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The sound of Remus’s sigh snapped Janus out of his trance. Remus had been gone for almost an hour, disappearing to make his introduction to Thomas, and Janus would never admit that he was worried about how it had gone. Considering how his own introduction had gone, he could only imagine how it would have gone for Remus… or how Remus had decided to make his first appearance.
Janus turned his head as the couch beside him sagged under Remus’s weight. His face was full of sadness, poorly masked as anger, and Janus couldn’t help but judge the poor quality of the fake expression. Although, he supposed he couldn’t judge too harshly. After all, he was Thomas’s Deceit. Of course, he was better at hiding things than the others. When Remus stayed silent, Janus cleared his throat, having it become obvious that he’d have to be the one to initiate the conversation this time.
“How did it go?” he asked, happy with himself when all worry was filtered out of his tone. Remus’s lips turned in a pout as he crossed his arms, bringing the image of an angry child to Deceit’s mind.
“They didn’t like my Jeffrey Dahmer comments,” Remus grumbled. Janus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, his thumb brushing against the scales on his face.
“You mentioned Jeffrey Dahmer?” Normally, he’d pay very close attention to the goings-on inside Thomas’s mind, but Deceit was still reeling from the way he had been treated after disagreeing with his decision to go to the wedding rather than the callback. He had figured it would be best to sit out this interaction. Apparently, that choice was a huge mistake. Remus’s lips twitched, and Janus wasn’t sure if it was from pride or regret.
"Four times, actually, but who's counting?" he said, his voice rising slightly in a joking manner. Deceit chose to ignore it for the sake of learning what had happened during their exchange.
"How did you introduce yourself?" he asked, turning his body to face Remus more. The grin on Creativity's face was one to admire when he answered.
"I asked Thomas if he'd ever thought of killing his brother-" a short pause; how Deceit Loved Remus's dramatic timing, "-then knocked out Roman!" A sharp laugh exploded from Janus before he could stop it, but he didn't mind the glance it earned him. "Virgil is really one of them, now?" Remus asked, after a moment, his tone shifting to one of pure sadness.
Janus knew exactly how Remus felt. Watching Anxiety leave to join the Light Sides was a moment the two thought back on often. It had been difficult at the time to watch him leave, especially after everything they'd been through, working as a team behind the scenes. Deceit rather missed the moments the three had spent together and looked on Virgil's new friends with envy. Hearing him tell them his name was the final step he'd taken out of their domain and into the Light.
That day had been full of anger and betrayal for Janus and Remus, and as easy as it was to look past, it still stung to see him with the others. The final twist of the knife was the way he reacted to seeing his former allies. His former friends. When he had hissed at him, even Deceit had a hard time masking the pain he felt. Janus couldn’t help but wonder about his reaction to Remus.
“Unfortunately, yes,” he answered, not bothering to cover the pain in his voice. Remus furrowed his brows at him, no doubt curious about the sudden change of tone, but Janus didn’t care much for Remus’s confusion. Just because he was Deceit didn’t mean he didn’t have emotions.
“Oh well, I got back at him good,” Remus said, uncrossing his arms as his face lit up rather joyously. At Deceit’s expression, he continued, “I told Thomas my name. Why would I hide that from him?” While Janus knew that the statement was a jab at Virgil’s inability to share with the group, he couldn’t help but feel a bit attacked. He had yet to reveal his name, and the shortness of Remus’s words stung just a bit more than they should have.
“Did that… work? Does Thomas trust you?” Janus asked, his voice soft. One of Remus’s hands landed on Deceit’s shoulder, and Janus looked down, not wanting to meet his eyes.
“Not really.” The chirpiness of the response shocked Deceit into glancing up, locking eyes with Creativity, who was gazing at him with sympathy, a look Janus normally despised, but for some reason, he didn’t mind it. “But he did seem surprised by the reveal. Almost as if us Dark Sides were a secretive bunch.” Janus felt his lips curve into a smile, matched almost perfectly by Remus.
The two stayed on the couch like that, Remus’s hand on Janus’s shoulder, longer than what was necessary, but neither of them felt compelled to move. This was the first time since Virgil’s desertion that Deceit had allowed himself to be visibly vulnerable. Just like the last time, Remus was quick to cheer him up, unable to allow either of the two to remain upset for too long.
Janus found his mind wandering back to the former trio and where it had ended up. He and Remus had become a miserable excuse for Dark Sides. Trapped in a cycle of self-pity, waiting for the moments they can reveal themselves to the others, forced into a prison in the deepest corners of Thomas’s mind as he tried his best to repress them. On the other hand, Virgil seemed… happy.
Would it be smart of them to try and reconcile their differences with the Light Sides? To try and join them in their quest to make Thomas a “good” person? Would they even let them? Janus brought his hands up to rub his eyes, frustrated that he was allowing himself to think these things. He and Remus didn’t belong out there with the others. They loathed the two of them, refuting each and every point they make. They didn’t belong in a place like that, forced into their way of thinking just because they can’t handle the truth.
Remus seemed to be thinking the same thing, patting Deceit’s shoulder slightly as he stood, bending backward to pop his back before fiddling with his mustache.
“They wouldn’t welcome us the way they did Virgil,” Janus said, his voice hesitant, wanting Remus’s take on the matter. He was silent a moment, pondering the assumption, driving Janus to the brink of near insanity before he finally answered.
“It depends on Thomas. Whether he trusts us or not. No offense, you took a giant doo doo turd on any chance you had of being trusted by any of them,” he said, transferring his attention to the green sash across his chest. Janus pursed his lips, thinking back on his own introduction. He had impersonated Patton, which - hindsight is twenty-twenty - wasn’t the best idea.
“‘Cause there was definitely another way I could introduce myself as Deceit and they’d listen to what I said and believe me,” he muttered, rolling his eyes slightly. Remus raised a brow at him, signaling to the sass that had entered his voice. He grunted, turning away from Creativity. Janus had meant to change topics, but his mouth had other ideas when he added, “Besides, it was a video about lying! How could I not?” Remus chuckled and shrugged, turning towards the kitchen in a half-interested way.
“You’ve got a point, there, Two-Face,” he said. Janus furrowed his brows.
“That’s the best you could come up with?” Deceit asked, amused when Remus spun, his mouth open and his hand on his chest: the epitome of “offended”.
“Thomas is running off of zero sleep, give me a break!” he exclaimed, turning away and marching towards the kitchen. Janus kept silent for a moment, pondering whether or not he should tell Thomas his name. Would that even be a good idea? Part of him was tempted to give a fake name at first - names are powerful things, after all - but he knew it would only end horribly. Besides, Virgil knew his name. If he were to give a fake and Virgil outed him, who knew how much worse that would make things for him and Remus. It wasn’t just his reputation on the line anymore. Now Thomas knew about Remus, and anything Janus did would reflect on the “Dark” Sides as one.
“Have anything prepared?” Remus asked, his voice ringing in the almost empty room. Janus snorted, laying back on the couch to look up at the ceiling.
“Of course, because I had nothing else to do while you were gone than make dinner. I cleaned all the floors and made the bed, too,” he said, his tone laced and dripping with sarcasm that caused a short bark of laughter from Remus. Who cared for the Light Sides when Deceit had Creativity, already. Someone who understood him. Cared for him. They didn’t need anyone else. The thought filled Janus with a sort of contentment before turning to look at Remus in the kitchen, munching on his stick of deodorant. He turned and found Janus’s eyes on him and immediately misunderstood the reason, holding out the stick.
“Want some?” he asked, his mouth full of a glob that could only be described as rancid. Janus quickly shook his head, his face contorting into one of pure disgust. Remus shrugged, taking another bite before shoving it into his pocket, probably saving it for later.
“Will you be making anything?” Janus asked, watching as Remus searched through each of the cupboards and the fridge. Remus sighed, digging through the junk in the fridge. He closed the door - slammed it, more accurately - and turned to face the oven. He stayed there for longer than what was normal, and Deceit furrowed his brows, getting up from the couch with the intention of checking on Creativity.
Deceit was already at the fridge when Remus suddenly spun around, a grin on his face.
“What if Thomas stuck his head in the oven?” he asked, his tone joyful and curious all at once, causing Janus to smirk. Without so much as a wave, Remus sunk out of the room, his question ringing throughout each of the corners of Thomas’s mind. He heard an annoyed grunt from Roman, bringing a smile to his face, but the mumbled out explanation from Logan and the exasperated shout from Patton was enough to send Janus into a laughing fit. He’d deny it if anyone were to ask, but he loved the thoughts Remus came up with. Even if the majority of them were harmful to Thomas and his health, there was no doubt that they weren’t at least entertaining. Remus was back in a few moments, beaming.
“Well?” Deceit asked, smiling at Remus’s expression.
“Didn’t take,” he said, simply, shrugging as he walked past Janus, already munching on his deodorant again.