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Remus stared at the door. It was painted black, with yellow vines creeping up it. The gold nameplate said ‘Janus ‘Deceit’ Sanders’ in looping calligraphy. He took a deep breath and raised a hand to knock.
Before he could, the door swung open, and obvious invitation. He stood in the open doorway for a moment, before stepping inside.
The room had the same sepia tones as Patton’s, but it was very different. It was decorated with expensive leather armchairs, fluffy rugs and towering bookshelves. There was a record player sitting on a table in the corner, and hundreds of records shelved by an organisation system unknown to Remus. There was another door with a big iron lock on it, leading further into Janus’ realm.
“What don’t you want, Remus?” Janus was sitting in one of the armchairs, reading a book on philosophy. His tone held its usual drawl, but it held none of the warmth Remus was accustomed to. When Remus really looked, he noticed the tiredness, the red-rimmed eyes that people desperately wish makeup could cover. He felt overwhelming guilt that he had some part in the cause of that. Didn’t make this any easier, though.
“I wanted to talk to you, if-” Remus swallowed, wishing that he could hide behind impulsive shouts and violent suggestions. He knew he shouldn’t, he had to be genuine, serious, but he wished for the security that front provided. “-if that’s alright with you…”
Janus gestured to an empty armchair, and Remus immediately noticed his lack of gloves. That made things both easier, and harder. It was nice to know that Janus was being honest, but Janus could be brutal when he wanted to be.
“Of course you can talk to me. I must remind you that you are unable to lie in my realm.” Remus nodded, sitting in the proffered chair. “I do have a question, though. Roman came in to apologise for his behaviour, and for Patton’s. He wouldn’t tell me why. Do you know why?” Janus’ voice was tinged with surprise and doubt, like he expected it to be a prank.
Remus sighed. “Yeah, I know why he came in.” Janus looked expectant, and he cleared his throat with a cough “Uhh, you know how I blew up at you a couple days ago? And you ran into Virgil’s room.” Janus nodded, slowly. That wound was still raw. “We heard you screaming.” Janus paled, closing his book and putting it onto a side table.
Remus continued, just wanting it to be over with. “Virgil pulled me, Roman and Patton into the Fear-Scape to chat.” He spat Patton’s name out like the other had stabbed him. “He caught me up to date on what my asshole of a brother did, and then it came out that you two were dating. Roman was surprisingly fine with it, but Patton was-” Remus shuddered. “He was horrible. He was shouting and- and I could feel the hate rolling off him in waves. It was so overwhelming…” Remus wiped his eyes furiously on his sash, as Janus blinked slowly, trying to process the word vomit.
“I’m going to work through that chronologically. What do you mean Virgil caught you up on what Roman did?” Remus looked at him, having given up on hiding the tears.
“He laughed. He hurt you and I didn’t realise. I thought you were just being an asshole when you compared us. If I’d known from the start that he did that, I wouldn’t have blown up like I did. Gods Jan, I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”
Remus curled into a ball on the chair, shoulders shaking as he sobbed. Janus stood up, summoning his other four arms to envelop Remus into a warm hug, overwhelming his nose with the scent of Cinnamon and vanilla.
“It’s ok, darling. I understand now that you didn’t have all the facts. I accept your apology. Yes, what you said hurt, but I should’ve expected something like that to happen at some point. And I’m sorry too. Comparing you to your brother was harmful to both of you. I wasn’t thinking straight when I said that. Not that I ever think straight.”
Remus let out a watery laugh at the terrible joke, wiping his eyes again as the tears finally subsided. His eyes were rimmed with red, but he looked much more peaceful. Janus stood up, sweeping up Remus with him. He plopped them both on a couch and Remus immediately curled up on his lap.
“It’s ok Jan, I understand now how much shit happened. It’s all good.” Remus said, tracing circles on Janus’ leg with a finger. It was a mark of their friendship that Janus didn’t question where he got a severed finger from, when he still had all ten of his connected.
“Right, well. Next question. What did Patton say? Virgil hasn’t come out of his room in days, I’m starting to worry.” Remus hissed through his teeth. Janus sounded genuinely worried and Virgil shut himself in his room. Patton was going to pay for hurting his family.
“I didn’t get all of it, being as I was panicking. But what I did get was essentially ‘You’re a dark side, I hate you, die’. It was pretty harsh, and Virgil shut off completely” Janus snarled, eyes flashing yellow.
Remus twisted around immediately, putting a hand on the other’s shoulder. “It’s horrible, we both want to kill him for it. I understand, genuinely understand. But revenge and murder need to wait until we know Virgil is ok. Your boyfriend is way more important than our temporary release of anger, because we both know no punishment is big enough for this shit.”
Janus hissed, but his eyes settled back to normal. “I hate it when you’re logical.”
Remus smiled softly, rolling off the couch with a thud. Janus stood up, walking towards the locked door. He touched the lock with three fingers, and it clicked open, falling onto the carpet.
“Virgil won’t open the outer door, but there’sss a door in my realm that goes ssstraight to hissss room” Remus waggled his eyebrows suggestively as he got off the floor. Janus blushed. “Shut up and come on” Remus grabbed the deceitful side’s hand as they walked through the door. Neither of them mentioned that Janus had lost control of his lisp again.
The door was black and grey, with rusted chains crisscrossing it.
Remus grinned at it, but then frowned. “Why is Risk's door in your realm?” The question was innocent, but it still stung to answer.
“Virgil is lying to everyone by saying he’s ‘anxiety’ and that he ‘used’ to be a dark side. He’s still one of us. I get his true door as a result.” Remus nodded, his shoulders dropping.
Janus knocked on the door quietly and waited. After a few minutes, the door creaked open, and Virgil opened it.
He was a mess. His hair was tangled, his eyes were red rimmed, and he looked as though he hadn’t slept in days. He gestured them to come in silently.
Janus sat on the bed with his boyfriend, Virgil draping over his lap and leaning against his chest. Three sets of arms were wrapped protectively around the younger side. Remus was sprawled over a grey beanbag on the floor.
They all sat in silence for a while, before Virgil spoke up in a quiet voice “Am- am I evil? I know I’m a Dark Side, but Patton said it like I was an evil monster…” Janus hissed again, curling tighter around his boyfriend. Remus clenched his jaw.
“No, love. You aren’t evil. Patton-” Janus sighed “Patton has issues. He sees the world in a very black and white way. For him, Light is good, and Dark is bad. But that isn’t true. We all know that. Even Thomas knows that.” Virgil smiled wobblily, seeming to psych himself up.
“Can, can I come back to the Dark Side? I don’t think I can be around Patton anymore. I’m not sure I’m welcome in the Light Space anymore.” Remus and Janus both smiled, but their expressions were tinged with sadness.
“Oh Sweetness, of course you can come back with us. You are always welcome in the Dark Side, my Storm Cloud.” Remus nodded at Janus’ words, and Virgil extricated himself from his boyfriend, going to stand in the middle of the room.
He extended his arms, sweeping them down in a wide arc. The room shivered, and he walked quickly to the door, pressing a palm flat to the painted wood. “Risk, Dark Side.” The room spun, throwing everything into a whirlwind. At some point, the three sides latched onto each other, so when the room settled, they were tangled in a heap on the floor.
The three of them looked around the redecorated room, and Virgil opened the door into a dark, cobwebbed hallway. Virgil turned back around, showing one purple eye, and one fully pitch black. He extended eight spider legs from his back, tearing through the plum shirt and patchwork hoodie of ‘Anxiety’. He flexed the appendages and smiled.
“It’s good to be home.”