Archive of Our Own

The first thing Nico felt when he saw Thomas's number show up was relief. It had been days of radio silence and ignored texts from his boyfriend and he was beginning to fear he was either dumped or something was very wrong. 

That relief quickly turned to annoyance when he heard Thomas's voice clearly and without any emotion say "I require your assistance." Like he hadn't been ignoring and freaking out Nico for days, but called as soon as he wanted something. It felt very unlike Thomas, but he also hadn't known Thomas that long... 

He was still formulating a response of the two clashing emotions when another voice that sounded a lot like Thomas's called out "Logan, I don't know what to do! I think I'm just making it worse." 

"Go and sit with Thomas for now. Monitor him for any changes and come and get me if anything major happens. Hopefully Nico can rectify the situation." Thomas (Logan?) sighed. "I apologize. Issues that don't involve moral quandaries or can't be solved with a surfeit of affection are somewhat out of Patton's wheelhouse. Mind, I originally thought this problem could be solved with excessive affection. But I miscalculated. It seems Thomas sees our care for him as 'obligatory' and thus did not alleviate the symptoms before they worsened." 

Thomas had brothers, Nico remembered. He couldn't quite recall their names, but it would explain Logan and Patton sounding so similar to Thomas and why Thomas felt their love was obligatory. On one hand, it meant Thomas wasn't being an ass. On the other...something was very wrong. "What's going on with Thomas?" Nico asked. 

"His mental health spiraled quickly and harshly a few days prior." Logan reported. "Worse than it ever has in the past. Today it took an even further dip. He is currently completely unresponsive to verbal or physical stimuli, though his involuntary reflexes seem to still be holding up, such as pupil constriction when exposing his eyes to a flashlight." 

Nico was already pulling on his coat. "I'm on my way, but I think this is doctor territory." 

Logan was quiet for a moment and for the first time, uncertainty entered his voice. "I do not believe that is advisable at this time." 

"Why is this not advisable?" Nico snapped as he pulled open his car door. "This is serious!" 

"I concur. But...while Virgil is currently catastrophizing to a prior unheard of degree, not everything he said was unfounded." Logan sighed. "And there is really no way for you to help without informing you. You are aware, of course, of the cases of people randomly developing abilities and traits prior thought to be impossible? And how humanity has historically responded to people who are noticeably different?" 

It clicked. "Thomas developed superpowers, had a legendary panic attack over it- probably thinking he was a monster or no one would look at him the same way again. You're afraid if you take him to the hospital and make his powers known he'll be opening himself up for discrimination or worse, which will validate the negative thoughts currently making him spiral?" 

"Yes." Logan sounded relieved he understood. "You grasped that masterfully." 

"I'm gay," Nico snorted. "I am very familiar with overthinking all the things that can go wrong with coming out to the wrong people and the dangers of people thinking you're subhuman because you're different." 

"As is Thomas." Logan sighed. "I'll be awaiting you at Thomas's home. Drive swiftly but safely and within all legal limits."

The call cut off and Nico stared at his phone for a moment. Logan was… okay, Logan was a little weird. But right now Thomas needed help and that had to be the focus. He got there as quickly as he could (staying within the aforementioned legal limits, it wouldn’t do anyone any good if he got pulled over.)

Nico had barely knocked on the door before it was opened by someone who both completely did and did not look like Thomas. The face and body shape was the same, with the only difference being his hair was a little darker, his eyes were a deep blue instead of brown, and he wore glasses. But where the physicality was near identical, how he carried himself was inverse. Thomas wore his heart on his sleeve and usually either had a relaxed slouch or was filled with nervous energy. This person held himself rigidly, proper posture maintained. 

"Nico, good to meet you in the flesh, so to speak," came the same clipped tone he heard over the phone. 

"Logan, right?" Nico acknowledged.

Logan's face did something odd. "How did you know my name? I am quite sure neither Thomas nor I introduced myself."

Why would he assume Thomas hadn't told him his brother's name? Like, he was right, but it was a weird thing to assume. "I heard Patton call you that over the phone." Nico explained. 

Logan rolled his eyes. "And the trend of him telling people my name before I can continues, though I seemed to have returned the favor this time. However, that is not important." 

Right, Thomas. Nico pushed past Logan and into the house, where he saw two people sitting on the couch. He barely noted that the other person was also practically a dead wringer for Thomas before he curled up beside his boyfriend, entwining their fingers together. "Thomas?" he called softly. 

Thomas didn't respond to either his voice or his touch. Logan came over and took Thomas's pulse on his other hand and shined a flashlight in Thomas's eyes. "Pupil response is still active and pulse remains high. No change." 

"What do we do?" the person Nico assumed was Patton wailed. 

"I am afraid I am at a loss." Logan admitted. "I still believe that Nico's acceptance would pull Thomas out of the spiral. However, Thomas has retreated too far into his own mind to hear the words, rendering them ineffective." 

"Can we, I dunno, bring Nico into Thomas's mind." Patton suggested, clearly grasping at straws. 

"While that would solve the problem I have no idea how to go about it." Logan admitted. "The only one who could do that is Thomas. And if he were cognizant enough to bring people into his mind... an irony that the only obvious solution to the problem can only be enacted if the problem itself didn't exist." 

"Is that Thomas's power? Bringing people into his mind?" Nico asked. 

Logan and Patton shared a look. "Not exactly," Logan pushed up his glasses and Nico idly realized Patton wore an identical pair. "Truthfully it's more a hypothesis than absolute knowledge if he could do that." 

"But his power is mental, you wouldn't assume that unless it was. Could that be what's making this worse?" Nico guessed. 

"Indubitably,” Logan agreed. 

"You know our little stormcloud wouldn't do this on purpose," Patton protested.

"Stormcloud?" Nico asked. "That... doesn't really sound like Thomas." Yeah, he liked emo music, but Thomas was far more sunshine than stormcloud. Well, usually. Right now he wasn't much of anything, which was significantly worse than a stormcloud. Patton and Logan shared a look. 

"I suppose I never explained in detail but-Nico, who do you think we are?" Logan asked. 

"Thomas's brothers?" Nico asked more than said, suddenly feeling more unsure of his deduction. "At this point I'm thinking either triplets or your family has some very strong genetics." 

"It is a logical conclusion to draw, and thus I appreciate it." Logan nodded to himself. "But, sadly, as so many logical things are right now, inaccurate." 

"Aw, just because we don't understand the logic doesn't mean it isn't there, just that we don't understand it yet." Patton reassured him. 

"I appreciate the sentiment, even if I'm not sure how accurate it is." Logan sounded defeated.

"Anytime. And Nico, we're not Thomas." Now that Nico was focused on him he could see that like Logan, his face was nigh-identical to Thomas's. His eyes were blue, but both them and his hair was a lighter shade than Logan's with the occasional streak of gray throughout. "We're just not... not Thomas." 

"I'm confused," Nico admitted. 

"We are aspects of Thomas's psyche given human form," Logan explained. "I represent logic and knowledge. The desire to learn new things and be seen as a professional. Patton is Thomas's morality and emotional core. He takes on a fatherly mien to represent the fact that Thomas learned his morality from his parents, yet he is also paradoxically Thomas's inner child." 

"We don't all make sense. Like how you say you have no emotions, but get so mad when you think Thomas isn't listening to you." Patton poked.

"Falsehood!" Logan declared, looking flustered. 

"Is it, though?" Patton asked with a knowing grin. 

"Guys... Thomas?" Nico tried to get the two back on track. 

"I apologize." Logan straightened his tie. "This whole existing as a flesh and blood entity separate from Thomas is very distracting. Which, if you haven't surmised, is Thomas's power. Albeit, one he doesn't actually have any control over. We chose whether or not to manifest, which I'm sure only added to the stress of the situation. The 'Stormcloud' Patton referred to was the manifestation of Thomas's anxiety." 

"His name is Virgil," Patton said reprovingly. 

"Yes, and while I do not particularly care whether my name is or is not known, Virgil chooses to only share it with those he is comfortable with and in his own time, which is why I refrained from using it," Logan countered. 

"Oh no." Patton looked stricken. 

"He will forgive you.” Logan sighed. “He is more fond of you than he is the rest of us. But yes, Virgil did not take to the situation at hand well and his panic translated over to Thomas and left him in this state." 

"So Virgil is shut down too?" Nico guessed. 

"No, he's aware and responsive, but his responses mostly consist of lashing out in the most terrifying manner possible." Logan explained.

"Now that’s not true Logan, he's not using spiders." Patton pointed out as if it were an inarguable truth. 

"Your arachnophobia is not universal, Patton. In fact Virgil is quite fond of spiders. He's lashing out in a way he thinks is scary-" 

"Does that mean if we calm down Virgil, Thomas might wake up?" Nico squeezed his boyfriend's hand. 

Logan blinked. "That is... plausible. I am truly off my game today for not thinking of it first. True, Virgil isn't letting any of us close, but he is innately fond of you. According to Roman, he was the one who gave Thomas the final push into talking to you, which, needless to say, is considerable coming from the literal personification of Thomas’s social anxiety." 

"Okay, so where is Virgil now?" Nico asked.

"Where he feels the most comfortable." Logan pushed his glasses up. "The Attic."

“He likes creepy things. And morbid things. And it’s very far from the basement.” Patton explained.

“What’s in the basement?” Nico was almost afraid to know.

“Let’s handle one crisis at a time, shall we.”

~

"Well, this is certainly not ideal." Logan said, in what Nico felt had to be the greatest understatement of the day. They were standing in front of the open door to the attic, shadows drifting outward like mist from a fog machine. 

"What is this?" Nico asked, trying to feel the shadows and not actually making physical contact with anything. 

"Virgil has always had an affinity for darkness. In addition to being Thomas's anxiety, fears, nervousness, and fight or flight reflex, he is also representative of Thomas's emo phase and continued love of the music from that era in his life. This is probably a side effect of the tantrum he's throwing." Logan took a deep breath and straightened his tie. "Virgil, we're coming in." 

"₦Ø!" screamed a voice Nico could only barely recognize as Thomas's. It sounded almost demonic, like several voices layering together. 

"I'm afraid this is not optional." Logan began to climb the stairs without a hint of fear, Nico following behind, trying to push down his own trepidation as the shadows became so deep he couldn’t see Logan in front of him. 

"ł ĐØ₦'₮ ₩₳₦₮ ₮Ø ₮₳Ⱡ₭ ₮Ø ɎØɄ ØⱤ ₱₳₮₮Ø₦." presumably Virgil snarled.

"Then it's a good thing I don't have Patton with me." Logan said simply. 

"ł ĐØ₦'₮ ₩₳₦₮ ₮Ø ₮₳Ⱡ₭ ₮Ø ₱Ɽł₦₵ɆɎ ØⱤ ₮ⱧɆ ₴₦₳₭Ɇ Ɇł₮ⱧɆⱤ!" 

"Who are Princey and the Snake?" Nico whispered, stumbling as he tried to step up only to realize there were no more steps. They’d made it to the top.

"Roman and Janus. They are currently occupied in the basement at the moment." Logan explained. 

"Nico?" For one moment Virgil's voice sounded just like Thomas's, only deeper and rougher. And so painfully vulnerable. Then- "₩ⱧɎ гРɎØɄ ฿Ɽł₦₲ ₦ł₵Ø ⱧɆⱤɆ?! ⱧɆ'ⱠⱠ ₴ɆɆ Ʉ₴! ⱧɆ'ⱠⱠ ₴ɆɆ ₩Ⱨ₳₮ ₩Ɇ ₳ⱤɆ! ₳ ฿ⱤØ₭Ɇ₦ ₣ⱤɆ₳₭! ⱧɆ'ⱠⱠ ⱠɆ₳VɆ. ⱧɆ'ⱠⱠ ⱠɆ₳VɆ ₳₦Đ ₩Ɇ'ⱠⱠ ฿Ɇ ₳ⱠØ₦E ₳G₳ł₦ ₳₦Đ ₮ⱧØ₥₳₴ ₳₦Đ ₱₳₮₮Ø₦ ₩łⱠⱠ ₵Ɽ₳₵₭ ₣ⱤØ₥ ₮ⱧɆ ⱧɆ₳Ɽ₮฿ⱤɆ₳₭ ₳₦Đ-" 

"Hey, hey," Nico still couldn't see Virgil, but oh, he knew that panic well. "Logan, ah, filled me in on the metahuman thing and introduced himself and Patton and... I'm still here." As he spoke, the darkness seemed to fade from the room and Nico could start to make out the figure within. 

Despite the demonic sounding voice, the figure was indeed another Thomas. While Logan and Patton felt slightly older than the Thomas he knew, Virgil, if anything, felt younger. He was wearing a purple oversized hoodie and had bangs draped over his eyes that were a plum purple, as well. There were dark circles under his eyes, but with the gloom Nico couldn't tell if they were makeup or eyebags. And while the voice and its projection gave the impression of a powerful monster floating above them, the reality was Virgil was huddled against the far wall, terrified. 

Nico slowly walked towards Virgil. "It's okay, Virgil. I'm not going to leave." 

"Ɏσυ ѕнσυℓ∂. ㄥσσк αт υѕ. Щє'яє α мєѕѕ. คη∂ ωє ѕнσυℓ∂η'т єνєη вє α ωє. ι ѕнσυℓ∂η'т єχιѕт." The words were still distorted, but no longer shouted. 

"That's not true. You may not have been your own person, but you were always there, right? Logan says you're Thomas's nervousness and also emo side, right? That means you're in that cute nervous smile he always does when he's not sure he said the right thing. The part of him that reads the reviews beforehand wherever we go on dates so he knows there won't be any unpleasant surprises. The one who listens to Paramore with me when I'm stuck with writer's block. Sure we're meeting for the first time face to face, but I feel like I've already spent a lot of time with you." As he spoke, the unnatural darkness faded completely and Nico could see the dark shadow under his eyes was, in fact, makeup. It was so extra and so Thomas he couldn't help but be charmed. “You’re probably one of the parts of Thomas I spent the most time with.”

"How can you love us, when we're like this?" Virgil asked, his voice faded to normal. “How could anyone?”

"Easily." Nico replied, giving him a gentle kiss on top of his head. 

Virgil's eyeshadow suddenly glowed a shimmery purple and he looked at Nico with a sense of wonder. 

"Guys, Thomas is waking up!" Patton excitedly called from downstairs. 

"Wait, waking up from what?" Virgil asked, the purple fading back to black. 

"Your... episode, as it were, translated to Thomas," Logan explained. "It was more than we could handle ourselves and your point about outing ourselves as a meta was valid, so with medical intervention deemed a last resort only, I was forced to call Nico for aid."

"I hurt Thomas." Virgil was clearly horrified, and Nico squeezed his hand. 

"You are Thomas. As am I." Logan pointed out. "Our newfound... situation does not change that. Therefore, how we feel and react does have an effect on him, the degree of which we're still learning." Logan leaned down and patted his knee. "We're all still learning. I am... so far out of my depth with this, and that's not something I say easily. But if you feel you owe Thomas an apology, don't you think you should give it to him?" 

"I hate it when you make sense." Virgil grumbled. "I mean, you're right, but surprise- I feel really anxious about it. Gotta be me, I guess. Unfortunately." 

"I like you." Nico said simply, and Virgil's eyeshadow surged purple before immediately fading back to black. 

"Let's get this over with. I probably owe Patton an apology too. I kind of lashed out at him when he just tried to help." Virgil sounded even more embarrassed.

"True, but I also imagine his 'help' was trying to be an endless fountain of rainbows and sunshine, pointing out all the potential good of the situation while completely ignoring the bad. Something both of us can find irritating." Logan said breezily. 

"It's not that it's irritating, it's just..." Virgil shrugged. "Let's get this over with.” He stood up, but Nico kept their hands entwined. Virgil looked surprised, but grateful. 

After seeing Thomas all but paralyzed into a sitting position before, it was a relief to see him laying bonelessly stretched out on the couch, a towel over his eyes. Patton shot them a thumbs-up. 

Virgil flinched. "Hey, sorry for the whole... that." 

"Virge, I love you man. But please, never do that again." Thomas moaned. 

"Didn't exactly do it on purpose, but I'll try not to. And Patton, sorry too. For lashing out. And saying what I said." Virgil shrunk into his hoodie.

"Don't mention it, kiddo, water under the bridge.” Patton promised. “It hurt in the moment, but looking back I didn't really help either. I mean, I meant to. But ignoring all the negative possibilities in favor of the positive probably felt more like I was ignoring you, and of course that didn't make you feel better." 

"I didn't want to say but... yeah." Virgil admitted. 

"Kiddo, you got to tell me when something bothers you. Like when you told me you didn't like it when I treated you like you were harmless. Bottling things up only makes it worse. Don’t be afraid to tell your old man how you feel."


“Not my Dad,” Thomas and Virgil said in sync. 

"That was surprisingly astute of you, Patton." Logan said. 

"I'm at the core of a lot of Thomas's emotions. I may not be the big brain you are, but I'm an A-plus student in emotional intelligence." Patton grinned.

"The only kind of intelligence you're versed in." Logan grumbled, and Nico's eyes widened in confusion at the sudden cattiness. 

"Sorry-not sorry to interrupt before you two get going again," Virgil said. "But where's Roman? Like, he's never not hovering around when Nico's here."

"What do you mean, hovering around? I thought you guys only appeared a few days ago and I haven’t been here in that time. Wait, Logan also said Virgil was the one who convinced Thomas to talk to me and that was… ages ago." 

"Nico's here!" Thomas shot up and pulled the towel from his eyes, staring at his boyfriend in shock. 

"Hey." Nico waved at him. 

"I can explain-" 

"I have already done that for you and Nico is on board, so lay back down and continue to recover." Logan instructed, gently pushing Thomas back down and reapplying the towel over his eyes. "And we have technically existed for a long time. It aided Thomas in sorting out his thoughts and feelings to imagine the parts of himself as a forum of discussion and debate. At first we were represented as mere replicas of characters from his skits, but he developed us over time into full characters of our own. However, we were entirely imaginary. Until a few days ago, when we suddenly weren't." 

"I kinda thought I lost my grip on reality and was hallucinating them." Thomas admitted from under the towel. 

"And that did not help his mental state one bit." Virgil threw in with a sigh. "Our mental state? This is weird. I don’t like it. And it doesn't answer my question. Where's Princey? Nico's like... catnip to him."

Thomas pulled the towel off his eyes again. "Virgil's right. Roman is literally my romantic side. There's no way he wouldn't be front and center." 

"He and Janus are... busy," Logan hedged. "I mentioned that earlier." 

"He's working with the snake?" Virgil's lip quirked in distaste. 

"Janus is quite skilled at what he does. And those skills are invaluable to the task at hand. Which was actually based on your recommendation." 

"I didn't recommend anything involving—" Virgil was cut off as Thomas's head suddenly rocked back, his eyes momentarily glowing a burning acid green before fading back to normal. "Okay, the hell was that‽" 

"I think that was Remus going back to his room in the Mind Palace." Thomas rubbed his head as if warding off a headache. 

"I'm guessing Remus is another aspect?" Nico asked. 

"We prefer to be called Sides. And yes. Remus represents Creativity, particularly in it's darker aspects. Intrusive thoughts, impulses, and things considered to be unsavory or, for want of a better term, wrong." Logan explained.

"He can be a lot," Patton admitted, then grinned. “We would have been Remus in looking out for you if we left him free to harass you.”

"Did not miss the puns.” Logan sighed. “His contributions are valuable. But he is a bit difficult to deal with. And to be frank, given the taboo nature of copulation and Thomas's obvious physical attraction to you-" 

"We are not going there!" Thomas yelped. 

Logan sighed. "That reaction is exactly why that sort of thing is under Remus's purview. Now, while Remus is an important part of Thomas's psyche, his power was limited to thoughts and impulses that Thomas could choose whether or not to act upon, rendering him ultimately harmless. As a flesh and blood being with his own agency? Remus presents a problem, which was one of the factors in Virgil's," Logan pulled a pack of index cards from his pocket, before showing one to them. "'Epic Crashout'." 

Virgil shrugged, looking a little flustered at the reminder of what just happened. "We just don't know what he's going to do. He could just hover about and suggest obscene things. He might try and enact those things. He could attempt to gouge out one of his own eyes and do the same to you. Asking Remus to control his impulses is like asking me to relax. And he could pop out at anytime in public and do them to or in front of anyone, including children, and the only way we can stop that is if we never leave the house again and-" 

"Settle down, Gayday Parade," a more regal version of Thomas's voice sounded from behind them. "Janus and I managed to keep the miscreant occupied until he was soundly sent packing." 

"Yes, and you did the bulk of the work and are the dashing hero," followed a smooth, sassy tone. 

Nico looked at the new Thomas's entering the room and the nicknames made a startling amount of sense. Who he presumed was Roman was dressed as a prince, his hair perfectly kempt and his cheekbones more chiseled and prominent than Thomas's. His eyes were the color of carmine, but looked remarkably unthreatening, given the general context of red eyes. He looked every bit the Disney Prince, even more so as he posed like he was in a painting. 

The person he presumed was Janus was dressed more like he was from the Victorian era, save the bright yellow color on his capelet trim and gloves, which would have been unspeakably garish at the time. But it wasn't his wardrobe that was the most eyecatching. It was the left half of his face. Both eyes were yellow, but the left was slitted and surrounded by shiny red skin. Tiny golden scales covered his skin in patches and his mouth, while normal on the right side, was far longer on the left. Snake indeed. 

“My sweet, shining songmith.” Roman got down on one knee in front of Nico. “For too long have I been away in battle, my partner in arms and I containing the wicked Duke and his aspirations. And seeing you here makes every second with my bothersome brother more than worth it. Mi amor, grant me your favor and I will face any foes, from a dragon-witch to self-doubt and beyond.”

“And he’s off.” Virgil rolled his eyes.

"I expected you two to be able to corral Remus in the basement, it was my plan after all. However I did not expect it to work to the point of making him retreat. How did you manage that? If we can figure it out we can utilize it in the future to-" 

"We will not be doing that again." Janus said, then sighed and took off his right glove, holding his hand like he was giving an oath. "It seems I am venomous. My venom is a mild paralytic that Remus thought was kinky at first, but grew bored with not being able to move and retreated. But we will not make any plans that involve me putting any part of Remus in my mouth is that clear!"

"I would never have asked you to do that in the first place. But I'm grateful you did. Thank you." Thomas said sincerely. 

Janus pulled the glove back on. "You're not welcome." His gaze slid over Nico. "Logan should never have called you. You didn't help in any way. Your presence is unnecessary." 

Nico barely had time for the hurt to settle in before Roman turned on Janus and drew a… katana? "How dare you, you perfidious puffadder! To besmirch our perfect poetic paramour... Our wondrous knight, who rode to our aid not knowing what was going on. Who calmed our tempestuous thunderstorm and-" 

"He put his glove back on." Virgil interrupted, grumpily. 

"What does that even have to do with-" 

"It's an indicator." Logan interrupted before Roman could get going again. "While Janus doesn't always lie, especially when the truth can serve his ends better, his word is only to be taken at face value after he's taken his glove off. Any other time, his words are usually manipulative at best, a complete fabrication at worse, but most commonly, an inverse of the sentiment he's currently feeling." 

"In other words, he was basically saying in his own Janus way that Logan calling you was a good idea, you helped a lot, and you were absolutely needed," Thomas said tiredly. 

"And while normally he'd be more careful about giving offense, especially to someone who he approves of in Thomas's life, I imagine the stress of keeping Remus under control, or at least out of trouble, for over an hour took its toll." Logan added. 

"I don't know what you're talking about. It was an absolute delight. I've never had a better time." Janus said in the exact same tone he'd insulted Nico in which, yeah, did more to convince Nico of its falsehood than the assurance of Thomas. 

"So when Janus said Roman did the bulk of the work and was a dashing hero-?" Nico asked. 

Virgil smothered a laugh as Roman easily became twice as affronted. 

"Yes, you were also the one best suited to retain the ability to create illusions, just like your brother with his shapeshifting. I'm not at all jealous over having something as banal as venom. Those suit you far better than me. I'm sure your intellectual prowess will allow you to make perfect use of them." 

"Well I'm glad you think so but-wait! You're insulting me again!" Roman declared. 

"Ko e vale 'a e pilinisi," Logan muttered under his breath

"Whatever gave you that idea? Now this ordeal has got me all tuckered out. I won't be back later." Janus tipped his bowler and sunk into the ground, fading away as Thomas's eyes glowed a golden yellow. 

"I am never going to get used to that feeling." Thomas bemoaned, massaging his temples. 

"I don't like him," Virgil grumbled. 

"As has been well noted." Logan nodded. "However, he was instrumental in keeping Remus occupied and away from Thomas, and later, Nico." The entire group shuddered. "And do recall Roman was not very fond of you either, at first. Much like Janus and Remus, you were perceived as something to be managed, not appreciated. But even before we understood it to be true, your contributions were always valuable, and so are theirs." 

"Janus, I can see. I don't like it, but I can see it." Thomas blinked, a thought dawning on him. "Nico, Janus is my self-preservation, but above all else, my capacity for deceit." 

"Which explains the lying thing." Nico nodded. That had been confusing. 

"You're taking the fact that one of the major facets of my psyche is Deceit very well." Thomas said, a bit unnerved. "Actually you're taking all of this very well." 

"Oh I am definitely in crisis mode and everything that's not making sure you're okay is being put away to be dealt with later and I will probably have an existential crisis or two then." Nico leaned over and kissed his temple. "And you're worth the crisis, Mr. Sanders, never forget that. As for deceit, it does make sense." 

"It does?" Thomas asked, worriedly. 

Nico laughed. "You're an actor. Being able to fool the audience into believing you're someone you're not is literally your job." 

"But I am his ☆Creativity☆." Roman flourished his hand and was suddenly surrounded by sparkles. 

"Half his creativity." Logan muttered. 

"And he does such a good job!" Patton clapped his hands.

"I thought Roman was your romantic side?" Nico asked. “And Remus was your creativity.”

"I am his romantic side!" Roman declared. "I am also his main creativity! His passion! His love of Disney! And a not-inconsiderable amount of his ego." He waggled his eyebrows. "I contain multitudes." 

"Logan is the rest of Thomas's ego." Patton said happily. 

"No I'm not!" Logan denied. 

"Sure you are. Roman is Thomas's pride in himself as a person. You're his professional pride, his desire for his expertise and achievements to be seen and recognized. And be taken seriously. That's why you always take everything super seriously." Patton explained, grin never wavering. 

"...I do not like this revelation." Logan said. "But I cannot deny it's accuracy. I do very much want Thomas's capacity and acknowledgments, especially his intellectual capacity, recognized and that is a form of ego." 

"Getting sidetracked happens a lot with them." Thomas warned. "But I was telling you about Janus for a reason. He's my self-preservation. Everything he does will have an end goal of being for my own good. Just mine." Thomas reached over and squeezed the hand Roman had let go. "Be careful trusting him. He'll use you without a second thought." 

"Logan's the best at seeing through his horseshit." Virgil shrugged. "If Snake-Face tells you to do anything or act a certain way, go to him first." 

"Why not me?" Patton asked, hurt. "I'm Thomas's morality." 

"Sorry, Pop-star, but you are very easily swayed by emotional pleas and Janus knows that about you." Virgil apologized. 

"Don't play down your own abilities, Virgil." Roman chided. "You are the master of figuring out when Janus is disguised as one of us. You have a preternatural ability to sniff him out." 

"Yeah, which was useful when he could shapeshift." Virgil shrugged. "Not much use for it now." 

"He could shapeshift? And now... he can't?" Nico tried to clarify. 

"Back when we were imaginary, kiddo. Because we weren't real we could look like whatever we wanted in Thomas's imagination. Or, I guess whatever Thomas wanted us to. And because we existed in his imagination, everything around us was a figment of Thomas's imagination we could shift around. But since becoming real, only Remus can shapeshift. And we can't alter the reality around us, though Roman can do a bang-up job of making it look like he can." 

"Thank you," Roman flicked his wrist and the sound of applause filled the apartment. 

"Two hallmarks of Deceit's MO, and now all he can do is watch Remus and Roman make use of them while he's just stuck with teeth as poisonous as his tongue." Virgil smirked. 

"Excellent simile!" Roman declared. 

"I feel it would be far more accurate to state all he can do now is try to manipulate Roman and Remus into doing what he wants," Logan corrected. "Something he has a history of attempting... and succeeding at." 

Roman's face fell.

“So Roman and Remus are both creativity?” Nico tried to bring the conversation back around.

“In a way. Roman is desired creativity. Art, Imagination, and Dreams are his main purview. The sort of things pleasant to dwell on. Remus is the opposite. He pushes out the very thoughts Thomas least wants to have. The things he doesn’t want to consider and dwell on. And while that makes him unpleasant, it is also what makes him so important.”

“How is making Thomas and the rest of us uncomfortable important?” Roman huffed. “That’s all he does.”

“And that’s very important. As children we rely on our parents, teachers and other trusted adults to tell us what’s right and wrong. And it would be easy to take those lessons and never think more of them, but it does not guarantee a proper view of the world. Remus forces you to think about things you’ve been told are wrong and through this lens are forced to confront them and think about them. Most you do find just as repugnant, that’s Remus’s nature. But your first thoughts about kissing other boys came from Remus. And you were just as horrified at those as you were when he spoke about something bad happening to Joan. And now those thoughts primarily belong to Roman, because you realized the homophobic views of mainstream religion were the thing that was wrong. And if Remus had never made you question them, you may have ended up forcing yourself to feign attraction and relationships with women, because that’s what the ‘good’ thing to do was. We’re not all pleasant, Thomas, but we are all essential.”

“I dislike the thought that I owe my brother anything.” Roman said sullenly. “Yet the very thought that we might have denied ourselves true love in favor of conformity? That we would never have opened ourselves up to our marvelous muse? The very idea burns at me.” He shuddered dramatically.


“Me too,” Thomas admitted. “So I should be nicer to Remus?”


“If we were in a world where things made sense and we were all still imaginary? Absolutely. Understanding and accepting all parts of yourself is a good thing. But we no longer live in that world, and Virgil’s points, albeit not his reaction to them, were valid.” 

Virgil made a small grumbling sound.

“Remus is a wildcard. There is no rhyme or reason to what he does and he lives only in the moment with no concept of consequences. With his own physical form and agency, he could very easily hurt someone and Thomas would be the one to bear the weight of it. At the same time, confining Thomas to the house so Remus is barred from beyond it, is untenable long-term. It would put him in the exact headspace that Remus thrives in and sooner or later, something would give.”

“So what do we do?” Thomas asked.

“We take it one day at a time, champ.” Patton answered gently. “We figure things out. Maybe you can find a way to control whether or not we manifest. Maybe we need to have Janus and Roman trap Remus in illusionary escape rooms to give you some space to go outside. Maybe being real will help Remus grow as a person and he can be taught how to act in a society without potentially landing you in jail.”

“That one terrifies me the most.” Logan admitted.

“But would that one not be the best solution?” Roman asked. 

“On paper, yes. However, if Remus were to change to that degree, it would follow that we would as well.”

Virgil curled in on himself more, and Roman and Patton both looked unnerved.

“But that’s for later. Right now we should be changing that distress to de-stress.” Patton reached for the remote. “Aladdin, maybe followed by some Parks and Rec?”

“Isn’t that just not dealing with my problems?” Thomas asked.


“Thomas you spent several days in a state of high stress and about an hour in what appeared to be a catatonic stupor. You need recovery,” Logan assured him. “Patton, do you think you could prepare some small, easily digestible food for Thomas? I would like to go back to my room and ruminate.”

“I don’t think so, Logan. You need to wind down too. Father knows best.”


“Not our dad,” Thomas, Virgil, and now Logan said.


“My bad, guess that makes me a …Faux-Pa! Eh? Eh?”

“Patton is also my love of Dad jokes,” Thomas explained.

“I’m leaving,” Logan growled, beginning to sink into the ground and Thomas’s eyes lit up indigo.

“I’ll make those crackers with the smears of jelly you like.”

Logan paused, mid sink out. “The Crofter’s Berry Harvest on the toasted wheat crackers?”

“You know it!” Patton smiled.

“I suppose I could remain for a bit.” Logan hedged.

“That’s great Logan, but if you could come all the way back, having you halfway in and out of my brain is really, really weird.” Thomas clutched his head.

“My apologies.” Logan rose up, looking distressed. “I hadn’t thought about how doing that would affect you.”

“We’re all learning things.” Thomas winced as his head regained equilibrium. “And I know fantasy and comedy aren’t your thing. But you could always watch that documentary on the Horsehead Nebula on my laptop.”

“I could, couldn’t I? I must confess, the fact that I can take part in a different form of recreation than you had escaped me.” Logan shook his head in wonder and retrieved Thomas’s laptop and headphones.

“Thanks, Patton. And thank you, Nico, not just for coming, but for helping me and being and understanding and just...everything that you are.”

“He is a perfect prince.” Roman said smittenly. “And I would know.”

“Oh, hey! After we watch the movie, we should show Nico the old skits you based us on! It’s like our baby pictures!” Patton squealed, pulling out some yogurt and granola clusters.

"We should not." Virgil said flatly. 

"By Pinocchi's Polished Proboscis, embarrassment over showing our amor our baby pictures? We are becoming real boys!" Roman exclaimed, half-gleeful, half-horrified. 

"You don't have to stay." Thomas said. "I mean, I don't know what Logan pulled you away from." 

"Nothing more important than this," Nico promised. He sat down next to Thomas, pulling Virgil with him. 

"You sure?" Thomas asked. 

"I think that's Virgil talking." Nico said, teasingly. 

"Nah, I'm in Team Nico Stays." Virgil leaned against Nico's shoulder. 

Roman frowned, seeing Thomas and Virgil on both sides of Nico. Then he sat down on the floor, leaning back against Nico's legs. 

"Princey, you're ridiculous." Virgil said fondly. 

"Then give me your seat." 

"No. Comfy." Virgil curled up like a cat. 

"I'm in this for the long haul, Thomas." Nico promised. "I'm here for you. All of you."

Thomas gulped. "There's a lot of me now." he pointed out. 

"I consider that the opposite of a problem." 

Virgil laughed as his eyeshadow became glittery, then he blinked. "Are we Nico's harem?" 

"That is a thought for tomorrow." Thomas grabbed the remote and turned on the movie. 

Patton couldn't help the fond smile as he watched them from the kitchenette. Logan was right, it was strange and frightening how much they were changing. That he could see Thomas, Virgil, and Logan and see three different people, instead of two partial aspects of a core person. 

But as scary as it was, he loved it. He loved seeing his boys curled around their boyfriend, and Logan relaxing rather than trying to carry everything on his shoulders. No matter how many problems were coming, Patton was sure this moment alone was worth it. 

He loved his family.

~~~~

Virgil Tempest Tongue Translation:

₦Ø - No

ł ĐØ₦'₮ ₩₳₦₮ ₮Ø ₮₳Ⱡ₭ ₮Ø ɎØɄ ØⱤ ₱₳₮₮Ø₦ -I don't want to talk to you or Patton

ł ĐØ₦'₮ ₩₳₦₮ ₮Ø ₮₳Ⱡ₭ ₮Ø ₱Ɽł₦₵ɆɎ ØⱤ ₮ⱧɆ ₴₦₳₭Ɇ Ɇł₮ⱧɆⱤ - I don't want to talk to Princey or the Snake either

₩ⱧɎ гРɎØɄ ฿Ɽł₦₲ ₦ł₵Ø ⱧɆⱤɆ?! ⱧɆ'ⱠⱠ ₴ɆɆ Ʉ₴! ⱧɆ'ⱠⱠ ₴ɆɆ ₩Ⱨ₳₮ ₩Ɇ ₳ⱤɆ! ₳ ฿ⱤØ₭Ɇ₦ ₣ⱤɆ₳₭! ⱧɆ'ⱠⱠ ⱠɆ₳VɆ. ⱧɆ'ⱠⱠ ⱠɆ₳VɆ ₳₦Đ ₩Ɇ'ⱠⱠ ฿Ɇ ₳ⱠØ₦E ₳G₳ł₦ ₳₦Đ ₮ⱧØ₥₳₴ ₳₦Đ ₱₳₮₮Ø₦ ₩łⱠⱠ ₵Ɽ₳₵₭ ₣ⱤØ₥ ₮ⱧɆ ⱧɆ₳Ɽ₮฿ⱤɆ₳₭ ₳₦Đ - Why did you br-ng Nico here?! He'll see us! He'll see what we are! A broken freak! He'll leave! He'll leave an we'll be alone again and Thomas and Patton will crack from the heartbreak and-

Ɏσυ ѕнσυℓ∂. ㄥσσк αт υѕ. Щє'яє α мєѕѕ. คη∂ ωє ѕнσυℓ∂η'т єνєη вє α ωє. ι ѕнσυℓ∂η'т єχιѕт - You should. Look at us. We're a mess. And we shouldn't even be a we. I shouldn't exist.

Bonus:

Ko e vale 'a e pilinisi - Tongan is one of the many languages Logan learned to sat 'The Prince is stupid' in.