Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

For as long as Janus could remember, people stared at him. They treated him different because of the birthmarks he couldn’t help.
Other kids would point and loudly talk about them, bigger kids would make double takes and whisper to each other. Some adults would do the same.
Even adults that meant well, like some teachers and his parents, looked at him with pity sometimes.
There was one exception. His best friend in the whole wide world. Virgil Anker.
He’d never seen Virgil treat him differently because of how he looked.
He stuck by his side even when other kids told him that they would play with him if he left Janus behind. Virgil even got mad at them. And one time, Janus recalled, a bunch of kids did let them play along with a game of hero and villain. But Janus had to play the villain. Janus had been so glad they got to play along that he hadn’t thought twice about it. Virgil did however and had insisted on taking his place or being the villain with him.
Janus didn’t remember the details of the game, only that when they went for another round, none of the other kids wanted to play the villain. They’d let him play along because he looked like a bad guy. None of the heroes on the news looked 'ugly'.
That had broken Janus’ heart. And Virgil had taken his hand and ran off with him, insisting that they were just jealous because he looked interesting.
Virgil was the best friend anyone could ever ask for.
He was a little different too. All their classmates had at least two parents. Some even more. Virgil only had his dad. Uncle Lo.
Uncle Lo wasn’t really Janus’ uncle. But he and Virgil lived next to each other and ate and slept at each other’s places a lot. Janus considered the Anker house, almost as much his home as his parents’ place. And both he and Virgil called each other’s parents aunt and uncle.
Uncle Lo worried about Virgil often. Virgil felt bad when his dad worried, so he sometimes tried to hide it when he’d fallen hard or had a rough day. Janus didn’t get why, and it almost never worked, but he didn’t tell on Virgil if he could help it.
It’s the least he could do with how often Virgil stuck his neck out for him.
Janus often wished he was a little braver, so he could stand up for himself a little more often. He preferred running away, but Virgil refused. Sometimes Janus could convince the bullies to leave, by getting them to believe someone had gone to get a teacher or something like that. So he helped out too. A little, in his own way.
Anyway. Virgil and Janus were both different from their classmates. But they stuck together.
They made a good team.
Everyone thought so.
“Friends like Virgil are pretty rare Janus. Don’t ever take that for granted,” his father told him when he was about six years old. He’d nodded in understanding. He knew.
Janus knew he was different and that he’d be judged for that for the rest of his life.
But as long as he got to keep Virgil as his friend, he was fine with that.

Chapter Text

When Virgil started standing up against bullies for other kids, Janus got a bit nervous at first.
He was worried Virgil would be invited to play with those kids during recess and forget about him. But that didn’t happen. No one even started to hang around them.
Sometimes it was like they barely existed on the playground unless Virgil was helping someone.
Janus knew that this was all part of who Virgil was, and he wouldn’t change him for anything, but he still didn’t like that he was putting himself in harm’s way for kids who didn’t even know he existed until they needed him.
Then they started middle school and met Remus Castile.
Remus was a complete wildcard. He was loud and impulsive and had no filter and Virgil and Janus both thought he was a lot of fun to hang out with. Remus didn’t do well with sitting still though. He ran around collecting insects and other gross stuff he found entertaining and sometimes stopped by to talk about some wild idea, or something he and his twin brother had done lately.
He fit in with them nicely, though he never came over after school and they never stayed at his place. Janus suspected Remus’ parents, had something against them.
Still, they had fun at school together. But when Remus wasn’t with them, sometimes the bigger kids bothered him. Virgil and Janus always came to help as soon as they saw.
Once they got the bullies to leave, Remus would vent about all sorts of impossible things he wanted to do to them as payback.
Whenever Virgil and Janus suggested telling a teacher or his parents, Remus brushed it off.
When Virgil suggested telling Remus’ brother at the very least so there would be one more person looking out for him on the playground, he almost begged them not to. He didn’t want to bother his brother.
That made Janus mad. What kind of sibling made their brother feel like they were a bother just for needing help?
But like with Virgil, Janus didn’t tattle.
He’d end up regretting not trying harder to keep Remus safe.
Virgil and Janus had been laughing about the movie they’d watched that weekend when Virgil suddenly stiffened. Janus knew he was in the habit of scanning the playground and assumed he’d seen some random kid getting bullied again.
He sighed and started thinking about what kind of excuse he could use to get the bully to move on so they wouldn’t have to waste too much of their recess on it.
“Remus is in trouble!” Virgil exclaimed as he ran towards a secluded corner. It was somewhat of a blind spot for the teachers and mostly everyone knew about it.
Remus was possibly the only one who didn’t avoid it because he liked to make little messes there.
But that was where the bullies usually caught him.
They arrived to see Remus look devastated at the floor.
Janus could see there was a bunch of rocks and twigs and a few squashed slugs. His best guess was that Remus had built the slugs a house or something and the bigger kids had destroyed it. He’d probably spent ages building the house and finding the slugs. Named them all and given them personalities and backstories. That was how his friend worked. So this, to him, was a true horror.
Before Virgil could speak out against the laughing older kids, before Janus could tell Remus that it would be alright even though he knew it wouldn’t be for a while, Remus attacked.
He turned to the two older boys who’d done this and somehow got them both to the ground. It took Virgil and Janus to drag him off and calm him down. By then both the bullies were crying and running off to the teacher. When Remus calmed down he became very sullen. “I’m in big trouble now. I shouldn’t have done that,” he muttered.
“They had it coming. We’ll tell the teachers…” Virgil started.
Remus shook his head. “Even if the teachers don’t punish me, my parents won’t be happy about this. I promised I wouldn’t… But I just lost it,” Remus muttered as Janus whipped his face clean with a paper tissue. Being friends with Remus meant you were prepared to clean up messes.
Janus and Virgil had tried to comfort him. But then the teacher showed up and brought Remus inside. And that was the last time Janus would see Remus for a very long time.
The teacher took him and Virgil aside the next day to inform them that Remus would be homeschooled from now on.
Janus could see Virgil fight back tears the rest of the day. He didn’t even go out to save someone once. Janus didn’t like seeing him like this, but he was at a loss what to say to make him feel better. Virgil felt like he failed Remus. It was clear he blamed himself. Janus was in the same boat. He should’ve convinced Remus to stay with them more. If he had, then this would never have happened.
That evening he told his parents what happened and asked why those kids treated his friend like that. “He wasn’t harming anyone. Why did they hurt him?” he asked confused.
His parents hugged him. “Janus, people are often scared by things they find strange and confusing. It’s not right. But things and people that are different frighten them, so they act out,” his dad explained. Janus felt angry. It wasn’t fair. Why did the world decide he and his friends were weird? Why did it decide they were so wrong they needed to be punished by being torn apart like this?
“Heroes are different,” he objected.
“They are, and many gifted still have to fight to be accepted and treated like anyone else once their gifts manifest. Even if they are heroes,” his mother told him reluctantly.
The whole situation taught him one thing.
The world punishes people for not fitting in. It could not be trusted.
Not a week after they lost Remus, his brother, at last, crashed into their lives.
Like literally. He crashed himself into some bully like he was a knight in shining armor. Janus would have thought he was Remus for a second if not for the immense difference in how he moved and talked.
And he was furious. It was His fault Remus wasn’t with them anymore. If he'd been a decent brother things would have played out differently. And now he came here to play hero? What was worse was Virgil seemed to get along with him and that just wasn’t fair. Janus had seen Roman on the playground before. He was perfect. The kind of boy society adored. Everyone liked him. He could pick any friend he’d like. Why did he have to take Virgil away as well?
He kept them apart when he could. It wasn’t easy, but he wouldn’t allow himself to lose another friend. Especially to someone who wouldn’t understand him and hurt him in the end.

Chapter Text

Summer before freshmen year, Janus was a wreck.
He always kind of hated the way he looked. But lately there were days where he didn’t even like to look at the normal half of his body. When nothing in his closet felt comfortable.
The first day of summer, he went over to the neighbor’s house to hang out with Virgil. He was having a bad day and needed his friend.
“Janus. Good to see you my boy,” Virgil’s dad greeted as he opened the door.
Janus forced a smile. “Hi uncle Lo. Is Virgil up yet?” he asked.
“He’s in his room. You know the way,” uncle Logan told him kindly.
Janus nodded and rushed up the stairs. He opened the door to Virgil’s bedroom and froze.
Virgil was standing in front of his mirror a pen in his hand and his hoodie and t-shirt on the bed. He looked up and smiled at him.
Why was his hair purple? And since when did he do his eyeshadow so immaculate?
Did he paint his nails purple too? Was that lipstick? And why was there an intricate pattern running up his arm, over his shoulder and fading out at his chest?
“What do you think? Looks pretty sick right?” he asked as he showed off his work.
Janus wasn’t sure which part of Virgil’s drastically changed appearance he meant. But it looked very… very…
God he could not be having a gay panic right now. Not with Virgil.
He’d never had a crush before! He never cared for any of the girls in class. Not in the way Virgil sometimes expressed interest in them. Like Anna from their class.
Virgil had had a small crush on her at the start of last year. Out of curiosity Janus had asked what it was like. To see if maybe he was crushing on someone without realizing it.
Sadly Virgil’s explanation hadn’t brought an epiphany.
Which made this even more confusing. If he was simply gay and crushing on Virgil this whole time, then he should have realized it then right?
He’d known him all his life! He didn’t feel like this last week though.
He forced himself to drop that train of thought. He wasn’t here for any of this.
“Yeah. Looks good. Though I doubt uncle Lo will let you actually get a tattoo. Ever,” he said, trying to play it cool.
Virgil chuckled and nodded as he tossed the pen on his desk and put on his shirt and hoodie.
The latter was new. Black with purple patches. It looked hand made. In a good way.
Janus couldn’t focus on it though. He was still reeling from the unexpected rush of feelings that had just been dumped on him.
Maybe it was just because Virgil had looked so different? Some sort of shock? That must be it. Right?
Anyway it was mostly over now and he was back to feeling wrong in his own skin.
“I know, but I wanted to try it out anyway. I’ll wash it off later. After I take a picture.” Virgil then studied Janus’ face.
“One of those days?” he guessed.
Janus nodded. He’d never been able to express to Virgil how it felt exactly. But his friend managed to make him feel better anyway. He’d help him relax by messing around with his hair or helping him pick something nice to wear. Or some general self-care stuff.
“I’ve got just the thing. Sit down I’ll be right back.”
Janus proceeded to throw himself face-first on Virgil’s bed, doing his best not to think back to the fake tattoo he had drawn. Or not the part where it made him feel things anyway.
Virgil was good at art.
Good enough to make others envious, or make people try and get something from him. Janus felt his stomach twist in knots at the mere thought of it. Virgil was too kind to deny anyone if they’d ask.
It would be very hard to keep him safe in high school though, when they weren’t guaranteed to be together for every class. Janus had been thinking a lot about ways he could protect them from bullies and fake friends. The best he could come up with was seem scarier and stick together.
The coward was going to scare off the bullies. Janus was very aware of how ridiculous that sounded. He was going to try though.
And then there was still the matter of Roman Castile.
That pompous brat never stopped trying to get Virgil to trust him and steal him away.
Janus still couldn’t figure out why he went through so much effort. Was it because he didn’t get told ‘no’ often? Was Virgil a challenge? Roman couldn’t possibly really know or appreciate the kind of person Virgil was. So what was the plan?
“Get up. I can’t work my magic if you hide away like that,” Virgil instructed as he entered the room once again dropping something on the bed. Janus sighed and sat up.
“Give me your hand. We’re doing makeovers,” Virgil instructed as he got on the bed with him.
Janus was about to protest, but Virgil had that look. There was no arguing.
“Fine,” he sighed.
Virgil took his hand and started doing his nails with a golden polish.
“I bought this one for detailing,” he explained. Janus looked at Virgil’s hand and saw there were little stars in the purple polish. He couldn’t help a smile. It looked pretty.
Virgil had started using make up the last few months. Just some dark smudges under his eyes and black polish on his nails to look extra edgy.
Maybe the new look held the same intention? A high school upgrade? With a little detail to hint at a softer nature for those who looked close.
“You’re in the mood for makeovers today,” he observed.
Virgil chuckled. “I suppose,” he nodded as he blew over Janus’ nails, finishing of his right hand. “Next,” he instructed. Janus gave him his left hand, holding his right up so nothing could mess up the still wet paint.
“What’s with all the shades of purple anyway?” he asked.
“Just felt right,” Virgil muttered casually as he finished off Janus’ other hand.
“There,” he stated satisfied as he let go. Janus shook both hands for a bit trying to get them dry.
“We’ll find the look that feels right for you too. Just you wait,” Virgil assured him as he dug through the bag Janus had heard him put down earlier.
“What are you planning?” he asked.
“Relax, I’m not going to make you go home with a face full of make-up. We’re just trying something different okay?” Virgil assured him. Janus let out a sigh and nodded. He trusted him.
“I wouldn’t go for a dark lipstick for you. It looks cool but it’s… Not something even I would want for an everyday look. And the goal is making you feel good not shock you,” he joked.
Janus’ eyes fell to Virgil’s lips as he mentioned lipstick. The dark color made every movement stand out even more. They looked very kissable.
And that brought Janus mind to a screeching halt. The image of kissing his best friend made him feel all sorts of ways. But not quite the way Virgil once described.
He felt nervous and excited, and flustered. But not… Not love. He didn’t think of sweet nothings and dates and holding hands. Or he did, because part of him wanted to run those down to figure out if this was a crush. But none of that fit how he felt about Virgil. The thought of it was just weird to him.
Virgil was movie nights and stupid jokes and teasing. But also kissing. Apparently.
Suddenly he was yanked out of his thoughts by Virgil carefully taking hold of his face. For a second he thought Virgil’s mind had gone to the same place his had. But when his eyes shot up to V’s they were just amused. “Relax. And stop biting your lip. I haven’t even done anything and you’re already trying to ruin my masterpiece.”
“Sorry,” Janus muttered. Relieved that Virgil had no clue what just happened.
What was wrong with him?
“It’s fine,” Virgil assured him as he started applying whatever color he’d decided on to Janus’ lips. It did not help with his crisis.
And it was just a stellar crisis to have when the object of your attraction was literally holding your face and had his lips a breath away from yours.
“There. Now, I’m going to need you to trust me for a sec here,” Virgil warned ominously. Clearly having fun. Janus couldn’t help a chuckle. Now that Virgil wasn’t so close anymore the attraction subsided to a not all-consuming level and he could kind of enjoy the fact that Virgil was trying to make him feel like a movie star or whatever he was going for here.
“Do I have a choice in the matter?” he asked dryly.
Virgil chuckled.
Janus thought back to how Virgil had said that Anna’s laugh made his heart skip, back when he liked her. But while the sound made Janus feel comfortable and happy, his heart did nothing special. He was just happy and relaxed because the sound was familiar and safe.
“You have a point,” Virgil agreed. “Close your eyes for me.” Janus did as he was told. Virgil’s hand was on his face once more and he could feel his breath drift over him. The fact that he couldn’t see a thing as a brush drifted over his eyelids only intensified the new feelings.
“Did you know the principle of our high school is childhood friends with uncle Thomas?”
‘Uncle’ Thomas was an old school friend of Uncle Logan. Janus had met him a few times over the years. He was a nice guy. If a bit high energy.
“Really?” he asked a little surprised.
“Yeah. Joan Stokes. They use they/them pronouns. According to uncle Thomas.”
Janus couldn’t help the confused frown. “What do you mean?” he asked.
“They’re non binary. They don’t identify as a man or a woman. Like they were born in a male body, but their gender is not male or female.”
“People can do that?” Janus asked. “Just decide they aren’t what they are?”
“That’s not it. Uncle Thomas says that Mx. Stokes… Mx. Is the neutral version of Mr. or Mrs. by the way… Anyway he said that they are their authentic selves. They were always non binary. They just didn’t know it until they were in their teens or something. I looked it up. There are people who are born in a male body but discover they are female later in life. Like. It’s proven that their brains even work more like that of a female. And the other way around can happen too. So why wouldn’t there be people who are in between?”
Janus tried to wrap his head around it. Being a man but not being a man… or a woman.
“So is… are they…? Did I say that right?” It felt kind of weird. He’d never heard of this until now.
“That was exactly right.” Janus could swear he heard some pride in Virgil’s voice.
“Okay, so are they both or neither?” he asked. Virgil’s hand stilled.
“You know… I didn’t ask. Hm… I suppose… Maybe it depends on your perspective?” he mused as he continued working.
“Look up for a bit please,” Virgil muttered. Janus opened his eyes and felt Virgil start applying some eye liner.
“I don’t have mascara, so I’m almost done,” he told him.
Janus felt relieved. He was enjoying this, truly. And he was curious to find out how he looked. But he also needed some distance between himself and Virgil. And maybe some time to try to look up what all of these feelings were about. Because he wanted to know what this thing was that threatened his friendship with Virgil. Was this a crush? If it was, then why didn’t he feel any of the stuff he was supposed to feel. Except for a very dumb and dangerous wish to kiss his best friend.
“And done! Turn around I’m going to fix your hair a bit.”
Janus sighed and turned to face the window. He’d let his hair grow the past few years. It came past his shoulders now and he liked the way it looked. He usually wore it up to the side. But Virgil liked to play around with it sometimes. And Janus secretly liked it when he did.
“Okay so I’m not going too wild here. I’m keeping it simple,” Virgil assured him as he started brushing Janus’ hair.
Janus hummed in acknowledgement, already lost in the feeling of the brush.
This was relaxing. And over much too soon.
“Done!” Virgil announced as he hopped off the bed. Suddenly Janus was dragged in front of the mirror. “Well, you look hot, if I do say so myself.”
Janus was so shocked that he barely registered the complement.
He looked… The person in the mirror was… That was him…
If he forgot about his clothes for a minute and just looked at his face. The feeling of wrongness was gone. In it’s place was a strange sort of euphoria.
“Is this a good speechless or a bad speechless?” Virgil wondered.
Janus was pulled away from marveling at how Virgil had managed to go for a natural look in spite of his birthmarks making it harder to pick a color that looked good on both sides. He wanted to hug him. Thank him for making him look beautiful. He'd never appreciated the shape of his eyes until Virgil made them stand out. His lips looked elegant and full. And now it was down, Jan's hair framed his face so nicely. Virgil was amazing.
But when he looked at him, the euphoria subsided. Slowly replaced by dread.
He looked like a girl. He realized. If he switched out his clothes a little, he could easily be mistaken for a girl… and he liked looking like this.
This was too much. Did Virgil know that this would happen? Was that the point of bringing up pronouns? Was this a test? He couldn’t let him know. He wasn’t ready. He didn’t even know what there was to know. He needed time.
“You are getting way to good at this. I almost didn't realize it was me,” he said while he was trying to find an excuse to get the make-up of and go home.
Virgil smiled. “I'll take that as a complement. It looks good on you. Thanks for letting me try it out,” he offered as he went back to his bag.
“I’ve got some sponges to clean up. Dad wouldn't care, but I get it if you don't feel like explaining that we're just messing around.”
Janus relaxed a little at that. Virgil didn’t know. Good.
He accepted the sponge and with a heavy heart went to the bathroom to clean up. He left his hair down though, finding a little comfort in that. He also left his nails as they were.
When he got back Virgil was sitting cross-legged on the bed sketching. He looked up and smiled. Janus smiled back and let himself drop in his usual spot.
He probably should go. But if he hurried home now, it would be even more suspicious. And as long as they didn’t get too close again, he could ignore at least half of his crisis.
“Hey, I’m probably not going to use the lipstick or most of the eyeshadow anymore. You think your mom can use it?” Virgil wondered absentmindedly after a few minutes of comfortable silence.
Janus shrugged. “I'll ask her. You sure? Isn't make-up very expensive?”
“It’s all either sale or stuff Uncle Thomas gave to me. One of his friends is a make-up artist who gets stuff like that all the time for free. And I wanted to experiment,” Virgil explained casually.
“But like I said I’m not a lipstick kind of emo and other than black, purple and maybe blue I don't think I’ll use any of the eyeshadow.”
Janus nodded. “Sure.” He didn’t mention that he might make his own selection first. To test out if it was just novelty that made him feel good, or if he was really… a she.
Virgil put the sketchbook aside and got out of bed digging through the bag. He put a bunch of stuff on his desk before coming back and handing the bag over.
“I’ll need the bag back though. Have her select what she likes and do with the rest whatever you want.” Janus nodded as he accepted the bag. They listened to music for a while, Virgil sketching absentmindedly.
“Is being with a man who’s actually a woman gay?” Janus wondered out loud all of a sudden.
Virgil looked up. “Does it matter?” he asked.
“I mean… A little?” Janus didn’t know how to explain where the question came from. He knew. But he couldn’t say without giving himself away… herself? No. He was not ready to try out the pronoun. Not even in his mind.
“Well… I don’t know… Do you mean someone who’s born male but identifies as female?”
Janus nodded. “And we’re talking about us as guys right?” Janus nodded again.
“Then. If they identify as female, it’s not gay I suppose. They’re a woman. At least that’s what I got from what I looked up. I didn’t do a whole indebt study.”
Janus hummed absentmindedly.
“I don’t know if I could make out with someone who’s like that,” he admitted. He didn’t mean to sound insensitive. He might be ‘someone like that’ himself.
It just felt all so complicated and confusing right now. He didn’t know what to think.
He wouldn’t know for sure until he was put in that position.
He thought back to the past few years and his failed attempts at trying to feel interested in girls the way Virgil was. He thought he was just picky. That he needed to be really into someone to even consider putting his mouth on theirs. And the argument could be made that this was true for Virgil too. But he only liked him as a friend. Not as someone he wanted to start a family with. Though he could imagine them jokingly making a pact to settle with each other if they were still single when they turned 30 or something like that.
Could people just want to kiss someone without being in love? They did that right? One-night stands and all that stuff happened all the time.
If they could not be a guy or a girl, or be the opposite of what they were born as. Or seemed to be born as at first glance. His head was spinning. He had too much to think about.
“Well, I don’t think I’d care. If I like them, and they’re cute. Then I’d be down I think…”
Once again Janus hummed vaguely. It was a bit of a relief. One less thing to worry about for him.
They sat in silence after that, listening to music. Virgil sketching, Janus trying to compile a plan.
When Virgil was called in for lunch Janus left for his house.
He had made a decision.
He had lunch with his dad, his mom was at work and his dad had to go present a project. Which meant that by some miracle, Janus would have the house to himself. A rare occurrence.
Normally he’d invite Virgil over. But this time, he needed some time for himself.
He took the make-up bag up and then dug through his mother’s closet.
He took out a skirt and a shirt that sat loose so he wouldn’t ruin them.
He wasn’t going to take risks with her shoes. He’d have to make due.
Once in his room, he searched the bag for the right colors. They’d been shades of yellow and brown, he recalled. He saw that Virgil had kept the eyeliner, which made sense.
Virgil wore it almost daily.
It was fine. This was just an experiment anyway.
He wasn’t as good as Virgil. He figured out that he had used slightly different shades, or blended or something on either eye to make up for the different skin tones.
He didn’t get it exactly right but close enough. He’d borrowed his mother’s mascara and prayed he was putting it on right. He put on a shade of lipstick that looked close enough to the one Virgil used, wishing he’d paid more attention to what he said rather than panic about how much he wanted to kiss him in that moment.
In any case, he was done with his make-up. It wasn’t until he was about to put on his mother’s shirt that he realized he probably should have started with the clothes and ended with the hair and make-up. Live and learn.
Very carefully, he put on the shirt and then the skirt.
He closed his eyes as he stepped in front of the full length mirror glued to his closet door.
He took a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s just… try,” he whispered to himself. He opened his eyes…
She looked great. Virgil had done a better job, but still. The outfit was… It helped.
Janus felt a giddy laugh escape. She played with her hair and held out her hand as if she was greeting someone.
“Hi,” she said, making her voice higher. “I’m… Janice. Nice to meet you.” Janice. Familiar but more fitting. Her heart was racing, her stomach in knots. Now, this was closer to what Virgil described as falling in love. She was just so happy to meet herself.
The pronoun felt much less scary in the privacy of her own room. She was going to have to do more research. Why was she only starting to feel this way now? What was that thing with Virgil earlier? Why did she only feel bad about her body on some days and others she was completely fine with being Janus. Was that normal?
But for this moment she let herself be happy.
Everything else could wait just a bit longer.

The rest of summer, Janus did every chore they could. Their parents and uncle Lo had implemented a system that allowed Virgil and Janus to raise their allowance if they did chores. It was meant to teach them that a good work ethic got rewarded or something along those lines, Janus was sure. But all they cared about was that they’d be able to buy themself some make up and an outfit to wear when they needed it.
They were still a mess. The good news was, they now knew why.
They were gay. That much was clear. Or well they were exclusively into men.
But after talking in some online chat groups, they’d figured out that they weren’t a trans woman, as they’d initially thought. They were, in fact, gender fluid. Some days, he was just Janus. Other days she was more comfortable as Janice. They were okay with they/them on any given day. That is, they’d figured that out in their head. But they weren’t out to anyone yet. They were terrified of telling any adult in their life. Even if they were fairly sure that Uncle Lo, at the very least, was fine with the whole gender thing. But still.
They wanted to tell Virgil so badly. But… There was one more thing they’d figured out that they weren’t ready to share.
They were aromantic. Or at least on that spectrum.
So… They did and didn’t have a crush on Virgil. There was definitely, attraction they felt for the boy now sitting next to them in the car, singing loudly with them to the songs of one of their favorite bands as they were headed off for a weekend in New York for a P!ATD concert.
They were having fun. It was a Janus day, so they felt okay when Uncle Lo and Virgil used male pronouns and stuff like that.
Virgil grinned at him. “You better be prepared, I’m going to make you fit in with the crowd tomorrow,” he promised. Janus rolled their eyes and laughed. Setting in the next song with him.
About an hour later they got to their hotel.
“We have two adjacent rooms. I trust you boys can be responsible enough to be left to your own devices after dinner?” Uncle Lo asked sternly.
Virgil and Janus exchanged a glance. “You can trust that we won’t do anything that could make you decide to go back home tomorrow. Making us miss the concert.” Janus assured his honorary uncle, who chuckled. “Well, I suppose that is very sound reasoning. I’ll let you two unpack. We’ll have dinner in the hotel restaurant in an hour,” he reminded them.
“Okay, dad,” Virgil grinned as he opened the door to their room and they brought in their luggage. Virgil dropped his as soon as he closed the door. He took a running start and flopped on the bed. Or beds. It was a two bed room, but the beds were pushed together.
“This bed is awesome! You have to try this Jan!” Virgil’s tendency to shorten Janus’ name was actually a blessing on their feminine days.
Janus smirked and dropped his bags too and dove onto the bed next to Virgil. Oh, they were soft and comfortable.
“It’s going to be a pain pushing them apart,” they muttered.
“Eh, worries for later,” Virgil said dismissively as he folded his arms behind his head and looked up at the ceiling. “I’m glad we get to do this. It feels like forever since we’ve just hung out you know?”
Janus felt a little bad. They’d been very tense lately, which had put a damper on every time they’d visited Virgil or invited him over. They hoped things would get better soon. Once they got over their attraction, they could tell him everything. And then they could get back to normal. They just… Most of the time they were fine. But there were moments when Janus had a gay panic around Virgil and his instinctive reaction was to push away. Which obviously confused Virgil. And rightfully so.
Rationally they knew that if they explained themselves, Virgil would understand he didn’t do anything wrong here and everything would be fine again. But they were afraid he’d be weirded out by it.
He might be okay with their pronouns bouncing around the way they did. He might be okay with him being attracted to guys. And maybe even with him being aromatic… But him being attracted to him might be too much.
“Yeah… Sorry. I’m just…” Janus tried to figure out how to explain some of what he’s going through. Virgil was his best friend. He should tell him.
“Hey, I get it. High School has me pretty stressed out too. But even if we don’t have all classes together, there’s lunch, and we’ll see each other outside of school hours to. I mean, we live next to each other. There’s no getting rid of me.” He turned his head and smirked at Janus at the last part.
Janus smiled a little. Feeling a little better knowing that Virgil had no intentions of leaving him behind. He never had turned away from him just because some other kids told him he could hang out with them. People had even stopped trying to separate them. With one annoying exception. But he wasn’t going to give that guy the satisfaction of taking up space in their summer.
They stared at the ceiling for a while, just talking no sign of any awkwardness.
They made it through a fun dinner and when they got back to the room they played a game of truth or dare. It was harmless stuff. Just acting silly and nothing too challenging.
Until…
“Janus, truth or dare?” Virgil chuckled as he sat down after dancing to ‘barbie girl’.
“Dare,” Janus replied carelessly.
“Okay… I dare you to…” Virgil bit his lip and played with his sleeve as he thought about a good challenge. Janus knew that these were nervous habits of his but they couldn’t dwell on it very much as suddenly Virgil smirked and leaned in.
“I dare you to kiss me.”
It was a joke. Very clearly he only meant to take Janus by surprise and tease them about their reaction. But Janus was tempted. He could do it. Kiss him like he’d wanted to and Virgil couldn’t be mad because he’d literally told him to do it. It was the only rule they had for this game. Don’t dare anyone to do something if you are not prepared for them to actually follow through. Because they could be competitive enough to do very dumb stuff just to prove a point. So… If he kissed him now, he could maybe finally get the thought out of their head. And try to gage Virgil’s reaction to see if he was ready for them to come out.
They’d hesitated too long though. Virgil was falling back and chuckling.
“Relax I was just joking. Besides, I never specified where you had to kiss me or anything. No need to stress out about it. Though…” Virgil looked up at him with a thoughtful expression. “You’re pretty cute. I wouldn’t hate kissing you I suppose,” he smirked, making heat flood Janus’ body. He wouldn’t?
“You know, if I had to,” he added as he stuck out his tongue.
Janus felt his embarrassment turn into annoyance.
Virgil had gotten into the habit of complementing him like that. Wrapped up in casual teasing. He couldn’t know that it got Janus’ hopes up and Janus knew that getting upset at him would only hurt them both. But he often found himself powerless to stop it.
He tossed Virgil a pillow. “You’re impossible,” he huffed. Hoping Virgil wouldn’t spot the frustration in his tone. Which of course he did.
“J?” he asked gently as he got up. Laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. Janus just curled in on himself, too embarrassed to face him.
“Hey, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I didn’t mean anything with it okay?” Virgil assured him.
“It’s just… I know you are kind of hung up on your skin sometimes… And you know I am terrible at expressing myself… All I wanted to do was like… Let you know I think you look cool and stuff. I know that it probably means nothing coming from me…”
God, they were a terrible person. Virgil was trying his best to help them, to lighten the mood that plagued them even though they never let him in on what they were thinking.
“You’re wrong,” they muttered into their knees. “It means a lot. It really does… I’m just being an ass hat,” they admitted.
Virgil chuckled, their reply enough to let him relax it seemed. “Yeah, but I love ya anyway,” he assured them. There was a pause. “It’s getting late we should split the beds and get some sleep. Big day tomorrow,” Virgil noted.
Janus uncurled themselves and nodded. They got up and each pulled one of the beds to the side.
They dug through their suitcases for their PJs and Janus worried about whether it would be weird to go to the bathroom to get changed. In the past, they just got dressed in front of one another when they stayed over. But that was all before…
Before Janus could even finish their thoughts Virgil was heading to the bathroom.
They relaxed, not even stopping to wonder why Virgil was suddenly shy about getting dressed in the same room as them. They just got dressed and in bed.
They looked up when Virgil got back in the room. “Night J,” he bid as he turned off the lights.
“Night V,” Janus replied.
It took them a while to get to sleep. Try as they might they couldn’t keep themselves from imagining what it could’ve been like if they hadn’t hesitated.
Those thoughts quickly turned to despair though. Virgil had never once expressed attraction to one of their male classmates. Not to mention that despite his whole broody aesthetic, their friend definitely wanted a romantic relationship.
Their dreams were plagued with the fear of being found out and rejected.
When they woke up Virgil was grinning down at them. Dressed and ready for the day.
“Get up sleepy head. Time to get dressed. Breakfast is in one hour,” he informed them as he tossed them color shampoo. Right. They were going to be turned into a real emo kid for the concert today.
Janus groaned and got up. Since when was Virgil a morning person? He was usually the last to fully wake up. He must be really looking forward to today.
When they got into the bathroom they finally woke up enough to realize that not sleeping well wasn’t the only thing that had them feeling like crap.
It was a Janice day. They let out a sigh and were grateful that they packed something they were comfortable in no matter how they felt for the concert.
After their shower, they wrapped their hair up in a towel and pulled on the skinny jeans and the baggy band shirt Virgil gave them when he told them they were going to the concert. Apparently, it being a few sizes to large added to the look. To Janice, it kind of felt as close as they dared to get to wearing a dress in public.
“J? You done yet? Come on! I want to make you pretty!” Virgil’s teasing voice came through the door. Janice wished they could let their friend know how much they appreciated his makeovers.
“Yeah, I’m ready,” they replied, trying to sound slightly reluctant.
Virgil got in with a grin, dragging a chair from the room along with him.
He sat Janice down and dashed out of the room to get his make-up bag.
When he returned his grin had not faded even a little.
He immediately got to work. “You want to wear your hair down or up today?” he asked as he took out a hairdryer and started drying their hair for them.
“Down,” Janice replied. Always down on Janice days. Virgil nodded.
“Okay. I’m going to pull it out of the way for a bit though,” he informed them as he turned off the hairdryer and tied their hair together on the top of their head.
“Close your eyes. It’s going to be a surprise,” he told them.
Janice took a deep breath and relaxed as they closed their eyes.
They felt Virgil apply something to their face with a sponge. Then a soft brush applied something powdery. Then he made quick work of their eyes and lips.
“Okay. It should be warmed up now,” they heard Virgil murmur as he let down their hair again.
Before they could ask they felt Virgil start to brush their hair. Pulling up locks and holding something warm against their scalp, moving upwards slowly.
Wait, was he… Straightening their hair?
“Okay…” Virgil mused as he readjusted their shirt. “You can look.”
Janice could hear the pride in Virgil’s voice. Clearly, he was satisfied with the result.
They opened their eyes and felt their mouth drop in awe.
“Tragically beautiful I’d say,” Virgil smirked.
Their birthmarks… They were gone. Or hidden at least.
“What do you think?” Virgil pressed, sounding a little nervous.
“It looks great,” they agreed. The waves were out of their hair and the black color actually looked pretty good. Their eyes and lips were accented with dark make-up. They looked good. A little sad but… Also cute?
Virgil had rearranged their shirt. Janice had tried to center it, but Virgil had made it so that one of their shoulders was bare.
They had never felt this good about how they looked on a Janice day while there were others around.
“Awesome. Give me a minute to fix myself and then we’ll head to breakfast,” Virgil told them, clearly relieved that they liked their look.
Uncle Lo was okay with Janice’s make-over as soon as Virgil assured him that the color wouldn’t stick. And even that was probably only because he didn’t want Janice’s parents to get upset about it.
They spent the day sightseeing. Janice got addressed as ‘miss’ at a few stores and while he and Virgil chuckled about it, in secret Janice was very happy with those instances. The concert itself was amazing. For a little bit they could pretend that they didn’t have massive secrets and that things would be okay.

Chapter Text

First day of school started disastrous.
Virgil had texted Janus to let them know that he’d ended up taking a bus earlier than they had agreed upon. Apparently he’d left the house convinced he was actually late. First day jitters.
Janus knew that they’d have no other choice than to take the next bus and pray that Virgil wouldn’t get in trouble before they got there.
Freshmen were supposed to pick up their rosters at the reception. The lady there was very nice. “Here you go. Your homeroom class is 3B. Just head outside, you’ll see building B on your left. When you go in you take a left and just follow the signs,” she explained.
Janus nodded and accepted their schedule. “Could you perhaps tell me what class Virgil Anker is in ma’am? He’s my friend and I wanted to check in on him before class starts.”
They knew it was a long shot. The lady was probably not allowed to tell them anyway. But they desperately needed to make sure he was okay.
“Well… I’m not supposed to share such information…”
Janus gave the woman a pleading look, begging her in their head to make an exception, and felt elated when her eyes softened after a moment’s hesitation.
“Oh, well I suppose it can’t hurt this once,” she murmured as she looked through her list.
“Oh, look at that!” She smiled brightly. “He’s headed for 3B too. You should meet him on the way,” she informed him.
Janus let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you,” they said as they rushed off to find Virgil.
They found him. But they also found Roman Castile.
Virgil was smiling, but he looked tense. Castile seemed smug about something.
They had to step in before Castile did something to hurt and/or embarrass Virgil.
“Virgil!” they called out as they threw an arm around Virgil’s shoulders and led him away in a hurry, casting Castile a warning glare. The rich kid looked disappointed and confused. Nice try. But he couldn’t fool them. They narrowed their eyes in warning. Letting him know they were onto him and his games.
“What the heck dude?” Virgil’s voice pulled Janus’ attention back.
Cleary he was not happy. Janus felt a little bad. They never wanted to upset Virgil. And maybe they’d overreacted a little.
But if they showed doubt, then Virgil might dismiss their concerns and let Castile get close. And who knew what would happen then. So they doubled down, for V’s own good.
“I believe what you are trying to say is ‘thank you’? You would’ve completely embarrassed yourself if I didn’t interfere when I did.”
They almost cringed at their own words. That came out much harsher than they’d meant. “You didn’t need to yank me away like that though,” Virgil argued, still upset with them.
“I only just managed to convince him you mean well. He’s going to think you’re a jealous idiot.” Janus barely had time to appreciate that Virgil had defended them when the rest of Virgil's statement hit them. Jealous? No… Virgil couldn’t be figuring them out right? He must’ve meant in a platonic way. They weren’t ready. Not yet.
They tried to brush it off as they led them to some seats in the back of the room. Out of the way, out of sight.
“Jealous? Of what? You know better than to let yourself be lured into the popular clique as their adopted pet loser,” they huffed carelessly. “We have to stick together Virge. That’s the only way we’ll get through this without selling our souls.” They knew they sounded harsh, and perhaps they were being a bit dramatic, but they couldn’t leave any room for doubt. If they did, they might lose him like they lost Remus. They wouldn’t let Virgil get hurt like that. They’d failed once. Never again.
Virgil nodded in agreement, letting them relax. They took their seats and Virgil started to sketch while Janus talked a bit about some stuff they could do over the weekend to celebrate surviving the first week. It was a bit early perhaps, but there was nothing wrong with having something to look forward to right?
Days went by and they settled into a rhythm at school. If they were honest with themselves they were maybe a bit overbearing. Whenever they split ways with Virgil they reminded him to stay out of trouble. But what else were they supposed to do? When they weren’t there, Virgil might get tangled up with bullies again. Or talk to someone who wanted to steal him away.
It was stressful. But as days went by, Janus started to trust that Virgil could take care of himself and wouldn’t be dazzled by popularity and leave them without warning. They felt a little bad for doubting him. He’d never chosen his own gain over their friendship.
So they tried to lay off a little. It helped. Their friendship with Virgil returned to something resembling normal again. If you ignored the occasional gay panic, which Janus was determined to do.
One day, they were in a very bad mood. They’d woken up around 2 in the morning from a dream they shouldn’t be having. It hadn’t been the first time. But that didn’t take anything away from the frustration and the guilt. Or the inability to go back to sleep.
They were picking up their math book from their locker when some other first year bumped into them.
“Hey!” they growled annoyed. “Watch where you are going you miserable midget!” The other kid shrunk away. Well at least they were intimidating enough to get people to leave them alone. That part of their freshmen year plan was working out.
“Now that isn’t very nice of you.”
Janus tensed. Oh, you had to be kidding them.
They turned around, ready to rip that smug brat a new one, but once they did they froze.
They didn’t know what made them see it this time, and not the others.
Maybe it was the lighting or the new shirt. Or something else entirely.
But suddenly they realized that Roman Castile, was very handsome.
And he was smiling at them. In a nice way. Showing off braces like it was no big deal.
“Hey, I believe we got off on the wrong foot. My name’s Roman Castile. You are Janus, Virgil’s friend right?” he offered pleasantly.
His voice was warm and already dropping to a lower tone in certain places. Janus wanted to get away from him for so many reasons. First they didn’t trust this guy for a second. Second, they refused to acknowledged the fact that they were now attracted to two boys in their year any more than they really had to.
“You think I don’t know who you are?” they huffed as they pushed past him. They didn’t know what to expect. Of course Castile wouldn’t care to remember that Janus and Remus had been close. That they’d heard plenty about him over the years. That they knew just how unreliable he was.
“Stay out of my way Castile. And leave Virgil alone,” he warned as he stalked away, not even sparing him a second glance.
They tried their best to forget about the minor gay panic Castile had evoked in them. Reminding themselves of what a worthless brother he’d been. And how they clearly were planning some kind of prank on Virgil. And that they were definitely straight.
They also tried to remind Virgil of what a terrible person Castile was. Just in case.
“Look at those girls hanging around him, he’s not even that good looking!” They complained one day during lunch. Though they knew it was a flat out lie. Castile seemed to become more attractive as time went by. Janice had overheard him tell a friend he’d figured out a skincare routine and a good shampoo to take care of some of the minor inconveniences of puberty for the most part. Because of course Mr. Perfect would not allow something as common as a pimple to tarnish his perfect image.
He had no clue how lucky he was that his only flaws were things that would disappear with time. That could be taken care of with a simple cream.
“He should just pick one already and stop leading the others on. How much stroking does his ego need?” they wondered.
“Just ask him out already,” Virgil mumbled suddenly, making Janus freeze.
No, he couldn’t possibly have figured it out… “What?”
“Well, him or whoever you have a crush on that you think is claimed by him somehow and has you so upset that you can’t shut up about him.”
Gods no. They should have realized. They sounded obsessed. With a guy. No, Virgil couldn’t know yet!
“I am not… why would you think…? I’m not gay!” They nearly cringed at the blatant lie. Why couldn’t they just tell him? He didn’t need to know they were attracted to him. Just… why was the truth so terrifying while it hurt to lie?
Virgil shrugged, clearly not caring one way or the other.
“Whatever man. I don’t care. Just get past whatever unresolved crush you are blaming him for and for the love of god stop obsessing over everything he does. At least out loud,” he insisted.
They dropped the subject and cursed themselves for their cowardice.
Janice was more careful with what they said from then on. They did not want Virgil to catch on. They’d tell him. When the time was right. When they figured out how to say it.
When they managed to convince themselves that the truth wouldn’t cost them everything they held dear.

Roman:Gay
Virgil: Struggles

Chapter Text

When sophomore year started, Janus had few comforts in their lives.
One, Virgil and uncle Lo and their parents. Their constant pillars of support and comfort.
And two, they were really good at languages. Which boosted their confidence quite a bit. They breezed through the curriculum for Spanish of last year and studied the rest of the material in their free time, because learning it was fun to them. They already knew French, and by the time finals rolled around they got to take a special test that had effectively gotten them a free period where their language elective should be for the rest of high school. The school prided themselves on adjusting the curriculum to the level of the students.
And the best-performing students even got to go on a weeklong trip after finals were over.
The rest of the school had showcase week. Which meant that all the clubs and electives got to show off their stuff. Janus was not particularly interested in the showcase. He didn’t participate in anything and he knew no one who would be showing anything. So he chose to go on the trip.
Virgil didn’t come along despite qualifying. He didn’t want to leave his dad by himself for that long. It was very sweet really.
Janus would have argued against it, but it occurred to them that maybe if they were away from Virgil for a bit, then the feelings would calm down and they could just come out and get back to normal without Virgil having to learn that they ever were attracted to him in the first place.
It didn’t work.
They missed Virgil a lot, to start with. Missing makes the heart grow fonder indeed. It really drove home for them how much they couldn’t stand to lose their friend.
On top of that the guys that were with them on the trip were… not the best company to keep.
It all started out well. Virgil had made him a special shirt to congratulate him with passing his advanced Language exams.
It was a black shirt with a yellow print. A minimalistic open snake mouth on their chest with ‘hiss hiss’ above it. Scales scattered along the left side to match their marks.
They loved it. It was a reference to Remus’ old nickname for them. ‘Snakeface’. From anyone else it would have been an insult. But Remus meant it as a complement.
Their travel companions, from schools all over the city thought it looked bad ass. It was a great ice breaker if nothing else when they wore it on the first day.
That didn’t last long though. On the second night they were talking with the other guys in the boys dormitory. One mentioned a cousin of theirs came out not too long ago.
“And his folks actually let him stay. My parents cut ties right away. Can’t believe I used to play ball with a twink.”
Janus just barely managed to hide how the word hit them.
The other guys agreed and, as much as they hated it, so did they.
To say that that was the last time they were confronted with the fact that if these guys were to get to know the real them, they’d make their week hell, would be a lie.
And as they heard slurs and jokes about the LGBTQ+ community tossed around as if it was nothing, they started to wonder.
Would their parents be okay with it? They thought they would. They’d never seemed to be against the community. They recalled hearing their mother gush about the cute pride stuff they’d spotted in the mall a few times. But accepting that other people were queer and accepting that their son was sometimes more like a daughter and also gay and aromantic… That was something entirely different.
And Virgil? Saying you don’t care and actually having to live with the knowledge that your best friend was… broken…
What kind of freak were they even that they couldn’t pick a gender? Why couldn’t they fall in love like normal teens? Virgil’d had plenty of crushes already. He’d admitted he hadn’t even told them about all of them! So clearly it wasn’t that hard. Except for them. Because they had to be messed up in every way possible. The way they looked, the way they felt, what they were…
When they got home Virgil was at their bedroom door almost within ten minutes of them putting their bag down.
“You’re back!” he grinned, excited to see them again. “Tell me everything! Was it worth it letting me die of boredom?” he teased, throwing an arm over their shoulder in a sort of sideways hug.
Janus flinched away from Virgil’s proximity. Being close to him made them want to be closer. But still not in the way Virgil might understand. If they just kept him on arm’s length, then things would be ok… Right?
Virgil let them go. It didn’t look like he found it odd that Janus wanted distance. Janus tried to remember last time he’d initiated a hug or anything of the sort… With anyone… Maybe they had been a little more distant lately as it was. Good, then it wouldn’t be too obvious if they pushed a little more. They had to. To protect Virgil, to keep him in their life. No one could know. They couldn’t risk it.
“It was cool. Saw lots of awesome stuff. The guys were dumb though. Guess no one can replace you,” they smiled carefully.
“Aw, J. You’re such a sap,” Virgil teased with a playful punch to the arm.
Was that bad? Did straight guys say stuff like that to their friends? Were they being obvious?
“Shut up,” he retorted with a push. Not mean. Just playful. That was still okay right?
“Movie night?” Virgil suggested, holding up his bag with his part of their collection.
Janus hesitated. They needed time.
“I’m beat. Maybe some other time,” they shrugged. Virgil nodded. “Okay. See you later J!”
And just like that Virgil was out the door.
They let themselves fall onto their bed. They had to figure themselves out. Again.
Summer passed and Janus found a system that worked for them. It wasn’t great, but it would have to do. They had bought a few cute tops they enjoyed on Janice days. So they wore those when they were needed underneath a baggy hoodie or something else that would hide it. If there was a chance of them needing to take off said ‘cover item’ they’d wear a shirt that was too big like the band shirt.
In addition they made sure to act plenty masculine on those days. They hated that part the most. But it was needed.
When it came to Virgil, since their problem was just physical all they had to do was make sure they weren’t too close. Which was easier said and done. Hugs and pats on the back and the like used to reassure them so much and now they were a risk. Even if they never acted on the thoughts when they appeared, Virgil might notice.
So they had a plan. Not the best plan. But to keep Virgil with them. To keep them both safe. They would do it.
First day of school came around and Janice found themself alone at the bus stop. Which was odd. Virgil wasn’t usually late… Maybe he accidentally took a bus too early again. Was that going to be a first day tradition?
Janice couldn’t be too upset by that. It was just so typically Virgil, and they already looked forward to teasing him about it later. What wasn’t typically Virgil however was him not texting Janice to let them know his mix up. Maybe he hadn’t realized he was early yet?
Janice wondered if they should ask Virgil where he was… Better not. They’d see Virgil soon enough. And he’d probably feel bad if they made too big a deal out of it. Again, typical for Virgil, making everything his fault or responsibility somehow.
When they got to school though, Virgil was nowhere to be found. He wasn’t in their homeroom either. Which Janice wouldn’t have found too odd. There was always a chance of homeroom getting switched around. But then the teacher handed them two schedules. One for themself and one for Virgil. Virgil was late? Was he sick?
Janice looked at the schedules. They shared their first two classes and then they had language electives. Which meant Janice would have a free period while Virgil should be in Spanish. They promised themself to call if Virgil hadn’t shown up by then. Two hours late was a reasonable time to get worried right?
They checked their phone as they walked to science class and took a seat. Virgil hadn’t texted at all. Was he ill? Should they text anyway?
“Mr. Johnson. You may take a seat next to Mr. Bullard. Class will commence soon.”
Janice, mentally cringing at the male honorific, glanced at the kid that just entered. Ugh, they remembered him. He’d had a locker not too far from his last year. He always got in their way, the amount of times he’d bumped into them was infuriating. And now he was about to take Virgil’s seat. But not if they could help it. “Ma’am, I was actually saving this seat for…”
“No one. This is my class and I say Mr. Johnson sits next to you.”
Janice was taken aback. Most teachers at least heard them out if he asked something. And in almost every case he got what he needed even if he didn’t always get what he wanted. This one didn’t even want to listen though.
They glared at the boy… Carlton, if they remembered correctly, as he took the seat next to them.
The boy shrunk away, he was trembling… Janice supposed they had been pretty rude to him last year. Not that they cared. It just would make being desk mates very annoying.
Janice didn’t waste time on wanting others to like them.
“It’s your lucky day Mr. Castile,” the teacher said dryly the second the bell rang.
No…
Janice looked up, there he was. The school’s golden boy. He looked slightly out of breath, and smiled sheepishly. “Apologies miss,” he replied as he looked around, probably looking for an empty seat. For a moment his eyes found Janice and he was clearly about as happy as they were with Janice being here on the seat right behind the only empty bench.
Janice had an extra reason to be upset though. Castile would be sitting next to Virgil.
He took the seat next to the window, right in front of Janice.
Janice’s thoughts were racing. How were they supposed to function with that idiot around?
They hadn’t had to interact with him too often last year. And when they did Janice had made sure he knew that they saw right through the knight in shining armor act he put up for the rest of the school. He only acted like that to impress their classmates. He was in theatre. He lived for the praise.
“I hope you like where you are sitting… Ah, so glad you could join us Mr. Anker.”
Janice tensed up when they saw the way Castile’s head snapped up, a bright smile on their face. It was such a genuine reaction… Why though? He had enough friends. Why was Virgil so important that he seemed genuinely happy to see him?
“Take your seat and spare me your excuses,” the teacher snapped when Virgil opened his mouth to speak. “I was just telling the class that these are your seats for the rest of the year. So I hope you like your neighbor, they are your new lab partner.”
Virgil’s face fell and he looked around. His make up was gone and he looked a mess, but other than that he seemed fine. Janice would have to ask him what had happened this morning later.
To their annoyance, Virgil’s gaze didn’t even make it to their seat. Once he spotted the empty seat next to Castile, he too, lit up.
Why? What did Castile have that was so special? Other than a pretty face?
They watched Castile wave at Virgil, getting rewarded with a smile from their best friend.
“Man, talk about a lucky break,” Virgil said as he sat down. That hurt. Didn’t he want to sit with them? They tried to calm themselves. Virgil had simply not noticed them. He wouldn’t have said that if he knew they were in this class too.
“I agree,” Castile grinned. That smug piece of… He knew they were here. He was taunting them!
Class started, and Janice managed to ignore the pair in front of them. They even calmed down. Found themselves a little amused at their neighbor’s not so subtle glances at the desk in front of them. They’d spotted the pride flag stitched in their assigned lab partner’s pencil case. Maybe they should lay off a little. Poor kid had a crush on Roman Castile. He had enough to deal with. But then the experiment started. They divided the work so Johnson wouldn’t have to talk with them too much. they did their best to focus on their part of the assignment. But it proved difficult.
Virgil and Roman were doing every step together and they were having fun.
They talked and joked with familiarity that told Janice that somehow, Castile had managed to weasel his way into Virgil’s life, despite their efforts to chase him away.
Sure they’d overheard from conversations in the hallways that Virgil was still standing up to bullies and that the Hispanic teen had joined him on occasion. But had that really been all it took?
Suddenly Virgil got up, bringing a paper to the front. Damn, they had to focus.
They managed to block out their surroundings for a good while. Until Virgil’s laugh pulled them out. He was looking very comfortable, sitting there with the enemy.

“Only you can pull of talking like a Shakespeare character,” Virgil grinned.
“Well, only you can pull off dressing like a dark knight and still looking like a lost kitten,” Castile shot back. Janice tensed. How dare he ridicule their best friend like that?
Virgil gave Roman a shove. “You take that back!” he demanded “I am dark and mysterious and intimidating!” Janice had to interfere, before Virgil got himself in trouble.
they took an empty page from their notebook, crushed it in their fist and tossed it against Castile’s head. Both boys turned to look at them. Their attention was on Castile though.
“What gives Bullard?” he hissed.
No, it wasn’t attractive when he got that serious and intense look in his eyes. He was annoying and a danger. He was going to hurt Virgil. Or take him away and then hurt him.
“You take Smellington next time. Virgil is sitting with me.” It was a good solution.
Castile would be unable to resist being a knight in shining armor, so Janice acted as if they were the big bad Johnson had to be saved from. Carlton got to sit next to his crush, and Janice and Virgil could sit together. Like they should have been.
 Everyone happy.
“Excuse me? His name is Carlton.” Just as Janice suspected. There was the hero complex.
“And you don’t get to say where I sit J. I’m fine sitting with Roman. Besides you heard the teacher. No switching seats.” That… What? Virgil wanted to sit there? And he was offended that Janice tried to help?
“We always sit together!” they reminded him. They were a team, right? Them against the world? They’d have each other’s back no matter what… Right?
Virgil’s jaw set. “Exactly. The world won’t end because I’m Roman’s lab partner J.”
Where was all this coming from? What had Castile been poisoning his mind with?
“Am I interrupting?” Janice looked up to the teacher. She still didn’t look like she was in the mood to listen to Janice. But they had to try.
“Mr. Bullard,” once again, that stung. “I don’t have you and Mr. Jonson’s assignment yet, which means you can’t be talking with anyone else besides each other right now.”
Oh, she really wasn’t in the mood to listen.
Against better judgement, Janice gave her their most charming smile. If they knew that they were being perfectly reasonable, people usually followed along with their way of thinking.
“Ma’am, I can’t work with him. Virgil and I never had a problem in projects, can’t we…”
“No.” Janice nearly flinched at the finality of that word. But the teacher wasn’t done yet.
“I put Mr. Jonson next to you because you are much too dependent on Mr. Anker’s presence.” She’d done it on purpose? And dependent? What did she mean? They weren’t that… Had it been so obvious to outsiders? Did she know?
“You won’t always be able to hide behind him Mr. Bullard. You better learn that now.”
They hadn’t! They’d stopped hiding in middle school. They’d been trying to be the shield!
“And if I see any more problems here then all that’ll change is that Mr. Castile and Mr. Anker will be moved to the front of the class so you can’t distract them anymore. Is that understood?” She had it all wrong. She didn’t understand. But Janice knew they couldn’t do anything about it. So they nodded and returned their attention to their assignment.

They finished up the last of their notes when Virgil laughed again.
“Charming huh? You certainly have a high opinion of yourself.”
Janice’s jaw clenched. They agreed, but Virgil’s tone was too playful. Like it was when he was teasing them.
“Oh, my knight, why must you hurt me so?” Castile objected dramatically.
Janice did their best to block out the rest of the conversation and focus on finishing the assignment with Johnson.
Whatever was said between Castile and Virgil after that, it had him pretty excited.
He dragged Janice to the bathroom where he started to apply foundation and a two second version of his usual eyeshadow.
“Where were you?” Janice asked on their way there.
Virgil bit his lip. “Dad was home late yesterday and forgot to tell me…” he told them.
Oh, now Janice understood. Virgil was the kind of guy who saw you fall and worried if you’d broken something while rushing you to the nurse no matter what you said. He worried a lot. He was a lot like uncle Lo in that way.
His father not being his punctual self without warning must’ve been very stressful.
“And you didn’t go to bed until you were sure he was safe and sound,” Janice nodded in understanding.
“Yeah… I must’ve forgotten to set my alarm or something.”
At this point they’d arrived in the bathroom and Virgil took out his foundation and started fixing up his appearance. Needlessly in Janice’s opinion, but they had bigger things to worry about.
“Listen, I’m sorry for being so snappy earlier. I know you worry about me and stuff but Roman is really not as bad as you think. He even invited us to sit with him and his friends during lunch!” he announced excitedly as he put away his make-up. “Then you'll see for yourself…” Lunch with Roman Castile and all his friends? All people who could discover their secrets? One slip up on a Janice day, one lingering look towards Virgil or Castile and they were out.
And being around not one, but two guys they found attractive… they couldn't bear it.
“Absolutely not!” they objected in a panic.
“Jan, it’s just lunch,” Virgil argued gently. “If it’s not fun then we can bail on them any time. You are the one who’s so obsessed with our spot on the social ladder. What do we have to lose?” He made good points. And part of Janice wanted the protection a group like that offered. But Virgil didn't have the full picture.
Janice cast their eyes to the heavens trying to hide the conflict within, to play off how worried and scared they felt.
“I don’t expect you to understand this Virgil. But the offer wasn’t for us. Castile wants something from you. And he’ll have his friends be nice to me around you to get it.”
Virgil was clearly not impressed. “I know I’m not exactly mister sunshine, but that’s overly dramatic and pessimistic. Roman is cool. Like, genuinely. And if you gave him a chance…”
“Oh please Virgil! You are not this naïve!” Janice exclaimed. Harsh in their desperation to finish the conversation.
“Why do you want his friendship so badly that you blind yourself like this?” Weren't they enough? What did they do wrong? “He can have anything from anyone he wants! Why would he want to be around some awkward outcasts?”
Why did he insist on pursuing the only person Janus cared about at school?
“Except to make himself look good? What end does that serve? Everything anyone ever does serves some selfish end Virgil. Even the most noble of deeds are ultimately out of desire to be seen as good.” Just because Janus hadn’t figured out what Roman Castile had to gain from talking to them, didn’t mean that there wasn’t some end goal.
“Except for you of course, you only have my best interest at heart!?”
Virgil’s statement caught them of guard. He had a point. Part of this was their fear of being alone, being found out and rejected. But it was also for Virgil's own good. They needed Virgil to understand that. To believe them. And so they did something they had been avoiding. They got close. Stepped right into Virgil's personal space. If they wanted, and Virgil hadn’t hidden them behind his foundation, they could’ve counted the freckles on Virgil’s cheeks.
But now was no time for those observations. They had to get through to him. No matter what.
“You are my only friend Virgil. Of course I want to protect you, even from yourself. Don’t let Roman’s flowery words and cute pet names get to you.” Kitten, knight. The nerve of that guy. “I give him a week before he gets bored of you. And I don’t want to see you hurt by that.” That last part was the most sincere he'd been about how he felt towards Virgil in what felt like forever.
All fight left Virgil’s frame and he nodded. Janice relaxed and led the way to their first CPR training. They made sure to wait for Virgil when he left Spanish. Virgil was quiet all day. He got like that sometimes after a disagreement. Janice tried to give him space. They had been a little harsh. And after Virgil had a rough night already. They knew he needed comfort and support on those days. No wonder he’d gravitated towards Castile this morning. All that positive energy probably drew Virgil in like a moth to a flame.
Janice should have been more understanding.
Maybe they could have a movie night next weekend. With V's favorite snacks and movies.
They’d make it up to him. And then they could get back to something somewhat normal.
It worked. Virgil seemed in better spirits after they suggested the weekend plans. Janus paid closer attention and ensured that Virgil wouldn't fall for Castile's tricks though.
They stuck together like always.
Janus had started chatting with native Spanish speakers, learning more regional words and slang. They were also learning ASL. Virgil laughed when they explained the name signs they made up for him, uncle Lo and their parents.
Things were going well. Until Halloween came around.
Virgil loved Halloween. He didn’t show it off at school, considering he put the least possible effort in his school costume the past two years, but when at home, he was a master.
Janus had enjoyed watching him and uncle Lo dazzle the trick or treaters. They’d considered asking Virgil to give them a spook-up as well, but that would mean close proximity for extended periods of time. And they couldn’t handle that.
This year Janus had drawn some scales on their face and assembled a dragon costume. They’d even gotten crafty with the wings. Using a pair of children’s fairy wings as a base. Virgil had complimented them, which had made them feel pretty good about themselves.
Virgil was texting with his dad that morning. Apparently, he had a thing coming up that weekend and was rather nervous. Janus was happy to hear that their honorary uncle had exciting things happen in his life. They didn’t pry for more information though. Surely Virgil would’ve shared more if there was more to know.
And then Castile had walked in. Looking ridiculously handsome even if he was trying to look like a crazed dark prince. Redish circles under his eyes, run out makeup. As if he’d recently cried a river. His costume was dark and slightly torn and crumpled.
And still he looked good.
He made a big show of his entrance and made a tour around the classroom before climbing on his desk and continuing his tale of conquest. Janus, not immune to the boy’s massive charisma, made sure to glare at him so that if the prince would happen to glance their direction he wouldn’t give anything away.
Glaring at the dark prince wasn’t hard, considering he also had his neighbor’s attention.
Virgil was enjoying the show.
And apparently, Castile noticed. He made a grand gesture towards Virgil. “And you, my coldhearted friend, may rule at my side!”
Janus’s eyes narrowed. Was this the thing? Was Roman looking for a second in command?
It was a good picture they supposed. The nickname ‘Knight’ suddenly made a lot of sense. It would fit. They both stood against the bullies, no doubt earning them both a good image in the public eye. If they were considered a team all the time, Roman’s spot on the social ladder would get even more secure. Was that it?
“Is that a fact?” Virgil chuckled, pulling Janus out of his thoughts. Was he… Was he seriously going along with it?
“Of course!” Janus hated how excited Castile seemed. “You, dear count, are the only other of noble lineage! No one else is worthy of a throne!”
“But ruling sounds like a lot of work,” Virgil whined. Janus held their breath… But the laughter that followed… Wasn’t bad.
Castile immediately rolled with Virgil’s contribution. “Then you may feast on my enemies!”
To Janus’ great relief, the teacher entered in that moment. Their nerves couldn’t take much more than that.
On the way to CPR Janus tried to get Virgil back with his feet on the ground.
“You were lucky, but that could have gone so wrong!” they exclaimed.
Virgil, surprised them however.
“Roman and I are lab partners, and we’re going to talk,” Virgil reminded them. They knew that. But they got on fine with minimal communication with their neighbor. And Virgil had been doing fine too… Or… Well, maybe he hadn’t been happy about it…
“And sometimes we’re going to have fun doing so. You have zero right to tell me who I can and can’t spend time with. I’m not your pet.”
That hit Janus hard… Was that… Had they been acting that badly? Maybe they’d been too clingy. Overcompensating for the physical distance they’d forced themselves to maintain?
They let Virgil walk to Spanish alone and spent their free hour thinking things through. Maybe they were a tad controlling… And Virgil talking to Castile a little during science might not be the end of the world… They could try to live with that right?
When they saw Castile drag Virgil to his table during lunch they could barely breathe. Virgil looked so happy about it too. Had they been too late to make adjustments? Was this their life now? The very nightmare they’d tried to prevent?
But then, Virgil and Roman made a bow and Virgil walked back to Janus. People watched him walk by the way Janus had seen them do with popular kids. They admired him?
Was… Had Virgil become a popular kid without either of them realizing?
“Talk about putting yourself on blast! What were you thinking?” they snapped, still reeling with emotions.
“Yolo,” Virgil shrugged. And ‘cool’ was the only term Janus could come up with to describe the way he held himself right now.
“No one says that anymore,” Janus pointed out, as if to convince themself that Virgil wasn’t that kind of cool.
“It’s what I was thinking.” Or maybe he was…
Janus tried not to bother Virgil about who he chose to hang out with after that day.
It wasn’t easy though. Virgil and Castile were almost flirty with each other and Janus found that very distracting. Add that to everything else that frustrated them and you better hope you didn’t cross Janus on a Janice day after a bad night.
They picked a lot of fights. Partly to prove themselves as a cis. Partly to vent these frustrations on something other than Castile.
Speaking off. It was nearly always him or Virgil or both who stopped the fight.
Roman would stare them down until they left. Virgil would tell them off and drag them away if need be. Both were… possibly… another reason why they picked a fight. Negative attention was still attention after all.
On a particular bad day, a senior decided to pick on them. And they were not having it.
Castile and Virgil put a stop to that one. But the principal called them to their office anyway.
“He started it,” Janice insisted. They were sitting in the office for a couple of minutes now, with the Principal just looking at them expectantly.
“Oh? How’s that?”
Janice gestured to their face. They’d gotten good at ignoring the jabs the past few years. Knowing that they couldn’t do anything against an upper classman and having bigger things to worry about.
But today… Today it had just been too much.
“It’s not the first time you got into a fight Janus. We want to help. But you have to let us. What is bothering you? Really. Why are you so angry?”
Oh, where to start? Janice just shrugged, not comfortable opening that can of worms in front of this adult. They wouldn’t understand. Janus heard they’d been vocal about their sexuality and gender since middle school. All they would do was tell them to just come out already. The principal sighed.
“We’ll have to inform your parents of this Janus…”
“No you don’t,” Janice stated. He wasn’t even scared. Stokes was a reasonable person.
“Why’s that?” They wondered.
“I didn’t hit him. And he didn’t hit me. No one got hurt. What’s the point of calling my parents? My grades are good, I never skip. So I don’t let people walk over me… Is that so bad?” they explained.
Stokes frowned, but then relaxed. “Fine. But at least consider going to the school counselor. At least once. There are systems here to help you. You just have to ask.”
Yeah, they’d get right on that. “Tanks Mx. Stokes,” they muttered as they left.
A few weeks later Janus was looking over elective courses with Virgil. Janus had been careful about selecting courses for them.
They could pick two courses each year. One every semester.
First-year, Virgil had made a deep dive into some articles about how messed up the education system was and how useless the curriculum was. So Janus suggested Personal Finances and Home economics. Which was basically the: ‘how to adult’ elective packet.
This year they’d picked CPR, which Virgil had enjoyed a lot and Philosophy. They’d suggested it out of personal interest. They’d known it might not be Virgil’s cup of tea, but to their pleasant surprise, Virgil had agreed.
“Sociology would be a good choice,” Janus suggested, testing the waters. They really hoped Virgil would be okay with it. It seemed very interesting. Virgil only made a vague sound of acknowledgment though. Well, there were other interesting subjects…
“I was thinking to take an art elective,” he told Janus after a few moments.
Janus was surprised. Virgil never cared about electives before. And art? “Why?”
“Because I’d like to actually learn some techniques? I dunno. They say to pick something that fits our interests. I’m interested in art.” Janus had no idea where the annoyed tone came from. Sure Virgil drew and he was good. But… To make it your elective? Virgil knew that those choices would affect their chances at getting accepted into college right? Especially for the next two years.
“But we can’t do anything with that in college,” they reminded him, just in case.
“I suppose it’s a decent extracurricular,” they admitted, wanting to find a compromise.
But saying that reminded them. They should probably pick some good ones for the next two years as well. They looked good on application forms.
“But…” Virgil objected interrupting Janus’ musings on the pro and cons of joining a sports team. “I really want to do art. The new teacher is a pretty awesome artist I’ve been kind of following for a while. This might be my only chance to learn from him.”
The arts program was heavily volunteer-based, which allowed the school to offer many different electives and even more extracurricular. The teachers largely donated their time and switched around semester to semester. If this artist was indeed someone of note, they might be gone after Christmas. So on some level Janus understood. But why would Virgil need to spend a perfectly good elective on something he was already good at? He could probably teach the class himself. “Don’t be dramatic V. It’s not like you can make a career out of drawings,” they pointed out dismissively. Maybe they were a little crass. But Virgil couldn’t afford to live in a fantasy. Art was personal and showing it gave other people a weapon against you. And Janus really felt they should start picking electives based more on what they wanted their career to be.
Janus was thinking journalist or lawyer for themself. They weren’t sure what Virgil would pick. Last time they’d talked about such things was… Back when they still thought they were cis and straight. And they’d been joking about going into hero business. Daydreaming about opening a specialized store or becoming heroes themselves.
But maybe Virgil would be a lawyer too. He’d probably like defending the little guy in the courtroom. He was already doing that in the hallways. Or some other function in law enforcement. Janus couldn’t imagine Virgil not trying to make the world a better place.
“It makes me happy,” Virgil pointed out, though barely audible. Good, he was realizing there was no point to that class.
“A career isn’t about what makes you happy, it’s about what gets you ahead in life.”
And with that, Janus returned their attention to the electives. Not aware of the mistake they’d just made.

Logan: Pupil
Roman: Mentor
Virgil: A chance at change

Chapter Text

The rest of the year, Virgil was quiet. Distant.
Janus realized they’d done the controlling thing again and gave him space. It was hard though.
They’d sent texts and get no reply and spent hours wondering if they should text again or if that was pushing too hard. Their comfort was that Virgil still met them at the bus stop and ate lunch with them. That meant he just needed some more time, right? Maybe he was just very focused on finals?
They wondered if they should take the first step. Apologize for being harsh… but they didn’t want to push Virgil even more if he was already this upset with them.
So time went on, finals came and went and Janus left on the end of year trip once more. They considered staying home, but they didn’t want to explain to their parents what happened last time. And besides, other than the terrible company, they’d had fun on that first trip. They deserved a reward for working so hard for good grades.
And maybe some distance for a week was what Virgil needed to be ready to talk.
And in the end, Janus was glad they went.
The guy with the gay cousin wasn’t there this year. In his stead there was a boy with a little pride flag hanging from his luggage.
He introduced himself as George, specified his pronouns as he/him and confirmed he was gay. He told them all that he understood if they felt uncomfortable getting dressed and stuff with him in the room, so he offered to talk to their chaperones about arranging alternatives to make it so everyone felt at peace.
Turns out, Janus wasn’t the only one who’d felt like they’d had to agree with the homophobe of last year. The boys Janus recognized from back then all seemed to be okay with it, though they were all apprehensive to be the first to say something.
So Janus decided to be brave. “Hi, Janus. He/him for me. And I don’t care where you sleep,” they told him. They were not comfortable coming out with they/them pronouns. Not to mention the fact that they still wanted Virgil to be the first to know.
After they greeted George, the other boys followed. One even revealed they were ace.
They joked and teased, but all in good fun. Most of those of last year expressed their relieve and how bad they’d felt about how they acted last year. How afraid they’d all been to speak out.
The week was great. They did lots of cool stuff and George was a fun guy. And rather handsome.
On the final night they got to sleep under the stars. Janus and George stayed up the latest. Staring up at the stares while sitting at the slowly dying campfire. The chaperones had told them to make sure to douse the fire before going to bed.
Janus had found themself talking to George a lot over the week. They had told him about Virgil and their parents and uncle Lo. Complained about Castile…
“You’re gay too aren’t you?” he suddenly observed. Janus had been telling him about the concert they’d gone to with Virgil before High school started.
“Wh… What makes you say that?” they asked shocked that he’d figured it out.
“Well you clearly think your friend and this ‘Castile’ are hot. And I have noticed you checking me out…” suddenly George stopped himself. “Sorry, I get it if you aren’t ready to tell anyone… Blame the sleepy brain.”
Janus tensed. Were they that obvious? But as they thought about it they relaxed. They might as well admit it. “I… Want to tell him… Virgil I mean… I’m just…”
“Scared of rejection?” George guessed.
“No. I mean ,yes a little, but not in the ‘he doesn’t feel the same’ way,” they admitted.
George nodded in understanding. “He sounds like a cool guy though. And if he rejects you over who you like. Then you’re probably better off without him in your life anyway.”
Janus curled in on themself. “I know he’d accept it… But what if things get weird?”
“Then you two figure it out. You’ve known each other since diapers right?”
“I guess…” Janus nodded.
George scooted closer and gave them a supportive sideways hug. “Then it’s something worth fighting for,” he smiled.
Janus looked back at him. He hadn’t been this close to another boy in ages.
“Can I…?” they didn’t get a chance to finish. “Oh, absolutely,” George smiled.
So Janus took hold of the boy’s face and kissed him. It was nice. A strange sort of relief even. To finally act on attraction instead of trying to repress it.
As a bonus, they were Janus right now. So there was no guilt about being deceptive. It was a summer fling. Neither expected anything romantic to come from it. Just two guys making out before never seeing each other again.
The next day Janus waved George goodbye at the train station promising to take his advice.
They had a plan.
When they got off the bus they hurried to Virgil’s house. They needed to see him and apologize for what happened at school. Not just with the electives. But everything.
Then they’d stop distancing themselves. Allow for hugs and playful shoves and the likes once more. And then… Then they’d come out.
When the door opened however, they were met with a stranger.
It was a kind faced man. Big eyes framed with a pair of glasses took them in curiously, gaze lingering briefly on their marks, before focusing on their eyes.
“Oh, hya kiddo,” the man smiled. “You must be looking for Virgil!”
Janus felt lost. Who was this? Where was uncle Lo? Or Virgil?
The answer to the first question luckily soon joined the stranger in the doorway.
Logan noticed Janus and offered them a familiar patient smile as he wrapped an arm around the stranger’s waist. What in the world…?
“Janus. It’s been a long time. How are you? Had a good time at camp?” he greeted warmly.
Despite the unexpected behavior, the implications of which refused to register in Janus’ mind at the moment, hearing that steady, welcoming voice, felt like coming home. Uncle Lo had a reassuring presence. One that had been missing from Janus’ life for far too long. They smiled up at the older man. “Hi, uncle Lo. I… I guess it has been a while…” Trying not to be too clingy, they had stopped spending time with Virgil at either of their houses at some point. “Um camp was good. I did miss Virgil though…” Their eyes went from studying the friendly stranger to looking past them to the staircase, expecting Virgil to appear any moment, and back to the stranger. Luckily Uncle Lo was quick to make introductions.
“Patton, this is Janus. He’s been our neighbor ever since we moved to town. He and Virgil practically grew up as brothers.” Hearing uncle Lo say that made Janus feel a little guilty. They hadn’t been ‘practically a brother’ to Virgil lately. Too cowardly to apologize or to be honest with him. But they were determined to be better.
“Janus, may I officially introduce you to my partner, Patton Bonaire?”
Uncle Lo continued, giving the man, Patton, a kiss on the lips. Clearly comfortable with the PDA. Patton giggled at the act of affection, and possibly Janus’ shocked reaction. Partner. The kiss… Uncle Lo was in a romantic relationship? Sure the body language had suggested something like that but… They weren’t even nervous about it. Since when?
“Logie! Virgil would die of embarrassment if he were here,” Patton scolded Uncle Lo playfully.
“Well, good. He’s long overdue for some.” Uncle Lo looking mischievous was not something they expected to find when returning home.
Janus was still trying to unpack all of that when uncle Lo spoke again. “Virgil left on a camp of his own this morning. He should be back next Sunday.”
What? “Oh… He never mentioned anything about that…” Or this. Why had Virgil hidden all this? Suddenly Janus thought back to the times Virgil had brought up the LGBTQ+ community and they’d gotten defensive. Had he tried to tell them about his dad’s boyfriend all those times? Or at least about his dad’s preferences…
A comforting hand on their shoulder pulled them out of their worries.
“It was a very last minute decision. We were lucky to fit him in.”
Oh, well so… Maybe Virgil hadn’t consciously kept this trip from them then.
“Wanna join us for a cup of tea kiddo?” Patton offered all of a sudden. He seemed like a very kind man. Good. Uncle Lo deserved that in their life. And Virgil too, for that matter
“I don't want to intrude…” Janus argued. Not sure how long they could talk with uncle Lo without revealing how much they’d grown out of touch with Virgil. They didn’t want to disappoint him.
“Nonsense Janus. You are always more than welcome here.”

The words were a much needed reminder. Right. Uncle Lo considered them and their parents close to family. He’d always been there with advice and support. They’d had thanksgiving dinner together every year.
How had Janus allowed so much time to pass since last they spoke to him?
Still they shook their head. They hadn’t seen Patton around the house before now and if Virgil was out, this was likely their first chance to spend some one on one time together. They knew better than to intrude.
“I just came by to say hi…” Then something occurred to them. If uncle Lo was gay. And Virgil knew he was with Patton, which seemed to be the case, then he might know... “Can I ask you something kind of personal? “ they asked before they could change their mind.
“Of course,” Logan nodded. “Should I go?” Patton added already taking a step back.
“No, it's fine…” He might be able to help too. “I just wanted to know… aren't you ever afraid what people say about… you being different?” they asked purposefully moving their hand towards their birthmarks. They didn’t want it to be too obvious. When they came out, they’d realize what this was really about. For now they could think that Janus just meant their appearance.
The couple exchanged a glance. Patton spoke first. "Well, there will always be people who judge you. No matter what. I mean, I adore dad jokes and I like wearing pastels and cute onesies on the weekends. I'm sure there are plenty people who judge me for that. But I like it. It makes me happy."
‘But it makes me happy,’ Virgil’s voice echoed through their memory. Oh, they had really messed up.
Patton giggled as uncle Lo kissed their temple. “And I love you for that,” their honorary uncle muttered in a gentle and sweet voice they weren’t used to hearing from him.
Then he turned his attention back to Janus. "We can't figuratively bend over backwards to fit the norm of the Karens in this world. They don't have to live your life. You do. And denying who you are is no way to live it. Especially when it comes to things you can't help."
Uncle Lo was talking so earnest and it made so much sense, as he tended to do.
There was one other thing that worried them though. They nodded slowly, trying to play it off as if they were just curious at this point. "But what about the people you want to stay around... I mean, weren't you worried how Virgil would react?" To their surprise this question was met with careless laughter from both men.
"Aside from the fact that Virgil has known I'm gay for almost 10 years, he was the one to suggest me and Patton should go out together." Janus’ mind went blank. Virgil… Had set his dad up? Sure Janus remembered Virgil’s tendency to play match maker when they were little. He’d once suggested to set Janus up with one of the girls in their class way back in middle school. An endeavor they now knew was doomed to fail from the start.
But this meant that Virgil really was comfortable with it. That he wasn’t just an Ally in theory. He’d already shown he didn’t mind different gender labels… Janus felt their heart race. So all this time… If they’d come out when they’d figured themselves out… They were such an idiot.
All this wasted time. The tension the worries.
Uncle Logan’s face softened, clearly sensing the inner turmoil in Janus.
"Virgil probably didn't want to out me without my permission. And asking your father such a question... it is rather awkward I would say.” That was not what Janus had been thinking about. And he was sure that respecting his father’s privacy was not the only reason Virgil had been hesitant.
Janus had their answers now though. And they’d already bothered their uncle and his partner more than enough. They nodded. “Yes, you are probably right… I’ll see him when he gets back then. Have a nice evening,” they bid before heading to his house.
The end of the week came. Janice got dressed in a cute outfit hidden under a long sweater, they planned to take off once they had privacy in Virgil’s room and had properly apologized and explained themself. Then they’d let Virgil see them as Janice and explain the fact that they were aromatic to him. It had to be tonight. Janice’s parents had reminded them they’d travel to Europe for a wedding turned family trip. Janice’s parents had immigrated to America from France before Janus was born. Which meant that they only saw their family in person for special occasions, like their cousin’s wedding. And when they did they made sure to visit and catch up with both sides of the family tree.
So Janice had to tell Virgil now, or wait until they were back in august.
They really wanted to tell him now. That way their friend would have time to think over their apology and their confession and they could talk more about it when they returned.
They saw Virgil arrive and leave with his dad almost immediately. They might be going out to catch up? It was fine. Janice hadn’t expected to talk to Virgil the second he got home anyway.
So after dinner that night they went over to the neighbor’s house and rang the bell.
“Oh… Janus. What brings you here?” Uncle Logan asked surprised. It was… Odd. He seemed almost tense… Maybe Virgil hadn’t had a good time at camp? They’d ask about it later.
“Hi, uncle Lo. I came by to say hi to Virgil. If that’s alright?” they asked carefully.
Uncle Lo hesitated. “I’m sorry Janus. But Virgil went straight to his room after dinner. Camp was pretty exhausting apparently.”
Janice nodded. They understood. “Oh… Ok. Tell him I wanted to say hi. We’ll be leaving to visit family in France early in the morning. We won’t be back until August. I’ll see him after. Have a good evening,” they told him disappointedly. Of course. Of course after all the missed chances, now that they finally got their act together, the world was conspiring against them. Because even after they got back it seemed like Virgil was always out when they tried to reach him.
Janus regularly took out their phone and almost texted him to ask if he could keep a few minutes free for them. But they couldn’t figure out a way to ask that didn’t seem controlling or clingy. When had they forgotten how to ask something like a normal person? Or were they overthinking it?
In the end, the solution to their problem came through an announcement from the school on the last day of summer.
Assembly day. They didn’t even read the full announcement. Janus never skipped, but if there was one day they would consider it, it was assembly days. In this case it meant that they could meet Virgil and talk all day if that was what it took. They sent Virgil a text right away.
‘Skipping assembly. Meet me @ <3 swings 9am?’ There, not too forceful, not too clingy. Just one friend asking another to hang out at their favorite spot in the neighborhood. It was called the lovers' swings by most people because it was secluded and supposedly romantic. People rarely came there. It was a perfect place to have a private conversation.
Virgil didn’t answer, but that usually meant he agreed… Still Janus wondered all day if they should text Virgil to confirm their plans. No. Virgil had read the text. So he’d be there. No need to be pushy when you are going to apologize for just that.
The next day they woke up and knew right away, it was a Janice day again. Which meant that once again they had a chance to introduce Virgil to that part of themselves face to face.
They did their nails, dressed up cute, hid it with a long sweater and let their hair down. After breakfast, they packed their makeup and headed to the swings. Once there they applied it as best they could while looking in a pocket mirror. They were quite happy with the result.
They were ready to show Virgil who they were.
But Virgil didn’t come.
Eventually they had to accept that Virgil hadn’t replied because he hadn’t planned on coming and probably didn’t want Janice to be difficult about it… That was fair. They probably deserved as much after how they’d acted the past two years.
They took out a sponge and make-up remover and got rid of the most obvious stuff before heading to school. They might catch Virgil at lunch and get him to listen to the apology at least.
The rest could wait for a little longer…
But when they arrived at the cafeteria, they spotted Virgil, talking to Castile. Virgil had his back turned towards Janice. Castile on the other hand was in full view. Smiling awkwardly, fidgeting… What was going on? What were they talking about…?
They could feel a storm of emotion warring inside them. All trying to get the upper hand.
Attraction for the two boys he was looking at, anger, jealousy and fear. They tried to get a hold of them, to push it down. Suddenly they felt something snap, as if something had given out under their weight, but they weren’t falling. They blinked and then the ceiling lamp was on the ground. Virgil and Castile a few feet away from it. What just happened? How… Had… Had they done that somehow?
Their eyes took in the figures laying on top of one another. Watched as they got up. They let out a sigh of relief as they saw they seemed unharmed and took off. Before anyone could spot them.
Not realizing someone already had.
That evening, when they finally calmed down they sent out a text.
“Sry bout what happened 2day. Will U B @ schl 2mrw?” There, simple and to the point.
They were called down for dinner, which saved them the torture of staring at a screen, waiting for a reply. When they headed back to their room a bit later, they got a text.
“M fine thx. C U there.”
Janice felt relief flood them. Finally, an end to the radio silence. It made them feel a bit better about tomorrow. Tomorrow they’d tell Virgil everything… Or, they thought back to what happened in the cafeteria… almost everything.

Logan: let them go and changes
Roman: in the open
Virgil: hard won victory

Chapter Text

As their luck would have it, they slept terribly that night.
Nightmares of Virgil and Castile getting crushed because of whatever they did had them waking up several times.
This led to them sleeping through their alarm and missing their bus. Twice. Meaning they’d be late to school. Which meant that there was no bus ride there with Virgil, and no spare minutes before class started. Which meant they’d have to wait until after class, possibly until lunch to talk to him. Their heart was hammering in their chest. Sure they knew that as long as they got Virgil to hear them out, things would most likely be fine. But they were still terrified.
They didn’t know for sure how they’d done it, what they’d done even. What if they got upset and hurt someone? They took a deep breath. They just had to stay calm. Calm and focused. One step after another.
They made it to their homeroom. Eyes darting around until they found Virgil… Sitting next to Castile… Next to Roman. They probably should stop treating their friend’s friends so hostile. They had to trust Virgil’s judgement. Besides, Roman hadn’t actually done anything wrong. They’d assumed he was a bad brother, but other than Remus not wanting to bother him with his problems they had no proof of that.
Virgil was an amazing friend and there was a whole list of things they didn’t tell him because of their own reasons. So maybe Remus had a reason they never knew about too.
They heard the teacher say something, but they were trying to focus on staying calm.
They felt the tension in their gut surge as Virgil and Roman, who had both seemed in a good mood moments ago, tensed as their presence was announced.
“They don’t know, they can’t possibly know what happened yesterday,” they reassured themself as they walked over. They tried not to think about how troubling it was that their best friend responded to their presence in the room like this. They just had to ask Roman, nicely, to switch seats, even if it was just for this one time. They needed a chance to tell Virgil they were sorry. If nothing else, they needed him to know that.
As they made their way over however, a vibrant collection of colors started registering in their mind. Slowly it sunk in that this vibrant collection of colors was Roman.
His hair… The shirt.
Wait, Roman Castile was gay? No, no. They needed to focus. Now was not the time to unpack that. Or the possibility that the reason Roman was so invested in Virgil al this time was because he… Liked him.
It was easier said than done. Especially when it was only the recently openly gay Roman who looked up at them when they arrived. Virgil’s eyes were pointedly turned away from them.
Clearly yesterday’s text had gotten their hopes up too much.
Janus took in a breath and formulated the question in his head. “Can you move to a different seat? I need to talk to Virgil.” That was hopefully not too commanding.
“Move, that’s my seat,” they hissed instead. No! No! Where did that come from?
Roman moved his chin up, his eyes challenging.
“De ninguna manera. You want to sit with the coolest kid in school, get here on time.”
The remark and Roman’s clear honesty was a sharp reminder. Janus had been holding Virgil back. His high school life could have been so different if he hadn’t stuck with Janus this long. Was Virgil even going to believe they were sincere in their apology? Would he want it now that he knew he could do better?
There was a pressure in their chest, a familiar one. They had to get themselves under control. Or else they would do something they’d no doubt regret.
“Excuse me?” they demanded, sounding angrier than they wanted, clenching their fist, hoping to get a grip on themself.
They needed to calm down. They’d end up hurting someone. They’d end up scaring Virgil away for good.
“Mr. Bullard! Seat! Now!” The teacher’s voice snapped Janus out of their racing thoughts.
They lowered their fist as they turned their attention to Virgil. Hoping that he’d somehow understand that they needed to talk with him. Virgil was still not looking right at them though. His face had something disappointed. Janus realized it must’ve looked like they were about to punch Roman right then and there. Why did they keep making things worse?
“You heard the teacher Jan. Just go,” Virgil instructed to Janus’ astonishment. No… That tone... Were they really too late?
Unsure what else to do they took a seat. It was on Virgil’s left, across the path for the teacher. They didn’t even register their neighbor. Their mind fully on ways to fix this. Maybe they’d have a class with Virgil. Was there any chance he’d picked sociology even if he was mad about it?
“Good.” Janus did not care much for what the teacher had to say. They were much more worried about messing up their next chance as spectacularly as they’d done with every other one they’d been given so far.
“As I was saying, I hope the rest of the year will go without any more incidents like yesterday.” Janus felt his jaw set at the reminder. Not that they’d stopped thinking about it since. “Mr. Anker, Mr. Castile, I speak for the whole school when I say that we are happy to see you two are back and unfazed by yesterday’s incident.”
“Thank you Mrs. Foster.” It might be odd. But it was a relief for Janus to hear their friend flustered at the attention. They weren’t so out of touch with him that they’d missed him becoming a social butterfly all of a sudden.
“I wouldn’t dream of depriving you of my radiant presence for another day!”
Janus felt extremely jealous of Roman. How they wished they had his confidence to walk around with their identity on full display like he was.
When the bell rang, Janus wanted to follow Roman and Virgil out, but they needed their schedule.
“I hope this is no new habit of yours Mr. Bullard. You’ve been getting good grades and that has allowed you some flexibility from your teachers, more than we typically allow students to have in fact. But you are a junior now. You’ll have to start to get serious about academics if you want to be able to make it in any college. Is that understood?” Janus clenched their jaw. “Yes ma’am,” he replied stiffly before leaving. Great, now the teachers had it out for them. It wasn’t like they asked for anything too drastic. If they had, surely someone would have said something before now.
They hurried through the hallways, to find their locker. To their relief they spotted Roman and Virgil walk ahead of them once they got there. They hurriedly got their things in order and rushed in the direction they saw them disappear to. They witnessed Virgil closing his locker and following Roman farther up the hallway. They took a moment to collect themself.
There was still a little time before they had to be in their first class.
Enough to get Virgil’s attention. Enough to get him to agree to have lunch together or something.
As they approached the two and repeated what they were going to say as a mantra in their head, they heard Roman speak up. “Where are we headed next?” Roman had his head in his locker and was thus unaware of Janus’ presence. Virgil had his back turned and was looking through his backpack.
Once he pulled out the piece of paper that no doubt held his schedule Janus was overcome with curiosity. Maybe they could wait for a shared class? One where maybe Roman wasn’t there to distract either of them.
In an impulsive, and very stupid move, Janus snatched the paper from Virgil’s hand and studied it. They might not know their schedule by heart yet, but they knew it well enough to see that it had nothing in common with Virgil’s.
“Hey!” Virgil protested. It occurred to Janus that they’d overstepped, again, but out of pure habit they pretended to be in control of the situation anyway. There were too many people around, they couldn’t let themselves be vulnerable.
“How can we have no classes together? I thought we were going to take sociology?”
They didn’t have to look at Virgil to know that they just said the dumbest possible thing.
They’d say that their brain to mouth filter was taking the day off, but that would imply their brain was involved to begin with and they seriously doubted that.
“No!” Virgil snarled as he took back his schedule. Janus looked at Virgil, surprised at his hostility. They had never seen him this angry. Save maybe at some bullies who’d bothered them or Remus in the past. This was worse though. This anger was steeped in hurt and betrayal. They really wished they were braver so they could muster the strength to apologize no matter who was around to hear. They thought they’d grown past their cowardice after middle school. Clearly they’d been lying to themselves.
“You were,” Virgil reminded him bitterly. “I tried to tell you that I wanted to do art, and you didn’t listen. Like usual.” The bitterness and disappointment in Virgil’s voice and face cut deep.
Virgil turned to Roman with a finality that sent panic down Janus’ spine.
“We’re in building C. Let’s go.”
And with that Roman and Virgil pushed past a devastated Janus. They couldn’t let them leave though. They had to do something.
“Virge come on!” They pleaded, dashing out in front of the two.
“You are mad, I get it. I’m sorry okay?” As they said the words they knew they weren’t enough by a long shot. Still it felt like a relief to say them. Why hadn’t they allowed themselves to say it for so long?
There was a faint spark of hope in Virgil’s eyes, though it was immediately smothered by distrust and fear.
“Can’t we talk about this?” Janus pleaded, latching on to that one moment. Just a talk, that was all they needed. “We always work things out,” they tried to remind him.
Virgil flinched away from them. This situation was clearly upsetting him. Maybe they should try again later. When they had more privacy. Virgil didn’t like causing a scene. Janus knew that. They realized that they should have respected that and waited for a better time.
“My decision is final J. I’m done enabling your behavior. I thought I was helping you out, but I was making it worse. I can’t protect you anymore… You are right. Sometimes we have to do what’s best for us. And for me, that is not being around you anymore.” Janus recalled they would say something along these lines every time Virgil had taken hits meant for some random other kid. They never expected Virgil to finally take those words to heart by cutting ties with them. Janus reached out. Instinctively wanting to comfort their friend when he seemed distressed, disregarding the fact that they were the cause of it. They were blocked by the very colorful Roman Castile though.
“He’s asking you to back off. Give him some space.” Later Janus would think back and realize that Roman meant to diffuse the situation. His voice was calm, his face reassuring, understanding even. But in that moment Janus just felt their temper flare and they needed an out. So they slammed Roman against the lockers. They were filled with pain and frustration and their mind conjured the worst they could say to lash out at the poor soul that found themselves on the receiving end of that. “Stay out of it Chapero!” they growled. Who was he to interfere with their business?
Next thing Janus knew they were the one being pushed against a locker. In a strange way it was a relief. To find someone who was as angry with them as they were. There was also a strange sort of validation to see Roman break his calm and controlled streak he had going when dealing with them. Very clearly, the thespian had hit his limit when it came to patience.
“You better not know what you just called me,” he warned.
Janus, stupidly, doubled down and grinned at him with feigned confidence. Again that strange vindication took hold of them when they were confronted with cracks in Roman’s perfect image. “I don’t say anything I don’t mean. Payaso.” Well that was a lie. Janus wondered how often they told the truth lately. It felt like most of what they said the last few years was deceptive in some way. No wonder Virgil wanted nothing to do with them anymore. Still, Roman wasn’t perfect either. It was a comfort. A small and petty comfort, but a comfort non the less.
“Roman! What’s going on? Let him go. Let’s just go to class. Please,” Virgil pleaded. Janus was reminded of the times when Virgil would pull them away from a fight and he’d be upset and fed up instead of comforting.
Roman turned his attention to Virgil and relaxed. “Sorry. You’re right. We’ll be late,” he sighed. Janus was let go and watched the two walk away. “Get to class Jan!” Virgil called back.
“This isn’t over!” Janus promised, still frustrated. But they knew they weren’t in any shape to talk to Virgil right now. Their first class was Math, luckily they didn’t see anything new because they didn’t have the mental energy to pay attention to that on top of calming themselves. Between classes they tried to catch Virgil alone.
First time, he was accompanied by Roman the whole way, so that didn’t work. After sociology, which Janus did find interesting, even if their enjoyment was tarnished a little by the possibility of having ruined things with Virgil over it, they managed to see Virgil exit the art room, accompanied by his teacher.
“…Need that one back after your date with miss Stacey.” They heard the man say. Virgil took off to his lockers. Janus felt their stomach turn. Virgil already had a girlfriend? Since when? What else had they missed?
Not wanting to waste any time they grabbed Virgil’s shoulder and turned him around.
“We need to talk, now,” they said urgently. Scared that something else would come around to ruin this chance too. Virgil’s frown didn’t bode well though.
“Are you going to apologize to Roman?” he asked briskly.
“What?” Janus asked, confused for a second. That was clearly the wrong reaction.
“Or any of the people you’ve tormented over the past year, if not years? Because the only way, you and I are ever going to be on speaking terms again is if you stop acting like everything I despise in this world. Which, in case you are unaware, is a narrow minded, homophobic, bully.”
Janus felt shame sink in. Of course. In their anger they’d used a slur that they hated themselves. If Roman had translated for Virgil, and knowing their friend, Virgil wouldn’t have given him the option not to translate, that made him look real bad. And there was really no excuse for their behavior. There were reasons, but no excuses. They knew that.
“I already told you Janus. I’m done. When you start acting like my friend again, I’d like to have him back. I miss the Janus I’d stick by no matter what. But the guy I’ve seen the past year… I don’t know who that is. All I know is I want him nowhere near my family.”
Janus looked up clinging on to the fact that Virgil wanted things to go back to normal too.
But Janus understood that saying what he said to Roman was going to make Virgil defensive. “Listen, I messed up. I got mad and I just said the worst thing I could think of okay? I know that won’t excuse it. What with your dad and his boyfriend situation...” That was actually a decent apology. Janus was a little impressed with themself. They could do something right after all. Sadly, Virgil might’ve misread it. He got tense and defensive all of a sudden and Janus wracked their brain to figure out what they’d said wrong.
“What do you mean…? If you said something to upset Patton or Logan, I swear!”
“NO!” Janus exclaimed. Clearly Virgil didn’t know Janus had talked to uncle Lo and Patton when they returned from camp, or at least not what was said. Suddenly uncle L’s strange behavior after Virgil returned came to mind. Had… Had Virgil said something to him about what happened? Had Janus missed their chance to make things right long ago?
“I didn’t… I promise. I just… Need you to hear me out, like now. I need to tell you something important. Let’s just go somewhere quiet for a bit. Okay? I swear I’ll leave you alone after… Just please Virgil. I need you to know…” Even if they had messed up their friendship beyond repair, Virgil had the right to know the full story didn’t he?
Janus saw the hesitance in Virgil’s eyes. For a second they thought there was a chance. But then the slightly shorter teen’s frame tensed and he shook his head.
“I can’t Jan. I want to. Trust me, I really want to be friends again. But I know that if I go with you now, things will just go back to how they were and that… I was being suffocated by you Jan. I didn’t feel like me with you anymore. Even when we were just us I couldn’t be myself. I’m sorry. But I’ll listen, once you’ve proven you're over this whole,” he gestured to the general space between them. “Thing where you think you can control my life. It’s not good for me.” Each word was like a punch in the gut. There was guilt and regret and heartbreak. When Virgil moved away from them, despair overtook their judgement. They couldn’t let him go without explaining.
There was a strange surge running through them as they pushed Virgil against the locker. Their hold on him felt firmer than they expected, but they paid it no mind.
“Damn it Virgil! Just stop being dramatic and come with me!” They demanded. It couldn’t end like this. They wouldn’t let it end like this.
Virgil’s eyes hardened, he lifted his chin and spoke with more certainty than he ordinarily exhibited. “No!”
“Let him go Bullard!” That got their attention. They looked up and they saw Roman stand there, ready for a fight.
The part of Janus that always looked for a fight when they couldn’t deal with their own feelings latched onto that. They messed up, they knew. But maybe if Castile messed up too, they wouldn’t feel as bad.
“I’ve got this Roman,” Virgil spoke reassuringly. Roman looked past Janus to address Virgil.
“I know. But you don’t have to do this alone.” Roman was flanked by two of his friends and listened as one of them whispered something, only nodding in acknowledgement.
His eyes were burning with determination as he addressed Janus. “I’ll ask one more time. Leave him alone.”
Janus let go of Virgil and turned to their opponent.
“Think you can take me Castile?” they challenged, itching to vent this awful feeling inside on something. They approached Roman, leaving a few feet between them, daring him to deal the first blow.
“I’m not going to give you the satisfaction of getting me in trouble,” Roman replied calmly. That wouldn’t do. Janus wanted him to be mad, to fight! To be justified in disliking him the past two years in some way.
“So you’re just talk then huh?” they taunted. “Afraid to get your butt kicked in front of everyone? Trying to score easy points with Virgil? Hoping I’ll let you steal him from me that easily?” His fault, his fault. This was all because of him!
“Trying to repay him in some small way for saving my life yesterday. But none of that is any of your business. Virgil’s decision to finally break free from you has nothing to do with me, and everything with how you’re treating him. I don’t understand what he saw in you that made him stick around this long. But you took it for granted and now it’s done. Leave him alone.” The words were true and so they hurt as they easily broke through the lie Janus was trying to tell themself.
Other members of Roman’s lunch group arrived and then all of them except Roman started sending other students away. Roman kept staring at them.
Janus tried to think. It was surprising to them that Roman didn’t want as big an audience as possible for his deed of heroism. Maybe he was trying to be modest? That was good. The less people around the less likely they were to accidently hurt someone. They tried to relax, but as perception and reality clashed and the possibility of another thing going wrong increased, their nerves built. They couldn’t let that show though.
“What’s wrong Castile? Don’t want an audience? I thought you lived for the cheers of a crowd?” They taunted. It had no effect. Something had to happen though. Anything.
“Or maybe this is an exclusive event? Just for your little fanclub and Virgil? Is he your newest devoted follower?” They cringed at their own accusation. Virgil was no follower. He was non-confrontational, but he had his own opinion and would stand up for it. Janus was currently paying for forgetting that it seemed.
“You guys should head to class.” Janus felt relieved. Less bystanders was good. Roman’s friends protested for a moment but Roman stood firm on his decision. “You’ll all get in trouble if you don’t get to class in time. Now go. Tell our teacher that Virgil and I will be there soon. I’m not feeling well and Virgil is looking out for me.” Janus felt sick to their stomach at Roman’s nobility. It’s not right! Their world was falling apart and Roman was endearing himself to Virgil with every word out of his mouth!
“Making your friends lie for you Castile? Some friend you are.” At this point Janus was latching onto anything they could to criticize Roman in some way.
Roman quirked a brow. “Or tell them the truth. Apparently Bullard wants detention on the first day.” Great. Good job Janus. Now Virgil won’t be the only one upset with you today.
Moments later Janus, Roman and Virgil were the only ones left.
Janus’ hurt, anger, jealousy at everything Roman stood for, and guilt melted together in their gut to pure vicious spite. They were angry at themselves, but Roman was their target.
“Now we’re talking! A private show, just for you Virge,” Janus looked back at him, but Virgil was looking right past them to Roman. They noticed how he held a hand to his chest. Had they been too rough? They never meant to actually hurt Virgil. Just grab his attention. They looked back to Roman, trying to ignore the spike of guilt.
“Virge? You okay?” Roman asked, not even paying attention to them and that annoyed them to no end. Did he think he was too good for them? Did he think so little of them he didn’t even consider them a threat?
“Yeah, fine,” Virgil muttered. From the corner of their eye they could see him approach. They stopped him with a gesture. They weren’t sure what would happen if they saw Virgil physically choose Roman over them. It was a moot point. He had chosen. But still they wanted to hang onto denial a little longer. To their relief, Virgil didn’t approach any further.
“Just get to class. I can handle myself,” Roman assured Virgil. Still ignoring Janus even existed. Janus could feel the pressure built. It needed out. They didn’t want something to fall again. Roman, it was his fault. Yesterday would have been fine if he hadn’t been flirting with Virgil when they needed to talk to him.
“Stop mocking me!” Janus exclaimed. There was a flash of white hot rage and then, Virgil was in front of them, falling to his knees as he clutched his stomach in pain.
Roman was kneeling next to him concerned.
What had they done? “V… I...” they started, unsure what to say. Virgil’s tear-filled eyes didn’t help them unjumble their thoughts.
“Messing with him emotionally and mentally isn’t enough for you? You have to resort to physical violence as well? What kind of friend are you?” They wanted to protest, but they couldn’t. Roman was right. They lowered their gaze in shame and walked away. Once outside they started running, faster and farther, right into the forest near the school.
Once they reached a clearing they fell to their knees and started crying their heart out. Virgil’s words echoed through their mind. The friend they used to be. Virgil wanted that Janus back. Was there any way they could go back to that? Where to even start?
They didn’t know how long they cried, but when they were done they looked up to find large branches had fallen off the trees surrounding them. Some trees looked like an elephant had used them as a backscratcher. They were pushed away from the meadow, roots pushed deeper on one side and up to the surface on the other. There were some smaller trees that had snapped. Had they done this?
They whipped at their eyes. This had to stop. They needed to tell their parents what happened. And they needed to listen to Virgil. Show that they could be better, or not better, themselves. Show that they could leave the charade behind before they could be trusted to be honest about their identity.
They’d apologize to Roman and everyone they ever picked a fight with or pushed out of their way to take out their frustrations or to hide their feminine side. They’d write Virgil a letter so they couldn’t mess up again.
“My, my. What a fine mess you made,” a bemused voice observed.
Janus turned around and got ready to attack. They weren’t sure what they’d do exactly. But every cell in their body told them that this was a fight or flight situation.
Wait… they knew this person.
“Don’t you worry,” they smirked gently. “You have quite some power. It’s a waste to hide such a gift away,” they told them.
“It’s a curse,” Janus objected.
“Your little incident of yesterday, yes I saw.” They were seen?
“But it doesn’t have to stay like that.” Janus blinked. It didn’t? They were offered a hand.
“I can help you, Janus. I can help you prove yourself to everyone who looks down on you. And more importantly, to Virgil. You are a victim of some tough circumstances. But just trust me, and I’ll get you everything you wanted. I’ll help you be someone Virgil will adore. A hero.” The words swirled in their mind so beautifully. If they became a hero… They’d be better than the useless coward Virgil had known in middle school. They’d top Virgil’s expectations and conditions by a landslide.
Their hair still stood on end. There was definitely something fishy about the person in front of them. But… This offer was too tempting… If they could help them control this, and be someone Virgil would let into his life again…
With a trembling heart, they took their hand.
“Smart choice Janus. I am known as, ‘the collector’. I think we’ll get along.”

Roman: Prince  and Passion and duty
Virgil: Confrontation and better together
Logan: Two premiers

Chapter Text

"Again,” the collector’s voice called through the warehouse. Janus suppressed the urge to glare at him.
Connor Grant. The collector was Vigil’s new art teacher. Janus couldn’t believe he was so cocky to so plainly show his face. Then again, most of his manipulations depended on his position as a person Virgil trusted.
Janus would like to claim that he caught on to his true nature right away. But it had taken him a few days. At first, he really believed that he had the best of intentions and was truly trying to help him be his best self. But then they realized he did a lot of the same things Janus would do to themselves and Virgil in the past. Just on a much more professional scale.
He was also uncompromising in training Janus.
Every minute they spend alone with him they were being pushed relentlessly. Both mentally and physically.
Their saving grace was that he didn’t know the people in their life as well as he thought he did.
When they got home on the first day, their parents had sat them down and talked about the ways in which they would be allowed back into Virgil’s life. They weren’t even angry with Janus. Just concerned about what had happened to drive a wedge in their friendship with Virgil. Janus had actually cried for the first time in ages in front of them during that conversation. It had felt good.
Their parents had also set them up with a therapist. Janus was not too fond of the idea, but they’d agreed. Maybe this therapist could help with their temper if nothing else.
Collector knew nothing about this though. Even when they trusted him they were uncomfortable with opening up to him. He was trying to make them feel like their parents were angry at them, that Virgil hated them and would never forgive them unless they did as Collector told them.
When Janus was given detention for a whole week for skipping school, Mr. Collins had volunteered to supervise him. Which was just a way for him to get more time to talk to them, and possibly spread misinformation to Virgil about how they were acting.
Janus didn’t mind though. Once they’d collected evidence of Collins’ true nature and handed it over to the police, Virgil would know the truth. Because when you approach teenagers with a shady code name and offer them training and stuff that they are supposed to keep secret from everyone, you are not a good person.
Right now, Collector was making him try and use his gift on purpose in an abandoned hangar. He was not so stupid that he brought Janus to his big secret hideout right away.
“I am trying!” they growled in frustration.
“You are frightened of your power. So you don’t let yourself give in to the rage,” Collector told him. Yeah, no shit Sherlock!
“Don’t you want to get the respect of the people? For Virgil to give you the time of day again?”
He did. But… What if next time someone did get hurt?
“If you control it you will not harm anyone you don’t want to crush,” Collector reminded them.
They took a deep breath and tried to focus. Trying to find the feeling they had when they used it in the past. They imagined the trash container in front of them was currently crushing their mother. They pulled their hand back, hoping that the physical motion would help.
They could kind of feel something unseen shift with them. When they thrust forward the container flew ten feet back, spilling its contents all over.
“There you go. Was that so hard?”
Janus clenched his jaw. That damn belittling tone! But he let go of that anger. They had a part to play now. They looked back, smiling excitedly, channeling the feeling of when they saw Janice for the very first time. Collector smiled satisfied and nodded. “And this isn’t even your most impressive power,” he mused.
Janus cocked their head, not having to fake the confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, no need to play dumb. I’ve talked to your teachers. I know of your gift of persuasion.”
Janus blinked. Persuasion? No… He was just… Convincing right?
“You didn’t think our dear principal would’ve kept your parents in the dark about their concerns around your attitude with your classmates if you didn’t influence them, did you? Or that Virgil would have put up with you for this long if you hadn’t made him want to stay?”
That last part was just to hurt them. It had to be. But… thinking back… Maybe that explained the way the teachers had been acting this week. Extra on guard. Had they made them let them get away with more than they would have otherwise?
Clearly, they’d been talked about in the staffroom. Maybe Collins was even warned about them.
And maybe, if they had a gift that made it easier to persuade people, maybe that was why bullies had left them alone when Janus told them to leave.
But Virgil… They hadn’t… If that was the case then he would have heard them out when they were literally begging him to… Except it had looked like a struggle for him to deny them. And there were a few times they’d wanted to get out of an argument… Oh god. They had even more to apologize for than they thought.
“You see? The world can be at your feet if you wish. You just need to dare to take the power and make it your own.”
So he could use it to his own ends? Yeah, no thanks.
They turned back to the container and imagined punching Collector in the gut this time. It flew fifteen feet back and four feet of the ground.
That smug jerk would regret the day he interfered with their life.

Chapter Text

"So. What do you think? Are we going to sit in silence the next forty minutes too or…?”
Janus just curled in on themself tighter. They were at their first appointment with Doctor Remy Pikani. Who insisted Janus called him Remy. Not because he was one of those adults who thought they’d be more relatable that way. Doctor Pikani just found the title sounded dreadfully boring.
Which was why Janus kept using it for now.
“Ok. I’ve given you plenty time to be broody. But I was under the impression that you want to fix some things about your attitude and your life.”
Janus huffed. “And you think you can fix me?”
Doctor Pikani grinned. Taking Janus responding at all as progress. “First of all: You don’t need to be fixed. People never need fixing. Your attitude though, well you gotta admit there is room for improvement there.”
Well at least one of them thought they weren’t broken beyond repair.
“Okay. We clearly aren’t going to be talking about you today. Your parents mentioned a Virgil and his father, Logan?” the man said as he looked through his notes.
Janus relaxed just a little. They supposed they could talk a little about them. But… What if Collector found out what he was doing right now and tried to find out what was said…
They couldn’t tell this man too much. Nothing that could harm uncle Lo or Virgil.
“What about them?” they said dismissively.
Remy took him in for a minute, Janus just looked away, not wanting to give anything away.
“Alright… Clearly you don’t trust me. You know that I made one of those fancy oaths to never reveal any information about you without your permission. Unless I have reasons to think you’re a danger to yourself or others. I could lose my job, forever, if that got discovered. So if you don’t trust me, trust that I like this cushy job and the things it affords me to buy. Like my fav Starbees order.” Pikani underlined the last statement with a long sip from his to go cup.
Janus took Remy in, suddenly impressed. He might be better than they had given him credit for.
Janus had given him pretty much nothing and he still figured how to get them to be more open to the idea of sharing. And maybe, maybe if the collector did ask, even if he was persuasive. Maybe Remy would hide the most important things. They were nowhere near ready to take that gamble.
But they could talk a little about certain things.
By the end of the session they’d laid out their life before high school in the broadest possible terms.
Remy now knew how close they were to uncle Logan, that Virgil had been their friend for as long as they could remember, they knew that they’d been friends with Remus until he moved schools. But that was it. All of that Collector could learn from anyone really. And Remy could feel like they had made progress all he wanted.
They had agreed to see a shrink, but they had not thought of all the risks that entailed.
Still they couldn’t back out now. Their parents had made it clear that they had to make an effort to show that they were trying to change.
And they were. They were done with making mistakes. They’d figure out a way to fix things. They needed to get better at controlling their powers so they wouldn’t accidently hurt others or make them do things they didn’t want to do, and they had to expose Collector for who he was asap.
He was not a good person and he spent way too much time with Virgil.
The fact that the artist Virgil admired was bad news, did not make what Janus did last year right though.
Still they kind of wished they had succeeded, even if that had led to Virgil hating them forever.
No… they had to trust that Virgil could take care of himself.
Janus had to sneak out every night to meet Collector for training. To their regret they practiced their manipulation on their parents to make sure they’d believe them when they said they were going to bed. Once they realized they had done it before, they could do it quite easily on purpose actually.
They were more concerned about trying to win an argument and doing it by accident.
They supposed that it was a good thing that they joined the debate team this semester. That should give them practice in turning it off.
They were starting to think that Collector was just pretending not to notice their little manipulations. Or maybe, their ‘Persuasion’ helped them fool him into believing they were following him blindly. Though they weren’t trying to use it for that.
Which might be why it worked. When they actively tried to get him to tell them something, even just something small like “Why do you bother teaching me?” he noticed and could push against it.
Collector never revealed what his gift was. Which was probably meant to make it harder for Janus to guard against it.
His words kept chipping at their insecurities and last spring that would have worked. But they were different now. They had grown and they were ready to prove it.
While they were trying to get their act together, the entire city was buzzing with the presence of a new hero. Their parents included.
“This DreamPrince boy is going to go places. Maybe you should contact the GTH and propose a design for the fanwebsite?” Their mother suggested to their father over dinner after they watched the Prince’s first big interview together.
“Hmm. Maybe I will. Who knows I might get to meet him in person. What do you think Janus? Want to meet a real life superhero with me?”
Janus shrugged noncommittally. “Sure,” they muttered before finishing their meal and heading to their room. There was this thing in the pit of their stomach that grew white hot with anger at the mere mention of this guy, and they didn’t understand it. Had their old anger at Roman latched on to the next shining light it could spot? Regardless this guy had done nothing to earn their anger.
He had seemed charming and confident but also modest and caring. None of which deserved a punch in his face.
They had to learn to control it.
“You want anger management?” Remy surmised during their next session. It had been hard to describe what they wanted without getting into specifics. But they’d managed.
“Yes,” Janus said decisively.
“What makes you think you need it? From what I heard from your parents, and principal, you had no altercations that got violent…”
Janus narrowed their eyes. Virgil had, of course, not told the teachers what he had done during their altercation. Even when he was mad with them he tried to protect them. They didn’t deserve it.
“I hit my best friend in the stomach!” they hissed. “And just because I was kept from hitting anyone in the past… It’s like there are these embers in my stomach, and when something mildly upsetting happens they catch on fire and I lash out at anyone who’s nearby. And… You know what? It doesn’t matter why I want it. You are here to help me. This is what I need. So help me!” they demanded furiously.
Remy leaned back. They hadn’t meant to go off like that, but maybe now he’d understand.
“Okay… Yeah, you are right. If this is how you want to do this then we will…” he glanced at the clock. “That’s our time for today. See you again next week?” Remy wondered.
“Yeah,” Janus sighed reluctantly. They weren’t eager to return, but they didn’t dare suggest quitting after only two sessions. They’d give it another try next week. Maybe now that Remy knew what they needed, the sessions would stop feeling like a waste of time and energy.
They needed to make some progress. Right now they were terrified of even talking to Virgil. As long as they kept their distance Collector wouldn’t say anything to upset Virgil. Not to mention they were not sure if they could control their temper around him yet. But they did start talking to some people they’d been needlessly cruel to in the past. Rebuilding what they broke one apology at a time. They were building up to the bigger ones. Apologizing to Roman was still far ahead. After they’d really gotten a hold of their temper.
One such apology was owed to their science partner of last year.
“Hi Carlton,” they said softly. Despite their careful approach, their classmate jumped in fright.
He took a defensive stance. Not in a fighting sense. He had his backpack clutched to his stomach, flinching away, making himself as small as possible. Janice swallowed away their frustration. This wasn’t the first apology to start out this way. After a few seconds Carlton relaxed his stance somewhat and looked them up and down. “… Hi?” he greeted hesitantly.
“Listen… About how I acted last year. And, especially the year before… I was… I shouldn’t have done that. You didn’t do anything to deserve it and even if you had, I shouldn’t have.
So. I’m sorry.” God it was so awkward every time. If Remy ever managed to make Janice feel like it was safe to open up, they’d tell him about this.
To the doctors credit, he had suggested during their second session that starting small in getting better and making things right might be easier. And it was. It was still hard though.
Carlton frowned as he studied them for a moment, first suspicious then thoughtful.
“Did Virgil tell you to leave me be?” he asked.
Janice shook their head. “I haven’t even talked to Virgil since they year started,” they admitted.
“No… I mean last year. Did he make you leave me alone?”
Janice frowned. “No. We never really talked about you. I mean he didn’t like it when I was an ass to others in general. But he never gave anyone special mention… Why?”
Carlton stared at them for another moment. “Well… Other than for like five minutes in that first class, you were pretty okay to me last year,” he pointed out.
Janice shrugged. “Doesn’t excuse those five minutes or any of the times we talked before… If you can call it that. I have no explanation for Freshmen year, other than wrong place wrong time.
For that class though… I was playing up the big bad bully angle to get Castile to switch seats. Figured everyone would be happy. He gets to play the hero, Virgil and I get to sit together, You get to sit next to your crush, but in hindsight-”
“Wait! You thought… I was crushing on Roman?”
Janice was beyond confused by that. “You were staring at him every chance you got,” they pointed out.
Carlton blushed. “I… wasn’t staring at him,” he admitted.
Janice let that sink in. If Carlton wasn’t staring at Roman then…
“You have a crush on Virgil?” they realized, so shocked that it came out as a question
“I sure hope so.” Janice nearly jumped when they heard Virgil’s voice come from behind them. In the next moment Virgil brushed past them and stood beside Carlton, draping an arm across his shoulders, making the later blush profusely. “We’re dating.” It was a statement. A challenge to say something bad about that fact. Janice was still processing. Virgil was dating a boy… But…
“You… But… I thought you were with Stacey?” Had they broken up?
Virgil was not fazed. “Where did you even hear that? I hung out with Stacey after school at the start of the year, yeah. We’re friends. After that, I went out with Anne, and Valery and Iris.”
Janice’s head kept spinning as Virgil continued. “Didn’t work out beyond hanging out though. But me and Carlton are dating.”
If Virgil went out with girls, had crushes on girls in the past and was dating a boy now… Then. “But… That means…”
“I am bisexual Janus. Get over it,” Virgil huffed.
Janice’s gaze drifted between the pair in front of him. Pieces slowly falling in place.
“R Right… I’ll leave you be then.” They needed to get away. To process.
It was their free hour so they went for a walk in the nearby forest again, ignoring the snapping branches above and around them, avoiding the clearing they’d made.
One day they’d ask Collector how no one was talking about the damage they’d done. Today they had other things on their mind.
All the hints Virgil dropped over the years flooded in at once and they couldn’t believe they’d been so blind. He wore the bi colors as his signature look!
He’d commented on cute actors, he’d said he wouldn’t care about gender as long as the individual was cute. He had offered Janice his first kiss! Made it abundantly clear that he was comfortable with that! All of that was him testing the waters. Janice just had been so busy with their own secret that they did not pick up on it.
Holy… V was bi. He had genuinely wanted Janice to kiss him back then. Probably not in a ‘I have a crush on you’ type of way. Virgil wouldn’t trick someone like that. But…
When they got home that evening they were still processing the fact that Virgil had a boyfriend now. They were pulled out of their thoughts of might have beens when their phone rang. They didn’t recognize the number so they hung up. It called again. And again and so on the fourth time they picked up. “Janice speaking?” they asked distrustful.
“Snakeface! Finally!”
Snakeface…? “Remus?” they asked baffled.
“The one and only! Scarecrow gave me your number. He said you two are going through a rough patch. Don’t tell me you two are getting a divorce!” It really was him.
“Okay I’ll bite. What are you talking about?” They were curious to see how Remus’ mind was spinning this story.
“Come on! You two were basically my playground parents… It was kinda nice to have you hover over me. I never thanked you two for that. Most kids thought I was too wild and weird.”
Janice scoffed. “That’s part of your charm. It’s their loss,” they assured their friend. It was so good to hear him again. “But how did this happen? I haven’t heard from you since middle school!” they wondered.
“Well my bro discovered I was buddies with you and Virgil back in the day and gave V my number, and now V gave me yours. Apparently my nicknames got confusing for my family. They thought I was talking about some of my creepy crawler friends and not actual humans,” Remus giggled.
“Is that why we were never invited over?” Janice wondered. Another misunderstanding?
“Um… Yeah… My bad?” Remus replied uncharacteristically awkwardly.
“And the reason you never wanted to involve your brother was…?” Might as well get all the questions out of the way. “Well. You’ve met Romie. What do you think he would have done if he heard some bullies had it out for his brother?”
They didn’t need to think twice. “He’d probably do something reckless and heroic.”
“And gotten hurt or something. Also… Don’t be mad but I thought maybe if he got involved and you met him… You’d like him better.”
Oh. “No chance. You were our friend. No one ever could’ve replaced you. I know Virgil felt awful for ages about being unable to protect you that day. Still does I think.”
“Yeah. He hasn’t stopped apologizing since his first call,” Remus agreed.
“Where did you go after they took you?” Janice wondered.
“Oh, they got me in private tutoring. It was real fun. They give me time to go crazy when I need to in between the boring lessons. Only downside is that I don’t see Roman as often as I’d like. He visits all the time, but he has schoolwork and stuff to do as well. And I didn’t have you guys to annoy of course. But that’s enough about me! You spill!”
So Janice told Remus that they had been kind of a jerk and that they were working on fixing things. The fact that Virgil had decided to throw them a boon by reconnecting them with Remus was a good sign. Remus cracked jokes and made innuendos. He found it hilarious that Virgil apparently had the ladies and lads lining up for him.
When Janice mentioned Roman’s idea of coming out he cackled loudly. Though he did approve.
They finished their conversation and agreed that Remus would call whenever possible and that Janus would either answer or call back when they had time.
Unless Virgil told the collector for some reason, he didn’t need to know that Janice had a friend or hope of things going back to normal between Virgil and them.
The less he knew the better.
That evening Collector announced that it was time they prepared for Janice’s first heroic escapade.
Which meant they’d need a codename and an outfit.
They had one, actually. When they were in middle school they’d played heroes with Virgil and Remus and they all picked names. Remus was Duke. Virgil was Guardian and Janice was…
“Serpentine,” they stated firmly. Collector nodded and took their face, angling it, studying it.
“Making your flaws your strengths… Inspired. I can work with this,” he grinned before releasing his hold.
The next day they were given their outfit. Apparently Collector had managed to get his hands on some GTH tech and fitted it for them.
When they put it on their entire skin got covered in scales, their eyes were snakelike and yellow, the outfit itself was black with yellow scale patterns. A pair of yellow gloves and Yellow boots completed the look, along with a black cape. Their hair was black and straightened, pulled back in a ponytail.
They looked cool, just not very heroic. They didn’t say anything about it though. Tried not to listen too closely as Collector told them their mission.
Become popular, gain the new Prince’s trust and ‘most importantly’ get Virgil’s attention.
Janus asked why Virgil had to see them in person. If they made the news wouldn’t that enough?
Apparently not. Collector insisted they needed to impress Virgil, make sure that Serpentine was on his mind.
There was a lot on Janus’ mind when they met up with Remy for their appointment. And it was a weird one.
“How do you mean I don’t need help containing my temper?” Janus asked incredulously, very close to losing their handle on said temper.
“Not in the way you think… I have the feeling that keeping things under lock and key, might be your problem and…”
“How would you know that? We’ve talked for two hours! Not even that! And the one thing I ask you, you don’t want to even try!?” Janus exclaimed, barely keeping himself from setting of a blast in the room.
Remy flinched back, but pushed onward. “See this, right here. This is actually good. Expressing your anger, letting it go, is much healthier than trying to lock it up. Take the pressure off so to speak.”
Janus fell back into their seat and curled up once more. Not looking at doctor Pikani as he kept trying to explain why not teaching him how to keep his cool in stressful situations was a good idea.
They didn’t even look at him when they left at the end of their hour. He’d said he’d help and now he was backing out. How were they expected to tell him anything?
That Saturday, they were sent out for the first time. They did little things. There was a purse snatcher they managed to slam into a nearby set of bushes in someone’s front yard. Cushioning the impact and causing way less property damage than if they had slammed them into the nearby car as Collector suggested. Good quick thinking on their part if they said so themself. They returned the purse, tied up the purse snatcher to a nearby lamp post and ran off. Were there a lot of cameras? Yes. Did they care? Not really. Doing something right alone gave them quite the thrill.
They didn’t encounter a lot of trouble after that. None that got Collector’s approval at least. They got a few toys out of drains and the like. At some point they were directed to a different street and spotted Virgil walking with Carlton, they were holding hands and seemed to be having a good time.
It was sort of cute.
“Seems you have been replaced,” Collector’s voice whispered through his com.
Janus wasn’t sure what that was supposed to be about. But he stealthily followed the two of them for a bit longer just out of curiosity. They liked seeing Virgil happy.
Collector kept whispering in their ear about how Virgil had forgotten all about them and they might be too late even if they did become a hero.
It was getting kind of annoying honestly. And just when they were about to snap at collector a nearby tire blew out, making the pair turn, Virgil instinctively pulling Carlton behind him, before moving on. That wasn’t good, they had to get away before they ruined Virgil’s date.
“I’m done.” They said into their com once they felt they were far away enough.
“Very well. I suppose you deserve a break. Good job today.” And just like that they were left alone.
They turned of their disguise and headed home.
On their way there their phone rang. They took it out and checked the ID, expecting Remus’ name.
It was not Remus.
“Virgil?” They asked incredulously as they picked up.
“Hi Jan…” Virgil sounded nervous, but not hostile or distrustful. A little on guard but in a familiar awkward way he had about him sometimes.
Janus was scrambling for what to say. There were so many thinks they wanted to say. “I…” I’m happy to hear from you. I missed you. I am trying to make things right. “Hey. Thanks for… You didn’t have to give Remus my number. Hearing from him… It was great.”
Those calls the past week were probably the only reason why they hadn’t blasted the Collector into a wall yet.
“Well… You’ve missed him just as much as I did. And he missed you too I bet. And you’ve been trying. Don’t think I didn’t notice. Carlton told me you were apologizing to him last week.”
Oh… Right. Usually they asked the people they apologized to not to make too big of a deal out of it.
Two reasons. They wanted to apologize because it was right, not because it would get them back on Virgil or the teachers’ good side.
And, again, the less collector knew, the better.
But with Carlton they’d been interrupted before they could make the request.
“Um… Yeah. You know. I was kind of a jerk for a while… And I don’t want to be,” They explained rather awkwardly, wishing for a change of subject.
“I kissed him!” That sudden declaration caught Janus completely off guard. Virgil… Kissed…
“What?” Sure they’d looked very cute and cozy. But they hadn’t expected things would go that well.
“I kissed Carlton. The date went well, and the moment felt right… And I kissed him.” Virgil sounded giddy. And that made Janus happy.
“Virgil that is amazing! How was it? Wait was that your first? Cause apparently you are in high demand,” they teased, getting Virgil to laugh. “Well yeah. But I’m not letting just anyone kiss me. You gotta earn that.” They laughed at Virgil’s carefree voice. They’d really needed this today.
“Well I never thought I would beat you in that department that’s for sure. With the amount of crushes you had in middle school, I figured you’d go off and kiss a girl the second I turned my back.” They informed Virgil, curious if he’d catch up on the semi hidden confession. He did.
“Wait… You don’t mean… Janus. Have you kissed someone? When?! Give me the details now!” he demanded.
“It was nothing really. Just a summer fling. I was gonna tell you the second I got back. It really helped me put things in perspective but… Well. You know.” They’d already ruined things too much for a simple conversation to fix things.
“Jan… I…” The guilt in Virgil’s voice was honestly comforting, as terrible as it may sound. But they wouldn’t let him feel that way.
“No. Don’t apologize. I was not trying to guilt trip you. It was brought to my attention that I might’ve accidently been doing that.” There was more to it than that, but now was not the time. “Sorry for that by the way. There is a lot of things we need to talk about. But not yet. I… Can handle this. On the phone… But could we keep it between us? I don’t want the adults or Ca… Or Roman to pat me on the back for every good thing I do. Ok? I’m…” They couldn’t tell him everything. But they’d be as honest as they could. “I’m not ready to trust others. I barely trust my therapist…” God, they were rambling and oversharing. Well… Now Virgil knew they were trying to talk it out with someone.
“Ok. Whatever you are comfortable with,” Virgil assured them. “And J?”
“Yeah?”
“I am proud of you.” Janus bit their lip. Hearing that from Virgil… It meant a lot.
“And don’t worry. I didn’t fully trust mine right away either. It needs to click first. If you are really uncomfortable with them, then you just ask for another.”
Janus let that sink in for a moment… Virgil… oh, wait… No that made sense. As long as they’d known him Virgil was very hard on himself and put a lot of pressure on his shoulders That was bound to boil over in some shape or form at some point. They were glad he was getting some help with that.
And his suggestion seemed like a good idea.
“I… Ok. I’ll think about it.” Maybe they’d give Pikani one more shot before asking their parents to move them to another therapist. “Thanks.” They were almost home now. “Listen. I gotta go. See you on Monday?”
“Yeah?” Virgil wondered, kind of hopeful. Apparently he’d missed them too.
“Yeah. And congrats. You and Carlton make for a nauseating couple,” they drawled teasingly.
Virgil laughed. “Thanks. See ya J.”
“Bye.” And so their first decent conversation with Virgil in months, ended on a good note.
They couldn’t go back to normal yet. But for the first time this semester, they truly believed like it was a possibility for the future.

Chapter Text

Doing good deeds really made them feel better.
Collector might be getting impatient with them, displeased that they didn’t have a taste for more flashy actions. That they chose to limit damage as much as possible and didn’t make big entrances. That they avoided press when they could, because they felt good deeds meant nothing if you did them for a camera. Collector disagreed. He made a whole speech about how they would never be respected if people didn’t see the things they did. Janus pretended to care what he had to say.
When they went to their next appointment with Pikani they felt ready to follow Virgil’s advice. And it worked. As soon as they mentioned looking for a therapist who was more compatible with them, Pikani was quick to compromise.
Pikani admitted that dismissing their worries over their temper getting out of control completely had been too extreme of a reaction. So acknowledging, channeling and expressing emotions in a healthy, safe way would be their shared mission.
Janus didn’t expect to be able to hold a full face to face conversation with Roman without getting scared and almost literally blowing up yet, so they waited with that apology some more.
They were getting there though. And they luckily didn’t feel the FOMO as badly as they would’ve if they didn’t have their calls with Virgil and Remus. Between the two of them they were being updated regularly on what was going on in their friends’ lives.
They caught sight of Virgil and his boyfriend in the hallways on occasion. They waved at them in passing if Virgil noticed them before making their way to class.
Virgil and Carlton were really cute together. Holding hands, quick kisses to the cheek. All that stuff.
Janus teased Virgil about it as they called. They were happy for Virgil. He clearly liked being with Carlton, but thinking back… They didn’t dare ask. Not yet. But they started to wonder, had Virgil been so eager to befriend Roman, at least in part, because he had a crush on him? It would explain a lot. In hindsight, what Janus had read as uncomfortable, might just have been nervous. The way people got around their crushes. Maybe V had never been intimidated by Roman’s presence in the way they’d thought he was. But if Virgil liked Roman and Roman, very obviously, liked Virgil, then why weren’t they dating right now?
Was this some kind of dumb romcom type plot where the two idiots in love don’t dare to confess to one another?
Remus definitely seemed to think so and he thought it was hilarious.
“We’ll have to plot for them to get together once Carly messes up somehow,” Remus grinned.
Janus chuckled. They weren’t opposed to that.
They still went out every night and soon they started to hear people whisper about the ‘snake hero’ and it took everything they had not to ask Virgil and Remus if they heard and what they thought.
Fishing for complements was not very becoming.
That Friday they assisted a lady with groceries and helped a kid that was getting bullied.
“Go more northward. There’s a reporter in that area. It’s high time you got a decent picture on the news,” Collector ordered.
Janice sighed. They didn’t care much for publicity. Especially not on a day when they didn’t feel as masculine as their outfit tried to project. But if they wanted Collector to let down his guard around them, then they had to at least pretend to want what he thought they wanted.
So they rushed up to a front yard and set of a blast beneath their feet to push them up. It stirred up the ground and probably damaged some of the plants the way a big gust of wind would, but it was better than ruining the street tiles or something like that.
As they flew up they took out two hooks from their utility belt and latched onto the wall. Pulling themselves up and making their way north over the rooftops, waiting for Collector to tell them to stop for their photo op. What stopped them instead, however, was a familiar laugh.
Virgil?
Janice looked down and smiled as they noticed Virgil on a walk with Carlton. Virgil was darting around Carlton, seemingly trying to steal some food. Both were laughing and playing around. That was freaking adorable. Objectively. Virgil could pretend at being edgy all he wanted. He was a playful dork on the inside. And seeing him act like that with Carlton told Janice that he truly felt comfortable around him.
Suddenly a loud screeching caught Janice’s attention. A car was swerving. Virgil was alone now. He was turning towards the car. Acting as if he was going to stop that thing with his bare hands.
Janice jumped down, blasted towards Virgil. Landed next to him and gathered him in their arms. They blasted off again. In their hurry they stumbled as they landed, causing Virgil to hold on tighter. That was a queer panic they’d have to save for later. After regaining their balance they looked down at him worriedly.
Virgil had his eyes shut tight, still curled up slightly against them. It took him a second to open his eyes and start taking in his surroundings.
“You okay?” Janice verified, their voice hissing through the modulator.
Virgil looked up at them. “Yeah. Fine. Thanks,” he replied, looking away and clearly embarrassed. The way he’d be embarrassed when uncle Lo would fuss over him.
Janice was just extremely relieved and put their friend down, stabilizing him for a moment before rushing to aid the people in the car that had crashed behind them.
They rushed to the front and spotted the woman in the driver’s seat.
“Don’t worry ma’am. I’m here to help. Can you hear me?” they asked as they inspected the wreckage. The door seemed pretty jammed. But a few well-placed blasts might get it loose enough to be pried open. They weren’t ready for this stressful of a job.
“J… Ja… Jamie…” the woman croaked. Janice looked to the back seat and saw a kid looking around confused. Great. Just perfect.
And right then, Virgil appeared next to them, immediately talking to the child.
“Hey there bud. Can you move?”
Of course Virgil would be there to look out for the little guy. If Virgil ever hesitated to help, then Janice would know they were talking to an imposter or someone really messed their friend up. And if the later, then there would be hell to pay.
Janice started breaking open the passenger door as they heard Virgil call out to Carlton.
“Tell em there is one kid in the car and one adult woman! They’re both awake and moving!”
Ah, so V had put his boyfriend in charge of calling 911. “They say you shouldn’t be near the car! Firefighters are on their way!” Janice glanced back and saw Carlton struggle with the desire to rush over and pull Virgil back, and his own survival instinct. Poor guy was obviously torn.
Well, Janice could help with that.
“He is right. I’ll get them out. You just go sit down and wait for professionals to come and have a look at you,” they insisted as they tested if the door was giving yet. Almost, they had to loosen it up a little more. “Don’t forget to include yourself and your friend in the list of victims!” they told Carlton. “You might have hit your head or something!” Concussions were no joke.
Virgil didn’t move. Well, Janice couldn’t say they were surprised.
“Hey, it’s going to be fine okay?” he told the boy in the backseat while Janice set off a few more controlled blasts, trying to get the door out. “My boyfriend is calling 911 and people will come to help. Who knows, maybe they’ll even send in some more heroes to help you guys out. Who’s your favorite?”
“…S Starbucker,” the boy sniffled.
“He is pretty cool. If he’s on the job then he should be here any…”
Janice felt a gust of wind and Virgil was gone. That was their cue to leave. A blast under their feet and they found themselves on a roof again rushing away from the scene of the accident.
A few blocks later they came to a halt. This should be far enough.
They got down in an alley and caught their breath. That was intense. For several reasons.
Virgil and Carlton could’ve gotten seriously hurt. They hoped the mother and kid were okay.
And on a much less important but not to be ignored note. They hadn’t been that close to Virgil in ages. Not since summer before freshman year. Clearly whenever they got around to talking to Virgil again, they could not avoid telling him everything. Because their friend was still every bit as attractive to them as the day they’d realized they liked guys.
“Well that was a close call,” Collector’s voice mused from deeper in the alley.
Janice turned around with a start. “Don’t scare me like that!” they protested.
“So wrapped up in your daydream that you lose sight of your surroundings? You can’t afford that sort of thing while on duty Serpentine. The GTH is going to try to find you soon. If you let them take you by surprise they will simply take away your costume and put you on house arrest. You have not yet shown you deserve their respect. Though, hopefully you have finally gotten Virgil’s attention.”
A thought occurred to them. Was… Was this all really a coincidence?
It was the second time Collector had led Janice to Virgil. Last time he’d goaded him until they blew a tire. This time though, they had been calm. Just enjoying seeing Virgil was doing well. So it wasn’t them… Had collector somehow…?
“It’s a good thing you listened to me. Imagine if you had not been there to save him?” Collector wondered.
Janice staggered back a bit at the implication. He wouldn’t… Right? Collector wanted Virgil for something. He would never let anything happen to him.
“Yes sir,” they said softly.
Collector smiled satisfied and patted their head. “I believe you’ve worked hard enough for today. Go home. And be sure to watch the news.” The shift in tone was beyond disturbing. Janice didn’t comment on it though. Instead they bowed their head and left.
They were doing homework when Virgil called.
“Hey V. How was your date?” they asked casually. Trying to sound excited to hear all the details.
“Hey J… Listen. I want you to hear me out and not freak out on me ok? I am perfectly fine. But on the way home, something happened and I wanted to let you know before you saw it on the news or something.” Janice took a deep breath and got ready to act surprised.
“Ok… What happened?” they asked as though confused.
“There was… A car accident. No one got hurt. But that new snake hero got involved and the press was all over it so just in case you see it and I am on camera in anyway, I want you and auntie and uncle to know I’m fine. Ok?” He didn’t sound too shaken by everything.
“Well… If you are sure you are alright?” they pressed.
“Not a scratch,” Virgil promised.
“Well… I believe you. But make sure to like, talk it out with your therapist ok? Promise?”
Virgil chuckled. “Yes mom,” he teased. “Speaking of therapists. How are you doing with yours?” Virgil asked.
“Well, threatening to take my issues elsewhere actually worked. He listened to me. Like for real. Things are getting better,” they told him.
“That’s good to hear. I’m going to let you go now. Have a nice evening and a good weekend J. See you Monday,” Virgil bid.
“Yeah, see you Monday,” Janice agreed before hanging up and sitting back in their chair with a sigh.
They played with their skirt for a few moments before deciding to just bite the bullet.
They typed in ‘snake hero car accident’ in their search engine and soon found a video posted online.
It was made by some friends walking down the street when they spotted Virgil playfully trying to steal Carlton’s food. Then the car started spinning and as you could heard the people scream in horror Janus paused the video and changed the speed. They could see Virgil pushing Carlton out of frame and as the car came into view they could just barely make out how they jumped in and picked Virgil up. They sped the footage up to normal speed again and as the car crashed the camera was shifting around wildly before you could hear someone scream “over there!” and then the image settled on Janice holding Virgil for a second before putting him down and heading to the crash site.
The imagery wasn’t very sharp. But someone who knew Virgil would recognize the purple hair and patched hoodie combo even from a distance. Janus hoped not too many people would realize it was him. Virgil didn’t deserve to be hounded over this.
The rest of Janus’ weekend was rather uneventful. Though they overheard their parents wonder when the police would officially recognize the new hero.
Apparently people started to realize that it usually didn’t take this long before a hero got claimed once they were out in the open. Janus had been popping up almost as long as Prince had and yet no one had acknowledged them yet. Prince had even had an official interview two weeks ago.
Janus hoped that when they told them the truth after Collector was caught, they’d be proud of them.
During homeroom on Monday they noticed Virgil looking rather down, which worried them greatly. Had Friday’s events taken a toll on him after all?
Unable to wait for a call later they texted him the second they got dismissed.
“You ok? You looked gloomy.”
The reply was quick and thankfully less dire than they feared. Though it still made them feel terrible over their inability to help. “Back to single life. Still adjusting. I’ll be fine.”
As they entered their next class they replied the only thing they could to show support. “Castile better be cheering you up.” And they meant it. They couldn’t be there so Roman had to pick up the slack. Also, if that theatre kid even so much as thought about taking advantage of Virgil now…
They took a deep breath. There was no point in assuming the worst. Remus would gut him if he knew he was thinking so badly about Roman. They were doing the thing again. Where they took their worries and bad feelings and made someone else the focus point. They wondered if there was a term for that. They had done the same with Virgil. Except they’d made him the focus for all their hopes and good feelings. Wow. That… The introspecting Remy suggested actually seemed to work. Who knew?
Virgil’s reply shook them out of their thoughts. “He is. Don’t worry. Thanks.”
Janus smiled sadly. He wished he could’ve done more to deserve that thanks. Maybe they could come up with something.
If things had been normal, then they would’ve just shown up at Virgil’s door with a selection of movies for them to watch together until they fell asleep.
They were trying to think of a way they could give Virgil that familiar comfort during their patrol that night when Collector spoke up once again.
“Time to wrap up Serpentine. Meet me for briefing behind the theatre. East from your location,” he instructed, making them relax. Routine wrap up. Nothing bad. They had not upset him.
They hurried to the meeting place, but stopped as they spotted a wildly gesturing figure on the ground. Roman? And Virgil!?
They seemed to be in good spirits. Virgil didn’t look quite like himself yet, but he was smiling and chuckling. Thoroughly distracted from his heartache, clearly feeling better.
They were walking around a scaffolding. Virgil hated those things, for as long as Janus could remember Virgil refused to walk underneath one.
Janus knew it was coming, they were ready for it. The top part toppled over. Roman pulled Virgil down and covered his body with his own. It was good to know that their future prom king cared so deeply for Virgil. Luckily he was not the only one there to protect them. Janus charged his strongest blast yet and launched it with deadly accuracy at the falling structure blowing it to the side.
They jumped down and raced towards the pair on the ground.
“You two okay?” they asked as they arrived at their side.
Virgil and Roman both looked up at him. Roman slowly got off Virgil and helped him up, never letting go of him once they stood.
“Yes… I think so,” Roman breathed, clearly still a little overwhelmed by recent events.
“Me too. Thanks for the assist,” Virgil nodded not quite meeting their eyes.
Janus felt the tension release as they got confirmation. “No problem.” As the relief flooded their mind they took in the way Roman was holding Virgil and smirked. They waved them goodbye. “Stay safe you two lovebirds. I’ll leave you to your date,” they bid them with a smirk. Hopefully they’d get the right idea at some point. But for now, they could tease them a bit.
Not that they wouldn’t tease them when they did become a couple and acted all cutesy together.
They left them be for now and hurried on to meet Collector.
“Serpentine? What happened?” Collector sounded too innocent. This confirmed it to Janus.
He’d done this.
“Virgil… He…” Janus was ready to demand an explanation. But they had to be the clueless follower. Someone with blind faith in Collector and his plans. As much as they could stomach.
“Nevermind. It’s… I took care of it,” they said.
“Good job!” Collector praised. “He’s lucky to have his own guardian angel looking out for him.”
Janus forced a proud smile and nodded.
“Well done. I’ll have one of my agents make sure Virgil makes it home safe for you. Until tomorrow,” he bid before retreating once more.
Janus let out a sigh. They didn’t feel comfortable with Virgil being stalked all the way home. There was not much they could do however.
They started walking home, sending Virgil a text, asking if he was okay. They just made it past their parents when their phone started ringing. Virgil was calling.
They picked up and were relieved when they heard Virgil’s voice greet them. “Hey.”
“What’s up?” they asked as they settled into their room as they browsed through their movie collection. They hoped they managed to sound casual.
“More like what went down. I swear there is some kind of curse on me or something,” Virgil sighed. He might not be far off. But Janus couldn’t tell him that. “I don’t follow,” they said slowly hoping to hide their true feelings better under a veil of feigned confusion.
“Another accident and another save by the new hero guy,” Virgil surmised, not impressed it seemed.
“Oh, wow. You okay?” they asked sincerely.
“Little freaked out if I’m honest. But I’ll be ok.” Janus took the hint. He didn’t want to talk about this. So they asked about what they’d been thinking off all day.
“And how about the other thing? You okay with the Carlton situation?”
“Yeah, Roman helped me cheer up.” Virgil sounded much more comfortable talking about his heartbreak. Janus could tell that until a certain point, Roman had succeeded in cheering Virgil up. That didn’t mean Janus couldn’t still try.
“You know… I’ve been thinking. You know what we’d be doing if I was around to cheer you up?” they asked.
“Movies?” Janus felt strangely comforted by how quick Virgil was to remember that. It felt like something from a different life honestly. But it still was something natural to them.
“Exactly! I’d say for tonight…” Janus looked over the titles they had available. “Well no bad old horror movies, and no romance so… I got it! We’re going to watch Peter Pan and complain about everything that is messed up about it. How does that sound?”
Virgil chuckled, indicating Janus still knew how to pick the right movie to fit Virgil’s needs. “Ripping on an old movie for being racist and sexist? I’m so in.”
And despite not being in the same room, their long distance movie night quickly felt like old times. For one glorious evening, neither of them had anything to worry about. Life was simple and theirs for the taking. And the future could wait a million years for them to conquer it.
Sadly this too had to come to an end.
Going out every evening slowly started to take a toll on Janus. Especially combined with schoolwork and debate team, which he was crushing by the way. He wouldn’t say he was making friends, but he felt like he fit in.
One week after saving Virgil and Roman Janus was on his way out of the school building from a side entrance as it was closer to the debate classes and far away from the art building. Janus was not sure if Mr. Grant was in the art room after hours today but they didn’t feel like running into him. They hated interacting with Collector when he was pretending to be a well-meaning teacher. It was way too many layers to read through.
Their teammates had left already, they were carpooling and Janus had offered to clean up with the teacher. When they stepped outside though they heard voices approaching and stopped to listen.
They initially just wanted to know who they’d be faced with first so they could prepare. But then they recognized Virgil’s voice and they knew they’d have to wait until he and whoever he was talking to had left. They weren’t ready for a face to face conversation.
“What are you working on for your project?” the voice of Iris Ramirez, queen bee of their year, wondered. Janus remembered Virgil had mentioned he’d gone out with her before.
“That is a surprise,” Virgil replied playfully.
There was a beat of silence. “That’s disappointing,” Iris replied. There was something… Off about her voice. Janus couldn’t place it.
“I apologize,” Virgil’s voice was light, a hint of laughter in it. But he sounded absent to. What was going on? Janus glanced around the corner and Virgil seemed completely focused on Iris, who was sitting on the hood of her car. His eyes had an odd look in them that Janus couldn’t quite place. Entranced? Was that the word?
“Well you’ll have to make it up to me.” It sounded so playful. But there was something powerful about it. Guess that’s the power that knowing what you want and going for it gives you.
“How do you propose I do that?” Virgil asked casually, though his tone was softer, losing any trace of resistance, of consideration, restraint.
“I think you know.” Janus held their breath. They shouldn’t be looking at this, but they couldn’t look away. They were strangely fascinated by this interaction.
Virgil hesitated, Iris leaned forward just the tiniest bit. “Virgil? Will you kiss me?” she asked lowly.
Virgil didn’t reply. Instead he pulled her in and kissed her. Prompting Janus to duck back behind the wall, where they were met with a grinning Mr. Grant studying his nails.
“I see you have noticed Miss Ramirez has an ability similar to yours,” he informed them. Hearing him say that, made everything click for Janus. That odd powerful tone that was woven through Iris’s voice. Virgil’s strange behavior… Wait… did he even want to kiss her? Janus glanced back around. They were still kissing. They felt themselves blush, they definitely shouldn’t be looking at this.
They looked back at their ‘mentor’, for lack of a better term.
“It’s not quite as powerful,” Grant continued. “She has what I like to call ‘Charisma’. People want to make her happy. She can’t use it on most adult minds yet. Perhaps as she grows older it will work better. As of right now it does not take a lot of will to break the trance. It would seem that Virgil simply does not want to resist at the moment.” That was a relief. It would suck for Iris to discover that she had basically coerced Virgil into doing something he wouldn’t do normally. What Janus didn’t like was that Collector seemed to have an itinerary of potentially gifted students at the school. That put all his schoolmates on that guys radar. He knew who he could manipulate with false promises and dazzling stories. Janus had to get serious about getting to Collector’s HQ and fast.
Or at least find a way to inform the heroes that the whole school was a target.
“I have bored you enough with lesser gifted schoolmates. I’ll see you after dinner. Don’t forget,” Collector smiled.
Janus nodded and glanced back. Virgil was walking away and Iris was getting in her car.
They decided to go to a different bus stop to avoid confrontation. They definitely couldn’t handle that right now.
Virgil never mentioned kissing Iris in their call, which told Janus that it wasn’t as meaningful to him as his kiss with Carlton had been.
In their therapy session they talked about debate team and how it really helped them feel more confident in their ability to keep their cool no matter how heated a discussion got. Not to mention they learned tools not to let a debate escalate into an argument.
Remy seemed very enthusiastic about that news.
Still, Janus couldn’t help but feel the drain of their busy schedule.
One night while flopping down in their bed exhausted, they recalled something from the interview dreamprince gave. He’d confirmed that he was a minor and the press asked if hero work was different for him than full grown heroes. He had explained how he wasn’t allowed to work as many hours as other heroes and such. The GTH was very big on protecting the physical and mental health of its heroes.
After thinking long and hard about it, Janus decided. They were going to demand a night off. They needed the break.
Collector was not happy. Though they tried to hide it. “If you are indeed tired, maybe you should quit debate team. You can’t afford to disappear now. People are finally picking up on your name!” he insisted.
Indeed, the name Serpentine was floating around. But that didn’t take away their need for a night off.
“Debate team is helping me! You want me to practice Persuasion, how can I do that if I don’t interact with people? One night of a week. That is not too much to ask!” they insisted.
Collector’s jaw set. “Very well. But note that I disagree with this decision.”
Janus relaxed. Thank God! “I know, I appreciate you letting me have this anyway,” they said politely. “I’m sorry I’m not as strong as you thought I was.” Blatant lie. This was possible because they were stronger than Collector gave them credit for.
That Friday evening, their night off, Janice’s parents were out for a date night, allowing them to spin around in their room in the new dress they got themselves without worry of being spotted.
They let themselves fall on their bed with a pleased sigh. This felt nice.
They took out their phone and looked through pictures of them and Virgil.
For the first time since… Since the first time they’d had that thought, they allowed themselves to just, think of what it would be like to kiss him without feeling guilty. They imagined it would be nice. From what little they had seen, Virgil was a gentle kisser. Caring, even when it was just a casual make out.
Suddenly they got a message from an unfamiliar number. It was a bunch of pictures.
Virgil walking towards an alley. Virgil being held against a wall by a stranger.
Janice shot up. What?! Where? What had happened!? Was this now?
Then one of Prince picking Virgil up, the stranger on the ground.
A text followed. “Luckily he had a Prince to save him. Shame you weren’t here to keep this from happening. :-(”
Janice’s heart shattered. Was… Was this their fault?

Chapter Text

Janice paced their room relentlessly. Wondering what to do. Should they call Virgil? But what would they even say? Virgil would never admit to what happened unprompted.
And Collector… Did they really do this to Virgil just to punish them? He was crazy. And dangerous.
More dangerous than they’d feared.
They had to get a hold of someone associated with the GTH and tell them about this madman.
Somehow.
They didn’t talk to their parents for the rest of the weekend, despite their best efforts to get him to tell them what was bothering them. They felt too ashamed and they couldn’t put them at risk by telling them about Collector. They didn’t have the connections needed to keep them safe or to bring him down.
They hoped their parents would just assume that he was having a bad day.
When they went out the next night they did exactly what Collector asked of them, which clearly pleased him. But when time for debrief came they were not willing to put up with any vague answers anymore. It was time the good little disciple grew a spine.
“Why are you obsessed with Virgil?” they demanded as soon as they laid eyes on Grant.
The man quirked his brow bemused. “Why, I thought he was important to you…”
“I am not stupid. I can tell you want something from him. And no one has that much bad luck. You purposefully put him in situations where he needed saving and you made sure I was there to do it. How did you know Prince would be there to save him too? Is he working for you as well?”
It was a possibility. But it would be odd for Collector to put so much emphasize on Janus getting his trust if he was already under his control.
“No… But he has been keeping a close eye on dear Virgil lately. Young Mr. Anker has… Potential I wish to nurture. Our friends at the GTH are aware of that now and decided to guard him. So I thought that it was time you and the prince formally met. Sadly you were not there last night. But there’ll be other opportunities,” he explained calmly.
Janus narrowed their eyes. “Virgil has potential…? Doesn’t everyone? I get why you would want Prince to hear you out, but Virgil is no different from any other random kid on the street. What makes you think he is important to whatever plan you have for me?” Because he was supposed to think that this was all about him. Collector never said anything to make him think otherwise.
“Janus, surely you know better than that. There is a reason you so dearly wanted him at your side. There is something about him that draws people in. And once that something establishes as a gift… Well there is no telling what he’ll be capable off,” Collector explained.
Janus wanted to scowl. He knew what that something was. And Collector would be sorely disappointed. That something was courage and kindness.
“What do you want from him though? You call yourself collector… But what do you collect?” he asked.
Grant chuckled. “Gifts, my dear boy. They are still not sufficiently appreciated by the masses. But I plan on changing that. People will appreciate and revere us, as they should’ve always done.”
Janus’ jaw set. So he was a collectable huh? “You never denied putting Virgil in danger on purpose,” he pointed out.
“He was never in danger. I knew you wouldn’t allow anything to happen to him. And I was fairly certain the Prince would be there in time to avoid any real damage. And he was. Virgil should be happy to get a chance at a gift when I am ready to offer it to him,” he mused.
Janus struggled to keep their temper in check. They were a loyal follower, they trusted Collector blindly.
“…So… He won’t have to be in danger again… Right?” Janus pressed. They needed to know this for sure.
“… I don’t plan on pushing Virgil any further for now,” Collector allowed. Janus relaxed. “Thank you,” they breathed.
“Of course dear boy. Now hurry home. That’s all for tonight,” he said dismissively.
Janus nodded and hurried home. When he got to his room he checked his phone and saw that Remus had tried to reach him. Desperately needing a distraction from the guilt eating away at them, they called.
“Jani!” Remus screeched excitedly.
“Remus, what has you so chipper?” they drawled as if they were barely paying attention to the conversation instead hanging onto it like a lifeline.
“It’s almost Virgin’s birthday and Romie and I pitched in for a cool gift! Also it’s almost Halloween and I have been dying for someone to make belief some Halloween pranks with for ages!”
Janus chuckled and indulged Remus in a long conversation about buckets of fake blood and Lockers that scream when opened.
Then Remus started talking about wicked costumes. “Tell me you got something good?” he grinned.
“An undead Salem priest,” they told Remus.
“Oooooh, I like it! You gonna go to the dance wearing the same thing or something different?” he wondered.
“I’m not sure if I’m going…” they admitted.
“Why not? It might be the perfect time to make up with Virgie!” Remus suggested.
Janus hesitated. Hey weren’t sure if befriending Virgil again while Grant was still breathing down their neck was a good idea.
“And when you two are buddies again I can maybe make Romie believe that you might ask Virgie out if he doesn’t hurry,” he added.
“Oh, well if it’s for the good of the mission to get your brother a boyfriend…” Janus chuckled.
“I knew you’d see the bigger picture,” Remus grinned.
“I’ll think about it. Gotta let you go Remus. Talk to you later,” they said.
“You better. Talk to you soon buddy!”
They hung up and stared up at the ceiling for a while. Reconciling with Virgil… They wanted nothing more. But would Collector let them? More importantly. Should they do it if he did?
They wouldn’t be able to live with themselves if they selfishly put Virgil in danger like that.

Chapter Text

J) Desperate measures  

They felt drained all of Sunday. They barely managed to keep up a façade for the people they helped during the afternoon. Their parents suggested they go to bed early, seeing how tired they looked.
They were about to do just that when Virgil called. Right, he hadn’t called all week, he was bound to call today.
“Virgil, hi,” they greeted, trying not to show how worried and guilty they felt.
“J! What’s up?” Virgil greeted, sounding remarkably calm considering… No they could not think about those pictures again.
“The usual,” he said dismissively. “How are you? Everything okay?” They didn’t think Virgil would voluntarily tell them about what had happened, but they hoped to be able to gage how he was feeling if they got him to talk about his weekend for a bit.
“I’ve been better,” Virgil admitted. “It’s been a weekend. But I am looking forward to next week! I feel like things are turning around for me you know?” From what they could tell, he meant it.
“… Hanging out with Roman really softened you up? Since when are you so optimistic?” Janus asked with an uncomfortable laugh. He didn’t trust this behavior. Was he in denial or something?
“I’m not being optimistic. I’ve just really been through it lately so for the sake of balance or whatever I am due some good fortune right?” Virgil argued. “Besides… I had some fun news tonight, so things are already looking up.” This time there didn’t seem to be anything hiding behind his tone.
“Oh? What’s that?” Janus asked.
“Patton asked if he could adopt me.” He sounded very pleased with that. He’d told them about Patton over the past few weeks. And if what he’d said was even half true, then he had every reason to be. From their brief interaction with him, Janus felt that Virgil might have a pretty accurate idea of what this man was like.
“That’s great Virgil,” they said.
“I can’t wait until you meet him,” Virgil replied. And he meant it so earnestly. He had no idea how badly they’d failed him.
“Yeah… Listen… I gotta go,” they said, guilt surging up and consuming them at a rapid speed.
“Oh… Okay. See you at school,” Virgil allowed. Clearly he’d noticed something was wrong.
“Yeah… See you later.” And with that they hurriedly hung up. Falling back onto their bed and curling up. School… How could they face Virgil and see what they’d done? The other times, Virgil had been visibly shaken and that was pushing what they could handle. This time, it was all because they had been selfish.
They couldn’t bare it. They had managed to avoid Virgil the first few weeks of school. They could do so again. They just had to get out of homeroom until they got a handle on themself.
And they knew exactly who could help them with that. Time for Remy to show he was really in their corner. They were given Remy’s number so they could call if they needed to. They just hoped he would pick up after hours.
He did.
“Janus? What’s got you calling on Sunday evening?” he asked worriedly.
“I… I can’t face Virgil tomorrow. I can’t explain it but I just can’t be sitting behind him during homeroom,” they rambled, the thought of possibly seeing that Virgil was injured or upset by what happened playing over and over again in his head, louder and louder until it was the only image they could muster.
“No, buddy. Wait. Calm down for me first okay?” Remy asked. “Deep breaths in and out. Focus for me. Tell me about what you can see around you,” he instructed.
They tried to breathe as slowly as they could, they hadn’t even noticed they’d been gasping for air.
“Um…” He looked around frantically. “My hoodie… And um…”
“Take your time,” Remy encouraged him.
“A Paramore poster. And my schoolbag… A bowler hat…” Virgil had bought that one for him. It was part of one of his makeovers . They had been going for sophisticated. Which worked. He’d had a cool cape and a cane. He’d looked pretty impressive for a moment there… But then they’d both burst out laughing and started fooling around.
“Good there you go. Now. What’s this about Virgil?” Remy asked.
Janus took another deep breath. “I feel like… I can’t be around him right now. I don’t know. I’m just… I realized how badly I’ve hurt him and I don’t want to do anything impulsive if I see him before I have myself sorted out. Please. Can you excuse me from homeroom? Just for a week. I won’t even be missing anything that important. Please?” they pleaded.
“…Okay. I can contact your principal. Consider it done. But, you have to be present on time Janus. When that bell rings you will have checked in with the secretary so they know you are at school and have received any information you might need. Understood?”
Janus let out a relieved sigh. “Yes. I promise,” they said. They weren’t certain if they could wrestle down the guilt enough within the span of a week, but they’d have to try.
Hopefully, Virgil would be back to his old self by then. That should make things easier.
They managed to avoid both Virgil and any unnecessary conversations with the collector for the first few days. Which was a relief. They could not stand to waste any more pleasantries on that man than absolutely necessary.
But on Wednesday… Things took an unexpected turn.
“Now what are you doing here all by your lonesome?” A familiar voice wondered when Janus was sorting out their locker. They figured they’d use the extra time wisely.
They looked up with a frown. It was the best they could do. Their instinct was a scowl, so this was much better. “What do you want?” they huffed burying their head back in their locker.
Castile was wearing a prince costume and Janus already knew that the thespian was unfairly good looking in vaguely renaissance themed clothes.
So they got back to discovering long lost pencils in their locker and tried to brace themselves for the inevitable queer panic that was on the horizon. They also worried he might have something to say about their zombie reverent. They might take any feedback poorly at the moment.
Castile chuckled. “Now, is that any way to greet an old friend?”
There was something curious about his voice… It got higher… Almost… Wait.
Janus looked back up. “Remus?” they asked, only to be met with a wicked grin.
“The one and only!” their old friend grinned as he pulled them in for a hug.
“Good to see you snake face. I must say the hat and everything looks good. And I almost didn’t recognize you. That makeup hides your pretty marks,” Remus said before letting go.
“Remus… How?” Janus asked baffled.
“I’ll be coming to school next week. But for now, me, my bro and V are causing some chaos. You gotta be in the cafeteria on time J. You won’t want to miss the show!” he grinned.
Before Janus could say anything in response the bell rang.
“Ooh, that’s my cue. Gotta be near but not seen with my bro to sow confusion. See you later!”
And just as fast as he’d appeared, Remus disappeared.
Janus was tempted to eat lunch in his usual hiding spot. But disappointing Remus was not something he could handle. So, when the time came, he hurried to the cafeteria and found a place in the back where he could easily oversee everything and still be out of sight.
The cafeteria filled and soon Roman and his group arrived. No Virgil in sight.
That didn’t last long though. The moment Roman sat down, Virgil came through the door. Janus couldn’t see his costume very well, but it seemed like he’d chosen a more elaborate vampire costume this year. Had he revamped the one he’d worn for trick or treaters last year?
Before he could think about it too much, Remus burst in.
“Stop! Step away from that inferior copy!” It was frightening how much he sounded like his brother. Though them being identical twins, it stood to reason that their voices, at their core, sounded alike.
Roman jumped up. “You! What are you doing here?” Yeah no. Still creepy.
“This is my kingdom brother! And the count is my treasured friend!” Remus started walking towards Virgil. But he was not having it. “Silence!” he demanded with a commanding gesture.
And everyone was silent.
Virgil turned to Remus. “Lie at your own peril. Are you my prince?” The tone didn’t carry well over through the cafeteria. But it sounded like a growl almost.
Remus approached Virgil once again. “Why my dearest parasite, can’t you tell?”
He reached out and then he was on the floor. Janus missed a bit after that since his mind was much more preoccupied with what he had seen. Was Remus that great an actor that he could hide bracing for a maneuver like that? Or had Virgil reacted to something his brain suddenly decided to register as a threat?
“Foul creatures of this earth!” Roman’s voice pulled Janus out of his thoughts. He and Virgil were standing on their table and he was addressing the crowd. “Horrors and criptids of all kinds! Your future king and his right hand remain unconquered!” Deafening applause erupted from everywhere, and just in case Remus was watching Janus clapped to.
“A special round of applause for my brother! Returned from his quest. Remus Castile everyone!” Janus felt a little guilty when he saw with his own eyes how highly Roman regarded his brother.
That night, after stopping a few muggings and smiling for some cameras they got a call from Remus.
“Sooo… Dance?” he asked. “Come on we can drop some grizzly surprises for everyone all around the gym and we can laugh at how hopeless my bro is for V and vise versa. And you and V can make up and we all can have a grand old time!!!” he ranted before Janus could answer.
“Fine. If I come… I’ll be phantom of the opera. If, I come,” Janus relented swiftly when Remus stopped to breathe.
“You better be there snakey! It’ll be boring if you’re not,” Remus pouted.
“Noted,” Janus sighed. He was such a pushover nowadays.
It luckily didn’t take that much to convince Collector to let them go. Supposedly to protect Virgil should something happen. And their parents were delighted that they wanted to go to a dance at all. So Friday evening Janice put on makeup on the left side of their face and covered it with a phantom mask. They donned the cape Virgil had made them for the gentleman makeover,  and paired it with a black shirt, tucked into black pants, paired with black shoes.
They got to the party a little early and once again hid away in a corner.
They watched and waited and imagined what it would be like if they were coming here with Remus and Virgil instead.
“Boo!” They jumped when out of nowhere Remus showed up, screaming in their ear.
“Damnit Remus. What is wrong with you?” they asked as they tried to collect yourself.
“Don’t even try to figure that one out. A whole ass team of doctors had years to figure it out and they still had no clue,” Remus grinned.
“Is that what they did? Run tests for four years?” Janice asked.
“Oh, no. They just tried to figure out what I needed to function you know? Kinda felt bad for them sometimes. I really got on their nerves,” their friend shrugged.
Janice nodded and looked around the room. They spotted Virgil and Roman at the snacktable. Roman and Remus were wearing a costume very similar to the one they wore on Halloween. Except Roman’s vest now had red roses and Remus had green vines. Both were wearing crowns with stones matching their vest.
“I already talked to the dj and Monster mash is coming up. Wanna bet whether Ro gets Virgil on the dancefloor?” Remus grinned.
“Virgil will probably do whatever makes Roman happy. He’s helpless,” Janus reasoned.
“Yeah… It’s not a good bet.” Remus allowed. Then the afore mentioned song started playing.
“Yes! Let’s boogie!” Remus exclaimed as he rushed towards the dancefloor.
Janice watched the performance and how their friends were having an excellent time with a smile.
Suddenly they spotted Mr. Grant by the exit. He was watching the dancers too, but before Janice could look away and pretend they hadn’t spotted him, he looked at them, smirked and gestured for them to follow. Knowing better than to make the man wait they snuck their way around the dancefloor and out the door. Collector wasn’t in the hallway. He probably was waiting for them somewhere more private. They walked onward but then.
“Janus! Wait up!” Janice froze when they heard Virgil’s voice. This couldn’t be happening.  They slowly turned and saw Virgil standing only a few steps away from them.
“You should be enjoying yourself with the others,” they said, trying to lace their words with a command. Hoping it would work.
“I know,” Virgil said, slightly out of breath.
“Then go,” Janice instructed, turning away from him once more.
“No. I don’t mean that. J. Something is bothering you. You are avoiding me ever since last weekend. And I know it’s not something I said. Something happened. And you can tell me. You being in trouble is much more important than whatever else is going on. I can help, I promise,” Virgil pleaded.
Janice stared at Virgil. He wasn’t saying it… But did he mean…
“Serpentine please,” Virgil added.
Oh… Oh no… No, Virgil was not allowed to know. That could only put him in danger. What were they thinking picking that name? It was like they were begging to be found out.
They had to make Virgil forget about it. But he was so stubborn. A simple instruction clearly had no effect… They had to get his guard down.
“I’ve… I’ve been thinking about the concert we went to freshmen year,” they said, feeling nervous and guilty that they were doing this. “You remember that?”
 Virgil looked confused. With reason. “Yes. Of course,” he said.
“We never finished that game.” Janice could feel their throat tighten. This was actually happening.
“You… What? You want to cash in the penalty now?” Virgil asked.
Janice shook their head. “No. I want to do the dare.” Wanting to make sure that Virgil would bite they smirked. “If you aren’t chickening out that is,” they said challengingly.
Virgil’s eyes narrowed for a moment, making Janice worry that he wouldn’t fall for it, but then he shrugged carelessly. “Of course I’m not. Bring it on.”
Not wanting to pass up this chance like they had every other they’d had to be honest about this, even if it was for ulterior motives, Janice erased the distance between them. As soon as he was close enough that the toes of their shoes nearly touched Virgil’s they took a deep breath. Here went everything. Then, Janice took of their mask. Now Virgil could see the true them.
His eyes widened as he took in their face. Not wanting to give him time to process, Janice put a hand to his chin to lift it just a little for easier access and then they kissed him.
They took their time and enjoyed the way Virgil’s lips moved against theirs. They’d been right. Virgil was a good kisser. They felt a hand rest on their waist and one gently cradling their left cheek. A physical acceptance of who they truly were.
After a few moments Janice stepped back. Feeling a little proud at the slightly dazed look in Virgil’s eyes. Too bad they were about to take advantage of it.
“J… Do you need to tell me something? It’s all cool with me but…” Virgil prattled, still barely focusing.
“I know,” they said gently. “I’m toric. And Serpentine, but it doesn’t matter. I’m not in love with you, don’t worry. You can Forget About It. Okay?” they said calmly hiding their instruction in-between truths so it would hopefully slip by unnoticed in Virgil’s current state.
Not wanting to be given the time to second guess themself they put on their mask, turned and left.
By the time they turned the corner they heard the door to the gym open and close again. It had worked. There was no way that Virgil would let it go that easily if he still remembered he was Serpentine.
When they looked up they spotted collector, grinning at them proudly.
“That was quite the dramatic confession,” he smirked. He couldn’t have heard what Janice said, so he probably had seen the interaction and drawn his own conclusion.
“I needed to make him forget about his discovery. It’s not time yet after all. Right?” they explained.
“Indeed. Still, you have proven yet again that I was right to invest in you, little charmer,” Grant grinned as he laid his hand to Janice’s face. Janice fought not to recoil, not to flinch away or to show how much they hated it when he got touchy with them.
They worried about what he said. Was that their role in his plan? Were they supposed to brainwash Virgil and Dream Prince into following Collector’s orders?
Suddenly Grant was knocked to the ground by an invisible force. Janice jumped back surprised.
How… They hadn’t done that… Right?
“Stay away from him!” They looked up. Remus. Remus had come to their aid… Wait… Oh no.
“No. Get away from here,” they warned, though they doubted they could make Grant forget about this. Remus relaxed his aggressive stance and looked at Janice concerned.
A chuckle made them look back at the artist/criminal.
“Oh, this is quite the exquisite turn of events. Serpentine dear, bring your friend to our spot tomorrow won’t you? There is much to discuss,” Grant instructed.
Janice wanted nothing more than to object. But instead they let their head hang in defeat. “Yes sir.”
Still chuckling to himself, Grant walked away. “Do enjoy the rest of the party. People will be missing you.” And with that, he turned a corner and was gone.
“What in the world is going on J? Why was he being creepy? And why did he call you Serpentine?” Remus demanded.
Janice sighed. “Because I was stupid and made a deal with the devil. Let’s go back inside. I feel more comfortable talking about this in a loud crowd than here,” they said.
Remus got them both something to drink and Janice led them to a safe corner.
“Did Roman and Virgil tell you what happened on the first day of school?” they asked.
Remus nodded. “A lamp came down and nearly squished them,” he recalled.
Janice nodded. “It didn’t come down on it’s own though. Somehow, I made that happen. I didn’t mean to hurt them. I just… I felt so much and I was so… I never would harm them on purpose,” they swore. “After that happened… The next day I had an argument with Virgil and I lost my temper again. This time I tried to punch Roman but Virgil jumped between us… I was so upset, I ran off into the forest and had a meltdown or something. And then Mr. Grant approached me.
He said he could help me control it. That he could make me a hero. I was scared and desperate enough to agree to it. And by the time I realized he was showing all the red flags, I learned that he has some plans for Virgil and the hero Dream Prince. Those accidents Virgil had? The car and then with the scaffolding… He made them happen. And he made sure I was there to save the day. I think he hopes Virgil will trust me enough to allow me to manipulate him… That’s my other power. I can make people believe me.
I want to figure out where Collector keeps his collection of gifted and turn him in to the authorities.” Janice took a sip and leaned back. “I’m sorry you got roped into this now too,” they said sadly.
“Nah. It’s my fault. The whole reason I was pulled out of school was cause I can’t help but whip out my gift at every opportunity. They were scared I’d end up hurting myself…” Remus explained thoughtfully. Which was very weird to see on Remus. “And I’m glad I’m involved now. I wanna help bring this creeper down,”  he stated. “Virgie would do the same for us. So don’t you worry. Together we’ll keep anyone else from getting hurt,” Remus grinned. Janice allowed themself a little smile.
They were selfish enough to be glad they weren’t alone in this anymore.
“So it’s a deal then? We bring down Collector and then the three of us have pizza and a movie?” they asked.
“Yep! Though Roman might tag along,” Remus grinned.
“Well… Since that’ll make V happy, I’ll allow it,” Janice joked.
“Let’s try for finals alright? Before finals we take this loser down?” Remus suggested.
Janice scoffed. “Before thanksgiving,” he countered.
“Even better,” Remus, holding out his hand for them to shake on it. Janice complied. It was probably too much to ask, but still. Janice could dream.

Chapter Text

Janus dreamt about the kiss that night. It’d been something that had been kind of on their mind since freshmen year. So finally knowing what it was like, of course they were going to dream about it.
Sadly their guilt seeped into their dream as well, and as they pulled back, hoping to hang out and be like old times, just without any secrets between them, Virgil got captured, shackled by a laughing Mr. Grant while Janus looked on helpless with strings pulling at their limbs, next to them Remus sat with tears in his eyes, watching helplessly as their friend was dragged down into an abys.
They woke up in a sweat. Great. Just great.
They weren’t even allowed to enjoy the relief of finally coming out to Virgil. Or be happy that he hadn’t rejected them. No. They had to deal with all-consuming guilt.
But… Remy had been helping them to channel their anger in a productive way. So what if they did that with guilt? Should work right?
So as they went through their morning routine they catalogued the things they felt guilty over.
Keeping secrets from Virgil leading to their, well ‘break up’ seemed an appropriate term.
Keeping secrets from his parents and uncle Lo.
Being an all-around terrible person to their classmates, special mention for Roman Castile.
Getting involved with Collector and trying to play hero instead of telling the cops right away.
Getting Remus involved in this whole mess.
They’d already been apologizing to people. Turning their anger at themselves turn into determination.
Maybe they could manage to apologize to Roman properly this week. Provided they managed to talk to him when Virgil wasn’t around. Maybe right after he and Remus left French. Having Virgil present would make Janus even more nervous and they’d probably mess up.
And maybe… They could come out to their parents as well? Not all at once perhaps but they could…
“Janus, would you get the milk for me darling?” their mother asked as they obsessed over their options during breakfast.
“I like guys!” they blurted out stunning their parents.
“You… You like boys?” their father repeated.
Janus nodded, staring at their breakfast intently.
“Honey… Is this what you’ve been hiding all this time?” their mother asked softly.
Janus nodded again. And then they heard chairs move and they were embraced by both their parents.
“We’re so sorry that you thought you couldn’t tell us honey. We love you. No matter what, you are our child. And we love you,” dad said.
“You mean it?” Janus asked, feeling very small and fragile all of the sudden.
“Of course we do darling. Never let anyone tell you otherwise,” mom chimed in. And just like that, Janus broke down.
They cried in their parents’ arms for a while until they calmed down enough to thank them.
“It’s okay darling. But… Is this what happened between you and Virgil? Did you have a crush on him?” Their mother guessed.
Janus bit their lip. “Yes and no. It’s… Very complicated,” they admitted.
“Oh, Janus,” their father said sadly. “Did he… Did he turn you down?” he asked carefully.
Janus shook their head. “I never told him… Not until last night. He was very cool about it actually. But I was so afraid… That… That he might…” They swallowed away a lump in their throat. “I know it was stupid. I knew it was stupid when I thought it. But I was terrified he wouldn’t be my friend if I came out,” they cried. “He was the only one… The only one who didn’t give up on me with one look. He and Remus. But Remus was too weird and he left. I couldn’t lose him too,” they admitted, finally saying it out loud. And it was an immense relief to tell them. To put his fears into words and share his thoughts.
“It’ll be alright. I’m sure you two will get the chance to start over again soon. It’s nearly over Janus. We’re so proud of you. Thank you for telling us the truth. We’ll stand by you, no matter what,” their mother muttered softly. And they believed her. For the first time in years, they allowed themselves to believe that they didn’t have to fight for the love of those closest to them. Virgil cared for them even after everything they did. Their parents cared for them. And when they were ready to share their pronouns… They believed they would be accepted.
“Thank you,” they whispered.
“Of course. Do you want to stay in PJs all day and watch movies? We haven’t done that in ages,” their dad suggested.
Janus would’ve loved to. But they couldn’t. “I told Remus I’d meet him to catch up,” they said.
Instead of being disappointed, their parents lit up. “Oh that’s wonderful Janus!”
Janus managed to smile at their parents’ excitement on their behalf. It made going to the old playground easier on them.
“Snakey! There you are!” Remus grinned excitedly.
“Hi, Remus. Glad you could make it,” they said softly.
“Of course! You’ll never have to be around that creeper alone again if I can help it! Virgie would feel the same if he knew!” Remus insisted.
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Janus frowned. “You’re sure about this?” he asked. Maybe they should just go to the police. But what if they didn’t believe them? Then again… if Grant spoke the truth then the GTH was aware of his alter ego. Was the police?
Remus nodded. “Romie always goes on and on about heroes and sacrifice for the greater good. Imagine the look on his face when I help save his boyfriend?”
Remus was playing it off, but Janus could spot the worry in his eyes. He remembered it from when they were kids and Remus tried not to show that he thought he might’ve taken things too far.
Remus wanted what Janus wanted. To protect those most important to them themselves. And while that was the reason Janus finally realized that they’d been going about this the wrong way, it also made it hard for them to find a good argument to dissuade him as they would only come across as hypocritical. And Remus was unlikely to change his mind for anything less than an iron clad argument and even then he might stick to his course. He was a stubborn idiot like that.
So Janus took a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s do this,” they nodded as they led Remus the way to the warehouse where Collector would recruit him.
“There you are my dear pupil,” Collector grinned proudly. “I trust you have brought your friend up to speed?” he asked smoothly.
Janus nodded. “As much as I know anyway,” they clarified.
Collector nodded pleased. “Good…” he then turned to Remus. “I must say I am impressed. It seems that Roman is not the shining star of the family after all,” he smiled warmly.
“Have you met Ro? He’s all sunshine. It’s kinda disgusting really,” Remus scoffed, not impressed.
“Oh, sure everyone admires him and likes him. But you and I both know that you are far more remarkable than he is. Your parents might not have seen your quirks for the treasures they are, but I do. Wouldn’t you like to show your brother and everyone what they have been missing out on? To step out of Roman’s shadow?”
Remus rolled his eyes. “Are you done? I was told there was chaos to be sown. Don’t think I won’t slam you against a wall for yesterday if you have nothing interesting to offer,” he drawled, sounding bored. Collector was not phased for even a moment. “I like your fire. It will be useful. And indeed. You may cause as much chaos as you’d like. Serpentine and Prince need a common opponent. Someone to give them cause to meet one another. And as you already have great control over your gift, we can start tomorrow. Have you ever thought about an alias?” Collector wondered.
“Well I got the perfect one. I’m fighting a Prince, so call me the Duke!” Remus grinned.
Collector chuckled. Sincerely amused. Which was honestly even more unnerving.
“Very well, Duke. I’ll have a costume ready by tomorrow. How do you feel about green?” he asked pleasantly.
“Why, that’s my favorite color!” Remus exclaimed excitedly.
“Wonderful. Serpentine, take the night off. You’ll have a big day come tomorrow,” Grant suggested before leaving the warehouse.
Remus relaxed and turned to Janus who held up their hand. “Not here,” they whispered before leading Remus outside and into the nearby forest that stood between the warehouse and the rest of the city. “Okay, here should be fine,” Janus whispered as they stood in a clearing. They turned and inspected Remus.
“Are you alright?” they asked gently as they saw Remus looking thoughtful, which was always an indicator he was not alright at all.
“How did he know that?” he wondered.
“Know what?” Janus asked.
“I never blamed Roman but… I am envious of him, sometimes. It’s all so easy for him. And sometimes I wish it was easy for me too. We are identical, but I know no one is going to be lining up to smooch me. And I never had people flock to me to be my friend. Roman often invited me to play along but… I was petty and didn’t want to tag along as he played with his friends. I love Roman, he is a great brother. And my parents did their best to make sure I never felt left behind. And still I wish…”
Janus could see that Remus was really conflicted about his feelings towards Roman. And honestly? They could understand.
“Hey, I don’t blame you. I’m envious of Roman all the time,” they pointed out, only half joking.
Remus chuckled. “Guess I’m part of a big club,” he concluded. “One that will grow once my bro snatches the hottest bachelor in town. Virgil looks good!” he cackled.
Janus could only nod his agreement.
“Gotta go real quick Jani. Need to be home in time for dinner, but we can meet up right after?” Remus rambled. Janus nodded. “I’ll walk you to the road, see you at the playground?” Janus verified as they started walking. “You got it Jani. We can think of cool secret signs to make sure his highness doesn’t catch me or gets injured!” Remus suggested excitedly.
He spent the rest of their walk and their evening once they met up again after dinner coming up with wild scenarios. And Janus listened contently. When they heard Remus talking, their task didn’t seem so daunting. It was just a prank they could pull on the whole town. Not a dangerous gamble against a man who had much more experience than them.
The next day Collector gave Remus his costume. It was absolutely atrocious, and so Remus adored it.
They were given a target area and sent off on their mission.
“Prince isn’t even on duty right now,” Janus muttered confused as they made their way through the city.
“Well, maybe Collector wants you to fight me solo first and have a rematch later with Prince there. That way he’d have to rely on you for information and experience with me.”
Janus looked at Remus surprised. “I forgot you have the mind of an evil mastermind,” they muttered. Remus wasn’t a bad person. But he was cunning and devious and unapologetic about it.
Remus just grinned. “Well, we’re almost there. We’ll see how it goes,” he said.
Janus nodded. They waited in an alley, costume on and out of sight as Remus made his big entrance.
They didn’t have to wait long. A loud crash, followed by screams shattered the peaceful chatter of the shopping district. Remus had prepared a speech and Janus had promised to wait until after he finished it to interfere.
“Ladies, gentlemen and trans folk! It is my pleasure to welcome you at my grand debut! I am the duke and it is my sworn duty, to make your lives more interesting! Please sit back and enjoy the show!” he cackled, lifting up a mailbox and tossing it. Janus was about to intercept it, but someone was faster. That someone, was Prince.
He seemingly caught the box with his bare hands and put it down. Though Janus could see from their position that it never made contact with Prince’s body.
“Careful! Mail should be handled with care,” the young hero quips as he strides forwards, cape flaring dramatically in the wind. Janus would have to learn how to go through life like they were the protagonist of an action movie at some point. Even from behind it looked awesome.
People called out prince’s name in relief and jubilation all over. Janus was almost inclined to join them.
“Good, I was worried I’d have to wait for some fun,” Remus cackled, not at all put off by the unexpected turn of events. Which reminded Janus that they had to play their part too. They propelled themself forward and landed by Prince’s side. “Oh, you’ll get fun alright,” he hissed.
Prince looked back surprised. “Well isn’t this a nice surprise. Finally decided to show your face huh?”
Janus raised a brow, not following. Prince hadn’t had to wait that long for them to show up.
“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for ages. You and I are going to have a talk after this. Understood?” Oh. So the GTH was looking for him. Janus wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing. Prince didn’t seem to consider him an enemy. So there was that.
Talking seemed like a good thing actually. They might be able to send out an SOS. Though they had to be subtle about it. They had to assume Collector had ways to monitor their interactions with outsiders;. “Fine, let’s put this guy away first,” he insisted, hoping to sound reluctant.
“Sounds good to me,” Prince agreed as he looked back. Immediately his eyes widened and he called out “Duck!” though he grabbed him by the arm and pulled him down forcefully.
Janus felt something big move through the air above them. “I felt that… But how did you see it?” Had Remus given away his move somehow. Prince just grinned cockily. “We’ll talk about that later. Let’s flank him, keep our distance and try to take him down. At least keep him busy to give civilians the time to get away,” he suggested. That was a good plan. If Janus wasn’t planning on only seeming helpful in this endeavor, then it might actually work. They nodded and split up.
They aimed their blasts so even if they somehow made it through Remus’ defenses they’d go off a bit to the side of him. As far as they could tell, it wasn’t needed. Remus remembered the striking pattern and could focus almost completely on defending against whatever Prince was doing. And still Prince kept Remus busy enough that he couldn’t do anything more than defend himself. Which was pretty impressive. Then again, maybe Remus wasn’t trying too hard.
Janus glanced around, the civilians had all made a wide perimeter. Most were trying to get away slowly, not wanting to draw attention. Some were captivated by the display in front of them. And one was… Running towards them? Wait. Was that Virgil?!
Before Janus could panic, Virgil was snatched up by Prince and carried away.
They owed the guy one just for that. And Collector would have to explain himself. Virgil wasn’t supposed to be involved anymore!
In their frustration their next blast was maybe a little too powerful, but nothing Remus couldn’t handle. Luckily.
Prince took a bit to join them again but when he did he seamlessly rejoined the fight.
Suddenly, just as Janus was thinking of signaling for Remus to wrap it up before Prince managed to land a real hit, Remus’ smile faltered, he looked around completely off guard. Had Prince landed a hit of some sort? Had Janus been too late?
“Hey who did that?” Remus demanded, worrying Janus even more. There were others here?
“Stop it! That’s no fair!” Remus pouted as he flinched from whatever was hitting him. Prince seemed to have paused his attack, a small smirk on his lips before engaging again, stepping it up a notch hoping to capitalize on Remus’ confusion. Remus however was clearly not being playful anymore. Janus experimentally shot a few hits outside of the agreed upon pattern and none reached their target.
“Which one of you is shocking me!?” Remus demanded searching the both of them, though he obviously only truly inspected Prince. After a moment he pointed an accusing finger at him.
“You, you have something to do with this?” he guessed. Prince remained silent.
“No matter! The Duke shall return! Get used to this non victory heroes. It won’t be your last!”
they cackled and a second later, Janus was hit by nausea. God, why didn’t Remus give him a heads up on this power? He would’ve liked to have been able to brace himself.
When he recovered, Remus was gone and Prince was looking at him expectantly.
“Guess we haven’t seen the last of him. What about you?” he asked.
Well, they might as well get this over with. Collector wanted them to talk to him after all. So they might not have a real choice in the matter.
So they nodded and gestured for him to lead the way. Prince led them to a rooftop terrace.
“Good,” he said as he faced them. “Let’s start from the beginning. I am known as Dream Prince. He/him. And you are?” he asked as he offered a hand.
Janus took a moment before they shook it. It just felt so insincere when they knew Collector had vile plans for this hero. “Serpentine… He/him,” they replied reluctantly. They would love to claim their identity, but Collector might be listening…
“Nice to meet you,” Prince said after a very brief pause. “I wish it was under better circumstances though,” he added sincerely as they let go.
Janus shrugged. “Life of a hero, am I right?” they pointed out, hoping they could keep up a casual and teasing tone.
“True.” Prince nodded before looking up seriously. “But I was referring to the reason I had to track you down in order for us to meet in the first place. The one who has been mentoring you for the past few months?” His tone was calm and nonjudgmental, still Janus couldn’t help but stiffen. Mostly because they knew that this could make or break their cover and that was nerve-wracking.
“He just wants me to reach my full potential,” they stated, hoping they were convincing. Prince didn’t seem to catch onto the charade yet, so they might be in the clear.
“I’m sure he does, but then why hide you away instead of letting you come to us? We have a facility, training rooms. He clearly likes our tech since he seems to have at least taken considerable inspiration from some of our stuff.” Janus was impressed. Prince was clearly trying to meet them halfway in their worldview. Not bad for a hotshot pubescent superhero in training.
Still they had a part to play. And, maybe a hint to give. “You don’t understand anything. He is a great man. And a great teacher!” It might not click right now. But if Prince could just be a stubborn hero and keep trying to talk to him, they might drop their sponsor’s profession often enough that he might realize what they meant.
“I’m sure he is. But we worry he has ulterior motives…” Prince said patiently. And then, in a concerned, earnest tone: Do you have any idea what he wants with Virgil?”
Collector had told Janus that the GTH had their eyes on Virgil too, considering they figured out he played a part in his plans. But the way Prince said his name was far too casual, personal, to Janus’ liking. They didn’t have to play up their defensiveness anymore.
“You know about him?” they asked lowly. They knew he did. They just wanted to know what he’d say.
“I literally saved him from someone who proudly associated himself with ‘The Collector’,” Prince pointed out defensively.
Janus’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t believe you,” they stated. And they didn’t. They didn’t believe that that was all there was to it. “And let’s just make one thing clear, Collector had me protect him for a while now, and I’m pretty sure he has a boyfriend. So if you think you can sweep him up like some comic book cliché think again. Got it?” Virgil would probably tell the idiot off himself, but he didn’t need anything else complicating things for him. So if Janus could make sure that this guy didn’t stand in the way of Virgil and Roman dating, then he’d do that much for him.
Prince held up his hands in surrender. “I simply want to protect him too. We have reasons to believe Collector has plans for him. I was asked to investigate. That is all… Though I am happy to see that you, if nothing else, seem to feel genuinely involved in his safety as well. That is a great relief.”
Janus narrowed their eyes. It didn’t seem a lie, but not the full truth either.
Prince’s posture shagged just a bit as he seemingly realized that Janus wasn’t budging. “Listen, I am sorry you don’t trust me. And I don’t fully trust Collector. But if this Duke is going to keep popping up, then we need to at least work together. Okay?” he pointed out.
Janus nodded. He had a point, and Janus had no other choice. “I guess… Don’t follow me,” they warned before taking off.
They hurried to the rendezvous point where Remus was already sat on a support beam in a way that would probably give his mother a heart attack.
Collector was leaning against the accompanying pillar, seeming all too pleased with himself.
“What the heck? I thought Virgil wouldn’t be in danger anymore?!” Janus demanded.
“He was not supposed to be there. He was at the theatre a few blocks away for the whole morning. But apparently, something drew him to the fight anyway,” Collector smiled bemused. “I’ll ensure he is farther away next time,” he assured them patiently.
“It was a wonderful performance though boys. You may take it easy for today. I will contact you when you need to be out again.” And with that Collector sauntered out of the building. Leaving Remus and Janus behind.
“Well… That was an interesting day,” Remus mused as he got down. Janus nodded.
“Let’s wait a bit until we’re sure he’s gone. I don’t feel like hanging around here too long. I want to go home,” he sighed.
“Do you think he knows who Dreamprince is? Like, that he knew he’d be in the area even though he is not on patrol?” Remus wondered casually. Janus frowned. “No… I think he’d be targeting him directly himself if he had any clue,” they decided. They knew that much about their tormentor.
Remus nodded. “Okay, if you say so.”
Janus looked back at Remus. “We gotta be careful though. Prince somehow saw that attack of yours coming. So you can’t rely on the element of surprise too much.”
Remus waved him off. “Yeah, yeah. I got it covered. I’m more curious about his little shocks. I didn’t think any attacks could work unless they hit directly. But I was wrong. It didn’t hurt but it didn’t quite tickle either,” he surmised. Janus nodded.
“I’ll try to figure him out next time we talk,” he promised as he started walking Remus to the bus stop.
“Cool. Hey let’s stick together at school alright? Like old times?” Remus suggested.
Janus smiled sadly. “It won’t be like old times until I make things right with Virgil… Which reminds me my parents have a meeting with uncle Logan and the principle tomorrow,” they groaned. They were terrified of this particular meeting. They didn’t quite know what they were hoping for.
Obviously they wanted to hear that there would be an end to this divide soon. That despite Collector trying to rile them up and drive them to the point of exhaustion, their efforts to change for the better hadn’t gone completely unnoticed. On the other hand they weren’t sure how Collector would react. Their strained relationship with Virgil was his main tool to manipulate them. Did he think that Janus was sufficiently under their control? Would he try to manipulate Virgil in some way to keep them apart longer. He didn’t know they’d been calling twice a week. Speaking off, regardless of tomorrow’s verdict, Virgil would call them tomorrow evening if they didn’t talk with him tomorrow.
“They better decide to get you two back together or I’ll fill their shoes with toothpaste,” Remus cackled, jerking Janus out of their musings and making them chuckle.
“The poor people of Toptear High have no clue what awaits them,” he mused.
“That’s the best part!” Remus grinned.
With that, the two parted ways and Janus headed home.
The next day was… Uneventful. As far as you could call a day involving Remus in any capacity uneventful. He was in several of Janice’s classes and it was nice to have him there. He sat with them during lunch and together they waved at Virgil as he greeted them from across the room. He looked like he was about to walk over, but his eyes took in Janice’s posture and his face fell before he turned back to his new table. Roman immediately pulled his attention into some kind of story that seemed to lift his spirits a bit. Janus was thankful, and more determined to apologize to Roman sometime in the near future.
“Why wouldn’t you let him join us?” Remus wondered.
“I didn’t turn him down. Virgil can simply tell that I am not in the right state of mind today,” Janice explained. They weren’t. A fem day combined with the meeting and with debate team meeting after class. They had too much on their plate. They couldn’t handle a face to face confrontation in front of Remus who they still had to come out to… Yeah no. Maybe they’d call Virgil tonight. If he didn’t beat them to it.
The hours moved on and Janice was proud to say that they did quite well during the meeting.
Since their parents had told them that they’d pick them up since they’d be at the school anyway they partook in the after debate debate. Which was kind of small talk but the team members teased each other and pointed out the thought patterns and types of arguments they used and whether they were correctly utilized or not. It was kind of fun and they weren’t even too embarrassed when one of their teammates caught them in a mistake.
It was strange. It kind of seemed like they could maybe be friends with some of these people. If they let them get close enough. They were nowhere near ready for that. But they might want to explore this experience with Remy during their session.
Then they heard the door open and they saw their parents walk through with big smiles. They quickly waved and hurried over their parents. Their smiles were promising at least.
“And?” they asked nervously.
“Well. You two can take all the time you need. But you’ll have to sit together at Thanksgiving. Cause that’s what family does,” their mother told them as they walked to the car.
And hearing that, all the turmoil in their mind vanished making place for overwhelming relief.
They hadn’t realized they’d needed this push, but everything they had to do in the upcoming few weeks became very clear very quickly.
If they didn’t figure out how to get Grant arrested, Janice could just tell uncle Logan when they went over for dinner. He worked at the university. So perhaps he knew a way to get in contact with the GTH about this stuff. They didn’t have a confidential tip line as far as Janice had been able to gather.
But once they did that, Collector was no longer their problem. In other words.
Come Thanksgiving everything would be alright.

Chapter Text

J) The big performance

When Janus got home they changed clothes. It hadn’t happened often that they shifted gender, so to speak, during the day, but today was apparently a switch day.
They switched to more masculine clothes, got comfortable on their bed and started scrolling through their phone, trying not to think too much about how their new and much preferred ‘normal’ was on the horizon. They were almost succeeding when they got a text from Virgil.
 “Gotta talk. Check the yard.”

Janus shot up, heart pounding as they hurried to the window.

There he was. Looking up at the window and waving at him to come down.
They hurried down. They didn't care much about consequences if Collector found out right now. They were anxious for the conversation they'd been avoiding. They quickly told their parents they were going for a walk before dinner and headed out.

When they got to the yard Virgil was still there, patiently waiting. He looked so relaxed. As if this was an ordinary late night visit.
“Wh… What are you doing here?” they asked, though they had their suspicions.
“Well, I’m sure your parents told you that we are on for Thanksgiving and I will not have an awkward dinner. Auntie Celine’s Casserole deserves better than that. Also… We really have to talk about what happened at the dance,” he explained. Janus nodded, looking down. “Yeah… Yeah you’re right,” they muttered already feeling the nervous energy building. “Let’s take a walk,” they suggested. Hoping to avoid blowing something up.
Virgil nodded and followed them.
“So… First things first. What are your preferred pronouns?” he asked. And Janus could kiss him for that. Still the absolute perfect way he responded to this news once again proved that they could have spared them both a lot of trouble if they'd just been open about their truth from the start.

Janus met their friend's eyes with a sad smile. “Depends on the day. They/Them is never not okay. Some days I prefer she/her, if given the choice, and other’s I am more he/him.”
Virgil nodded and dug in his jacket pocket. “Then it’s a good thing I went for all three,” he said as he held up three bracelets, each with a single pendant, handmade of course.
“Moon for male, sun for female and stars for neutral. That way I know at a glance,” he explained as he handed them over. Janus took them carefully and tucked away the sun bracelet, trying not to let himself be overwhelmed with emotion.  “V… I don’t know what to say,” they whispered. This was exactly the kind of thing they’d need to signal their preferences for the moment to those in the know. “No problem dude,” Virgil said after a glance at the bracelets Janus had put on. “I was ghosting you on your birthday so I still owed you a present,” he shrugged.

Janus bit their lip. They didn’t blame him for that, but he clearly did. So they better clear the air.
“You had good reasons. I didn’t deal well with my internalized queerphobia. It’s not your fault it took me this long to get my crap together. I’m just glad I didn’t completely ruin things. Especially after how I reacted when you told me,” they said. There. That was pretty much all of what they’d wanted to say since they got back from camp. That wasn’t so hard.
“Hey, I could’ve maybe heard you out for like a minute…” Virgil started, but Janus was not going to let him make excuses for them.
“You didn’t owe me anything Virgil. You were setting boundaries and I should have accepted that and given you some space right away. It was not your fault I had an epiphany over the summer, right when you chose to take self-care seriously. I’m actually proud that you did that.” And they meant that. Virgil had always put his own needs behind those of others. This whole thing was a huge deal for him. And they were not going to let him feel bad about it.
Virgil smiled a little. “What brought about this epiphany?” he asked curiously.
“Well…” Janus thought for a moment on how to best surmise the course of events that led to him wanting to come out properly. “I talked a bit about the situation with George, and he brought up some good points. He could tell I liked guys, easily. Though he never put together that I’m not exactly a guy myself. He knows about as much as my parents now. I came out to them as ‘gay’ over the weekend,” Janus told him.

“Is he the guy you kissed?” Virgil’s teasing tone brought with it a wave of nostalgia. This was their normal. Like they never messed up in the first place.
“Yeah,” Janus smirked, thinking back to that kiss by the campfire. It’d been nice and warm there, and the starlit sky probably made it romantic or something. Not that Janus had cared about anything but the pretty boy with soft lips kissing him. It had been really nice. Though Virgil was a better kisser. Then again he might be biased because that kiss was more recent and more emotionally charged. “J… Did you have feelings for him?”
Their friend was the best. No one else would’ve been able to read them that easily. Janus shook their head.
“And not for me?” he recalled. Janus looked up at him and shook his head again.
“Roman?” Oh… Yeah they probably should address that too…
“It’s… I didn’t have romantic feelings for any of you,” Janus clarified. “I find all three of you attractive, I wouldn’t say no if Roman offered to kiss me.” They definitely would not. God he’d thought about it more often than they cared to admit. “Or you for that matter.” Again, way more often than they’d ever admit. “But I… I’m…” Come one. He almost figured it out on his own. They should be able to say it. It was not that hard…
“Are you aromantic?” Virgil asked softly. There it was. Janus felt their cheeks heat as they nodded in confirmation. They clearly weren’t at the point where they actually believed there was nothing to be ashamed off… Maybe… Maybe they should ask Pikani’s help with that.
Virgil was silent for an agonizingly long time. Janus couldn’t look.
“Okay,” he said thoughtfully. “So you are into guys, but not romantically and your pronouns change from day to day… And all of that is what’s been bothering you since freshman year?”
Janus nodded. “I know it’s stupid. But I…”

“Hey, none of that.” Virgil’s hand grabbed their wrist and turned him towards him, making them look at him and see the complete acceptance and unfiltered care in his face.
“That is a lot to process, and I know how on edge you get about stuff that makes you stand out. You have like, three flags to carry if you want to be out and proud. I got one flag and it took me a long time to wear it out in the open. Like, in a non-ambiguous way. I wasn’t ashamed, but I didn’t feel like it was anyone’s business. And I could get away with that. All I had to do was not openly simp over the boys I was crushing on and I was golden. You can’t show any part of your true self even subtly if you don’t want it known. I can’t imagine how though that was on you.”

Janus felt a smile break free. He understood… Of course he understood. “Thanks…” There was one more question that had been on their mind since before they outed themselves though. “So you are not… you don’t mind that I…?”

Virgil chuckled. “That you think I’m hot? No. That you think Roman's hot? Same here. That’s just facts,” he chuckled.

Janus let out a relieved laugh. “That… that makes me very happy… thank you…” This was amazing. So amazing in fact that… Maybe if he was there with them when they did… Maybe they could do it.
“I was thinking of coming out all the way for Thanksgiving to my folks and uncle Lo. We’ll have dinner at my place so…”

Virgil nodded. “I’ll have your back.” Then he grinned. “It’s going to be awesome having you and Rem back.” Janus flinched, realizing that they’d have to disappoint Virgil with a lie.

“I… it might take a bit before I’m ready to join you at your new table. And I don't want you to drop your new friends for me. Can we…?” They were more than ready, or maybe not, but issues be damned they wanted Virgil back. But Collector might not like that.

The disappointment in Virgil’s face was clear, but he nodded understandingly. “Okay. Whatever you need,” he promised, much to Janus’ relief. They didn’t feel safe doing this yet. But soon. So soon and still it would take ages.

“I should go home. My dads will worry if I stay to long,” Virgil said, sounding a little dejected, as he turned them to walk back to the house. “See you tomorrow,” he smiled as took his bike from it’s spot. The same spot where they used to park their bikes when they were little and explored the neighborhood on their steel horses. Janus nodded. “Yeah… and Virge? Thank you. For everything.” They needed him to know that much.

Virgil grinned. “No problem. See you tomorrow,” he repeated reassuringly. And with that he rode off.

Janus felt more content than he had in a long time. Which was only slightly ruined when he met the collector with Remus that night.
“You have both performed excellently!” Grant grinned as he strode into the room. Looking kind of off though. There was a tension in his eyes. He was usually hard to read but Janus believed he was looking annoyed by something. Did he hear about the deadline to Janus’ isolation already?
“But Serpentine dear, you and Prince seemed to get in a bit of an argument at the end there. You are supposed to charm him, not push him away,” he scolded gently, though Janus flinched when he saw the icy look in his eyes.
“He brought up Virgil and...” he tried to think of a good lie fast. Something about Prince insinuating that he was a danger to Virgil rubbing him the wrong way or something…
“Ah… Now, Serpentine it seems you are not as over your jealous tendencies as you have your loved ones believe are you?” Collector purred with a condescending smile that made Janus’ skin crawl. Without another word, but disturbingly in better spirits, his ‘mentor’ continued.

“Now the upcoming week you can take it easy. I want you both making brief appearances so the public doesn’t forget about either of you. I’ll have to prepare to make sure you are not caught before your grand performance. So rest up, keep the people wanting more and, not unimportantly, don’t let anyone find out our secret until it is time. Understood?”
Collector’s voice became low and dangerous on that one and even Remus had the sense not to make a joke about it.
Collector smiled when they both nodded. “Good,” he said in a very fake cheerful tone. “Be ready when I call for you. And don’t play outside for too long. I don’t want Prince or anyone to even hear about you being out before you are gone. Understood?”
They both nodded again. Collector was acting creepy even by his standards.
He nodded and waved them goodbye. “You are both dismissed,” he said as he left the building.
“Wonder what was up with him. Or is this normal for the creep?” Remus wondered.
“No… This was a step up. We got to be careful,” Janus sighed.
“Okay… What was that about you being jealous though? You got the hots for Virgie? Cause I don’t really wanna pick teams on this one,” Remus said casually though Janus noticed him eyeing him carefully.
Janus shook their head. “I am not in love with Virgil,” he said dismissively. “I’m… I was always a bit protective… Possessive even when it came to the few friends I did have, you and Virgil. And after losing you it kind of got worse. That’s something I should apologize to your brother for. He and Virgil probably would be dating by now if it weren’t for me,” they said, feeling more than a little guilty for that whole situation.
“Nah. They probably would do that whole stupid thing where they don’t want to mess up the friendship or something. They are both idiots like that,” Remus argued.
Janus chuckled, feeling a little better. Because… Yeah Virgil might actually have spent the last four years ranting to them about how in love he was and how saying something would make things weird.
Janus’ reasoning hadn’t been much more sound on that front so they couldn’t even blame him.
“Well in any case, seems we’ll get to play some tag during the week and be done with it. Or should we try to get captured?” Remus wondered.
“As tempting as that is… I think Collector might have ways to spring us free in that case. And if he has to do that… I have never seen him truly break his calm mask… And it is those types you really have to look out for. Uncle Lo was always similar. Calm and in control. I saw him truly mad maybe twice in my whole life. Neither times were directed at me or Virgil, but both I was a little scared.
Collector will be a lot worse. He probably won’t have anything against hurting us,” they explained.
Remus pouted. “Can I be a pain in class though?”
Janus laughed at that. “Oh, absolutely. You are just maintaining the secret after all.”
They both grinned. “Come by my place Friday? You and Virgie both are way overdue for a visit. And you will get a chance to talk to my bro in private if you want.”
Janus relaxed. “That would be helpful actually,” they admitted.
The next few days was a countdown. They did their best in their classes, acknowledged Virgil with a wave in the hallways, made a little scene in the evening with Remus before vanishing and tried to figure out what to say to Roman when they saw him.
His meeting with Pikani was mainly about Thanksgiving and how excited they were about it and their plan to apologize to Roman before then. Pikani was happy with that but cautioned them to not set his expectations to rigidly. They had to be flexible in the moment to adjust to the needs of other people in the situation.
Pikani was very proud of Janus for the apology and tried to help him put together the basic framework of the apology, though Pikani insisted that writing it all ahead of time would make him come across as insincere. A good framework would help hit the key features though.

Friday came way to soon, but there was no going back.
Janice smiled through being introduced to Remus’ parents and tried their best to pay attention. But they were way too nervous. Roman was not here. He was in his room. When they asked about it on their way up the stairs to Remus’ room, Remus said Roman didn’t want to spoil the day for him considering he still believed Janice hated him. And once again Janice felt bad about how they’d judged Roman so harshly.
They halted before the white wooden door that held Roman’s name in golden letters.
“I’ll be in my room across the hall,” Remus said as he went on.
Janice stared at the door for a few moments. Well they could stall until they grew roots, or they could just… They knocked.

“For the last time, no I won’t loan you my allowance,” came the response. Janice chuckled to themself and opened the door. Roman was lying on his bed staring at his phone. They leaned against the doorframe waiting for a chance to respond or for Roman to realize that it wasn’t his brother who’d knocked.
“You’ll have to learn to control your impulse buying the same way I did. Besides you know I’m saving up!” It didn’t look like Roman was going to look at the door. Probably trying to force the discussion closed. Well, he should know better with Remus. “You know he’ll keep nagging until he gets blue in the face right?” Janice pointed out.
Roman shot up and took Janice in with surprise.
“Um, yeah,” he said eventually. “But I can be stubborn too… What brings you here?” he wondered. Valid question. And Janice knew that he meant in this room and not in the house.
Best get this over with. Janice took a deep breath. They could do this.
“I owe you an apology. I blamed you for Remus being sent away and I assumed that if you hung around Virgil, he’d get hurt, or I’d lose him or both.” Good. That was a great start. No yelling, no sarcasm, no accusations. They just had to keep this up.
“That wasn’t fair to you.

I wasn’t dealing with my fears and insecurities well, and you became the scape goat for that. I’m sorry. I can see now that you are a good brother to Remus, and a good friend to Virgil. I’m sorry for how I treated you in the past. And if I manage to fix the mess I made of my friendship with Virgil, I hope you’ll give me a chance to show you I’m not as much of an ass as I made myself look.
That was all.” Remy would be so proud during their session next week.
Roman sure seemed impressed. Well, shocked. But in a good way so Janice chose to interpret it as impressed. “Well… Thank you,” he said. Then he got up and made a little bow. Janice kind of wanted to laugh at the dramatics, but they didn’t want to insult Roman right when they were making amends. Also the theatre kid caught them off guard. “Allow me to apologize as well,” he offered.
…“What for?” Janice asked, completely taken of guard and very unsure how else to respond.

Roman rose from his bow, his face open and calm.
“I should have been more genuine when I tried to make a fresh start. I'll admit that my main motive, when I came to you in freshmen year, was not simply to become friends.” Wow. Okay. Now Janice was really impressed.
“I… had been interested in being friends with Virgil for a while and when I saw him again on the first day…” Janice barely held back the urge to finish that statement. The blush spoke volumes, but it was probably best not to call him out on it while he was trying to apologize.
“Well, I decided to actually try and do something about it. I knew you two were a package deal,” Janus felt a bittersweet sting at that. “so I tried to mend things with you.” While he didn’t even know what he did. While he hadn’t done anything to warrant Janice’s behavior.
“That was not right. I should not have approached you on these grounds. I am sure you could tell I was less than sincere in my interest and considering that you already seemed in a bad mood… I was arrogant, presumptuous and selfish. And for this I do apologize.”

Janice was completely taken aback. One thing was sure, if they were ever going to approve of anyone dating their best friend, Roman Castile just made a very great case for himself.                   

“And for what it’s worth,” the young actor added after Janice was silent for too long. “I think Virgil can’t wait to be friends with you again. I can see how much it upsets him to be apart, but he’s also happy that you try so hard.”
Janice knew that, kind of. But it was nice to hear someone say it. To know that their efforts were seen by others. Grant could sometimes make them feel like no matter how hard they tried to be better, they were doomed to the same mistakes. Still too protective, still keeping secrets instead of asking for help, still jealous and possessive.
But learning. They were learning and evolving. Evolution is slow, but it happens and it makes a difference. That was something Remy told them. It had become a bit of a mantra for Janice whenever they felt like they weren’t getting where they wanted to be fast enough.

“Thanks. For both… That’s good to hear.” And they knew just how to return the favor.
“And just FYI. You better ask him to the dance before someone else does,” they told him. Teasing, sure, but they meant it. They’d overheard bathroom conversations. People were trying to guess whether Roman and Virgil would ask each other or if there was still a shot for someone else to step up. They’d even heard a rumor that a few seniors had their eyes on either of the freshmen superstars.
“So?” Remus asked when Janice entered his room.
Janice didn’t answer right away. They hadn’t paid much attention to Roman’s room. Trying to focus on their mission and feeling like it would be an intrusion since they weren’t exactly invited in.
But they assumed both twins had a similarly sized room and Remus’ room was impressive. There was an entire wall dedicated to an antfarm with a small colony making it their home. If Janice had been told that Remus had a pet in his room, this would probably be among their guesses.
There were some bandposters and artworks of his hanging about. The room was paointed in dark greens and blacks. It was very Remus on the whole.
“Your brother is infuriatingly perfect,” Janice said. “I think we are on good terms now though.”
Remus let out a cackle. “Oh, Romie is not perfect. He’s just not comfortable enough around you to let down his guard yet. Give it time,” Remus assured him.
Janice found that an interesting concept. They had seen cracks in Roman’s charming prince persona before. They had not considered that it was just as much of a shield as their jerk persona was.
They sat down with Remus and ended up playing some video games.
Good times didn’t last though. After they talked about the apology with Remy and chickened out of talking about being aromantic. Remy was excited but cautious on their behalf. They really started feeling like he wanted this to go well for them. They were starting to feel bad about being so hard on him at the start. He seemed really worried about upsetting them to the point of changing therapists. It must’ve really struck a chord with them when they suggested it.
Still they agreed to take it easy. Little steps. Like nodding a greeting to Roman on top of waving at Virgil. And maybe they’d try to make a little small talk with their desk mates.
Anyway, Collector wanted to see them and Remus before dinner. Which meant that vacation time was over. Not surprising. Thanksgiving was next week. And Janus would be surrounded by his support system once more. Even if Collector still thought that Janus believed all the things he told him and hadn’t talked to Virgil about the kiss yet, he must know that Virgil would dissuade all his fears the second they were in a room together. Because no matter how delusional he was, Janus knew through Remus that Grant paid a lot of attention to Virgil, he should know him well enough to know this about him. Virgil even told him that he wanted Janus back in his life.
So of course Collector now had a deadline on how long Janus would remain blindly loyal.
“Good news gentlemen,” Collector greeted as he walked into the warehouse they were told to wait. Janus was pretty sure that underneath there had to be a basement of sorts that he ran his operations from. In his longwinded speeches about how great he was he occasionally mentioned taking in ‘lost souls’. Which Janus took to mean that he kidnapped people that interested him but needed to keep close. Be it by force or by manipulating them into coming along voluntarily to isolate them from their support system, a fate he would likely have in store for Janus and Remus if he had the time.
They had tried to figure out where the entrance was. It made sense to meet with them at an unassuming location he had full control over.
They had written down a full statement over the past week, including all their suspicions. If things got too dicey he’d have to get that information to the GTH.
“It is time to give another performance. Nothing too flashy. A small skirmish really.
Duke when you make your escape you go to this address,” he instructed handing Remus a card. “There’ll be someone waiting for you inside to help you get out undetected. And Serpentine.”
Janus surprised the urge to cringe. Grant was still not happy about their attitude with Prince during their first meeting.
“Yes sir?” they replied, hoping they looked sufficiently aware of their past mistake or something.
“Do try to make nice with our beloved Prince. You will be working together once the tides turn,” he said in a honey sweet voice. As if he was talking to a five year old who was being stubborn about playing with the neighbor’s kid.
“Do you have any idea on who he is?” Janus wondered. It was always worth a try to get more information, and if Prince’s identity was compromised, they should tell the guy.
Collector’s gaze became a bit unfocused, as though he was staring of into the distance.
“No… I had a suspicion, but alas. It is a well-kept secret. I have an idea of who might be in on it. But that does not help me much.”
Weirdly enough, this didn’t seem to upset him. In fact he looked almost excited.
“So close to the finish line. All that planning and still he throws me before obstacles. He is really testing me. But I will succeed,” he said softly, more to himself than to them.
Janus was not going to unpack all of that. They chose to focus on the fact that the lunatic didn’t know the secret identity of Dream Prince. That was a good thing.
When they talked about it with Remus, who’d been tuning out most of the conversation and doing his own thing playing around with his powers while Janus was being addressed, their friend seemed to agree. He didn’t say it, but they could tell. Remus was very suspicious of Collector’s scary insight in his most secret thoughts and opted to shut out as much as possible while in the same room as him. Janus wished they could do the same.
The fight went rather similar to the first time. Janus worried for a bit there that Prince might actually get through Remus’ defenses, then something happened to make Remus not just put up his guard, but end the fight and take off. Prince didn’t seem too worried about that. Which made Janus suspect that Collector was right to prepare an escape. The GTH might have backup or some kind of spy drone following him.
Prince once again insisted they talked.
“It’s been a bit. Are you okay?” Janus appreciated that the guy was worried about them. And the honest answer was that he was far from okay where the Collector was concerned.
“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be? I’m living the dream. The collector is a great teacher. He could show you if you gave him a chance,” they said, once again trying to stress the term teacher. Prince frowned a little. He caught on that there was more to this! That was a relief.
“I am quite happy with the mentors back at the GTH. Maybe you should give them a chance? They might surprise you,” he offered, holding out his hand.
Janus shook their head. “I have to go. Don’t follow me,” they insisted.
Prince nodded. “Alright. But please reconsider,” he pleaded.
Janus rolled their eyes and took off. Let’s hope Prince put things together in time for the GTH to unmask Grant.
“Excellent performance! And neither was followed. Just marvelous you two. Though I am curious, what made you take off so soon dear Duke. You seemed to be enjoying yourself quite well,” Collector wondered back in the warehouse.
Remus shrugged. “Prince stung me again. I don’t like it, so I bail.”
Collector hummed at that. “Interesting… How about a game of tag tomorrow? See how well the Prince does in a chase?” he suggested. It was a rhetorical question because he was already leaving. Janus nor Remus called him back.
They were supposed to stage the chase after dinner. So the duo went for a quick walk before they each went home to eat. Do something normal together.
Janus was channeling their inner child a little by walking over the low stone garden fence. It made them feel kind of content since it was a habit of Virgil’s when they were little. He liked being taller. Being short was always a source of great frustration to him. Though Virgil probably would have been looking where he stepped. Unlike Janus who suddenly felt their foot hit empty air where they expected stone to be and they promptly lost their footing.
They didn’t fall for long though. He soon landed in a pair of arms,  a pleasant deep chuckle vibrating through the chest he was held against. Oh god no.
“You alright there sunshine?” Prince’s modified voice asked. They swore he had designed the voice to be as attractive as possible. And they were not adding another queer panic to the mix.
To Prince’s credit, he immediately took the hint when Janus started to try and get down and put them gently with both feet on the ground.
“Thanks,” Janus allowed embarrassed, which wasn’t made any better by Remus trying not to start laughing next to them. Or all the people watching.
“No problem. You two have a lovely evening,” Prince said with a bow before flying off.
“Not a word,” they growled before marching onward, heading home.
Remus, who contrary to popular belief did know the line, did as he asked.
The chase ended much the same. Including Janus repeating his message to Prince and Prince seemingly catching on somewhat. His eyes widened even a little which made Janus hopeful that he really understood the message.
Saturday was another fight but this time the conversation yielded a change.
“Yes I know. He is a great teacher. We are all aware,” Prince said with a sigh, but he stressed the last part of the sentence slightly. He’d caught the message.
“You are not. You have no idea how amazing he is. How much he could help you.” Janus hoped Prince would know to confirm that they had a name or just the hint.
“Perhaps not,” Prince agreed. “I know not much about him personally. But I feel as though you two might be much closer?” he guessed.
Janus shook his head. “You want me to spill his secrets. But I won’t. You’ll know him when he thinks you are ready to,” Janus said.
“Then we’ll just keep looking,” Prince said. To Janus’ disappointment. They were still looking… Okay. That was fine. There was progress at least.
“We stand at an impasse I fear. I assume you must depart?” Prince said sadly.
Janus nodded and left.
Collector was pleased as can be. Which was probably a bad sign.
Sunday yet another attack, with a promise of a break tomorrow.
This one was different. It lasted much longer, though Prince seemed on top of his game. He seemed to be enjoying himself. Or maybe he was just in a generally excellent mood.
Remus this time, said he left because of a few close calls from more regular attacks. Collector found this very good news. He wasn’t letting them in on it though.
Remus came over on Monday evening. Janus’ parents were overjoyed to meet this friend and very easily let Janus convince them to leave them alone for the rest of the night.
They hung out for a bit and talked about a few things. Eventually, inevitably, Virgil and Roman came up. “You think they’ll smooch?” Remus wondered. Referring to the shopping date Virgil and Roman had planned for the next day.
“I sure hope so. Those two need to get a room and fast. If the tension gets any worse anyone in a fifty mile radius will combust,” they joked. Remus cackled loudly at the mental image that gave him which was the intent.
“We should meet up soon. All three of us. Get together and catch up properly,” Remus said.
“I don’t know…” Janus said slowly. They really wanted to. But a voice, that sounded alarmingly like Collector, told him that it was a disaster waiting to happen.
“I do. He’s going to love it! Just you wait and see. Oh! Idea!” Remus screeched as he grabbed his phone.
“What’s that?” Janus wondered.
“Let’s video call him and tell him to meet us Friday right now. It might be our last chance to talk to V when he’s not openly swooning over my bro cause he’s his boyfriend and that’ll be the not funny kind of gross,” Remus explained.
Janus nodded. He had a point. And V was a lot more assertive, so he would tell them no if he didn’t want to.
“Call,” they agreed.
“Oh, I’m calling!” Remus grinned.
Moment’s later Virgil’s face appeared, though he was looking at something besides the phone.
“Sup?” he asked, very much focusing on the object. Which was probably a sketchbook.
“Virgin!” Remus screeched.
“Hi Virge,” Janus greeted calmly. Virgil shot up and now looked at the phone. “Guys! What's up!?” he grinned.
“Well… Remus and I were talking. And we realized that we hadn’t done a real reunion… So we thought that maybe, on Friday, we could all get together and catch up?” Janus suggested.
“Yes!” Virgil exclaimed. “That would be amazing!” he added.
“Told ya,” Remus said smugly.
“Yeah, yeah. You were right,” Janus drawled casually.
“Hey. Remember when Rem brought frog spawn to school in a juice box?” Virgil recalled rather suddenly, making Remus cackle and Janus groan. It got the ball rolling though and pretty soon they were bringing up all kinds of memories.
Suddenly Virgil looked distracted by something, startled.

 “Guys I gotta go. See you tomorrow,” he said in a hurry.

“oh… by Virgil…” Janus said a little confused. Though if V thought he was in danger, he wouldn’t be hanging up. He looked worried but not scared.

“By tickle me emo!” Remus added.

“Bye.” And with that the call was ended.
“Well… That ending was dumb. But the rest was good,” Remus concluded satisfied with the overall end result.
Janus nodded in agreement. They’d have to ask Virgil what that was about Friday.
They get their instructions in the morning.
“And you are sure Virgil won’t be harmed?” Janice asked as everything was laid out.
“You have my word Serpentine. I don’t want him hurt either. Today is a big day you two. So make sure you are there in time for the lunch rush. This should be a big one,” he instructed before leaving.
Janice didn’t like the sound of that. “We should eat something before this,” they told Remus, who nodded and waved them goodbye. Janice could tell he was worried about Virgil, and Roman, but they both were convinced they could keep those close to them safe.
Neither would let anything bad happen to them.
Yeah… What a joke.
Janice thought they were prepared when they laid out the envelope and a letter to their parents on his bed. They weren’t going to wait any longer. They sent a text asking their parents to post the package on their bed to the right people as soon as they arrived at the mall they were supposed to hit. They had tried very hard not to think too much about this, but this was domestic terrorism. It didn’t matter that they were actively trying to avoid casualties. This was very serious stuff. Were they going to have to go to jail for their part in this? They shook their head. Too late for that now.
For both them and Remus. Oh, if they could keep Remus out of this now they would. Too late. All much too late. But they still had to try to… Just… This had to be for something.
They arrived at the food court where Remus was going to arrive through the ceiling any moment now.
They looked over the people there, just enjoying their day. Not knowing… Wait… No. Virgil and Roman. Roman was holding a flower… Not now. Not now!
But the ceiling burst open and Remus made his entrance and Roman was pulling Virgil into a hallway away from the danger.
This damn well better end with them cuddling together in a hiding spot and having one of those sappy fanfiction trope Virgil pretended to hate.
Janice jumped in and played the part of the hero holding of the villain until backup arrived.
It wasn’t too long maybe eight minutes tops. Prince had either hurried up really hard or was already close.
Regardless they fell into the familiar dance with Remus. Prince was glowing today.
He looked like he had already won and Janice and Remus were just not aware yet.

He got recklessly close and jumped back with ridiculous confidence.
Remus was on his toes the whole time, even flinching on occasion. Which meant the shocks were back.
Prince went up high, maybe planning to plummet towards Duke or something, but before Janice could worry about that…

“BOOM!” an explosion went off and the white and red hero plummeted to the ground. Janice wanted to catch him. But someone was way ahead of them. They could only spot a dark outfit when they were overwhelmed by the urge to look away… No. Not just look away. They had to get out. They shouldn’t be here. They had to run now.
They made it all the way to the entrance again when they recalled the fact that Virgil and Roman were here too. They should make sure they were okay, before they faced their parents and their reaction to their cryptic message and their worrying letter.
When they arrive they saw uncle Lo hurrying in from another entrance with his partner. And on the other side Virgil was walking towards Roman. Janice relaxed. Good everything was alright after …

Their blood turned to ice when they saw the dark figure pulling Virgil back and the gleam of metal in the light appear at their best friend’s throat.

Chapter Text

Janice was frozen in fear.
They wanted to run out, to protect their friend but they couldn’t move.
The masked individual didn’t look remotely like he could be Grant, but the fact that Virgil was targeted again… this wasn’t supposed to be a thing anymore.
“Let’s go buddy,” a voice behind them said and Janus got dragged away with a hand in front of their mouth to muffle their screams. Next thing they knew they were tossed in the back of a van and locked up.
He banged on the door. “Let me out!” they demanded. They didn’t want to blow open the doors and risk hurting someone if they didn’t have to.
“I can’t. Please… For my brother’s sake and for those you care about, don’t anger him any more than necessary.” The pleading voice gave Janus pause. It was distorted. Both by the door of the van and by a modulator. But they could hear the sincere worry in their tone.
Janice let themself fall back, a little disturbed that the van seemed prepared to transport a person like this. The floor and sides were padded. Was Virgil going to be tossed in with them? Why were they in here? Just as a precaution so they wouldn’t interrupt whatever was happening? Or did Collector discover that they weren’t truly loyal?
The minutes ticked by as Janice sat there curled up and waiting. Then they heard the doors in the front open and close.
“What’s going on?” they demanded, with a bang against the division between the back and the front.
“Exciting things. You finally get to see the inside of our headquarters where we will be joined soon by Virgil and some other guests.” It was Grant speaking. Apparently, he had been near. He probably wanted a front seat to this part of his plan.
“You said Virgil wouldn’t be harmed again! You said no one would get hurt!” Janice demanded, catching themself as the van suddenly started moving.
“And no one did. Prince will be right as rain soon,” Collector said, sounding very pleased.
“Virgil was not supposed to be there. We ruined a very important moment for him!” They insisted. They were sure that Collector knew about the date. He had probably planned the whole day around it.
“Oh, it’ll be fine. There are much grander things in store for him first. In a few days, something as frivolous as a high school dance will be far beneath any of you,” Collector stated. Janice felt something heavy settle in their stomach.
That sounded terribly ominous. What had he planned?
“Ah, we are here,” Collector stated as the van stopped.

After a moment the doors to the back were opened and Grant reached in to grab Janice by the arm, dragging them through the warehouse where they had gotten their training. He brought them to what Janice always thought was a fuse box. It was, but it also held a switch that made the wall next to it come loose and reveal a staircase after being pushed to the side. Janice got the idea that the stairs hadn’t always been hidden from view. The secret door was likely a recent addition.
They were led down the stairs before they could fully process what was happening.

“Most of the warehouse's space is below ground. I closed off the driveway to the lower floor. I had no need for it,” Collector explained casually. Janice had other questions though.

“Hold on. Where is Remus? Who grabbed me? And where did they go?” they demanded as they followed them to a door. They were ignored but they wouldn't let that stand. Not this time.

“Answer me!” they ordered as they released themself from his grasp.

Collector froze and cringed, which confused Janice.

“Duke is distracting the heroes while we wait for our guests to get here. And our friend is picking up a surprise,” Collector answered tensely before relaxing with a gasp. After a moment he chuckled. “Did you know that fighting against your orders hurts? The stronger the command the harder it is. That was quite the experience. Let's see if you can use it on command shall we?” he grinned cruelly.

Janice flinched and followed Collector down a hallway with countless white doors. They could hear people calling out. Asking for help. To be set free. To see their parents.

“Your collection,” Janice realized. They’d suspected that collector had them here… but there were so many…

“Exactly!” Grant grinned proudly. “I have a few particularly hard to maintain pieces. Let’s see if you can make yourself useful shall we?” he suggested as he opened a black door and pushed Janice inside. Once they got their bearings they saw they were in some kind of office space and laid their eyes on a young African American teen. A little younger than them if they were to guess.

They were held by two adults and were struggling to get free.

“This one is quite marvelous. You see once she finds her place among my ranks, she will be an important negotiation point.”
Janice frowned confused. “What’s her gift?” they asked, noting that the pronouns didn't appear to be wrong to the captive.
Collector chuckled. “Oh, not a negotiator my boy.” Janice cringed at the endearment.
“That is your special job. No. Her little bubblegum trick has earned her my special interest. But it’s her connections that brought her under my direct supervision and care,” he explained smoothly.
“But as you can tell, she’s being a little difficult about staying put,” he smiled bemused.
“Daisy dear. We talked about this. You’ll be let out when it is your time to shine,” he promised patiently.
“I will never do what you want,” the girl growled. “Now let me go home!”
Collector was not phased however. “Oh, dear. I think you will. I think you’ll find that what I want you to do is what you want to do,” he assured her before turning to Janice.
“She needs to rest. Get her to sleep,” he instructed.
Janice righted themselves, clenching their jaw. “N-” before they could finish the word they hissed in pain as a shock went through their body.
“The next one will be for your friend, who’s leaping buildings as we speak.”

Janice cringed as they realized what collector meant. Their costumes. He had done something to them that clearly was still in effect even when they weren't activated. They had to protect Remus.
They righted themself and looked to the girl who looked wide eyed in horror at what just happened.
“Hey, it’s okay,” they said, lacing their voice with honey. That was what it felt like to them when they used their persuasions.
“I won’t hurt you. You’ll be fine. You just need to go to sleep and everything will be better in the morning,” they promised. Sincerely hoping they were right.
The girl swayed. “I... I don’t…” she protested weakly.

“Shhhh. I know you don’t want to. But right now you are tired. You’ll be stronger after some rest,” they said softly and as they did the girl went limp against the brutes.
“Good. Now take her to her room. She’ll play her part tomorrow night,” Collector grinned before leaving the room, pulling Janice along.
“I was hoping you would hold out a little longer. But I knew you never fully trusted me. A rebellious phase was bound to happen,” Collector sighed as he guided them back towards the stairs. Before they got there a goon walked up to them.
“Hermes’ debut is ready to launch,” the goon said, sounding proud of themself.
“Excellent. We have a date?” Collector asked, sounding quite pleased.
“Friday morning sir,” the goon offered.
Collector pouted. “That’s a little later than I’d like… But it’s never too late to add another unique jewel to the collection. Very well, proceed,” he nodded before continuing on.

“Who’s Hermes?” Janice asked as they tried to keep up.
“Oh just a vigilante who’s been a thorn in the sides of some very powerful people lately. They have names for them but I call them Hermes because they are a little messenger. They never engage in person but bring the information to the right people and let them handle it. A gifted after my own heart,” Collector grinned as he led them through the door and down another 2 flights of stairs. “I have been pulling some strings to force them out of hiding before they decide to actively work with the police. According to my sources they have not yet altered their MO, but that could change any day. I could use a clever ally who walks in the shadows as well as they do,” Collector explained as he led Janice through a door, down a narrow hallway and into a bigger room.
It looked like a smaller version of the warehouse above. More like a garage for a few vans.
“We can wait here,” Collector nodded to himself.
“On what!?” Janice demanded as they were brought to the back of the room.
Just then the door opened and Janice looked up and their heart dropped.
Someone was standing in the doorway with an unconscious Virgil in their arms.

Chapter Text

J) Rock bottom(?)

“Virgil!” Janice exclaimed worriedly as they took half a step forward, only to be stopped by Grant holding up a hand. “Patience,” he warned gently before addressing the man holding Virgil.

“Excellent work Starbucker,” he grinned as Janice finally fully registered the identity of the man holding her best friend. Of course. He was probably keeping an eye on them that day she saved Virgil from the car accident. He was working for Collector this whole time. He was the one who put them in that van… but that also meant that he was most likely being forced into this. He was doing this to protect his brother like how Janice was doing this to protect Virgil.

“Put him next to the boy,” Janice felt their insides twitch at that. She hated this. “and make sure they stay out of trouble. After that you return to your post,” Collector instructed.
Starbucker nodded and walked over, gently putting Virgil down, taking care not to jostle him or harm him in any way. Then he reached for a gemlike decoration at the base of his throat and spoke. “I’m sorry buddy,” he said as he locked them both in chains that were bolted to the floor. His voice was unaltered when he spoke this time, so she recognized the voice. The nickname. It was Remy Picani. Their therapist. Collector had blackmailed their therapist!?
What had Remy told him under duress? What had Remy told them because he was told to do so… Wait, Collector probably didn’t want her to work on controlling their anger. So that explained that part of their interactions. And was he the reason Remy had been pushing on the breaks when it came to reaching out to Virgil?

That was seriously messed up.

The door fell shut and Virgil leaned towards Janice, instinctively gravitating to the warmth in this cool room. Janice allowed it. Virgil’s comfort was more important than their queer panic.

“I have to arrange a few things. Do look after him until I return. We should chat before the party starts,” Collector grinned before leaving them alone.
Janice scowled at the door for a few moments before turning to Virgil.

“V… V…” they whispered urgently.

Virgil groaned displeased and embraced them, pulling her tight against him, nuzzling their chest like a pillow. Ok, honestly? Adorable. But not the time.
“Wake up, I need you to remember,” they insisted, hoping they managed to lace the words with a command.

Apparently they did. A moment later Virgil startled awake. Sitting up in an instant, his eyes quickly finding Janice’s face.

They waited tensely as they watched the pieces in Virgil’s head click. Then he looked down. Janice could hear the chain shift, she imagined that would be something alarming to wake up to.
Then he looked back up to them before his eyes scanned the room.
Janice was trying hard not to break the silence first. They should give Virgil the chance to process for however long he needed.
“So he finally got me huh?” Virgil concluded after an impossibly long moment. That was not the reaction Janice expected him to have to being kidnapped. Even accounting for the failed attempt earlier today. This sounded like he’d been expecting it to happen for a while now.
“You know about Collector?” they asked.
“Yeah, Prince kinda told me,” he explained with a shrug. When? After the attack? Had Virgil known all that time?
“Well… Good, that saves me some explaining,” they decided with a sigh. It was good. If Virgil had been freaking out and still in the dark then this would have been even harder than it already was.
Speaking of the hard part though. It was time to face the music. Virgil knew now.
They looked at him feeling the dread built in their stomach. “How mad are you with me?” They asked. He would not be wrong to be mad. They’d messed up on so many levels and hadn’t even been able to protect him a little bit in the process.
Virgil scowled disapprovingly. “Don’t you dare. I wasn’t mad when I figured it out and I’m not mad now okay? There is one person who’s ass I want to kick and that’s Collector,” he stated with such certainty that Janice couldn’t help but relax. Of course, they should have known.
“Yeah… Yeah I know…” they said. Though as relieved as they were, they didn’t feel absolved of regret. “Still, I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure who to tell and now it’s too late,” they said thinking back on all the terrible things that man had done while they could do little else than stand there and watch him do it. “He had you attacked the weekend before your birthday because I tried to stand up to him and demanded a night off,” she confessed. “And I tried to get him to stop endangering you… But even that failed.” They wished they could protect him now somehow but they could still feel the sting of last time they tried to disobey him. And next time… Next time! Virgil had to know not to upset Collector too much!
“This guy is seriously dangerous V, you gotta be careful. He can shock Remus and me with the press of a button. So we can’t act rashly,” she ranted; now suddenly feeling the stress of their time running out. “He left, but I don’t know for how long.” They eyed the door worriedly as they said this. He might be listening in already. They had to be careful what they said down here.
“Okay, then let’s make the most of the time we do have,” Virgil suggested calmly.
“Tell me what you know. All I know is what Prince managed to brief me on before I nearly passed out on him. He left to let me sleep and… Well I slept really deep I guess,” Virgil told them, sounding displeased at the end. Janice didn’t know how he wasn’t freaking out more. Maybe it hadn’t fully settled in yet?
In any case. He was right. They should compare notes. They took a breath and rattled off a summary of the evidence file she’d left her parents. Now with the confirmations and context provided to them while getting the mini tour. “He’s been scouting our high school for students who he thinks have ‘potential’. Iris Ramirez and Roman are on his list but not just them. And he has a lot of ‘collectibles’ he has imprisoned here. I don’t know how many. But I know that he wants me to help convince them that they want to help him with this revolution thing.” They felt they’d hit the most important points here. Virgil nodded thoughtfully. “According to Prince he’s shown interest in me specifically… Why? All I have is a weak ass shield and some healing powers… What good is that?” he wondered.
Wait… Since when?
They saw Virgil study their face. “You didn’t know?” he concluded.
Janice shook her head. Yet again something they made him feel like he couldn’t talk about. God they needed couples therapy after all this. But you know, for friends.
Virgil rubbed the back of his neck, the chain clanging as he moved but he didn’t seem to pay it any mind. Strangely the look on his face was one of guilt.
“Well… Um… So you know how I always said I was fine when I made bullies take their crap out on me…? I was protecting myself and fixing any bruises I did get before they even really showed up,” he smiled awkwardly. So… So this whole time… Virgil had been hiding injuries and fixing them before they could be discovered? Honestly Janice wasn’t that surprised. It seemed very in character for their friend.
“Did you say he shocks you guys?” Virgil asked suddenly, clearly upset as that piece of information finally settled. Janice wouldn’t call him slow. The guy’d had a lot come at him today and whatever sedative he ‘d been given was likely not fully out of his system yet.
Janice nodded, unable to suppress the urge to rub the stinging on their neck. “Hasn’t before today. But he made it very clear that he would do so to keep me in line,” she explained softly.
Then she felt Virgil push her hand away and his fingers gently drift over the painful spot, soon the touch of his fingers was followed by a warm, soothing sensation that sent pleasant shivers down her spine. And a moment later the pain was completely gone. Leaving nothing but the warmth of Virgil’s hand. Okay. Wow. That was intense.
She blinked a few times in surprise, processing the sensation, the intimacy of the moment. It’d been years since they’d let Virgil get that close, not counting the kiss and him using her as a pillow earlier. She’d missed it. Part of her wanted to just cuddle up to him and make up for all the lost time. She always felt a little more cuddly on fem days than on masc days. Though she missed the easy intimacy of their friendship on all days.
She shook her head before she could get too wrapped up in her thoughts. Not the time, nor place.
“Okay, we’ll talk about all that later. Who have you told about this?” she asked getting back on track as Virgil pulled his hand back.
Virgil shrugged. “Um, I’ve been out so to speak since my birthday. That’s when I told my parents and uncle Thomas. I’ve been healing people left and right ever since. I healed Remus on Halloween. That’s why I figured you already knew,” he shrugged.
Ah. Right. That made sense.
“And Remus probably thought the same… Still, Collector should know by now what your powers are…” she mused.
“The goon he sent to pretend to be him today implied he knew my dad somehow. Could that be it?” Virgil suggested suddenly.
They frowned as they turned the thought over in their head. “It could… But he never mentioned your dad before… Then again he was never going to tell me everything,” they reasoned.
“Now don’t be upset with me over that dear Serpentine,” Collector’s smooth, bemused voice said behind them, making both turn to the new arrival in the room. Collector was in disguise. Janice hadn’t paid attention to it until now. Considering his disguise was a dark suit and a Zorro mask.
They only noticed it now because him still wearing it meant that he didn’t want Virgil to know who he was. Not yet at least. And they kind of wished that they’d been able to hint at his identity to Virgil during their conversation. It would’ve been satisfying to put a damper on his dramatics in any possible way.
“You,” Virgil growled full disdain.
“Hello there Virgil dear,” Grant smiled, unfazed by Virgil’s tone.
“Gross, don’t call me that,” her friend huffed, with his classic ‘not putting up with this’ attitude. God they’d missed him. Too bad this only seemed to amuse their captor.
“Well since you were clearly spying. Answer the question. What the fuck is your problem with me?” Virgil demanded. Janice could practically feel the hostility radiate off of him.
Collector shook his head and wagged his finger. Really? The belittling still? Guess it was nice to know that he treated everyone like that. Even his chosen one. “Now, Virgil I know you are raised better than to be so rude to your elders,” he scolded playfully. Could he be any creepier?
“I was. But my dad also taught me that respect is earned. And you have earned negative twenty respect as far as I’m concerned,” he countered before turning to Janice.
“How could you stand to be around this guy? He makes me want to barf,” he said.
Janice honestly tried not to smile, but it was so nice to have Virgil team up against this guy with him. Even if this was the extent of what they could do, getting under his skin and cracking his delusions even if just a little.
“Oh, trust me, it took me a lot of effort,” they grinned.
“Damn queen. Respect to you I guess.” Oh God. In just one word Virgil validated Janice's entire identity. She could kiss him. But that didn't seem smart right now.
Virgil turned back to the mastermind of this whole circus, who finally looked a bit put off. It was a glorious sight.
“So, let’s hear the monologue. I'm sure you're dying to reveal what role I play in this insanity. You sure tried your best to get my attention,” Virgil pointed out.
After a moment of pouting Grant let go of his moment of disappointment and replied with his normal ‘I am in control here’ attitude.
“Well, I suppose I can explain that much before our other guests arrive,” he allowed smoothly before offering Virgil a condescending smile.
“Well, first of all. Your father and I have a long history.” That was still weird to Janice. They couldn’t imagine uncle Lo being taken in by this guy’s version of charms. “When I learned he lived in the capitol of gifted society and worked at the facility housing the world’s most prestigious school for gifted… Well I just knew it was fate,” he grinned dramatically before his face got something almost apologetic. “I’ll admit that at first I was interested in you as a means of encouraging your father to hear me out. But then I actually saw what a brilliant star you were and I knew that you’d be the crown jewel to my collection. Oh I remember like it was yesterday.
Sitting in a park sketching the day away. Just radiating potential, it made me dizzy honestly,” he chuckled.

Aside from that being nauseating, this more or less confirmed a theory Janice hadn’t put in his report because it was based entirely on one or two offhand comments.
“You have the ability to see if someone can have a strong gift? How does that even work?” they demanded.
Unsurprisingly, that got Grant excited. “Excellent question my dear boy.”

Janice didn't miss how Virgil leaned into him in support, which she really appreciated.

“Well,” Collector said, oblivious to the wordless exchange. “It is more of a feeling. When I focus on someone I feel their presence, I have learned to tell the difference between the presence of those who can or do have a gift and those who cannot,” he explained, sounding very pleased with himself. “It has been quite useful in finding precious gems among the pebbles.”
Okay, rude. By his standards Janice’s parents were pebbles and they’d have to strongly disagree on that notion. Given how hard she’d made it for them they’d been nothing short of wonderful in their attempts to make her feel seen and loved.
“So you felt I had potential or whatever and decided to ruin my life… why exactly?” Virgil asked, still sounding unimpressed by the whole situation. He really might not be letting himself process this fully. Some kind of survival response? No freaking out until he got to safety? Not that Janice was one to talk. They didn’t feel like the situation had really sunk in for them either. But it would. Sooner or later it would. For both of them. Hopefully when they were far away from here and safe with family.
Collector let out a little surprised, upset gasp at Virgil’s summary of the situation.
“Ruin? Oh, Virgil no. I have big plans for you and DreamPrince. Trust me, at the end of this you will be happy I took you under my wings,” he assured him. Janice really couldn’t stand that fondness in this guy’s eyes whenever Virgil was mentioned and it was even worse now that he was addressing him directly. It was some kind of twisted parental pride and it was just wrong.
“Oh yeah,” Virgil drawled sarcastically. “Thanks so much for the PTSD. I love nearly getting crushed three times and getting attacked in an alley in the span of a few months. And endangering people I care about in the process. Yeah that’s gonna get you on my good side for sure.”
Collector smiled and cast a quick glance at Janice, who couldn’t help but shrink in on themself, feeling their guilt and self-loathing resurface at full force.
“I was not involved in the first incident,” Grant said, almost amused. Scratch that, definitely amused. Amused at Janice’s worry that Virgil would hate them for what they did before they had control over their powers. But he wouldn’t. He wasn’t like that. The Virgil that did these things was just a worst case scenario phantom that they created in their mind. He didn’t exist.
“Oh, that makes it all better then,” Virgil scoffed.
“Patience my boy. Once we are all together,  you will understand,” Grant promised warmly.
Virgil ignored him though and turned his attention to Janice.
“Please never tell the twins about this. I am not cool with being reduced to the roll of damsel in distress,” he complained. Yeah, that sounded like him. And Janice doubted Virgil could ever be forced in that position.
“I won’t tell them if you won’t,” they offered, delighted at the chuckle they got in response.
“Deal,” Virgil agreed. Then his head snapped up. Janice listened for what sound had drawn his attention. They could hear… A distant radio?
Something was making Grant smile, and that was not good.
“Tell Starbucker to bring them to me. He knows where to go,” he instructed before looking at them, his eyes gleaming.
“Just a bit longer you two. BrainStorm and Prince are escorted this way as we speak. It sounds like they weren’t willing to wait for an invitation,” he informed them.
Their rescue team had been caught? Or was this part of a plan? BrainStorm was supposedly the smartest person on the planet. Surely he was playing 4D chess or something here and they just didn’t know all the pieces on the board.

Janice noticed Virgil tensing up at the news and took his hand in comfort. Virgil instantly relaxed and squeezed her hand. To return the sentiment, to thank her. Either worked.
Collector went to stand out of sight of the doorway and remotely reactivated Janice’s disguise. Preparing for a big entrance and a dramatic identity reveal no doubt. Virgil had the same idea.
“Overly dramatic douchebag,” he muttered softly. Breaking the nerve-wracking silence and Janice’s composure. She let out a few giggles, struggling desperately to compose herself. She only just managed to calm down when the doors opened.

Chapter Text

No heroes and villains update this week. But because I am working to drop all 4 big finale updates in one day so you can choose what order you read the finale in. I will aim to do the same with the epilogue chapters (as well as a bit of extra art because the gang deserves it). After that you guys get to decide. Is it done? Do you want college and adult life shenanigans? Flashbacks? Loredumps? Do you have headcannons forvtheir future you want to share? Are there questions? Hoping to give you the opportunity to make requests within the next 2 weeks. Omg... it's nearly over guys.

Chapter Text

“Virgil!”
DreamPrince made a move to launch himself at them, but he was held back by a very alert guy in a suit and a shade shrouding his face. Janice had seen a picture of this guy once, and over the years she’d seen some people dressed up as him on Halloween. This was Brainstorm. Or someone dressed up as him at the very least.
“Caution Prince,” he warned before tossing something at them. Whatever it was bounced back against some kind of barrier and landed in his hand.
Seriously? Chained down and a force shield? Talk about overkill.
“I figured he wouldn’t make it that easy on us,” BrainStorm stated.
“Don’t complement him, he’s got a big enough head as it is,” Virgil warned, staring at their captor. Their rescue team turned to Collector who turned to Virgil with a fond kind of disapproval.
“Now, Virgil, why ruin my fun?” he asked, kind of playfully.
“Collector,” BrainStorm greeted as he tossed the thing at Grant’s head. It bounced back as well.
“Coward,” Prince grumbled, and honestly, Janice agreed, and she was likely not the only one.
This drew Collector’s attention to the young hero though.
“Well, it is a true pleasure to finally meet you in person Dream Prince. If you would bare with me for a moment I will get around to you soon. I just mean to get everyone up to speed,” he told him assuredly.
“I don’t care. Your actions tell me that I want nothing to do with you, ever,” Prince declared. Janice worried that none of them would have a choice if these two didn’t come in with a freaking solid plan.
“Oh… you truly did pick a good one. The people are going to love him,” Collector told Brainstorm pleasantly. Before addressing prince again.
“And I assure you, young Prince, you will want to help me once you’ve heard what I have to offer you.” Janice hated that Grant always sounded so in control. So sure. He wanted to see nothing more than that smug smile getting whipped off his face. Permanently if possible.
Brainstorm once again put a hand on Prince’s shoulder. The dude was impulsive and earnest and without someone to real him in.
“Very well Collector, you lured us here,” he pointed out as his eyes drifted to Janice and Virgil, probably taking stock of their condition or something. He took a good long look at Virgil.
“You have our undivided attention,” he said as he turned back to their opponent. “Say our piece.”
Collector was more than happy to oblige. Obviously. He’d been waiting for this moment for… Well. Janice didn’t know when Collector started on this conquer the world to save it delusion. But considering the resources he had and the network he seemed to have built, she’d have to guess years.
“Yo! Eyes down here!” Virgil interrupted suddenly. “Me and Jay are not just two pieces of bait on a hook! I am not cool with that. How bout you?” he wondered as he looked at Janice questioningly.
“Virgil! What did I just say about spoiling my fun?” Grant pouted. Virgil glanced back, his expression deadpan.
“Nothing. You asked why. And the answer is, because it makes you expose yourself as the overgrown toddler you are,” Virgil huffed before turning to Prince and Braistorm. “Guys meet my oldest and best friend Janus Bullard. We had a few issues the past year and this guy decided to exploit that. J has a shock thingy so he’ll follow orders by the way.” This guy was the actual best.
“Oh, is that what you think Virgil? That he followed orders because I threatened to hurt him?” Grant chuckled.
Virgil didn’t falter though. “I meant right now. I know why he did what he did. And I’m not upset with him about it. So good try, but you did not take my best friend from me,” he insisted, and hearing Virgil say that so earnestly, even after he’d learned all this stuff, soothed Janice’s heart. The tight knot of tension in her stomach coming a little more undone.
“Jay has an ability that lets him order people to do stuff. Not sure if it works when you know he’s doing it…?” Virgil rushed out. Looking at Janice for confirmation.
“Not unless I really want it to. So far at least,” she informed him. Recalling Collector resisting her commands, except when she felt really strongly about getting her way, like earlier when she asked for an actual answer to her questions.
Virgil nodded and turned to the duo of heroes. “There you have it,” he shrugged. Then finally he looked at Grant who looked very displeased with being talked over like this.
“Next,” Virgil smirked.
“I appreciate your eagerness. But for your friend’s sake, better not give away spoilers again,” Collector warned. His tone serious enough that Virgil moved closer to Janus in a protective gesture.
“I suppose there is no point in the disguise anymore,” Grant relented. And then Janice’s mask and costume disappeared. Her hair had already been down and it’s natural blond color, so her identity hadn’t been as obscured as it normally was. “Hi,” she said nervously. She felt kind of vulnerable sitting here chained down in civilian clothes.
“It’ll be okay J,” Virgil assured her gently.
She appreciated the gesture and tried to show that by giving him a smile. But her attention quickly turned to Collector. Awaiting what would come next.
Collector smiled at the two of them, endeared. “So sweet,” he said before addressing the group.
“Well, we’ll start with the oldest won’t we?” he suggested with a gesture to BrainStorm.
“What are you talking about?” the super genius wondered, sounding kind of nervous through the robot voice.
“Oh, I had a suspicion when I came here. The timelines aligned too perfectly. The tragedies, the radical changes. It made sense.” To Janice's surprise, he turned dramatically to address Virgil.
“Virgil may I introduce you to…”
“Yeah I know,” Virgil interrupted, sounding bored.
This statement filled the room with stunned silence. “You do?” The two adults chorused.
Virgil shrugged. “I’m not allowed to spoil it for the others. But I can’t help that I figured that out when I was 14.” He turned to address Brainstorm.
“I never knew how to bring it up, and I hoped one day you’d tell me.” Why would Brainstorm… wait… Janice knew that tone.
“Oh… Oh. You mean…?” she gasped as the pieces clicked meeting Virgil’s gaze.
“You put it together to huh?” he concluded.
“Yeah…” she nodded. So… Uncle Lo, was Brainstorm. Wow. They didn’t see that one coming.
“That’s wild man. That would have been quite the shock if Collector had been the one to break that to you,” she concluded.
“Oh I’m sure,” Virgil snorted. “Bet he’d had high expectations.”
Janice giggled, she just got an hilarious idea. “He probably imagined it a bit like:” she threw her voice to mimic the iconic voice of The iconic villainous dad. “May I introduce you to Brainstorm. Your father never told you the truth about him did he?” she said, shifting the lines to fit their situation.
Virgil laughed and joined in on the fun. “Oh he told me enough. He works with him,” he said.
“No Virgil. He is your father,” Janice replied, impressed with herself for not bursting out laughing.
Virgil didn’t make it easy with his exaggerated expression and his overly dramatic reply. “No, no, no, that’s not true. That’s impossible!”
“Search your feelings Virgil. You know it to be true,” she said, powering through the urge to laugh.
“Noooo!” Virgil lamented dramatically.
“If you both join me, you can rule this new world together, as father and son,” they added.
“Never,” Virgil said, dropping the act completely before turning to Brainstorm who dropped his disguise with a sigh.
“Hey dad… Why didn’t you tell me when we were having one of our heart to hearts?” Virgil asked calmly.
Uncle Lo looked reluctant to answer, but he did anyway. “It is embarrassing to admit… I just wanted to be your hero for a little longer Virgil. It’s all any father wants I suppose. One day you might understand that. I am so sorry I broke your trust.”
Oh. Well Janice could understand that. She’d kept secrets to preserve her friendship with Virgil as well. It didn’t work, but that had been the intent.
“Dad… You are my hero. I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean any of that crap I said. I don’t know what got into me,” he explained. Okay, something happened while they were being kidnapped, clearly.
“I do.” For one glorious second Janice had been so invested in the new information and the banter, that they forgot that Collector was in the room with them. So of course he had to make it about himself again.
“What do you mean?” Prince growled. If it weren’t for uncle Lo, he might have lunged at Collector in spite of knowing that there was a barrier there. At least that was the impression Janice got from the guy. “Oh, well I suppose if everyone is aware of dear Logan’s secret, it is my turn,” Collector said as if he was doing Prince a favor rather than having forced himself back into the conversation. His satisfied grin spoke volumes though.
“First, I can feel people’s potential for gifts. So when we met in person, I knew right away that you had to be Brainstorm,” Grant explained, giving uncle Logan a wink. “But on top of that, I… can feel and heighten people’s emotions. If there is even the tiniest hint of fear I can make you fall to your knees. A small touch of frustration or impatience can grow into irrational fury…” Janice didn’t miss the brief, cruel glance she was cast… Wait…
“Say ‘sike’ right now,” Virgil muttered, furiously.
Grant turned to Virgil with a grin. “Oh, clever boy. You figured out I nudged you in the right direction have you?” he grinned. Janice didn’t have the brain capacity to think over that now. She was thinking about how confused she’d been about her own emotions that day in the cafeteria. And then all of the next… That… That wasn’t all them?
“Like I give a crap about what happened earlier today. I’m talking about the start of the semester. Did you somehow get in the school and mess with J?” Virgil growled as he got on his feet, like he planned to rush Collector over this. Wait… Virgil heard all that and dismissed any meddling Grant may have done with his emotions over the whole semester? He just immediately got angry on Janice’s behalf?
Grant was just as stunned. For a moment at least. Then he started laughing in disbelief.
“Oh, so precious. I’d think you’d be more worried about me playing part in potentially burning your bridges with your family. But you are concerned about Him?” Grant surmised. Wait… He did what? What had happened after Picani took him away?
“Like one bad day was ever going to mess things up for my family. Dad is more understanding than you give him credit for,” Virgil huffed. “But Jay was in a bad place and you made him make it worse. You dragged him to rock bottom so you could swoop in to be his savior?!” Virgil insisted. Janice worried for him. Clearly he was getting worked up over this and he might say something that would actually upset Grant in a bad way.
“Virge. It’s okay…” they lied. It wasn’t. They were far from okay with this. They had been asking themselves why they’d acted so idiotic all semester. Knowing that their emotions had been tampered with now, kind of felt worse. All that effort they put in to control their temper, and Grant would have just made them screw up again because he felt like it. Still. They had lashed out. They had fallen back on bad habits and that was what had damaged their relationship with Virgil. “No matter how upset I was, and whether or not that was entirely my own feelings, I still lashed out.”
Blaming Collector was tempting. But it would be letting themselves of the hook. And they hadn’t gone to therapy the past few months to just throw away their personal growth on a cop out. “And don’t forget that we were already in a rough spot without his meddling. I am not going to hide behind him. I did these things and I’ve been making up for them, I hope,” they said. And Virgil’s proud smile made them glad they’d chosen the harder path.
“Of course you have. When we’re out of here, things can go back to normal… I’ve missed you,” he said.
“Want to tell him about why he and Roman nearly got crushed that first day?” Grant chuckled.
Janice cringed as his shame returned full force. But he told himself that this feeling was not fully his own, Collector was probably trying to make him back off so he could spin it somehow. So faced Virgil regardless of how badly he wanted to hide away from the memory. “I didn’t have control over my other power yet. You’ve seen it in action. I didn’t even know I had powers like that. I was… So overwhelmed and then I was so ashamed of nearly hurting you…” They felt their throat slowly close off with emotion, but before they could start to panic, Virgil bumped their shoulders together and they snapped out of their mental spiral.
“Hey, it’s cool,” he promised. “Nothing happened, and I think we both know that mister mastermind was toying with your emotions to make sure you outed yourself. He is crazy enough to have been assuming that either me or Roman would manifest our gifts right then and there too.”
The fact that Virgil remained perfectly calm, made Janice belief that there was no anger or resentment in him for Collector to manipulate. She felt the tension within her release. Either natural soothing done by Virgil, or Collector letting go of their emotions now that he hadn’t found the desired result. They looked up to him.
“Are you going to tell him or what?” she asked.
“Tell me what?” Virgil asked.
“His name,” Janice huffed.
Grant grinned. “Oh that’s cute. You think I’ve been using my true name this whole time?” Of freaking course he was using a false identity. “I could start with the name you all might know me by though,” he allowed before turning of his disguise.
“Mr. Grant…?” Virgil whispered in realization.
“Thank you Virgil, at least someone who knows how to respond appropriately,” Grant mused a bit miffed at the lack of a collective gasp it seemed. So their parents made it to the GTH with his witness account. That meant that these two did get here with an idea of what to expect and hopefully with a plan in mind.
“Oh, get me out of these chains and lower those shields and I’ll show you appropriately,” Virgil growled. “You manipulated my respect for you as an artist to… To what? To talk me into delusions of grandeur? To groom me into your obedient little prodigy? Get a freaking life man! That was never, ever going to happen.” Janice could spot the hurt within the anger. Janice understood Virgil feeling duped.
“Yeah. That guy’s the worst,” Janice agreed. “Did you know he blackmailed my therapist?” they offered, hoping to both distract him and remind him that he was not the only one who let Collector get in his head. He was not stupid for not seeing it sooner.
“Bitch say what?” Virgil gasped as he faced him again. “Girl, you better be joking.” Janice’s heart leapt a little at being addressed as a girl. It was doubtful that anyone else was reading much into it. But for her, this felt nice. It made the vulnerable feeling brought on by remembering that their conversations with Picani hadn’t been as private as they were promised go away.
Enough to relax as they went into more details. “Nope. You know Starbucker? Turns out his name is Remy Picani. My therapist. And he was blackmailed into spying for Grant over there,” she explained.
“Wait. Pikani? My therapist is Emile Picani!” Virgil exclaimed… Oh god. Remy did say something about a brother he needed to protect didn’t he?
“Did you have your goon steal our files from Dr. Picani’s office?” Uncle Logan demanded, much to Janice and Virgil’s surprise.
Prince took note and filled them in. “Starbucker, informed us that he was lured to Grant via a break in at his brother’s office.”
Grant nodded. “I was indeed trying to catch two birds with one stone. An interesting piece on the board and some recon on two individuals of great interest. But sadly, the younger of the Pikani brothers doesn’t leave his notes unattended in his office. Or at least nowhere my employees could find it before they had to vacate the premise,” he explained with a mischievous smirk. As if it was a practical joke and not a massive invasion of privacy and highly illegal on multiple fronts.
Uncle Logan moved on to the next question though. “You said you are not truly Connor Grant?”
Janice had never seen Grant look so happy as in that moment.
“I knew that little puzzle wouldn’t let you go! No, I took that name after we split paths. You didn’t recognize me when we met, which kind of stung, but I guess we both matured significantly in the past decades. You may recall the name I held when we first met though. Marcus Berenger.” The way he said it, he clearly expected some sort of reaction. But Janice didn’t feel like any of them felt the impact he intended. Which was a win for them in Janice’s book. The less pleasure this guy got from this whole ordeal the better.
“Hey, you don’t think I’m supposed to have some kind of reaction to this right? Because I have literally no clue who that’s supposed to be,” Virgil whispered loudly. Prince clearly heard him and could barely contain his amusement.
“You aren’t,” uncle Logan told them, just the faintest hint of a satisfied smile.
“He was just a member of my debate team back in high school. I haven’t even thought about him since… Since our last team meeting actually.” Collector, or Beranger, looked disappointed.
And Virgil clearly decided to rub it in. “Really dad? Not even when I grilled you on your high school days and the shenanigans of debate team specifically?”
Uncle Lo shook his head. “Not really. If I had cared to remember him then I might have recognized him when we met again in person two weeks ago,” he pointed out. Beranger huffed.
“I do recall that hideous orange bonnet you insisted on wearing every day. I see you’ve grown out of that,” Uncle Lo added, possibly trying to get a reaction.
“Well, we all had our little comfort habits, didn’t we? I grew out of mine. But you still follow your emotional support theatre kid around l hear?” From uncle Lo’s lack of rebuttal, Janice guessed that he made a point.
“Say, can your empathy gift tell you if someone’s lying?” Virgil piped up.
Beranger looked to Virgil, pleasantly surprised at the apparent interest in his gift. “Why yes. Of course. All the tells ungifted desperately try to measure with machines I can feel without even thinking about it,” he said, quite proud of that fact.
“So you know my dad wasn’t just messing around when he said he didn’t care a damn about you,” Virgil pointed out smugly. But Janice was thinking about what that meant for them. If he asked them a question they’d have to be honest. Or as honest as they could be.
Beranger looked disappointedly at his former pupil. “You are really in a rude mood today aren’t you Virgil?” he pointed out.
“Gee, I wonder why,” Virgil deadpanned.
It was quite obviously rhetorical. But Janice didn’t expect Beranger to care. “Hmmm… Is this about your prince?” he wondered.
“Pardon?” Prince asked confused.
Beranger chuckled cruelly. “Oh, not you DreamPrince. I’m afraid your darling Virgil’s heart is a treasure you won’t be able to hold for yourself.”
Janice had suspected Collector meant Roman when referring to Virgil’s prince. The dude was a genuine Disney prince. “What are you talking about?” Virgil huffed.
“Well. I had Remy borrow some toys from the GTH. Costumes and gadgets and a very handy little drone I could use to keep an eye on the wild pieces of my collection. I take it everywhere just in case. I’ve gotten verry good at using it. Want to see my favorite clips?”
Janice felt ice forming in her stomach as she listened to Collector. They’d been filmed… Oh… She feared she knew at least one, perhaps two of the clips Collector would show to hurt Prince. And it was obviously their intent to hurt the young hero. Mess with his emotions to make him vulnerable.
A tv emerged from the wall and after briefly displaying four video files, one started playing.
Within a second Janice saw that they’d been right. Their kiss with Virgil.
“Take a good look DreamPrince,” Collector instructed. Oh no. Janice had suspected that Prince had a thing for Virgil, and clearly Collector thought so to. If they were right then this would really hurt the guy.
It was odd to see it from an outside perspective. And she felt very exposed. No one in this room, except for Virgil, was supposed to know they liked boys. Collector had caught them and now he’d outed them against their will.
“And it’s not just this one instance.” Collector’s voice pulled Janice back to the present and now she saw Virgil kissing Iris, followed by Virgil kissing Carlton in the hospital, shortly before they broke up. “Okay,” Virgil stated angrily. “One, extreme invasion of privacy you peeping Tom. Two: what the hell is the pattern supposed to be? Just me kissing people? Cause Carlton and I were dating at the time. I am allowed to kiss my boyfriend. And with Iris and J I was not dating anyone, therefore free to kiss whoever I like,” he pointed out, quite annoyed.
“You have a point. Each kiss is different,” Collector agreed. “You had no feelings for Mrs. Ramirez. But when it comes to the other two instances… Well…”
Janice resisted the urge to roll their eyes and snort. They let Virgil say his piece though. He was the one being stalked in this little presentation. “So you can’t even discern between platonic love and romantic love huh? I love Remus too. But I don’t think of kissing him or taking him on a date. J is cute. And a good kisser. 10/10 would recommend. But I am not interested in dating him.”
Janice felt heat rise to their cheeks. Feeling a little giddy knowing that Virgil had actually enjoyed that kiss. If they’d known that… God, no not the time or place. But it was a good time for payback.
“I would definitely recommend you V,” she retorted, pushing past the initial embarrassment to tease him. “Not that there will be much recommending to do. Roman is already completely smitten.”
Virgil did not even try to contain his giddy giggles, and he couldn’t hope to hide the slight darkening of his cheeks. “Sis stop!” he insisted, only emboldening Janice.
“What? It’s obvious you two are soft on each other. I don’t know how I didn’t realize you’re such a simp for him earlier,” she insisted, not even exaggerating that much. In hindsight it was stupidly obvious. The longing glances the way he’d defend him with that soft dopey look.
“Can you blame me though? Who gave that guy the right to be so hecking cute?” Virgil laughed, with absolutely no shame.
“Honestly? I can’t,” Janice admitted as they thought of their handsome and charming classmate. “If you two ever want to find out which one is the better kisser I volunteer.” She was teasing, but if they offered they would not say no.
“Oh no!” Virgil objected playfully. “BFF code states you can’t make moves on my man. You can’t steal him away.”
“Hmmm, true, true. But, counterpoint. BFFs share everything,” Janice drawled in what she hoped was a playfully seductive tone.
“If you two are quite finished?” Beranger asked clearly quite done with their banter. Janice was fairly certain they’d both gladly continue. But when uncle Lo gave them the calm warning of “Boys,” they knew they had pushed far enough. It stung only a little bit to be addressed that way. Janice knew that this would likely be one of the last times it would happen.
“Thank you,” Beranger said, considerably calmer.
“Didn’t do it for you,” Virgil said, soft enough that Janice wasn’t sure if he was being ignored or not heard.
“Now where was I?” Collector wondered as he looked to Prince, prompting the other people present to do the same. The guy was staring at the screen still. The last three video’s playing on loop and clearly making him feel uncomfortable.
“Ah, yes… Jealousy and regret.” Ouch. This was going to be hard to watch.
“Prince? Are you… Do you have feelings for my son?” Uncle Logan asked. Oh, it would be really hard to watch. Janice had no idea how uncle Lo dealt with people having crushes on Virgil. But as they understood it, he and Prince had a mentor mentee kind of relationship so it was a complicated situation regardless.
Prince’s tanned skin immediately darkened and he avoided eye contact with anyone. “I… That is to say…”
Collector didn’t wait for Prince to gather his thoughts. “I’ll answer that question dear friend,” he offered happily as he played the next video. Some house at night. There was an open window. Prince flew out through it and turned to address someone inside. Crap did Collector find his house? No.. Wait the figure that came to stand at the window… That was Virgil.
Prince got real close and moved in as if to whisper something in Virgil’s ear. But Janice doubted that was all that had happened considering the surprised look on Virgil’s face and the way he touched his cheek.
“That… You had me shot!” Prince exclaimed, ignoring the gesture made in the video. And also. What?
Marcus nodded amused. “Yes, I needed to test something for our Thanksgiving event,” he nodded. Janice got shivers thinking that this timeline had something to do with them officially reconciling with Virgil that day. “And as you know by now, I like to combine errands. So I tested the bullet and I could see where you chose to go to get that wound looked at. And the footage is quite revealing.”
Virgil sighed, not impressed, and taking away from Collector’s smug tone. “What? A kiss to the cheek? I know it’s not standard American. But I was raised with the Bullards who are still very French. Cheek kisses are not that deep if you don’t make it a big deal,” he explained impatiently. He was right. Janice was pretty much raised on greeting people, especially friends and family with a kiss to the cheek.
“So Prince and you are that close huh?” Collector concluded, not discouraged at all.
Virgil rolled his eyes, but didn’t comment. Which probably meant that he wasn’t exactly wrong.
“I’d say you are.” Now the screen showed Prince and Virgil in an empty hallway of the shopping mall the attack took place maybe two or three ours ago.
The fairytale hero, a nickname he got from his fans according to Janice’s dad, was holding Virgil’s face tenderly. And then, to Janice’s surprise, Virgil was the one who pulled him in for a kiss. A real proper kiss. No quick peck or anything of the sort. What? Wasn’t Virgil on a date with Roman today? It didn’t make sense that he would kiss another guy… Suddenly he felt the overwhelming urge to look down. He did and saw to his surprise that his shackles were loose. How… And what was that noise? Did it just start? No, it sounded very close. Something, or someone, was heading this way. How had they all missed that?
Janice looked back up just in time to see Prince placing a kiss on Virgil’s forehead before leaving him behind.
“Is that platonic too? Because it definitely wasn’t from Prince’s side, yet he wasn’t the one who initiated? And all that while you were on a date with your beloved ‘princey’,” Beranger grinned.
Virgil straightened his back. “That is between me and Prince. But if you must know… Prince… Are you okay with me telling him why I kissed you?” Virgil asked the flustered, possibly mortified, teen hero.
After a moment of hesitation Prince nodded. “Yeah sure. I trust you,” he said quietly.
“Thanks,” Virgil said, then he looked at uncle Logan. “Dad… I’ve been keeping one more secret… I’m guardian.” Who now? Wait… The mysterious attacks Remus complained about… Was that him? Virgil was already a hero? “After Prince saved me he and I got talking and I learned about an ability of his that lets him share his power. Shortly after that he brought me in as guardian. My suspicions about your secret project were confirmed right then and there.” So… Wait Virgil was a superhero, but he didn’t have any combat applicable abilities of his own? Was that what he was saying?
Janice was pulled out of her musings by Virgil addressing Beranger. “The way he shares power is through intimacy. So in order to get a good power boost for that fight, I kissed him. End of story. And any feelings that came up when I fixed him up after you dropped the balcony on his head, are between me and him to sort out,” he insisted. That… Made sense. Virgil would definitely be more practical about a kiss in that context than some others would. Especially if Prince had his trust.
Beranger looked intrigued by this explanation. “Not a single lie to be found… Hmmm… Interesting indeed. We can figure out if Manifestor can make that sharing of power permanent. I still feel like you have yet to awaken your full potential Virgil.” Can’t this guy give it a rest?
“There is something within you that makes my head spin. I have never felt anything like it. The only thing I experienced that was that unique was dear Serpentine’s persuasion.” Huh? “I’d never ‘heard’ a gift’s potential in someone’s voice before. But he used it near constantly without meaning to for so long… Miss Ramirez was much easier to pick up on after spending some time around our charming snake,” he said, as though he was thinking out loud.
“Wait… Iris? What about her?” Virgil wondered.
“Oh…” Collector looked back at Virgil, a spark of amusement in his eyes. “She might have accidently persuaded you into kissing her. Don’t hold it against her. Few peers can resist her when she sets her heart on something and she doesn’t realize she does it… Not yet.” Marcus looked at the group, his eyes thoughtful for a moment. “But I’m impressed. I didn’t think I’d find many surprises today. I thought I’d done my homework sufficiently… Speaking of surprises though.” He turned to DreamPrince.
“There is one question, I didn’t get an answer to,” he confessed thoughtfully as he held up a remote controller. If that was what Janice thought it was, then this was about to get very unpleasant.
“Unless Virgil decides to move aside, one press on this button will be very unpleasant for 3 innocent individuals.” Thought so. And indeed Virgil was still too close to Janice. Shoulder’s touching. She doubted she could get him to move though. And she was scared that moving away herself would make the shackles fall off, revealing that they were lose to their captor. “How important is your secret identity to you DreamPrince?” Bastard. Janice was pretty sure that even if Virgil wasn’t in the crossfire, Prince’s choice would be the same.
Prince looked at Virgil, who was firmly indicating him not to do it, but it was clear he’d made a decision.
“Stormcloud. Lo siento. Te quiero,” he whispered, causing Virgil to gasp. Clearly it meant something to him. Janice thought about the words. Why did he call him stormcloud? And then apologizing and confessing he liked him in Spanish… Wait. Janice knew of one person who had been tossing out Spanish at Virgil all semester… No way… Did Remus know?
“Prince…” Virgil said, in a way that gave Janice the impression he was picking his next words with care. “I get it but look at this from my perspective…” Okay they had no clue what that one was supposed to mean. Prince did though. He looked at Collector, his eyes widening in understanding.
“Oh,” he breathed and then with the confidence people associated with the young hero he addressed Beranger.
“You know what Collector? There is one more thing you didn’t know,” he said.
“What is that?” Collector chuckled carelessly. Not the least bit curious or worried over the shift in Prince’s mood.
“Janus, was the one who told us who you were and where to find you. And we came prepared.”
With that announcement Prince tossed something at Beranger’s head. And when it didn’t bounce back but connected with its target, he pulled uncle Logan down and called “Duck!” Janice was pulled down by Virgil and then a deafening bang sounded through the room as the door was blasted out of it’s frame. By the time Janice looked up, Prince had Beranger restrained and the remote kicked out of reach. “Checkmate,” he grinned. And Janice couldn’t imagine how satisfying that was.
“Good job highness,” a shrill voice cackled. Remus. Oh, thank God. Remus was okay.
Janice looked at the door and Remus leaned against the wall, next to two masked men and a short African American woman in a police uniform. Janice recognized her from the news. She was the chief of police and she looked even more no-nonsense in a bullet proof vest while holstering a gun.
One of the masked men, dressed in a cyan uniform rushed towards uncle Logan and embraced him… was that uncle Lo’s boyfriend?
After a moment uncle Lo lets go of the man (Patton?) and turns to Prince/Roman and their captive. That felt so good. Collector was officially their captive now.
Speaking of their self-appointed mentor, he looked almost disgusted with the sweet display of affection.
“You…” The man, definitely Patton, growled. Virgil pulled Janice along to stand between his dads and their adversary still held by their ally.
“We won’t get to punch his lights out I suppose,” Virgil huffed dismayed. That would be fun… But Beranger’s lawyer would use that against them probably and Janice hadn’t done all that research to make a compelling piece of evidence only for it to be thrown out on account of his behavior during the arrest.
“No… But I do want him to hear this,” they said as he turned to the Chief.
“Is my document admissible in court?” they asked. The chief’s grin was promising. She stepped forward to stand between the two groups so everyone could easily see her.
“Even if we got a rookie prosecutor, which we won’t, they’d have an easy time. Between the evidence we found here and your witness account, so long as your parents sign off their permission to bring you up as a witness, should make this case ironclad.”
“I take it you found your friend’s daughter?” Roman guessed.
“She’s calling with her parents while dangling some of her captors from the ceiling.” Oh, she must be talking about the Daisy girl Janice met earlier. Looks like they were right. Everything was better once she woke up. “Many of the kids who haven’t been fully brainwashed yet are doing similar things.
We found detailed documentation on their methods and plans. There is a network of people to roll up and a whole lot to learn still. But for those kids at least, the nightmare is over.” Her smile turned serious when she addressed Janice, Virgil and the twins. “That counts for you four too. Let the adults handle this,” she insists.
That is when Collector found his voice again and chuckled. “Oh, no. They won’t. Do with me as you will. Things are set in motion. I have missions specifically made for each of them. They won’t turn their backs on people who need them.” Janice hated that he was right. Virgil wouldn’t for sure. And Roman wasn’t going to turn down someone who needed him. And if Janice was honest, she wouldn’t either.
“The beauty is, I didn’t have to organize most of these things. The world has no shortage of cruelties.” He looked at the three of them, Roman being out of sight, escaped his grin. “Tell me boys. Are you content just sitting here taking some time to yourselves knowing there are people who need your skillsets to save them? Not just you three. No there are several heroes who will play their part in the revolution without knowing it. Right place right time and all. Tell me Chief is Daisy going to let those poor girls get shipped off if she can help make sure they go back home in time for Thanksgiving?” Davies tensed her jaw. “People will learn to revere us the way we should be. They’ll be too grateful for our existence not to after the next few days,” he chuckled.
“Can’t we punch him in the face just a little?” Virgil growled, echoing all of their frustration. But that might be exactly what Collector was counting on. A distraction, something… Suddenly Janice recalled something they overheard while being brought in.
“This Hermes guy… What did you have planed for him?” she asked. He’d said something was coming for this gifted in a few days. If they could warn them without exposing them…
“Ah yes. I figured you’d be curious about him,” Beranger grinned as he turned to the chief.
“Your people call him Phantom,” he said, like it was something dramatic. And Janice got the idea that it was to literally anyone else in the room. Except for Chief. She seemed pretty on top of it judging by her chuckle. Janice wondered how Beranger liked being on the receiving end of that.
“We do. And he’s been working for us for months. I assume your plan involves the ‘family’ meeting taking place sometime soon? We are aware. In fact I’m pretty sure I’ll have a date and time on my desk when I get back to the bureau. If he goes in person, he’ll be there to provide backup for my teams. Nothing more,” Chief promised. That did make Collector frown for a moment. His eyes drifted over the gathered group and he relaxed. Damn him. “No matter. I’ll win in any way you look at it. Gifted will get the respect they deserve. I don’t care if I have to see my life’s work blossom from within a cell. It will happen.” He insisted.
A gust of wind filled the room and suddenly Starbucker aka Janice’s therapist Remy Picani stood next to Prince. “I’ll take him from here Prince. You guys got some talking to do and stuff,” he offered. Prince, however, hesitated.
“Ah, right,” Remy realized, his expression clear even through the mask. He was hurt, but resigned to the situation. “Can’t be sure I’m really on your side yet…” he allowed awkwardly.
“Allow me,” the masked hero Janice hadn’t identified and who’d been keeping his distance throughout the whole conversation so far, offered. “I’ll see the rest of you later tonight,” he assured them before taking Collector away, spearheaded by Remy. Janice couldn’t help but feel like they were supposed to know who that guy was… He’d seen that star design somewhere… Oh whatever, not that important.
“I gotta go back to my team,” Chief announced. “You guys take your time, but I’m sure the Bullards will want to see their kid asap,” she suggested before leaving. Oh God. Their parents… They were grounded forever. They were sure of it.
Virgil groaned, calling everyone’s attention. “So even after we win, we’re still not rid of his games huh?” he concluded.
Then he got tackled by Patton. “My boy! Did he hurt you? Are you alright?” he demanded.
“I’m fine, I promise,” Virgil insisted. “It is alright if you aren’t Virgil. That… This was a very though ordeal for all of us,” uncle Logan assured him.
“Yeah… I think I’ll need a minute before facing my folks,” Janice admitted. They couldn’t imagine how they’d react. They could not handle it right now regardless. There still was so much to process.
“Me too,” Roman sighed before turning to Remus. “And you and I are going to have a conversation once we get home,” he warned, confirming his identity for Janice. Remus giggled and bowed before taking off. Janice supposed the Castiles needed to be informed their sons were okay by someone.
Then Roman approached Virgil. “I’m so sorry Stormcloud. I shouldn’t have strayed from your side…” he offered softly.
“Princey, shut up and join the hug. That’s honestly all I need right now,” Virgil insisted. “Same goes for all of you, come on,” he added gesturing to Janice and uncle Logan who chuckled.
They all gathered around Virgil and enveloped him in a gesture of mutual understanding and steady comfort. Janice could feel Virgil’s body shaking under the soundless sobbing that overtook him once they were all together. He didn’t mention it though. No one did. They just stood there and waited until they were all ready to face the outside once more.

Chapter Text

Janice settled into the back seat next to Remus, feeling giddy.
She looked gorgeous. Not surprisingly with Virgil as her personal stylist for the evening.
This feeling was worth the stress of the past few months. She’d been to juvenile court to clear her charges as had Remus. It was necessary for all ‘actively’ involved in the Collector’s scheme. It was determined if they were brainwashed, coerced or if they acted on their own accord. Janice felt bad for being pulled ahead of everyone else. But the chief, surprisingly kind when briefing them and Remus on the matter, had assured them that Beranger had made it easy for them. Perhaps because he wanted his subordinates out in the world to do his bidding rather than in jail should his operation get exposed. He’d made extensive recordings of the process of each of his victims who did not come along willingly right away. If there was any coercion involved there was evidence on camera. Of course all those he’d broken were on close watch until a psychiatrist cleared them.
She was cleared now though. And they had helped Virgil, Roman and the other heroes clean up Beranger’s mess.
They had told their parents and uncle Lo and Mr. Patton about their true identity and it had gone better than they’d dared to hope. Their mother had gone shopping with them that weekend and now their closet held anything they’d need to feel comfortable with who they were. And after tonight, they could actually wear the non-ambiguous feminine clothes to school.
They’d moved from their table for two in the corner to the big central crowded table Virgil had been trying to drag them to for ages and they’d been welcomed with open arms. They’d even informed the group of their pronouns and had been met with nothing but support. He and Stacy had hit it off beautifully, teasing Roman and Virgil every time they were being cute together.
Remus was absolutely thriving with a bigger audience.
They smiled as they watched Virgil hold Roman’s hand in the front seat. Looked like their date had gone very well.
“And we are here!” Roman announced suddenly, snapping Janice out of her thoughts and parking the car. Suddenly the nerves hit them. The dance was held in an event hall at the center of town. They were currently on the parking lot across the street. There were other students arriving. Laughing and all wrapped up in their own excitement.
“Ready to make a splash?” Virgil wondered looking back.
Janice took a breath. They weren’t alone in this. They were with friends who’d stand by her.
She nodded determinedly.
“Yes. Let’s blow their minds,” she said. Suddenly both she and Virgil had their doors opened for them.
“Wonderful now if you two lovely beings would care to join us?” Roman grinned as he helped Virgil get out of the car, much to the latter’s amusement. Janice let Remus help her and so both friends were each walking on one of the twin’s arms towards the party. She could hear people gasp as they spotted them. But she paid no mind to what they were whispering. They all looked quite striking honestly. Virgil’s look the least remarkable of them all, which was very on brand for him.
When they arrived at the party and Roman handed over their tickets, Janice could see the lady at the front desk take them all in with awe.
When they entered the actual room they were almost immediately swarmed by their other friends.
“OMG Roman! Look at you. Ready for that crown I see!” Fabio said.
“Janice! How dare you look so fine!?” Kelly teased.
“Blame Virgil for that ladies. You know he can’t deliver anything short of perfection,” Janice laughed.
“Speaking off, roguish charm looks good on you,” Miguel stated eyeing Virgil’s look.
“Hey! Gotta put some respect on my man Remus here. Perfect fit dude,” Nick insisted, inspecting Remus’ coat and crop vest.
“Guys, please. Give us some space to breathe. And dance,” Virgil said as he looked at Roman. “May I?” he asked. Roman chuckled and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Always.”
And they were off in their own little world of swooning.
“Shut up… Omg they finally made it official?” Clara whispered as Miguel and Andre exchanged money.
Remus and Janice just laughed. And then Janice was dragged on the dancefloor by his unruly friend.
It was nice. Dancing the night away and not paying attention to the stares and whispers. And then. The big moment came.
“Everyone! Can all nominees for winter royalty come to the stage?” Mx. Stokes announced.
Roman led Virgil back to the group before heading to the stage.
“So? Is he nervous?” Janice asked.
Virgil scoffed. “Like there is any real competition,” he smirks proudly.
“Simp,” Janice tells him, getting a playful elbow to the side. “Owch, treat a lady with some respect,” Janice scoffs.
Virgil just smiles and turns back to the stage.
“Romie has been practicing his speech all week,” Remus snickers. “He’ll be devastated if he doesn’t win. Might need his boyfriend to kiss it better,” he teased in a singsong voice.
“Won’t be necessary,” Virgil insisted.
“The results are in! Your choice for Prince is… Roman Castile!”
Roman stepped forward gracefully and bowed his head to be crowned and smoothly took the microphone from their principal.
“Thank you Mx. Stokes. But as we all know, no victory is complete without those who stood by your side through all the highs and the lows. You all know who you are. But special mention to one person in particular. Sweet knight. Come join me on stage won’t you?” he requested sweetly prompting Janice and Remus to push Virgil forward while the group cheered.
When Virgil arrived Roman handed the microphone back to the principal, pulled Virgil close and dipped him for a long kiss that had the whole room cheering.
Janice clapped. Somehow this felt like the end of all the chaos and the start of their next adventure. College, more heroics. Remus potentially going undercover. Careers. They’d have to see.
But no matter what. Janice felt like together, they could handle anything.