#cg!janus

Cg!Janus Sanders Moodboard!!

(All images from Pinterest)

The lord of the lies! 🐍🍏

He's so mama to me actually

Request by: Gothfoxx - Remus looses his stuffed animal and asks Virgil to help him find it. - Yeah...this one gets a little dark. Sorry. Not sure why a prompt about a missing toy made me want to add an angsty teenage Virgil. But I started writing and this is what came out. I’m actually not that sorry. I love this fic, and I don’t even know why. It’s not even that...good.😅

Notes:⚠️ Warning: ⚠️ Angst, some curse words, Anxiety attacks mentioned, lots of crying, possible trauma, past mistakes mentioned, a lot of self deprecating thoughts, teenage angst, passive aggressive Janus, Janus threatens something...not very nice (but makes up for it.) unsupervised regressors, fears of abandonment, fear of death, actual abandonment, darkness, monsters, and blood is also mentioned. Point is, I Torture Virgil a lot on this one. But... cuddles? 😅

-

Virgil wasn’t always great with kids. He had to be an adult and in his special caregiver mode to even try to handle being around the littles. He wasn’t bad with them outside of it. There was just something about that mindset to make Virgil care. He wasn’t sure what it was but it was...something.

Ughh. That’s so vague.

Virgil was currently stuck in a teen headspace. It’s just like regressing but to the mindset of a teenager. When in this mindset he had no interest in the littles or the caregivers. He had nothing against them but he just couldn’t stand the way caregivers would try to get him involved in stuff and watch over him like he wasn’t capable of doing anything himself. Or the way the littles were needy and affectionate. Luckily being in teen space was easy enough to hide. He just needed to listen to music and ignore everyone. That’s like one of his favorite things to do anyway.

He was just chilling on the couch listening to Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz. A personal favorite of his when in this state of mind when he heard a small: “Pssst.”

Virgil slowly took out an earpiece.

“Pssst, Virgil.”

Virgil looked around.

“Down here.”

Virgil looked behind the couch to see Remus. Obviously in a little headspace.

“What are you doing?” Virgil asked. Damn, he hoped that didn’t sound too mean.

“I have a very important mission. And I need your help.”

“What? What are you talking about?”he asked.

“I need to know if I can trust you.”

“You know you can’t,”he scoffs.

“Good enough for me, will you help?”

“I don’t know, you haven’t even told me what you-“

“Meet me in my room in two minutes!”he demands. “But be careful, my friend; For my sanity is currently resting in your hands,”he says before running away.

“Didn’t know you had any!”He shouted.

Now Virgil has two options here. He could:

A) Hide in his room until this mindset goes away and apologize to Remus later for being an ass.

Or

B) Pull himself together for two seconds and help Remus with...whatever it was.

He supposed he could’ve left to find a caregiver, but he didn’t want to have to explain why he couldn’t do this himself.

Remus wasn’t the worst when little. He wasn’t incredibly needy or affectionate so maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Besides, he kinda owes him after leaving the dark sides and cursing him and Janus’s mere existence all these years later. He wasn’t still mad about that, right? ~~~~Later in Remus’s room~~~~

“I’ve brought you here today to help me with a super secret assignment. One of my dear friends is missing, I need your help to find him.”

“How old are you right now, Remus?”Virgil asked.

“Eight, how old are you?”

“Not important,”Virgil mumbled as he tried to hide his face under the hood of his jacket.

“He is very important to me, Virgil. I can’t sleep without him, and it’s almost naptime!”He gasped dramatically.

“You asked me over here, on a super secret mission to find a stuffed animal?”

“Lucifer isn’t just any stuffed animal! He’s the best most important stuffed animal ever to walk the planet!”

Virgil hesitates. “Stuffed animals can’t walk...”

“Fine, swim the planet then,”Remus rolled his eyes.

“What?”the teen asked.

“Lucifer is a dolphin!”Remus explained happily.

“You named your...never mind.”

“So you’ll help me?”

“Maybe you should ask Roman.”Virgil suggests.

“No!''He whines, pulling on Virgil's sleeve, “I want you to help me. You’re the vigilant!”

“That makes no sense.”

“Please?”

Virgil sighed, what would be worse, telling a caregiver that he was regressed or helping Remus find a stuffed animal?

“Alright. Where did you last see him?”Virgil asked.

Remus grabs Virgil's hand and leads him down the hall to a black door.

“He’s in there?”Virgil asked, standing right outside Remus’s mindscape.

Remus nods, “that’s where I saw’d him the last time.”

Virgil started to get nervous, “are you absolutely possessive you don’t want to just go find Roman?” He asked again, hoping Remus would just change his mind.

Remus nodded, “I’m sure.”

Virgil sighed, he needed to be the adult here. “Alright, let’s get this over with.”

Remus squealed In excitement. “Here we go!”

They went inside where it was all dark. Virgil was scared but refused to show it. Especially in front of Remus. He had to be an adult...even if he wasn’t one.

“Okay, so where would you have gone? Try retracing your steps.”

Remus nodded and walked further and further into the dark abyss.

“Wait!”Virgil shouts, “what if we get lost in here? Everything looks the same.”

“Don’t worry,”Remus says, “I know this place like the back of my rear.”

Virgil shook his head, “I don’t want to know.”

They had been looking for about twenty minutes when Virgil suddenly realized that Remus was nowhere to be seen. “Remus?”He asked. “Where are you?”

Suddenly he heard moaning and groaning behind him. He turned around and nothing was there. He sighed in relief, but then He turned back and he was suddenly attacked by a bunch of zombies.

Virgil froze, he was going to die in here.

Suddenly Remus came back and watched them terrorize Virgil. “Don’t worry, Vee! They only want to eat you!”

“Why would that make me feel better?!”Virgil shouted, tears in his eyes. “Just make them go away, please!”he begged.

“Ok ok,”He says rolling his eyes, he snapped the zombies away and Virgil didn’t get off the ground.

“You oki, vergie?”Remus asked, crouching down to him.

Virgil took a deep breath. He can’t have an attack, not now. He tried to pull himself together. “No, Remus. I’m sorry, but I’m- I’m freaking out, this place is...” ‘don’t curse, he’s a child, don’t curse, he’s a child.’ “Heck! We need to just- get out of here.”

“But we haven’t found Lucifer yet. They were just zombies.”

“Just?! Remus, this place is incredibly dangerous, I never should’ve come in here!”

“Yeah, I know,”he shrugged like it was nothing.

“You know?”Virgil asked.

“I mean, it’s always like this. It s’pose to be scary.”

“Remus, why? Why would you do that? Why would you ask me to help you, knowing full well it would be this bad?!”He yelled, “why didn’t you just get Roman like I asked you to?! Do you really hate me that much?!”

Remus didn’t answer right away, he sighed sadly, looking down, then at Virgil and then looked down again, “I don’ hate you, Vee...Is jus’ cuz...I miss you.”

Virgil has never felt worse of a person. “Remus-“

Remus ran away into the darkness before Virgil could say anything else.

“Remus, wait! Please I don’t...”

Virgil tried to run after him but lost his way.

Remus was gone...

“I don’t know how to get out of here...”Virgil says despite knowing Remus couldn’t hear him.

Virgil wandered the hell that was this mindscape until he finally found that stupid dolphin next to a blood soaked coffin. Virgil cried again, and this time it wasn’t because he was scared. Because he’d failed Remus...again. He was supposed to protect him, he was supposed to be his friend! Virgil held the stuffed animal in his arms, and despite being much too mature for it, Virgil hugged it tightly.

Virgil still hated himself and believed he deserved to be here. He was abandoned. Just like Virgil abandoned Remus.

Virgil has been walking through countless rooms full of intrusive horrors. Over and over. He panicked and ran for his life. Until finally it stopped. An overwhelming silence rushed over him in a dark nothingness. Virgil started to cry again when lo and behold. There it was.

The door.

~~~~Later~~~~

He found his way out of the mindscape at last. He flew the door open and was so relieved to see he was back home. He was exhausted, and overwhelmed with anxiety but still thought deep down he deserved this feeling.

He didn’t deserve love, He didn’t deserve to be home.

Why couldn’t he just do this one thing for Remus? This could’ve been his only chance to fix what he did.

To be his friend again...

But he didn’t deserve that chance. He didn’t deserve forgiveness.

He almost made it back to his own room when he ran into Roman. “Virgil, oh my gosh. Are you alright? What happened to you?”

Virgil rubbed his face and nodded, “have you seen Remus?”

“Oh. He’s with Janus. That doesn’t answer my question, Verge. What’s going on?”

“Remus was looking for this,”he held up Lucifer, Roman only humming in response. “He took me to his mindscape and I couldn’t find the way out.”

“Virgil...”Roman asks, “how old are you right now?”

Virgil sighs, pulling up the hood of his jacket.

“Virgil?”Roman asked, stricter this time.

“Fourteen...”Virgil mumbled.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because I don’t need a caregiver.” He says, “at least...I didn’t think I did,”tears started to pour down his face and he hated himself more, if that were even possible.

Roman wrapped his arms around him. “It’s alright, emo. It’ll be ok.”

Virgil nodded and gently pulled away. Not because he didn’t enjoy it, but because he didn’t deserve it. “Thanks.”

“So, just to get this gay. Remus asked you to help him find something in a dangerous mindscape and left you there?”Roman sounded angry, like he was about to go find Remus but Virgil stopped him: “It’s not his fault, I yelled at him.”

“What? Why would you do that?”

“I’m sorry! I’s...My fight or flight instincts just took over I guess, and...you know I’m not a fan of other people’s mindscapes, they’re too...unpredictable.”

“Especially Remus’s,”Roman nods.

Virgil nods too. He took a deep breath. “I need to apologize. Did you say he was with Janus?”

Roman nodded, “unfortunately, Janus is not going to like this. Do you want me to come with you? I can talk to him so you can talk to Remus alone.”

Virgil shrugged, “I don’t know. I think- I deserve what I get.”

“Virgil-“

“I left them, Roman. How do I come back from that?”He asked. “I fucked everything up- and don’t you dare tell me I didn’t!”

“Let me come with you, Virgil.” Roman asks, “please?”

Virgil nods, “alright. Fine.”

They walk over to Janus’ room and knock on the door. “Yes?”he answers.

“Can I talk to Remus?”Virgil asks.

“I don’t know...can you?”

Virgil did everything he could to not roll his eyes, “I’m here to apologize.”

Janus looks behind him, “well...alright. But if you hurt him again, I will suppress you for two weeks.”

“That’s fair,”Virgil says, biting his nails anxiously.

Roman disagreed but didn’t intervene yet.

Virgil walked in and over to Remus who turned his back on him.

He hands Remus Lucifer, and Remus snatches the dolphin and snuggles with it.

“I came to say I’m sorry.”Virgil says, “for what I said, for being so irresponsible, for treating you the way I have all these years...and mostly for leaving you two.”

Remus didn’t answer but Janus at least looked at him.

Tears started to make their way out. “I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I should be suppressed or locked away, it’s what I deserve. But I hope maybe one day you could maybe find a way to...”

Remus didn’t say anything, didn’t face him either.

Virgil nodded, “ok.” The tears are getting worse.

“Did you tell Virgil thank you for finding Lucifer?”Janus asked. He didn’t really look like he was in a forgiving mood either. Virgil just wanted to lock himself up in his room until the sun went away.

he didn’t deserve anything better.

Remus shook his head but before he could say anything Virgil interrupts, “he doesn’t have to. I should probably go.”

Roman offered Virgil a sympathetic smile as the teen walked closer to him.

“Vee?”Remus called.

“Yeah?”Virgil turned around.

Remus threw the dolphin across the room and ran to hug Virgil, “I’m so sorry I left you, Vee. Please be my friend again.”

Now Virgil was crying openly, holding onto Remus like he was never going to let him go.

~~~~Afterwards~~~~

Roman and Janus had a long conversation with Remus about taking people into any mindscape when either party is in any sort of age regression. Then they had a conversation with Virgil about what he was going through, the self-deprecating thoughts, the issues regarding Remus and Janus that still reside within him, and then the scary things that happened in the mindscape.

Janus reassured Virgil that all was forgiven, and that he was truly loved by every single side there, and that he didn’t deserve to be punished or feel guilty for living a better life if it made him happy. They hugged for about two minutes before Virgil realized it was too long. Then went ahead and hugged Roman too for good measure.

Janus and Roman then made both regressors some hot chocolate. Remus and Virgil then decide to spend the rest of the night together. They had some lost time to make up for.

They watched Steven universe in a blanket fort Virgil and Remus made together. (Mostly Virgil though) Virgil finally felt safe, he felt loved. And Remus made him feel like he was actually someone worth loving. Maybe the littles and caregivers weren’t so bad after all.

“Vee?”Remus asked.

“Yeah?”

“Do you love me?”He asked.

Virgil smiled, “I mean, yeah. Of course, Rem. Why?”

“Let’s fuse!”Remus shouts.

“Remus, what?!”Remus jumps while still inside the fort causing it to collapse on them both.

“Oops. Sorry.”

Virgil sighed, “it’s fine.” Virgil unfortunately had to explain to Remus that sides can’t fuse. But Roman encouraged the two of them to design a fictional fusion.

So Virgil got out a blank piece of paper and drew an outline for Remus to color it in with purple and green. It actually didn’t look half bad for an eight year old.

They were now ‘intruxity.’ No one can stop them now!

Except of course the caregivers who told them they had to put away their stuff and go to bed.Never underestimate the amazing power of the caregivers.

A/N:Y'all ik Halloween was like, a week ago, but I wanted to make this chapter good for y'all. I didn't mean to make it as angsty as I did so yeah-

here's your warning for crying, emotions, and Logan snapping at Patton. Enjoy!

--

It was finally Halloween, and the Core Sides were rather happy due to this fact.

Everyone in the house was so excited. Patton and Roman had been planning the perfect little day for their regressors for weeks, and had managed to keep it secret until just a few days prior. The two boys weren't to keen on it at first, worried about going out while in littlespace, but they were quickly reassured that everything would be alright.

They'd be trick or treating, watching children's Halloween's movies, and so much more. This was supposed to be a fun day for everyone.

Also, this was the first time ever that Logan voluntarily regressed.

"Do you have all the makeup stuff for your costume?" Roman asked, looking to Logan, who was currently using scissors to cut up a plain white t-shirt.

"Yep! My costume is gonna look so cool once it's done!" Logan cheered. He sat at the kitchen table, surrounded by different supplies. He kicked his feet underneath of him, swinging them back and forth just above the ground. He was around fifteen, but his positive emotions made his behaviors mix between those of a teenagers and those of a older toddler.

But he swore up and down that he was strictly a teenager at the moment.

"I'm sure it will, kiddo." Roman smiled at him, picking up his glass of water and ruffling Logan's hair on the way out of the kitchen.

Logan continued to work on his clothes for his costume, using paints and pens to decorate his shirt. He was shocked when he heard a knock at the door. "Can someone get the door?" Logan called out, setting his stuff down and turning in his seat so that he could see into the living room, he had a good view of whoever could be behind the front door.

"Who's here?" Patton came down the stairs, looking to Roman, who sat on the couch with Virgil.  Roman shrugged.

"All four of us are here...so it could only be-" Roman spoke as Patton approached the door.

"Hello!" Remus cheered, greeting everyone the moment the door swung open. Janus seemed a lot less excited to be there, his arms crossed. Virgil locked eyes with him for a second, immediately burying his face into Roman's side. Roman wrapped his arm around him, holding him close.

"Chill out, we're not here to hurt you or anything. Remus thought-" Remus interrupted Janus's words with a look, silently urging him to correct himself. "We thought that we should celebrate Halloween with you...since we're trying to be kinder and work together and everything."

The Core Sides and Dark Sides were currently in a weird spot. After much conflict, they decided that they wanted to try and unite, be kind and stuff. But it was pretty hard to work together with someone when you've had a ongoing rivalry for the majority of your existence.

"You guys usually throw a party..but I'm assuming that something else is happening today?" Janus's eyes landed on Virgil, then on Logan, who quickly casted his glance downwards.

"Something else, yes. And you weren't invited," Patton finally spoke up, giving them a unkind glare that was so unlike himself.

"We're not here to start a fight! Why can't we join in on the family fun, hmm?" Remus tilted his head, looking at Patton with pleading eyes.

"Because.." Patton trailed off, looking over the the kitchen entrance at Logan, who was packing up his stuff in hopes of getting out of there. Patton couldn't come up with a good reason.

It was true, they were trying to work together and get on better terms with one another. If Patton blocked them out every time they initiated time together, then nothing would get better. But Virgil and Logan were regressed, so he needed to find an excuse.

"Cat got your tongue, Patton?" Remus questioned. Janus gave him a look, as if telling him to drop the mean tone.

"If this is about the nerd and the emo regressing, we don't care. We're open to spending time with them while they're in headspace." Janus explained.

Logan's head shot up, looking at them. Patton got the question out before him or Roman did, though. "How do you know-"

Janus cut him off, raising his hand in front of Patton's face, causing Patton to shut his mouth. "Virgil regressed even back when he lived with us...and he didn't hide it well. And it doesn't take genius to figure out that Logan does it too. We were never judging of it."

Patton nodded slowly, looking to Roman. "Let me talk to Roman, okay? Come sit inside for now." Patton stepped to the side, letting them in and shutting the door behind them. "Logan, watch your brother, please."

Logan nodded, agreeing to the task. Roman stood up, keeping hold of Virgil's hand and leading him over to Logan. "He's kinda scared..be nice to him, okay?" Roman asked.

"Of course," Logan stood up, taking Virgil's hand from Roman's, causing Virgil to pout. "Dad says that I'm a good brother." He spoke as if his words would erase any worry in Roman's mind that Virgil wasn't in good hands.

"You are, baby. You're doing great," Roman assured, turning to face Patton without another word.

Janus and Remus sat on the couch, looking back at Logan and Virgil, who seemed pretty scared. "You don't have to be scared of us. You know that, right?" Janus spoke first, locking eyes with Logan. He figured he'd understand what he was asking more then the toddler.

Logan shrugged, moving to pull out a chair for Virgil. Janus seemed kind of hurt my that response, but he didn't comment on it. "What are you two being for Halloween?" Remus offered, trying to redirect the conversation.

"Kitty!" Virgil blurted out with a light giggle. He couldn't talk super well when he was this young, so Logan was a little shocked to hear him respond so quickly to people who he hadn't been regressed around in a long time. Janus and Remus gave fond smiles to him.

"Really? That sounds like a great costume," Janus complimented. "How about you, Logan?"

"Uh, a zombie." Logan replied, his voice full of that teenage awkwardness that he absolutely hated. He didn't sound put together and smart, like when he was big. But he didn't sound cute either, like when he was younger. He just sounded weird.

"Ooh! Are you gonna do like, fake cuts and stuff?" Remus asked. Logan shrugged again.

"Probably, I'm not good at it though." He replied.

"Remus is very good at fake gore stuff! If your...caregivers?" Janus seemed questioning of the term, but Logan nodded, allowing Janus to continue. "If they let us stay, I'm sure he wouldn't mind helping you with your costume." Janus looked at Remus, who quickly nodded.

"Sounds good to me." Remus affirmed.

"Really?" Logan seemed excited. He knew how good Remus was at fake gore stuff. Of course, his powers aided in that, but he was also just decent at special effects makeup. Remus nodded. "Cool." Logan smiled, suddenly feeling a lot more comfortable then he did before.

They really weren't there to hurt them, or even make fun of them for regressing. They were being nice. Logan didn't make an effort to continue the conversation, turning and continuing his process of packing up his costume supplies so that he could bring it upstairs.

Roman and Patton didn't come back down stairs for a few minutes. When they did though, they came to stand in front of the couch, Patton making a motion to Logan to come into the living room.

"Okay, so we decided that if the boys are comfortable with it, then you can spend Halloween with us." Patton announced. There was a pause following his statement, so he spoke again. "What do you think, boys?"

"I'm okay with it, I guess." Logan said, before looking to Virgil next to him. Virgil nodded, seemingly nervous and hesitant, but not saying no.

"Okay, then it's settled. What's the plan for the day?" Janus leaned forward, looking at the two core sides in front of him.

"Where should I even begin?"

--

"Where's Logan?" Roman asked, sitting at the kitchen table with Virgil, helping him with his kitten whiskers. Of course, the toddler didn't enjoy sitting still, so Roman had to keep scolding him for moving.

Which of course led to Virgil feeling bad, setting an endless cycle of messed up makeup and babyish apologies. "Upstairs with Remus, he's helping with his makeup. They said they were almost done, though." Patton explained, setting two baskets down on the kitchen table.

One was shaped like a witched cauldron, and the other was a light blue basket covered in superhero stickers and sharpie doodles. You could probably figure out which one belonged to who.

"Okay, cool. I'm almost done with Vee, then we can get shoes on and head out." Roman smiled at Patton, who nodded. Patton went to exit the kitchen, pausing to kiss Virgil's forehead before continuing.

Upstairs, Remus held up a mirror for Logan as he packed up his makeup stuff. "Whoa! This looks awesome!" Logan exclaimed, looking over his face.

Logan was, at first, a little uncomfortable being alone with Remus while regressed. But then, Remus starting asking about his interests and what made him choose to be a zombie, and suddenly, that worry faded away as he rambled on about comic books and Netflix shows.

And just like his family, Remus sat there, listening and urging him to go on as he applied his makeup..

The fake gashes looked pretty convincing, and the dried fake blood on the side of his face looked pretty cool. He just hoped he wouldn't freak out his little brother to much. "Thank you," Logan remembered to use his manners, handing the mirror back to Remus.

"You're welcome. My brothers good at the glam makeup,but gore had always been my specialty." Remus smiled, stuffing the mirror into the makeup bag before making it disappear.

Logan gasped, "We aren't supposed to use our powers anymore."

"Technically that rule only applies to you guys. The Dark Sides never agreed to it." Remus corrected.

"Oh," Logan paused, not knowing what to say. He didn't have to continue his statement, because Patton's voice interrupted the conversation from the door.

"You guys may not have agreed to the rule, but while you're here, with us, please refrain from using your powers. The rule is in place for a reason. " Patton gave Remus one of his 'stern dad' looks, silently telling him that if he didn't do this, the invitation to spend Halloween with them would be quickly revoked. The Dark Side rolled his eyes, but shrugged.

"Whatever."

"Anyways, you look amazing, darling! Did you thank Remus?" Patton turned to Logan, looking him up and down and observing his costume. Logan nodded quickly. "Good job. Virgil is almost ready, so you should probably get your stuff together quickly before we head out." Patton instructed.

"Okay, dad." Logan grabbed his phone off of his desk, before heading out of the room.

Remus and Patton followed him out and down the stairs.

Time to go trick or treating.

--

The boys definitely had fun trick or treating. Patton stuck to Emile and Remy's neighborhood, the people were generally kinder in that area of the town, and they got no more then a few odd looks due to Virgil and Logan's behavior. Since all the interactions were quick, and Logan spoke for both him and Virgil, most people didn't even notice them.

It just looked like they were a few young adults going out because they wanted free candy.

Logan insisted that he didn't need to be watched, so him and Virgil walked a bit ahead of the other four, stopping at houses and collecting candy. Virgil seemed pretty excited, giggling and babbling things to his older brother. Eventually, Patton caught up to them and told them that they should walk home soon.

"But dad-"

"No buts. We've been walking for a while, your bucket is basically full, and everyone is tired." Patton spoke sternly, watching as Logan gave him an annoyed glare. "Lose the attitude, right now. Or that candy will be taken away until you're big again." Patton threatened, raising his eyebrows and watching to see if Logan was gonna push this farther.

"Oh my god," Logan rolled his eyes, holding his basket closer to him. "Sorry."

His apology wasn't genuine, he was just annoyed and wanted his carer to drop the topic.

Patton gave him a look that said 'we'll talk about this later', before directing his attention to Virgil. "Did you have fun tonight, baby?" he asked him. The other three had been trailing behind them, but Roman came forward to take Virgil's hand.

Logan dropped of behind, not wanting to listen to the two caregivers fuss over Virgil, instead matching pace with Janus and Remus. "You okay, Lo?" Remus asked.

Logan shrugged. "Dad's mad at me because of an attitude I don't even have," he complained, seemingly disappointed or upset about something.

Janus looked in front of them as they walked, where Patton was. "I'm sure he isn't mad at you. I think everyone is just a bit tired from walking, everything will probably be good once everybody has gotten the chance to sit down."

"You think?" Logan asked, swinging his basket back and forth a bit. He felt bad. He wasn't trying to upset his caregiver with his annoyance about going home. He was just a little annoyed, and Patton threatening to take his candy just put him in a worse mood. But now, he felt bad for ever being annoyed in the first place.

"Yeah, definitely. I don't think Patton could ever be mad at you," Remus jumped into the conversation, wrapping his arm around Logan's shoulder as they walked. Logan didn't seem convinced, but he went quiet and dropped the subject. Remus and Janus didn't make him talk, simply walking with him as Patton and Roman led the way back home.

Virgil was giggling about something when they got home, following Roman inside. Remus led Logan inside, while Janus paused at the door Patton held open. He made sure that no one else could hear him, speaking quietly. "Can you talk to Logan and make sure he knows you aren't mad at him? I think he feels bad for giving you attitude earlier. Me and Remus tried to comfort him but I don't know if it helped."

Patton's face softened, and he nodded. "Yeah, of course..." he trailed off. "Thanks, for trying to help. It means a lot to me, and I'm sure it does to him too."

Janus smiled, "Of course."

He walked inside without another word. He busied himself with turning on the requested children's movie (Nightmare Before Christmas) while Roman helped Virgil take of his shoes. Patton shut the door behind him, looking around for Logan, who seemed to be gone.

He locked eyes with Remus, glanced upwards, silently telling him that he had gone upstairs. Patton gave a thankful nod before disappearing up the steps.

Patton found Logan in the bathroom, rubbing at his face with a makeup wipe, his eyes a bit teary. He seemed frustrated, and emotional. Logan jumped when he caught Patton's face in the mirror, seeming to register that he left the door open.

He sniffled, "I'm just getting out of my costume." he explained, rubbing at his eyes quickly, casting them downwards. Now, his demeanor was embarrassed, and shy.

Teenagers weren't supposed to cry when their parents were upset with them. That was something Little Logan did.  He was to old for this.

"Logan," Patton approached him, taking the makeup wipe out of his hand and pulling him into a hug quickly. Logan rested his chin on Patton's shoulder, not cuddling into him because he didn't wanna get makeup all over his shirt. "Why didn't you tell me you felt so bad, hmm?" he questioned once pulling away.

"You were fussing over Virgil and you seemed upset," Logan shrugged, pulling another makeup wipe from the container and wiping down a section of his face, focusing on the mirror instead of facing his Dad.

Patton gave him an apologetic look through the mirror. "I'm sorry that I was focused on Virgil, I should've paid more attention to you and realized that you weren't okay."

Logan hummed, "It's whatever, I don't need extra attention. I'm a teenager that can take care of myself, I don't even know why I got so upset." he scoffed, seemingly annoyed with himself.

"That's not true, Logan. Biological teenagers still need attention, don't they?"

Logan shrugged. "They do sometimes, yeah." he admitted.

"And they don't completely take care of themselves either. And you shouldn't feel like you have to either," Patton explained. "And you're allowed to feel emotions, baby." he added.

"Every emotion but annoyance, right?" Logan challenged, looking directly into his eyes through the mirror before glancing away, focusing on wiping down his face once again. Patton's mouth fell open. He didn't know how to reply to that.

"Every time I get annoyed, I'm told not to give any 'attitude', even if I don't realize that I'm doing anything wrong!" Logan exclaimed, his voice laced in frustration. "You talk about expressing emotions but the moment it's not positive or something you can fix with a hug and some dad advice, suddenly it's not okay anymore."

Patton seemed hurt by that, but he slowly nodded. He couldn't take this personally right now. He needed to talk this out with Logan, and hopefully set him back up to have a good night. Patton went over to close the bathroom door. "Sit down," he instructed, lowering the toilet lid.

Logan seemed confused, but he took the order quickly. Patton took the container of makeup wipes before sitting down on the edge of the bathtub next to him. Logan turned to face him, not knowing what was happening.

Was Patton mad at him for snapping? Did he hurt his dads feelings? Did he just make everything worse?

He felt like he did.

"I'm sorry that I made you feel like you couldn't express your emotions," Patton pulled another makeup wipe out, cupping the clean part of his face and wiping down another. "You're allowed to be annoyed, or even angry with me. You might not like some choices I make and I understand that, I just don't like it when that happens."

Logan noticed the forced neutral expression on Patton's face, like he was trying to avoid giving away what he was feeling at the moment. "But.." Patton started speaking again, "That doesn't mean I should be so harsh on you when you do get annoyed."

Logan nodded in an understanding way, letting Patton clean his face. Patton continued.

"I'll try to get better about that,l promise. I'm glad you talked to me, though."

"Dad, I didn't mean to hurt you! You're doing amazing, I promise. I just lashed out because I'm emotional and-" Logan started up his quick, panicked rambling, and Patton held his hand up, telling him to stop. Patton started speaking, his face softening a bit.

"It's okay, baby. I did something wrong here, not you, okay? You don't have to feel bad for communicating with me." Patton spoke softly, wiping his face one more time before throwing away the wipe. Logan nodded slowly.

"And just so you know, I was never mad at you." Patton added.

"Really? I got so worked up and emotional for no reason?" Logan seemed shocked. Patton smiled lightly,

"Guess so."

Logan laughed, leaning forward and hugging him. This time, he snuggled into Patton's shoulder. "I'm sorry if I messed tonight up." he mumbled. Patton quickly pushed him away from the hug, his hands on either of Logan's shoulders as he looked him directly in the eyes.

"You messed nothing  up, baby. You still had fun trick or treating, right?"

Logan nodded quickly, smiling. "Yeah! Me and Virgil got a lot of candy and people complimented my costume!"

"One emotional part of the night doesn't ruin the rest of it. We agreed to a late bedtime tonight, remember? There's still time to have more fun," Patton assured. Logan nodded.

Patton kissed Logan's forehead before standing up and going over to the door. "Come on, I'm pretty sure Virgil would love to cuddle his amazing big brother right now." He held it open, making way for a laughing Logan to walk through.

Logan's first Halloween spent regressed may not have been absolutely perfect, but spending it with his family still assured that it was still amazing. He couldn't of asked for a better day then Trick or Treating and cuddling with his little brother.

Then getting his makeup done by Remus. Then getting praised by Roman.

Then being with his family.

There were ups and downs to every relationship, including a regressors with their caregiver. But those downs don't erase the good parts. After every valley, there was a hill.

T/W {Nightmare mention (brief), sad Virgil, and Virgil is 'missing' for a second} I'll probably write a part 2 + more anxceit/little Virgil and/or little Janus soon. Thanks Remle (Elmer) aka @thetruthaboutthesun from the discord for helping out with the prompt! 

Prompt-Ish: Okay when Virgil is little he's definitely obsessed with colorful stars and he got a pack of 10 sheets from Logan and he will just sit there and stick them on Janus. And he puts one on each scale of Janus' face.

Word Count: 1,033

Virgil had been little the night before and his caregiver, Janus or Mama or Scales if he was in an older headspace. 

 Normally Virgil would sleep through the night, especially while little. However this time he woke up in a sweat and crying, still very much little. 

 Nightmares were nothing new to Virgil, they've plagued the boy since he was 12 years old. 

 Normally he had a smaller headspace and the nightmares seemed to never occur, so it especially freaked Virgil out. 

 Almost as if he could tell something was wrong, Virgil was almost certain he could, Janus popped up into the littles room. 

 "Mama!" Virgil cried tears falling down his cheeks while he made grabby hands at Janus. "Oh, baby bat, did you have a nightmare?" Janus asked, scooping the small boy into his arms. 

 Virgil cried softly, nodding his head before burying his face in the crook of Janus' neck. "Okay baby, how about we go get you a bottle of some warm cinnamon milk? Would you like that bubba?"

 Virgil shyly nodded his tears subsiding slightly. Janus smiled and carried Virgil from his room to the kitchen. Janus moved Virgil from his arms to sitting on his hip. 

 Janus got out one of Virgil's favorite bottles and poured a cup of milk into the bottle. He then added a teaspoon of cinnamon and sugar. He could've added honey instead of sugar but Virgil wasn't a big fan of honey so sugar it was. He then put it in the microwave for 30 seconds and checked it before deeming the milk to be a good temperature. 

  "Okay baby boy, I need you to show me your face if you want to be able to drink your yummy yummy milky" Janus said walking to the couch and sitting down with Virgil cradled in his arms. 

 Virgil shyly showed his face. "There's my little baby, now show me your growl" Janus said causing Virgil to growl and open his mouth. 

 Janus put the bottle into Virgil's mouth and held it there. Virgil happily drank the milk quickly finishing the bottle. Janus chuckled "My baby sure was thirsty" He said before sitting the empty bottle on the coffee table. 

 Janus rocked Virgil gently in his arms a bit. While they didn't have times like these often, the two really did enjoy having quiet time in the morning before the sun had risen. 

 So seeing as they couldn't have these often they just soaked it up. Enjoying the peace and quietly sat there, cuddled together before their day truly began. 

~Time Skip~

 It was now roughly 2 pm and Virgil was still little, however he was older as the anxiety from that morning subsided into nothing more than just a little nervousness that Virgil normally had while little. 

 Virgil was sitting next to his caregiver. Recently Logan, one of his babysitters/caregivers, had given him Halloween themed star stickers. Virgil was especially grateful, loving stickers, stars, and Halloween a lot. 

 Now Virgil was carefully placing one on every scale on Janus' face. Janus did his best to not move because if he didn't he'd get a 'very' angry 'Mama! Sit still!'.

 Virgil smiled having placed over 100 stars on Janus' face. "M done mama! Now go show lo n rem? They gotta see how pretty mama is! Mama always pretty buh now mama a star!" Virgil said giggling. 

 "I see someone has been spending time around uncle Patton." Janus said scooping up Virgil and carrying him into Logan's room, where Remus was hanging out. 

 "Look at mama!" Virgil said, obviously smiling at his accomplishment. Remus and Logan turned to face the two who had entered the room. 

 They smiled softly and Virgil's happiness. "Good job batty, you made snakey even prettier!" Remus said "I agree with Remus, Janus is even prettier, objectively speaking of course."

 Janus blushed slightly at the two of them. Regardless if they were dating or not Janus still wasn't used to being so openly complimented. 

 "Ooooo mama blushinnnn" Virgil said teasingly "Oh shush, we can make you blush when you're bigger if you'd like" Virgil screeched "No!"

 "I think we will," Logan said, cutting in. "Nooooo!" Virgil screeched again. "We will Virgey" Remus said in agreeance. Virgil squirmed his way out of Janus' arms shouting no as he ran off. 

 The three laughed together, before chasing after their little before he tried to cause any havoc. 

 They all ran after the small squeals and continued shouts of no. Until they didn't hear anything. This worried them as the little was always very vocal. 

 "Virgil?" Janus said as they walked into the kitchen. They looked around, they could've sworn Virgil had run in here. 

 "Boo!" Virgil yelled, jumping out of one of the cabinets. This caused them all to startle. 

 Janus was the first to snap out of it. He picked up Virgil quickly "Okay, I think that's enough escaping for you, baby bat" That elicited a giggle out of Virgil. 

 The older three smiled at the little. "I think that it's time for some cuddles, with mama, star, and papa" Janus said looking at the others with a look that said, this isn't optional and if you say no I'll take your kneecaps. 

"Cuddlessss!" Virgil said happily, wiggling in his excitement. They all smiled at the happy boy before heading to Virgil's room to cuddle on the boys' bed. 

 They all layed down together and cuddled up, having Virgil in the middle of them. Virgil layed on top of Janus with Logan on one side and Remus on the other. 

 Virgil let out a small yawn. "I think it's nap time," Janus said. Virgil didn't argue and just nodded "Ni ni, mama, n papa, n star"

 "Good night Virgil, Good night baby bat, night night Virgey!" They all said in sync. Virgil giggled at their synchronization. He then cuddled up more into Janus letting out another little yawn. 

Roman being afraid of Patton, Logan, and Virgil when he’s little. He gets nervous around them and cries if one them tries to pick him up.

He prefers being with Janus and Remus in that mode and stays close to them. Especially Remus.

Roman gets fussy if the others try to separate him from Remus. He doesn’t mind if it’s Janus though as wherever Janus goes, Remus will follow.

Patton is a bit jealous that Roman doesn’t want him as his caregiver. He also feels guilty because he thinks it’s his own fault that Roman doesn’t like him.

Virgil worries whenever Roman is in that mode and Janus and Remus take him away for the day. He also feels guilty like Patton for the same reason.

A/N: Y’ALL EMILE AND REMY ARE FINALLY HERE- there’s not any little sides in this one (besides a mention of little remus), because this chapter is meant to advance the story. This is the start of the end, really, but I can definitely stretch it out depending on how I order the plotlines and how many filler plots I can stuff in between every. 

also spoiler warning for the most recent asides episode, because I used stuff introduced in that episode as a way to make this plot so much simpler then it originally was gonna be. 

please let me know if you liked the chapter (sorry that it’s kinda short)!

--

"ROMAN! I can't even-"

"I know!"

Virgil and Roman were completely enthusiastic after the day they had. They really hoped that things would go well with Nico, and both of them were pretty excited about this.

"Will you two stop screaming for two seconds? You sound like teenage girls," Janus laughed, giving them a look from his spot on the couch.

Virgil's head snapped over to Janus, giving him a playful glare.

"Let them have their fun, I don't think they've been this happy since..." Logan trailed off, thinking for a moment, "Since we started talking to you two again."

Virgil and Roman went back to talking, moving out of the living room and into the hallway. They were probably going off to Virgil's room to hang out for a while.

"Speaking of Remus, where is he?" Janus questioned, looking at Logan.

"Pretty sure he regressed, he was happy because his brother was happy and that triggered his headspace. Patton's taking care of him." Logan explained.

It had been just a week or so since Remus first regressed. He insisted on avoiding conversation about it when he came out of the headspace, but reassured from the others made sure that he knew he was safe to regress. It was weird, not having gross thoughts for a bit and just letting go. But it was nice. He got to depend on others and just play.

It was relieving.

"Let's go play with him! This is his second time regressing, and we need to get to know little him more!" Janus encouraged, standing up and stretching a bit. Logan agreed, jumping up and following him.

Initially after that day at the mall, everyone was pretty happy. Virgil and Roman spent some time together as a couple, gushing about how Thomas might finally have someone, just like they had each other. Patton, Logan, and Janus kept Remus busy as they teased and played with him.

And Emile and Remy realized that they were going to have to start working with the core sides again.

Of course, none of the core sides had come to this realization yet, but Emile's shared job of empathy and emotions with Patton connected into Thomas's romance life. And if Emile was going to be around the core sides more, then so was Remy.

Remy insisted that he stuck by Emile most of the time. He was sensitive, and he needed to be there to protect him if he needed it. Maybe that protectiveness was because he was his boyfriend. Maybe it was because he was also his caregiver. Maybe it was both.

Who knows?

--

Everyone had been sitting in the living room when they heard a knock sound at the door. Patton was the first to speak.

"Isn't everyone here?" he looked around the room. He glanced over the faces of Virgil, Roman, and Logan next to him. Then, he looked at Remus (who was now big), and Janus.

"It has to be Emile or Remy!" Logan pointed out.

"But why are they her-" Roman's words were interrupted by more knocking.

"Just a second!" Patton called out. Virgil jumped up, running out of the living room and disappearing into the hallway that led to their bedrooms.

"Start hiding the little stuff, quick!" he directed, just moments later when he came back, a box in his hands. Everyone seemed to come to a realization, getting up and helping him.

"I'll keep them at the door as long as I can," Patton told them, before getting off of the couch and going to the door. He heard the sounds of everyone running around behind him as he opened the door. As predicted, the two neutral sides stood on their porch step. They never showed their faces anymore, so it was shocking that they were here.

Once, a while ago, Remy and Emile worked with them all the time. They weren't core sides because their jobs were either shared with other sides, or it didn't directly tie into Thomas's personality, but they helped when they could.

Then, Virgil started working with them, and the two of them backed away and started working from a distance. They stayed in their little cottage in the Vineyard Village and did their best to work by themselves. Back then, Virgil was different, more gloomy. Neither of the neutral sides enjoyed being around him, and they just decided to leave. And once Virgil started changing, they felt like it was to late to drop back in.

Of course they felt bad for judging Virgil so harshly, but the decision had already been made and they couldn't take it back now.

Though, both Emile and Logan knew that logically, they'd have to come back eventually. So here they were, deciding that now was the time to come back.

"Hey!" Emile greeted.

"Hey..." Patton smiled awkwardly, glancing behind him for a moment. "What are you two doing here?" he questioned.

Remy's head perked up when he heard a crash behind Patton, and a shout that sounded like Remus's voice calling out "i'm okay!". "What's going on in there?" he chuckled, trying to peek over Patton's shoulder.

"Why don't," Patton paused, standing on his toes so that he blocked Remy's view of the inside of the house. "Why don't you answer my question first?"

"Oh..um, remember the romance committee? Me, you, and Roman are in charge of Thomas's romance life. And since he's finally met someone he likes, I figured it would be fairly soon that I'd have to work with you guys again." Emile explained. Patton looked to Remy for his reasoning to be there.

Patton was really just trying to stall, and this was the only way he knew to keep the conversation going.  

"I'm here for him. But also, there's the Dream Team. Roman's supposed to help me create Thomas's dreams and stuff? And you're supposed to help walk me through Thomas's emotions so I can let them influence the dreams he has?"

"Oh, okay." Patton nodded. He really didn't know what else to say. In any other case, he would've let them in by now.

"Our jobs really depend on information from you guys," Emile elaborated, seemingly confused and why he hadn't been let inside yet. "Working apart has been basically impossible. It's about time that we came back and started holding meetings again, yeah?"

Patton nodded again, "I suppose so."

"Can we come in?" Remy questioned, still confused. Patton looked behind him, getting a thumbs up from Logan and nodding as he looked back to the other two.

"Yeah, welcome back." he stepped away from the door, allowing them to walk in.

"This place has changed a bit," Emile commented, smiling as he looked around. "It's nice, I like it."

Emile and Remy took seats in the only empty parts of the couch. The core sides living room was technically made to fit all of them at once, because they were all supposed to work together. But that hasn't happened in a while. "Hello Janus, Remus." Emile awkwardly greeted.

"Hello." Janus had his arms crossed.

"So...let's get down to business, right?" Logan was the first to speak, redirecting to situation from the tension between the neutral sides and the dark sides, to the discussion they had to hold.

"To defeat the huns!" Emile and Roman quoted Mulan at the same time, breaking out into laughter.

They did kinda miss this.

--

"So..the neutral sides don't hate me, which is cool..." Virgil pondered, taking a bite of his food. The neutral and dark sides had headed back home, and the core sides were having family dinner.

"What's on your mind, love?" Roman questioned. He had noticed his nervousness, and how disappointed he had been when he had to store away all his little stuff so that Emile and Remy didn't see it.

"Well..if you guys are going to start working with them again, that means they're gonna be here a lot, right?" He asked, seemingly nervous to hear the response.

Logan sighed, "Yeah, you got it right."

"That means that we're gonna have to start hiding all the regression stuff again. Just when I was getting used to the idea of being open about it!" Virgil groaned, seemingly annoyed.

Since they told Janus and Remus, they had stopped trying to hide the littlespace dynamic within their family. Coloring pages were on the fridge, sippy cups and bottles sat in the cabinet, certain toys were stored in the living room. Looking around, you could tell that a child, or someone on the same mental level as one, regularly stayed there.

And now that they finally got to that level of comfort, treating their regression like an every day normal thing, they were put in a situation where they had to hide it once again.

"I know, sweetheart. It sucks. But, we can always figure out ways to bring it up! If we tell them, then we'll know for sure that everyone knows!" Patton pointed out.

"You know how hard it was for me to even tell my brother? I didn't, really. He just caught me in littlespace and I had to explain myself. We haven't seen them in forever, and Vee barely knows them...we're gonna have to start hiding everything again. At least for now." Roman wasn't happy about this either, but he didn't know if they could do anything about it.  

"Well, they most likely won't be snooping in bedrooms without permission, so when they're here, we'll just have to take our personal agere stuff and store it in our rooms. It won't be that hard." Logan tried to sound hopeful, but it didn't come out great.

"We'll figure it out. It's just a few meetings a week," Patton assured.

"Yeah, we'll figure it out. For now, let's enjoy Patton's food, yeah?"

For now, they weren't going to worry about it. But this change was going to be rather stressful on them. Yeah, Emile and Remy were nice sides, but they had no idea how they'd react to something like this. So until they got a better idea on how they could react, they'd have to go back to hiding and being secretive.

And this change was only part of it, there was still more to come.

One last big change before this story comes to a close, but we still have a bit to go before we get there.  

Let's just keep telling this story and see what happens to the sides.

To Thomas.

--

A/N: another spooky ominious ending? oooh. 

Some people have been pointing out that I’ve been hinting to some big change, so here it is! Kinda...there’s still more to come. This little plotline of everyone trying to hide the agere thing from Remy and Emile will be the focus for a little while, and then right as it starts to get resolved....BOOM! Another change. 

Hope you’re ready.