were still there. Janus may be accepted now, but Thomas clearly would always view deceit as devilish and evil. So Janus went back to avoiding his reflection and acting like he was perfectly fine around the other Sides.

And all this led to where he is now, standing in front of his mirror and looking angrily at his reflection. Why can’t he be good? Why is he the villain?! He just wants to protect Thomas. That’s all he wants in life. Janus then sinks to the floor on his knees and silently cries. He has time to grieve again. He’s not expected to hang out with the others until game night later. So he’ll just stay here and mourn the scale free version of himself that he can never be again.

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End Notes: Thanks for reading. I’ve had the angst headcanon that Janus hates his scales for a while now, so finally got around to writing something based on it. Janus might be out of character here, so sorry about that. Anyways, I hope the angst is good here.

-Monkey💜

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Link to this fic on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/64714393

[quackkaz]

Janus : I love murder mysteries.

Remus, trying to impress Janus : I've been a suspect in four murder cases :3