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When Patton entered the bedroom, hair disheveled and obvious bags under his eyes, Janus glanced up from his book and frowned.
“Oh, sweetie, you look exhausted.”
Patton laughed and ran a hand down his face. “I sure feel it.”
Janus placed his book on the bedside table and pulled the blanket back on Patton’s side. “Come to bed. Are Roman and Remus asleep?”
Patton nodded as he walked over and slid into his side of the shared bed. “Roman went to sleep pretty easily, but Remus must’ve gotten into the sugar again. Took me a while to calm him down.”
Janus sighed. “I’m telling you, that child is a gremlin.”
“Janus!”
“I’m joking.”
There was a pause.
“...Mostly.”
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you hate your family,” Patton said as he and Janus snuggled close under the blankets.
Janus chuckled. “Oh, yes, I despise my family. I definitely hate you, and I certainly hate the twins.”
Patton giggled. “You can be such a softie sometimes, Janus.”
“How dare you.”
The creak of the door caught the couple’s attention. Patton and Janus looked over and saw the silhouettes of two young children in the doorway.
“Roman? Remus?” Patton detached himself from Janus and sat up. “It’s late, kiddos. Why aren’t you asleep?”
“Ro had a nightmare,” Remus explained as Roman walked further into the room, clambered up onto the bed and crawled into Patton’s lap. “He was scared to come get you, so I came with. I protected him from the monsters.”
Patton smiled and started running his fingers through Roman’s hair in an attempt to soothe him. “That was a very nice thing to do, Remus. You’re very brave.”
“Oh, I know.”
Janus grumbled and buried his face into his pillow. “I’ve been abandoned.”
Roman buried his face into Patton’s chest. Patton giggled and kissed the top of his head. “You seem to be feeling a lot better already, kiddo. Ready to head back to bed?”
“Yeah.”
“Want me to come with you?”
“Nah,” Roman crawled off Patton’s lap and slid off the bed, “Remus can protect me.”
Patton smiled. “Alright. Sleep tight, boys. We’ll see you in the morning.”
After the twins left the room, Patton looked over at Janus, who was very clearly smiling despite most of his face being smothered by a pillow. The crinkles of his cheeks were a dead giveaway.
“You look awfully happy,” Patton teased as he snuggled back under the blanket.
“Do I? I couldn’t possibly imagine why.”
Patton and Janus resumed their cuddle session, which Janus seemed rather pleased about. Down the hall, the muffled voices of two children who didn’t sound like they were going back to sleep could be heard. A few minutes passed, and Patton’s quiet snores eventually filled the room. Janus used the alone time to ponder, though the conclusion he came to had been obvious from the start.
Janus loved his family. He loved his husband and children more than anything else in the world.
He wouldn’t trade them for anything.