Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Roman was a hero. It wasn't necessarily his purpose like creativity was, but it was what he felt most passionate about. Saving people, slaying beasts, receiving honor, glory, and recognition, it was what he lived for. If Roman's family didn't see him as a hero, he had to be doing something wrong. If he didn't see himself as a hero, he was lost.

Who was he if not a hero?

Everything used to be so simple and straightforward. He, Patton, and Logan had been the good guys. They'd been the happy and helpful light sides. They were the ones who helped Thomas and kept him safe from the dark sides.

When Virgil had joined them, it had complicated matters, and it had taken Roman a long time to adjust to all the changes that came with it. He had come around eventually though, and now Roman couldn't imagine not having the anxious side around.

Deceit, on the other hand…

Roman didn't understand it. Deceit had never done anything to even hint that he cared for Thomas, and yet he could come slithering in, say a few sweet words, and all of a sudden he was everybody's favorite side.

Deceit and Logan had daily meetings about how to fit self-care into Thomas' strict schedule. Logan had either completely forgotten about how Deceit had impersonated him, or he was ignoring it.

Patton dragged Deceit into helping him make breakfast every morning. If he had just wanted to talk to Deceit about how to avoid pushing Thomas too hard, Roman might understand it. Patton cared about Thomas more than anything. He didn't want him to be hurt at all, and knowing that he had been responsible for some of that hurt had been traumatizing. Patton understandably didn't want a repeat performance, and Roman could understand that, except that anytime he walked in on Patton and Deceit, they were talking about everything except for how Patton could be better.

Patton seemed to be spending time with Deceit just because he wanted to. He was acting like the snake had always been a part of their family, and Roman just didn't understand it. Patton had been the one to separate the dark and light sides in the first place. He had been the one responsible for splitting King Romulus because he had been so convinced that they couldn't risk Thomas being influenced by the smallest bit of darkness. Patton was all about the separation of good and bad, right and wrong, light and dark, and yet he was sitting at the table and laughing with the literal embodiment of Deceit, and Roman didn't get it.

For the first few weeks of Deceit being accepted Roman thought that he'd had an ally in Virgil. The anxious side had been predictably nervous about the presence of the dark side. He would go out of his way to avoid Deceit, and whenever they came across each other Virgil would hiss at him and scurry away.

Roman did everything he could to protect Virgil from the snake. He offered him sanctuary when Deceit was wandering around the common era, and Roman did his best to lend a sympathetic listening ear when Virgil needed somebody to rant to. Things had been going so well, but then Virgil had a really bad anxiety attack in the middle of the night when Roman had been in the Imagination and the others had been asleep. Deceit had been the only available, and he'd been able to sit with Virgil and talk him through his anxiety.

By the time Roman returned from his adventure in the Imagination, Virgil and Deceit were talking like old friends. Roman was suddenly the only one who wasn't all buddy-buddy with Deceit, and he hated it. He didn't trust the snake, and even though none of the others had said anything about it, Roman felt like they were all judging him. He was doing his very best to be Thomas' hero, but he was scared that his friends were starting to see him as a villain. It wasn't a nice feeling.

Roman had never felt more lost and confused, and there wasn't a lot he could do about it. Roman started spending more and more time in the Imagination. He knew that running away and avoiding his problems wasn't very heroic. It was actually quite cowardly, but Roman didn't know what else to do. He couldn't handle constantly being reminded of how much things were changing. Not only did the Imagination allow him to escape, but it also gave him the rare sense of control that he had been craving so much lately.

Roman controlled every aspect of the Imagination, right down to the exact shade of blue the sky was and how soft he wanted the grass. The world was his and his alone...well, mostly. If one wanted to get really technical, Roman only ruled a little less than half of the Imagination. Remus had control over another slightly less than half of the Imagination.

The small portion that refused to obey either of their control or orders was a river that went through the middle of the Imagination. It marked the borders of their lands. A few times every year Roman and Remus would invade the other's territory to try to gain control of a specific area and expand their territory. Whenever this happened the river would adjust itself so that while they would still have the new territory, they would lose another area that was worth just as much as the territory lost.

Roman hated that river with a passion. Not only did it keep him from gaining control of the land that should rightfully be his, but it was frustratingly unpredictable. Shortly after the shift it had been an incredibly calm river. It had been so gentle that Remus and Roman could easily swim across to visit each other to play. As they got older though, the river got more violent and harsh.

On most days the current was so fast that Roman would be swept away if he tried to swim across it. Not that he had tried. Remus was the one who repeatedly tried to swim across the river. Roman didn't know if Remus just really wanted to make it across the border, or if he just liked how it felt to nearly drown.

Some days, the river was so violent that it resembled white water rapids. It always happened on the days leading up to one of Roman and Remus' battles for territory. The river was also angry for a few weeks after the change in their territories, which was the worst part of all. It wasn't bad enough that Roman had to deal with some of his territory being stolen from him, he also had to do repairs of some of his villages because the river was constantly flooding during those times.

Roman couldn't remember the last time the river had been gentle enough that he could swim in it. Sometimes he wondered if he had imagined the river ever being calm. Roman had such vivid memories, but he also had an incredibly vivid imagination. It wouldn't be the first time he had mistaken an imagined scene for a memory.

Roman usually tried to avoid the river whenever it was possible. He despised the river, and seeing the edge of his brother's land wasn't fun. It was always so chaotic and grotesque, and Roman doubted that it got any tamer further into Remus' land.

Sometimes though Roman couldn't resist wandering close to the water. On days when his pride and ego weren't as strong as they usually were he felt the need to fight a monster. Defeating a real, dangerous horrifying creature was just what he needed to feel like himself again.

Roman could create monsters himself, but they were always disappointingly tame. He specialized in monsters that were under a horrible curse that made them the way they were, or they were a tragically misunderstood creature that just wanted to be loved. He had never been able to get the hang of disgusting and chaotic creatures who wrecked havoc just because they could. That was Remus' job.

Roman could usually tell himself that it was fine, but when he felt really down and needed to fight off something really and truly evil, he had to look to the monsters that roamed Remus' land. If Roman was desperate enough and he found Remus in either a good or bad enough mood, he would send a monster after him.

Now, with his whole life and world view being questioned and turned on its head, Roman needed a good fight more than anything. He needed to prove to the others, and to himself, that he was strong and righteous enough to be their hero. He could protect them and keep the villains at bay.

Roman stood at the edge of the water. He felt a powerful pull to step into the river and just let it carry him where it willed. He pushed the urge down. He wasn't his brother. He may be impulsive, but not like that. Roman hadn't come all this way just to tempt fate by putting his life in the unforgiving hands of a temperamental river. He was here to battle a deadly monster of his brother's creation and get rid of the adrenaline and blood lust he was feeling.

"Hey, freak!" Roman called out across the river. "I need a challenge over here." It didn't matter where in the Imagination Remus was, or even if he was out of the Imagination completely, Remus would hear him. Despite how much neither of them liked it and tried to ignore it, they were connected.

Whenever Roman needed a new monster to fight, Remus would hear about it. If Remus wanted to see what would happen if his monstrous creations tried to integrate themselves into civilized society, Roman was the first to know. They didn't like having to rely on each other, but neither Roman nor Remus had rejected a request so far. They both liked the thought of the other owing him a favor.

At this point they'd helped each other out dozens of times, and it was impossible to know who owed who at this point, but it was the concept of the matter that was truly important.

Roman knew that his brother would show up, but there was no telling when. Remus liked to surprise him. Sometimes he arrived immediately, sometimes he waited a few hours. One time Remus hadn't gotten back to him for nearly a week, which had been incredibly frustrating. Roman tried to be on his guard. He had come here to feel in control, and he really didn't want to be surprised right now.

Because of his vigilance Roman immediately noticed the slight ripples in the water. Something was in there, which definitely wasn't expected. Because the river was neutral territory, none of their creations could step foot in there. Roman and Remus themselves were the only ones in the Imagination who could touch the river.

Roman crouched closer to the water to get a better look. "That you, Dukey?"

There were ripples again as a small octopus head poked its head above the water. The only reason Roman could see it at all was because the head had bright green glowing rings on it. Roman grinned. Remus loved changing his appearance. He usually did it for the shock value, but when they were young Remus' shape-shifting had been nearly predictable. There was no form he loved more than that of an octopus.

Roman often saw Remus' dark tentacles, but he hadn't seen him shift his form so completely since they were young and on decent terms with each other. It was odd to see him in this type of form, but Roman didn't mind it so much. At times like this it was nice to know that some things didn't change.

"It's been a long time, Cephy," Roman said, automatically letting the old nickname slip. "Do you want to see how strong that bite of yours has gotten?"

"Always," Remus' voice said in Roman's head. He sounded excited, though also slightly cautious, which wasn't like him. Maybe Roman wasn't the only one who wasn't quite feeling himself lately.

Roman stood up and held his hand over the water. "Of my own volition, without grudge or traps, I allow you on my land." He heard Remus' voice echo the words in his hand. A gothic bridge that looked both elegant and a little frightening appeared over the river, connecting their banks.

Roman and Remus couldn't build the bridge on their own. Both of them could only build up half of it. Neither of them could walk across the river without cooperation from the other. Roman could count on one hand the number of times they had done this, and yet Roman felt completely comfortable and at home as he walked across the bridge. Remus was waiting in the water on his side of the river.

Once Roman was in his brother's territory he knelt on the ground and put his hand in the water next to Remus. This particular octopus form was small enough for Roman to hold in the palm of his hand, but that didn't make him any less dangerous.

Remus latched onto Roman's hand and his rings glowed brightly. Roman barely felt a thing when Remus bit him, but he could immediately feel the effects. His body stiffened and he felt completely paralyzed. His very blood felt like it was freezing over. Roman closed his eyes.

You could fall into the water and be unable to move at all. The thought popped into his head, and that was just the start of it. You wouldn't drown like humans would. You'd just be stuck in the water forever.

Roman forced his eyes open and pushed the thoughts, and the paralysis, away. He looked at the green ringed octopus in his hand. "It happens a lot quicker now," Remus hummed happily, obviously proud. "The intrusive thoughts are new."

"Anxie helped me figure those out," Remus said. Roman didn't know if he meant that Virgil had shown Remus how he could plant the suggestions, or if Remus had practiced on an unwitting Virgil. Roman didn't know if he wanted to know.

"You think you could turn back into the Duke so we could have a normal conversation?" Roman asked.

"But that's so boring." Remus whined and clung tighter to his hand.

"I know." Roman said. "But I can't exactly expect a tiny octopus to create the kind of monster that I need." They both knew that Remus was perfectly capable of creating whatever Roman needed, no matter what form he was in. Roman just didn't want to negotiate with something that looked so cute. He didn't want to see his brother as cute, ever. Remus was disgusting and crude, and Roman preferred that his form reflect that.

Remus sighed and crawled off of Roman's hand. The prince looked away as his brother shifted form, but he couldn't ignore the unnecessary squelching sound that accompanied it. When a familiar and potent stench hit Roman's nose, he knew that the Duke had returned to his normal form.

"So, what's the monster this time?" Remus asked. He was lounging in the water, uncaring that the current was pushing at him still. "A spider alligator? An inside out dragon?"

"I haven't thought that far yet," Roman admitted. "I just need to fight something."

"Don't tell me the perfect prince is feeling some murderous tendencies." Remus raised an eyebrow at him. "You're not trying to steal my thing, are you?"

"You can keep it," Roman huffed. "Heroes fight monsters all the time."

"But if they go looking for a fight, does that really make them a hero?" Remus tilted his head. His tone was mocking, but he was saying the kind of thing that had been going through Roman's head a lot lately, and he didn't want to hear it.

"Will you do it or not?" Roman asked impatiently.

"Ooh, testy," Remus cackled. "I haven't seen you this mad since Patton said that you couldn't suggest to Thomas that he run away."

"Patton overreacted and you know it." Roman said loudly and a little too defensively. That was still a sore topic. He didn't want Thomas to run away anymore, but he wasn't happy about an idea of his being shut down without being considered. He had been even more distressed when it had first happened.

It had been just a few weeks after the Split, and all of them had been incredibly tense as they'd tried to adjust to the sudden changes. Roman especially had struggled as he'd tried to figure out who he was without his brother. Some of his ideas had been a little bit questionable, more up Remus' ally, because back then Roman had been desperate for familiarity.

Running away hadn't been the most extreme of Roman's ideas, but it had been the last straw for Patton. He'd been so furious, and Roman had been frustrated and terrified. Patton had split him once, he hadn't wanted to do anything to make him do it again. Roman had toned down his ideas a bit after that and started to come into his own.

"You know how much I love a good monster fight," Remus said. "But for something like this, I think I have a better idea." Remus stood up and stepped out of the water. His clothes were soaked. It couldn't be comfortable, but Remus did nothing to dry them off. He just made his way towards the dead and dark trees. Roman grimaced but reluctantly followed his brother.

Roman rarely had the opportunity to explore Remus' realm. It wasn't as pretty as Roman's enchanted forests and quaint villages were, but it wasn't too bad. Roman couldn't help but be fascinated with the cursed ruins and twisted, man-eating creatures. His mind was racing at the ways he could use these kinds of elements in his own realm and stories.

Roman followed his brother through the trees. The branches frequently reached out and tried to grab and snag them. Remus got tangled up by dozens of branches, but it just made him excited. He was having a lot of fun. Roman was surprised to see that he was completely left alone. The branches barely brushed past him. Remus was showing some rare restraint.

Remus probably could have spent all day being tossed around by the trees, but after just about ten minutes the trees calmed down and they were able to move on without too much resistance. Roman followed his brother out of the trees and towards a beach with black sand and stormy seas. There were tide pools everywhere, and Roman didn't want to think about what could possibly be in there.

Remus pulled Roman towards what looked like any other tide pool, but Roman couldn't see the bottom of it. The water was pitch black and so thick that it almost resembled slime more than water.

Remus knelt next to the tide pool and plunged his arm elbow deep in. He lifted his hand and the shadowy water became dark mist in his hand. As soon as the mist had disappeared Remus was holding a bloody amphibian looking leg. Roman cringed when he saw there was bone showing through the leg. He felt sick.

"This tidepool is the most useful place in my kingdom," Remus said, his tone uncharacteristically serious and sincere. "Do you ever have times where you have an idea in your head, but your thoughts are too fucked up and scrambled that they won't come out the way that you see them?"

Roman frowned. He was all too familiar with that feeling. Sometimes just talking through a half-formed idea helped him to stabilize it and work out the kinks, but as great as the other sides were, they weren't a very good audience. Patton tried to be helpful in his own way and guess where Roman's ideas were going, but it was more distracting than anything. Logan could provide useful insight, but he had little patience for Roman wasting his time with underdeveloped ideas. Virgil got antsy and anxious listening to Roman's rambling. There wasn't anybody he could talk to, so he'd had to find different strategies to overcome his creative slumps.

"This tide pool reaches right into my brain and yanks out the thoughts that I can't figure out myself." Remus said. "When I can visualize what I want, I can make it myself." Remus snapped his fingers and suddenly a massive frog-like zombie creature appeared. Roman tried to ignore the way that it resembled Patton's frog form.

Remus stepped back and gestured to the tide pool. "Give it a try. It's really fun."

Roman gave his brother a cautious look. "It's not going to hurt, is it?"

"Nope!" Remus grinned. "It tickles."

Roman didn't completely trust his brother, but he couldn't deny that he was curious. He wanted to see what the tide pool would manifest from his mind.

Roman approached his brother and slowly sunk his hand in. He didn't take it in as far as Remus did, but he could feel the power in the water. It somehow felt both slimy and misty at the same time. It was an unfamiliar feeling, but not a completely unpleasant one.

Roman eventually pulled his hand out and watched as the mist slipped from his fingers. What was left in Roman's hand was a bright yellow serpent tail. The tail felt slimy and sticky, and it had dark feathers clinging tightly to it. The tail felt unnatural and wrong. Roman was desperate to get rid of it. He had nothing against the slimy or sticky feelings, or the feathers, but they didn't belong with the snake.

"A yellow snake?" Remus rocked on his heels. "Wonder what that means?"

Roman scowled and clenched his fist around the tail, making it disappear into mist. "Don't patronize me." He held out his hand and summoned a creature that looked like a dragon with two pairs of wings, but Roman knew that wasn't quite it. The creature was a cross between a snake and a frog. Its feathery wings looked like those of an owl, and the legs with the wings made a total of eight limbs, like a spider.

Snake, frog, owl, and spider. Janus, Patton, Logan, and Virgil, all combining into an abomination of a creature. Yes, they could work together, but that didn't mean that they should.

Roman summoned his sword. He wanted to destroy the creature and separate the elements to the way they should be, but he held himself back. The snake was combined so well with the others that for all Roman knew trying to force them apart would just hurt them all. Roman didn't want to hurt anybody, but he wouldn't be heartbroken if he had to harm the snake. He couldn't hurt the others though, not even if he thought it was for their own good.

Roman had to find a way to seperate them without hurting them. He needed to show the frog, owl, and spider that they would be better off without the snake. They needed to decide to separate on their own.

What Roman needed was proof that the snake, Deceit, was up to something. The others would have to listen to him then. But finding proof would be hard, since Roman didn't even know what he needed to look for. Deceit had a tendency to play things close to his chest, and since Roman had been making his reservations clear. Deceit knew that he didn't trust him, so he would be extra careful around him. Roman wouldn't be able to get information directly from him.

Remus, on the other hand…

"Hey, Freak, why were you near the river?" Though Remus had more fun with the river than Roman did, he tended to avoid it as well. If he wanted to lounge in the water as an octopus, he had a whole ocean and dozens of tide pools to play in.

"Oh," Remus' broad grin diminished slightly. "I was waiting for...it doesn't matter." Roman blinked. He wasn't used to his brother hesitating. Roman had thought that Remus was incapable of not speaking his mind, that he had no filter. It was a little unnerving to see him hide anything, and it was clear that Remus wasn't completely comfortable with it either.

"Were you waiting for Deceit?" Roman asked. Remus' eyes widened.

"How did you know?" Remus asked in awe.

"You've never been very good at subtlety." Roman pointed out.

"What's the fun of subtlety?" Remus giggled and flapped his hands slightly. Roman couldn't help but smile at the sight. Remus got incredibly excited about everything. Roman may get frustrated with his brother, but he couldn't help but admire his enthusiasm. Passion and enthusiasm were some of the most important parts of creativity for Roman.

"So what's with the secrets now?" Roman asked. "What is Deceit up to?" Deceit was the master of lies. Roman was convinced that Remus wouldn't lie or hide the truth unless he was acting under Deceit's instructions. If Deceit was involving Remus in his plan, he must be really desperate.

"Up to?" Remus frowned. "Don't you know?"

"Pretend I don't," Roman said. He was starting to get impatient. Remus was supposed to be up front and giving him what he wanted. He wasn't supposed to be playing these games. If he hadn't made the truce with Reus to step into his land, he would summon his sword and try to drag the answer right out of his brother.

"You don't." Remus' eyes lit up. "But it's not even a secret." Roman had a hard time believing that. Everything Deceit did was a secret, and there was no way that Remus would be acting so strange if it wasn't a secret.

It didn't matter. Roman wasn't going to give up so easily. If Remus was going to insist on keeping quiet on Deceit's plan, Roman would just have to wear him down. Roman was more stubborn than Remus was. It would take time, but this was important. Roman needed to know what the snake was planning, and then he could figure out how to stop him.

To figure out what was going on with Deceit, Roman needed to drag it out of Remus. It was just a matter of time, a waiting game, and Roman was determined to win. He couldn't afford not to.

"So, Re-Re," Roman used his most reassuring, gentle, princely tone that he could muster. It seemed to do the job well, because Remus froze and stared at him in quiet shock. There weren't many things that could make Remus pause, and Roman was going to take advantage of it while it lasted.

"I'm not exactly in the mood to be around the others right now," Roman said, and that wasn't completely untrue. "But I don't want to be alone either."

Remus stared at Roman as though he had suddenly been stripped of all his clothes. Knowing his brother, Roman had to glance down at his clothes, just to double check that Remus hadn't done anything to his clothes.

"You...you want to play with me?" Remus asked. He looked incredibly hopeful, and it made Roman feel a little uncomfortable.

"That wouldn't be how I would phrase it, but sure," Roman said. Remus cheered and latched onto Roman's hand. "Don't make me regret this."

"I make no promises." Remus said playfully, and Roman just knew that his brother would now go out of his way to make him regret this.

Roman just had to think of this as a quest. He had to overcome specific challenges to achieve his goal. Roman knew that dealing with Remus for a longer period of time would be difficult and trying, but Roman would prevail. He had to. He couldn't afford to fail.

"I suppose it's time that I was given a proper tour of your realm," Roman said. He returned Remus' hand hold, just to make it more comfortable, and let his brother pull him towards cliffs near the sea.

The last time Roman had seen Remus' castle it had been sitting precariously on the clifftops. Now it was embedded into the cliffside itself. The castle was so low that it was barely ten feet away from the surface of the water. The waves that hit the cliff were constantly soaking the castle and occasionally pulling away loose rubble from the castle. It had to be a safety hazard, but Roman knew that was the last thing on his brother's mind. Remus was probably excited with the possibility that at any moment his castle might sink to the bottom.

Roman just hoped that it wouldn't happen while he was there for a visit. Maybe Remus would be so excited for a visit that he would tone things down a little bit...yeah, that was a bit of a reach. Roman wasn't counting on it, but he could dream, couldn't he?

Chapter Text

Roman had never actually seen Remus' castle before, and what he saw was nothing like what he had expected, which confused him more than anything. Roman thought that he knew his brother fairly decently. He at least knew to expect the unexpected from Remus. Of course, then the most unexpected thing happened. Remus' castle was completely normal.

Sure, the architecture, lighting, and decorating was a little darker and more gothic than Roman would personally make for himself, but it wasn't that outrageous of a design. He actually liked it, though he wouldn't ever admit it to any of the others, especially not Remus.

Another thing that surprised Roman was how empty his brother's castle was. He was used to seeing Remus' creations wandering all around his realm, getting into trouble and looking for attention. Other than the trees that had grabbed at them and the creatures Roman and Remus had created in the tide pool, he hadn't seen any other beings on Remus' side of the imagination.

Roman had thought it was odd before, but he'd been able to ignore it. Now, when they were in Remus' castle, the center of his kingdom, Roman couldn't just look past how odd it was. Remus' castle was completely barren. There were no monsters under the bed wandering around the halls, waiting to sneak up on them. There wasn't a horribly deformed creature to give Remus and Roman the royal greetings that they had both come to love. There wasn't even a rat scurrying up the walls. The castle had been abandoned.

"Where is everybody?" Roman asked.

"Oh, I gave them the day off," Remus said, like it was something that he did all the time, and for all Roman knew it was. "They know to not bother me when I have guests."

Roman frowned slightly. "How often do you have guests?"

"Uh, not much anymore," Remus said, and he looked almost upset for a moment before he looked back to normal. "Virgil doesn't like my part of the imagination, and Dee...well, he's really busy. You know Thomas, he won't exactly take care of himself."

Roman stiffened. "Don't remind me," He scowled. Remus gave him a curious look.

"Oh, are things not going smoothly in your perfect little world?" Remus sounded like he was just seconds away from laughing, and Roman didn't appreciate it. Nothing about this situation was funny, even for somebody with as twisted a sense of humor as Remus had.

"Don't," Roman said in a cold tone that caught him off guard. He didn't feel cold, distant anger the way that Virgil did. Roman's anger was fast to come, but even quicker to burn out. With Deceit sneaking his way into their ranks and all of the changes that came with it, Roman had been feeling constantly tense and upset, like he expected things to go wrong at any given moment. If this was how Virgil felt all the time, it was no wonder he was such a downer. This stress was hard to deal with.

Remus frowned slightly, but he didn't provoke Roman more, like he normally would. Roman was surprised, but he wasn't about to complain about his brother finally bothering to learn some decency and restraint.

Remus rocked on his feet and fiddled with the hem of his shirt. Somehow, it didn't come off as anxious like it did when Virgil did it. Remus just looked like he wanted to do something with his hands. "Do you want to see my dungeons?"

"Dungeons?" Roman frowned slightly. "Meaning more than one?"

Remus giggled. "I have three different dungeons. They all have their own special purpose." Roman wasn't surprised about Remus having a dungeon, but he thought that three dungeons was a little excessive, even for the duke. What could remus possibly do with three dungeons.

Roman knew that he would regret this, but he was curious, in an adventurous mood, and needed to keep Remus in a good mood so he would open up to him about Deceit's plan.

"You know what? Sure, I'll see your dungeons."

Remus grinned like a kid on Christmas and clapped his hands excitedly. "I think you'll really love at least one of my dungeons." Remus hurried his way down the halls and Roman had little choice but to follow him. Remus's dungeons were in the basement, so they had to go down very steep, very slippery stairs to get there. Remus ran down them, not caring when he slipped and fumbled down a few stairs before he was able to find his footing.

Roman went as cautiously as he could. It wasn't long before Remus was out of his sights, but Roman wasn't worried. He didn't doubt that Remus would get back to him fairly quickly. He always came back.

When Roman reached the bottom of the stairs he could see Remus sprawled on the ground. He looked like he had fallen and hit his head or something, but Roman didn't think that something like that would slow Remus down much.

"Come on, Re-Re, get up." Roman held out his hand. Remus opened one eye and squinted at him. The duke smirked and took his hand. Remus tugged his hand, and for a moment it seemed that he was going to try to pull Roman down, but then he seemed to change his mind and just let himself be pulled to his feet.

Remus flinched and staggered slightly when he put pressure on his feet. Roman could see him favoring his left foot. He'd gone and twisted his ankle.

"That's what you get," Roman sighed. He put himself in front of Remus and bent his legs slightly to make his back accessible. "Get on."

"Uh, really?" Remus asked, and his shocked tone reminded Roman of just who he was offering to help. He couldn't find it in him to take his offer back. As a prince and hero, Roman's instinct was to save those in need, even if the one in need was the brother that he could barely bring himself to tolerate.

"Yes, of course," Roman said. "Just don't tell the others."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Remus said. Roman didn't exactly believe him, but there wasn't much more he could do about it. Remus climbed onto Roman's back and wrapped his arms tightly around his neck.

Roman coughed and tried to loosen Remus' hold on him, but his brother didn't budge. "What, are you trying to choke me?"

"No," Remus said in a tone that he probably thought was innocent sounding, but Roman knew it meant that he was up to something. "I can, though, if you want." Remus tightened his grip and wiggled slightly, grinding his hips against Roman's back. The prince was tempted to drop his brother right here and walk away, but he had come this far. It wasn't worth it to walk away now. He had handled Remus' obnoxious, immature behavior when they were kids, he could handle it now.

"Pass," Roman said stiffly. Remus giggled but loosened his grip around Roman's neck just enough to allow him to breathe comfortably. "So, where are your dungeons?"

"Just down those halls," Remus pointed so passionately and suddenly that Roman thought he was going to lose his balance. "Look for a barred door or a door with latex curtains around it. If you run into a locked door, you've gone too far."

Roman frowned. Remus wasn't one for secrets. Why would he have a locked door anywhere in his realm, let alone in the favorite area of his castle? "Do I want to know what you have locked away?"

"Oh, it's just my dungeon." Remus said. His tone was casual enough, and Roman could tell that he wasn't trying to keep secrets, but it seemed like there was something more to this. There was a strange tone in Remus' voice, though Roman couldn't say whether it was pained, mischievous, or angry.

Roman was sick and tired of secrets and lies, but he knew that anything that Remus kept behind a locked door was probably not something he wanted to see for himself. "Alright, we'll stick to the latex and bars."

Remus chuckled and leaned closer to Roman. "Sounds like my kind of a party." Roman didn't even dignify that with a response.

"Gremlin," Roman muttered under his breath. Remus made a contented noise and almost seemed to nuzzle against him, which felt really odd.

Roman walked until he found a large door that looked like a very traditional castle dungeon entrance. The barred door. Roman walked closer to it and Remus opened the door with just a thought. Through the door Roman saw a dungeon that was nearly identical to the one he had in his own castle, except the torches burned lower and the floors were more damp.

Roman was a little confused. The dungeon looked a little tame for Remus' aesthetic, just like how Roman's dungeon was harsher than more of his other creations. "What inspired you to design your dungeon like this?"

"I...don't really know," Remus looked around in confusion, like he was only just now realizing how empty and boring his dungeon was. "It just felt right. I never thought about changing it." Roman nodded in understanding. He felt similarly about his own dungeon. The dungeons just felt natural the way they were, which was exactly what made Roman feel uncomfortable about it. He was uncomfortable with anything that reminded him of his connection with Remus.

"Do you want to give the cuffs a try?" Remus asked suddenly and loudly. Roman turned his head to see that his brother looked a little uncomfortable himself. Maybe he was having similar thoughts as Roman was. "As tempting as that is, I'm going to have to say no," Roman said. "What's your latex dungeon like?"

Remus smirked broadly and Roman realized just what he had said. He groaned and tilted his head back slightly. "No, no, nevermind, I don't want to know."

"Too late," Remus cackled. "Come take a look at my toys. Who knows, maybe you'll find something you like?"

"I'm not going to play with you like that," Roman said loudly. He wasn't going to bend on that.

"Come on, you prude, you might like it." Remus said. "I'll make you a deal, if you come see my toys, I'll tone it down for you."

"You...I'm sorry, you'll what?" Roman was sure that he hadn't heard that right. It couldn't be possible. Remus never toned himself down for anything.

"No blood, no gore," Remus promised. "I won't even show you the sex stuff." Remus seemed to be a lot more desperate to look at his collection. There had to be an ulterior motive.

"What's the angle?" Roman asked.

"No angle," Remus assured him. "I don't get to share my toys with many people, and I think you'll really like at least some of my things."

"Bro, I swear, if this is a trick of any kind I will drag you back to the river where our truce is null and void." Roman said. Technically, his threat could be seen as a violation of their truce, but Remus didn't call him out on it. So long as Remus wasn't bothered or felt threatened, it was acceptable.

"No trick," Remus said. "Come on, please?" With that one word Romangave in. Remus wasn't in the habit of asking for anything, let alone asking politely. This seemed to be very important to him, and Roman had come here to get on his brother's good side. He supposed it couldn't hurt to at least hear him out, and then follow through with his warning if Remus went back on his word.

"Fine, we'll give it a try," Roman said. Remus giggled and embraced him as much as he could from on his back. Somehow Roman felt even weirder about the gentle, completely innocent hug from his brother than he did about Remus' most gruesome attempts to shock him.

Roman left the traditional dungeon and followed Remus' instructions on how to get to his dungeon that was surely dedicated to BDSM or other things along those lines. Remus was surprisingly quiet as they went. Roman had expected him to blather on and on about his play dungeon, but Remus was surprisingly quiet about it. He seemed to want it to be a surprise. Roman didn't know whether that was a good or bad thing. He was prepared either way.

When they got to the door Remus hopped off of Roman's back, stumbling slightly as he irritated his foot, but Remus didn't seem to care. He limped slightly to the door and opened it with a dramatic flair. Remus stepped to the side and gave a deep bow as he gestured inside. "Welcome to my playroom."

Roman cautiously entered, and he was pleasantly surprised at what he saw. It was much less chaotic than he expected. The room was large, but there was a lot going on. Roman saw about a dozen different pieces of furniture meant to restrain Remus in unique ways. Roman only had a decent guess about what half of them did. He didn't think he wanted to know what the large steel circles with a bar going through the middle of it was for.

"Alright, what did you want to show me?" Roman asked.

Remus walked past two cabinets. Based on the obvious sex toy lying on the ground outside one cabinet and what looked like fur poking out of the other one, Roman didn't mind passing them by. Remus finally opened the third cabinet, which was much more elegant and fancy looking than the other two, and opened it with a flourish Roman was stunned at the contents.

It looked like the inside of one of Roman's cabinets. There were a few crowns, and coronets sitting nicely on shelves. There were a lot of collars and handcuffs, but they were designed in such a way that at first glance they just looked like choker necklaces and fancy cuffs. There were harnesses, leashes, and other bondage gear made entirely of chainmail. Roman had worn chainmail before, he knew that it could pinch painfully when padding wasn't worn beneath it. Knowing Remus though, he probably didn't care about that.

What really caught Roman's eye was what looked like a coronation cape, except it was made with forest green velvet instead of the normal red. The quality was exquisite. Roman knew he would definitely wear it if he was ever given the chance, even though green wasn't his color and he didn't think he would ever think to wear something that Remus had ever touched.

"What is with the royal regalia?" Roman asked.

"Sometimes I just want to be treated like royalty." Remus said as he straightened his velvet cape. "It was fun to figure out how to use this stuff for my games."

Roman was quiet for a moment, but it wasn't long before he just couldn't keep his curiosity back anymore. "How, pray tell, could you possibly use a crown for all of...this." Roman gestured to the furniture around them."

"Oh, I think you'll like this," Remus grinned. He picked up one of the smaller crowns. He turned it so Roman could take a look at the part that rested on the head. The crown had studs going all around the inside of it. Crowns weren't exactly comfortable in the first place, which was why Roman didn't regularly wear one, but this particular crown looked like it would hurt, with the studs digging straight into the skin.

"And you actually like this?" Roman asked with a frown. He slid his hand across the studs. "Doesn't it hurt?"

"Of course it does," Remus grinned broadly and there was a look of longing in his eyes. "It feels amazing."

"I don't think I'll ever understand you," Roman said. Remus giggled, but his grin slipped slightly. Roman frequently said things that he probably shouldn't, and he wasn't very good at knowing when he went too far, but he knew that he was definitely walking on a thin line right now. He had to dial down his disapproval of his brother.

"I'm not sure I would like the studs, but I certainly appreciate the design," Roman said. "What about the cape? Don't tell me the inside is imbued with poison that will slowly drain you of your energy."

Remus looked ecstatic at the suggestion. "That's an amazing idea, Ro-Ro. I didn't know you had it in you." Roman flinched slightly. He hadn't meant to give his brother any ideas. "No, nothing like that. The cape is completely normal. It's for aftercare."

Roman gave his brother a confused look. While he didn't care much for the particular details about this kind of thing, he certainly knew about aftercare. Lavender scented bubble baths, snuggling with a heavy blanket and stuffed animal, cuddling with a loving partner, those were the things that Roman lived for, but he hadn't thought that Remus would have any interest in it.

"I didn't think you did aftercare." Roman said. He wasn't trying to be offensive or ignorant, he was just genuinely confused. Remus was the embodiment of Thomas' intrusive thoughts and dark creativity. If anybody could enjoy the rough play without even a hint of softness involved, it would be Remus.

"Dee makes me," Remus pouted slightly. "He won't play with me unless I let him pamper me afterwards." Only Remus could make being properly taken care of sound like a bad thing.

Roman knew he should appreciate that Remus had somebody to make sure he was happy and safe, but all Roman felt was annoyed. Both because Deceit could make Remus behave a certain way when none of them other than Logan could manage it, and because Deceit seemed to have everybody, not just the light sides, caught in this web of false caring of his.

Remus frowned and leaned towards Roman. "Are you...upset that Deedee takes care of me?"

Roman flinched. When it was phrased that way it made Roman sound like a big jerk, but he wasn't. He was a hero, he just wished the others would recognize and acknowledge it.

"Everybody's treating Deceit like he's a hero, and he's not," Roman scowled.

Remus chuckled and shook his head. "A hero? Double D? That's hilarious. Dee's as much a hero as I'm a benevolent king." Remus burst into a fit of giggles and Roman soon found himself laughing along with him.

Roman felt his chest lighten a little. He'd been dealing with the others not really taking his feelings about Deceit seriously. He knew they weren't trying to invalidate how he felt about Deceit, but he could tell that they thought he was overreacting and being unfair. Roman hadn't realized just how much he had needed somebody to agree with him. It felt nice, even if that acknowledgement was coming from his brother.

Perhaps spending more time with his brother wouldn't be as bad as he thought it would be.

"I'm going to have to return to the mindscape soon," Roman said. Patton always got worried when he was in the Imagination for more than a few hours at a time. Patton would be especially concerned now, considering Roman's mood lately. Roman appreciated Patton's concern, but he didn't want to raise any suspicion, at least not yet. If Patton knew that Roman was spending more time with Remus, Janus would learn it sooner rather than later, and that could ruin everything.

Remus pouted. "Do you have to leave so soon? There's so much I can show you."

"Perhaps another time," Roman said. Remus' eyes widened.

"You'll come back?" Remus asked.

"Of course," Roman said, like it was obvious. "Though maybe next time the two of us could meet up in my castle. We can have a movie night." It would be much easier for Roman to tolerate Remus' presence if he was somewhere he felt comfortable and doing something that always put him at ease.

"A movie night?" Remus looked even more excited than before. "I love watching movies."

"I have quite the collection," Roman said proudly. He had a lot of Disney, naturally, but a lot more than just that. Because he was feeling generous and wanted to keep Remus happy he decided to make him an offer that he barely ever made, even for the others. "I'll tell you what, as long as you keep it PG-13, you can pick what we watch."

"Really?" Remus said so loudly that it was just shy of a scream. Roman was shocked, but not exactly startled. He was used to sudden loud noises. "Even Janus doesn't let me pick."

Perhaps this was a mistake, but taking the offer back now would be even worse than if he had never made the offer in the first place.

"Yes, really," Roman promised. He was a man of his word. "I have to go now, but I'll send a message along later to arrange a time."

"I'll be waiting," Remus said, and Roman knew that his brother wasn't a patient person by nature. Leaving him to wait for too long could be disastrous. It was just more incentive to keep his promise.

"I shall see you later, brother," Roman said as he sank out of the Imagination and arrived back in his room. Sinking in and out of the Imagination could be rather complicated. No matter where Roman sank out, he always appeared back in his bedroom. And if he wanted to rise into the Imagination he could only ever arrive in his castle. Roman was sure that if he and Remus didn't have a truce in place at the moment then he wouldn't be able to sink out from this side of the Imagination at all.

Roman went into his private bathroom to take a shower. He smelled like Remus, and that was never a good thing. It made Roman feel gross. He always enjoyed a long shower, but this time he felt that it was completely necessary. He had to scrub the stench and feel of his brother away.

Roman went downstairs just in time to find Patton and Virgil setting the table while Deceit and Logan put the finishing touches on dinner. It was usually Patton who did the cooking, sometimes with Logan's assistance when the logical side felt that they needed healthier, more balanced food in their life. Lately though Deceit seemed to completely take over the kitchen. Roman wasn't happy about it, but he had to admit that Deceit's food tasted quite good, though that probably had more to do with the snake's perception than his cooking skills.

Somehow Deceit seemed to know what every single one of them needed on any given day. When Patton was feeling especially nostalgic or upset, Deceit would make the comfort meals that Thomas' mom used to make when he was young. If Virgil was having a rough day, the snake would be right there with salmon flavored with turmeric. Deceit also made sure they had enough Crofter's to satisfy both Logan and Roman.

"There you are, Kiddo," Patton gave Roman a smile as he sat at the table. "Where've you been? We haven't seen you around all day."

"I was in the Imagination," Roman said.

"What monster were you fighting this time?" Virgil asked. Roman couldn't tell if the question was because he was curious or concerned, but he appreciated it all the same. Roman loved talking about his adventures.

"Actually, I decided to try something new," Roman said. "I've decided to try taming a creature instead. It's a work in progress, but I think I'm doing decently."

"That's great!" Patton looked so excited for him, but the snake frowned and looked at Roman with a small frown. He stiffened ever so slightly as he realized that Deceit could possibly sense his small lie of omission.

This was another reason why Roman didn't like Deceit around so much. Because acting and lying were distant cousins (very, very distant, barely even related at all cousins), Roman was so used to exaggerating the truth sometimes. He didn't consider it as lying, it was just making his adventures seem both more exciting as well as more safe. Apparently his storytelling and claims were close enough to lying that Deceit could sense it.

The snake hadn't called Roman out to the others yet, but he was sure that it was only a matter of time before the other shoe dropped. Deceit just must be waiting for Roman to take things just a step too far, or for the perfect chance for him to blackmail him.

"So, what's on the menu for tonight?" Roman asked.

"Crab cakes and shrimp," Deceit said. Roman only knew that he wasn't lying because he could see the food as and Logan brought it over.

"Ah, don't take this the wrong way, but that seems more like appetizers than a main course," Roman said.

"There's also rice and vegetables to balance out the meal," Logan said. He started to dish himself up, but Patton cleared his throat pointedly.

"Hang on, kiddo," Patton said. "Don't you think we're forgetting something?"

"Ah, yes," Logan sighed in barely restrained annoyance. "Grace,"

"As much fun as it sounds to give thanks to a deity who may or may not exist, even though they had nothing to do with the preparation of this meal, I have a prior engagement," Deceit filled a plate with half the total crab cakes, put a serving of shrimp and rice in a bowl, and then returned to the kitchen.

"Aw, do you have to?" Patton pouted. "We were going to have a game night after dinner,"

"That sounds absolutely terrible," Deceit came out of the kitchen with a second bowl stacked on top of the first. This one looked like it was filled to the brim with raw shrimp. "I certainly won't make it to the next one."

Patton looked devastated for a second before he remembered who he was talking to. "Oh, great! Well, have fun."

"I won't," Deceit said before he made his way towards the door that led to the Dark Side. Patton had been trying to convince him to move to the Light Side permanently, but Deceit had made it clear that he was perfectly content where he was, which Roman was relieved about. Deceit may come here often, but he didn't technically live here, which meant that there was still hope. And if Deceit left, Remus would be on his own in the Dark Side, and nothing good ever came from a bored and lonely Remus.

With Deceit gone and a plan in his mind to get rid of the snake for good Roman allowed himself to relax. He made himself not worry about his brother or Deceit's schemes. Tonight was dedicated to famILY, and not even the Dark Sides could ruin this for Roman.

Chapter Text

Roman had conflicting feelings about being around the others. He was a social person and thrived on company and acknowledgement, but it was so hard to be around people that he completely disagreed with. Roman was now a little more sympathetic to Virgil's struggles. He'd never understood how the anxious side could be so worried about spending time with people that he liked, but now Roman understood it far more than he had ever wanted to.

Roman still avoided Deceit when he could, because he didn't want to be manipulated, but if the snake happened to be around during movie night, or game night, which was happening more and more lately, Roman didn't retreat back to his room. He joined the others and just did his best to ignore Deceit's presence.

Patton, who had been so worried about Roman, was absolutely ecstatic when Roman started to show himself more. Patton made some dragon sugar cookies and insisted that Roman help him to decorate them. Roman knew that the treat and activity was either Patton's way of rewarding him for branching out again, or a bribe to encourage him to join them more often.

Patton was a big believer in positive reinforcement, and Roman loved being on the receiving end of it. He was more than happy to decorate sugar cookies, and even more happy to eat the cookies, after he played with them first. When Patton was busy taking a batch of cookies out of the oven, Roman knocked two of the cookies against each other, pretending that they were fighting. He laughed triumphantly when the head of one of the dragons snapped off.

"We have a victor!" Roman held up the winner before taking a big bite out of it.

"Having fun over there, Kiddo?" Patton said as he joined him at the table.

"Always," Roman said. He started to nibble on the head of the loser. He was about to start decorating another set of dragons, possibly to make them look more like sea serpents, when a bird flew down the stairs. It looked like a toucan, except incredibly vicious and its beaks looked wrong. Yes, beaks, as it had two of them. The first was relatively normal, except it looked incredibly sharp, but then there was an upside down beak on top of it. It made the bird look like it either had a horn or a pompadour mohawk.

The bird swerved away from Patton and landed on Roman's head, messing up his hair. Roman tried to get it off, but the toucan just dug its talons into his head, which was quite painful.

"Ow," Roman swatted at the bird. It just retaliated by knocking its beak against his head. "Get off."

"Come on, little guy," Patton tried to reach for the bird, but it screeched so loudly at him that Roman's ears were left ringing. The bird tightened its grip on Roman and buried itself closer to him. Patton's eyes widened in alarm and he backed up.

When the bird was confident that neither of them was going to try to move it it relaxed slightly and opened up its top beak, letting a soaked and somewhat slimy roll of paper drop onto the table. Roman cringed away from the paper, but the bird screeched at him again, clung tightly to his hair, and pulled him harshly towards the paper. The toucan wanted Roman to pick it up, which he did so reluctantly, though only after he summoned himself a pair of gloves to keep his hands dry.

Even with the gloves the texture of the paper made Roman feel like he was going to be sick. He took a deep breath and unrolled the paper, which ended up being a scroll. Despite how wet the paper was the writing inside was perfectly legible. Roman only had to look at the handwriting to know that this was from his brother. It was far too similar in appearance to the writing that evil spirits left on walls and mirrors in those horror movies that Remus enjoyed so much for it to be a coincidence.

"What's it say?" Patton asked. He was trying to sound merely curious, but Roman could hear the slight disgust and caution in his tone. Roman didn't mind the tone though, as he felt similarly.

Roman decided against reading the letter out loud, as knowing Remus he would probably put something incredibly inappropriate in the letter, and Patton didn't need to hear any of that. Roman would share with him after he had read it for himself.

Ro-Ro!

You haven't written back yet, so I thought I'd reach out myself!

Roman sighed. It had only been a few days. Roman had been planning on reaching out to his brother, he'd just been planning on waiting for a little bit first. Roman was shocked to see his thoughts show up on the paper underneath Remus' writing. Remus had sent him a two-way letter. It was something that they hadn't used since they were kids.

Sure you were. Winky face.

Did...did Remus just say 'winky face'?

I sure did!

You mentioned having a movie night. I hope you haven't forgotten or changed your mind. If you have, I can always join you guys for one of your movie nights.

No, no, that wouldn't do at all. Patton and Virgil would absolutely freak out, and Remus would probably try to ruin the movie the way he had tried to ruin Frozen when they'd watched it. No, he couldn't join them.

Oh, but that would be so much fun. Winky face.

Roman wished that Remus would stop saying winky face. It was annoying. Besides, Remus had already made that comment. It wasn't like him to be so repetitive and predictable.

Predictable?!

Roman smirked. Usually it was Remus that got into Roman's head and under his skin. It was nice to get back at him, even in this small way.

Cold, Ro-bro, real cold.

I'm bored. We should watch tonight.

Roman didn't like how sudden it was. He had wanted to plan this out and mentally prepare for spending time with Remus, but he didn't actually have any plans tonight, and there wasn't any point in putting it off.

Yes! Let's do it. I'm on my way now!

Roman sighed. So much for relaxing and decorating dragon cookies with Patton.

Dragon cookies?!

Bro

Brother

Esteemed prince of the Imagination

I need some dragon cookies!

If you don't bring me any I'll die

I will throw myself into the nearest volcano and all of my innards will boil until I explode.

Roman cringed slightly at Remus' wording. What he didn't know was whether this was supposed to be a threat or a warning.

What's wrong with both?

Roman pushed those thoughts out of his mind. He didn't want to talk about this kind of thing with Remus in person, he definitely didn't want his brother to be able to know his uncensored thoughts. Roman liked having control of what he showed to others. Remus was the one without restraint, not Roman.

There's enough room in my unrestrained club for everybody.

No, thank you. Roman wanted nothing to do with that. He needed to change the course of this conversation before it got out of control. He forced himself to think about the dragon cookies.

I know what you're doing...and it's totally working.

Give me cookies!

Feed the beast!

If bringing movie night snacks was what it took to get this nightmare of a note to end, Roman would be very happy to do it.

Yes! Victory!

Roman would have to hurry up and finish decorating these cookies so he could meet Remus at the river before he got too bored.

I want to decorate cookies!

Roman supposed he could just bring some plain cookies and frosting to the Imagination, if it would keep Remus quiet for five minutes.

Deal.

Roman doubted his brother would hold true to his word, but it was better than nothing. Roman was about to close up the note when Remus decided to throw in one more thing.

Did you know that because birds fly a lot and need a lot of energy, they need to eat really often too?

Roman was slightly confused. It was much more tame than Remus' usual material.

That means that they have to poop a lot too.

Roman let out an undignified screech and flapped his hands wildly around his head to try to get the toucan off his head. It finally jumped off his head, pulling some hairs off with him. The bird flew past Patton, nipping him as he went, and flew back up the stairs.

Roman snapped the gloves off and moved to feel anxiously at his hair, but he didn't dare touch it. If the toucan had left a mess in his hair, Roman didn't want to get it on his hands. He couldn't just leave the filth in his hair though. Roman leaned forward and bent his head towards Patton.

"Is something there? Please tell me nothing's there." Roman squeezed his eyes shut tight, dreading the answer.

"Uh, I don't know," Patton said. "There's some brown stuff," Roman whimpered, and Patton quickly continued. "The bird's feet looked really dirty though, so it might have just been mud." Roman wasn't going to count on it, and he wasn't going to take any chances.

"I need a shower," Roman said, his voice quivering. "Immediately."

'What did the letter say?" Patton asked before Roman could get away.

Roman took a deep breath. "Remus is hanging around the border." Patton grimaced like he frequently did when Remus was brought up.

"Oh. I guess you need to go deal with that." Patton said.

"I'll probably spend the night, so I'll be back by tomorrow morning." Roman said. He paused slightly before leaving. He didn't exactly want to give Remus his cookies, but he'd already agreed, and Roman didn't want to know how his brother would react if he backed out now. "May I take a few cookies and some frosting with me into the Imagination?"

"To fight Remus?" Patton frowned slightly in confusion.

"Some people in the imagination may want to have the chance to decorate some cookies as well," Roman said, and it wasn't even a lie. "It will be for after I deal with Remus at the river." Once again, it wasn't a lie.

"Well, sure, Kiddo," Patton agreed easily. He often allowed them to do whatever unconventional things they wanted, with just a few exceptions. It was partially because Patton wanted everybody to be happy, and partially because he was a big fan of doing silly things just for the sake of having fun.

"Thank you." Roman waved his hand and summoned a tupperware to put some cookies in. He went out of his way to grab the cookies that were a little more burnt or misshapen, because Remus didn't deserve Patton's perfect cookies. Besides, Remus probably wouldn't mind them at all. Roman made sure to get plenty of frosting, knowing that Remus might be a bit excessive in his decorating, and he was ready to go.

...Well, almost. He did still have to shower, after all.

Roman washed his hair four times before he was confident that it was free of any of the filth that the toucan might have left behind. Roman very reluctantly left his shower as he prepared to go to the Imagination. He tried not to think too hard about what movie Remus might possibly choose. Sometimes worrying about what Remus could possibly do was even worse than what Remus ultimately ended up doing. Remus had far too much fun seeing how much people suffered when they tried to predict him, and Roman wasn't going to give him that satisfaction today.

Roman entered into Imagination through his door. With the cookies and frosting in his hand he made his way to the river. Even though the river ran all along the border, Roman and Remus were always able to find each other, whether they wanted to or not.

Remus was sitting at the river's edge, kicking his feet. He had been throwing stones into the water, but he stood up eagerly when he saw Roman. "You're here," Remus' gaze went to the tupperware in Roman's hands. He clapped his hands excitedly. "And you've got cookies!"

"I told you I would, didn't I?" Roman said, and he was a man of his word. He held his hand out over the water and Remus mirrored him. They spoke the truce and summoned the bridge. Remus skipped over the bridge and nearly tackled Roman in an attempt to get the cookies, but he managed to keep them out of reach.

"These are for the movie," Roman said. "Just wait for a few minutes."

"You're no fun." Remus pouted.

"Well, if I'm no fun, maybe I should just take these cookies and go back to the mindscape where I'm wanted." Roman said.

"No!" Remus screamed and clung tightly to him. "You can't!" Roman expected his brother to summon his morningstar, but he didn't. Remus just looked devastated and like he was about to start crying, which terrified Roman more than anything that Remus had ever done to him.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding, just...stop." Roman said. "Let's just get to the castle, okay?"

Remus sniffled and nodded, though he didn't let go of Roman's arm. He tried to pull away, but Remus was incredibly stubborn and clingy. Roman had to tolerate walking towards his castle while Remus clung to his hand. It was annoying, but Remus relaxed slightly as they started to pass through the towns.

Roman's citizens gave Remus an anxious glance as they passed, but as soon as the duke looked their way they scurried off. Roman would have to make it up to his people later. Right now he just needed to get Remus to the castle and away from the others as soon as possible.

As soon as Remus set foot in the castle he frowned and started eyeing everything critically. Remus looked like he was trying to figure out the best place to throw a blood filled water balloon. Roman adjusted so that instead of clinging to his arm Remus was holding his hand. He had to be ready to rein his brother in if necessary.

Roman pulled Remus to his private chamber, which had a massive television in it. Roman locked the door behind him, just to be certain that none of his curious or concerned attendants would come in. Just because Roman was subjecting himself to his brother's presence didn't mean he had to force it on the others too.

Roman finally dropped his brother's hand and opened a cupboard to show off his movie collection. "Pick what you like, but remember, I have to approve of it first." Remus grinned excitedly and made his way to the movies. Roman summoned a table and began to set up the cookies and frosting. He'd forgotten to grab candies and sprinkles when he'd left, but those were easy enough to summon.

Roman was busy dividing the cookies between the two of them when he heard an excited gasp. He turned to see Remus holding a box set in his arms and practically bouncing on his feet, a hopeful expression on his face.

"Let's see how bad this is," Roman said. Remus held it out proudly. Roman was impressed and shocked at his brother's decision. "Steven Universe?"

"I've never seen it before," Remus said. "I've always wanted to though."

"Wait, back up," Roman eyed his brother. "What do you mean? You've never seen the masterpiece that is Steven Universe?" Thomas had watched the show a couple of times, and Roman had thought that all of them had seen the shows that Thomas had seen.

"Well, I've seen a few episodes," Remus said. "I got through ten or so episodes just fine, but I got fidgety during one episode, and had just a little baby freak out before it ended, and Dee said I wasn't allowed to watch any more."

"Wasn't allowed?" Roman frowned. Deceit had never struck him as the type of person who outright forbade anything, which was part of Roman's problem with him. For Deceit to forbid anything, it would have to be pretty bad. "What kind of freak out are we talking about here?"

Remus' grin became strained as he clung tightly to the box set. "I completely trashed the living room...and my room...and threw Dee's snake against the wall so hard that I broke its spine."

Roman paled. "You did what?"

"She was fine," Remus said defensively. "She's a tough cookie."

"Why would you do that?" Roman asked, even though he knew he probably wouldn't get a clear answer.

Remus shifted uncomfortably, which wasn't like him. "I was overwhelmed." Remus said. "It just hit too close to home."

"And you said you were on episode eleven?" Roman knew that Steven Universe could get incredibly emotional and difficult to watch at times, but not that early in the series. What episode could Remus have possibly watched to cause such a response.

"Something like that," Remus sat cross legged on the ground and carelessly opened up the box set, pulling out the case for the first season. Remus looked at the back of the box for a moment before he pointed harshly at it. "That one. It was episode twelve."

Roman didn't know all episodes by just their numbers alone, but he was certainly familiar with that one. Episode twelve was when the show really picked up and got good. It was the episode when fusion was introduced as a concept. It was absolutely important.

Roman couldn't fathom what about that episode could bother Remus so much, or why Deceit would see a bad reaction to one episode as a sign that the entire show was no good. There were a lot of episodes, it was unlikely that each of them would be liked by everybody. Patton had been so traumatized while watching the episode where Steven tried to shapeshift into a cat that he still couldn't watch that episode, but he still enjoyed the series as a whole.

"Why would you have such a reaction to this episode?" Roman asked.

Remus stiffened slightly and kept his gaze on the ground. He shrugged. "Deedee just said I wasn't allowed to watch the show unless I watched it with you."

"With me?" Roman was taken aback. It was such an odd and specific exception. Why would Deceit think that Roman would ever willingly watch anything with Remus? Sure, that was what he was doing now, but he wouldn't have even considered it a week ago.

"But now I'm here, and you're here, so we can watch it," Remus said eagerly, finally lifting his head. Roman was a little cautious about watching something that could cause such a reaction from Remus, but he would never turn down the opportunity to watch Steven Universe.

"Alright, but if you show even a sign of freaking out for no reason, I reserve the right to turn it off," Roman said.

"Deal," Remus jumped onto Roman's large couch. He lounged for a moment before noticing the green frosting and dipping his finger right into it. Remus sucked on the frosting on his finger much more sensually than was necessary. Roman did his best to ignore Remus as he set up the show. He was determined to not touch the green frosting. Remus could keep it.

Roman thought for a moment about whether to start the show from the beginning, from episode twelve, or episode thirteen. Ultimately he decided to start with episode twelve. If there was going to be any issue with the show and it turned out that Remus really shouldn't watch it, it would be best to know it right away.

Roman made himself comfortable on the couch as far away from Remus as he possibly could, but his brother just scooted closer to him. Remus still seemed to be in his clingy mood. Roman sighed, but he figured if he resisted it and showed his discomfort it would just encourage Remus more.

"Just don't make too much of a mess," Roman said as Remus picked up his first cookie and started spreading frosting on it with his hands like it was a finger painting.

"I will promise no such thing," Remus said, which Roman had expected. He sighed, already feeling drained from his brother's presence. He needed to watch a cute show about relatable gems. Roman gestured to the television and started the episode.

Roman would normally offer all kinds of commentary when watching shows, but he knew that Remus was in the habit of doing the same, and Roman didn't want to encourage him, at least not immediately. Roman instead watched silently and focused his excess energy on his cookie decorating. Roman loved watching movies, but he had so much energy and thoughts that he always needed to be actively doing something while he watched it. It helped him to focus more on the show.

Roman was surprised that Remus was just as quiet as he was. Remus would grunt in frustration or hum a little, but otherwise he was strangely quiet. Remus chuckled a little when Steven started singing about wanting to see a giant woman, but he didn't make any inappropriate comments like Roman had expected from him. Remus was even more focused on his cookie decorating than Roman was.

Roman was curious, but by the time he noticed they were near the end of the episode and Opal was about to appear. This wasn't something that Roman wanted to miss, and he certainly didn't want to miss Remus' reaction. One of Roman's favorite things about watching shows with people who had never seen it before was to see their reaction to it. Remus may be a gross, slimy boi whose opinion Roman didn't really care about, but he still wanted to see how he reacted to such a pivotal moment in the show.

When Opal first appeared Remus squealed and abandoned the cookie he was working on. He curled his legs up to his chest, wrapped his arms around his knees. Remus leaned forward and watched the movie with wide eyes. Roman had only seen this kind of child-like wonder from Patton. It was odd to see from Remus. Odd, but not necessarily bad.

For the next few minutes they watched in complete silence. When the episode ended Roman paused the show before it could begin the next episode. He turned to his brother. "So, what did you think?"

"I loved it!" Remus grinned broadly. "Opal was so pretty, and powerful, and the most awesome parts of Amethyst and Pearl."

"That's how fusion works." Roman said. "Just wait until you meet the others,"

"There are more fusions?" Remus looked at him in awe.

"They're a fundamental part about the show." Roman said. He saw Steven Universe as an exploration of the self, and part of that was through the relationships that one had with others, which was exactly what fusion was. They were extremely important.

"Oh...oh." Remus' eyes widened even more, and Roman was a little afraid that they would pop right out of his skull. "That's why Dee said I couldn't watch this show."

"What?" Roman frowned. Why in the world would fusion be a reason to avoid Steven Universe? "Why?"

Remus gave Roman an odd look before he shrugged and returned to his cookie. He added one more smear of green before he lifted it up proudly for Roman to see. "Look at my dragon. Isn't it cool?"

Roman knew that Remus was just trying to distract him, and he was determined to not let it happen, but then he saw the cookie and any thought of returning to that conversation vanished. "You...how?" The cookie decoration was absolutely exquisite. It looked so realistic and detailed, like a cross between a painting and a professionally decorated cookie. And Remus had managed this in ten minutes...with his hands.

Remus grinned proudly and looked at his cookie. "I'm Creativity too, you know."

"Well, of course I know that," Roman said somewhat defensively. It wasn't exactly something he could forget, but he frequently tried to push it to the back of his mind and ignore it, just because it wasn't an entirely pleasant thought. "I just...didn't expect something like this from you."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment," Remus said, taking it in stride. He pointed to the mouth of his dragon. "Do you see the blood there?"

Roman leaned forward to get a better look, and he wished he hadn't. He did indeed see the blood, and it was frighteningly realistic looking. Roman didn't think that they'd had frosting this vibrant a shade of red.

"It's...nice," Roman said, his voice strained and forced.

"It is, isn't it?" Remus said fondly. He gave the cookie one more proud look before he opened his mouth wider than was humanly possible and shoved the whole thing into his mouth. He swallowed it whole, without chewing it at all, like a heathen. Remus then grabbed another cookie, the most burnt one in his batch, and started pulling the red, orange, and yellow frosting towards him. He was ready to start a new masterpiece.

Not one to be out done, Roman grabbed a cookie for himself and quickly scooped some frosting of each of the colors onto his plate before Remus could contaminate it all. He would show his brother that he wasn't the only artist here. Roman pushed play on the next episode as they both continued their decorating.

Roman was pleasantly surprised at how much he was enjoying this. He would still rather spend time with nearly any other side other than Remus, but since he had to be around him, it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Roman was sure the other shoe would drop sooner rather than later, but it was nice to know that even Remus had a part of him that just wanted to watch Steven Universe and make cookies.

Maybe Roman's plan wouldn't be as torturous as he thought it would be.

Chapter Text

Roman knew that Remus thrived on attention, just as Roman himself did, but he hadn't expected just how desperate and clingy his brother was. It felt just a little extra, and that was coming from Roman. The more attention Roman gave to his brother, the more he wanted. He was like a puppy, or perhaps a leech.

It was absolutely exhausting, and just a little frustrating. Spending time with Remus wasn't nearly as bad as Roman thought it would be. It was nice to have somebody around to spar with, even if Remus did have a tendency to fight dirty. It was interesting to see how their creations played off each other, though Roman could do without the gory details. He would like to have his mystical fae without Remus' additions about them being poor souls of the dead who were doomed to continue walking the Earth, disconnected from humanity.

Their favorite activity though was to watch Steven Universe. Roman would love to watch the show under any circumstances, but Remus' company actually made it better, which was the last thing he had expected. Remus' excitement with the show was quite enjoyable. He still made inappropriate comments now and then, but it wasn't nearly as bad as Roman had been expecting.

What made it all incredibly frustrating was that Remus got extremely moody when Roman wasn't right by his side. He got clingy and incredibly crude whenever Roman needed to leave to be with the if Roman wanted to, he couldn't constantly be at his brother's side, but Remus couldn't understand that.

Remus hadn't gone so far as to physically restrain Roman and look him up in the dungeon to keep him from running off, but it was only a matter of time before he completely lost it.

The other thing that Roman was starting to lose his patience over was that he had yet to get any information about Deceit or his plan. He had thought he could do this subtly, that he could just wait and Remus would let it slip eventually, but it wasn't working so well. Remus seemed to tell Roman about everything under the sun, except for what he needed to know.

Remus would frequently mention Deceit in passing, but nothing more than that. Roman would prefer to stick to his plan, as he thought it had been quite ingenious, but he could be flexible. Remus wasn't a subtle person, so maybe what Roman needed to do was forget the games and just try asking his brother directly.

Remus knew all about meaningless, useless questions that didn't necessarily mean anything. Hopefully Remus didn't know what he was up to and go running to Deceit. The last thing that Roman needed right now was for that snake to know that he was on to him.

Roman was in his room reading through the script Thomas had been given for the callback that he'd missed. Roman had summoned, destroyed, and then recreated this script dozens of times. Sometimes he didn't even want to think about the opportunity they had missed out on...the opportunity he had been responsible for them missing out on. Other times Roman felt like reading this script and fantasizing about how the callback could have gone was the only way for him to keep his sanity.

It was depressing, and not even in the way that he could eventually find cathartic. He couldn't resist it though.

Roman was reading through the role that Thomas was supposed to have the callback for when the door to the Imagination was suddenly thrown open. Roman jumped and quickly made the script vanish. He couldn't let anybody know about this. He knew that Logan would say it was irrational, Patton would get distressed, and Deceit would say something along the lines of this not being a healthy coping mechanism and lingering on the past wouldn't do anything to help Thomas.

"Remus!" Roman scowled at his brother, who was in the process of scaling up his wall. "What are you doing?"

"It's been so long since we've seen each other." Remus said.

"It's been an hour," Roman said.

"That's what I said." Remus twisted his neck to look at Roman. His neck twisted so far that his head was now on backwards. It would be disturbing enough, but Remus went to the effort of adding in the grinding and cracking sounds of bones rubbing against each other. The sound sent shivers down Roman's spine.

"Can you just...stop for five seconds?" Roman asked.

Remus was quiet for precisely four seconds before he grinned widely and dropped down from the ceiling, landing just inches in front of Roman. "Nope!"

Roman sighed. "I told you that I would meet you in the Imagination tonight to watch some Steven Universe." Just because he was spending more time with his brother didn't mean that he wanted to be around him constantly. He needed a break.

"Oh, I know," Remus said. "But I got hungry, so I thought I'd see what Patton was cooking up."

"Don't you have a kitchen on the dark side of the Mindscape?" Roman asked.

Remus shrugged. "I've never been able to get the hang of cooking."

"Me neither," Roman admitted. He liked to experiment and get creative in the kitchen, but it rarely ended up being something edible. He didn't know enough about cooking to have a solid foundation to base his experiments on. Perhaps Remus had the same struggles.

"What do you usually do for food, and why can't you do that?" Roman asked.

"Deedee normally takes care of that stuff," Remus said with a slight, nervous fidget.

"And Deceit has been spending a lot of time over here lately," Roman had never considered that meant that Deceit would also be spending less time with Remus. No wonder Remus was clinging to him so much. His regular playmate/victim had been making himself scarce. "What have you been doing without him around?"

"I've been playing with you," Remus said.

"I meant what have you been doing for food?" Roman rolled his eyes.

"I came over here," Remus tilted his head at him and frowned slightly in confusion. "You're looking at me and have been talking to me." Remus' eyes widened. "Unless you think you've just been hallucinating this whole time."

"I know you're here," Roman gave his brother an annoyed look. He really didn't understand Remus' way of thinking sometimes. "Before right now, what have you done for food when Deceit wasn't around?"

"Nothing," Remus gave him a small frown, like he thought it was obvious. Roman flinched at the thought. Since they were just in Roman's mind, they didn't technically need to eat, but they could definitely feel hungry. Not eating couldn't kill them, but it was incredibly painful.

"You've just gone hungry?" Roman asked.

"Aw, are you worried?" Remus made a baby face at him. Roman scowled and gave his brother a shove. Remus laughed and jumped onto Roman's bed. "I wanted to see if my stomach would eat itself if it didn't have anything else, but I got bored of waiting. The experiment will have to wait for another day."

"Why do you even like to spend time with Deceit?" Roman asked. He couldn't imagine wanting to be around somebody who didn't give him enough attention. "He's the embodiment of subterfuge, and you are so unapologetically honest. Deceit had to have played a role in repressing you from Thomas, and intrusive thoughts aren't exactly helpful to Thomas' wellbeing. You two work directly against each other."

"Dee's fun," Remus said, as though that made up for just how incompatible the two of them were. "He lets me do anything I want as long as it doesn't hurt Thomas."

"How does Thomas jumping out of a moving vehicle not hurt him?" Roman said. He felt stiff and ready for a fight, but he didn't actually want to fight. At least, he didn't want a true fight. Disagreements, sparring, and friendly bickering was fine.

"Did Thomas actually jump out of the car?" Remus asked in a patronizing tone that he must have picked up from Deceit.

"Well, no," Roman admitted.

"There you go!" Remus said cheerfully. "No harm done. After all, thoughts never hurt anybody."

"I would beg to differ," Roman said moodily. Despite what Logan said, he thought that Remus could do quite a bit of damage. "I still don't understand how you can be friends with that liar."

"Well, I don't understand how you can be friends with Patton." Remus said with a frown. "Dee's easy when you know how to tell when he's lying. Patton though, he's mean and scary."

"Mean and scary?" Roman's face twisted into something that resembled a sneer. Those were some of the last words that Roman would ever use to describe Patton. Where in the world would Remus get that idea? Roman wanted to ask him about it, but then he considered what Remus had said just before that. "Wait a second, you can tell when he's lying?"

"It's super easy." Remus said. "Double D's a snake, and they don't blink at all. When people lie though, they can sometimes blink a whole lot. When Dee lies, he blinks, just like anybody else."

Roman hadn't known that Deceit didn't blink. He would think that was something he would have noticed by now, unless he had just never seen Deceit be honest. He wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. "So if Deceit blinks, he's lying?"

"Well, that or he's about to start crying." Remus said. Roman had been shocked before, but this was bordering on disturbing.

"What in the world could make Deceit cry?" Roman wasn't exactly the kind of information he had expected to learn about Deceit from Remus. This could certainly come in handy though...possibly.

"Virgil not trusting him, Virgil hissing at him, Virgil leaving." Remus counted off with his fingers. "Me breaking his snake's spine, me trying to carve out my own small intestines just to see if they're really twenty feet long, me pushing a pencil into his eye, his eye drops being replaced with onion water-"

"I get it, I get it," Roman really didn't want to hear any more. Now he was wondering why Deceit tolerated Remus' presence. It certainly sounded like he was far more trouble than he was worth. "You're horrible, you know that?"

"I know," Remus said happily. He started giggling and rocking back and forth. He opened his mouth to say something that would probably make Roman kick him out of the room, but he cut himself off when they heard someone knock on the door, and Roman immediately knew who it was, because all of them knocked in different ways.

Logan knocked twice, no more, no less. Virgil switched between knocking rapidly and loudly, almost like he was about to pound the door in, and pacing in front of the door for several minutes before quietly knocking just once. Patton knocked to the pattern of Shave and a Haircut, which was the rhythm they heard now.

Remus slammed his hand very loudly against the wall for the Two Bits response, though the word he used to accompany it was not quite the traditional, innocent, English version that Patton obviously had in mind. "¡Cabrón!"

"Remus," Roman was aghast. At moments like this he wished he didn't know Spanish. "You can't say that."

"But it's how it goes," Remus said with feigned innocence. He clapped out the full Shave and a Haircut rhythm, saying what he saw as the appropriate words for it. "¡Chinga tu madre, cabrón!"

"Stop it," Roman was half tempted to go to his brother and cover his mouth with his hand, but there were two things stopping him. First off, he knew that Remus would lick his hand, and he really didn't want to deal with that. Most importantly though, Deceit was in the habit of silencing people, and Roman didn't want to be anything like him.

"Kiddo, you okay in there?" Patton asked. Remus flinched and actually looked terrified. Had he been serious when he'd said that he found Patton to be scary?

"I'm fine," Roman made his way to the door, ignoring Remus scrambling off the bed and shaking his head.

"I'm not here," Remus said as he crawled under the bed. Roman sent a confused look his way, but didn't think too hard on it. He opened the door to see Patton looking at him in concern.

"Patton, what brings you to my room?" Roman asked.

"Logan and Janus want everybody downstairs," Patton said. "They want to plan a schedule for next week."

Roman couldn't help but roll his eyes. He had never been a big fan of planning things out. His style was more to go with the flow and do whatever struck his fancy at the moment. The only times he planned and prepared was when it came to a big audition, or dreams of the future. Logan had pretty much given up trying to drag them all into his obsession with schedules, but it seemed like Deceit's presence and encouragement was getting him right back into it.

Deceit just seemed to be doing everything right to get on the others' good side, but his every move just seemed to get Roman to like him less and less.

"I'll be right down," Roman said. He didn't particularly want to do it, and if anybody else had come up to ask him he would just tell them that he had other things to do, but he couldn't reject Patton like that. He wouldn't be able to handle his disappointment and heart-broken expression.

Roman would make his displeasure obvious during their discussion, as he wasn't about to roll over and hold his tongue just because it was what the others wanted.

Patton grinned, clearly relieved. "That's great. I made some ice cream sandwiches and hot cocoa." It sounded delicious, and Roman wasn't the only one who thought so. He heard Remus whine under the bed. Patton frowned and looked over Roman's shoulder. "Is someone in there with you? I heard talking earlier."

"My room is always making random noises," Roman said, and it wasn't a lie. Roman always left his imagination open just a crack to let in the white noise. He had never been able to sleep or think very well in silence. "And I was going through some lines earlier." Once again, it wasn't a lie.

Roman glanced behind him towards his bed. He couldn't just leave Remus in his room. Remus had a tendency to trash things when he was left on his own, and Roman liked his room the way it was, thank you very much.

"I have something to finish up, but I'll be downstairs in a moment," Roman said. He gestured out the door. "Go on ahead. I'll catch up."

"I'll have a mug with your name on it waiting for you." Patton said, and he meant that literally. Roman had always gotten upset with others using his mug, even though they had all been nearly identical and Logan insisted there was absolutely no difference. Virgil had gotten tired of Roman's complaining and ranting, so he had taken Roman's preferred mug and written his name on it, just so they all knew.

Once Patton left the room, Roman closed the door behind him and turned towards his bed. "He's gone. It's safe." Roman didn't understand his brother's issue with the other side, but there were a lot of things he didn't understand about his brother. Remus poked his head out from under the bed. "What's your problem with Patton?"

"He's the one who had a problem with me first." Remus said, and that wasn't exactly something Roman could refute. Patton had been unnerved by Remus from the very start, even before they had split.

"Alright, that's fair," Roman said. "Well, if you don't want to be around Patton, perhaps going into the kitchen right now isn't the best plan."

"But he's always in there." Remus whined.

"I'll tell you what," Roman said. "I'll be over here for a few more hours, but after that I'll meet you in my castle so we can watch some Steven Universe. I'll bring enough snacks to feed an army."

"Awesome." Remus grinned excitedly. "I'm going to hold you to that."

"I am a prince of my word," Roman put a hand on his chest. "Now I really must go, so, if you would be so kind," Roman gestured towards his door to the Imagination. He wasn't about to leave Remus alone in here. It didn't matter that Remus could just enter his room whenever he wanted, as their rooms were technically split off from the room that had belonged to King Romulus. It was the principal of the matter that was important.

Remus made a few mocking faces as Roman shoved him back into the Imagination, but he left without too much resistance, which Roman appreciated. Once he was gone Roman took a few moments to regain his composure. He fixed up his hair, which, between Remus' visit and his reading of the script, had been much messier than he liked. He straightened his bedding and sprayed some air freshener to get rid of the stinky trash smell that followed Remus everywhere.

Once Roman was content that he and his room were presentable he nodded his head and made his way downstairs. Everybody was there waiting for him, but Roman always enjoyed being fashionably late.

"Hello, all!" Roman raised his arms in his traditional fashion. "How are we all this fine day?"

"We're all fantastic," Patton exclaimed enthusiastically. Virgil's slight grimace and side glance told a different story, but he didn't actually say anything to disagree with him.

"How nice of you to finally join us." Deceit drawled. Roman narrowed his eyes at him. He remembered Remus' words about how to tell if the snake was lying or not. Perhaps he would have a chance to put that advice to the test.

"Well, now that I'm here, what did I miss?" Roman asked. All of them were far too impatient to bother waiting for everybody to be there. When one of them wanted to do something they did it, and just trusted that the others would join them if and when they wanted to.

"Absolutely nothing." Deceit blinked twice, and Roman was suspicious.

"Actually, we started discussing the advantages of Thomas going for a brisk walk every morning." Logan said.

"Right, right," Roman sighed, bored already. Logan had brought up this kind of thing all the time, but it never went anywhere. Roman didn't see why this time would be any different. Surely Deceit's presence wouldn't make that much of a difference. He couldn't possibly change their minds about something that they hadn't been able to agree about for years.

Roman didn't care much about the whole walking idea, but he was certainly interested in his observation. Deceit had blatantly lied, and Roman had seen him blink, just like Remus had said. He had a way to outsmart the snake.

Deceit frowned slightly at Roman. "Do you have something against this idea?" Deceit blinked, and Roman prepared himself to hear a lie. "If you have an opinion, I'd love to hear it. This isn't a dictatorship. Everybody should have the chance to be heard."

"Liar," Roman said without thinking. He liked to think that he had more of a filter than Remus did, but when he had a thought his first instinct was to express it, even when he possibly shouldn't. This seemed to be one of the moments when it would have been better to keep his mouth shut. Patton looked uncomfortable. Logan was clearly annoyed. Virgil seemed to be trying to sink into the couch. As for Deceit, he looked more shocked than anything.

"Excuse me?" Deceit raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't lie to me," Roman said angrily.

"Yes, Roman, everything that comes out of my mouth is a lie." Deceit said. He blinked multiple times, which meant that was a lie. Except if he was lying now, that meant that he really didn't always lie. It was all so confusing. Still, that didn't mean that he'd been honest when he said that everybody should have the chance to be heard.

"Kiddo, just because his function is Deceit doesn't mean that he's always dishonest and mean." Patton said. He was clearly trying to keep the peace, but Roman didn't want to find a middle ground with Deceit. He wanted the others to finally see that he was right.

"Oh, but Mr. creativity over there is always so original." Deceit blinked and feigned looking at his nails, even though he was wearing gloves. "He's never reused ideas or, Thomas forbid, taken ideas from other people."

Ouch. Roman knew that his occasional creative block went directly against his function, but he really couldn't help it. He did his best. And he resented the accusation that he stole ideas from others. He may borrow ideas that he was particularly fond of, but that was part of the creative process. Artists were inspired by each other all the time. It was perfectly acceptable.

"Alright, I admit, not everything you say is a lie," Roman said reluctantly. "But what you said about wanting to hear my opinion was."

"Oh, please, tell us how you know that," Deceit said. Another lie. How was Roman supposed to trust this guy?

"You blinked," Roman said, though he hadn't truly meant to reveal to Deceit that he now knew his secret.

Deceit stiffened ever so slightly. Virgil, who had been staring at his phone, snapped his head up to look at Roman in shock. He looked startled and just a little anxious.

Everything was tense for a long moment before Deceit's gaze darkened. "Where did you hear that?" Roman was taken aback. Deceit sounded furious, and he didn't exactly understand why. When Roman didn't answer right away Deceit scowled and his pupils narrowed slightly so they resembled slits a little. "Who told you?!"

"It wasn't me," Virgil said quickly and defensively. Deceit narrowed his eyes at him for a few long moments before he closed his eyes.

"Remus," Deceit pinched the bridge of his nose. He sighed and opened his eyes to look at them. His expression was unreadable. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut things short. I have an issue to take care of." Deceit sank out before any of them could say another word.

Patton stared at where Deceit had been standing, a conflicted look in his eyes. Virgil groaned and tugged his hood over his head. Logan sighed and adjusted his glasses. He actually looked upset that their plans hadn't gone the way he had wanted them to.

Patton slowly turned towards Roman. "You've been talking to Remus?"

"He makes himself heard, whether I want to listen to him or not." Roman said. Virgil nodded in agreement.

"But you didn't have to actually listen to what he had to say." Patton said almost desperately. "Roman, Remus isn't a good person. You know this."

"At least he's honest," Roman said. Patton flinched and Virgil hissed. "At least I know that if Remus is going to attack me, it'll be to my face. Deceit's the one who would stab me, all of us, in the back."

"Janus wouldn't-" Patton began, but Roman cut him off.

"You don't know that." Roman shouted. "We know nothing about him."

"We know he wants what's best for Thomas," Logan said sternly. "Not all of us agree on what that looks like, but it is what we all want." Logan gave Patton and Virgil a significant look. "All of us, including Remus."

Virgil scowled, shook his head, and sank out. Patton looked at Logan in alarm before turning and running up the stairs to find Virgil and comfort him. Roman sighed and sat on the couch. He put his head in his hands. Had it always been this frustratingly easy to hurt each other? Roman swore it didn't used to be this bad, but now that he was trying to think of a better time, he found that he couldn't. They were all really close, but that just gave all of them the knowledge to better hurt each other . It wasn't right, and it wasn't fair, but Roman didn't know how to do things a better way.

Sometimes he wondered if it would be better to be like Remus, at least as far as relationships went. If he wasn't close to others, he couldn't hurt them, and they couldn't hurt him. Roman couldn't duck out and hide in his room though. Thomas needed him, and Roman needed the others. He wouldn't be able to bear the loneliness of being by himself.

"Roman-" Logan began, but Roman didn't want to hear it. Whether the logical side was trying to comfort him or scold him, Roman didn't think he could handle it, not right now. He stood up and brushed away Logan's hand before he could continue.

"I'll be in the Imagination." Roman said quietly as he too sank out, seeking his personal haven. It was still several hours until Remus was supposed to show up, but Roman figured that here would be as good a place to wait as any.

Even though Roman had only been tolerating Remus' presence, he found himself longing for it. Right now it seemed like the duke was the only person he could be around for longer than five minutes without ruining everything. When Roman had first started, he'd counted down the minutes until he could be away from Remus, and now he was counting down the seconds until he could be in his company.

Roman hadn't felt like this since they were little kids, but he really needed his brother right now.

Chapter Text

Remus hummed to himself as he walked through his half of the Imagination. It had been so long since he had actually explored his disaster of a realm. It was a good way to pass the time until tonight when Roman was done being boring and they could watch some Steven Universe. Remus had considered just waiting by the river the whole time, but that had gotten boring after just five minutes.

Remus decided to go find something fun to do, but first he summoned his half of the bridge and established his part of the truce. This way Roman could just come right on over as soon as he was ready and they wouldn't have to wait for each other. Remus then skipped off, closing his eyes and letting his feet carry him wherever they wanted to go.

He ended up stumbling and tripping a lot, not to mention running into countless trees, but that was what made it fun. What was life without the risk of broken bones and accidental impalement? Absolutely boring, that's what.

Remus only bothered to open his eyes when he walked straight into what he first thought was a cave, but smelled like rotten eggs with just a hint of burning hair and bad breath. It was one of Remus' favorite smells. Brimstone. There was only one part of the Imagination that smelled like this. Remus had created a giant sulfur dragon that smelled like brimstone. He sometimes used it to stink up and burn down Roman's kingdom, but otherwise it slept near the mountains.

Remus looked around with interest. He had forgotten that his sulfur dragon slept with its mouth open. He'd been wondering why the local zombie werewolves had been complaining about the smell in this area.

Remus had gone exploring inside dozens of his creatures, but his sulfur dragon hadn't been one of them. This would be such an interesting adventure, and Remus was dying to see what would happen. Could he walk right into his dragon's stomach? Would it digest him? If he did get digested, would he be able to come back up the throat and out of the mouth, or would he have to leave out the backdoor?

Remus really wanted to test it out, but he just barely restrained himself. He knew that Roman didn't like it when he was super smelly, and if he upset Roman he might not want to watch Steven Universe tonight, and Remus couldn't have that.

He hated holding back in any way, but Janus had drilled into him (not literally, though wouldn't that be fun?) that sometimes sacrifices had to be made for the greater good. Remus reluctantly walked out of his dragon's mouth. He had to find something else to do to amuse himself for a few hours.

Remus looked around for something to pop out at him and catch his interest. He considered going into the woods and looking for the vampire slimes he'd created when he was really little, but then his gaze was drawn towards the top of his mountains. They were covered in so much snow, and didn't have a lot of trees, which made them look deceptively smooth. Remus knew that there were jagged rocks and steep drops, but the mountain looked much more like a really big hill, just like the kind that Thomas used to roll down when he was little.

Now, there was an idea.

Remus grinned to himself and started up the mountain. He'd already held back one idea of his today. That was far, far more than he wanted to do. The thought of not following his instincts again made him feel like he was going to be sick, and not in the fun way either. Remus wanted to know what would happen if he tried to roll down a mountain like it was a hill, and, God blow him, he was going to figure it out.

Remus scampered up the hill as quickly as he could. He definitely didn't take the safest route. Even mountain goat climbers, which were either mountain climbers who were goats, or people who climbed on top of mountain goats, he hadn't decided yet, would think that his route was too risky. Remus wasn't there to play safe though. Uncharted paths were his favorite.

Remus soon got to the top of the mountain. For a moment he just stood there and stared at his realm beneath him. He could see the dark ocean from all the way up here. Remus thought that he could even see the high flying flags of Roman's castle. He wondered if the river border between their lands went between the mountains, or up and over them.

Remus wanted to see it for himself, because if the river went over the mountain that meant that on one of the sides it went uphill instead of going down, and that would certainly be a sight to see. That would have to wait until a later date. For now, Remus had a mountain to roll down.

He found what looked like the most jagged, steepest path down the mountain and crouched in front of it. Remus giggled excitedly to himself. Maybe he would hit his head against a rock and bash his brain in, or he'd roll off a steep cliff and get impaled by the jagged rocks below. Remus would probably be lucky to walk away from this without at least a concussion and a broken bone or two. He couldn't wait.

Remus was about to roll down when he felt a strong and fierce grip around his waist, shoulder, and even head. Remus barely processed the fact that six hands were holding him before they all pulled him back away from the edge of the mountain. Remus usually hated being held down or restrained, but he could never bring himself to be mad at Janus for it.

"Well, fuck me ten ways to Sunday, hi J-anus!" Remus said cheerfully. "It's been a long time!" Remus had seen his friend in the dark side just that morning, but that didn't count. Janus had left so quickly that he'd barely said hello to Remus before he'd left. It had been nice to not be completely ignored, as that had happened once or twice and completely ruined the rest of Remus' day, but it wasn't nearly enough interaction for him.

"And I'm not sorry about that at all," Janus let go of Remus, though he kept his hands on his shoulders. "I certainly haven't missed your exhausting and dangerous energy."

"Aw, I've missed you too." Remus said. "What are you doing here, Janey? I thought you were busy getting all buddy-buddy with the others."

"I've certainly been doing my best," Janus said. "It's been quite a struggle, and today I have come across a new roadblock." Janus gave him an odd look that he didn't understand. "Can you imagine what that problem may be?"

Janus said this like he expected him to know the answer. Remus didn't normally stop to think before he answered questions, but he didn't want Janus to give him that disappointed look that he was oh so good at. Remus had finally gotten Janus' attention again, and he didn't want to chase him off again so soon.

"Um...I don't know," Remus said slowly, as seriously as he could manage. "What happened?"

"We were having a very important conversation about Thomas' health and habits-" Janus began. Remus blew a raspberry, which earned him an annoyed look from Janus. It wasn't his fault though. Remus loved Thomathy, who else was he supposed to mess with if his host was gone? But the man could be so boring sometimes, and babysitting him wasn't exactly what Remus called a good time.

"Are you done acting like a child?" Janus asked.

"Never," Remus waved his hand. "Go on."

Janus sighed. "Well, I was speaking with Roman, and he accused me of lying to him."

"So?" Remus asked. Janus was a pathological liar, and he was proud of it. Remus had never known him to get upset about someone thinking he was lying.

"I wasn't lying," Janus said. "He claimed that I was though, and do you know why?"

"Why would I know?" Remus asked. He rarely ever knew where Janus was going in their conversations. It was why he liked him so much. Remus thrived on the unpredictability of it.

"He said that I blinked." Janus leaned towards Remus, a distant look in his eyes. "Can you tell me where he might have gotten that idea?"

Remus had to think about it for a minute. He didn't put a lot of effort into remembering everything he said and did. He would much rather live in the moment. It was a little easier to remember his conversations with Roman though, because his brother had such an out there, tamely fun way of doing things.

"Oh, that was me." Remus raised his hand. "I told him that."

"How surprising," Janus rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Why did you think that was a good idea?"

"I didn't really think about it," Remus shrugged. "It just came out."

Janus sighed and gave Remus a tired look. "I've talked to you about thinking things through before acting."

"You have?" Remus asked. Janus scolded him about a lot of things. Remus couldn't keep track of every single one of Janus' lectures. The side was a slithering, sexy, scolding machine. It was kinda hot sometimes, but not always.

"No," Janus hissed at him. "Remus, this is serious and important. I need you to put on your serious listening ears." Remus sat up slightly. Oh, Janus had to be really serious right now. Even more serious than he usually was, which was shocking.

"Okay," Remus pulled his ears off and replaced them with pointy ears that were covered with scales. They matched Janus' face. The deceitful side had gifted these to him when they were really young. It was like a code between them. The different, kinda scratchy ears that didn't match his face reminded Remus to really focus and pay attention, or at least try to. And when Remus wore these ears, Janus knew that he would do his very best to listen to him.

Janus relaxed ever so slightly. "Cephy, I've been trying really hard to get the others to trust me, but I'm not making much headway with Roman."

Remus giggled. "Head." Janus gave him an annoyed look. "Okay, okay, sorry. I'm listening, I promise. You're trying to get head from Roman."

"Close enough," Janus sighed. "Roman can't stand to be in the same room as me. I thought if I took it slowly, let him set the pace, then everything would fall into place, but it's only gotten worse. Now he is accusing me of lying about caring about what he has to say."

"You care about what everybody has to say," Remus said. If Janus cared about Remus' opinion, he definitely cared about everybody else's.

"But Roman doesn't know that," Janus said. "He has refused to listen up to this point, and now that he's convinced that he knows when I'm lying, it'll be even more difficult to convince him otherwise. You know how stubborn the others all are."

Remus tilted his head slightly. "I didn't try to tell Roman to not trust you. It just came out. You know I just say whatever comes to my head."

"No, Remus, I'm not at all aware of your lack of a filter," Janus said. He nudged Remus' arm playfully to show that he wasn't too angry at him. "You know I absolutely hate that about you, but there are times when we have to slow down and think things through." Janus was all about slow planning. It wasn't Remus' style, but it could be fun sometimes to see everything at the epic climax."

"Is this one of those times?" Remus asked, because he was never sure.

"Absolutely not," Janus said. "I'm trying to get the others to accept us, both of us, but I have to ease them into it. None of them react to sudden changes," Remus remembered the way that he and Janus had been when Virgil had left. He didn't think that any of them responded well to changes. They just reacted badly in different ways.

"I'm full of sudden changes," Remus said. He loved unexpected surprises, unless that change was something like Virgil leaving and Janus being around less and less. Those surprises weren't anywhere near as fun.

"Exactly," Janus said. "For them to be open to the thought of you, I need them to be completely comfortable with me. I'm almost there, but not quite, and your oh so helpful comments to Roman are setting me back."

Remus blinked several times, wondering if he was hearing and understanding correctly. He tilted his head at his friend. "You want me to stop talking to Roman."

"Just for a little bit," Janus assured him quickly. "I know it means a lot to you to have your brother back, and I don't want to take that from you, but I think that a small break is what would be best for all of us."

Remus wanted to disagree. He wanted so badly to fight and claw and bite Janus for even suggesting that he be away from his brother, but he was wearing his serious listening ears, and that meant that he had to try really hard to actually listen to what Janus was saying. When Janus stopped to think about it, he knew that Janus was right. He needed the others, including Roman, to like him, and that wouldn't happen if Remus accidentally gave his brother more reason to not trust Janus.

Remus couldn't constantly restrain himself and watch his words around Roman, he just got too excited when he was around his brother to do that. He also couldn't avoid his brother, because now that Roman was willingly subjecting himself to his company, it was impossible to resist wanting to be around him. Remus would slip up sooner rather than later, and he would ruin Janus' wonderful plan.

Remus could only think of one thing to do. He didn't particularly want to, but as Janus firmly believed, sometimes sacrifices had to be made to achieve what really mattered. Remus took a deep breath to try to make himself relax. It didn't work very well. "How long?"

Janus gave him a sympathetic look. "I don't know."

"But you'll tell me when you do it?" Remus asked, looking far too hopeful for his comfort.

"Oh absolutely not," Janus smirked. "You certainly won't be the first to know."

Remus nodded. He was reluctant, and just a little nervous, but he trusted Janus. This wasn't the first time they'd done this kind of thing, and Janus had never let him down before. He would come for him. Remus just needed to give Janus the space to work, and trust that his friend would take care of everything else, like he always did.

"Okay," Remus said, and Janus let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you," Janus said. "When this is all over, I'll make it up to you."

Remus grinned and flapped his hands slightly excitedly. He loved it when Janus made things up to him. It was always so much fun. Maybe Janus would play with him in his favorite dungeon again. It had been a long time since they'd played their favorite games.

"I'm going to hold you to that," Remus said. He hesitated for just one instant before he lurched towards Deceit and clung tightly to him. "Just...don't forget about me."

"Ah, yes, because you're so forgettable," Janus ran a hand through his greasy hair. It felt so nice, especially since Remus knew that it didn't feel very good for Janus. "Don't worry, Remus, I couldn't possibly forget about you."

Remus really wanted to believe him, he wanted to believe him so badly, but Roman and Virgil had both told him almost the exact same thing, and just look at how that had worked out for him. He could give Janus a chance though, give him the benefit of the doubt. He'd never let him down yet.

"Remus clung to Janus as long as he could, but eventually he had to let go. He reluctantly pulled away. "I should probably let you go do damage control."

"That's my job," Janus gave his hair one last ruffle. "I'll come visit you later."

"With food?" Remus asked, because he was still really hungry. Roman was supposed to give him food when they had their movie night, but now Remus couldn't join him, which meant no food for him.

"Of course," Janus chuckled and straightened his jacket. "I'll see you real soon, Cephy."

"Okay," Remus sighed. He was feeling a little tired himself. Maybe that was a good thing. For what he was planning on doing, being tired might make it easier. He could just fall asleep, wake up and Janus would be there waiting for him, ready to bring him back to Roman.

Janus nodded and sunk out, probably to go talk to the others. Remus took a deep breath to steel himself and started to make his way towards his castle. He dragged his feet a little bit, because this definitely wasn't something that he wanted to do. He tried to take the long way around to his castle, and maybe he did, but he still got there in what felt like no time at all.

At times like this Remus really hated his stupid brain. His thoughts were moving so quickly that he couldn't even catch any of them. All his thoughts were doing for him right now was making time pass faster, which wasn't really what he wanted right now.

Remus numbly walked into his castle. His attendants and concubines all tried to get his attention, and he would normally love to have some fun with them, but he had places to be and things to do. For Janus. Remus ignored all of his wonderful creations and made his way down the stairs towards the dungeons.

Remus walked right past the boring, regular old dungeon that he barely ever used. He avoided looking at the door to his BDSM dungeon. He would much rather be in there, but those fun times would have to be for later. Right now, Remus had a different dungeon to go to.

Remus walked and walked down the dark, sticky hallway until he found himself standing in front of a locked door. His dungeon. The only place in Remus' whole side of the imagination that was strong enough to contain him.

Remus hated this place, but unlike most of Remus' creations, this one had a purpose. He couldn't be trusted to hold himself back on his own, but that was what Janus needed right now. Remus couldn't disappoint him. Janus was the only one who had tolerated Remus for all these years, it was only fair that he did this much for him.

Remus bit his lip so hard that it started to bleed. He held his hand out towards the door. He flinched as the door loudly unlocked and slowly swung open. Why did he have to make the entrance to his dungeon so scary? He was already reluctant to go in there.

Remus closed his eyes and took a step into the dungeon. He immediately felt like a cold, heavy blanket was pressing down on him. He felt like he had to focus just to keep himself on his feet. He didn't understand how Virgil could find this kind of pressure comforting. It was suffocating, like having a pillow pressed over his face, smothering him in his sleep.

Remus grimaced as the pressure got heavier and more restraining. Right, this dungeon was made to repress his bad thoughts. Virgil had helped him to make this room. Anxiety and intrusive thoughts weren't the same thing, but they were similar, like distant cousins. They both thought that it made sense that there might be some similarities in repressing them.

Remus had never understood why Virgil had found repression to be comforting. It hurt and made him feel sick. Maybe Virgil was just into that kind of thing.

Remus looked behind him where the door was still wide open. It wasn't too late to change his mind. It was tempting, but he couldn't do it. He'd come this far. He might as well go all the way.

Remus tilted his head at the door and nodded. It slammed closed with a definitive crash, and that was it. Remus was trapped. The door could only be opened from the outside. He couldn't get out until Janus came to get him, just like always.

Remus forced himself to wander to one of the corners of his small, brightly lit dungeon. He sat down and curled his legs up close to his chest. He didn't know whether the stifling feeling in the room was better like this or worse, but he was too tired and drained to get up again. He was stuck like this at least for a bit.

Remus buried his head in his legs to try to make the brightness go away. He'd only been in here for a few seconds, but he was already counting the seconds until Janus came to get him. He hated this dungeon, even more than he hated his boring dungeon that he couldn't change anything about, but he could be in here for a little bit. It was only temporary, just until Janus had the chance to fix everything that Remus had screwed up.

Until then, it would be fine...he's fine...really.

Chapter Text

Roman sighed as he leaned back against his throne. He was bored and far more anxious than he was comfortable with. Today had been absolutely horrible and Roman wanted nothing more than to relax and watch some Steven Universe with his brother. He thought he had been really patient all day as he waited for their agreed upon time, but when it finally came Remus was nowhere to be found.

Roman had gone to the river, which was the calmest that he had ever seen it. There was barely a current, and Roman was sure that if he dared to swim in the waters he would barely be met with any resistance. Remus' half of the bridge was already built, but his twin wasn't in sight.

Roman wasn't immediately concerned. His brother loved to hide needlessly. Roman summoned his half of the bridge, speaking the words of their truce as he did so. Roman walked across the bridge and looked around for Remus.

"Cephy!" Roman called out. He looked for a splash in the water, but he saw nothing of the sort. "Dukey, come on out." Roman waited for a moment, but he didn't see, hear, or even sense anything from his brother. Perhaps it was too early to tell, but Roman didn't think that his brother was anywhere near the river.

Roman had soon gotten bored of waiting on the bridge. He kept his half up and had returned to the castle to wait for their agreed upon time. Well, that time had come and gone, and Remus hadn't shown his smelly face. It wasn't unusual for Remus to show up much later or earlier than expected, but Roman had never seen him late for one of their movie nights.

Roman waited for a few more minutes, just in case Remus wanted to make a dramatic entrance, before he decided to take matters into his own hands. If Remus wasn't going to come on his own, Roman would have to go and find him.

Roman would have never thought that he would actively seek his brother's company, but he'd been looking forward to this all day. It had been the only thing keeping him from getting overwhelmed and completely devastated about everything that had happened that day. If he couldn't watch Steven Universe with Remus he may just have a breakdown.

Roman went down to his stables. He thought for a long moment about which mount to take. On the one hand, his white steed was the fastest creature on this side of the Imagination. On the other hand, Remus' side could be incredibly unpredictable and it might be dangerous. It may be safer to take his large, armored horse.

Eventually Roman decided to take his armored horse. It would not get fidgety or frightened by anything on Remus' side. Roman mounted it and began the journey. He rode straight to the border. After that he trusted his feelings. Roman had spent almost his entire existence trying to ignore the connection between him and Remus.

Roman had never tried to strengthen their connection, but he didn't doubt that he could use it to find Remus' location. His brother constantly seemed to know exactly where Roman was, no matter where he was. If Remus could do that, Roman could do it too.

Roman just let his instincts take over. Logan would probably have a field day about how illogical this was, and Virgil would surely be nervous about Roman wandering blindly through his brother's realm. It was ironic that Patton, who didn't seem to approve of anything that had to do with Remus, would be the only one who would think that following his heart was a legitimate strategy.

Roman knew that this plan was the right one when he saw that they were headed straight towards Remus' castle. His brother was in there, he just knew it.

Roman, always a big fan of dramatics, rode his horse right up the steps. Roman waved his hand and made the doors fly open just in time for his horse to run into the entrance. He barely waited for his horse to stop before he jumped off and wielded his sword towards the stewards and attendants he saw in the front hall.

"Where is my brother?" Roman asked tensely. When he didn't get an answer immediately he swung his sword at the scantily clad young man standing just in front of him. The lad started bleeding an impossible amount, which might have made Roman feel nauseous, but he was used to it. When they were young their favorite game had been storm the castle. Roman had never been fond of the detailed bloody injuries that Remus had insisted on, but he'd gotten so used to it that he wasn't even bothered by it now.

Besides, in Remus' kingdom injuries, no matter how lethal they really should be, didn't really kill anybody. Some of them made his subjects into ghosts or the undead, but they seemed perfectly content with it. Roman wasn't doing any true damage, it just made him feel better to use his sword and have a little bit of control.

"Answer me!" Roman demanded. He doubted that Remus was in trouble. He had probably just fallen asleep or something. Still, he was not in the mood to practice patience.

A noble who looked scarily similar to Joan approached Roman. "Your royal highness," The Joan copy's words were respectful, but their smirk and the way that they flipped Roman off was far from honoring. It was to be expected though, both from Remus and from Joan. Roman shouldn't be surprised that his brother had created his own version of Joan. They had always been Remus' favorite of Thomas' friends.

"What do you want?" The fake Joan asked.

"I already told you what I wanted." Roman frowned as he reluctantly lowered his sword. Even if injuries weren't all that serious in the Imagination, he couldn't bring himself to harm one of Thomas' friends. "I want to know my brother's location. I know he's here."

"If you know he's here, why do you need us to tell you where he is?" Fake Joan raised a challenging eyebrow at him. They were still smirking, and Roman had never before wanted to punch somebody so bad, especially not somebody who looked like one of Thomas' closest friends.

"Fine," Roman pushed past the fake Joan, who just laughed. "I'll find him myself."

"Wait!" Fake Joan screamed and grabbed his arm. Roman stared at them, and they stared right back at him. "What do you want with him?"

"Is it that difficult to believe that I want to spend time with my brother?" Roman asked. Fake Joan's eyes softened ever so slightly. They almost looked like the real Joan rather than just a cheap imitation.

"Our duke is in the dungeons." Joan said, and they almost sounded worried. "I'm sure he would appreciate company."

"How many times do I have to tell him that I'm not going to play his sick games with him?" Roman sighed. "Thank you." He turned and made his way down the stairs that led to the dungeons.

"Good luck," the fake Joan said quietly. Roman barely paid him any attention. He didn't know what he would possibly need luck for.

Down in the dungeons Roman made his way towards Remus' playroom. He didn't trust this latex dungeon, but he had come here to find Remus. He wasn't going to leave without him. Roman took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and opened the door. He didn't want to see whatever Remus was up to in here. He just wanted to fetch his brother and leave.

"You'd better not be doing anything gross in here." Roman said. He didn't hear a response. Actually, Roman didn't hear anything at all, gross sounds or otherwise. "Remus?" Still nothing. Roman squinted his eyes open, and when he didn't see anything he opened his eyes fully and looked around. It looked just the same as the last time he had been in here, and Remus was nowhere in sight.

"What…?" Roman frowned. The fake Joan had said that Remus was in the dungeon. Why would they have lied? Unless this wasn't the dungeon they had been talking about. Remus did have three dungeons after all.

Roman groaned and quickly left the room. This was a lot more effort than he had ever put into spending time with his brother. Remus had better appreciate this. Roman was about to back track towards the classic dungeon, but a feeling in his chest was telling him to go in the other direction.

Roman hadn't been that far down the hallway of dungeons. He'd never even seen the door to Remus' third dungeon. He didn't know what it was for. All Roman knew was that Remus had referred to it as his dungeon, whatever that meant. Perhaps that was where he was.

Roman walked down the hall. He pushed down any feeling of fear and uncertainty that he might be feeling. He was a hero, that meant being brave and doing things that perhaps made him a little nervous.

Roman knew that he was going the right way. He could feel it in his gut. Despite this he couldn't help but be nervous. Something felt incredibly wrong. When Roman saw the door he had a strong feeling of foreboding. It looked completely normal, but Roman was worried about what was behind the door.

"You'd better be in here." Roman muttered as he grabbed the door handle and opened it. The room inside was small, bare, and blindingly bright. Even standing outside the room Roman felt a strange aura in there. It felt like a cross between Virgil's room and the subconscious, neither of which were places that Roman would willingly go.

Roman took a cautious step inside, raising his sword again. "Remus? Are you in here?"

"You're not supposed to be here." A quiet voice said. It took Roman a long moment to realize that it was Remus. It sounded nothing like him.

"Remus?" Roman saw his brother cowering in a corner. He dropped his sword and took a step towards Remus. He slowly approached him until he was standing right in front of him. Roman knelt on the ground in front of Remus. "Are you alright?" That was a stupid question. Remus would never cower in this room if he was remotely alright.

Remus buried his head in his knees. "You can't be here."

"Why not?" Roman frowned.

"This dungeon's just for me." Remus said. "And Janus said I'm not supposed to talk to you."

Roman seethed. Who did Deceit think he was, to try to tell Remus what he could and couldn't do? Was he always this controlling of Remus? "Who cares what Deceit has to say?"

"I do," Remus said. He still refused to lift his head. "He's smart."

"So is Logan, but I wouldn't stop talking to you just because he said so." Roman said.

"Lo-Lo wouldn't say that." Remus pointed out.

"But Patton would." Roman said. "In fact, he already has."

Remus froze before he lifted his head just enough to look up at Roman. "You disobeyed Patton?"

"I wouldn't call it disobeying him." Roman said somewhat nervously. "I'm just not taking his advice."

"Why?" Patton asked.

"Well, because I like your company." Roman said, and he was surprised at how honest it was. He sincerely enjoyed spending time with Remus.

Roman had thought that his brother would be ecstatic at his words, since Remus got so easily excited about attention. He was surprised and a little concerned when Remus buried his head again and tried to make himself smaller.

"You're not supposed to be here." Remus repeated.

"Why not?" Roman asked. "Why doesn't Janus want you to talk to me?"

"I'll mess it up." Remus tried to giggle, but it almost sounded more like a sob. "I always mess it up."

"What would you mess up?" Roman asked.

"Janus' big plan." Remus said. Roman felt his breath get caught in his throat. This was it. This was what he had been working towards. This was the chance that Roman had been waiting for.

"What big plan?" Roman asked eagerly.

"To get you to trust him." Remus said. Roman blinked. He'd already known that.

"Well, yes, but why does he want me to trust him?" Roman asked. "What's his endgame?"

"That is his endgame." Remus said. Roman didn't quite believe it. That couldn't possibly be the snake's ultimate goal. It just didn't make any sense. Roman wanted to continue asking until he got a real answer, but he held himself back. Remus was obviously distressed, and Roman still didn't understand what he was doing in this dungeon in the first place. This wasn't the time or place to upset Remus more.

Roman put a hand on Remus' arm, frowning when he felt his brother flinch. He was acting far too much like an anxious Virgil for Roman's comfort. It had to be this room.

"Come on," Roman gripped Remus' arm and gave it a small pull. "Why don't we continue this conversation somewhere more comfortable?"

"No!" Remus screamed and pushed Roman away. "I can't leave. Not until Janus lets me out."

"Lets you out?" Roman narrowed his eyes as he looked around the bare room. "Did...did he lock you in here?"

"I had to be in here." Remus said desperately. "Or else I would have accidentally ruined everything again. I can't hold myself back, so this room does it for me."

Roman's eyes widened in horror. "This room represses you?" Roman knew how harmful it could be to stifle one's creativity. He knew that it was sometimes necessary to hold things back, but this just seemed too extreme, even for Remus.

"Remus, this place isn't good for you." Roman said.

"It's perfectly safe," Remus said, though the way his voice cracked showed otherwise. "It's what I made this room for."

"You...Remus!" Roman glared at his brother. "Why would you create something that hurts you?"

"That's all I do!" Remus cackled, though it sounded broken.

"But not like this." Roman took Remus' arms and forced them to his side. He needed his brother to look at him. "Remus, this place isn't good for you. Please, come out. We...we can go to your latex dungeon." Roman had no intentions of doing anything in there, but if it could get Remus out of this cursed room he would be willing to say almost anything to get him out.

Remus was quiet for a long time before he shook his head and lowered his gaze. "I can't."

Roman growled, furious with Janus. This was all that snake's fault. What could he have possibly done to break Remus like this? "Why do you care so much about doing what Janus tells you to do?"

"Because he's the only one that cares about me!" Remus screamed. He had been doing his best to hide his distress, but it was all coming out now. Remus sniffled and Roman could feel him shaking. "If I push him away, I won't have anybody."

Roman hesitated for just a moment before he wrapped his arms around his brother. Remus started sobbing as he leaned against Roman, who awkwardly rubbed his brother's back. This wasn't what he had in mind when he'd come here to look for Remus.

"You'll have me." Roman said. "I'm not leaving you."

"You already did." Remus whimpered. "When we were little."

Roman cringed. Technically he hadn't been the one to leave. He had stayed in the Light Side. Remus was the one who had left to the Dark Side. Roman knew that he had been the one to stop visiting Remus in the Imagination to play, so perhaps that was what he meant.

"Well, I'm not leaving you now." Roman said. "Deceit may say that I'm the evil twin, but I'm not just going to abandon you." Especially not now that Remus had broken down like this. It would just be cruel to leave him now.

"What?" Remus pulled away from Roman just enough to look at him in confusion. "Janus doesn't think that anybody's evil."

"Well, he said it." Roman scowled. "He said, and I quote, 'thank God you don't have a moustache, otherwise between you and Remus I wouldn't know who the evil twin is.'"

Remus' face fell. He looked devastated and vulnerable. "Evil?" Remus pulled away from Roman and shook his head. Remus wrapped his arms around himself and retreated back into the corner. "Janus thinks I'm evil?"

Roman flinched. He hadn't been thinking when he'd said that. He hadn't considered how Remus would react. All Roman had been worried about was his own hurt and bitterness over Deceit's words. He'd never considered that he hadn't been the only one to be insulted by the snake's words. He should have. He should have thought about someone else's feelings other than his.

"Remus," Roman reached a hand out towards his brother, but Remus' face scrunched up in pained fury.

"No!" Remus screeched loudly. Roman's ears started pounding. "No, no, no, no, no." Remus started hitting his head harshly. Roman grabbed Remus' hands and stopped him from hurting himself. He pulled Remus close, trying to comfort and restrain him.

"He hates me," Remus whined. "Janey hates me. Virgie hates me. Patton hates me. My brother-"

"I don't hate you." Roman said quickly. He wouldn't let Remus even say it. "I swear I don't.

Remus nuzzled against Roman's chest. "Promise?"

"Promise." Roman said, and he truly meant it. "And I don't think that Deceit hates you either." Remus was right, Deceit didn't really hate anybody. He got annoyed with them all the time, and he made his disdain clear, but Roman hadn't gotten any sense that Deceit hated him. After everything that Roman had said and done to Deceit, if anybody deserved his hatred, it was him.

"But what if he does?" Remus asked. It wasn't right for him to sound so uncertain. Remus was supposed to be confident and unapologetic.

Roman sighed. He didn't actually know for certain. Deceit was the only one who knew for sure if he hated Remus. "Perhaps we should ask Deceit himself about this."

Remus sniffled. "...We?"

"Yeah, we," Roman said. He wasn't about to leave Remus alone with Deceit until he knew what was going on. "I told you I'm not leaving you alone, and I meant it." He tightened his grip around Remus, just to reinforce his promise. "Please, let me take you out of here." If this room was truly like Virgil's, it was just making Remus' negative feelings stronger. Roman wouldn't be able to get him to calm down while they were in here.

Remus was still for a long moment, and Roman was terrified that he would resist him again. He sighed in relief when Remus slowly nodded.

"Thank you." Roman said. "Everything will be okay, brother, I promise. I'm not going to leave you." Roman felt the connection between them, the thing that had led him to his brother, get stronger. For the first time since Roman could remember he welcomed the feeling. For once it wasn't a constant reminder about something that he didn't want anything to do with. Their connection felt like it was filling up a hole that Roman hadn't even known he'd had.

Remus leaned closer to Roman and let out a contented sigh. He felt comfortable and safe, and Roman found that he felt the same way. For the first time in Roman's entire existence, he felt whole and complete.

Chapter Text

They took a deep breath and ran a hand through their hair. They felt excited, nervous, furious, confused, and about every other possible thing that they could feel. It was so surreal to be here in the Light Side. Part of them felt completely comfortable and at home, and the other part of them felt like they didn't belong here at all. That would take some getting used to.

They put a hand on the wall and stared at it in awe. They didn't look very familiar. It was like staring at a hand that belonged to someone else. They wiggled their fingers and couldn't help but giggle. It was so weird to have complete control of hands that didn't look like they belonged to them.

"Are we okay?" They muttered to themself. They had to stop to think about it for a moment before they nodded. "Yeah, we're okay." They just had to look at it like a weird, exciting adventure, and they really liked things that were weird and exciting. It was like they were on a quest to slay the monster, except...no, they didn't want to slay anybody. At least, they didn't think they did...yeah, no, they didn't. No slaying. At least, not today.

They rubbed their forehead. They had a bit of a headache, like the two parts of their head were trying to tear apart from each other, which was the last thing they wanted. They had a goal. They were here for a purpose, and they weren't going to stop until they managed it.

They adjusted the coronation cape around their shoulders. It was weird. This wasn't what the cape was for, but the more confident part of them, the part that had insisted that they do this in the first place had said that if there was any time that they needed and deserved the soft cape, it was now.

"We can do this." They took a deep breath and stood up straight. They were strong, they were the most handsome side in all the mindscape. They could do this. Just imagine the look on everyone's faces. Patton would hate this, which was hilarious...and terrifying. Okay, maybe thinking about Patton wasn't the best idea right now.

Virgil though, his reaction would be fun. The anxious side would absolutely freak out, just because it was something new, and Virgil hated new things. Logan would probably think that it was really fascinating and would want to study this whole thing. They didn't really have the patience to be analyzed, but it would be nice to have some kind of a positive reaction.

As for Janus...honestly, they didn't know what he would think about this whole thing. They liked to think that Janus would think that this was a good sign, and he would be happy for them, but they honestly didn't know, and thinking about it almost made them want to crawl back into the Imagination, find a dark cave, and just never come out. They had come this far though, and they were holding themself back from turning back now.

There were a lot of conflicting thoughts in their head, but this wasn't part of it. They were brave, and it wasn't their style to avoid things that were hard to think about. They would be okay. It was just a matter of going downstairs and doing this. It was incredibly easy. It shouldn't feel so hard. And yet they had been standing at the top of the stairs for the past ten minutes, clinging to the railing and trying to get their legs to stop shaking.

"Hey," They jumped when they heard someone behind. "Are you doing okay there, kiddo?" They froze and felt like their insides turned to ice, except for their stomach, which was definitely full of wriggling worms. It was Patton. He had seen them. He was going to be so scared and concerned. He was going to tear them apart limb from limb and lock their arms in a chest to be buried outside and eaten by the dogs.

Patton wasn't going to be happy about this at all, and that wasn't something they wanted. Not at all.

They felt Patton shift cautiously closer to them. "Kiddo?" He put a hand on their shoulder, and they lost it. They yelped and tried to jump away from Patton's gentle touch that could change any second now. In their desperation they forgot how close they were to the stairs. Their foot seemed to meet with nothing but air, and they found themselves tumbling forwards.

They seemed to fall in slow motion for a moment. They could feel a slight tug on their cape as Patton cried out in alarm and tried to grab their cape to catch them. As soon as they hit the stairs time caught up with them and they tumbled down harshly. They landed headfirst at the bottom of the stairs.

They made a sound that was a cross between a groan and a laugh as they curled up and clutched at their head. That had definitely been an experience. The jury was still out about whether it was something they wanted a repeat performance of or not. Maybe they needed to find Janus and give him a push so they could get a second opinion. They were sure Janus wouldn't mind. He loved when people were pushed down the stairs.

"Kiddo!" Patton sounded like he was in tears. He reached for them again and they jerked back, hitting their head against the wall. They grunted and folded in on himself, crumpling to the ground. That hurt more than it had any right to. Now they just wanted to curl up with his cape and maybe take a nap.

"What happened?" Logan asked sternly. They giggled when Logan gently pushed Patton to the side so he could get a better look at them. Logan made them tilt their head forward so he could look at the back of their head which they had hit against the wall.

"I don't know, he just fell." Patton said, and yep, he was definitely crying. They knew they shouldn't find it funny, but they couldn't help but laugh anyways. Patton was upset, and maybe it was his headache speaking, but they thought it was absolutely hilarious.

"...Roman?" Virgil was crouching right next to the stairs, just behind the railing. He was staring at them cautiously, slightly suspiciously. Virgil had good instincts. He knew that something was up, even if he didn't know just what it was.

Janus, who was standing right behind Logan, frowned in confusion and knelt on the ground. He brushed his hand against the cape, immediately recognizing it. "Remus?" Patton screeched and tried to scramble back, only to lose his footing and trip on the stairs. Virgil hissed and scurried back to crouch behind the couch.

They giggled and shook his head. Those names felt kinda right, and yet so wrong. Neither of those were their names. "Not quite." They said teasingly. Logan frowned, that familiar calculating look coming to his eyes. A moment later that curiosity turned to a look of understanding.

"Oh," Logan lowered his head in a bow "Your Majesty. I wasn't expecting to see you here."

They smiled broadly up at him. "Oh, look at you! You've always been the smart one."

"Majesty?" Janus reached slowly towards them, almost cautiously. It was weird to see him look so uncertain and almost nervous. "Romulus?"

"Romulus?" Patton said breathlessly.

"Romulus!" They said with a giggle. "Surprise!" None of them looked as excited as he felt, which was kinda funny, and just a bit disappointing. Patton looked like he was going to be sick. Janus did too, but in an anxious way that much more suited Virgil. Logan was the only one who didn't look worried. For Logan, this was just something that was happening. Not good, not bad, just whatever.

Romulus knew that there was something they had liked about him.

"What are you doing here?" Janus stood up. He held his hand out. There was still concern in his eyes, but other than that his expression was steeled over. Janus had always been really good at hiding how he felt. It just hurt a little bit that he felt the need to wear this mask in front of him.

"We wanted to talk to you." Romulus hesitated for just a moment before accepting Janus' hand. They had to push down the screaming and crying in his head that said that Janus couldn't be trusted, that he was just going to hurt them. They had come here to give him a chance to explain himself. They would decide where to go from there.

"Why-why are you, well, you?" Patton asked. Romulus couldn't help but flinch slightly. They really didn't like having Patton's attention on him. They knew that Patton wasn't happy about seeing Romulus again, and it was terrifying. How long would it take before Patton tried to tear them apart again?

"We didn't try to." Romulus said. They hated how weak and scared they sounded. They were a king. They shouldn't get so scared so easily. They hadn't been Romulus since they were just a little kid, back when Patton had all the power and there hadn't been anything they could do about it.

Virgil growled and glared at them. "Can't you just come apart and go back to normal?"

Romulus tilted their head at him. "They were us first. We're the original. What could be more normal than that?" Virgil hissed in response and Patton fiddled with his hands nervously.

"Well, you've been Roman and Remus for most of your life." Patton's tone was one that Romulus was very familiar with. It was the tone that said 'I'm not going to tell you what to do, but I think you're wrong about this, and I will be very disappointed if you don't come around to my way of thinking'. That tone was all that Romulus remembered hearing from Patton when they were young, and Remus had it aimed at him frequently as well.

"Don't you think you would be more comfortable as two different sides?" Patton suggested as he got to his feet. He gave them a look that was probably supposed to be reassuring, but they just didn't trust it.

"No." Romulus frowned. The reason they were like this in the first place was because they had felt so unsure, confused, and scared when they'd been on their own. Everything had been a little too much for either of them. Like this, they had each other's company and support.

"C'mon, kiddo." Patton took a step towards them with a hand outstretched. Romulus' eyes widened and they flinched every so slightly. Patton probably didn't notice it, but Virgil, who could sense anxiety, and Janus, who was holding his hand, both noticed.

"Dude, are you-" Virgil took a step towards them, but he stopped, very unsure of himself. Virgil clearly didn't know how he felt about them, but he didn't want anybody to feel anxious, even somebody he maybe didn't like so much.

Janus put a protective arm around Romulus' shoulder and pulled them behind him. Janus gave Patton a warning look. "Don't even think about it."

Logan put a comforting hand on Patton's arm. "Perhaps it would be best to give Romulus some space. He-"

"They." Romulus and Janus said. Logan nodded.

"They," Logan corrected. "They're just here to speak with Janus. Once they're done, they'll probably return to being Roman and Remus." He looked at them for confirmation. "Correct?"

Romulus very briefly considered disagreeing. They didn't want to let Patton control him. However, they could tell that they were barely keeping things together. Remus was clingy and desperate, and Roman was angry and protective. Those were the things keeping him together. Once they calmed down it would be very hard to keep this form.

Besides, if Patton didn't think that they would split apart on their own he might take matters into his own hands, and they definitely didn't want that.

"Yeah," Romulus nodded. "This is definitely a temporary thing." Patton and Virgil both relaxed. Romulus might have found it a little insulting that they were that desperate to get rid of them, but considering how nervous they were around Patton right now that would be a bit hypocritical.

"Oh, well, that's good." Patton said with barely contained nervousness. "I'll just, uh, get started on dinner." Patton cautiously slid past them, not taking his eyes off of Romulus until he was at Virgil's side. Patton reluctantly turned his attention to Virgil. "C'mon, kiddo, why don't you come help me?"

"Yeah, sure." Virgil looked between Romulus and Janus anxiously. It was hard to tell which of them he was more wary about. He looked at Logan. "Keep an eye on them, will you?"

"What, you don't trust us?" Romulus put a hand on his chest in mock hurt. "Aw, we thought we were friends, Virgie."

"Don't call me that!" Virgil said, his voice taking on that double tone of his that he always denied he had.

"Don't call you what?" Romulus asked with fake innocence. "Virgie? Or friend?"

"Either." Virgil growled, and that actually did make Romulus' chest hurt. They had just been trying to have fun. Remus used to love playing with Virgil before he had become a light side. And Roman loved to show his affection through banter. Messing with Virgil was something that they both agreed on, so it was something that Romulus unquestionably loved, but the anxious side seemed to hate it.

And here Romulus had thought that it was just Patton who thought that everything about Romulus was inherently flawed.

Janus sighed and took Romulus' hand to make him look at him. "Don't worry about Virgil. You know how he is about change."

"Yeah, whatever," Romulus pouted slightly. They tried to push Virgil out of their head. They weren't here for him. "Is there a place we can talk?" Romulus felt like they should know where everything was, but they felt lost in the light side. It was like everything looked familiar, but it was all in the wrong place.

"We can go to my room." Janus suggested. Romulus couldn't help their small flinch. They appreciated the gesture, as Janus was very protective and private about his personal space, and he rarely allowed others in. However, it was impossible to lie in Janus' room, and while Romulus wanted to trust that their friend wouldn't take advantage of that, they just couldn't.

"We'd rather not." Romulus admitted quietly. Janus frowned slightly, though it was more in concern and confusion than displeasure.

"Do you want to go to the Imagination?" Janus asked. Romulus shuddered and wrapped their arms around themself. Janus grimaced. "I'm going to take that as a no." It felt weird to not want to be in the Imagination. It was Romulus' domain. Except, it wasn't exactly theirs anymore.

The Imagination was theirs. Roman and Remus'. It was perfect for the two of them, but not so much for Romulus anymore. Half of it felt too happy and cheerful. The other half was just a smidgen too dark and twisted. There was no middle ground.

"I would offer my room, but I don't think it is quite what you're looking for." Logan adjusted his glasses, and he was probably right. Logan's room inspired logical and thoughtful thinking, which was usually great, except Romulus was all about passion. They were extremely emotional right now, and that couldn't be reasoned away.

Romulus rocked on their heels. "Can we go to the Dark Side?" There would be privacy, but that was only part of the reason they wanted to be there. The Dark Side was covered in shadows and random creepy noises. It would be a comfort after the bright lights and complete silence of Remus' dungeon.

"Patton and Virgil won't be very happy about it." Janus pointed out with a sigh before he grinned. "Let's do it."

Romulus grinned and clapped triumphantly. "To the Dark Side!" They hooked their arms around Logan and Janus to drag them upstairs. They were just glad that the entrance to the Dark Side wasn't near the kitchen. If they could slip in without being noticed by Patton and Virgil at all, that would be fantastic.

In Romulus' rush they ended up stumbling over their cloak and would have stumbled over their cape if Janus hadn't steadied them. "Careful. You're not used to moving around in this body."

"Perhaps if you take the cape off-" Logan began to suggest. Romulus pouted and wrapped the cape protectively around them. Janus hissed and gave Logan a warning look.

"The cape stays." Janus said. "They wouldn't be wearing it if they didn't need it." Romulus couldn't help but smile to themself. Janus had always been very protective of taking care of Remus. Janus wouldn't let anybody make Remus, or Romulus, feel like they shouldn't rely on their comfort blanket cape.

"Alright," Logan said. "Do whatever you feel is best. I'm just here to satisfy the others."

Janus opened the door to the Dark Side, which looked near identical to the Light Side, except not as brightly lit. Logan looked around in intrigue. Romulus stared at the bedroom doors as they passed them, with their gaze lingering on Remus' door. It was like looking at an old creation that they still looked at fondly, but couldn't help but notice all the flaws of.

Janus gave them a very small glare. "You'd better not touch anything of his. If you're not here to stay, you don't have a right to censor his art".

"We would never censor anything." Romulus said. they were insulted at the very suggestion that they would do such a thing. Censoring was Patton's job. "But we appreciate you calling his mess art."

"That's what he calls it." Janus rolled his eyes, but he looked really fond. It made a warm, hopeful feeling build up in their chest. It wasn't quite enough to hide their concern and fear about what Janus really thought about them and Remus, but it was still nice.

They made their way down the stairs, with Janus keeping a steady hand on his arm to keep them from falling. It was a nice gesture, but Romulus couldn't help but find it funny.

"We won't fall." Romulus promised. "Patton's not here."

Janus growled. "If he laid a finger on you."

"He didn't." Romulus said before he reconsidered. "We mean, he touched our shoulder, but it's not like he pushed us down the stairs or anything. We just tripped when we tried to get away from him."

"That doesn't exactly paint Patton in a much better light." Janus massaged his forehead. He looked tired. "Someone needs to teach that man about personal boundaries."

"It's a work in progress." Logan said. He led Romulus to the ripped up couch and made him sit down. Logan returned to checking on his head, just to make sure there wasn't any permanent damage, which there wasn't, but Logan always erred on the side of caution. "How does your head feel?"

"Like a marching band has made its home in our skull." Romulus said. They frowned slightly when they saw Janus flinch.

"Sorry, it's just, you know, really tame compared to Remus." Janus sat on the couch next to Romulus, but not too close to them. "No offense, but why are you here? Why did Roman and Remus fuse again?"

"Remus didn't want to be left alone, and Roman didn't want to trust you with him." Romulus said.

"You said they wanted to talk about something." Janus said. "I spoke with them both earlier today. Why didn't either of them say anything?"

"It wasn't an issue then." Romulus frowned. "Remus didn't know what you truly think of him."

"And what, pray tell, do I truly think of him?" Janus crossed his arms.

"That he's evil." Romulus said plainly. He felt a sharp pang at the reminder, but it was quickly smothered by angry protectiveness. His Roman half was trying to protect his Remus half.

"What?" Janus looked like he was going to be sick. "I don't-" His eyes widened in realization before they narrowed in fury. "Roman told him."

"This isn't Roman's fault!" Romulus shouted. His voice took on a double tone, but it was different from Virgil's. Romulus' voice sounded like Roman and Remus speaking in unison.

Janus grimaced and reached his arm out towards Romulus, but he stopped himself and pulled back. "I know. I didn't mean to say it was. I just-" Janus sighed and fiddled with his gloves. "I don't have an excuse. It was stupid, and I never should have said it. I didn't mean it, and I never would. You know that I don't think that Remus is evil, don't you?"

Romulus blinked and adjusted their cape. They wanted to toss it over their head and hide from the rest of the world. Janus paled and looked desperate.

"You...you don't know that." Janus groaned in frustration. "Is it just because of Roman's influence, or does Remus not trust it either?"

"We don't know." Romulus said. It was hard to differentiate between their two halves sometimes. Their feelings blended in and out of each other, which was actually ideal. When their thoughts and feelings were opposed to each other, Romulus could feel the beginning of the tear.

"I don't think Remus is evil." Janus said. "Or you and Roman. I don't think there's any side of Thomas that is evil. If there was, I would do everything in my power to keep their influence from reaching Thomas at all."

Romulus was reassured, but at the same time they felt furious. The nearly constant feeling of pain in their head had spread to their chest. Remus and Roman were feeling conflicted and were fighting over control. Romulus closed their eyes and pressed down on their head. They needed their halves to work together. They didn't want to separate right now, Romulus knew that much, but it would happen anyways if they couldn't deal with this.

After a long moment the reassurance that they had felt from Janus' words quieted down and ducked behind the fury. Roman had won the disagreement.

"Does that include locking them in a small, blinding cell that represses them?" Romulus said sharply and angrily. As soon as the words left their mouth their eyes widened in alarm and they put their hand in their mouth and bit down on it. They began to mutter around their fist.

"Don't, don't, don't, don't, don-" Romulus blinked when Janus took their hand and pulled it out of their mouth.

"Don't what?" Janus asked. "Your Majesty, what's going on?"

"He...I...We promised." Romulus shook their head to try to clear it. "We agreed to not talk about it."

"About what?" Janus narrowed his eyes. "Is there more that's bothering you."

"N-n-yes." Romulus said. "Yes, but we're not talking about it."

"And why not?" Logan asked.

"Because it's not important." Romulus said. He grimaced and yelped in pain when he felt a harsh pounding in his head. "We mean, it's really important." Their breath caught in their throat when a sense of panic got stronger. "We-we don't." Romulus whined. Janus put his hands on their shoulders and Romulus leaned into the touch.

"What's wrong?" Janus asked, sounding very concerned.

"Are they fighting?" Logan asked. Romulus nodded weakly. "Would it be easier if they separated?"

"No!" Roman and Remus' panicked cries echoed through the room, making the walls shake. Romulus wrapped their arms around themselves. "We're not leaving. We promised. We-we can't be alone."

"You don't have to literally be the same person to support each other." Janus said. "You can still be there for each other. Separating just means that you won't have to worry about your constant conflicting feelings."

It probably would make things easier, but Romulus was terrified. They had promised to not leave. Being alone was scary. Being along to confront Janus was even worse.

"I-we don't want-" Romulus said shakily.

"Please." Janus pleaded. "This is obviously hurting you, and I hate to see you like this. I promise you, everything will be okay."

Romulus bit their lip. Janus rarely broke his promises. There was something that he did even less though. "Make me an appendage swear."

Janus gave them a small smile. He stepped back and summoned his four hidden arms. He held all six of his hands out, proving that he wasn't secretly crossing any of his limbs. "I swear." He reached his hands towards Romulus. "Everything is going to be just fine."

Romulus closed their eyes and nodded. They stopped trying to push back the conflict. They just let it happen. A moment later they were no longer one, they were two.

Remus immediately made six tentacles come out of his back and he wrapped them around each of Janus' hands. Janus clasped his tentacles tightly, not caring at all about the slime getting on his gloves.

Roman scoffed. He put one hand on Remus' shoulder, and the other hand was on his sword. A few months ago this would have been a move of aggression, but they both knew that it was a sign of his protection. Roman was worried about Remus and wanted him to know that he wasn't going to leave him.

"I still don't think we should trust him." Roman said.

"But he said that he doesn't think we're evil." Remus pointed out.

"That's not my issue with him, and you know it." Roman gave Remus a stern but desperately concerned look. "He was hurting you, and has been doing so for I don't even know how long, and he's acting like nothing's wrong."

"I have never hurt him." Janus glared at Roman.

"So you had nothing to do with his dungeon?" Roman raised an eyebrow at him. Remus growled and snapped around to shove Roman away from him.

"I told you, we're not talking about it." Remus said.

"Yes, we are." Roman insisted. "Your insistence that everything's fine makes it even worse. You hate Patton for repressing you, but if Janus is the one that does it you think that it's perfectly fine, and that's not okay."

"Roman is right." Janus said. Roman and Remus both turned to look at him in shock.

"I'm sorry, I'm what?" Roman frowned.

"Being repressed is not a good thing." Janus said. "Especially not in that cursed dungeon of yours." He put a hand on Remus' chin to make him look at him. "I told you I don't like you in that room."

"You-you don't?" Roman frowned, which just made Janus scowl.

"Do you honestly think that I would encourage that place?" Janus asked. Roman and Remus both shifted uncomfortably.

"You wanted me to hold back a little." Remus said quietly. "So I didn't ruin your plans."

"That…ugh." Janus sighed. "We'll be talking more about this later." Remus pouted and nodded. He knew that when Janus said that kind of thing, it was a promise he took very seriously.

Janus looked at Roman, his glare softening slightly. "Am I right in guessing that you are the one who let him out?" Roman and Remus both nodded. "Thank you. I never know when Remus feels the need to lock himself in there. It can sometimes take me weeks to realize where he's run off to."

"Weeks?" Roman felt a little weak. Seeing Remus in that state had been painful, and he'd only been in his dungeon for a few hours. Roman didn't want to think about how much pain he would have been in after a few weeks. Roman gave Remus a whack over the back of his head. "I guess I'll have to keep an eye on you."

Remus grinned and giggled. "Does that mean more movie nights?"

"If we must." Roman groaned in mock exasperation.

"And snacks?" Remus asked hopefully. He'd never actually gotten that snack that he'd been looking for when he'd come by Roman's room. Roman's eyes widened. With everything that had happened, he had nearly forgotten about promising Remus some food. He had to be even hungrier by now.

"Definitely." Roman said. He put an arm around Remus' shoulder. "In fact, I think we can do one better than that. After all, Patton always makes far too much food for just five of us. There will be more than enough for you."

"I...really?" Remus looked confused, a little hopeful, and incredibly nervous. "Do you think Patton would be okay with that?"

"Probably not." Janus said. "But I think it's the least he owes you after the way he pushed you to trip down the stairs and hurt yourself."

Roman nodded in agreement, but Remus wasn't nearly as reassured. Logan cleared his throat. "I do believe that we can persuade Patton to tolerate your presence for at least a meal. He was so eager for you two to separate. He should be happy that you two are back to being yourselves."

"Manipulating the master manipulator?" Remus grinned. "Count me in."

"And here I thought that you were the master manipulator." Roman muttered to Janus, who chuckled.

"You and me both." Janus said. "I guess I'll have to kick it up a notch before Patton steals my title from me."

"Maybe I can get Virgil to play a game with me." Remus suggested cheerfully. Roman and Janus both grimaced.

"Yeah, we'll see." Janus said slowly. "We've talked about boundaries when it comes to Virgil. You need to respect his space."

"I make no such promises!" Remus laughed. He picked up his cape, which had fallen to the ground when they had separated, and flung it dramatically over his shoulder. He leapt over the back of the couch and ran towards the stairs. Logan adjusted his glasses and hurried after him. Roman and Janus were left in the living room of the Dark Side. They looked at each other somewhat awkwardly before Roman sighed and held out his hand.

"A temporary truce?" Roman asked. "I don't trust you, but I'm willing to play nice for Remus' sake."

"You are?" Janus narrowed his eyes at him.

"Of course." Roman frowned at Janus. "He told me that you didn't want him to be around me anymore, because you don't want him to let your secrets slip. I assume that was why he locked himself in that dungeon of his."

"Unfortunately, you're probably right." Janus crossed his arms.

"I still think you're up to something." Roman sighed reluctantly. "But I don't want to be responsible for Remus locking himself in that place again. I know how a creative block feels, and I refuse to be the source of that for anybody. So while I'm not going to stop trying to figure you out, I won't drag Remus into the middle of it anymore if you don't."

Janus tilted his chin up in a slightly superior look. "I suppose that's fair." He took Roman's hand, keeping his other limbs visible as a show of trust. "I'll play as nice as you do. As for figuring me out," Janus smirked darkly and pulled on Roman's hand to drag him closer. Janus hissed in his ear. "I hope you're ready for a challenge, because you don't stand a chance."

"We'll see about that, snake." Roman scowled. The two of them glared at each other for a long moment before the faint sound of a sharp scream coming from the Light Side. It sounded like Remus had made quite an entrance in the kitchen, and Patton was about as happy about it as they had expected.

"I'll talk to Patton." Janus said.

"I'll clean up Remus' mess." Roman said. The two of them hurried to the Light Side before anything really bad happened.

Chapter Text

Virgil didn't like change, just on principle. He recognized that his resistance and anxiety about change was an overreaction, and often much worse than the actual change itself. He also knew that sometimes he really liked the change, like when Thomas dyed his hair, and when the light sides accepted him, and when Thomas finally admitted to himself and those around him that he was gay. Life had been undeniably better after those changes, but he'd still fought against it every step of the way.

Seeing Romulus had been absolutely terrifying. Virgil didn't understand what they were doing there, or if they were there to stay. He could barely remember what Romulus had been like before the original split, and it had been stressful for someone that was basically a stranger act like they were old friends. Virgil had been trying to work on his habit of lashing out, but all of that went right out the window as soon as Romulus started talking to him with the worst parts of Roman and Remus.

Virgil had hated seeing Romulus so much that for the first time in his life he wished to see Remus standing in front of him instead. At least he had a vague idea of what to expect from Remus. Because of this, Virgil had almost been relieved when the intrusive side showed up with the exclamation that he would be joining them for dinner.

Almost.

"I heard that gummy bears scream if you put them in the microwave." Remus said far too cheerfully. He was sitting cross-legged on the counter and rocking back and forth. "Wouldn't it be funny if they were screaming because they have souls and we're torturing them to death?"

Virgil shuddered and pulled his own legs close to his chest. Patton, who was putting some gummy bear cookies into the oven, flinched and hesitated. His hand was shaking as he put the cookies in and he almost looked like he was about to start crying. "No, that's not funny." Patton said. He gave Remus a slightly disappointed look. "No sitting on the counter, please."

Remus blinked and looked from Patton to Virgil, who raised his hood and tried to sink back from his gaze. Remus seemed to be waiting for something, and when it wasn't given to him he scowled. "Oh, but it's okay for Virgil to do it? Double standards much?" Virgil shifted uncomfortably. He didn't want to be dragged into this.

Patton frowned and looked ready to argue with Patton on Virgil's behalf. He was always so quick to defend Virgil. Logan, however, who had been reading at the table, looked up from his book towards Patton.

"He's not wrong." Logan said. "Hygiene of allowing anybody to sit on the counter where we prepare our food aside, if one of us is allowed to do something, it should be allowed for everybody unless otherwise stated."

"Well, I'm otherwise stating it now." Patton said with forced confidence.

Logan frowned and set his book down on the table. He got up and approached the counter right next to Remus. To Virgil's shock Logan climbed up onto the counter so close to Remus that he was practically sitting on him. Even when Virgil kinda got along with Remus he wouldn't stand to be so close to him. Logan didn't seem the least bit bothered, even when Remus smirked proudly and started to all but grope him.

Logan's attention was completely on Patton. "Well? What about me? Am I not allowed to sit on the counter either?" Patton didn't say anything. "So am I correct in assuming that it's not that you won't allow anybody but Virgil sit on the counter, but that you'll allow anybody to sit on the counter except for Remus?"

Patton looked incredibly uncomfortable and Virgil could feel the anxiety coming off of him. He just didn't know if Patton was anxious about the idea of him being morally flawed, or if it was just the thought of Remus in general.

For the first time in a long time Virgil wished that Janus would hurry up and get in here. He still felt nervous around his old friend, but he couldn't deny that Janu was the only one who could handle both Patton and Remus when others couldn't.

Shortly after the thought crossed his mind Virgil saw Janus and Roman coming down the stairs. Roman had his sword and Janus looked ready for a fight. They both relaxed when they took in the sight of the kitchen.

"What's going on in here, and why was there a scream?" Janus asked almost boredly.

"Patton screamed like a bitch when he saw me coming downstairs." Remus said cheerfully.

"You were scurrying on the walls, with four tentacles coming out of your back." Virgil said. Remus used to scamper around just like that when he was playing an unwanted game of following the leader with Virgil. The anxious side had always gotten furious with Remus when he tried to mimic his spider traits, because he felt like he was mocking him. "Don't act like you didn't do it on purpose. You know that Patton's afraid of spiders."

"Well, that explains it." Roman sheathed his sword. "Now, what about the counter thing? Virgil, I was expecting. Remus, well, that's not exactly a shock. But Logan, this was the last thing I expected from you."

"I just wanted to conduct a small experiment and make a point." Logan said.

"Patty says I'm not allowed to sit on the counter, even though Virgil and apparently Logan can." Remus whined and pouted. Janus and Roman both gave Patton a disappointed look. It was so strange to see two of them side against Patton, especially on Remus' behalf. It was like they were in the twilight zone or something.

"Clearly, we have some things to discuss." Janus said, like they just needed to set some very basic guidelines. "Why don't we all just sit down and have some dinner?"

Virgil felt like he was downplaying this, but it was almost a comfort. Janus' calm way of addressing a problem could sometimes help Virgil calm down himself. At other times though it just made him feel more frustrated. It all depended on his general mood that day.

Roman looked around the kitchen with a slight frown. "Uh, what is dinner? All I'm seeing is cookie dough."

"Well, I was going to make food." Patton rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. "But it's been a stressful day, and I really needed a second cookie, but we didn't even have first cookies, so I whipped some up really quickly."

Janus sighed, though not unfondly. "I guess I'll put something together."

"I'll help." Patton said eagerly, apologetically. He clearly didn't feel right with the idea that Janus felt obligated to do Patton's job for him.

"Wonderful." Janus said with a content but somewhat mischievous grin. There was no doubt in Virgil's mind that Janus was going to take advantage of this time to try to talk to Patton about his treatment of Remus and Romulus.

Janus looked at Remus and pulled him off the counter. "As for you, you know the rules. You're not allowed in the kitchen while I work."

"What if I promise to not move from the microwave?" Remus asked. "I want to make some gummy bears scream." Patton cringed at the thought. Virgil knew that Janus wouldn't be swayed from his long-standing rule, no matter how much Remus complained.

To Virgil's surprise, Janus wasn't the one to convince Remus out of the kitchen. Logan adjusted his tie and slid off the counter with far more dignity than was even fair. "The scream that you're thinking of won't happen by putting gummy bears in a microwave." Remus deflated, visibly disappointed, but Logan quickly continued. "You have to expose the gummy bear to heated potassium chlorate."

Remus' eyes widened hopefully. He latched onto Logan's arm. "Can we see? Can we do it? Please tell me that we can make gummy bears explode."

Janus looked far too relaxed about the idea of Remus playing with potentially explosive gummy bears. "If Logan is willing to show you, and you wear your listening ears and do exactly what he says, I see no problem with it."

Logan smiled, which was his equivalent to jumping up and down in joy. "I would be honored to have a lab partner to perform this small experiment."

Remus squealed excitedly and started to drag Logan up the stairs, and the logical side didn't even try to resist his harsh pull. "This is going to be so much fun!" Remus said so quickly and loudly that it was barely understandable.

Virgil rolled his eyes. "Nerds, the both of them."

"And then there were two." Roman stepped up to Virgil and held a courteous hand out to him. "Shall we?"

Virgil raised an eyebrow at Roman, whose expression faltered slightly. "Shall we what?"

Roman flinched and lowered his hand. "W-well, I thought that since the others were all paired off to do stuff, we could do something too. Hang out a bit?" Roman stuttered and sounded so unsure that Virgil couldn't help but just stare at him in shock. Roman wasn't supposed to be insecure. He was brave and unapologetically bold, almost to a fault.

"What did Remus do to you?" Virgil asked with no small amount of horror. Roman looked shocked. Patton and Janus were obviously listening in, and they were both doing a very bad job at pretending they weren't.

"He-nothing." Roman said, his tone implying that he didn't understand why Virgil would think that Remus had done anything at all.

"Then why are you so jumpy?" Virgil asked. Janus scoffed slightly and Virgil tensed. This conversation with Roman was proving to be more difficult than Virgil would like, and Janus' not-so-silent judging was not making it any easier. Virgil sighed and took Roman's hand. He jumped off the counter. "Let's go talk somewhere more private."

Roman immediately relaxed when Virgil took his hand, suddenly seeming much more confident. "Of course." Roman led him to the stairs. Virgil was worried for a moment that Roman would lead him into his room, which wouldn't necessarily be all that bad, just unexpected and not something that Virgil was mentally prepared for at the moment.

To his relief Roman paused just at the top of the stairs. He sat on the top step, and Virgil joined him. "To answer your question about why I'm jumpy, well, I wasn't sure if you would appreciate my company right now. Which would be fine, of course." Roman was quick to assure him. "But I didn't want you to look at me hatefully again."

"Again?" Virgil frowned. Even before the light sides had accepted him Virgil hadn't really hated Princey. "When have I-?"

"Romulus." Roman said. "You clearly didn't like them."

"Yeah, but you're not Romulus." Virgil said. Even as he said it he realized how wrong it sounded.

"But I'm a part of them." Roman said.

"Well, it was the Remus part that I didn't like so much." Virgil said.

"Then why did you act like you couldn't stand Romulus at all?" Roman asked. "They had just as much of me as they had of Remus."

Virgil hunched his shoulders and shoved his hands as deep into his pockets as they would go. "...I don't know." Virgil picked at the lint inside of his pocket. "I wasn't expecting to see them, and I wasn't ready for it. Just to be clear though, I don't hate you."

"Well, that's good." Roman relaxed even more. He almost looked back to his normal self.

"Can I ask you something though?" Virgil asked. He waited for Roman to nod. "Why did you fuse in the first place?"

Roman sighed and a sad look came into his eyes. "He locked himself up in his dungeon, purposefully stifling and repressing himself." Virgil shuddered slightly. He was familiar with Remus' dungeon. He'd even helped Remus to create it, because he'd thought that it might be a place where he could quiet his thoughts.

Virgil thought it was helpful to have a quiet place to calm down and just be allowed to exist. It wasn't until he had seen Janus dragging Remus back to the Dark Side half a dozen times, and he had seen for himself just how bad a state Remus was left in, did he realize that just because something worked for him didn't mean that it worked for everyone else.

"That explains the cape." Virgil muttered. He thought the regal cape was tacky and not at all Remus' style, but if it made him feel better Virgil wasn't about to discourage his use of it. Virgil knew all too well that sometimes people found comfort in things that other people may not understand. "Is he okay?"

"I think so." Roman said. We fused because we both knew that he needed to talk to Janus, but neither of us was comfortable with him talking to him on his own."

"But everything's okay now?" Virgil asked. He felt conflicted about both Remus and Janus, but he was so used to the two of them doing everything together. They were the dark sides. Maybe Thomas would be better off if they weren't able to scheme so much, but Virgil was completely against change. He didn't trust it..

Besides, while Remus was a handful at the best of times, it always got worse when he felt lonely. Virgil still had nightmares about Remus' behavior when he and Roman had first stopped spending so much time with each other. Virgil would like anything more than to have to deal with that mess again.

"I think so." Roman said. "Remus may be clingy for the next few days, but I think I've figured out how to deal with it."

Virgil shifted slightly. "When and why did you start to spend so much time with Remus anyways? Last time I checked you didn't even want to think about him."

"Yeah," Roman shifted uncomfortably. "I was reluctant at first to spend even the smallest amount of time with him, but as I spent more time with him I've actually realized that I enjoy his company. Remus is like an acquired taste."

"You can say that again." Virgil said. He used to be around Remus all the time, and he had still never been able to adjust to his extremely extra behavior. "But why subject yourself to him in the first place?"

Roman's face fell. He looked guilty and Virgil could swear that he could feel slight anxiety from him. What could Roman possibly feel guilty about?" "Well...look, you can't tell anybody, okay? Especially not Janus or Remus. Janus would never forgive me, and Remus…" Roman trailed off and looked extremely distressed. Virgil was starting to feel anxious himself. What could Roman have possibly done to make him feel this guilty?

"I won't say anything." Virgil said, and he meant it. Keeping secrets was stressful, but the thought of betraying someone else's trust was even worse. "What happened?"

Roman looked around, just to make sure that nobody else was around, before he leaned closer to Virgil. "Honestly, I thought that Janus was up to something, and honestly I still do. He had to have ulterior motives, I just didn't know what it could be."

Virgil nodded. He understood. He had known about Roman's mistrust of Janus, as he hadn't been very good at hiding how he'd been feeling. Part of Virgil, the deep paranoid part that he tried to insist he didn't have, still didn't trust Janus and was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Virgil was the last person to judge Roman for doubting Janus' sincerity.

"I didn't know Janus well enough to know how to read him." Roman said quietly, almost shyly. "I thought that if anybody knew what Janus was up to, it would be Remus."

Virgil blinked. "You spent time around Remus because you wanted to get information out of him?"

"I know, I know, it was dumb." Roman said.

"It was cruel!" Virgil snapped. Roman's eyes widened in alarm and he leaned away from him. "Dude, do you have any idea how manipulative and messed up that is? Your attention is the one thing that Remus has really wanted, and you're giving it to him just because you think it'll get you what you want?"

"I'm sorry." Roman tensely ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not doing that anymore. Remus only put himself in that stupid dungeon because he found himself stuck between me and Janus, and I'm not going to do that to him again."

Virgil took in a shaky breath and started bouncing his leg anxiously. This was a lot, and it was the last thing he had thought he would have to deal with today. Everything was just piling up. Way too much had happened in way too short a period of time, and Virgil needed to escape into his room and make it all go away.

"I won't tell anybody." Virgil said quietly, and he meant it. This was just one of those secrets that was better to never be shared. Remus never had to know.

"Thank you." Roman sighed in relief.

"What kind of things do you guys do together anyways?" Virgil asked. He knew Roman and Remus well enough to know that neither of them was very good at accepting someone else's creative ideas. Virgil had no idea how they could find a compromise without the help of an unbiased third party.

"Oh, we spend most of our time watching Steven Universe." Roman grinned. "Remus has never seen it before. He loves it though."

Virgil didn't know whether he was surprised or not. Steven Universe felt too tame for Remus, but it was darker and tackled more adult themes than most cartoons did, which was one of Remus' favorite things.

"We also spar." Roman said. Virgil grinned ever so slightly and nodded. That one made more sense. Both Roman and Remus somehow thought that violently fighting was a decent way of relaxing and having fun. Virgil didn't understand it, but as long as they were fighting each other they wouldn't be trying to fight him, so he was fine with it.

"Yeah, that sounds like Remus." Virgil said. Maybe the two creativities fit together better than Virgil felt like they should. He still didn't want to see Romulus again anytime soon, and Remus being around the Light Side was not something that he would ever get used to. However, Virgil felt like he could warm up to the idea that Roman was spending time with Reus, just so long as he wasn't manipulative about it anymore, and they kept doing innocent things like watching Steven Universe.

"Just be careful around him," Virgil said. "Remus is a lot to deal with, and just when you think you know what to expect from him, he turns around and throws you in the deep end."

"I think I can handle it." Roman said. He sounded so confident, which was better than his caution from earlier, but Virgil didn't want to see him crash and burn. Roman must have seen Virgil's disbelief, because his expression softened. "I'll be careful, I promise."

"Cool," Virgil nodded. He tapped his fingers against his leg. "Have you just been spending all your time with Remus lately, or have you actually been spending time in your room with a creative rush like you said you were."

"I've been spending a decent amount of time with Remus." Roman admitted. "However, I have been working on a painting lately. It's still a work in progress, and the style isn't my usual thing, but I'm kinda proud of it."

Virgil was familiar with this mock humble tone from Roman. He knew that Roman was much more than just a little proud. Virgil also knew that when Roman was particularly happy with something he's been working on, he wanted nothing more than to share it with someone else.

"Can I see it?" Virgil asked. He knew it was the right thing to say, because Roman beamed at him. He'd been waiting for Virgil to ask this very thing.

"Absolutely." Roman stood up. Quickly and practically yanked Virgil to his feet. "You're going to love it."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure." Virgil grinned and let Roman pull him towards his room. After dealing with so much change lately, seeing Roman act like he used to was like a breath of fresh air. It was a little overwhelming, and Virgil could only deal with it in small doses, but he would take this over Roman's moody reclusiveness any day.

Chapter Text

Remus started to spend more and more time in the Light Side. It was where Roman lived, and where Janus spent the majority of his time now. Remus had no idea if Janus was just at the Light Side so often because he had so much work to do, or because he liked it better there, and Remus didn't think he wanted to know. He would completely understand why Janus would prefer the Light Side. He had dedicated so much time and effort into being respected and acknowledged, and all that work was finally paying off.

Besides, the Light Side was naturally warm and inviting. Remus preferred the cold himself. Some of the best stories that humans had created had been inspired by the cold and darkness of winter. Cold brought suffering, and suffering gave birth to inspiration. That was how Remus felt.

Janus, on the other hand, was a snake. The cold made him sleepy. He could cope with it, but he understandably preferred the warmth of the Light side instead of the chill of the Dark Side.

Remus did his best to warm up the Dark Side. He would line the walls with torches, but he kept on forgetting about them. Janus may love warmth, but even he hadn't been very happy when he'd found the entire Dark Side engulfed in flames. It had taken them hours to snuff the flames out.

When Virgil had first started to spend time with Roman he hadn't even considered that it would bring him to the Dark Side more often. He had just thought that they would spend all their time together in the Imagination.

Things had changed though. The others now knew that they were spending time with each other, so Roman didn't feel the need to hide. Remus didn't know about Roman, but he felt awkward about being in the Imagination. Fusing and being Romulus again had been exciting, and like a massive weight had been taken off of his shoulders. Remus hadn't exactly gone into this with the goal to fuse with his brother, but a big part of him had still been really scared that their relationship was too far gone for fusion to even be a possibility.

Now that they were back to being two separate halves of a whole things felt a little different. Remus had loved being Romulus, but he now got a sour taste in his mouth when he looked at his creations. He still loved them so, but he couldn't shake the memory of Romulus being almost embarrassed by his art.

Remus still felt a lingering of that shame, and he hated it. He was unrestrained creativity. Unapologetic intrusive thoughts. He didn't like being embarrassed by his imperfect art, so he planned on avoiding his creations. Once he no longer felt conflicted by his work, he would go back to the Imagination and appreciate all of his incredible creations again. Until then though, he would just stick to the normal, boring parts of the mindscape.

Remus split his time fairly evenly between the Dark and Light sides. If it was just his choice, Remus would spend all his time with Roman. He didn't feel the need to take a break from his brother. He could always tell when Roman was starting to get burnt out from him, and that was when Remus backed off. He didn't like to give people relief, but it was the necessary price to pay if he didn't want Roman to get sick of him.

Though Remus liked Roman's company, his brother insisted on not going into the Dark Side or allowing Remus in his private room, so they only ever hung out in the Light Side now, which could be a little overwhelming for Remus. He didn't think he'd ever get used to Patton's constant presence.

It was a little scary to have Patton always hanging over his shoulder. The moral side seemed to have been putting an effort into giving Remus a chance. He still clearly didn't like him, and the way that Patton flinched whenever he saw him wasn't as funny as it started off being. Still, after a few pointed words from Janus Patton had stopped sending passive aggressive comments in Remus' direction. His judgement was more of a silent thing now.

Remus had thought that Virgil would avoid him, as Janus had warned him that might happen and that he shouldn't push the anxious side out of his comfort zone. To a certain extent, Virgil did scurry out of the room when he saw Remus was there. Sometimes though not only would he stay, but he would make a point to join them with what they were doing.

It took several days, but Remus thought that he noticed that Virgil mostly stayed around when both Roman and Janus were in the room at once. While Remus was sure that Virgil didn't trust him the anxious side seemed most concerned about what Roman and Janus were doing. He didn't even seem to care about Remus' presence at all, which was odd. Remus was so used to being Virgil's biggest concern. Barely being given a side glance was a new experience.

Maybe experimenting with Logan was rubbing off on him, as Remus wasn't usually in the habit of investigating anything, but he started to pay more attention to the situation when Virgil was with them.

Of course, Remus wasn't very good at focusing on things, or being subtle about his focusing. He would either let his mind start to wander, only coming back to himself when he saw Virgil suddenly tense. Something would happen, and remus would completely miss it. Or Remus was able to keep his focus, but with so much effort on his part that the others would take notice of it and get distracted or concerned about what he was surely planning.

Remus tried to figure things out, but he quickly got bored of not getting anywhere. He just didn't have the attention span to try to figure out something that may not even be an issue at all. He would much rather make crude gestures behind Patton's back and try to replace fruit extracts with soap and see if anybody noticed. So far Janus was the only one who had noticed, and he was sportsmanlike enough to not spoil the game. The suspense was killing him.

As tense and on edge as Remus felt in the Light Side, he enjoyed spending time with his brother. It was also nice to do stuff with Janus and Virgil again. Logan was also an absolute joy. If Patton wasn't there, everything would be perfect.

Remus was hanging off the couch, with his feet resting against the back of the couch and his head hanging off the edge. There were very few feelings he loved more than blood rushing to his head.

He was waiting for Roman to come downstairs so they could watch some Steven Universe. They had been watching less and less as Remus started to spend time on the Light Side. They both wanted to, but the Light Side was very crowded all the time, and Remus didn't want anybody else to join them.

Steven Universe was their thing. Remus didn't want to share it with anybody else. Maybe Janus would be okay, as he was more than happy to listen to Remus' cynical remarks, and he loved debating philosophical themes. He wasn't afraid of tackling the darker themes that Remus loved and Patton and Virgil just wanted to plug their ears and ignore.

Now Virgil was hanging out in his room, winding down, and Patton was trying to work with Logan on stuff. It was the perfect time to watch their show. Remus just had to wait for Roman to find a good stopping point in his writing that wouldn't interrupt his creative process.

While Remus was waiting he suddenly felt a strong presence right behind him. He bent his neck up to see Janus leaning against the couch, smirking down at him.

"Janey!" Remus grinned. "What's up?"

"Right now, I am." Janus held a hand out towards Remus. He was obviously offering to help Remus sit up, but that wasn't Remus' style. Instead he grinned, took the hand, and yanked his friend down on top of him. Janus tumbled over the back of the couch, crashing right on top of Remus. Janus tried to catch his balance and stop Remus from falling at the same time, but it didn't work out so well.

They both fell off the couch, with Janus landing on Remus and pinning him awkwardly to the ground. Janus grunted and rolled off of Remus' chest. "Well, I should have expected that."

Remus giggled and rolled over so he was lying on his stomach. He kicked his feet eagerly. "You've lost your touch."

"I've noticed." Janus said. There was an odd tone in his voice. Something like a cross between guilt and scolding. "I've been working really hard lately, and I couldn' be more pleased with the progress we have made, but I've been feeling burnt out lately."

"Oh," Remus pushed himself into a kneeling position. He tilted his head at his friend. "Is it time for a Janus week?"

"Perhaps not a week, but at least a few days." Janus said. As the side that cared the most about self-care and taking care of one's needs, Janus took care of himself. He always knew when he needed a break, and he figured out a way to make it happen. Usually Remus would spend the week in the Imagination, or possibly in his dungeon if he really didn't feel like he could control himself, just so that Janus could have the entire Dark Side to himself so he could properly unwind.

"You gonna do it on the Dark Side?" Remus asked. He knew that Janus could get more privacy in the Dark Side, but the Light Side was much warmer and he had put so much effort into getting there, so he might not be in a hurry to leave.

"Yes," Janus said. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. You know how much privacy means to me when I have a me day."

"You want me to stay away from the Dark Side?" Remus asked.

"At least for a bit," Janus said. "But just so we're perfectly clear, I don't want you to go to the dungeon at all. If you really can't help yourself, I would much prefer that you come get me instead of going back there."

"You don't like being interrupted." Remus said.

"I also don't like when my friends hurt themselves." Janus said. Remus thought that he and Roman were exaggerating about how much harm the dungeon did to him. They were both extremely stubborn though, and Remus knew that he wouldn't actually be able to convince them otherwise.

"Okay, I'll come get you if I need to." Remus said. He would try really hard to give Janus his privacy. He may not want to go to the Imagination right now, but he could figure out how to occupy himself for a few days in the Light Side. He could do some deeper experiments with Logan, or binge Steven Universe with Roman.

"Swear it." Janus said. Remus grinned and brought out his tentacles. Janus brought his six hands out and let Remus wrap his tentacles around them.

"I promise." Remus said.

"Good." Janus said. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against Remus'. "Look out for yourself, Cephy, or I'm going to have to come back over here."

"I'm great at looking out for myself." Remus said cheerfully. He was left alone more often than not. Remus didn't like it very much, but he'd gotten used to it.

"I already told Patton and Virgil where I'm going, so hopefully you don't get interrogated." Janus said. He stood up and pulled Remus to his feet. "You'll be fine. I'll be back when I'm ready for it." Janus put his extra hands away and made his way towards the entrance to the Dark Side. Remus waved cheerfully at him as he went.

Once Remus Janus was gone Remus stretched and flopped back down on the couch. It had been so long since he had just left his tentacles out for a stretch. They just took up so much space, but since nobody else was around and he had the entire room to himself, there was no reason for him not to let loose.

Remus sighed contently and laid his head on his arms. He may still prefer the cold, as he felt like it inspired his creativity, but the warmth was nice too. It was just the right temperature for a nap. No wonder Janus liked it.

Remus was just starting to doze off when he heard Roman come down the stairs. He couldn't help but giggle. He thought it was funny that he could tell it was his brother just by the sound of him walking down the stairs. Roman practically strutted everywhere. He and Remus were both loud and proud. Roman always walked with so much purpose and confidence that his footsteps were kinda hard to miss.

"Re-Re." Roman said, which made Remus giggle even louder. He absolutely loved that nickname, partially because it was what Roman called him when they were little kids, and partially because his brother had no idea what he was saying, and Remus just thought it was hilarious.

Remus waved a tentacle at his brother. "Hey, Ro-Ro." Remus rolled off the couch, using his tentacles to catch himself and push himself to his feet. "Can we watch now?"

"That's what I'm here for." Roman lounged on the couch. "You want to make the popcorn?"

"Yes!" Remus ran into the kitchen before his brother could change his mind. Even Janus didn't trust him to whip together a snack, as it was rare for Remus to make anything in the kitchen without giving in to the temptation to blow something up. That was why Roman had suggested popcorn.

Remus grabbed the container of popcorn kernels from the pantry. He tossed one in his mouth, just for fun, and poured some into a large glass bowl. He put a plate on top of it, just like Logan had shown him, and put the bowl into the microwave. Remus jumped onto the counter and pressed his face against the door to the microwave as he turned it on.

Remus watched with anticipation as the bowl slowly spun in the microwave. When the first kernel popped Remus laughed excitedly and pressed his face even closer. He watched with undivided attention as the kernels slowly popped. Remus had no idea who had discovered popcorn, but they had to be some kind of genius.

A few minutes later, when it looked like all of the kernels were popped, Remus opened the microwave door and pulled the bowl out. Remus sat on the counter and poured half the popcorn into a separate bowl. Both he and Roman liked their popcorn with more exciting flavoring besides butter, but their preferences were still completely different.

Roman liked his popcorn covered in chocolate with marshmallows and M&Ms mixed in. Remus liked it that way too, but grossing people out was incredibly satisfying in its own right. For this reason, Remus liked his popcorn with blue cheese, jalapeño, and some hot sauce just for an extra kick.

It took a lot of self-restraint for Remus to avoid slipping something extra into Roman's bowl. His brother's face would be absolutely hilarious, but Roman would get mad, and Remus didn't want him to hate him again. Especially not when Remus was going to be relying on Roman's company while Janus was away.

Besides, if Remus messed with Roman's popcorn he wouldn't be allowed to make it again, and Remus wasn't going to give up his small amount of freedom in the kitchen.

Remus returned to the couch and handed Roman his bowl. Remus then shoved a handful of his own popcorn into his mouth to get the taste of behaving himself off his tongue.

Roman started the show and the two of them sat in near silence as they watched. They got through seven episodes before they heard someone coming down the stairs. About halfway down the footsteps stopped before they continued cautiously. Remus became tense and scooted closer to his brother. He knew that the side coming downstairs only hesitated because they were suddenly scared and slightly cautious, likely because they had seen Remus, which meant that it had to be either Virgil or Patton.

Remus desperately hoped it was Virgil. He didn't like seeing Patton at the best of times, but especially not now. Remus still had his tentacles out. He didn't want to be scolded for having his slimy limbs all over the couch.

"Wow," Remus relaxed when he heard Virgil's voice. "This was the last thing I thought I would see."

"I told you we watched Steven Universe with each other." Roman said. Remus laughed loudly. He really didn't think that was quite what Virgil was talking about.

"Yeah, but I didn't think you meant you did it quietly." Virgil leaned against the stair railing. "I've never seen either of you watch anything without unnecessary commentary."

"We talk," Roman said. He sounded slightly offended at the suggestion that he would be quiet while watching anything.

"It comes and goes." Remus agreed.

Virgil hummed and walked towards the couch. He stepped carefully over Remus' tentacles, grimacing only a little bit when one of the tentacles brushed his jacket. Virgil was still really cautious around Remus, which he had expected, but the anxious side was still putting in effort to not show his disgust so obviously. He was trying, and Remus appreciated it. After Virgil had left the Dark Side Remus had thought that they would never be able to even pretend to be civil with each other again.

Virgil sat on the couch next to Roman, though he looked at Remus. "Janus leave yet?" Roman sat up and looked a little anxious, though Remus didn't know why.

"Yep." Remus rocked slightly.

"Leave?" Roman frowned. "Where?"

"Back to the Dark Side." Remus said.

Roman narrowed his eyes. "What for?"

Remus opened his mouth to answer immediately before he instinctively slapped a hand over his mouth. When it was just him and Janus the other side would frequently manipulate Remus to put a hand over his mouth when Remus would become just a bit too much for him. Remus was used to the feeling of covering his mouth when he was about to say something that he shouldn't, and every once and awhile he would do it to himself.

Roman's eyes widened in alarm. He grabbed Remus' arm to try to pull his hand away from his mouth, but the dark side shook his head and jerked back. He couldn't tell Roman about Janus' personal days. Sure, Janus had never said it was a secret, but he'd gotten so mad the last time that Remus had told Roman something about him that he wasn't supposed to. Remus didn't want to do that again, so he had to watch what he said.

Roman huffed angrily and reached for Remus again, but Virgil grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Dude, leave it alone. Let him figure things out. I promise, Deceit isn't controlling him. He'll talk when he's ready." Roman scowled and looked a little afraid, but he sighed and lowered his arm.

A long moment later Remus freed his mouth. "Deedee is taking some personal time." Remus said. He thought that was safe to say.. Virgil nodded. He knew. Roman didn't look very reassured.

"What exactly is he doing?" Roman asked.

"Uh, I don't know." Remus said. He'd never actually seen what Janus did for his self-care. Remus assumed it involved heat and possibly a good wine, but he really didn't have any idea.

"Do you have an idea?" Roman asked somewhat desperately. "Just a hint? Anything?"

"Roman." Virgil said in a warning tone, but Roman ignored him. Remus' eyes widened in alarm as his brother leaned forward and grabbed onto his arms.

"What is that snake up to?" Roman asked sternly.

"Roman!" Virgil's voice took on that double tone of his. Roman blinked and loosened his grip on Remus' arms. Virgil grabbed onto Roman's sash and pulled him away from Remus. "Can we talk, alone?"

Roman's eyes flashed guiltily. "Yes, of course." He got to his feet and gave Remus an apologetic look, though he couldn't imagine what he was apologizing for. As far as Remus was concerned, Roman hadn't done anything wrong. "We'll be right back. Why don't you see if you can find some cookies? I'm sure Patton has some lying around."

Remus grinned. As strange as he felt about Patton, he loved the side's cookies. They were perfect. "Yes! I can do that." Remus leapt off the couch and ran towards the kitchen. He was vaguely aware of Virgil dragging Roman up the stairs, but he had a task to work on. There was no reason for him to worry about Roman and Virgil's weird behavior. They always acted weird.

Remus hummed to himself as he started climbing in and out of the cupboards and pantry. He squeezed himself into spaces that he knew were too small for him, partially to look for the cookies, but mostly to see if he could do it.

After exploring the kitchen for five minutes he was able to find all kinds of things, including the cookies. He found Janus' secret wine collection that he kept hidden from Patton. There was a notebook that belonged to either Roman or Logan, though Remus couldn't actually tell who. The strangest find, though not the one that confused Remus the most, was that he found a half a dozen fidget toys.

He recognized them as belonging to Virgil. Maybe most people would be confused as to how someone could lose things in the deepest parts of the kitchen, but Remus wasn't most people. As much as the anxious side might want to deny it, Remus knew Virgil fairly well. Back in the Dark Side Virgil's go-to hiding place had been in the kitchen cabinets. It used to be in his closet, but then Remus had booby-trapped his closet.

He'd just been trying to have fun, but Virgil had taken it way too personally. He didn't trust his closet after that, so he had started to hide in the kitchen, which was enough to detour Remus. Janus had told him over and over again that the kitchen was off limits for messing around with, so Remus couldn't do anything.

He'd been so annoyed with Virgil's hiding spot, but now he found it kinda funny. It was a little bit reassuring that as much as Virgil loved the Light Side, he still needed a place to hide from the others. It made Remus feel like maybe it wasn't all his and Janus' fault that Virgil had seemed so unhappy with them. Maybe at least part of it was just how Virgil was.

Remus glanced towards the stairs with a small frown. Roman and Virgil weren't back yet. Maybe they'd just gotten distracted and forgotten that they were in the middle of something. Both Roman and Virgil could let their thoughts get the best of them sometimes. They probably needed a reminder.

Remus gathered the fidget toys in his hands, grinning when he felt the way they clicked in his fingers. It was nice. He could listen to the clicking all day. These toys weren't his though, they belonged to Virgil, and he didn't want to do anything to make his old friend mad at him.

Remus left the kitchen and made his way up the stairs. He skipped down the hallway, pausing at Virgil's room. Remus didn't knock on the door, it wasn't usually his thing, he just opened the door.

Remus was ready to throw the door open and strut right in, but he faltered when he heard Virgil's raised voice. Was he yelling at Roman. Remus couldn't help but grin. He couldn't remember the last time he'd heard Virgil shout at someone that wasn't him. He couldn't wait to hear what this was about.

"-can't do this anymore." Virgil said. "You said you were going to stop!"

"I will," Roman said defensively. "I mean, I'm trying. It just came out."

"Well then, try harder to rein it in." Virgil hissed. Remus frowned slightly. He didn't know what they were talking about, but he didn't think that Virgil was being fair. He should know how hard it was to control first instincts. It wasn't something that somebody could just do at the drop of a hat.

"I'm working on it." Roman said. He sounded frustrated. "Being around Deceit so much isn't really helping."

"Janus is Remus' best friend. Of course they're going to be around each other." Virgil said. Remus started in alarm. Were they talking about him? He didn't know whether to be pleased or unhappy. He knew that people talked about him behind his back, it was just to be expected, but he'd never actually overheard it for himself. This could be exciting, or absolutely terrible. Either way, Remus couldn't wait.

"And I'm trying." Roman groaned. "I'm not fighting with Deceit as much as I want to." Remus nodded. He knew that his brother didn't like Janus. Roman had never been shy about that fact. Remus did appreciate that his brother was at least putting in the effort to not fight with Janus. Remus didn't want to have to choose between his friend and his brother.

"I know," Virgil sighed. He sounded really anxious, though Remus didn't know why. "Look, just...just don't mess this up. I said I wouldn't tell Remus or Janus, and I'm trying really hard to stop you from doing it yourself, but I can only do so much. I'm not a miracle worker, Princey."

"I know, I know." Roman said. "I'll try harder."

"You'd better." Virgil said quietly. "I don't want to deal with the fallout when the truth comes out."

"When?" Remus could hear the frown in Roman's voice. "Would it kill you to be a little more optimistic and say 'if'?"

Remus held back a chuckle. This was Virgil that Roman was talking to. Pessimism was his middle name.

"Fine," Virgil sighed. "If the truth comes out." Remus frowned slightly. What truth were they talking about? And why were they so against Remus or Janus finding out about it? Did Roman and Virgil not see the irony of them basically telling a lie of omission when they were so cautious to trust Janus?

Remus clicked the buttons on the fidget toys a few more times. If Roman and Virgil were just talking about him, Remus would still be curious, but he'd get over it. He talked about people all the time, it was one of his favorite pastimes. It was only fair to let other people talk about him too.

However, they were also talking about Janus, and Remus knew that while his friend liked to have secrets for himself, there were very few things he hated more than to have secrets kept from him. Janus felt like he couldn't do his job properly if he wasn't kept in the loop.

If only Janus had waited just one more day to start his self-care week. Remus could just tell him that Roman and Virgil were keeping a secret from them, and Janus would take it from there. Remus was left on his own right now. If anybody was going to figure out their secret, it would have to be Remus.

Maybe he would talk to Logan about how to properly investigate something. The logical side was so smart, he had to have some strategies to help Remus to focus. It would be hard, but Remus thought that it was important, or at least Janus would think it was important. Remus could make himself focus when he really needed to.

Janus would be pleased, and maybe once the secret was out Roman and Virgil would stop walking on eggshells around them. Everything would be much better! Remus just had to figure out what was going on.

Chapter Text

Investigating was a lot harder than Remus thought it would be, which was just confusing. Neither Virgil nor Roman were all that good at keeping secrets. Roman loved being the center of attention, almost as much as Remus did, and Virgil hated doing anything that might make someone think bad of him. They should have been the easiest people to learn a secret from, but Remus wasn't able to get anything.

He tried to pay really close attention to his brother and old friend. He even put on his listening ears whenever he found them talking to each other, but he didn't get anything. He thought he'd come close a few times. Whenever Roman mentioned Janus Remus was sure that he was about to let something slip, but Virgil always stopped him.

Remus had even gone out of his way to mention Janus to his brother. It annoyed Roman and got him worked up, and when Roman was upset he either shut down or rambled about everything. Remus managed to get Roman to go on and on about Janus, to the point that he thought he could list all of those complaints right along with him, but none of it seemed like it was the big secret, so Remus kept looking.

Eventually Remus decided that if he couldn't discover this secret the civil way, by eavesdropping and pestering his brother until he let something slip, He decided to do things his way. By sneaking into places where he wasn't wanted.

Remus waited until the Light Sides decided to have a movie night. Normally he would force himself into their little bonding night, just because he loved the way it got under Patton's skin, but he decided to give them a break just this once. While they were watching a movie he would have at least a few hours to find just what he was looking for.

Remus waited until they started the movie, and then just a few more minutes until he heard Roman singing along to whatever musical he was forcing the others into this time. Once the music started, Roman was enchanted by the movie, and he wouldn't be walking away from it. This was Remus' chance.

He grinned and let himself into Roman's room. His brother had already forbidden him from going into his room unsupervised, but Remus had never been very good at following instructions. He was actually much more likely to do something after he'd been specifically told to not do it.

Remus wasn't just going into Roman's room for shits and giggles though. His brother had to express himself in one way or another. He clearly wasn't doing it through talking, which meant that Roman had to be expressing it in his art.

Remus looked around the room, gagging when he saw how clean everything was. He'd been in Roman's room before, but he didn't think he'd ever get used to it. This was just sickening. Remus really wanted to throw things around, make a mess, add something more exciting to the decoration. He had a job to do though, so Remus fiddled with the ruffles of his outfit, just to keep his hands busy, as he got to work.

Remus grabbed the first sketchbook that he saw, and he started flipping through it. He only had to glance at a picture before he instantly knew the symbolism and meaning behind it. It was one of the perks of being Roman's twin. They started off as the same side. They both knew how it felt to want to express themselves through each other's preferred style. They were able to look at the other's creations and instinctively know what the meaning behind it was, as though they had made it themselves.

Remus flipped quickly through the drawings, ignoring ones that had absolutely nothing to do with either him nor Janus. When the first sketchbook gave him nothing Remus decided to move onto some of Roman's paintings. He didn't have nearly as many paintings as drawings, but Remus knew that his brother put a lot of effort into his paintings. He only painted about things that mattered a lot to him. If Roman thought that this secret was important, he would have expressed it in one of his paintings.

Remus treated the paintings with just a little bit more care than he did the drawings, partially because he was trying to respect his brother's room, and partially because he really liked the paintings. An uncompleted painting had a background that was still drying. It had a black ocean, though it looked more enchanting than terrifying. There was a castle in the distance that resembled Roman's, but its location and state of being were much more like Remus'.

It was clearly the Imagination, and not the way that Remus would choose to have it be, but if he was forced to have no say in how the Imagination looked, he actually wouldn't mind it so much like this.

Remus moved onto the next painting and he found himself even more excited than he'd been about the other one. This one hadn't been painted yet, it was just a sketch on a canvas of what Roman was clearly planning on painting next, with just a few spots of paint to show what colors and shades he was going to use and where. Remus didn't know his brother to carefully plan out any of his art pieces, but it was great to know that he was putting so much care into this one.

The painting was going to be of Romulus, except not quite the way that they usually were. They were in the style of a Steven Universe gem. Roman was drawing Romulus as a gem fusion, and Remus already loved it so much. He'd never loved Roman's work more. For the first time in Remus' existence he half wished that he could do this kind of thing himself.

Remus sat on Roman's bed and just took in every little detail of the drawing. He couldn't wait to see the final result. Maybe Roman could let him offer some creative input. Remus stared at the canvas for several minutes before he carefully set it aside to continue looking.

Remus glanced at a few more canvases before he found an elaborate painting of a knight that was clearly supposed to represent Roman. He was talking to a massive sea monster that Remus was pleased to recognize as something that represented him. He loved it. Roman was better at creating a monster than Remus had thought. Maybe there was hope for him yet.

Remus' happiness deflated as he studied the painting a little more. The knight and the sea monster both looked like they were being civil at first glance, but Remus could see that the knight was holding a dagger behind his back. He also wasn't looking directly at the sea monster, but just behind him towards a yellow snake that was hiding being the sea monster.

Remus blinked as he looked closer at the painting. He tried to look for another meaning in it, some way that he might have been misinterpreting something, but the closer he looked the more confirmation he got. There was no denying what the painting meant.

The knight was just pretending to pay attention to the sea monster while his true focus was on the snake. Remus knew that the snake was Janus, and he knew that Roman didn't trust him, but he didn't like to think about what the painting clearly meant. If Roman was the knight, and Remus was the sea monster, which they were, then was his brother only spending time with him to get to Janus?

Remus didn't want to believe it. He really, really didn't want to believe it, but he knew what Roman's art meant just as well if he had painted it himself. Roman was using him, and Remus had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.

Remus clenched his hands around the canvas so tightly that he could feel his fingernails breaking through the painting. He froze. He was ruining Roman's art, something really personal to him. Roman was going to be either so furious or so upset. Remus thought for a moment before he tightened his grip even more. He didn't care if he hurt Roman.

Actually, no, that wasn't true. Remus wanted to hurt Roman. He wanted to make his brother suffer. Roman had been using him this whole time. He'd let Remus go on and on about Janus, not because he actually wanted to give Remus the chance to talk about his best friend, but because he had wanted to get some information he could use against Janus.

Remus was hurt and infuriated and he wanted to make Roman pay.

He let out an ear-piercing scream and threw the painting against the wall with so much force that it broke in half, but Remus wasn't satisfied yet. He summoned a dagger, identical to the one that the knight was holding in the painting, and stabbed the canvas. Remus stabbed right through the image of the knight, yanked the dagger out, and then went in for another hit.

Remus stabbed the knight a dozen times until he could barely tell that it had been a knight in the first place, and he still didn't feel any better. He needed to do more. He had to even things out. Remus took the dagger and started to whack and slice at the painting like he would with any of his own work. Remus went at it until he couldn't even recognize the painting, and he still felt the need to destroy something.

Remus tossed aside the painting and got to work at the unfinished painting that was supposed to be their shared Imagination. He had really liked it before, but now he couldn't stand the sight of it. The thought of Roman combining their styles and interests was laughable. Roman didn't care about him. He was just trying to fool himself to make himself feel better.

Well, Remus was more than happy to ease that burden from his twin.

Remus teared through the painting, eventually dropping the dagger completely and going at it with his bare hands. It felt much more satisfying and personal, and what Roman had done was nothing if not personal.

Remus completely lost himself in his destruction. He rarely put this much effort into creating his own work, but he needed to be thorough this time. He didn't want Roman to be able to just pick up the pieces and recreate his precious masterpieces. Remus needed to take something away from Roman that he couldn't just get back, no matter how hard he tried. Maybe then Roman would have at least an idea of how he felt.

Remus cut at the painting that was mocking him. He would have cut and cut until he'd torn it to shreds, but he wasn't feeling any better. This wasn't enough. Roman would surely be upset to see it destroyed, but Remus didn't just want to hurt his brother, he wanted to completely ruin him. He needed to ruin something that he really cared about, like...like that.

Remus bit his lip so tightly it started to bleed, but he barely cared. He stood up and slowly walked towards Roman's bed, almost like he was in a trance. He stared unblinking at the scarce canvas on the bed. The fusion. Remus could tell how much thought and care Roman was putting into this. He didn't know why this painting mattered so much to Roman, because he certainly didn't seem to care about Remus. Maybe Roman just liked how much power he had as King Romulus.

It didn't matter what the reason was. What mattered was that Roman would be devastated to see his precious painting destroyed before he'd properly started working on it. And as a perk Remus would no longer have to look at the painting taunting him of what he had always wanted but couldn't ever have.

Remus wiped the blood away from his mouth and then struck the canvas, leaving a trail of blood. Remus thought that he would get a sense of satisfaction from seeing some blood on his brother's masterpiece, but it just made him feel a pang in his chest. Romulus was supposed to be a mix of both of them, a perfect balance of Thomas' creativity, but the blood brought far too much red to Romulus. They looked like it had a lot more Roman than Remus, and it hurt.

Remus screamed, trying to ignore the way that his voice cracked and his eyes grew wet. He wasn't going to cry about this. He refused. Remus pulled out his tentacles, not caring at all when they shifted and twisted and knocked Roman's things all over the place. The only thing he cared about was getting rid of that cursed painting.

Remus wrapped two of his tentacles around the canvas and tried to pull it apart. It was hard to get a proper grip on it, as his tentacles kept slipping, but he wasn't going to give up. Remus was determined to tear this canvas apart, and he needed to do it with his tentacles. He needed to show Roman, and himself, that he was stronger than the stupid feelings that this painting was trying to pull out of him.

Remus tried to rip the canvas apart, but he didn't have the patience to keep at it. He decided to switch strategies. Remus wrapped the two tentacles around the entire canvas, using his suckers to get a firm grip, and squeezed. He felt the canvas bend, fold, and break, and he kept on going, squeezing the canvas like he was trying to destroy his prey, because he basically was.

Remus squeezed and squeezed until the canvas fell apart in his hands, but it wasn't enough. Remus still felt like a blackhole had formed in his chest and it was devouring him from the inside.

Remus whined and loosened his tight grip. He let the ruined canvas fall to the ground. He stared at it blankly for a moment before he knelt in front of the fabric. He was disappointed to see that the cotton canvas was still intact. He'd just broken the base it had been tightly bound around. The drawing of Romulus was still there, and Remus needed it gone.

Well, if he couldn't destroy it, he would just have to recreate it. Make it something new. If Roman cared so much about this painting, Remus would show him just how he felt about it.

Remus wrapped his tentacles tightly around himself to ground and sooth him, though he brought one of the tentacles up to his mouth where he could nibble on it. Janus had told him over and over again to not eat his own tentacles, he always got so worried when it happened, but Remus couldn't help himself. It felt like his instincts were coming out, and he didn't have the strength or focus to fight it.

Remus picked up the dagger and carefully started to cut into the drawing. He wasn't going for complete destruction like he had before. He was doing this for a reason. For once, Remus had a reason behind his strange actions.

Remus let his mind stray as he worked. He let his instincts take over as he cut, and cut, and then cut some more, just for good measure. Remus had no idea how long he worked. It might have been just a few seconds, it could have been hours, but finally he had a masterpiece of his own. He couldn't bring himself to be relieved though, or excited. He just felt drained.

Destruction could be exhausting, and so could creating, but one right after the other was more than he could take. Remus' body needed a break, and his physical exhaustion made it impossible to hold back his distress.

Remus growled and bit harshly into his tentacle as the tears started to leak out of his eyes. He hated this. He wasn't supposed to be crying over his brother. He'd let Roman get to him, and now he was paying for it, and it just wasn't fair. Getting back at Roman and destroying his things should make him feel better, but he just felt worse than ever. He didn't know how to make this stop.

Remus wasn't good at dealing with emotions, his own or anybody else's. He needed help with this.

If Remus was any other side Patton would probably be the best choice. The moral side was the master of feelings, but Remus didn't think that Patton was capable of even pretending to be worried about him.

Logan would probably be willing to lend a listening ear, but the logical side was about as good at emotions as Remus was. He probably wouldn't know how to comfort Remus, and any attempt he made would be exhausting for both of them.

Virgil wouldn't be a half bad idea, except Remus was pretty sure he knew about this whole thing. This had to be the secret that Virgil was insistent that Remus and Janus not find out about. Virgil knew what Roman had been doing, and he hadn't told them. Sure, it had seemed like Virgil hadn't approved of this secret, but that didn't mean he would be sympathetic to Remus' distress.

There was just one side that Remus could go to. Janus had been the only real option from the start, but Remus had hesitated to go to him. Janus cared so much about his self-care days, and Remus didn't want to interrupt him with something like this, but he didn't know what else to do. He needed Janey.

Remus took in a shuddering breath and unwound his tentacles from around him. Still keeping one of his tentacles in his mouth Remus used the others to drag him across the floor and towards the door. He didn't want to walk or even stand right now. Letting his tentacles handle everything was a lot easier.

Remus scurried out of Roman's room and towards the door to the Dark Side. He opened it with a thought and slipped inside, slamming the door closed behind him. The darkness and chill of the Dark Side was immediately noticeable, and it made Remus feel drowsy. He hadn't noticed how much being on the Light Side had been getting to him. It was nice to be home. He didn't feel any better emotionally, but at least he was allowed to be vulnerable here without worrying about anybody thinking he was up to something.

Remus crawled to the door to Janus' room. He would normally just let himself in, but he was already invading his friend's private time. The least he could do was be just a little polite about it.

Remus knocked quietly on the door, hoping that Janus was in there. He didn't think he had the energy to look for him.

Remus heard some quiet grumbling and swears from in the room. Janus was definitely in there. Remus just hoped his friend wouldn't be too mad. Janus had told him to come here if he needed him, and Remus didn't know where else to go. He needed his friend.

"Double D?" Remus said quietly, weakly. He hated the way his voice cracked. He could hear just how vulnerable he sounded. "I...I really need you, Janey. Please."

Remus heard more curses, though they sounded more urgent than frustrated. The door was thrown open. Janus looked at Remus in wide-eyed concern. He stared at Remus' tentacles and the way they were completely supporting him. His gaze lingered on the lone tentacle that had a few bites taken out of it.

Janus' eyes softened and he looked pained. He brought out his four additional hands and opened all of his arms wide as an invitation for a hug. Remus sobbed and launched himself into Janus' arms. He melted into Janus' strong grip.

"What happened?" Janus asked quietly. Remus whimpered and shook his head. He couldn't talk about it. He didn't trust himself to talk at all. Just asking for help had been too much.

He knew that Janus needed to know what was going on, as it involved him. Besides, Janus was much better at confronting the others about this kind of thing. Janus would destroy Roman so completely and thoroughly, which would be really nice, but not right now. Remus didn't need someone to defend his honor, he needed someone to stay by his side and protect him from any more pain.

Remus buried his face into Janus' chest and wrapped his tentacles tightly around his friend. He felt the way that Janus sighed. "Don't worry." Janus said quietly, soothing. "I'm not going to leave you."

Even after being burned by his brother, Remus couldn't help but trust his friend. Janus was the only one who hadn't abandoned, even though Remus had done plenty of things that would drive anybody else off. His friend was the only person he had now. Remus couldn't trust any other side, but Janus wouldn't do anything to hurt him. Remus trusted him, and only him.

Chapter Text

Janus was going to kill the so-called light sides. Well, perhaps not kill. Thomas needed all his sides, whether Janus liked it or not. He would still find a way to make them pay though, because they couldn't get away with doing this kind of thing. Just because they were Thomas' favorites didn't mean that they could do whatever they wanted. They needed to learn that there were consequences to their actions.

Janus couldn't leave Remus on his own, but he refused to bring his friend up to confront the light sides. Janus had no idea what the others had done, and he didn't want to risk worsening Remus' condition by forcing him into their presence. No, Janus would have to confront them by himself.

Janus tried to convince Remus to open up and tell him what had happened. It would be much easier to make the light sides pay if he knew what exactly they had done so he could be sure that the punishment fit the crime. However, Remus was unnervingly tight lipped. Not only did he not tell Janus what had happened, he didn't tell him anything at all. Remus hadn't said a word since he'd begged for Janus to open the door, and it was more than just a little concerning.

Because Janus didn't know just what was wrong there was only so much he could do to help his friend. He wasn't a stranger to comforting Remus and giving him consistency, but the intrusive side needed different things depending on what was bothering him.

If Remus was feeling lonely and abandoned Janus would give him companionship and a shoulder to cry on. If his intrusive thoughts got too overwhelming Janus would let him vent or perhaps give him a way to creatively work through his thoughts. Janus wasn't sure what Remus' problem was, so he didn't know what he needed.

Janus did the best with what he had. He pulled Remus onto his bed and resisted the urge to wrap his blanket around him. Janus' blanket was weighted and heated, which, while useful to warm him up in the winter, and handy for calming Virgil during one of his anxiety attacks, would just overwhelm Remus and make him feel worse.

Janus didn't normally like to have all of his arms out in the open, but Remus loved them. The intrusive side was proud of his tentacles, and he loved when Janus and Virgil did it too, as he thought they were matching. Janus kept his arms wrapped around Remus and let him wave his tentacles all over the places. He cringed when the suckers on the tentacles would latch onto his skin, but he didn't push Remus away. If this was what his friend needed, Janus could make this simple sacrifice and give it to him.

Remus' mood flipped like a coin for the next few hours. Sometimes Remus would scream and shout with so much unrestrained fury that Janus could feel it in his bones. Other times Remus would break down into tears and cry. He sounded more heartbroken than he'd been years ago when Roman had first left him. Between the screaming and crying Janus knew that something really bad had happened, he just didn't know what.

It was several hours before Remus fell into an uneasy sleep. He was usually a really light sleeper, but Janus hoped that after breaking down for so long he would be so exhausted that he would stay asleep for at least a little bit. Janus didn't need long, just enough time to find the others and get some real answers. And then he would come right back to Remus and not leave his side.

Janus carefully slid out of Remus' tight grip. He adjusted the blanket so Remus could cling to it instead. Janus took off his hat and gently put it on Remus' head. If the intrusive side woke up while he was gone he would see the hat and recognize that Janus was going to come back. He wasn't abandoning Remus. Not now, not ever.

Though Janus wanted to confront the light sides immediately, he knew there was one thing he had to do first. Janus needed to know what was wrong with Remus, and after a freak out like this he thought he knew somebody who might be able to provide some vital insight.

Janus rose up in Thomas' living room. He just meant to speak with their host, but the first thing he noticed was that Thomas wasn't alone. The light sides were lounging on the couch, watching a movie. Janus didn't know whether he was annoyed that they were there when he hadn't meant to talk to them now, or pleased that he wouldn't have to go looking for them. Everybody he needed to confront were all in the same place.

Well, there was nothing that said he wasn't allowed to be both annoyed and pleased at the same time.

They all glanced his way, but then immediately went back to their movie. For the first time in his existence Janus almost missed when he was seen as a terrifying dark side. At least back then he had their full attention as soon as he showed up. They hadn't liked him, but they'd known that he wouldn't show up for no reason. They never would have assumed that he was there just to join them for movie night.

Well, he would have to set them straight.

Janus stepped in front of the television, blocking their view. He ignored Roman's angry protests and Patton's slightly passive aggressive way of pointing out that he was blocking the screen. His eyes were just on Thomas.

"We need to talk."

"Uh, sure," Thomas said uncertainly. He grabbed the remote and paused the movie. "What's going on?"

"And could it not wait until later? We're in the middle of something here." Roman complained. Janus glared at him and took great pleasure in the way that the prince shrunk slightly under his gaze.

"No, it can't wait." Janus said. The longer he was up here talking to these guys the more he risked allowing Remus to wake up alone. "Thomas, this is very important and I need you to be honest with me here."

"That's a rich demand coming from you." Roman muttered. Janus scowled and waved his hand. Roman's hand flew up to his mouth silencing him.

"I'll get to you soon enough." Janus had a fairly good guess that Roman was involved with whatever had upset Remus. He didn't like to jump to conclusions though, that was much more Virgil's style. Janus wasn't going to be confronting Roman until he knew for sure what had happened.

"Now, Thomas, have you had any intrusive thoughts in the past few hours?" Janus asked.

"Uh, now that you mention it, yeah." Thomas said. "It wasn't anything too bad though."

"That's because Remus didn't try to let his thoughts slip through." Janus said. Remus loved to bother Thomas with intrusive thoughts. It was one of his favorite hobbies, even if Janus didn't let him do it too often. Sometimes though Remus' own intrusive thoughts became too much for him to handle and they bled through to Thomas.

Janus imagined that after a breakdown like the one Remus just had that Thomas would have felt at least something from him. Janus could get a better idea of just what was going on with Remus.

"What kind of thoughts did you have?" Janus asked.

"Mostly just the same one repeated over and over again." Thomas frowned slightly in concern. "I just haven't been able to shake the thought that my brother hates me."

Roman made a choked, offended sound under his hand. Janus glared at the prince. "What did you do?" Janus released Roman's hand, giving him the freedom to speak.

"Nothing." Roman said almost desperately. "I didn't do anything. I wouldn't-"

"Oh, of course you wouldn't." Janus waved his hand dismissively. "Somebody else must have been responsible for Remus sneaking into the Dark Side and crying himself to sleep."

"What?" Roman flinched ever so slightly. He looked like he was going to be sick. "But I swear I didn't do anything. I've been here all day."

"Maybe that was the problem." Virgil said anxiously. "Maybe he thought that the two of you were going to be doing something together, so he felt abandoned when you didn't show up."

"But he knew we were having a movie night." Roman pointed out. "He said he didn't want to join us, that he had something else to do. He seemed just fine the last time I saw him."

"Well, he's not fine now." Janus said.

"Are you sure this is Roman's fault." Logan asked. "Intrusive thoughts don't necessarily have a reason behind them. There may not have been anything that triggered these thoughts in Remus."

Janus knew that Logan had a point, but he didn't think that was the case this time. He'd dealt with Remus when his thoughts were overwhelming and unexplainable, and this wasn't an example of that. This was something else.

Thomas shifted in his seat. "Actually, there was another intrusive thought I had. It wasn't as strong as the other one, but it was still there."

Janus sighed and turned his attention back to Thomas. He wasn't getting anywhere with Roman. "What was it?"

Thomas gave Roman a slightly pitying look. "I thought that if my brother hated me then I could get back at him by ruining his art."

Roman's eyes widened in alarm. He was about to sink out, undoubtedly to go to his room and check on his art, but Janus grabbed onto him to stop him.

"Don't even think about it." Janus growled. "If Remus did anything, I want to see it as well." If they were in the mindscape Janus could just walk to Roman's room, but they couldn't sink into each other's rooms. It may only take a minute to sink into the common area and then walk to Roman's room, but that minute would give the prince the chance to lock them out. Janus wasn't going to give him the opportunity.

Janus turned to Thomas. "Can you take us to Roman's room?"

"Uh, sure." Thomas said. He looked at Roman. "Is that okay?"

Roman took a moment to think about it. "Yes, I suppose so, as long as you don't judge my works in progress. I'm well aware they're flawed. I don't need you to point it out to me."

"I'm sure your work is fine, kiddo." Patton said.

"We'll keep our critique to a minimum." Logan assured him.

"Well then, let's go." Roman said as he posed dramatically. Thomas took a deep breath and closed his eyes. A moment later they appeared in Roman's room, though for a wild moment Janus thought that they had taken a wrong turn and ended up in Remus' room.

"Oh my-" Patton said breathlessly. He sounded like he was about to start crying. Roman looked stricken and absolutely devastated, like his world was falling about around him. Logan didn't look nearly as emotional as them, but he certainly looked unnerved. Virgil grimaced and flipped up his hood.

The place was a disaster, with ripped canvases and splattered paint covering every inch of the floor. Everything had been tossed aside so haphazardly that Roman's room looked like more of a mess than Remus' room usually did. Janus could tell that this destruction was deliberate. Remus hadn't just lost control and gone overboard. He'd wanted to destroy things, though Janus couldn't understand why.

"What happened?" Thomas asked. He walked towards the most destroyed canvas, which Janus couldn't even guess what it used to be a picture of.

"Remus," Janus said simply. "What I want to know is why."

"Does it really matter why?" Patton asked in that mockingly sincere curious tone of us that he used when he was so sure that he was right and he couldn't understand why somebody would disagree with him. Patton had been getting better at it, but that tone frequently seemed to come out when Remus was involved.

"Oh, please, Patton, expand on what you mean." Janus barely kept himself from rolling his eyes. He had a pretty good guess about what he meant.

The sarcasm went completely over Patton's head. "Well, this is wrong!" Patton gestured around them. "There's no good reason for doing something bad."

"We've agreed that people can do good things for the wrong reason." Janus said. "Don't you think the opposite could be true?"

"I...I don't know." Patton said uneasily.

"Well, I do." Janus said. "So if anybody has any insight of what happened to Remus while I was gone-"

"It's my fault." Roman said quietly, almost inaudibly. They all turned to look at the prince, but he didn't acknowledge any of them. Roman's attention was completely on the most organized part of the chaos.

At the foot of Roman's bed there was a mosaic made of small pieces of what looked like a blank canvas. The mosaic looked like a gemstone, with half of it looking perfectly fine except for the splatters of what Janus guessed was blood. The other half of the gemstone was so shattered and falling to pieces that it was barely recognized as such. There was a dagger in the middle of the gemstone mosaic, splitting it in half.

Virgil shifted uncomfortably and his eyeshadow looked darker than normal. He knelt next to Roman. "What do you mean?" Virgil's tone was comforting and grounding. He must be sensing anxiety from Roman.

Janus didn't think that Roman deserved comfort, as any anxiety he was feeling were because of his own actions. He deserved this. However, he couldn't help but be curious himself. What could have made Roman jump so quickly from claiming he'd had nothing to do with it to shouldering all the blame?

Roman carefully touched the mosaic. He looked pained. "He knows."

"What do you...wait, he knows?" Virgil was starting to sound anxious himself.

"Knows what?" Janus glared at the two of them. Both of their body languages just screamed guilt. "What did you two do?"

"Virgil had nothing to do with it." Roman wrapped his hand around the handle of the dagger, like he was going to pull it out, but he didn't move it. He just looked at it sadly. "I...I didn't mean to take it this far."

"What?" Thomas slowly approached Roman and put a hand on his shoulder. "Roman, what happened?"

"I just wanted to know what you were up to." Roman turned and glared weakly at Janus, who glared right back at him. "I didn't trust you, but I didn't know how to figure out what your master plan was. I thought that if anybody knew what you were up to it would be Remus."

"So you started spending time with him to try to trick him into spilling my secrets." Janus hissed. He'd suspected something along those lines. He'd thought it was suspicious that after avoiding and despising Remus for so long Roman just decided out of the blue to embrace his brother's presence. Roman was incredibly selfish and self-serving, which was normally a trait that Janus admired, but not when it was used against Remus.

Roman looked like he desperately wanted to deny Janus' accusation, but after a long moment he just sighed and nodded.. "Yeah, I guess I did."

Janus hissed. He could feel his scales becoming more vibrant as his inner snake wanted to strike. He was only able to hold himself back because he knew that attacking Roman would undo all the progress he had made with Thomas and the others. Even then, it was far closer than Janus would have liked.

"You self-righteous, pompous, son-of-a-" Janus moved to storm towards Roman, but Patton quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Language." Patton said instinctively.

"I don't give a damn about your fucking moral high ground." Janus yanked his arm out of Patton's grip. He pointed at Roman. "Stay away from your brother. I assure you, if you do anything to hurt him again you will absolutely love what I'll do to you." Accepted by Thomas or not, Janus wasn't going to let Roman, or anybody else, get away with this kind of stunt.

Janus glared at Virgil, because while he didn't know what he had done he knew that the anxious side had been involved in one way or another, and he really should have known better. He sunk out of Roman's room and back to the dark side.

Janus would have loved to go at Roman and make him pay for what he had done, but he had something more important to take care of. Remus had been used, which in Janus' opinion was even worse than just being tossed aside like an unwanted toy. Remus had felt abandoned before, and Janus knew that the only thing he needed at times like this was reassuring and constant companionship.

It could be annoying, and an inconvenient burden, but Janus was more than happy to do it. Nobody else was going to be helping Remus and try to give him what he needed. Janus considered it part of his job, similar to the way that Patton saw himself as a father figure for the light sides.

Janus immediately went into his bedroom, thinking that he would find Remus curled up on his bed, just where he had left him. He was shocked and concerned to find an empty bed. The only sign that Remus had been there was that the covers had been thrown to the side, which Janus would never do. His hat was laid carefully on the pillow.

Janus picked up the hat and looked around the room. " Remus?" He looked at the ceiling and on the walls, just to make sure that his friend wasn't climbing around in his sleep, which he did sometimes. "Cephy, come on out." Janus checked his closet and under the bed, but it was in vain. The intrusive side wasn't in the room.

Janus took a deep breath and tried to push down the unease he was feeling. Remus was clearly in a bad state of mind, and Janus needed to be a grounding force for him. He had to be in complete control so he could properly deal with Remus, who was probably spiraling right now.

Janus didn't waste a moment. He left his room and started searching through the Dark Side. He called for his friend, forcing his tone to remain casual, even as he got increasingly frustrated and concerned. He was mad, yes, but not at Remus, and he didn't want to scare his friend off.

Janus checked in all the rooms, searched every crevice and cupboards he could find, but there was no sign of his friend. Janus continued searching for a few hours, just in case there was something he had missed, but eventually he couldn't deny the truth. Remus wasn't in the Dark Side.

Chapter Text

Remus needed to leave. He didn't have a clear idea of where he was going to go, but didn't want to stay in the Dark Side. When he woke up alone he knew that Janus had left to confront the light sides. Normally he would be relieved and very amused for Janus to mess around with the others. It always felt nice when Janus defended him, especially since the deceitful side frequently put on such a great show when he did so.

Remus just wasn't in the mood for the fun right now. He knew that as soon as Roman was aware of what Remus knew, he would come to try to make amends, and it was the last thing that Remus wanted to deal with. He didn't want to listen to any more of Roman's lies, because he knew that he would fall for them all over again.

Remus knew that if he asked Janus, his friend would protect him from his brother. He would stay in the Dark Side with him to make sure that he never had to talk Roman again. It was so tempting to let Janus hide him in the shadows, but Remus couldn't expect his friend to do that. He'd already interrupted Janus' personal week, it wouldn't be fair to intrude on his privacy more than he already had.

Remus wouldn't stay away forever, just for a few days. It would give Janus the chance to finish up his self-care week, and maybe some of the pain and betrayal that Remus was feeling would ease with time.

His first thought was to go to the Imagination. Because he was all about being raw and unfiltered, following his first instinct was what he was all about. It wasn't until after he was in the Imagination did he remember that this might not have been the best idea.

Looking at his creations, which he normally loved more than anything else in the world, Remus couldn't help but feel disappointed. Romulus' lingering influence was still with him. It was so odd to be looking at work that he was proud of when he knew that it was something that his past self never would have been content with.

Remus' frustrating disappointment wasn't nearly as strong as it had been when he and Roman had first separated after fusing again. He was sure with time he would be back to his old, proud self, but he wasn't quite there yet.

Because Remus wasn't ready to be surrounded by his creations, but he definitely didn't want to be anywhere near Roman's work, he found himself wandering to the river. It was still in the Imagination, but it was neutral territory. Neither he nor Roman had created it. If there was any part of the Imagination where he could feel okay, it would be the river.

While Remus had thought that his and Roman's relationship had been improving, it had seemed like the river had gradually been getting calmer and calmer. The last time he had seen it, just before he'd hidden himself away in his dungeon, the river had looked almost completely safe. There had been no rapids or harsh currents. It had been almost serene.

Today the river was like Remus had never seen it before. The water was brown and murky, almost like a fast current had dragged mud into the river, even though Remus knew that wasn't possible for their Imagination river. The current looked calm, but Remus knew better than anybody what dangers could lurk under the surface.

Remus knelt at the shore. He thrust his hand into the water and couldn't help but giggle when he felt like his hand was pushed so forcefully by the current that he thought his wrist might get whiplash. As calm as the surface of the water looked, the current under the water was far stronger than it should be.

Remus didn't know how the surface could have a completely different current than under the water did, but it was the Imagination. It didn't need to follow the rules of logic. It was why Remus liked it so much.

Remus stared at the water for a long moment before he turned to look towards where the river led. He always had fun playing in the water, but he'd never actually seen where the river led. He had thought about throwing himself into the river and letting the current sweep him away, just to see where it would take him. He'd never done it before. It just hadn't felt right, like the boring, traditional dungeon in his castle.

Following the river still didn't feel right, and yet at the same time it felt like exactly what Remus needed. It was the only place where he could find peace from his brother without bothering his friend.

Remus stood up and backed up a few feet so he could get a running start. He dashed towards the water and leapt off the land. He let out a battle cry, which was a series of his most creative swears and slurs. Because he was the Duke of Creativity and this was the Imagination, Remus was able to leap much higher and farther than anybody else, except maybe his brother could.

In mid-air, just as Remus started to descend towards the water, he shifted into an octopus about the size of a giant pacific octopus, though he kept his traditional black and green color scheme, and the bright rings inspired by the blue ringed octopus.

If Remus was swimming in his ocean he would turn into a kraken or an eldritch creature like cthulhu, something so massive that he could tear everything apart without any effort. He'd already destroyed a lot of things that day though, and while it had been fun and felt nice at the time, Remus was drained now. Relaxing and just letting the river carry him wherever it led was all that he wanted to do, which meant he had to be small enough to fit in the river. Even the giant pacific octopus size was pushing the limits, and he was counting on getting at least a few cuts and bruises from it.

The current was even stronger than Remus had thought it would be, which was very exciting and a lot of fun. The current was whipping at his tentacles so much that he wouldn't be surprised if they got tangled up and tied up in knots. It would be a pain to untangle, but Remus couldn't bring himself to care at the moment. All he cared about was that he didn't have to worry about anything.

Remus lost all amount of time he floated around. He'd always found it incredibly soothing to just be rocked by the water. He normally didn't when his senses were taken from him, but it was different in the water. It was more like his senses were enhanced. When he was in the water, he was hyper aware of everything he touched. Every leaf that brushed by his tentacles, every small rock that was pushed by the current, he felt it all.

His octopus eyes also allowed him to see things in the dark that he would normally miss. Underwater his hearing was more muddled than he normally liked it to be, but as an octopus his hearing wasn't as good as it normally was, so he didn't miss it anyways.

As Remus was pushed around by the current he let his thoughts wander. He wondered just where this river led. What if it went on forever? This was the Imagination, after all, which had no limits. It was entirely possible that this river went on and on and never stopped. Or maybe the opposite was true. Maybe Thomas' Imagination was massive, but ultimately flat. Once the limit to Thomas' Imagination was hit everything would just stop, including the river.

Remus wondered what would happen if that was the case. Would he suddenly stop like he hit a barrier? Would he suddenly drop out of the water? Maybe he'd fall right into the subconscious. What would happen to him if that happened? Would Remus stop existing? Maybe he would be wiped out so completely that the others would forget about him. Would his creativity just return to Roman? Maybe it would go to Janus, who was the most accepting of his creativity.

It would be really funny if Remus' powers shifted to Virgil. The anxious side had tried so hard to be accepted by others, and if he inherited Remus' intrusive thoughts and dark creativity he would lose all of it in an instant, and if he lost his memory as well he wouldn't even understand why. It would be hilarious to see.

Remus thought that he had floated along for a few hours, though it could have just as easily been just a few minutes, or several weeks. He really wasn't good at keeping track of time when his intrusive thoughts hit him. Sometimes he could have dozens of thoughts in rapid succession, while other times he would explore a single idea so deeply that he could be there for hours.

Eventually Remus was pushed against land. He surfaced to look around. He'd been pushed against the shore of a small island in the middle of the river. Remus hadn't known that there was an island here. How could he have missed something like this?

After thinking about it for a long moment Remus crawled onto the sand and shifted into his human form, though he kept his tentacles out. He'd gotten so used to the feel and weight of his tentacles, it just wouldn't feel right to hide them now.

Remus wanted to explore the small island. He started by walking along the beach. There wasn't a lot to look at, but he had a lot of fun anyways. The sand was so clear and bright, it almost seemed to sparkle, but it wasn't as innocent as it looked. This wasn't just normal sand, it was quicksand, the entire shore.

Remus loved the way that his feet sank into the wet sand. He would love to let himself sink down to his waist, or even shoulders, or maybe he could go completely nuts and let himself be swallowed up by the sand. He'd always wondered what it was like to be buried in quicksand.

Another question for another day. For now Remus contented himself with watching and feeling the watery sand wiggle and dance beneath his feet.

When he didn't find anything along the shore Remus turned inland. It looked like there were just a lot of plants and trees, but Remus wanted to see what was behind all the greenery. Maybe there was a cursed treasure here, or this island was the burial place of all the imaginary friends that Thomas had forgotten about. He couldn't wait to find out.

Remus pushed his way past the colorful and possibly poisonous flowers and thick vines. It didn't look like there were any thorns around, so he was surprised to be constantly pricked and poked. It stung, but Remus didn't mind it so much. He actually really liked the hidden prickly thorns. People tried to pick flowers all the time, it was only fair that flowers could poke right back.

Remus spent several minutes trying to push his way through the thicket, and several times it seemed to be pushing him back. These weeds were not to be messed around with. Suddenly Remus pushed his way past a particularly thick vine and found himself stumbling in a clearing free from plants.

Remus looked up and felt his breath slip away from him. It looked like old ruins of a castle. Remus had thought that the only castles in the Imagination were his and Roman's. Why were there ruins just sitting here on an old island in the one part of the Imagination that neither he nor his brother had any control over? Where did they come from?

Maybe Remus shouldn't be wandering around an unknown castle in the Imagination. What if one of their creations went rogue and was creating things on its own? Or Thomas somehow had an Imagination parasite messing around. If Remus discovered that Thomas' mind was haunted, he would be the happiest side in the mindscape.

It would definitely be one of his top ten best days ever, right up there with the time that Thomas learned what sex really was, and the night that he had snuck downstairs past his bedtime and caught a glimpse of an extremely gory horror movie that his parents were watching. Thomas had been unable to sleep without nightmares for weeks after that incident.

Remus ran quickly into the ruins, only to stop so quickly that he stumbled and nearly fell. He hadn't thought that he'd ever seen this castle before, or even this island, but something about these ruins felt unnervingly familiar.

While the outside of the ruins had gray stones that were falling apart, the inside was full of ivory and onyx. White and black. They looked old, but in mint condition. It was kinda pretty, if that was your kinda thing.

Aside from the ivory and onyx the ruins were colorful. The colors were faded, certainly not very bright, but Remus could tell that they used to be incredibly vibrant. While there were a lot of colors used, it was clear that two colors were favored over the others. Red and green. They were everywhere. Sometimes the red was used to accent the ivory stones, sometimes it was used to contrast the onyx stones. The green was also used with the white and black.

It looked like whoever had created and decorated this place couldn't decide what style they wanted and had been experimenting.

Remus rubbed his hand over a tapestry of a dark but beautiful forest that Remus was getting major deja vu over, or maybe he just recognized the river that ran right through the middle of it. It was the river that separated his half of the Imagination from Roman's.

Remus was so used to seeing the Imagination as two completely separate territories, with the river acting as a border between them. The river in the tapestry didn't feel like that. It wasn't separating two completely different areas, or even joining them together, it was just a river that ran through a single, united forest.

Remus eventually tore his eyes away from the tapestry. He looked towards a massive black and white throne sitting on a black rug and white stones. Sitting on the throne was an imperial crown with pale green velvet and crimson gemstones. What really drew Remus' eye though was the scepter that laid across the armrests of the throne.

The scepter wasn't just a fancy, symbolic stick. It almost looked like the scepter was having an identity crisis between being a sword, a morningstar, and a royal scepter. It almost looked like a mace, except much more dignified and regal.

Remus walked towards the throne. He picked up the scepter, and was a little frightened of just how right it felt in his hands. It felt like it was made for him, even though the only weapon he felt completely comfortable using was his morningstar.

Remus knew he hadn't made these things, so why did they feel so perfect? Nobody else could make things that he liked, except for…

"Romulus." Remus said breathlessly. He brushed his hand against the throne. This crown, this castle, the island, the entire river, it was Romulus' creation. It was their home, and it had just been sitting here the whole time, even after all these years..

Remus took another look around the ruins of the throne room. Now that he knew where he was, he could recognize the elements. The black and white. The red and green. A little bit of him, and a little bit of Roman.

Romulus had clearly put this place together while they'd been trying to figure out what their creative identity was. What really confused Remus was that it didn't look like Romulus had tried to hide or destroy any of their artistic combinations, even when they were things that clearly didn't work. They had been completely unashamed of all of their work, no matter how weird it had been...just like Remus.

He bit his lip so sharply that he could taste blood, and he just bit harder. He clutched the scepter tightly. Remus sat down on the steps and wrapped his tentacles around him. He wanted to bite his tentacles, but the one he'd taken a bite out of was still stinging, and he didn't want to chew through another one when he needed to swim away from this island sooner or later.

Remus couldn't keep eating through his lip though. As delicious as his blood was, his lip always took forever to heal, and it was a pain to talk when there was a hole in his lip. Remus eyed the scepter for a moment before he bit at the blunt end. It didn't crack under the pressure, and neither did his teeth. While it was too big to shove in his mouth completely, unless he wanted to unhinge his jaw and swallow it whole like a snake, it was the perfect shape and curve for his mouth to fit comfortably around the side of it.

It was so perfect, in fact, that Remus wondered if he'd inherited his chewing and sucking habits from Romulus.

It was weird. Remus hadn't felt comfortable in his own area of the Imagination because of Romulus' influence, but here he was, sitting in the middle of Romulus' private keep, feeling safer than he could remember being in his life. Even being embraced and shielded by Janus didn't feel nearly this nice.

Even though Remus had known that Romulus had been equal parts him and Roman, he'd always seen the king of the Imagination as somebody who was a lot more like Roman than him. Remus wasn't the regal, controlled, well-beloved creativity that he'd always imagined Romulus to be. That was Roman. And yet here, in Romulus' castle, Remus saw chaos, pride, and unapologetic immaturity, just like him.

It was wonderful...and it hurt so badly.

When they'd fused into Romulus, it had felt so right, but they still hadn't felt complete. It was like they were both pieces of a puzzle, and as Romulus those pieces were finally put together, but they didn't quite fit together just right.

They had wanted to fuse, but they'd still fought with each other. They had internally disagreed until Romulus had no choice but to pull apart. They'd been a stable enough fusion, but not quite Garnet stable, and it hurt. They had started off as the same side. They were meant to be one, and yet they didn't fit together.

Remus had told himself that he just hadn't felt whole because he and Roman had grown into their own sides since they'd been torn apart, but this castle, this whole island, told a different story. Everything here was a perfect balance between his art and Roman's.

The beautiful and deadly quicksand. The hidden thorns among the vibrant flowers. The ivory and onyx castle full of different combinations of red, green, and dozens of other colors. The gothic throne, the crown, and the mace scepter. It all fit together so perfectly.

Remus wanted this. He wanted this balance. He wanted to be whole, but it was the one thing he could never have. Even when he'd thought that he and Roman had been getting along well with each other, they hadn't fit perfectly with each other, and now Remus didn't think they would ever be able to. It was a unique kind of torture that Remus wished he had been able to think of himself and subject somebody else too.

It wasn't nearly as fun when he was the one forced to go through it.

Remus almost wished he'd gone back on his promise to Janus and escaped to his dungeon. At least the pain there was something he was used to. It was familiar, and despite what Janus and Roman seemed to think, Remus knew how to deal with it. This place though, this wonderful castle that served as a disastrous reminder of everything that he wasn't and could never be

Chapter Text

Roman felt numb. He'd messed up. All he'd been trying to do was help the others, save them from a threat that they were completely oblivious to. Of course, in trying to do the right thing Roman had ended up doing the exact wrong thing, because of course he did. He wouldn't be Roman, prince of Creativity, if he wasn't ruining everything.

Roman had thought he'd been getting better. At the very least, he'd been able to make up for his mistakes. When he'd learned how badly he'd messed up with Virgil, that the anxious side was better than he liked to think, he'd tried as hard as he could to play nice with him, even if it was uncomfortable. When Roman had made the mistake of thinking that Deceit deserved half a chance, only for the dark side to try to screw them over, he'd learned his lesson. Roman wouldn't make the mistake of trusting Deceit again, even if the others did. He had been lax in his vigilance before, and he was trying to make up for it now.

Everything that Roman did to fix things just made things worse. He'd thought that Deceit might deserve a chance, since Virgil hadn't ended up being that bad, so maybe none of the dark sides were all that evil. That had ended up blowing in Roman's face. In trying to not trust Deceit again he'd ended up hurting Remus.

Roman didn't know how to fix this problem, and he didn't know if he should even try. He didn't want to mess up again and ruin things even more than he already had.

"Dude, are you okay?" Virgil asked. Everybody else had left. Deceit had left to rejoin Remus. Patton had gone downstairs, probably to bake something because that's what he did when he was stressed and wanted to provide comfort but didn't know how. Logan had retreated back to his room. He'd looked disappointed and upset, and Roman knew that he was leaving to get a hold of his emotions.

Thomas had been sent back to reality. He'd wanted to stay and help clean up the mess in Roman's room, but he wouldn't let him touch anything.

Roman's room and art were a disaster because Remus had gotten hurt and he'd lashed out in the only way he knew how. Roman didn't think it would be right to just brush it under the rug and pretend that it hadn't happened. Roman had ruined everything. He'd hurt his brother. He deserved to be subjected to looking at the consequences of his actions.

Nobody else, not even Deceit, was punishing him for what he'd done. It was only fair that Roman punished himself.

"Roman!" Virgil said sternly, but not angrily. He put himself in front of Roman, blocking him from looking at the mutilated gemstone. "Look at me, okay? Don't worry about anything else right now, just look at me."

Roman met Virgil's eyes, but a moment later he found himself ducking his head. Logically he knew that Virgil wasn't judging him, but that was all Roman felt when he looked at those concerned eyes.

Virgil frowned slightly, not in disappointment, but in concern. "Okay, forget about looking at me. Can you look at, uh…" Virgil looked around the room for a moment. "What about your sword? Can you look at it for me?"

Roman didn't want to. He was content looking at the paint stains on the floor, but he didn't want to refuse Virgil's simple request. He didn't want to disappoint him more than he already had. So Romanforced his gaze up to look at his sword that he kept hanging on the wall.

He saw Virgil smile out of the corner of his eye. "Good. Just keep looking at that. Now, can you think of one word that describes how you're feeling? Just the first word that pops into your head."

Roman could think of a lot of words to describe how he was feeling. Hurt. Angry. Betrayed. Lonely. Nervous. Miserable. The biggest one that kept looping through his head though was disappointed. He was disappointed in himself, and just a little disappointed in Remus, which he knew wasn't fair. Remus was hurt, of course he was, and it was understandable that he would lash out like this, but Roman still couldn't help but be disappointed in him, which just made him feel even more disappointed in himself. Remus deserved better than him.

Roman opened his mouth to answer Virgil's request, but his word got caught in his throat. He knew exactly what he wanted to say, it was easy enough to do, but Roman couldn't manage it. He felt like he was physically incapable of speaking.

Roman's chest tightened and his breath quickened. He should be able to do this. All he had to do was answer the question. One word, four syllables, simple. So why couldn't he do it? He was even more of a disappointment than he thought.

"Roman, it's okay." Virgil said calmly. "Whatever you're feeling, there's nothing wrong with it. It's real, and maybe it's scary, and that's okay, but it won't last forever. This will pass."

Roman shook his head and unintentionally stopped breathing. He really didn't mean to, but it was like his body just forgot that he needed to inhale. He knew that he was supposed to be breathing, but his thoughts were too loud.

How could Virgil say that there was nothing wrong with his feelings? He was upset with Remus even though Roman was the one that had messed up. That wasn't okay. And Roman knew that these feelings would pass, but that didn't make him feel better now. At that moment he felt like a piece of trash, and knowing that the feeling wouldn't last just made him worse, because he deserved to feel this way.

"Do some breathing exercises with me." Virgil said. Roman felt his shoulders hunch when he heard the anxiety in Virgil's tone. He was trying so hard to help him, and Roman couldn't do anything right. He was messing things up again, all because he couldn't do things that were supposed to be really easy.

"Breath in for four seconds." Virgil instructed. Roman was familiar with this exercise. He'd walked Virgil through it a few times, and the anxious side had returned the favor. It was easy and it did wonders to calm him down, so why couldn't he do it now? Just hearing the request sounded like too much to handle, and the thought of following through with the exercise made him feel overwhelmed, which didn't make sense.

"Come on, Roman." Virgil said. "One, two-" Roman rapidly shook his head. He couldn't do it. He couldn't do it. Why did Virgil think that he could do this?

"Enough, Virgil." Deceit said. "You know that won't help him." Roman curled in on himself slightly. He felt like he wanted to slink away and disappear, and it was a weird feeling. He liked attention, he thrived being front and center.

Virgil looked towards Deceit, who had let himself back into the room. "I thought you were going back to Remus."

Deceit sighed. "I was, but-" Deceit trailed off as he looked at Roman. "We'll talk about it later. Right now, let's deal with what's right in front of us, shall we?" Deceit gestured for Virgil to step aside and took his place in front of Roman

"Can you talk?" Deceit asked. Now that was something that was not only easy, but manageable as well. Roman shook his head. "Alright. Do you want to hold onto something?" Roman thought for a second before he nodded. Deceit grinned and waved his hand. He summoned a large plush octopus that looked about the size of a small child.

Roman stared at the octopus. He instantly knew that it was Remus'. He wanted it, he wanted the octopus so bad, but he knew he didn't deserve it.

If Deceit noticed the conflicted look in Roman's eyes he ignored it. The dark side handed him the octopus, and Roman sank into it. He wrapped the tentacles around his arms, chest, and just because it reminded him of Remus, his neck.

Roman expected Deceit to ask more of him, but he didn't. Deceit just sat there next to him and patiently waited for something, though Roman didn't know what. It felt weird to just sit there next to a side that Roman knew for a fact wanted nothing to do with him, but after a few minutes he started to get used to it.

Virgil started to say something a couple of times, but Deceit raised his hand and made Virgil cover his mouth. They sat in silence for about ten minutes before Roman could bring himself to look away from the sword. He glanced at Deceit, who was just staring at him.

"W-what do you want?" Roman hated how uncertain he sounded, but at least he was able to talk again.

"Now that you're able to function again, I want to know if you have any idea where Remus would go after running off." Deceit said calmly. Roman and Virgil looked at him in shock.

"Running off?" Roman's chest tightened again, though it felt different than before. This was more anxious than whatever it had been before. "Remus is missing?"

"Is he in his dungeon?" Virgil asked. Deceit shook his head.

"That was the first place I checked when I couldn't find him in the Dark Side." Deceit said. "I've checked all his usual haunts, and I can't find him."

Roman stood up. He didn't know where Remus would go, but that wouldn't stop him from trying to find him. "Let me help look for him."

Deceit eyed him carefully. "Can you sense where Remus is if you're both in the Imagination?" Roman nodded. "Then I would be a fool to not accept your assistance. Deceit held a hand out to Roman, which he reluctantly took. As soon as their hands were clasped Deceit narrowed his eyes and squeezed Roman's hand painfully. "Just so we're clear I don't like or trust you right now. You're just my best chance of finding Remus. The second I have him back, I want you gone."

"I'll do whatever I need to to not hurt him." Roman said, and he meant it. He led Deceit to the door that would bring them to the Imagination. Virgil watched him anxiously, but he didn't move to follow them, which Roman completely understood. Virgil didn't like to be in the Imagination when he could avoid it, especially when he was already on edge. Having too many possibilities and options made him feel uneasy.

Roman and Deceit entered the Imagination. They were close to his castle, and Roman led the way to the river. He could sense that Remus was in the Imagination. It was like a pull in his soul, and Roman was determined to follow it wherever it led.

Roman expected to feel the pull lead to Remus' side of the Imagination, but as he got to the river he realized that the pull was leading down the current. Remus had followed the river, and Roman hated that he didn't know what to expect down there.

"He's down the river." Roman said. He adjusted his grip on the plush octopus that he was still holding. He waved his hand and summoned a rift that would easily fit him, Deceit, and Remus. "This should lead us straight to him."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Deceit asked. He stepped onto the raft, and Roman joined him. With a thought Roman sent the raft on its way down the river. The waters were choppy and a couple of times Roman was worried that their raft would be knocked over, but they stayed afloat.

Deceit stared down the current, looking for any sign of Remus. He seemed content to completely ignore Roman. Normally Roman would be perfectly content to avoid listening to Deceit's lies, but something was bothering him, and Roman was never very good at keeping quiet when he had something on his mind.

"Why did you help me earlier?" Roman asked. Deceit glanced over his shoulder to look at him blankly, almost as though he didn't understand. Roman tightened his grip on the stuffed octopus. "When I was freaking out. You didn't have to do anything, so why did you?"

Deceit breathed out slowly and turned away from Roman again. He didn't say anything for a long moment, and Roman started to think that Deceit wasn't going to answer him at all. Finally Deceit answered. "There were a couple of reasons. For one, I needed your help to find Remus, and you weren't in any state to do anything."

Roman tightened his grip on the octopus. He hated to admit it, but he knew that Deceit was right. He hadn't been able to talk, he had barely been able to breath. He certainly wouldn't have been able to come to the Imagination and focus enough to sense his brother.

"For another, it wouldn't feel right to leave you like that." Deceit said. He almost sounded frustrated. "You reminded me far too much of Remus."

Roman blinked. He felt like he shouldn't be surprised about it, but he couldn't help it. "I didn't know that Remus had anxiety attacks."

"Anxiety attacks?" Deceit made a sound remarkably similar to a snort. "That's not what that was. If that was an anxiety attack, don't you think Virgil would have been even a little bit helpful?"

"Oh." Roman hadn't even thought of that. "Then what was it?"

"I'm still trying to figure it out." Deceit sighed. "I just know it's another way that the mind copes with things that it doesn't know how to handle."

"It didn't feel like coping." Roman said bitterly. "How do you make it go away?" Because of Virgil Roman knew that there were strategies to deal with anxiety. Those strategies hadn't been too helpful with whatever had happened to him.

"As far as I can tell, nothing much." Deceit said. "Get rid of the triggers, do something to discourage you from accidentally hurting yourself, hence the stuffed octopus, and leave your decision making to a minimum. Other than that it's basically a waiting game."

Roman looked into the murky water. "Does this happen to Remus often?"

"Regularly enough." Deceit said, which really wasn't much of an answer. "I wouldn't be surprised if we find him that way."

Roman hadn't necessarily been nervous to find his brother before, but now he was. It had been exhausting and a little scary, whatever had happened to him, and Roman didn't like the thought of it happening to Remus. It had been almost frightening to see Remus so solemn and calm while he was in his dungeon. Roman didn't know what he would do if his brother was unresponsive in any way.

This was why Roman was planning on leaving Deceit to deal with Remus alone after they found him. He didn't want to force Remus to be around him when it was probably the last thing he wanted. Remus might lash out or break down again. It would be best for both of them if Roman kept his distance.

Or was he just being selfish to want that, to not want to see Remus distressed. Even if it was for Remus' own good, was Roman being an insensitive jerk again by wanting to stay away? Maybe it would be better for Roman to talk to Remus, just to make sure he was okay. Or did he just think that to make himself feel better about hurting his brother. Was checking on Remus his way of patting himself on the back for doing a good deed, and not actually about Remus at all?

Roman hated all of these doubts swimming in his head. No matter what he did, it felt like the exact wrong and selfish thing. Damned if he did, damned if he didn't.

Roman decided to let Remus decide. If his brother wanted his company or comfort, Roman would give it, even if it made him uncomfortable. If Remus never wanted to see him again, he would leave, even if it stung, because this wasn't about Roman, this was about Remus.

"Just let me deal with Remus." Deceit said. He sounded tired and not that intimidating. It was strange to see Deceit when he wasn't in complete control.

They fell into silence after that. The only sounds they heard were the rushing of the water and the occasional cries and calls of creatures on either side of the Imagination. Eventually Roman saw a small island in front of them. He had a strong feeling in his gut when he saw it.

"That's where he is." Roman muttered. Deceit flinched, actually flinched, as he stared at the island like it was a ghost.

"Are you sure?" Deceit asked quietly. He didn't seem to want to go to the island.

"Positive." Roman said. The river pushed the raft against the shore. Roman immediately jumped off, only to cry out in alarm when his feet started to sink into the very innocent looking sand. "Wha-what is that?"

Deceit laughed, though it sounded strained and a little distressed. "Knowing them, quicksand. Innocent on the surface, and a wonderful wreck underneath." Deceit closed his eyes. He looked nostalgic. "I had no idea that this place was still here."

"Wait, you know this place?" Roman looked at Deceit in shock. He nodded.

"It was where King Romulus kept their castle." Deceit said. "Back when all of the sides had access to the Imagination. They wanted somewhere just for themself, so they created this island. I thought it had vanished completely after the split."

If this island belonged to Romulus, perhaps the river did as well. It would explain why neither he nor Remus could ever control the river. Roman found himself cautiously curious about the island. He'd never really been able to examine King Romulus' creations. It was odd how little Roman felt he knew somebody that he used to be.

"Well, let's go find Remus." Roman said with forced cheerfulness as he tried to hide how confused he was about the island and how conflicted he was about talking to his brother. Roman stepped back onto the sand, expecting the quicksand this time. He was able to walk across the unsteady ground. It felt weird, but through continuous movement Roman was able to find himself on solid ground.

Roman turned back towards the raft to see if Deceit was following him, only to see that the other side hadn't set foot off the raft. He was staring at the sand like it was going to swallow him whole. "Come on!"

Deceit shook his head and took a step back towards the center of the raft. "I'm not welcome here."

"What are you talking about?" Roman asked. "The quicksand is perfectly safe."

"Maybe for you and Remus." Deceit frowned. "Romulus created this place to get privacy, and it would have responded to their wishes, even if they're no longer around. I can just tell that it won't be good if I even step foot on this beach."

"So, what, I'm supposed to go after Remus on my own?" Roman squeezed the plush octopus. "He won't listen to me, and I don't expect him to."

"Well, you'll have to figure out how to make him listen." Deceit scowled. He looked as happy about the idea as Roman felt. "Just bring Remus here and I'll take care of it from there."

Roman took a deep breath. This wasn't what he wanted to do. He wanted to make sure that Remus was okay, but he felt like confronting this mistake was just going to blow up in both of their faces. It was all that ever happened when he did this kind of thing.

Roman was tempted to just walk away and wait for Remus to leave this island on his own. Deceit could deal with Remus, and Roman wouldn't have to risk ruining things again. If it weren't Remus that he was dealing with, Roman might do just that. However, he knew his brother well enough to know that he couldn't predict what Remus did. For all Roman knew his brother would stay on this island for the rest of his existence, and if Roman was the only one who could get to him here he couldn't exactly abandon him.

Roman thought about summoning his sword to help him get through the thicket, but he decided against it. Romulus was almost as unpredictable as Remus. For all Roman knew, if he attacked these flowers they would just attack him back, and he didn't want to deal with that.

Roman made his way past the trees, only to find castle ruins. Even if he couldn't sense his brother he would know that he was in there. Remus may have adopted the title of Duke, but they both used to be a king. They had lived in a castle, and if Deceit was to be believed they had stayed in this specific castle. It made sense that Remus would be drawn here.

Roman mentally prepared himself for his brother to start screaming and attacking him as soon as he saw him. It was what he deserved. Roman would do his best to reason with Remus, just like Logan would. He wasn't sure what else to do. He thought they were past the point of having a heart to heart, and he didn't think they'd ever get back to that kind of relationship again.

It stung. Roman had come to really appreciate Remus as his brother. They had spent their whole lives either ignoring or trying to kill each other. Compared to that, they'd spent very little time being civil, and yet Roman couldn't imagine going back to how things were before. He didn't want his brother to hate him, but this wasn't about what he wanted, this was about what Remus needed, and right now he needed someone on his side.

Roman knew that someone was Deceit, the side who had never left Remus before, but the least that Roman could do was help to arrange that, even if his brother wanted nothing to do with him afterwards.

With that cheerful thought Roman stepped into the ruins.

Chapter Text

Roman stepped into the castle, a strong feeling of dread coming over him, and it only got stronger with every step he took. He would love to linger around and look at the architecture and design. He wanted to compare it to his own style and see just how strong the crossover was. He would have to come back and do it another time. This wasn't a relaxing visit. He was here for a specific reason.

Roman tore his eyes away from the decorations in the throne room and focused solely on his brother, who was sitting on the steps, far too still and with his head lowered. In some ways he looked incredibly similar to the way he had been in his dungeon, but Roman kept Deceit's warning in mind.

Remus might be completely unresponsive, and Roman wouldn't be able to do anything but wait for it to end. He didn't want to just sit there and do nothing but wait until his brother calmed down on his own, but he would if he had to.

No matter what happened, Roman wasn't going to leave Remus on his own. He'd done enough of that to last them a life-time.

"Remus?" Roman stepped towards his brother. He flinched but tried to not take it too personally when his brother flinched and drew in on himself. "Alright, I, heh, I probably deserved that."

"A-are you-" Roman stopped himself before he could ask if Remus was okay. He clearly wasn't, and Roman remembered how difficult and stressful even easy questions or suggestions were. He didn't want to make his brother feel worse.

As Roman tried to figure out what he was supposed to do he heard some mumbling. Was his brother trying to talk to him? Roman slowly walked closer to his brother and knelt in front of him to be closer to his level. He heard what Remus was doing, and it wasn't exactly talking

It sounded like Remus was trying to hum, or do a vocal exercise centered around the letter 'M'. It was as though he was saying 'hmmmmm-ah' over and over again.

"...Remus?" Roman reached for his brother's shoulder. He wanted to show support, but the moment he touched Remus his brother jolted back and screamed so rawly that Roman might have mistaken him for being chased by a horrifying monster or being murdered. Roman jerked back as though he'd been burned, but Remus didn't calm down. He just kept on screaming. To Roman's alarm, Remus seemed to get worse.

He started pulling on his hair. Remus stopped screaming, only to start switching between growling and whining. He was clearly distressed, but Roman didn't know what to do. Remus clearly didn't want to be touched, but Roman was a touchy-feely kinda guy. Everything he had learned about providing comfort had come from Patton or Virgil, and both of them thrived on physical touch.

But Remus wasn't Virgil or Patton, and Roman couldn't act like he was. It wouldn't be fair. He had to find a way to help Remus.

First things first, Roman needed to keep Remus from hurting himself. Since touching him was out of the question, Roman decided to take a page out of Deceit's book. He put the stuffed octopus on Remus' lap. His brother curled inwards even more, almost into the fetal position. He drew his legs up to his chest to keep the octopus in place. He didn't pull his hands away from his hair. He did stop pulling on it though, so Roman thought he must be doing something right.

What else had Deceit said? Keep him from hurting himself, check, but that hadn't been the first thing that Deceit had said. No, the very first thing he'd said was to get rid of the triggers. Unfortunately, Roman was positive that he was Remus' biggest trigger, and he couldn't exactly abandon him now.

Although, looking around the throne room, Roman wondered if he was the only trigger. This place was so uniquely Romulus, and served as an undeniable reminder of what they had lost and the potential that they would never be able to live up to. Perhaps being in here wasn't helping.

Roman took a deep breath. He stood up and grabbed one of the octopus' tentacles. He gave it a small pull and was relieved when Remus whined and leaned forward to follow the tentacle. One of his hands released the tentacle and latched onto the octopus. Roman pulled a little harder and smiled gratefully when Remus allowed him to pull him to his feet.

He didn't want to force Remus to do anything that he didn't want to do, but at the same time he remembered what Deceit had said about leaving the decision making to a minimum. Roman had to take the lead here to keep his brother from becoming any more overwhelmed.

"Come on," Roman said calmly. "We're going for a walk." Remus whined in response and Roman led the way out of the castle. He didn't trust himself to lead Remus through quicksand while he was in this state, so Roman decided that it might be best to deal with Remus himself until he had calmed down enough for him to take him to Deceit.

Roman didn't know how dangerous the plants in the thicket were, so it probably wouldn't do to drag Remus through the flowers when he probably couldn't pay attention to where he was going. At least for now Roman's best option was to walk with Remus around the exterior of the castle.

Roman didn't do well with silence. He was always talking or singing, or at the very least listening to music. If he left things quiet for too long his thoughts would get louder and louder until he couldn't avoid it anymore. Roman assumed that Remus was the same way, as he hadn't stopped making noise of some kind since he had arrived.

Roman started humming to himself. At first he didn't have a particular tune in mind. He was just trying to fill the noise. After a bit Roman started humming one of Virgil's favorite songs from Steven Universe, Here Comes a Thought. Roman had used it to help calm Virgil down when he was starting to spiral.

Roman got midway through humming the first verse before he suddenly stopped himself. Deceit had said that what worked for anxiety attacks might not work for whatever this was. Remus, who had stopped growling completely and was just whining and humming, didn't seem bothered by Roman's humming itself, but perhaps another tune was in order.

Roman wracked his brain for something to hum. His mind was stuck on Steven Universe, which was frustrating. Many of those songs were optimistic, and cheerful, and probably weren't what Remus wanted right now. Besides, Steven Universe was a huge part of what their relationship had become, and Roman wasn't sure if Remus would appreciate being reminded of the show. Roman suspected that the only reason that Remus hadn't gotten upset with the previous song was because they hadn't gotten that far in the show yet.

Roman did his best to think of something else to hum, something that would appeal to Remus, something darker, creepy, perhaps a little inappropriate, but he couldn't get away from Steven Universe, which was frustrating. What Remus needed was a villain song, which Roman knew were his brother's favorites, but there weren't a lot of those in Steven Universe, except...

Roman took a deep breath. He hoped that this wouldn't be a mistake. There was one character from the show who reminded him of Remus, always had. She had plenty of songs. Maybe one of them would feel okay.

Though Roman swore to himself that if Remus would be willing to give him another chance he would hold on tight to him and never let go if they got around to watching the movie. If not, Roman would completely understand, but he would never watch the Steven Universe movie again. It would just hurt too much.

Roman started to hum the notes of Drift Away. He was off key, as his throat kept on tightening, but he forced himself to keep going. He made himself keep walking, even though his legs were shaking and he felt like he couldn't go any more. When Roman reached the end of the song, and when they had walked along the castle's border, he just went again. He would do this as long as he had to.

Roman held on tightly to the octopus tentacle in his hands as he slowly walked with Remus. He didn't know how long they were at it until Remus started humming along with him. Remus was more worried about making noise, so he was off tempo and held notes out for too long, but he seemed to be doing at least a little bit better than before.

Still, just because he was better didn't mean he was actually in good condition, so Roman didn't stop. He continued humming to his brother until Remus stopped in his tracks, pulling Roman to a stop as well.

"...Ro-Ro?" Remus' voice shook. He looked at Roman like he didn't believe that he was there. "W-what are you-"

"I'm so sorry." Roman said. It was something he'd been wanting to say since he'd found out that Remus had known what he had done. Actually, that wasn't quite true. Roman had regretted it just a few days after he had started this game that he'd been playing with his brother stuck in the middle.

Roman held his free hand out to his brother. Remus stared at it cautiously and didn't take it, but he didn't shy away from Roman, which was more than he deserved.

"Why-why…" Remus grimaced and buried his face in the stuffed octopus. He growled to himself. Roman remembered how frustrated he had been when he couldn't figure out how to get his words out. Just because Remus was doing better didn't mean he was okay.

"Why am I here?" Roman guessed. Remus nodded and growled again. Roman sighed and sat down on a nearby bit of castle rubble. Remus sat down as well and curled up with his octopus.

Roman didn't want to lie to his brother, but he knew that Remus wouldn't believe him right now if he said that he was worried about him, even if it was the truth. If Roman wanted his brother's trust he needed to earn it, and he thought he had an idea of how he could do it.

"I was helping De-Janus look for you." Roman said. Remus stiffened and lifted his head just enough to peek his eyes above the stuffed animal. "He's worried about you, you know."

Remus nodded. "But-but you don't...you don't like him."

"No, I don't." Roman admitted. "And I'm pretty sure the feeling's mutual, but we agreed to set that aside to worry about something more important.

Remus blinked several times before he pointed to himself. Roman gave his brother a smile. "Yeah, you." Remus buried his face back into the octopus, though Roman didn't know if it was because he was distressed or embarrassed.

"He couldn't come onto Romulus' island." Roman said. "He's waiting for you, though. Do you want me to take you to him now, or do you want to wait a little bit?"

Remus was quiet for a long moment before he whispered an answer. "Now."

"Okay." Roman stood up and tugged on the octopus to encourage Remus to his feet. He led them back towards the thicket that would take them back to the beach.

"C-can…" Remus whined and shook his head. Roman glanced back at him and waited. Remus clearly wanted to say something, but Roman didn't think that coaxing him would help him to say it quicker, so he waited. After a minute Remus hunched his shoulders and looked at him almost desperately. "Can we h-hmmm-hum again?"

Roman gave his brother a sad smile. "Your wish is my command. Same song?" Remus nodded quickly, and Roman started humming again. Remus joined along with him, though his humming wasn't to the tune, but back to the humming he'd been doing to cope earlier.

When they got to the beach remus giggled weakly as they walked on the quicksand. They had to walk along the shore before they saw the raft. Deceit was waiting anxiously for them. Remus brightened as soon as he saw his friend.

"Janey!" Remus ran towards the raft. Roman let go of the octopus to let him go. Remus stumbled a little bit as he ran, but he caught himself and jumped onto the raft. He practically tackled Deceit, knocking him over and almost pushing him into the water.

"Hey, Cephy." Deceit said softly. He let Remus nuzzle close to him, which Roman had never thought he'd see. Deceit looked over Remus' shoulder towards Roman. He mouthed 'thank you' to him, and Roman nodded. He didn't need to be thanked for this. It really was the least he could do.

Roman let himself on the raft. "I-I really am sorry, about everything." Remus stiffened and nuzzled closer to Deceit. The other side gave Roman a warning look, but he didn't tell him to stop, so he took it as an allowance to continue as long as he treaded carefully.

"I messed up." Roman said. "What I did wasn't fair to either of you, and I never meant to take it this far. I know that the last thing I deserve is another chance, but I really liked spending time with you, Re-Re. I like being brothers."

Remus was still for a long moment before he glanced up at Deceit. Roman grimaced. He knew that his brother was looking to his friend for either guidance or confirmation that Roman wasn't lying. It stung a bit that Remus didn't trust him, but Roman didn't blame him a bit. He deserved this.

Deceit sighed and brushed Remus' hair out of his face. "He's being honest, Cephy, but that doesn't mean he won't mess up again. He's already burned you badly twice, but it's ultimately your decision. I'll stand by you no matter what you decide."

Remus looked at Roman before he wriggled his tentacles and twisted them towards him. Roman had almost forgotten that Remus had his tentacles out. They looked so natural.

"Make an appendage swear." Remus said.

"The light sides don't have extra limbs like we do." Deceit said.

"He has arms and legs." Remus said. "Fingers too. Those are appendages."

Deceit sighed. "Alright, fair enough."

"What do I do?" Roman asked.

"Hold your arms out." Deceit said. "The point is to open yourself up to vulnerability."

Roman held his arms out towards Remus. When his brother's slimy tentacles wrapped around his arms, dirtying his favorite shirt, he kept himself from cringing back. He kept still even when the suckers started to cling to his hand.

"I swear I will do my best to not hurt you again." Roman said.

"Okay." Remus said. He gave him a reluctant smile. He pulled back his tentacles and leaned against Roman, who wrapped his arms around him. "Okay."

"I really am sorry, Re-Re." Roman said quietly.

"I know." Remus sighed. "Can we go home? Maybe watch some Steven Universe?"

Roman let out a sigh of relief. "Right now there's nothing else I would rather do." Roman said. "After that, if you want, maybe we can do an art project together."

Remus looked at Roman in near awe. "We've never made something together."

"Well then, I think it's well past time that we change that." Roman said. "I-I know you saw the rough draft I was working on."

Remus flinched and drew closer to Roman. "...Yeah, I saw it."

"We won't be able to make it exactly how it was before." Roman said. "But if we're going to make a gemstone fusion of the two of us, it's only fair that you would get as much creative input as I do."

"We can be a bloodstone." Remus said cheerfully. "First off, awesome name, but it's also green and red, like us."

Roman chuckled. "Sounds perfect."

"You two can brainstorm later." Deceit said. He crossed his arms. "Let's get out of here. This island gives me the creeps."

"I like it." Remus said.

"Me too." Roman agreed. "We'll have to come back later." Roman pulled out of Remus' grip just enough to hold his hand out to the island. The raft pushed itself off the shore and went back into the river.

The water was a lot calmer than it had been earlier. The water was clean and clear, almost impossibly so. The current was smooth, moving just fast enough to keep the water clean. Roman had never seen the water this calm even when they were little kids and getting along with each other.

Roman hoped that this was a good sign. He was being given a chance that he didn't deserve, and he was determined to not waste it. He was determined to do better for Remus this time. He would show that he could be a good brother.