A Lost Toaddler
Thank you again to @idont-freaking-know for coming up with this adoooorable concept! I really hope you like it! Word Count: 10,277 (this is the longest one shot of my life, it just got out of hand.. But in my defense, I had fun and it was super cute) __ Cw- drinking/eating, food/alcohol, some curse words, mentions of abandonment, some crying
Parental Moceit - side romantic lomile, familial creativitwins (parental intrulogical/logince & parental Romile/ Rem.. Emus.)) __ Janus, a snake hybrid, can’t stand other people - especially children. He was the absolute last person who should ever have to be around them, let alone in charge of any for any amount of time. ...But sometimes things had a way of working out exactly how you don’t want them to.
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I absolutely hate children.
Janus leaned back dramatically against the kitchen countertop, swishing his wine glass around in his hand as he generally did. He agreed to come to this birthday party, his presence had been requested by his closest friend in the world, after all. ...But all the care he could possibly muster for Logan didn’t make this event any more... Palatable.
There were toddlers everywhere. Just.. Toddling about. He’d finally managed to find somewhere that seemed safe enough, the kitchen was far enough from the backyard that most of them didn’t make it this far before a parent would scoop up the little escape artist and cart them back outside to frolic amongst the others. It wasn’t a completely foolproof strategy, every so often one would still make it as far as to where he was.. Hiding wasn’t the word. He swirled his glass, he was meditating. Clearly.
Unfortunately, such an event happened yet again, a very small human wandering into his line of sight and making eye contact with him. Janus didn’t even have to make a face - though he had been told his resting bitch face was among the best out there, but the child immediately let out a shriek and began to cry, running back the way it came.
Janus took another sip of his wine. This was the reason he didn’t want to come. This was the reason he hated children. His free hand came up to scratch the scaled side of his face, his nails clicking as they ran across them. Children were always afraid of him. At least adults would just stare and then quickly take the necessary measures to avoid him.
He was what was known as a hybrid. No one really knew why they occurred, but one in every however many births it was in the statistic was born as a hybrid. Something about a mutation in the DNA and relation to ancestors or evolutionary lapses or.. Whatever. Janus didn’t really care. All he really cared to know was that he was a snake hybrid, and it had made his life much more difficult than it should have been.
He grew up in an orphanage, he didn’t know anything about whoever he had come from - besides the fact that they hadn’t wanted to deal with him and the struggles he would undoubtedly bring. It wasn’t uncommon for hybrids to be given up, and it was also not uncommon for the “undesirable” ones to never be adopted. Janus had met other hybrids that had come through his home, and most of them were eventually adopted out. The cute ones, generally mammalian ones.
The only person he’d really had growing up was Logan. He was another somewhat undesirable, seeing as he was a crow hybrid. While Janus had one reptilian eye and yellow scales dotting him down his left side, Logan’s eyes were piercing, he had a smattering of feathers about his person, and his nails could only be described as talons. He kept them meticulously filed to a rounded end, but still talons nonetheless.
So it wasn’t difficult to see why the two of them grew up together. It had been the two of them against the world. Two wisecracking, snarky kids who’d always been smarter than everyone around them and they knew it. They’d gotten an apartment together when they aged out of the home, supported each other through it all, gotten themselves established as individuals.. He couldn’t imagine ever having a friend closer than Logan. He was family.
And then Emile entered the picture. He’d managed to get ahold of Logan’s heart and then it was history. Janus had been Logan’s best man, of course. It would have been easy for Janus to resent Emile, but it was literally impossible. He was an adorable, cartoon-quoting, sweater vest wearing, kind little human. Janus could now only describe him as family too.
If he had to pick something to resent, if someone was going to twist his arm to force him to come up with a comment, it would have been what they’d done next. They hadn’t been married long before the two of them decided to visit the orphanage where Logan and Janus had grown up.. And then brought home Roman and Remus. Twin hybrids, also birds like Logan, though they both had very small, non-functional, wings. The chance that someone would take a non-mammal hybrid home was already rather small, let alone keep two to keep them together.
Now here he was. At the little “angels’,” as Emile called them - Logan actually did too but he didn’t admit it - third birthday party. It really wasn’t the twins themselves that Janus took issue with. In all honesty, which he’d never admit aloud, he did like the mischievous little birds and their antics that they forced their fathers to then deal with. They were barely three and already seemed to know what it was they were doing when they caused a big ruckus, Janus was dangerously close to being proud. But anyway, it was children in general that irked him. ...It was more than likely just nearly all people overall, but children were at the forefront at this moment in time.
“There you are, Janus.”
He looked up, lazily resting his gaze on his best friend as he entered his line of sight and then gesturing tiredly with his glass. “Oh no, I was trying just so hard to stay lost.”
Logan gave him a look, one specifically reserved for his best friend’s particular brand of snark. “You do know you don’t have to hide in here. There is plenty of food and drink out in the yard.”
“Ah yes, i’m really aiming to break my record for most children i’ve made cry in one day.” He drawled, scooting himself back to sit up on the counter.
“...I know some of their human friends aren’t quite used to us, but you know that that situation will not improve if they don’t have the opportunity to become acclimated. And the angels aren’t frightened of you at all.”
“Angels.”
“...Roman and Remus. They enjoy your company.”
Janus sighed. “...Look, I'm here. I’ll come out for the cake and to give the little monsters the paintball guns I bought for them, but then I'm leaving.”
Those piercing eyes grew wide. “You did not.”
Janus only smirked and slid fluidly down from the counter, slipping out of the kitchen and down the hall toward the backyard… With a very flustered crow on his heels.
Thankfully soon, and not a moment too soon, Janus was unlocking the door to his home and slipping into the safety of being away from the outside world. He’d openly admit he always enjoyed working Logan up like that, the crow didn’t calm down until those two little birds ripped open Janus’s present and only found a large paint set. He knew those two would still make the mess of a century, and it was his job as the Fun Uncle - as Emile had dubbed him, to make their parent’s life a little more hectic. Which, even though he and Logan would agree that he was more of a Wine Aunt than a Fun Uncle, was a title he took in stride.
But now he was home, and he could self care the nonsense of that event away. Tonight was definitely a bubble bath kind of night. He had a very practiced routine- get the hot water going, toss his chosen bath bomb in - with a dash of that oil that made his scales nice and shiny, saunter off to pour himself a glass of wine, prepare and apply his face mask, choose a book, and slip into the tub. It was perfection.
He did note that he was running dangerously low on wine, tomorrow would have to be a grocery day, as it certainly wasn’t going to be tonight.
The rest of the evening slipped by, Janus letting the stress of the toddler’s birthday party melt away with the hot water. He definitely slept well, now that he was so blissfully content.
So well, in fact, that he wasn’t awoken by the thunder that had begun booming overhead during the night, loud cracks intermittently lighting up the sky. It was when he did finally wake that he learned about the sudden storm, the news even warning of potential flash flooding. It was going to be dangerous to be outside, probably in only a mere few hours. ...He better make that wine trip this morning then.
He dressed in his usual garb, his long black coat and signature hat, pulled low toward his left side to give him just that split second longer before the people around him could notice anything out of the ordinary. Thankfully the market was only a few blocks away, he was more than confident he would have time to drive down and pick up his necessities for what looked like could be a few days stuck inside.
Unfortunately, it seemed that most people had this same idea, and the small market where he always shopped had a completely packed parking lot and absolutely no nearby streets where he could leave his car. He ended up driving back home in a huff and going back inside to grab a small wheeled cart that he owned. It was somewhat tall and square, just large enough to securely hook two grocery bags across within the bars. After jamming an umbrella in it for now, he began his quest once more, this time stubbornly going to walk to the grocery store. It would only take about twenty minutes to walk, probably closer to fifteen since he was now in a very inconvenienced mood.
As soon as he stepped outside a gust of wind buffeted against him, but thankfully his hat and coat were enough to protect him from the drizzle they carried. He was in no mood to try to handle an umbrella in these circumstances. So he stalked his way down the sidewalk, making his way back to the market, aiming to be done before this drizzle and wind really picked up.
His house was situated on a small plot of fenced in land, and thankfully with no neighbors very close by. The wooded area behind the home concealed a path to a small river that ran through the area, which was somewhat surrounded by marshland. That was how Janus knew that the storm coming in must be a serious one, generally the marshland prevented any type of flooding.
One section of his walk was just along this marshland, he’d always enjoyed the view whenever he happened to be walking this way. It was always such a vibrant green, untouched by humans as far as the eye could see. Well, as far as his human eye could see. As far as his snake eye could see was a far less impressive distance.
If anyone had asked if he was the type to pause and look out over nature for a few calming, precious moments he would have quickly rebuffed the “accusation.” Yet there he was, paused and looking out for a moment, seeing how the water of the marsh rippled softly under the fall of the light rain. He raised his shoulders with a large inhale and dropped them when he released the centering breath, turning to continue on his journey.
Or he would have, if his gaze hadn’t immediately flicked down at the sound of snapping twigs. He had to scan for a moment, but it only took a second before he realized whatever he was looking at was actually looking right back at him.
A huge pair of the bluest eyes he’d ever seen, peering out from beneath the large leaves and foliage that framed the marsh. Janus blinked, slowly realizing he was looking at a child. Definitely a hybrid, those eyes were just a bit too big for any other explanation. He couldn’t see them well enough to make out much more.
Now, Janus would gladly admit he was a dick. He exhibited dickish behavior on the regular, and he had no qualms with that. ...But he wasn’t an asshole. This was clearly an abandoned hybrid, somehow another step below what had happened to him. At least when whoever it was got tired of him they dumped him somewhere he’d be fed and sheltered. This kid was hiding amongst plants on the edge of a marsh. That was a bad sign. Not even mentioning the fact that they were on the cusp of an impressive storm.
He sighed, he couldn’t just leave them here. That would definitely be a full on asshole move, and he was better than that. Janus slowly crouched down, getting closer to the eye level of this child, trying to be a little less intimidating.
“...Hey. Uh, kid. Are you alone out here?” He asked, having absolutely no idea how to go about this. This was already a terrible idea.
Those shockingly large eyes widened, staring at Janus and taking him in for a long moment before Janus saw them nod very slowly in response.
Great. Just as he had presumed. “...It’s going to start raining really hard, it isn’t going to be safe for you to stay out here. ...Why don’t you come with me, okay? I’ll.. At least get you under a roof.”
The child immediately began trying to scramble back from him, but they were already pressed up against the thick plant stalks and there was no give for them to get any farther.
Even better. Janus sighed. ...Maybe he could call Emile. Even if he couldn’t come down here and handle this himself, he had to have some kind of tip, right? Not that this was a common situation, but he was still a child psychologist. He had to have some kind of id-
“Son of a-” Janus exclaimed as the wind picked up again, blowing his hat completely off his head, him quickly standing to not lose it into the water. He barely managed to save it from a watery grave, but barely was all that mattered. He really liked this hat.
As he brushed it off a bit just for good measure, he heard a gasp from the child. Oh, great. Well there was no way that he was going to get them out of there now, not with his scales visible. He turned to see if they’d managed to escape back into the water and had to do a double take when he saw the child emerging from the plant line and walking toward him with curiosity.
Janus was finally able to get a good look at him, seeing he was a little boy with patches of bumpy blue skin dotting his body. Not nearly as blue as those big eyes, but blue nonetheless. He didn’t know what possessed him to crouch down again as this kid approached, but he’d apparently done so, seeing as the next thing he really knew, the kid had softly reached out to touch the scales on his cheek.
The last thing he’d have expected was the face this little guy made when he felt his scales. It was pure euphoria. Janus had never seen someone so happy, and he’d seen Roman and Remus attack their birthday cake. But his smile stretched from ear to ear, even letting out a little giggle. Janus slowly stood once more, feeling how the child’s fingertips stuck slightly to his face before they separated. All he could do was look curiously down at him, seeing this immediately happy kid looking up at him expectantly.
He replaced his hat, not bothering to pull it down low this time, and then decided it was a good time to try again. “...Do you want to come with me? You shouldn’t stay out here.”
The kid immediately reached up with both arms, a move he’d seen a certain pair of toddlers do more times than he could count. Uh.. Okay, he’d seen how Emile and Logan picked them up, just kind of.. He leaned down and scooped him up under the armpits, situating him on his hip and wrapping an arm around him to hold him there. Lord was he heavy. He could tell from the start that he was bigger than the twins but.. Damn.
He managed to get himself mostly together, feeling this kid’s weight settle heavily on his hip bone. Alright.. Now what. He turned to his head to look at this kid, the two of them right around eye level with him sitting up like this. ...He was even more noticeably bigger than the twins now, they definitely never were up this high in this same position.
“...How old are you?” Janus asked, looking at him.
He felt the hand that was clutching the lapel of his coat pull away- those fingertips once again sticking a bit as he did so, and then watched as this kid held his hand up to him, palm facing out.
“..You’re five?” He responded, to which he only received another nod. Oh great, could this kid not talk? “..Okay, uh.. Are you hungry?”
The kid nodded a few times, putting his hand back down so it could return to the place where it had been clutching onto his lapel.
“Are you from around here?”
He shook his head, still staring at him with those big blue eyes.
Alright. Clearly this was how this was going to go. At least he understood him, that was better than nothing. “..Okay. We’re going to go to the store and get some food, then I'll give you something to eat.” He explained, grabbing hold of his cart in his free hand and continuing the journey. He received an excited nod, the kid nestling himself against Janus’s side.
If he were a weaker man, well, for one he’d have a harder time holding this kid at all. But he might have even fallen for this cute kid and his behavior. But that wasn’t who Janus was. He was stronger than that, he wasn’t going to get sucked in by those big eyes and that happy smile. Even now, with him snuggled into his side and tucked against him, still nope. Wasn’t going to get to him.
They finished the walk to the store, Janus having to quickly develop a system to grab what he needed and place it in the cart - all one handed. It was uncomfortably full in the market, he’d never been here with so many other customers. Stupid storm, putting him in close proximity to all these…People. Thankfully he knew his appearance was more than enough to deter interaction. He’d grown accustomed to the stares and the quick glances away, the stepping to the side to avoid getting too close to him. It was all normal, and honestly helpful in letting him get through situations like this much more smoothly and quickly.
“Oh! Aren’t you just precious?”
Janus blinked, turning to see an older woman had stopped to talk to the child he was holding to his side. ...Crap. Was this kid actually cute and non-intimidating enough to nullify his usual aura of don’t you dare look at me?
The kid let out a sweet little giggle in response, Janus able to feel that he was still clutching to him for dear life, but it wasn’t at all present on his face. Did he, for some reason, see Janus as safe? Safe enough for him to interact with a human, even when he had clearly been afraid of Janus until he realized he was a hybrid like him?
“Aw, what an absolute sweetheart you are! What’s your name, little one?” The grandmotherly woman continued on, still addressing the child. Great, he was going to have to explain that this kid couldn’t talk at his age. ...Could kids even talk at five, actually? He honestly had no idea.
But he immediately opened his mouth, and in an excited, high pitched child’s voice he exclaimed. “Patton!”
Janus physically jolted a bit at the sudden loud response. The hell. He could talk? He’d been holding out on him? ...Though he did suppose he hadn’t asked anything that couldn’t be answered nonverbally.
The woman seemed surprised by Janus’s reaction more than anything, finally looking at him rather than the child. “...Is everything alright?”
The older hybrid had to think fast, he had to come up with something that didn’t alert anyone that he wasn’t actually supposed to be in possession of this kid. “...Yes, everything is fine. He’s just, uh.. Very shy. I was surprised he responded.” He said smoothly enough, which thankfully seemed like plenty enough to satisfy the stranger.
“Ah, I see. Well I'm glad you were comfortable telling me, little one! I hope you two have a good day, and stay safe out there!” She said warmly, giving Patton - apparently - another warm smile before turning from the two hybrids.
Janus turned to give the kid a softly annoyed look. “...So you can talk?”
Patton nodded again, seeming surprised at the question. ...Damn it, kid.
The rest of their shop went well enough, Janus glad he could at least ask him now what it was he ate. He had no idea what he would have gotten otherwise, so that went as well as it could’ve. They finished the shop and made it out of the store mostly uneventfully, the only thing that had stuck out to the part snake man being how many lingering looks they received. People had always averted their eyes from him, but apparently this kid was just too cute for that.
Which had him thinking on the way back - if he was this cute, why was he left outside? Generally the cute ones were at least kept. And clearly this kid had some kind of energy that drew smiles and joy from people. Other people. Something that made them want to talk to him and look at him, giving him little smiles and sometimes small waves. Maybe it was just the fact that he was a young hybrid at all?
Janus had been somewhat lost in thought as he walked, Patton still in one arm while the other tugged the cart of their groceries. They had made it to the marshland where Patton had been found, Janus once again pausing. He hadn’t really been paying attention, but he looked back to the child he held when he felt something odd. Like Patton had very softly jolted backward against him. ...Was he scared that they stopped by the marsh again? Maybe he thought that Janus was going to place him back where he’d found him.
...But no, it couldn’t have been anything that normal. Now that he was watching Patton, he saw that what he was doing was actually catching flies… With his tongue. And eating them. The little jolt backward that he’d felt happened when he pulled that frog tongue back into his mouth after it had darted out to catch his little.. Snack. …That hoenstly may have been the tipping point for whoever had left him. Janus was honestly shocked enough that he accidentally let his own tongue dart between his lips, softly tasting the air before slipping back into his mouth. He didn’t care to do that, he generally held it back. But sometimes it happened anyway. So he really couldn’t judge this little frog, now could he?
He let Patton get a few more of his little snacks in before continuing the walk home, he figured that flies had to be.. Not terrible for him? Free food at least? Whatever. He had more important things to think about. Like getting inside and figuring out what the hell he was going to do now.
Once he unlocked the door and got them both inside with the groceries, he softly let Patton down to stand in the entryway so he could deal with the food. He was just thankful to be inside, out of the cold. He really wasn’t a fan of the cold, as much as he liked the aesthetic of this weather. Janus had managed to pull the bags from the cart and stand back up straight when he saw that what Patton had done in that same time was to step a bit closer to him. He was nearly touching him, that’s how close.
Janus just stepped away, heading toward the kitchen to put the bags down on the counter. He pulled out the food, his ever important wine, some fancy cheese he’d treated himself to... And then glanced down to see that he’d been very closely followed once more. Those blue eyes were staring up at him.. He swore this kid just didn’t blink enough.
He looked him over for a few more seconds, taking in what he had been wearing this entire time, and quickly becoming unsure how he’d missed how dirty he was. Adrenaline? But it didn’t really matter. “Uh.. Patton, was it? How about… You get a shower. Get you out of those dirty clothes and into something warm?” He offered, watching as the small hybrid nodded with a smile. “Alright. I’ll show you where it is and leave you a shirt to put on, and I can toss your clothes in the laundry. Come along.”
Janus strode off, hearing the child just behind him and showing him into the second bathroom, pointing out soap and shampoo, not realizing that he was explaining the products’ uses in more detail than the five year old was really grasping, before retrieving a house shirt and a towel to leave on the counter. He left the door cracked open as he left him alone for privacy reasons, exhaling in some relief as he made his way back to the kitchen to get back to unpacking the groceries.
He resumed the household chore, his mind racing all the while. What was he doing? He was literally the least qualified person for this task. ...Maybe if he hurried and loaded up the kid in the car, he could manage to dump him off at Logan and Emile’s. At least they knew how to keep one of these little things alive.
But of course that was when he heard a roar of thunder in the sky above, leading him to glance to the nearest window and see how heavily the rain was already coming down. ...Damn it. Looks like that wasn’t going to happen. Stupid storm. Time for plan B. Or... Honestly, they were probably way past that at this point, seeing as there was literally a child in his bathroom.
Janus poured himself a glass of that wine and sauntered over to the couch to drape himself dramatically upon it. After a sip, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Logan, putting the phone to his ear and only having to wait about a ring and a half. He had to appreciate that consistent old crow.
“Hello, you’ve reached Logan Picani.”
“Lo, we’ve spoken countless times about the way you answer a phone. Could you sound any more like a voicemail?”
His best friend sighed. “...What is it, Janus?”
“Well, since you finally asked. I’m going to perish. Surely, terribly, painfully, horribly.. Etcetera, etcetera. So if you have a moment to spare.” He said, his tone sarcastic as usual.
“What an utter tragedy that would be. Please, do regale me with your undoubtedly harrowing tale.” Logan responded, his voice reaching higher levels of pure deadpan than any other person could have ever achieved.
That voice always brought a fond smirk to the snake hybrid’s face. But even though he began to respond with his usual snark, the tone in his voice died down surprisingly quickly. “You just know that I… Actually, I.. I need your help.” Janus admitted, surprised at the way those words fell from his lips. They were so.. Sincere. Honest. Maybe this kid’s aura was a bad influence.
He could hear the surprise on the other end of the phone, the crow’s voice immediately much softer. “What is the matter, Janus?”
“...Lo, I found a kid. A hybrid, hiding outside in the marshland. He.. I couldn’t just leave him outside.”
The stunned silence that followed was absolutely deafening. Janus could nearly hear the supercomputer that was Logan’s brain moving a mile a second. But all that he managed after a few long moments was, “...Oh.”
“I don’t know what to do with him, Lo. I couldn’t let him die out there, but you know being here is only a marginally better fate. I need to get rid of him.” He drawled, appreciating the sound of his usual tone as it returned to him.
“I can get in contact with Roman and Remus’s social worker. I’m sure there are resources where you can take him.”
“Thanks, Lo. ...Wait, that old place has social workers now? They didn’t give a shit when we were younger.”
“It is an.. Unfortunately recent update. But yes, they make sure that any adopted children are released into good environments.”
Janus took an audible sip of his wine. “..Huh. Wild.”
“Yes, well.. I will do what I can from here and let you know what I am able to discover. Though you are going to have to determine your best course of action in the meantime.” Logan responded, Janus hearing his voice flatten a bit as he spoke - impressive as the crow’s tone wasn’t one anyone would refer to as lively. There was no issue there, Janus knew that meant Logan had stopped listening to himself and was now already working on the problem at hand, probably looking up contacts in his phone.
“Wonderful. Now.. Where is your husband?”
“Here, I will discuss the situation with him momentarily.”
“Nah, just put me on speaker.”
There was a moment of pause before Janus heard the child psychologist speak up. “Hi Janus!”
“Hey. ...How do I keep this thing alive?”
“...What?” Came the surprised voice.
“I found a hybrid kid and pulled him in out of the storm. He’s, uh.. Five. I don’t know what.. Keeps them functioning.” Janus said, a smile actually forming on his face as he heard Logan quietly grumbling that he knew how to care for children too. He was also a father after all. Janus had to get the laughs where he could.
“Oh my goodness gracious. Well, um.. He’s five? How is he doing? Is he scared and skittish? Aw, is he afraid of the storm? Oh, this poor little guy..” Emile started to trail off, Janus knowing that Logan was undoubtedly providing the sensitive man some silent physical comfort.
“No. Not at all. He’s a frog. He keeps following me around and he is always smiling bigger than his damn head. That kind of happiness isn’t natural.”
There was another surprised silence. “...Well, I'm relieved to hear that he is comfortable with you. ...Wait, where is he? You aren’t talking about him in front of him, are you?” Emile suddenly asked.
“Right now? I put him in the shower.”
“In the shower? Janus, not all kids can bathe on their own! You need to make sure that he is okay!” Emile quickly exclaimed.
“Oh relax, it's just water and he’s a frog. It can’t be that bad, right?” He drawled.
Logan piped back up. “Janus, frogs do not have gills, they have lungs. Even if they are able to breathe oxygen in water through their skin, there’s no particular reason a hybrid frog would definitely be able to. ...And even if he could, it would probably only work if he had frog-like skin.”
Janus quickly thought back to the patchy child. “...I’ll be right back.” He put his phone down, power walking to his bathroom and peeking through the door to make sure the kid was okay.
Patton was in the shower behind the curtain, so the adult couldn’t immediately see him. Before he could grow more concerned however, he realized he could hear the child over the spray of the water. He was singing. It was a nonsense made up song, in a pitch so high and undecipherable that only a child could be emitting it. ...Singing had to mean breathing. That sounded right. Good. He backed up from the door, leaving it cracked open a bit wider than it had been before. For no reason of course, it was just a choice he made. For no reason.
He made it back to his phone, putting it up to his ear once again, noting he could now hear what was happening in the bathroom a bit better. “He’s fine. He’s singing in there.”
Emile didn’t hold back a thoroughly endeared coo. “Awww! He’s so precious!”
“..yeah. Ridiculously.” Janus replied, punctuating his response with a sip from his glass.
“...Well, now that that crisis is averted. I’ll see what I can find out despite the storm, but Janus you are more than likely going to have to take care of him at least until the weather clears. It’s supposed to last at least a few days.” Logan spoke up, trying to keep them on topic.
Janus let out the pained groan of a lifetime.
“Oh it won’t be so bad! Five is a fun age! You should play with him! You can draw, do arts and crafts, play games...” Emile spoke up again.
“...Right. My specialty.”
“You can do it, Janus. Just do your best, okay? I believe in you. I know you’ve got this.” Emile reassured him, sounding plenty sincere.
It took Janus a moment to respond, him having to bring in a deep breath and slowly exhale before he was able to decide what to say. “...I’ll do what I can, okay? Just let me know what you can find out.”
“Of course. As soon as I know something, you’ll know.” Logan answered immediately.
“..Thanks, you two. I’ll..” Janus paused, hearing the water in the bathroom shut off. “..I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Goodbye, Janus.” “Bye, Jan!”
The hybrid hung up the phone, placing it down on the table and considering what his next couple days were going to entail. It couldn’t be that bad, right? Patton was just one kid, and Janus was an adult. All he had to do was survive a couple days. He could make it through that and then things could go right back to normal.
Patton walked out of the bathroom a moment later, his hair dripping wet and Janus’s house shirt sticking to his obviously still damp skin. Janus took a steadying breath and stood, knowing it was now going to be on him to actually dry this child and get him into a new shirt. Alright.. He could do this. Here goes.. Whatever this was gonna be.
Once the kid had been dried and changed into a dry shirt, Janus figured he should feed him. Patton had picked out a few things at the store, so it was as simple as grabbing something and reading the instructions on the box. He’d never made dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets before, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He just plopped them onto one of his fancy plates, setting it down in front of the child.
His face lit up, him looking up at him from his seat at the table. “Thank you!”
Janus blinked, looking back at him. He’d already forgotten again that he could talk. “...You’re welcome. ..Are you good? Don’t need anything else?”
“Uhh…” Patton looked down at the food before him before looking back up. “Can I have nugget sauce please?”
The image of Remus and Roman absolutely covered in horrible horrible ketchup immediately popped into his head. “...I don’t have ketchup, if that’s what you’re asking for.”
But the frog boy just shook his head, surprising him. “No thank you, I don’t like the red sauce.” So Janus strolled over to his fridge and peered inside.
What sauces did he even have.. What sauces went on nuggets? Mayo? Mustard? He had.. Rosemary aioli and stone ground mustard. Oh and that good dijon, he should really make himself a charcuterie plate soon. He looked back over to the kid. “...Mustard?” “Yeah! I like mus’ard!” He said happily. Uh.. Neither of these were really kid friendly, he knew one was spicy and the other was full of seeds. But.. He took both bottles and a side plate, coming over to sit next to him at the table, putting a little of both on it for him.
“Okay. This one is spicy. So don’t have it if you don’t like that.” He explained, pointing at the sauces.
Patton just looked curious, taking a nugget and dipping it before popping it into his mouth. “Mmm…” He said happily, looking at Janus as he chewed. Huh.. He couldn’t imagine either of those little birds being any kind of happy with his options. “You try?” He said suddenly, refocusing the snake’s attention back to him to see him holding out a chicken nugget toward him.
With a raised eyebrow, he took the nugget and dipped it in his good spicy mustard before tossing it into his mouth. Huh. “...That’s actually not bad.”
That interaction was just the first of several very strange things that Janus couldn’t have predicted. Perhaps he’d have been able to jot down a list of situations that he assumed could arise with this child in his home, but it also seemed like none of them he’d have thought of ended up going the way he’d have thought they would.
First was just after their strange meal, Janus leading Patton to the guest bedroom and showing it to him. “Here, you may have this space for yourself. Do as you wish as long as you don’t break anything.” He’d explained before turning to go back out into his living room. As soon as he turned to sit down on the couch, he saw that he’d been immediately followed. “...I did provide you with your own space.” He said, raising an eyebrow. The two of them remained locked in the other’s gaze for a long moment, it was almost like a battle of who would break first.
It did end up being Janus, though he wouldn’t have admitted he may have lost a battle of mental endurance with a five year old. “...I am going to watch television, you may join me if you wish to.” He said simply, plopping himself down on the couch and watching as Patton immediately began to scramble his way up onto the couch beside him. By the time he’d settled beside him, he had tucked himself right into Janus’s side and gotten comfortable. Lovely.
They watched television for a good while, Janus thankful that there were a few things he enjoyed watching that, at minimum, were not inappropriate to play in front of a child. Though it soon became apparent, all over again, that the kid was just that - a kid. He got fidgety and needed to get up to move around. Janus only really had the idea to get him a notebook and all the colored pens and random highlighters he could find, it wasn’t like he had coloring books on hand.
That worked for a while, Patton sitting on the floor at the coffee table and doodling until he got up and just began exploring the space. Janus had an eye trained on him - only to make sure he didn’t break anything, of course. But it was through that evening that his google searches became stranger and stranger, him looking things up as he watched this child moving around his home.
What can a five year old accomplish? Ideal child diet Ideal frog diet Nutritional value of house flies Is it normal for children to scale walls How great a height is too high for a child to fall from
He really hoped that whatever government agent kept track of his internet usage was getting a kick out of this, because it was getting more and more ridiculous the more time passed. This got them through the rest of the afternoon at least, Janus finding himself sitting at the dinner table with him once again and still doing a few more searches on what he needed to do to keep this child alive until he wasn’t his responsibility anymore.
At one point he realized he was just watching this kid, sitting next to him. Patton noticed, looking up and catching the adult’s gaze. They maintained eye contact for a long moment, until Janus’s tongue slipped from between his lips, darting out to taste the air for a split second before going back. Patton’s eyes went wide, him clearly surprised. But before Janus could decide if he was going to explain, the kid tried to mimic the action. Snake tongues and frog tongues were extremely different, which Janus was reminded of as he found the end of Patton’s sticky tongue stuck to his shirt. The two of them sat silent and still as they processed what had happened, and it only took a moment for the frog to start to laugh - which thankfully caused him to retract his tongue back. ...This kid was weird. But as Janus watched him giggle at his own antics, he couldn’t help a soft side smile from forming on his face. Maybe he was a little cute. Maybe.
Some more wall climbing and doodling eventually got them all the way to bedtime, thankfully the frog had mostly tired himself out and Janus was able to get him into the guest bed and to sleep easily enough.
That could have definitely gone worse. He could definitely make this work. He had this in the bag.
Starting the following morning, Janus did what he could to get them into something of a routine. They both wake up, have some breakfast, and continue on with their quiet day inside until they had to break for a meal, and repeat. But of course, it couldn’t just be that simple.
The weather was especially rough the following day, with thunder and lightning charging through the dark sky as wind howled through the trees. The wind battered the house with the rain it blew, the noise even throwing Janus off on occasion when it came back suddenly. He didn’t react all that outwardly when it did.. But that couldn’t be said for the boy that was about a sixth of his age.
The whimper that escaped him the first time a crack of thunder broke the sky was so small and vulnerable that it almost even got to Janus. He did turn to him at the sound, speaking softly. “Hey.. It’s okay. You’re inside and it’s outside. Don’t worry, it can’t get you in here.”
Patton gave him a little nod, still clearly spooked, but it was also apparent that he trusted Janus’s word well enough to at least want to believe his reassurances.
When lightning lit up the sky outside the window, punctuated with another crack of thunder, Janus thought that the small frog might jump right out of his skin. He was clearly spooked beyond belief, the loud sound quite obviously not going to be the child’s friend. Janus blinked, not knowing much of what he could really do in this situation. ….But he wasn’t a toddler. He could speak. That made things easier.
“...Okay, kid. It’s going to probably keep happening today, is there anything that might make you feel better? Do you have anything that makes you feel better when you’re scared?” He asked, very directly to the child.
Those huge blue eyes were trained on him, wide with the fear coursing through him as he tried to find an answer. He swallowed before he slowly spoke. “...C-could I have a blankie?”
“...Sure. Let me see what I can find.” Janus answered, standing to see if he had a throw blanket he could let him hide under. Thankfully, Emile had given him an “adorable” yellow plush throw with snakes on it. That would more than work. He retrieved it and made his way back out to the child, crouching to hold it out to him and allow him to swaddle himself up while standing. He ended up with just his face sticking out of the small frog burrito.
“..Thank you..” His voice was so slight, barely there. Janus was dangerously close to feeling something.
“Sure thing, kid. I’ll put a movie on, okay? Maybe it’ll help drown some of the noise out.” He responded, standing and moving to the couch to see what he had that Emile wouldn’t yell at him for showing to a five year old.
He’d sat himself down in order to scroll through the options and he didn’t realize until it was happening what else it was going to be that Patton wanted to help with his fear. He was scampering up the couch, wiggling his way up to the best of his ability with his arms a little less useful than normal. Janus only raised an eyebrow, but it was clearly rather quickly that the target the frog was going for was right in his lap. He’d scooted in and had leaned back against his chest.. Which was how Janus realized he was literally shaking. He couldn’t move him if he was that scared, right? That would be blurring the line between being a dick and being an asshole.
Once he’d made his choice of film, he sat the remote down on the arm of the couch and let his arms rest naturally and comfortably around the bundle in his lap. He heard a small happy sound come from the swaddled blanket, happy about his position… Until the next crack of thunder had him letting out a small yelp and turning to bury his face in Janus’s chest. When did the snake man begin to softly rub his back to help calm him? He had no idea.. But he certainly couldn’t stop now that he’d started, could he?
Patton spent as much of the day as he possibly could tucked into Janus, the large hybrid not feeling that there was really anything he could do differently. This was a strange situation, but he didn’t want to make the kid miserable and terrified, he didn’t deserve that.. He was a good kid even if he suffered from the misfortune of being a child. So he just.. Let him sit there. Tried to comfort him to the best of his ability so he didn’t pass out from terror.
The frog managed to surprise him, getting his attention by tugging on his shirt softly. Janus looked down to see that sticky little hand balled up in his shirt and looked to his face, raising an eyebrow softly. “...Yeah, kid?”
“...Can I know your name?” He asked, training those blue eyes on him.
The snake man blinked, he hadn’t considered that the child wouldn’t know it. But thinking back, he had definitely managed to not tell him up to now. “It’s Janus.” He said simply.
“Juh-an-iss. Jaaah-nis.” Patton said a couple times, trying to wrap his lips around the word.
“..You’ve pretty much got it.” He shrugged, watching the frog try. ...Maybe it was a little endearing. Maybe.
The next big one was that same night, and it really shouldn’t have come as any kind of surprise after the day they’d had. When it was finally time for bed, Janus had to scoop the child up from in his lap and carry him off toward the guest room. As soon as they crossed the threshold to the room, he felt those sticky little hands grip onto his shirt for dear life.
The adult hybrid paused, looking down at the child in his grasp and seeing that look of terror on his face again. “..N-no, I don’t wanna be aloooone, don’t make me gooo..” He whined, holding on as tight as he could and looking up at him with those big baby blues of his.
Janus almost, maybe he would have if he were someone else, almost felt a little pang in his chest. He was really that scared. Ugh.. This kid was going to be the death of him. Did he really have to.. He sighed softly, adjusting his grip on the child slightly and holding him securely. “...Do you need to stay with me tonight?”
Patton immediately nodded his head quickly. “Please please please.. Please, ‘annie?”
..That was a new one. “..Okay, okay. Come on, kid. I won’t leave you alone.”
The frog buried his face in his chest, his grasping hands letting go so he could hug him as tightly as his little arms could manage. As Janus began the walk to his bedroom, he could hear a soft “thank you thank you thank you..” being mumbled into his chest. ...Oh this kid.
Thankfully, not being alone for the night did wonders for Patton’s comfort level, it didn’t take long after he’d made himself comfortable against the adult’s side that he was snoring softly. Well, it was either not being alone or Janus’s bed. His sheets were a very high thread count, after all. It could have just been that.
Janus was honestly surprised when he woke up, not having realized he fell asleep. He had assumed he wouldn’t be able to get any sleep with Patton clutching his side. But here they were. He laid there until Patton awoke shortly after, and then got them both us so he could try and stick to the routine he’d begun working on yesterday.
Breakfast, chill time..
The weather had calmed down considerably from the day before. Well, the thunder and lightning had. It was still raining like it was never going to let up, but at least it wasn’t anywhere near as dark or loud as the previous day. It bode well for the kid, Janus didn’t exactly want him to have such a rough day again. ...And end up needing to spend it in his lap. That was why.
The surprise of that day was pretty much the opposite of the one from the one prior. The little frog had his eyes glued to the window looking out in the backyard, staring at the rain and the wet grass.
“..’annie?” Came that little voice.
Janus had learned that that was him fairly quickly. “Yeah, kid?” “Can we play? Outside?” He asked, tapping the window.
“Outside? Kid, it’s raining. We can’t go outside, we have to stay in here where it’s dry.”
“But its fun! Puddles and splashing!”
“We’re not going out there.”
“Pleeeeeaaase.”
“No.”
Janus adjusted his raincoat, finding himself standing in his backyard in the waterproof garment, with matching boots and gloves. He was standing indignantly, holding his umbrella over himself as he watched the little frog run around the backyard. He was giggling and squealing as he ran barefoot through the puddles and rolled in the grass, completely soaking himself and loving every second of it.
The adult just watched, he was going to have to wash those clothes, get the kid in the bath, probably give him airborne or vitamin C or something so he didn’t catch a cold.. They’d have to have a warm lunch or he’d probably be shivering either way.. Jeez this kid. Why did he have to be so-
“‘annie?”
The adult looked down to see Patton just before him again, staring up at him. “Yeah, kid?”
“I found this for you!” He said excitedly, holding something up to him.
The hybrid blinked, reaching to take it from him and inspect what it was he was holding. ...It was a rock. It looked pretty, seeing as it was wet, with little flakes of color dotting it. He wanted to ask what this kid wanted him to do with a rock, especially one that he’d found in his own backyard. It was a rock. Why on Earth would he… “...Thanks, kid. It’s very nice.” Patton squealed happily, then turned to resume his playing.
Janus looked over it a few more times in his hand. It was a rock. He could just drop it, it came from the yard after all. It wasn’t like the kid would know. He would probably forget about any second now. He probably already had, in fact.
They went inside shortly after, Janus insisting that they get back in before Patton got sick. Once he was bathed, changed, fed, and then dozing on the couch from all the energy he’d spent, Janus made his way to his room to get changed himself. As he went to change from outside clothes into house clothes… He took the rock from his pocket and left it on a shelf.
The third day of the storm was supposed to be one of the last, thankfully. They’d been trapped in the house, just the two of them, for so long now.. At least it was coming to an end. The time after breakfast found the two of them in the living room, Janus sipping coffee on the couch while Patton was drawing at the coffee table. It was a quiet morning, rain still falling but it was clear the reports were mostly correct, it was definitely lightening up.
Patton had been working hard on something all morning, Janus not sure what, but he was clearly determined. It was nearly lunch before he was finally done, him standing up excitedly to turn and show Janus his drawing. “‘annie!”
“Yeah, kid?” His eyes darted down to catch the small frog’s gaze.
“Look! I drew us!”
Janus blinked, reaching out to take the drawing that was being held out to him. He looked it over to see.. He’d drawn the two of them. Holding hands. He knew that it was the two of them, the smaller blob person was very smiley and covered in blue ink pen polka dots, while the large one looked a little excited to be alive, but was half colored in with a yellow highlighter.
He had to find composure, he couldn’t show how much.. “..You definitely did, kid. It looks just like us.” He said softly, looking back to him with a soft smile.
“Yay! I drew it for you!” Patton said excitedly, bouncing on his toes.
“...Thanks, kid. I really like it.” He responded, giving him a little bit bigger of a smile.
The frog squealed happily in response before looking back to the table. “...Can I have some more paper?”
“Uh, yeah sure. There should be some in there, in the bottom drawer of the desk.” He said, gesturing toward his office down the hall. He normally wouldn’t just send the kid off to go root around his office, but.. He needed a moment.
The universe had perfect comedic timing, however. And as soon as Patton had turned to leave the room, his phone began to ring. He shifted to pull it from his pocket, the drawing still in his other hand.
“Hello?”
“Janus. I have finally been able to get through to the social worker I was trying to contact.” Logan’s voice came from his phone, direct and to the point as always.
“Oh.” Was all he managed.
Logan had never needed much engagement to hold a conversation, so he simply continued on. “She can be there as soon as tomorrow, and she said he’d simply go to the same facility where we grew up. I just need to confirm the time frame in which you’d like him picked up and verify if you were comfortable with her coming to your home.”
Hearing that, Janus had to pause to interpret what the feeling that immediately welled up inside him was, his eyes skimming the drawing in his hand once again.
What, was he just going to dump him off to grow up as cynical as Janus was himself? It wasn’t like he believed he’d ever been as chipper as the little frog, but that didn’t mean Patton couldn’t potentially end up just as disillusioned if he was left in a system that Janus didn’t believe would do anything for him. “...Lo, I just.. I can’t. That’s.. Look, I know I didn’t want anything to do with the weird little monster at first but just abandoning him again is-” A small, sharp intake of breath interrupted Janus’s thought, the snake hybrid turning to see Patton had made his way back into the room with the paper clutched in his hands. And he was sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’d heard him, judging by how those huge eyes were immediately filling with water. The child turned and ran off down the hall, Janus freezing in place and forgetting everything going on around him until Logan brought him back to reality.
“Janus?”
“I’ll call you back.”
Before Logan could respond, Janus had hung up and dropped the phone, hurrying after Patton.
“Kid? Come on, Kid. Let me explain, okay?” He called, looking through doorways until he noticed the closet in the guest room was slightly open. He ducked in, softly pulling it open and seeing that Patton had scrambled into the closet, his back against the wall as he hid under his spare coats. It hurt, though he wouldn’t say it aloud, to see that Patton was almost exactly how he’d been when Janus found him outside. ...Though he hadn’t been crying the first time.
Large teardrops were flowing from those huge blue eyes, down those round cheeks, and finally dropping onto his shirt.
“...Kid, I.. I’m sorry, that wasn’t what it sounded like. I didn’t mean..” Janus tried, but those trembling lips opened to interrupt him.
His voice was small and shaky. “You… You’re gonna l-leave me out there.. There again. I.. You.. You d-don’t like me.”
...Okay. That stung. This hurt. He could feel it in his chest. He.. Couldn’t say he didn’t. He messed up and he had to fix this. He sat down on the floor in front of the closet, far enough back that the small hybrid wasn’t trapped.
“Kid, I.. Patton. Patton, I didn’t mean that. I was.. When I found you I was trying to have someone help me find somewhere better for you to go. I didn’t think being with me would be good. I.. I do not know how to take care of a kid. I wanted you to go somewhere you’d be happier than here.” Janus tried to explain, sitting and looking at the crying little hybrid before him.
“....I don’t.. I don’t wanna go. I like it here. I like.. Like you.” He mumbled, those big eyes still full of sadness and concern.
“..I don’t want to send you away. That’s what I was going to tell him on the phone. That I don’t want to just take you somewhere and leave you there. I.. I like you too. You’re a good kid, Patton. ...I want you to stay.” He tried again, not having expected this to be so difficult, but his chest was aching.
Patton paused a moment, his lip still trembling a little, but he leaned just a little closer to him. “...You pr-promise?”
“I promise, Patton. I promise.”
The small frog charged forward from the closet on his hands and knees, crawling from beneath the clothes and across the short distance Janus was from him, then basically tackling him with a hug, burying himself in his chest and holding on. The snake man quickly put his arms around him, holding him close.
Neither of them knew how long they sat there, just holding each other and really understanding that they were going to stick together. Two hybrids who’d been left by their biological family, they were each other’s family now and that wasn’t going to change. No matter what.
-
Janus was sitting in a lounge chair in the Picani’s backyard, reclining comfortably and wearing his sunglasses. It was a nice day out, though they’d be getting into the wet season here shortly. So it was probably for the best that they had decided to do a joint birthday party for Patton and the twins, even though Patton’s chosen birthday was the day after their’s - the date he’d been found by Janus.
All the kids were running around outside, they’d somehow roped Logan into playing with them even though there were water guns and other wet toys involved. The snake hybrid had happily sat on the sidelines for that one, though he did actually stay outside this time.
“Daddy!” Came Patton’s voice, Janus looking over with a soft smile. He hadn’t expected that over the course of a year that his name - ‘annie, would become ‘addy, and then eventually land on Daddy.. But here they were. And he didn’t mind it.
“Yeah, kid?” He responded, looking at him from over his sunglasses.
“We ran out of water in the water guns, do you have any more?” He asked, looking at him curiously.
“Ah, I do not. ...But. I do have something better. Here you go, kid.” Janus said with a smirk, sitting up to pull out the small tub of water balloons he’d stashed under his seat and put it in reach. “Make sure you help your cousins hit Uncle Logan, okay, kid?”
“Okay! Thanks, Daddy!” Patton took hold of one side of the tote, running off to keep playing.
Janus sat back, getting comfortable once more so he could watch the chaos he’d just set in motion. ...They’d all find out that those were full of paint the fun way. He smiled to himself, happily watching them play.
I like one child. ...Maybe three.
