Prompt 40 anxceit of the 101 ways to say I love you please?
Sure thing 😊 Here you go @zozomind I hope you enjoy.
Anxceit # 40 "Don't leave yet."
Warnings: cursing, a minor sprinkling of angst. These two are useless pining morons, its fine
It had been a long day of filming, something new they were trying that required they rent studio space. Everyone was exhausted when Thomas finally made it home. Logan quietly stayed with him, to make sure he didn't just faceplant into bed still fully dressed. Patton and Roman were all soft giggles and effusive yawns once they hit the mindscape. Giddy, but in that slow-blinking way, as they bid everyone goodnight. Even Remus didn't say much, absentmindedly chewing on a banana peel as he shed pieces of his outfit all the way to his door.
That left just Virgil and Janus just standing in the common area in silence. Virgil was also wiped, but definitely too keyed up to be anything even remotely resembling sleepy. He stretched, groaning, and something popped. "That was too much, what a nightmare. And we have to do it again next week? Screw that noise."
He was expecting a vaguely sarcastic response from the other side. When he got nothing he frowned, glancing over. Then did a double take. Janus was just *standing* there blinking at nothing. He was swaying ever so slightly and… shivering? In the middle of a Florida summer? "Hey two-face, look alive." His voice came out sharper than he'd meant it too, a little fission of panic sparking through him.
That panic doubled when Janus didn't even seem to register the words at all. He drifted slowly closer. "Janus? You in there?" Still nothing. Hesitantly, awkwardly, he gripped the snake-like side's shoulders. "Dee?" He couldn't keep the worry from coloring his voice, probably his face too.
And suddenly Janus shook his head, blinking, like he was coming out of a trance. "Hmmm, what? What'ss wrong?" A hissing lisp wove through the words, betraying his exhaustion. Maybe that's all it was. Still…
"You okay?" Virgil furrowed his brow.
"Perfectly-" A jaw cracking yawn, complete with fangs "-fine. Why do you assk?"
Virgil snorted, worry dissipating a bit. "Sure, Jan. Go to bed, you're dead on your feet."
"Liessss. I'm ssharp as a tack."
"Uh-huh. C'mon, you menace." Virgil tugged him a little in the direction of the stairs.
Janus hesitated, swaying like he might tip over. "I'm abssoulutely ssure I can make it up."
That one took Virgil a minute to parse. "Oh." He said, feeling a little dumb. He couldn't just leave Janus down here, but he also kinda wanted to go to bed. He eyed the other side, contemplating. "Hang on, I wanna try something." He shifted his grip and scooped Janus into a princess carry.
"That was *not* an invitation to manhandle me!" Janus squirmed without much strength, but with a near murderous glare. He looked a little more alert. "Put me down, *right now*."
"Not a chance." Virgil smirked at him, quite satisfied with his solution.
Despite his grumbles, Janus slowly relaxed as they climbed the stairs, blinking sleepily and whining when Virgil set him down outside his door. He thought about leaving him there, but something about Janus's face made a protective feeling surge in him. So he followed him awkwardly inside.
The protective urge wasn't new, neither was the awkwardness. He tried not to remember the last time he'd been in this room, during the fight, before he left. They'd been working on their relationship, but it still wasn't back to the closeness of before. He shook himself, focusing on making sure Janus didn't knock himself unconscious getting ready for bed.
He was tilting alarmingly, tugging ineffectually at his clothes. Watching him fight with his cape and gloves was gonna give Virgil contact embarrassment. "Okay, okay stop. God, you're useless right now." He stepped in to do it for him.
Janus stuck out his forked tongue. "Flaterer." He grumbled, but he didn't pull away so Virgil was gonna count this one as a win.
Although passive Janus was almost as bad. "C'mon, Dee, you gotta help me out a *little* here." He said, struggling to peel away all his layers while the snake-like side nearly went limp against him. When he finally wrestled off his shirt and accidentally brushed skin, he winced. Janus was like *ice*, even where he had been covered. "Shit, why are you so cold?"
"*Not*. It was hot at the studio." The pout in his voice was audible. Right, the a/c had been stuck on high, even Virgil had been cold in his hoodie. He burrowed closer to Virgil as he tried to peel off the undershirt, whining. "Sstop it."
"Stop fighting me, you need to get warmed up." Virgil growled to cover up his ratcheting anxiety. Janus was *cuddly*. That only happened when he was entirely too cold. He stopped, sighing, and resigned himself to just snapping the other side into comfy clothes no matter how uncomfortable it made him to do it.
Janus went completely boneless, Virgil had to catch him with a yelp. He pressed his chilled face against Virgil's neck. "Mmn, you're *sso warm*."
Virgil felt his cheeks flame."Um. You can't sleep like this, dude."
"Nope, uh-uh. Bed time, you slippery shit." With a gentleness belaying his tone, Virgil scooped him up again. He settled Janus into his bed, nestling him in among his two hundred some pillows. He clicked on one of the heated blankets, tucking it tightly around the snake-like side. He surveyed the results with a critical eye."Okay, that should do it, how's that?"
"Mmh-hm. Thankssss…" Janus seemed to be already mostly asleep. He yawned and shuffled into the mass of pillows.
Virgil would deny the fond smile he was sporting until the end of time. Janus was *not* cute and he was *absolutely not* feeling soft about it. "Anytime, Dee." He brushed a stray lock of hair from a scaled cheek and turned to go.
But a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. "Don't leave yet." Janus's eyes were more alert than before, and a small dark fear lurked in them. "Pleasse." He said, and Virgil could almost hear the echo of *not again*...
They really do need to talk, but… maybe not tonight. "Yeah, alright. Scoot over." He kicked off his shoes. Giving the other side a reassuring smirk, he turned off the light and clambered in.
Once he'd settled, he pulled Janus flush against him, that protective urge rearing its head again. His skin was already beginning to warm, and he went pliant, snuffling a little into Virgil's collar. One hand snuck up to wind itself into Virgil's hoodie, grip shaking. Virgil's heart twisted, and he hummed softly, dropping a kiss into the other side's hair. A silent assurance that he wasn't going anywhere.
"You can sleep, Dee. I'll be right here. "