Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Knock, knock, knock.

My eyes fluttered open and I peered blearily up at my alarm clock, unable to make out the numbers even with my strategy of squinting intensely and blinking rapidly. Either way, it was far too early for me to be up. I could tell by the way my whole body screamed at me to ignore the strange noise and get a couple more hours of sleep in before I had to get up. Sinking back into my pillow, I closed my eyes and attempted to let the Sandman steal me away to a world of endless possibilities, when…

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.

I groaned into my pillow before reaching over blindly for my glasses. Setting them down in my lap, I sat up, stretching with a yawn. Rubbing my eyes roughly before perching the glasses on the bridge of my nose, I attempted to smooth down my hair in some semblance of order before getting to my feet and stumbling towards the door. Who on Earth would be knocking at my door at 6:00 in the morning? I wondered absently. 

Logan? Logan would be up, that was for sure. He was always one for schedules and stuff like that. But why would he be knocking at my door? He knew I didn’t get up until 8:00, and he wasn’t the type to interrupt a guy’s sleep schedule, no matter how disappointed he might be with it. No, it’s not Logan. Then maybe… Virgil? Virgil did tend to get up early, usually on nights when he couldn’t get any sleep. I had woken up once or twice before with Virgil curled up by my side, fast asleep. But Virgil wasn’t one to knock. He knew that I was fine with people walking in and out of my room as they pleased. So… Roman? That didn’t make much sense to me. Roman usually slept in later than I did. But it was the only option that made sense, unless… no. No, that wouldn’t make any sense. I shook my head, chalking up that idea to my sleep-deprived brain. I really should stop going to bed at midnight.

Reaching my door, I held back a yawn before reaching for the knob, grasping the cool metal with pale fingers. Without a second though, I opened the door to reveal the last side I ever would have expected. 

Deceit was standing there, although he was far from his usual state. Instead of his normal outfit, the dark grey old-fashioned looking shirt with yellow edges, black capelet, dark pants, hat and gloves, he wore a yellow button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to about his elbows and black dress pants, his hair slightly disarray and his eyes lined by dark circles. On his arm hung a small child of about six or so, giggling mischievously and swinging back and forth slightly. The boy looked like the rest of us, the same hair and face, but he wore a black and green outfit that was rather reminiscent of Remus’s, and there was a band aid on his chin. I blinked at him, barely awake, as my mind struggled to play catch up with everything going on. The realization hit me like a ton of bricks, leaving me gaping at them, my eyes traveling from the boy to Deceit and then back again. Remus?!

“D-Deceit? W-what’s going on?” I asked, still staring at the boy with wide eyes.

He sighed. “I don’t know. I woke up this morning to find Remus had turned into a kid. He was running around the kitchen naked when I found him.” Deceit grimaced. “I was curious if the others had suffered the same fate.”

My heart skipped a beat at the thought as I stood up straight, my exhaustion completely forgotten. “I don’t know.”

“Then I suggest we go and find out before any of those idiots manages to find a way to get themselves killed,” he suggested, his voice honey sweet with just a hint of an edge to it that left no room for debate, although I had no reason to argue.

I nodded before rushing out the door and down the stairs, nearly forgetting to close my door behind me in my haste. Deceit knelt down so that Remus could climb on his shoulders for a piggyback before following me, seemingly unbothered by the weight. My first instinct was to check the living room and kitchen, as those were the spots where we usually gathered for breakfast. I had no doubt that Logan would be there. He was always an early riser, even when he was a kid. The only question was what state he would be in when I arrived. 

I tripped and nearly fell down the last few stairs before catching myself on the railing, and I heard Deceit let out a breath, muttering something to himself as he followed me. I didn’t pay him much mind, too consumed by the thought of a little Logan all alone with no adult supervision. Truthfully, that was less worrisome than Roman, who I didn’t even want to think about at the moment, but it was still concerning. Who knew what he would get into? He was far too smart for his own good, and he had no sense of right from wrong, which means almost anything could happen. 

Bursting into the kitchen with Deceit on my heels, I found a rather tiny Logan standing on a stool at the kitchen island, the kitchen lights shining on his glasses, which were a few sizes too big for his face. He was standing over a cup of water with what looked like a coffee filter in his hand, the filter colored with stripes of marker across it. I felt Deceit come to a halt beside me, Remus offering soft chatter in the background that didn’t even register in my mind. I blinked at Logan in surprise, mouth agape, but he simply nodded at me before dipping the tip of the coffee filter in the water. I watched as the water traveled up the filter, creating an almost tie dye affect. Interesting, but...

“What… are you doing?” Deceit asked from behind me, one eyebrow raised in curiosity.

“Exploring chromatography,” Logan answered simply, blinking at us owlishly through his glasses as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. His glasses began to slip off his nose, and he quickly repositioned them before turning back to his experiment.

“I… see.” I said slowly. “And… what does that mean?”

“It’s the process of separating a solution into different parts,” he replied without looking up, grabbing another coffee filter and reaching for his markers.

“Oh! I understand. You’re separating the pigments used in the ink from the markers. That’s quite clever, although I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, seeing as I’m talking to Logic itself,” Deceit remarked, amusement coloring his tone. Remus made a noise of curiosity as he eyed up the intelligent side before slipping down Deceit’s back and falling to the floor with a giddy giggle. Deceit glanced down at the side with a look of warning.

“No, you’re not,” Logan said.

“What?” Deceit asked, his gaze shooting up to the bespectacled side. His nose crinkled in confusion as he was met by Logan’s blank stare.. That’s cute. Wait-

“You’re not talking to Logic.”

“Then who am I talking to?”

My eyes widened in realization. “Curiosity! You’re Curiosity!”

“Correct.”

Deceit frowned, confused. “Curiosity? What…?”

“Logan used to be known as Curiosity back when Thomas was a kid. He represented Thomas’s love of learning and exploring new things. It makes sense if you think about it. Thomas wasn’t exactly the most logical kid. But overtime, Curiosity developed into Logic. I think it was probably about… third grade? Give or take a few years?”

“...Interesting.”

“If you’re looking for the other two, Anxiety is hiding on top of the bookshelf, and Creativity should still be in his room,” Logan supplied.

Deceit and I both exchanged a surprised glance. 

“Uh, thanks, kiddo,” I offered.

He shrugged. “I assumed that was why you rushed into the kitchen in distress and disarray.”

“You’re not wrong,” Deceit smirked. “Do you mind if I leave this one with you? He’d probably be able to help you with your chromatography experiment. He’s rather creative, if you know what I mean.”

Logan stared down at Remus for a moment, who froze in place from where he was climbing on the counter top and fidgeted under his intense gaze. After a moment, Logan reached up to readjust his glasses before holding out his hand. “Logan, also known as Curiosity.”

Remus blinked up at him, eyes wide, before an enormous smile broke out on his face. He reached out to take Logan’s hand and shake it. “Remus, Dark Creativity, at your service!”

“Can you color a variety of random patterns on coffee filters with markers?”

“Well, duh! I was literally made to be creative, dummy.”

Logan stared at him for a moment longer before offering a marker and a half a grin. “Good.”

The two bent their heads over the counter, one with a handful of markers in his mouth, scribbling all over the coffee filters and coloring a fair bit of his skin in the process, and the other with a colored coffee filter in each hand, dipping them in water and watching the tie-dye affect take hold. I gazed at them for a moment, a bit shocked at how well the two of them were getting along, when I felt hands shoving me towards the door. Glancing at Deceit, I frowned, opening my mouth to question what on Earth he was doing, but he shook his head and motioned for me to hurry up. Deciding to follow the snake-like side’s advice, I quietly exited the kitchen, Deceit right behind me.

Once we reached the living room, I whirled around to face him, my hands on my hips. “What was that about?” I asked, feeling so confused. “They were getting along so well, why would you-”

“Yes, they were getting along. That was the point. They got along so well they forgot we were even there, which meant it was time to get out of there. In case you’ve forgotten, we still have two more sides to check on, and I don’t know about you, but I’d rather find them in one piece than not.”

I blinked at him. “Point made. But… are you sure it’s okay to leave the two of them alone? While Logan might be able to temper Remus’s more reckless impulses, I feel like the two of them might egg each other on under the right conditions.”

“I am aware of the risks, which is why we need to make this quick. However, the last thing we need to do is drag Remus around everywhere we go. He’s been relatively well-behaved as of late, and I’d rather not test my luck. We just need to find the others and gather them all together in one place as quickly as possible so that there is a limited amount of blood and gore.”

My eyes widened. “B-blood and gore?!”

He rolled his eyes. “If Remus isn’t getting in trouble, what do you think Roman is doing?”

I bit my lip. “Shit.”

He blinked at me, surprise evident on his face, before the mask of impassive control fell back in place. “Indeed.”

I hurried to the stairs, careful not to trip over the lump in the carpet this time, but froze in my tracks when I didn’t hear Deceit’s footsteps after me. Glancing back over my shoulder, I saw him staring up at the bookshelf, or more accurately, at the small huddled form of Virgil hiding on top of the bookshelf. He looked so small and scared, it nearly broke my heart. I paused, about to turn around and go to my dark strange son, but felt Deceit’s hand on my shoulder, guiding me back towards the stairs.

“Shouldn’t we take care of Virgil first?” I asked worriedly.

Deceit tore his eyes away from the boy in question, his expression conflicted but his voice certain as we both began scaling the stairs. “No. He’ll be fine until we get back. Roman is in more imminent danger out of the two of them. Besides, he likes it up there. He’d be more upset if we forced him out than us leaving him there.”

“O-okay. I… I trust you.”

He seemed taken aback, his steps faltering slightly as he steadied himself on the railing. “I… good. Good.”

We made our way up the stairs before hurrying down the hallway and towards the brightly decorated door of our own Disney prince. The red-painted wood and gold filigree decorating every nook and cranny made Roman’s door the busiest and most lively of the mindscape. It was too vibrantly flamboyant to be considered elegant, unlike Deceit’s door, which was the definition of elegance, but it definitely had a royal touch to it that made it so… Roman. I fingered the gold lacing reverently before reaching for the doorknob, glancing at Deceit as I did so.

“You ready?” I asked.

He blinked at me before his expression became one of quiet, firm determination. “Open the door.”

Nodding, I did as I was told.

The second we poked our heads inside, we were immediately met with the clash of metal and the sound of yelling and growling. I froze, staring at Roman’s small, childish form darting around a beast far too big for him and stabbing at it with his sword. The beast was like something out of a fairy tale, or perhaps Greek mythology. It had multiple heads, each decked out with numerous spines protruding from its neck, and hundreds of needle-like teeth crowded together inside their snapping jaws. It had a large, bulbous body from which numerous spider-like legs hung limply while it flew around the room with its enormous, devilish wings. It was truly something out of a nightmare, and in my dazed shock, I wondered how on Earth someone as sweet and innocent as Roman had created a beast like this.

I was quickly distracted from my thoughts as the beast swung out its tail and knocked Roman off his feet. 

“Roman!” I cried out in horror. 

The boy went crashing to the ground, his sword and shield knocked from his hands, and I couldn’t even move an inch as the beast’s claws came down towards the pale, delicate flesh of a boy in his youth. I screamed in horror and looked away, the thought of watching Roman being torn to pieces before my eyes unbearable, but my eyes shot open when I heard the cry of someone who was most certainly not a child. My gaze darted over to the beast and Roman, only to find Deceit standing in between the two, serving as a human shield to protect Roman from the beast’s deadly claws.

Chapter Text

My breath catching in my throat, I forced my feet to move forward even as my mind screamed at me to run. Grabbing Roman by the arm, I dragged him out of the beast’s onslaught of death and destruction. He didn’t fight me, his eyes dazed and distant as he was pulled away from the battle. I raced to the wall where Roman’s weapons were mounted and snatched one of his swords from the hooks that held it captive.

“Deceit!” I called, and the side glanced my way just in time to catch the weapon I tossed his way.

Holding the sword aloft with practiced grace and precision, Deceit sliced the beast in half in one clean stroke. I watched in disgust and relief as the creature’s body hit the ground with a thud , blood and a strange green fluid flowing heavily from its cleaved torso as it thrashed and fought for its last few seconds of life before stopping entirely. Pressing a hand to my chest in an attempt to calm my rapid beating heart, I sucked in a breath before looking at the snake-like side. He almost seemed to flicker for a moment, although it could have been a mistake of the light, and I reached out to touch his shoulder.

“Deceit…? Are you okay?”

He flinched away from my touch, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye with that blank, mask-like expression he so often wore. “I’m fine,” he said, brushing off my concern as if it were a fleck of dirt on his cape. “Is Roman okay?”

I glanced at the princely side, who was still sprawled out across the floor, my eyes scanning over him for injuries, but besides being a little shaken and bruised, he seemed alright to me. “I think so.”

“Good.”

Deceit’s snake eye flared gold and he winced, pressing a hand to his temple. “We need to check on Virgil. Now.”

“Okay.”

He rushed out of the room before I could say anything more, leaning slightly on the doorway before heading down the stairs without a backwards glance. Approaching Roman, I helped him to his feet and grabbed him by the chin, forcing him to look at me. His eyes finally seemed to focus on me as a slight smile reached his lips.

“Hi Padre.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “There you are, kiddo. Are you okay?”

“Fine and dandy as always.”

“Good. We’re going to go downstairs now, okay? Your brother’s here to see you.”

His entire face seemed to light up. “Remus?”

“Ye-”

Before I could say a word, he was already racing downstairs as if he hadn’t just almost died a few minutes earlier. I blinked after Roman’s retreating form before shaking my head, a slight smile on my face. What am I going to do with him?

Heading downstairs, I found Deceit standing in front of the bookshelf, looking up at the small, huddled figure there with a concerned look on his face. Once I reached him, I peered up at Virgil, who appeared to be breathing rather heavily and was slowly inching further back into the recesses of the bookshelf. Deceit held up a hand in warning, and I froze in my steps.

“You’re going to scare him off,” he murmured under his breath. “Let me handle this.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but he was already stepping forward, holding out a hand for Virgil to take. I watched in surprise as the child, after sparing me a cautious glance, crawled forward and took it. Deceit gently rubbed circles into his palm and began to lead him in a breathing exercise. Virgil almost instantly joined him, following the pattern instinctively, his shallow breaths deepening and slowing by the second. Deceit never rushed him, never pushed him, never let go of his hand; he held on tight and helped the child calm down at his own pace. Once Virgil had finally calmed down enough that he was no longer mid-panic attack, Deceit’s worried face broke into a smile.

“There you are,” he breathed, relief clear in his voice. “Are you okay now?”

Virgil nodded shyly. “Thanks Dee.”

“Don’t mention it, kid. You wanna come down now?”

“Yeah.”

Deceit released his hand and Virgil slipped off the bookshelf, landing safely in the side’s open arms. Hoisting the child onto his hip, Deceit reached up to brush the tears from Virgil’s cheeks before setting him down. He ruffled Virge’s hair playfully, sparking a series of giggles from the boy as he reached up to take his hand once more.

I blinked at them, caught off guard by that display. I never knew Deceit could be so… gentle. He’s really good with kids. It’s honestly really… sweet.

Glancing up from Virgil, Deceit’s smile instantly faded, the warmth in his eyes dulling to cold indifference, and I couldn’t help but feel like I had ruined a beautiful moment somehow. Chewing the inside of my cheek, I pasted on a smile before meeting Virgil’s eye. The side seemed slightly on edge still. He refused to meet my eye, and he clung to Deceit’s side like glue, clinging to his hand and glancing at him every so often as if to assure himself that he was still there. I found it a bit odd. I had always thought the two hated each other bitterly, but here they were, completely inseparable. I wonder what happened between them to cause this rift. They seem so close now. How could they go from such a beautiful relationship to one so sour?

“I believe it is about time we went to check on the others, don’t you?” Deceit suggested, a sharpness to his voice that made my eyes flicker to his. Although his face seemed perfectly calm, I could sense a tension in his shoulders, a tightness in his jaw. I wanted to ask what was wrong, to find a way to make things right, but I knew that he didn’t want my help, didn’t want to talk to me, so I just nodded.

“Okay.”

We gathered in the living room to try and decide what to do. Roman and Remus were sitting on the couch together, whispering among themselves and laughing every now and then. Logan was on the recliner, reading a book and ignoring everything going on around him. Virgil was still attached to Deceit’s hip, refusing to go sit down as the two of us stood and gazed at each other, completely and utterly lost. I sighed as I looked around at my kiddos, now actually kids, and felt a bit overwhelmed. What are we supposed to do? Why did this happen? Is there any way to fix it?

“What should we do?” I asked softly, meeting Deceit’s eye, who looked like he was seconds from a mental breakdown himself.

He rubbed at his temple wearily, collecting his thoughts. “You stay here and watch over the kids. I’ll go check on Thomas and see if I can figure out what the hell is going on. Hopefully talking to him will give me some clues.”

“Alright, just… don’t leave for too long. I don’t know if I can handle everyone on my own.”

He disappeared at the blink of an eye, surprising me even though I knew that all darksides did the exact same thing. I had only just gotten used to Virgil appearing out of nowhere, and for some reason, Deceit doing it was even more alarming. A memory flickered in my mind of Virgil appearing behind Roman while he was distracted and tapping on his shoulder, causing the prince to squawk in indignation and shove the snickering emo playfully. I couldn’t help but smile at the thought. It was so rare to see those two get along so well together anymore, especially with Virgil’s most recent secret revealed. Everything was just so tense... Shaking my head, I turned my attention to the kiddos and the task at hand. Now’s not the time, Pat, I reminded myself. Focus on what’s important.

Remus and Virgil were now curled up on the couch together, the timid boy latched onto him like a lifeline, and Remus was clearly enjoying all the attention. He seemed to soak up the touch like a dry sponge, and I wondered for a moment if he received any physical affection on the daily. With only Deceit around, I couldn’t imagine he received very much of it. The snake-like side didn’t seem like the most affectionate type, and I wasn’t certain how close they actually were anyway. I had always imagined them being partners in crime, but truthfully, I didn’t even know if they spoke to each other regularly. 

The poor dear, I thought. He must be touch-starved. That’s the worst kind of feeling in the world. Taking a chance, I decided to approach them and see if I could get to know these childish versions of the people who had once terrified me, but now, I knew to be as harmless as can be. Virgil wasn’t dangerous, just a bit angsty. He was a bit cold and moody every now and then, but he was really a big sweetheart deep down. Even Remus wasn’t as scary once you dealt with him once or twice. He mostly just liked to gross you out. Once you moved past that, he really wasn’t much of a threat. Gazing at him now, his eyes large and curious, his crooked smile stretching from cheek to cheek and his head bopping along to a song only he could hear, I couldn’t imagine why I had ever been afraid of him in the first place. He’s just so darn cute!

“Hi there!” I greeted, and Virgil shrank away. “Hey, it’s okay, kiddo! I’m not gonna hurt you.”

He peeked out at me from behind Remus. “Pinky promise?”

I laughed, holding out a pinky. “Pinky promise.”

Smiling, Virgil scooted forward and locked pinkies with me before curling up against Remus, seemingly more relaxed.

“Is it okay if I sit with you two?” I asked, glancing mostly to Remus, who had been surprisingly quiet.

“Yeah!” Virgil exclaimed.

“Sure,” the other boy shrugged.

I sat down on the couch and Virgil moved to sit closer to me, positioning himself between me and Remus. The boy began chattering about some horror movie he had apparently seen recently, although I had no recollection of us even owning said movie, much less watching it together. Remus offered his two cents every now and then, but like me, he seemed content to just listen to Virgil talk about something he was passionate about. He talked for a good half an hour about the movie before growing quiet. His eyelids appeared to be growing heavy as he yawned, leaning back against the other boy. Virgil must have been very tired, as he soon fell fast asleep, his back resting against Remus’s shoulder and his body curling in on itself like a little kitten. It took everything in me to not squeal at how adorable it was. Who knew my dark strange son was so cute when he was small!

Remus shifted slightly to wrap his arm around Virge and keep him from falling off the couch, his eyes never meeting mine. I watched as he pulled Virgil’s hood over his head, a small smile on his face. It was such a fragile smile, so delicate and warm, but it was the realest smile I had seen on the manic side. How strange it is, seeing one usually so hyper sit so still. Although, now that I think about it, Remus is acting rather strange.  

He had been unusually quiet and reserved, so unlike the older Remus, who was always so loud and expressive, which was beginning to concern me. I didn’t quite know how to broach the subject. I’d never really spoken to Remus, not one on one at least, and I didn’t know where to begin. Did I straight (hah) up ask him why he was acting so strange, or did I use a bit more subtlety? Would he even be willing to talk to me? I had no idea whether he knew me, and if he did, what he might remember about me, and it made me unusually nervous. I wasn’t used to being so uncertain when it came to talking to people. It was an odd feeling. Biting my lip, I figured I’d just blurt it out and see what happened. After all, that seemed like a very Remus thing to do, and I figured if anything, he’d appreciate my bluntness.

“Are you okay?”

Remus’s eyes rose to meet mine, and he blinked slowly, as if trying to comprehend the words I had uttered. “Am I… okay?”

“Yeah. You’ve just… you’ve been really quiet is all. I was wondering if everything was alright.”

He smiled, but it didn’t quite seem to sit right on his face. “Of course! I just remembered you don’t like it when I’m really loud. I don’t want to upset you. Dee told me to be on my best behavior.”

Frowning, I tried to remember what he was referring to. I felt myself shrink slightly. Right. I used to yell at Remus when he was overly loud. And I would… God. I would lock him in that closet when he couldn’t behave… at least, before Deceit took him away. I… I was a real bitch back then… or I guess, now? Ugh. This time stuff is complicated. I was awfully mean to the darksides when we were kids. I musta really hurt him, didn’t I? God, what is wrong with me? What should I do?

Suddenly, Deceit rose up in the middle of the living room, his expression troubled. I shot to my feet, grateful for the distraction. As much as I wanted to continue berating myself for treating the darksides so horribly back then, I knew that wouldn’t help anything. I couldn’t change the past as much as I wanted to. Although, was I really much different to Deceit and Remus now? If Virgil was still a darkside, would I treat him half as nicely as I did now? Those thoughts troubled me, so I shoved them aside. Later, I promised. I’ll deal with them later.

“Deceit!” I called, rushing to his side.

The man in question turned to face me. “Patton.”

“What did you find out? Is Thomas okay? Why’s this happening?”

He smoothed his shirt and adjusted his hat before speaking. “Thomas is fine. He does not appear to have taken on any physical harm. However, he is acting quite strangely. Almost childish in nature, which I surmise to be caused by over half his sides having turned into children. However, I have no idea what happened to him to cause this, nor do I know how to fix him. I assume this is a temporary condition that will pass with time, but I suppose we will have to wait and see.”

“Have you considered the fact that Thomas might have suffered some sort of trauma to the head that might have caused psychological regression?”

Deceit and I both turned to glance at Logan in surprise, and he shrugged.

“I simply figured that this was the most likely answer. Depending on the type of trauma and its severity, it may take some time to sort itself out.”

“Thank you, Logan,” I offered. “It sounds like you might be right.”

He reached up to push his glasses back up his nose before glancing back at his book. “Of course I am,” he said, his voice dismissal, and I snorted at his bluntness.

Deceit blinked at him before turning to me and whispering. “Is he always an insufferable know-it-all?”

I chuckled. “No.” His shoulders eased slightly. “He’s usually much worse.”

“Worse? Holy shit,” he breathed. “That almost makes living in the Darkside seem worth it.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning.

He acted like he didn’t hear me, although I was certain he did based on the way his shoulders tensed. “Joan is on their way to look after Thomas. He will be safe in their care. The only thing left to decide is what to do next.”

We stood there in awkward silence, staring at anything but each other. I fiddled with the sleeves of my pajamas, a stark reminder that I hadn’t had the time to get ready this morning. Glancing at the clock, I was surprised to see that it was only 9 o’clock in the morning. It felt like a week had passed in the first few hours alone, and we had to take care of these kiddos for who knows how long. Days? Weeks? Months? God, I hoped not months. I didn’t know if my fragile psyche could take it. Especially not with how insane this morning alone had been.

Glancing over at Deceit, I saw that he was pulling on his gloves to ensure that they were completely covering his hands. I wonder why he wears those anyway. Did he wear them when we were kids? Truth be told, I couldn’t quite remember. I tried to picture Deceit as a child, but all I got was a blurry image of a boy in yellow with a shy smile and a blush that turned his entire face bright red. It’s hard to believe Deceit was ever easily embarrassed. He always seems so calm and stoic. Although I suppose we’ve all changed quite a bit since then. Still, it’s strange.

He caught me staring and flinched before fixing me with a cold stare, one eyebrow raised. I cleared my throat, feeling my own cheeks warm at the intensity of his gaze.

“So,” I began, biting my lip nervously. “What now?”

Deceit sighed, reaching up and removing his hat before running his fingers through his hair. I watched as the wavy locks scattered under his touch, enchanted by how soft and smooth they looked, so unlike the curly, fluffy rat’s nest that I called my hair. I was sure it was sticking up in fifteen different directions as we spoke, given I hadn’t had the chance to brush it. He returned the hat to its resting place before glancing at me, and I noted the dark circles lining his eyes. He seems really tired. When was the last time he slept? “I believe it might be in our best interests if we look after the sides together.”

Something about my expression must have suggested I wasn’t super pleased with the idea because he sighed again, seemingly frustrated.

“Look, I’m not all too fond of the idea either, but we don’t have much of a choice on the matter. Looking after all these kids is hard enough as it is, and I doubt we’ll be able to separate Remus and Roman after all the time they spent apart. Besides, Virgil has already reattached himself to me, and I doubt either of us could coax him to stay here without me around.”

“No, no! I completely agree!” I cried, my voice cracking slightly. “It’ll be a lot easier looking after all of them if we work together. That way we have someone to help if anything goes awry.”

Deceit didn’t look convinced. “Alright. It’s decided, then. We work together.”