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Patton sighed, running a hand through his frazzled hair. Glancing outside the window, he saw that the light had gone soft and purple outside, just moments before sunset. When he’d last seen Janus it had been mid-afternoon.
Usually such an upbeat, happy-go-lucky man, Patton found himself rather upset. He hadn’t started the day out that way, though. He was going to go to lunch with his boyfriend, Janus, and was anxious to be spending time with him. He hadn’t seen Janus for a full week, one of the longest periods of time they’d spent apart since they started dating and Janus had arrived at his apartment, asking Patton where he’d like to eat.
It was shaping up to be a perfect day, and Patton was excited. Had been excited, except something rather upsetting happened: Janus was caught in a lie.
Half paying attention, Patton had asked what Janus had been up to earlier that day. Janus’s reply – he’d grabbed a bit of breakfast with Remus. Normally, such an answer wouldn’t have been the least bit suspicious. Remus and Janus had been close friends for some time and lived fairly close to one another, they spent many mornings at the dinner near them. Those poor patrons, Patton sometimes thought, dear people who hadn’t even had their morning coffee yet and having to deal with the pair’s antics. It wasn’t as though Patton didn’t love his boyfriend, it was just the opposite, but he also knew that Remus tended to bring out more rambunctious behavior in people, especially Janus.
So, such a thing would not be surprising in the least bit – had it not been Logan who had told him days prior that he and Remus were going on a Museum date to the Science Center together. Patton called Janus on it, watching his teeth clench and jaw tighten. He’d hoped that Janus would have a good excuse, something that would allow him to completely drop the whole issue. But he didn’t.
Janus flat out refused to offer any kind of an explanation as to why he’d lied. It wasn’t as though Patton hadn’t tried to pull the truth out of him; he’d demanded that Janus fess up to whatever was going on. But Janus wouldn’t budge, simply claiming, “It’s for just cause.” Just cause, he said, as if being lied to by his boyfriend could have a just cause.
Patton understood that there were certain instances in which lying to someone could be done for a good reason; not that he didn’t still have a hard time grappling with the concept of lying being moral in any capacity. But he failed to see why Janus would have any reason to lie to him about anything. They were boyfriends, had been for nearly two years and things seemed absolutely perfect between them.
In all honesty, their relationship hadn’t started out on the firmest of footing. Before they were together, Janus and Patton had somewhat of a distain for one another.
Janus was an old friend of Virgil’s – Patton’s very best friend. However, to call Janus and Virgil’s relationship when Patton first met him anything close to friendly wouldn’t be accurate. Virgil had claimed that Janus was a low-down, rotten liar. He was an egocentric, self-fulfilling prick who did things only to the benefit of himself. Virgil had asked, no, begging Patton not to associate himself with someone of that nature claiming: “You’re too soft, Pat. He’ll take advantage of that.” Virgil and Janus were on better terms now, but they certainly hadn't been in the past.
And so, Patton listened to Virgil, weary of Janus. It was only when Logan and Remus started dating that it became impossible to avoid him, as Janus and Remus had been close friends for many years. Still, Patton was cautious. He didn’t allow himself to spend ample time in Janus’s presence, believing him to be the snake that Virgil claimed him to be.
Except…as time went on, Patton found it more and more difficult to stay away from Janus. Under closer inspection, he didn’t seem to be low-down or nefarious. He was a good friend to Remus, someone who, in truth, Patton hadn’t always been the fondest of. Remus was brash and loud and acted in such unexpected, twisted ways he would never imagine a man like Janus could be so…patient with him. Janus seemed like a no-nonsense kind of guy, who wouldn’t take behavior like Remus. But the two of them were best friends.
There were other things that drew Patton to Janus, whether he wanted to be or not, a big one being puns. While his friends tolerated his love of cheesy dad-jokes, Janus actively encouraged them, even making some of his own. He made musical puns, food puns, anything really, and it never failed to make Patton smile. He had been so terribly cautious when it came to Janus but spending more time with him Patton couldn’t help but melt.
Patton learned that he had a pet snake named Noddle (Patton found that absolutely adorable) he enjoyed gardening, could lie himself out of almost any situation (Patton found that far less adorable). But most importantly, Janus was a charmer. He was quite good at smooth-talk so much so that it didn’t take much to make Patton a little wobbly at the knees, and he did it well. At first, Patton had done his best to deflect Janus’s advances, thinking of Virgil’s warning. But eventually, he found himself giving in completely, becoming more attached to Janus as the days went by.
And now they’d been dating for almost two years. They’d even been seriously considering moving in together, which would be the biggest step in any of Patton’s relationships. He loved Janus more than he’d ever loved another human being so why had he lied to him? What in the world could be worth dishonesty?
Patton knew that dishonesty wasn’t all black and white…well, he’d learned that from Janus, really. Having been raised with a very traditional outlook on morality and how you should treat others how you’d like to be treated and not to do things for the benefit of yourself, Patton had a hard time shaking his upbringing. At first, Patton believed that Janus was trying to convince him that dishonesty was the right thing to do in most situations, which made him nervous about a future with Janus in all honesty. But soon he began to understand that Janus wasn’t arguing in favor of a society built upon deception. Rather, he was trying to instill upon Patton the fact that morality was not merely making others feel better. He needed to take better care of himself and do things that one might consider selfish more often than he was. Janus was trying to help Patton, he realized, and the help was appreciated very quickly.
But now here Patton sat, mulling over the fact that he had no idea why Janus had lied to him. Surely it wasn’t something so drastic as say, cheating. Patton had never gotten any indication that his boyfriend was capable of something like that. And he didn’t think that Janus would be willing to do anything truly terrible. So what in the world was going on?
Patton’s scrambled thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Patton was fairly sure he already knew who was on the other side of the door, which only filled him with more dread. Opening the door, he was unsurprised to find Janus standing on the other side. What did surprise him, however, was the large pastry box his boyfriend was holding.
“Hi Janus,” Patton said flatly, his tone lacking much of its usual buoyancy. “What are you doing here?” Even with how upset Patton was with his boyfriend, he still felt bad being so unfriendly to him. Nevertheless, Janus didn’t seem to take his tone too much to heart.
“Hello, Patton. Listen, I know you’re upset.”
“You could say that again.” Janus shook his head.
“Yes I could, but then we might get stuck in a –.”
“Stuck in a loop?”
“Precisely. I suppose you could say I’ve come to “fess up” to my fibbing.” Patton crossed his arms over his chest.
“Have you now?” He didn’t miss the almost nervous glint in Janus’s eyes.
“Yes I have. And look,” Janus held up the box in offering. Patton didn’t want to be dissuaded with tasty treats…although whatever was in that box did smell pretty darn good, “I’ve brought a pie.”
“Have you come to bribe me?” Patton asked, eyeing Janus suspiciously, “What flavor? Key lieme?” Janus couldn’t help but let out an uncomfortable laugh at the jab at him.
“Just apple, I'm afraid."
“How piesitively dreadful,” Patton said, despite the fact that apple pie was his absolute favorite which Janus knew well. His boyfriend noticeably stifled a laugh.
“I suppose if you don’t let me in I’ll be getting my just desserts?” Janus was clearly trying to keep the tense situation as light and fun as possible, but it couldn’t mask the fact that there was a clear anxiousness to his tone, something that was very unlike Janus.
“Very funny, Jan. What can you say that will convince me to consider letting you in?” Even in saying so, Patton knew that Janus would be able to call his bluff a mile away. The moment he heard a knock on the door he had known it was him and had every intention of letting him in. He didn’t want to fight, Patton almost never turned to such measures, knowing it would only make things messier. If Janus truly came to offer an explanation as to why he’d lied, Patton wanted to hear it. And was the pie a ploy to sweeten the deal a little? Of course, but Patton couldn’t say he wouldn’t do the very same if the roles were reversed.
Janus tapped a finger to his chin, as though he was thinking long and hard on how to convince Patton to allow him inside.
“Let’s see here…you, my darling, are the apple of my eye. I love you with all of my heart and I would be berry upset if you didn’t allow me to explain myself.”
“Nice try, Jan, but there aren’t any berries in an apple pie,” Patton said in a faux-scolding tone, already opening the door wider and allowing Janus to step inside.
“You must forgive me, dear, I can only think of so many dessert-themed puns on the fly.”
“Don’t you mean on the pie?” Janus rolled his eyes at that one, a fond look settling onto his face. Janus set the pie box on the kitchen counter before sitting on the couch. Patton joined him, sitting beside his boyfriend and looking at him expectantly. Sure, they’d both been telling pie puns back and forth and as much fun as that had been, Patton still needed to understand why Janus had lied.
“Okay,” Janus said after a moment of hesitation, taking one of Patton’s hands in his own. Patton already felt himself softening at the touch, despite the very serious look on Janus’s face. “I want to start off with an apology. Truly, I am sorry that I needed to deceive you the way I did, Patton.” Patton bit his lip.
“Right, but did you have to lie to me? I mean you know my policy on dishonesty, Janus, especially between us. I know that lying has its positive moments, but you doing that made me feel pretty…icky.” Janus nodded, looking upset as a result of the hurt he’d caused Patton.
“I promise you I would never lie to you unless I felt as though I had to, dearest. And I’m afraid this was one of those instances. While it was by no means my best lie, I told you that because I needed to go somewhere without you knowing.” Patton let go of his hand, casting Janus an incredibly concerned gaze.
“Needed to go somewhere without me knowing? I hope you realize how incriminating all of this sounds.” Janus didn’t miss the fact that Patton had noticeably scooted away on the couch. He sighed, the sound riddled with nerves. Why, Patton wondered desperately, did Janus sound so worried?
“I needed to go somewhere to pick something up, but if I’d told you where I was going it might have given too much away,” Janus continued, seeing the panic in Patton’s eyes shift slightly.
“Pick something up? The pie?” Janus shook his head, letting out an exhale that sounded quite a bit frustrated.
“No, not the pie. I needed to go to a jewelry store.” Patton quirked an eyebrow, beginning to notice just how flushed Janus was beginning to look. Why was he so flushed?
“A jewelry store? Why would you need to go to a –.”
The words died on Patton’s lips as Janus lowered to the floor on one knee, reached a hand inside his pocket and pulled out a small black box. Patton slapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes widening to a comical size as Janus popped the box open and revealed a silver ring with an auramine stone in the middle, set into the shape of a heart.
“J-Janus…” Patton was left at a loss for words, his eyes darting from his boyfriend to the ring back to Janus. Janus smiled nervously, his lip quivering slightly as he spoke.
“Patton, I love you more than anything in this world. And while I never wanted to deceive you, I feel as though this may constitute as a worthy reason. You truly are the light of my light, and I am honored to bask in your presence. You fill my days with laughter. Darling, when I’m with you my cheeks hurt from smiling so often, as terribly corny as that sounds. Before meeting you, I don’t think I’d ever been as happy as you make me. And now that I’ve gained this happiness, I never want to let it go. I never want to let you go. So, Patton Moore, would you do me the utmost pleasure of becoming my husband?”
Patton hardly managed to let out a cracking “Yes!” before throwing his arms around Janus and kissing him senselessly, tears streaming down both of their faces. Patton sniffled as Janus slid the ring over his finger, admiring the stone, but much more so admiring his fiancé.
The couple spent the evening gorging themselves on far too much apple pie before Patton and Janus found themselves snuggled in Patton’s bed, what was soon to be their bed, holding each other close.
“Am I forgiven?” Janus asked playfully, pressing a delicate kiss to the back of Patton’s neck, his fiancé giggling in response.
"Yes, Jan. You’re forgiven. I can’t believe I didn’t realize sooner – gosh, I was applesolutely terrified to find out the reason you lied, but it was the sweetest one that I can possibly think of.” Janus chuckled, holding his fiancé tight as Patton shifted to lay his head on Janus’s chest, yawning as he did so.
“Tired, my love?”
“Mhm. Do you think pie will be a suitable breakfast in the morning?”
“I very much doubt it.”
“Fair enough,” Patton said sleepily, steeling a final glance at the ring before his eyes began to close. Janus smiled, carding a hand through Patton’s curls.
“Goodnight, Patton, dearest. I love you.”
“Mmm, I love you too, Janny,” Patton mumbled, using a pet-name reserved only for when he was at his very sleepiest.
Patton had been so worried as to why Janus had decided to lie to him, but he’d certainly never considered the possibility that a proposal was in the works. Regardless, he supposed that was a circumstance in which he could let fibbing slide. Patton and Janus slept well, dreaming of what their future might hold.
Needless to say, it was a piesitvely wonderful day.
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