#hibiscus scribbles

Thomas woke up at around 2 pm- despite the exhaustion from the wedding the night before, he hadn’t been able to sleep a wink and had only managed to actually start getting some solid sleep from around 7 in the morning. He woke to the blare of an overworked alarm clock and fumbled around blindly to silence it- sighing in relief as it finally quietened.

He laid in bed for another five minutes before listening to the nagging feeling that was telling him that he should probably get up and start his day properly- even if he just wanted to laze around all day. He quickly freshened up and headed downstairs after shoving on a grey hoodie he had laying around.

After having some oatmeal for breakfast, he sat back on the couch and got out his laptop to start working on some videos that needed editing. He was so far behind on his schedule, but he couldn’t concentrate for the life of him.

He couldn’t stop thinking about the night before, worry flowing through him as he thought about Patton’s meltdown, the look of pain on Roman’s face, poor Logan who had been brushed aside yet again and then the fact that he needed to work and get things done, guilt flooding him as he mentally kicked himself for not getting said work done. And then he’d think about why he couldn’t concentrate, and the cycle would just continue- an endless spiral of anxiety.

Eventually, though, a different thought entirely cut through all his worries as he came to realise that there was one notable moment of the night that he really should’ve listened to initially, a request that was so simple to follow and yet somehow impossible to do for him.

“Glad to see that you’ve finally remembered to take some time for yourself, Thomas,” came a slightly sarcastic voice from the other side of (or rather, in) the room. Thomas had startled once he’d heard him, hand over his heart as he tried his best not to drop his laptop. His head had turned during the start to see who had scared him, finding the serpentine Side sitting on the other end of the couch, one leg crossed over the other as one arm rested on the arm of the couch with his fingers laced together, an eyebrow raised.

“Geez, I know you can be dramatic but there’s no need to scare me like that, bud, gosh,” Thomas said emphatically, trying to calm his quickly beating heart. He got a roll of the eyes and a smirk in return.

“My apologies, I just wanted to inform you of what you really should be doing instead of spending your time so productively- i.e., taking some rest, which I can see you’re doing just magnificently,” said the snake, coming over to sit next to his Centre.

“Yeah, uh, I gathered,” Thomas fired back, deadpan. “It’s gonna be pretty hard to though, I’ve got so much to do but I can’t even concentrate anyways, and I really don’t think sitting around doing nothing will help me take my mind off of everything.”

“Maybe not, but that’s why I’m here to help, isn’t it? I mean honestly, whatever would you do without me Thomas?” Now it was Thomas’ turn to roll his eyes as his Self-Preservation praised himself.

“Not have to deal with an evil snake boy? And you- being honest? That’s a new one,” he joked. “How would you be able to help anyhow- I don’t have anything that would help me relax, I’d just go back to thinking about last night. Not that I should be relaxing anyways, I’ve really got to catch up.”

His Deceit gave him a look and walked over to his TV stand, trying to find something his Centre could do to relax and still be proactive. “Are you quite sure about that? I’d argue that you one hundred percent need to rest and relax after all that’s happened. But what do I know? I’m just the literal embodiment of your Self-Preservation, I have no expertise in this area in the slightest. And for the record, you’re dealing with a regular snake boy who can be honest, actually.” Suddenly, something caught said Self-Preservation’s eye and he picked it up, having found the perfect thing to help.

“Fine, a regular snake boy, but again- just because a lot has happened doesn’t mean I can’t get things done, I really should be anyways, I don’t want to let anyone down and—” Thomas started, before being interrupted by a game controller being shoved into his hands.

“For starters, you would not be letting anyone down. If you’re worried about disappointing your fans, then you yourself know full well how understanding they are- they wouldn’t want you to push your limits just to make them happy. Secondly, you’ve been mentally overworked and you’re incredibly exhausted- you need to do something for yourself and if doing nothing isn’t going to help you then being more active might.”

“But I don’t deserve to rest right now—” this time he was silenced by a finger being placed on his lips.

“There’s no such thing as deserving to rest. You either need it, or you don’t and trust me, honey, you need it. Now shut up, choose a game where you need to think about it and start playing. If you’re going to relax instead of worrying about last night, you might as well be thematically appropriate,” the serpentine Side said, sitting down next to him again. Thomas realised that he was fighting a losing battle and proceeded to pick out a game (Mario Kart- that would definitely keep him focused). As he started choosing the number of players, he got up and grabbed a second controller, offering it to the Side next to him when he sat back down.

“Play with me? It’s way better to play with a real person- or as real a person as you can get.” That earned him a surprised look which turned into a playful grin.

“Oh, get ready, I’ve been told I’m the worst at this game.”

~~~~

After the fifth round, Thomas leaned back and groaned- finally having accepted that, no matter what, he was going to get his ass kicked when playing with his Deceit.

“I did warn you~,” said Deceit teased with a singsong to his tone.

“Oh, shut up,” Thomas replied, swatting his arm lightly while the villainous-looking Side laughed. He sighed, feeling just a bit more tired than that morning, and moved to lean his chin onto his hand. He’d had a lot of fun, but he still didn’t think he should be doing this, it just didn’t feel right.

While he hadn’t said anything, it seemed that his guilt was picked up on anyways.

“You need to rest, Thomas. I assure you, you’ve done well in doing so so far, even if you feel like you should be doing otherwise,” came the gentle response.

“How do you know I need to rest though? What if I’m just being lazy or unproductive?” Thomas retorted, still unconvinced. He saw the man next to him smile ever so slightly as his eyes saddened just a little and as he spoke in soft tones.

“Your exhaustion is evidence enough, my dear. And as for your laziness, replenishing your body and relaxing isn’t being lazy nor is it being unproductive. looking after yourself can be just as rewarding as working. You have to admit, this must’ve been better than trying and failing to work hours on end, no?”

Thomas thought it over. It had felt better to just have some fun for a bit, even if he wanted to get things done, and he also knew himself that he wouldn’t have actually been able to be productive to the extent he could’ve. In fact, he’d probably have just felt worse because of it. He smiled a little.

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. Thank you, Janus.” Thomas looked over to see Janus staring at him in surprise and mild awe. “…You good, buddy?”

“…That was the first time you’ve said my name,” Janus said so softly it was almost a whisper, so much so that Thomas had to strain a little to hear what he’d just said. Thomas blinked.

“Huh. I… guess you’re right. Well, hi there Janus. I’m Thomas, nice to meet you,” he said outstretching his hand for a handshake in a half-joking manner. Janus looked down at it and smiled, huffing a little, then taking it as though he was about to kiss the back of it.

“The pleasure is all mine,” he said, before actually bringing it to his lips and kissing it. He looked up and now Thomas was surprised, but he smiled, nonetheless.

After a brief moment’s silence, Janus cleared his throat and gently dropped Thomas’ hand, adjusting his gloves. “Well, I’m glad I could be of service to you today, Thomas, but I really ought to be going, I’m dreadfully busy y’know.” He made his way to get up, but Thomas just pulled him back down again with a competitive sparkle in his eyes.

“Nope. You’re staying so we can continue playing and I can finally beat you, I’m not going down without a fight.”

Janus blinked, and then smirked, chuckling.