Chapter Text
He never liked going into the imagination.
Janus never would have made the long trip through the imagination's kingdom to get to the market if winter wasn't approaching. Being half-reptillian, he had to worry more about preparing for the winter, and he had ran out of firewood. And, don't judge him, he was certainly not strong enough to gather his own. So every year at the beginning of winter, he was stuck taking the long trip to get firewood, and every year it sucked.
The people in the imagination tended to share Roman's distaste for him, especially the farther he went into the prince's half of the imagination. So here he was, two hours after arriving, finally getting to leave after begging the salesman to lower his prices that he knew were only spiked because of who he was.
He'd have to get Remus to conjure up more currency later, he never liked using the energy it took to conjure anything up.
Janus finally got to head back, and of course, because Roman's side hated him, it started to snow. Badly. Now, Janus wasn't a total fool, he did bring a coat, but it certainly wasn't thick enough compared to the absolute blizzard that kicked in 30 minutes into his 3 hour hike home. Great.
He sighed, breath coming out as smoke, and shivered. Every step was getting harder, and an hour later he realized he was getting too cold. Remember how je's a half-snake man? If he gets too cold, his body will fall into brumation. That wouldn't normally be a problem, but seeing as he's in the middle of the imagination, and a good hour and a half away from home still, he couldn't very well just pass out right then.
But as he felt his fingers and toes go numb, his eyes close on their own, and his shivering grow more intense, he knew he'd have to at least take shelter so he wasn't just sleeping in the snow.
Luckily, he came across a village. He knew chances were slim, but hopefully someone would be kind enough to offer him a room. He went to the first door, and as soon as they opened the door, they slammed it back in his face. Right. Roman's people.
He tried again, and again, and the result was the same. Eventually, the local knights came and told him he was not welcome within the villages walls and would have to find shelter somewhere else. Fantastic.
He at least had enough change for a small coffee, warming himself up for a good 20 minutes as he continued on the path back home. But not too long later, his eyes were drooping again, and his will to move was leaving his body.
He was maybe about 45 minutes away from home when he tripped over his own feet, faceplanting into the snow. Immediately he felt his willpower drain from his body, letting his eyes cold and curling in on himself. The last thing he heard was someone yelling out his name, and everything went black.
...
When Janus came to, he immediately felt an immense warmth, sighing in relief. It was such a pleasant contrast to the cold, and he leaned into the source of the heat. He let himself recover for a few minutes before taking a peak at the source of this blissful heat.
Ah, the room was really dark, but he was definitely laying on a heating pad, as well as his favorite sunrock. Perfect, he curled back up and sighed in content. Whoever brought him here was most probably getting a thank you, a rare occurence from the snake side.
"Feeling better?" A familiar raspy voice broke through the blissful silence. Janus shot up, and the lights came on to reveal Virgil standing in the doorway. He was in the emo's room. Okay, weird.
"Definitely not," Janus replied, eyeing Virgil warily. "So you found me then?"
"Yeah, curled up and passed out in the goddamn snow, you idiot. What the hell were you doing in the imagination in the middle of a blizzard? Does Remus have the brain cell today?" Virgil demanded, hands on his hips.
"I certainly did not run out of firewood and had to take a three hour trip just to acquire more," Janus explained, standing up from his spot. "I suppose I should thank you for returning me home. Though I'm surprised you actually took the time out of your day to help me, I know how you feel about me," Janus said, and he was about to head out when Virgil grabbed his arm, stopping him from moving.
"Look, I know you can't conjure for shit, if you really need firewood, why didn't you just ask Remus? Three hours on Roman's side of the imagination doesn't really seem like it's worth your time."
"I can't make Remus do everything for me," Janus dismissed, "it takes a lot out of him to conjure things up. You spend all your time with Roman these days, you should know how exhausting it is for them."
"Yeah, but, if it saves you that big of a hassle-"
"Why do you care?" Janus interjected, crossing his arms.
"Fuck, you're so annoying," Virgil rolled his eyes and groaned. "Because- I don't know, some moronic part of me cares about you, dick." Janus's features fell at that, and his breath hitched.
"Oh." He said simply.
"Yeah, oh." Virgil returned.
"Well...thank you, then. For caring," Janus said, turning away to hide the heat in his cheeks.
"Yeah, you're welcome," Virgil retorted, and the two went their seperate ways for the night, though the heat did not leave Janus's face.