A Rainy Night
Summary: Virgil and Remus watch the rain falling outside Virgil's room while Janus talks about the last happy Halloween the dark sides shared with Virgil to the Light sides
Warnings: Cannibalism mention, sex mention
/\/\
Dark dark skies, not a star to be seen, some hidden by the city lights, Virgil always believed, but mostly the stars were far beyond the rain clouds. It was a gloomy night and honestly, he wanted it to remain that way. He could relax and breathe slowly on gloomy nights, so long as neither Patton decided to try to bring comfort and family time in nor Logan began discussing the science behind weather and how it's been changing with Global warming.
For now Virgil was curled up at his window, softly smiling out of it at the raindrops running down it.
“Skelebear? You trickling down the window?” A lilting voice came from the door as it creaked open.
“Yes Remus, I'm here. What are you up to?” Virgil sighed, only leaning more heavily onto the window frame. He wasn't in the mood to act angry or whatever emotion Thomas would expect him to react to Remus with and saw no reason to while alone.
Remus smiled, slithering up behind him and nuzzling his neck. “I was gonna bring the scariest Halloween ever to the others and wanted your help. Leaving them scared over the lack of doing anything while I cuddle a lazy boi seems just as good though.”
/\/\
“It's Halloween. Given Virgil's previous adoration of the evening, I had expected him to be around at some point in the day.” Logan observed, looking between Patton, Roman and Janus as if expecting one of them to say where the Anxious side was.
Janus chuckled lowly, “Do you really think that putting expectations on anxiety is logical? Whether he's the embodiment or the actual feeling, the things that soothe or excite Virgil are as unpredictable as the weather. Speaking of which, the rain is quite heavy tonight, Roman. Are you intending for us to have a thunderstorm?”
“Merely setting the atmosphere, Foul Fiend.” Roman cheerfully proclaimed.
“And I'm sure Virgil and Remus are just waiting for the tension to rise before appearing.” Janus assured, nodding as if soothing them even while alarmed looks were thrown their way.
Patton's expression was something between fear and the urge to look after others. “My son is trying to scare us all again?”
“Perhaps.” was the enigmatic reply.
Logan cleared his throat, straightening in his seat. “I believe that Virgil doesn't get along with either you or Remus.” He stated, leaving his questions over why Janus had implied otherwise unspoken.
“Yet familiarity is often a bigger cause for knowing someone than mere liking. Would you like to hear some tales of our previous Halloween's?” Janus countered and offered easily.
“YES!” Patton instantly replied. “Tell me what Virgil has done before!” Even as he was readily agreeing, he jumped up, heading towards the kitchen. “I'll make drinks if you're going to reminisce for us.”
Roman habitually called after him, “Padre, Virgil isn't actually your son. We're all the same age.” He wasn't really listening for the reply though, moving to kneel on a cushion forming on the floor as he adjusted the mind-space some more to make the atmosphere more eerie for Halloween. The big picture on the wall disappeared for a dark brick fireplace beginning to form, with the fire already lit and crackling away.
/\/\
“I wonder how much water just stays as water going from rivers to seas to clouds and raining back into the rivers again.” Remus murmured, now cuddling against Virgil and the window.
“Or how much has just spent generations in the ocean, too deep to evaporate in the sun, in areas too scarcely populated to get absorbed by the ocean life.” Virgil continued the thought softly before reaching up to trace one of the drops on the window.
Remus immediately reached out and picked another just over from it. “Race you.” He hissed in Virgil's ear.
/\/\
Blankets had been brought out, along with cushions and rain blasting the windows ever heavier. The present sides had all moved to curl up on the cushions on the floor, even Logan electing to join them, steaming hot drinks cradled in their hands.
“Which Halloween shall I begin with? Perhaps our last happy one so that you aren't too unsettled by my tales.” Janus mused, looking between the other three. “The year before Virgil first appeared to Thomas.”
Logan coughed quietly at that. “I've often wondered, was it Virgil starting to appear to Thomas that caused your arguments.”
“I'll never share.” Janus promised, before leaning forward, posture shifting just slightly to embody the story teller controlling the evening.
“That year we had all been excited for Halloween and had each decided to do our own event for the rest of us to enjoy. Come dinner time we were all of a fuss as Virgil, I and Remus all tried to lead into our own plans for the evening.
“By mere energy and the skillset Creativity brings, Remus shared or rather enacted his plans first. We'd been treating ourselves, plates mostly filled with sweets and a few pies but from the time we'd plated them they were slowly transforming. Gummy sweet toughened, gained the sheen of beetles wings and started skittering away only for Remus to start crunching them up. Virgil and I reluctantly copied after noticing the changes in the pies.
“The pies, I'm sure you'll believe it, were worse. They'd been fruit pies, but we could see the fillings becoming meatier. You all understand the reluctance Virgil had to eat them upon noticing, as well as his demands to know what those fillings were now, I'm sure.” Janus paused for a moment, looking at his audience, all paying close attention.
“Remus cackled in reply, only saying 'Thomas loves a bit of man meat, however it's taken.'” Roman had started gagging almost before the sentence was said. Patton started protesting and arguing with anything he could think of in the tales while Logan remained stoic, shaking his head and Janus patiently waited for them all to finish reacting.
Eventually Logan sighed, cutting off the louder reacting. “Comparing fellatio to cannibalism is definitely the type of thought Remus would bring up. It's not an unknown subject for Halloween either so it's very fitting.” He rationalised. “However this story doesn't seem to focus on Virgil as much as you implied it would.”
“All in good time, Dear Doctor. All in good time. I've only told you about our dinner that day.” Janus soothed.
/\/\
“How are there wispy clouds, even lighter than the ones throwing rain down?” Virgil muttered, noticing them getting blown across the sky.
Remus nuzzled closer, “They're ghosts coming to curse you for your hubris. Sitting close to windows when a storms hitting. How much hubris can you get?”
“If anyone has unneeded hubris here it's your brother. I'll be listening for the screams when the ghosts find him instead.” Virgil snorted.
/\/\
Roman leant back on one hand. “Come on then, Jack the Ripper, tell us what Virgil's plans for this oh so happy Halloween were.” He pushed, noticing Janus wasn't actually continuing the story yet.
“Well first we had to actually eat some normal food that hadn't been transformed so before either of us could suggest our plans for the evening, a heist was formed. I would apologise for stealing your cauldron cakes, or whatever treats you'd conjured for the evening back then, but really the choice between Remus's imitations of human pies and stealing from you had only one palatable answer. It took an hour or so to manage though.” Janus shrugged at Patton and Roman's noises of protest. “Can you really blame us for that?”
“It was literally Halloween. You could've come up and trick or treated us! And yes we'd have still argued but your trick could have just been snatching them anyway and giving us Remus's transfigured things claiming we chose trick. At least then I could have returned them to their original state rather than having to conjure more.” Roman argued.
Janus waved off the suggestion. “It's years ago now, Princling. Now I graciously allowed Virgil to describe his plans for our evening after that. He wanted to play a few horror games, of course with the usual embellishments that Remus brings to them.
“What he didn't tell us was that a few of the powers he has as Anxiety were already primed to get used. When I tried hanging back in the game to let them get attacked first there was the crawling over my neck of something small, almost bony in feel. It was just one of the extra legs he has. They're usually hidden away now, I assume. Unless becoming seen as a Light Side removed those traits from him. I've not asked.” The details were added in response to questioning glances revealing none of his audience knew of Virgil's extra spider legs.
Janus smirked once he got nods of understanding, leaning forwards. “When Remus started bringing the monsters from the game into our space was when things really got interesting, and I believe likely impacted you all as well. Virgil's lightning proved very ready to strike and generally accurate in hitting its target. I think only Virgil survived the game once that started lighting up the room to explode the creatures Remus brought into existence.”
“Virgil can do that? Remind me not to let him into the imagination when I'm planning a quest.” Roman muttered, moving pillows around so that he could lean back and remain supported.
“My son is so powerful.” Patton's voice was hushed, and got more frowns directed at him.
Logan nudged him slightly. “Virgil still isn't your son and doesn't seem to like your insistence on claiming him as such. It is curious how the need to focus on all threats can able Virgil to seemingly split his focus entirely without realising he's doing it sometimes.”
/\/\
“Are you saving snacks to lure me into your room?” Remus crooned, having grown bored with staring out the window and instead begun looking at the decorations that were up.
Virgil snorted, before blinking as Remus reached up, away from them to the corner of the window. “If I look up and see that you've just referred to one of my spiders as a snack you will be completely fried.” He growled.
“There web isn't a snack?” The question came immediately, and Virgil could see the spider rearing back on the wall while Remus's finger twirled the web around it.
“It's not, but I guess you can try eating it. Just don't touch my spiders.” He rolled his eyes, smiling as he focused back on the rain falling outside.
/\/\
Janus clapped their hands as everyone started sharing their thoughts on Virgil and occasionally Remus, making them jump. “Well this has been a delightful evening, but I must be getting on. A good self-care routine waits for no man.”
“You never told us what your plans for that Halloween though?” Patton asked, kneeling up when he saw they'd already stood.
“Well isn't that obvious? I did Halloween themed face masks and manicures for us all.” Janus smiled, nodding as they left the room. They had wanted to make the evening scarier for the Light sides, but honestly, talking about their old family group had them feeling a little more gentle.
/\/\
Remus did finally pull away from Virgil, needing to do something that used a bit more energy than watching rain fall outside. He only lingered in the room long enough to get the quilt from Virgil's bed to wrap around him and place the pillow just beside him. It had happened plenty of times before that with weather like this Virgil would probably fall asleep watching it.
With that he was gone, ready to bring scares to anyone else he came across.
