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Prompts: hello, hello! I come with a request/prompt/whatever you call em. so, I have this hc that wherever the dark and light side are divided, there's a barrier (Patton's responsible for this, he made some not so nice decisions) and darks can't go to the light and lights can't cross to the dark and all that, unless they get accepted, of course, now to the actual prompt lol. this would be Remus centric mostly and with his pov. all three dark sides love each other a lot, Virge wants to see the light side mindscape because... yeah, so he goes and gets accepted, what he didn't expect but should've is that now he can't go back to the other two, so, when they meet on the outside world, Vi and Jan talk and Virge convinces Jan to get the others to accept them so they can be together (so like, can lying be good, I think)... Remus isn't aware tho, he wasn't there when they spoke and they never found the time to tell him they've been so busy but he sees the effort Jan is putting into getting accepted, how often he goes out and all that, and the thoughts that come with being 'intrusive thoughts' convince him that it's because Jan got tired of him and wants to go back to Virgil because he likes him better, he wants his friends to be happy, so he lets it be, thinking it's the best. the lights are on board, Logan likes Jan and Remus, he thinks they're interesting and Roman wants to be with his brother again, Pat is the one that required a bit of convincing but they got it eventually. when all is set and done Jan and Remus go to the barrier and Jan crosses over and Remus, thinking he isn't and won't be accepted because the bad thoughts say so, doesn't even try, then Janus realizes Remus is still on the other side and then all comes back and he realizes he never really specified that Remus was coming too, cue the sides finding a way to get to the dark side to fetch Remus, who's very confused at seeing everyone there claiming they came to get him, as is bound to happen after being alone with his thoughts and the effects of his room for a moment too long, and tell him that they love him and would never leave him behind on purpose like that, he and Virge hug, Jan apologizes and they live happily ever after
was this too long? idk, sorry if it is - anon (this was v long but that's okay :) )
might I humbly request some janus and remus, platonic or romantic, preferrably as angsty as possible :) (oh and also a touch of hurt/comfort because I may love angst but I Am Also Fragile) - anon
Hi, I was wondering if you’d be willing to write a story focused on brotherly dukexiety? It’s one of my favorite dynamics and I almost never see anything for it. No pressure if you don’t want to, I just love your writing and I’d love to see how you write these two! - anon
Dark, darker, yet darker.
It pools in the corners, crawls across the walls, something darker than darkness. A little witch boy, curled in the shadows, eyes single pinpricks that you can’t see unless you’re already too close. Come, little boy, come down, down, down into the depths where the light won’t reach and the creatures of the night run wild and free.
Where there is light, there must be shadow. When a shadow touches the light, it is destroyed forever. That was the story Janus told them when they were little. He and Virgil would cling to each other, Virgil because he claimed he wasn’t scared—he was—and needed to protect little Remus. Remus because he was scared—and he should be—and he was small enough to fit into Virgil’s lap.
Janus would sweep them into his six arms, murmuring about how the darkness was needed, there couldn’t be light without dark, that they were safe in the shadows as long as they stuck together. Virgil would mutter about how he knew that, he just needed to make sure Remus understood that so he wouldn’t get scared. They’d never leave him alone.
Remus was new. A baby Side, no more than a fledgling, still trying to piece together the broken shards after Creativity Split. He still reached for the phantom half of his brother, trying to claw back the other half of his heart. Tentacles would sprout from his back, excruciating because they were wrong, no matter how many times Janus would sprout all six of his arms to show him it’s not wrong, sweetie, it’s okay, see? You’re just like me. Remus would scream, haunted by thoughts that ran through his head that he’d never heard before, where’s his brother, why isn’t he coming back to fix it?
“I’m your brother too,” Virgil would say softly, stroking a sobbing Remus’s back, “and I’ll never leave you. I’m right here. I’ll take care of you.”
Remus, the little Dark Side, grew up in the shadows until they molded themselves around his arms, his legs, and grew into the ghoulish smile on his face.
There is something comforting about the darkness. Something cathartic. Wandering deep, deep into the misty shadows, pushing past the last pinpricks of light until he can’t see anything, not even his own hands, and waiting until they race up his spine. To let them sink into him, take control, and that’s when the thoughts would come.
The distant cries of despair, the dissonant shrieks of pain. The images that flashed too real and too bright in the darkness, the prickling sensation on the back of his neck that made him feel like he was being watched.
“Alright Remus, that’s enough for now.”
And he would be back. Janus would be leaning into his peripheral, waving with a teasing smile as he pulled Remus up off the couch and led him to the kitchen for dinner. Virgil would be on his phone, glancing up in time to offer Remus a small smile as he plopped down next to him.
“Hey, little octopus,” he’d say, ruffling Remus’s hair, “you have a good day?”
“I thought about bad things!”
Virgil would chuckle. “Well, that’s your job. You have fun?”
Remus would grin so hard his lips would ache and he would tell them all about it. Janus would smile and reach over, tweaking his ear. Virgil would laugh and tell him he’s doing his job.
And Remus was happy.
Then he found out about the Others.
There can be no light without darkness, Janus had said. Somehow Remus never figured out that there was light.
Patton, Logan, and Roman.
Roman. His brother, his twin, the other half of Creativity. Remus threw himself at the border between the Light and the Dark when he glimpsed Roman’s red sash, uncaring how it burned his hands and made his bones ache because that was his brother over there, he wants his brother back, why won’t they let him?
Janus had gentled him away from the barrier, setting him down with a Kraken plushie and explaining that no, Remus, they couldn’t go over there.
“But why,” Remus had whined, twisting the Kraken’s arms, “he’s my brother, Janny, I want—I just wanna see my brother.”
Something had twisted in Janus’s face. “We can’t go over there, Remus, we’re…we’re not wanted.”
Not wanted? Did that mean his brother didn’t want to see him?
“…yes.”
Virgil had appeared at the first scream.
It took hours. Hours of Janus holding him in his lap, running his hands through his hair, down his back, holding him close. Hours of Virgil muttering soft words, letting Remus squeeze his hands until their knuckles turned white. Hours of Remus’s lungs doing their very best to exit his body as he cried and screamed because his brother didn’t want him.
That was the first time Remus cried over a brother.
When he was older, he learned a bit more. He learned that Roman didn’t do it on purpose. He didn’t Split away from Remus because he wanted to, he didn’t know it was going to happen any more than Remus did. He learned that Logan didn’t like Roman either; as Logic, he and Creativity were to be at odds anyway, even if they weren’t Split.
He learned that Patton was the reason for a lot of it.
Janus had hesitated when trying to explain this, eventually settling on what was too simple of an explanation to be the whole story but made too much sense to be a complete lie.
Patton is Morality. Patton is responsible for what Thomas believes to be right and wrong. If something is Wrong, Patton will cast it out.
Janus, Deceit, is Wrong. So Janus is pushed away into the darkness to hide things from Thomas.
Virgil, Anxiety, is Wrong. Anxiety scares Thomas, which is Bad, so Virgil is pushed away.
Remus, Bad Creativity, is Wrong. Roman is Good Creativity, and Thomas only needs to be Good.
“But he can’t stop us from doing our jobs,” Janus had assured, “as you well know. He can’t stop us from reaching Thomas, he can’t prevent us from any of that. We just…can’t go into that part of the Mindscape.”
Virgil had huffed. “Not that we’d ever need to go over there. What’ve they got that we don’t? More sunlight? No, thank you.”
Janus had chuckled, reaching out to ruffle their hair. “That’s the spirit, boys.”
So Remus had shrugged and turned his back on the barrier. He had a brother over here and he had Janus. And they were safe in the darkness, what more could they need?
And Remus was happy.
And then—and then Virgil started to leave.
“Thomas is letting me get stronger,” he had announced at one dinner, a grin on his face, “I can feel the real world more than ever.”
Janus had raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Have you tried manifesting there yet?”
“Not yet. But soon. I think I’ll be able to do it.”
Remus had bounced up and down in his seat. “Does that mean we might get to talk to Thomas too? Like the Light Sides?”
Virgil had reached out and ruffled his hair. “That’s the plan, little octopus.”
“Well, that isn’t good news at all.”
“Oh, we know you practice your cape sweeping in the mirror.”
Janus had reached over and gently cuffed Virgil upside the head. “Enough of that. Save your energy for Thomas.”
“Yeah, yeah, Mr. Cape.”
“Do you want dessert or not?”
“Ooh, ooh! I do!”
The first time Virgil had left, Remus and Janus had gathered in the living room, anxiously—heh—waiting for any sign that Virgil was in trouble, that something was going wrong, that they needed to step in. But Virgil had sunk out completely, the only sign of him the ambient pulsing of the Mindscape as Thomas reacted to what was going on.
“He’s gonna be okay,” Remus had chanted over and over under his breath, “he’s gonna be okay, he’s gonna be okay, he’s gonna be okay—“
Janus had reached out and carefully stilled his hands, murmuring something about stimming being okay but he shouldn’t hurt himself while doing it.
And when Virgil had reappeared, grinning, Remus had thrown himself into his arms and started peppering him with questions.
“How did it go? Did you manifest? Did everyone see you? Did Thomas see you?”
“Slow down, sweetie,” Janus had murmured, getting off the couch and helping Virgil sweep him into his arms, “let him breathe.”
Virgil had ruffled Remus’s hair, still grinning. “It worked. It worked, Janus. It totally worked.”
Janus had paused, his own smile growing, before he ruffled Virgil’s hair too. “Awful, my dear, simply awful of you.”
Virgil’s grin had sharpened. “I was.”
Then he started to leave more often. Remus wanted to go with him, but they’d refused.
You’re not strong enough, sweetie, Janus had said, Roman is still Creativity to them, I don’t want you getting hurt.
The reason I’m able to do it is because Thomas is letting me get stronger, Virgil had said, maybe when you’re older.
It wasn’t until Virgil didn’t come back that Remus realizes they were lying.
He remembers screaming at the barrier for hours, beating his fists on it, thinking that they’d taken Virgil captive, let him go, he wants him back, how dare they? He remembers Janus finding him and catching his hands, pulling him away and onto the couch. He remembers pummeling his fists into Janus, screaming about how could he be so calm about this, they took Virgil, doesn’t Janus want him back?
“They didn’t take him, sweetie,” Janus murmurs, still holding Remus’s wrists, “they Accepted him.”
Remus freezes. “They fucking what?”
“Virgil got Accepted, sweetie.” Janus runs his hand through Remus’s hair. It doesn’t feel like Virgil. “That’s why he isn’t here.”
“So, what, they just—they decided he’s Good, now?”
Janus hesitates. “Not exactly.”
Remus growls, throwing himself backward and out of Janus’s grip. “I’m not them, Janus. I’m not Thomas. Don’t fucking lie to me.”
Janus just looks at him. “I’m not lying, sweetie. That’s not what happened.”
“So why isn’t he here?”
“Because he—“
“If you tell me he got Accepted again, I’m going to rip your balls off and pan sear them.”
Janus sighs, adjusting his gloves. “Virgil was Accepted by Thomas. That means that Patton’s ability to push him out is being overridden by Thomas’s desire to see him.”
Remus doesn’t, in fact, rip his balls off and pan-sear them. “So what, now he’s…over there?”
“Yes.”
“Can we see him?”
“Patton still has control over us, Remus.”
“So what, if we get Accepted we can go over there?”
“Yes.”
Remus narrows his eyes. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Janus sighs, reaching out to ruffle his hair again. “I knew you were getting better.”
Remus leans away. “Tell me.”
Janus pauses. Then he lowers his hand and sighs. “Virgil didn’t know he wouldn’t be able to come back. He…Remus, if we don’t get Accepted, we might never be able to see him again unless it’s outside the Mindscape.”
“So we just have to get Accepted.”
“…yes.”
“Okay,” Remus murmurs, missing the look that flickers across Janus’s face, “okay. Get Accepted. Get Accepted.”
If he gets Accepted, he can see Virgil again. He can see Roman again. He can do it. He can do it.
That night is the second time he cries over a brother.
The darkness is quieter now. It’s just the two of them. Janus spends so much time plotting and thinking that Remus doesn’t have anyone to brainstorm with. He lets the brain hit him without an umbrella, walking slowly down the dark path until he’s soaked in them. Janus doesn’t even look up anymore when he comes in for dinner.
Janus can manifest now. Thomas—Thomas let him. Granted, he showed up as Patton the first time, and then he had his identity reveal, and they—they just let him keep showing up. Patton couldn’t push him out. Did that mean Thomas wanted to see him? Did that mean Thomas was closer to Accepting him?
Was Janus talking to Virgil? Was he talking to Roman? Did that mean that Remus could come in soon too?
Janus chuckles when Remus bombards him with questions, catching his hands and sitting them on the couch. “Slow down, sweetie, I can’t hear all of them.”
Remus huffs, letting Janus squeeze his hands. “What’s going on, Janny? You don’t talk to me as much anymore.”
“Oh, I know, sweetie, I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy.” He rolls his eyes. “You know how difficult it can be to talk to someone who won’t listen, don’t you?”
“Mhm.” He glares at Janus. “Sure do.”
“…alright, I deserve that one.”
“But it’s going okay?”
“Oh, yes. Roman in particular has been very helpful.”
Remus perks up. “Really? Roman?”
“Mm.”
Remus wriggles with glee. “And what about Virgil? Have you seen him too? Is he okay?”
Janus huffs. “As contrary as ever and enjoying every moment of it.”
“Yay!” Remus claps his hands. “Do you think I’ll be able to manifest soon too?”
“…yes, as a matter of fact.” Janus pats his shoulder. “I think you’ll have your chance before too long.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. But, Remus—“ Janus shifts forward, his expression serious as he takes Remus’s face in his hands— “manifesting isn’t as easy as just showing up, alright? Thomas doesn’t know you exist yet, he’s not going to react well.”
“I wouldn’t be doing my job if he reacted well.”
“Yes, that’s true, but just because you can manifest doesn’t mean you’ll get Accepted. It just means that you’re a concrete enough thing in Thomas’s head.”
That takes a bit of the wind out of Remus’s sails. “So…”
“So,” Janus says, aiming for gentle and hitting right in the soft part of Remus’s chest, “you could manifest and it could make it easier for Patton to push you away.”
Remus stops. His eyes widen. “You mean if I…manifest…I might never get Accepted?”
Janus nods slowly.
“But that didn’t happen with Virgil! And that’s not happening with you!”
“We don’t know about me yet, sweetie.”
“But you—you said it was going well!”
“It is for now. But I would be irresponsible if I let you go up there without knowing that.”
Remus chews on his lip. “So what should I do?”
“Whether Patton likes it or not, we are parts of Thomas. We can’t go away. Thomas needs us.” Janus runs his fingers over the curve of Remus’s face. “Just be you, do your job. That’s what’ll help you.”
Okay. Okay. Just do his job. He can do his job. He runs back into the darkness and lets it sink into him.
If he’s going to do his job, he’s going to do it right.
The whispers come to him easily as soon as he opens the door. Blood in the bathtub, sticks of deodorant devoured in three bites, shaking hands, darkness, darkness, darkness.
Remus grins. He can do this.
Janus gives him the signal after a night of work, whispering that Thomas is still feeling the effects of what happened. Remus reaches out, feeling the Mindscape twist and turn around him until—
He can see it. The outside. He can see Thomas. He can see Patton, he can see Logan, he can see—
He can see Roman.
He can see Virgil.
He pushes.
“Have you ever thought about killing your brother?”
Thomas flinches. Remus grins, beginning to pull up from the aether behind the TV. Roman can’t see him. Oh, Roman is going to be so surprised—
Knock him out.
The whispers make him pause.
Knock him out, take his place, show them the rest of Creativity.
Well…it’s not a bad idea.
The screams as he appears make the smile grow wider, Thomas’s gaping eyes as he climbs out from behind the TV music to his ears. He looks around and for the first time, they see him.
He looks over at Virgil, wanting to say something about how it’s so good to see him, he’s missed him, but—
But Virgil isn’t looking at him. He’s glaring at Logan. And Thomas. And Patton. He’s—what?
Maybe…maybe Virgil wasn’t expecting it. That’s right, Janus said they could only talk out here, in front of everybody, maybe—maybe Virgil just didn’t know he was coming.
That’s okay.
Remus grins, spinning his tales and watching as Thomas reacts beautifully. See, he says in occasional glances at Patton, see? I’m as much a part of Thomas too, don’t you see?
But then—then Logan starts talking.
And he’s saying things like it’s okay, he’s harmless, he can’t do anything to you. You’re alright, this isn’t you, you’re going to be alright.
And…it hurts. It hurts. It’s hurting. This isn’t supposed to hurt. Janus didn’t say anything about this hurting. He should ask Janus. He tries to summon Janus—
“Ah!” Thomas holds up a finger. “One of you is enough.”
Janus isn’t coming. Janus isn’t coming and Virgil isn’t helping him and Patton isn’t listening to him anymore and Logan is talking to Thomas and—and—
He can feel his power slipping away. It’s leaving him. He’s losing his ability to stay there. Thomas is pulling away from him. In a desperate attempt, he looks at Virgil, please, please, let me stay, I’ve missed you so much, let me—let me—
“You know what's funny?” Virgil looks at him. Why…why is Virgil looking at him like that? “You used to really unsettle me.”
…what? No, no, Virgil—Virgil liked him. Virgil was his—
“I thought that you were some... terrible illness.”
Remus’s chest clenches. Virgil just looks at him.
“Now I can see that you're just... a common cold. A mild inconvenience that's...gone before you know it.”
There’s a distant whining sound in his ears, Remus realizes after a moment. He isn’t in his body anymore, separated from them so much he may as well be back in the darkness, his body left here. Something from far away hurts.
He doesn’t remember sinking out. He doesn’t remember getting back to Janus. He doesn’t remember collapsing weightlessly on the floor.
He remembers hearing the afterimage of Roman’s voice.
“It's a little like looking into a funhouse mirror... but instead of a giant head, or, like, long legs and a tiny torso... it shows you... everything you don't wanna be.”
He remembers the way Virgil looked at him.
He remembers the whispers.
They don’t want you. They will never want you. It’s your job to be unwanted.
They’re going to leave. Virgil left and he’s happy about it.
Janus will leave. He’s closer to being Accepted than you are. His power hasn’t been taken away from him.
You will be alone.
The darkness is your only friend.
Janus is putting so much work into being Accepted. Janus is working so hard and he’s—the others seem to prefer him. Right? Isn’t that what this taught him? Janus never got stripped of his power, did he? And he keeps being able to leave. Remus can’t leave again. Is…is that right? Is that what’s going on?
He goes to ask Janus once or twice but Virgil’s words keep ringing in his ears. A mild inconvenience that’s gone before you know it.
Is that all he is?
Is that why Janus is working so hard to leave?
He misses Virgil. He misses the others. He wants to go back to them.
He doesn’t care about you.
He wants to say that’s not true. He wants to say that Janus came and found him after that, that he pulled him into his lap and shushed his cries, that he wiped away his tears and called him sweetie. He wants to say that Janus was there for him when he was upset, that he made sure he ate and got to sleep snuggled up with his favorite Kraken plushie.
But the whispers point out that Janus never denied anything. He never told Remus that Virgil was wrong. He never told Remus that it would be alright, that this wouldn’t happen every time, that this wasn’t what he was expecting.
What if this was the plan all along?
Slowly, slowly, he watches.
Janus doesn’t bring up the fact that Remus hasn’t gotten another chance to manifest. He doesn’t comfort him over the fact that no one seems to miss him. He doesn’t tell him when he’s leaving anymore, he just goes.
Remus sits in the darkness, still and quiet, and watches as Janus draws further and further away from him.
Part of him screams out to follow, to tug on Janus’s cape like he did when he was younger and ask him why, why are you doing this, why are you leaving me?
Part of him thinks that Janus would stop, that he would gather Remus in his arms and kiss his forehead and tell him no, sweetie, I’m not leaving, I’m just trying to figure something out so we can leave together.
Part of him, however, thinks that if Janus were to do that, Remus wouldn’t need to ask for it.
And so when the day comes and Janus doesn’t come back in time for dinner, Remus leaves the table laid out with their food and lets the whispers tug him down, down, down.
If you scream in a dark forest and no one is around to hear it, do you make a sound?
That night is the third time Remus cries over a brother and the first time he cries over a father.
Remus is alone in the darkness now. The darkness is quiet. It’s too quiet. It seeps into every little nook and cranny and drowns it in shadow. The shadows are long, infinitely long, stretching further and further each time Remus looks at them. He huddles around his Kraken plushie underneath the covers, a single candle in the lonely darkness. No other point of reference exists anymore, not since the barrier felt so out of reach and no one else set foot in the darkness of the Mindscape.
But he prefers the quiet to the whispers.
Alone, alone, alone.
Unwanted, unloved, unappreciated.
Did you think anyone would choose to stay with you, in the dark, when they could be together, in the light?
There is light and there is darkness, but there is no light for you.
It’s cold. It’s so cold.
In the darkness, with his eyes shut tightly, he pretends. Pretends they didn’t leave him, pretends that he’s not alone. Pretends that he can hear their voices just outside, that they’re worried about him.
Pretends that he can feel a hand carding through his hair, Virgil’s hand, that he doesn’t have to be alone anymore.
C’mon, little octopus, he imagines Virgil saying, c’mon out. Let me see you. I missed your face, I wanna see it.
Be gentle, he imagines Janus saying, he’s been like that for a while. He’s going to be sore, he won’t be able to move much.
I know, he imagines Virgil saying sharply, I’m not the one who forgot to tell him what the plan was.
He imagines Janus kneeling down, hands working their way under his arms to his waist, trying to coax him upwards into a hug, come here, sweetie, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I forgot to tell you, I’m here now, we’re all here now, let us take care of you.
What happened to being ‘gentle?’
And because this isn’t real, he can imagine the others are here too. He can imagine Logan, who took his power away and made Thomas ignore him, is crouching down too. He’s been like that for a while, I don’t think there’s going to be a way to move him that won’t hurt.
So what do we do, he imagines Virgil saying, I’m not leaving him like this.
Remus, he imagines Logan saying in the same soft voice he used for Thomas, Remus, can you hear us? Your muscles are going to be stiff and sore from being all curled up, you could get hurt if you stay like that.
He likes the soft voice. The soft voice is nice. He doesn’t hear that anymore.
It’s not working, he imagines Janus saying, what do we do?
And because this isn’t real, he can imagine Patton is here too, even though Patton hates him. He can imagine Patton slowly crouching down, resting a hand on his shoulder.
Sweetheart, he imagines, Patton’s voice full of affection and care the way it will never be, wiggle your fingers.
What?
Wiggle your fingers, sweetheart, just a little. Try and see if moving a bit will help you move more.
Remus takes a deep breath and tries to wiggle his fingers. It hurts, it hurts so bad, but they move.
They moved! They moved!
Good, sweetheart, he imagines Patton saying, very good. How about your hands, can you squeeze your toy?
Remus squeezes the toy, weak to the soft voice.
Oh, very good, sweetheart, good job. He imagines Patton’s hand moving to his back. It’s not warm because it’s not real but he imagines the pressure from it. Now, do you think you could roll onto your back?
That’s quite a leap, he imagines Logan saying, concerned, do you think that’s a good idea?
All he’ll need to do is shift his weight. He imagines Patton’s hand being firm. Just roll a little.
I’m right here, he imagines Virgil saying, I’ve got you, little octopus.
Remus closes his eyes even tighter and rolls, every muscle in his body crying out as he slowly comes to rest on his back.
Good, sweetheart.
Good job, sweetie.
I’ve got you, little octopus, you won’t fall.
Very good, Remus, he imagines Logan saying, that’s excellent. Now, try and relax your neck. It’ll hurt if you keep your head off the ground like that.
But that means they’ll see his face. He doesn’t want them to see his face. They might remember that they don’t like him.
But this isn’t real. So it won’t matter, they’ll still be kind to him.
But this isn’t real. And he’ll have to realize that.
He doesn’t want to.
He imagines them coaxing him to do it, Logan saying he doesn’t want Remus to hurt himself, Patton saying it’s alright, Virgil saying he’s right here, Janus saying that they won’t leave.
Wait, Roman—!
Something slams into him.
Remus gasps, the impact jostling him hard enough to break through the rigid grip he has on his muscles. It jerks him across the carpet, rug burn forming on his back as something heavy crashes down on top of him. In an instant, his lungs are burning and he’s desperate for air, the sting of it euphoric as his body comes back to life.
And staring at him, his own eyes filled with unshed tears, is Roman.
Roman stares down at him, his hands braced on either side of Remus’s head. He’s panting too, breaths hitting Remus’s face as his weight bares down, warm and solid and real.
Roman is real.
Roman is here.
“Re,” comes the horrible croaky voice as Roman stares at him, “Re, you’re—“
Remus swallows through a bone-dry throat. “…Ro?”
A wounded noise escapes Roman as he drops, wrapping his arms so tightly around Remus and dragging him upwards into his lap. He throws Remus’s legs over his and buries his nose in his neck, panting breaths shuddering out as Remus stares at the—the—
Virgil looks at him with a crooked smile, reaching out to ruffle his hair. “Hey, little octopus.”
“V-Virgil?”
“Yeah, baby, it’s me.” Virgil reaches out and scruffs his knuckles along the sides of Remus’s face. “I missed you.”
“Don’t drop your Kraken,” comes Janus’s gentle voice and Remus looks over to see his gloveless hands guiding it back into Remus’s grip.
“Janny?”
“It’s me, sweetie,” Janus murmurs, coming up to cup his face in his hands, “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to leave you all alone.”
Remus swallows. “You left me. You both left me.”
Anger surges up in him, even as Roman clutches him tighter.
“You lied to me! You said—you said you wouldn’t leave! You left me alone! You—you promised!”
Janus doesn’t say anything. He only wipes away Remus’s furious tears as Virgil begins to run his fingers through his hair.
Remus wants to pull away. Wants to pull away from all of them. They lied, they left, they promised and they broke it. He wants them to see how much it hurt, wants them to have to grovel and plead to be forgiven, he wants—he wants—
He wants Janus’s soft murmurs. He wants Virgil’s gentle touches. He wants Roman to keep holding onto him and never let go.
Remus collapses into a heap of humiliated tears as Roman holds him tight.
After a long, long time, Remus looks up, watching as Janus holds a handkerchief in front of him and encourages him to blow. He does, a desolate honk sounding in the room.
“When Janus came through,” Logan begins, startling Remus, “we expected you to come with him.”
Remus stares up in shock. “You?”
“Yes, little one,” Logan says in that soft soft soft voice as he crouches down, “I didn’t mean to scare you so badly.”
“You didn’t scare me,” he says, too quickly, too petulantly. Logan just gives him a knowing look as Janus squeezes his hand. “…maybe.”
“In looking after Thomas, I didn’t consider that you might need looking after too.” Logan reaches out and carefully fixes Remus’s collar. “And I didn’t know what it was like for you.”
“Janus explained everything.”
Remus looks up to see Patton watching him. He swallows and burrows a little more into Roman.
“I…it’s my fault you were pushed away,” Patton continues, slowly lowering himself too, “I thought it was right. That it would be better for Thomas.”
Remus watches him warily over Roman’s shoulder.
“I don’t expect you to forgive me,” Patton says, slipping into that gentle voice again, “but can we…try and start again? Janus and Virgil wouldn’t stop talking about how much they missed you, and Roman—“
“I told him I’d break the barrier and get you myself if he didn’t let us,” Roman whispers into Remus’s hair, “because you’re my brother and I fucking missed you.”
“R-Ro…”
“Yeah, Re, it’s me. I’m right here.”
“Roro…”
“Come stay with us,” Patton murmurs, “please, Remus? It’ll be alright, I promise.”
“Me too, sweetie,” Janus whispers, pressing a kiss to Remus’s forehead.
Virgil ruffles his hair again. “Come home with us, little octopus.”
Remus finds Logan’s gaze. “But what about the light and darkness? Don’t—doesn’t there need to be both?”
“Yes, little one,” Logan says gently, “but we don’t need to be separated, we can be together.”
“We can?”
“Yes, sweetheart,” Patton finishes, “we can.”
“I get both brothers?”
Roman grumbles as Virgil shoulders his way into the hug. “Yup. You get both brothers.”
“You had him to yourself for a long time,” Roman grouses, “lemme have my turn.”
“In your dreams, Princey.”
“I’m hopes and dreams, so take that!”
“Kiddos,” Patton says as Janus says, “boys.”
Logan chuckles as the two of them hunker down around Remus. He adjusts his glasses and glances at the couch. “I suppose we might need to set more places at the table, hmm?”
“Great,” Virgil mumbles, “I’m starving.”
“Me too.” Roman nudges Remus. “You hungry?”
“Mhm.”
“Come on, then,” Janus says, “let’s have dinner. There’s a lot to talk about.”
Remus’s lips curl up into a small smile. He has his brothers back. He has his father back. Logan is going to help look after him. Patton wants to try again.
They’re going to have dinner. They’re going to eat dinner and no one is going to leave and maybe, maybe, he’s been Accepted for real this time.
And Remus was happy.