#familiar loceit

“Woah, snakey, you surprised me there. All good?” Janus had been teased again by some of his classmates during recess, so it was easy for him to put on his pitiful begging face. He slowly turned his face up to look at his father, eyes slightly watery and lips pulled into a pout.

 “They were mean again. I miss Virgil,” he complained in the best choked up voice he could muster (which wasn’t all that good). Remus quickly tucked his phone away, crouched down and pulled his son into a proper hug.

 “I know. I get that school can suck big time; I didn’t always have a great time either. But tomorrow’s Friday and I’m sure Virgil will be all healthy again after the weekend. Ro already told me that his fever broke and he’s on his way to recovery.” Janus nodded but kept his pout.

 “It sucks being alone. I wanted to bring Jake but Papa wouldn’t let me” Remus blinked, surprised. Good, Janus thought, that means they haven’t talked about it yet, so that should make it easier.

 “I’m sure he had good reasons to say no.”

 “I know, we had a debate about it but I still think he’s being too strict. Jake wouldn’t escape, I carry him around all the time!”

 “Well-“ Remus seemed to struggle with supporting his husband’s decision in face of Janus’ hurt expression. “-there’s no guarantee for that and if someone finds out, it would be very bad.”

 “I took him to great-aunt Cathy’s funeral and no one noticed.”

 “You what?!” Janus broke eye contact to look to the side, intensifying his pout.

 “He was in my pocket and you and Papa didn’t notice. I had him while we were at Aunt Linda’s, too. Virgil and I played with him and he didn’t try to escape once.” He looked back to his dad; his pout replaced with a slight smirk now. Remus stared at him for a moment and then laughed.

 “Alright, that’s impressive, I’ll give you that. And I won’t tell Logan but that still doesn’t mean you can take him to school. Even if I gave you permission, Lolo won’t allow it.” Janus grinned, knowing he pretty much had his dad on his side now.

 “I’ve got a plan! We go buy another snake on our way back and Papa won’t find out until tomorrow after school. The tank’s big enough for one more!” Remus chuckled.

 “As much as I like the mischief in that plan, taking a new snake to school is too much risk. I won’t get used to you so quickly.” Janus shook his head.

 “I’d still take Jake! I just need to put a decoy in the tank ‘cause Papa checked if they were both there before we left this morning. But he can’t check for a snake he doesn’t know we have! It’s just for one day, please, Dad? Please??” He pulled out his best puppy dog eyes, which he had learned to weaponize from his uncle Patton. He could see how his dad tried to resist but in the end he was powerless against his son.

 “Fine! But if I’m landing on the couch for this, I’ll get pay back. Just ‘cause you’re a kid doesn’t mean that I’ll go easy on you,” Remus warned but with a grin on his face. Janus mirrored it and hugged him again.

 “Thanks, Dad.”

  The trip to the pet store wasn’t that much of a detour and Logan wasn’t supposed to come home until evening, so Remus and Janus had plenty time to search for a snake that resembled Jake as closely as possible. Despite wearing glasses, Logan had a very keen eye for details. The employee gladly helped, and soon they were on their way home with a new snake companion. Janus was very excited to introduce John to Jake and Joey and they seemed to get along well enough. Now he just had to keep his papa out of the room and smuggle Jake out the next morning. Easy peasy.

 Logan came home in the evening right when Remus finished dinner. They ate together, mostly listening to Remus talking about his experimentation with the exploding paint that had went quite well. Logan also talked about his day but nothing too exciting happened. After dinner they watched a movie together since Janus had already finished his homework. Soon it was time to head to bed and Janus was the first to use the bathroom to get ready and after him Remus. Janus had already returned to his room and was in the process of packing his bag for school tomorrow (something Logan insisted he’d do before going to bed to relieve stress in the morning) when there was a knock on the door.

 “Janus? May I come in?” Oh no, that was Logan. He couldn’t come in or he might discover John, Janus thought and quickly went over to the door to open it before Logan could enter. Once they were face to face, he gave his father his best innocent smile.

 “Yes, Papa?”

 “I wanted to make sure that you made your preparations for school tomorrow.”

 “I just finished, so I’ll go to bed now.” Logan smiled and laid a hand on his head.

 “Then you won’t mind if I checked, right?” Janus started to panic a bit, blocking the doorway when Logan made a move to go past him.

 “Why? You normally don’t. I’m big enough, I can do it myself!” Apparently his rambling had attracted his other father, since Remus came down the hall.

 “Lo, I’m done,” he said before glancing between the two. “Is everything alright?”

 “Thank you, Remus. Everything is fine, Janus is just attempting to stop me from finding out about the snake you two purchased him today.” Logan watched with a satisfied smile how his husband and sons’ faces first fell into shock and then slowly moved into guilt.

 “How?” Janus finally asked in a quiet voice, his disappointment clearly audible. Logan stroked his head in comfort.

 “Remus seems to have forgotten that I check our bank account every evening, so I found an unusual high withdraw from our local pet store it caught my attention. And considering the timing as well as our debate this morning, it was not hard to guess what you purchased.” He crouched down and met his son’s eyes. “Janus, I understand why you want Jake with you. Both Remus and I know how hard it can be to be alone in school. But smuggling a snake in and risking you getting expelled is not something I can condone. I’m sorry.”

 “’m sorry, too, for trying to trick you,” Janus answered, pouting for real this time. Logan nodded and stood back up.

 “We’ll talk about it again tomorrow. For now it’s time for bed.” His son nodded and after they exchanged good nights, he closed his door and shortly after they could hear him turn his lamps off.. Logan sighed and turned to his husband who now was the one to look at him like a kicked puppy.

“Dad already left?”

 “Yeah. He said something about exploding paint and left for the studio. I did not want to ask further questions but I told him to not drag paint into the house. Again.” Now it was Janus’ turn to snicker and he took a seat at the table. “What do you want for breakfast? Toast or cereal?”

 “Cereal, please,” Janus said with a smile and got back up to get the bowl and spoon for himself while Logan grabbed the box and milk. Logan had eaten with his husband but kept his son company while reading the newspaper and drinking the last of his coffee. They usually spend this part of their routine in silence, just enjoying each other’s company however if Remus were here they would listen to whatever he wanted to infodump about. Logan and Janus both needed some time in the morning to really wake up but Remus was always full of energy after getting up.

 “Hey, papa?” Janus eventually broke their traditional silence.

 “Yes, Jay?”

 “Can I ask you something?” Logan raised an eyebrow but put the newspaper aside to devote his full attention to his son.

 “Of course. What can I help you with?” Janus pushed the now empty bowl away and began fidgeting in his seat.

 “Can I take Jake to school with me today?” Logan’s eyes flickered to the snake in question, still curled around his son’s arm, apparently content to just hang on. He focused back on Janus who did his best impression of his uncle’s puppy eyes. Logan sighed.

 “I am quite certain that is against school rules, so no.”

 “It’s not, I checked! There is not one word about snakes in there.”

 “However, there is a rule against all pets on school grounds within regular school hours.”

 “Jake’s not a pet, he’s my friend!” Janus pouted, as if the mere suggestion that his snake could be a pet is insulting.

 “I am sorry, Jay, but the school board defines all animals held within student or teacher’s living space as pets, no matter how close a bond you have. Jake stays here.” Janus squinted at him.

 “Debate Challenge!”

 It was a house rule that if there was a conflict of interest or argument happening that someone involved can call out ‘Debate Challenge’ and the situation would be resolved through a proper discussion. The format would allow each side to present their arguments without getting interrupted or immediately refuted as well as form a proper response. Team-ups were allowed as long as it was not Janus (or one child) against his dads (or two adults). It was a rule that Logan had put into place well before Remus and he even got engaged. Logan liked order and fights were nothing if not messy. And even if Remus preferred chaos, he could appreciate the guarantee to be listened to.

 Logan checked the clock before answering: “Alright. In order for you to arrive at school on time we need to leave in 20 minutes, 25 maxima. Considering how much time we both need to get ready; you have 10 minutes to convince me. Take the first two to prepare your strategy.” Janus nodded and pulled the notepad they kept on the table in case Remus needs to write down a sudden idea or they get crucial information on the phone to take notes. Meanwhile Logan cleaned up the dishes.

 “Okay, done!” Janus called a bit over two minutes later.

 “Good. Now you have two minutes for your arguments, then I will respond in another two minutes and after that we each get one minute for rebuttals. Sound fair?”

 “Yes.”

 “Then you may start.”

 “First, I understand why there is a rule against pets during school. Most common pets, such as dogs or cats, can be loud and distracting and can make a mess. But Jake is small, quiet and probably won’t need to poop until tomorrow. If I keep him in my pocket, the teachers won’t even know he’s there. I already fed him and Joey so he won’t need any more until I’m back home. Virgil is still sick and you know I don’t have any friends in my class. I just don’t wanna be alone and I don’t even have anyone to show him to.” At the end, Janus’ eyes were fixated on the table and he was biting his lips as well as fidgeting with the paper in his hand. Logan nodded in understanding. He knew Janus was having a hard time making friends and since his cousin caught the flue, it was only getting worse.

 “Thank you for sharing your concerns with me. I understand your points and I agree that in this case the rule against pets could be ignored.” Janus eyes lit up a bit but Logan kept his expression stern. “However-“ Janus eyes dimmed and he already started pouting again- “it is too much of a risk. Jake is a living creature and you cannot be sure how he would react to such an environment. If he were to get uncomfortable and escape, it would cause a lot of problems. Most people do not like snakes, he could send someone into a panic. Even if he were to be discovered without a ruckus, your teacher would still be very mad at you and me for allowing something like this. And we already do not have a great standing with the board, you know that.” Janus averted his eyes but nodded. “Lastly, imagine what would happen if Jake were discovered by those kids who are already mean to you. If they don’t immediately tell a teacher, they might just try to hurt him. As I’ve mentioned, many people do not like snakes and children can be very cruel about things they do not like. You would be putting him in danger.” Janus hummed and stopped pouting but he was still fidgeting with the paper. “You may now respond.” He was quiet for several seconds.

 “Ok, maybe taking him today is a bad idea. But what if we register him as a therapy animal. Virgil said that his dads are looking for something fitting for him. Maybe if we use my vitiligo it could work?” Janus sounded hopeful and Logan hated saying no to his son but if he didn’t stand firm, no one would. Especially not Remus. He was totally weak against their son’s begging.

 “I’m afraid your vitiligo doesn’t qualify. Virgil was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, which is a mental illness and that is why he gets a pet that is specifically trained to help him with it. Jake is not trained and I will not try to get him a license.” Logan reached out and took his son’s hands in his own. “I love you, Janus, and I hate to see you struggling but this is not the way to deal with the situation. Jake remains here. Thank you for a great debate but you need to get ready now.” Janus sighed but nodded. He would need to accept defeat this time. He squeezed his father’s hands before standing.

 “Love you too, papa,” he said before heading back to his room.