#brotherly anxceit

[fangirlwriting-stories]

Protector

Summary: Virgil’s entire job is to protect Thomas, and he takes that job very seriously.  The core sides might argue too seriously.  The core sides don’t know that there are actual dangerous sides he needs to protect Thomas from.  But there’s another side he needs to protect too.  He used to be able to count on help from Janus, who did the job without even knowing it back when he still lived with them.  But now Virgil and Remus are alone, and they have to look out for each other, which means the last thing that Virgil should do is leave his brother by himself.

Too bad it’s not exactly his choice.

Author’s Note: Hey, read the trigger warnings for this one.  Not everything comes up in every chapter, but when it does, I’m not messing around.  Please be very careful with this one if the warnings are something that’s going to bother you, and if you don’t read it, I won’t be mad.

That being said, welcome to my massive love letter to brotherly dukexiety.  These two are such amazing brothers and if I have to write my own monster of a fic to make everyone else see it, that's exactly what I'll do.  It's finished already, so welcome back to your regularly scheduled Sunday morning updates.  Hope you enjoy!

And as a last note, absolutely all the credit to @shadowling-guistical, who was there for me to scream to and who cheered me on and got just as excited about this story as I did the whole time it was being written.  Mishii, I am not exaggerating in the slightest when I say this story would not exist without you.

...

Virgil was not at all excited at the prospect of meeting with the core sides again.  That video was supposed to be a one time thing!  Okay, well, Thomas had said something about him being potentially used in future videos, but that was going to be something that happened once in a while, whenever they needed a villain to defeat or wanted to talk about the dangers of anxiety.  Why on Earth would they need to talk to him again so soon?

Remus hadn’t seemed to get it either, but he at least had been willing to get Virgil’s mind off of it by suggesting all sorts of ways he could annoy the core sides when he went to talk to them.  Most of his ideas involved dropping blood, saliva, or other bodily fluids on them, to which Virgil had laughed and pointed out the way that he definitely wouldn’t be able to conjure that much of anything.  He wasn’t Creativity, after all.

“Eh, you could at least spit on Janus,” Remus said, waving his hand dismissively.  “You’ll be right next to him.”

Virgil laughed again.  “Yeah, spitting on Thomas’ Self Preservation.  That’ll get me invited back.”

“I thought you didn’t want to go back,” Remus pointed out with a grin and raised eyebrows.

“Well, if I’m not invited back, how will I ever work up to being able to spit on Janus without consequences?”

It was Remus’ turn to laugh now, and he flopped down on his bed while continuing to grin.  “You make an excellent point.”

For how lighthearted the conversation seemed, they were both ignoring the undercurrent of fear tucked under the entire thing.  Because for how much Virgil and Remus didn’t love the prospect of him talking to the core sides again, there were still three sides that very much did.

It had been long known by the two of them how badly Malice wanted a way to get to Thomas.  Why he thought Thomas would listen to him was anyone’s guess, but he’d managed to get Positivity and Cruelty on board with the plan decades ago.  They had thankfully gotten pretty much nowhere, due in no small part to the fact that the side they’d need to convince to let them talk to Thomas was a core side who almost never came to their side of the mindscape in the first place.

Of course when he did come down here, he usually talked to Virgil, which didn’t make Virgil super popular.  But him having a direct line to Janus more often would be exactly the kind of thing that Malice would want.  Far easier to pressure Virgil into pressuring Janus into pressuring Thomas for something, as convoluted and complicated as that sounded.  So whether it was what Virgil wanted or not, Remus wasn’t too far off.  The safest thing for Thomas in this situation was to be as antagonistic as possible— which wouldn’t win him any points with Malice.  Whatever.  He was used to hiding bruises whenever Janus came down here.  It wasn’t that hard.

Virgil stayed in Remus’ room for most of the morning, as it was better for brainstorming and coming up with a game plan, especially when Remus was in there with him.  Of course, the game plan often ended up involving a lot of sex jokes and spitting on other sides, but Virgil could edit those parts out.

It was just after what would have been lunchtime if they were eating today that Virgil felt the tugging that meant he was being summoned by Thomas.  He glanced over at Remus with a tense smile that probably came out more like a grimace.

“Ah, time?”

Virgil nodded.

“Spit on Janus for me!”

“No,” Virgil said, as he sunk out in order to appear in the real world.

If he was going to be antagonistic with this thing, might as well get a head start.  Virgil appeared leaning on top of Janus’ hat, picking at his fingernails.  “I’m told you want to talk to me for some reason?”

“Get off of me,” Janus snapped, shoving Virgil towards the other side of the stair platform they were standing on.

“Oh, shoot, were you standing there?  Sorry, I didn’t see anything important.”

Janus gave him an unamused look, and Virgil turned from him to face Thomas before he could reply.  “Is there something you wanted?  I did have things to do today, you know.”

Most of those things probably involved hiding and running for his life, but that could come after he ended this conversation on a bad note so Thomas would never want to talk to him again.

Thomas sighed.  “Well, there was a bit of a surprising reaction to the video you were in,” he said.

Oh, god.  “What?  Are people lining up with torches and pitchforks?  Hate to break it to them, but they can’t actually affect me, I’m imaginary, they’re not—”

“Actually, everyone loved you kiddo!” Patton said brightly.

Virgil blinked and turned to face him.  “I’m sorry?”

“Yes, unfortunately, the fanbase seems to have adored you,” Roman said, crossing his arms and looking very unhappy with the situation.  “You are the second favorite character.”

“Second favorite?” Virgil asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course!  After me!” Roman proclaimed, adding a flourish with his hands.

“Oh, of course,” Virgil grumbled, leaning against the banister to his left.  “So why exactly does that matter?”

“Well, we have adjusted our plan slightly to align with what the viewers seem to be enjoying,” Logan said.  Virgil glanced down at him.  “And you will of course be included in more videos.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Virgil asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You’re gonna be a main character!” Patton called.

“I don’t want to be a main character,” Virgil said, crossing his arms over his chest.  That would be way too much pressure, were they insane?

“Oh!” Janus said brightly, clapping his hands together.  “Well, that decides that then!  Alright, Anxiety, if you wouldn’t mind heading back to—”

“Janus,” Thomas said in a low warning tone.  Janus groaned and looked up at the ceiling in clear disapproval, but stopped talking.

“You didn’t have a problem doing the last video,” Thomas said, turning back to Virgil.

“That was one.  Do you honestly think I’m okay with showing up in multiple videos?  Probably almost all of them if you’re saying I’d be a main character!”

“Anxiety, I can understand the idea of filming can be a little unnerving,” Patton said.  “And so can the idea of moving over here—”

“Wait.”  All of Virgil’s arguments came to a screeching halt before most of them had finished forming.  “Moving over here?”

“It would make it far easier to film if you could be around most of the time already,” Logan said.  “We can hardly expect Janus to make a trip to the other side of the mindscape every time we need to make a video.”

Virgil took a moment to process the irony in that statement, blinking at Logan.

Well, that changed things.  If he helped with the videos, he moved over here?  For a second, Virgil considered what that might mean.  He’d get away from Malice, Positivity, and Cruelty.  From what he understood, the core sides didn’t do things the same way they did.  Maybe he wouldn’t have to watch his back every second.  Maybe he could actually sleep easily for once.  But the problem there was, Virgil didn’t only have to watch his own back.  And if he left Remus alone…

It would be a huge disservice to the creative side to say that Remus couldn’t defend himself.  He was far from helpless.  He’d saved Virgil’s own ass more times than he could count.  But there were two of them and three of the others.  On a good day they could hold their own, but if it was just Remus against the three of them, he’d be pretty exposed.

Virgil was a protector.  That was his job, to protect Thomas.  Remus was a part of that.  And he needed Virgil far more than Thomas did most of the time.

Besides, there was a pecking order to the mindscape, as had been explained to Virgil very clearly the time that Malice and Cruelty had thrown Remus at him, unconscious and bleeding from where his mustache was supposed to be.  They wanted to get to Thomas.  But in order to do that they first had to get to Janus.  And since Janus wasn’t an easy side to get to, their best chance was to fuck with Virgil, the person Janus talked to if he ever came down there.  And if you wanted to fuck with Virgil you fucked with the people he was supposed to protect.  If Virgil left Remus alone and exposed, it would be giving them an even more direct line to Janus, and in turn, to Thomas.

Virgil paused as another option struck him.

He looked directly at Thomas.  “On one condition.”

Thomas blinked in surprise.  “You changed your mind?”

“On one condition,” Virgil repeated.

“What?”

“I get to bring someone with me.”

“Absolutely not,” Janus said instantly, glaring at Virgil.

“Janus,” Thomas said, crossing his arms.

“That’s my job!” Janus snapped.  “He doesn’t get to decide when you meet sides!  That’s my territory!”

“No one said he had to meet Thomas,” Virgil said, smirking as he slipped effortlessly back into the asshole persona.  “But if I have to deal with all of you idiots, I want some actually enjoyable company.”

“Hey, be nice,” Thomas said, raising an eyebrow at Virgil.

“Sorry, buddy, nice isn’t in my job description.  You should talk to Patton about that one.”

“Kiddo,” Patton said, sounding a little disappointed.

Virgil ignored him and looked back over at Janus.  “That’s my deal.  You want me to be part of this stupid video series long-term, you want me to come over here and be on-call for whenever you want to film, I get to bring one side with me.”

Janus narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms.  “No.”

“Janus,” Thomas said in exasperation.  “Come on.”

“I am not allowing a hostile side up here,” Janus said, still looking directly at Virgil.  “I decide when you’re ready to meet new sides.  I know all of the other sides down there, and trust me when I say that you’re not ready to meet any of them.  Letting one of them come over here is dancing too close to that line, and I will not allow it.”

Patton started to say something else, probably an attempt to change Janus’ mind, but Virgil recognized the expression on his face.  He wasn’t going to be swayed.

And Virgil wasn’t going to leave Remus by himself.

“Fine,” he said, straightening a little as he shoved his hands in his pockets.  “Then I suppose we’re done here.”

“Wait a second, Anxiety—” Logan started.

“I suppose we are,” Janus said, not moving his glare.

Virgil sank back out to Remus’ room without another word, despite the protests he heard follow him down.

Remus wasn’t there when Virgil got there, which was definitely a bad sign.  Virgil headed for all of their usual hiding spots first, as they’d decided years ago.  If they went to the others first, they would unquestionably get hurt, and if they already were being hurt, it was okay, they could last a little longer in order to not give away hiding spots.

This time, however, Virgil didn’t have to make it through all of the hiding spots, because he was passing the third when he walked in behind Cruelty holding a knife up to Remus’ face.

Remus must have seen him, but Cruelty was the only one in the room and they were both well practiced with not acknowledging the other’s presence.  Virgil summoned his scythe, made with Remus’ help a long time ago, and crept up behind Cruelty, silent on his feet.

“And another thing—” Cruelty started in a low voice.  Unfortunately, his other thing would be lost to time and space, because that’s when Virgil slammed the handle of his scythe into the back of his head, and he crumpled.

“You okay?” he asked, looking at Remus.

“Yeah,” Remus said, waving a dismissive hand, even though after doing so he moved to clutch at his other shoulder.  “Just a stab wound.”

“Ah.” Virgil shoved down the anxiety that always came when Remus was hurt, whether it was hours of grueling torture or just a simple stab wound.  “You want help?”

“I can patch myself up just fine, thanks, I don’t need help.”

“Oh, yeah?  Because it looks like you got cornered by just Cruelty,” Virgil said, smirking at him.

“Ah ha ha ha,” Remus said.  “But come with me, I want to hear what the heck the core sides wanted to talk to you about.”

Virgil followed Remus to the bathroom, looking him over as he did so to make sure he wasn’t hiding worse injuries.  He had a tendency to do that if he thought it would make Virgil nervous.

“You checking me out?” Remus asked as they both stopped in the bathroom.

“Yeah, you’re still smoking hot,” Virgil said, rolling his eyes.  “Don’t worry, your new scar will not take away from how attractive you are.”

“Virgil, please, everyone knows scars make someone more attractive.  Movies say so and therefore it must be true.”

“Uh huh, yeah.”

Virgil set Remus’ shirt and sash to the side to be washed later as Remus inspected the knife wound in his shoulder.  He was right, it didn’t look bad at all, and he cleaned and wrapped it in under a minute, then snapped a new shirt on over it.  “So, what did the core sides want?” he asked.

“Oh, apparently the fanbase loved me, and they wanted me to move over there to be in more videos,” Virgil said, waving his hand dismissively.

“Hang on, what?” Remus exclaimed, leaping up from his spot sitting on the toilet.  “What did you say?”

Virgil stared.  “I said no,” he said in bafflement.  “Duh.”

“You did what?  Are you nuts?  And I don’t even mean the fun kind, Virgil!”

“Oh, please.”  Virgil crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall.  “What am I supposed to do, leave you over here by yourself?”

“Um, yes.”

Virgil stood up straighter and dropped his arms.  “What— Remus, I’m not going to do that.”

“You get offered a chance to leave this hell hole behind and you turn it down for my sake?  Jesus, Virgil, I love you too, but come on.”

Virgil stared at Remus for another minute.  Was he serious?  It sounded an awful lot like he was serious.  “You… Remus, you’re joking, right?  This is a really poorly timed joke?”

But Remus was seeming to realize that Virgil was serious the same time Virgil was realizing that Remus was.  “Virgil.”  Remus reached out and put his hands on his shoulders.  “I just got stabbed in the shoulder, and we’re reacting like it’s a normal Tuesday around here because it is.  Listen to me.  You are going to get out of here.”

“Not without you,” Virgil said instantly.

“Yes without me,” Remus replied just as quickly.  “Have you thought this through at all, idiot?  Remember when Janus first went up there?”

Virgil scowled.  “What about it?”

“Everyone hated him at first.  Don’t you remember?  Remember why he went up there in the first place?”

“Yeah, of course.  Laura Singer.”

Thomas had met Laura when they were both in eighth grade, when he had found her crying behind the school because she was worried her parents were going to find out she was a lesbian.  Janus had shown up on a whim to make a suggestion, and that was how Thomas got his first girlfriend and came out for the first time simultaneously.  And through that, overtime, Thomas had gained a lifelong friend in Laura, and a core side in Janus.

“But what’s your point?” Virgil continued, crossing his arms.

“No one liked Janus at first,” Remus said, crossing his own back.  “He won them over overtime.  Who’s to say that can’t happen again?”

“It’s not going to happen fast enough,” Virgil insisted.  “I can’t leave you down here by yourself, you idiot.”

“What, you think I can’t handle myself?”

“I know you can.  But I also know three against one isn’t a fair fight.  I’m not going to leave you here, Remus.”

Remus narrowed his eyes.  “Yes you are.”  He sank out before Virgil could protest.

“What— Remus!” Virgil cried, sinking out to follow him wherever he went.

He ended up in the core side’s commons in front of all four core sides themselves, and most of them were already looking either very surprised or very displeased to see both of them.

“Hello, all,” Remus said with his too-wide smile.  “There’s been a change of plans.  Anxiety will in fact be coming up here to assist with more videos!”

“Remus!” Virgil hissed, trying to kick him while being subtle about it.  It’s not like he was going to outwardly disagree with him in front of the core sides, and Remus knew that.

“Oh, really?  That’s great, kiddo,” Patton said with a smile, standing from his spot next to Janus.

“I’m not your kiddo,” Virgil snapped.  “Don’t call me that.”

“Well, we’ll have to see, won’t we, maybe you’ll warm up to the idea while you’re up here,” Remus said, giving Virgil a large blindingly bright grin that made Virgil reach behind him and pinch him on the back of the neck.

“But he’s so thrilled for the opportunity,” Remus continued.  “He just needed a moment for it to sink in, you know, it was a bit overwhelming is all.”

Patton’s smile turned a bit confused.

A second later, Janus stood up, already scowling.  “You seemed very against the idea earlier,” he said lowly.

“Yeah, what the heck is with the change of plans Hot Topic?” Roman asked, crossing his arms from his spot against Janus’ other side.

“I just told you,” Remus said, tilting his head just enough for his neck to crack.  “He needed some time to process.  But he’s more than willing to move up here to join you all.  Aren’t you, Anxy?” Remus asked, turning his smile back onto Virgil again.

Virgil gave Remus a large smile back that poorly hid the fury of a thousand suns, and turned to face the others again.  “Yep.  Just thrilled at the prospect,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Oh,” Patton said, still sounding confused.  “Well, that’s wonderful ki— Anxiety,” he amended.  “Do you know how long you’ll need to move up here?”

“He can do it right now!” Remus called brightly.  “He already has all of your begrudging permission, right?”  Remus snapped his fingers and there was a loud crunching sound followed by Virgil’s room appearing down the hallway right next to Janus’ room.

Virgil grabbed one of Remus’ hands and yanked it behind his back so he could bend the fingers back, even though it was clear at this point that Remus wasn’t going to change his mind.

“Well, that looks perfect!” Remus said brightly.  “We’ll just make sure everything looks good, and then I will be out of your armpit hair!”

Remus sunk them both out again, and reappeared them both in Virgil’s bedroom.

Virgil immediately whirled on him and shook him by the shoulders.  “Why did you do that?” he snapped.  “You asshole, I told you no!”

“And I told you I’m not letting you turn down the one chance you have to get away from the others,” Remus said firmly.  “You’re staying here, Virgil.”

“Remus, it’s not just about that,” Virgil said.  “Don’t you get it, you just gave them an easier way to hurt you and pressure me into doing something to get them to stop.  You know what they’re capable of.  They could seriously hurt you.  They could kill you.”

Sides couldn’t die permanently, but they were way more vulnerable while reforming from death.  Getting hurt during that time was the kind of thing that caused permanent damage.  Virgil and Remus had always been there to watch each other’s backs when it happened before.  If they managed to kill Remus, while Virgil wasn’t there to help…

“It doesn’t matter,” Remus said, pulling Virgil from his thoughts before he could really start spiraling.  “Just don’t do what they say.”

“What— oh yeah, I’ll just do that,” Virgil said, stubbornly ignoring the tears welling up in his eyes.  “I’ll just knowingly let my only family get badly hurt while I live in the lap of luxury.  That won’t make me a huge fucking asshole.”

“You’re right, it won’t.  Because that’s exactly what I’m telling you to do.”

“Remus.  I can’t just leave you there.”

“Okay, fine.  Don’t.  Get them to like you, just like Janus did, and ask them to let me come over here once they do.”

“I said that isn’t going to happen fast enough!” Virgil snapped.  “How am I supposed to get them to like me?  I’m not exactly a likable side, Remus!”

“Virgil,” Remus said, raising an eyebrow.  “I get that this might be a difficult concept for you to understand.”  He leaned into Virgil’s face as if Virgil was missing something obvious.  “Play. Nice.”

Virgil scowled.

“Don’t be confrontational.  Maybe agree with another side every now and then and don’t constantly bring up the negatives to everything they say.  Try not glaring at Janus every time a word comes out of his mouth.”

Virgil opened his mouth to protest, only for Remus to shove his hand over it, which Virgil leaned back from instantly.  He didn’t want to know where that thing had been.  “Virgil, Janus is the main side you have to win over.  You do get that, don’t you?”

Virgil took a step back and let out a groan.  “Yes,” he mumbled, glaring down at the floor.  “I just… Remus, I don’t want to have to deal with him to get you out!”

“I get that.  I’m with you, okay?  But that’s just how it is.  Get Janus to like you, and he’ll be much more likely to let me come over here.  And that’s the only way to ensure that I’m not kicked out almost immediately.”

“I know,” Virgil grumbled.  “I…” he sighed.  He was being unfair, wasn’t he?  Remus was the one who would have to deal with the others alone, if he could do that, Virgil could manage to not scream at Janus every time he saw him.  “Okay.”

“Yeah?”

“I’ll…” Virgil glared away.  “Play nice with Janus.”  He looked back at Remus.  “But I can’t just suddenly start being the friendliest side in the world to him, that’s just going to make him suspicious.”

“Okay, then try slowly working up to sucking his dick.”

Virgil winced.  “But Remus—”

“I can handle it.  I’m a patient side.”

Virgil snorted.  “Oh yeah, when I think patience, I think of you.”

“I know I won’t be able to get out immediately,” Remus said.  “It’s okay.”

Virgil looked back up.  Remus was biting his lip while frowning and not even pulling off a finger to chew on.

Virgil looked down and laughed bitterly.  “When did you get so serious?”

“Excuse me, is that a challenge?  I’ll strip naked right now.”

“Ew, no!” Virgil called, leaning forward enough to shove Remus’ back.  “You’re disgusting!”

“Thank you, I try.  And don’t ever call me serious ever again.”

Virgil looked over at him, smiling even as he shook his head in exasperation.

“I just trust you,” Remus said.

Virgil stopped smiling.  “Oh.”  He looked at Remus for another moment, then walked forward and pulled him into a hug.  “I’m not gonna let you down,” he mumbled into Remus’ sash.

“Yeah,” Remus said, hugging him back.  “I know.”

Remus pulled back after a minute and smiled weakly at Virgil.  “Okay.  I’m gonna go and add more traps to stop anyone trying to get into my room.”

“Let me help you,” Virgil said instantly.

“No,” Remus said, pushing Virgil back a little more.  “I’ve got this.  I’m gonna be on my own for a little while, I can—”

“Remus,” Virgil cut him off.  “Let me help you with this.”

Remus swallowed, and nodded.  “Okay.”

They both sunk out together and headed for Remus’ room, and Virgil tried to ignore the fear that was cropping up at all of this.  Remus would be fine.  He was Remus, he could handle himself.  Three against one still wasn’t fair, but that just meant he would have to move as quickly as he could.  He’d start tomorrow.  He could make everyone breakfast of some kind.  Pretty much everyone likes pancakes, right?

...

Chapter Two

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #remus sanders #janus sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #roman sanders #character thomas sanders #brotherly dukexiety #platonic dukexiety #platonic anxceit #platonic moxiety #platonic analogical #platonic prinxiety #platonic thvi #creativitwins #platonic roceit #tw injury #tw violence #tw violent imagery #tw violent death #temporary character death #for multiple characters #tw torture #tw manipulation #tw abandonment #wow there's a lot in this one #virgil angst #remus angst #my fic

[bloss0mlush]

I am currently debating if I or if I not write an au where virgil is missing and janus who is his big brother trying to find him along with their friends

lovely bones and a song called hansel kind of made my brain make this au

#platonic anxceit #brotherly affection #platonic moxiety #platonic dukexiety #platonic analogical #platonic prinxiety #platonic #sanders sides au

[i-will-physically-fight-you]

#thomas sanders #sanders sides #logan sanders #roman sanders #remus sanders #janus sanders #virgil sanders #patton sanders #and yes i see rivals to friends & enemies to friends as two separate things #dont ask me how the vibes are just different #i actually do enjoy stuff involving c!thomas but i dont personally write him a whole lot #(mainly because I've never gotten over my apprehension over rpf even if c!thomas is essentially a fictional representation of real thomas)

[tss-coma-au]

gosh I love this au. I'm glad we got a little bit of resolution, it's so good

:D im thrilled it still holds up after so long of being on pause! (Bc... Yes. This au, too, is just that. On pause, not finished)

I hope in the future i can offer more closure, bc I still have the aftermath recovery fic all blocked out to write and it definately touches several bases from recovery to falling in love with the others all over again(bc the intended relationships are LAMP, platonic dukexiety, and brotherly/familial anxceit, and Virgils memory loss extends to a few years before he and the others got together. Say early-college. He's going to remember who they are, but only as people he's met in passing.

The reality of it all definately sets in when Virgil realizes the engagement/promise ring he's wearing when he wakes up matches the rings of the other three, each with a written line of words engraved in it to add up into a finished quote. And. You know. When he's finally discharged and is taken to the large house they live in to find he has his own room with all his stuff. And its alot bc he last thing he remembers is living with Janus and being on shaky terms with Roman after Remus had a fall out w/ him(that's long since been resolved) and. It's. It's definately alot. For all parties involved.)

#coma au

[jaratedeguadalupe]

will never understand brotherly anxceit where is the sibling dynamic. i don’t see them physically attacking each other 

#they give off divorced vibes if anything #whenever they enter a room it suddenly turns in to a divorce court #shout out to my brother for teaching me self defense at the age of 7 #and with that I mean making me your personal punching bag #the making the living room boxing a ring 24/7 #just sibling stuff #will never understand people calling out sibling for being mean and attacking each other #wdym that’s how siblings act #if you take away my controller so that you can win #i'm coming for you #ts janus #ts virgil #janus sanders #virgil sanders #anxceit #sanders sides

[werewroammin]

roman and patton met chaperoning a school field trip. pattons son virgil and romans son logan both attended the same school, and they went on a field trip to the planetarium

seeing how well their respective kids got along they decided to keep in touch. mAyBe tHeY FaLL iN LoVe???

and idk should janus be logan or virgils brother i know i want him to be someone’s brother lmao

#sanders sides

[gummie-crayon]

i am creating the softest most bittersweet comic of janus and virgil and i am going so feral over it and i KNOW the brotherly anxceit community will go feral too

#im making a 5 part mini series abt love languages thru the sides #janus and virgils is acts of servive :-]] #gumdrops

[four-rabbit]

Big brother/adult Janus or Logan holding baby Virgil?

I feel like you prob meant like teen brother Janus being caring toward Virgil and for that I'm sorry but the first thing that came to my mind was that one scene from Addams Family when the kids tried to throw the baby off the roof

(No babies were harmed during the making of this drawing)

#also sorry it's just a sketch I wanted to draw at least one of the prompts I received today but I'm way too tired #brotherly anxceit #virgil sanders #janus sanders #baby virgil beloved #rabbit draws

[sanders-sides-uncorrect-quotes]

Highschool AU where Janus is a really intimidating "bad boy". His little brother is Virgil and he (Janus) will threaten anyone who tries to come anywhere near his little bro (ESCPECIALLY Virgil's boyfriends)

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #janus sanders #highschool au #brotherly anxceit

[hteragram-x]

I just thought about little Janus coming up with the most ridiculous lies so the other kids like him at school, as many childred often do.

“Of course I have a boyfriend, but you don’t know him. He... goes to a different school. And he’s two years older than us and has a motorcycle... No! I can’t show you the picture, because... because he is a spy and we need to hide his id- identical!”

(Little Logan: “Identity?”)

“My dad is an astronaut and my other dad is a movie star. You probably never saw him in anything, because you only watch cartoons! And I’m going to be in a movie with him one day, but it’s a secret, so don’t tell anyone. I already was in a movie. And they said I won an Oscar! ...Twice!”

--- --- ---

Most children are a little suspicious about these stories, but Patton and Remus believe every word he says and they’re convinced Janus is the coolest person who ever lived. Meanwhile Logan did a very professional investigation (he asked Janus’ dad where he works, but in a serious way, like a real detective – he had a hat and all that) and now he knows that Janus is probably making all that stuff up.

Roman is mostly jealous, because he wants a spy boyfriend too, so he gladly joins Logan’s side when he tries to discover the truth, while Virgil – Janus’ older brother – pretends he doesn’t know him, because he’s already 11-years-old and he finds this child’s behaviour absolutely embarassing. (Also because Janus once claimed that he saved his life more than 20 times, because Virgil constantly puts himself in danger and screams in fear.)

--- --- ---

(When Logan and Janus get together years later Janus laughs that he kind of has an older spy boyfriend, because Logan really spent a lot of time trying to gather information and expose all these lies when no one was looking. And maybe he is just 4 months not 2 years older, but that’s irrelevant.)

#sanders sides #janus sanders #ts janus #logan sanders #ts logan #roman sanders #ts roman #remus sanders #ts remus #patton sanders #ts patton #loceit #ts loceit #logan x janus #janus x logan #brotherly anxceit #kid!sides #ts prompts #ts writing #my writing #hteragramxwriting #hteragramx

[chaotic-neutral-toga]

ok but like

a little Janus (the imagination is wack yall) who keeps following and clinging to Virgil and Virgil is having none of it,, so one day Virgil tells him to stay put for a while, "Me leaving your line of sight doesn't mean I'm gone forever, jeez",, but the last time he left Janus' line of sight, he never came back and left him and Remus for the light sides,, so in 10 minutes Janus is crying for Virgil to come back and no one can calm him down,, and Virgil realizes Janus was really hurt by him leaving and he feels bad,,, so come here child, guess im your big bro now,, hngbghnh give me the familial anxceit

#sanders sides #pure agere #sfw agere #janus sanders #deceit sanders #kid janus #toddler janus #kid deceit #toddler deceit #the imagination is such a get out of jail free card for shit like this #virgil sanders #remus sanders #anxceit angst #familial anxceit #brotherly anxceit

[coconut-cluster]

Yeah, I like to think that their still friends.

yeah 🥺 and in AUs, it’s so fun for them to have that ride-or-die dynamic where they quarrel all the time but would hide a body if the other needed them to akskdkfl

#Janus has big brother energy to me #just him teaching Virgil to sew and think of comebacks and stuff 🥺🥺🥺 #anxceit #brotherly anxceit

[arya-skywalker]

Pleasant Surprises (Sanders Sides Fanfic)

Secret Santa fic for the amazing @nightashes ! Hope you enjoy

Prompts used:

- Familial (brotherly) anxceit, analogical

- Fantasy, (emotional) h/c

- Hugs, firelight, new beginnings

- “I think I understand now”

- “I’m here for you” (slightly different phrasing but same idea)

Read on AO3

Summary: Virgil risks a journey home to the dark forest to reconnect with brother Janus— and invite him to a potential wedding.

~*~

“I need to tell him,” Virgil said, curled up by the fire.

“Hm?” Logan looked up from his book. “Tell who, what, exactly? I’m afraid I’m not quite following.”

Virgil grimaced. “My brother. About....” He gestured vaguely. “Us? Me not being dead?”

“Ah.” Logan closed his book. “Would you like me to come with you?”

“No.” Virgil quickly shook his head. “No. I need to go alone. Besides, it’s not safe for you there.”

Logan folded his hands on his lap. “You left for a reason. Are you quite certain you want to go back?”

“I was scared, Lo. But now... I know what to expect. I’m ready.”

“Very well. Contact me if you need assistance.” Logan stood and walked over to his desk, taking out a small handheld mirror. “Say my name into this mirror, and we will be able to communicate through it.”

Virgil looked at the mirror warily. “And if I break it?”

Logan sighed. “It will still work on a shard of the mirror, but please be careful.”

“Always am.” Virgil smiled wanly as he took the mirror, cautiously placing it in his satchel.

Logan kissed his forehead and squeezed his hand gently. “Come home soon, please.”

Virgil took his hand and stood. “That’s the goal. I’ll miss you.” He stretched and took a deep breath. “Well, see you later, I guess.”

“Farewell and good luck.”

Virgil forced a smile and waved, then quickly packed his things before heading out the door— not giving himself the chance to back out.

~*~

Virgil tugged his cloak close against the chill. This was a bad idea. He knew it was a bad idea. Five years. Five years apart.

Maybe Janus wouldn’t even want to see him. Hell, maybe he wasn’t even here.

No. Too late to turn back.

Eerie whispers echoed in the mists and shadows lurked behind skeletal trees, but Virgil ignored them. That was normal here. As was the eternal night. Perfectly normal.

Here lived the monsters of the realm. The forsaken. The lost and abandoned. The only advantage was that they never hurt one of their own.

Virgil stopped in front of the door built into the cliffside and knocked. Snakes, spiders, and tentacles were carved around the doorframe, but there were no windows— only narrow slats to let air and light inside. Easier to defend without having to worry about glass.

It felt like eternity before the door opened. “Well, this is unexpected,” Janus drawled, his scales gleaming in the dim light.

“Hey, Jan... umm... can I come in?” Virgil rubbed his arm, not quite meeting his brother’s gaze.

“Depends on what brought you here.”

“I just wanna talk.” Virgil bit his lip. “And... apologize?”

“Go on, then. Say what you came to say.” Janus leaned against the doorframe.

Virgil took a deep breath. “I think I understand now,” he said slowly.

Janus arched an eyebrow. “Oh do you now? What do you understand?”

“Why you did what you did. Why we lived how we did. Why we were always hiding, never leaving the forest. How the world really works— well, not as much that, but more than I knew—“

“Did someone hurt you?” Janus cut him off, taking a step closer, concern in his eyes.

Virgil winced. “No. Well, yes, but that’s not important right now. What’s important is you don’t need to do that anymore. We can help you.”

Janus’s brow knitted. “We?” he echoed.

“I... uh... met some nice people. Like, really nice. I think you’d like them, if you give them a chance.” Virgil picked at a loose thread at the edge of his cloak.

Janus gave him a look, then sighed and stepped aside. “Come in. Would you like some tea?”

Virgil sighed in relief and walked through the doorway. It was just as he had left it— fur blankets piled around cushions and chairs, rickety table, a large fireplace with snakes around the mantle. “Sure. Something herbal?”

“Chamomile?” Janus suggested, filling a pot with water and placing it over the hearth.

“Whatever, sure.” Virgil warmed himself by the fire, then grabbed a blanket and took a seat on a nearby cushion.

Janus laughed softly. “Still prefer the floor to a chair, hm?”

Virgil shrugged. “It’s convenient. And warmer,” he said.

“Mm. Indeed it is,” Janus said. “Honey in your tea, yes?”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

A moment later, Janus set a cup of tea on the floor next to Virgil and sat down a few feet away. “Careful. It’s hot,” he said. Which was obvious due to the steam.

Virgil wrapped his hands around the teacup anyway, breathing in the aroma. “So... umm... what’s up with you?” He winced. “I mean, like, what have you been up to? How have you been?”

Janus chuckled softly. “More of the same. Hunting. Strengthening the wards.” He gestured vaguely.

“Right, yeah,” Virgil muttered.

“I am far more interested about you, spiderling. Care to talk about your grand adventures?” Janus arched an eyebrow.

Virgil snorted. “I wouldn’t call them that. But uh... I guess.” He took a sip of his tea once it had cooled down enough. “Well... I headed roughly northeast from here. Traveled with the spider-people for a bit. But as we approached the border, some elves attacked. When they heard me speak, they stopped and demanded I bow before the prince.“ He smiled sideways. “Did you know we even had a prince out here?”

Janus hummed thoughtfully. “A prince in this forest? No, preposterous.”

“Anyway, Princey insisted on ‘rescuing’ me and ‘breaking the curse’.” Virgil gestured to his face, where dark spiderwebs still patterned his skin. “So he whisked me away to ‘civilization’.”

“Oh the horror,” Janus said, his lips quirking into a half-smile.

Virgil blushed slightly. “It was... overwhelming. So many people in one place. All so loud! And the buildings— they make walls out of wood, can you imagine? And the top out of grass! They wouldn’t last a second out here.”

Janus hummed in agreement, but remained silent, sipping at his tea.

“And... well... I don’t think the people liked me very much,” Virgil admitted, looking into the fire. “When they saw my face, they shied away. Some threw fruit and stuff, but the prince quickly put a stop to that.”

Janus narrowed his eyes. “They hurt you?” He asked in a low voice.

Virgil bit his lip. “It’s fine. It didn’t really hurt, just made a mess. And like I said, some people were nice.”

“Hmph. People do not think kindly of our people. Hence why it is safer to remain within the forest.”

“I know, I know.” Virgil ran a hand through his hair and exhaled sharply. “Anyway.... a little while later I met the prince’s advisor, a half-elf mage. He’s so handsome and smart and gentle and kind and—“ He stopped, blushing slightly. “His name is Logan and he offered to let me stay with him. He helped me learn how to control my powers.”

Janus arched an eyebrow. “You like this advisor, don’t you?”

Virgil nodded slowly. “I... yeah. We understand each other,” he said quietly.

Janus was silent for a moment, then reached over and put his hand on Virgil’s arm. “If he makes you happy, then stay with him.”

“Do you want to meet him?”

Janus blinked. “Come again?“

Virgil took out the mirror. “This is an enchanted mirror. We can communicate through it. If you want to.”

Janus touched the scaled side of his face. “Are you sure he wants to see me?”

Virgil smiled sadly. “You’re my brother. Of course he wants to meet you. And he didn’t hate my markings, so you should be fine.”

“Mm.” Janus sighed, then flicked his wrist, making his cowl float over and wrap around his face, hiding as much of his scales as he could. “Very well.”

Virgil took a deep breath and held the mirror so they were both in view. “Logan? Can we talk please?”

A moment later, the surface of the mirror fogged up, then cleared to show Logan’s face. “Virgil? Is everything alright? Can you see and hear me?”

Virgil nodded, holding Janus hand. “Yeah, we’re good. This is my brother.”

Janus cleared his throat. “Yes, Virgil is my brother,” he said. A moment later, he added, “You may call me Dee.”

“Oh. Hello, then. It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Logan,” he said, blinking a few times.

Virgil shot Janus a look. “Logan is a friend. We can trust Logan,” he said, keeping his voice low.

“You may trust him. That does not mean I do,” Janus countered, then flashed a smile at the enchanted mirror. “Virgil has told me so much about you.”

“I hope he has said that which he so urgently wanted to tell you,” Logan replied.

Virgil groaned. “Don’t say it like that,” he grumbled.

Janus arched an eyebrow. “Oh? Have you said ‘that which you so urgently wanted to tell me’?”

Virgil rubbed his face. “Lo and I... we... uh.... we were thinking about... maybe... getting married?” Gods, words were hard.

“Virgil is correct. We have discussed the possibility,” Logan said.

Janus’s reptilian eye twitched. “You leave for five years, and return with a potential spouse,” he said slowly.

Virgil bit his lip and nodded. “Potential. We haven’t decided for sure, cuz weddings are expensive pageantry and shit, but...” He took a deep breath. “If we do get married, I want you to be there. I want you to lead me down the aisle.”

Janus leaned back in his chair, glancing between them both. “This is quite a lot to take in,” he said, steepling his hands like the dramatic shit he was.

“Oh for fucks sake! I’m asking for your blessing!” Virgil blurted, then groaned and flipped up the hood of his cloak.

“If it will make you happy, then by all means...” Janus said. “However, I will need to know more about this potential spouse of yours.”

“I am an open book. Ask your questions,” Logan said.

Virgil blinked. “You... you’re not mad?”

“Mm. I wouldn’t call it mad, no.” Janus sipped at his tea. “Now, Logan, tell me about yourself.”

“I am the royal advisor to Prince Roman and Prince Remus. I am skilled in the mystical arts,” Logan said.

Janus rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes, I know that. Tell me more about yourself. Your likes, dislikes, hobbies, whatever. Why should I let you marry my little brother, hm?”

Logan blinked. “Well... I enjoy learning whatever I can. I have known Virgil for just over four years now. I would never hurt him, and truly wish him the best.”

Virgil tugged his cloak closer. “I’m right here,” he muttered. “And you don’t need to interrogate him.”

Janus inclined his head. “I believe I have enough information for the time being, although of course I would love to meet you in person. Virgil, you wanted me to leave the forest, did you not?”

Virgil blushed slightly. “Uh, yeah. I can take you to them. If you’re serious about coming with me. And as long as the forest will survive without you.”

Janus waved an arm dismissively. “Of course, of course.”

“I look forward to seeing you both. Farewell and safe travels,” Logan said. The surface of the mirror shimmered and his image faded.

Virgil exhaled slowly. That wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

“Virgil?” Janus asked softly. “This will make you happy, yes?”

Virgil rubbed his face and nodded quickly. “Yeah, thanks. Really. I’m uh... bad with words, but yeah.”

“Would you like a hug? Or is this a no-touch-time?” Janus asked, spreading his arms.

Virgil half-fell into the embrace, holding on tightly. “I missed you,” he whispered. “I’m sorry.”

“Mm. I know. I missed you, too, spiderling,” Janus murmured, rubbing gentle circles into his back. “I am glad you are safe.”

Virgil took a few deep breaths, letting himself relax. Safe. He was safe. He was home.

“And I will always be here for you. No matter how long we are apart. No matter what happens,” Janus said softly. “You didn’t really think I’d be mad at you for leaving, did you? I was simply worried.”

Virgil grimaced. “Worse case scenario shit. I’m good at that, remember?”

“Mm. But this is not a worse case scenario. Things are going well for the time being. Enjoy it.”

“While it lasts,” Virgil said with a half-smile.

Janus chuckled. “Indeed. Cherish every moment.”

#sanders sides #sanders sides fanfic #aryaskywalker writes #secret santa fic #tss fanwork collective #fantasy au #analogical #brotherly anxceit #virgil sanders #janus sanders #logan sanders #mage logan

[werewroammin]

my favorite brotherly “ships” (is there a better word for familial relationships) are probably prinxiety and logince (which ofc means i also enjoy brotherly dukexiety and intrulogical). maybe anxceit too but i like the idea of janus being virgils dad more. brotherly logicality is also amazing

and creativitwins ofc but that’s a given

[teacupfulofstarshine]

For your prompts (let's see how predictable I can get hahaa)! Anxceit (any type of relationship) and "squid"!

“jan? why is the pasta black?” 

“it’s made with squid ink. i thought it would suit your dark and brooding emo aesthetic. was that incorrect?”

“. . . no, it’s . . . sweet, jan. thank you.”

“you’re my brother, virgil. i’ll love and support you no matter what.” 

#three sentence fic #brotherly anxceit #ts virgil #ts janus #squid tag! #vintage-squid #starshineanswers

[winterknight1087]

Hardly the Villains

Summary: Roman is the superhero Prince, who fights against the Dark Sides, consisting of Green Menace, Viper, and Shadow Wing. What happens when Roman discovers the real identity of these villains will change his outlook of them.

Word Count: 4868

Warnings: sympathetic Remus, sympathetic Deceit/Janus, fighting, injuries, cursing

Pairings: eventual romantic LAMP, romantic Demus, brotherly creativitwins, brotherly anxceit

AO3 Link       My Writing

@rosesisupposes I am so sorry this is a little bit late! 2020 ended the same way it went. But still, I hope you enjoy your @sanderssidesgiftxchange present! It was a fun challenge to work on a superhero fic focused on Roman and Remus!

"Here hold this."

The masked hero barely had time to catch the thing thrown at him, much less identify what it was, before the stick of dynamite blew up in his face. If it were any other super villain, then this would have been the end of the hero. Yet, Green Menace didn't seem to get the memo that he was supposed to try and kill the hero.

The hero let out a squawk as, for the third time this week, his face and hair were covered in cartoonish ash. He heard the cackle of the villain as Viper told Menace that they needed to go.

"Til next time, Princey." Shadow Wing announced.

“Stop flirting and let’s get out of here.” Viper stated to Shadow, not caring if the hero heard or not. The hero did hear, but he also couldn’t see Shadow’s reaction as the villain scooped up Viper and vanishing into the shadows.

"Well, this was fun!" Menace cackled before pulling a paint brush out of nowhere and painting a tunnel on a wall.

The hero knew better than to go after Menace at that point. All of Menace’s powers followed cartoon logic. He had flown straight into too many walls to know that only Menace could use those dumb paintings to travel. So, the hero sigh and flew off.

 ****

“Like honestly, does that fiend have any idea how hard it is to get that gunk out of my hair?” Roman scrubbed his hair with the towel around his head.

His boyfriend didn’t even bother looking up from his book. “I highly doubt that he knows considering that he is smart enough not to be here after your fights.”

“Sure, I have to take a shower anyways, because of normal fight dirt, but that fiend just has to give me that dumb stick and I have to spend 5ever trying to get the stuff out of my hair!”

“You could try asking him not to hand you the stick of dynamite.”

Roman gave the book Logan was holding determinedly in front of his face, the glare meant for the nerd. “Right, yeah, sure. Something like ‘Excuse me, fiend I fight at least three times a week, can you like not hand me your explosion gunk sticks? Thanks boo.’ How’s that sound?”

“Sounds perfect, RoRo! Just make sure to use your please and thank you’s!” The third boyfriend said, swooping in with a plate of cookies.

Logan finally lowered his book to glance at his watch. “Hmm, you are getting faster at washing that stuff out of your hair, Roman. Patton usually has eaten half of his baked goods before you return.”

Roman managed to let out an offended squawk before the windows suddenly blew in, knocking the bug screen inside the house. The gust of wind responsible seemed to spin around Patton before vanishing. The man let out a small giggle before the chaos appeared.

Remus was shrieking as he scrambled through the window. Logan managed to count to two before a furious looking goose followed the chaotic man in. Remus was already running down the hall to his room, but the goose didn’t seem to be deterred, even if the goose had to make its nest and raise its chicks outside this fiend’s door. The goose would get its revenge eventually.

This time, Logan got to ten before the front door was thrown open with the other two. Janus barked at Roman to help him before sprinting down the hall. Roman shut his eyes to let out a breath, but a crash and something shattering sent him after his twin and twin’s boyfriend. Virgil let out his own breath before saying something that couldn’t be overheard by a loud beep.

“Patton, stop trying to give me a filter! It’s not going to happen and I think a murderous goose deserves a swear or two!”

“What did Remus do this time?” Logan asked, unnervingly calm about this entire situation.

Virgil ran a hand through his hair. “Jan told Remus to get out more and enjoy the sunlight for once. Remus pulled out his meme skills and informed us he went to the park. Then as Jan was congratulating him on going outside, Ree pulled out the goose and it did not like that. We’ve been following the idiot and goose since 4th Street.”

“I’ll go grab the three of you some water then.” Patton hummed as he went back into the kitchen, ignoring the screeching and thumps from further down the hall.

“I am pleased to hear you are getting exercise at least, Virgil.” Logan commented, returning to his book.

“I swear the rat is going to give me a heart attack one of these days, and then I won’t hear the end of Jan’s whining.”

“I do not whine.”

Logan lowered his book, questioning why he was even bothering to try and continue reading. “Also, why would Janus whine to you if you were the one to have a heart attack? I would assume he would whine to the rest of us, as I doubt he would whine to his boyfriend.”

“Janny, you would 100% whine that I was making the rat look bad.” Virgil stated, rolling his eyes.

“I thought I told you to stop calling me that.”

A voice at the front door cackled. “But Janny makes you go red and it’s cute!”

Logan raised an eyebrow at Remus, who now stood at the door as if nothing had happened. “Did you climb out your bedroom window to avoid the goose?”

“No,” He grinned. “I climbed out to avoid my bro bro twin. Pretty sure he’s still screaming at my door. Where’d Goose Janus go?”

“Well, Janus is right there, however, I am unsure what has become of the goose.”

“Nooo, that’s Human Janus. I asked about Goose Janus.”

“Do not call me Human Janus either.”

“VeeVee, your brother is being mean to meeeeeeEEEee!!!!”

Virgil rolled his eyes at the two of them. “Where is the goose, Jan? I don’t want to be running after the rat and a goose across town again.”

“Roman managed to get it into a pillowcase. He had the top clutched for dear life while screaming at Remus. Which means, we should probably get out of here before the goose is released.” Janus commented.

“Oh, you three are already leaving?” Patton asked, carrying three water bottles.

“Patton, you are amazing.” Janus stated, snatching a bottle from him and downing it in a single gulp.

Virgil rolled his eyes at the figure going for a second water bottle. “Probably for the best. Prince Whines a Lot isn’t exactly agreeable after… work.”

“Oh, OK. We’ll see you guys later then!”

With that, Virgil shoved the other two out the door, muttering that he wanted to go lay down and not move for the next year. The two left in the living room could hear their third partner ranting at a door down the hall, oblivious to the fact the resident was gone. There were also muffled goose noises that worried Patton.

Logan sighed, setting his book aside. “I’ll call Animal Control to come get it. You want to go inform Roman that his twin is gone?”

“M’kay.”

 ***

 Roman’s day had been absolutely terrible. He had gotten a flat tire, some dragon witch at the store stole the entire stock of Crofters before telling him off for being in her way, and he accidentally dropped his phone so it now had a giant crack on the screen. So, when he walked in to see muddy footprints and what he would argue was the stench of a dead rat in the wall, in the summer, he was not exactly kind as he turned to face his twin.

Remus was curled around his laptop, furiously typing away on it. Roman noted the muddy boots that made the muddy footprints were hitched up on the coffee table, spreading the filth there too. Remus muttered something about ripping someone’s ears off and shoving them up their butt and that was the line for Roman today.

“Are you serious, Remus! This place is a disaster! When I left, it was spotless! And what is that smell?! Did you run a secret trash dump in here while I was gone?”

“Oooooh, that is an interesting idea.” Remus cackled, still not looking up.

If Roman had the ability to shoot laser beams out of his eyes, Remus would have already been a crisp of a crisp. “What are you even doing?”

“Hacking into a multibillion company for a sweet payday.”

Roman managed to get halfway through an eyeroll before realizing what his brother was actually doing. “Great, I’m going to have to burn that couch!”

Remus finally glanced up at the other, eyebrows knit. But before he could ask, his phone let off a ding and he decided that was more interesting. He snatched it up and started grinning. Roman watched Remus quickly throw everything into his backpack. He jumped up and grabbed a duffle bag that Roman hadn’t noticed. If Remus was covered in mud, the duffle was mud disguised as a bag. Remus sang out a ‘smell ya later, bro bro’ before he was out the front door, leaving Roman in the middle of the mess.

Roman took a deep breath as the door slammed behind his twin. He took another. One more deep inhale and he let out a frustrated scream into the arm desperately trying to muffle it. Now his throat hurt on top of him needing to clean up the mess his idiot of a brother left behind.

“Come on, Roman. Mom is paying off your car payments and rent for letting the bastard stay here. And you like not having to use 85% of your paychecks just to pay for those. Plus, the bastard spends most of his time out of the house with those irritating friends of his. It’s fine! It’ll be fine!”

He kept muttering this to himself as he angrily cleaned up the mud. Once he got as much as he could up, he took a seat (on the opposite couch as he now had to get rid of his favorite couch) to Google how to get rid of the stench. Like honestly, what did that bastard do to make it smell so bad in here? Roman thought it would be a bit better once some of the mud was gone, but nope, still just as bad.

Almost louder than Remus’s snoring, the Hercules song Zero to Hero started blaring from Roman’s work phone. He was instantly on his feet, heading to his room as he pulled it out of his pocket.

New message:

Human Computer: The Dark Sides are robbing the regional Walmart financial offices. That is two streetlights left of the so called ‘lame’ coffeeshop, Prince.

Moral Compass: Aww, I just put on the new episode of Steven Universe Future though!

Human Computer: I am sure they will apologize if you inform them of this. Prince, have you seen the message or am I going to have to hack your personal phone and laptop to get your attention?

Prince: 10-4 nerd

Roman grabbed his katana before rushing out the back door. He grinned as he twisted the watch face and pressed the newly appeared button. Sometimes making Logan watch cartoons and daring him to make cartoon gadgets was worth the mutterings and frustration Roman faced from his partner. The hero costume shimmered around him, concealing his identity as he took off into the sky.

Roman could hear the alarms going off. Even if Logan hadn’t specified where it was, Roman would have known where those fiends were. He knew that Patton would give him the scolding of the century if he knew, but Roman welcomed this attack. It gave him a means to take his frustrations off on some villains who constantly tormented the town.

“Sorry, Princey. Can’t let you go any further.” A voice commented behind the hero as he took in the scene.

“Oh look, it’s the talking shadowling.” Roman commented, turning to see the villain.

Honestly, seeing Shadow Wing always took Roman’s breath away upon first sight. Long wings were stretched out, barely flapping in order to keep the person up. Shadows were cascading down the wings, mimicking black flames falling to the ground. As for the villain, Shadow always reminded Roman of Wesley in his full Dread Pirate Roberts getup from the Princess Bride.

“Ooof, pretty sure you used that insult last week. Running out of creative material there, Princey?” That insufferable smirk!

“At least I have a variety, Raven Boy.”

“Mmm, creativity is not my department. Anyways, what’s up with the big knife you’ve got there? Wanna try slicing shadows?”

Roman had enough time to pull out the katana before the strange ball of frozen darkness was dangerously close. He barely managed to slash it. He still preferred Shadow’s cold blobs over being handed the explosive gunk stick Menace always handed him. Roman watched Shadow take off into the sky before swooping down close to the ground.

A ball of darkness landed right before Logan, or as he was in his own hero costume-the Human Computer. The villain was already rising back up into the air, ignoring the fact that he had just barely missed the hero’s sidekick. Roman threw himself into the fight, angry about the day, sure, but this villain just went after his boyfriend! There must be vengeance!

“Oooooooh, Shadow really does have interesting flirting methods!” A new voice commented.

Shadow threw some of his shadows at Green Menace, who was eagerly cackling. Roman quickly scanned, searching for the last of the evil trio. No sight of Viper. Then Menace’s voice forced Roman to turn back to seeing what the villain was cackling about. He did have to admit Menace and Shadow seemed to be close friends at the very least. Why does that hurt Roman?

“Let’s get this over with. I have SUF to watch.” Shadow commented.

“Okie dokie, bro-kie!”

“Say that again and I am sending you to the bottom of the Mariana Trench and leaving you for the eldritch horrors down there.”

“Pleasssssse, even they would ssssend thissss trash back to ussssss.” Ah, there’s Viper.

Menace was grinning as he pretended to wipe away a tear. “The two of you really understand me.”

Roman twisted the katana, mentally mapping out how to try and take these three down. It was always a difficult fight but Logan and Patton were better ground support while the dark trio kept to the skies, out of reach of almost everyone and thing. And because Roman was certain of this fact, he didn’t see the safety hazard strike him down.

All Roman knew was one moment, he was getting ready to whap Menace and the next, he was in a huge crater, staring up at four figures in the sky. The air was knocked out of him and his body did not want to move for the next year. Before he could reorient himself, the new figure knocked an entire building on top of Roman, trapping him under rubble. Not that the hero noticed as he lost consciousness.

 ***

 The three villains stared in shock at the new figure. The new enemy hummed disinterestedly at the pile where the hero had landed. The new figure turned to look over the three standing before them. He had planned this entire take over and subjecting these three useless tools to his will. Half of his plan was already complete, now just to deal with the amateurs.

All three of them had lost the easiness they had with the hero. Now, they look furious. In fact, Green Menace looked like he was about to rip the world apart with his teeth. The new figure didn’t place much thought on that, expecting that reaction.

“Now then. You three idiots see how a real villain does it.” He stated. “I will be merciful and offer you positions as my lackies, but this is now my town.”

Shadow was already pulling all of the shadows towards him as Viper hissed at the newcomer. “No, you will not. This is our home. We will not let anyone else terrorize our home. We might not be heroes to the people here, but we will not let someone come terrorize the town we have under our control.”

“Shadow, Viper.” Menace’s voice was chillingly serious. “Now.”

Shadows shot through the air, stealing the sunlight and replacing it with waves of fear and terror, as a long snake managed to coil around the newcomer. However, Green Menace was the most terrifying to onlookers and the new villain. Menace was out for blood and would not rest until the bastard was twenty feet under for hurting his twin brother.

 ****

 “…kidding me?!”

“What else were we supposed to do, Vee? Leave him there?”

“Take him to the house the two of you share! Hate to break it to you, but your brother is a complete dumbass; I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that he doesn’t know the truth. So, he’s not only going to wake up after a massive fight, in a strange place he has never been in, he’s also surrounded by his enemies!”

For all the luck in the world, of course this was the first thing Roman heard as he gained consciousness. The hero tensed as he opened his eyes only the smallest amount to see the trio of villains standing in front of him in a dark room. He desperately wanted to look around and see how much danger he was in, but that would require that he open his eyes and if they weren’t torturing him because they thought he was still unconscious, then he wasn’t going to let them know he was awake.

“I agree that he probably hasn’t figured it out yet, but if we left him, rescue services would have found him and if one of our identities are revealed, all of them are. What do you think the government’s first reaction to having the superhero Prince unconscious in some hospital would be? Hmm? We are working with what we can do. We wouldn’t be able to make it to the twins’ house without being spotted. We have our tunnels to get here.”

Wait… That meant… They knew where he lived. Oh no, they knew where he lived. That meant Remus would be in danger as well. It meant Logan and Patton were in danger. It meant that Virgil and Janus were in danger. It meant that everyone Roman knew and cared about were in danger because of these villains.

“I know that this entire situation is bad, but we’re doing the best we can. Even the walking ray of sunshine and nerd said this was the best option.”

Pound. Pound.

“Where is he?! How badly is he hurt?”

Roman’s heart might as well have stopped in that moment. These villains could do whatever they wanted to him, but he will not let these fiends harm a hair on Patton or Logan’s head. In an instant, Roman was on his feet, and shoving the closest figure to him against a wall. As he looked at the face he had pinned, his heart might as well be stopped as that would be a kinder fate than this. The face he saw, was the face of Virgil Storm-Ekans.

Roman stepped back in pure shock as his eyes swept to the other two villains, taking in all three shocked faces. Standing in front of him were both his brother and Remus’ friends, but also the trio of villains, perfectly mashed together. His twin brother in Menace’s sparkling green and black costume probably found in some thrift store, looking like some knock off Luigi. Janus in Viper’s black and yellow suit complete with the dumb cloak and hat. And Virgil in… Virgil in a black Wesley outfit with huge shadow-y black wings wrapped tightly around him.

“I-No… Noo… This isn’t- it can’t”

Patton appeared, blocking Roman’s vision from the three he hated. “Roman, hey, hey. Shhhh. It’s OK. Come on, let’s get you back on the couch. You’re OK, your safe.”

Roman was gently forced onto the couch before Patton started to heal the injuries he had. Soft blue light shone from his hand as each wound healed and vanished. Roman’s eyes were still trying to take in the mess, however. A creak pulled his attention to a set of stairs to see Logan calmly walking down, looking at something on his phone.

“Lo, do you have information on who the hell Orange Traffic Cone was?” Virgil asked, his wings fluttering nervously as they unwrapped from around him.

“I was going to ask the same of you. They were obviously some kind of villain, so I assumed you three would have more information on who or what they were.”

“Well, isn’t this a wonderful situation we have.” Janus grimaced. “I doubt they will be returning, however.”

Logan adjusted his glasses as he glanced over at Roman, pleased to see the boyfriend was healing up well. “Well, after that impressive show of power, I doubt anyone will try to take over the town from you three. I do wonder how the three of you gained so much power though.”

“We were the ones to find the dumb radioactive stone and spend more time around it, Logan. Proximity to the source of all of our powers.” Janus commented.

“Ah, that does make sense. It would also probably explain the extra developments as well.”

“Call them what they are, Lo. Mutations. Freaks like me… us have mutations.” Virgil spat.

Logan looked over the other, noting that the wings were tightening around the youngest of the group. “You are not a freak, Virgil.”

Virgil scoffed, “Yeah, right.”

Logan narrowed his eyes but could tell that it would take a while to improve the other’s confidence, so decided to try and improve the mood. “You are not a freak, Virgil. I know you do not accept it right now, but hopefully in time. Now, Remus, a question I have been meaning to ask. Did you really dump cow manure on the executive’s desk?”

“Wait, was that what was in that disgusting bag of yours?!”

“It was bull shit!” Remus cackled.

“What-what is going on?” Roman intruded, weakly. “Is-is this some kind of prank or a dream?”

“Roman, have you truly not realized who the ‘dark sides’ are?” Logan asked, curiously. “Did it not occur to you that if you got superpowers, at very least your own twin brother would also develop some powers as well?”

“But-but- they’re evil!” Roman screeched.

“Hardly.”

Remus knelt to look his twin in the face, concern filling the red-tinted hazel eyes. “Ro- did- do you really think that? Do you really think us evil?”

Words would not escape Roman’s chocked throat, but that seemed enough of an answer to the rest of the room. Virgil and Janus instantly backed away, granting Roman more space as Logan moved forward and took the seat on Roman’s other side. Remus looked at his twin in so much shock and pain that Roman wanted to lie through his teeth.

“Roman, while these three may violate legal codes, they are hardly evil. They are more like Robin Hood than some evil monster.”

“But today-“

“We were stealing from Walmart to give money to a homeless shelter full of full-time Walmart employees, Ro. What happened with that rando was unexpected. We still don’t know who they were or what their intentions truly were.” Virgil said, softly.

Patton took Roman’s hand into his. “RoRo, have you not even wondered why despite all those fights, you never actually ended up hurt? Not even a bruise most times.”

“That literally every hit that would actually hurt missed? Like I get thinking that of Remus, but of Jan and me?”

“But- what about you throwing one of those dark snowballs at Logan earlier?!”

Logan barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes. “Roman, I’m not sure you’ve realized yet, but Patton and I knew who these three were. Virgil was tossing me a flash drive that I designed to aide them in hacking through complex security measures that I was able to use to further hide the true amount they stole.”

“You were helping these fiends?!?”

“Well, it’s not acceptable that a multibillion company lets their employees live in poverty.” Patton softly admitted.

“Why-“ Roman was just so lost and confused. “Why didn’t anyone tell me? Why was I left out?”

“Most of us thought you already knew. Virgil pushed for a verbal confirmation that you knew before letting the idea that you didn’t know rest. It’s not like we made any effort to discuss work out of very specific locations, which rarely intersect between all of us.” Logan answered.

Roman ran a hand through his hair, trying to process all of this. The rest of the room glanced around at each other. A silent agreement to give the hero a moment was passed around. Once they seemed to understand the decision, Janus glanced at Virgil before turning to Patton.

“Hey, literal sunshine. Can you possibly take a look at Virgil’s wing and see if you can heal whatever happened to it?”

“I’m fine, Jan.”

“Bullshit. Don’t make me pull the older brother card on you, little shit. You only hold your wings that close to you when they are hurt.”

“If you’re hurt, I can fix it! You don’t need to be in pain!” Patton said, jumping up.

“Seriously, I’m fine, Princey over there was the one who got hit with an entire building.”

“Vee, let Pat look at your wing. Traffic Cone did a pretty bad number on you, trying to knock you out of the air.” Remus said softly.

“Come on, kiddo. I’ll need access to your back to see if the joints are alright, but you’ll feel a lot better afterword!” Patton said.

“Ugh, I can see the fight is already lost.” Virgil muttered, before taking his black shirt off.

Roman had a lot of information to process, but that didn’t happen as he saw how ripped the other was. He had thought Virgil was hot and Shadow Wing hotter, but seeing the two combined, yeah, Roman was gay. At least he was also poly so could ask his partners if they were interested in romancing a certain shadow. Which if his super gay mind could actually remember anything, he would remember that they were actually already pushing to ask Vee out.

“OK, you have a bruised muscle and some of your feathers are gone. I also think you have a broken bone somewhere around here.” Patton said, pulling Roman out of his gay panic.

Janus immediately moved over, looking over the feathers before letting out a breath. “You are one lucky bastard, Vee. It’s mostly tertiary and a few secondary ones. But that means you were close to getting taken out by that knife.”

There was a small mischievous cackle near Roman. “So bro bro. You crushing hard on Virgil yet, or do Jan and I need to undress him some more for you?”

“REMUS!”

“Whaaaaat, I’m just trying to set up my bro with my hoe’s bro.”

 ****

 2 months later…

 “Oh come on, Princey. Surely you can do better than that.”

Roman was glad that most people couldn’t see details of them from the ground. If they could, they would see that Prince had a huge smile as he dodged his boyfriend’s shadow ball. It wouldn’t do him any harm, and in fact all of their boyfriends found comfort in the gentle cool kiss of them by now. No, Roman was determined to tag the sensor on the other’s arm, indicating that he won the game today. Can’t win if Virgil won.

Below, Remus and Janus were breaking into an Amazon warehouse to steal food, blankets, and clothes to donate to various homeless organizations. Once they were done, the two of them would join their third partner in crime to ‘escape’ from the Prince while the Prince pretended to hate them. Prince would fly off, talk to police about what happened, watch the Human Computer bury the actual amount stolen so that the company would just write it off. The Moral Compass would gently push a calm acceptance upon everyone so that there would be less struggle to hunt the villains down.

Then, the three of them would go and change out of their hero costumes and pick up the trio from their downtown townhouse. They would go home, order pizza, and watch movies all night, laughing and having fun. The next day, they would spend the day dropping off items at various homeless shelters. Roman would see how much it meant to the shelters to receive the donations, and it would make him wonder why he ever thought the trio were evil. Then the group would split so Remus and Janus would head to the townhouse while the four boyfriends would head to Roman’s planning a nice night with their partners.

And honestly, Roman wouldn’t have it any other way.

#sage writes #sympathetic deceit #sympathetic remus #superhero au #logan #roman #virgil #Patton #injury mention #romantic lamp #romantic demus #brotherly creativitwins #brotherly anxceit #cursing #fighting mention #sandersidesgiftexchange #sandersidesgiftexchange2020 #rosesisupposes