#patton nearly gets run over
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wake up call
Pairing: Romantic Analogince (Roman/Virgil/Logan)
Word Count: 1,476 Words
roman is lee in like 70% of the fics i have drafted rn. i just want to Wreck him
"Is he seriously still asleep?"
Virgil's voice came from the direction of Roman's bedroom door. He couldn't look at him to check, but he could imagine the fondly exasperated look on Virgil's face as he watched Roman 'sleep'. He was lying on his stomach, his face shoved into a pillow, and even with his eyes innocently closed he could tell how bright it was in his bedroom. He was supposed to get up hours ago, yet here he was.
"I've knocked on his door three times, and nothing," Logan added. He must've joined Virgil in Roman's doorway; Roman felt his heart flutter a bit at the idea that his partners were both watching him sleep.
It was silent for a few long seconds. Roman thought they might've left again, until Virgil spoke.
"Well, you know he needs the sleep," he said, voice strangely measured. "He was up late last night, and we had a lot of work to do yesterday... and plus you tickled him for like an hour before he fell asleep."
Roman inhaled so quickly he nearly choked. Oh. Oh, fuck.
"Ah, yes, I'd almost forgotten about that," Logan continued. "Only because we do it so frequently, it's practically routine to tickle Roman to sleep every night."
Oh, fuck both of them. Roman absolutely was going to make them pay for this stunt later-- if he could get through this without blowing his cover.
"Yeah, he's pretty loud when he gets tickled," Virgil said. "I was in the kitchen with Patton and we both heard it. Kinda... squeal-y, and shriek-y."
"Ah, that must have been when he said he could keep his arms up for five minutes straight. I told him we could stick to gentler tickles to help him wind down, but you know how he is."
They both laughed lowly, and Roman could feel his face getting hot. It's one thing for the two of them to talk about him like he's not even there-- it's even worse when he can't even try to fight back in some way without ruining his plan.
"What was that one thing he does? When he drops his arms almost all the way down again 'cause it tickles too much, but then he just sorta folds his elbows over his face, like he's trying to hide? It's pretty freaking funny."
"Especially since it blocks his vision and prevents him front anticipating the other hand moving toward his torso. We had a lot of fun with that last night-- I believe I found a new freckle, above his right hip, that seemed to be quite sensitive to spider tickles."
Virgil snorted. "Oh, yeah? I'll have to remember that for later... poor little Princey. He has no idea what he's in for as soon as he wakes up."
No, no, no teasing. The butterflies fluttering around his stomach were already bad enough.
"Roman..." Logan's voice was nearly a coo, and Roman fought the urge to shiver as he suddenly realized his partner must be standing right by his bed. "I do hope you're not pretending to be asleep when we've asked you so politely to get up."
He felt the logical side move to sit gingerly on the edge of the bed. He considered throwing in a fake snore, but decided that would be too much.
Especially when, all of sudden, he felt Logan's hand running through his hair. And then he felt Logan's nails running through his hair.
It took every single thing in Roman not to squirm then and there and ruin the whole game.
"We miss you," Logan said softly, and really that wasn't even fair, because if they're planning what Roman knows they're planning, then he was purposefully trying to be romantic and gentle in that way that made Roman's heart flutter in his chest. Stupid smart boyfriends and their stupid observation skills.
Another dip on his other side told him Virgil had joined him on the bed; he forced himself to stay still when he felt a warm hand rub up and down his back. "We have literally nothing to do today. Give it up to Janus on finally booking in that self-care day. And if we do end up doing any work, then everyone is gonna get to see the genius ideas you came up with yesterday. You did good, Princey."
Bastards, bastards, bastards. Roman's tummy would be full of butterflies just from the compliments and validation alone. Pairing it with the gentlest of tickles was overkill.
He could just give in. Roll over, get good morning kisses from his two favorite people in the whole world, and return the love they've showered onto him tenfold. But no one ever accused Roman of giving up from a fight, so his eyes stayed closed and his breathing stayed measured.
At least, until Virgil suddenly curved his fingers so his nails were the ones running up and down Roman's back. He kept his hand right along the spine, which wasn't so bad for Roman, but with every motion he let his fingers creep closer, closer, closer to the backs of Roman's ribs. Those horrible, wonderful tickle spots that Roman was utterly incapable of ignoring. He felt himself begin to tremble, and he wondered if Virgil could feel it, too.
Logan hummed, and suddenly his hand had moved, too, to gently brush and wiggle against Roman's ear. He softly scratched below the lobe, where Roman's ear met his jawline.
It took everything in Roman not to smile, not to scrunch his neck up, not to laugh. He ached to laugh, to wiggle and kick his legs and squirm away from his lovers' hands... and maybe even to be held so tightly, wrapped up in someone's arms, while the other let their hands trail all over his body in retaliation for sleeping late. Or each of his partners could grab one wrist, keeping him so vulnerable between them as they take turns inspecting each one of his tickle spots. Maybe-
"Alright, enough of this," Virgil said, before shoving both arms under Roman's chest and flipping him over onto his back like a pancake. "Time to wake up."
Roman had approximately 0.1 seconds to take a deep breath before both Logan and Virgil dived in with reckless abandon. Gone were the gentle, soft, nearly soothing tickles they'd began with; now Logan was leaning over to dig his thumbs into Roman's underarms while Virgil vibrated his hands all over Roman's soft stomach.
Immediately Roman screamed, eyes shooting open and limbs desperately trying to coordinate some way to defend himself, but his barely-awake brain coupled with the devious double attack left him beyond delirious and without any way to save himself. Virgil leaned down, letting his own morning stubble graze Roman's side while he massaged his tummy, and Logan dropped himself down to murmurs soft coos into Roman's ear that he couldn't even comprehend over how much his warm breath set his ear and neck alight with tingles.
"Nahaha- wahaha- wait!" he gasped. The tickles slowed, but his partners didn't pull away.
"Wakey wakey," Virgil purred, leaning down to leave slow, soft kisses against Roman's midsection. Roman's legs kicked weakly.
"Not fair," he whined. His ear seemed to vibrate with the sound of Logan's low laughter, before he, too, was peppering the spot with gentle kisses. Roman snorted; he couldn't decide which way to move his head (towards the kisses or away from the tickles?). Luckily, Logan made the decision for him, pressing his mouth even closer to Roman's ear so he couldn't scrunch his neck.
"It's time to get up, darling."
Each syllable sent breath against Roman's ear and shivers run up and down his spine. It was horrible, absolutely horrible- Roman could do nothing but squeal and buck against the bed, where Virgil's own kisses and wandering hands were still attacking his tummy.
"Plehehease..." he begged. His smile nearly ached, but he couldn't feel anything other than the soft warmth that came from being adored by his partners. Blissfully, his partners seemed to listen: Logan pecked his kisses down until he was merely kissing Roman's shoulder through his shirt, and Virgil folded his hands and rested his chin on them as he smirked up at his bedraggled boyfriend.
"That was," Roman continued through catching his breath, "utterly uncalled for."
"We warned you, dude," Virgil shot back. "You could've gotten up at any time."
"I was asleep!"
Virgil snorted. "Uh huh."
"I was!"
"Whatever you say, dear," Logan murmured. Roman opened his mouth to continue arguing, but suddenly Logan was once again running his nails through Roman's hair, and any word of complaint disappeared as he moaned.
Virgil propped himself up further, and even in his blissed-out state Roman could make out the softness in his gaze.
"You know what? I think you should sleep in every day."
#my posts#my writing#tickling#tickle fic#tickle community#sanders sides tickling#lee!roman#ler!virgil#ler!logan#drafted on december 27 2021#wake up call
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Meus ex Machina, Chapter 15: From This Day Forth
Edited public domain image of two hands reaching for each other, lit in deep blue and neon green.
Prev - From This Day Forth - Next - Masterpost - [ AO3 ]
Distant history and some time later. Plus, Logan's time with The Muse revealed more than anyone expected.
WC: 2655 - Rated: T - CW: descriptions of treating injuries, the 'comfort' of hurt/comfort
“I do.”
Half-hidden by his wild auburn fringe, Luc’s eyes glowed. Not from his Power, not today. No, today Luc’s eyes glowed from within, the natural deep brown soft and warm and bathing him in love.
Janus smiled back at him, squeezing his fingers. “I know you do.”
Their nerves—and their focus—dissolved in quiet shared laughter until Patton’s pointedly cleared throat brought them back to their vows.
When Janus looked up, Patton smiled and inclined his head, his Illusioned officiant’s robes rustling with the movement. “And you, Janus Gates, do you take Lucas Hart to be your love, your husband, and your light from this day forth?”
Swimming in the gentle depths of Luc’s eyes, Janus nodded. “I do.”
~
Janus tossed his tablet onto the couch with more force than he’d intended. Luckily, it merely bounced twice and flipped over, deactivating the screen. His relief was short lived, though, and the droning news report made him almost wish it had cracked.
Back straight, he perched on the seat beside it and forced a slow breath, giving his attention to the flow of dry, cool air in his lungs and the—
“Governor Aldi has called in three NatGuard divisions to quell the uprising at Humane Care—”
Patton clicked off the newsfeed. Janus fought to push down the molten lead bubbling up in his stomach but finally it burst out. “When will they ever stop? When we teach them a lesson?”
He smacked the table, the sharp sting doing nothing to calm the fire in his bones. Patton’s hot chocolate rattled against the pair of teacups set on either side of it and the force of his hand shook even the pictures on the wall.
“Now, Kiddo,” Patton inhaled, exaggerating the movement and giving him and Luc a gentle smile. Luc leaned closer, fingertips brushing his sleeve. “Let’s all take a—“
“No! I will not take a breath!” He sounded precisely like Ro in one of his tantrums but he just couldn’t stop. “And I will not calm down and wait for the Powerless running the government to follow the arc of progress or whatever pacifying bullshit—“
“Language!”
“Papa Bear, it’s alright,” Luc said smoothly. The soft purr of the old nickname brought warmth to the elder brother’s cheeks but his expression didn’t change. He picked up his cocoa and watched the newlyweds with his lips drawn into a thin line.
Luc nodded slowly and reached over the coffee table, brushing Patton’s hand, calming him. “Let him get it out.”
“This isn’t simply some phase I will get past!” Janus nearly growled, jerking away from the other two. “We’ve been trying things your way for three years now and look where we are?” Arms flung out at his sides, he looked around their newly finished HQ. “We have to hide away behind a forest laced in tripwire because all the Powerless know how to do is hate us.”
He stood, shaking his head as he stared at the vidscreen, the latest atrocity playing out in full spectrumed splendor. “Maybe it’s time we used our powers for real change and made them stop.”
“Love?” Luc’s eyes were wide and he made no effort to hide the concern roiling through him.
Janus deflated, sinking back down and accepting Luc’s outstretched hand, bare skin intertwined with his own gloved fingers. “I don’t mean…” He gestured vaguely. “There just… there has to be another way.”
~
“Jan?” Luc’s voice was quiet, barely audible over the whine of the transport’s thrusters as they raced away from the Inn.
Eyes focused on The Muse, unconscious and strapped in his own seat, Janus shook his head.
Luc was completely silent until they’d landed at HQ and he waited until they’d gotten The Muse hooked up to a med bed before addressing Janus again. “Love, there’s nothing you could’ve—”
“ Nothing I could’ve done?” Luc stepped back, the full force of Janus’ rage seeping past his lowered voice. The final threads of his control were fraying and Janus… he wasn’t sure what he might do when they snapped.
Still, Luc reached for him, eyes dimly glowing. “Love, calm down. You didn’t know—”
Janus jerked his hand back, keeping an empty med bed between them. “I didn’t know what? I didn’t know Andrew would betray us? Or I didn’t know you would lead us right into a trap?”
“Wha—” Luc’s mouth moved like a fish and his hand flopped back to his side. “What are you saying?”
Tears swam in his eyes, sparkling in amber light as Luc wrestled his own emotions into control. Or manipulated his own tears. Sour, jagged guilt stabbed Janus’ chest at the thought. Was it his own conscious speaking?
Or Luc’s?
‘Re will be fine, you’ll see. He just needs a little calming, a little extra control.’ Luc had been so sure this outing would work. ‘He’ll have both of us there, both of us to keep him and everyone safe. He deserves a good birthday. He deserves to celebrate a little.’
Janus scrubbed at the blood staining his shirt, his gloves, the man’s final cries echoing in his brain. “What did he offer you?”
“What?” Luc acted like he hadn’t heard him.
Janus stared back, fighting past the buzz of alcohol singing in his veins. Plus gods knew what else that traitorous bartender had slipped into his drink. “What did he offer you? How much were we worth to you?”
“What!?” Luc crossed his arms over his chest, eyes brighter than the med bay’s lights. “You think I—”
Guilt and malice and rage swirled between them, cutting through the lingering dizzy haze. “I can feel your guilt, Luc. You know you can’t hide it from me.”
“Love, no…” Luc’s voice broke, tears finally spilling down his cheeks. “Please listen to me… You’re not feeling that from me, I swear! Here…” He slid around the med bed, both hands outstretched. “Jan, please… Take my hand, you’ll see. You’ll—”
“Don’t you dare touch me!” Janus pushed the bed back between them. “No, you just want to make this all go away and you can’t, Luc. You just can’t. He killed that man! And it’s because of us! Because of y—”
Too late, his mouth snapped shut.
“You really believe I could…” Orange flame for eyes, Luc shook his head, lips pressed together, a gash across his face. When he spoke again, his voice was low, an almost monotone, his words carefully enunciated. “Very well, then, Janus.” He blinked, slowly, bathing the room in cold darkness, then turned and left.
Rooted where he stood, Janus listened to Luc’s footsteps fade before they eventually returned, pausing just outside the med bay. Janus held his breath, waiting. Listening.
There was nothing more to hear but the curt zip of a bag and the woosh of the front door opening and closing.
Luc was gone.
“Jannie?”
Janus had no idea how long he’d stood there before The Muse’s whisper pulled him back to that room. “Jannie, please help him.”
~
Jolted upright in bed, Janus swore when his grandmother’s repurposed album fell off the side and hit the floor. His dream—his nightmare—tightened its grip on his mind, claws sinking into flesh, The Muse’s plea wrapping tighter and tighter around him.
-”Jannie… Jannie…”-
He forced his eyes open and only then did he register the green lights flashing along the ceiling’s edge. The voice was no dream. -”Muse? What—”- He yanked back, blistering from The Muse’s thoughts.
-” Jannie, please help him !”-
He grabbed his gloves and a robe on his way out of the room and collided with Pat in the hall.
“I checked the breakers, I checked the shield,” he stammered, barefoot and clad in sleep shorts. “Everything’s working. I don’t understand—”
“He’s out in the hall.” Virge nudged them forward, pressing a tablet into Janus’ now gloved hands. “With Mac.”
Tears poured down The Prince’s face and he leaned close to Virge.
While Pat ran to the med bay, Janus watched the camera feed. Machina’s chair sat abandoned in center frame. The Muse’s lower half, writhing in a tangle of thorny vines, was the only part of him visible. Was Machina still inside? “Get him comfortable,” he ordered to Virge, nodding at The Prince.
Pat returned, zipping up his jumpsuit, the largest medkit tucked under his arm. “I’m ready.”
“He’s trying,” The Prince whispered as they passed. “He just can’t help it.”
“I know.” Eyes closed and with one hand pressed to the wall for support, Janus reached out. -”We’re coming, Muse. Hang on.”-
~
With Pat’s help, he made it onto the elevator and down to the basement. He used the brief trip to stitch together a semblance of a shield, filtering what he could of the turmoil in The Muse’s mind. “I’ll need you to—”
-”Hurry, hurry, hurry…”- The Muse broke through. Why wouldn’t he just go back inside his room? Why had he even left? Had Machina somehow lured him out? He understood what the shield meant to him… didn’t he?
“I’ll get Re,” Pat promised, one arm still loosely wrapped around his waist. The other gripped the tablet and the med kit. “But maybe come back? He might need you.”
Janus nodded, less steady than he would have liked, as the elevator stopped and the door slid open. Machina and The Muse’s cries echoed down the stone corridor, amplified by the small space. They rushed out, Pat barely slowing to grab Muse, remembering just in time to leave behind the tablet before the shield fried its circuitry.
They stepped over the threshold and silence—near silence—fell over the hallway. The world that poured into The Muse’s mind—and relayed into his and The Prince’s—quieted.
Janus hated how his shoulders dropped, his jaw unclenched and he dropped to his knees in shaky relief next to the whimpering heap of blankets on the floor.
“Machina?” He jerked away from the touch, reaching for the closed door. -”Logan.”-
Machina froze, clinging to the thought.
-”Logan, you’re safe,”- Janus sent as gently as he could manage while fighting past the blocks Machina seemed to have instinctively put up. -”You’re safe now.”-
-”Muse isn’t.”- With a groan, Machina rolled and met his eyes, revealing his blood-and-tear smeared face.
Nodding slowly, Janus gently wiped his face clean with the edge of the blanket. -”He will be,”- he promised. -”Patton will care for him. As I will care for you.”-
Machina considered his words, bloodshot eyes darting between his and The Muse’s door. Finally, he nodded.
“May I?” Janus asked aloud, arms outstretched.
He nodded again and Janus lifted Machina up and into his chair. When he resisted leaving behind The Muse’s blanket, Janus simply placed it on his lap and tucked it up and out of the way of the wheels before rolling him into the waiting elevator and upstairs to the med bay.
~
Most of the blood covering his face came from his head and from gashes on his tongue, swollen arcs of bite marks driven in top and bottom. He helped him rinse with a saline solution from the med kit, humming quiet praise at his cooperation. There was more blood on his hands, along with fine strands of Machina’s hair twisted around his fingers. Patton guessed Machina likely bore bloody bald spots that matched the ones on The Muse’s scalp, too.
Just like Ro used to.
“He didn’t…” The Muse hung his head, wincing when Patton found a deep cut near the nape of his neck. “He didn’t mean to. And I…” His voice cracked with that same quiet shame.
“Oh, Kiddo… I know you didn’t want to hurt him. We all do,” Patton murmured and gently dabbed at the wound before reaching for the same skin adhesive he used on the bites in his mouth. “How… Kiddo, how did you…” He paused, letting his work to close up the wound distract them both.
Patton held The Muse’s hair up and away from the gash as the adhesive dried. His eyes wandered around the room. The Muse was dressed for bed but pastels and fresh drawings were scattered over the floor. Lots of them.
Most of the drawings featured Machina in his chair, dark stone walls behind him. Patton looked over his shoulder through the little window on the door. The backgrounds matched. This hadn’t been Machina’s first visit.
He focused on the rest of The Muse’s wounds and, as soon as the adhesive set, he urged him to drink some of the electrolyte. When The Muse finished his cup, he sat curled in the corner, knees hugged to his chest, shivering. Patton fetched the other blanket from his bed and wrapped it over his shoulders.
“He opened the door,” he whispered, guessing—or, more likely hearing—Patton’s unvoiced question. “He came inside so I could hear him. I tried to stop… I did. I did. I swear I did. I… He…” The Muse looked up at him, big green eyes swimming in tears. “He’s so lonely, too.”
Nodding, Patton crouched next to him and opened his arms. The Muse carefully arranged himself in the offered embrace, tucking the folded blanket between his face and Patton’s chest. Patton hummed and stroked The Muse’s hair with gloved hands.
“We shouldn’t be alone, Papa Bear.” His whisper was muffled against the blanket. “None of us should.”
This close to the door panel’s red lights, The Muse’s curls took on an orange glow and Patton swallowed back a sob.
“I know, Kiddo. I know.”
~
“Thank you.”
Janus thought he’d imagined Machina’s quiet whisper but when he lifted his head he was met with the other man’s steely blue eyes. “Wasn’t going to leave you there,” he muttered and raised a cup to his cracked lips. “Go slow.”
Machina made a face and pulled away, moving his tongue in his mouth like a foreign object.
Janus nodded and waited, cup at the ready. “You bit your tongue. You’ll absorb the stitches in a few days. Well, if…”
He sipped from the cup then chuckled dryly. “If I wasn't a Powerless, you mean.”
“That’s not how I would phrase it, but, yes…” He tipped the cup again, nodding when Machina took another long drink. “We’ve only used it on…”
“On Remus?”
Cup frozen mid-air, Janus stared at him. The Muse’s old name sent a spark through his veins, Ro’s prepubescent voice calling after his brother, filled with playful indignation.
‘Remus, stop! No fair! It’s my turn to be the dragon!’
The cup shook in his hand and he set it down before he spilled it on Machina’s bedding. “Where did you hear that name?”
Machina shook his head, mouth working for a moment before he shrugged. “I—I… In my head? It was… it was just there.” He blinked and shuddered, face twitching.
His breathing stuttered, eyes squeezed shut as panic and shame gripped his mind. Machina shook his head and flailed in the med bed, tugging away the blanket and tangling his stumps in the sheets.
-“No, no… None of that… Stay here with me,”- Janus sent and spoke, gripping his shoulder. Finally, he lay back, hand twisted in the blanket. Still, his mind swirled with images he could not have witnessed himself. -”That’s The Muse’s past… Not yours.”-
Janus smiled when Machina finally met his eyes. “There you are,” he said aloud and offered more of the electrolyte. “You need it. Between the blood loss and…”
He finished the cup and took three sips of the next before shaking his head. “I…” He let out a little puff of air and looked away, guilt thick and sour in his scent. Janus returned the cup to its spot on the bed tray and waited.
“I heard another name… Well…” Dozens of names in The Muse’s voice echoed in his mind and Janus pulled back, throwing up a weak shield.
But not before he caught one final name.
Machina grabbed his sleeve and pulled him closer. “Who’s Lucas?”
#Meus ex Machina#sanders sides#sanders sides fanfiction#ts remus#ts logan#ts janus#ts patton#ts virgil#ts roman#ts lucas#i will make that a tag#Machina#The Muse#The Prince#Silvertongue#Papa Bear#Ultraviolet#Hesper#superpowers#superpower au#logan sanders#and‚ for the tags#roman sanders#janus sanders#remus sanders#lucas sanders#virgil sanders
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Just Another Day
Hey uhh… I’m not sure if my ask is mighty enough for the god of writing requests to see it but could you write a fic where everyone forgets or is too busy for Roman’s birthday? I’m totally not projecting… but the only way I know how to cope is to hurt my boy, bonus points if it doesn’t end with a surprise party – anon
Read on Ao3
Warnings: roman's birthday is forgotten and janus and virgil are kinda dicks
Pairings: none
Word Count: 3272
That's the funny thing about birthdays, isn't it?
To everyone else, it's just another day.
Roman wakes up, a smile already forming on his face.
Happy birthday, he thinks as he sits up, patting the red comforter and pillows, happy birthday!
After all, these are his creations, it's only fair that he wishes them a happy birthday as well. Although, he supposes technically their birthday would be when he created them, but it's just easier and more fun if they all celebrate together, right?
He quickly goes through his morning routine, putting on his prince costume and going to his makeup box. What does he feel like today, of all days, should he do the gold sparkle or the red sparkle? Or—oh, even better! The red sparkly as eye shadow and the gold sparkle as an enhancement to his blush! Yes, he's gotten a brand-new blush just for today, Virgil helped him pick it out, he can take a little bit of the gold shimmer and dust it over the top.
He can't stop grinning at himself in the mirror, oh, yes, he will be doing this look more often. He strikes his signature pose and—perfect!
A quick run-through of his fingers and his hair is artfully tousled, double-check that everything on his costume is right, and he's ready to go!
Oh, what is it they'll be preparing? A family breakfast? He does like getting to see everyone in the morning, maybe they'll all be down there already? Or a trip to the Imagination, he may or may not have been brushing up on some of the places he knows all of them love for just such an occasion. Or maybe they'll be baking! He hasn't had homemade desserts in forever, and now that he's started thinking about it, he can't get the taste of fresh chocolate chip cookies out of his head, or fresh flaky biscuits, or lemon bars…
Oh, he's made himself quite hungry.
As he strides to his door, he catches sight of his wide smile in the mirror.
"Happy birthday," he whispers to his reflection, and closes the door behind him.
***
2.
He quickly rules out a family breakfast together, because the only one downstairs when he reaches the kitchen is Patton.
"Good morning!"
"Oh, goodness!" Patton startles, nearly dropping the spatula he's holding. "Roman, don't do that!"
"Sorry, dear Patton-cake," he says, swooping in to kiss his cheek, "just excited this morning!"
"I can see that."
Some part of Roman registers that Patton sounds far more annoyed than he does endeared, but it's lost in the tidal wave of it's my birthday! "What's on the menu this morning, Pat?"
"Well, I'm making an omelet." Sure enough, the eggy-cheesy-vegetable-y mess in the pan goes splat as Patton flips it over. "I don't know what you're going to have."
Oh. "I don't…really like omelets."
"I know, that's why this isn't for you."
Well, that definitely rules out breakfast. "Never fear! I will devise something else as equally delicious to me to have!"
Only with all of their eggs going into the omelet, there won't be enough left to bake anything else. Unless they've gotten more eggs in between last night when he checked the fridge and this morning, but he doubts it.
"Toast," he says triumphantly as Patton plates his omelet and—goes to leave the kitchen? "The breakfast of champions."
Yeah, Patton barely glances over his shoulder as he leaves, calling out: "Sure is, kiddo, good for you."
Roman frowns as Patton vanishes to the living room, hearing the tell-tale clink of the plate against the table as Patton sits down for his own breakfast. He looks back at the toaster, with its two slices of unassuming bread that are—smoking?
"Shit," he mutters, under his breath so Patton won't hear him, hitting the button and wincing as the two shriveled black husks pop up. He grabs a paper towel and disposes them, before deciding that it's his birthday, he can conjure up an English muffin to toast if he wants to.
"Roman," Patton calls just as he goes to toast it, "you're not summoning food in there, are you?"
"But—"
"We have rules about that, kiddo, you remember what happened last time."
"But it's just an English muffin, and my toast got—"
"Rules are rules, kiddo, it's not fair to everyone else if you get to break it. Besides, I know we have more bread."
But it's my birthday, he wants to say, but he can hear that Patton's already made his mind up, so he sighs and throws the English muffin out too. Oh, well, he'll just have to make sure these slices don't burn.
Chin up, he tells himself as he plates his slightly-less burned toast, it's still my birthday!
***
3.
Trip to the Imagination is also quickly ruled out when Patton is long gone and no one else has arrived downstairs. That's…well, that's not great, but it is okay; he manages to watch a few of the videos he's been meaning to for a while before he gets up and goes in search of someone else.
Logan, maybe, what about Logan?
With another smile growing on his face, he bounds up the stairs. Oh, they could have a brainstorm! They could bounce ideas off each other just like they used to, they could spend the day watching one of the shows they'd been meaning to watch and critique it—there was this new movie that came out just a few weeks ago that they'd both said related to their individual projects—
By the time he reaches the outside of Logan's door, he's practically vibrating with excitement. He knocks—shave and a haircut, two bits—and waits, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
"Yes?"
"Logan!"
He thinks he hears Logan sigh but that must just be his chair or his notebook or something. "What is it, Roman, I'm in the middle of something."
"Oh. I, um, I had a question."
"Well, there's no use yelling through the door."
Is that—was that an invitation to come in? He can never tell with Logan anymore. "Can I come in?"
"That was the implication of what I just said, wasn't it?"
Roman carefully opens the door, smiling when Logan looks up—only for it to dim a moment later when Logan looks far more irritated than he'd expected. "Um—hi."
"What's the question?"
"There's, um, that movie that we were talking about came out a few weeks ago."
"That doesn't sound like a question."
"I was wondering if you—if you wanted to watch it?"
"For movie night?"
"N-no, just—just us. I miss talking about things with you."
"You do?" Logan eyes him skeptically over his glasses—his skepticles, Roman calls them in his head and fights not to laugh at his own joke. "When, next week?"
"I was, um, hoping we could do it today?"
Logan sighs, and it's definitely unmistakably a sigh this time, and turns back to his desk. "Roman, I'm busy today. We'll have to work it out later."
"But I—"
"No, Roman. We can watch something tonight at movie night, but I'm afraid I don't have time right now."
"…okay."
Roman closes Logan's door and sighs. Well, that's okay. He can hardly expect Logan to want to change his schedule for him, and he'd thought—well, he was mistaken about whether or not Logan was going to be part of the birthday morning. He'll see him this evening, like he said! That's gonna be really fun.
…really fun.
***
4.
He runs into Janus and Virgil in the hallway and they both burst out laughing.
He blinks, caught off-guard, a small smile forming on his face as he tries to get the joke, only for Janus to look at him again and he only laughs harder.
"Oh, god, thank you, Princey," Virgil gasps, leaning against the wall for support, "I needed that."
"Needed…what?"
"That." Virgil gestures to his face. "You're funnier than we give you credit for, that's—whoa, that's great."
Janus, who is still laughing, just manages to say the words 'glitter clown' before he's off again, nearly sliding down the wall with how hard he's laughing.
Oh.
Oh.
A sick feeling starts twisting in Roman's stomach as they both start to come down from their laughter, still giggling. Virgil flaps a hand at him.
"You gotta warn me before you do something like that, man, I almost broke a rib."
"Have you been taking lessons from Remus?" A different hurt lances through him at Janus's words. "That's terrifying."
"How did you even do that, did you just shove your face into a bunch of glitter?"
"No."
"What," Janus laughs again, and it's not meant to be cruel—he hopes it's not meant to be cruel but it hurts worse than it did before, "did you wake up and decide to smear glitter all over your face for no reason?"
Then they realize he's not laughing.
"Oh," Janus says first, trying and failing miserably at keeping a straight face—and not just for the obvious reason— "oh, um…did you—did it not come off?"
"Yeah, did you, like, try and wash it off and then it stained? That can happen with some of the less expensive brands—"
"I know that."
"Shit, uh, yeah, I know." Virgil scratches the back of his head. "I, uh, I've got some more heavy-duty makeup remover if you wanna try it—"
"It's fine."
"No, no, I'm sorry, Princey, I shouldn't have laughed so much, I know it was a mistake—" Virgil reaches for him— "lemme help you get it off—"
"It's fine," he mutters through gritted teeth and pushes past them. He doesn't even make it out of earshot before he hears them start laughing again.
He bursts back into his room and storms to the bathroom, ignoring the burning in his face as he fumbles blindly for his makeup remover—which is plenty strong, thank you very much—and scrubs at his face until the cotton pads fall apart. His prince costume is quickly soaked as he splashes water across his face, dripping down his neck and arms to the cuffs and collar. He keeps going, not minding how raw his face starts to feel, not until he knows for damn sure that every little speck of glitter is gone.
Screw them.
Screw them.
It's his birthday, and if they're all going to be absolute jackwagons then he's going to go into the Imagination and enjoy himself all on his own.
***
5.
When he gets downstairs for movie night and sees them all there, looking at him, for one second, he thinks it might be a surprise party.
Then Logan adjusts his glasses and says: "Roman. You're late."
That last little ember of hope in his chest splutters and dies.
"Sorry," he mumbles, slinking over to the empty spot on the far side of the mattress and taking a pillow, "got distracted in the Imagination."
"Hey, at least you got all that glitter off you."
"Oh, good, I was wondering what that was about."
He wraps his arms around the pillow and tries not to think about how cold to the touch it is. "Yeah."
"Alright," Remus says, clapping his hands, "movie time!"
"What are we watching," Virgil asks, grabbing the remote and beginning to scroll through the various options, "are we going action, funny, mystery, animated…?"
Roman perks his head up a little. "Can we watch Love, Simon?"
"We've already seen that, Princey."
"Yeah, but—"
"What about The Meg?" Remus nudges Logan's side. "The sequel's coming out soon and we could get ready for it!"
"Wait, is that the giant shark one?"
"Yeah!"
"I suppose that's a good idea," Logan says and Roman's grip tightens on the pillow, "to prepare. I can only imagine how ridiculous the science of the sequel is going to be."
"Oh, you and I are gonna have a field day."
Roman's chest burns. "But we've seen that one already too."
"Sequel, Ro-Bro," Remus says without even looking at him, "there's gonna be a sequel."
"You've picked a lot recently," Patton adds, giving him a scolding look, "you can let Remus choose."
"But—"
"But nothing," Janus says smoothly, "Virgil, did you find it?"
"Yep!"
The Meg starts playing.
Logan puts his arm around Remus.
Patton starts playing with Remus's hair.
Janus whispers something that makes Remus chuckle and they start doing one of their inside jokes.
Virgil looks at Remus and smiles softly.
Roman is cold.
During one of the big shark fight scenes, he puts the pillow back on the couch and sinks out.
He curls up on his bed and pulls his red comforter—heh—snugly around his chin. He catches sight of himself in the mirror and pointedly turns away.
Happy birthday, he scoffs internally as he feels the tears well up, what a stupid thing.
***
+1.
The Imagination remembered it was Roman's birthday.
Of course it did, Roman was its little prince, of course it remembered. It had been so lovely, playing with the not-so little prince again, creating a beautiful magical forest from him to explore, filled with marvelous critters and creatures alike for Roman to play with. And then a dragon, his dragon, his dragon he'd created was he was still a little prince; his dragon flew down and wished him a happy birthday in its own way, taking him flying and curling up around him on the top of the mountain, nuzzling him like he was part of its horde, which he was. But the little prince hadn't understood, hadn't known that was a happy birthday wish, and so when the little prince is crying all on his own, the Imagination takes matters into its own hands.
The door in Roman's room eases open, a soft twinkling sound waking him from his tear-induced dozing. He blinks, brow furrowing at the sight of it, before stumbling from the bed to the gentle light coming from within.
He pushes it open to see the resplendent tree, glimmering and glistening with a single swing hanging from a low branch. All around it spin galaxies, nebulas, cosmic wonders in an inky-purple sea of open sky. His breath leaves him in a rush and the Imagination coaxes him closer.
For you, it whispers as its little prince sits on the swing, marveling at the cosmos around him, all for you, little one, happy birthday.
It dries Roman's tears with soft, warm breeze, the tree branch beginning to gently swing him back and forth. The stars twinkle, the skies fill, and oh, that's better—Roman starts to smile.
All too soon, however, it starts to fade again and the Imagination rushes back—what's the matter, little prince, what's wrong? It's your birthday, you shall want for nothing, what do you need?
It carefully pokes and tests the various emotions radiation from its little prince and…ah. The little prince is lonely.
"Ro?"
Roman turns, eyes widening when he sees Remus. "Re?"
"Whoa," Remus mumbles, taking in the tree and its surrounding wonders, "this is cool as fuck, Roro."
"Um…thanks."
"Seriously, how long have you been working on this? This is—I've never seen the Imagination like this before."
The little prince fumbles for something to say and when he tugs wordlessly on the swing for help, the Imagination obliges. A tendril from higher up in the tree slowly lowers, a single red and gold sparkly cupcake nestled in its grasp. A candle burns atop it, and Roman's breath catches in his throat.
"What's that?" Remus comes up over his shoulder just as Roman reaches for the cupcake. "Whoa—wait, Roro, is it—"
Yes, the Imagination whispers.
"Ro," Remus asks, voice small and soft, "was…was today your birthday?"
"…yeah."
"Fuck," Remus bites out, before storming a few feet away and raising his voice, "we're all fucking horrible, get in here!"
"Language!"
"Remus!"
"Hey, what the hell?"
"Speak for yourself, Remus!"
"No," Remus barks, his hands on his hips as he glares at the various pajama-clad Sides in front of him, "we are all horrible because we just forgot today was Ro's birthday and we're gonna figure out some way to make it up to him!"
"Wait, fuck—"
"That was today? I thought it was next week!"
"Is that—oh, that's why you wanted to spend time with me—"
"Shit."
Roman just sits quietly, unwrapping his cupcake as the Imagination swings him gently back and forth. He seems to like the nebula just off the edge of the cliff, beneath his feet, and so it makes it sparkle a little more, clouds of cosmic dust swirling back and forth.
"Ro," Remus says as the others keep worrying, "I'm really sorry."
"It's fine."
"It's not fine. You went to bed crying on your birthday and none of us noticed. I didn't notice, that's not okay." Remus ruffles his hair. "What can I do?"
"You don't have to do anything."
"But—"
"Look," Roman says, looking up at him, "I don't—having stuff happen because you guys feel bad isn't going to help. I don't want your pity. Or your groveling, whatever you want to call it. There's always next year."
"You shouldn't have to wait a whole year to do stuff you want because we were assholes," Virgil says as the rest of them come closer, "it doesn't—fuck, it doesn't have to be a birthday thing, but do you wanna…I dunno, just schedule some stuff to do with us?"
Roman shrugs.
"You sure?"
"You guys are busy," he mumbles, still toying with his cupcake, "I get it. It's just a day."
"It's not just a day," Patton says, "it's supposed to be your day. If you want to do something—"
"That didn't work out super well for me, did it?" He glances over his shoulder and back down to the cupcake. The Imagination ruffles his hair with another warm breeze. "It's okay. You guys are busy."
"I'm not," Virgil says, "I've got nothing."
"Same here," says Patton, and he hears Janus hum.
"I can spend time with you," Logan starts and Roman just laughs.
"I know for a fact that's not true."
"…it is, actually," Janus mumbles and Roman's shoulders hunch.
"I'd like to be alone, now, please."
"Roman—"
"Now."
And the Imagination obliges, shuttling all of them outside and quickly calling Roman's dragon to come and cuddle him. It comes, chuffing softly and nuzzling his hair, blowing warm air over his bare legs as it curls up next to the swing and rests its head in his lap.
"You were saying happy birthday earlier," he mumbles, stroking the ridges on its head, "weren't you?"
The dragon snuffles in confirmation, nudging the cupcake. Roman laughs, a little strangled, and takes a bite.
"Thank you."
Anything for you, the Imagination whispers as the dragon purrs, anything for you.
Remus is waiting when Roman returns to his room, sitting on his bed in his pajamas with his stuffed Kraken. He looks up when Roman enters and holds out his arms.
"Come cuddle," he says when Roman still hovers by the door, "please?"
"Why?"
"'Cause you're my bro and I love you and you look like you need a cuddle."
"…okay."
Remus is big and warm and soft, and Roman curls up in his brother's arms. The Imagination keeps the galaxies spinning outside his window, his dragon keeping watch as the two of them drift off to sleep.
General Taglist: @frxgprince@potereregina@gattonero17@iamhereforthegayshit@thefingergunsgirl@awkwardandanxiousfander@creative-lampd-liberties@djpurple3@winterswrandomness@sanders-sides-uncorrect-quotes@iminyourfandom@bullet-tothefeels@full-of-roman-angst-trash @ask-elsalvador @ramdomthingsfrommymind@demoniccheese83@pattonsandershugs @el-does-photography @princeanxious@firefinch-ember@fandomssaremysoul@im-an-anxious-wreck@crazy-multifandomfangirl @punk-academian-witch@enby-ralsei@unicornssunflowersandstuff@wildhorsewolf @thetruthaboutthesun @stubbornness-and-spite @princedarkandstormv @your-local-fookin-deadmeme @angels-and-dreams@averykedavra @a-ghostlight-for-roman @treasurechestininterweb @cricketanne @queerly-fluid-fan @compactdiscdraws@cecil-but-gayer@i-am-overly-complicated@annytheseal@alias290@tranquil-space-ninja @arxticandy @mychemically-imbalanced-romance@whyiask@crows-ace @emilythezeldafan@frida0043 @ieatspinalcords @snowyfires@cyanide-violence@oonagh2@xxpanic-at-the-everywherexx@rabbitsartcorner @percy-07734@triflingassailantofmyemotions @virgil-sanders-the-gay-emo@cerulean-watermelon@puffed-up-bees@meltheromanstan@joyrose-fandomer@insanitori@mavenmush@justablah65@10paradox10@uhhh-hi-there-i-am-nervous@cutebisexualmess@bella-bugatti-frogetti-baguetti@ultrageekygirl
#dragonbabbles#sanders sides#roman sanders#roman angst#roman sanders angst#virgil sanders#remus sanders#sympathetic remus#janus sanders#deceit sanders#sympathetic deceit#patton sanders#logan sanders#fic
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how easy you are to need (redux) (5)
warnings: misunderstandings/miscommunication, assumption of harm/abuse, references to starvation and blood, food, drug mentions, unreliable narrator is particularly strong in this one
-
When Virgil next woke, it was to a low and melodic humming.
The drugs had clearly worn off, going by how terrible he felt just laying there. He suspected the pain might have actually been what had woken him.
His breathing automatically shifted to something shallower, attempting to keep from putting pressure on the huge bruise that was his ribcage. The humming paused for a brief moment, before resuming.
So, they’d wised up and actually started guarding their captive. They must not have been expecting him to be so active last time, probably believing the tranquilizer would have a heavier effect.
Of course, that meant that they’d adjust the dosage to account for his resistance next time. Damn, he shouldn’t have played that card so early.
Figuring he’d already been caught out, Virgil cracked open an eye.
He was in the same spot, on the same couch. Roman was sitting in the nearby armchair, which had been turned slightly so that it was facing the couch more directly.
The hum was coming from him, a cheerful tune that had completely concealed the soft sursur of a polishing cloth against metal.
The runes on the hunting sword weren’t activated, but the hairs on the back of Virgil’s neck abruptly prickled anyhow, a chill running down his spine.
Roman glanced over at him without pausing his polishing, completely casual about the threat implied in each careful motion. “You’re awake! I’d say good morning, but we’re nearly at sunset now.”
Virgil couldn’t bring himself to tear his gaze away from the blade, not even to confirm that he’d slept another day away. He felt as though the moment he glanced away, he’d look back to find the point of that sword buried deep in his chest.
He’d expected they’d try to get him to shift as soon as possible, but somehow, he hadn’t expected them to threaten him physically. They had to know he would call their bluff, didn’t they? No matter how much they might not want a monster under their roof, human greed superseded hatred, and killing him now would be like throwing gold down a bottomless well.
His mouth felt glued shut when he swallowed, unwilling to let a single syllable through. He reached for his earlier bravado, his miserable confidence that death would be better than being caught, and found the bitter bravery rang hollow in the face of that singing metal.
The human’s hand had paused mid-swipe on the blade. When Virgil forced his eyes to flicker upwards, he found that Roman was staring at him with a distinct wrinkle to his brow.
He jolted upon making eye contact, and then tried for an uncertain smile.
“No need to worry,” he said, shifting the blade up slightly. “This is for Patton, not you.”
The words took a moment to register, but when they did, they landed sharper than any slap. Virgil felt the blood drain from his face quickly enough to leave him dizzy.
His humans were— they were different, weren’t they? Surely, they wouldn’t go so far as to punish Patton just because he’d been taken hostage, not when they’d all failed to contain him in the end.
So why? Sure, Virgil had threatened— threatened with that, but Roman had been watching so closely, he must know that Virgil hadn’t actually bitten Patton. Except. Some hunters believed any physical wound inflicted by a shifter was ‘infected’. How tightly had he gripped the human before? Had his nails bitten into clothing, or skin?
The memories were fuzzy, hazed over by adrenaline and drugs alike. He wasn’t sure.
“He’s not– he’s not,” Virgil started, and the words caught and tangled in the back of his throat like barbed wire. He yanked his arms free of the blanket tucked around him and pushed himself further upright to meet Roman’s gaze more directly. “I didn’t turn him. He’s not turned.”
In the back of his mind, a familiar refrain: Don’t kill him. Please don’t kill him.
Roman visibly reeled back, his grip on the sword’s hilt tightening in surprise, and then he let go of the blade altogether, leaving it balanced delicately across his lap, polishing cloth still folded over it.
“No! I mean, I– I know that, not that it would– even if he–,” He cut himself off, took a breath, and tried again. “I was only joking. I would never threaten Patton with any sort of violence, sword-inflicted or otherwise, even if he is atrociously bad at remembering that he is injured and should be avoiding straining himself as much as possible.”
Even with the emphasis, his voice was more exasperated than truly angry, and there was no sign of deceit in his manner. Patton was fine, Virgil had just– overreacted.
He needed to calm down. Hunters or not, there was no point putting ideas in their heads. He tried to force his body to relax, to ease away the tension that so visibly lined his frame, with little success.
Patton was safe, but he obviously wasn’t off-limits for violent threats, after all.
“Right. Well. How are your wounds?” Roman asked, apparently having correctly inferred that Virgil wasn’t much of a conversationalist. “We can’t give you any more pain medicine, not without risk of making things worse, but nothing should be debilitating. Frankly, I’m surprised you didn’t tear more stitches.”
He’d forgotten about his injuries amidst the sudden rush of terror, but sure enough, his side still felt awful. It was like he’d gone a round with a magically-corrupted grizzly bear or something.
Virgil slumped back against the couch to try and relieve some of the pain, but kept his jaw clenched shut. There was no point in them knowing how well he was healing, and he certainly wasn’t going to be the one to tell them which wounds were the worst off. Those were the most painful places to be hit.
There was another long stretch of quiet, and Roman let out a gusty sigh, lifting his hand up— Virgil barely concealed his flinch— and running it haphazardly through his hair.
“Look,” he started, leaning forwards, “I’m not sure what you—,”
“Dinner is ready,” said Logan, who had appeared in the doorway between one blink and the next. “How is— oh.”
Roman jumped, like he’d been caught red-handed, but Logan’s gaze had already flicked over to Virgil. “Good evening. It’s encouraging to see you awake. Do you feel up to walking? I am more than capable of carrying you again if not.”
“Don’t touch me,” Virgil snapped on automatic, too consumed by the phantom memory of that odd burning sensation to hold his tongue.
“Alright,” Logan said simply, not a single hint of temper at the attitude. Somehow, the absence felt almost more frightening. “We normally take meals in the kitchen area, down the hall here, but since we have two injured parties, the sitting room will work as an acceptable substitute.”
“I’ll get Patton!” Roman volunteered, having subtly kicked his sword under his chair midway through the conversation.
“Get the sheath for your blade while you’re at it,” Logan replied dryly. “Patton will have your head if you get sword polish on the rug again.”
“I was careful!” Roman protested, but he kicked his blade up into his hand as he fled from the room regardless.
Virgil barely resisted the urge to stare after him, bewildered that he’d gotten through the encounter without a single cut. Maybe Logan hadn’t been made aware of the plan to threaten him, and his unexpected arrival had interrupted it…? Or maybe it was a planned entrance, and this was a psychological tactic meant to stress him out.
Virgil sighed. Maybe Roman was just too hungry to postpone dinner. There was no point dwelling on it.
“I’ll be back momentarily,” Logan told him before leaving as well, completely scrapping Virgil’s earlier prediction of a constant watcher.
They were still underestimating him, probably assuming the ward had demoralized him. He hadn’t ruined all his chances of escape, after all.
He barely had time to try and assess the room more clearly before Logan returned, an impressive amount of dishware balanced in his arms. He spent a few concentrated moments setting them all down on the low table and then rose to his feet and left the room again without a word, an air of distraction about him.
Virgil glanced between the dishes set out, wishing his sense of smell wasn’t quite so good. Just as he’d forgotten his pain until Roman had asked after it, he’d forgotten how hungry he was until there was food in front of him.
He wasn’t dumb enough to think it was for him, of course. Even though they hadn’t said anything yet, he had a fair idea of what the humans were playing at.
He knew how to count, after all, and he could plainly see that there were only three of each dish set out. It was another incentive to shift, one that had been used against him before. They’d wait until he was starved, he expected, and then offer him raw meat, or some other carrion that only a wolf could eat.
It was a little cruel of them to eat right in front of him, going so far as to move their normal dining location, but he couldn’t deny that it was an effective tactic. The sharp ache in his side had already been joined by a dull pang in his stomach.
There was a breadbasket, there in the middle of everything. The tops of each roll were shiny with butter, but if he grabbed one from the sides, it probably wouldn’t leave a trace on his hands.
… What were the odds that they’d counted how many rolls were in there?
By the time Roman swept back into the room with an amused Patton in his arms, Virgil was carefully arranged in the same exact position as before, and the warm roll in his hoodie pocket was well-concealed by the folds of the blanket still draped partially over him.
Patton was deposited on the plush armchair closest to the fireplace, and he offered Virgil a smile as he carefully propped his injured leg up on a stack of hand-embroidered pillows.
“Sorry for the mess,” he apologized. “We’ve normally got things a little more put together than this, but I was relegated to potato peeling duty after I dropped half the silverware while trying to set the table. Turns out holding plates and crutches is a recipe for dish-aster!”
Roman groaned theatrically from where he was arranging everything out on the table, but he was still exceedingly gentle with the tray he set on Patton’s lap, an artful arrangement of silverware on either side of the meal. “You already murdered two of our poor plates, now you have to slander their good names with puns?”
Patton laughed, and said something else, but Virgil was having a hard time registering the words through the low ringing in his ears.
It was so strange, watching them joke around and chat casually, as if nothing was wrong. With the hunters, there had always been an air of impatience or malice, a sick glee in making him suffer.
His humans weren’t acting like that, but there wasn’t a trace of uncertainty in their manner, either. It was as though this was just another day for them, as though they’d always been capable of doing something like this, so much so that it was an unremarkable event.
It wasn’t the outright hatred of before, but it still felt bad in a different way.
“Sir Wolf?” Roman’s voice broke through the haze in his mind, and his head jolted up slightly as he realized the name was meant to refer to him.
It was certainly nicer than some of the things he’d been called.
The two humans were looking at him with open concern, Patton leaning towards him as far as he could without unbalancing his tray.
“Hey, kiddo. Are you back with us?” he asked.
Virgil blinked at him strangely for a moment— he hadn’t gone anywhere— and then was immediately, sharply distracted by a hand moving closer in the corner of his vision.
He flinched back, hard enough to make his injuries twinge, and the room went quiet for a beat.
“My apologies,” Roman said, his tone subdued. “I only meant to check your temperature; sometimes infected wounds can cause fevers and disorientation.”
“We won’t ever hit you, kiddo,” Patton swore firmly, and the pity in his voice rankled against Virgil, like a hand scrubbing his fur the wrong way.
How could they sit here and pretend to be soft, when they were so willing to hurt him in other, more insidious ways? He clenched his fists, teeth digging into the edge of his lip, but before he could spit out the acid words building on the back of his tongue, Logan appeared in the doorway again.
“Apologies for the wait,” he said, carrying a fourth tray in his hands. He shot a sharp glance at the other two, making them recede from their hovering with sheepish expressions, and stepped close enough to extend the tray out in offering.
Virgil stared at the normal, delicious-looking food in front of him, bewildered. There was no rotting carrion or raw, bloody meat. In fact, the only difference between the dishes set out on the table and the tray being offered to him was that the food was already portioned, rather than in large dishes to serve oneself.
“I’ve added a few malnutrition aids, and they’re most effective when freshly brewed, hence the delay,” Logan continued, still patiently holding the tray out. “I’m entirely confident that they will help– at worst, they’ll do nothing– but if it would put you more at ease, I can sample the food myself.”
They’d dosed it with something. Something that wasn’t immediately fatal enough that they were willing to ‘sample’ it to prove it was ‘safe’. Or, they’d realized he really wasn’t going to shift to heal and were offering genuine health-aiding tinctures to speed up the process.
Better to figure out which it was now. Besides, even drug-laced food was food, and it was in his best interest to play along until he had an actual plan to escape.
He took the tray without protest, half-expecting it to be yanked away the entire time, and settled it across his lap.
“Alright, now that we’re all here, let’s eat!”
Patton smiled at him, and suddenly, the gesture didn’t feel false and insincere. His previous anger had melted away in the face of his confusion and, admittedly, his relief that he would get food at all.
Virgil swallowed, and ducked his head to stare at his tray instead of the others’ faces.
Those feelings were dangerous. Just because they weren’t as bad as the hunters in one specific way didn’t mean he could trust them. Not even if he wanted to. Especially not if he wanted to.
It was beginning to seem like remembering that was going to be harder than he’d thought.
#sanders sides#sanders sides fic#werewolf au#how easy you are to need redux#heyatn#heyatnr#my writing#writing#ts virgil#ts roman#ts logan#ts patton
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SaSi Intruality Week 1/7: Chaos Cookies
Prompt: Chaos
Tags: @intrualityweek
Synopsis: Patton tries to bake something with Remus. Remus is busy trying to find shards of glass to put into the batter. As the title suggests, shit gets chaotic. You’re welcome.
Characters: Remus, Patton
Relationships: Romantic Intruality
TW: Blood/cuts (inflicted by glass shards by accident), Remus being Remus, swearing
~
Remus smashed his hands down onto the bottles, watching the shards of glass go flying all over the counter. They hit the surface with a small skitter and spread out with a clink. He laughed, a shrill, manic one that could probably give someone a migraine.
Patton came into the room, carrying numerous sheet pans of different shapes and sizes! “Remus, I got the pans!” He chirped, blissfully unaware of the messy counter and the little glass shards on the floor, “We can-“ he paused, staring at the floor. His gaze trailed up to the counter, with Remus staring at him with a wide gaze and a sheepish smile. His hands were red and bloodied, little shards sticking into his palms.
“Hiya, Daddy!” Remus waved, the crimson liquid trailing down his arm. “How’s it going?”
Patton gaped at him, nearly slamming the pans down onto the stovetop and rushing over. “What happened!? How badly are you hurt?!” He took Remus’ hands in his own, inspecting the wounds.
Remus shrugged, feeling himself shiver at the sudden touch. “I was preparing for the cookies!” He proclaimed proudly, wiggling his glass covered fingers, “Did I do good, Pattycake?”
Patton’s expression softened. “Oh, dear, we don’t need glass shards for these cookies!” He explained, “But we can make a separate batch just for you with them another day, okay?”
Remus looked sad for a moment, but perked up at the thought of another day to bake. “Okay!”
Patton gave him his signature smile. “Awesome! Let’s get you all cleaned up, okay?”
The cardigan-wearing side led Remus to the upstairs bathroom of the house, sitting him down on the toilet seat. “You wait right there, okay?”
Remus nodded eagerly. Enjoying the pain of getting shards out of his hands was always better when he had Patton there.. even though it was always enjoyable for him. It was boring to just magic away the wounds, so he allowed Patton to carefully take out each shard with tweezers.
There was a short moment of calming silence between the two.
“So!”
“Hm?” Patton dabbed at the remaining blood left on Remus’ scarred and calloused palms. “What’s up, honey?”
“What’s your favorite kind of bottle?” He asked brightly, “I like the glass ones because they’re crunchy!”
Patton laughed a little, adding antiseptic to the cuts. “I like reusable ones,” he answered, “They’re useful because they don’t harm the environment!”
“Boo, that’s boring…” As Remus spoke, the green-sashed side attempted to lick the antiseptic right off of the wounds, which earned an alarmed cry from Patton.
“You can’t eat that! It’s for your hands!” The father figure figment nearly shouted at him from panic.
Remus groaned, leaning back. “I don’t know what to do! I’m bored!” He complained.
“Just let me finish, and then we’ll go make cookies okay?”
“Okay! Can we still add glass to them?”
Patton let out a small, affectionate huff. “Sorry, bud, not today. Another day, remember?
Remus hopped up as Patton taped the last bandage. “Then let’s go, Frog Daddy!” He shouted, running over to Patton and picking him up bridal style. “Shit is about to go down!”
Patton squeaked at the sudden movements, before starting to panic again. “Remus, your hands! Put me down! They’re not even healed in the slightest!”
Remus cackled, descending down the stairs with the other still in his arms. “Extra pain, extra fun!”
“No!”
“Yes!”
Once the two got to the living room, Patton nearly jumped out of Remus’ arms, giving the moustached side a signature Dad Glare (TM). “Don’t jeopardize your health like that!” He scolded lightly.
Remus shrugged. “There’s no rhyme or reason to what I do! I just do!”
“That’s not always good for you, honeybun.” Patton placed himself back in Remus’ arms, hugging the slightly taller side gently. He placed his head on his shoulder. “I know you like that stuff, but you worry me sometimes.” He whispered.
“Awh, sorry Pattycake.” Remus ruffled the blue-clad side’s hair. “I’ll be better… maybe.” He added with a toothy grin.
“You promise?”
“Promises? Yuuck.” Remus paused, mulling over his options. “Eh. Okay. Just for today.” He pressed a kiss to the top of Patton’s head. “Only for you. Roman is still getting his ass kicked at Mario Kart later.”
Patton giggled at his antics, letting go and walking to the kitchen. “Are we thinking chocolate chip, or peanut butter!”
“Ha, you said nut.”
“That I did, dear. Come and help me with the batter, yeah?”
Remus grinned. “Only if I get to eat the raw eggs!”
“Remus, no!”
He ignored that last remark, waltzing to the fridge, opening it up and cracking an egg over his head. Remus watched the contents spill out onto his hair and into his eyes. He laughed maniacally. “That chicken fetus had no chance!”
He paused when he saw the sad look Patton was giving him. His smile faded a little as he magicked the mess away. “Whoops.” Was all he said. He handed Patton the brand new, non-broken egg. “Here you go.”
“Thank you, Re.”
Patton mixed the batter, with Remus peering over his shoulder the entire time. Remus found his hands resting gently on Patton’s hips as the other folded the ingredients together.
“Hey Pat?”
“Hm?”
“Guess what?”
“Yes?”
“Fuck.”
“Language!”
~
I’m gonna continue this one with the Baking prompt when that one and it’s day comes around!
#sanders sides#patton sanders#remus sanders#ts patton#ts sides#sanders sides fic#intruality#romantic Intruality#tss remus#tss patton
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Another Day in Paradise
AU: Coffee Shop AU
CW: None that I can think of
WC: 1,886
Date: 12/18/2023
"Janus, can you get the muffins out of the oven?" Patton called, hands currently occupied with the latte he was making for a customer. He was surprised how busy it was for an afternoon on a Tuesday. He didn't mind though, busy meant the days always went by faster.
"Of course darling," Janus called back, slipping toward the backroom to take care of muffins. Normally Janus would be the one taking care of making the drinks but he had been refilling some of the things they had started to run low on. It was hard, but with all of them, Patton knew they could take care of it.
Logan wrote on another cup and passed it toward him. "We haven't been this busy in a while, I guess Virgil's marketing campaign really worked out didn't it."
The smile on Patton's face was dazzling as he nodded his head, grabbing the cup from Logan and putting it on the queue to be made. Virgil had taken over their social media a few months back because he had had an idea and quickly the four of them realized that he was amazing at that kind of thing, of drawing people in.
"Gilbert, I have your Large Latte ready. Thanks a Latte for choosing us today!" Patton watched as Logan rolled his eyes with a fond smile and returned to working on the customer orders, ringing them up and gathering what was needed. When Patton had suggested to his boyfriends he wanted to open a coffee shop he hadn't expected them to go all in with him. Patton had only told them because he wanted to warn all of them that things in their dynamics would change a bit. However, each of them had jumped at the chance to help him. Now, after a few years, the coffee shop was rather successful and it was more perfect than anything he could ever imagine. Janus handled legal stuff, Logan handled finance, Virgil handled marketing, and Patton handled recipes. They all worked together in the shop, supporting each other, caring for each other and Patton wondered almost every day if he was dreaming. Other days, he worried about the dream ending.
Each of them had left something behind to be by his side. Janus had a law degree, Logan was trained in finance, and Virgil had been studying musical composition. Sometimes, Patton felt like he was stealing that all away from them.
"Cookie, go take a break," Janus whispered in his ear causing Patton to almost jump. He must have really been in his own thoughts if he hadn't even noticed Jay behind him. Then again, Janus had always been sneaky.
"I'm okay." Patton shook his head, trying to banish the last of his thoughts before looking up at Janus who was staring at him with a very accusatory smirk, one Patton knew far too well. "Okay, okay," he whispered. "But tell me if you need me."
"I always will," Janus gave Patton a quick peck on the check before ushering him away, basically shooing Patton off. With a little sigh and a pout, Patton walked to the back, going over to the office and knocking on the door frame. Virgil jumped, closing a tab on the computer before turning to him.
"Hey P, what's up?" That was another thing that was making Patton feel off and probably what had brought up all of these insecurities. Virgil was acting strange. He had been discussing something with Janus and every time Patton walked into the room the two would shift the topic, Janus normally more gracefully than Virgil. He would distract Patton and pull him into topics he knew would make him smile and forget about the awkwardness, and it did, for a time. However, Janus wasn't the only one Virgil was conspiring with, he had also been talking to Logan about finances, Patton hadn't overheard nearly enough because he didn't want to ease drop but it really made his stomach twist. Still, when Virgil gave him that soft smile, held out his hand to pull Patton in closer, it was hard for his fears to survive.
"Janus chased me out of the front because I was spacing out." He walked over to Virgil, taking his hand and slowly sitting on his boyfriend's lap.
"That's not like you, everything okay?"
He could bring it up now, he could cry into Virgil's shoulder about how he worried about asking Virgil what was wrong, but Patton didn't want to push, but he also couldn't keep doing this. "You would tell me if something was wrong, right kiddo?" He asked, using their little nickname for Virgil. He was after all the youngest even if it wasn't by much.
Virgil wrapped his arms around the small of Patton's back, pulling him closer. "Yeah, of course, I trust you. I mean it might take me a bit because I'm anxious and all that shit, but I trust you."
Patton nodded slowly, trying to even out his breath.
"Hey, cookie, what's gotten into you?" He pulled back, just enough to see the tears forming in Patton's eyes.
"Something's wrong, I can feel it. Behaviors are off and I... if you need to tell me you want to leave the bakery it's okay. I understand. It was a lot to ask." Patton was trying to smile but he had been so stressed out about this for so long. He didn't know if he could keep up the worried knot that had formed in his stomach.
"Whoa, whoa whoa whoa, what do you mean leave the bakery?" Virgil asked, his arms tightening around Patton. "I have no intention of leaving. I love that we all get to work together, that we go home together, that every day I get to see your smile."
"It's just, you've been talking to Logan and Janus lately and I know they handle emotional things better then I do, and also the logistics."
Virgil tilted his head for a minute, the confusion obvious on his face until his eyes lit up with understanding. "Oh Patton, no, I didn't realize I was being so obvious. No. I don't want to leave the bakery. I do have a surprise for you, and I should have warned you. I guess I was just a bit nervous about it and didn't want you finding out too early."
Patton collapsed into Virgil, relief escaping him in a hiccupping sob. He took in a stuttered breath. "Okay, okay. I'll wait. It's not bad, right?"
"No, I promise it's not bad. In fact it's pretty good, at least I hope it will be," Virgil sighed, his own anxiety beginning to show a bit. "Fuck, Logan is so much better at keeping surprises than I am. Can you hold out until tonight?" His hands threaded into Patton's hair. "I was going to tell you after we shut down the cafe anyway. I can tell you all about it and there won't be anymore surprises for a while.
"Yeah, yeah I can wait." Getting confirmation that it wasn't bad helped him calm his heart a bit, and knowing that Virgil wasn't trying to leave the cafe helped settle the feeling of unrest in his chest. It didn't ease everything, but it eased enough that he could take in a slow stuttered breath. "Can I also stay here for a bit longer? At least until I need to start the next batch of muffin mix?"
"Duh, it's not like I was going to let you leave anyway." Virgil held him closer. "You're mine."
Patton giggled and took in a sharp breath before letting it out slowly. It was heavier than he expected but once again, he felt lighter. "Yes I am." He curled into Virgil's arms and closed his eyes. For a while, he would be just Virgil's, just holding him here away from the stress of reality.
That night, after the doors were closed, the chairs were put away, and Patton was almost done mopping the floor, Logan walked up to him, wrapping his arms around Patton's waist. "You built a brilliant place for the four of us to exist." Logan held him close. His hugs were sturdy, measured and oh so warm. Patton couldn't help but look up into Logan's eyes marveling in the shy soft smile only he and the other two ever got to see. He wasn't sure what the occasion was for this hug, but he was so happy to be in one of his lover's arms. Logan swayed him back and forth as if there were music playing, reaching for Patton's hands and releasing the mop, allowing it to rest against the container of water. He then took Patton's hands, kissing one then the other before he spun Patton around. Logan looked at Patton with an adoration that had no words, a warmth that was all consuming.
Logan didn't dance much, but when he did it felt fantastical, like the rest of the world was fading away. They stepped and they twisted, staying on the dry ground. Logan led him into a spin and when Patton was in Logan's arms again, they kissed. He wasn't expecting Logan to be this romantic, but it was so very needed after a stressful day. Both the stress of worry and the stress of customers. When they pulled apart, Logan looked at him for a lingering moment, twirling one of Patton's curls on his finger before spinning Patton around and pushing him forward.
Right into Janus' waiting arms. "You think so much about others, about how you can help, how you can care, it's a trait I find both exhilarating and exhausting," Janus teased, kissing Patton on each of his cheeks. "Although I can often predict your choices, it is sometimes hard to understand why you are willing to show so much kindness. That's a puzzle I'm willing to spend the rest of my life trying to figure out." He nuzzled his nose against Patton's. "Stay with me?"
Patton giggled, nuzzling him back, holding tight to Janus' hands. "Always." That was a promise he was willing to make. He was willing to stay by Janus' side, by all of their sides for the rest of forever. As long as he had breath, he would love them.
Janus smiled, kissing Patton with a hungry burning passion, then twisted him around before he could get the air back into his lungs. Thankfully, what Patton saw made him gasp, hands going up to his mouth as his eyes welled with tears.
"I was talking to Janus about the legality of a multi person marriage, I was talking to Logan about the finances for a ring," Virgil whispered, on one knee with a box. "Patton, I would never want to leave this bakery. Actually, I kinda want to stay here for ever with all of you by my side." He opened the box, revealing a simple wedding band Patton would still be able to wear while making food, but also a thin gold chain just in case.
"Patton, will you marry me?"
His voice came out strained from the joyful tears falling down his face. "Yes." He didn't need to think about it, didn't need to question or guess if this would be right.
"Yes, I will."
@tsspromptmonth @simplestoryteller @fantasticfangirl21 @joylessnightsky @glacierruler
#TSS Rare Gifts Event 2023#Untypical Creations#Sanders Sides#Sanders Side fic#Fanfic#Patton Sanders#Virgil Sanders#Janus Sanders#Logan Sanders#Coffee shop AU#Mostly Fluff
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the parent trap
CHAPTER NINETEEN: you got me tripping, stumbling! sinking, fumbling!
Patton makes a splash.
⁂
Is he here? Is he here?
He can barely even think of it without feeling like he’s half out-of-his head, which tracks well with thoughts of his ex-husband��God, his ex-husband, here!—but he can’t be here yet, can he? Or can he be here? It’s not like the number of coincidences in their lives haven’t increased lately—just the idea of sending the boys to the same camp—!
“Oh!”
Patton barely stops himself before he would’ve barreled over some poor early twenty-something.
“Sorry,” Patton mumbles, ducking his head, “‘scuse me, sorry” and continues toward the pool, accidentally bumping shoulders with someone whose hair is the right cut but entirely the wrong color (“sorry!”) and twists, his eyes scanning the poolside—
“Ah, Patton!”
Patton tries his very best not to tilt his head up to the sky and groan. Instead, he plasters on his biggest smile for his potential in-laws.
“Where have you been?” Mr. Blake says, briefly clasping his shoulder. “We’ve been looking all over for you!”
Patton adjusts his tie, making a mumbling noise of assent as he scans the lounge chairs at the poolside. Not him, not him, not him…
“Patton,” Mrs. Blake says, slotting in at his other side.
Not him, not him, not him…
“I think this hotel is perfect for the wedding!” She continues.
Not him, not him, not him…
“The more I see of it, the more I like it.”
And then Patton freezes.
There.
Floating down the stairs, pulling a pair of sunglasses down from his hair—a touch longer now than it was ten years ago—always so effortlessly handsome, always so effortlessly graceful…
“Now tell me, dear,” a voice continues, “how many are we expecting from your side of the family? Just a guesstimate!”
“Huh?” Patton says, smiling wide as he turns to her, then, “Oh! You know what, I’m not sure. Can I get back to you on that?”
He scans the poolside quicker now—yes, there he is, heading in the direction of…
Patton tries to tamp down his smile. Oh, those little—!
Except he probably ought to blame the two adults sitting there with them, too.
“Excuse me, I think I see Remus, I ought to grab him—do you mind?”
“No, not at all,” Mr. Blake says, and so Patton goes, picking up the pace, as quickly as he can go without looking like he’s running to him.
Or running away from his future in-laws. Either option.
He then almost immediately runs flat into the back of a flock of black-and-navy coated businesspeople, some kind of guide gesturing—
“Excuse me,” Patton says politely, trying to forge some kind of path onward, then, louder, “Pardon me, sorry—”
“Go ahead,” a woman says, coming to a stop, and Patton surges forward, only to scramble back a couple steps to avoid smacking right into a worker hauling a stack of towels as tall as their eyeballs—walking quickly forward, he’s coming closer, even as Janus is staring down at his watch with his brow furrowed in consternation, a look so familiar that it makes Patton dart forward—
—and he nearly trips and falls flat on his face, knocking one of the poolside tables askew—
“Patton, you okay?” Virgil says, sitting upright.
“What?” Patton says, distracted, briefly turning to face him but not stopping in his trek, “Yeah, I’m fine—”
“Pa, watch out!” one of his kids yelps, but it’s too late—
Patton runs chest-first into one of the hotel staff, who promptly upends their drink tray onto his chest, but Patton barely registers that as the sudden shift of gravity—
“Oh!”
“Careful!”
“Argh!”
His arms pinwheel, scrambling for some kind of balance, but he knows it’s too late even as—
Splash!
Patton starfishes into the pool with a backflop that would surely make Remus incredibly proud.
As soon as he’s in, he’s already getting his bearings—he didn’t even have the dignity to fall somewhere deep, he thinks gloomily—managing to plant his feet on the pool’s floor and attempt to shake out some of the wet.
Oh, no, he’s all wet—from the hair he’d actually tried to style today to his suit jacket to those nice black loafers he got some Christmases ago—and Patton attempts to claw back some shred of decorum as he waves to the hotel lifeguard that he’s perfectly fine, procures his glasses from where they’ve fallen, and wades his way over to the edge of the pool.
He pulls himself up, briefly clambering to stand then taking one step, two, as that object of his distraction has come to a stop right in front of—
Janus is biting his lip, clearly trying his best to keep from laughing at him, his hands clasped together.
Patton miserably sweeps some of his sopping hair out of his eyes.
“Hello, Janus.”
And Janus is smiling at him. Patton cannot help but smile back, though his expression is certainly tinged by his absolute mortification.
“Hello, Patton.”
And there he is. A little bit aged from their last meeting, but still just as handsome: captivating brown eyes, smooth, well-tended skin—Patton remembers well that skincare routine that took up over half of the bathroom counters in mornings and nights—the whorls of his winestain birthmark, just the same across his cheek and sprawling up to his temple, to his hair, longer now, the hair Patton used to twine his fingers into to pull him in and—
“Um,” Patton says, taking a couple steps forward, attempting to wring out some of the water from his suit jacket. “Oh, gosh. I’ve made an absolute mess of it.”
Janus presses his lips together, once again to clearly keep from laughing at him.
Much like the finest wine, Patton thinks, age has only served Janus well.
“Well, I’m just—I don’t know what to say!” Patton blurts out. “I’m stunned to see you, but—but you don’t seem as stunned to see me?”
“Well, if you’d caught sight of me an hour ago,” Janus sighs. “You do know, don’t you, about…?”
“The boys at camp and switching on us? Yes, I do,” Patton says.
“Good—that makes things a bit simpler,” Janus says. “You see, I was told that you knew we were all reuniting here this weekend.”
Patton blinks at him. “I didn’t.”
“I see that.”
“I didn’t even know we were coming here, but then—” Patton says, and the last puzzle pieces click into place. He closes his eyes, wondering what on earth he’s done to earn this sort of treatment.
“Tricked you too, did they?”
“They certainly did,” Patton sighs. “Get-together, right. I did think that attitude took a bit of a one-eighty…”
Then, pivoting, “Where are those little scamps, anyway?”
“Last I looked? With Logan and Virgil—who are not off the hook, as it happens,” Janus says.
Patton closes his eyes tightly, taking a deep breath and wishing he could start this whole interaction over again. “But I’ve got a feeling who the little masterminds are.”
Smiling sheepishly, one of their kids wearing yellow swim-trunks, sunglasses Patton sure doesn’t remember buying, steps into their eyeline.
“You see how the pair of you think so alike,” he says—British accent, it’s Roman, then—“this, sending us to the same camp…”
“Getting married that one time,” the other sing-songs—yellow t-shirt, yellow shorts, with this level of discourtesy it’s surely—
“Oh, God, Remus,” Patton says, sure that the proper parental thing to do in this moment is to be stern, “you’ve been in London all this time!”
“I know!” Remus crows, “everything’s so weird there, it was awesome!” and flings himself into Patton’s arms with absolutely no regard as to how wet he’s surely getting.
Patton holds him tight. He’s missed him, desperately, ever since he practically walked him onto the plane for camp, ever since he realized that the kid he’d picked up from that same airport wasn’t the one he sent away.
He’s missed his unique food inventions, the way he’d sass the guests behind their backs and to their faces sometimes, the way he spoils Sammy and Sprout, his dedication to looking as messy as possible while being very purposeful about the whole thing, his stubbornness and his messiness and his individuality.
He’s even missed his particular brand of mischief, even though this arrangement is surely a new Remus Parker record.
“Dad’s amazing, Pa,” Remus says, his neck craned to look up at Patton. “I don’t know how you ever let him go.”
Patton swallows hard.
“Erm—boys,” Janus says, his voice soft but firm. “why don’t you let your father and I talk alone for a couple of minutes, all right?”
“Sure,” Roman says. “Fine.”
“Take your time,” Remus says, with a tone of innuendo. Patton is entirely uncertain where exactly he’s managed to learn that.
The twins each pause to pick up a truly absurd room-service daiquiri in hand before they scamper off.
Patton sits on a lounger, picking up the nearest towel, lifting his glasses, and patting it against his face.
“I don’t believe it,” Patton says, and then, with a shaky laugh, “what a ridiculous day! Seeing them plotting together—seeing you—ow!” he says, surprised, pressing against an unexpectedly sore spot.
“Oh, dear, let me help you with that—excuse me,” Janus says, flagging down a passing member of the hotel staff, “do you have a first aid kit?”
“Yeah, of course,” she says, already turning to get it.
“You ought to lie back,” Janus suggests.
And Patton, as helpless as he ever was to those beautiful eyes of his, does.
Janus settles himself primly on the edge of the same lounge chair, smoothing his hands over his trousers.
“Here you go.”
“Thanks,” Janus says, opening the kit.
“So,” Patton says and clears his throat. “How are you, Janus? You still go by that, don’t you, you haven’t changed it, or shortened it, now that you’re Mr. Fashion? I remember your dad used to call you Jay…”
“Oh, no, no, Janus is… fine,” he says. “My dad still does call me Jay sometimes, though. Yeah, I’ve been… I’ve been swell.”
He gently presses a damp cloth to Patton’s eyebrow, dabbing at whatever wound Patton has managed to wrangle via falling in the pool.
“Other than the boys causing mischief this summer?”
Janus lets out a weary sigh. His breath smells minty, as if he’s just finished chewing gum. Patton bets that tastes nice.
(The gum! The gum, of course. It smells like it was a nice gum. Pull it together, Parker.)
“Yes, precisely. Other than the boys pulling this trick of theirs.”
Janus frowns at the wound, gently touching Patton’s forehead with his fingers. He’s haloed by the sun, the strands of his hair catching the light—chocolate, mahogany, sepia, caramel, fawn, even a bit of blonde…
“Erm—I hear you’re doing well for yourself, too. Congratulations on your…” Janus looks down at the first aid kit, ripping open a band-aid. “Engagement.”
“Oh,” Patton says, surprised at this; he’d kind of expected Janus to say something snide about it. “Uh—thank you. Did, um. Did the boys tell you?”
“They told me the specifics,” Janus says, still focused prepping the band-aid. “Bit difficult not to tell that you have a new partner, given—”
Patton’s face heats.
“Oh,” he says. “The elevator. The… kissing. Uh, right. Yeah. I’m sorry you had to see that—my boyf—um, fiancé now—he likes… physical affection.”
“As did you, I recall,” Janus says, at last leaning in to place the band-aid on Patton’s forehead.
Patton’s face must be tomato-red by now. “Yeah. It’s just—um. I try not to in… in public. Y’know, PDA.”
“I remember that too.”
“Right,” Patton says breathlessly, “right” as Janus smooths his warm, dry fingers over the band-aid.
“I suppose,” Janus says, and then, quite coolly, “I just didn’t expect you to be with someone so… purely physical.”
There it is. That cutting wit, that sharp sarcasm that Patton fell—
“You know,” Patton says, unsurprised to find himself smiling. “You haven’t changed a bit.”
“Finally!”
Patton jumps.
“There you are,” Maddox says, then, “Oh, good, you’ve met! Honey, Janus designs wedding outfits, and he’s going to make my…”
Maddox trails off, at last taking in the tableau before him—Janus, hands removed from Patton’s face, but still sitting quite close to him, close enough that Patton might be able to smell if he’s still using the same cologne if his nostrils weren’t so clogged with chlorine—a frown crossing his face. “Wait, um. I don’t understand. How did you two meet?”
And, at last seeming to take in the fullness of the image before him, Maddox’s nose wrinkles. “And, Patty, why are you all wet?”
Patton turns to Janus in disbelief.
“You’re making my fiancé’s wedding suit.”
“Well, I didn’t know he was your fiancé—”
“Well,” Patton says with a helpless shrug, before he turns back to Maddox. “How did we meet—how did you two meet?”
“Am I missing something here?” Maddox says.
“You know,” Patton says, beginning to sweat very hard indeed, “this is one small world!”
“How small?” Maddox says.
And then the twins—as it seems is their only option when in the same room together, Patton’s starting to think—take it upon themselves to add even more chaos and confusion.
“Hi, Mads!” Roman says.
“Hello,” Maddox says, looking down at him.
Remus takes his opportunity, stepping on his other side and beaming up at Maddox in a way that instantly makes Patton suspicious.
“Hey, Maddy!”
Maddox shrieks, his hands flying to his mouth—he looks from one twin—to the other—
Patton clears his throat.
“Erm—I was gonna,” he tries, and then gives up. “Honey, did I ever get around to mentioning that Remus was a twin?”
“No,” Maddox gasps, clutching at his throat. “No, I think you neglected to mention that little detail!”
“Don’t feel bad, Mads,” Remus says breezily, “he never mentioned it to me, either.”
Patton winces. But it’s fair enough.
“By the way,” he adds, his eyes glinting in the summer sun. “I’m the real Remus. The evil twin.”
“Sweetie, you’re not evil,” Patton tries, and is summarily ignored by everyone.
“This is Roman. You’ve been dealing with the good twin all summer,” Remus continues. “And this—”
He swivels, jazz-handing in the direction of Janus.
“—is our father, Janus James.”
“This. Is your father?”
“Yes,” the twins chorus.
“You,” Maddox says, pointing at Janus, “were married to him?” and the index finger jabs at Patton.
“Guilty again,” Janus says.
“This is a small world,” Maddox says.
Patton tugs anxiously at his shirt collar as he nods in agreement.
“And,” Maddox says, “What a coincidence that we’re all here on the exact same weekend!”
The twins both smile.
After eleven years of experience with one Remus Parker, Patton knows well to be wary of that smile.
“My, my, my,” Maddox says, a vein in his neck bulging. “How sweet!”
Patton plays the Hail Mary of getting out of this uniquely awkward, horrible interaction.
“Excuse me,” he calls out to the lifeguard, “would you mind checking to see if I’ve been concussed?”
⁂
It’s certainly very glitzy in here.
Everything is tinged in a very particular shade of blue—he’s told that’s a very important part of their branding—and there’s so much shimmer.
Diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies, and all their variants: they shine from necklace settings, from earrings, from bracelets.
And, of course, from the object they’ve come here to Tiffany’s to look at: they glint and gleam from rings. Lots and lots and lots of rings.
It’s a pleasant enough environment to distract from the conversation he’s having.
“I’m sorry,” Maddox says. “I just don’t see why you have to have dinner with your ex-husband and his little ‘Mary Poppins’ accent.”
Patton, resoundingly out of his depth, resolves to just keep the jewelry cases free of any of his smudgy fingerprints. “The boys arranged it.”
“Oh,” Maddox says, mouth twisting, “the boys,” and turns to face the case. “Well, that all makes sense.”
“What?” Patton says, confused. “What makes sense?”
“Can we have some help over here, please,” Maddox calls to a saleswoman, before he sighs, turning to face Patton.
“Oh, baby, it’s so obvious. Why can’t you just meet in the lobby, discuss the custody, shake hands, and say good-bye?”
Patton swallows at the thought.
“Because,” Maddox continues, “your sons don’t want me to marry you.”
“That’s not true,” Patton objects.
“Excuse me, it’s totally true. They see me as the evil step-father,” Maddox says, then, to the saleswoman, “Can I try the emerald cut, please? No, not that one—the bigger one—the biggest one—”
“Honey, it’s not that,” Patton objects. “They’ve never had a meal with both their parents in all their lives—how could I say no?”
Maddox sighs but seems to drop in light of the engagement ring, at last on his finger. He examines the ring on his finger, turning his hand to and fro.
“This is incredible,” he sighs, before he leans back against Patton, wiggling his hand so the diamond flashes in the light.
Patton presses a kiss to his temple. “If you love it, I love it.”
Maddox squeals, throwing his arms around Patton’s shoulders, before he pulls back to beam at him.
“I love it.”
⁂
“Tell me why we should continue on this plan of yours, when I have no idea what you’re doing, considering your track record of the past day alone?”
Roman considers this for a moment, even as he’s debating which earrings to wear. (Obviously, he should wear the gold studs, but Janus is trying to parent Roman so that he’ll formulate his own opinions and generally be a functioning person in society.)
“Because most of the track record of the past day has been Remus?” Roman tries.
“Who is also involved in this plan.”
“...and also we kind of have a lot of stuff in place already. So if you don’t show, you’ll be blowing off a reservation.”
Janus places his pocketbook in front of his face for a moment so that he can school his expression. Damn, of course Roman would know how he feels about plans being disrupted and disrespecting other people’s time, he only complains about it constantly.
“And! And and and,” Roman says excitedly, “it’s an opportunity to put on that fun new outfit that I know Uncle Logan packed for you! You love opportunities for fun new outfits!”
Of course he does. He is a fashion designer.
“...which one?” Janus says, tempted, and Roman rushes into the closet where Logan has very thoughtfully put away all his clothes.
Roman comes back lugging a hanger loaded down with black fabric, and Janus knows the fun outfit in question by sight even before Roman says anything.
“The little black number!”
Janus’s latest answer to the evergreen little-black-dress number that many, many women have told him they relied upon: a sleek pair of tailored black trousers, and the shirt: when Janus had tried it on, it had made Vendela sigh if I were a man, and if I had your arms…
He’ll look incredible in that outfit. He knows he’ll look incredible in that outfit.
Janus clears his throat, and he takes the hanger in the most dignified way he can manage.
“I knew you’d love it!”
“One toe out of line,” he says to Roman.
“Sure,” Roman says happily. “But Dad—I bet Papa’s going to love it too!”
“Off with you,” Janus says, and, as Roman scampers off to his own room to pull together the last details of his own look, it makes Janus wonder about how much the twins have rubbed off on each other; Janus could have sworn Roman wasn’t this cheeky prior to summer camp.
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CATFA: Part Five
Pairing: Ikaris x Female!Reader, Bucky Barnes x Female!Reader
Word Count: ~2.1k
Warnings: canon violence and angst
Author’s Note: any and all comments are appreciated <3
x
The promise you made to Bucky will stand firm because you're not going to let anything happen to Steve. He's eager to get started, even after seeing his other recruits in boot camp. You're off to the side since you've already done this and are allowed to observe. A very slim young woman approaches the recruits with a serious look on her face.
"Recruits, attention! Gentlemen, I'm Agent Peggy Carter. I supervise all operations for this division."
"What's with the accent, Queen Victoria? Thought I was signing up for the U.S. Army," one of the recruits asks with a smirk.
"What's your name, soldier?"
"Gilmore Hodge, your Majesty."
"Step forward, Hodge," she orders, and he does as he's told. "Put your right foot forward."
"Mmm, we gonna wrassle? Because I got a few moves I know you'll like," he winks.
Peggy pulls her fist back and punches him square in the jaw. He falls to the ground in shock as blood squirts out of his nose. The Colonel picks the right time to come in on a jeep.
"Agent Carter."
"Colonel Phillips."
"I see you're breaking in the candidates. That's good!" he turns to the fallen soldier. "Get your ass up out of that dirt and stand in that line at attention until somebody tells you what to do."
"Yes, sir," Hodge sniffles as he tries to keep the blood inside his nose.
"General Patton has said that wars are fought with weapons," the Colonel begins, "but they are won by men. We are going to win this war because we have the best men and because they're gonna get better. Much better. The Strategic Scientific Reserve is an Allied effort made up of the best minds in the free world. Our goal is to create the best army in history. But every army starts with one man. At the end of this week, we will choose that man. He will be the first in a new breed of super-soldiers, and they will personally escort Adolf Hitler to the gates of Hell."
Steve has always had trouble trying to fit in wherever he went. This training camp was no different. The other recruits saw his size and immediately thought he couldn't do it. They made his life hell here, but Steve was a fighter. He never gave up even when things looked a little bleak.
When you were a recruit, you had gone through the same hell as them, only more difficult. Your recruitment officer wanted to make it as tough as possible to prove a woman couldn't do it. When you passed with flying colors, he knew you weren't an ordinary woman.
The recruits are doing their run around the camp, but you're hanging out with Dr. Erskine and Peggy in a jeep waiting for them to get to the halfway point.
"Y/N, I'd like to talk about your academy results if you don't mind," the doctor asks.
"What about them?"
Dr. Erskine and Peggy look at one another as if they know something you don't. He tries to get the words out of his mouth, but Peggy takes over.
"How you passed with such perfect scores."
"Hard work, I guess."
"Yes, that's what I thought until I looked at the footage." Dr. Erskine takes out photos that were developed from the footage since he can't show you personally. The first photo is of you alone in the camp when you thought no one was around to see you. The next photo is of you hunched over as you're in the middle of transforming into an animal. The third photo is of you as the animal. The fourth photo is you running away from the spot into the woods behind the camp. "Care to explain?"
"No," you shake your head.
"Not even the best candidates of your group got perfect scores, yet, you did. Now, unless you'd like me to show this to authorities, I suggest you start explaining."
Well, there is no use in lying to them now, so you come clean.
"I'm not human. I'm from a planet called Xenia, and I came to Earth nearly a thousand years ago. Believe me or not, I'm not the bad guy here. I'm a shapeshifting avatar that can control the elements. I can turn into anything and anyone as long as it's living."
To demonstrate, you use your aerokinesis and cause the wind to pick up. There are no clouds in the sky, but you solidify the water molecules in the air, causing them to sprinkle down onto the three of you. Peggy looks up in shock when she doesn't see any clouds above her.
"I once belonged to a government that only wanted to inflict pain. They were bullies. I put a stop to it, and I've been bouncing from planet to planet trying to help them. All I want here is to help," you say and cease all activity. Peggy and Dr. Erksine aren't nearly as shocked as you thought they were going to be. "You two don't seem that shocked."
"We're looking for someone to be experimented on with a serum we've created. It will enhance their speed, strength, and stamina. We like to say we're building a super soldier to help us win the war," Dr. Erskine reveals.
"We'd like your input."
"Sure." The unmistakable sound of feet stomping on the ground can be heard from where you are. The recruits are coming this way. "I guess it goes without saying that I'd like for my secret to remain a secret."
"We'll keep yours if you'll keep ours."
"Deal."
You look back and see everyone running in two lines, but Steve is all the way in the back and falling behind. Seeing him so battered and bruised makes you think about the promise you made to Bucky. Then, you think about Bucky and how you miss him so much. He's in England right now fighting for his life without you by his side. Maybe this weekend, when you have off, you'll fly over there and see how he's doing.
"That flag means we're at the halfway point!" the instructor points to a flagpole ten feet off to the side. "The first man to bring it to me rides back with Agent Carter! Move!"
All ten recruits rush to the flagpole and try to get to the flag, but they're all failing. Some try to climb it but only get a few feet off the ground. They try to help each other up, but none can pass the halfway point up the pole.
"Nobody's got that flag in seventeen years! Now fall back in line! Come on, fall in!" All the recruits fall back in line, but Steve hasn't gotten his turn to try. "Rogers, I said fall in!"
Steve looks at the flagpole and notices the base of it. There is a latch that can be undone. He pulls it free from the base, allowing the flagpole to fall to the ground in a defining thump. Everyone is shocked into silence when Steve grabs the flag. You and Peggy look at the instructor with smirks on your faces; you're kind of proud of Steve for using his brain. He hands the flag to the instructor and gets into the backseat of the jeep.
Once everyone gets back to the main area for training, it's time for more exercises. All the recruits need to do push-ups over and over again, and everyone does them well except for Steve. He's trying his best, but he can't seem to keep up with everyone else.
"Faster, ladies! Come on. My grandmother has more life in her, God rest her soul. Move it!" Peggy barks orders at the recruits.
You're off to the side watching them when you notice Dr. Erskine and the Colonel talking by one of the keeps. The Colonel takes a grenade from the back, takes out the safety pin, and throws it into the pit of recruits.
"Grenade!"
If you don't do something soon, then it's going to blow up. You stick your hand out and use your aerokinesis to manipulate the air around the grenade to throw it somewhere else. All the recruits hide behind objects that could protect themselves, but Steve jumps on top of the Grenade to take the fall for everyone else. You, Peggy, the doctor, and the Colonel stare at him in wonder as the recruits look at him like he's crazy.
"Is this a test?" Steve asks when the grenade doesn't blow up.
He's proving to be the one they need for the serum, even if the Colonel doesn't think so. He's passed every test and done everything they've asked for regardless if it's harder for the other recruits to do it.
When it was clear who they were going to pick for the serum, Dr. Erskine came clean to Steve about what was really going on. Steve was apprehensive, but he was ready to take that final step. That final step leads you back to Brooklyn. You're in the car with Peggy and Steve and you can already feel some sort of tension. It's nothing bad, but it's definitely something.
"I know this neighborhood," Steve recognizes the area. "I got beat up in that alley, that parking lot, and behind that diner."
"Did you have something against running away?"
"If you start running and they'll never let you stop. So, you stand up and push back. Can't say no forever, right?"
"I know a little of what that's like. To have every door shut in your face."
"I guess I just don't know why you'd wanna join the army if you're a beautiful dame," Steve says. He realizes his choice of words and stutters out an apology. "Or a beautiful... a woman. An agent, not a dame! You are beautiful, but—"
"You have no idea how to talk to a woman, do you?" she interrupts him.
You snicker under your breath, and he lightly kicks your shin to get you to stop. It's his way of telling you to shut the fuck up.
"This is the longest conversation I've had with one. Women aren't exactly lining up to dance with a guy they might step on."
"You must have danced?"
"Asking a woman to dance always seems so terrifying. The past few years just didn't seem to matter that much. I'd figured I'd wait."
"For what?"
"The right partner." Peggy stares at him in admiration just as the car pulls up to an antique store. You're the first one out, then Peggy, and finally Steve. "What are we doing here?"
Peggy leads you two inside an antique store, and the owner comes out to greet Peggy.
"Wonderful weather this morning isn't it?"
"Yes, but I always carry an umbrella."
The owner gives her a nod, and Agent Carter leads you two to a bookcase in the back which opens up to reveal that they were, in fact, doors. She took the lead down to a hidden lab in a big circular room filled with machinery and a pod in the middle.
"Good morning," Dr. Erskine announces when he sees you. He shakes your and Steve's hands respectively. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah," Steve acknowledges.
"Good. Take off your shirt, your tie, and your hat," he commands. As soon as he achieves that, he climbs into the pod that is ready whenever he is. "Comfortable?"
"It's a little big. You save me any of that schnapps?" he asks the doctor.
"Not as much as I should have. Sorry. Next time. Mr. Stark, how are your levels?"
Howard Stark comes onto the platform, and you stare at him in admiration. He made an impression when you saw him at the Exposition of Tomorrow. It's fitting that he's working on this project since he's brilliant.
"Levels at 100%. We may dim half the lights in Brooklyn, but we're ready as we'll ever be."
"Agent Carter? Don't you think you would be more comfortable in the booth?" the doctor inquires.
"Oh, yes, of course."
You turn to follow her, but Steve grabs your arm to prevent you from leaving.
"Stay, please."
"I'm right here," you whisper and stay by his side.
After a few moments of silence, the doctor picks up a microphone to talk to the people inside the booth as they watch from above.
"Ladies and gentlemen, today, we take not another step towards annihilation, but the first step toward the path to peace. We begin with a series of micro-injections into the subject's major muscle groups. The serum infusion will cause immediate cellular change. Then, to stimulate growth, the subject will be saturated with Vita-Rays."
Wow, if only Markus was this thorough with you back then. Another doctor in the room stuck a needle in Steve's arm and quickly injects whatever is inside.
"That wasn't so bad," Steve comments.
"That was penicillin," the doctor informs him. "Serum infusion beginning in five, four, three, two, one."
The serum is injected into Steve's arm at the end of the countdown. The Doctor gives a thumbs-up to Howard, and the inventor pulls a lever that encloses Steve into the pod and stands him upright. Dr. Erskine walks to the tiny window and knocks on it.
"Steven, can you hear me?"
"It's probably too late to go to the bathroom, right?"
"We will proceed," the doctor nods.
x
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Name's Ace, He/They. I used to have a blog by the same name but I deleted it a few years ago. Regretting that now. Mostly I miss all my friends I got in this fandom RIP.
I take fic requests, no guarantee how quickly I'll get through them though, so fair warning. (You can send via ask or reply to this post or message me, I do not bite, I prommy.)
Fics below cut (some have been updated with Janus's name, some have not):
Why Do I- Virgil reflects on past and current happenings, mostly his estranged relationship with Janus, a side he had once called a friend. POV Virgil experiencing angst. (Canon-verse) tumblr
Acquired Taste- Rated T. Logan is feeling a bit rejected and dejected, but he finds company in a similarly discouraged side. (Canon-verse)[Can be read as Intrulogical]
You Haunt Me And I Like It (Unfinished)- Rated M. Virgil has had a lot of roommates. The only thing, is they never really knew he was there. That's what happens when you've been stuck in the same apartment as a non corporeal being for nearly one hundred years. Recently two more moved in and one of them is a little more fun to play with, being the biggest skeptic he's ever known, that is, until he's presented with indisputable proof. (Human AU, Ghost AU)[Analogical, Royality, Demus]
Hat- Rated T. "Why do you like that hat so much?" Roman has a question and he's going to get answers. (Canon-verse)
Conceal, Don't Feel- Rated T. Hey, so uh, what if the whole Orange situation got bad? Like… real bad? Logan is struggling. Can he still save everyone? CW vague suicide attempt? (Canon-verse)
Coping- Rated T. "I just want an intruloceit fic where they decide to break out the wine and drunkenly karaoke billie eilish songs together in the dark sides common room, is that so much to ask?" ~ l0rd-0f-the-lies (Canon-verse)[Intruloceit]
Lights Out- Rated T. The power goes out and Logan is afraid of the dark but also Remus to the rescue so it's fine. Contrived situation is contrived. (Canon-verse)[Intrulogical]
It Took Me By Surprise- Rated T. Sometimes people who are sick and hurting (Virgil) hurt others (Logan) on accident, but it being an accident doesn't erase the pain. (Canon-verse, song fic)
Dissociate- Rated T. Logan can't duck out. So he does the next 'best' thing. (Canon-verse)[Intrulogical]
Heather- Rated T. Janus likes Virgil, Virgil likes Roman. (Human AU, High School AU)[Anxceit, Prinxiety]
The Floor Is Lava- Rated G. Remus is chaotic and Logan helps him be chaotic in less destructive ways. (Canon-verse)[Intrulogical]
Philosophically Cute- Rated G. Logan and Janus go clothes shopping. (Human AU) [Loceit]
Pride and Problem Solving- Rated G. Roman uses a nickname that causes Logan to reflect which then leads to a heart to heart. (Canon-verse)[Logince]
Trouble- Rated T. Virgil felt like he was going insane. And why? All because one side in particular wouldn't stop flaunting around in his new look. (Canon-verse, Song fic)[Prinxiety]
Valentine's Day- Rated T. Patton was just about vibrating with excitement for Valentine's Day. They were doing a secret Santa type thing with a theme. The theme was loosely collage. He came up with it all by himself. He made sure everyone was invited so they could be more like a real famILY. (Canon-verse)
The Prince And His Fish (unfinished)- Rated T. Prince Roman is half mermaid and falls hopelessly head over heels for a full mermaid (Logan). Very few in the kingdom know, but this secret may end up saving it. (Human AU, Mermaid AU)[Logince, Moxiety, Sleepceit]
Good Things Fall Apart- Rated T. Virgil self-sabotages and breaks up with Roman. (Human AU, song fic) [Prinxiety]
Obligatory Beach Episode- Rated T. Requested by mermaidgirl928 on instagram: "Maybe do something of the sides at the beach?" (Human AU)
Reunion- Rated T. The gang gets together every year, but this year is the first Remus will be joining them after his time travelling the country. He runs into a problem very quickly, he's alone in a cabin with his high school crush that he's not so over. (Human AU)[Intruality, Loceit, Prinxiety]
1 and 3/2 Men- Rated T. Human Roman moves into his own apartment and ends up meeting his… smaller roommates. Read the tags for warnings! (Human AU, Borrower AU)[Prinxiety, Logicality]
What is Love? (unfinished, dicontinued)- Rated T. Crack fic. (Canon-verse)[Logicality, Prinxiety]
8 Letters- Rated T. An song fic feat Remus and Roman being brothers who care about each other but happened to fall for the same person (Patton). (Human AU, Song fic)[Intruality]
Bonfire- Rated T. A small town high school tradition turns into yet another wild night. (Human AU, High School AU)[Logicality, Demus]
The Monster of Mental Illness- Rated M for suicidal thoughts. Virgil has a tough day but his friends help him out. (Human AU, College AU)
Monsters- Rated T. It was supposed to just be a normal night. A normal party on a normal night. Of course it was Halloween, but still fairly normal. So what changed on a night that should have been as normal as the rest? Well, Roman had pissed off a warlock, go figure. How’d he do that? He wouldn’t say, but knowing him it could have been a wide range of things. That was in the past anyway. Right now they had a serious problem. Said warlock had done them up Kalabar's Revenge style via potion. (Human AU, Magic AU) [Royality]
Trouble Makers (Series)- Rated G. Logan and Remus adopted a little cutie named Virgil. Patton and Dee adopted a little cutie named Roman. Good luck to them. (Human AU) [Intrulogical, Moceit]
Someone You Loved- Rated T. Virgil lashed out and he's not sure if anyone is coming back for him this time. (Canon-verse, song fic)
Happier- Rated T. The 'light' sides don't approve of Remus's and Logan's relationship, and Remus feels guilty. (Canon-verse, song fic) [Intrulogical]
OOC- Rated T. Logan asks Roman to take him to the Imagination for... reasons. (Canon-verse)[Logince]
An Invitation- Rated T. Patton seeks to make up for his mistakes with Deceit and Remus. (Canon-verse)
Liar, Liar, Tears of Fire- Rated M for Remus. Logan has heard it all one too many times and has had enough. That's it, he's moving to be with the people who consistently care about and respect him. (Canon-verse) [Loceit]
Villains- Rated M for violence and gore. Janus and Remus found each other in their rejection by and of society. They now use their powers to get even with corrupt officials, and they have definitely gone too far. (Supervillain AU) [Demus]
Dreams (series)- Rated T. Dee has a traumatic past, but is looking forward to the future. His match on Generic Dating App (Patton) is just the start. (Human AU)
Accidental Slumber Party- Rated G. Prompt based: “In the end no one took the couch.” by creativepromptsforwriting. Platonic with some mild flirting. (Human AU)
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Inherited Mess Pt. 4
First: Link Previous: Link Next: Link
Morning Gossip
Virgil woke at his usual time, not the earliest, but early enough since he enjoyed getting his run in while most of the house was still sleeping or getting their morning drinks. He liked being alone while training himself, but now that was off the table while he had to keep an eye on the spoiled brat known as Roman Prince.
“I put an extra shot of espresso in yours.” Janus chuckled as he sipped from his coffee, an extra mug on the counter next to him. They had a silent agreement that whoever got up first made the coffee. “It's going to be a time to get his royal highness out of bed at a decent hour.”
“I have my tricks.”
“You're going to end up picking him up.”
“Probably.” Virgil took a big gulp of his coffee, the warmth feeling good on his throat. “Remy said he heard Adrien’s annoyed that I'm on princey duty.”
“When isn't Adrien annoyed at something Remus decides?” Janus scoffed. “Even before we lost Micah, Adrien was gunning for Remus to reject taking over.”
“He probably wanted Remus to step down and just hand it over to him. He hates change and knows that he doesn’t have his grubby paws in Remus and can’t easily convince him to do things he doesn’t want.”
“Little does he know that the youngest ones of the group hate his guts and would never listen to him. There’s a reason I never let him be alone with Patton.”
“Who’s not allowed to be alone with me?” Patton asked, only catching the very end of Janus’ comment as he came into the kitchen, still dressed in his nightwear of bright blue pajamas with white clouds.
“Adrien,” Janus answered, seeming to relax the moment he saw Patton.
“He’s a grump,” Patton stated.
“He’s an asshole,” Virgil said into his cup as he downed the rest of his coffee.
“Well, that too, but I don’t like saying it.” Patton shrugged as he started pulling supplies out of the cabinets.
“Because you’re too adorable for this world.” Virgil chuckled. “I still don’t get how you’re involved in an assassination-centric business and dating Janus out of all people.”
“Okay, rude.” Janus protested.
“I’m dating him because he’s fun, kind, and caring.” Patton listed off as he went to the fridge and grabbed milk and eggs.
“That’s all lies. It’s the sex, isn’t it?” Virgil joked, pointing it more toward Janus and getting the eye roll he was aiming for.
“It is a nice bonus.” Patton giggled. Janus choked on his coffee and faced the sink as he coughed, Virgil nearly dropping his mug from laughing so hard.
“Are you all having fun without me?” Remy strolled in, looking like he had literally just rolled out of bed, hair messy, shirt missing, and the legs to his sweatpants uneven. He rested his elbow on Virgil’s shoulder, using the few inches of height he had on him to do so.
“We’re talking about why I’m dating Janus,” Patton explained, squatting down to get a large bowl out of a different cabinet.
“It’s the sex, right?” Remy asked without missing a beat, getting Virgil to break out into another hard laugh.
“I swear you three make everything about sex.” Janus huffed. “I’m thankful Remus isn’t up yet, or I’d be throwing the rest of the coffee out the window.”
“Not the coffee!” Remy exaggerated his protest. “I’m such a bitch without it.” He added as he slipped away from Virgil to make himself a mug.
“You’re one with it,” Virgil said.
“I’m sassy with it, but without it, I am so mean.” Remy played up his tone again. “And, speaking of sex, how long are you going to be able to keep your hands off of our dear boss’ brother?”
“I’m going to end up strangling him if I do put hands on him. He is obnoxious.” Virgil grunted the last part.
“You know, you said the same thing about me, and we’ve had our fun together~” Remy sang, leaning over and poking the tip of Virgil’s nose.
“We are not bringing that up.” Virgil slapped Remy’s hand away.
“Oh, but we can talk about me and Patton?” Janus clicked his tongue.
“You and Patton are still a thing. Me and Remy were years ago. We don’t bring up old dirt.” Virgil stated.
“Old dirt?” Remy scoffed. “I don’t recall you thinking that when we were-”
“I have a brat to go wake up.” Virgil stopped Remy’s comment and quickly left the kitchen.
“I give it a week before we find Roman stumbling out of Virgil’s room.” Remy chuckled.
“I’d say a little less than a month.” Janus countered.
“I don’t know the timing, but I do know they’re going to kiss after yelling at each other, have some awkward tension, and then realize their affection for each other.” Patton almost sounded like he was telling a prophecy as he measured some flour.
“If he’s right, I’m kissing him.” Remy laughed.
“Only if you want stabbed.” Janus’ threat got Remy to laugh more.
x~x~x
“Rise and shine, sleeping beauty,” Virgil said as he flicked on the lights to Roman’s bedroom.
“No,” Roman grumbled, putting the pillow over his face.
“Yes,” Virgil said in a mocking tone, walking over to the bed. “Training starts today, so it’s time to stop pouting.”
“Screw off.” Roman’s voice was muffled.
“If only I could,” Virgil muttered before grabbing the blanket and yanking it off Roman.
“Hey!” Roman moved his pillow to cover his chest.
“Your brother sleeps naked. I’ve seen much worse of the Prince’s bodies.” Virgil tossed the blanket aside and went to the closet, grabbing the first shirt he saw and throwing it at Roman. “Now, get dressed and let’s go.”
“I’m getting dressed, but I’m not going anywhere,” Roman said as he slipped the shirt over his head, staying seated on the bed to add to his point.
“We’re going for a run.”
“A run? Who runs at this hour?”
“A good handful of us, now up.” Virgil felt like he was talking to a stubborn puppy.
“I am not running. You are out of your mind.” Roman crossed his arms.
“I tried to be nice.” Virgil sighed.
“You did not-Virgil!” Roman shouted when he was suddenly thrown over Virigl’s shoulder and carried out of his room. “Put me down this instant!”
Remus, having heard Roman, stepped out of his bedroom in just some boxers and instantly started laughing at his brother’s struggle.
“Looks like the first day is already going great.”
“Remus! Tell him to put me down now! I am not-” Roman’s demands died off when he noticed the scars all over Remus’ chest, and one stood out like a sore thumb. “You’ve been shot?” His tone got Virgil to stop and put him down. This was for the two of them to talk about, and Virgil stepped aside for them to figure out what they were doing.
“A while ago, I’m fine,” Remus spoke too casually for Roman’s liking.
“How did I not know you’ve been shot? It’s a massive scar on your shoulder, and then there are the other scars, too. Why don’t I know about any of those?” Roman couldn’t tell if he was pissed or saddened. It became a painful mix of the two, and it caused a sour ache in his stomach.
“I don’t know.” Remus chewed the inside of his cheek.
“I don’t know about this business, I don’t know how many times you’ve gotten hurt, what else don’t I know?”
“I don’t know.”
“When will I?”
“I don’t know.”
“Remus!”
“I need to go.” Remus went back into his room, closing and locking it before Roman could try to open it back up.
“Remus! Remus Prince, what the fuck!?” Roman slammed his fist against the door several times. “Remus!”
“Remus?” Logan’s voice was almost a whisper compared to Roman’s.
“Damn it!” Roman hit the door one more time before finally stopping, and his stomping footsteps slowly faded.
“Remus?” Logan tried again as he finished putting his pants on, not bothering to button his shirt, and walked over to Remus. “Is everything okay?”
“Roman didn’t know I got shot.” Remus looked confused. “I mean, I know he never saw me when I was healing because he got sick again, but…my parents never told him.”
“Maybe they just didn’t want him to worry,” Logan suggested, placing a gentle hand on Remus’ chin and guiding him to turn his head to look at him. “But you should talk to him after he’s calmed down. If he’s anything like you, he needs to clear his head first.”
“Virgil will be sure he gets all of that out.” Remus took hold of Logan’s hand and kissed his palm, trailing a few kisses down his wrist and arm.
“Would you like for me to help clear your head?” Logan asked with a chuckle.
“Only if you want to, LoLo~” Remus grinned and laughed when Logan kissed him before pushing him back onto the bed.
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No Hugs, Please - Chapter 8
Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3 | Ch4 | Ch5 | Ch6 | Ch7
Word Count: 1251
Warnings: Not much, just a misinterpretation of the situation
Notes: This one's a short chapter to kind of set up the next part of the story. As is always the case with 'Angst with a Happy Ending', things have to get worse before they can get better.
--
Change was inevitable.
But such a quick evolution could never have been expected.
Patton had stopped hugging him. Roman had stopped, too, but Logan had to admit it was such a bizarre shift in behavior for Patton especially.
At first, Logan had thought it'd been an oddly quiet and mostly-peaceful day as he observed the others and attempted to partake in his new journaling activity, only to later realize a full thirty-nine hours had passed without a single hug from Patton. That was bizarre, to say the least, but when he checked on the side, Thomas' morality appeared emotionally stable and sticking to his common routines. Each time he checked, Patton was doing his usual activities–watching cartoons, baking cookies, and making puns–nothing unusual or indicative of being upset.
However, at one point, Patton noticed Logan’s presence in the kitchen, and he watched as Patton exited the room to suddenly pull Roman and Virgil into an extra-tight hug, squeezing the other two with a big smile on his face.
While Logan was grateful to not be involved in that interaction for once, it did make him wonder…
What had he done to cause this?
–
Three full days had passed, and no hugs from Patton or Roman.
He should be glad, considering he hadn’t had a single chill run down his spine or experienced any overwhelming nausea from unwelcome contact for days now, but, surprisingly, he found the absence of such disgust and discomfort unfamiliar, likely after so many years of having to get used to it.
He'd studied the other sides for so long to understand their tells and desires, categorized what they enjoyed and disliked, all for the sake of conflict resolution management whenever it would be needed. He thought he knew them quite well at this point, so for them to abruptly change like this? It was perplexing.
Patton gave hugs as if they were currency, and his admiration was both the mint and the distributing bank. Sure, he hardly seemed to spare a thought for Logan's reaction to such a thing, but it was clear Patton wouldn't pass up an opportunity to give anyone and everyone a hug, especially when he was in such a chipper mood.
And if Patton was otherwise acting normally, and engaging with that activity with the others, but was now avoiding that type of contact with Logan then that clearly meant something was wrong. More specifically, it meant Logan had done something wrong.
If hugs indicated Patton's love, then the sudden lack of hugs potentially indicated his ire.
Logan must have truly upset him, because, as he’d come to learn over the years, Patton was always very forgiving. For him to abandon such a principle, he must have believed Logan had crossed a line and that his apology the other day hadn’t been nearly adequate enough to resolve it.
That must have been the missing piece of the situation that he’d struggled to understand. The reason the conversation had felt so off the other day was because Logan merely apologizing was nowhere near equal to the inordinate damage he’d caused.
He hadn’t thought to equate his disruptive behavior with an equivalent apology or any additional steps that may need to be made. He’d been so focused on apologizing so they wouldn’t assume he was shirking his promises of improvement that he hadn’t bothered to consider their emotional turmoil and to utilize a proper apology and reparations instead of just doing what he wanted.
But perhaps it wasn’t too late.
–
Back to the figurative drawing board, Logan returned to his room to review what he knew and determine his next step.
He had to admit, he was rather relieved to not have to endure physical contact with the other sides, but he knew it shouldn’t come at the steep cost of the mutual friendship that he’d worked so meticulously to maintain for several years. Besides, he’d already prepared himself to handle physical contact over the years, so it would only be a waste if it no longer occurred, right?
He would continue his current methods and improvements on his behavior to prevent reactions to that contact, just as initially planned, and also fix whatever this new problem was in the meantime.
Now, the quotient of Patton’s forgiveness would require more than an apology to determine its result. There was a missing factor to the equation, so he simply needed to review past debacles and their favorable outcomes in order to determine the best approach.
Though, Logan couldn’t help but wonder if he would truly be forgiven, considering he had known Patton and Roman to be so physically affectionate for their entire existences. For them to both suddenly stop like this, he was sure they must have done so intentionally, implying their dissatisfaction with him and his behavior was steadfast and may be difficult to disrupt.
But that would also mean their claim of forgiveness the other night was a farce. They had…lied. But why?
He supposed there could be many reasons someone may lie in any given conversation, considering how often it can happen for any purpose. Perhaps they didn’t wish to speak their mind in the moment and wanted to settle the issue another time? Or maybe they were under the impression they needed to maintain pleasant conversation due to Logan being the one that breached the topic during their evening activities but they feared his reaction if they were honest?
Was that it? They were moving the conversation along quickly so they could maintain the necessary distance due to his earlier outburst?
Logan could understand the concern on their behalf, but that meant even his assurance that no further misbehavior would occur wasn’t enough to sway their perception.
He really would have to do something more to properly resolve the situation.
Well, outside of their penchant for physical affection, he knew that Roman and Patton certainly enjoyed gifts, and he had already intended to spend more time with Virgil (eventually, that is), so perhaps he could offer them something as a form of appeasement alongside an additional apology to the group. Ah, but his words weren’t enough last time. That plan would be too formal, whereas Roman and Patton preferred dramatic, emotional gestures. He’d simply have to do better!
He would determine appropriate gifts to give to each of them, but perhaps to show his genuine intentions, he could present them to the other sides individually with a rehearsed and more emotionally-worded apology, as well as a more confident acknowledgement of his dedication to behavioral change and betterment.
Surely, that was the answer here. Covering every concern, resolving each aspect of the problem, and showing that he'd already made progress should do the trick this time!
And if that still didn’t work, then supposed he would simply have to move forward with this new setting where the other sides refused to get along with him. He could likely manage with them acting more like colleagues, getting tasks done but not as a family unit, he was sure of that. It wouldn’t be ideal, as his work up to this point will have gone to waste, but he could make the best of it for Thomas’ sake in the end…right?
He tried not to dwell on the thought.
Determining the best options for gifts would be a welcome distraction at the moment, anyway, so he got to work yet again.
No matter what happened in result, he knew he needed to try his best.
--
Taglist: @angels-are-beautiful @falseh0od @illogicalthinking @malqueeb @honeybee125 @rizzyluke @pricklyfish777 @kingbinoftrashland @captainthomasrobbie
#logan sanders#logan angst#fanfiction#sanders sides#patton sanders#roman sanders#no hugs please#a short chapter but still a long post
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Day 6: Learning To Dance
For @moxiety-week
Word Count: 1289
Rating: Gen
Pairing: Moxiety 💙💜 background Roceit
Warnings: none
~~~START~~~
“I don’t think I’m supposed to be here,” Patton whispered as he marveled at the high, vaulted ceilings of the Royal Ballroom.
Virgil glanced around too, though not nearly as impressed as Patton was. “It’s prettier when there’s a party.”
“You hate parties,” Patton chuckled.
“Yeah, but before all the people get here, and the decorations are up, and the musicians are setting up on stage… you’d love it.”
“I love it now!”
Virgil smiled as he watched Patton explore the large room. It was dark, but the enormous windows taking up the entire south wall allowed the full moon to illuminate the space just enough to see with.
Virgil had been the Royal Tailor’s son back in Mentiroso, but as the only other child in the castle close to the King’s youngest son’s — Prince Janus — age, he’d received a Royal education.
It wasn’t that he was the Prince’s friend, but rather that the only way to trick Prince Janus into focusing on his studies was if there was some sort of competition to beat. If Virgil took the same lessons as Janus, then he would have someone to be better than — to put it another way, if Janus had failed his studies, then there would be some poor, servant-class boy who had done better than him.
Virgil was the Prince’s rival.
As they grew older, Virgil was assigned the role of Prince Janus’s advisor — or to put it more accurately, his manservant. When Prince Janus was sent off to marry Prince Roman Sanders of Gemelo, Virgil was sent with him.
That’s where he met Patton.
Patton worked as a kitchenhand in the Sanderses’ castle. It was his dream to be the head chef one day, but for now he mostly did prep work.
As Janus’s Royal Advisor, Virgil’s role and status in the castle was vague and ill-defined, which allowed him quite a bit of freedom, actually. The thought that Virgil might be unimportant kept people from questioning why he was doing seemingly demeaning tasks — tasks such as clearing dirty dishes from the dining hall so that he might run into the cute kitchenhand as he brought the dishes to the scullery maids. Then again, the thought that Virgil might be Important™ kept people from questioning him when he went places that were restricted — places such as the Royal Ballroom in the middle of the night with said cute kitchenhand.
“I wish I was important,” Patton mused wistfully. “I’d learn to dance, and I’d attend big fancy parties with princes and dukes and such, and I would dance the whole night away.”
“Well, I’m not important, and I can’t get you into a big party, but I can teach you to dance,” Virgil offered.
“Really?” Patton gasped.
Virgil shrugged, hoping the moonlight wasn’t bright enough for Patton to see his blush. “Sure, I was taught by some of the best dance instructors in Mentiroso, some of it probably stuck.”
“I would love that!”
“Okay, so…” Virgil paused as he thought of the best way to start; Patton smiled encouragingly. “Let’s start with the basic waltz.”
He stepped closer to Patton and took his right hand in his left and wrapped his own right arm around Patton’s waist. This position put him really close to Patton’s face, but he was trying not to think about it.
“Now you put your left hand on my shoulder,” he instructed. “A waltz is done in three-three time, so the steps will be one, two, three, one, two, three. Does that make sense?”
“Maybe?” Patton answered, a confused wrinkle appearing on his forehead. “Keep going, maybe it’ll make more sense later.”
“Okay, so your first step will be to step back with your right foot. Your second step will be to bring your left foot back and to the side, so it’s parallel to your right foot, but one step to the left. Your third step will be to bring your right foot over to meet your left foot, so you’ll be standing the same way you are now, except back and to the left. Each step would happen on the beat of a song. Is it making more sense?”
“So it’s back, left, together?” Patton asked. Virgil nodded. “And then what are you doing?”
“I’ll be moving the same way, except I’ll be making the opposite moves so that we stay together, so I’ll be going forward, right, together. Do you want to try it?”
“Yes, let’s.”
“Okay, back,” Virgil instructed.
Patton stepped back with his right foot like he was supposed to, but he didn’t quite step back far enough, and Virgil, who’d tried to take a whole step forward, stepped on his foot.
“Sorry!” Patton apologized.
“That’s okay,” Virgil assured him. “Take a full step back, there’s nothing behind you, you’ll be alright. Now, back.”
This next try went much better as Patton and Virgil took nearly equal steps.
“Left. Together.”
“I did it!” Patton cheered.
“You did,” Virgil smiled. “Now let’s see if we can do a few in a row. Back, left, together. Back, left, together. One, two, three. One, two, three.”
The pair made their way across the floor with minimal stumbling. It took Patton a few repetitions to stop staring at his feet, but once he got it, it was much easier to keep his eyes on Virgil.
“Okay,” Virgil decided once they started approaching the wall. “Now let’s learn how to go the other way. Now our steps are going to be reversed, so you’ll be going forward, right, together, and I’ll be going back, left, together, okay? And forward, right, together. Forward, right, together.”
This direction had a few more hiccups as Patton occasionally stepped with the wrong foot, but eventually he got the hang of this direction as well.
“Now we’ll put them together into a box step. So that’ll be back, left, together, forward, right, together, and then we should end up right back here.”
“I’m gonna mess up a lot,” Patton frowned.
“That’s alright, we’ll go slow. Back, left, together…”
There were a lot of false starts, and they often failed to take equal steps both ways to end in the same spot, but eventually Virgil was able to transition from counting the steps to humming a waltz song.
As the song Virgil was humming came to an end, the two were left standing in the middle of the ballroom, holding each other close. With the lesson over, there was nothing to distract Virgil from the fact that Patton was right there.
“You’re a really good teacher,” Patton whispered, as though the quiet of the ballroom was something to be revered and preserved.
“Thanks,” Virgil whispered back.
Neither of them moved, each just staring at the other. Slowly, Patton pressed up on his toes to bring himself closer to Virgil’s height, and Virgil found himself drifting downwards to meet him.
He wasn’t sure who initiated the kiss, all he knew was that Patton’s — soft, warm — lips were moving against his own, and he was responding in kind. After a minute, Patton pulled back.
“I have to get to bed,” he whispered. “But this was really nice.”
“Yeah,” Virgil agreed, somewhat dumbly.
“I hope we can do it again sometime,” Patton smiled, looking the slightest bit smug.
“Yeah,” Virgil said again, his brain struggling to form coherent thoughts, let alone sentences.
Patton leaned up to press one last kiss to Virgil’s lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Virgil.”
“Yeah.”
Virgil watched as Patton walked out of the ballroom; he stopped at the door and turned to give Virgil a little wave. Virgil waved back, and Patton left.
Tonight was definitely worth all the knowing smirks Janus would be sending him the next day.
~~~END~~~
I hope you all liked my extremely creative names for kingdoms (Janus is from “liar” and Roman is from “twin”)
General taglist:
@royalty-of-all-things-snuggly @pixelated-pineapple @arsonic-knight @misunderstood-shadowling
#Moxiety week 2022#Moxiety week#moxiety#virgil sanders#patton sanders#roman sanders#janus sanders#roceit#sanders sides#ts sanders sides#thursday writes#my writing#sanders sides fanfiction
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Janus, an hour ago, had been wrapped up in spider silk, tickled to tears.
Then, five minutes ago, Virgil told him to wait, before running off. Janus couldn't see, webbing over his eyes.
He couldn't scream for help, webbing over his mouth. He twisted back and forth, only getting more stuck.
He hears two pairs of footsteps. One was light, and slow, but the other was heavy, with a constant rhythm.
Logan's voice reverberates in his chest. "So this is him?" Janus wanted to scream, to kick him square in the chest. How dare he bring Logan into this. Patton was the best ler. Everyone know this. But maybe Logan's flat explanations worked on Janus a bit better than the playful teasing. Perhaps the slow, methodical tickling stuck around in the back of Janus's head for days. And maybe. Just maybe. Logan know too many of Janus's weaknesses. Patton was too kind, Remus too wild and unpredictable for any build up, Virgil too careful, and maybe Roman was too cute of a lee. Logan was... effective, impatient, brutal. A tape recorder clicks on. Oh no. Not the- "The subject so far is twisting against his restraints, opting to change his roll position rather than his pitch or yaw." Logan walks around him, merely observing. "It seems like Virgil's methods have built up anticipation, causing such movements." Janus whines. Logan scratches under his chin, resulting in light tickles. "It seems my observations have turned Janus's previous fears of being tickled, into something more akin to a desperate desire to be destroyed by deranged devious tickling." Janus whines, deep and needy. "So far, Janus's behavior is simple, and merely reation based. It seems my associate, Mr.Nightmare has done a nearly perfect job getting Janus into the correct headspace to be tickled." Janus pushes against the webbing, moving his hips up and down, before giving up, whining. He squeezes his hands as hard as he can. "And now Janus is attempting to change his pitch position. He looks similar to an inchworm. This is a sign to begin the tickling, the anticipation at a perfect level to make the tickling most effective."
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How It All Began
Chapter Seven: Just the Beginning
Masterpost | First | Previous | Ao3
Story Summary: Remus, son of a simple fisherman, had worked hard to become the captain of his own pirate ship. And in his humble opinion, it was going great! His crew was small but reliable and they had just stolen something that could them some nice cash from a military vessel they happened to cross on the open sea. They just needed to hide it somewhere until it was safe to sell. How lucky for them that they come across a nice, uninhabited island.
Little did Remus know just who he would find on that little piece of land and how it would change his life entirely.
Content Warning: Pining (they have it so bad for each other guys), Bickering
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Remus hopped over the side of the rowboat and looked around. On first glance, it didn’t look much different than Logan’s former home, maybe a bit bigger. But it had sandy beaches, a dense jungle, and some cliffs, just like the last one. It was in quite different waters though. Nine months. It had been nine months since Remus had seen Logan. And he wasn’t even a hundred percent sure he was in the right place. (He was pretty sure though, he knew how to read star charts and Corbin did, too. It was just the anxiety talking.)
Figuring out the Spirits riddle and finishing their task only cost them a month, surprisingly. Getting all the way here though had taken them twice as long. The anticipation had nearly killed Remus, he hated waiting and even now his hand twitched towards his chest but the locket that used to calm him in situations like this was no longer there. He missed it, but he didn’t regret giving it up either. Not when it led him here.
Remus looked back at his ship where the rest of his crew could enjoy a well-deserved day off. Patton had wanted to accompany him, but Remus felt it best to meet with Logan alone first. Why he didn’t really know, he just wanted to have the immortal to himself a bit. A voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like his brother told him that maybe he had a crush. He ignored it. Right then wasn’t really a good time to think about that.
Point was, Remus had come to the island alone. He pulled the rowboat onto the beach and tied it securely to a nearby palm tree. Afterwards he made his way towards the jungle, his trusty machete in hand. He didn’t intend on using it much. After all, he was sure Logan wouldn’t want him to disturb the environment more than strictly necessary. So that’s what he would do.
Remus wandered around the island for a good two hours. He had come across a stream around forty minutes in and followed it for a while, hoping that it would lead him to Logan’s camp, but no such luck. It ended up disappearing into a cliffside, so he decided to continue in another direction. He kept an eye on his compass to not get completely lost, of course, but maybe he should reconsider his strategy of just aimless wandering and hoping to come across any trace of Logan.
Maybe he should try calling for him.
He should have done that from the beginning. Why did he only think of that now???
Because he hadn’t wanted to disturb the environment, including the animals. Right. Still, he was running out of options otherwise, so it was worth a shot.
“Logan! Are you there?!”
A rustle.
A curse.
And then something came crashing down to the ground. Remus reacted before he could think. He blinked and suddenly he held Logan in his arms.
The scientist stared up at him, eyes wide behind his glasses that sat crookedly on his face. There was a small scratch on his left cheek, his sleeve on that side was torn and he had leaves stuck in his hair.
Both were too stunned to move for several moments.
“Hi, Lo,” Remus breathed eventually. The man in his arms started to blush profusely.
“Remus! Let me down please!”
“Oh, right, sorry, my bad.” Carefully, he set Logan back on his feet, only letting go once he was sure he was stable. “What happened?”
“I was observing a bird nest up in the tree. The eggs are close to hatching and the parents have grown used to me enough to let me watch from a few feet away,” Logan explained as he righted his clothing and glasses. Remus helped him by plucking out the leaves stuck in his hair. “I was on my way down when you suddenly called my name. I startled and lost my grip.” The pirate looked up.
“Oh, damn, that fall could’ve killed you! Though I can’t help but be curious to see how far your blood would have splattered.” He winced internally. Not something he should have said out loud. At least not in front of Logan, who he just almost killed. Again.
“Certainly would have been an interesting observation. If such a thing were to end up happening, please share the results with me.” Remus blinked. Right. He had forgotten how nonchalant Logan could be about the possibility of his own death. What immortality does to a guy, he guessed. And damn if it wasn’t attractive.
“Yeah, sure.” It was all he could think to reply as he felt his cheeks starting to get warm.
“Anyway, I am thankful for you saving me. It would have been inconvenient to have wait to talk to you because of my untimely demise.”
“Sure thing, think nothing of it.” The smile on Logan’s face was entirely unfair. How was Remus supposed to deny he’s crushing on him when he smiles like that???
“Congratulations on making it here. I hope you didn’t have to deal with too much hardship?”
“No, no, it was super easy! Just had to convince your siren friend that I didn’t want to exploit his government, solve one riddle, break into a library to steal a forbidden book, sail through Siren territory and give up the only heirloom of my family.” He said the whole thing in one breath staring at Logan’s impossibly beautiful eyes. “Piece of cake,” he added weakly. The other man raised his eyebrow in doubt.
“Please do not disregard your achievements like that.”
“No, really, it wasn’t that impressive! And I had my crew to help and everything. They did most of the research and stuff.”
“And you were the one to lead them to get here, Remus. Don’t forget that.”
Remus could feel how red his face was turning, so he looked away.
“Right. Anyway, how have you been doing? Gotten used to your new home yet?” Logan watched him skeptically for another moment before accepting the change of topic.
“Yes, for the most part. I have not quite familiarized myself with the island, but I have found a lot of specimens to study, both plant and animal alike. If you want, I can show you my notes.”
“Yeah, sure, I’d love that.” He could listen to Logan talk for hours, his mind supplied, and Remus realized that maybe he was falling harder than he had thought. He could have a crisis about that back on the ship, though. Right then he wanted to focus on Logan.
“I would also appreciate to hear about your journey in more detail, if you don’t mind.”
“No problem, I can do that.”
“Wonderful. Then, please, follow me.” Logan wore that smile again as he started to lead him away. Damn, Remus was so, so gay.
~~~
Once they got the conversation flowing, it was easier for Remus to ignore his racing heartbeat. He and Logan fell into an easy rhythm of talking about the former’s travels and the latter’s research. So much so that they both forgot the time as they sat on Logan’s mossy bed, drinking tea like the first second time they met.
They both only realized how late it had gotten when another voice rang through the trees.
“Captain! Where are you! Remus! Answer me, please!”
“Aw, shit, Patton,” Remus flinched, looking up to see the stars sparkling through the canopy. “He must be worried sick.”
“It sounds like it, indeed,” Logan agreed, looking guilty. He quickly grabbed an oil lamp from next to the bed and lit it in the still burning fire pit. “Let’s go. We should be able to spot him in the dark.”
“Right.” Remus listened a moment to see where the yelling was coming from, before moving in that direction and calling back, “I’m here, Pat! I’m fine!”
“Oh, thank the Spirits!” Patton’s sigh of relief was still audible, so he couldn’t be far. Remus grabbed Logan’s hand and pulled him along. Not even a minute later, he spotted the soft glow of another lantern. Patton came into view shortly after. His look of relief as he spotted his captain quickly turned into a frown. Remus still managed to speak first.
“So sorry, Pat. I didn’t even realize how late it was!”
“Do you have any idea how worried I was?! That’s why I didn’t want you to go off alone! I know you do this more often than not but usually you go for exploring’s sake, not to find someone! You get reckless when it involves other people! What if you got hurt and Logan hadn’t been here!”
“Oh, come on. I’ve always got myself out of my messes so far.”
“That’s exactly it, ‘so far!’ What if this was the one time you hadn’t! You’re more than my captain, you’re my friend, Remus!”
“Yeah, I know, I’m sorry for worrying you, Pat.”
“I apologize for keeping him as well, Patton. I should have paid more attention,” Logan added, standing behind Remus. Patton seemed to only then fully register that he was there and immediately pulled him into a hug.
“I’m just glad to see you’re safe, we were both very worried about you when you suddenly weren’t on the island anymore!”
“I am immortal, there is no reason to worry about me.”
“Nonsense! You, too, are my friend! You can’t stop me from worrying!”
“I see. Then, thank you for your concern, Patton. I am truly alright.”
“Good,” he huffed, finally calming down. “So, what’s the plan now?”
“Oh, right. I kinda forgot to ask about that,” Remus laughed sheepishly.
“What? You’ve been out here for hours! What have you two been talking about then?”
“Everything else?”
Patton sighed.
“I should have expected as much. Logan? Would you mind filling us in?”
“Oh, uhm. I actually don’t know much about that either.”
“Huh?”
“Well, I was told to contact my patron once you made it here, so I will go do that and then inform you of the results of that discussion tomorrow.”
“Isn’t it too late for that now? You should sleep.” Remus suppressed a snort. Leave it to Patton to try and parent an over 140-year-old immortal.
“I appreciate your concern, Patton, but I assure you that I do not require as much rest as you do. My patron will also not care which time of day I contact her.”
“Well, if you’re sure,” Patton relented, though reluctantly.
“I am. Please return to your ship, I am sure your other crewmates are also worried.”
“Right! Remy wanted to come along but I told him no because I was worried about him meeting Logan.”
“Definitely the right call, Pat.” Remus ruffled his friend’s hair before turning to Logan. “We’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“Yes. See you then.” With one last wave they parted and Remus pulled out his compass.
“Let’s go, I do not want to be lectured by anyone else.”
“If you didn’t want to be scolded then pay more attention to your surroundings.”
“I already apologized, Pat!”
~~~
Logan continued to listen to the two of them fondly bicker with each other until their voices faded into the night. It wasn’t until that moment that he realized just how worried he’d been for them. Knowing they made it here… It was like he could breathe more deeply again. He shouldn’t waste more time.
It didn’t take Logan long to return to his camp and locating the artifact similarly was easy to do. With the softly glowing sphere in hand, he made his way to his usual meeting spot with Janus, a small bay on the other side of the island from where Remus’ ship was anchored. Logan had been given the artifact by Lady Ala and told to throw it in the ocean once ‘his chosen’ had arrived. The title made him flush for some reason. It felt… like a very intimate way to refer to Remus, though he suspected that his patron hadn’t intended for it to be interpreted like that.
He didn’t rush his walk, enjoying the cooler night air. Of course, he could do so every evening if he wished but with the knowledge that Remus was close by and safe? Made it more enjoyable somehow.
After around fifteen minutes he arrived at his destination and without much hesitation he threw the sphere as far as he could into the water. From the shore he could see it float on the surface for a short moment, its glow making it easily enough to spot before it began to sink down. The glow didn’t fade however. Logan stood there and watched for a few minutes until he decided to sit down in the sand to wait. Whoever he called would probably take some time to arrive.
Logan ended up spacing out, so when the sea finally started to ripple, announcing the arrival of someone, he didn’t know how much time had passed. Not that he cared much. He stood, wiping the sand off of his pants and watched as Janus emerged from the gently waves of the night.
“Thank you for coming,” he greeted the siren once he had taken his usual place sitting on a nearby stone that sat just underneath the water’s surface. Logan was very certain that all these rocks Janus used as chairs weren’t natural. There was no way every single island he had lived on so far had one of them so conveniently located just off the shore of a small beach area, not to mention how smooth they all were. Though, as a being with the Elemental Spirit’s blessing, he could easily understand where they came from.
“Logan. So good to see you,” Janus hummed with a too sharp smile. “How are you feeling?”
“I am adequate. And yourself?”
“Just peachy. I love being woken up in the middle of a good sleep.”
“I apologize, but I was told to use the artifact when Remus got here, no matter the time of day.”
“Indeed. And yet they arrived here quite a while ago. So, what took so long?”
Logan furrowed his brows.
“You were aware of their arrival?”
“Of course! We were aware of their position at all times. As we are of all who attempt the Council’s challenges.” Janus inspected his nails as he spoke, displaying his complete disinterest in the topic. But Logan couldn’t help but think back to his time on that ship. If they had watched them the entire time, then they had known he was...?
No, he shouldn’t assume.
Just because they were watching the ship travel, doesn’t mean that they knew what was going on on board. And even if they had known, why would they have interfered? His fate had nothing to do with them at that point.
His suffering meant nothing to them at that point.
He took a deep breath. No point in digging up painful memories. He should focus on the situation at hand.
“Regardless,” Logan continued. “How do things proceed from here?”
Janus smiled again, exposing his teeth as he pulled the sphere Logan had used to call him here into view.
“We will contact Lady Ala and she will explain further.”
“At another time then?”
“No, right now.”
“That is possible?” Logan asked, genuinely surprised. Every other time he had spoken to his patron, it was at a previously set time and place. He was not aware that spontaneous contact was an option.
“It is,” Janus confirmed. “It is not commonly used and still requires some preparations, however, in this circumstance, you have already done most of that. By joining this artifact with the sea again, not only I but Lady Ala as well has been notified. And since we were already aware of the pirate ship’s arrival here, we were expecting your call. She will not be physically present, but we will be able to speak with her.”
“I see.” Logan watched as Janus held out the sphere in front of himself and his eyes started glowing. A pillar of water slowly rose from the ocean to meet the artifact and, assumingly, create the connection to Lady Ala. It was fascinating to observe and Logan would have liked to ask questions about the process, but Janus has always refused to tell him anything about the intricacies of magic. Whether that was because he wasn’t allowed to or simply didn’t want to bother, Logan didn’t know.
“My Lady,” Janus said eventually. For a moment Logan thought that maybe he wouldn’t be able to hear his patron’s side of the conversation and Janus would have to act as a messenger, but that worry was quickly proven wrong as Lady Ala’s voice rang through the air.
“Janus. Logan. I hope you are well.”
“Yes, my Lady.”
“I am fine, your Grace.”
“Wonderful. Then let us not prolong this discussion. Your chosen has returned, Logan?”
“Yes, earlier today.”
“I am glad. He indeed shows promise. What he offered to the fountain was most satisfactory.”
“I am relieved to hear you praise him.” Logan resisted the urge to bow. His patron didn’t like the gesture and presumably couldn’t even see him at the moment. It was one of many behaviors from court he still couldn’t quite shake.
“Does he intent to continue with the trials?”
“Yes. He is still determined to complete them.”
“Very well. Then we will prepare another for him, but it will take some time. From here on, the tasks will not only carry dangers with them, but also lead to him and his to make enemies amongst your kind. He needs to be prepared to live with such consequences.”
“I will tell him, but I am sure he will accept regardless.”
“As am I. Logan, do you wish to aid him on his quest?”
Logan had avoided his eyes from the artifact so far – not on purpose, just another habit – but that question made him look its way immediately.
“If I am allowed to, yes.”
“There will be limits to your involvement and you are not allowed to neglect your research, but we will allow you to assist him for some of his tasks.”
“Thank you very much, your Grace.”
“You are very welcome, my dear Logan. I will send Janus to deliver the next task to your chosen soon.”
“We will wait patiently.”
“Good. Then I wish you a pleasant night. Oh, and Janus?” Logan had forgotten the siren was a part of the conversation, though he seemed to need a lot of focus to keep the connection stable. Still, he responded instantly.
“Yes, my Lady?”
“Give him the item. Something so precious should be returned to its owner.”
“I understand, my Lady.”
“Thank you. Please give Virgil my regards.”
“He will be happy to receive them.” With that, the water pillar beneath the artifact fell away and the glow in Janus’ eyes receded. Logan took a deep breath. He hadn’t noticed in the moment, but there had been a pressure in the air that had made him tense. Possibly a side effect of the magic.
“Well then,” Janus spoke up, pulling Logan out of his thoughts, “it seems that everything is working out for you, isn’t it, Logan?”
“What are you implying, Janus?”
“Nothing. I am just stating facts. You found yourself quite the man.”
Logan’s face burned.
“What— what are you saying?! Remus is not— He is not my anything!” Janus laughed loudly at his embarrassment.
“You do have a cute side after all! How fun. Makes me almost look forward to having to put up with this whole thing,” he joked before pulling something out of the ocean. Something familiar. He tossed it over to Logan, who just managed to catch it. It was a chain with a very familiar locket.
“Give it back to the pirate. He must have missed it terribly.” Without waiting for a response, Janus dove into the waves and disappeared.
Logan stared at the metal in his hand before he smiled.
Remus was going to be so happy.
~~~
“I see. So we got to wait a bit.” Remus had come see Logan early the next morning, sneaking off the ship before Patton could catch him. From what he had told Logan, Patton had continued to scold him on their way back and made Remus apologize to their entire crew. Which he would have done anyway, just not in that manner. So, as a little revenge, Remus had gone off to see Logan alone again.
“Yes. It shouldn’t take all that long, however, I think. A week at most if I were to guess,” the immoral explained, digging his toes in the sand. He and Remus sat on the beach, though at the border of the jungle. They had moved here after Remus had found him at his camp since the pirate guessed that Patton might end up chasing him down and neither wanted him to wander around the island again. No need to stress the man further.
“That should be fine. There’s a decent port about a day away if we need to restock, so, if necessary, we can leave and be back here relatively quickly.”
“There are quite a lot of edible plants and fruits here as well if you need supplies urgently.”
“Yeah, we’ll manage to sustain ourselves, I’m sure.” They were both quiet for a moment, simply enjoying each other’s company. “Do you have any clue what we’ll need to do? Or how long it’ll take?” Remus asked eventually. Logan shrugged.
“I cannot say anything with certainty. My patron simply warned me that it will involve further danger and that you might make some human enemies.”
“Well, that’s no big deal. Already have a few of those,” Remus chuckled as he laid down on the sand. “The pirate’s life, you know.”
“I can imagine, yes.”
“What about you though?”
“What about me?”
Remus looked up at him.
“Will you be involved in what happens next with this whole quest thing?”
“As far as I know, yes. I was asked if I wanted to help you and I said yes. I will need to continue my research and I won’t be allowed to aid with everything, but I will be able to help you with some things.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Remus smiled so brightly after his explanation and Logan could feel his cheeks heating up, so he quickly looked away. He shifted nervously and that’s when he felt something move in his pocket.
Oh, right. He almost forgot.
“I have something for you, actually.”
“Oh?” Remus pushed himself up slightly in interest, watching Logan intently as he pulled the chain out. Once the locket attached to it entered his field of vision, his eyes went wide.
“My patron told me to give it back to you,” Logan explained as the pirate quickly sat upright again and slowly reached for the pendant. “She said it was too precious to be separated from its owner.”
“I didn’t think I’d see it again,” Remus whispered, carefully stroking along the locket’s edges.
“I assume that was part of the point. But the Spirits are not cruel if you show you respect them properly.”
“Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” Logan watched as Remus carefully yet tightly held onto the locket. Its significance to the other must be more than he had previously understood.
“I’m glad it was returned to you.”
“Me too.” Again, there was quiet between them, before Remus suddenly sat up uncharacteristically straight. “But you know what? I think you should keep it.”
“Huh?” Logan blinked, stunned at the sudden proposal. “Why?”
“Because—” Remus paused, seemingly struggling to find the right words. “Because you can keep it safe here. When I gave it up, I knew what I was doing. It’s important to me, but I really wanted to show my sincerity so nothing else could have taken its place. But now that I’ve got it back… I’m worried I might lose it again if I take it with me. If you have it, then I can sleep soundly knowing you’ll take good care of it. And it gives me another reason to come back and visit you.”
By the end of Remus’ speech, both of their cheeks were tinted red. The pirate had grasped Logan’s hands in his own, the locket held between them. His eyes showed how sincere he was.
“Okay,” Logan agreed weakly, a bit overwhelmed by the sudden show of trust. “I’ll keep it safe,” he added, stronger.
“Great. Thank you, Logan.” Remus’ smile and the tone of voice he used when he said his name were entirely unfair, Logan decided as he took the chain from the pirate’s hands and put it around his neck. The locket sat as a comfortable weight on his chest. Not too heavy but noticeable. Logan could see how it could have a calming effect on Remus. Speaking of, the pirate pushed himself on his feet.
“I should get back. Even if Patton’s not awake yet, someone else surely is and I do owe them an explanation finally.”
“Yes, I understand. I have research to get back to as well,” Logan said as he stood up as well.
“Next time I come over, it’ll probably be with a bunch of curious idiots, so be prepared.” Remus’ grin was infectious and Logan couldn’t help but smile himself.
“I will keep it in mind.”
“Good. See you then, Lo Lo.” Logan was not prepared to be pulled into a hug by the pirate and before he could react, the other had let go and stepped away. He waved after Remus, hoping that the shade hid the new redness on his cheeks.
~~~
“Alright, everyone, listen up!” Remus called loudly across the deck. He stood on a wooden crate with his crew assembled in front of him. The conversations they had between each other quickly died and they focused their attention on him. “You all know I enjoy keeping you all a bit in the dark about my plans and such, and you have been very patient with me, but it is finally time for me to tell you what exactly we’re doing here!” He received some skeptic looks but nobody spoke up to interrupt him. Patton stood off a bit to the side, watching their reactions.
“A few months back, when we stopped at that island to hide the admiral’s seal, I happened to stumble into a guy. He appeared to just live there and long story short, I shot him. Which led to him falling off a cliff and dying, but!” Remus paused for dramatic effect, very much enjoying being the center of attention. “The next day I went back, he was back! Yes, as hard as it is to believe, that random guy was an Immortal!”
“You’ve gotta be shitting me,” he heard Remy murmur, too quiet to be an intended interruption, so Remus continued his tale.
“I got him to talk with me for a bit and he told me a bunch of stuff about Sirens, the Elemental Spirits, and their Council. And that’s when I had the most brilliant idea! I asked him if it were possible for me to meet the Council! He, of course, couldn’t decide that on his own, so I hid the seal with his help and we all set off to different adventures, as you all surely remember. The plan was to ask about the meeting once we got back. When we did, he wasn’t there anymore. Instead, I talked to a siren!” That time he could hear Elliot gasp. After they read that Woodworth book, they became quite the fan.
“It was that siren that gave me the note which eventually led us here! And right now, on that island—” He pointed toward the shore. “—lives the Immortal now. His name is Logan and he’s a researcher. The details he can give you yourself, you’ll have plenty of time to ask him questions because we’ll be here a bit.” For the last bit, Remus turned down the dramatics. He didn’t want to make Logan out as some unapproachable cryptic.
“And why is that, Captain?” Missy asked, leaning against Toby’s side. She seemed more amused than intrigued by the whole story, though Remus supposed, she was never one to get excited about the Elemental Spirits and similar legends. She was more a more down-to-earth kinda person.
“Great question, Missy!” he grinned at her. “The reason is that we’ll be given a new task from the Council to fulfill to prove our worth. And it won’t be the last either.” Remus sat down on the crate, getting more serious as he continued. “What we have here is an incredible opportunity. This is a once in a lifetime chance kinda deal. But this is something I asked for because it is something that I want. And I won’t give up on it. But it is a dangerous affair. It will make enemies for us. And if we upset the Council, it could have dire consequences. So, if any of you don’t wanna do this, I understand. I’ll bring you wherever you want. But you can’t talk me out of it.”
There was a moment of quiet as everyone considered his words carefully. It wasn’t often that he got so serious, so they knew they had to take it seriously as well.
“I’m staying,” Remy spoke up first. “This is probably the stupidest thing we’ve done so far, and I honestly don’t really want to meet those Council guys, but I don’t mind helping you get there. Sounds like it’ll be interesting at least.” Next to him Emile smiled and nodded along.
“I wanna come along to meet them!” Sloane announced with a bright grin.
“I should know better, but same,” Corbin agreed and immediately got tackled into a hug by his boyfriend. Toby shrugged, mumbling something along the lines of ‘it’s something to do’ and Missy seemed to agree with him. Patton had already been on board, which left…
“What about you, Elliot? You stupid enough to come?” Elliot flinched as they were directly addressed, staring at Remus for a moment before shaking themselves out of it.
“I want to go. I want to learn more about the world,” they said with certainty. Remus grinned.
“Great! Then let’s party! An adventure awaits us!”
Everyone cheered loudly and Remus couldn’t be happier. This promised to be so much fun!
#namiswriting#How It All Began#Chapter Seven: Just the Beginning#final chapter#intrulogical#platonic intruality#platonic logicality#platonic loceit#platonic logan & OC#platonic remus & his crew#ts remus#remus sanders#ts logan#logan sanders#ts patton#patton sanders#ts janus#janus sanders#lady ala - oc#ts remy#remy sanders#emile picani#missy sanders - misleading compliments shorts#toby sanders - october shorts#corbin cartoon therapy#sloane cartoon therapy#elliot cartoon therapy#heavy pining#bickering#multichapter fic
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Vote on my next AU
Ok so I got 2 ideas for a new askblog. Generally i have a vague plot line in mind but the plot is mostly shaped by the asks. (also more ships can potentially happen than said in this post they’re just haven’t been considered as much)
Liminal sides -
Logan main character. The sides are in long term psychiatric inpatient care run by Patton and Picani. ANGST, but also fluff. Some of the sides are in a DID system so some characters are introduced over time. Big sib Remus, Lil sib Roman. Patton x Picani. Potential loceit. Remy x Remus. potential prinxiety.
After Logan’s grades dropped to nearly all Fs his parents send him to a new type of psychward. It’s only a small section with only a few other patients around his own age. All of them are teenagers stuck in this place that isn’t quite home but home isn’t how a home is supposed to be either. They’re stuck in the liminal. All of them have abysmal social skills as well so they could probably use some help from askers.
Succubus sides -
Remus and Janus main character. Much more worldbuilding in this one. Obviously supernatural. ANGST, a few scenes going on whump. theyre succubuses so sex will be talked about but there’s no actual smut. Picani x Remy. Logicality. Close creativitywins. Potential dukeceit. Potential anxceit.
Remus works in the lowest squadron of Succubuses in the Lust circle of hell under the ruling of their manager called Orange. Their job is to convert more humans into committing sins so hell has a bigger number than heaven, sinning through lust is also the only way succubuses can feed. Only problem is that Remus is completely sex repulsed. Meanwhile Janus is a human on earth who is struggling to get through college because of their adhd. Without them knowing they will soon become followed by a demon.
Both AUs got disabled and trans sides C: just tell me whichever ur more interested in
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ao3: “behind the door”
rating: T
warnings: kid sides, some remus typical thoughts, food mention
genre: hurt/comfort
description: Remus can’t sleep. Anything could come get him. Anything. (day 4: “Imagination, of course, can open any door - turn the key and let terror walk right in.” — Truman Capote, In Cold Blood @tsshipmonth2020)
Remus isn't afraid of the dark.
He's not.
He's not afraid of the Imagination, either. That would be stupid. The Imagination is his playground! His much cooler playground, since his brother's is lame. All fluffy clouds and stupid little castles and dumb villagers. The only cool thing is the dragon witch, and Remus helped create that. She lives on his side and occasionally visits Roman's kingdom to wreak mayhem. He giggles to himself a little, tucked up in his bed.
Roman shifts in the bunk bed above him, and he nearly shouts to wake him up, nearly lifts his lower body and kicks the mattress as hard as he can. His head feels like it's about to explode, like a rotting pumpkin. There's so many thoughts running through his skull, he feels like a runaway train. Blood and bone and viscera. Remus scrunches his freckled nose with a frown. He- he's not supposed to deal with these alone. That's what Patton said.
Of course, Patton is stupid, and Remus hates listening to him, but maybe he has a point this time.
The door to the Imagination seems to creak, like it's about to swing open and swallow him whole, and that's it.
"Roman!" Remus howls, kicking the bunk bed above him for good measure. Tears spurt down both cheeks like a runaway fire hydrant. He doesn't even realize his brother has woken up and jumped down until there are arms circling him and a sleepy, confused voice asking him what's wrong.
"I-" Remus hiccups, looking into the sleep-fuzzed eyes of his twin. "I'm scared," he admits, bursting into fresh tears. The light clicks on, and over Roman's shoulder, he can see Logan standing there in his pajamas, glasses sitting crooked on his nose.
"Remus?" Logan asks. "Are you all right?"
"No!" Remus blurts out, like an open wound. "I'm not."
Patton and Virgil crowd into the room next, Patton even more hesitant than the nervous side, who's carrying a stuffed bat in both arms, his eyes wide and fearful. Janus sidles in last, a sleep mask pushed up on his hair. His eyes zero in on Remus and he frowns, but not in a mad way. In a concerned way.
Roman sighs and snaps his fingers, creating a giant pillow fort on the floor.
"There," he says. "Since I think it's sleepover time in our room." Remus winces and Roman hugs him tighter.
"Shush," Roman says. "I don't mind. No one minds."
"I'm sorry," Remus says in a tearful voice. "I just-" His eyes drift over to the door leading into the Imagination. Roman snaps his fingers again and an enormous padlock drapes itself over the knob.
"Nothing can get out," Roman tells Remus softly. "It's okay. Nothing can get out of the Imagination without our permission."
"Thank you," Remus says. His nose is clogged and his eyes hurt, but he finds himself smiling a little sheepishly anyway.
"Ooh, I'll get snacks!" Patton suggests.
"We could watch a movie," Virgil mumbles into his lap, his hair falling into his eyes. "You know. If you wanted."
"I see no harm in watching a movie," Logan says, adjusting his glasses. "It is still relatively early."
"Self care," drawls Janus, edging closer and grabbing Remus's hand, giving it a soft squeeze. "Very important." He still looks half asleep.
Remus sniffles, giving the others a watery smile.
"You guys are better than butts," he says, making his brother groan. Virgil smiles tentatively at him and offers his stuffed bat.
The door to the Imagination remains shut tight.
#🍬.txt#sanders sides#eotp2022#tsshipmonth2022#remus sanders#roman sanders#virgil sanders#logan sanders#janus sanders#patton sanders#remus#roman#virgil#logan#janus#patton#kid sides#sanders sides fics#📚#ok to rb#peach writes
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