#remsleep

Why, why did this have to be his life? Tormented by such stupid, handsome men?

Okay, maybe he had a teeny crush on both of them but Virgil was getting ahead of himself.

Working at the local theatre was doing some real good for Virgil; being a techie meant he was mostly out of the spotlight - so no chance of any performance anxiety - and it meant he had to actually wake up and be a functional human being but was flexible enough that he could call in sick pretty easily if he needed a mental health day. 

Thankfully, things had been going well until Virgil looked down from the catwalk to note that the two best actors in their troupe, Roman Prince and Janus D. Lyre, both bore each other’s soulmate markings. Both on the backs of their necks, all too easy to miss. Ever since, Virgil had been trying to subtly get them to realise they were soulmates. Of course, given the intimacy of the soulmate marks, it would be entirely outrageous for Virgil to simply tell them they were soulmates; social etiquette wasn’t his forte, but his anxiety really didn’t want the possible shunning he might receive if he broke that rule. Knowing that Janus and Roman were often together for rehearsals and were similarly self-obsessed, Virgil assumed getting them interested in each other would be a piece of cake.

And yet. Somehow. The man they were both interested in was Virgil himself.

Every time he tried to get the two talking, Virgil wound up being flirted with or found himself stuck between two arguing idiots. If anything, Virgil wondered if his interfering had made things worse. Now instead of kidding and being perfect and gorgeous together, they were absolutely straight up enemies. Janus did his best to interrupt - and one-up - Roman’s stellar attempts at flirting, and Roman often tried to out shine Janus by giving Virgil anything from his favourite chocolates to gothic black roses to new headphones.

Not that Virgil didn’t secretly love being the object of their mutual affection, if anything it gave him hope that perhaps whoever his soulmate was would dote on him just as much. But just like his non-existent soulmate mark, this just wasn’t meant to be. He still wasn’t sure why he didn’t have a soulmate mark like everyone else; even his ace and aro friends confirmed they had soulmates too, so why was he skipped over? Probably because no one would ever want to be his soulmate.Yeah. Probably.

Virgil was lost in that downward spiral when Remus leapt off of the set he was painting and landed just shy of crushing the poor emo.

“Wow you look like shit,”, the trash rat greeted, sitting and slinging an arm around Virgil before he could protest, “Are the girls fighting again?”

Virgil tried to stifle a snicker. It’s a stupid meme reference, Virgil, don’t laugh.

“Of course it fucking is, when is it not?“

Remus nodded, though he looked more bored than sympathetic, “Well, how about I offer you some advice, my good bitch?”

Virgil squinted at him in both annoyance and suspicion. “If it’s going to get me arrested, it’s a solid ‘fuck no’.”

“Relax, asshole, it’s totally legal and requires zero body bags and or falsified witness statements!”

Well. That’s about as good as they’re going to get. Virgil huffed, “Fine, give me the deets, Ratman.”

Remus snickered at the old nickname; A decade had passed but still the memory of the two of them graffitiing their high school gym with their tags on their last day still lived on.

“Alright, Stitch Bitch, here’s how you do it,”, Remus ignored Virgil’s eye roll and continued, “Ask them both on a date, same place and time. Talk about your interests, since you’re probably not gonna actually have that much in common, then you can just reject both of them! They’ll be driven into each other’s arms, or some shit. You know what they’re like, they’re dramatic as fuck. It’ll be perfect.”

Virgil wasn’t amused, “But what if they don’t? What if I just end up breaking both their hearts and they wind up all depressed and-?!”

“Then it solves your problem anyway, dipshit.”, he rolled his eyes, “Jeez, you’re worse than Roman with the dramatics! Think of the middle ground, you turn them both down, they go home sulking, but they’re big boys! They’ll get over it and get together some other day! Big deal!” Remus affectionately ruffled Virgil’s hair and didn’t stop until Virgil all but threw him off, “Alright, alright, fine! I’ll try, but if it all goes wrong, you’re helping me pack to move across the fucking globe.” “Ooh, alright! Or I can hide your body if it goes REALLY badly! I know how to make sure the police never find it, after all! Did you know you just need to bury it vertically and put a dead animal on top-”

Virgil tuned him out, already trying to narrow down locations for dates in his head. He’d need to pick somewhere both Roman and Janus would agree to go. He didn’t exactly doubt either of them would turn him down, but he needed to be sure they’d both attend. Perhaps the local restaurants would be a good place to start? It’d be easy to Mrs.Doubtfire that shit. Minus the clothing change, of course. Maybe the Golden Palace might be a good idea? It’s bougie enough for Roman, classy enough for Janus, and if Virgil got lucky enough, perhaps they’d both be the ones to pay for dinner.

“...And so I told Roman about it and then Roman tells me “Remus, you dunce, you got arrested because you were caught carrying a dangerous weapon in Starbucks” but I personally think that cop was just an asshole. I mean, it was just a baseball bat for fuck’s sake, so WHAT if it had a few nails in it-”

The techie noted that Remus was still babbling to himself so he clicked his fingers just shy or flicking him in the ear,

“When’s Roman free? I know Janus is pretty flexible-”

“I’ll bet.”, Remus snickered. “Dude. You have your soulmate, don’t be a dick.”

“Hey, that doesn’t mean I can’t mentally rank every guy here on how bendy I think they’d be in bed-”

“THAT ASIDE.”, Virgil interrupted, rubbing his temples like it would squeeze out the horrible mental image and several questions he never wanted answers to, “I’ve nailed down the where, I just need the when. Janus is free most days, but Roman’s pretty enigmatic about that shit. Do you know if he’s free tonight? Might as well get this shit over with.”

Remus mulled it over, “He should be. But you should probably just ask him first then Janus. Y’know, save yourself the trouble.”

Ah. That did make sense. Virgil tried not to let it show that he hadn’t thought of that and nodded, “Right… Okay. Just, if I fuck up talking to either of them, be ready.”

“With the car or a shovel?”

“Both.”

The trashrat snickered and let Virgil stand up, giving him an ‘affectionate’ jab in the back of his knee just to get a reaction out of the techie. Virgil wasn’t sure why Remus did that sometimes, he figured it was just another one of the demented twin’s eccentricities.

Inhaling deeply, Virgil sought out Roman, careful to avoid Janus’ line of sight as he tapped the flamboyant twin on the arm. Roman spun to face him, his expression lighting up in a way that made Virgil shamefully wish that he was his soulmate. That he was worthy of all his doting.

“Virge! What can I do for you, my dark and stormy knight?”

Stop being so fucking charming perhaps?

“Uh, it’s kind of an embarrassing request, so bear with me.”

“Of course! What’s up?”

Just ask him, ignore the butterflies, he’s not your soulmate.

“I was wondering, if you’d want to go on a date with me tonight-”

Roman positively swept the emo off his feet, his beaming smile could have burned itself into Virgil’s eyes.

“YES!! YES, I’D ADORE-”

“YEP! Okay, that’s great!”, he shushed him, trying to keep things as quiet as possible, “Listen, I know you’re excited but I’m really anxious about this-”

“Nothing new there.”, Roman chuckled affectionately as he put Virgil down.

“Oh shut up,”, Virgil smirked, pushing down the sunny feeling that chuckle brought out, “Look, I’ll text you the details so can you just keep this between us? I don’t want anyone gossiping. Not that I’m ashamed of you or anything I just-”

Roman carefully halted his word vomit with a gentle caress of Virgil’s cheek, “It’s alright, I understand. After all, with such an honour, I’d do good not to betray the trust of my charming prince.”

Virgil flusteredly averted his gaze, “Hmph. What happened to your ‘dark and stormy knight’?”

“Well, if things go well, I’d hope to promote him.”

The wink Roman shot Virgil should be illegal, that thing could have killed him. The techie just gave him an attempt at an ‘oh fuck off’ smirk that came out more as a ‘fuck I have a crush’ shy smile.

No time to dwell on it, he had another stupidly handsome man to ask on a fake date. 

Virgil checked with the stagehands and made his way over to the backstage dressing room area, finding Janus sat on one of the makeup tables while their dramaturg was busy going over some directions for their next rehearsal. Upon looking up and noticing him, Janus smirked - another expression that should be outright banned for it’s lethality - and politely requested the dramaturg ‘bother him another time’. They did exactly that, leaving Virgil and Janus alone to talk,

“Virgil,”, Janus purred with a voice like sweet honey, “what brings you here?”

Don’t think about that sexy voice, don’t think about that sexy voice, don’t-

“You, actually.” Play it cool, Virge. Be suave and charming. “I wanted to ask you out on a date.”

Janus’ eyes widened slightly in surprise. Virgil felt pretty proud to have finally stunned the silver-tongued gent, though he knew it’d only be a fleeting victory. If anyone would out-smooth even the most flirty person alive, it would be Janus.

With a snake-like fluidity, Janus slunk off of the table and made his way over to Virgil; whereas Roman was only an inch or two taller than him, Janus had a whole six inches at least. Virgil found it semi-intimidating, but that just made the taller man more attractive if he was being honest. Janus softly ran a hand through Virgil’s purple-dyed hair, 

“That’s rather a bold request, Virgil. What brought this on, if I may ask? Not that I’m complaining..”

Virgil had to work extremely hard to resist the urge to nestle into the warmth of his palm. Not your soulmate! Stop it! “I uh, I figured I would take a risk for once. It’s alright if you don’t wanna-”

“No.”, Janus interjected, the hand in Virgil’s hair sliding under his chin to lock their eyes, “I’d very much like to go on a date with you. When and where?”

Virgil swallowed nervously, “The Golden Palace, tonight? I’ll um, I’ll book the table and text you the time-”

“Perfect.”, Janus smirked, gently releasing Virgil. He hadn’t realised how much he’d been subconsciously leaning into Janus’ touch until he almost felt himself sway. “I’ll be sure to wear my best suit for you. Really give you something to blush over.”

Shit.

Virgil had no rebuttal, he simply nodded and hastily headed back to his usual breakspot to work out just how he would survive tonight…

--

It turned out the answer was simple; he wouldn’t.

Thankfully Virgil had settled on an outfit that was just the right mix of fancy and casual; his black leather jacket hugged his shoulders which his dark purple button up sat under. He’d gone back and forward between his options for bottoms, but in the end, he preferred his black short pencil skirt and a pair of sheer black tights that matched his black ankle boots. It was a bold choice, but Virgil felt far more powerful in that combination. Like he could kick ass and get away with it.

Virgil needn’t have bothered, however, as the second he showed up at quarter to seven to meet Roman, any semblance of confidence in his ability to control the situation went right out the window. It should have been illegal to look that handsome. A white waistcoat and pants bearing gold trim, combined with a burgundy button up shirt with the sleeves rolled? How dare Roman look that beautiful-

Oh god, now he’s smiling at him from across the room. Too late to back out now. 

Swallowing nervously, Virgil returned the smile and headed over to the table he’d booked; far enough from the door for Roman to miss Janus arriving, and out of the way enough so that they wouldn’t see each other too soon. If he wasn’t so nervous, Virgil would have pat himself on the back for the trouble he went to securing two tables over the phone, but the last thing he wanted to focus on was the person on the phone’s sassy remarks as he did so. Instead, he focused on Roman politely getting up to pull out his chair for him.

“You look stunning, Virge! Did you change up your eye shadow too?”

Virgil gave an anxious nod, “Yeah, I thought maybe I’d try the purple instead of solid black like usual. Do you like it?”

Roman’s grin could’ve smothered him in the night and he’d have thanked it for the priveledge, “I love it!”

While keeping an eye on the time, Virgil let himself roll into conversation with Roman; he was surprised by not only how smoothly the conversation went, but how much they had in common. Sure, there was a tiiiiny heated exchange as to which Disney movie reigned supreme, but their mutual love of Nightmare Before Christmas and the artistic pursuits made for some wonderful discussion. It was a shame Virgil had to remind himself of just why he was doing this. 

He was supposed to be making his rejection of Roman easier, not more difficult.

Finally, as 8 O’clock rolled around, Janus walked in followed by a few other smartly dressed patrons. Of course, Janus very much stood out among them wearing a black dinner suit with an obsidian waist coat and golden coloured button up underneath. His usual bowler hat had been replaced for a much fancier one with a larger brim that held a marigold flower. The sight was so enticing, Virgil had to will himself to stop staring as he got up from the table,

“Excuse me, Roman, mind if I go use the bathroom?”

Roman gave a nod and Virgil made haste towards the restroom area; thankfully he’d planned ahead and knew he could use the corridor that went along behind the bar to emerge on the other side of the room without being detected. However, a new obstacle proved to be a challenge; Janus hadn’t taken his eyes off of the door since the moment he’d walked in and removed his suit jacket. 

Damn. Virgil hadn’t anticipated that. 

Luckily, one of the men who’d come in behind Janus - a man adorned in an off-black suit wearing a beanie, a pair of sunglasses, and a face mask - had just come out of the bathroom door behind him. Without the time to let his social anxiety kick in, Virgil stopped the man and asked quietly, “Hey, sorry to be a bother, but if you can distract the handsome guy at that table for a couple  minutes,“, he began, gesturing to Janus, “I’ll give you ten bucks, how’s that sound?”.

The man seemed to stare for a moment behind the shades then silently gestured with his hands in a motion of “more”.

Of course.

“Okay, uh, fifteen?”

More again. This asshole..

“Ugh, fine, twenty! That's as much as I can spare!”

The man shrugged and nodded, gladly taking the money and, to his credit, doing exactly as was asked. Virgil watched him approach Janus, asking for the time if the way Janus took his attention and turned it to his watch was an indication. It bought Virgil enough time to ‘arrive’ just as the man gave a thank you nod to Janus.

“Sorry I’m a little late,”, Virgil apologised, taking his seat, “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting?”

 “Not at all,”, Janus assured him, smirking delightedly in a way that made Virgil’s knees feel weak even in a sitting position, “You look beautiful, Virgil, if I’d known you’d look so good, I’d have picked out an even better suit.”

This fucking guy, oh my god. “Oh shut up, you look handsome as is.”, Virgil shot back, doing his best to remain calm even as Janus leant in close to strike up conversation.

--

“I’m telling you, babes, he’s either a cheater or he’s crazy.”

Remy aimed the stirrer he’d been using to push back his cuticles towards Virgil and Janus, then trained it on his stoic co worker, “Look, he’s got two gorgeous guys here and neither of them have noticed yet.”

The aforementioned co worker rolled his eyes, “Remy, you have once again utterly misread the situation for the sake of needless dramatics. It’s rather obvious what’s going on here if you take the time to pick up on subtle body language clues.”

“What’s this about clues, Logie Bear?”, questioned a rather eager waiter carrying a tray of glasses back behind the bar. “Are you playing Sherlock again?”

“Patton, please, refrain from the pet names during working hours, I’ve told you before-”

“While they’re perfectly suitable and welcome at home, we must remain professional at work.”, chimed in another bespectacled man who was manning the till, “It’s fine Logan, honey, let them off the hook this once, okay?”

Patton put down the tray and wrapped their arms around the man who’d just spoken, “Emile’s right! C’mon Logan, you can’t deny it, you like the name too-”

Logan cleared his throat to throw off the peachy blush that threatened to give away his adoration for his soulmates, ”As I was saying before, it’s obvious as to what this rather anxious individual is up to. His body language isn’t that of a cheater, Remy,”, the server flipped Logan the bird, “In fact, I’d hazard a guess that the poor lad is simply attempting to work out which man is his soulmate. I read a fascinating journal that talked all about this phenomenon where some soulmates are unable to see their soulmarks and thus rely on a technique comparable to sensing one’s aura-”

“Okay so like, you think he’s trying to get a read on these two to narrow it down?”, Remy interrupted before Logan could further explore his tangent, “Well then, it’s obvious which one he’s gonna pick.”

Remy gestured lazily over his shoulder at Roman, who was currently twirling his fork between his fingers, “It’s gonna be Tall, Dark and Dumbass over there, babes.”

Logan scoffed, “Falsehood. Clearly the gentleman he’s sat with currently is a much more appropriate option.”. The server nodded his head in their direction, “All factors point to the man in black not only being the more suitable option, but his body language is far more open and receptive to our subject.”

“Subject. Christ it’s like I’m back in science one.”, Remy groaned, but continued to argue, “Besides, you’re ignoring how he’s like, totes more comfortable with my boy in white, sweetie. Look at him, he can’t wait to get away from your boy in black.“

Sure enough, Virgil had gone to switch partners again, returning to Roman with a sweetly shy apologetic gesture.

Patton piped up, “What if they’re like us, Logie Bear? Y’know, more than one soulmate?”

Logan shook his head, “Ridiculous, it’d make no sense to have such a date if that were the case.”

Remy nodded in agreement for the first time, “Yeah, either way, you’re wrong on this one, Logan. Trust me, I know what a fellow morosexual looks like.”

Emile and Logan both sighed at that one while Patton tsk’d, “Remy, come on, thats your soulmate you’re talking about! You shouldn’t be mean!”

Remy quirked an eyebrow at Patton, “Babes, have you met Remus? I love the big sap but he’s a certified dumbass with a heaping dose of cryptid.”, he opened the drinks cooler and took out a lemonade bottle, not giving a shit that the three soulmates behind him were absolutely unamused. ”Anyway, if you’re so sure over who our ‘subject’ will end up with, how about we bet on it? Loser has to work two weeks of overtime and the winner gets thirty dollars or some shit. You in?”

Patton and Emile both declined, both more focused on their work and simply enjoying the dates being had, while Logan agreed wholeheartedly, “I do hope your next two weeks are free, Remy...”

--

He couldn’t take much more of this.

The longer Virgil kept going back and forth between the two of them - using his anxiety to buy himself time without too much suspicion - the more he was getting tangled up in feelings he knew he couldn’t indulge. Every second with Roman made him smile, even when trading verbal jabs. Every second with Janus made him feel more bold, able to flirt back every once and a while. But this wasn’t right. Janus, Roman, they were made for each other. Not for him.

He wouldn’t get to curl up next to Roman on a cold night, watching Disney movies, baking together, or following along to Bob Ross tutorials only for one of them inevitably would start painting on the other until they were both paint splattered, cackling messes. 

He wouldn’t get to dance quietly in the living room with Janus while their favourite music plays, swaying softly to his favourite Jazz music, or lazily draping himself over Janus’ lap while they read their favourite books long into the night.

Virgil stared into the bathroom mirror; his ‘dates’ had been so sweet as to compliment him, but all he could focus on was how much of a mess he felt. He’s going to break their hearts beyond repair, all because he couldn’t just tell them they were soulmates. Social etiquette be damned, why had he let it go on like this?

Feeling his chest constricting, Virgil quickly grabbed his phone and texted Remus.

V: [help. Having a panic attack. Distract me]

He tried to remember his breathing exercises, chewing his free hand’s thumbnail anxiously until he got the text notification;

R: [Cool. Did u  kno rabbits eat their babies when they’re stressed?]

…. Virgil heavily regretted asking Remus to distract him.

V: [Horrifying. Thank you.]

R: [Anytime, Stitch Bitch. Now what happened?]

V: [Dates backfired.]

R: [U caught feelings didnt u]

Virgil groaned and kept typing.

V: [fuck u]

R: [fuck me urself coward.]

Well at least that got a laugh out of him. Remus followed up that text before he could reply:

R: [Just go out there and tell them the truth]

V: [nope, no way, they’ll hate me]

R: [Bitch they’re both smitten w/ u it’ll hurt but they’ll live, they’re sat there worried about u]

V: [how the fuck do you know that?]

R: [Remy’s on shift tonight, he and Logan are taking bets on how things will pan out. They’ve been texting me non stop.]

That did explain a few things. Namely the one server with the sunglasses and sassy attitude who gave him and Roman extra desserts “for like, the cutest couple in this bitch”, and the other more stoic server who brought him and Janus a bottle of champagne “to celebrate a wonderful partnership”. When would his life stop feeling like a goddamn circus?

Virgil was pulled from his thoughts as his next text sent his blood running cold,

R: [u might wanna get back to em, they’ll be worried about u by now]

Dammit. Virgil had just left the bathroom to be met with a worried Roman, “Virgil, are you alright!? You were gone so long, I thought something had happened!”

Stomp down that affection you’re feeling, Virgil. It’s just gonna hurt more.

“I’m fine, its just my nerves-”

“Virgil?”

Both men turned to spy Janus entering the hallway with an expression of shock and disgust upon seeing the two of them. He promptly strode over and with surprising gentleness moved Virgil to his side,

“It’s bad enough I can’t avoid you at work, Prince, but I’ll not have you ruining our date night.”

As Janus went to lead Virgil away, Roman held onto Virgil’s hand, “Actually, Lies and Dolls, he’s with me tonight, so kindly take your delusions and leave.”

Oh my god, why did he trust Remus’ plan in the first place?! Janus smirked dangerously, “Or what, you dramatic hack?”

Roman took exception to that, and while Janus had the height advantage, Roman still knew how to be intimidating when needed, “I’ll make you leave!”

Before either of them could come to blows, Virgil got in between them. He might as well come clean,

“BOTH OF YOU STOP!”

Janus and Roman faced him, sporting stunned but ever attentive expressions. Ugh, this was gonna hurt.

“I can’t do this anymore! Yeah, I did ask you both here, and yeah! You’re both wonderful but you’re not meant to be with me! You’re meant to be with each other! Ugh, this was a mistake! I can’t-! I can’t be here, I’m sorry-!”

Virgil wrenched himself from between them, making a beeline through the tables and just getting out of the door before the two caught up to him. In the back of his mind, Virgil assumed the serving staff that followed behind were either desperate to see this unfold or just making sure this wasn’t going to be a dine ‘n’ dash scenario.

“Virge, come on, you’re not making any sense! I’m not meant to be with Janus,”, Roman assured him, rolling his left sleeve up the whole way and revealing Virgil’s soul mark, “I’m meant to be with you! You’re my soulmate, Virgil! Surely you knew-”

“That’s,”, Janus interrupted, “That’s not possible, because Virgil is my soulmate.”

Both Roman and Virgil turned to face him, watching Janus roll up his right sleeve to reveal Virgil’s soul mark in the exact same place as Roman’s had been. 

To say Virgil was confused was an understatement, “W...Wait, no, that’s...”

Roman and Janus stared at each other’s soul mark then looked to Virgil, “You… really didn’t know that I- that we were your soulmates?”

Virgil shook his head, ”I don’t have your soulmarks though! It doesn’t make sense...”

He turned away, grasping his arms as he tried to make sense of all this. All his life, Virgil had looked in his mirror and wished - God, how he’d wished - to find just one mark. Something to prove that he was indeed someone’s soulmate. That the universe hadn’t forsaken him. And now he had two of the most wonderful men he’d ever met sporting his soul mark while he had nothing to reassure him this wasn’t some cosmic fluke?!

Janus and Roman stood in awkward silence, the latter giving the servers an apologetic look and pulling out his wallet to pay when the former noticed something about Virgil that had him squinting to get a look. “.... Virgil, do forgive me for this.”

Without hesitating, Janus whipped out his pocket knife - why he brought it on a date, Virgil had no idea - and cut a hole in the back of Virgil’s tights, careful to avoid his skin.

“What the FUCK, Janus!?”, came the obviously horrified reply, only for Janus to take a picture with his phone and hand it to Virgil, rendering him speechless.

Sure enough, there on the inside of his right knee joint was Janus’ soul mark. 

“I just happened to spot the same shade of yellow showing through and, well….”

He didn’t need to finish, Virgil was stunned to silence. All this time, how could he have missed it!? 

Well, it wasn’t in the easiest to see area, and come to think of it, his mirror was a little too high off the ground for that kind of angle, and with the marks being so small..…..

The revelation was met with a shocked gasp from Roman.

“... Virgil, may I-”

“I’ll just take them off, fucking hell!”

Both men turned away to let Virgil remove his shoes and tights in peace. When he gave them the all clear, Roman was ecstatic to note his own soul mark adorning the left knee joint. Virgil glanced towards his two soulmates, letting out a soft sigh of adoration at their delighted faces. He was feeling a whole rush of emotions, but right now? The last thing he wanted was to waste any more time.

“Gimme a second to pay these guys,”, Virgil gestured to the gaggle of servers set in various expressions of celebratory delight, “Then we can go back to my place and have a movie night.”

Roman and Janus offered sweet smiles to their soulmate; that sounded like the perfect end to a wild night.

---- Bonus (Because I got attached to this universe, fight me) ----

With the cafe clearing out aside a few stragglers, Remy sighed distantly, “Well, it’s a good thing we both won, babes, I didn’t wanna get stuck with all that overtime.”

Logan gave him a perplexed look, “Actually, we both lost, therefore we both should work overtime.”

Remy pulled down his shades to glare at Logan, “.... Are you fucking kidding me? Bitch, we WON, and we get to keep our money, babes. What part of that makes you think “nope, overtime sounds better”!?”

Logan was about to go into the technicalities when he chanced a glance back at his soulmates, watching as Patton excitedly gushed over the night’s events, stimming excitedly with their apron while Emile folded his own and put it away for the night, glad to listen to Patton’s bubbly rambling. Logan couldn’t deny, the idea of staying late while his soulmates were home without him wasn’t an appealing idea. Maybe this once he’d spare Remy a lecture.

“.... You know what, you’re right. Excuse me.”

With that, Logan went to join his soulmates while Remy stifled a fond smirk and went to go ask the last patron to leave. He wanted to just go home and collapse into Remus’ arms. Ugh, he just hoped this dude wasn’t going to make a fuss. He wasn’t sure what kind of guy combined a suit, a beanie, shades, AND a face mask, but Remy just hoped he wasn’t here to rob the place.

“Alright sweetie, you gotta go. We’re closing and I wanna get home to my loveable dumbass. Let’s go-”

The man gestured to his ear. Ah. Remy rolled his eyes and leant down to speak closer,

“I said-“

The man quickly pulled down his face mask and stole a peck from Remy, a grin spreading across his face that curled excitedly to match his moustache.

“You gotta get home to meeeee~.”

Remus took off the sunglasses and beanie, revelling in the surprise that painted itself over Remy’s face. He stood up, wrapping his arms around Remy’s waist as his soulmate tried to form a sentence, “How long have you just been sitting here?!”

“Ever since I figured it’d be funny to watch Virgil realise he was trying to set up his own soulmates-”

“You- Wait, Virgil!? That’s the guy you’re always telling me about?!”

“Yep!”, Remus grinned.

Remy wrapped his arms around Remus’ neck, unsure if he wanted to strangle him or hold him closer, “...Did you know he-”

“Had two soulmates? Yep~!”

Remus chuckled and kissed Remy’s cheek, “Virge and I used to have gym together. He kept saying he couldn’t find his soulmarks, I’m surprised he never got my hints...”

Sighing annoyedly at his soulmate, Remy pulled him in for a proper kiss before he could go on more of a tangent. Once they broke apart, Remy poked Remus’ chest, 

“You made me lose thirty bucks, y’know.” 

Remus grinned harder and pulled out twenty dollars  “Well then, I better take this generous donation from my best friend and treat you to a milkshake on the way home then...”

-----

It’s finally doooone!!

This was a long one for sure, but sue me, I got super into this one!!

I’ll be playing catch up for a while so get ready for Day 11, I ended up with a last minute change and it’s gonna be a tear jerker. @tsshipmonth2020

From a relatively young age, Logan had always found an immense interest in becoming a teacher. His love for teaching started fairly simply; back when he was eight years old.

“Hey, Logie, can you help me with my homework?”

Logan looked up from his book and over at his younger sister, “Yeah sure. Bring it here.”

She walked over to him, paper in hand and, put it down on Logan’s desk.

“I don’t understand questions seven and nine,” She said, pointing at the two questions.

“Alright,” He read over the problems, quickly solving them in his head, “Okay, so let’s start with number seven.”

About five minutes later he finished explaining the problem.

“Understand?” Logan asked his sister.

She nodded and showed him her work. “Is that the right answer?”

“Yeah! Good job.” He gave her a proud smile. “Now for number nine.”

He once again explains the problem, watching her solve it as he talks. Once she was done, he double checked it.

“Congrats you got it right again!”

His sister giggled, “Yay! Thanks for the help Logie!” 

He nodded, “Of course. Anything else?”

“Nope! See you later, bro!” She collected her homework and skipped off to her room.

Logan smiled to himself, happy that he could help. He enjoyed the feeling of being able to share his knowledge with his sister and watching her understand something new. It was nice. He let out a soft sigh before going back to his book.

Soon after, Logan found out what it meant to be a teacher and he immediately knew that that was what he wanted to be in the future. 

Of course, when he told people he wanted to be a teacher, he didn’t recieve the best responses. Logan had always been a smart kid. He was put into tons of programs for academically advanced kids, he always got the best scores in tests, and had the highest grades in his school. Because of this, everyone always told him that if he became a teacher he would be wasting his natural gift. 

Well, all but one person did. 

“Hey!” 

Logan was in his fifth grade class, sitting by the window, when an older-looking kid sat next to him.

“Salutations,” Logan said, looking the kid up and down, “Is there something you need?”

The kid giggled, “Nope! Also, you talk funny!” 

There was a moment of silence, Logan unsure of how he should respond. It didn’t matter though, since the other kid quickly continued the conversation.

“My name is Roman! Roman Auden. I go by they/them pronouns!” 

The name caught Logan’s attention.

“Auden? Like the famous poet W.H auden?” 

Roman seemed surprised for a second before nodding. “Yeah! You know about him!? That’s awesome, I love his poetry!”

Logan found himself smiling. “I enjoy his poetry as well. My name is Logan Metis. I go by he/him pronouns.”

They gasped, “Like the greek goddess Metis!?”

“Yes, I’m surprised you know about her.”

“How can I not? She is amazing!”

The two shared a small laugh and they continued talking until the bell rang. After class the two talked some more and, well, they became friends relatively quickly. Shortly after becoming friends, Logan learned that this was actually Roman’s second time taking fifth grade since they failed it their first time. He also learned that that was one of the many things Roman was ashamed of.

Since they were friends, Logan promised that he would tutor Roman and helped them with anything they didn’t understand. And as the years passed, Logan kept that promise. 

Little did Logan know though, but Roman admired him deeply. So, when they talked about what they want to be in the future and Logan mentioned he wanted to be a teacher, Roman decided they wanted to try and be a teacher as well.

In middle school, the two of them made more friends. The first person to join was Roman’s younger twin, Remus. Who despite how chaotic ze acted, was actually relatively smart. Then, through Remus they met Janus, who Roman almost immediately crushed on. A year later, they met Remy since he got along with Remus. The last one to join was Emile, who Logan met in his fresheman year of highschool in his psychology class.

~~~~~~~~~~

Now Roman was in their first year of high school, about half way through the school year. The whole school knew that today was Roman’s birthday and well, they had received quite a large amount of gifts. All of their friends had gotten them something. All but one, Janus. Roman has had a crush on Janus ever since the second month they met so it hurt to not get a gift from him. Of course, they didn’t show it because they didn't want to pressure Janus into giving them a gift but it still sucked

"What's wrong?" Remus asked in the middle of their last class. Ze had noticed that zyr twin seemed off the whole day but ze hadn't found a time to ask until now. 

Roman sighs and puts their head down, speaking quietly “It’s nothing… Don’t worry about it…”

Remus frowns softly, “It doesn’t seem like nothing. Please tell me what’s wrong.”

The older twin lets out a small sigh and quietly mumbles, “I’m just being dramatic Rem… It’s really nothing important…”

That line makes Remus snap, “Roman. Tell me what is wrong. I don’t care how dramatic you think you are being.”

They flinch a bit at zyr sudden snap but quickly calms down after taking a deep breath. 

“Fine…” They finally give in, “I’m just a bit upset that Janus forgot my birthday... It’s no big deal though…”

Remus stays quiet for a while, trying zyr best to not smile. Zyr knew that Janus was planning on confessing to Roman today, after all zyr was the one who gave him the idea. So, ze is fighting the urge to tell zyr twin.

“Aww Roro, it’s okay. Maybe he’s waiting till the end of school or something. Try to stay optimistic.” Remus finally says.

Roman takes a deep breath and nods, “Yeah, you’re right. Thanks Rem.”

Ze nods before turning Zyr attention back to the teacher’s lesson. 

The bell rings, signifying that school is over. The twins quickly pack up and leave. They wait at the front of thr school for their other friends, talking about a bunch of random thoughts. Eventually everyone but Janus shows up.

“Hey Ro,” Emile says and Roman turns to him.

“Yes?”

Emile smiles, “Janus said if you could go to the fountain real quick, he says he has something to tell you.”

Roman raises a brow in amusement and nods, “Um okay?”

They walk over to the fountain, blushing when they see Janus.

“Hey Ro,” Janus says softly, smiling lovingly at them, sending butterflies all throughout Roman’s body.

They stop walking once they're in front of Janus, “Hey, you wanted to tell me something?”

He nods and takes a deep breath, “Imma just get straight to the point, I’ve liked you for a few years now and I was wondering if you wanted to try out a relationship together.”

Both of them were red by now. Roman hearts skips a beat, they couldn’t believe that Janus actually like them back 

“YES!” They quickly answer, not wanting to lose this moment. 

Janus smiles brightly and hugs them, “Happy birthday Ro.”

Roman hugs him back and smiles brightly, “Thanks Jan.”

The two of them eventually go back to the others, announcing their new relationship. The rest of the group congratulates them. It didn’t take long before the two of them became one of the most iconic couples in the school. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Remus takes a deep breath. Ze was now in junior year and well ze thought it was time he confessed to Logan. Ze has had a crush on Logan for about two years now and well Roman finally convinced zem to act on zyr feelings

Ze was snow standing in the park, it was a Saturday and zyr had asked Logan if he could meet zem in the park. 

“Hey,” Logan says, cutting through Remus’ thoughts as he walks over to zem.

Remus hides the flowers ze is holding behind zyr back. “Hey Lo!”

“How are you?” Logan smiles softly.

“I’m good, you?” Remus returns the smile, blushing slightly

Logan notices the blush and also bushes slightly, “I’m doing well. May I ask why you asked to meet up?”

Remus takes a deep breath, “W-well…” Ze stops hiding the flowers and holds them out for Logan, “Would you be my boyfriend? I’ve liked you for like two years now and well I thought it’s about time I told you. You don’t have to say yes, it’s okay if you say no-”

Logan smiles fondly and gently cuts Remus off with a soft kiss to zyr cheek, “I would be honored to be your boyfriend.”

He then takes the flowers from zem, “And thank you for the flowers. They are beautiful.”

It takes Remus a moment to comprehend what just happened but when ze does, ze can’t but be full of glee. 

“Of course, I’m happy you like them,” Ze says a bit shyly.

“Mhm, now, want to go to my house and watch a movie?” Logan offers. 

Remus nods immediately and they start walking to Logan’s house. The rest of the evening was amazing and well when Remus got home, ze immediately told Roman all about it. Roman was extremely happy for zem and well glad their plan worked.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan and Remus had been dating for about a year. They were currently in a coffee shop hanging out with Remy on a Friday since they had no school that day. The day was going well, but Logan noticed that Remy seemed a bit off

“You okay, Remy?” He asked gently, snapping Remy out of his thoughts.

For a few seconds Remy said nothing before sighing, “If I’m being honest, no.”

This caught both Remus and Logan off guard and they both frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Remus asked worryingly.

Remy went quiet again for a while.

“Look…” He started, looking down. “I-I…I like both of you…a lot…and I can’t keep pushing these feelings down. I know you two are dating, and I’ve tried getting these feelings to go away, but I can’t…I’m sorry…”

They both looked at each other, shocked. The silence makes Remy's nerves go over the edge. He stands up.

"I'll be right back,"

He quickly walks off to the restroom, leaving Remus and Logan to figure out what they want to do next

“What should we say?” Remus whispered to Logan.

Logan considered the question for a while before quietly asking, “Well, do you like him?”

Ze blushed a bit and nodded slowly, whispering back, “Y-yeah…I still like you though!”

“I like him too,” Logan whispered reassuringly. “How about we ask him if he wants to try a polyamorous relationship?”

Remus smiled brightly and nodded.

They wait for Remy to come back. Once he does, he sits back down, still looking very anxious.

“Remy?” Logan gently spoke.

He looked up at them. “Y-yes?” He nervously muttered out.

Logan smiled softly. “Have you ever heard of a polyamorous relationship?” 

Remy blushed and nodded. “Yeah, why?”

Remus laughed softly. “Well, we both like you as well and we want to try one out with you. If you’re okay with it, of course. What do you say?”

“Yes!” Remy said immediately, blushing heavily and with a pleasantly-surprised smile.

Logan chuckled, “It’s decided then.” 

The three of them told the group the next day and everyone was surprised. They accepted the relationship and congratulated them though and, despite what many people told them, the relationship ended up working out very well. 

~~~~~~~~~~

After graduating high school, Roman and Janus moved in together. Logan and Remus also moved in together, sadly though Remy had to live in the dorms of his school.

Roman and Logan went to the same school. They both got their Bachelor's degree before getting their EdD. Logan then continued going to school for an extra five years to get his PhD in education. Emile and Remus both went to medical school. Emile got his PhD in psychology and Remus got zyr MD. Janus went to law school—graduating with a doctorate in criminal justice and Remy went to art school—graduating with a doctor of arts degree.

Once they finished college, Remy moved in with his two lovers. Eventually, Remy proposed to them and they got married when Remy and Logan were twenty-eight, and Remus was twenty-nine.

Janus and Remy finished school at the age of twenty-five. Roman finished his schooling at the age of twenty-six. Logan finished at twenty-seven. Remus finished later at the age of twenty-eight. Finally, Emile finished at the age of thirty.

Janus and Roman got married when they were both twenty-seven. Emile decided to stay single and lived with a couple of friends he made in college.

At the age of twenty-nine, Remy got pregnant and eventually gave birth to a baby boy, which they named Virgil. A couple months before Virgil was born, Janus and Roman adopted a baby that they named Patton.

Soon after college, at the age of thirty. Logan got a job as a kindergarten teacher, much to everyone’s surprise. 

Most people imagined him to become a professor at a college. The only few who knew about him wanting to become a kindergarten teacher were Roman, Remy, and Remus. 

The next huge surprise was when Roman ended up also becoming a kindergarten teacher, even getting a job at the same school as Logan. Not even their own twin or husband expected that, since they knew Roman had a huge love for theater and performing. Everyone thought they would become an actor or a singer, even though Roman argued that it was obvious they wanted to be a teacher or else they wouldn’t have gotten a degree in education.

The two of them quickly became known as some of the best teachers in their school.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Mr. Lolo! Can you put on another puppet show? Please? I don’t really get this topic,” Patton asks.

Logan chuckled softly. He had been teaching for seven years now and it had been amazing. He loved his students and loved seeing them grow smarter while having fun. 

“Alright. How about we also invite your nopa’s class as well?”

Patton nodded excitedly along with the rest of the class. 

This had become a very common thing for them. Logan and Roman often combined their classes and put on puppet shows for them. Of course, it wasn’t just mindless entertainment; they taught them all sorts of things through their shows. They introduced advanced vocabulary to them, life lessons, and important social lessons. They talked about sexualities, gender identities, social norms, and insecurities. Sometimes the puppet shows turned into plays in which Roman sang and danced around with their students.

“Okay, then.” He turned to Patton. “Patton, can you do me the courtesy of going next door and requesting their appearance at our theatrical show?”

Logan loved using his high vocabulary with his students. He loved watching the amazement in their faces when he introduced a new advanced word to them. However, what he loved even more was having them ask about words they didn't understand.

Patton smiled brightly and nodded “Yes sir!” He quickly walked out of the room and went next door. 

Roman was in their classroom, watching their husband teach their students about basic philosophy. They often invited their husband to their class to teach their students. Since Janus worked as a lawyer, he was often busy, but he still managed to find time to visit his lover at work and help them. 

There was a soft knock on the door and Roman stood up. They walked to the door and opened it to see their adopted son, Patton.

"Hello, sweetheart. How may I be of service to you on this fine day?" Roman asked, adding their usual dramatics to their speech.

Patton giggled and held out the paper invitation for Roman to take. “Here, baba!”

They took the paper and immediately knew what it was. They opened it and pretended to read it though, just to make Patton happy.

"Thank you for the delivery, baby. Tell Lolo that we shall be there in a few minutes

The young cheery boy nods, "No problem! And yes baba!" 

Patton gives Roman a hug before skipping off to his class again.

Roman walked to the front of the class and gently placed a hand on Janus' shoulder, silently telling him to put his lesson on pause. Janus got the hint and went quiet.

"My deepest apologies for interrupting, but we have just been invited to a performance next door."

The class went wild and the couple burst out laughing. Roman loved seeing their students happy and excited. They loved seeing the shine in their eyes when they heard or saw something they loved. They loved seeing their faces light up with excitement at the possibility of learning something new. They just loved them in general. 

"Okay, okay, settle down, guys. Let's get in a line and go next door. We don't want to keep Mr. Lolo's class waiting. 

They quickly lined up the class and walked them next door. They gently knocked on the door. Logan opened the door and they walked in.

“Virgie!” Patton ran over to Virgil and hugged him tightly.

The shyer kid hugged him back. “Hey Patt!”

Soon, Virgil pulled away from the hug and ran over to Logan, hugging him while Patton went to Janus.

“Hey dad,” Virgil said as his dad hugs him back.

“Hey buddy, how are you?” Logan asked gently, knowing that his son seemed to be struggling with signs of anxiety.

Virgil shrugged. “I’m okay. I haven’t freaked out today!” He said proudly.

The proud smile on his dad’s face made Virgil smile more.

“That’s great, buddy. Now go and sit down.”

He nodded and pulled away from the hug, skipping off to sit down with the other kids. Logan smiled and turned to Roman and Janus to see Janus having a petty fight with Patton.

“That’s not fair!” Janus whined out.

Patton giggled and nodded, “Yes it is! Daddy said a naughty word so you will not receive any physical affection from me.”

Roman laughed fondly, watching their husband bicker with their son. In the end, Janus didn’t get a kiss on the cheek while Roman got two from Patton. Janus then put Patton down, and the little boy ran off to cuddle with Virgil. The rest of Roman’s students settled into the fort that Logan’s class setup, snuggling with pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals.

Logan walks over to the couple and smiled. “Salutations, guys. Janus, will you be performing in our theatrical performance?”

Janus nodded. “Yeah, also, hey.”

Roman waved before getting an idea. “We should also invite Remy and Remus! Don’t both of them have a day off?”

“Yes, they do,” Logan stated. “I can call them and ask if they can come.”

The kids get even more excited when they hear Remy’s and Remus’ name. Remy came to the class quite often since he worked from home. Remus rarely came since ze worked as a cardiothoracic surgeon. Today though, ze managed to get a day off after a lot of begging.

Logan walked to the phone and called Remy.

“Hey, babe!” Remy quickly picked up. “What’s up?”

Logan chuckled fondly. “Hey, can you and Rem come to my classroom in like five minutes? Roman and I are putting on a puppet show for the kids. Janus is here too.”

Remy sat up making Remus, who was laying on his lap, look up at him questioningly. “Fuck yeah, we can! We’ll be there very soon, darling!”

“Okay, see you soon then. I love you.” 

Remy blows a kiss through the phone. "Love ya’ too, bitch. See ya!" He hung up and looked down at Remus.

"Hunny Bun, our beautiful nerd has invited us to his classroom for a lovely puppet show!" 

Ze sat up and nodded. "Alright. Let's go then."

The two of them had already changed since they were planning on going to the store. Ze stood up and stretched a bit.

"Do you want me to drive?" Remy asked as he stood up.

“Sure,” Remus said with a shrug.

Remus, who was significantly shorter than Remy, climbed onto zyr lover and latched on to him. Remy laughed and started making his way to the car. Once they got there, Remy gently lowered Remus down into the passenger seat before getting in on the driver’s side. 

They made it to the school within three minutes since they lived relatively close. They walked in, the ladies in the office recognizing them and letting them in after they signed in. They got to the classroom door and Remus knocked on it. The door was quickly opened by Virgil.

“Zaza! Pops!” Virgil quickly rushed over to them and hugged them tightly, a bright smile on his face.

They both kneeled down and hugged him back.

“Hey, my little prince,” Remus said as ze kissed Virgil’s cheek. “Is your Dad inside?”

Virgil nodded. “We were waiting for you guys! You guys took so long” He lectured at them.

Remy chuckled. “First of all, we didn't even take that long. Second of all, you’re just like your dad, sweetie. Now come on, let’s not keep the other kids waiting.”

They pulled away from the hug, the two adults standing up as Virgil ran back to Patton. The couple walked in and walked over to their friends. Logan was the first to see them and he smiled. Roman and Janus noticed them shortly after.

“Finally. You two took your time,” Janus said with a playful annoyed tone.

“Nice to see you too Jany,” Remy said with a smirk as he walked over to Logan and hugged him from behind, making the other blush.

Roman giggled. “Hey Rem.” 

“Hi RoRo!” 

The two twins shared a brief hug before Remus turned zyr attention to the kids. Ze greeted them and then went over to Logan.

“Let’s start this show!” Remy loudly exclaimed and the kids cheered with excitement.

The puppet show started, but it didn’t last long before it was turned into a full out play. Janus played the role of the evil sorcerer who kidnapped prince Remy with the help of his dragon witch sidekick, Remus. Logan, the good sorcerer along with Roman, the knight, had to save the prince. To make sure it stayed educational, they used questions and facts as their sort of magic. Janus and Remus asked philosophy questions as traps and, in order for Roman and Logan to pass these traps, they had to answer the questions. In turn, they asked the kids for help. When a kid got it right, not only did they help the play continue, they also received a snack as a prize

What made Logan and Roman ecstatic, though, was watching as the kids teamed up and worked together to find the answers. They watched as the kids wrote notes, used dictionaries and books, and asked questions. It made them so happy. 

By the end of the play, Remy was rescued and Janus and Remus were captured. They took a bow and the class cheered and clapped. 

Afterwards, the kids started to help with the clean up.

“Roman! You’re such a meanie!” Remus whined as ze cleaned “You hit me for real with your sword prop on purpose!”

The accused twin gasped in fake offense. 

“What? I would never, dear twin! Who do you think I am?”

Remus huffed and threw a paper at Roman. 

“Yeah, okay! You’re such a b-hole,” Ze said, censoring zemself since ze really didn’t want Logan to get mad at zem for cursing in front of the kids.

Roman caught the paper and laughed. 

“Whatever, shortie,” they teased their twin, despite the fact that they were only a few inches taller.

“Oh, I’ll show you short,” Remus threatened with a smirk, of course not seriously though.

“Okay, okay,” Janus broke them up. “Settle down you two. Just continue cleaning.”

The twins laughed before nodding and continuing to clean.

Shortly after they finished, the bell rang. 

"Alright kids, get your bags and get in a line by the door," Logan instructed the kids.

They all quickly started following directions. Roman went to their room quickly to get their stuff and clean up their classroom before going back to the other room. Once the kids were ready, Logan and Roman took them outside so that their parents could pick them up. The others, along with Patton and Virgil, stayed in the room to wait for them. After all the kids got picked up, which was relatively quickly, Roman and Logan went back to Logan’s classroom.

“There you guys are,” Remus said while being carried by Remy. “Ready to go home

“My apologies, but we are not,” Logan said as he walked over to his desk. “Our students won a movie night and, well, we have to set everything up. Not only that, but we also need to hang up the halloween decorations that they made.”

Roman nodded standing by the door to get ready to go to their classroom. “Yeah, it’ll take us a good two hours, so you guys can head home.”

“Wait, baba!” Patton walked over to Roman. “May we assist you guys? Daddy doesn’t have any work to do and I promise I won’t get in the way. Maybe Zizi Remus and Uncle Remy can assist as well!”

“Well, I’m okay with that pumpkin, but we have to ask them if they want to stay.” Roman said as they ruffled Patton’s hair, making the little boy giggle.

“I’m cool with it, babes,” Remy answered before they even had the chance to ask. “I love being able to help my lovely starlight.”

Logan blushed at the nickname. “What about you, lovely?” He asked, looking at Remus.

Remus thought for a bit before nodding. “I’d like to help as well.” 

And with that, they split into two groups; Janus, Roman, Patton, and eventually Emile, who joined them about half an hour later, worked on Roman’s room. Logan, Remus, Remy, and Virgil meanwhile, set up Logan’s room. 

By the time they were done, the two little kids had fallen asleep and it was around five o’clock. They were now standing in the parking lot, Roman carrying Patton in their arms while Remy carried Remus on his back and Virgil in his arms. 

“Well, thanks for the help guys. We’ll see y’all tomorrow,” Roman said, leaning on Janus a bit, who had an arm around them. 

Logan smiled. “It’s you all, but yeah. We appreciated the help.”

“It was no problem,” Janus answered. “Bye, guys.”

Roman sets Patton in the backseat before getting in on the passenger side. Janus waved one last time and got in on the drivers side. The others waved back and watched them leave. 

Once they were gone Emile turned to the remaining three, “Well, I'm going to get going as well. See you all tomorrow. Get home safe.”

“Thanks darling, bye,” Remy responded as Emile walked to his car. 

“Well,” Logan turned to his two lovers. “Let's go home. It looks like Remus and Virgil are both tired.”

Remy looked at Remus to see zem asleep and chuckled fondly. “Yeah.”

They got into the car and Remy drove them back home, smiling more when he saw that Logan also fell asleep mid-ride. 

“Sweet dreams, loves,” He whispered softly before turning his attention back to the road.

@anxiously-creating 

~~~~~~~~~~