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fangirlwriting-stories · 9 months

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Protector

Chapter One

Author's Note: *peeks my head out* hi

You guys over here on tumblr can't see the chapter count, but this is the last chapter! This story has been… shit, at least three years in the making? From the first brainstorm to today it has gone through a fuck ton of changes and updates and fights between me and my own characters when they wouldn't do what I wanted them to. But I really honestly love where it ended up and how things worked out. I hope you did too, and thank you so much for reading! I've really loved seeing everyone's comments and theories as the story goes on, and sometimes I honestly can't believe how many people read it, it's easily my most popular story for this fandom xD

But anyways, thank you so much for reading it! This story means a lot to me, and I hope you enjoy the ending and that you enjoyed the whole thing overall!

Chapter Forty-Three:

Most days, Virgil woke up alone now. Logan said it was a good sign that he no longer worried enough about Remus’ safety to have to sleep in the same bed with him every night. If Virgil had a bad night, he’d end up there. If it was a really bad night, sometimes Roman would already be there. But those were becoming few and far between, and more likely, Virgil would wake up, get dressed, and head downstairs to find Remus making some kind of monstrosity in the kitchen with Patton.

That was precisely what happened this morning, as Virgil walked downstairs and found Patton had made a horrible mistake in apparently thinking Remus was ready to learn how to make pancakes.

Spilled batter was covering everything in the kitchen, including Patton and Remus themselves. Currently, Remus was pouring batter onto the griddle, and Virgil cringed and stepped back lest Remus somehow find a way to launch it several feet.

But some of the practice must have paid off, because Remus pulled the bowl up in time to make a pancake that actually looked more or less okay.

“Alright!” Remus called happily, setting the bowl down on the counter and spilling more as he did so. “Now when do we add the bacon?”

“Bacon is normally a side that comes with the pancakes,” Patton said. “But we might be able to add some to yours after we flip it.”

“Hell yeah!”

“Language!”

“Good morning,” Virgil called, startling Patton into spinning around. Remus simply glanced over his shoulder and called “Hi Virgil!”

“Oh, good morning kiddo,” Patton said with a smile. “We’re attempting to make pancakes. I’ll admit you were a much less messy student.”

“Thank you!” Remus called, beaming at Patton.

“It may be a while before breakfast, but I think Logan was actually looking for you,” Patton said. “He went back up to his room, but he should be down any—”

“Ah, Virgil, you are just the side I was looking for.”

“Minute,” Patton finished with a smile and nod behind Virgil.

Virgil turned around as Patton turned to try and explain flipping pancakes to Remus.

“What’s up teach?” he asked, following Logan into the living room.

“I wanted to invite you to the editing session today,” Logan said, setting his notes and his copy of the script for the upcoming video down on the coffee table.

“For the video?” Virgil asked in confusion. “I don’t normally have much of a part in that process.”

“I am aware. However, Remus mentioned the other day that you used to do quite a bit of editing for his ideas, back when there wasn’t anyone else around to do so,” Logan said. “And as someone more familiar with his contributions as I am more familiar with Roman’s, I thought it was only fair to see if you wanted to join. I think it is an especially good idea considering this latest video will be heavily focused on you and Remus.”

Virgil smiled a little. “Well, that’s… not a terrible idea, I guess.”

The corners of Logan’s lips turned up slightly, and he nodded. “Excellent, I look forward to seeing you there.”

“Oh, are you talking about the editing session later?” Remus called from the kitchen, turning and flinging a pancake up as he did so which promptly landed on Patton’s head. “Virgey, are you going to come?”

“I’ll be there, Re, pay attention!” Virgil called, though Patton was laughing and didn’t seem at all upset.

“Awesome!” Remus called, turning to pour more batter now that the pancake was ruined.

Virgil picked up on Roman’s footsteps just before they started down the stairs, and had just enough time to realize that he was going to be disappointed before he called, “I smell pancakes!”

“Remus is making them,” Virgil called as his head came into view. “I’d stick with frozen waffles unless you want to wait a while.”

“…That’s probably best,” Roman sighed.

“Hey, I didn’t even add anything poisonous this time!” Remus called from the kitchen.

Virgil leaned back on the couch with a chuckle as Roman headed into the kitchen to make waffles. Remus made sure to flip a pancake onto his head anyway.

The volume in the kitchen started to raise as Roman and Remus started exchanging banter, and Virgil used the cover to turn and face Logan. “Do you know how Janus is doing?”

“A little better, I think,” Logan said with a smile. “He did some acting with Roman yesterday, and didn’t seem to even have a motive beyond having fun with him. At least, that’s what Roman said he thought was going on.”

“That’s good,” Virgil said. He shifted so he could push himself up to sit on the top of the couch.

“He’s also started forcing people to take breaks again,” Logan said. “And if he’s confident enough to do that, I think that’s a good sign.”

“People?” Virgil asked, raising an eyebrow at Logan.

“I did not do anything work-related after dinner yesterday, like we all agreed on,” Logan said, adjusting his glasses. “I was researching purely for the sake of enjoyment.”

“Yeah? What’d you find out?”

Logan’s eyes lit up, and he launched into a rant about astronomy that Virgil could mostly keep up with.

They were both there until Remus and Patton managed to finish one pancake for each of them, and Patton headed upstairs to take a shower with a remark that he’d grab Janus on the way back down. Remus, on the other hand, was attempting to lick the batter off to clean himself, which would be more efficient according to him.

Patton’s showers didn’t take long, meaning about fifteen minutes later he and Janus started down the steps and over towards the kitchen. Janus sat next to Logan on the opposite side of the table from where Virgil and Remus had picked, but the dark circles under his eyes were less heavy today, which was progress.

“So!” Roman called happily, and everyone turned their gazes to him. “The video is making good progress, and Logan said he was going to ask Virgil to start helping with the editing…?” he gave Virgil a hopeful look.

Virgil gave a thumbs up around a mouthful of pancake.

“Excellent! In that case, I believe we’ll be ready to start filming by the end of the week!”

“That’s wonderful, kiddo!” Patton said happily.

“Indeed, I believe we are all eager to get started,” Logan said. “Not because it is unreasonable that this video is taking longer, but because I think we are all happy to be working on something again. And I very much look forward to having the figurative record set straight with Virgil and Remus.”

“Good luck with that!” Patton, Remus, and Roman all called at the same time.

Logan looked up at the ceiling, seeming to be contemplating his life choices.

Virgil caught Logan’s gaze and gave a roll of his eyes that Logan returned a grateful smile to. He was pretty sure they were both glad there was at least one other side to be annoyed at antics with, especially since Janus was obviously hiding a smile behind his hand at the other end of the table.

“When does the editing session start?” Janus asked a second later. “Do we have anything else to do today?”

“The plan was to begin after lunch, and I don’t believe there’s anything else on the schedule, why?” Logan asked.

“Because I am in dire need of a movie night with Thomas,” Janus said. “And I was hoping we could fit one in.”

“We’re all eating breakfast,” Logan pointed out. “It would hardly be considered—”

“Movie night!” Roman called with a happy clap of his hands. “I’m down as long as I get to use your hat for voting!”

Janus hissed and put his hands protectively over his hat.

“I think that’s a great idea kiddo,” Patton said with a smile. “I’ll ask Thomas after I finish eating.”

“I’m done,” Virgil called, standing up with his empty plate. “I’ll do it in just a sec.”

He headed over to the sink to wash the dish as the conversation continued behind him. He washed the dish and set it over on the drying rack, and sank out to Thomas afterwards with a wave at the others and a call that he’d see them soon.

Thomas was already sitting in front of the TV flipping through Netflix, so clearly some of the idea had bled over already.

He did pause and give Virgil a smile once he noticed him, though.

“Hi Virgil! It’s not game night already, is it?”

“Nope. Janus suggested an impromptu movie night before the editing session later. I came to ask if you were alright with it.”

“We’re going to try and settle on movie all seven of us agree on?” Thomas asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course not, that’s why I got here early,” with a mischievous smile. “I say we watch The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

“That doesn’t sound half bad,” Thomas said.

“Well, look at that, the vote is unanimous,” Virgil said, moving to his spot on top of the couch. “Let’s get it set up so it can be ready when everyone else gets here.”

Thomas huffed a laugh and shook his head. “You know sometimes I remember why you were originally a villain.”

“Oh you’re right, it doesn’t get any more devious than rigging movie votes,” Virgil said. “Clearly I’m the worst side you’ve got.”

Thomas winced, and Virgil paused.

“Too soon?”

“Maybe a bit,” Thomas said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Sorry. Joke rescinded.”

“It’s okay,” Thomas said with a small smile. “So do we want popcorn for this movie night?”

“At 9 in the morning?”

“We’re adults, who’s going to stop us?”

“The debilitating social anxiety and shame,” Virgil said.

Thomas gave him a deadpan look, and Virgil laughed.

“No but you make an excellent point,” he said. “Let’s make the rest of your popcorn all right now.”

“All of it?”

“There are seven of us.”

Thomas laughed, and they both headed to the kitchen to do just that.

Virgil expected it to be a little longer before anyone else showed up, but he was proven wrong when a second after he got out the popcorn he heard someone appear behind him and turned to see Remus.

He was holding something and looking uncharacteristically nervous, which set Virgil’s alarm bells off.

“Re?” he asked, setting the bag of popcorn down.

“I uh, made you a thing,” Remus said, shoving the thing he was holding at him, which looked like a wrapped gift. “The thing that I was gonna make you before Janus was an idiot and ran off to the subconscious.”

Virgil took in it in surprise, looking down at it.

“If you want to go open that in private I can finish here,” Thomas said to Virgil.

Virgil gave him a grateful smile. “Thanks,” he said, and he and Remus both sank out to Virgil’s room.

“I hope you don’t hate it,” Remus said instantly, with a casual tone Virgil could read through immediately.

“I’m not gonna hate it, dummy,” Virgil said, rolling his eyes with a fond smile. “Hang on, let me just…”

He let his sentence fade off and pulled the wrapping paper off the gift, then set it to the side on his desk, and was met with a hoodie.

It was still black, but unlike his current one, this had bright purple patches and was the kind of brand-new fuzzy that hoodies had before you sent them through the wash.

“I figured, you kind of don’t have a color,” Remus said, still sounding very forcibly casual. “And the rest of us do. So. You know, I made you it, and whatever and stuff.”

Virgil looked up at Remus with a smile, and then stepped forward and pulled him into his arms. “You’re amazing,” he said. “You know that, right?”

“Obviously,” Remus said, with a slightly choked up tone of voice.

“I love it,” Virgil said. “Thank you.”

Remus made a small noise but didn’t say anything else, just pulled Virgil closer and squished him.

Virgil squished him back, and they both stood there for a moment being squished, which was as wonderful as always.

Eventually, they pulled apart, and Virgil took off his current hoodie and put on his new-and-obviously-improved version.

“You want to head out to Thomas and watch movies now?” he asked with a smile at Remus.

“Yes I do,” Remus said, starting to grin. “You have to show off your amazing new outfit.”

“Naturally,” Virgil said with a smile, and he wrapped his arm around Remus’ so they could sink out together. They had a 9AM movie night to get to, and a really good day after.

And a really, really good life to come after that.

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #remus sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #roman sanders #janus sanders #character thomas sanders #platonic dukexiety #platonic moxiety #platonic analogical #platonic prinxiety #platonic anxceit #platonic thvi #my fic

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candied-peach · 1 year

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ao3: “ain’t as bad as it seems” rating: T warnings: platonic dukexiety, age regression, crying, internalized ableism, chronic pain genre: hurt/comfort description: Virgil has Feelings about his new mobility aid.

Virgil eyes his new rollator hesitantly, chewing on his bottom lip. It looks okay. The frame is purple, just like he wanted. It isn't going to bite him if he sits down. And god, does he want to. His lower back is absolutely killing him. He could go and sit down in his office chair or a kitchen chair or the couch. But his rollator is right there. Fitted for him and everything, the guy just left after making sure it worked for him and he knew who to call if it broke. He can just...sit down. At any time.

He bursts into silent tears instead. He should clutch the handles, should sit down, should do something because it's not good for his pain levels to just stand, but his mind is rapidly going fuzzier and fuzzier and he just wants his squid.

As if he summoned Remus, he hears a key in the front door and Remus's cheerful voice announcing his presence. Virgil hiccups, rocking back and forth, his arms wrapped around his middle. He's unsteady on his feet, but he still doesn't know what to do. He's glad he has the new rollator. It should make getting out a lot easier.

But people might point and stare and laugh and jeer because he's so young to need a rollator of all things, and it's not like horrific back pain and arthritis actually show easily. Maybe his feet, he does walk on the outsides of them a lot, but it's not like most people just look at your feet. So he doesn't even look like he needs it and-

"Whoa there, scare bear," Remus says, interrupting his downward spiral. His green eyes are surprisingly serious as he bends down a little to stare Virgil in the eyes. Virgil stares back, vision blurry with the tears still dripping down reddened cheeks. "What's wrong?"

Virgil points at his new rollator. Remus inspects it.

"Is it the wrong color?" Remus asks. Virgil shakes his head. "Does it not fit right?" Remus's next question. Virgil shakes his head again. He had to sit in it for the guy from the mobility aid company. It fits okay. He can sit down.

"So what's the problem, little bat?" Remus questions. Virgil's voice wobbles as he explains.

"Means it's real."

"Oh," Remus says, and his whole face softens. "Oh, storm cloud, I'm sorry."

"An'- an' what if people laugh," Virgil continues, his face crumpling as Remus carefully draws him into his arms.

"Then I'll throw them in a river," Remus promises, startling a little watery laugh free.

"Okay," Virgil agrees, readily enough, as he sniffles.

"You look like you're in pain, Virge," Remus continues, his face getting a little serious. "Do you need to sit down? It doesn't have to be the rollator. I can carry you, if you want. Or help you to a different chair. It's all in your bat wings."

Virgil giggles at that, studying the rollator. It's just there. Just a mobility aid. He can decorate it with some stickers later if he wants.

"I can sit down there," he says, a little hesitantly, as he wriggles free and sits down in the rollator, making sure the brakes are on. His back instantly feels a little better, and his feet hurt a little less.

It's not so bad after all.

#🍬.txt #sanders sides #platonic dukexiety #ts platonic agere #virgil sanders #remus sanders #virgil #remus #sanders sides fic #📚#ok to rb #peach writes #my life fell apart this month so i didn't finish regressuary the way i wanted to #so have this instead #with some old feelings i had when i first got my rollator i guess lmao

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tastic-in-its-finest · 6 months

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Strike Midnight

Ao3

For the @tss-october-ghostwriters event, the prompts transformation, full moon, midnight, ancient, and a little bit of magic were used :)

Warnings and tags: Minor violence, tw blood, mentions of murdering/killing, and animal attacks

Summary: To improve an imperfect world, he does what needs to be done. Roman, a human, hunts the feral and out of control monsters in his path while sparing the misunderstood, along with his twin brother Remus.

However, it's hard to hunt a werewolf when it turns out to be your own brother.

Written by: @tastic-in-its-finest, for my lovely Giftee @edupunkn00b

...

He searched every corner and crevice yet couldn’t find it. Roman checked almost every burrow, climbing many trees of the dark and deep thicket of the forest to survey the area. He knew he wasn’t trying as hard as he should. He wasn’t desperate enough to cannonball into a lake just yet. Yet the ancient bracelet he was trying to find seemed unreachable.

He was given instructions by Janus, a snake deity, of which surrounding area to look, and bribing them with the sweet ‘rewards’ to come with it.

He could try to enjoy the rewards, if not for him, then for his brother Remus. He didn’t hate the Janus, harboring only a slight dislike for him since he’d met him, but they bonded over theater and a love for drama. And he wasn’t about to let his brother down, who was enthralled with any ideas Janus had in mind, even if they were clueless of their prize.

He took a short break to wait for the impending sunset, in the middle of a semi-open clearing with rocks nearby, he could mentally hear Janus scolding him. Where is he meant to find this anyway? Janus didn’t tell them too many specifics to find the bracelet; like a key hidden under a rock.

Well, what did he have to lose?

Looking under one, two, three stones, and the fourth, much larger and stuck in the ground. He pulled harder, and harder, before it popped out and he almost decked his beautiful face. It isn’t stuck to mud however, a shiny silver pendant, or bracelet somehow found itself lost. The bastard who stole and threw it away knew where to hide it. It was the exact description he needed.

“Eureka,” he whispered, drying the wet and dirt, wearing the ancient bracelet, golden, fabulous, the smell of metal grazing his wrist, quite charming, preparing to speak with Remus about his discovery.

A hesitant twig broke close, near one of the large bushes. Roman felt eyes prying the back of his head. He wanted to think Remus was attempting to scare him, poorly, but Remus knew better.

The handle of his sword proved a sturdy grip, seethed in his lightweight holster for now, he waited.

“Show yourself!” He yelled, as he swung his sharp sword out and a fast figure tripped him down, standing unfazed in front of him dark and stormy. A sharp face he found all too familiar these days.

“You.” He pointed his sword, finding the means to pull himself up while looking at the unimpressed emo nightmare, V, short for vampire, held an black spider web umbrella one-handed, big enough to cover him completely.

“You’re too easy sometimes… princey,” Roman glared, remaining serious, yet slightly relaxing the tip of his sword towards the vampire's turtleneck.

“What sort of a nickname is that?”

The pale emo grinned, “If you don’t want to be called a prince, don’t act or dress like one,” the vampire gestured towards his favorite red sash over his hunting clothes.

“Should I call you a dark and stormy knight then, cause that’s exactly what you are,” with layers upon layers of black and gray clothing in the hot grueling sun.

“Real original of you.”

“It’s the only thing I can call you, unless you give me a name.”

“In your dreams.”

His name was not V, but he was called Virgil. Stuck in an open area, one of his many obstacles, he ran into him, all of his stamina diminished, the sun already tiring him. The extremely skilled and dangerous monster hunter, his sword resting near his side, ready to strike him at any moment, “What’s your play vampire?”

“Why does it matter to you?”

"My brother will be here any minute. I'd hate for him to kill you before I do,” he playfully tapped him, but Virgil internally wondered if he was being serious or not.

"Lower your sword, then we can talk," Virgil tried to put the most nonchalant voice imaginable, he cringed when he croaked the words out. The hunter listened.

"...Have you been stalking me?"

Virgil couldn’t help but laugh, “Don’t flatter yourself, you’re not the only reason I’m out here,” he stepped forward, looking distantly behind Roman. The side dense area of trees were difficult to traverse by, more difficult with an umbrella no less, however, he could make a run for it, only, a sharp and cold blade tapped and pressed the tip of his bicep before he could move forward.

He blinked rapidly, “You want to do this now?”

“We don’t have a truce at the moment,” The hunter flashed a cocky grin, stance in the ready. He was testing him, always, but Virgil never wanted to believe he couldn’t be. Didn’t think he noticed the wooden stake slotted near his sword holster. Make sure he never touches it.

“Cocky, princey,” Virgil looked into the deadly rays of the sun, the dark umbrella his only protection, assessing his situation. He put his hood up.

From what he could gather, it was a pure coincidence they met again. But Roman was ready to defeat him this time, defend his honor and beat his brother to the kill.

He took the first swing, missing by an inch, another, another, and another, the monster ducked, shielding the blow meant to strike his face as his back sizzled from a lack of protection. The vampire hissed, scratching Roman’s cheek, burning and painful.

Backing away, Roman got stunned by such a violent reaction, furthermore, V remained in defense. Taking a chance, he kept stepping forward, swinging fast, failing to kick his chest, and swiping his legs from under him with a katana. The fiend stumbled into the grass. He tried stomping to the side of his pale face yet rolling out from under him, swiping at Roman’s spine, getting a hard grip on his hands, flipping him onto his back as his hood fell off.

Groaning in pain, pushing himself up, the monster tried kicking him to the ground while he was vulnerable. Roman ducked, slashing the torn Umbrella. Hissing, cowering and retreating from the sun, Roman rushes forward and trying to pin him to the tree, his head hit it too hard, knocking him out cold.

Roman leaned on the tree, catching his breath, the vampire lucky enough to be left in the shade of the leaves. Seething his sword, somehow without a trace of vampire blood, in his holster, fitting the wooden stake in his hand.

Standing over V, blissfully unaware of what could be a stake about to be driven in his heart, turned Roman’s stomach. He gripped the stake, he could do it, rid the world of one more evil. Yet he blanks trying to search for an evil deed V committed. He isn’t feral. This wasn’t honorable, it felt so wrong. He would have hated to be murdered this way.

The stake is slit in its rightful place, along with neatly folding the umbrella. Leaving after his slight distraction.

…

Remus is having the time of his life. Swinging upside down on trees, squeezing his bum into every burrow, and cannonballing into a lake to find an eensie weensie ancient trinket bracelet thing and the magic to neutralize the strengths of those who weld it. He was given sort of clear instructions by his close friend Janus, an idea of the whereabouts, and the sweet long morningstar to come with it.

Like any good friend, he lamented on a large stone, reeking of wet dog, cuddling his stick and staring at his reflection in the water, throwing small stones that emerged in the water at himself. It was going to be hard to earn his trust back, after what he did. One bracelet and he can have his weapon back instead of using a sad and sharp stick to murder monsters when he needs to, and of course, Janus’ unconditional love that he cherished more than anything. If only he could see how hard he is trying now.

Echoing through the thicket, a low whistle drew his attention, a call to warn him of his twin's return, in case Remus tried stabbing him.

“Back so late?”

“I have what we need, let's go,” Roman’s shoulders were unusually tense, Remus didn’t question it. Pulling out a large map to guide them out of the unfamiliar area.

“Want to make time for hunting feral werewolves or Rougaros?”

“Well, if only he thought about that on a night other than a full moon,”

“Boo, you’re such a bore. We can do both.”

Roman gasped, feigning annoyance. They crowd the map. Only a few paces north to reach Umbra, a magical spirited place, reachable by oak trees where Janus resided most of his time. The journey was easy however long it was, hopefully they could get back to do some proper werewolf hunting.

…

The confusing fuzziness began to emb. The bark was rough on his pounding head and scarred back, the tingling burn on the side of his face slowly reconstructing the skin, remembering how he ran away and the umbrella broke.

The hunter is nowhere in sight, he waited, and nothing came of it.

Virgil huffed, moving the umbrella folded neatly in his lap, flexing the panel, a large obnoxious ripe in the fold, great.

Moving along, he couldn’t believe the hunter let him go with only a mild headache. It could have been much worse. Dying wasn’t too far of an option. Probably sparring him out of pity, he wouldn’t doubt it. Virgil just wanted to leave the clearing.

His boot clinks, glaring down, a round metal bracelet under his foot. He reaches down, probably something the prince owned. He tries it for himself, a sudden wash of drowsiness and fatigue traveled from his arm, a scary amount of relaxation as he couldn’t see sharper or hear farther, he yanked it away shrieking.

He’d rather not touch it ever again, but maybe he really wanted to get back at the hunter, maybe repay him for not killing him, as pathetic as it sounds. He pocketed the bracelet and avoided touching it as he squeezed through the bushes, following an obvious trail left by its rightful owner.

…

The sunset started, yet the sky wasn’t fully darkened. Remus’ watch going off and being silenced immediately to watchfully and carefully listen to any howls from werewolves, ready to use his long stake for one they both heard close by. Whilst his brother preoccupied himself, Roman read the map, not surprised if they’ve been walking in circles for the past hour.

“Do you know where we’re going?” Remus took a peek over his shoulder.

“Of course,” he sighed, “We have a long way to go,” Remus held a manic grin, mussing, “Not too far, we can run there.”

“Too risky,” folding the map in his pocket, preparing to traverse first through the tight narrow trees, sticks stabbing his torso, through the rough patch then another path, passed the building, and arriving at the tree, Roman imagined it all going perfectly, hating chopping through the bark. A high pitched whistle turned his attention.

Remus froze, a finger over his lip. Roman stops moving, confused. While it might have been funny to see Roman become frazzled and get attacked by whatever growled in his ear, Janus would chastise him, and Roman would never forgive him. Roman looks petrified, a hand easing down, reaching for his sword.

Remus turns his head around, a black threatening wolf stalks behind them, big, with human eyes, a werewolf, staring at Remus through the trees, a far enough distance where they can run, the closeness of the trees restricting their movements, they decide to run.

Roman is ahead, breaking and hurting his arms as he hurls himself out of the forest.

Remus can’t breathe, he feels the warm breath and slobber on his legs, fighting, fight to get out, he jumps getting yanked by his leg, a sharp and tight bite on his ankle, he kicks its snout shouting, shielding his face, the long jaw chewing on his tough leather jacket, with no weapon but a stupid stick.

“Roman!” He punches, punching as hard as he can until Roman finally stabs it’s head. The wolf whimpered and cried, scattering away into the darkness.

“Are you ok?” Roman kneels down.

“Where were you?!”

“Remus-“

“You watch me get mauled by a wolf and ask me if I’M OK?!” Roman didn’t know how to respond.

“… Are you?” It quieted, Remus never got so frustrated before, it felt off.

“Sorry. I’m fine, check for bites,” Remus prompts his arm, rolling up the sleeve, Roman finds nothing but a tear in his jacket.

“All good, but your leg…” ominously, his boot is torn, notably a sliver of skin, Remus shrugs, pulling off his boot, no need to roll his socks, exposing a long nasty fresh bite on his ankle.

His heart sunk. Was— was he about to turn? No, no, they had until midnight, reach the Umbra and Janus will cure him before he feels anything.

Remus pushes his boot back on, unable to walk properly, letting Roman support his body with his arm on the path.

“Stay calm. You’re going to be fine, I promise,” it was beginning to turn dark.

Doubt seeped in.

“How much longer?”

“Just a bit, past the building, near the tree.”

Remus starts laughing, “Imagine me turning and ripping into your face, blood everywhere, then both of us wouldn’t make it with Janus’ stupid pendent.”

“Don’t think like that,” Remus was silenced for a moment, giving Roman time to check his wrist for the bracelet. All the rest is bare skin.

He lost it.

“… I don’t have the pendent anymore.”

Remus starts to laugh hysterically, Roman jostles him, “Hey, it doesn’t mean anything. Who cares about the pendent, we need to get you someplace safe.”

He hurries his pace, and Remus goes uncharacteristically quiet.

Numb, unconsciously going from zero to hundred, to hearing every chirp, creak, snap, Roman’s booming echoing voice and his own, to utter nothing. His ankle hot flashes every now and again, aching, throbbing, and in need of rest. Remus should have suggested Roman cut off his ankle in favor of ridding him from turning into.. a werewolf, slowly starting to accept that to be his reality, and how unsafe Roman would be once he does.

He needed to get away from him, away, run, limp as fast as he could.

Remus gently loosens his grip then pulls away from Roman, “Remus! What are you doing?”

He couldn’t let Roman get hurt, or bitten.

Roman holds him in a tight embrace, Remus scratches his face instead, straying away from the path running and half limping, going through a narrow path to lose his trace.

Roman covers his bleeding cheek, regaining his focus and chasing after Remus, weaving through the deep forest, his footsteps getting further away, lost to the wind of the woods. He continued forward. Sighting the large building in the distance, reaching the gate and the entrance to the abandoned boarding school from the map, left slightly ajar, pushing through and closing behind him, an air of death and a bone chilling cold, as if something invisible watched him, the place abandoned for years.

The caved in roof glowed the full moon's light on Remus, curled into himself stomach growling, he is a physical ball collapsed in the room, barely holding himself together. Roman slowly whistles, and kneels, rubbing a comforting circle on his back. Remus looked up to him, his eyes more navelly green and sharp, but he smiled a toothy sharp grin upon seeing him, contracting in pain again, shriveling.

He shushes, calms him down, doesn't let his emotions get to him. They can prevent this from happening.

The door creaks open. He can hear Remus’ breath hitch, the animalistic panic in his eyes, no, he rubs more circles and stares at a surprised and concerned figure, in all black and gray, a broken umbrella in his hands.

He’s going to kill that vampire.

He rushes as fast as he can to not disturb Remus any further, “V, what are you doing here!?”

“I-I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt,” V backed into the loud door cowering, the bracelet held in his hand snatched from him, “You had this?” Roman couldn’t believe it.

“Leave now,” Roman couldn’t stress enough how in much in danger he was there.

“I wanted to-“

Roman grabbed his neck scruff, pulling out his stake, “Go, I mean it or I will make you!” V’s eyes widened, about to protest or argue.

A large crack interrupted the room, turning around, Remus’ hand was covered in fur, nails sharpening into claws, ears pointing and morphing, screaming in agony, Roman couldn’t look away. Roman lets go, stepping closer, V holds his shoulder, preventing him as his clothes ripped and his back arched of brown fur, except for a silver streak.

(Wolf?) Remus growled, he couldn’t recognize him, and he was stalking towards them as if they were a fresh meal.

“Truce?”

“Truce.”

Wolf Remus snarls and bites the air, they dodge out of the way. Roman held the handle of his sword, but he didn’t feel the urge to pull it out, even with a hungry, feral, and vicious wolf lunging at him, he used his fists, barely able to miss Remus from biting him, scratching him instead. He’s too large, it’s too easy to let him overpower. He couldn’t hurt him, but he needed to defend himself, he took out the stake… he couldn’t do it.

V pushed Remus from attacking Roman again, but dazing him for a bit, “Look, I know that’s your twin, but you are going to need to wake up right now or he is going to have to live with the fact that he murdered his own brother!!” V yelled, bringing all of his attention to him, toying with Remus, giving Roman time to readjust his focus.

Virgil jumps out of the way of Remus’ lunge on the opposite side of the room, letting one of the twins think over his options, to which they barely had any left. He had no inkling of what to do, other than distract Remus until morning, his stamina during the night was exponentially better, yet he could tell he was already losing his focus and Roman would be bit, skilled hunter or not.

At that moment, he remembered the numbness and tingling feeling of the bracelet, making him more powerless than he’d remembered in a long time. It seemed him and the hunter had a similar idea.

“V pin him down!!” Roman waved the bracelet in the air, along with gaining the wolf’s attention. Virgil sprints towards the doorway, gripping his abandoned umbrella, jumping on the wolf's back and blinding him with its leftover remnants. He wiggles and snarls trying to throw him off, a hand on his snout, torso, lightly stepping on his leg and balancing himself.

Roman rushed over, pinning the furry pastern, sliding on the jewelry, holding it in place until it took effect. His escaping efforts faded into slow breathing, enough Virgil removed his blindfold and respectfully removed his strong hands and feet from pinning him, almost lulled to peaceful sleep. It took a long time but then he stopped moving into a slumber.

V and Roman shared a deep breath of relief as they waited until morning.

…

During the night, Virgil and Princey were careful to make a makeshift bed for the werewolf, they debated keeping watch, neither were too comfortable with watching the others sleep and letting the other watch over them, collectively deciding to stay up most of the night.

Virgil zipped up his jacket, needing to leave early to avoid the sun and any prolonged interact with the twins bound to end in despair, seeing the Prince succumbed to sleep either way, he tiptoed to the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Prince stared at him, somewhat close to the exit, standing up.

He sighed, “I have to leave before the sun rises, since someone ruined my umbrella,” the hunter blushed in embarrassment, “I apologize for that.”

V couldn’t stop thinking, if he didn’t intrude, he never would have caused such a butterfly effect.

“Look, I feel like a major jerk. Here,” Roman thought he must have been glaring. V rummaged through his pocket, he pulled out a lavender paper colored roll, “What’s this?”

“Wolfsbane bandages, it’ll heal your wounds and his so.. yeah,” V awkwardly walked to open the door.

“V, or, whatever your name is, thank you. Don’t let me catch you,” they shared a smile, the dark of the night beginning to lighten.

“Yeah,” he mumbled.

He probably was going to regret this.

“My name… is Virgil,” he noticed the hunter's eyes widen before softening again, mentally assessing the name and accepting it.

“See you around.. Virgil.”

He gave a military salute, “See you Princey.”

He closed the door behind him.

…

The next day in Umbra

Remus felt completely fine, a sore throat and a headache, along with a few bruises cooled by the bandages the hot and mysterious vampire they’ve been hunting for months, given to Roman while he was out cold, were his only issues.

“You can’t move in your state darling. I know it’s going to be impossible. You’re the best couch potato I know, why don’t you stay for a few days?” Janus tried convincing him to remain hostage in Umbra, surprisingly Roman agreed.

The calm and alluring waves of Umbra smoothened his muscles, the hot chamomile tea mixed with potion infusion Janus brewed eased his ribs, and Roman checked on him every now and then while he laid on bed rest. Roman didn’t talk much about what Remus did as a werewolf, his memory went blank, he barely remembered that he had even gone inside the boarding school without one of Roman’s passing comments. But he knew did remember Roman happy to see him awake.

His eyes blared open, blinking ever so slightly to a ruined ceiling laying on the floor. Remus was running, his ankle throbbed, he found a gate, then…

“Remus?” Remus was running away from Roman, he was about to turn into a werewolf.

He hummed in response, the blankets enfolded with his naked body were ragged but warm.

“How are you feeling?” he tilted his head.

Remus grinned, “I’ve never been better.”

...

#sanders sides #roman sanders #remus sanders #virgil sanders #janus sanders #creativitwins #platonic prinxiety #platonic dukexiety #sanders sides fanfiction #:)#tw blood #werewolves #murder mention #tssoctobersubmission2023 #i hope i did this justice

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starshard17 · 11 months

Note

“hey, look at me. i’m not going anywhere.” with Virgil

It's been a little while since I've written anything but I'm in the mood to write.

Pairing: Dukexiety (platonic)

-----

It was a normal day for the most part. As normal as it can get for Virgil. The anxious side could be found perched on counters and tables about the house. He was either biting at his nails or messing with the strings of his jacket as he scrolled mindlessly through his phone.

It was difficult to tell just by looking at him if there was something bothering him in the deeper corners of his mind. Granted there was always something to be worried about when you were him. Forgetting to turn off the stove, lock your car, lock the doors and windows of your home. The fear of whether there was someone already in your home because you could hear the noises of what were reminiscent to footsteps but you know you live alone.

Virgil let out a groan. He shoved his phone deep into the pocket of his jacket and he stomped his way upstairs, eyes flicking back and forth as he ascended. He needed new scenery. He had already switched between the kitchen counters, the top of the fridge, the coffee table and the back of the couch at least a hundred times. He wasn't sure that he wanted to see the familiar comforting look of his dark room. While the slightly opened door beckoned him, he turned his gaze away. He wanted to look at something different.

He trekked through the halls before coming to a sudden stop. His eyes darted up to the door of the room he had stopped beside. It was just like any other door in the hallway, except there was a green tint. Not to mention a large, sword shaped engraving on the front.

He wasn't sure why he felt the need, he and the Duke were usually on rocky terms, but his hand moved to the handle and he twisted it open, cautiously taking a step into the room.

He was immediately overwhelmed by the scent of a salty lake that was overrun with algae and full of dead fish. He choked on the smell but still pushed forward. Remus' room was by no means small. It was easy to get lost in there if you were not careful, due to its ever changing nature.

Eventually the smell either faded or Virgil's nostrils became accustomed to it, because it was no longer a bother to the anxious side. What was the real bother was that Virgil could not find a place to sit or a person to talk to.

"Maybe he's not in here." Virgil muttered to himself, silently cursing himself for even thinking it was a good idea to come in here.

"The most unpredictable side lives in this place and I came in here to sit down. The chances of being eaten by the thing I sit on is dangerously high, so why here of all places." He grumbled.

He bit at his thumbnail anxiously. Stupid...

Still, as he continued to search, he found nothing. Though he never felt compelled to leave. Why was a mystery to him. He could've been sitting already, having a great chat with Logan about space, or Roman about Disney movies, or Patton about literally anything...

Maybe it was because he missed the memories. Deep in the pit of his stomach there were butterflies. He felt sick at the thought of leaving without even at least saying hello.

Even with that dread in his stomach he turned in the direction of the door. And there, now in front of him, was a side with a crazed look in his eyes, a wide dopey smirk, and an obnoxiously green outfit.

"What, leaving already? We haven't even talked yet!" Remus cackled, grabbing Virgil's wrists and dragging him in the opposite direction of the door.

Virgil wanted to protest but then quickly settled, following the Duke as he pulled on his arms.

"What brings you to my room, Emo?" Remus asked, he head turning back to look at Virgil.

The anxious glanced back and he could tell the door was slowly growing further and further away from them. He fixed his attention back on the side pulling his arms. "Needed new scenery..." He muttered, eyes widening and looking down when he noticed the Duke making eye contact.

"Well have you come to the right place!" Remus cheered. And with a snap of his fingers the room shifted. The walls curled in on themselves and the ground beneath them both almost felt like it was tempted to swallow them whole. The room became smaller and there was a clear bed to the left side of the room. The walls were an obnoxious neon green that seemed to shift to a darker shade every second then back to the brighter color. The floor had become a tall, shaggy carpet that felt like hands trying to grab at your ankles whenever you walked.

The Duke led Virgil to sit on the bed and he kept a wide grin on his face. For once, he sat completely silent.

Virgil bit at his bottom lip and curled up on himself, unsure what to say. He got different scenery for sure, and he had found the side he had been looking for. But what was he supposed to do about conversation? There wasn't anything he particularly wanted to talk about.

Perhaps he just felt a pang of nostalgia, a feeling of yearning for his past. A longing for a moment like the two used to share ages ago.

He missed Remus.

He wouldn't tell him directly, but that was the truth. He missed the strange, quirkiness of his talk and just the sound of his voice. He just needed to sit and listen to him for a moment...

"I came to talk to you," he said, tensing as he waited for the reaction.

The Duke broke into a huge grin, clapping his hands. "Oh joys! What are we talking about?" He asked, expression crazy as ever.

Virgil bit at his thumbnail. "You choose..." He muttered under his breath, though the intrusive side seemed to pick up on the answer.

"Giving me free will, hm? Well warning you now, you're in for a real rodeo!" He cackled and next thing Virgil knew Remus was talking his ears off.

He allowed himself to relax in the sound of the Duke's voice, a small, fond smile coming to rest on his face.

Virgil sat there for the rest of the day, just listening to Remus talk. He didn't register a lot of what he was saying, but he would slip a small comment or remark every so often into the conversation, which made the Duke grin ear to ear.

It was about as chill as it could get with Remus leading the conversation. Eventually, the topic switched to something that pulled at the heart strings. Somehow, they found themselves on the topic of the past. Living together, the three of them. Virgil, Remus, and Janus.

"Those were the good old days, huh..." Remus muttered with what appeared to be a twinge of sadness in his smile.

That caused Virgil’s heart rate to spike. He got really fidgety, and he bounced his leg up and down as his breath got fast-paced and sporadic.

"No, no, no... I can't. I don't. I never wanted to leave you behind..." Virgil muttered, cutting Remus' reminiscing short.

The Duke hesitated for a mere moment before taking the anxious side's hands into his own. When Virgil didn't attempt to pull his hands away, Remus moved closer. "Hey, look at me. I'm not going anywhere."

Virgil tightened his grip on Remus' hands, eyes shakily making their way up to meet with the Duke's. "When you left, sure, it stung. A lot. It stung for all of us. It hurt. We don't have to be forced away from each other anymore. You know that. I'm always just a knock on the door away from a visit. Hell, you came to visit me out of your own free will! That's why we're sitting here!" Remus ran the pads of his thumbs over the backs of Virgil's hands in a comforting manner. That paired with the words coming from the Duke's mouth did wonders to calm him.

Virgil glanced up when he felt Remus' forehead press against his own, and he smiled weakly. It had been a while since they talked, but now they didn't have anything keeping them from sitting and talking for hours like how things used to be.

"You can stick around as long as you like. Even if you don't have anything to say." Remus told him, his voice unusually soft. "I will always be here to listen to anything you spout out."

Virgil took comfort in the promise. He felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him. It was a familiar promise. Similar to one he had heard Remus make before.

And he knew that promise would be kept. Even more so now that they had the choice to be near the other.

Maybe it'd be a long time before Virgil came by to visit Remus again. Only reason he had today was for a change of pace in his daily routine. But he made a mental note of what Remus had said, about not going anywhere. He had plenty of time to revisit the Duke and listen to his rambles. And what better time than the present, right? He wanted to sit there and listen to his rambles for hours on end.

It wasn't exactly the same as the past that Virgil had been yearning to reconnect with, but it was as good a start as any. It was a sweet, familiar feeling to be there with Remus in this exact moment, and he wouldn't trade that feeling for the world.

#sanders sides #moonblade writing #dukexiety #platonic dukexiety #finally getting myself back into the writing game

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logan-the-artist · 5 months

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Hii I have a request {and you 100% don’t have to if you want to!!!} but maybe a lil doodle of Virgil and/or Remus ? Thank you ❤️

Remus is like Virgil’s big brother and i love them.

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analoceits · 4 months

Text

hey. thought id warn yall i am alive. 50/50 chance a platonic/brotherly dukexiety fic might come out soon soo yeah. uhm if you wanna help motivate me to post feel free to send an ask. im tired. byee tss fandom, see ya later

#sanders sides #brotherly dukexiety #platonic dukexiety

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typically-untypical · 1 year

Note

decorating their house with halloween deco as a protest against xmas with any/all of the dork sides as a prompt :D

^_^ I'm all for people enjoying the Holidays however they want, but I think you have a point about the Dark Sides believing in Halloween Supremacy.

This Is Halloween

Remus could hear the sound of Christmas pouring through the door. It felt like heresy; the offending noise was scraping at his ear drums. This was completely unacceptable, it was still November and Remus was not about this life. Christmas was about hope, peace on earth, family, and all the other cutesy bs his brother subscribed to, and Remus would behave… ish… during the month of December, but it wasn’t December yet. Maybe if they lived in another country where Christmas meant more, Remus would find another thing to complain about, but they lived in the United States, Florida specifically. Christmas here was kept in check by the boundary line of Thanksgiving and it was only fair to the retail workers who would have to listen to Christmas music on loop, that Remus got his revenge. So, unless all of the other sides wanted nightmares of a decapitated Kris Kringle, they were going to respect the "no Christmas before Thanksgiving" rule. What better way to enforce it than with a Halloween takeover.

Remus jumped up from the couch and teleported to his room, laughing all along the way. He knew what he wanted to do but he had to find just the right things, the perfect music, the perfect decorations. Sure he could just summon what he wanted, but sometimes a hint of authenticity was worth it. After finding a costume, a CD, and the decorations he wanted, Remus got ready for his plot. Was this an excuse to enjoy Halloween for another month, no, of course not. He would never force the others to continue enjoying a holiday about fears, lying, and disguises. It wasn't like those three things encompassed some of his favorite people. Nope, not at all.

Remus smiled as he snuck into the common room, looking for the CD player, he noticed that Patton had left the room, probably to look for more decorations, or to ask Roman to conjure some. Roman was a fuddy duddy, he liked Halloween just as much as the dark sides but he had to pretend it wasn't his favorite because that wasn't what the light sides did. Honestly, Remus was a bit annoyed by his brother for playing to Daddy Patton’s wishes. Christmas was all well and good but where was the flair for the dramatics, the costumes? The candy? When they were younger he and Roman used to dress up in matching costumes.

With a snap, Remus turned all of Patton's Christmas decorations into 'tasteful' Halloween decorations, and he replaced the current CD with the 2001 Count Chocula "13 Day of Halloween - Rhythm and Boos" CD, an absolute classic. Then he disappeared quickly before he got caught, cackling back down in his own living room. He was sure his decorations and music wouldn't laugh, but even just the bit of change made him happy. The chaos was great and it helped ease some of the thoughts of making Paton the angel on the tree by shoving it up his... well.

Remus was laughing so hard, he almost didn't hear the CD stop and Patton's tirade of terror. Maybe he overdid it a bit on the spiders and gore, but if he was going to bring back Halloween for an encore, he was going to go big. By the time he stopped laughing, he heard someone coming down the stairs, though the didn't have the expected rush to their steps that he was expecting. Still, Remus changed into an outfit that would looked like Logan if not for the ripped cargo pants and torn green polo shirt. The glasses were at least correct, they should be since he had stolen them from Logan's spare drawer. He would probably never even know they were gone since Logan didn't typically need a set of spare glasses. Unlike some of the other sides, he was pretty good about taking care of his shit.

"Hey Re," Virgil said, dropping onto the sofa next to him. He was expecting to get reprimanded, chastised, something, but Virgil was acting positively calm. That was definitely not what Remus was expecting but he rolled with it anyway. Putting on the best fake nerd voice he could, Remus put down the book he was pretending to read and turned to Virgil.

"Why hello my esteemed college Virgin, what can I do for you today?"

Virgil rolled his eyes and shook his head. That had never been one of his favorite nicknames which was probably why it irritated him so much Roman called him that. "I was sent down here to tell you off for changing all the Christmas decorations." Again, he was calm, quiet even as he looked up at the ceiling rather than staring at Remus with those disapproving eyes the chaotic side knew Virgil had perfected. He wanted to gouge out those eyes sometimes, keep them in a jar. Maybe he should make a bunch of jars that had eyes that looked like they belonged to the other sides... later, right now he had someone else to focus on.

Remus looked at Virgil from behind his new glasses, everything was blurry so he had to push them up on his head to be able to actually see. "You aren't actually telling me to stop though."

"Nah," Virgil looked at him, "I like Halloween and I think your choice of music was... well it wasn't horrible. I actually thought it was kinda funny. Haven't listened to that since we were what... in middle school?"

A brilliant smile lit up Remus' face as he laughed. "Yes! See, I'm not the only one! Christmas can suck it!"

"Maybe I wouldn't go that far. Your brother likes Christmas so I'm happy to indulge him."

"Ew," Remus gagged and Virgil glared at him, rolling his eyes.

"But you aren't the only one who would be happy to indulge in Halloween for a little longer."

Remus' smile grew even brighter as he wiggled around on the couch until he was looking at Virgil fully. "What if we had a stupid little compromise or something?"

Virgil raised his eyebrow, obviously attentive so Remus kept going.

"I'll leave the boring people alone so they can celebrate their holiday, and we could decorate for Halloween down here. The two of us could make it all dark and creepy and just have some fun." It had been a long time since he had hung out with Virgil and just existed in the same space as him. It would be nice to have his friend back for a bit. Remus sat watching as Virgil thought about, he was almost prepared to hear the other man say no when instead he nodded.

"Yeah, Yeah that's a great idea." He stood up, holding his hand out for Remus. "We can pull out the old decorations, maybe make some new ones." Remus could see Virgil getting excited and everything buzzed in him like a hive of bees.

Remus took Virgil's hand, laughing excitedly when it came off as Virgil attempted to help him off the couch. Anxiety only had a brief moment of fear until he obviously remembered it was Remus and he just tossed the hand back, shaking his head.

"Alright Beetlejuice, I'm guessing you can get up on your own."

Remus reattached his hand as he, still laughing, sprang up to his feet. "You should go get your special decorations Vee, will set this whole things up Dark side style." Virgil smirked and nodded before heading off and Remus can already feel the change in the air. It was hard to explain, a hint of mysticism and dark magic, a hint of two people becoming friends again.

Remus wiggled excitedly, hardly able to contain his excitement as he started to place decorations. Maybe they could even rope Janus into it. He changed back into his normal outfit, this was gonna be so much fun.

#Untypical Creations #Sanders Sides #Sanders Side fic #Fanfic #remus sanders #virgil sanders #platonic dukexiety #I prefer to call the ship Virus #Halloween supremacy #Mostly fluffy

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i-am-bitterly-jittery · 1 year

Text

On Death's Doorstep (pt 21/?)

[<<First],,,,[<Prev],[Next>] [ODD Masterlist]

Word count: 1716

Rating: Teen

Pairing: Anxceit

Warnings: past bullying homophobia cheating and domestic abuse, anxiety, suggestive language

~~~START~~~

Virgil wasn’t sure how to feel about… well, anything really. Orin’s death, his and Patton’s current living situation, the fact that Roman and Remus repeatedly referred to him as their little brother despite the fact that Virgil was older than them…

What Virgil wouldn’t give to be living in precedented times.

But at the moment, his specific predicament was the fact that he was about seventy percent sure he was going on a date tonight. With Janus.

He liked Janus in general. When he was a superhero, he was always a little excited when he was called up to thwart Serpentine’s schemes — consequently, Orin had had a particularly intense grudge against the villainous illusionist — and since coming to live with the villains, Virgil found himself feeling almost content when Janus stopped in. He just wasn’t sure if he liked Janus.

And if he did like Janus, then there was every possibility that Janus would just be the latest addition to the Virgil’s-Shitty-Taste-In-Men list. His first big crush in middle school had been a homophobe, who’d stuffed Virgil into a garbage can every day after he’d realized he’d had a crush on him (until papa had enrolled Virgil in a karate class so he’d know how to defend himself without having to use his blossoming powers); then there was his high school boyfriend, who’d cheated on him with the closeted basketball captain for over six months; and finally there was Orin, who’d ruined Virgil’s life so badly he still wasn’t sure there’d really be any recovering from it. So yeah, Virgil didn’t have a great track record going for him.

On the other hand, if Janus’s only bad trait was that they were a supervillain, then they would easily be the best person he’d ever dated.

If this was a date, which there was a thirty percent chance that it wasn’t.

“Daddy?” Virgil looked down to find his five-year-old — five! He was already five! Where had the years gone? — hugging onto his legs and staring up at him.

“Yeah, buddy?” He asked, hoisting Patton onto his hip.

“Why’re you nervous?”

Virgil’s expression softened and he leaned his forehead against Patton’s. “I’m just being a little silly, kiddo. While you’re hanging out with Roman and Remus tonight, I’m going to hang out with Janus, and I’m just a little anxious about it.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not sure what we’ll be doing,” Virgil answered.

“I’m not sure what me and uncle Roman and auntie Remus will be doing,” Patton replied with a frown. “Should I be nervous?”

Virgil laughed, stuffing the part of his brain that panicked at the phrase ‘uncle Roman and auntie Remus’ back into the corner of his mind to be dissected again at a later time. “No, Pat, I don’t think you need to be nervous at all. You’re gonna have so much fun with Roman and Remus.”

“Oh,” Patton said, brightening up considerably. “Then why are you nervous? Aren’t you going to have fun with M. Janus?”

Well when you put it like that.

“You’re right,” Virgil agreed, somewhat stunned at his son’s debate skills. “Janus and I are going to have fun tonight.”

“Then you don’t need to be nervous!” Patton cheered, completely proud of himself for figuring out a solution. Virgil was too fond of his smile to explain anxiety disorders to him.

The knock on the door a moment later came as a huge relief.

“Uncle Roman!” Patton screamed happily, wiggling to be let down. “Auntie Remus!”

“Ah, young princeling!” Roman greeted as Patton flung the door open. “Are you ready for the best sleepover of your life!”

“Yes!” Patton yelled as Roman scooped him into the air, completely ignoring the fact that he’d never had any sleepover before.

“Is that what you’re wearing?” Remus asked Virgil, letting themself in

Virgil glanced down at his outfit — black skinny jeans and an oversized blue sweatshirt for a college he hadn’t gone to — uncertainly. It wasn’t like he had a whole lot of clothing options; most of his stuff was just what Janus or one of the others gave him.

“What’s wrong with this?” He demanded defensively.

“It’s not a very good outfit to get lai–” Roman elbowed her hard in the side “–ered in.”

“I’m not trying to get layered,” Virgil hissed, his face heating up uncomfortably.

“Clearly,” Remus snorted.

“Okay!” Roman interjected loudly. “We should get going now. Don’t worry, Vee, you look great! We’ll make sure Patty eats plenty of fruits and veggies before we jack him up on sugar, and we’ll bring him back tomorrow morning. Around ten, just so that there’s plenty of time in case you and Janus decide to have a sleepover as well.”

“Roman!”

“Have fun, Vee-Vee!” Remus grinned, steering Roman, and therefore Patton, back out the door. Just before they’d closed it all the way, however, a duplicate sprung out and darted past Virgil to the bedroom. “Just one more thing though!”

They emerged a moment later holding a purple V-neck sweater aloft triumphantly.

“Wear this on your date.”

“Okay, one,” Virgil listed impatiently. “It’s not a date. Two, I’m not trying to get laid. Three, this sweater’s a little tight on me.

Remus laughed. “It is a date. You’re going on a date. With Janny. So write that down. And B, it’s supposed to be a little tight! Trust me, even if you don’t want to get laid, you still want Janny-Jan-Jan to take one look at you and wish they were getting laid tonight. Just think about it, Virgin, you’ll thank me later!”

She cackled as she shoved the sweater at Virgil before darting out of the apartment.

“I’m not–!” Virgil called after her uselessly. “I have a kid!”

But she was already gone, and Virgil was left alone with only the sweater and a lot to think about.

By the time Janus knocked on the door an hour later, Virgil was dressed in the purple sweater and about eighty-five percent certain it was a date — jury was still out on whether or not he wanted it to be a date though.

Janus stood on the other side of the door with a bouquet of purple and yellow roses in their hand and their usual smirk on their face. For just the quickest second when they caught sight of Virgil’s sweater, their jaw dropped and their eyes popped out of their head, but they quickly schooled their features and shoved the flowers into Virgil’s hands.

“These are for you,” they informed him as Virgil carefully took the bundle. “You look stunning.”

The only consolation Virgil had as his cheeks heated up was that Janus had stopped using their illusion powers to distort their face, so he could see how their cheeks were tinged pink as well. He was definitely going to need to find a way to thank Remus for the fashion advice later.

“Uh, thanks,” he muttered, half trying to hide behind the roses. “So do you.”

And they really did. Their yellow button up was tailored perfectly to their body, and leaving the top few buttons undone both showed off both the lines of their neck, as well as offering the slightest tease of a tattoo hidden behind the rest of the fabric.

“Yes, well, Roman was rather adamant that I wear this top tonight — he said it brought out my eyes or something,” Janus rolled their eyes, trying to move past their own embarrassment.

Virgil nodded — he could see it; the gold shirt highlighted the gold flecks in Janus’s eyes.

“Yeah, Remus made me wear this too,” he admitted. “I should find a vase for these… if there even are any vases in here…”

Virgil turned towards the kitchen doubtfully. He’d never noticed a vase before, but he’d never had any use for one either.

“I think there’s one…” Janus trailed off as they made their way to the sink. They opened the cabinet beneath the sink and reached into the back. “Here.”

They pulled out a large, squared-based vase and placed it on the counter.

“Thanks,” Virgil murmured as he placed the flowers in the vase and filled it partway with water. “So, uh, what do you want to do tonight?”

Janus’s smirk returned and they reached for Virgil’s hand. “Follow me.”

Virgil followed them until they tried to drag him across the threshold of the apartment and into the stairwell.

“Are you sure–?”

“I checked with Franky, he’s allowing you to go up to the roof tonight — I might have implied that Patton would also be there, but he’s been so distracted lately, and what Franky doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

“Okay.” Virgil braced himself as he crossed the threshold, but no alarm sounded, and he allowed Janus to continue leading him up to the roof.

Stepping onto the roof was not like Virgil had thought it would be. Next to the garden, a pergola covered in fairy lights had been set up, and underneath that sat a small table perfectly set for two.

“Oh,” Virgil whispered, stunned.

“I hope it’s alright,” Janus said, talking to cover their nerves. “Since you’re not allowed to leave the building, there weren’t a whole lot of options. I was just going to set up a rooftop picnic, but the twins insisted on helping me set all this up, and–”

They cut themself off when they noticed tears running down Virgil’s face.

“Darling,” Janus said softly, gently wiping the tears from his face with one hand. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just,” Virgil shook his head, resting one hand over Janus’s on his cheek. “No one’s ever done anything like this for me before.”

“Ah,” Janus said, stepping closer and bringing their freehand up to cup Virgil’s other cheek. “Well, I intend to romance you correctly — if you’ll allow me to, that is.”

“Yeah,” Virgil flushed, his eyes darting down to Janus’s lips before he forced himself to look back up into their eyes. “Sounds good to me.”

Janus’s lips curled up into a smirk that was very much reminiscent of their supervillain smirk. “Excellent.”

Virgil wasn’t sure which one of them had moved to close the gap between them, but he was one hundred percent certain that A, this was a date, and B, he very much wanted it to be.

~~~END~~~

I sure hope the progression of this relationship has made sense, I figure that 20 chapters 30k+ words and like 10 months (in fic time) is enough that it’s a proper slow-burn, but I’m just not sure that I built up to it as smoothly as I could have, especially with a five-ish month gap between when we last saw them and this chapter (idk maybe I did, I don’t have a natural sense for romantic relationships for obvious reasons)

Idk, I think it’s good, that’s all that really matters

(And hopefully I described V and Jan as wearing properly attractive clothing, cuz I don’t have a natural sense of attractiveness either)

Anyway I hope you enjoyed this little reprieve cuz I plan of fucking everything up in the next chapter 😈 (it’s time for The Thing™)

ODD taglist:

@royalty-of-all-things-snuggly @pixelated-pineapple @arsonic-knight @misunderstood-shadowling @lost-in-thought-20 @remy-the-lemon-berry @jinxcrafter @apinkline2715 @gothfoxx @donutsarepartybagels @xoaningout @meganmoneky14

#sanders sides #ts sanders sides #virgil sanders #janus sanders #anxceit #patton sanders #roman sanders #remus sanders #platonic moxiety #parental moxiety #on death’s doorstep #superhero au #thursday writes #my writing #sanders sides fanfiction #platonic dukexiety #platonic prinxiety

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