#cw maybe unsympathetic janus and remus

[yourchemicallyimbalancedromance]

Discoveries

Prompt: “We can work this out, okay? Just come back here, it’s not safe there. You know that too.” (Credit to @me-writes-prompts for this prompt!!)

Ship: romantic Prinxiety

CW/TW: slight self harm, panic attacks, swearing, unsympathetic Virgil, unsympathetic Janus

Summary: Finally deciding to leave the “Dark Sides” Virgil leaves Janus after a heated argument, leaving him begging for him to come back.

__________________________________________

Virgils glare burned a hole into Janus’ irises, face hot and wet with incessant tears, voice hoarse and unbearably scratchy from the yelling that echoed off of the walls of Janus and his room.

Janus looked back, expression tender and begging, sincere. He stepped closer to him. “Virgil, please. I know we have our differences but I think if we just talked it out we could—“

Virgil’s shoulders were up to his neck, his entire body felt like it was burning from the unforgiving rage boiling inside of him. “Save the shit Deceit, I don’t wanna hear it.”

Janus’ expression changed in the blink of an eye, going from pleading to stone cold anger. “Yknow what? Maybe Thomas was right about not wanting you around, after all, Paranoia isn’t very healthy…” he said, seething pain and irritation dripping off his tongue.

Virgil wrapped his arms around himself tightly, knowing from past experience that the grip would leave bruises, but the pain grounded him enough to help him leave his expression the same, not letting Janus have the satisfaction of knowing he got to him.

“You’re nothing but a manipulative sack of shit. I can’t believe I trusted you.” Virgil growled. The statement was only half true; Of course Janus had his moments—all of them did, inevitably, although some more than others.—but he and Remus were the first to accept him with open arms, although recent events said otherwise.

Janus scoffed at the statement, not saying anything else in response.

Virgil let go of himself, summoning a bag and shoving whatever that was nearest to him into it; A blanket, headphones, his phone, his poetry collection that consisted of Sylvia Plath, Edgar Allen Poe, and Emily Dickinson.

Janus watched silently as Virgil sunk out, not bothering to give him a second glance.

———————————————————————

Virgil walked through the border between the light and dark mind palace, feeling his emotions shift from completely enraged with no ending in sight to mildly irritated. His body relaxed, the released tension leaving him fatigued. His jaw unclenched and his nails found their way out of his palms.

He sighed before twisting the knob and letting himself into a world of new possibilities. He stepped one foot into the common area and all noise was stripped from the room. He found Logan on the couch, Patton asleep next to him. He heard Roman singing Hamilton from his bedroom. Logan was the first to notice his presence.

“Anxiety? It’s odd seeing you here, is there an issue?” Logan looked at him the way he looked at every other side, an impassive expression all over his face.

Virgil sat on the floor facing the couch where Logan was sitting, flipping through a “History Of NASA” magazine.

He shook his head. “I might need to stay here a while..I don’t know.” He said faintly, taking his headphones and phone out of his bag, not wanting to make eye contact.

“For what reason in particular?” Logan responded, bookmarking the page he was on and setting it down next to him.

“Deceit. He..” his voice trailed off as he stared at his phone, searching through multiple different playlists for a certain song to match his mood.

“He what?” Logan prompted, confusion in his voice.

Virgil looked up, “We got into an argument, an extremely heated one, that’s it. I don’t want to be there anymore. Can we please drop this?”

Logan nodded “Yes, Of course. I suppose I should let the others know you’re here then?” He asked.

Virgil blinked in surprise at the compliance with dropping the subject before slowly nodding a “yes”.

Logan disappeared for a minute into the hallway, leaving Virgil to his music, letting the words sink in and calm his nerves.

He reappeared once again, Virgil taking out his headphones, noticing Roman had stopped singing.

“I have let him know. I am sure that Patton is fine with you being here, so no need to worry.” Logan said.

Virgil nodded, getting up and sitting on the couch next to Logan.

———————————————————————

Hours passed before Roman finally left his room, coming into the common area where Patton and Virgil were watching Lion King.

“Hiya, Kiddo! Wanna join us?, we’re binge watching Disney movies” Patton said giddily, the TV illuminating his a multitude of different colors.

Roman looked to the TV, watching as Scar let go of Mufasa, and nodded. “That sounds delightful Pat, sure.” He seemed a little hesitant before sitting down beside Patton.

“Logan’s working on some big project in his room so if you’re wondering where he is that’s where” Patton clarified, hoping to ease his confusion a bit; luckily, it worked, and Roman settled into the sofa. “He also doesn’t like Disney movies” he added, giggling a bit.

Virgil stayed silent, staring at the TV; trying to make it seem as if he was focused on the movie when in reality his mind was elsewhere. Guilt coursed through his bloodstream, leaving him feeling hollow. His phone buzzed and he picked it up, the screen practically blinding him due to the darkness of the room.

It was a message from Janus. He hadn’t even been gone a day and Janus was already begging for him to come back.

“We can work this out, okay? Just come back here, it’s not safe there. You know that too.” He had written.

Virgil tried ignoring him, acting as if he’d never seen the message, god how he tried, but within seconds he found the lack of response too anxiety inducing to ignore.

He stood up, walking into the nearest room absentmindedly, and closing the door, calling Janus.

He listened to the phone ring and ring and ring until it went to voicemail. He texted Janus back, fingers flying over the screen.

“It’s a lot safer here, actually. You were wrong Janus, you have to let it go. I’m not coming back, and I don’t want to work anything out, give it up already.”

The message was a lot nicer than intended, but he sent it anyway.

Janus left him on read.

He was about to leave the room before he was struck with the sight in front of him. Silky red curtains, star decals everywhere, Disney characters plastered on the door— shit. He was in Romans room.

He would’ve laughed at the decor of the room had he not been so tense.

A knock at the door made him jump, and he opened it quickly, coming face to face with Roman.

“Do you wanna explain why you’re in my room?” He said, confusion and Irritation apparent with every word.

Suddenly, the room was spinning and nausea hit him like a truck. Too many things were happening at once. The control once ever so present in his life was slowly crumbling like sand in his hands.

Roman caught him before he fell, holding up all of his weight with ease. “Woah, hey.” he said, taken off guard. Virgil didn’t respond, couldn’t respond.

“Breathe, take deep breaths, can you do that?” Roman said

Virgil took a breath and exhaled a shuddery one, leaning against Roman, the knowledge that Princey was seeing him like this only made it worse.

“Good, that’s good. Can you do a couple more for me?” Roman cooed

Virgil repeated the cycle a few times before the room became less and less blurry and the nausea subsided slightly.

Roman led him to his bed, both of them sitting down next to eachother.

“What is going on? You just…showed up here suddenly” Roman looked away from the side next to him, his eyes fixated on the floor. He was hesitant to speak; apart from his usual cockiness, truth be told he was really afraid to say the wrong thing.

“Ja— Deceit…I left the others.”

“You..oh okay..” he said softly

“So does this mean…”

“That I’m one of you?” Virgil finished the sentence for him.

Roman nodded, looking up at him.

“I doubt you guys would want me to be.” Virgil mumbled, messing with the loose seams of his jacket.

“Hey, no. You do a great deal for us and Thomas. You mean a lot, Anxiety.” Roman responded sweetly.

“Virgil.” Virgil corrected.

“Virgil..?” Roman parroted, eyes widening a bit.

“My name, it’s Virgil.” He repeated.

While he was still weary about trusting the Others, he didn’t see the pain in telling atleast one of them his name; if he made fun of it, then so be it.

“I think that’s wonderful.” Roman said, slowly taking the other sides hand in his.

Virgil’s face heat up with surprise and happiness and he immediately hid it with his hoodie sleeve “thanks, I guess” came the muffled reply.

“You’re one of us, I’ve deemed you so, right here, right now, and if anyone has a problem with it they can talk to me” Roman said confidently, taking Virgil’s hand away from his face and kissing it.

Virgil couldn’t stop smiling and Roman loved it.

“You have a beautiful smile, Virge” Roman said, hoping to egg on the side infront of him.

Virgil practically fell apart, pulling Roman close and kissing him, smiling into it.

Roman returned the passion, holding Virgil gently as their teeth accidentally knocked together from the uncontrollable smiles.

Roman pulled them apart, forehead pressed against Virgils.

“You can stay here for as long as you need, alright?” Roman whispered.

“I could stay here forever.” Virgil responded.

‘and I will’ he thought to himself.

#I like to think that Virgil and Janus trusted eachother enough to give eachother their names idk why #I feel like it’s an emotionally intimate gesture in a way and I felt like it added onto the angst #I’m in love with writing Prinxiety sorry not sorry /lh #wanted to change how Virgil shared his name cause in canon I feel like Roman could’ve been a lot nicer soooooo #unsympathetic deceit #unsympathetic janus #unsympathetic virgil #unsympathetic anxiety #ts logan #ts logic #ts roman #ts remus #ts deceit #ts virgil #ts creativity #ts morality #ts patton #ts anxiety #sanders sides #thomas sanders #virgil sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #janus sanders

[doomstypewriter]

Logan is the Orange Side: Here's why

So, guys, in Remus' book of Ignoring for Dummies there is this bit of text that says: "Are nerds in blue ties bothering you?"

It could be nothing, but that phrasing is bothering me.

Why in blue ties?

Like, no one else wears a tie. Nerd in a tie would suffice. But they still felt the need to point out the colour of the tie.

So, either the orange side just so happens to wear an orange tie just like Logan's and is also a nerd, or Logan is going to become the nerd in an orange tie.

Also, here I am looking too much into things, for sure, but:

You see how Remus is sitting in front of two pieces of clothing? One orange, the other dark blue?

And you may say, okay, but it may not be dark blue exactly. That's why I did some colour picking. You see, the dark blue, I'm assuming, shirt reads at the lower parts of the orange hue, but, the colour editing for this frame is warm tinted. That's why I isolated the colours and took samples of black and grey coloured items in the shot to show it is dark blue.

And, yeah, as you can see it is dark blue.

You can think it's a coincidence that Remus happens to be sitting behind that, but, taking into account that the team had to place the things there on purpose, I think it might be intentional, at the very least the orange garment is.

After Logan's eyes switch to orange, he looks very confused. I see people pointed out how that can indicate he's not the Orange Side, given that if he'd done it he'd be aware of it. I think if it's the first time that happens to him it would confuse him, so that would explain it.

If anything, one can argue that Logan is not the Orange Side because in SvSR there is one character from the Dark Sides that isn't unlocked yet and Logan appears on the Light Side team, albeit in grey, signalling he's inactive. If they were the same person then it wouldn't make sense to put them in separate places.

But in that same video, there are actually more instances where the orange and the dark blue are placed right next to each other.

Here the 07734 that everybody pointed out was related to the orange side has dark blue as its shadow.

And if the Orange Side is Wrath or something similar, it does make sense for that number to be related to him, given that Thomas is in a fighting simulator:

Also, if the Orange Side isn't Logan then it stands to reason that Remus and Janus would know him, given how they're all dark sides.

But if that's the case, then why are both Janus and Remus trying to egg Logan on? If the Orange Side manifests when intense anger happens, why not provoke everyone? And why would Remus and Janus try to cause people to get angry? Can't the Orange Side do it himself?

Every side has a series of abilities or areas, if the Orange Side is separate from Logan, Remus wouldn't need to be pissing him off on purpose, the orange side could easily use his power on Logan without any help.

And, let's not forget that Janus is concerned about Thomas' mental health. It wouldn't make sense for him to not let the Orange Side to the surface but still want it to affect Logan, as he's been trying to do.

During many of the videos, Janus has specifically targeted Logan, making him feel even more ignored. He made him shut up in Can Lying be Good?, he tried to avoid him in SVS, sending him to the bench once he appeared, in SVSR he got rid of him and then pretended to be him...

If they're both trying to help the Orange Side or have some kind of scheme going on, why wouldn't they just let the Orange Side go and mess with Logan instead of pissing him off?

If the Orange Side is Wrath, Logan would already be the most vulnerable to him, given that he has a really short temper. So it wouldn't be necessary for Remus and Janus to do anything, the Orange Side would have an easy time getting to him.

Unless they're both trying to get Logan on their side making him a Dark Side. Which would actually make a lot of sense.

Janus and Remus are the most vulnerable to Logan. He can use his abilities (reasoning) to show that the way they are presenting reality is incorrect. Making both Janus and Remus' jobs way harder.

If Logan turns into a Dark Side, then he could work with them and be less of a problem.

I don't think this is even out of character for them.

Logan has been feeling like crap lately. He's been getting ignored for forever. And Janus "I'm going to let Remus lose to prove a point and because I'm done with all of you" Sanders, sounds like the kind of person who would be in favour of letting things get slightly out of hand to prove a point. So I don't think it would be against his purpose to want Logan to "go orange". It would certainly allow Logan to make himself be heard, which might be good for Thomas, and would get Logan off his throat.

For Remus, though, when Logan screamed "Stop ignoring me" he was like "you're finally speaking my language". It doesn't look like he'd hate for Logan to be on his side.

And I don't mean to make Janus and Remus seem bad or anything, I think, from their point of view, this is for the best.

All of that being said, Logan may turn into the Orange Side, maybe the Orange Side is not Logan.

There are very good theories that completely disagree with what I've just said, and I think they're just as good. So no hate to the people against the Orange!Logan theory, it's super valid not to believe it.

In the end, I think whatever we get will be pretty cool.

#ts spoilers #dark!logan #orange!logan #sanders sides theory #ts sanders sides #ts logan #logan sanders #wtit #wtit spoilers #ts wtit #cw maybe unsympathetic janus and remus #But it don't really think so #depends on whether or not you read it that way #tss theory #doom talks

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

My friend is a big fan of you as well and asked me to request this:

A Janus fic based on the song Monster by Dev https://youtu.be/5iA_oFDNt9E

I think the song could fit him quite well, maybe with the others being like “out of all of us, h i m???”

-🦑

Songfic?? With Janus angst?? My time has come *ascends*

CW: Unsympathetic Light Sides (they're not assholes but they're basically unsupportive, concerned for Reader, and hateful/distrustful of Janus)

...........

Call the doctor, call the doctor Must be something wrong with me He's a monster, why do I want ya Please tell me, please tell me

"What?!! [Y/n] this..this cannot possibly be true!"

"Roman-"

"You could've had any one of the fine gentlemen here...but more importantly me.."

"Roman, just calm-"

"And yet you chose him?! That wretched slimy snake?!" The princely Side pointed rudely at Janus, who was just sitting on the couch beside you. He frowned as he fiddled with the chain of his capelet, finding more interest in that than the uncomfortable conversation currently taking place.

This wasn't even the direction you nor him expected it to take. It was already going south..straight towards hell.

All because Remus couldn't keep his mouth shut and blurted out the revelation that you and Janus were dating.

Ironically, he was the one who confessed to you first--something that you're certain no Side would ever believe.

"There's got to be something wrong with your head." Roman shook his head in dismay, before approaching you. "Come now. We'll find you a true Prince Charming! One that's not a vile fibber like-"

Suddenly you sprang up, moving away from him. "You don't get to choose who I fall in love with. Remus.." You glared at the dark half of creativity. "I'm gonna kick your ass if you don't leave right now."

"Do ya promise~?" He giggled, refusing to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation. "You know I'm into that."

"Let it go, [y/n]." Janus tried to assure you. "They're both bumbling fools."

"A fool?!" Roman gasped. "The only fool here is YOU!! Trying to tempt them with your false promises of love and affection! What do you know about romance?!"

"Apparently more than you." You interrupted, standing by your lover in a defensive manner. "I know this isn't exactly how I planned to tell you but god just calm down for a minute."

You definitely didn't anticipate this kind of freakout from him. You thought he'd be asking about the how's and when's of falling in love, as one would expect from the "romantic expert" of the Sides.

You had a plan to tell all of them individually, but..starting with the guy who was deceived most and openly mocked his name probably wasn't a good idea.

Eventually the two halves of creativity left you both alone. And only then did you sit back down next to the now-dejected Janus, holding his hand. "Sorry you had to hear all that."

"Oh don't worry, it'sss new to me." He muttered, squeezing your hand in turn. "I'm sure Roman will have a tough time realizing he's definitely the most handsome one around here." The smirk he gave made you chuckle.

"Yeah, well..he'll get over it. We got off on the wrong foot with him, but I'm sure the others will be more accepting."

He's a monster He's a monster That boy, he's a motherfucking monster But I love him, yeah I love him Ooh ah, ooh ah ah

"Seriously? That guy?"

"Just hear me out, Virgil-"

"Oh I've heard plenty. I'm just warning you that it's a bad idea." Virgil huffed as he put his phone down. "He's a monster who's gonna use you for some selfish gain. You've seen it. He only cares about himself and hurts people to keep it that way."

"I know you've known him longest but...I'm pretty sure at this point he's moved past all of that." You pointed out. "Honestly, the only one being hurt here is him. First Roman, and now you?"

Despite your arguments, he just didn't seem convinced. "I'm not doing this to give you anxiety...I can only do that to Thomas. And I'm not gonna say "breakup with him right now". I'm just telling you that he's not what he seems."

"I appreciate your worries, but I love him and that's that." You insisted, crossing your arms over your chest as you stood defiant. Obviously it was in his nature to tell you to stay cautious, and he'd probably say the same if you were dating anyone else.

But calling Janus a monster seemed awfully harsh. You haven't even heard him call Remus that, which was odd.

'Seriously why is he being such a prick?'

"..whatever you say." Virgil shrugged before sinking out, leaving you alone by the staircase.

"I wouldn't worry. His opinion of me has never changed."

You realized Janus was eavesdropping and turned to face him, sighing. "Jan, are you doing something that's making them be so... brutally honest? This just seems unusual for them."

"Not that I'm aware of." He had briefly removed his glove, indicating he was tell you the truth.

"Hm..then again, Roman and Virgil are sorta the least-rational ones. One's jealous that he doesn't have a date and the other overthinks a lot."

"Wonderful observations, my dear."

"Patton and Logan are more down-to-earth and clear-headed so they might have more understanding."

"I'm sure they will." Janus' tone didn't match the optimistic words he uttered as he slipped the glove back on. "Oh and..I'll try not eavesdrop anymore."

Little did you know, that would be two lies.

Most people are scared When they look him in the eyes, all they see is fear (but) Let me make this clear I want him near

"How can you look into his eyes and..and.."

"Go on."

"And not be scared?! I know I would be, kiddo."

"...Patton, is that seriously your only argument? That he looks creepy?"

"No, no! I just..." For a moment the fatherly Side paused, before he sighed and patted your shoulder. "Listen, I do think you're being a good influence on that wriggly snake but...I only worry he's being a bad influence on you. Every time he's near you I-"

"It sounds like your only argument is "he's a creepy crawly snake so I shouldn't trust or love him". Is that all?"

"It's...a bit more complicated than-"

"It's a yes or no, Pat."

"...I'm trying to look at the bigger picture and, sure there's some good in him but..I worry he's gonna hurt you in the end, that's all. Like he hurt us several times by impersonating us." He tried to reason, but you just brushed his hand off your shoulder in disbelief.

"Wow, I didn't think you'd be one to judge books by their covers." You frowned slightly. "Well let me make this clear: I want him near me. I feel safe around him. I love him, outward appearances and all. So if you can't accept the way I see him then...we're done here."

With no more defenses, Patton sank out as you left the room. But in the hallway you spotted a familiar capelet vanish around the corner, and you found Janus, who manifested a brown eye contact over his snake eye. His scales almost vanished under his skin, but you called out to him before they could disappear entirely.

"Janus? I thought you weren't going to-"

"I..n-never expected Patton of all people to say that.." He held the side of his face shakily, keeping his head lowered so you didn't see the gradually forming tears. Only now he was starting to feel the impact of everyone's words. "If..it's my looks then...I can surely make adjusssstments.."

"No, sweetheart. You don't have to change your looks or be anyone else for me." You cupped a hand over the one that still covered the scales. "C'mon. You can't seriously believe Patton's dumb reasoning, right?"

"........."

All you got was a silent nod.

Most people can't sleep Feeling he's out, on the streets (but) He is my creep He is my creep

"While I see your relationship to Janus is beneficial-"

"Actually, nevermind. You're just gonna tell me the same shit everyone else did."

"...now [y/n], remember what we've discussed on cognitive distortions-"

"Jumping to conclusions? Overgeneralizing? I know. But I have valid reasons for those. You all think Janus is gonna hurt me because he's some "freaky selfish snake". But he's not, alright? He's been more truthful with me lately and I'm sick of the others not believing anything we say. So please, Logan..can you take my side for once?"

Logan was surprised by your outburst. He didn't even know you've talked to the others about Janus and assumed he'd respond in a similar fashion.

But he adjusted his glasses and looked at his notebook, all traces of emotion vanishing. "Logic can't take sides. If you would just listen..I've observed that your interactions with him have been generally positive, and that's helped Thomas-"

"There you go again..why does everything always gotta lead back to Thomas? Can't you just recognize Janus as his own person without assuming I'm only dating him to help-?"

"Because he can't be distracted from his core function!!"

You jumped a bit as he slammed down the notebook, scowling at you with a slight orange tinge behind his glasses. Though it was quick to disappear as he sighed. "He can never be his own person. You two will never have a truly normal relationship. I only advise that you keep that in the back of your mind."

And just like that, he left.

Every discussion you've had with a "Light" Side only left the bitter taste of frustration in your mouth...

Now what should you-?

You were startled again as you heard a nearby door slam shut, before realizing who overheard this conversation.

"Shit."

Is he human, does it matter I know he's what I'm after I can reel him, from disaster I know

"So..th-that's how they all see me, huh? A monster..n-not even a person."

"Jan.." Joining your boyfriend on the king-sized mattress, decorated in black and gold much like himself, you could finally see those walls he built up now crumbling to pieces.

One way or another, he heard what every Side had to say about him. And it was more than enough for him to realize they not only shun him for simply existing..

But they refuse to accept the idea that he's worthy of love, too. He can take the name-calling and insults in the videos, but this is what truly broke him.

He just scratched at his scales, his human eye already red and raw from crying as he wondered why you went through all of this just for him.

Any sane person would listen to the others and just breakup with him. He wasn't worth the effort.

You clearly deserved better.

You deserved someone who's more handsome, chill, kindhearted, or sensible-

"I know you can't truly be human but..does it matter?"

"...does it?" He sniffled, leaning into your touch more as you ran a hand through his hair. "Because apparently not. I know I'm not a perfect, flawless individual..I-I don't expect any of us to be. But if only I-I never-"

"Jan..you can't focus on what you can't change. I know you feel guilty, and if the others can't see that...it's their own fault. I won't stop fighting for us and for your happiness. I love you, okay?" Turning to him fully, you cupped both sides of his face and looked into his eyes.

"And in case you think I'm lying, I'll say it again: I. Love. You. None of their words will change that."

Hearing you become so determined to love him despite all odds made him sob again, this time from relief, as you put your arms around him.

Nobody's ever taken his side on anything...and certainly never defended him the way you did.

You felt several extra arms manifest to hug you back, and you smiled, closing your eyes.

Maybe in time the others will understand. But while it's true he looked like a monster and had his deceitful ways..

You knew what you were after.

And so did he.

Call the doctor, call the doctor Must be something wrong with me He's a monster, why do I want ya Please tell me, please tell me

#clanask #squid anon #sanders sides x reader #sanders sides imagine #janus sanders x reader #janus sanders #angst #hurt/comfort #songfic

[aster-aspera]

In the darkness I found you

CW: character being kept in captivity, descriptions of injury, blindness, mentions of being tortured, unsympathetic Remus.

Relationship: roceit

Masterlist

Read on ao3

The dark pressed down on Roman’s eyes like a tangible thing, a thing that threatened to choke him.

He tried to swallow the sobs that ripped itself from his chest, but it was futile.

God, he couldn’t breathe.

He didn’t know where he was.

He was so, so scared. Scared of his brother, of the fact that he had him totally at his mercy. He couldn’t fight back, he wouldn’t even be able to see the blows coming.

His brother knew exactly how to make him feel weak.

He just wanted to go home.

Wanted to feel his friends’ arms around him.

Wanted their silent comfort.

Noise echoed around him and Roman curled up tighter into the corner, taking comfort from the solid walls behind him.

God, he felt pathetic.

He heard the door slam open and he flinched. Whoever was standing in the doorway paused and then took slow steps towards him.

Roman raised his head and set his shoulders, preparing himself for whatever sick tortures his brother had devised.

The person who had entered the room stopped in front of him and a whoosh of air told him they had sat down. For a long moment, they didn’t move and Roman assumed they were staring at him.

“Like what you see?” He croaked, because he had never learnt how to think things through.

They didn’t reply, merely shifted audibly.

“If you’re going to kill me, do it quickly, you know I’m not a very patient person.”

He realized this really wasn’t helping his situation but he couldn’t stop. His words were the only weapon he had left in this situation.

The faint rustle of fabric betrayed the movements of the other person and Roman shrunk back, but instead of a blow or anything of that sort, a gentle hand circled his wrist.

They pulled his hand towards them and traced their thumb in soft circles over his palm.

The motion was so jarringly comforting, such a contrast to the cruel blows he had already experienced and had been expecting.

His breath hitched and he couldn’t help but lean in a little closer.

The person shifted forward and they encircled Roman’s other wrist in their hand. They pulled his hand against their chest and took deep breaths.

Roman understood the meaning behind the gesture well enough and he made an effort to follow their breathing.

The iron vice that had seemed wrapped around his chest loosened gradually.

He knew it was stupid to trust this person, whoever they may be, but they hadn’t made any move to hurt him yet.

Maybe, his family had found him, maybe it was Logan or Virgil or Patton comforting him right now. But why weren’t they speaking?

“Who are you?” He asked.

They stiffened and pulled away slightly.

Roman couldn’t help the pitiful sound that escaped him. They couldn’t leave, they were the only solid thing in this terrifyingly dark world.

The person seemed to understand and tightened their grip once more.

“Why won’t you tell me? Can’t you speak?”  

They tapped his hand twice and made a movement that Roman assumed was them nodding their head.

“Oh, sorry.”

They squeezed his hand.

“Do I know you?”

His certainty that it was one of his friends was growing, they might not be able to speak to him, but their actions were clear enough. Their gentleness and silent comfort so achingly familiar to him.

They tapped his hand twice.

“Pat?” He asked. Almost entirely sure now.

They tapped his hand again, twice.

Roman breathed a sigh of relief, feeling safer at once.

He started shaking, the fear he had felt the last few days hitting him all at once.

He launched himself forward into Patton’s arms. Bumping into him awkwardly, courtesy of his missing eyesight.

Patton fumbled a moment to catch him but then wrapped his arms securely around Roman.

~

Janus was furious, his anger was a tangible thing, rising in his throat like an all consuming fire.

In front of him, curled up on the filthy floor was the prince himself. The superhero he had spent months fighting. Who had thwarted his plans and generally made his life hell.

And he looked so… small. So young and scared and vulnerable and Janus knew he should enjoy this. Enjoy seeing his enemy so thoroughly beaten. But all he could feel was rage.

This was so, so wrong. The prince wasn’t supposed to be so quiet. He was all brash words and brazen pride.

Janus enjoyed the verbal sparring matches the hero always invited him to. He enjoyed twisting his words and making him crumble but never had he wanted to break him so completely.

He cursed Remus. How could he do something like that to his own brother?

Janus knew better than anyone blood didn’t mean loyalty, but still, this was needlessly cruel.

The prince looked up at him, the chemical burns on his face a ghastly sight. His eyes rolled around, sightless.

Janus walked forward and gently sat down, painfully aware of how the hero flinched.

A lie was already on his lips. ‘You’re alright, you’re safe now,  he can’t hurt you anymore, I’ll protect you .’  But he couldn’t promise that, and more importantly, those words coming from him would be no comfort. The prince knew his voice, had heard its menacing rasp so many times before.

“Like what you see?” The hero rasped and it almost startled a laugh out of Janus. Of course he would make a stupid comment like that. This particular hero never knew when to keep his mouth shut.

“If you’re going to kill me, do it quickly, you know I’m not a very patient person.” Janus released a silent sigh. He wondered how the prince had managed not to get himself killed yet.

A full body shiver ran through the other boy and Janus felt sympathy well up in him. The hero was still twitching his head around nervously, his façade of fake bravado rapidly crumbling in the face of the darkness that must be pressing down on him.

Janus reached out a hand, hoping he could offer even the faintest speck of light in the darkness the hero faced.

The prince froze for a moment, clearly not expecting the gentle touch. Then, his breath hitched and he leaned in closer, straining for a gentle touch.

Janus’s mouth twitched up in a fond smile and he took his other hand and pressed them against his chest.

Taking slow, exaggerated breaths, he calmed the hero down. His quick, gasping breaths slowing to sobs and eventually ragged breaths.

“Who are you?” The prince asked suddenly.

Janus pulled back slightly. He couldn’t tell him. Janus figured the knowledge a villain was holding your hand would not provide much comfort, even if they had not made any move to hurt you.

He should leave. Tell one of the other heroes where to find their friend and make sure Remus would regret ever hurting the Prince like this. But the Prince made a small, pitiful noise and Janus felt his heart break.

He couldn’t leave him all alone in the dark.

“Why won’t you tell me? Can’t you speak?”  

Janus felt relieved, that was a good excuse. He nodded and, realizing the hero couldn’t see, tapped his hand twice.

“Oh, sorry.” Janus wanted to laugh. The hero was blinded and yet he was still concerned about him? It was vaguely heartbreaking, really.

“Do I know you?”

Well, in a way, yes, but that’s probably not what he meant. Janus figured a lie would be best in this situation. The hero would feel much more at ease if he thought it was one of his friends comforting him.

He tapped his hand twice.

“Pat?” He asked, sounding so hopeful.

Janus was pretty sure Pat was the light blue hero. The kind, bubbly one. He must really be doing the supervillain thing wrong if he gets mistaken for the most lawful good hero out there. Well, if it brought this one comfort, he guessed he could play the part. He was an actor after all.

He tapped the hero’s hand twice and before he realized what was happening, he had his arms full with a shaking superhero.

He fumbled for a moment, not usually one for hugs, but he quickly got his arms securely round him.

The hero started crying, deep, shuddering sobs that shook his whole frame. Janus wrapped his arms around him tighter, forming a protective layer around him.

He carded a hand through his matted, sweat soaked curls and smiled when the Prince pressed his head against his hand, savouring the touch.

Finally, the prince seemed all cried out and his sobs faded into pathetic hiccups.

Janus realized he should probably treat some of his wounds or at least send a message to one of his superhero friends. They couldn’t stay like this forever, after all.

Janus gently maneuvered the superhero so he could get an arm under his knees and behind his back.

The prince made a small noise of confusion and Janus squeezed his arm comfortingly.

With a grunt, Janus managed to stand up, the hero gathered in his arms. He staggered for a moment before regaining his balance.

Dammit, this guy was heavy. It was probably all the muscles Janus could feel under the suit. He shook that thought away.

The hero buried his face in Janus’s neck, trusting him completely. Janus felt a lump well up in his throat.

How he wished the hero trusted him for who he was, not who he was pretending to be. It was his own fault really. He had cast himself as the villain, he couldn’t resent the heroes for hating him, even though he had only been trying to help.

He slipped out of the building, avoiding the places he knew his henchmen would be hanging around, cleaning up Remus’s mess.

He relaxed when he left the building and the dank, stuffy air was replaced with the cool night air of the city.

The hero seemed to have sensed the change in the air too, because he perked up.

“Where are we going?” He asked.

And then immediately stiffened.

“Oh yeah, shit. I’m sorry.”

Janus just squeezed him reassuringly and kept walking.

There was a safe house at the end of this alley. It wasn’t much, but it was stocked with food and medical supplies. And more importantly, the only person who knew of its existence was Janus.

He entered the safe house and gently deposited the hero in his arms on the old couch.

The prince shouldered himself upright and whipped his head around nervously.

“Where are we? Are we home?”

Janus tapped his arm once.

“Does that mean no?” He asked.

Janus tapped his arm twice.

The hero seemed to understand and curled up deeper on the couch.

“We’re safe, right?” He asked.

Janus tapped his arm twice and the hero breathed a sigh of relief.

Janus made to move away, intent on grabbing the medical supplies from the cupboard, but the prince whined and tightened his grip on his arm.

“No, Pat. Don’t go.”

Janus crouched in front of the hero and cupped his jaw in his free hand. He gently ran his thumb over the skin there, trying to signal to the hero that he was safe and Janus had no intention of leaving him.

“You’ll come back, right?” The hero asked shakely and Janus tapped his jaw twice, lightly.

The hero loosened his vice like grip on Janus’s arm and he quickly bustled over to the cupboard, purposefully making his steps loud so the hero could hear where he was.

Janus grabbed the supplies and a bowl of water and kneeled down in front of the hero. He wetted the cloth and pulled the hero’s face towards him gently. With slow, careful movements, he began washing the burn.

Janus cringed as the full damage to the hero’s face was unveiled. A large part of his face was covered in chemical burns and his eyes were almost completely sightless. Janus wasn’t sure he would ever be able to see again.

He shone a light into the hero’s eyes and he startled slightly. Good, at least he could still detect changes in light.

“Pat?” The hero whispered tremulously.

Janus squeezed his arm to signal he was listening.

“Will I… Will I ever be able to see again?”

Janus blew out a sad sigh. He felt so much sympathy for the poor hero. To have something you relied on so heavily be creully ripped away from you. By your own blood, no less.

He would probably never be able to go out and be a superhero again. Janus felt the loss ache in his own chest.

He squeezed the hero’s hand, not wanting to give a solid no.

The hero just curled up even tighter, seemingly drawing his own conclusions from Janus’s non-committal answer.

Janus wished that he could speak to him, give him even the slightest bit of comfort, even if it was false.

He gently applied bandages to the hero’s head and went to set the medical supplies away and get something to eat, leaving the hero with a reassuring squeeze.

Janus returned with some crackers and a glass of water. He had no idea how long the hero had been in the duke’s captivity and he didn’t want to upset his stomach.

When he was done, Janus put away the plate and sat down on the couch. Far enough that he wasn’t touching the hero but close enough he could feel his presence.

The prince didn’t seem to agree with that position and shifted over to him, plopping his head down in Janus’s lap.

Janus carded a hand through his messy hair, smoothing it away from the bandages on his face. He curled the other arm protectively round the hero’s shoulders.

Soon, the prince’s breathing deepened and his coiled muscles relaxed. Janus breathed a sigh of relief once he was fully asleep.  

He knew there was much he needed to do. He needed to contact the hero’s friends and get him medical help. He needed to figure out how he would explain or cover up the fact that he had helped the hero.

But for a moment he let himself relax. The prince was safe, asleep and comforted and while that comfort may be false, Janus was happy he had at least been able to help a little.

He wondered how the hero would react once he found out it had been Janus taking care of him and not the blue hero.

#sander sides #Janus Sanders #ts janus #roman sanders #ts roman #sanders sides fic #roceit #roman/janus #superhero au #ts superhero au #tw unsympathetic Remus #u!remus #my writing

[starlocked01]

So Happy Together

AO3 @tsshipmonth2020

Masterpost- Previous- Next

Summary:  Logan can feel when his soulmate's day goes from amazing to the worst possible day of his life. Ironically, this helps the stoic man comfort an abandoned groom who reaches out in despair.

CW Unsympathetic Virgil and Roman

Day 5 Logicality- You and your Soulmate feel each other’s strongest emotions

Logan was having an adequate day. Nothing had gone horribly wrong or fallen short of his expectations. So the intense happiness he felt all morning must be coming from his soulmate. It was worrisome when the happiness flipped to sudden crushing sadness. He wondered briefly what could have happened to cause such distress for this person but quickly put the thought behind him as he walked through town.

Ahead on the sidewalk, he saw two men in dark suits comforting another man in a white suit who was sitting on the curb and bawling his eyes out. Logan looked to the building and realized it was a cathedral. This couldn't be good.

Logan tried to keep his head down and walk past but the man in white called out to him.

"Did you see a guy in a purple tux run that way?" the man looked up at Logan with watery eyes, magnified by wire-rimmed glasses.

"No, I'm sorry. Perhaps he went that way?" Logan pointed off the direction he was walking.

The man in white burst into a fresh round of tears. Logan felt the ache of profound sadness in his chest and almost felt he could empathize with this man, even without knowing the situation.

"Oh, if I ever find Virgil, well let's just say there isn't a flight of stairs tall enough for him to fall from," one of the men in a dark tux scoffed. 

"Yeah, right. Does it have to be stairs? Like that could kill him.." the other said hesitantly.

"Roman, he left me at the altar!" 

"Yes, I understand that, Patton. But I mean, I'm not surprised he got cold feet. He was nervous during the whole wedding planning process," Roman kept speaking.

"Roman, if you don't shut your mouth…" the unnamed one said.

Logan felt trapped in the situation, both because of the loud argument and the strong feeling of empathy he had for the abandoned groom, Patton. He made a decision and sat down next to Patton on the curb.

"Was he your soulmate?" Logan tried to ask as delicately as he personally could manage.

"I- I don't know. It's so hard to tell, you know? But I love him and he ran away… everyone is in there and now I'm nothing but a joke and their gossip for the next month!" Patton's lip quivered as he wiped tears from his eyes. The two groomsmen kept bickering and Logan felt overwhelmed with no way to comfort the man.

He decided to be honest about why he stopped in the first place, "Patton, right? My soulmate is also feeling incredibly sad at this moment. So, I get it. At least in part. I'm sorry he did that to you; you don't deserve heartbreak," Logan took a deep breath. He was not comfortable talking about these emotions.

"Th-thank you, sir. I appreciate you trying to help. What's your-" Patton was interrupted by another man in a different shade of dark suit busting out of the front doors of the church.

"What the fuck is going on out here? Everyone's dying of heatstroke waiting for our blushing grooms- where's Virgie?" 

"Remus, Virgil ran. Weren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on him?" the groomsman who wanted to push the runaway fiance down a flight of stairs gave the newcomer a steely-eyed glare.

Remus looked wide-eyed and utterly surprised, pointing to himself, "me? Janus, I thought that Roman was watching him!"

The three groomsmen kept fighting. Patton looked like he was about to lose it again.

"Ah, maybe he'll come back, realizing his mistake?" Logan tried to console the stranger that he felt too connected to. The sadness in his chest softened with a thrill of hope and Patton looked up from the street to him.

"Do you really think he might?"

"Ah, Patton, what if… Virgil found his soulmate? And decided he'd rather be with…. him?" Roman asked entirely too suspiciously.

Janus and Logan both looked hard at Roman. Logan suspected that Janus could smell the same figurative rat he could. 

"Look, Patton, I am very sorry for you. This might have been a better outcome than it feels like right now. I hope you feel better soon," Logan stood to leave when Patton grabbed his hand.

"Wait!" Patton sniffed, "what's your name? You really didn't have to stop and try to comfort me, that was really kind of you," Patton gave a weak smile. 

Logan felt his cheeks flush, "ah, Logan. Logan Crawford." He pulled his hand free and sped walk down the street, feeling confused and grateful? He could hear Janus and Roman arguing more, accusations flying about the best man running off with the groom as soon as the wedding was called off. Patton, whoever he was, had almost certainly avoided a sham of a marriage when this Virgil character left.

Logan’s thoughts didn't return to the ruined wedding for several weeks until his daily trip to the local cafe was sweetly interrupted.

"Logan? Is that you?" Logan looked up at the voice which was familiar but his memory could not place it. As their eyes met, he recognized the sobbing groom, Patton.

"Oh, Patton. Hello," Logan stated simply.

"Logan! Oh, I can't thank you enough! You were right, it was a good thing Virgil ran away," Patton sniffed and Logan felt an ache of regret and betrayal all too apropos for the situation. "He uh, he had been cheating on me… it kinda tore the whole friend group apart…" Patton looked like he was about to cry and Logan wondered how he'd accidentally made himself an emotional backboard for this stranger. "But the important thing is that we didn't end up married and unhappy!" Logan could see right through the miserable fake smile.

"Ah, I'm sorry that sounds awful," Logan tapped his pen on the cafe table. 

"Oh gosh, sorry! I wear my heart on my sleeve. You probably didn't want to hear any of that," Patton flushed with embarrassment. Logan was getting worried for his soulmate who also was feeling embarrassed mixed with nervousness. "Um, can I join you for coffee?"

Logan nodded. Why not? He wasn't needed at the lab for at least two more hours. Patton walked off to order while Logan did a short meditative exercise. His soulmate often had strong emotions whereas he did not, so sometimes it was difficult to tell when he was feeling something subtle underneath his soulmate’s ocean of feelings. He wasn't embarrassed, he didn’t have any particular reason to feel nervous. Logan was very relaxed so most of these conflicting feelings must be coming from his soulmate. Poor man must be having a rough time lately.

"You know Logan, you remind me a lot of the things I loved about Virgil, before.. well you know," Patton spoke as he sat down, coffee in hand.

"How so?" Logan asked, curious about the comparison.

"Well, my soulmate doesn't have a lot of strong emotions. I've felt intense anger and satisfaction on occasion, but most of the time he must be pretty content. Virgil was very laid back and chill, so I kinda assumed he was my soulmate.. until he had a panic attack and I felt nothing… gosh! What I mean is that you have a very calm presence. It's comforting," Patton grinned sheepishly.

"Well, I have never been very emotionally vulnerable. I know I've endeavored to maintain a rational outlook on life. Emotions are complicated and blowing them out of proportion just hurts both me and my soulmate," Logan replied, surprised how much he was willing to open up to this slowly growing acquaintance.

Over the next few weeks, Patton "found" Logan at the coffee shop several times and they spent time talking. Pretty quickly they moved away from talking about heartbreak and soulmates, preferring to find common interests or even just introduce each other to their own favorite topics. Patton was fascinated with Logan's research and Logan couldn't help but admire Patton's enthusiasm for library sciences.

Logan grew to look forward to these meetings, and when they did talk about emotions he felt his own metaphorical heart filling with genuine care for the kindhearted man. 

Patton couldn't keep up the pretense much longer and soon asked for Logan’s number so they could arrange meetings rather than him manufacturing accidental ones. His heart had felt warm and happy during the coffee shop meetups, and Logan’s presence always lifted his spirits in a way his ex never had. The first time they set up a dinner meet up, Patton felt an uncharacteristic panic while getting ready. That was new. It must- could his soulmate actually be feeling panicked?? Patton thought extra hard about the date dinner, wanting to give his soulmate a boost of happy to help with the panic. It seemed to work as the panic dwindled down to nervousness that Patton couldn't really tell who it was coming from.

Logan was a wreck. He didn't know what you were supposed to wear for dinner with a friend acquaintance. And he really wanted to make a good impression on Patton of whom he was growing rather fond. And he was out of Crofters, otherwise he would absolutely be slamming half the jar to calm his nerves. He felt a sudden wave of happiness and anticipation. Did his soulmate do that on purpose for him? It was very effective at drowning out the panic he was feeling. 

Both men felt a sharp joy seeing each other at the restaurant. The entire evening was so pleasant and both left the dinner date with fuzzy feelings of admiration and happiness.

Patton suspected Logan might be his soulmate. Logan had a strong knack for knowing when he was trying to hide sorrows and fears, even when he didn't want his new boyfriend to know anything was wrong. 

More importantly, Patton could feel stronger emotions coming from his soulmate more often and even if he wasn't Logan, Patton was very happy that his soulmate was opening up.

Patton found himself screaming during their first fight and when he realized what he was doing he stopped cold. The intense anger was so foreign to him, he felt awful. Logan didn't deserve this level of vitriol, no matter how upset they each were.

Logan’s anger melted into regret and shame as Patton apologized for going so overboard. Logan pushed this argument farther than it needed to go. He should be the one apologizing for his anger. It was all too much. Until Patton shared his theory and Logan had to agree it seemed like the only rational explanation for both of their outbursts.

They made a better effort to communicate each of their own emotions and found the strongest ones were always mirrored between the two of them. But by the time they realized they had to be soulmates they really didn't need the confirmation anymore. They would have been happy together and in love with each other anyway.

#tsshipmonth2020 #Soulmate September 2020 #logicality #sanders sides #soulmate au #prinxiety #unsympathetic virgil #unsympathetic roman #angst #hurt comfort

[princestxrm]

Would you miss me? - Roman angst

Cw: Suicidal thoughts, mentions of ways to commit suicide, and Virgil being kind of accidentally unsympathetic, but that wasn't the intention behind it, implied prinxiety(? it can be seen as either platonic or romantic

Summary: Roman asks Virgil an important question "Would you miss me if I were to die?"...

I wasn't feeling my best when I wrote this, I haven't been feeling good at all for a while, so this might not be the best...  

All the sides were sitting down on the table eating dinner as per usual, except today Roman seemed awfully quiet, which is extremely unusual for the prince, he always seemed to have a story, opinion or comment to share with the others.

Virgil sighed turning his head to look at Roman who was just staring at his plate of food and stabbing the vegetables with his fork "You ok there, dude?" He asked

Roman flinched at the question "Uh, yeah, yeah… I'm fine, just thinking" he lied

"About what?"

"Everything…" Roman sighed

"Are you still mad about what Janus said?" Patton softly asked

Roman's grasp on the fork tightened "No" he lied again, this time being obvious to the others

"You know he didn't really mean it… Right?"

Roman sighed and Virgil gave Patton the 'stop talking' look

"Well, ok then, let's change the subject!" Patton smiled "So, Logan, how's your day been?"

Logan quietly looked at Patton quite surprised at the question "It's been quite all right, how has your day been, Patton?" He figured Patton didn't really care about how his day actually went, he just needed to start a conversation.

"Actually, really good! I was watching this video about cats and…" Patton's voice started to fade, Roman could only hear his own breathing at that point, his head hurt and his heart felt like it was about to run out of his chest, he felt someone touching his shoulder and suddenly his hearing came back

"Roman, Patton asked how your day's been," Virgil said concerned

His day had been awful, his thoughts were as loud as ever and he just wanted to end it all, but he couldn't really tell them that, could he? "Oh, it's been… Okay, I guess… Thanks for asking"

Virgil and Patton shared a concerned glance, Roman just focused on his food, Logan and Patton continued to talk, Logan seemed to be more quiet than usual, but still replied to Patton's comment the same way he always did, it just felt forced to Roman, like Logan didn’t really want to be there, he couldn’t blame him though, he himself didn’t want to be there either, Virgil just ate and eventually chimed in to make his usual snarky remarks

"Virge…" Roman pulled the sleeve of Virgil's hoodie to grab his attention, Logan and Patton weren't paying attention to them, they were instead chatting about Thomas adopting a pet, or something like that, Roman wasn't paying attention to what they were saying either.

"Yeah, what's wrong, Ro?" Virgil softly asked

"Would you miss me if I were to die?" Roman asked

"What?" Virgil looked surprised at the question "Die? How? You are a side Roman, you can't die, at least there's no way that I know of" he replied in a relaxed manner “If I knew how I would’ve tried it a long time ago” he snickered

"I can stop doing my job and slowly disappear"

"Ducking out? I already tried that," Virgil looked at Logan and Patton "trust me, they wouldn't let you"

Roman sighed "What about suicide?"

"Dude, isn't that kind of the same as ducking out?"

"...I guess" Roman thought for a moment "I mean, like hanging yourself or slitting your wrist, something like that"

"We are sides, I doubt that'd work," Virgil thought for a moment "Maybe I should try and see if it works sometimes" he laughed and continued to calmly eat his food

Roman didn't like the fact that Virgil wasn't taking him seriously and was instead making jokes and laughing about it, but no one ever takes him seriously, so why does it matter now? "Would you miss me?" He questioned again, Virgil just stared "Would you miss me if I killed myself?"

"Roman, are you serious?" Virgil now looked more concerned than ever, Roman didn't reply "Roman, please tell me you are kidding" Virgil took a deep breath "I thought you were kidding, I'm-"

"What's wrong?" Logan asked realizing the other two were having a conversation that seemed to be upsetting both of them

Virgil was about to reply but Roman interrupted him by smiling at Logan and happily replying with "Nothing! Everything's a-ok, Lo!"

Patton smiled back "I'm glad, kiddo!" he replied

"Well, this was an astonishing conversation, Patton,” Logan began standing up “but I need to finish some stuff if you don't mind," he continued

"Yeah, I need to go do some stuff too, see you all later, it's your time to wash the dishes, by the way, Virgil!" Patton exclaimed leaving the room with Logan in front of him, Virgil sighed at the realization that it was, in fact, his turn to do so.

Roman turned to look at Virgil after both of them left the room, his eyes went from happy and full of life to dull and empty in seconds, Virgil obviously realized this "I thought you were kidding..."

"You always think that…" he muttered, "I thought I could talk to you because I thought you would understand"

"I'm sorry" Virgil sighed thinking of a way to approach this  "Roman, I don't know if there's a way aside can die, aside from slowly disappearing after you stop doing your job, I think it's impossible for any of us to die" Roman looked annoyed at the explanation "Do you really want to die?"

"Yes," Roman replied without a second thought

"Roman you are a prince! You are supposed to confront your problems, fight back, not run an away from them"

"That's the problem, everyone keeps telling me what I'm supposed to do, who I'm supposed to be, am I not good enough?" Roman's voice was shaky, he was clearly about to cry

"That's not what I meant!" Virgil nervously clarified "It's just that… Running away from your problems isn't always the best solution… I’m sorry, Roman, I don’t really know what to say” he apologized

"It’s ok, Virge” Roman weakly smiled, he didn’t get an answer to his question, was Virgil just telling him all these things to avoid feeling guilty for his death or was it because he genuinely cared? Probably the first option...

“Also, what would Thomas do without you?” Virgil softly smiled “You are his creativity!”

“He has Remus.”

“Yeah, but Remus is… You know, Remus.”

“He would do a much better job than I do, and… We are honestly not that different, Janus said it himself”

Virgil looked at the ground trying to think of a comforting answer to give Roman, he took a deep breath “I don’t really know what to do to help you, Roman…”

“Help me die?”

“No, no! Help you not feel this way…” He sighed “I don’t know how to help you, but you need to understand you are an important part of Thomas, you can’t just leave us…” He looked at the ground and grabbed Roman’s hand “You can’t leave me”

Roman softly smiled at the gesture, this time it was a genuine smile, not a fake or forced one “I won’t leave you, but that doesn’t mean my thoughts are just going to go away” Roman realized how much easier it was for him to talk about this with Virgil, he wasn’t even crying, imagine trying to tell Patton he didn’t want to live anymore, that would be chaotic

“We are all part of Thomas, as much as I hate to admit it, Janus is just as important as any of us…”

“But he lied and manipulated us”

“I wasn’t perfect either, but with time and your help, I changed, I learned and grew…” Virgil took a deep breath “What I’m trying to say is that I am living proof that people can change, and as much as I don’t like him… At all, maybe giving him an opportunity isn’t a bad idea"

“But, I did give him an opportunity, and he used me… Again" he took a shaky breath, "He told me he loved me, he made me feel special, and as soon as he got what he wanted… He Compares me to my brother and calls me evil"

Virgil sadly smiled and grabbed Roman's hand "Roman… I'm sorry" he softly said

Roman looked at him confused "Why are you sorry?" He asked

"Because I didn't protect you" Virgil sadly looked at the ground "Roman" he firmly said as he looked up and cupped Roman's face with both of his hands "listen to me, we need you, I need you… so, please don't leave me… Because I-" Virgil thought for a while looking at Roman’s face, he had such pretty green eyes, they looked so sad… Roman's face felt hot, was he blushing? “I love you, Roman…You are amazing I don’t know what we’d do without you, we need you” After a few seconds of processing what Virgil said Roman started crying uncontrollably "Oh my god, Roman, don't cry!"

"I'm so sorry…" Roman replied between sniffles "I just needed to hear that"

Virgil smiled "You want a hug?" He asked

"Yes, please…"

#sanders sides #thomas sanders #sanders sides fic #sanders sides fanfiction #sanders sides fanfic #tw suicidal thoughts #Prinxiety fanfic #prinxiety

[aster-aspera]

Meet me on the Battlefield

CW for this chapter: minor character death, violence, non-graphic description of injury, a panic attack and slightly morally grey Janus, unsympathetic Remus (he doesn’t show up but I’m putting a warning anyways)

Relationship: platonic/romantic anxceit

Title is from the song 'meet me on the battlefield' by SVRCINA

Masterlist

Read on ao3

Janus stalked through the damp alleyway, his cloak swishing behind him.

From the shadows in the doorways and corners, he could spy timid eyes following his every movement.

For anyone else, walking through the city alone at night would be a death sentence, but not for him. Thieves and murderers quailed in his presence. The very worst scum of this city bowed before him.

He had nearly all of the city in his iron grip.

There was only one problem. Well, four problems actually.

Four teenagers who thought they were doing the noble thing by pestering him and trying to thwart him at every turn.

It would honestly be easier for everyone involved if they just left him alone but they never listened to him when he tried to explain that.

As he finally emerged from the dark back alleys into the slightly more well lit parks, he heard a gunshot tear through the night air.

He flinched and waited for a moment, trying to pinpoint where the noise had come from. Gunshots in the city weren’t that rare and usually one of their noble heroes would swoop in to handle whatever was going on.

He brushed it off and kept moving.

Two more gunshots broke the nightly silence and Janus sighed. Normally he wouldn’t bother, but this was a suburban neighbourhood.

Every criminal in the city knew this was a no violence zone. Janus figured he should have a talk with whoever was flagrantly disregarding the rules and therefore, his reign over the criminal underworld.

He pulled his mask over his face and strode towards the noise.

By the time he had arrived, someone else was already facing down the shooter. One of the superheroes, the purple one, Storm, was standing between the shooter, who Janus identified as Eric, one the duke’s goons, and a scared looking civilian.

Storm was speaking to Eric in a low, comforting tone, urging him to put the weapon down. Janus knew it wouldn’t help, the duke’s goons were notoriously violent and Eric wouldn’t stop until he got what he came for, whatever that may be.

Janus hid in the shadows, waiting to see how this would play out.

Eric seemed to be responding to the gentling tones of the superhero, lowering his gun slightly. Storm stepped forward hesitantly, still keeping himself between Eric and the civilian.

Janus leaned forward, intrigued, there was no way Eric was just going to give up the gun.

And he was right. As soon as Storm reached to take the gun out of Eric's hand, he lunged forward and grabbed Storm with more force than Janus had expected from him.

He knocked Storm to the side and pointed his gun at the civilian, sending two bullets into their chest.

“No!” Storm cried out, and scrambled to the civilian.

Janus knew it was a lost case. The bullets had hit them square in the centre of their chest.

Eric hesitated, his mission done but the opportunity to shoot the superhero, who had his back turned to him and was intently focused on the civilian, tempting him.

Now, Janus couldn’t have that, could he? If anyone was going to take down these insufferable heroes, it would be him.

He stepped out of the shadows, making sure the snake side of his mask was clearly visible. As soon as Eric caught sight of him, he paled. Aware he had been caught in an act of blatant defiance of all Janus’s rules. An act every criminal knew would result in banishment in the best of scenarios.

Janus jerked his head, making clear he should run while he still had legs to do it.

Eric didn’t need to be told twice and quickly scrambled away.

Storm seemed oblivious to the entire exchange, still focused on trying to save the civilian. Janus slunk back into the shadows. He knew he should leave, there was nothing to be done here.

He would handle the Duke and Eric tomorrow. But something wouldn’t let him leave.

Maybe it was the way Storm was shaking, his quick breaths hitching and rapidly turning into sobs.

Janus had no sympathy for the civilian, people died all the time, it was simply the cycle of life.

But something about the hero’s panic made his gut twist. He looked so young, bent over the body and shaking like a leaf.

Janus would never admit that in that moment, he could only feel deep sympathy for the young hero.

When looking back at that moment, he would say he did it to win his trust. To learn more about his enemy. The whole keep your enemies closer spiel.

But in that moment, he found himself moving forward without thought.

He approached loudly, not wanting to startle the hero. Storm flinched and turned towards him, fear flashing through his eyes when he saw the half snake mask.

“Relax, I’m not here to hurt you.” He soothed.

“Right, and why should I trust you?” He laughed shakely.

“If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it when your back was turned.”

“You realize that doesn’t make you seem any more trustworthy, right?”

Janus sat down slowly, exaggerating all his movements so he wouldn’t scare Storm.

“If you keep hyperventilating like that, you’re going to pass out.” He said.

“Why do you care?” Storm asked, but he made an effort to take a deeper breath.

He was still shaking all over and Janus felt the urge to reach over and hold him close. He shook that thought away. That really wasn’t very fitting behaviour for a self proclaimed super villain.

“Okay look, you don’t have to trust me, but just listening to me isn’t going to get anyone killed. Okay?”

Storm nodded minutely.

“Okay, breathe with me now. In for five, hold for seven, out for eight.”

Janus breathed, making sure Storm could follow his breaths.

Slowly, his breathing slowed and eventually deepened into quiet sobs.

Janus scooted backwards a bit and motioned to Storm to do the same. Storm shuffled away from the body on the ground and curled up against the concrete wall of the alleyway.

“It’s not your fault. You know that right?” Janus said.

Storm looked at him with wide eyes.

“I… I should have seen it coming. It’s my job. And now…now someone died because I was just too damn stupid to see what he was doing.” His sobbing deepened and he started gasping for breath again.

“You can’t always save everyone. That’s impossible, it’s ridiculous to expect that of yourself.”

“I’m a hero. If I can’t help people, what’s the point?”

“The point is that you’re trying. And for every person you can’t help, there’s ten others you saved. Just you, doing your best, means this world is a little less shitty.

You give so much of yourself to this city. It can’t expect you to save everyone.

You’re valuable, even if sometimes, you fail.”

Janus had no idea where all this sentimentality was coming from. This really wasn’t a good look for him.

At least Storm seemed to have calmed down a bit. His sobbing had eased up and now tears were just silently dripping down his face.

“Why are you saying all of this? You do realize we’re supposed to be enemies right?”

“Maybe I just wish someone had been there to tell me these things when I needed to hear them.”

Dammit, that had sounded way too vulnerable.

“Or maybe I’m just manipulating you.” He added, trying not to sound too emotional.

Storm smiled.

“You know, maybe you’re not totally evil, serpent ”

“How dare you, you insult me.” Janus replied, pressing his hand to his chest in mock offence.

A giggle burst from Storm’s lips and he pressed a hand to his mouth, trying to stifle it.

Janus felt a strange feeling bubble up in his chest and behind his mask, his lips curved up into a soft smile.

“Janus.” He said.

Storm’s eyes widened in surprise.

“What?”

“My name is Janus.”

“Why would you tell me that? Is this some nefarious scheme? Are you trying to get me to tell you my name?”

Janus shrugged, acting nonchalant, while in reality his heart was pounding and his brain was screaming at him for revealing that.

“Maybe, maybe not, maybe I’m just tired of all the snake nicknames.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have picked a snake mask then.” Storm deadpanned.

“But seriously, why would you just hand out that information? I could use it to beat you.” He continued.

“One, you don’t know it’s my real name and two, you’ll never beat me.”

“Really?” Storm raised his eyebrow.

“I’m way too clever to be taken down by the likes of you.”

Janus stood up. This ridiculousness had gone on for long enough. He was afraid that if he stuck around any longer, he might go totally soft and decide to join the merry band of insufferable do-gooders.

“Anyways, as pleasant as this was, I really have to go. Lots of criminal business to attend to and all that.”

Storm scrambled upright and faced him.

“I’ll catch you one day, Janus.”

“I’m sure you will, stormcloud.”

He hesitated for a moment and then blurted out.

“You can call me Virgil.”

Janus felt his heartbeat stutter and he mustered a smile.

“And you thought I was the stupid one.”

“Look, you might be a villain, but you’re not totally evil. I know how you keep the criminal underworld under control. I know you have rules that protect the vulnerable and that help us in our job. I trust you with this information.”

Goddammit, how could Janus be expected to keep up his ice cold supervillain persona if the heroes acted so sweet?

Storm’s, no, Virgil’s eyes crinkled up in a smile that was visible even from under his mask.

“Don't you have criminal business and all that to attend to?”

“Yeah, right. Criminal business, that’s what I do.” Janus stuttered.

Virgil reached out and took his hand, shaking it in his. His grip was strong and Janus tried not to think of how warm it was even under two layers of gloves.

Virgil took a few steps back, still conspicuously not looking at the body, and took a device from his utility belt.

“I’m going to call the others now, you should probably go.”

Janus nodded, as much as he didn’t want to leave Virgil yet. If not for his own, selfish reasons, then for how the boy was still shaking slightly and he was looking everywhere but the body.

But, he figured Virgil would be alright if one of the other heroes was heading over.

“Give them my regards.” He called out and disappeared into the shadows. Swishing his cape, so as to at least hang onto the last shreds of his supervillainess.

#Reposting this cuz i did it wrong the last time #Janus Sanders #ts janus #virgil sanders #ts virgil #sander sides #sanders sides fic #anxceit #platonic anxceit #virgil/janus #superhero au #ts superhero au #my writing #tell me if i forgot to tag something