Chapter Text
Saying thing went smoothly after that would be lying: learning that your boyfriend had six imaginary parts of him interacting with the real world was a difficult pill to swallow no matter how much you love him and his sides.
At first it felt smothering, especially as some of the sides (cough a dad and a prince cough) seemed to have decided that now he knew about them Nico was ready to deal with all their antics. He’d spent the next few days in a daze, receiving romantic gesture after even more romantic gesture from Roman and performing “bonding activities” with Patton. It took a week and an invisible figure playing video games on the sofa for the reality of the situation to sink in for Nico, that if he stayed with Thomas (not even really an ‘if’, he couldn’t see himself with anyone else after the amazing few months they’d had together) this was his life now. Him and Thomas. And six other kind-of-Thomas’-but-not-quite. They weren’t going away. The sides weren’t a paranormal thing that would be removed or exorcised or whatever. They were natural. Normal. They were normal to Thomas and would have to become normal to Nico. All that chaos…would be his new normal?
He’d had a panic attack that night. Luckily Thomas had been there to help.
Nico got annoyed at himself; he really wished he could just accept the sides with a snap of his fingers, because he really did love them. It was just…
…how can you easily accept something that bends your entire view on reality?
“Why don’t you try and spend some more time around the sides?” Thomas suggested one evening after Nico had expressed his worries, “I mean like casual time, to help “normalise” them a bit? Get to know them a bit more personally and maybe it’ll all seem a bit less ungraspable?”
The poet didn’t have any better ideas, so he agreed that it was probably a good place to start.
He started with Logan: he seemed like the most approachable one at that moment. Sure, he found Patton and Roman’s extravagant and caring actions and activities very endearing, but back then he just wanted to relax.
He’d ended up reading on the sofa in silence next to the intelligent side for the majority of the afternoon, exchanging words occasionally via one of the small whiteboards Thomas had bought. A couple hours later Logan left, but not before sharing a final interesting fact with Nico (did you know that at any given moment there are roughly 2,000 thunderstorms happening on Earth? Nico certainly did not).
It’d gone…okay?
After that Nico’s confidence with the sides grew a bit, as he found himself branching out to spend more time with the others. He’d began writing poetry with Roman, debating and reading with Logan and cooking with Patton. He’d even gotten to talk with Virgil a few times, though he clearly still made the poor guy nervous. Then there was that not-so-productive evening he’d spent fawning over Janus’ outfit, because who gave that dapper chap the right to dress so fabulously!?!?! And despite Roman’s complaints at him for ‘stroking the snake’s ego’ Nico couldn’t find it in himself to regret it when Janus joined his and Logan’s debates. Besides, that outfit deserved praise.
Then…then there was Remus.
Oh boy.
Thomas had explained that as part of “Dark Creativity”, the green side represented Thomas’ dirtier thoughts – a lot which involved his boyfriend for…obvious reasons. Which Nico had oh-so-stupidly thought would be fine, because how dirty could Thomas’ mind be?
He had severely underestimated Joan’s influence.
Most of the time it was manageable, just the odd flirtatious comment or inuendo, sometimes accompanied with a visual demonstration of some sorts if he was visible. Sometimes Remus appeared out of nowhere, insulting the other sides, more often leading to some form of duel than not. Those things were fine; they were often more hilarious or blush-worthy than disturbing.
Then there were times it was not so fine. Like the time he appeared in front of the other man entirely naked. Luckily Nico hadn’t been able to see him that time, but the warnings from the others were more than enough to make him blush profusely. Of course he’d seen Thomas naked before, but that didn’t make him any more comfortable with the idea of Thomas’ privacy being violated without the man even being in the room.
However, even things with the chaotic side slowly improved: while Remus never seemed to run out of disturbing material, he’d started toning it down a bit. In the sense that he was leaving him flustered or mildly disturbed, rather than uncomfortable for the rest of the day.
Guess even Duke’s weren’t immune to the Flores charm, ay?
…Or come to think about it, maybe Nico was just getting used to the madness.
Either way, things were slowly falling into place, and the sides were becoming more and more clear to Nico. Each day he could see them a little better, for a little longer.
Each day he got a little closer to each of them.
And a little closer to Thomas.
Three months after the confrontation, Nico woke up like he did any other Saturday – at midday, feeling groggy and annoyed that the sun just had to shine through that gap in his curtains but thankful that he didn’t have to hurry off anywhere.
‘You know that’s not gonna stop you from rushing over to Thomas’ place as soon as you’re properly conscious,’ an (unfortunately) correct and seemingly only awake part of him thought.
And sure enough, after eventually pulling himself from his cocoon of comfort and warmth, getting changed and packing up his laptop, charger and a few pairs of clothes, he left the house at 12:30 dull.
He didn’t live too far from Thomas’ so he decided to walk. He could use with some more time to properly wake up anyways.
The walk there was uneventful, but it wasn’t the walk that Nico was excited for: he and Thomas were going to play Cuphead today, and while it was nice to spend time with the sides sometimes spending quality time with his boyfriend was all he could wish for.
‘But aren’t they all technically parts of Thomas? So when I hang out with Thomas I’m hanging out with all of them?’
Ugh, that bit still hurt his head to try and wrap around.
After twenty minutes of walking he made it to his destination. Unlocking the door (Thomas had gifted him a key a while back), he called out “Thomas! It’s Nico!”. He always said his name as he entered, just to help keep Virgil from freaking out. He made his way into the living room, his attention immediately caught by the small stack of paper left on the table. Walking over to read it, he recognised Logan’s neatly printed handwriting from the multitude of whiteboard conversations they’d held:
To Nico,
It has come to my attention that your life management system is just as disorganised as Thomas’, possibly even worse. I draw the figurative line at both of you still being asleep at 12:00pm on a perfectly good Saturday afternoon.
Hence, I have designated you a schedule. I have tried in the past to produce working ones for Thomas, yet he has disregarded each and every one of them almost immediately, so instead I must hope that he might be tempted to look after himself more effectively if he has you leading by example.
Please leave any criticisms or constructive advice on the review sheet attached.
Sincerely,
Logan.
Nico found himself smiling as he began flicking through the sheets in front of him. The schedule included a detailed timetable of his next three weeks (he had to wonder how Logan even knew some of this stuff – had he even told Thomas about his meeting with R.S. Studios on Thursday??), along with possible options for how to fill up his ‘designated relaxation period’. And true to his words, the last page was an official review sheet, including things from a ‘scale of satisfaction’ to the classic ‘constructive criticism box’.
Letting out an amused huff, Nico looked around the room. While he couldn’t see anyone there, he decided to play it safe and call out anyways. “Thanks Logan! I’ll try my best!” he said, peering over to the large whiteboard that had at some point become a permanent fixture in Thomas’ living room.
A dark blue marker hovered by the board, writing, “It was no problem Nico, I merely want to help improve you and Thomas to achieve your maximum potential.”
“Can I possibly suggest lifting the weekday bedtime a tiny bit from eleven to, I don’t know? Midnight? Half midnight?”
“I have already been overly generous with your bedtimes, setting it any later would entirely defeat the point of having a timetable to begin with.”
Nico chuckled, “Eh fair enough.” Guess he’ll just have to hold off his re-bingeing of the entirety of Doctor Who for next weekend instead.
Logan apparently wasn’t done yet, as the pen kept moving, “By the way, Thomas wants to ask you something of moderate importance once he comes downstairs. I personally don’t see the “big deal” about the situation, but Thomas has formed the opinion that it is, so I’m just supplying a forewarning in case it turns out to be something overly feelings-fuelled that I have failed to comprehend.”
It always confused Nico a bit when Logan wrote or talked like that – like he didn’t have feelings (Nico sometimes couldn’t help but wonder if the side was even aware of his own emotions). But he decided not to comment on it, instead nodding and saying “I’ll keep that in mind.” He didn’t get another response, or elaboration, the pen being set down on the table as a (previously decided on) sign that the side was leaving the room. Sighing to himself, Nico went over and sat on the couch…
…and now he was nervous. He appreciated the warning but man, now all he could do was wonder what Thomas wanted to talk about!
His knee began bouncing as he sat there waiting, pulling his phone out to try and distract himself from thinking about the possible things Thomas wanted to ask about (against his will his mind was coming up with a lovely range of mainly negative options – none that he wanted to indulge in). About a minute later he heard movement down the corridor towards the stairs, and before long a familiar face appeared.
“Took you long enough sleepyhead!” Nico said, trying to ignore the rise in his nerves at seeing his boyfriend’s neat appearance – well, by neater he meant that his hair was properly styled and his shirt had far few too wrinkles in for a chilling-playing-games-on-Saturday afternoon. Small as it was, Thomas had made an effort, and that had to mean something.
“Sorry, had a bit of a busy night up here,” Thomas replied, tapped a finger against his temple as he went down the last few steps, moving to sit beside Nico on the couch.
God, he was barely containing his nerves. “Yeah, Logan wrote that you wanted to talk to me about something, then left straight after like some mysterious cryptid. Left me fully in suspense and everything!” Nico laughed, trying hard to make it sound more casual than it felt. “So it’s up to you to spill the beans, Mr Sanders.”
The actor’s lips quirked up at the old nickname; “I suppose it is then- though I was going to be the one to ask anyways.” He shifted, fingers running through his neat hair.
‘That pesky old nervous tic, huh? Does that mean I was right in feeling nervous about this?’
‘No, Logan would’ve worded things differently if this was a bad confrontation, not all “talks” need to be bad!’
‘But that doesn’t mean it won’t- ‘
Thomas began speaking before Nico’s nerves could grow any wilder, “I- we were curious- and don’t feel pressured to say yes- we were wondering how you’d feel about…moving in with us?”
Oh.
Huh.
Nico didn’t really know how to feel about that.
The first thought that crossed his mind was panic, it’s too soon they’re not ready things fall apart once you move in but…was it? It’d been, what? Slightly over five months since he and Thomas had started dating? And they’d known each other for about a month before then. Was that still too soon?
But the last few months had been the best few of Nico’s life. Sure, the lifestyle they lived wasn’t exactly wild – mainly consisting of movie nights and gaming with maybe the occasional party thrown in there – but just spending time relaxing with Thomas was a hundred times better than relaxing alone at home…
Besides, Nico couldn’t really deny that he’d basically half moved in already: last night had been his first night back in his apartment in about a week, and that was really only because he’d run out of re-wearable clothes.
Then there were the sides. He really loved each of them in a unique way, and after thinking through it Nico figured he was probably as ready as he’d ever be to live with them full time.
He just wasn’t sure if they were ready to live with him.
“Sorry if it’s too soon,” Thomas backtracked at Nico’s silence, “It was stupid of me to ask really, we can wait longer if you’re still not re-“
The poet butted in before his boyfriend could retract his offer, “No! I mean I feel as if I’m ready, I’m just worried if you’re not completely ready to have me move in.”
A princely figure rose up by the television, “Nonsense, my floral prince! I can confirm that there is nothing Thomas wants more right now than to make you an official ‘part of the famILY’!” he sang the last bit to the tune of the song from ‘Oliver’, gestures overly grand as usual as he spoke.
Janus appeared, making himself comfortable perched on the table, “As much as I love the idea of Thomas dragging new people into our lives full time…you’re alright Flores. Plus this was the best option I could get these idiots to agree to that wasn’t wedding you the next time they saw you.”
Ignoring the offended squawks from both Thomas and Roman (and the blush that had formed across his own face and ears), Nico spoke: “No- I know you guys would be okay with it. I meant I’m not sure if all of you are.”
All three of the other’s faces grew more sullen at those words. They all knew exactly who Nico was referring to:
Virgil.
Nico wanted to get to know the emo side, he really did, but the guy just seemed so on edge around him. And Nico really didn’t want to trample on whatever comfort and safety the embodiment of anxiety had.
“He-yesterday he said he was ready?” Roman said, looking down at the floor glumly.
Janus sighed, “Sure, he said he was ready, but only after the rest of you pressurised him with your drabbles on how much you want this.”
“This isn’t a decision Virgil should feel pressurised into making. It’d probably be better to check that was his real opinion before heading any further,” Thomas decided, turning back to Nico. “Hon, I’m really sorry but I think you were right. We might need to wait a while longer just to check-“
“No, wait!”
The poet turned in surprise to see the dark shadow from his first formal date with Thomas. The shadow he now recognised as Virgil from the couple of short interactions they’d had.
The shadow spoke, the density and fluctuation giving away the sides nerves, “I know I d-don’t really talk to y-you much Nico. I can’t really help the way I feel around you, but I just want to make something clear.” The side took a deep breath, the rest of the room silent as they focused on Virgil, “I do like you. A lot. You- you mean a lot to me, and despite what I say there’s nothing I’d want more than to have you move in.”
The shadow had stopped fluctuating, growing lighter in colour as the side kept breathing steadily. “I’m not v-very good social interaction, being Anxiety and all.” Nico couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face as the shadow disappeared entirely, being replaced with a pair of eyes surrounded by a shimmering purple, “But I want to get on with you better, so…this could be a start?”
Nico looked to see both the other sides and Thomas smiling lovingly and hopefully between Virgil and himself.
Grinning brightly at the soft hazel eyes by the staircase, Nico said, “Well if that’s the case, I’ll happily be a part of all of you famILY.”
Bonus:
It was late one evening, and Thomas and Nico were relaxing on the sofa. ‘Tangled’ was playing on the TV, but the duo weren’t paying proper attention, both worn out from their respective days of work plus the unpacking they’d continued after dinner. Sure, they’d had help from the sides, but extra hands didn’t stop lugging old and new furniture around the house any less exhausting.
After several rounds of restraining Remus from just smashing everything to pieces (“surely it’s easier to transport all this shit if it’s in smaller pieces?”) and the couple of times they’d had to prevent others from following in the dark side’s footsteps, the majority of things were in place and the couple were ready to collapse on the sofa.
Which led to the current situation: a Disney film playing with neither party singing along or adding in funny quips (truly a rare sighting), both just exhausted and about ready to go to sleep.
But it was only 10, it would practically be a sin to go to sleep that early, no matter what Logan said.
Nico forced his eyes open as they began drooping, staring intently at the screen as if hoping that the movie would magically rejuvenate his energy. As Pascal appeared on the screen, a thought popped into his head.
“Hey, how do chameleons do that though? Change colour like that?” he asked. Sure, it was a bit of a weird thing to focus on in a Disney film, but who was he to judge what stuck out in his mind?
He got his response a few seconds later, ‘Chameleons are a unique case actually; unlike many animals with colour-changing properties who’s changes are caused by accumulating or dispersing pigments within their skin cells, chameleons dramatic colour shifts are caused by nanocrystals in their two thick layers of iridophore cells which affect how light is reflected off their skin.’
“Thanks Logan…” Nico mumbled out as his eyes began closing again.
“Um, Nico?”
“What?” he moaned from his position lying on Thomas’ chest.
“Logan’s not here.”
Huh, odd. The answer had sounded like a Logan answer. “Then thanks to whichever side answered me.”
“There’s…no sides here. Only us.”
Nico suddenly felt a lot more awake, “But then who answered my question?”
Thomas’ eyes met Nico’s as he looked down at him, concern replacing confusion, “No one answered your question.”
“But- but I heard someone!”
“Nico, are you okay?” Both of them were sitting upright now, drowsiness long forgotten as the more pressing issue presented itself.
“Yeah, I’m fine, I think? I mean I feel like normal, I just swore I heard an answer…”
‘What the hell’s going on?’
‘All I did was answer my- your- wait- ‘
‘How did you know the answer to my question?’
‘My- but I’m- I’m you? But how did I answer your- my question?’
‘That’s what I’m asking!’
“Nico…” Thomas’ eyes widened as realisation seemed to hit him. “Just…stay calm. I know this can be a bit overwhelming at first.”
‘What’s he talking about? Is there something wrong with me?’
‘No, you’re- we’re- I’m in perfectly good physical health. However I cannot be certain about our current mental state without further psychological analysis.’
Nico caught a glimpse of a yellow bowtie in the room beside him and Thomas.
…What?