Arguments and Nail Polish- Agere!Sides AU (pt.31)
A/N: This was supposed to be angsty,,,,and it was,,,,until the end.....when it got to sad and I decided to get a plot point over with to lighten the mood. Warning, after this chapter, there’s gonna be some calm/resolving chapters and then....well, y’know the saying ‘the calm before the storm’? keep it in mind, folks. Also, spoilers for the new ep from the other day!
ALSO! TW: There’s yelling, Virgil specifically at Roman, I promise it’s just an argument, that’s important to the plot, and there’s not much damage done.
Virgil knew that the mindscape was gonna be a whole mess once everyone got back. There's a reason him and Remus skipped out on the group discussion to hang out in the tower. No surprise, they found a way to spy on them. Virgil was currently waiting with Remus for Deceit to come back. Janus. He could call him Janus now.
Janus appeared just outside of the radius of the tower, loosing his balance for a second before running towards the door of the tower.
It took a few minutes, and a very out-of-breath Janus, to run up those stairs and get to the top of the tower.
"You told them!" Remus jumped up when Janus finally appeared.
"And you acted like an absolute dork," Virgil snorted. Deceit rolled his eyes, giving a chuckle and hugging Remus.
"Well, things are going good for me. Roman isn't doing well though...." he trailed off, looking at Virgil.
"I know, and I'm kind of of the edge about all this. He just said the other day he was okay with you, and now he's going back on that. Is it terrible if I said that I'm just a little bit mad at him?" Virgil seemed kind of panicky, biting at his lip.
"You have every right to be upset, Vee. Have you guys even had as much as an argument since you've begun dating?" Remus questioned,taking his seat on the small desk against the wall.
"N-no. Not really. I can tell he needs comfort, but at the same time...it's just, ugh," Virgil groaned.
"I'm sure things will turn out fine. Patton was really nice to me, and Logan was the one that summoned me, so those two are coming around. Even if it's really, really slowly," Janus seemed like he was glowing, a smile clear on his face.
"That's good," Virgil pulled one of the wooden chairs to the corner of the room where Remus sat on the desk. "Janus, I do wanna say one thing. And I don't want you to get mad at me, okay?" he spoke hesitantly, watching Deceit pull his chair up to sit with them.
"Yeah?"he seemed nervous, waiting for a response.
"You compared Roman to Remus, and you know that isn't fair. How Roman acted towards you wasn't okay, but that wasn't okay either," Virgil sighed.
"I-uh...," Janus paused, looking down. "I don't have an explanation...when he laughed at me-"
"It was you lashing out to defend yourself, and the fact that you're recognizing that you were wrong is good. I'm not upset with you, but I can't pretend you did nothing wrong, either," Deceit nodded, sitting down.
"So, Vee, are you gonna crash here for the night, or go home and hope nothing bad happens?" Remus questioned.
"If I don't go home, everyone will question if I'm okay. Plus, I haven't slept here in ages, it'll feel weird...but I don't wanna go in without backup," Virgil sighed, glancing between the two of them.
"I mean, I'd come, but that's drama and I don't wanna deal with it," Remus shook his head, "I wish you two the best of luck. If you really need me, you can find me somewhere in the imagination, or in this tower."
"I'll come," Janus decided, "it'll be like a sleepover or whatever. We can chill, like we used to," he gave a shrug.
Virgil got up, stretching for a moment before helping Janus up out of his seat. "Prepare for the worst," he began. Janus took his hand, sitting up and smirking.
"hope for the best." he finished, and the two headed down the steps together. This was gonna be okay, right? Roman wouldn't freak out over the fact that Janus was with him, even if he melted down at the sight of him not that long ago, right?
Wrong. Roman was gonna freak out, which Virgil should've predicted. But we can't see the future, now can we?
"Why did you bring him here? Where were you?" Roman answered the door, his eyes wildly going back and forth between Janus and Virgil.
"I was at the tower while you were having a meltdown, and I brought him with me because I have every right to do so," Virgil snarkily replied, not giving Janus the chance to speak.
"He's right, as long as Decei-...Janus," Logan corrected himself, "doesn't start anything, he's welcome to stay here."
Roman didn't move, guarding the door. "Roman, I know you're upset, but let them in," Patton instructed, nudging him to the side. Virgil and Janus took the chance to duck into the house.
"You're seriously gonna let him stay here? Did you guys forget that he's evil, we don't like him, remember?" he tried grasping at something to convince the others. Janus bit his tongue, trying to avoid starting conflict with him.
"You don't like him, the rest of us are adjusting. Just a few days ago you were fine with him," Virgil spoke up. "What changed, princey?" he raised an eyebrow.
Roman stayed silent for a moment. "He just-....I was trying to accept his purpose, but it goes against what I am. I'm supposed to convince Thomas to be a selfless hero, and he represents selfishness in general."
"He does not represent selfishness, he represents self-preservation." Logan corrected.
"Why are you taking their side?" Roman scoffed, motioning to Virgil and Janus.
"Don't pull him into this, Ro." Virgil spoke, giving him a glare that Roman hasn't seen in a long time. "You need to get a grasp on something we all accepted today. Thomas is allowed to be selfish sometimes, and you have absolutely no right to act the way you are to Janus. We all were mean, but at least we're trying."
Roman gave another huff. Deceit seemed shocked and sort of impressed at how Virgil was standing up for himself and Janus. "So no one is gonna defend me? You're just gonna let him scream at me?"
"You're acting just as bad towards him," Virgil motioned at Deceit, who took his hand and tugged on it lightly. Virgil looked at him and gave a nod. "I'm done here, it's whatever for now."
Virgil and Janus disappeared down the hallway. Roman stood there silently. Logan left quietly to go to his room. "Hey, Kiddo," Patton spoke softly to the sensitive Roman, approaching his and rubbing his shoulder.
"Heyyy, Pat," Roman leaned into the touch, and Patton pulled him into a hug.
"I know you're not exactly happy about all this, but you understand why Virgil's upset, right?" he asked once pulling away from the hug. Roman paused, giving a weak nod.
"Oh, god. I need to apologize to them...like I'm really just terrible, huh?" he seemed annoyed with himself.
"Roman, no. You're adjusting different than everyone else. And how you just acted wasn't okay, but you were taken over by emotions and you shouldn't beat yourself up about it. You know what you should do, though?"
Roman looked at him, tilting his head slightly. "You should give him a little space, and also think over how you're gonna apologize. Understand that Deceit is just as much a part of Thomas as we are, and that he's just as needed. You might not like him, but he's not evil," Patton told him, speaking softly and in a comforting way.
"They hate me," he groaned.
"No, they're rightfully upset with you. It doesn't mean they hate you, it just means that Virgil doesn't appreciate you treating Deceit the way you did today. It's gonna be okay, we love you, and I can promise this will blow over," Patton took his hand and pulled him towards the kitchen.
"I still don't like him, though," Roman commented, rolling his eyes a bit.
Patton pulled a chair out from under the table, pushing Roman to sit. "Why not? Weren't you and Virgil happy to see them? What changed?"
"I-i don't know," Roman whined, rubbing his face and watching patton pull out all the needed ingredients for oatmeal.
"Roman, I screwed up today too, bud. W-we both did, but I need you to get over the idea that anyone you don't like is bad. You laughed at Janus's name, don't you realize how not-good that is?"
"Patton, I'm sorry! I need to get over myself, think about this, and talk it out with Virgil tomorrow. I'm not feeling great, Virgil and I have never argued this bad since we've begun dating," Roman casted his eyes down as Patton started to boil the water on the stove.
Patton softened his face. "I'm sorry for that. You'll be able to fix this though, I'm sure of it," Patton gave a weak smile. For the next few minutes, he silently waited for the water to boil before he poured it into the bowl with oats.
"Uh, Pat? Do I have to apologize to Janus too?" Roman took over a slightly more innocent tone. Patton didn't know if he was regressing from emotional stress, so he spoke softly just incase.
"I'm not saying you have to do anything. Just do what you think is right, and I'm sure it'll all fall into place," Patton finished mixing the food in the bowl, moving to add sugar and cinnamon.
"O-okay. I'm sorry that I was kind of mean to you, before I ducked out...I know you guys love me."
"You weren't mean, you were just emotional," he put the sugar and cinnamon back in the cabinet, replacing all the other ingredients where they were supposed to go. "But I appreciate the apology. Now, I know this is a less than typical night, but I still want you to eat something, alright?"
He set the bowl in front of Roman, who nodded, loosely taking the spoon in his hands. "Thanks," his voice faded from the innocent tone, so if he was regressing before, he'd managed to banish the headspace temporarily.
Patton then went down the hall to Virgil's room, lightly knocking on the door. "Who is it?" Virgil called from the other side.
"It's Pat, Vee," Patton replied. He heard light whispering and shuffling.
"Uh, you can come in!" Virgil spoke finally. Patton came inside to the sight of Janus shaking his hands quickly. He closed the door behind him with a chuckle.
"Nothing, absolutely nothing at all," Virgil seemed to be lightly blushing. He was quick to wipe the lip gloss that was on his lips away.
"Yeah, we totally weren't giving each other makeovers," Janus tried to back him up, but he was unsuccessful, Virgil nudging his shoulder in annoyance.
"Lip gloss and nail polish? Virge, you never do this stuff," Patton commented, coming to climb on the bed.
Deceit laid his hands in his lap to let the black and yellow polish dry. "I'm stressed out, and Dee says that a temporary distraction is better than inducing a panic attack, sooo..."
"It is," Patton gave a thankful glance towards Janus, who gave a weak smile. "You think you're gonna be alright? I talked to Roman, I think I got what you were trying to say through to him."
"I'll be alright. I'm not looking forward to talking to him, and I feel bad for yelling. Really bad," Virgil gave a soft pout, seemingly worried.
"That might not of been the best way to handle it, but he upset you. You both seem to wanna fix things, but for tonight, think it over, yeah? And then tomorrow, or whenever you're ready, you can fix it then," Patton pulled Virgil into a hug. For a moment, he was confused, before hugging him back and melting into the embrace.
"Is he okay?" Virgil questioned once the man pulled away.
Patton gave a nod, "Emotional and stressed, but he ate, and I'll make sure to get him to bed early. I'll take care of him until you guys figure it out, yeah?"
"If he regresses, let me know," Virgil said casually, his eyes widening. Patton glanced at Janus, who didn't react.
"Oh...OH! I definitely didn't know that all four of you are littles. Nope, Virgil didn't tell me."
"Dee!" Virgil groaned, looking back at Patton. "When he took care of me, he saw your guy's little gear, and he kind of put the pieces together, I just clarified. I'm sorry," Virgil was quick to apologize.
"It would be different if you didn't know he was supportive. Yeah, maybe you should've talked to us, but he basically knew. It's better to explain then leave him confused. I don't mind him knowing, but he might need to reassure Roman and Logan that he doesn't find it weird and all," Patton assured Virgil.
"Why would I find it weird, I'm a little my-.....uh, nevermind," Deceit gave a light cough, suddenly finding his drying nail polish very interesting.
Patton looked to Virgil, who nodded. "He's a little," Janus gave a somewhat-playful glare.
"Awe, really? I didn't know that!" Patton cooed, and Deceit scrunched his nose, the human half of his face blushing. He hummed.
"Uh, yeah. Virgil was my caregiver back then, so yeah," he gave a light shrug.
"Well, I'm gonna go make sure Roman gets some sleep, and then check on my boyfriend. Don't stay up to late, and please make yourself something before you go to bed. If you want me to make you something, come find me and I won't hesitate," he went to get up, but Virgil pulled him back down to hug him again.
"You? Initiating affection with someone besides your boyfriend when you're not little?" Patton joked, and Virgil pulled away, rolling his eyes.
Patton looked to Janus, who seemed to be feel awkward. "Do you want a hug too, Janus?" he tilted his head.
"Definitely not," Janus gave a scoff that was less real than Logan's ability to not take Virgil to literally during any given conversation.
Within seconds he was engulfed into a soft embrace, melting into the touch and smiling lightly. When Patton pulled away, he walked to the door.
Before walking out, he said, "Night, Kiddos!"
Maybe, Janus thought, these 'light sides' weren't so bad.