Work Text:
All they had intended was to piss some people off.
At this point, the Light Sides saw them as nothing more than a small annoyance- And in some cases, they were right. Most of the Dark Sides were fine with that, too. They even tried to live up to it. Hence Remus and Deceit’s back-fired prank.
Remus came to Deceit with the idea to ‘kidnap’ one of the Light Sides, to hold them in Deceit’s room for a few hours and annoy the shit out of them until the others came to ‘rescue’ him.
The two of them had given up on making Thomas listen to them. They knew that every attempt they had would be curbed by the Light Sides. So they’ve reduced their efforts to being as annoying as humanly fuckingly possible.
After a long discussion, and an almost-argument, they agreed on Logic. Logic had to be the quickest one they would notice is gone. He was the most important. Without the others, Thomas wouldn’t be who he was, but without Logic, Thomas wouldn’t be. They could only go so long without him.
Logan was in his room when they bombarded him. Remus kicked the door down with a loud, ridiculous “HY-YAH!,” which caused Logan to drop his pen and shriek.
Deceit stepped behind him and loosely wrapped his wrists in rope. Logan could easily escape. “What the hell are you doing?!” He gasped.
Remus jumped onto the desk, crouching on all fours. “Let’s see how your Light Side friends react to losing their leader!” He cackled. He was enjoying this way too much.
Logan, however, was confused. And a little annoyed. Couldn’t they bother Roman with this? He would go with their bullshit immediately. Surely, he would be more fun to act out this scene with. Logan didn’t even know what was going on.
“My schedule-” He choked as Deceit wrapped a ribbon around his mouth.
“Shh.”
Deceit wrapped his arms around Logan’s torso, and they all sunk out. Deceit ripped the ribbon off Logan’s head once Logan was strapped down to a chair, making sure it wasn’t too tight. They were in Deceit’s room. Logan wasn’t sure if he would rather this or Remus’s. Remus’s room was utter chaos, and absolutely disgusting. Logan got immediate sensory overload and often times a panic attack the moment he stepped foot inside. But, Deceit’s room… Deceit’s room forced everyone to be honest and straightforward, to say exactly what was on their mind.
That may be a concept Logan could appreciate, but he had his secrets.
“How does it feel to wait for your little Light Side friends to come and rescue you?!” Remus threw his arms around Logan’s shoulders from behind and threw his head back laughing. “Huh, Logie?!”
Logan was speaking before he even realized he opened his mouth. “I don’t even bother to wonder about it,” he said, voice deadpan. “They won’t come for me, Remus. You’ll see.”
Awkward.
Deceit and Remus glanced at each other for a moment, shock on their faces. Logan’s eyes were downcast, shoulders slump.
Remus recovered faster. “Oh, nonsense!” Remus started walking away, Deceit following. “I’m sure they’ll come in a heartbeat!”
Deceit and Remus only kept Logan tied up for a half hour. Deceit came in and cut his binds- Which Logan thought was ridiculously over dramatic -and forced him to drink a glass of water and to eat some chips. He spent most of the time waiting. The first half hour was spent alone, but it was Deceit’s room, so he did come in and spend a little bit painting. Logan was grateful for that- He was so bored.
He started asking about Deceit’s techniques, which… Surprised Deceit. No one had ever asked him that before. Not even Remus, who was the best boyfriend Deceit could have ever asked for. He just got too bored. Deceit liked painting while Remus was focused on video games, because Deceit couldn’t care less about video games. It was nice having someone to talk about painting with. Logan even stood up and got close to see his strokes up close.
He was still there by nighttime. Deceit and Remus stood outside Deceit’s room, talking quietly.
“Do we bring him back?” Deceit whispered.
“No! We stand our ground!”
“But…” Deceit bit his lip. “What if he’s right? What if they don’t come?”
Remus snickered. “Do you know what Thomas did earlier?”
“... What?”
“He tried to kiss Joan! Just because Patton was lonely and Roman wanted someone to kiss!”
Deceit covered his mouth, eyes wide. “Where was Anxiety?”
“Taking a nap.”
Deceit burst out into quiet giggles, dropping his head onto Remus’s shoulder. Remus held him lightly and giggled.
“They’ll be here in no time.”
“Alright, Logan,” Deceit said when they were back in his room. He dropped a plate of food on the desk in front of him- It was homemade. “I’m gonna crash with Remus, you can stay in my room. It’s… Cleaner.”
“Why haven’t you given up yet?” Logan asked in frustration.
“We won’t be thwarted so easily!” Remus declared, his hands on his hips. “Now go to sleep, and don’t you dare try to escape!”
“What a wasted day,” he grumbled.
That night, he laid in bed. He was awake because he couldn’t decide whether to try and ‘escape’ or not. He knew he could. He knew that if he did, he could make the next day twice as productive as the last (although… Maybe not. There were far less distractions at the Dark Sides’ house. Since Thomas didn’t accept them yet, they weren’t all knowing like the Light Sides were. Everything they knew was from word of mouth or by spying on the Light Sides. Logan wasn’t called up for every little problem in the Dark Sides’ place). But…
He was sick of living in uncertainty.
He constantly wondered if he was good enough, smart enough, productive enough… He wondered just how much he meant to the Light Sides, and to Thomas. He told himself that he was being ridiculous asking such questions, that of course he mattered to Thomas and the others- He was the most important side there! Yet the doubt never went away. If he played along with Deceit and Remus’s silly antics, maybe he would finally get an answer.
The next day, he was still there. By 3pm, Deceit decided to sneak up to Logan’s room to grab some of his stuff so the poor guy didn’t kill himself for not being productive. He ran into Roman on the way out.
“Foul beast!” Roman cried as he drew his sword.
Deceit pretended that didn’t hurt. He rolled his eyes, trying to step past him.
Roman pressed the sword to his chest. “State your business!”
“Prowling the ground,” he drawled, and his voice went hard, “looking for treats. ”
A sharp grin spread across Roman’s face. “Good luck. We have the best protective services on this side of the Mindscape!”
A smile curled onto Deceit’s lips. “Do you, now? And what’s that?”
“Me!”
Deceit bent backwards as Roman jabbed the sword forward, the blade sliding over Deceit’s nose. He stumbled backwards as Roman swung at him a few times, Roman crying out in excitement.
Deceit hissed and swung his arm into Roman’s wrist hard- The sword clattered to the ground. “One man can’t protect this entire house.”
Roman panted, watching Deceit carefully. “Haven’t made a mistake yet.”
Deceit’s eyes narrowed. What?
“Is that so?” He adjusted his bag on his shoulder, full of his hostage’s stuff, and collected himself. “Well, then I guess I must be going. I’m clearly not capable of going up against someone as strong and brave as you without some backup.” Roman’s face flushed pink. “You’ve defeated me again, Roman. Until next time.”
He ducked out.
“Everything okay?” Remus asked with a concerned frown as Deceit plopped onto his bed, after giving Logan his stuff. Remus could always see right through him.
Deceit sighed in frustration and yanked the dirty laundry from under him and tossed it into the hamper. “Really, would it kill you to clean this?”
“I hate cleaning!” He pouted, already distracted. “You know that!”
“You don’t always hate it.”
Remus grinned suggestively. He waggled his eyebrows. “You know how to get me to clean.”
Deceit smirked. “I do.”
Remus came over to him and settled into his lap, kissing him deeply. Deceit giggled against his lips and ran his gloved fingers through his messy, greasy hair.
In truth, Deceit was disgusted at the thought of kissing Remus before he actually did it. Remus had confided in him that the only reason he started brushing his teeth was because of this. Deceit pictured Remus to taste like rot, or mold, but he didn’t. He tasted like the bubblegum toothpaste and mouthwash he always used.
Remus jumped up from his lap, with an excited shout of, “I’ll start the music!”
Loud classical musical played through Remus’s soundproof room, and Deceit brushed his clothes down as he stood up. Remus held his hand out with a big, toothy grin. His eyes glimmered.
Deceit took his hand and stepped into his space, shivering as Remus placed a hand on the small of his back. They waltzed together through the dirty room, Deceit humming in Remus’s ear. Remus let the calm of the music and the movement wash over him, the one time he really felt peace.
When they were done, Deceit and Remus cleaned Remus’s room together, and then left to get started on dinner. There were a lot of people to feed here, after all.
Day three was worse. Logan was starting to break. Deceit’s room probably didn’t help. Logan was doing his best to repress it, to go against the tide of Deceit’s influence, but it was near impossible. He sulked and napped all day.
Before dinner, Remus and Deceit dragged Logan into Remus’s room, where they had a board of Monopoly set up.
Logan looked at them with a raised eyebrow.
“None of the others will play with us!” Remus whined as he took his seat.
Deceit set a hand on the small of Logan’s back. He held the player pieces out invitingly. “Please?”
Logan chewed on his lip a moment, and then picked out the Top Hat. Remus burst out laughing at the offended look on Deceit’s face.
It didn’t take too long for Logan to loosen up. He got a few properties and a little drunk off the effect of Remus’s room, and soon enough, he was cackling maniacally as he won Free Parking.
In truth, they were all amazing at it. The game lasted for six hours, until the sun was up and Remus and Deceit eventually let Logan win. The look on Logan’s face was something the two of them would never forget. He threw his fist in the air and screamed in excitement, his eyes all wide and his eyebrows high and his mouth smiling wide and his face was absolutely glowing.
That was when, Remus thinks, the two of them fell in love.
They stumbled to Remus’s bed at six in the morning and fell asleep all tangled up in each other.
Deceit thought that that would help, and maybe it did, but only a bit. Five days after Remus and Deceit’s backfired prank and Logan was still there. Deceit got up that night, gently untangling himself from his clingy boyfriend and leaving him with a kiss to the forehead.
As he headed to the kitchen for some water, he noticed Deceit’s bedroom door was open. He wasn’t in there. He looked around with a frown, and his heart stuttered as he found him sitting outside, on the front porch.
He was crying.
Deceit stepped outside with a blanket. He draped it around Logan’s shoulder- Who had frozen, eyes wide in embarrassment -and then sat next to him.
They sat in silence for a while. Logan stared across the road, where the Light Sides’ house was all decorated for Christmas. Then, Deceit cleared his throat and spoke. “I remember, after the Phases video... We were so mad.” Deceit laughed. He didn’t seem mad. “We were so mad when we found out you guys didn’t keep up the act. Anxiety came to us after and asked if we had been faking the entire time, if he ever really scared us. I wanted to lie, but Remus panicked and told the truth. Besides, how would I have convinced him that a toddler dressed as a vampire really scared us?”
“That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” Logan mumbled.
“No. But it made me realize how things work over there.” Deceit clenched his jaw. There was a sudden anger in his eyes, a spark Logan hadn’t seen since the ending of the court room video. He cringed as he remembered how he treated Deceit. “People don’t think before they act,” Deceit continued. “The light sides- They’re selfish. And, sure, we have our own flaws, but... At least at the end of the day I can say I thought about Remus before making a decision. At least I can say I value his input.”
Logan thought for a long moment. “I don’t think that’s how it works over there.”
Deceit knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to say, Stay. Stay here, with me, and with Remus. Sure, you’ll be a Dark Side, the others will think we corrupted you, but you’ll be valued. We’ll care about your opinions and you’ll get the hang of listening to ours, too. It won’t be easy and you’ll have to unlearn a lot of nasty habits but Remus and I can be patient, and we can love you. We can love you.
Instead, he said, “You should meet the others tomorrow.” He grinned a little. “They’ve been dying to meet you.”
“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea,” Logan said.
Deceit’s body grew hot with embarrassment. He was suddenly very grateful he didn’t say all the other shit. “If you’re sure.”
Deceit jumped as Logan leaned against him, resting his head on Deceit’s shoulder. “Thanks,” he whispered.
Deceit wanted to wrap an arm around him, to hold him close and shield him, but he was scared that if he moved, Logan would pull away.
“No problem.” He gulped. “No problem at all.”
The next day, Deceit and Logan were enjoying quiet time in Deceit’s room. Deceit read while Logan worked on his schedule. They had quiet classical music playing, the only sound other than the gentle scratching of Logan’s pencil.
“YOU GUYS AREN’T GOING TO BELIEVE IT!” Remus screamed, the doorknob cracking against an already pretty sizable hole in Deceit’s wall. “THEY MADE A SEVENTH SAW MOVIE! IT’S CALLED JIGSAW, AND-”
“Remus, dear?” Deceit smiled fondly. “Do you think you can quiet down? Logan is working.”
“Actually,” Logan set his pencil down, “I’m finished for the day.”
Deceit blinked. “Already?” Remus came over to the bed to curl up into Deceit’s lap, batting the book away. Deceit wrapped his arms around him and rested his chin on Remus’s shoulder.
“It’s easier to focus here,” Logan said. “I actually… Like working here better.”
Warmth spread through Deceit’s and Remus’s chests.
“What movie are they making?” He asked curiously, and Remus brightened up.
A whole week after they kidnapped Logan, and he was still there. Deceit spent the entire day tense, antsy. He sat on the couch, watching the front door all day. Remus tried a couple of times to get him to leave his post and relax, or hang out with him, but Deceit waved him off each time.
By dinner time, he had had enough. He jumped off the couch and stormed outside, ignoring Remus’s calls.
He slammed the door to the Light Sides’ house open and found the three of them in the living room, in their onesies and watching a movie.
“Deceit!” Roman jumped up in his stupid fucking Beauty & The Beast onesie, materializing his sword. “How dare you-?”
“Shut it,” he snarled. He was so not in the mood for their stupid games.
Everyone looked at him in stunned silence.
“Have you perhaps noticed anything different around here the last week?”
The three of them looked between each other. Virgil scowled at him. “No. Can you leave? We’re busy.”
Deceit snatched the remote and shut off the tv. Everyone cried out. “SHUT UP!” He yelled. “Nothing! You’ve noticed nothing missing this week? Nothing at all? Thomas hasn’t been acting strange?”
“He did eat a pizza with anchovies on it,” Patton said thoughtfully. Everyone shuddered. “He hated it so much that he spat out every bite, but he kept eating it anyway. He realized he was still hungry afterwards, so he ordered another pizza with anchovies.”
“He’s… Stopped understanding me,” Virgil mumbled. “I have to explain time and time again why he can’t jump out of a moving car, or drink his coffee right out of the machine. He doesn’t understand why it would be a problem.”
“And…” Roman frowned, “the things he write are… Crazy . I mean, I love fantasy just as much as anyone, but c’mon! At least stick to the lore you create!” Roman tisked in annoyance. “If you decide you want unicorns to be green, then every unicorn has to be green! If you decide they’ll die if they eat cranberries, and you have a unicorn eat cranberries, it has to die!”
Patton gasped in horror.
“Do you have any idea what might be causing that?!” Deceit’s heart was pounding in rage.
They all looked between each other again. And then Virgil said, “Logan’s been in his room a lot lately.”
“Yeah.” Patton pouted. “I’ve barely seen him! I miss him.”
“He’s probably just working,” Roman wrote off. “I mean, the guy spends days at a time holed up in his room trying to get Thomas’s schedule perfect. When will he realize that we just can’t work on a schedule? Anyway, I’m sure he’s just-”
“You let Logan work in his room for days at a time?!”
Patton pouted. “Well, what are we supposed to do?”
“Yeah, if we interrupt him, he acts like a dick.” Virgil rolled his eyes. “If he wants to be a workaholic, let him.”
Deceit had never been so angry before. He was seething.
He thought he understood how the Light Sides worked. Hell, he thought he understood how the entire damn Mindscape worked. The important ones lived in this house, and the worthless ones lived in the other. The ones that owned Thomas’s heart were Light Sides, and the ones Thomas loathed to acknowledge were Dark Sides. But that was a joke .
When had they stopped listening to Logan? Was he too dry, too strict? Too boring? Mean?
When Virgil used manipulation and scare tactics to get Thomas to listen to him, they went out of their way to hear his side, and offered him forgiveness in exchange for change. When Roman beat Virgil down, he was granted the same thing. When Patton realized he was being too strict, too greedy, he, too, was forgiven. And even before the problems were solved, they all still had a seat at the table. So why didn’t they grant Logan the same thing?
Why wasn’t he worth their forgiveness and ears?
Deceit was at a loss, so he left. He went back home, where Remus was waiting for him, pacing in the living room. He threw his arms around Deceit and asked if he was okay.
Deceit was still shaking, and his eyes were watering. He quietly explained what happened, his voice an angry hiss. Remus gripped onto him, and his eyes started watering, too. Remus pulled away from him and stormed upstairs, Deceit hurriedly following.
“Logan!” Remus cried. He slammed the door open, Logan jumping with a high shriek. The two of them stormed up to him, tears streaming down their faces.
“You are not going back there, ever!” Remus cried.
Logan blinked. “What?”
“If they won’t love you, we will ,” Deceit snapped.
They waited for a response, nerves bubbling in their tummy. Then, Logan’s eyes watered, and he whispered, “Okay.”
They both looked at him for a second. “Okay?” Deceit whispered.
Logan nodded. “Okay.”
The three of them curled up on Deceit’s bed, Logan half on Remus’s lap and half on Deceit’s. Remus kissed all over the side of Logan’s face in the same way he would Deceit’s, and Deceit buried his face in Logan’s hair. Logan started crying after a minute, and the Dark Sides just held him tighter, closer.
“You’re gonna be okay,” Remus whispered.
“We promise.”