#mentioned remile

All four of them looked up to see a man with Roman’s face but slightly off standing in front of their booth. He had the same eyes and features as Roman but sported a mustache and a white streak in his hair. And if that didn’t set him apart from his brother enough, the clothes the man was wearing were probably the opposite of Roman too with ripped jeans, a dark crop top and combat boots.

So that must be the infamous twin, Janus thought as he looked the other up and down once more. What was his name again?

“Remus?!” Roman gaped. “What are you doing here?”

“Getting drunk! And looking for someone to take back to the hotel with me.” He winked suggestively at Logan who simply raised an eyebrow.

“Not what I meant and you know it,” Roman almost growled, clearly annoyed. “What are you doing here in town, I thought you were still in Europe.”

“Yeah, some stuff happened and I got back early. I was gonna surprise you at your place tomorrow but this is even better! Nice to finally meet you in person, Patty Daddy.”

“Yes, nice to see you, Remus,” Patton laughed uncomfortably. Remus paused.

“Nickname too much?”

“Obviously,” Roman sighed.

“Sorry, sorry. I’ll behave. So introduce me to these fine gentlemen.” Remus grabbed a chair from nearby and plopped down in front of the booth, grinning at Logan and Janus.

“Logan Croft,” Logan spoke up before Roman could interject, holding his hand out for Remus to shake. “And this is my partner Janus Dean. We’re longtime friends of Patton’s.”

“Pleasure,” Janus said simply, nodding instead of offering his own hand. Remus laughed and gripped Logan’s hand tight.

“Remus Kingsleigh, at your service.” Instead of shaking Logan’s hand however, he brought it up to his mouth and licked it. “You taste delightful,” he added with a grin.

“Remus!” Roman scolded, pulling him away from Logan who didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. He simply pulled his hand back, got a bottle of disinfectant out of his bag and rubbed it into the skin.

“Well then, Remus, how long are you staying?” Patton asked, still looking incredibly uncomfortable and desperate to change the topic. Janus wasn’t surprised. While Patton was very tolerant of other people’s behaviors and believes, he was rather strictly catholic himself and didn’t want pre-marital sex, which Roman was very much okay with. But Patton also was very uncomfortable with the topic of sex in general, so Janus could imagine that Remus, who as far as he knew had made sex and innuendos kind of a big part of his personality, put him on edge.

He was in luck however since Remus was open to the change in topic and started detailing his plans and told stories about his travels which Logan especially appreciated. For the next hour or so, pleasant conversation flowed between the five of them until Patton got tired and asked Roman to drive him home. The two paid off their part of the tab and left.

“Well then, that just leaves us three,” Remus grinned as he slid into the seats his brother and Patton had just vacated. “Are you open to have some fun?”

“You do understand that we’re in a committed relationship, right?” Janus asked, eyebrows raised and trying to inject boredom into his voice. Remus was entertaining, sure, but not all that appealing to him.

“So what? I can take you both.” The grin on Remus’ face was without a hint of shame. Refreshing, Janus could admit but he still wasn’t interested.

“Thank you for the offer, Remus, but we are not currently looking for a third,” Logan answered. Diplomatic as always.

“Currently? So that might change?” Remus was leaning over the table now, his eyes wide and wild.

“Sure. Ask another ten times and we’ll probably say yes!” Janus huffed.

“Promise?”

“No.”

“Boo, you’re no fun.”

“Then maybe you should seek your thrill elsewhere.”

“How about a bet?” Remus suddenly offered, sitting back in his seat, still grinning.

“I believe we have been quite clear—” Logan started but Remus interrupted him.

“A game of darts for your phone numbers. And a week to change your minds if I win.”

Janus rolled his eyes again, but to his surprise Logan leaned forward, studying Remus’ face intensely.

“You seem quite sure of your skill.”

“I am.”

“Very well. I accept.”

Janus sighed but didn’t argue. Truly, he should have seen it coming. Darts was the only sport Logan was interested in – well, besides chess but in terms of physical sports it was the only one. It relied on dexterity and math, both of which Logan appreciated greatly.

Logan and Remus agreed on a set of rules and Janus was pulled along to judge.

“Don’t you think I’m going to be biased?”

“No.”

“Nah.”

Janus had expected that answer from his partner but not Remus.

“Lolo here seems to have a bit of a stick up his ass about rules. I imagine he’d be pretty cross with you if you didn’t play fair.”

“You… aren’t wrong,” Janus conceded, surprised by his insight. Maybe Remus wasn’t as aloof and uncaring as he first seemed.

They got some darts from the barkeeper and luckily one of the three boards was still available. They played best of three with Logan easily winning the first one, Remus barely clutching out the second and now they were both in finishing range for the third.

Logan was up first. He hit the triple he needed without difficulty and just slightly overshot the double with the second and took aim with the third. Before he could throw though, Remus stepped up to him and whispered something in his ear that Janus couldn’t hear. Logan glanced away from the board and at Remus for a moment but didn’t answer. Remus laughed and stepped back, letting him finish his turn.

Janus watched as Logan took two deep breaths before aiming again.

He threw the dart.

And it bounced off the second dart that had already missed the target, falling to the floor.

“My turn!” Remus giggled, delighted, as Logan gathered his darts.

“Will you aim for the double 14 and then tops?” Logan asked. If Janus remembered correctly, ‘tops’ referred to the double 20 on the top of the board.

“Nah, where’s the fun in that?” Remus grinned and threw his first dart. It landed square in the 18 field. Leaving Remus with a rest score of 50. He needed a bullseye to win.

That truly fit with his character.

If he was just slightly off, the math wouldn’t work out anymore and he might not be able to use his last dart to finish.

Despite the high stakes, kinda, Remus looked very relaxed to Janus. As if he had unending confidence in his skills.

He took aim.

He threw.

He hit.

The dart landed in the bullseye with a dull thud.

“Congratulations,” Logan said, genuinely. “That were some impressive games.”

“Aw, thanks Logie! Now pay up!”

“I was under the impression that you wanted our phone numbers not our money.”

“That’s what he means, Lo,” Janus explained as he stepped up to the two. “Here.” He held a business card out to Remus that had his name and law firm printed on it. He’d also added Logan’s number on the other side. “Your one week starts now.”

“I’m looking forward to it, Janny! And I promise I won’t send you dick pics immediately!” With that, Remus waved to them and left, handing the darts back to the bartender on his way out.

“We really sold our souls to the devil here, haven’t we?” Janus commented dryly as they watched the door close behind him.

“Well, I always thought the devil had some fair points,” Logan shrugged, a small smile on his lips.

Janus had an inkling that his life was about to get a lot more chaotic.

It’s funny, really, how quickly your life can fall apart.

You build a foundation, create fields of flowers and design the perfect castle all for it to come crumbling down in two minutes flat.

Virgil Casey had a perfect life. He had a brilliant son, a good job, his mental health was mostly in check. Everything was going well.

Until that day.

Remember when Virgil was running late and Patton got left at school, resulting in Roman asking the cute dad out? This is why.

It was a Monday, one of the cafe’s busiest days, but the boss knew that Virgil had to be out of there by 2:30 in order to pick his son up from school. Usually, there was no problem with that, but that fateful day, someone walked in at 1 pm, just as Virgil’s mind was ticking off for the day.

Virgil’s anxiety had been acting up all day, he would flinch at louder than usual customers and knocked several of the businesses plastic mugs off the counter. So when the bell rang, his head snapped up quicker than Patton’s when cookies were mentioned.

A woman sauntered in, blonde hair falling over her shoulders in perfect ringlets, lips painted in red and stiletto heels tall enough to kill a man. Her sharp blue eyes glared over dark sunglasses, locking on the shocked man behind the counter.

“Virgil, what a surprise.” She drawls, perfectly white teeth glinting in the soft lighting of the cafe.

“Meghann.” He breathes, hands starting to shake. She struts over, leaning on the counter. Her low cut shirt exposes flesh that really should only be seen at midnight in the type of club Virgil would never step foot in.

“Oh Darling, it’s been so long.” She winks, “Tell me, how’s the little one doing? I never did get to say goodbye.”

“You were the one that left. Don’t even try that shit.” Feigning confidence, Virgil pushes away from the counter, stepping out from the staff area to stand face to chest with the woman. “I’m gonna have to ask you to leave, we don’t serve __”

“I just wanted to say hi, no need to be so rude.” She sneers, crowing her arms as the short man looks up at her. “Oh, and give you these.” She thrusts a hand out, a collection of papers hitting Virgil straight in the chest, winding him briefly. As he gets his breath back, Mayghann turns on her heel and sashays her way out of the building.

Confused, Virgil places the papers on the counter to straighten them before scanning his eyes over the first page.

Applicant: Meghann Frost Respondent: Virgil Casey

Contents: Application for change of custody regarding Patton Casey

Virgil’s heart stops.

His lungs freeze mid-breath.

If you had told him a week ago that his abusive ex would find him at his workplace to serve him a summons to court for custody of his son, he would’ve laughed and called you crazy.

But as he stares at the inked papers, tears brim in his eyes.

Virgil Casey, the strong-willed, determined, caring single father, shuts down. His mind runs a million miles an hour as he tries to process it all, his body failing to respond for a solid five minutes before someone intervenes.

A grounding hand rests on his shoulder.

His apron is removed and placed on its hook.

He’s pushed into a booth, the papers are placed in front of him on the table.

A warm mug is pressed into his hands.

It’s not until the coffee has gone half cold before Virgil snaps out of it. His head spinning and heart beating faster than ever before. His eyes scan over the mug, ignoring the papers glaring at him in favour of looking at the person that helped him over to the seat in the first place.

Remy, Virgil’s boss who barely ever actually works, sits in front of him, sunglasses pushed up so his dual coloured eyes are on full show. His white shirt is half unbuttoned and pushed up to his elbows, showing off his toned chest as he leans forward on the table.

“Remy,” Virgil breaths slowly, still adjusting to coming back to reality.

“Hey Virgil, you doin’ okay hun?” His usual smirk transforms into a soft smile. His hand waves to the young barista at the counter who smiles back, nodding in understanding.

“What am I gonna do?” Remy pushes a small plate across the table, the chocolate brownie barely making it halfway before Virgil starts picking at it. “I can’t afford a lawyer, I can barely afford our house. And I can’t put Patton through court, he doesn’t deserve that.” The barista brings over a new mug of steaming black coffee, taking the cold one just as Virgil shoves a large piece of food into his mouth.

“Virge, sweetie, you needa calm down. You’ll make yourself sick, worrying like that.” Remy moves the plate away, replacing it with the new mug.

“What am I supposed to do Rem?”

Remy and Virgil had been friends for years. When Virgil first moved into the area and was looking for a job, he came in with baby Patton in a pram and a hopeful look in his eyes. Remy had actually been working that day and was immediately in love with the chubby baby smiling up at him. He had darted around the counter, asking to pick up the child before giving him a hug and letting the boy chew on his sunglasses as he talked to the young man.

It was that same day that he offered Virgil a job. He put a crib in the staff room and cleared out the biggest locker so the man could store nappies and things, even going as far as to baby proof the whole cafe should the child get loose at some point.

They had quickly become friends, with matching sarcasm and a love for coffee, they were a match made in heaven. Had it not been for Remy’s already being engaged, he would’ve jumped the man, but neither was interested in being more than friends and Remy was very committed to his partner.

“Listen, I know a lawyer who often works in family court. He runs cheap, most often his cases are with those that can’t really afford to be there, so money won’t be too much of an issue to him. If need be, I can help,” Virgil opens his mouth but Remy twists his wrist, hushing the man quickly. “Do not, not only are you my employee, but you are also my friend, I am here to help you. Should it come to that point, I will help pay for any legal fees.”

“Remy…” The man doesn’t take no for an answer, sliding Virgil’s satchel across the table, having grabbed it while the man was zoned out, wrapping the leftover brownie in a napkin and tucking it into the pocket.

“Now, you have more than enough time to walk your perfect arse down to his office and get this sorted. I’ll give him a call and tell you’re coming.” Remy stands quickly, Virgil still sitting in surprise as he starts to tap his foot.

“Come on, Babes, I’m not paying you to sit on that cute little butt.” Virgil jumps up, swinging his bag over his shoulder and picking the papers up, making to leave. He stalls briefly, spinning on his heel to wrap his arms around the older man.

“Thank you so much, Remy, for everything.” He mumbles, running out the door before the man can even process that his little emo had shown him affection.