sanderssidesgiftxchange

[sanderssidesgiftxchange]

Chase The Cold Away

When Janus gets back to the dark side of the mind palace, he assumes this is going to be another Christmas spent alone and cold. His boyfriends, Virgil and Roman, won't let that happen.

@prince-rowan-of-the-forest, here it is! Sorry it's so late. @sanderssidesgiftxchange

Yet another Christmas Eve Janus knew he was going to spend freezing.

He kicked the door to the Dark side of the mind palace closed to keep the worst of the wind out, cursing Remus for insisting the snow be realistically cold. They were all constructs in a mental realm, why on Earth did they have to listen to the rules of nature? Especially when one of those rules made going outside such an ordeal?

Despite his shivering and his exhaustion, he managed to take his boots and outer layers off at the door and put them in the right places before he all but sprinted up to his room, where his heated bed was waiting for him. He’d spend the rest of his night under a heated blanket on top of a heated bed to keep the cold at bay.

It wasn’t like he had anything else to do.

Remus would be with the Light sides this year, finally enjoying his mending relationship with his brother at their family Christmas. Janus was happy for him, of course. Esthatic, even. Nevermind that he hadn’t been invited. Nevermind that his loves, Roman and Virgil, would be spending their Christmas at an event they couldn’t bother to invite him to. Nevermind that Janus would be spending his Christmas completely and utterly alone. It was fine.

Everything was fine.

-

Where was Janus?

Virgil had spent the past few hours at the Christmas party getting progressively antsier, anxiously eyeing the door to the Dark half of the mind palace. His gift from Roman, a dark purple silicon feather chew necklace, quickly found use, him worrying it over his lips at his eyes kept returning to the only undisturbed pile of presents under the tree, the ones for Janus. The party was nearly over, but the snake side still hadn’t made his appearance. Why? Was he sick? He knew Janus had been outside earlier, had the cold-blooded side overdone it and hurt himself?

As the party started to wind down and Virgil’s anxiety started to hit a fever pitch, Roman finally found the opportunity to squeeze the anxious side’s free hand. “Go check on Janus, love.” Despite the worry Virgil could feel Roman hiding, the creative side smiled jokingly. “He still has to open one of his presents.”

Thank the gods.

After giving Roman a quick kiss, Virgil sank out to Janus’s room.

-

“Janus?”

Virgil’s beautiful voice woke Janus just as he was starting to drift off. He couldn’t find it in himself to even pretend to be frustrated as he turned over to see the emo standing in his room, clearly having teleported instead of using the door. Maybe he was just cold and tired, but he’d never been happier to see someone. 

Seeing he was awake, Virgil sat on the bed with a small smile. “Hey there, Snake-Face. Cold?”

“You have no idea.” The heated blanket and heating pad hadn’t yet managed to get the cold from earlier out of his bones. 

“That why you weren’t at the party?” Virgil laid down as Janus scooted back to make room for him, slipping under the blankets to hug Janus tightly.

Janus frowned even as he got as close to Virgil as possible, enjoying his boyfriend’s warmth. “I wasn’t invited.”

“Wasn’t invited?” Virgil repeated, confused. “Of course you were invited, Jay. Did you seriously think we were planning a party you weren’t allowed to join right in front of you?”

“I don’t know why you’re so surprised, my dark and stormy Knight,” Both of them flinched in surprise at Roman’s voice, warm with affection and rich with amusement. Virgil pat the space behind Janus on the bed, inviting Roman to join them. Roman quickly moved to do so, laying behind Janus and wrapping his long, strong arms around both of them, pulling them close. “You thought the same thing for two years. I guess we learned nothing-” Roman smiled apologetically into Janus’s hair, “As we forgot again to make it clear that someone was invited.”

“I was invited?” Even though he couldn’t really believe it, Janus felt warm joy flood his chest. He hadn’t been forgotten, they’d just assumed he knew.

“Of course you were, dear.” Roman hugged the two tighter, sandwiching Janus between the two in the best way. The warmth was chasing the cold away, their love chasing away the upset he hadn’t been letting himself feel. “You’re always welcome to join us.”

“We can talk about it later,” Virgil promised, bringing one hand down to squeeze Janus’s hip. “For now, I think our Janus needs some sleep.”

He did. He’d been pushing himself these past few days, contributing to a Christmas party he’d thought he wasn’t allowed to attend. Now, after the cold and the warmth that now chased the chill out of his bones, he could barely keep his eyes open. He sighed happily, aching eyes finally slipping closed. “Keep me warm?”

Virgil pressed a small kiss to the top of Janus’s head as Roman squeezed the two again. “Always.”

#sanders sides #janus sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders #sandersxchange23

[sanderssidesgiftxchange]

Blessed, cursed, or both?

AN: I am alive, shoutout to that one anon who worried about me.

This is my gift for @glacierruler for the @sanderssidesgiftxchange

I am so sorry for the delay, my school's stupid platform registered a bunch of mine and other classmates grades incorrectly and we spent the holidays making sure it was fixed, but here it is! Hope you like it c:

Summary: After his first day in a new school sucked as much as expected, Virgil is sure his day can't get any worse, until it does. At least there were two very weird but familiar individuals to keep him from dying, even if it meant they dragged him to a confusing investigation afterwards.

CW: explosions, near death experiences, swearing.

WC: 2866

————————————————————————————————————————————

The walk home was longer than Virgil imagined. Yet again, any walk would seem to last an eternity to anyone on a new town.

Virgil's old school was perfect, as perfect as a high school could be, but at least it was perfect for him. A robotics and chemistry lab left practically all for himself was clearly the biggest appeal, but his classmates and teachers were nice too. The cafeteria food was the only thing Virgil could actually complain about.

Here, at one of the biggest cities in his country, one would believe the public schools would be quite well funded and have a lot of resources. It sounded like such a stupid mindset now that Virgil went to his earlier thoughts again.

His new school was a nightmare, almost an abandoned building. The chemistry lab, which also worked as a computer lab, was occupied by boxes full with old participation trophies and books that probably still had slurs written on their pages.

And if that wasn't ad enough already, his classmates were all dicks. No one cared enough about anyone but themselves to mind if they bumped with someone in the hallway or made them drop their books on the way to their locker.

"They're just surviving, you'll learn to do it too... eventually"

Those words kept repeating on Virgil's head, he didn't even know the name of the person decent enough to help him. Surviving... that shouldn't be an excuse for being an asshole.

Lost in his thoughts, Virgil almost didn't hear the giggles and laughs coming from the other side of the street.

Virgil looked back, spotting what appeared to be a fucking mansion, no, it was more like one of those rich neighborhoods with the clean white houses. Only it wasn't that, it was a school.

Oh great, he had fallen into the falling to crumbs public school and Olympus worthy private school stereotype hadn't he?

Virgil could actually feel the sun shinning bright above the fancy campus, despite the rest of the city being covered by storm clouds.

Moving on, back to going home... wait.

Taking a couple of steps back, Virgil realized the clouds actually did seem to part above the school.

Virgil looked over at the buildings surrounding it, grey sky, then back at the school, blue sky.

Well that was definitely not norm-

BOOM

An explosion.

Sure, add an explosion almost fucking KILLING him to te worst day of his life, why not?

Almost killing him... why wasn't he dead?

As Virgil opened his eyes, he could once again see that blue sky that filled his head with so many questions, and then he looked down only to e greeted with a set of perfect white teeth.

"Do not worry innocent citizen, the great Starbolt has saved you from disaster!"

Virgil could barely see this man's, Starbolt he said? Face with the sun shining behind him and the breeze blown his hair to his eyes.

Breeze?

Looking down, way down, Virgil could barely see the floor.

"HOLLY SHIT!" Virgil could only scream. He was flying! Actually flying! Well, Starbolt was, while carrying him. This man was making Virgil fucking fly with him.

boom

Another explosion, further into the city.

"Well, have to take this one." Was the only warning Virgil got from Starbolt before being dropped who knew how many feet off the air.

This time he couldn't even scream. Virgil was really screwed up now, and the sun had once again disappeared so there weren't any shadows where he could-

And then the floor stopped getting closer, Virgil felt a new pair of arms holding him and sure enough, someone caught him.

Seriously could death stop taunting him for only five minutes?

"Hey, you're the emo kid."

Virgil looked up, at this man's face, meeting a pair of bright red eyes. He's seen those eyes before... this person was at school earlier today.

"Um... hi?"

A smile Virgil could only describe as unsettling replied to him. "Welcome to the city, you won't die if you're lucky enough to have me around, not so much if you bump into those assholes over there though." He pointed to the sky, not before slapping a fucking boulder away with his bare hand, making it break around them.

Virgil looked to where his classmate was pointing. Another person floated alongside Starbolt as they lifted people away from the explosions.

It was then when he really took a look at both of them. Starbolt wore a mainly white suit with red and golden accents. A golden "S" resembling a lightning decorated his chest, and a red cape blew with the wind as the superhero flew. The look was tied together with a red mask only covering his green eyes.

The other one, whose name Virgil didn't know, somehow matched with Starbolt while still standing out as his own person. He wore a baby blue suit with white swirls decorating it, a pink scarf acted as a mask that covered his face lower half while the ends blew behind him like Starbolt's cape, and a pair of pink ballet shoes. Taking a better look at him made Virgil realize he wasn't actually flying, but jumping higher up than humanly possible.

Virgil's thoughts were interrupted once again by his classmate's voice

"Aaand, up you go"

"Wait wha-" Virgil couldn't finish his sentence before his classmate tossed him back up in the air, only to be caught again by Starbolt.

Virgil held tightly onto the man's shoulders as they landed, a crowd formed around them as the people clapped and cheered.

"Thank you, thank you. No need to clap really." Starbolt landed and let Virgil down on the ground safely, "I can't take all the credit, right Blaze?"

Blaze landed right next to them, Virgil couldn't see his face but could still tell he was smiling. "We did a great job!" Blaze eagerly mentioned as he highfived Starbolt, "You don't need to be modest about it"

Virgil was left standing between the two heroes. There were a million questions in his head and he couldn't even get a word out. So many things happened all at once and his mind was still trying to process it.

A buzzing sound and... a voice? Came out from an earphone both heroes were wearing, but Virgil wasn't close enough to understand the words.

Without even looking at each other, as if they were connected telepatically or something, both heroes bowed to the crowd around them and took off. Virgil watched as they flew and jumped away respectively.

Great, now what?

"You survived, awesome"

"Ah!" Was the only noise Virgil could let out after his classmate surprised him once again. "Not thanks to you and your friends"

"Pff, those guys? Nah we're not together. I just make sure they don't kill half the city's population with their neglect. Starbolt thinks he was quick enough to drop you, go and save more emo teenagers and come back before you splatted on the concrete and became a puddle of blood and broken bones."

Virgil rolled his eyes, "Thanks for that image."

His classmate smiled, "Don't mention it."

"Shouldn't you be like, all dressed up and protecting your identity or whatever?" Virgil asked, as he made his way back to the sidewalk.

"It's not like anybody pays attention to us, we're invisible. The only reason you recognized me it's because we go to the same school, but you clearly don't even know my name"

Virgil stopped and turned around to look at his classmate eye to eye, deciding to ignore the fact that he had to look up to actually do that. "Can you blame me? I just moved in and your school is full of douchebags who don't care about anyone but themselves. Do you know my name?"

He shrugged, "maybe I know, maybe I don't. I'll find out, we have our ways."

"Who's we?" Asked Virgil, "you keep saying that"

His classmate grinned and pointed towards the top of a nearby building with his eyes.

Virgil followed the teen's gaze, spotting another masked figure, a much darker one. This... hero? Was wearing all black, had a bowler hat a cape that matched, only his green half phantom of the opera style mask stood out from the darkness surrounding him.

Virgil could swear they made eye contact before the figure disappeared between the clouds.

"Welp, gotta run Virge." The teen announced, causing Virgil to shift his attention back to him. "Nice keeping you from becoming a resident in hell!"

"Wait so you did..." Aaand he was gone, "...know"

Whatever, it's not like Virgil cared that much, he had other stuff to worry about.

Stuff that kept Virgil's superhero encounter in the back of his mind the rest of the day, the next morning, and even halfway through the school day. And it would have stayed that way if it wasn't for-

"Hey VV!"

That.

Virgil gripped the sides of his lunch tray as he turned around and sure enough, there he was, same guy from yesterday.

He tried to ignore him, but it was hard considering the school's cafeteria was hardly double the size of a regular classroom. Even being at opposite sides of the room, they were still close enough to clearly notice each other.

Virgil sighed, it couldn't be worse than eating by himself. He walked over the table where his classmate was sitting, squeezing through a crowd of teenagers trying not to ruin his food.

His classmate smiled, "glad to know you haven't died since we last saw each other."

"Could tell you the same thing." Virgil replied wit a sarcastic tone, "are you going to tell me your name now or am I going to be kept in the dark forever?"

"Mmm, I don't know. I like the mystery surrounding me"

"Please, there's nothing mysterious about you Remus"

Virgil turned around as another voice interrupted them.

"Whyyy do you haaave to ruin my fuuun?" Remus complained as the third person sat next to him.

"Telling the truth is not ruining your fun dear."

That voice... "It's you, the guy who helped me yesterday."

Virgil managed to catch his attention, "I am. No need to thank me or anything."

"And don't call them a guy," Remus chimed in, "they them pronouns for this handsome please."

"Or just Janus, some people are too stubborn to care about anyones identity."

"Right, sorry." Virgil apologized.

Remus wrapped his arms around Janus, kissing his cheek multiple times in an almost aggressive way. That's when Virgil caught on, they were dating. "I can... go and leave you two alone if you want."

"Please don't" Janus put their hand between their cheek and Remus' lips. "Maybe with you here this scumbag will have some shame and stop being so publicly affectionate."

Remus grinned, "not a chance."

Janus rolled their eyes, "I'll keep him in line. Take a seat Virgil."

Virgil did as instructed, "for people who just care about surviving, it seems like everyone around him knows my name."

"I said other people don't care," Janus corrected. "We're the exception that makes the rule."

"Right, and do you know your boyfriend is going around the city showing everyone his inhuman strength?"

Remus snickered, "boyfriend is a strong word. We're barely friends with benefits"

Virgil almost chocked on his food as he swallowed, "I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to assume I just-"

"He's joking." Janus interrupted, slapping Remus' hand as if they were reprimanding a little kid.

"You know you love me"

"And to answer your question," Janus looked back at Virgil, "I know. This idiot doesn't even try to cover his identity when cleaning those so called heroes' mess"

Remus groaned, "what's the point? It's not like they ever give credit or even say thank you."

"What is up with them anyway? Starbolt and Blaze?" Virgil's curiosity couldn't be ignored anymore, he had a million questions and couldn't figure out how to even begin asking them. "I didn't realized I was moving to Gotham."

That comment got a chuckle out of Janus. "At least Batman does his job right, those bastards are faker than-"

"My virginity!" Remus interrupted.

"Sure, that works." Janus sighed and took a bite out of an apple they had grabbed earlier. "We're pretty sure it's all staged, doesn't mean they're not putting innocent people's lives at risk."

"I think the clouds hide their wires" Remus said before slurping the last of his carton juice.

Virgil couldn't help but shake his head, "that would be true if they didn't open up around them."

Janus raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Remus. "What are you talking about?"

Virgil looked up rom his food, "haven't you noticed? They attract the sun beams or something."

"Maybe because yesterday was sunny?" Remus asked, his tone made Virgil think they thought he was joking.

"No... the only moment I've seen the sun since I got him was when I was in Starbolt's arms."

The couple looked at each other, confused.

Janus stood up and walked around the table, grabbing Virgil's hand without warning and pulling him up.

"W-wait wha-"

"Shh, just come with me."

Virgil pulled his hand out of Janus' grip, "I'm not going to be dragged away by someone I barely know without an explanation."

"Fine, you don't want to be dragged." Remus spoke from behind him.

Virgil turned around in time for Remus to grab him and carry him over his shoulder.

"P-Put me down!" Virgil struggled in Remus' grip to no avail. This guy really had superhuman strength.

Virgil's demands were ignored as Remus carried him around school. He gave up by the time they arrived to the main entrance.

Janus opened one of the schools front doors, "how's the climate today?"

"I would gladly tell you if Remus would let me down so I could look outside."

"No need!" Remus turned around so Virgil could answer without having to put him down.

Virgil sighed, he might as well answer and get this over with.

He looked up, a bunch of dark storm clouds made it impossible to actually look at the sky. Thunder and lightning accompanied the heavy rain, how come they coulnd't hear all this nose from inside?

"There's a storm" Virgil answered, plain and simple. "Will you let me down now?"

Janus looked up at the sky, "you're seriously not messing with me?"

Virgil groaned, "why would I be messing with you? It's right there."

Janus looked back at Virgil, then at their partner, making a sign to step out of the school.

Remus did as Janus signed, taking Virgil out in the storm with him.

"W-w-wait no! You don't know how bad my hair gets with humidity! The last thing I need is people making fun of..."

Virgil looked over at Remus, who remained completely dry under the rain. Virgil on the other hand, was already soaking wet after just a few seconds of being carried under the rain, "what?"

"Huh" Janus' face couldn't hide their surprise. They pulled Remus and Virgil back into the building.

Remus finally let Virgil down.

"What was that about? He's not only super strong but also waterproof?" Virgil squeezed the water from his sleeves and tried to fix his hair as he complained.

"He's not. There wasn't any storm outside, I thought you were joking but looking at you now... something else is going on here."

"No shit Sherlock" Virgil rubbed his face, accidentally smearing his eyeshadow.

Remus sighed, "you treat this like joke, but it's something serious. If sunbeams were following those assholes around that means they have something to do with this!"

Virgil shrugged, "why does that concern me? You and your mr. Black cape friend are the ones cleaning their mess, not me."

The three teens were getting annoyed at this point.

"It concerns you because you're the only one who can see what's happening" Janus explained.

"And that is not my fault. Go and ask anybody else if they can see the fucking storm becase I'm not getting myself involved in this craziness!" The lights flickered as Virgil lost control. He took a deep breath, he needed to calm down and just let everything go before anything suspicious happened and he had to flee again.

Janus looked up at the lights, then back as Virgil. This guy was nervous about something. "Look, we're not going to deep dive into why you have this ability if you don't want us to but we need your help."

Virgil crossed his arms, looking at his classmates as he analyzed his situation.

"It's up to you, but remember I can keep carrying you anywhere we want" Remus shrugged.

Virgil sighed, "and then you'll leave me alone?"

Janus nodded, "we will."

"Fine then," Virgil caved in. "What do you want me to do?"

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #remus sanders #janus sanders #thomas sanders #sandersxchange23

[sanderssidesgiftxchange]

Hello! If you haven't received a gift yet from your gifter please dm me so I can get your gift to you!

#sanders sides #logan sanders #virgil sanders #roman sanders #patton sanders #remus sanders #sandersxchange23 #thomas sanders #remy sanders

[sanderssidesgiftxchange]

SNEAKY MOVIES! || a festive fanfic

Part of the "Sanders Sides Gift Exchange 2023" by @sanderssidesgiftxchange

For @the-duke-of-nuts for the prompts 'Moceit Gaming' and 'Fluffy Royaliceit'. Image Edit + Fanfiction.

Posted on AO3.

"You are being sneaky!" Patton giggles, his cheeks flustered.

"Me? Sneaky?" Janus turns to him with a very performative nonchalant look. "How on earth would I be sneaky playing Mario Party?"

"You put this thing on my Wii remote thingy!" Patton shows the lopsided smiling dog sticker he plucked from his cyan remote, right on top of the sensor. "I was wondering why i couldn't get Rosalina to move in all the mini-games!"

"It sounds more like an oversight from you." Janus smiles wickedly. "And a strategy from me."

"You don't even need a strategy, I already lose all the time!" Patton laughed.

"And that's how I stay winning!" Janus' eyes show a display of amusement while tapping Patton on the nose before turning back to the screen. "Should we play again? I bet Roman will love that we are hogging the TV a Christmas afternoon, he certainly despises watching those Hallmark movies of his."

"Aw! You care!" Patton jumps to attempt giving Janus a quick hug, that turns into Patton being pushed in a fast motion towards the couch.

"That doesn't sound like me at all." He says.

Patton blinks at him once before turning his eyes towards the ceiling and exclaiming: "Oh, my! Remus, what are you doing up there?"

Janus turns his head in a neck-cracking pace, and finds himself confused as he stares at a Remus-free ceiling, until he feels arms around him and a soft chuckle.

"I can also be sneaky." Patton smiles.

"I have arrived!" A voice booms from the hallway. "I heard a mention of my brother, but I will forgive and forget as long as you give me a kiss on the cheek. Then, the torturous spell that is placed upon anyone who hears that atrocious name will be lifted from myself!"

"Hi, Roman!" Patton is already up and moving towards the side entering the living room, and Roman runs towards him dramatically and then grabs his hips and lifts him while spinning. They look like a Disney Princess couple meeting each other after a long and sorrowful journey. They last saw each other 20 minutes ago.

"Hello, dear prince. Do you bring any news?" Janus lazily looks towards them, trying to look casual and not amused by their behavior.

"I do! In fact!" He says with flare while he gently throws Patton on the soft pillows on the couch. "We are watching a movie! And I finally came back from my quest to retrieve it!"

"Movie! Yay!" Patton is rubbing his cheeks on the pleasant texture of the pillows, but replies to make sure Roman knows he is listening and enthusiastic about the plans.

"What kind of quest did you go to, my prince? A walk to find the last open Blockbuster?" Janus teases, and Roman just sends him an unimpressed look.

"Actually! I was with our favorite nerd, who had borrowed my Christmas DVDs for a 'project of human perception about what truly makes the holidays unique for them', I said 'you just want a good idea present for Secret Santa' and he said 'get out!' so I'm here!" Roman smiles widely, before sitting in front of Janus and waiting.

"What?" Janus raises his eyebrows, prompting him to explain.

"My kiss?" Roman tapped his own cheek. "We already established I need to be rescued."

Rolling his eyes so hard it looks painful, Janus places his lips on the side of Roman's face and just to be silly, he makes a 'bftttt' sound.

"I am cured!" He gets up and jumps on top of an unsuspecting Patton, who almost curses and yells before letting a soft 'ooof'.

Patton mouth makes noises under blankets and Roman's chest.

"What?" Roman let's out a giggle. "What are you saying, Pat? Modulate!"

He finally finds a way to get his face away, spitting out a blanket dust bunnie before talking. "What movie are we watching?" His face is red and Roman's heart melts a bit.

"We are watching Black Friday." He pulls out a DVD case for the Starkid show, something very intriguing considering Starkid has never distributed this show in a DVD format as far as the other two know.

"The Starkid musical?" Janus questions, eyeing Patton, who is already hiding in Roman's chest again. "Isn't it more... unsettling than festive?"

"What do you mean? The love of families that beat the odds to make each other happy? What isn't festive about it? Also, the anti-capitalist message is a plus!" Roman rushes to pop the disk in the DVD player, while Janus just shakes his head disappointed.

"That Virgil of ours is straying you from the path of the Lord, actual Christmas movies. Like Home Alone."

"I would argue that Home Alone is equally scary." Patton quickly intervenes, but Janus looks at him and says:

"You think the old Winnie The Pooh books and movies are cute, so your opinion is also biased."

Patton's arms cross over his Winnie the Pooh sweater covered chest.

"Shall we start the movie night?" Roman grins in a childish manner, and Patton's frown softens.

"Of course, kiddo. Go tell everyone, I'll set up the snacks."

"And I'll stay here." Janus says, not planning on moving.

"You, mister, are on pop corn duty!" Patton pulls him towards the door.

"If i have to help, at least let me be in charge of drinks!"

"No way!"

#Patton sanders #janus sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #remus sanders #virgil sanders #sanders sides #sandersxchange23

[sanderssidesgiftxchange]

Hi, I realized the version of my gift you just reblogges has a broken tag for my giftee. Would it be possible to reboot the edited? Thanks

Fixed!

#qna

[sanderssidesgiftxchange]

My gift for @failingatfailing for the @sanderssidesgiftxchange this year! I had so much fun with the Roman drawing on Logan's arm prompt, and the reference resulted in my now favourite photo of me and my roommate!

I hope you had a great Christmas and a happy new year!

#sanders sides #roman sanders #logan sanders #sandersxchange23

[sanderssidesgiftxchange]

The Christmas Spirit

Summary: follow the Sanders family as they celebrate christmas

Pairing: familial dark sides+ Patton+ Logan, pre-romantic royalty

Warnings: none that I can think of but let me know if I missed something

Word count: 2,274

Written by @lily-janus as a gift to @8beez for the @sanderssidesgiftxchange

I gotta be honest I've had a major writers block for a long while now and this fic doesn't have much plot, I tried to do a pure fluff story but idk how I feel about how it came out.

Hope you enjoy it! And in the case you don't I'd be happy to write for you again something else^^

Happy holidays!

-----------------------------------

It was quiet in the Sanders’ home when Patton walked inside, knowing his kiddos are fast asleep by now as he entered and went to arrange their gifts under the tree before going to bed himself.

What he didn’t know, however, was that his kiddos couldn’t wait to find out what they’re gifts were, which won’t be until much later the next day due to Patton insisting they’ll go around the neighborhood and give everyone sweet little gifts every year.

His kiddos had a plan.

The problem was, this wasn’t the first time they tried it so they were sure their dad would be ready for them to try again. Another problem was that the tree with the gifts was in Patton’s bedroom.

So they decided Janus would go in first, him being the stealthiest and the best at improvising if something goes wrong.

The rest waited outside for Janus’ signal that things were either safe or he needed back up.

In the case Patton will wake up, Remus would come in first claiming he had a nightmare and try to lead their dad away from the room.

If that won’t work Virgil will claim to be hungry and not being able to sleep because of it.

Logan planned for more possible scenarios but for now it was the time to act.

“Alright, everyone knows the plan?” Logan made sure, looking at each of his brothers’ eyes.

Virgil played with the sleeves of his pajamas nervously but nodded.

Remus grinned wildly as he nodded with vigor.

And Janus smirked, tilting his head slightly in agreement.

“Okay, let us begin then, remember stealth is key.”

They all turned to look at Remus. “What? I can be stealthy!” He said loudly, disproving his point. “Ok not usually but our presents are on the line here! I’ll be quiet, promise.”

They exchanged looks, then shrugged, Logan opening the door of their bedroom slowly and carefully, leading them all down the hall.

Things seemed to be going smoothly and quietly for a while until they reached the rickety flight of stairs that led to the bottom floor of the house.

Logan, being the lead, started going down first, making sure each stair wouldn’t make a sound with his toe before landing on it, Virgil and Janus followed once he reached the ground and they all looked up to watch Remus go down last.

Remus wasn’t careful like the others and in his rush he produced a number of loud squeaks from the stairs before he caught up with the rest, all of them holding their breath for any indication that their dad woke up from the noise.

After a few tense seconds ticked by, they all let out a relieved sigh when they didn’t hear anything from Patton’s bedroom.

Logan resumed the lead again as they walked in a straight line towards their target.

Suddenly, they heard a loud bark before Virgil was tackled to the floor from the force of their puppy, Mr. Snuggles, jumping on him and showering his face with dog kisses.

Remus’ noise earlier apparently woke him up.

Virgil giggled as he tried to get away from the over energized pup just as they heard the click of a light being switched on and their dad’s footsteps coming their way.

They all froze.

The footsteps were getting closer.

Janus looked around quickly before spotting their couch and signaling the others to follow him and hide under it.

Mr. Snuggles finally left Virgil to greet Patton and they all slid under the couch a split second before Patton’s bare feet came to view.

“Hey there Snuggly…” Patton greeted sleepily, yawning softly, “couldn’t sleep huh?” He squatted down to pet the dog for a bit before standing back up, “alright, let’s fill up your bawl so we can both go back to sleep.” And they both disappeared into the kitchen.

“This is our chance, Janus, make a run for the bedroom and hide under dad’s bed until he falls back asleep, then you can let us in one by one.” Logan whispered, leaning a little sideways so he could see Janus heard him and understood.

Janus smirked, “you got it, Teach.” he crawled on his belly before emerging from under the couch and standing up, checking the coast was clear, he made a run for the bedroom and slid under the enormous bed, and waited.

From where he lay, he could see the bottom of the tree and the four presents arranged next to it, he quickly spotted the yellow-wrapped one with cartoonish green snakes and smirked, already seeing that the size could match what he was hoping to get this year.

It took all his self control not to exit from under the bed and tear away the yellow wrapping paper, but he was quickly saved from the temptation by his yawning dad returning to the room and crawling back into bed, his quiet, even breathing soon indicated that he fell back asleep.

Quietly, Janus crawled from under the bed and moved to the door, opening it a crack to stick his hand out and give the others the all-clear sign.

He quietly moved towards the presents as he heard the light footsteps of his brothers moving closer and stared at his present.

He picked it up just as Logan slipped inside the room and quickly spotted his own gift, wrapped in a navy blue paper.

They both shared a smile before starting to shake their gifts gently, trying to guess what was inside by the size and heft of them.

They were quickly joined by Remus and Virgil and the guessing game began.

Logan’s gift had the shape of a book but it was a bit too heavy and a bit bumpy on the back to be only that.

Janus’ was quite big and heavy, making him hope it was the game console he’d been hinting at his dad to get all year.

Virgil’s was light and had the slight shape of some sort of animal, making him think this was another plushie for his collection.

And Remus’ was bulky and round, not too light nor too heavy, making him wish this was some sort of toy-weapon.

The light turned on suddenly.

They all jumped, having been too focused on their gifts to pay attention to their father, who woke up from their presence and went to turn on the light.

He looked at them with an amused expression, “well what do we have here?” He chuckled lightly.

“Um… you’re dreaming?” Janus offered with a nervous smile.

Patton barked a hearty laugh, “nice try.” He squeezed them all in a bear hug, “naughty children, what am I going to do with you?” He said lightly before releasing them.

“Let them open their presents early?” Remus suggested with a hopeful grin, making their bad laught again as he went to seat on the floor with them.

“Alright, alright, as long as you promise to help me make cookies for the neighborhood afterwards, deal?” Patton offered with a smile, how can he get mad at those adorable faces, and on christmas morning too.

The four kids exchanged excited smiles before nodding, “deal!” They said together, making their dad chuckle again.

“Alrighty, who’s fi-” he didn’t get to finish as all four brothers unwrapped their presents at the same time.

Janus got his gaming console, Logan got a hardback edition of his favorite book along with some bookmarks and a reading night light that attaches to the book, Virgil got the rarest plushie of his collection and Remus got a plastic morningstar with soft spikes.

Seemed like they all guessed right.

“Okey dokey, now for your part of the deal, go brush your teeth as I set everything up ok?” Patton said as he got up, ruffling Virgil’s hair affectionately as they excitedly ran to their room with their new gifts.

“And Logan?” He stopped his oldest kid in his tracks as he turned to face him. Patton winked, “nice planing.”

Logan smiled wide before resuming his run.

Patton sighed contently, what did he do to deserve them?

He remembered the adoption center thinking he was crazy to adopt four children on his own, but they were brothers and he didn’t want to seperate them. Besides, he fell hard for all of them and he couldn’t imagine his life without them.

Things were hard at first and they still are at times, but Patton wouldn’t change it for the world.

Slowly, he rose up from the ground and went to the kitchen to set up the ingredients for his famous Christmas cookies.

He whistled happily to himself as he got out his holiday cookie cutters. Including shapes such as: santa, santa hat, gingerbread man, gingerbread house, stars, christmas trees and many more.

After arranging those he went to the upper shelves and grabbed the green and red food dye for the frosting before starting to lay out the ingredients for the cookies themselves.

Just as he was finishing up, he heard his kiddos rushing inside the kitchen, teeth brushed and smiling wildly.

“Cookies!” Remus yelled as he rushed in first, followed by his brothers.

Patton grinned, gosh he loved these kids. “Yes, Remus, cookies. And we want everyone to have at least one plus leave plenty to ourselves so we better start or we’ll be here all day.”

They all nodded in agreement.

“Alright, Janus and Logan are in charge of mixing the ingredients and making the dough, Virgil and Remus, you would cut the dough into shapes and arrange them to put in the oven while I make the frosting.” Patton split the assignments and they all went to work.

Patton turned on the radio for some christmas songs as they worked, playing and laughing with each other.

It was a perfect Christmas morning.

The day went by as they made more and more cookies, Patton wanted to make sure that there will be enough for everyone, and took some eating and watching holiday cartoons breaks.

Christmas eve finally arrived and the Sanders family put on their coats and loaded cookie baskets and set out to deliver them around their small town.

“Dad?” Logan asked as they walked the streets.

“Yes Kiddo?” Patton answered with a smile.

“Why do we deliver cookies to everyone each year? I’m sure plenty, if not, all the people in town have their own food and cookies.” Logan wondered.

“I just think it’s a nice tradition, you know? I’m sure most people don’t need our cookies, but it’s not about that, it’s about spreading kindness and giving back to the world.” Patton answered.

“I don’t think I get it.” Logan frowned as they reached another house and gave the residence some cookies.

Patton tried to think about how best to explain it to his son when they entered an old building. He rang the bell of the first apartment and waited.

The man who answered looked tired and… pretty cute, Patton noticed with a faint blush. “Merry christmas, sir! We-”

“Sorry I… I don’t have any money for charity… I’ll probably get kicked out of here soon anyway, have a good night.” He went to close the door but Patton stopped him.

“We’re not here for donations, we’re going around town to bring people christmas cookies! Homemade, would you like some?” He picked one from his basket and offered it to the handsome man, his kids playing behind him in the hallway.

“Oh! Um… for free? Just like that?” The man asked, surprised. Patton nodded and was delighted to see a smile forming on the man’s face. “That’s awfully kind of you! Um… I’m Roman, nice to meet you.” The man offered his hand.

Patton smiled, “Patton! …are you alone here, Roman? On Christmas eve?” He tried to look inside the apartment.

Roman let out a sigh, “yep… my family doesn’t approve of the ‘failed gay actor’ lifestyle so..” he shrugged. “Anyway, I’d love some cookies thank you, you probably want to continue to the next place.”

Patton’s heart went out for the man, “actually, can I borrow a pen and piece of paper?”

Roman’s eyebrow shot up curiously but he went inside and came back with what he asked for. Patton took the items and wrote his phone number and address.

“There, if you need someone to talk to… or a place to crash for a while, we have a guest room, it’s a big house, I’m a doctor and we love space so..” Patton explained, smiling as he pressed the piece of paper into Roman’s hand along with a few dozen cookies. “Merry Christmas, Roman.”

“I um… Thank you,” Roman said in disbelief, eyes turning slightly watery, “m-merry Christmas” he stammered and closed the door gently.

“Huh.”

Patton turned around to see Logan watching the closed door.

“What is it, Kiddo?”

Logan looked up at his dad and smiled, “I think I get it now.”

Patton returned the smile, “c’mon, that’s enough for tonight, let’s head back and watch The Grinch until we fall asleep, help me with your brothers.”

….

It was quiet in the Sanders’ home as Patton tacked in his sons.

“Daddy?” Remus asked softly as Patton covered him with his green blanket, “why don’t we have a mom?”

Patton blinked in surprise at the question, “well son I… I’m not that interested in women.” He said simply.

“Then why don’t we have a second dad?” Remus persisted.

“Well I guess I haven’t found the right one…” his thoughts wondered to Roman, “yet..”

Remus yawned, “oh, okay, g’night dad.”

Patton kissed his forehead, “good night, son.”

#sanders sides #logan sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #roman sanders #remus sanders #janus sanders #sandersxchange23

[sanderssidesgiftxchange]

Mise Out of Place

Edited photo. Original by Icons8 Team via Unsplash.

mise en place (ˌmē-ˌzäⁿ-ˈpläs) noun Borrowed from French. A culinary process in which ingredients are prepared and organized (as in a restaurant kitchen) before cooking Also : the set of ingredients prepared using this process

Written for @starlocked01 for the @sanderssidesgiftxchange. I hope you enjoy this mix of crack and fluff with some elements unexpectedly made canon by last week's video.

Many thanks to the developmental beta reader, "Some Guy," who provided invaluable assistance and cheerleading with this story. Fluff is hard, y'all.

WC: 2k (okay, almost 2K) - Rated: T for a bit of swearing - CW: fluff, crack, and a hint of Remus-y imagery - [ AO3 ] -

“And… we’re live!”

“Thanks, Freddie,” Roman muttered, just out of earshot of the lavaliere mics pinned to Patton's and Remus' aprons.

“Maybe after his glow up,” Janus murmured, equally quietly.

Patton grinned at the camera, the edge of Janus’ hat fuzzy and barely visible past the glare of the ring light. “Hey there, Kiddos—”

“I’m Remus!” Said Side jumped into the frame, one long arm draped over Patton’s shoulders. Instead of looking at the camera, he stared expectantly at Patton, his grin far, far too wide.

Patton nodded, his own smile still plastered on. “And I’m your Happy Pappy Patton!”

Remus leaned closer and they said in unison, “And welcome to Messers en Place!”

Janus’ hat bobbed on the other side of the camera and Patton’s smile brightened. They’d practiced and practiced—and practiced—their video intro, each time failing to be in sync. Even Patton had begun to fear they’d have to rewrite it. But this time, when it mattered, really mattered, they did it!

“And what are we making today, Pattycake?” Remus prompted him when he failed to say his next line.

“Oh, right! To-daay…” He drew out his words as he looked around the ingredients oh-so-carefully spread out over the countertop. Mise en place, Roman had called it. Logan had tried to hide his surprise behind a little fumble with his glasses, but Patton hadn’t missed the way Logan’s eyes had widened.

“Ahem, well, yes, Roman is correct,” he'd finally managed. Remus bounced on his toes next to Patton, picking up each tiny bowl and sniffing at its contents.

“Careful there, Ro Bro,” he'd cackled. “Nerdy Wolverine’s gonna bust a nut with you knowing things.”

“I am not—”

“Hey, Pattycake, what’s this one?” Winking, Remus pulled him back into the present moment and shoved a bowl of brown spices into his hands.

“Oh, um…” Patton sniffed carefully. “It’s cumin, Remus.”

“Well, if you insist…” he began, reaching for his belt.

“Remus!” Roman cried, bonking his brother's head with the boom mic.

“Muse, not now, boy,” Janus murmured from the other side of the room.

Virgil groaned from his perch at the top of the refrigerator, silently tapping the sides of the fire extinguisher in his lap. “Are we sure having these two do a cooking show was a good idea for the stream?”

“Of course it is!” Remus and Roman said together. 

And it really was a good idea. The twins had blurted out the concept together during a brainstorming session and even Logan had agreed this would be first in their livestream series. He'd even suggested the name.

So here they were, the two of them, about to cook. Together.

They could do this. Patton could do this.

Remus’ smile had grown too wide again, eyebrows arched high.

Right, the cumin.

“We’re making spaghetti and meatballs,” Patton remembered his line and smiled at the camera.

“Balls,” Remus muttered under his breath, shoulders dancing.

Patton gasped and sneezed into the little bowl, spraying cumin up into the air and all over his face.

“Oh, I gotcha, Daddy—”

“Remus!” Roman lowered the boom mic with an offended huff only he could manage to sound princely. 

“Aw, Kiddo!” His catigan sleeves were safely tucked beneath his apron, but he brushed them clean anyway. Remus whipped out a concerningly clean handkerchief from under his sash and dabbed at Patton’s face. 

“It’s sweet,” Patton smiled at Roman just off camera.

“I don’t get paid enough for this,” Roman muttered.

“You don’t get paid at all, Princey!”

“Need I remind you all we’re still live?” Logan hissed from the hallway.

“It’s fine, Logan, dear,” Janus murmured, tapping the laptop just out of frame. Comments scrolled up the screen faster than they'd ever been. “The viewers are eating it up.”

Logan frowned at the screen for a long moment before shrugging. “He’s right. Okay, carry on."

Face now clean, Patton nodded and carried a big stock pot to the sink. “Right, first step is to start the water. Remus, will you—”

“One step ahead of you, Daddy!” Patton barely made out his words over the rush of the faucet.

And the crash just behind him.

Patton swung around, water sloshing out of the pot and onto the floor. “Remus!”

Remus had shoved all the measured ingredients to the far edge of the counter. Spices and oil spilled over the plate of ground meat and the long loaf of italian bread was broken in half. A wedge of parmesan had impaled the softening butter and the head of garlic had rolled onto the floor. At the center of the counter was a giant neon green air fryer into which Remus had jammed the entire—sealed—box of linguini and a jar of sauce. "Oh, and Merry Christmas, by the way. Thought you could use one of these babies!" he said, slapping the top of the device. "Hm… I wonder if I could fit one of those in here, too…"

“Wait, Remus, no—” Patton dropped the stock pot and reached out as Remus cranked the air fryer up to 500°F and slammed the start button. 

“Well, it was nice having a kitchen,” Virgil muttered and pulled the pin from the extinguisher, nozzle aimed directly at the air fryer.

“No, it’s fine,” Patton said, voice cracking even as he grinned up at Virgil.  “Don’t worry, Kiddo, everything will be—”

The air fryer beeped and the scent of burning paper filled his nose. He rushed toward the counter, hands outstretched to unplug the fryer, but his heel skidded on the wet floor and he slammed into Remus’ back instead.

“Hey, if you wanted to dance, Pattycake…” Remus spun around, catching him before he fell. “You could’ve just said so!”

“Remus!” Patton cried, clinging to his tunic as thick black smoke and the flicker of orange flames erupted out of the appliance. “Fire!”

With the grace of a cat and accompanied by a woosh of extinguisher foam, Virgil jumped down and doused the air fryer, the counter and most of Patton and Remus with the fire retardant. 

A spark caught on the edge of Virgil’s hoodie sleeve and the mic squealed as Roman dropped the boom and rushed over to smother it.

“Princey, I’m fine! Let’s get the rest of this—”

“Shit!” Roman swore as he slipped on the spreading puddle of water and extinguisher foam in the center of the room. Virgil grabbed him by his sash, pulling him to his feet.

“Gotcha, your Highnessness.”

Off camera, Logan slid closer to Janus. “Are we still filming?”

“Mm-hm. Wine?” he asked, offering a large goblet he’d procured from… somewhere.

Eyebrow raised, Logan accepted the glass and took a slow sip. “Out of everything in the kitchen, this is what you chose to save?”

“Why, yes, of course," he murmured before finishing his own glass and refilling it.

“Acceptable.”

~

Long after the livestream ended and the kitchen was—mostly—put back into order, the Sides called it a night and, one-by-one sauntered off to bed.

All the Sides but Remus, at least. Well, and Patton.

Remus had waited until everyone else's room had grown quiet and the lights spilling out from under each Side’s door had clicked off. A flickery bluish glow remained under Virgil’s door, but he typically wouldn’t actually fall asleep for another few hours anyway.

Patton’s door, though… Patton’s door had remained closed tight, without even the usual fairy lights brightening the edges of the door frame. And without the happy little sounds of his bedtime playlist.

Patton hadn’t gone to bed.

Taking more care than usual, Remus slipped off his boots and crept downstairs, skipping the creaky third and fifth steps. The living room, kitchen, and hall were dark, the patio door closed and locked with the blinds drawn tight. The clock on the microwave cast long, faint shadows over the kitchen floor and Remus spotted a bit of movement followed by a tiny sound.

He held his breath and waited. There it was again, a soft sniffle.

Dropping to the floor, Remus peered under the kitchen table. Patton sat hunched in the far corner, sweater-clad arms hugging his knees to his chest.

“Oh, hi, Kiddo,” he mumbled, wiping his cheeks against his forearms. “Can’t sleep?” he asked as though Remus was the one hiding alone in the dark.

“Was gonna ask you the same thing, Pattycake.”

“Oh…” Patton didn’t explain what the fuck he was doing down there, cardigan pulled over his potassium bicarbonate and cumin—ha!—stained apron. He just sort of looked down at his hands and pulled his legs up closer to him. Almost like he was making room.

Remus clambered under the table next to him, not quite touching but close enough to smell the smoke in Patton’s hair and clothes. Remus' own clothes smelled like his experiment upstairs and he inhaled the plasticy, acrid scent of burnt dyes and the forever chemicals from the extinguisher. It was even better than the fires for making s’mores at Thomas’ summer camp as a kid.

Remus wiggled his toes, watching Patton from the corner of his eye. He’d tucked his face close to his knees but his cheeks glimmered with new, silent tears. Remus breathed in again. The kitchen would reek of smoke for a long time after this.

“C-A-M—”

“Maybe later?” Patton sniffled. “I’m just not in the mood to sing right now, Kiddo.”

“You sure about that?” Remus scooted a little closer and bumped their shoulders together. “It’ll help if you just sing along…” He waited, watching Patton tap his foot, toes squelching in his still-sopping shoes. 

“C-A-M-P…” he began again, slower this time.

“F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song,” Patton sang softly.

“C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song…” Remus repeated.

A little smile cracked across the other Side’s face, softer and more real than it had been all day. “The C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song.” Patton took a breath like he was about to jump into the next verse but he frowned, nose scrunched. “It still smells like burnt air fryer in here, huh?”

“Yeah,” Remus agreed, nodding his head with a grin. “We made our mark.”

“Yeah,” Patton said, curling over his knees again.

“Aw, Daddy-o,” Remus bumped his shoulder. “Is that why you’re hiding under here? ‘Cause of the fire?”

“Well, yeah,” Patton frowned, staring back at him. “I really wanted to make a great video. I wanted to… you know… make Thomas proud.”

“Fuck, Pattycake, we did! Have you seen the comments?”

Patton just shook his head so Remus sank them both down into his room where he’d left his laptop open to the video page. Views and comments continued to pour in, hours after the stream had ended. “Look!” he demanded, pushing Patton down into a mostly clean chair.

The Moral Side read quietly, eyes growing wider with each scroll. “They… they liked us?”

“Yeah they did!” Remus slapped his back. “So, whaddya say we make Elf Spaghetti next time? We can even add some Crofters to please the nerd.” Patton’s stomach grumbled and Remus’ grin grew. “You know… we never did eat dinner, Pattycake. How about we give it a trial run tonight?”

“Race you to the kitchen!” Patton laughed and sank down through the floor.

“Hey, that’s cheating!”

#sanders sides #patton sanders #remus sanders #logan sanders #janus sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders #sandersxchange23

[sanderssidesgiftxchange]

Lovely Surprises

This is my gift for @the-void-dragons for the @sanderssidesgiftxchange! I hope you like it!

AO3 Link

Summary: The past few days have been rough for Virgil, since he's stayed late at work due to a shortage of staff to unload equipment and put it on the shelves. When he returns home late one night, he practically collapses, thankfully his boyfriends are there to help him through it. During his lunchbreak at work he learns that he'll be getting a raise because of his hard work. Ecstatic with the news, he realizes he can surprise his boyfriends a lot earlier than he planned to.

Pairing: sleepanxceitmus

Rating: Teen, mostly fluff with a very tiny portion of hurt/comfort in the beginning

CWs: murder mention(no actual murder), slight innuendo(it doesn't go anywhere), mutilation mention(no actual mutilation), collapsing

Words: 2448

Virgil all but collapsed after flinging open the door to his house. He was surprised as two pairs of arms caught him and someone else ran into the kitchen, as his boyfriends were usually asleep when he got home.

“Spiderling, are you alright?” Janus asked, his voice overly soft and full of concern, as he leads Virgil to the couch.

“Yeah! Do we gotta murder someone, your employer maybe?” Remus chimed in from directly behind Virgil, his naturally scratchy voice sounding tamer; as if scared he’d make the situation worse.

Now on the couch, Virgil sighed, curling into the warmth surrounding him before attempting to answer the questions that had been asked. “No, it’s fine. I was just asked to stay late again. We had another—”

“Boo,” Remy called from in the kitchen, “you have been staying late all week. At this point, the only way you won’t stay late is if you have a sick day.”

“Oh, well that’s certainly an idea, why don’t you call in sick.”

“Jan, I can’t just call in sick when I’m not! That’s how I’d get fired and then I won’t be able to pay my share of the bills.”

“Has your boss said anything about firing you?”

“I mean no, but—”

“And anywho Babes, you’re not required to stay past your work time.”

“Is your boss making you? If so we could mu—”

“Everyone stop!” Virgil shouted interrupting Remus, his breathing picking up. “Look, I get that I don’t have to stay past but we’ve had so many orders that we need more workers. Which we don’t have! And I’m not the only one staying late. Everyone, including the morning workers, are showing up to get everything done.”

He realized halfway through his anxious ramblings that Remus and Janus were both squishing his sides. Sighing, he sunk into them more, and noticed the smell of hot chocolate; his favorite drink. No longer feeling as stressed as when the conversation started, Virgil kept talking.

“I know that I’m overworked, but I can’t leave stuff for someone else to do, when I’m already there.”

Virgil could feel Remus pouting against his head. “But Virgey, if you overwork yourself you could easily slip, and then whatever you’re carrying will fall on your head, breaking open—”

“I doubt any of that will happen love,” Janus cut in before Remus could spiral any further, “however, Remus is correct, you overworking yourself like this isn’t good for anyone.” Before Virgil could attempt to say something in return, Remy entered the living room with two cups of hot cocoa.

“Plus Boo, you overworking yourself cuts into us time. As much as we love each other it just doesn’t feel the same when you’re not there.”

Groaning, Virgil grabbed his drink as soon as Remy was close enough. “Okay, I get it. I’ll try not to stay late tomorrow.”

Remus cackled as if he had won something, while Janus and Remy shared looks of smug satisfaction. Seeing that Virgil was situated with his drink, Remy handed the other cup to Janus before heading back to the kitchen for two more cups.

During the time it took for Remy to get to the kitchen, Janus leaned into Virgil’s ear and whispered, “if you get back early enough we can watch movies together.”

“We could even watch one of those shows that winds you up,” Remus attempted to purr, wiggling his eyebrows when Virgil snorts and looks at him.

“As tempting as that is, I don’t think I’m up for that. This week has been exhausting. Would cuddles be okay Rat?”

“Absolutely!”

Less than a second later Virgil yelped, doing his best not to spill his cocoa everywhere, as Remus squeezed him harder. Thankfully Janus quickly took the mug from him and put it on the small table next to the couch.

“Babes! I’ve told you to wait for me when we’re suffocating our emo with affection! And here I was getting the both of you some of this hot, liquid, chocolatey heaven.” Remy said, playfully going to take a sip out of Remus’s octopus mug, which prompts Remus into jumping off the couch and almost tackling the larger of the two.

“Both of you!” Janus sighed, which caught the attention of the two squabbling men. “If the drinks spill, both of you will be mopping for a week. Also, Remy, my favorite barista, you can only threaten to steal something of mine when you haven’t given it to me yet. If you’d be so inclined to look, you will find that it is your mug that you are currently holding, not mine.”

Virgil had no choice but to snicker at the affronted faces that both of them made.

“But double d! You know I’m allergic to soap!”

“Well then, maybe you should keep from spilling drinks all over the floor,” came Janus’s reply, and Virgil didn’t have to look to know that he was smirking. Remus growled playfully before jumping into Janus’s lap, getting a small “oomph” out of him. Remy, cackling at the sight, sat down next to Virgil, before handing Remus his hot chocolate. Virgil spent the rest of that night cuddling and joking around with his boyfriends.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Virgil awoke the next day to one of his boyfriends lightly shaking him.

“Huh? Wha’s goin ‘n?” Virgil grunted, groggily looking at whoever was looming over him, and realized that it was Janus. He was smirking, his face holding a faint blush.

“Well dear, I would love to let you sleep longer. Unfortunately, I have work and the others have already left to their jobs as well.”

Stretching, Virgil looked up at his boyfriend, trying not to go back to sleep on the couch. After a few moments, Virgil shook his head, attempting to chase away the drowsiness.

“Alright, do you want me to cook for both of us?”

“Are you sure Spider? I don’t want to add undue stress and—”

“Worrying is my job little Snake,” Virgil said, despite being the smaller of the two, “and anyways, it’s fine, it’ll wake me up more. Which means I won’t have to worry about being late to work.”

“If you’re sure love, but please don’t overtax yourself over this.”

“If it’s too much I’ll call you in. Are we still able to watch movies tonight?”

“Of course, as long as you come home from work early enough.”

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Virgil professionally ran towards the breakroom as soon as it was time for his lunch break, or dinner break as it was often called. While there hadn’t been too many customers, the ones he had interacted with had been less than kind. Most of them being upset with the lack of their specific brand of gesso that they desperately need. Or getting upset because they were out of a specific colour or brand of paint. And Virgil understands the frustration, when he has free time he loves to paint, however he shouldn’t get yelled at because the customer has to wait until the next day to get something.

As he was eating, his boss entered the breakroom. She was overall a good boss, far better than most of his previous ones, but whenever she entered the breakroom it meant staying late.

“Hello Virgil.”

“Good evening Ms. Brooke. I apologize in advance, but I won’t be able to stay late tonight.”

Ms. Brooke blinked a bit before responding, “that isn’t what I came in here to tell you. I’m giving you and everyone else who has stayed late these past few days a bonus and a pay raise. Starting next week you’ll be receiving $17.25 an hour instead of $16.”

Virgil’s eyes were a little bit wider, not having expected any of that. “Thank you! Can I ask how much the bonus is?”

“I’m still figuring it out, but it’ll be at least $50. $100 if I can get corporate to agree,” her voice changing from strictly professional to professionally dry when she said this next part, “of course, since it’s corporate, we can’t expect much.”

Virgil snorted in agreement before turning back to his sandwich. Truthfully he was very ecstatic about the pay raise and bonus. Riding the high of the news he received, he went back to work with a bounce in his step.

If everything went according to plan, he could start looking at rings next week.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A week later Virgil was at the jewelry store, looking around aimlessly as he waited for the person running the place to be free. He had already done the research he needed before entering. After a few minutes he was the only person in the shop, so he approached the person who was behind the counter.

“Uh, hi, I was wondering if I could get some custom made rings?”

“Of course! How many, and can I have measurements?”

“I’ll need three rings. Their measurements are 46.5 millimeters, 49.2 millimeters, and 51.9 millimeters.”

“Alright! Now what would you like them to look like?”

Virgil left the jewelry shop, putting a reminder on his phone to return in two weeks time.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The hardest part about keeping what he was doing a secret was keeping it a secret. Virgil’s boyfriends were terrifyingly perceptive, and he was a terrible liar. Thankfully that problem had been something he’d expected. What he hadn’t expected was for Remy to be the one to confront him, as it was usually Remus who did. And when it wasn’t him it was Janus.

Remy and Virgil were cuddling in their shared bedroom, when the taller of the two broke the silence.

“Hey Boo, we’ve all noticed that you’ve been acting a bit off. Don’t get me wrong, we love that you’re smiling more, we’re just curious as to what’s going on.”

Virgil looked into his boyfriend’s eyes, tempted to ask right then and there. But he couldn’t ruin the surprise. Plus the rings wouldn’t be ready for another week.

“Don’t worry, my Sloth, I promise it’ll make sense soon.”

Remy looked confused, but thankfully he didn’t push it any further, only raising one eyebrow before pulling Virgil closer. “Alright Hun, I’ll tell the others what you told me. I can’t promise they won’t ask questions though. You know how they are.”

“Yeah,” Virgil says wistfully, “I do.”

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was time to go back to the shop, to get the rings. His boss had given him the day off, but he hadn’t told his boyfriends, that way he could inconspicuously leave the house around that time without them getting suspicious. He’d texted Roman, Remus’s brother, to keep those three busy for a few hours when he left the house in order to let Virgil set everything up.

When he got to the jewelry store, the person recognized him immediately.

“I’ve got your rings in the back. Give me one minute and I’ll get them to you.”

Virgil nodded, rocking back and forth on his feet as he waited. Nervous about all the things that might go wrong, yet excited for everything that could happen.

“Alright, here you go! Do you like them? And is it okay if I ask what they’re for?”

Virgil inspected the rings carefully, anxious that he might break them, before putting them back with a huge grin.

“They’re perfect! And yeah, I’m proposing to my boyfriends.”

“Congrats! Let me get you the receipt.”

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Making his way home, Virgil was a little anxious, wondering if his boyfriends had left yet. However that dimmed when he noticed on of their other cars gone.

Once inside the house Virgil started cooking their favorite food, something they called fancy ramen. 

After he was done with that, he got into his favorite outfit, an outfit his boyfriends had only seen him in once. It was a gorgeous black dress with white stitching and purple detailing, paired with black two inch block heels. When he was finished getting into the outfit, he put the rings in his desk and texted Roman to send his boyfriends home, and then he started to put on his makeup. He gave himself smoky eyes, and put purple eyeshadow on his lower eyelids, finishing the look with his dark purple lipstick just before his boyfriends got home.

Carefully speed-walking to the door, he watched as Remus opened his mouth, but Virgil managed to speak first.

“No, you didn’t forget an anniversary, no I’m not fired from my job, and with that out of the way I need you all not to question me,” Virgil paused, taking a deep breath in, “if you do, I won’t be able to do what I planned. Also, if you would all sit at the table, please.”

He assumed his boyfriends heard the quiver in his voice as Remus shut his mouth and he managed to only get slightly worried looks before they complied.

Retreating to the kitchen Virgil filled four bowls with the fancy ramen, taking two at a time to the table. It was surprisingly quiet as they ate, all three of his boyfriends sneaking curious and worried glances at him. They seemed to desperately wish to know what was going on, considering how violently Remus was rocking in his chair, but none of them wanted to spook Virgil.

“Please go to the living room and close your eyes until I say you can open them,” Virgil said while nervously fidgeting with his hands. Janus placed one of his hands on Virgil’s back, right before Remy spoke up.

“Alright hun. But after that please tell us what’s going on.”

“I will.”

Virgil was shaking slightly when he went to collect the rings. Being very careful he made sure to keep them as hidden as possible before heading to the living room, just in case. He was so incredibly grateful to see that his boyfriends each had a blindfold on.

Carefully he put the rings on the table in the room in the same order that his boyfriends were in; Remus’s ring is placed on the very left side, the ring itself looking like a rat on it’s back holding a green bloodstone; Janus’s ring is put in the middle, featuring a snake wrapped around a yellow tourmaline; and finally Remy’s ring is on the very right with a sloth cuddling smoky quartz.

“Alright, you can look now.” Virgil was rubbing his arms while he watched them take off the blindfolds. All three of them gasping when they see the rings. 

“Will you marry me?” Before Virgil could start doubling back and doubting what he’d just asked, Remus spoke.

“Fuck yeah!”

“Of course Babes!”

“Absolutely!”

It only took Virgil a moment to realize that all of them were crying tears of joy.

Taglist(please tell me if you'd like to be added/removed!): @hyperfixated-homo @cutebisexualmess @nebulous-astronaut @uhhh-hi-there-i-am-nervous @thegoldenduckie

#sandersxchange23 #sanders sides #remy sanders #janus sanders #remus sanders #virgil sanders

[sanderssidesgiftxchange]

Hi @menace-sama happy holidays! I’ve got the boys running in to enjoy some hot chocolate after building their snow kingdom while Remus ambushes Roman. I hope you like it!

Thanks to @sanderssidesgiftxchange for running this!

#Remus sanders #Roman sanders #sanders sides #sandersxchange23

[sanderssidesgiftxchange]

@ivescottthis

@sanderssidesgiftxchange

Happy Holidays!!! I hope you like this drawing and have been having an amazing end of the year! To new new year! There is two because I hated the first one i did at first, but when i look at it now its not that bad

Image Id :First drawing is in a foggy field, in twilight. The drawing is light in blue and purple tones. In the right end, Logan and Virgil stand, Logan facing twooards Virgil. Virgil faces away from the audience. Logan is holding on of Virgil’s hands in both of his.

Image ID: Second one. Virgil and Logan are in front of a window. Logan is working on the computer while Virgil leans on him, holding a drink before him. No color, just line art

#sandersides #virgil sanders #logan sanders #sandersxchange23

[sanderssidesgiftxchange]

i did two of my giftee's wishes this year for @sanderssidesgiftxchange ! analogical making a snowman and an intrulogical soulmate au, where the first words they say are written on each other's arms! happy holidays, @artisticallygay !

[image description: the first image is marker art of logan and virgil sanders on either side of a snowman, they're putting it together, logan is wearing a blue sweater, grey pants, and a constellation-studded tie, with a blue hat, while virgil is wearing a purple-blue plaid hat, a purple-blue sweater with a storm cloud on the front, and light grey pants

the second image is marker art of logan and remus sanders holding hands, logan is wearing a light blue sweater with an orange planet on it and a grey pinstripe skirt, on his arm in green is written 'hey nerd!', remus is wearing a dark grey sweater with a green tentacle wrapping around the front and a green multi-layered tulle skirt, on his arm in blue is written 'watch out!']

#sanders sides #logan sanders #virgil sanders #remus sanders #sandersxchange23

[sanderssidesgiftxchange]

frick we got so sick we failed to parse the passage of time and missed our posting date but here it is for the @sanderssidesgiftxchange

here are some closeups in case tumblr butchers the quality, but click for better quality for sure!

(If you don't know what kind of fish Thomas is, he's a Rainbow Fish from the 1992 book by Marcus Pfister! Special thanks to the understanding mods and sorry for posting late!)

#sanders sides #thomas sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #roman sanders #janus sanders #logan sanders #remus sanders #sandersxchange23

[sanderssidesgiftxchange]

Not So Jolly Christmas

It is once again time for the @sanderssidesgiftxchange! This year I wrote for @authorgirl0131 who wanted a story about Janus and Remus' first Christmas with the Lights Sides as well as some Hurt/Comfort. I hope you enjoy 💛

Read here on Ao3

Summary: Janus and Remus spend their first Christmas with the Light Sides. One in particular isn't amused.

Content Warnings: Christmas, Virgil is pretty mean to Janus, Janus is caught in a self-hate spiral near the end, Cursing, Hurt/Comfort, Hopeful Ending

~~*~~

“J-ANUS!” Remus yelled as he crashed into the door to Janus’ room and before Janus could open his eyes, the other was on top of him.

“It’s Christmas! You need to get up! I wanna annoy my brother!”

Janus groaned and slowly opened his eyes, flinching at the brightness of his room. Remus’ sharp grin was only inches from his face and Janus pushed him away with all six of his arms.

“Yes, yes, I know,” he yawned, slowly sitting up. Remus bounced of the bed, and he didn’t stop bouncing as he circled around the room, not standing still for even a second. Janus couldn’t blame him; this would be the first time in forever that he spends the holiday with his brother.

Patton had invited Janus to join them on Christmas day at the beginning of the month. When he had just raised his eyebrows at the suggestion, Patton had quickly tagged on that Remus would be welcome as well, under a few stipulations. Janus’ brow had wandered higher.

“Yes, a wonderful idea of you to invite us behind the others back, that won’t cause any problems at all!” he had scoffed.

“Wha—? No! No, I asked the others. Logan said he didn’t mind, just that I should tell him early on if you agree to come so he has time to organize the presents. Roman and Verge weren’t… thrilled by the idea but they agreed that we should try to get along, for Thomas’ sake. Roman insisted though that Remus had to follow some rules if he wants to come.”

Janus knew Patton wasn’t lying but he could hardly believe it was the truth. Virgil said okay to him and Remus coming? Ever since he left, things had been… more than a little strained. Sure, they hadn’t had the best relationship even before then, but now Virgil met them with animosity whenever he saw them.

Still, he couldn’t turn down the offer if it meant that Remus could finally spend more time with his brother.

“Alright,” he said slowly. “What are these rules then?”

“It’s just about the gifts!” Patton reassured. “Roman said that Remus can’t get us anything that is alive, rotting, sharp, or deadly. Or any combination of those.”

“That’s… fair enough, I suppose. I’ll ask him and get back to you.”

“Please do!” Patton had beamed as if he had already said yes.

Of course, Remus had agreed enthusiastically, which led them to Christmas morning.

“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!” Remus whined as Janus swung his feet off the bed and into his slippers.

“I do need to get dressed first, Remus,” he reminded.

“Oh, pft, no you don’t! We could both just go in our birthday suits!” He shimmied his shoulders and Janus rolled his eyes fondly. Despite his words, Remus had come to his room fully dressed.

“You said you would behave, Remus. And Patton said that they usually wear their Christmas sweaters, and that we didn’t have to but I like mine, so I’ll go put that on.”

“Ugh, fine! You’re no fun anymore.” Remus threw himself on the bed dramatically as he pouted. Janus didn’t pay him any more attention and disappeared into the bathroom.

He walked to the sink and splashed some water into his face before taking a deep breath. He couldn’t share Remus’ excitement, on the contrary, he was dreading the day more than he looked forward to it. Yes, Patton would do his best to make them comfortable and Logan would be polite as usual, but the other two? Well, Roman would probably be preoccupied by dealing with Remus but that would also mean that Virgil’s focus would be mainly on him.

And that was not an inviting concept.

But he had agreed, so now he had to get through it. If only for Remus’ sake. He again splashed his face with water and got moving to get ready.

When he came back out of the bathroom a few minutes later, fully dressed and a bit more confident to face the day, Remus was crawling along his ceiling on all fours. At least this time he wasn’t secreting slime.

He let himself drop and crashed into the floor when he saw Janus, practically vibrating with excitement again.

“Can we go now?!”

“Almost,” Janus chuckled. Remus’ face fell but Janus knew that he could improve his mood with just a few words. “I have an early present for you.” Immediately, Remus started actually vibrating on the spot, looking at Janus with big eyes.

“What is it? What is it?”

Summoning the box into his hand behind his back, Janus revealed it to his best friend with a flourish. Remus grabbed it greedily, tearing in the wrapping paper and pulling off the lid as soon as he could. Inside laid a thin, green collar with a metal box that kept the ends together.

“Uhh, pretty!” Remus laughed, pulling the collar out of the box with much more care.

“It’s a shock collar,” Janus explained and immediately Remus’ eyes snapped to his.

“For real?” he asked, overjoyed.

“Yes, but—” He grabbed a hold of Remus’ arm before he could put it on and try it out. “For now I have disabled the highest settings. I’m giving this to now because I want you to try and use it to stop yourself from going on your lovely rants the other love so much.” His tone was sarcastic, but his eyes were serious and Remus nodded.

“I get it. Fun impulse control so I don’t fuck it up for us in the first five minutes.”

“Remus—”

“I know, I know. We’re starting small or whatever. I’ll have my fun with this, thanks Banana Bitch!”

Janus sighed but dropped the topic. “You’re welcome. I’ll let you have the full range of options tomorrow, I promise. Now, let’s head to the others before you explode on me.”

Remus whooped, grabbed Janus’ arm and dragged him out of the door.

Janus let him.

This was going to be a long day.

~~*~~

As they arrived downstairs, Janus took a moment to survey the scene before announcing their presence.

(Not that Remus would hold back for his sake, which meant he had until Remus found something to throw himself at. Literally.)

He spotted Virgil and Roman in the living room together, their backs towards him. They were leaning on each other and probably looked at something on a phone together. Patton meanwhile was in the kitchen, humming jovially to the Christmas music playing at a comfortable volume. Logan he couldn’t see, though he presumed he’s helping Patton.

“RO-BRO!” Remus yelled, storming towards the couch and throwing himself into Roman and Virgil’s laps. They both started cursing and shoving at him immediately. Janus decided he wasn’t going to deal with them on his own, so he headed for the kitchen instead.

“Janus!” Patton greeted happily as he saw him enter. “I’m so glad you made it! Remus joined the others in the living room I assume?”

“Yes, he did. Merry Christmas, Patton.” Janus let his eyes wander around the kitchen as he spoke, spotting Logan at the kitchen table, absorbed into a crossword. “And merry Christmas Logan.”

“Merry Christmas to you too, Janus!” Patton laughed while Logan just mumbled, “To you as well,” without looking up from the paper in front of him.

“Don’t mind him, he does one of those every morning and he won’t let the holidays stop him,” Patton smiled, and Janus simply nodded. “Would you mind helping me set the table for breakfast? We’ll do presents first, of course, Roman was already cranky that we had to wait on you to start.”

“Sssure.” The involuntary hiss made Janus flinch slightly – he might be more stressed by the unfamiliar situation than he realized himself – but Patton either didn’t notice or knew not to comment on it as he waved him over to load plates into his hand that he was supposed to place on the living room table.

After only a minute or two they had everything settled and Patton laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Thank you very much for the help, Jan! I really appreciate it.”

“I expect your firstborn in exchange,” he replied dryly and the other laughed.

“But you’re all my kiddos and I don’t actually know which one of you is the oldest!”

“Right.” Janus knew he was being short, but his eyes had wandered over to Roman, Virgil and Remus. Remus seemed to be rambling about something and the other two looked like they would rather be anywhere else. He wondered why they hadn’t tried to stop him.

“Are you nervous?” Patton asked. He was suddenly a lot closer, whispering close to his ear and Janus flinched for the second time that morning.

“No, not at all. Why would I ever be nervous?” Patton didn’t immediately answer but Janus could see in his eyes that he didn’t believe him.

“I understand. But I’ll do my best to make it comfortable for you two, too.”

Janus wanted to bite back, make a witty comment and shrug off the unpleasantness in his stomach but his tongue went dry, and he couldn’t get a word out. So he settled for nodding instead. Patton nodded back and grabbed a plate of cookies off the table.

“Alright, everyone is here so let’s start the day, shall we?” he called, bright and cheery. Janus almost got whiplash from how quickly he had changed his tone.

“Ugh! Finally!” Roman groaned. He grabbed Virgil’s arm and pulled him away from Remus to sit on the other end of the couch. Remus stayed on the floor, a manic grin on his face and Janus could see the movement of his hand in his pocket as he pressed the shock collar remote. The twitch that followed the voltage was almost imperceptible. He remained silent.

“Yes, I have finished my crossword and am ready to give you my undivided attention,” Logan said as he entered from the kitchen. He walked towards the couch with certain steps and took a seat. “Good morning, Remus and merry Christmas.”

“Merry Shitmas, dork!”

Patton laughed uncomfortably at Remus’ returned greeting but didn’t comment on it. He moved towards the Christmas tree that Janus had heard had been created and decorated by Roman. Underneath it sat multiple sets of presents, ten of which Janus had placed there himself during the night, both his and Remus’.

Janus swallowed before moving around the couch to take his own seat. He could tell the moment Virgil noticed him because his gaze felt like a blade trying to dig into him. He gave him only a short glance but that was enough to see the deep distrust in his eyes.

He ended up sitting next to Logan and doing his best to not look over towards Virgil.

The gift giving went mostly smoothly. Patton called a name and that person picked one present of their pile to open. He started with Roman – probably because the prince would have thrown a fit otherwise – and continued with Remus, then Logan, Janus, Virgil and lastly himself. A few presents in, Patton got too distracted by his excitement over what he received that he forgot to call names and Roman just got up, grabbed the rest of his pile and asked who else wanted theirs, too.

The roomed dissolved into loud chatter and yells of excitement. Janus quietly unpacked his gifts – a self-knitted scarf from Patton that had a few holes here and there, a nice bottle of wine from Logan (which he was stopped from opening immediately), a pair of socks from Roman and a blanket from Remus of which he could adjust both temperature and weight. Virgil hadn’t given him nor Remus a present. Janus wasn’t surprised.

His given gifts were received well, too. Patton loved the scrapbook materials and Logan closely studied the motive of the 1500 pieces jigsaw-puzzle. Roman begrudgingly admitted that the fountain pen he had given him was tasteful. He was sure the golden accents and his engraved name helped. Remus cackled manically as he unwrapped his whetstone. His weapons would be even more deadly know, he promised.

At the end only one gift remained wrapped, which Patton pointed out, looking at Virgil quizzically.

“Why’d you leave that one, ki— Virgil?”

“I’m not opening it.”

“But why—?”

“Leave him be,” Janus spoke up, having recognized the wrapping. Virgil stared at him as he said it, his jaw clenched, non-verbally challenging him to agree with Patton and force him to open it.

“But it’s rude towards who gave it to him—"

“He doesn’t have to open it if he doesn’t want to, I don’t mind.”

He’d imagine Virgil wouldn’t have opened Remus’ gift either if Remus hadn’t threatened him to do so with his morningstar. Now Mr. Fuzzy sat with Virgil’s other presents, probably to be thrown into the trash the minute Virgil could get away with it.

(Janus did his best not to think about how much work Remus put into making him.)

Patton looked between the two of them, most likely torn between not wanting to start a fight and reprimand Virgil for being so confrontational.

He settled on, “If you say so,” and called them to the breakfast table.

The tension quickly left the room as they gathered around the table. Roman started bragging about how he gave the best gifts this year which Virgil immediately teased him for, and Remus argued that his had been better. Patton and Logan chimed in occasionally, but Janus kept quiet for them most part. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself again.

The rest of the day passed similarly. They moved from activity to activity (boardgames, movies, etc.) and Janus let the others talk. When he did contribute however, Virgil more often than not shot back with some passive aggressive statements, no matter what the topic had been. Patton tried to get him to stop but Janus waved it off, pretending it didn’t bother him.

Those times Patton didn’t catch him lying.

~~*~~

Then it was time for the last activity of the day. Apparently, it was tradition for the Light Sides to go out to a snowy landscape Roman created to enjoy the chill, drink something warm and light a few sparklers. Janus wasn’t enthused about the idea on grounds that he was cold-blooded and going out into the snow would surely lead to him loosing his precious body heat but he participated nonetheless.

Especially since it gave him an excuse to stay farther away from Virgil.

He took the longest to get ready, as he needed to wear more layers than anyone else. He was in the process of pulling on a second jacket, standing close to the door that would lead him outside to the cold where the others were already waiting.

Well, almost all of them.

Virgil passed him, lightly knocking into him. It didn’t hurt but it certainly got his attention.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to pull here,” Virgil hissed. He stood in the doorway, blocking Janus’ view of the others.

Isolating him.

“If you think you can fool me by playing the good guy, then you’re wrong. I know you. I know your tricks and your lies. And you always lie. You’ve got some kind of agender, you always do. But newsflash, your stupid plans never really seem to work out, now do they? The wedding fiasco for example. You should leave before you ruin this too.”

Virgil didn’t wait for his response. He turned back and headed outside. He was greeted by Logan who pushed a steaming mug into his hands with a smile. Past them, Janus could hear and just make out the twins having a snowball fight that Patton seemed to be refereeing.

They seemed to be having a pretty good time.

Without him.

Janus left.

Before he could really think about it, he was back in his room, shrugging off the jackets, then the snow pants and more layers until he was left with a long-sleeved shirt and leggings. In a daze, he crawled into bed, under his many, many blankets.

Virgil was right. He didn’t belong there. He had been awful to Roman during the wedding affair. To Logan, too, if he was honest. Patton may have found common ground with him but maybe that was build up on false pretenses. He didn’t really know him after all.

Would Remus even be his friend if they hadn’t been stuck with each other for all those years?

Maybe he would leave him too now.

He wouldn’t begrudge him for it.

Remus deserved so much more than him.

He was just a manipulator.

A liar.

A snake.

Unlovable.

Unlovable.

Unlovable.

Unlovable.

Unlov—

“Janny!”

The blankets are pulled away from him and Janus gasped, wide eyes finding Remus, who stood above him with a worried expression.

“Hey there, snakey. Those didn’t sound like nice thoughts to have.”

“Remus?” Janus’ voice was weak and he only now noticed he was crying.

“Yeah, it’s me. You didn’t come outside, so I got worried. C’mon, sit up.” Gently, Remus pulled Janus up so he could sit leaned against him. Then he pulled a blanket around his shoulders. And not just any blanket but the one that Remus gifted him this morning. The weight settled nicely around him and Janus sighed, relieved.

“Here,” Remus pushed the controls for the blanket into his hand. “Put in what you need.”

“It’s already good, thank you.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“Okay. Just let me ask one question.”

“Alright.”

“Was it Virgin?”

Janus couldn’t help the flinch. Remus growled lowly but didn’t move.

“He couldn’t leave you alone for just one day, could he.”

“Please Remus, I don’t wanna think about it more now.” Janus knew if he started now, it would be opening a can of worms and as much as Remus would enjoy that if he meant it literally, he didn’t and didn’t have enough energy to do so metaphorically.

“Fine. Cuddles for my snake now, a mace to the face for the emo tomorrow.”

Janus didn’t argue in the moment but they both knew that he wouldn’t let him get that far in the morning. For now, they just sat in silence, Remus holding him in a loose grip. After the tears stopped, he made him drink some water and afterwards offered to put on a movie, but Janus just wanted to sleep.

Remus helped him settle down, sitting next to him and quietly complained about his brother to provide background noise so Janus didn’t get lost in his thoughts again.

Then there was a knock on the door.

Janus really didn’t like how much he flinched today.

“I’ll get it,” Remus mumbled and got up. Janus felt like a coward but didn’t move. He couldn’t deal with any of the others right now.

“Oh, Remus. I didn’t know you were here.”

That was Patton. Why was he here?

“Yeah, well, Janny’s my friend. What’s your excuse?”

“I noticed Janus never joined us outside, so I wanted to check on him. I know him being cold-blooded made the weather less than ideal for him, but I thought he’d come out at least for a little while. And after Virgil said all those things… Well, I got a bit worried.”

Oh, wow.

Patton actually cared.

Janus knew that, of course, but he hadn’t realized to what extent.

Remus glanced over to him; thankfully he was hidden from Patton’s view.

He didn’t want to be seen like this by anyone but Remus.

“Yeah, that was a shitshow. But that’s a discussion for another day, Janny’s asleep and I don’t wanna wake him.”

“Oh! Sorry to have bothered then, I’ll come by tomorrow. And I’ll have a talk with Virgil, promise. I can’t force him to get along with you, but he shouldn’t have said all of those things.”

“Sure. Bye now, daddy.” Remus closed the door in Patton’s face before he could respond and returned to the bed. “You heard all that? He’s gonna be back tomorrow.”

“Yesss. Thank you, Remus.”

“No problem. I’ll let you sleep now.”

Janus didn’t register himself moving until he was already holding onto Remus’ sleeve tightly.

“Don’t go. Please.”

He hated how small his voice was but the idea of having to be alone was even worse.

Remus blinked a few times, surprised, but then he grinned and quickly climbed onto the bed next to Janus.

“Fuck yeah, sleepover!” With a giggle and wiggle he pressed himself tightly against Janus’ back and hugged him. “Gonna cuddle you so hard we’ll melt together over night!”

Janus made a face.

“I’ll make you bathe at least every other day.”

The hold loosened a bit.

“Fine. No melting.”

“Thank you.”

“Sure thing! Melting or not, I’ll always be here for you, Janny.”

Janus couldn’t help the smile that stole itself onto his face.

“Same here, dukey.”

Remus giggled at the nickname but didn’t say more. Quickly after Janus could tell he had fallen asleep as his breathing evened out.

He yawned, getting sleepy himself.

Maybe one day the two of them will find their place along the others, to help Thomas be whatever he wanted to be. But for now they had each other and nobody could take that away from them.

#janus sanders #remus sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders #sandersxchange23

[sanderssidesgiftxchange]

@annaizscribbling @sanderssidesgiftxchange

For Logan and Virgil bonding, here is them after they finish filming an episode

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #logan sanders #sandersxchange23

[sanderssidesgiftxchange]

Merry Christmas, @musical--llama!! Here's some Roceit for you for 2023's @sanderssidesgiftxchange, I went a little 'free-for-all' with the Roceit prompt and drew the two looking all lovey dovey at each other while all dressed up! Are they at a dance? Perhaps their wedding even? All open to your interpretation, giftee!

I hope you like the gift and have a great Christmas day!!

#sanders sides #roman sanders #janus sanders #roceit #sandersxchange23

[sanderssidesgiftxchange]

Your Average Petty Sinner

AO3 link (pending)

Summary- Patton goes through an Emo phase and decides to hang out with the most notorious kids at school, going so far as to try to date their leader.

Relationships- Janus&Patton (Moceit), Remus/Virgil (Dukexiety)

Word Count- 5.4k

Content Warnings- swearing, mild description of injury, mild sexual innuendos

This is my @sanderssidesgiftxchange gift for @lily-janus 💛💙 I really hope you like it! Also a shout out to @infinitesimal-dna for beta reading and putting up with my shenanigans.

“I just don't get it!” Patton frantically paced the small patch of faded pale blue carpet that was visible in his cluttered room, “I literally caught them with cigarettes and lighters in the bathroom- how did they weasel out of detention this time?”

Roman barely looked up from the script in his hand as he lounged on Patton’s bed, “I don't know. Remus didn't say when Mom picked us up. They weren't going to hurt anyone but themselves.”

“Lighters start fires- they could have caused a fire alarm and some freshman could have been trampled in the ensuing panic while the science wing burned down-” Patton whipped back to face Roman who remained unperturbed. 

“And none of that happened. You saved the day, Padre. Why can't you just be happy about that?”

“Because they didn't get in trouble!” Patton crossed his arms tight over his chest and resumed his pacing, “why turn in the bad kids if they're just going to be let go?”

“Sounds like you want to put my brother in jail,” Roman snickered and briefly looked up, “I don't know why. Why do you snitch on them?” Roman countered

Patton bit down hard on his lip before taking a measured breath, “I am not snitching. They just keep breaking the rules in front of me.”

“I think you just want Janus to notice you. Trust me, he does, sweetie. Remus won't stop complaining about how much the goodie two shoes need to fu- leave them alone,” Roman replies, remembering too late the household ban on swears.

“SHH! Don’t let Mom hear you.” Patton whispered tersely, “you’re wrong. I don’t care what any of them think about me– especially not Janus.”

Roman snorted, “Yeah, right. That’s why you’re constantly tattling on him. Didn’t anyone ever tell you that when a boy’s mean to you that means he likes you?”

Patton stopped in his tracks and turned back to face Roman, “That’s… completely untrue.”

Roman rolled his eyes, flipping a page lazily, “Just keep telling yourself that, Padre. I bet if you just asked he’d go out with you.”

“I’m not gay and I don’t want to go out with him,” Patton countered, “will you please just be quiet? My mom would kick you out in two seconds for being a quote ‘bad influence’ if she heard you right now.”

“Mmm fine. Alright. I won’t talk about your obvious crush on Mr. Tall, Dark and Mysterious.”

“I am not- Why don’t you understand that not everyone has to like guys?” 

Roman sat up, “I’m not saying everyone. I just know you, Patt. You don’t like girls. You’ve turned down like twenty of them since homecoming last year. So if you don’t like girls, that just leaves guys. I know you don’t feel comfortable bringing a bf home because of the witch, but you’ve at least got to let yourself consider the possibility.”

“Maybe I just haven’t met the right girl,” Patton replied, not sounding as convincing as he should have to shut down the conversation.

Roman chuckled, “sure. Because she’s actually a boy named Janus and you’re looking in the wrong places.”

“Roman!”

“Just ask him!”

“He hates me. And I don’t like him.”

“You absolutely fucking do!”

“Roman!” Patton hissed, flinching as he could hear his mother’s footsteps coming down the hallway. “Now you’ve done it-” he muttered as the bedroom door clicked and swung open.

“Patton, sweetie. What’s our rule for having friends over?” his mother asked from the door, a falsely sweet and disarming voice cutting through the tension of the argument.

Patton turned, “they need to follow house rules and not distract from school work…”

“That’s right. If I’m not mistaken, I believe I heard Mr. Prince here swearing. That is no way to speak to others, is it?” 

“No, ma’am,” Patton replied, head hung in defeat. 

She turned towards Roman, “Exactly. I’m sorry dear, but you need to leave and reevaluate your vocabulary and manners if you want to spend time with my son.”

“Sorry, Patt,” Roman murmured as he grabbed his backpack and walked past to leave, “tomorrow. Just do it.” 

Patton sighed with exasperation, “Please, Mom, let him stay? He didn’t mean to-”

“You know the rules, Patton. I think it’s about time you got started on your homework,” she brushed him off, escorting Roman out to the front door. 

Patton waited until he heard the front door shutting before closing his bedroom door to get started on his work, trying to tune out his racing thoughts about school. 

___ ___ ___

 Janus slumped against the lockers, ignoring the dirty look from Susan next to him when he accidentally shut hers for her. It wasn’t his fault her locker was so close to Virgil’s. He gripped the head of his cane to keep it from sliding into the throng of students that would trample and crack it without a second thought. The polished wooden cane had cost a fortune, stained black with a yellow snake carved around the shaft up to the handle. He'd refused to adopt a medical-looking metal bully magnet and protected his aide fiercely. Janus silently watched Virgil picking out text books for the next class.

“What a bitch, right?” he asked once Virgil had noticed him. 

Virgil nodded sagely, “Yeah. Who’re we talking about this time?”

Janus smirked, “Mrs. Hansen, of course. It’s like she doesn’t even care that I don’t give a fuck about Physics.”

“She held you after class again? That bitch!” Virgil gaped, closing his locker, “that is so messed up. You should tell the VP that she’s not respecting your accommodations, right?”

“Like he ever cared the twenty thousand other times someone tried to make life harder,” Janus scoffed, glancing at the disturbance coming down the hallway and opting not to warn Virgil.

With all the subtlety of a tornado, Janus watched as Remus pinned Virgil to the lockers, dropping his backpack at Janus’ feet in his hurry to get hands on the boy. Virgil grunted in surprise, pushing back against the attack until he recognized the lips pressed harshly into his neck.

“Rem-! Oh my god!” Virgil laughed breathlessly, “I told you not at school, motherfucker!”

Remus looked up with a devious grin, “and? Your mother said she loved it.”

“Gross,” Virgil chuckled and pulled his boyfriend into a tight hug, “I missed you.”

Janus rolled his eyes, pushing the discarded backpack away with the tip of his cane, “It’s been all of an hour since you two last molested each other in front of the entire school.”

“Jealous, Jannie?”

“Utterly green with envy,” Janus sighed, noticing the crowd in the hall thinning rapidly, “are you done playing tongue hockey yet?”

“Never,” Remus laughed and turned back to Virgil, cutting off his protests with a filthy kiss.

“I’m honestly surprised you haven’t figured out how to make gay love babies yet,” Janus replied, carefully readjusting his treasured suede gloves. The crowds of students dissipated and doors shut as the bell for the next period rang through the now empty halls.

Janus nudged the pair, “Biology will have to wait. Let's get going.”

“Oh come on!” Remus whined, “just tell Mr. Sawan you got held back and we're helping you-”

“It's not a lie for once,” Virgil added, leaning down to grab Remus' bag.

“And they say I'm the bad influence,” Janus scoffed, grabbing his cane to start towards class. Virgil and Remus reluctantly followed, careful to give him space to walk. 

Janus wasn't actually eager to get to class. Everyone always stared when he walked in late, despite arriving late by necessity every day. The scrutiny felt absolutely miserable. 

As they neared the stairs down to the mathematics wing, Janus paused to let the couple go first. The last thing he wanted was to slip all the way down into a concussion.

“Hey!” A voice called loudly from down the hall, “aren't you supposed to be in class?”

Janus glanced over and swore quietly at the sight of the world's most annoying goody two shoes coming towards them.

“Patton. Where do you think we're going?” He asked in a lazy drawl.

“Yeah, calm your tits,” Remus added less than helpfully.

Patton frowned, glancing down at his chest for a brief moment, “I don't have- the bell rang five minutes ago. You're supposed to be in class. I bet you're out here trying to smoke and ditch class.”

“How? You stole my lighter yesterday,” Virgil snarked back, arms crossed tightly over his chest.

“It’s against school policy-” Patton started.

“What's against policy is a student trying to police other students. I literally cannot walk the halls when everyone else is running around,” Janus spoke up, standing up straighter. “We'd have made it by now if you hadn't interrupted us.”

“You liar. You're just messing around to get out of class,” Patton accused, stepping closer as if to intimidate Janus.

He laughed, “we have this discussion once a week! If I didn't know better, I would think you're going out of your way to flirt with me.”

An inscrutable look passed over Patton’s face, freckles melting into a soft flustered blush. “I am not!” Patton whispered hoarsely.

“Then we'll just be on our way,” Janus sneered, starting down the first step, cane first.

“Hey!” Patton gasped, reaching for Janus’s shoulder. Janus flinched at the unexpected touch, shifting to toss Patton as far from him as possible.

Unfortunately, this sent the boy careening down the flight of stairs.

“Shit!” Janus exclaimed,  watching in horror and slight mesmerism as Patton came to a halt on the first landing.

“You killed him!” Remus cackled with glee at the possibility.

“Jan- what the fuck?” Virgil asked, not sure if he should move to help Patton or not.

Janus glanced down the hall, and seeing no one, made his decision.

“Virgil, help me get him to the nurse.” he instructed. “Remus, get to class and tell them Virgil and I cannot make it. Give as little context as possible, got it?”

Remus nodded and hurried to the class.

Janus hurried down the steps as fast as he could manage to the place Patton lay on the stairs.

“Wh- why?” Patton murmured, cradling his shoulder, “I- I wasn't-”

“Next time don't touch people without permission,” Janus snapped, reaching to pick  Patton up, “can you walk?”

“I- I think so?” Patton winced, trying to sit up with both of the others pulling him up, “d-don't pull my arm, please.”

Janus nodded, “right, let's go, before you die or something.”

“Good going, Jan,” Virgil groaned as Patton leaned more heavily against him.

“Shut it, Vi. I didn't do anything.”

The walk down the rest of the stairs and to the nurse's office felt impossibly long and arduous, as Patton moved slower than even Janus. And he moaned in pain at each jostle to his arm.

“You're going to be okay,” Virgil chewed at his cheek, “it wasn't that bad of a fall.”

“I- I hope so,” Patton murmured, “why are the bad kids helping me?”

Janus rolled his eyes, “who said we're bad?”

“I- you always get in trouble,” Patton tried to explain.

“Yeah. Because you're always trying to get us in trouble,” Virgil scoffed.

“I don't expect you to understand, Patton,” Janus stopped as they reached the nurse’s office, “ but sometimes people just don't think like you.”

Patton nodded then tried to walk into the office, “thanks, I guess.”

Janus rolled his eyes, turning to head back to class, only to be confronted with the imposing figure of the school vice principal.

“What's this, then?”

“Oh- sir, I can explain,” Janus offered hastily.

“You will,” the man nodded, pointing towards his office, “If you please, Mr. Shephard.”

Virgil fiddled with his sleeves, “It was completely an accident. We were just helping Patton.”

“He fell down the stairs after slipping on a spilled water bottle,” Janus protested, already tired of walking, “I think he hit his head so we didn't want to leave him alone before he could get over here.”

“I see,” the man eyed the two, “is that so?”

“Yes. That's what happened.” Janus nodded emphatically. He watched the disciplinarian's face to see if he bought the story.

“Get to your class,” the vice principal barked, and the two wasted no time disappearing down the hallway.

___ ___ ___

Patton stirred and sat gingerly up in bed. A needle of pain shot through his shoulder at the weight pressed on it. 

“Oh- f-”

“Patton!” His mother stood at the door to his room with a sour look on her face.

“I was going to say ‘fudge’,” Patton gritted his teeth.

“Honestly, when did I raise such a delinquent?” She shook her head and barged her way in, “bullying other students and now swearing? Certainly nothing I taught you.”

“Mom!”

“I won't hear it. Luckily, some of your classmates collected your homework assignments for you. Behave yourself with them,” she scolded.

“I'm not a bully,” Patton muttered, gazing up at the ceiling as though the stucco could offer him the strength to endure her accusations.

“For the record, no one said you were but her. I don’t know why she thinks that,” Patton looked back to the door sharply, finding his mother replaced with Virgil standing slouched against the frame, a book bag slung over one shoulder. “Hey- I hope it's okay I- let's not worry about how I knew your address. How… are.. you?”

“I've been better. The doctor poked and prodded me a lot yesterday.” 

“Yikes…”

Patton nods, “I’ll be back in school by Monday. Unless I go completely loopy in the head. But I think the sprain in my shoulder is worse. Is Janus okay?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. He was tired from all the running around but like.. I don’t think he’s mad at you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Virgil glanced back to the door before leaning closer to ask, “is she always like that?”

Patton nodded, “yeah… that’s my mom for you.”

Virgil swung his bag onto the bed, “alright, well, I’ve got your homework for the classes you missed.. And I thought you might like some music to pass the time? It’s the kind I listen to when I get really upset,” Virgil explained with a pointed look as he pulled a disk in a clear cover out of the bag with the school books, “just.. Let me know what you think if you do. I’m really sorry about what happened.”

“It’s not your fault, Virge-” Patton shook his head and then winced, “thank you, though.”

“No worries. I- uh.. Look forward to seeing you..? Yeah. Get better soon.”

Patton watched as Virgil exited his bedroom, confused why he of any of the kids at school brought him make up work. He examined the CD, turning it to read the sharpie writing, a list of songs with artists listed in incomprehensible initials. He turned the case over, noticing a small piece of paper tucked under the CD inside the case. Intrigued, he pried the case open and popped the CD out, laying it on the blanket. He retrieved the small folded paper from his lap, carefully picking it apart. 

I didn’t push you down the stairs. I also did not try to help you after you tripped. If you tell anyone I did, I won’t hesitate to make you regret it. -J

Patton frowned, confused by the note. He tossed it aside and pulled out his portable CD player to listen to the mixtape without his mom listening in. He laid back, letting the beats and melodies wash over him. As he listened, an idea started to form, one of which he was barely conscious.

___ ___ ___

“Are you insane?” Roman stared far more openly than other students in the hall. Patton shrugged and pushed past his friend to his locker.

“I’m just trying something new,” Patton replied, hanging his backpack up and picking out books for the first class. He tried very hard to not express frustration when the bookbag caught on the spikes sticking out of one of his many new bracelets. 

“You look ridiculous. You hate black! What is going on?” 

“I can wear whatever I want, Ro. You sound like my mother right now.” 

That shut Roman’s protests up quickly. Patton hummed to himself, reaching into the bag to pull out a brand new makeup pallet made of browns and blacks, picking the darkest shade to dab onto his eyelids.

“How hard did you hit your head?” Roman asked, staring in even more shock and disbelief. 

“My head is fine, Roman. I told you I’m trying something new,” Patton explained.

“Oh Hey! When did you get hot, Pat-Pat?” Remus yelled, dragging Virgil behind him from down the hall.

“Woah- Patton, are you okay?” Virgil asked as they reached him and Roman at the lockers. 

“Looks like Jannie knocked some sense into him. Hot damn!” Remus leered, earning a smack on the shoulder from Virgil and Roman. 

“Guys, I am fine. I promise. I wanted to see how my mom would take it,” Patton offers, not so subtly searching the halls.

“Right. Suuuuuuure,” Remus giggled, “just remember that Virgie is mine,” he snaps playfully, “I don’t share and I certainly don’t do threesomes.” Remus winked, sending a shiver of disgust running down Patton’s spine. “Congrats, baby emo.”

“If you need to talk or something,” Virgil managed to offer before getting swept away by Remus.

Roman sighed, “Seriously, do you want to talk?”

“I’ll be fine, Ro. I’m still me. I just... I don’t know. It felt right this morning,” Patton offers as explanation.

“Well, you know where to find me. And if this is some ploy to get Janus to like you- it won’t work-” 

“I don’t care if he likes me,” Patton protests, “this isn’t about him.”

“It’s not?” Janus asked in a smooth voice, standing behind Patton as if he appeared there from thin air.

“Janus!” Patton whipped around, “how- when did you- um, hi.” he stammered.

Roman laughed and clapped Patton on the shoulder, “good luck, Romeo. See you at lunch.” He walked away still laughing as Patton blushed and tried to shake the teasing off.

Janus watched curiously. He certainly would never have predicted that Patton would show up in an all black pretend-emo costume. Amazing really how people could still surprise him. 

“I promise that Roman doesn’t know what he’s talking about-” Patton tried to recover his composure.

“He never does. Poor Remus got all the interesting and useful brains,” Janus sighed, examining his gloved hand nonchalantly. “Even if this were some ploy for my attention, I wouldn’t be interested just because you changed clothes and painted your nails.”

“That implies you would be interested in different circumstances,” Patton pointed out.

“Would I? I never said that. You understood my message, right?” Janus asked, changing topics quickly.

Patton nodded, “I- yes, I understood. You didn’t have to threaten me. Everyone thinks I broke my head and wouldn’t believe me saying either thing.” 

“Correct. No use spreading rumors,” Janus smirked.

“Janus?” 

“What?” 

“Do you think I’m a bad person?” Patton asked quietly.

Janus took a moment to think over the question, “Why are you asking me?”

“Because I think you’re probably the person I’ve hurt the most.”

Janus laughed, “Oh please. Like you could hurt me. Since when do you care about my opinions?”

“I don’t know- I’m really trying something new here, Janus.” Patton worried his lip between his teeth. 

“I see. I notice,” Janus nodded and turned to head towards class.

“Janus? Do I… seem like I have a crush on you?”

Janus stopped in his tracks, turning back slowly, “Do you have one?”

Patton shrugged his one good shoulder, “Roman says I must have one. I’m not sure. How do I figure it out?”

Janus studied the black clad teen he would have sworn had it out for him just two days ago. Who was he to answer this kind of question? And why wouldn’t he just ask Roman, the prince of failed relationships?

“I don’t know. Go on a date with me?” Janus was just as surprised at the words leaving his lips as Patton looked hearing them.

“Wait- really?”

“Yes. We can go out tonight. No need to make it formal. Just black, not black tie.” Janus nodded. It surprised him just how calm and collected he felt, proposing a romantic time together. 

Patton hummed, “um.. I assume Virgil… gave you my address,” he replied diplomatically, “would you be able to pick me up.”

“Yes. 9 o’clock?”

Patton nodded, “yeah, that works. I’ll see you then?”

Janus smiled just a bit mischievously, “yes, you will. Good luck in school today. Everyone is going to notice.”

“Notice what?” Patton asked.

“This.” Janus smirked and leaned forward, planting a lipstick stained kiss on Patton’s cheek, turning to leave just as the first bell rang out. 

Patton stood frozen like a deer, slowing reaching up to touch his cheek, “oh, shit-”

___ ___ ___

“Uh, Jannie?”

“Yes, Remus?”

“Where the fuck are we going?” Remus asked, hanging on the back of Janus’ seat.

Janus inhaled slowly, “We’re picking up my date for tonight.”

“Since when do you date?” Virgil asked, lounging in the back seat and scrolling on his phone.

“Since this morning,” Janus answered, “You two just made it look so fun I had to give it a try.”

“Ooooooooh,” Remus absolutely beamed, “so who’s the lucky virgin?”

“Come on, Re. Don’t assume,” Virgil chided, trying to pull his boyfriend back to the back seat. “Wait- I recognize this street-”

“Just shut up,” Janus growled, “You’re the ones who wanted me to date. He’s harmless and might even like me.”

“So you’re trying to go out with the guy who made our lives hell for over a year?” Virgil asked.

“I’m not being some sort of saint, I’m just curious about what Patton’s going through.”

“I’ll cancel the wedding bells,” Remus cackled as they pulled up to the door. The headlights swept over the porch, revealing Patton sitting outside in the dark. He popped up, rushing over to the passenger side of the car.

“Hey Janus- and… Virgil and Remus? What?” Patton squinted at the couple in the back seat, “is this.. A double date?”

“Somewhat. Get in,” Janus commanded, ignoring the snickering from the back seat. 

Patton climbed in and sat down, confused but not about to back out now. Not when Roman would roast him for failing to go on the first date he’s ever been asked out on. Janus pulled out of the driveway and continued on in relative quiet.

“So… where are we going?” Patton asked, a little too bright for his dark exterior. 

“You’ll see,” Janus replied cryptically.

Patton nodded and fell silent, watching the road slip by as they drove along.

“Woof. The chemistry is just bubbling,” Remus snarked after a few minutes of quiet, sitting back to cuddle into Virgil.

Virgil laughed softly, “give them time. I’m sure it’s just first date awkwardness.” He wrapped his arms around Remus and held him close.

Janus turned down a residential street and flicked off the headlights, “Well, Patton, since you’re exploring new countercultures, I figured it would be a good idea to bring you along to a protest.”

“A protest? At night?” Patton asked, fear glinting in his eyes, “what kind of protest?”

“One against ableism in the education system,” Virgil grinned, grabbing cartons of eggs from the floor of the back seat.

“Yeah! We’re gonna show that bitch what it feels like!” Remus crowed, opening the door before Janus could put the car in park and banging impatiently on the trunk. Virgil piled out as well as Janus parked and grabbed the latch to open the trunk for them. 

“This… is illegal, isn’t it?” Patton worried, glancing around the street to see if they had been spotted yet.

“Very.” Janus nodded, “but, lucky us that the Virus have the dirty work covered. We’re just lookouts tonight. Mrs. Hansen has been violating my disability accommodations. That makes my life harder when I end up missing the beginning of class because of the crowds in the hallway. So we’re making her morning a bit harder.”

“Oh.. that’s why you three were in the hallway during class time the other day?” Patton asked, voice softening at the realization.

“Yes. Sometimes we wait until after the bell anyway but she still shouldn’t be holding me back like that,” Janus explained.

“I’m sorry- I didn’t realize that,” Patton offered quietly, wincing as Remus started chucking raw eggs at the car in the driveway.

“Relax, Patton. They’re just letting off steam. I swear they would have burned the school down by now if I didn’t try to aim them at productive activities,” Janus chuckled, glancing down the road for any observers.

“Right. So… this is a date… why don’t you tell me about yourself?” Patton turned in his seat to face Janus. 

Janus slowly turned his head, “what do you want to know?”

“Um, I’m not sure. I’ve never done this before,” Patton laughed nervously, “maybe… when did you know that you’re gay?”

Janus snorted at that, “I still don’t know. You’re the first boy I’ve tried to date. You’d think hanging out around the twins would make that sort of question easy, right?”

“Right! Like, I’ve known Roman really well for years and he sure seems to know… some of what he wants. But I just don’t know how he understands what a crush is versus wanting to be friends.”

“Those two make it seem like you meet someone and suddenly they’re the only thought in your head ever,” Janus nodded to the couple who were busy laying out toilet paper strips in the shape of a penis on the hood of the car, “I’ve never understood it.” 

“Do you.. Feel that way about me?” Patton asks, “since you’re the one who asked me out.”

“Frankly, I find your change of aesthetic rather intriguing. And you seem willing to challenge some of your bullshit ideas right now, so why not?” Janus shrugs, “maybe I just want attention and don’t give a fuck about who you are. You can never know.”

Patton looked down towards his hands, folded neatly in his lap, “I think I’ve been jealous of you all.”

“How so? You seemed adamant about reporting us to the school like a narc for the past year,” Janus challenged.

“Because things like egging teacher’s houses and smoking in the hallways can cause problems for people! But, I do like how you all express yourselves.”

“Really?”

“Right. You just… get to be weird and stand out in classes. You get away with a disturbing amount of rule breaking. It seems really freeing,” Patton sighed softly, “Maybe I’m thinking about it wrong. I’ve just always felt terrified of disappointing people, and in just one day I’ve been able to disappoint almost everyone.”

“So, you’re just dressing emo to make people upset, not to express yourself?”

“I mean- maybe partially?” Patton shrugged, “I never knew you all were this criminal-”

“Patton-”

“And… I think it’s maybe hot that you all stand up for yourselves despite what people think of you?” Patton says shyly, more of a question than an opinion.

“I didn’t bring you along to impress you with like that-”

“No?”

“I thought giving Virgil and Remus a target would give us some time alone,” Janus explains.

“Time  alone to do what?” Panton leaned a bit closer.

“What we’re doing now, talking.”

“That’s all you wanted to do with me?” Patton asked, head tilted a bit.

“Did you want to kiss me?” 

“Patton-”

Patton leaned in even closer until the backdoor slammed open, sending him scrambling back to his seat, blushing bright red.

“Drive- Neighbor might be calling the cops.” Remus replied, out of breath.

Virgil nodded and Janus jumped into action to get away from the crime scene. 

“Looked like a productive date,” Remus teased as Janus slowed back down to avoid suspicion.

“Wow what a rush!” Patton exclaimed. 

“Adrenaline wasn’t the point,” Janus reminded him, “Are you two ready to head home?”

“Yeah, Remus’ please,” Virgil nods.

Remus spent the car ride back to his place giving the lookouts a play by play of the night, with Virgil interjecting with certain facts and figures.. Janus soon dropped the pair off and the silence settled between him and Patton. 

“I just… you guys get away with bad behavior all the time. I wish I could do that the same as you,” Patton spoke up eventually.

Janus sighed and pulled the car over again, this time near a park, “Do you even care about why we do that stupid shit?”

“Well, tonight was about getting back at Mrs. Hansen, right? For treating you badly,” Patton recalled.

“And skipping class is because it’s too overwhelming to sit still learning useless crap with a bunch of jerks who know nothing about what it’s like to try and navigate when your feet don’t just take you to where you need to go. They don’t care that it hurts to walk and it’s just safer to take my time with friends by my side to catch me.”

“I-”

“You just see me as some bad boy to upset people with. You don’t care how I feel about it, do you?” Janus challenged.

“That’s not true-” Patton tried to protest. 

“I’m not some average petty sinner to disappoint your family with at the holidays. I actually have feeling and wants and needs and I just- I-”

Patton reached over to take one of Janus’ hands, “It’s okay. I-I didn’t want to use you, Janus. Not in the long run. Sure, I wanted to experiment and see if Roman’s right about crushes, but I don’t want to trap you in a relationship you won’t enjoy. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Janus looked away, trying to pull his hand free.

“Just remember that you asked me out tonight. So, I thought that kisses were something you’re supposed to do on dates. Can we try again without interruptions this time? See if… well, if we’ll like that sort of thing?”

“Are you even listening to me?”

“Yes, yes I am. You are not a manic pixie dream boy or the dangerous rebel to scare my mom with. You’re Janus. And I don’t know you very well because I’ve never tried to get to know you. But we’re on a date. It’s past curfew. I think you at least deserve a chance at something properly romantic, since defacing property was just the distraction to keep Remus and Virgil busy. It’s too late to get food anywhere. So maybe we can try a kiss and start over again in the morning?”

Janus blinked, trying to process all of that at once. “Um… no.”

“No?” Patton sat back immediately, “did I do something wrong?”

“Not necessarily, I just… you asking makes it very clear to me that I don’t want to kiss you, Patton.” Janus tried to explain.

Patton nodded, “okay. I- actually, thank you? I- I was so scared…”

Janus chuckled softly, “I don’t think we’re crushing on each other. I’m not sure why not. But I’m glad you agree.” 

Patton nodded emphatically this time, “I very much don’t want to be the awkward one. I think… it would feel wrong or empty to try. And that’s not your fault-”

“I get it. I agree. We tried. Dating just… isn’t in our cards,” Janus laughed a bit more at that, “let me take you home?”

“Yes please. Maybe at school… we can just say hi?”

“That would be much more pleasant.”

Patton sighed softly and leaned back in the passenger seat, “I won’t tell about the eggs and toilet paper, by the way. Maybe I should ask Mrs. Hansen why she’s not letting you leave for class on time?”

Janus smiled, “That could be helpful. Maybe she just needs to see one of the responsible students concerned on our behalf.”

“Would have been a lot less illegal if you just asked me to do that in the first place,” Patton giggled, “It makes more sense than vandalism.”

“But throwing trash at her house is fun,” Janus grins, starting the car again.

“It may be fun. But there are much better outlets for the anger, I would think.” Patton grinned.

“Maybe you’ll be a good acquaintance after all,” Janus mused, pulling back out onto the road to take his definitely-not-a-date back home.

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