if you're going my way, i'll go with you - chapter 13
Fandom: Sanders Sides
Characters: All the sides, character!Thomas, minor/background OCs
Rating: Teen & up
Relationships: Analogical, Dukeceit, platonic Loceit and Intrulogical, platonic/parental Prinxiety and Logince
Warnings: None for this chapter
Word count: 3555
Read on AO3!
My writing masterpost
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Chapter 13
“Mmkay.” Virgil consulted what felt like an ever-growing list. “We placed the order for your super supplies with the school bookstore. I can have your other textbooks delivered.” He held up the pile of shopping bags strung on his arm. “We got you some more clothes so you’ll have a proper wardrobe.” He scrolled further down the list. “I think the next thing is probably gonna be toys?”
Roman looked taken aback. “Seriously?” He sounded even more skeptical than he looked, like he was certain this was some kind of mistake on Virgil’s part.
“Sure, buddy. What kinds of toys do you like?”
Roman hesitated. “Uh, I kind of like everything, I think?” He pondered for a moment. “I like making stuff. Like, crafts, and stuff.”
Virgil added a new item to the list—art supplies—and nodded. “How about some Legos?” he suggested.
This was clearly an excellent idea on his part; Roman absolutely lit up, his feet lifting ever-so-slightly off the ground in reflexive flight. All he said, though, with the intensity of the sun itself, was, “Yes.”
Virgil stifled a chuckle. “Perfect. Lego store, next stop.”
He had to admit he had a little too much fun walking into the toy store fully clad in his villain uniform—he had Roman wear his own mask too, just in case—and then strolling about the store quite harmlessly, pushing a shopping cart in Roman’s happy wake and blithely ignoring the stares and murmurs of the other shoppers and employees. Instead he focused on Roman’s chatter and on answering his every single hesitant “can I—?” with an immediate “Yes,” no matter what.
The cart filled up quite rapidly as a result of this strategy, and though Virgil did his best to encourage Roman, eventually the child took notice of how many items he’d already chosen and clearly reigned himself in, much to Virgil’s chagrin.
“Um—” Roman hesitated, no longer bouncing around. “I think I’m done. This is plenty.”
“It’s not a problem,” Virgil assured him.
But Roman nodded his head. “I’m done.” He assessed Virgil’s face, where he likely found some trace of worry or dissatisfaction, because he then added comfortingly, “I mean, if it’s really important to you, it would definitely be okay for you to get me more later.”
This startled a laugh out of Virgil. “Good to know,” he said, allowing Roman to lead the way to the cash register.
***
Logan took a deep breath, then knocked on the door.
“Patton, baby, can you get it?” he heard Janus call from inside.
“Okay!” Patton responded; there were thumping footsteps, and the noise of the lock unbolting.
Logan set down the bag he was carrying, letting it lean against the wall, and braced himself as the door swung open.
Patton’s jaw dropped. “Uncle Logan?” He sprung into motion almost before he finished talking, and even though Logan had been prepared for it, the impact of Patton literally leaping into his arms sent him stumbling back a half step.
“Uncle Logan!” Patton repeated in a happy shriek, a little too close to Logan’s ear for comfort, his voice now bearing the undertones of a croak and the texture of his skin going from warm peach-fuzz to clammy and cool in the span of only a second or two.
Logan pressed a kiss to the little boy’s temple. “Hello, Tadpole,” he greeted, shifting to hold Patton more securely—the child was really too big to be picked up at this point, but his frog powers made him more than strong enough to climb anyone he pleased and hold on for as long as he wanted, so this made little difference. “I’ve missed you.”
“Well, I missed you, missed you, missed you! Which is more,” Patton said, nodding decisively. “You got too busy.”
“Um, did you know Daddy got a boyfriend?” Patton interrupted. “It was a long time ago now, um, his name’s Remus. He’s really fun and cool.”
“I did know that, yes. He works in my lab.”
“What?” Patton shrieked, once again testing the strength of Logan’s eardrums.
“Indeed.” Logan pried Patton off himself and lowered the child to the ground.
“I didn’t know that!” Patton hopped in place. “So you’re friends with him?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes.” Logan picked up his bag and offered Patton his hand. “How has school been?”
Patton lit up again. “I can jump twelve feet high!” he started, and was off in an eager babble. Logan led him through the door, closing and locking it behind them, and sat on the living room couch, where Patton stood before him, still clasping Logan’s hand, hopping back and forth from foot to foot, seeming too energized to sit down as he continued eagerly telling Logan every little detail that came to mind.
Logan listened and nodded along, interjecting the occasional comment or question. Across the open floor plan, in the kitchen, he could see Janus and Remus; Remus’s back was to the living room, his arm was around Janus’s waist, and Janus was gazing up at him with an unguarded, adoring look, leaning up every so often to exchange tiny kisses in between the quiet conversation they seemed to be holding.
Logan, seeing that his attention was unlikely to be needed there while the pair of them were so engrossed in each other, looked back to his nephew and allowed himself to focus fully on Patton’s excited ramble.
At last, when Patton’s frog features had mostly faded away into relative calm and he had talked himself out for the time being, he drew in a huge gasp, turned on his heel, and flopped backwards to lay on the sofa beside Logan. “Do you think Remus’s mustache is silly?” he inquired, looking at the ceiling. “I think it makes him look like a hipster.”
Logan could not hold back a startled snort of laughter at the comparison.
“A WHAT?” Remus demanded at the top of his lungs from the kitchen, not turning around, sounding absolutely scandalized.
Patton bounced to sit upright at once, giggling. “It does!” he insisted. This, from both of their tones, was clearly an ongoing argument.
Logan could see where the child was coming from; he himself had, on occasion, devoted the occasional amused thought to pondering what percentage of Remus’s income must be devoted to mustache wax. The young man seemed to always have a container on his person, and spent a not-insignificant amount of time every day fiddling with his mustache, ensuring that its upward-curled tips were never less than pristine and perfectly pointed.
“You are the most pernicious, mischievous, slanderous little delight of a rapscallion I have ever—” Remus cut off very suddenly as he fully turned towards the sofa and caught sight of Logan. “Doc?” he said after a moment’s flabbergasted staring.
Well. The fact that he had immediately recognized Logan, despite never having seen his unmasked face before, was—well, since it was Remus and Logan trusted Remus, it was a good sign. Though it would have been disconcerting in most other circumstances.
Logan waved. “Hello.” He cleared his throat. “It’s—Logan, actually.”
Remus drew in a breath of realization, looking back to Janus. “That’s why you pronounce ‘Logic’ so weird sometimes?”
“It’s—listen, it’s not my fault his supername is so similar to his real name,” Janus said, flushing with embarrassment. “I—” She looked over at Logan helplessly. “I’ve never actually let it slip! I promise!”
“I know,” Logan assured him. “I would have known, and we would have had a very long conversation about it, if you had ever done so.”
“That’s not really reassuring,” Janus muttered with a roll of their eyes.
“Good,” Logan retorted lightly.
“Here, let me—” Remus moved around the kitchen counter into the living room and offered a hand to take the bag from Logan. Logan handed it off, and Remus hastened back to the kitchen, setting it down on the counter and unloading the food inside it.
Janus made a pleased noise, picking up the container of deviled eggs and transferring it to the fridge. “Ooh, my favorites.”
“I’m aware,” Logan said, offering Patton his palm to drum on. “That is precisely why I brought them.”
“I mean, I would hope you wouldn’t bring something I didn’t like on purpose.” Janus moved to the stove and lifted the lid of a pot simmering on it to check whatever was inside.
“I would not,” Logan agreed, “nor would I do so by accident, since I am very familiar with your tastes.”
“Yeah, yeah, you know everything about everyone, I get it.” Janus replaced the lid and reached up to set a timer on the microwave.
“Not quite,” Logan felt he ought to correct, though he was pleased by the flattery. “I do believe I know very close to everything about you, specifically, though.”
“Hey! I’m mysterious!” Janus put their hands on their hips.
Logan only bothered to dignify this argument with “I have known you since you were fifteen years old.”
Janus rolled her eyes, clearly trying not to smile. “Whatever. Shall we play a game before dinner?”
“Yes!” Patton answered first, followed by slightly slower (Remus) and quieter (Logan) agreement from the rest of the room. Remus followed Patton to the shelf tucked in the corner of the room, while Logan set about clearing space on the coffee table.
“Oh, this puzzle looks super sick,” Remus commented, picking up a box and hefting it consideringly.
“Nope!” Patton grabbed it right back and hastily returned it to its place on the shelf. “We can’t play puzzles with Uncle Logan,” he explained in a loud whisper.
“Oh, I see,” Remus whispered loudly back—his clearly a deliberate stage whisper rather than an accident born of youth. “How come?”
“It makes him go like this.” Patton hopped over to sit next to Logan on the couch and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and clutching his head with both hands, making an exaggerated face of despair.
Remus looked over at Logan, clearly not sure if he was allowed to laugh; Janus, displaying no such qualms, was already in fits of delighted giggles at Patton’s imitation.
Logan smiled in spite of himself; Patton was simply too adorable. “Well. I try my best not to do that,” he commented mildly. “But sometimes it is very hard.”
“He’s toooooooooooo smart,” Patton explained to Remus. “And it bugs him watching everyone else do the puzzle wrong.” He scooted back across the couch until he could dangle over the arm to reach the shelf once more and pulled out a board game. “We should play this one instead! This one is lots of fun!”
Janus had by now composed himself, though slower and more dramatically than Logan thought was strictly warranted. (There had been a bit too much overexaggerated dabbing tears of laughter from her eyes for Logan’s taste.) “That’s a great choice, baby,” she told Patton, dragging the armchair from the corner over to within arm’s reach of the coffee table and relaxing into it.
Remus sat himself cross-legged on the floor by Janus’s knee and busied himself helping Patton to unpack and set up the game.
Janus was right, Logan noted—the game was indeed a good choice; he’d played it with Janus and Patton a handful of times before. It was a cooperative game with enough complexity to entertain on repeat playthroughs, while remaining simple enough that explaining the rules to Remus didn’t take too long. Patton was able to handle most of it during the setup.
“Coolio,” Remus commented at last, leaning against the side of Janus’s armchair. “I think I got it.” He picked up the green player token and moved it to the start point.
“There is plenty of room on the couch, Remus,” Logan pointed out.
“I’m good,” he said, reaching over and patting vaguely at Janus’s shins by way of explanation. “Thanks, though.”
Logan nodded and didn’t push it. He calculated that probably at least 70% of Remus’s motivations, if not more, truly did lie in being as close as possible to Janus—but he also detected just a hint of tension and apprehension in Remus’s demeanor.
It took very little thought to find a likely reason. Janus had said they weren’t telling Remus or Patton ahead of time that Logan was coming; Patton was, of course, more than accustomed to Logan’s presence, but Remus until now had only known him within the context of Dr Logic. Perhaps Logan wasn’t the only one feeling minor trepidations about adjusting to each other’s company in this new setting. And at least Logan had known to expect it. Remus, by Logan’s best estimation, must be trying to guess if this was truly a casual environment, or if he was expected to continue to behave with a semblance of professionalism in front of Logan, even outside of work.
Logan would simply have told Remus outright that all was well, but this would likely have inspired some defensiveness from Janus—he could tell they hadn’t yet realized anything was amiss with Remus, and the realization would certainly be an unwelcome one, what with how fond and protective of him they were. So Logan decided to wait for an opportune moment to speak to Remus, and in the meantime turned his focus back to the game and to Patton, who had easily taken his place as tiny director of the team.
“Remus, you can be focused on the forest,” Patton was saying, “and, um, for that, the bluebirds are pretty good, but the mushrooms are definitely the most important in the forest. And the hedgehogs are okay if you get one, but don’t, like, try to get them, they really don’t matter so much. The foxes are super cute but we don’t want them, try and trade them for owls if you can. Okay?”
Remus nodded seriously, palming the two forest die from the pile of supplies in the middle of the board. “What’s our policy on squirrels?”
“Oh, those are good too, but not as good as the mushrooms still.” Patton eyed the board critically. “Uncle Logan, you can do the water cycle like you normally do,” he suggested. (Logan found this greatly amenable and accepted the little bag of tokens with a smile.) “Mama, I want a turn running the market, so can you do the maze?”
“Sure, baby.” Janus took the spinner and balanced it on the arm of his chair, then went back to winding Remus’s curls around his fingers.
Patton beamed, lining up the different stacks of cards on the marked spaces in the market section. “Perfect! So I get to go first, because I’m the youngest and it’s the weekend.” He waved the rulebook, though nobody challenged the statement.
“So wait—” Remus pointed to the round base placed on the center of the board. “Who’s in charge of building the tree?”
“Everybody is,” Patton explained, rolling the basic non-forest dice, consulting Janus’s spinner, and marking down the results on the chart whiteboard. He moved his token forward a few spaces, passed a card from the market to Remus, and drew two for himself. “Technically everybody does everything whenever they need to, but Daddy and Uncle Logan and me figured out it gets a lot easier if each person keeps track of one section of the game the most. But everybody builds the tree, it doesn’t work otherwise.” He frowned at the cards. “I can’t put down any trunk pieces yet, so I guess I end my turn.”
Logan was next, and with a lucky roll from both the dice and the spinner, not only was he able to place the first trunk piece on the tree base, he also collected an owl and a card from the market, and he even scheduled a rainstorm for his next turn. A highly satisfactory first-round turn, if he did say so himself.
Gameplay continued on; Remus only had to be talked through his turn for a couple of rounds before he really started to get the hang of it. Logan clocked the exact moment—during his own turn on the fourth round—when Remus noticed the pride flag Logan wore on his watchband. He barely reacted, really hardly more than a blink, but that was still enough for Logan to notice it happen. The lack of fanfare was a tremendous reassurance—much greater than Logan had expected, in fact. Remus was clearly surprised, but not deeply so. It was news to him, but unremarkable news. Logan could practically hear the way he might say, “Oh! Neat,” before shrugging and moving on.
Well, there was that out of the way. Simple, quick, and relieving. Logan had, of course, known his nerves over coming out to Remus were overblown, but it was delightful nonetheless to be proven so thoroughly right.
The timer went off; Janus tossed the spinner at Logan’s head and slipped back into the kitchen.
“I can take that, Doc,” Remus offered quickly.
“Thank you, Remus.” Logan, who had rolled his eyes and made no effort to catch the spinner, picked it up off the couch where it had landed after bouncing off of him. “And you are welcome to call me Logan here,” he added, catching Remus’s gaze to make direct eye contact as an underline to his sincerity. “When I am out of my suit, my intent is that my ‘work hat’ is fully off. I intend for this to be more of a ‘casual’ setting, if you will.”
Remus bit back a smile. “You don’t need to do all those air quotes, I get it.” He situated the spinner on the table to the side of his various other game pieces. “Thanks,” he added, with a hesitant, “Logan.”
“Of course.” Logan nodded once, feeling hopeful that this exchange would successfully diffuse the slight awkwardness that had been in the air between them.
“Daddy, it’s your turn!” Patton called.
“You can skip me,” Janus responded.
Patton wrinkled his nose at the suggestion. “Can I do your turn for you?” he suggested instead.
“Sure.” There was a clattering of silverware. “Dinner’s ready in, like, maybe three minutes, though.”
“You want help, babe?” Remus hopped to his feet without waiting for an answer and made for the kitchen.
“I think that may be our cue to pause the game,” Logan informed Patton, who was busy moving about Janus’s tokens and cards.
“Okayyyy,” Patton agreed, not with enthusiasm. “Can you sit next to me at the table, too? I still have so much stuff to tell you!”
“I would be delighted to,” Logan informed him wholeheartedly.
***
By the time Roman and Virgil made it back to the lair, in addition to the clothes, toys, art supplies, and school supplies, they were also laden down with a bucket of red paint, some brightly-colored bedding and curtains, new snacks and sweets, and several boxes of furniture—a desk, some shelves and cupboards, hooks to hang on the walls, a bulletin board and some tacks, and further such things—that Virgil hoped would be more useful to Roman than the current setup of his room was.
“Can we paint my room now?” Roman asked the moment they walked in the door, eyeing the paint bucket as Virgil set it on the countertop.
Virgil glanced at the clock. “I think not tonight,” he said, with some regret at the general concept of refusing anything to the kid. “It’s pretty much time for dinner. And it wouldn’t be good to sleep in a room full of wet paint. We can work on it tomorrow, or I can just have it done on Monday while you’re out at school. Or a bit of both. Whatever you want.”
“I want to do the painting!” Roman insisted. He twisted the paint bucket around until he could see the label and began reading it with interest.
“Sounds good. Tomorrow, then.” Virgil pulled up his calendar on his watch and checked his schedule for the next day. Pretty empty; one pending fight request from a hero whose name only sounded vaguely familiar. He opened that up and hit the decline button, then blocked off a few hours of his schedule for the painting escapade. After a moment’s consideration, he increased the length a bit, figuring that the chance of needing a shower afterward was high. Satisfied with this, he saved the calendar.
Roman had rapidly lost interest in the small print on the paint can, and was now rummaging through the bags. “Is this seriously all mine?” he inquired a little suspiciously.
“I don’t think that raincoat would exactly fit me, buddy,” Virgil wisecracked. “Yeah. All yours.”
“Wow,” Roman breathed, just as he obviously spotted the Lego bag amid the pile; he dropped the raincoat like a hot potato and pounced.
“What do you want for dinner?” Virgil asked hastily, before Roman could get too lost in that.
“Um, anything,” Roman said, clearly more focused on ripping open the box he’d selected. “Can I do this out here?” He looked up to gauge Virgil’s response. “Or does my stuff have to stay in my room?”
“Here is great,” Virgil said with a smile, and went to go see what he had in the fridge.
-
it's been a while since i've been here, so let me know if you'd like to be added to my new taglist!
Sanders sides HCs (Starting with Janus because he is my favorite)
Gender-fluid, but not the “switching genders” but more if the “It’s fluid, but kind of all one thing, ya know?”
Any pronouns (usually goes with he/him or they/them) but also loves sticking to a set that doesn’t match what they’re presenting as that day. (Like she/her in a full 3 piece suit or he/him in a ball gown)
loves confusing people with their gender (the expressions of others trying to figure them out is just so funny)
The “mom friend” who has so may chaotic children (Me tho)
Weaves as just something to do with their hands (weaves a tall tale, web of lies, ect.)
Would know how to walk in heels, but only after a lot of practice in their own room. They never wore heels before getting the hang of it.
One of the only ones that can actually cook (They kind of have to as self-care and self-preservation)
Took care of Virgil and Remus after the split, even though they were the same age
Was the first to “form” in Thomas’s mind, but not as deceit, only as self-preservation.
their nickname was “prezzy” before they got names because self-preservation was too long (this is from a Ao3 Fic that I read a while back, but I don’t remember the author or the Fic title)
Evolved into “Lies” after telling a falsehood to Thomas’s teacher to get them out of trouble
became deceit sometime after the split, No one knows exactly when, not even themself
Would make sure that each of the sides have what they need to go to sleep/function in the morning. Even if no one notices besides Remus.
Tries to not hurt the other sides because they know that would hurt Thomas, it would go against their very nature.
They can’t help but to lie, it is one of their main functions. But they will try and emphasize the part that is a lie to be understood easier. (“I can’t do that”, but they emphasize the can’t)
They realize after a while that each of the sides can make small changes to their appearance to look slightly different from Thomas.
They choose to grow out their hair and bleach the ends (it reaches to about their waist now) but they tie it up and hide it under their hat when needing to film Or presenting masculine
Likes to braid their hair and decorate it with gold pieces
Can very easily multi task with all of their extra arms
Cold blooded and has at least 3 layers on at a time
Has something akin to a snake den made out of blankets and pillows in the back of their closet where they can shut the door so it’s dark and warm
Called each of the sides “snakelets” at one point or another and then got very embarrassed
spends a lot of their time studying the minds of people (or just general humans) to mind out how to keep Thomas from the danger of humans
Understands that the current American government is not the best. They try to do small things to rebel against it. “If the place Thomas lives in is not safe, then Thomas is not safe, and I can’t stand for that”
Would hiss at people when startled or upset (Full on Hissed at Remus after they got woken up after being woken up after an explosion)
Sticks out their tongue in concentration unconsciously
Wears gloves because “Ew texture” (who knows what kind of things Remus is leavening around) but takes them off once they are safe in their own room because “Mmm texture”
That’s all for now, might think of some more at a latter date
Summary: People receive, soon after they're born, a coloured pebble or multiple pebbles that will glow when they meet the soulmate that corresponds with each pebble.
Logan finds it illogical but still endevours to meet them, having his 4 pebbles fitted into his watch to be easily visible while unintrusive at all times.
/\/\
If you asked Logan, he's say that logically and scientifically speaking the pebbles made no sense. He'd studied them in social classes which covered soulmates and the different types of bonds that formed and even had the chance while studying for his degree to research what they were made of. None of that was conclusive or much more than speculation about what pebbles were composed of.
Most studies currently claimed that the pebbles were condensed plasma but Logan couldn't believe that. He would display them on his watch strap but often clip them out in museums or geology exhibitions in an attempt to match the properties of rocks to them. It had long since been learnt that observation under a microscope would never reveal consistent images, even with one individual pebble, let alone between multiple pebbles, so comparison was Logan's main attempt to understand them.
Trying to understand these illogical soulmate pebbles was a hobby of Logan's now, but it had during school lead him to studying the stars as well as literature trying to grasp the concept so ingrained into the cultures of the world. Often people were confused to hear that the serious astronomer, heralded in his field as a field leading expert, would leave work to enjoy performances of stories about people finding their soulmates. Logan didn't care about their confusion though, he wanted to know about how the pebbles functioned, what they were made up of, as well as how soulmates could connect together. Having 4 pebbles it seemed reasonable to have so understanding of the connections the pebbles cause or possibly just encourage.
Tonight, Logan was going to see a Sleeping Beauty adaption performed, curious as ever not only over how the soulmate connection would be portrayed in the performance but also how the pebbles would be shown. Usually for fairytale performances there would be dual indications, a ring or other form of jewellery on the actors and spotlights that follow them around the stage, but that wasn't a guarantee.
It was after the interval when Logan really started to pay attention. The prince character's costume had seemed excessively decorated, but during a moment where the actor was walking through the audience one of the pebbles hanging around the collar had begun to glow. The detail seemed out of place and oddly timed, given the character's soulmate was currently absent from the scene so Logan had to pay more attention to the decorations.
He wasn't sure if the actor's costume was even allowed to use his real pebbles, but the four hanging around the collar weren't looked to when mentioning the soulmates in the performance; that pebble was set into the crest on the Prince's shoulder. The 3 that hadn't lit up also matched 3 of the colours of Logan's pebbles identically, and when he looked down, just before the actor moved closer to the stage, his fourth, vibrantly red pebble had also been glowing, just as the actor's indigo blue pebble had been.
If only to sate his curiosity, Logan found his way to the stage door once the final bows had concluded, waiting among fans of the show carrying programmes and other merchandise. His programme was already folded away, although he had checked it to learn the actor who had performed at the Prince was called Roman before leaving his seat.
“Hello Darlings, Anyone wanting a photo please step to one side while I sign the programmes I can first.” Roman emerging from the building had caused a surge forwards of the people waiting, but Logan was content to hang back, although remaining separate from the group that formed to wait for photos.
Logan was stood with his arms folded behind his back when Roman passed with a curious glance to the group wanting photos, only freezing when someone gasped, pointing to the indigo blue pebble now hanging from the left shoulder of Roman's jacket. Beside it, though not glowing was the purple one, while the light blue pebble and yellow ones hung from his right shoulder.
“Your soulmate's here, Roman!” one of the women waiting exclaimed, although Roman had already followed their points to the change and was glancing around.
Roman raised his right hand to unlatch the pebble from his shoulder, cradling it to him. “Indeed, it appears so. Perhaps everyone can show their own pebbles to me, that I might know whose soul I'm solemnly sworn to cherish and protect?”
“It lit up during your scene in the audience earlier too. I was curious if that was a malfunctioning prop or actually one of your pebbles.” Logan stated, bringing the wrist with his watch on up into Roman's eyeline.
“So you came to find me. What is your name, Handsome?” Roman took his hand to kiss the back of it and then the red pebble.
Logan smiled but pulled his arm back. “I'm Logan. It's interesting to meet you, Roman. Perhaps I could have your number so we can continue getting to know each other when you don't have 8 people eager to take photos with you?” He replied, fetching the small notebook he carried out of his bag.
“Of course, My dear Logan, please call me soon.” Roman soon signed and added his number to a page of the book, before returning to his fans.
/\/\
There wasn't a timetable for meeting your soulmate, or often soulmates, so Logan didn't mind taking his time getting to know Roman. In fact, months later, they'd only recently started referring to their relationship as dating when he started another night class to strengthen the chemistry basics he remembered.
He'd had to register without providing his titles to hopefully not be singled out as an already well-informed scientist, and intended to remain near the back of the class in case of being recognised. Watching the other adults coming into the class, he smiled at the mixture of people: there was someone almost clearly a frazzled parent from the felt tips pens they pulled out of their bag before sighing and resolving to just use them for their notes, and beside them was a person hunched into themself in a hoodie, who had just been carrying their notebook and pen in their hands when coming in. The other students were similarly diverse and seeing the shared interest in science for whatever motivations was wonderful.
That first class was interesting, and the reminder Logan needed it to be, bringing back information he'd learnt years ago even while teaching him a few new discoveries that he hadn't heard about. When he was leaving though a glance at his wrist to check whether it was early enough still to message Roman he paused at the purple glow shining over them.
Beside him was the hoodie wearer, still slouched in their seat while everyone else was halfway to the door. They glanced up when Logan cleared his throat, raising an eyebrow instead of saying anything.
“Excuse me, but can I ask where your pebbles are? As you can see, one of mine has begun to glow and I believe that indicates you might be a soulmate of mine?” Logan asked. It seemed reasonable that out of the four soulmates he had, one of them would chose to hide or disguise them, although he hoped that it was only the one.
He wasn't expecting to have eyes narrowed at him, nor their hood being yanked up and over their eyes.
“Yeah, I've got indigo blue glowing. That sound like a colour for you?” was mumbled a moment later from under the hood.
“That is the colour pebble Roman has that glows for me so I believe so. Do you also have a red pebble? Perhaps yellow and light blue ones also?” Logan nodded, despite the other being unable to see him, pulling a chair from the next desk out to sit and talk to the person.
There was a moment where they remained hidden, before peering out from under it, then pushing the hood off. “Yes. Is Roman the person for the red pebble then?”
“Indeed, and I am called Logan, he/him pronouns please. What's your name?” He registered that the introduction had been skipped when he started speaking to the person at the same time as he noticed a non-binary flag sticker on the front of their notebook and decided that mentioning his own pronouns might help them feel more comfortable around him, without calling attention to it.
“Virgil, good to meet you, I guess.” They scowled for a moment, before letting out a heavy breath. “Xe/Xir pronouns if you know how to use those. And uh, do I have to give you my number now?”
Logan tilted his head, frowning slightly. “Of course not. If you'd prefer to get to know me as much as we can throughout this class, then I am fine with that. Are you comfortable if I inform Roman of our meeting? He is likely to try to meet us from class one evening if I do so.”
“Fine, it'll be good to have some more of that mystery commitment reduced at least.” Virgil grumbled, but shoved xemself standing. “I gotta get back to my dog. It's time for their walk.”
“Then I'll see you next week, and hope you have a pleasant evening.” Logan nodded, turning to lead them out of the classroom with a wave to the teacher.
/\/\
“YOU MET ANOTHER OF OUR SOULMATES!?!” Roman's yell had undoubtedly disturbed some of Logan's neighbours but he doubted they'd come investigating too soon.
“Xe attended the evening course I've just enrolled in.” Logan nodded, bringing the drinks he'd been making over to the sofa.
Roman held a hand out demandingly but flat so an bizarre way to take his drink resulting in a questioning twist of Logan's lips. “Give me your phone, I have to call him and introduce myself immediately!”
“We didn't exchange numbers so that would be pointless. Are you going to take your drink or shall I place it on the coffee table.” Logan countered, already moving to place both mugs down in anticipation of the next reaction.
“You don't have a way to contact xem!?”
Logan shook his head. “This would be a lot easier if you let me explain before making your exclamations.” He stated but immediately continued, “We are going to be in the night class together for a matter of weeks and Virgil wasn't comfortable with giving me xir number. I am content to be patient and get to know xem on xir terms and xe is aware that you are likely to meet us from class if possible in order to meet xem.”
Roman blinked for a moment, breathing and letting the small scolding be understood before responding, “You've already asked if I can do that without making xem uncomfortable? What did you say xir name was?”
“Virgil and yes, I thought it prudent to mention knowing you while xe was hiding in their hoodie which I believe is where xir pebbles are kept.” Logan explained.
Their evening from that point was taken up by Logan describing the class and how his short conversation with Virgil had gone and hearing about how Roman's rehearsals for his next production were coming along.
/\/\
Roman still hadn't been able to make it to the end of Logan's night class and had been growing more determined each week to manage it. Today he was only scheduled to meet with the costume designer and their apprentice so hopefully should be able to make it to town in plenty of time for the end of Logan's class and he was very tempted to insist it so if the meeting overran.
He wasn't anticipating tripping over a rucksack with a top like a cats head as he walked into the room, although the gasp being accompanied by a groan of “Pattonn, what have I said about leaving your bag in doorways.” was an interesting introduction to the costume designers.
It was only once he'd pulled himself to an upright kneel about to stand that he registered one of the cats cheeks glowing red, getting brighter as a blushing man hurried over. “Oh my golly, I'm so sorry. Can I help you up?”
“No harm done, mi amour. Are you by chance the owner of this adorable bag?” He asked, standing himself and picking the bag up with one hand while the other reached to where he could just see a light blue glow shining off his shoulder.
“Golly! I am! I'm Patton, the apprentice designer for the show. Are you the Roman who'll be playing the knight?” Patton asked, reaching out to the blue pebble rather than taking his bag back.
Roman nodded, “That is I. Perhaps once you've finished measuring me and I've seen your designs we might get some dinner together?”
“I'm sure he'd be delighted, but I'd prefer to focus on our work. Please keep your need to know your soulmate under control until it is done.” A calm voice called from the other side of the room. The person had designed costumes for a few productions Roman had been a part of and he was happy to see Talyn again.
From there Roman and Patton remained focused mostly out of respect for Talyn and the work that needed to be done, but as soon as they were out of the room, Roman had to ask, “So do you know any of our other soulmates?”
“Unfortunately not, but I'm sure we'll have a wonderful time meeting them when life brings us together.” Patton shrugged, glancing down the street. “The cafe down there does some fantastic pasta dishes and their cookie dough desserts are to die for!”
“Lead the way then, my Dear.” Roman gestured ahead of him even as they kept pace together. “I do know one of our other soulmates, Logan, who's presented by the indigo blue. He's also met Virgil. Xir apparently purple but I haven't had to honour to meet xem just yet. Perhaps after we eat you could accompany me to their night class so we can all know each other?”
“That sounds delightful, but I do feel sorry for our yellow soulmate then. They must be so lonely.” Patton pouted a little at the thought.
Roman calmed, gently taking his hand. “Perhaps they are, but perhaps they are rather hopeful of the times to come? Were you feeling especially lonely before meeting me?”
“No, just curious mostly. I had my friends but I wanted to know how my soulmate connections might develop.” Patton admitted.
/\/\
Virgil froze as xe exited the class, still talking to Logan. Xe could recognise Roman from the descriptions xe'd been given over the weeks but hadn't been expecting another to be there as well.
“Virgil, is everything alright?” Logan asked, view still blocked by xir body as he followed xem, but understanding as he stepped to the side. “Hello Roman, who's this you've brought with you?”
“Our light blue soulmate, Patton. He's the apprentice costume designer for my next role so we just met this afternoon. I thought it should be okay for him to come with me so you can both meet him straight away, my darling!” Roman introduced, almost presenting Patton with how grand his gestures were before his gaze turned to Virgil. “You must be Virgil. I cannot apologise enough for the delay in our meeting. My performances and rehearsals have delayed this moment for far too long.” He bowed towards xem, holding a hand out.
Virgil meanwhile had taken a few steps back, tugging up xir hood and shaking xir head. “Too much. You're going to be a lot to get used to. Can – can you do notes through Logan? Or like I give him my number and occasionally we share messages if you're with him? Just until I'm not feeling overwhelmed by that energy?”
“Of course, Kiddo. I'm sorry if me coming put too much pressure on you for meeting us.” Patton's voice was soft as he tugged Roman to stand straight again. “You take all the time you need and we'll keep things at your pace okay. Although perhaps you'd like to come to the show? I believe Roman has already reserved tickets for Logan.”
“Actually for both our stars. I was waiting to meet Virgil to invite xem along. Do you have your own ticket or will you need to remain backstage to ensure there are no costume malfunctions?” Roman agreed, already having calmed his enthusiasm in the hopes it would calm Virgil a little.
Patton smiled, “I'll be back stage with you. Is that alright with you, Virgil?”
“I wanted to go when Logan mentioned you perform in shows. It seemed like a less pressured way to meet you if you hadn't managed to come here before then.” Xe mumbled, but glanced behind xem. “Here's my number, Lo. I'm going to go walk my dogs.” Xe shoved a piece of paper into Logan's hands before starting to walk away.
Xe didn't notice Patton turn to them eagerly nor visibly reign himself in at the mention of the dog, “Stay safe, Virgil. It's been lovely to meet you.”
“It's been a dream, our dark knight. Until we meet again.” Roman called, waving and getting a wave over xir shoulder in return.
Logan smiled, also waving, “Until our next class, Virgil.”
A glance at Patton and Roman showed neither was ready to separate quite yet. “How about we have a movie night at Roman's flat?” He suggested.
/\/\
When Virgil had first thought about going to see one of Roman's performances, xe'd thought it would be nice, a relaxing evening at the theatre. Xe'd been to the theatre it was being performed in before and knew it didn't need fancy clothes at all. Xe was repeating that to xemself but still felt like their normal top, hoodie and jeans combination would get xem frowned at.
That concern was what led xem, hoodie pulled up and tight, into a steampunk store, hoping for something a little more formal, if not noticeably so. Xe had found most of the shirts and blouses xir wore to work in the shop and hoped today would be the same.
Except xe had never had xir hood pulled up in the shop before and so had never noticed that when the shop owner came over the yellow pebble was lighting up.
“What will it be today, Virgil? Surely you don't need more shirts to wear to the job you detest.” Janus asked, coming around the counter as they always would, ready to help xem figure out what was needed for the events xir worried about.
Instead of speaking, Virgil raised shaking hands to pop the yellow pebble out and hold it up. “Theatre tonight?” Xe finally asked, looking at the pebble more than the person before xem.
“I never expected you to immediately suggest a date upon meeting your soulmate, Virgil. Is a theatre trip the reason you were coming in here before this realisation?” Janus's words were gentle, but their hands were unhooking something on the cape they always wore in the store.
A small bag of pebbles was held up, with the purple one indeed glowing between them. “All our soulmates will be there. I don't know how Logan expects me to dress but he's always formal and Roman was acting like I was some kind of prince the one time I've met him. Patton seemed gentle but kind of suffocatingly sweet too. What do I wear?” Virgil muttered out, meeting Janus's eyes and silently thanking whomever and whatever formed these pebbles that xe hadn't known they were xir soulmate until now. It had taken the pressure off getting to know them and meant xe was already able to ask for help rather than space.
“Oh Dark thing, I'm sure they will all accept you however you choose to appear and if you want me to come with you, then perhaps you could ask if they're able to get an extra ticket?” Janus suggested, already hooking their pebbles back underneath their cloak. “But if you do feel the need to dress up a little, I'm sure we've got a slip of a thing that would be perfect.”
“I'll text Logan. What do you mean, a slip of a thing?” Xe replied, following them further into the shop.
/\/\
Logan was waiting outside the theatre that evening, slightly lost in thoughts over crystals and whether there would still be claiming them as having magical powers in a world where soulmates weren't revealed by illogical and scientifically impossible pebbles when he spotted Virgil and xir mystery guest. He knew the stranger was meant to be his final soulmate but was momentarily enraptured by the loose dress-like top Virgil wore underneath xir hoodie.
“You look lovely, Virgil. Might I be introduced to our additional guest?” He greeted, stepping forwards and taking the hand already waiting to be held.
“This is Janus. I've been a regular in their shop for ages, but only today wore my hood up in there.” xe said, tugging the hand that held Janus's closer too.
Janus just nodded at Logan, waving into the theatre with their free hand. “And I believe we have a show to enjoy before I can meet our other soulmates.”
I'm all about having more diversity so both are very good.
I haven't seen a whole lot of trans Patton (if you have/know any Moceit fics with trans Patton then lmk) but I've seen a ton of nb Janus in fanworks so I can tell you I think it really works for the character.
As long as the work isn't transphobic or fetishizing trans people (which is also incredibly transphobic) then I say go all out on these trans headcanons!
