#switch!janus

~~~

Lethargic. That’s how this day was feeling. No amount of doom scrolling on his feeds or playing Subway Surfers was going to help with this sudden decrease in energy. The embodiment of high energy, however, seemed very unfazed by their host’s clear lack of any motivation to do literally anything. Remus scoffed.

“If you’re so bored, then why not hang out with your new fuck buddy?” “I don’t feel like bothering Nico, Remus.”

The sluggish weight on his mind, emotions, and body made him also unfazed by Remus’ antics and dirty word play.

“Well, Thomas~ What the fuck do you want me to do about it?!” “I want you to piss off! That’s what!”

Remus shrugged off the backwards comment.

“You don’t mean that.” “Don’t you have something better to do like finding your fuck buddy?” “I’M TRYING TO HELP YOUR PATHETIC ASS!” “WELL STOP TRYING TO HELP BECAUSE YOU’RE NOT!”

Thomas knew that he couldn’t tune Remus all the way out but he could focus his mind… mind… Logan? Logan! The logical trait rose up in Thomas’ room a few moments later.

“I’m busy! What do you–” “Hey, Whale Penis! Our little skin puppet is being a raging cunt!” “I feel the same about you.” “Hey, Jan-Jan!” “And there goes my attempt to shut you all out.”

The human curled up even more into the pile of blankets, pulling the hoodie to his jacket over his head. Janus merely smirked at how childish Thomas was behaving. He put his hand under the covers to snatch Thomas’ phone out his hands.

“Nooooo~! You’re gonna make me crash– FUCK!!” “That’s what you get for being a sour puss!” “That’s it!”

Thomas launched himself off the bed and attempted to tackle Remus before Logan got in front of him.

“Thomas, stop. You’re not helping either.”

The small spurt of anger subsided as Thomas sighed and with zero buildup, collapsed to the ground, groaning in emotional despair.

“Why can’t you leave me alone?” “Because, like it or not, we actually care about you dearly, Thomas. Remus’ way of showing that is a lot more direct than you probably need. There is another way for us to show you that–” “Shut it, Snake Face!”

Thomas was being unusually snarky for some reason. Janus summoned Patton silently, who was cursing quietly under his breath about something. So that might be the source of the problem.

“Patton?”

Patton’s eyes widened as he turned around, acknowledging where he was. He put on that “I’m fine” smile and cheerfully asked what they needed.

“To figure out why Thomas is so… abrasive all of a sudden.” “It’s just unlike Thomas.” “Oh, I’m not entirely sure.” “Ooh, Daddy~! You have the tongue of a Captain!”

Patton’s emotions started flaring up again, for some reason. When he tried speaking again, a croak came out instead. He sighed, giving up entirely on trying to call Remus out on his negative behavior.

“I’ll… I’ll be more careful with emotions.” “Actually, we kind of need your help. I think I’ve come up with an idea to help Thomas.”

Janus placed himself over Thomas’ stretched out arms.

“W-what are you doing, Janus?” “Holding up your arms. Logan, will you secure his ankles?” “My pleasure.”

Thomas started getting this sinking feeling in his stomach.

“You… you’re not planning on getting revenge, are you?” “No. What would ever give you the thought~?”

Remus was now bouncing on his toes.

“Ooh~! Are we going to tickle the douche? I call dibs on his neck!" “The goal isn’t to torture him, Remus." “Awh! Why not?" “Thomas being in a depressed stupor doesn’t give us a reason to be needlessly cruel to him." “I guess…" “‘Ooh~! Is Thomas’ emotions make your dick limp?’” “H-hey! Don’t impersonate me!” “Jan. Be nice.”

For a moment, Thomas had forgotten all about the fact Patton was there. This also made him forget how ruthless his aspects can be when they try to cheer him up. If he was being especially stubborn, they would go for those death spots but would have to cover up his mouth so that he wouldn’t blast their eardrums out.

Janus summoned all six arms and began pinching up and down Thomas’ sides. The latter person burst into airy hysterics, wiggling and shimming to get away from the overwhelming amount of fingers touching him. Those 6 hands soon turned into 10 as the others started kneading his sides too. Remus found one particular spot near his underarms that made him jerk harshly.

“A good spot! Hey, Thomas! How would you feel if I were to start digging, digging–” “REMUS!!” “Yep! This is a great spot!” “Remus. We aren’t torturing Thomas, remember?” “Oh, you three are no fun!” “NAHAHAHAHAHAHAT THEHEHEHEHEHEHERE!!” “Remus. Slow down.” “That’s what he said!”

There was a momentary pause as the others got Remus’ hips and started an onslaught of squeezes to them. The way Remus’ entire demeanor changed was laughable.

“NO! NONONONOOOOO!! STAHAHAHAPTHAT!! STAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!” “See? It’s no fun being on the other end, now is it, kiddo?” “Ohohohoho… ehehehehehe… gohohoho to hell, you twink!”

The three went back to ganging up on Thomas before two more figures appeared.

“What the hell are you doing to–” “Well, that’s surprising to say the least.” “Vihihihihihigil… Rohohohohohoho… hehehehehelp me!” “What happened?” “Thomas being a jackass so Snakey came up with a plan to fix that.”

Virgil rolled his eyes and plopped down next to Logan.

“I guess I can help you guys out. Wanna help, Roman?”

Roman, already ecstatic about it, summoned claws for everyone to use.

“Of course, Doom and Gloom!”

Again with the feeling of a million fingers, this time amplified because of the claws. Thomas wasn’t going to be able to stand this much long–

“Nohohohohoho! PahahahahahaTTON!” “Oh, look! Thomas also has ‘saddles’.” “Whahat are ‘saddles’?” “They’re like you and Jan’s ‘stirrups’ on the thighs but there on his sides. Just look at how much they can stretch and wiggle. Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle~!”

Thomas’ face was so red that even his ears were burning. He covered his face up in his elbow.

“Awh! You’re so shy about this. It’s okay. Logan also has them!”

It was Logan’s turn to flush as he scolded the moral facet for bringing him into the conversation like had not just previously called out how “thick” Roman and Janus were. Thomas’ thrashing became stronger as he was eventually able to turn his wrist around and somehow, consciously and unconsciously, squeezed Janus’ hip. A slight hiss escaped the deceptive trait as he moved back until he realized what he was doing as Thomas tried to sit back up.

“Oh, no you don’t, you little–” “waitwaitwaitwait– I’msorryI’msorryI’msosohohohohohorry!” “Oho, you’re going to be sorry alright~!”

Thomas shook his head as he felt Janus hold down his wrist and place two more over his mouth.

“Remus.” “Yeah?” “… … Get. Him.” “Ha! Thought you would never fucking ask~!”

Thomas thrashed even more as Remus very slowly, so incredibly slowly clawed into the section of the neck closest to the latter person’s shoulder blade. Thomas’ screams were only partially quieted by Janus’ gloves. He was noticeably red all over now that the Sides believed that his feet were also red.

“IHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIH SUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHRREEEEEEEEEEEEE!!” “Now, we can’t understand you like that, Thomas? What are you saying? Are you apologizing to us about your terrible behavior from earlier?”

Face. Ears. Hands. Neck. Sides. Stomach. All were red as Rudolph’s nose. Virgil gave them the signal to stop and give Thomas some time to breathe. The six figments waited for Thomas to calm down completely before asking if he felt better.

“Yehehes– Yes, I do.” “Good to hear, kiddo.” “Aww, does that mean there won’t be a round 2?”

Thomas scooted back away from them, covering his sides.

“Nohohot right now, Remus.” “Oh, boo! Fine! Let’s get Janus!” “No! ReMUS!! Get off of me!” “Payback for last week, Snake Boi~!”

Once upon a time a very silly thing happened, and now all of the Sides were friends again. If that seems like an oversimplification, well, Patton sometimes felt that way too.

Of course, nothing about that whole situation- Roman, Remus, Virgil, and Janus being turned into children, with Logan and Patton having to take on the role of parents as they desperately tried to make everything go back to normal- had felt simple in the slightest while it was actually happening. But now that it was all over, after so many confessions, secrets, and long-overdue apologies had been shared, it was honestly surprising how easily the six of them had gotten used to acting like a family.

For example, tonight they were all sitting together on their absolutely massive couch, which was just big enough for all six of them to sit side-by-side with only minor squeezing (which none of them really minded, hence why no one had suggested they get a bigger couch yet). Roman and Remus had worked together to create it-- it was kinda cute, how much they now tried to collaborate on even the most minor of creations.

A movie was on the TV, but honestly, none of them were paying attention to it. Roman and Virgil were holding hands and murmuring lowly to each other, giving each other soft, shy looks as if they were completely alone; Janus and Remus were attempting to throw popcorn into each others mouths, too busy laughing to even notice how loud they were being; and Patton and Logan, each sitting on opposite ends of the couch, were overlooking the entire soft scene with unbelievable fondness.

Every now and then they would catch each other's eyes over the heads of the children-- the other Sides! Not children!-- and smile, tired and fondly exasperated at the others' antics. It was funny how comfortable and familiar the new dynamics around the Mind Palace already were; with Logan by his side, and the others all getting along for the first time in a very long while, Patton felt like this was exactly how things were meant to be.

Suddenly there was a small noise of confusion right next to him. He turned to find Remus holding a popcorn kernel in his hand.

"Uh, ex-cuse me," he said, leaning forward and holding the kernel up threateningly. "Which one of you nerdy prince wannabes threw this at me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Roman replied in a haughty voice. "Did you find that distracting? Having someone throw something at your head while you're trying to enjoy a movie?"

Remus cackled. "I didn't throw a darn thing at you, brother mine. I would never." He finished his sentence with a sickly sweetness, batting his eyelashes.

"Oh, so it wasn't you? What about all of this?" Roman gestured to the blanket he and Virgil had been sharing, which was now covered in popcorn crumbs and kernels.

Remus shrugged, grabbing another handful and popping it in his mouth cheerfully. "Don't know what to tell you, Princey. Maybe Pop-Goes-The-Emo needs to learn how to eat without making a mess."

"Maybe you need to learn how to aim," Virgil shot back. "I don't see how you keep missing Janus' mouth, considering how big it is-"

"Excuse me?" Janus replied, jostling Virgil with his elbow. "Why am I getting dragged into this now? I did nothing wrong."

"You started it!"

"No, Remus started it."

"I knew it!"

"Oh, bite me, you-"

"That's enough, now," Logan interjected, just as Patton was opening his mouth to do the same. A moment of worry seemed to pass over the four Sides causing mischief, but luckily Logan softened his tone and his expression as he continued, "I suspect that this is all in good fun, but I would like to check if anyone is upset about anything that's been said. We can easily pause the film if anyone wants to discuss any crossed boundaries with the jokes."

Virgil wiggled a little on the couch. "Aw, come on, Logan..."

"Oh, I'm sorry, does talking about feelings embarrass you?" Logan replied, making Patton bite his lip to avoid snickering. "Because I think it's rather more important that everyone here feels loved and respected."

Janus scoffed and fiddled with his pajama set. "Of course, because we're so good at respecting one another."

"We do respect you," Patton replied, making Janus flush from the earnestness. "I know that after everything we've been through, we all respect each other, even if showing that respect is a work in progress. But the one thing that never changes is how much we love each other. I love you all so much!"

"Thank you, Patton," Roman droned; he too looked a little embarrassed, but his voice was good-natured. "And I apologize for anything I've said here that was uncouth. It was all intended in good fun."

"Same," Virgil said. "Sorry, Jan. About the thing I said about your mouth."

"Well, I suppose if I must accept your apology..." Janus replied. Logan fixed him with a stern look, and he huffed. "Yes, of course, you're forgiven, Virgil. And I'm sorry as well. Even though I literally don't think I did anything wrong."

"Sorry for being so silly! Can't help it!" Remus chirped. "Don't need any apologies, though. None of this actually pissed me off or anything."

"That's good," Logan replied. "Because you are definitely cleaning up your popcorn mess after the movie is over."

Remus gaped as the others burst into laughter. His lips turned into a dangerous pout, flopping back into the sofa and crossing his arms.

"Aw, come on, Remus," Patton chimed in. "I'll even help you do it! We'll get it all cleaned up in a jiffy!"

"Blah, blah, blah," he muttered, looking for all the world like a toddler put in time out.

It was all on instinct, really; Patton saw a grumpy child, and he knew what to do to fix it.

Before he could stop himself, Patton's hand made a claw shape and he vibrated his fingers directly into Remus' side.

The result was immediate, and extremely loud-- Remus shrieked, launching forward in an involuntary attempt to get away from Patton's squeezing hand. He tumbled forward and landed on the ground, scurrying backwards as he panted from the shock.

"Jesus fucking Christ and all his dick-ciples, Patton, why?" he asked, voice high and shrieky.

Patton was very aware of how all of the Sides were looking at them-- both in shock at Remus' outburst of laughter, and to see how Patton would react to his language-- but Patton didn't care. Something warm and familiar was rising in his chest, and he smiled lovingly down at Remus.

"What, you think I don't remember how to cheer you up?"

There was a beat, and then everyone else had a brief moment of fond embarrassment as they realized what Patton was talking about. They didn't talk about it much, about how Patton and Logan had taken care of them all when they had magically transformed into children, but it was never forgotten, even though the rest of the Sides (including Logan) still found the whole experience a bit awkward.

Patton turned to the others on the couch, his smile growing as they squirmed. "Come on, don't you all remember?"

He had only meant to keep teasing them, but at that moment Virgil's eyes widened to the size of quarters, and without further ado he shot up from the couch as well, jostling Janus at the same time and making the snake Side fall against Patton.

"No, I know that look, and I'm not doing this," Virgil insisted as he stepped to the other side of the room. But his eyes were bright, his cheeks were getting flushed, and there was a smile on his face that was obviously becoming harder to hide.

Patton bit his lip. "Oh, you don't wanna do this? That's alright-- what about you, Janny?"

And with that, Patton reached down and grabbed Janus as best as he could around the waist, curling him into the crook of his arm and mercilessly tickling his stomach with one hand.

"Wait wait wa-ait!" Janus gasped, hands shooting down in a desperate attempt to pry Patton's away from him. "Nnnno, Patton, this is ridiculoussss ahahahahaha! Nohohoho!"

"Aw, Janus remembers!" Patton cheered. A nervous giggle forced its way out of Remus' mouth, still on the floor as he watched his boyfriend getting tickled. Roman narrowed his eyes.

"Look what you've started," he accused, pointing a finger at his brother. "Patton's never gonna let go of this now!"

"Oh, piss off, Pissy!" Remus snapped back, a manic smirk on his face. "You started it, throwing popcorn at my head!"

"You're right," Roman said. "I should've thrown the bowl."

Remus gasped, affronted, and before he could stop himself he reached out to grab Roman's ankle with one hand, his other hand clawing down the sole of Roman's foot with reckless abandon.

Roman made a noise in between a gasp and a squawk. "No!"

He yanked his foot back, but miscalculated, and suddenly he felt rather than heard Logan's breath get knocked out of him as Roman's knee collided with the logical side's chest. Roman flushed a little; he didn't realize he'd been leaning so far into Logan's side.

"Sorry, Logan--!" His voice was cut off with a small squeak by Logan suddenly wrapping his hands around Roman's calf, holding his leg in place.

"Where are your manners, Roman?" he asked. His face looked normal, but his voice was laced with something that made Roman want to giggle just hearing it. "I believe you owe me an apology."

"I already di-ihihhid!" Poor Roman couldn't even finish his sentence before Logan started squeezing all over his trapped leg, from the back of his calf to just above his knee to the soft squishy parts of his thigh. Now both his and Janus' laughter filled the room, along with Remus' delighted giggles as he watched from the floor. Virgil was still standing in the corner, tugging on his hoodie sleeves and failing to hide his shy smile.

Remus narrowed his eyes at the emo Side. "You're just gonna hide out in the corner like a scaredy-cat, huh, Vee?"

"Fuck off," Virgil snapped back, but the effect was lost with how flustered he sounded. "You're not getting t- you're just sitting there, too!"

"I'm not just sitting here!" Remus shot back, scrambling to his feet and facing Virgil with a Cheshire smile. "I'm saving my boyfriend!"

With that, he lunged to Virgil, managing to grab the anxious Side even as he hissed and jerked away from Remus' grasp. Remus tightened his arms to hold Virgil against his chest, and dragged him over to Patton's side of the sofa.

"Special delivery!" he announced. "Care to swap a snake for a spider, Patty Cake?"

"Plehehehease!" Janus squealed, giggling like crazy

"Hm," Patton mused, smiling up at Virgil, "normally spiders scare me, but I think that one looks like a real cutie pie!"

"Patton- fuck off, Remus!" Virgil shrieked; Remus pushed him forward into Patton's lap, and as soon as Patton released Janus to catch Virgil, Remus was yanking Janus onto his feet and dragging him back across the room toward the safe spot. Still giggling, Janus gripped Remus' arm to stay upright as he caught his breath.

"Thank you, darling."

Remus preened and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Anything for my boo!"

"Ja-nus!" Virgil said. "You traitor- ahahahahaha!" His words were lost as Patton began haphazardly squeezing his sides and stomach, his large hands moving too quickly for Virgil to block.

"Plehehehehease!" Roman squealed; he'd tried to crawl away from Logan, but it was hard with how the logical side was rapidly switching between pinching his thigh and his stomach. He pointed a wobbly finger at his twin. "Rehehehemus!"

"Sorry bro-bro, but I ain't coming anywhere near you right now," Remus replied. "Someone else is gonna have to save you!"

Roman shook his head, forcing his laughter down just long enough to yell, "Logan get Remus!"

Logan chuckled lowly. "Oh, interesting. You think it's Remus' turn?"

Roman nodded desperately. Logan cast his eyes up to Remus and Janus, holding hands with nervous, giddy smiles on their faces.

"Hmm..." Logan said. All of a sudden he released Roman and stood up from the couch in one fell swoop. He wasn't much taller than Remus or Janus, but the way he rolled his shoulders and stretched made them feel very small.

"Remus, come here," he said simply.

"No!"

Logan took one step forward. "Remus..."

"Fuck no!" Remus stepped backwards, dragging Janus along with him.

"Come here-" was all Logan could get out before the chase began. Remus darted around the couch, Janus giggling madly in his wake, and Logan followed with an uncharacteristic playfulness.

Roman, catching his breath, managed to point and laugh as Remus ran. "Your turn, Dukey!"

"Fuck off!" Remus shrieked. Suddenly his heels dug into the floor, yanking Janus to a stop; Logan had reversed direction, and was now coming towards them head on. The two of them screamed, both in fear and delight, and darted in the opposite direction.

"Come on, Professor!" Roman called like a sports spectator. "You can catch them! Go for Janus first!"

"Excuse me?" Janus gasped. He paused just long enough in his running to flick Roman's ear.

"Hey!"

"Haha, nice!" Remus crowed. "Good job, babe!"

"Be nice, Janus..." Logan called. He managed to get close enough a few times to trail his hand across Janus' back, making the snake Side yelp every time.

"Nope, I'm out!" he called, yanking his hand out of Remus' grasp. He immediately stepped to the side, out of Logan's reach; lucky for him, the logical Side seemed dead set on catching Remus now, and they continued to run and duck around the furniture.

"Woah!" Patton said when Remus accidentally jostled his legs as they ran by. "Careful, kiddos!"

"Pahahaton," Virgil groaned. His face was dark and there was an adorable dimple on his cheek that just made Patton wanna coo. "We're not-- not kids!"

For a moment, Patton slowed his squeezing tickles as he readjusted Virgil, nearly pulling the other Side on his lap.

"Wanna know a secret?"

Virgil looked up at him, confused, and squeaked as Patton leaned his head down.

"You're always gonna be my kiddos, Virgey," he whispered in Virgil's ear. Virgil's blush couldn't get any hotter, especially when Patton began snuffling all over Virgil's neck and ears.

"Nahahaha!" he whined, feet banging on the floor. "Hehehehelp!"

He leaned his head against the back of the sofa just in time to catch Janus' eye as he continued to move in wary circles around the room.

"Jan!" he squealed. "Plehehease!"

Janus looked at his brother's face and softened like a wet tissue.

"Patton, honestly," he said, moving forward to stand next to the couch, "I think this... mortifying experience has gone on long enough, don't you?"

Patton looked up at him as he continued to tickle Virgil's sides. "Nope!"

"Perhaps it's time we let this game come to a conclusion?"

Suddenly Roman was behind Janus. "Perhaps not." And with that, he pushed the snake side over the arm of the couch, making him fall face first directly into Patton's lap.

"That's for flicking my ear!"

Patton made a noise of delight that was barely audible with human hearing. "Oh, thank you for the gift, Roman!" He shifted in a way that implied years of practice until he was holding both Virgil and Janus on each of his legs. His arms wrapped around their midsections and began haphazardly tickling their tummies in unison.

One would think that Janus and Virgil were actually biological brothers, the way they both clutched Patton's arm and threw their heads back in laughter in the exact same way.

"Janny!" Remus cried, looking both delighted and affronted that his brother had pushed his boyfriend directly into Patton's tickle trap. His steps faltered, just for a moment, but that was all it took before Logan could grab him around the waist and drag him (not so gently) to the floor.

Logan smiled like a mad scientist who'd brought his creature back to life. "Got you."

"Wait wait wait wait fuck no--" was all he could get out before Logan dug into his stomach with rapidly vibrating claws. Remus screamed, feet drumming wildly on the floor as Logan tickled him to pieces.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuhuhuhuck!"

"Language," Logan chastised lightly, like nothing out of the ordinary was happening at all. "Everyone else has had a turn, Remus. This is only fair."

"I don't need a tuhuhuhurn! This is-- hehehey!"

Remus couldn't even finish his protests before another pair of hands made their way to his sides. His eyes shot open only to see the smirky, snarky face of his twin hovering above him.

"Oh, we could never leave you out of the fun, dearest brother of mine," he sang, squishing randomly on any part of Remus' torso that he could reach. "I thought you liked playing silly games?"

"Go easy on him, Roman," Patton called out; he'd mostly stopped tickling Virgil and Janus, and was now merely holding the two of them as they got their stray giggles out. "Don't hurt him!"

"Oh please, he loves this," Roman replied. Remus screeched in indignation.

"Bullpoopy!"

Roman raised an unimpressed eyebrow. He shot his hand underneath Remus' jaw to scratch his nails along his neck, and Remus squealed, head scrunching into his neck like a desperate turtle.

Logan let out a small laugh himself, slowing down his tickling as everyone watched Remus fall into the most helpless giggles any of them had ever heard.

"Oh, goodness," Patton whispered, clearly delighted. Virgil was outright snickering at his friend's demise, and Janus' was watching on with a hopelessly romantic expression on his face.

"This is what you get for starting it all!" Roman declared, every inch of him clearly full of mirth. Logan peered down at Remus' bright red face, and brushed a bit of hair back from his sweaty forehead.

"Is that a very ticklish spot, Remus?" he asked. "Don't be afraid to tell me. I'll merely keep a note of it for later."

Remus shook his head. "I-- I--"

Immediately, Logan and Patton made eye contact. Remus sounded more wheezy than he had a moment before.

Their mouths opened at the same time, but to their surprise Roman had already pulled his hands away, a worried twinge in his eyes as he watch Remus calm down.

"Are you okay?" he asked immediately. "Did I go to far?"

Remus coughed once, causing Virgil and Janus to look even closer with matching nervous frowns to see if he was okay.

"I..." Remus said slowly. "I'm..."

Silence, for a beat.

And then Remus attacked: sitting up, pushing Logan away, and body slamming Roman until he was flat on the ground, all in one swift move.

"I'm gonna get you, Ro-Bro," he hissed, and there was nothing but giddy joy in his voice as he began tickling his brother right back.

Everyone in the group jumped as Roman screamed, loud, at the surprise tickle attack. There was a scrabble of limbs as the twins wrestled, shouts of laughter filling the room and making everyone giggly again.

"Play nice, boys!" Patton called out. Remus looked up, his tongue poking out of the corner of his cheeky smile.

"Yes, Daddy!" he replied. The he immediately dove down and blue a raspberry against Roman's tummy. The other side shrieked yet again.

"That's not nihihihice!"

Remus cackled evilly, and Patton considered stepping in himself to give that stinker a taste of his own medicine, but before he could move someone else beat him to it: Virgil, who wiggled off Patton's lap and onto the floor, crawled over to the two wrestling Sides, and attacked Remus' ribs with a flurry of fingers.

The snort that Remus released cracked through the room, and now he was the one laying on the floor, writhing helplessly as Virgil attacked him.

"I got you, Princey," he called over the fray, smirking at his boyfriend as Roman caught his breath. "Now hurry up and help me finish him."

Roman grinned brightly. "With extreme pleasure."

He dove in as well, and between the two of them Remus was well and truly screwed, batting at the four hands that were now wrecking him from every side. He tried to give back what he was getting, but it was just too easy to overpower him.

Logan's chuckles were low, but Patton could hear them despite the noise in the room. The two locked eyes and shared a secret smile before Logan's eyes drifted over to Janus, still half-sitting on Patton's lap.

"What about you?" he called. "Don't you want to help Remus?"

"He got himself in that mess," Janus said, cheeks flushing again as he looked at the tickle fight in the middle of the room, "and I'll have nothing to do with it."

Like a horror movie jumpscare, Remus shoved his upper body towards the couch, making both Janus and Patton squeak with surprise.

"Yes you will!" he said between giggles, and before anyone else could react he grabbed Janus haphazardly and yanked him backwards, making them both tumble back onto the floor-- and into the middle of Roman and Virgil's tickle attack.

"Human shield!" Remus screamed. He locked his hands behind Janus' back, keeping his boyfriend trapped on top of him.

"Wait-- no! No, no, Remus, nohohohoho!"

But it was too late: Roman and Virgil took no time at all diving in to tickle Janus all over his back and sides as he shrieked and squealed and squirmed.

"Evil!" Janus shrieked, trying desperately to push off of Remus' chest. "No-- no kisses until you letmegohohoho!"

Virgil cooed, leaning closer to Janus' ear. "Aw, you don't wanna kiss your boyfriend? Sucks for you, Jan." He finished the statement with leaning over to press a kiss to Roman's cheek, causing their respective brothers to make noises of disgust.

"You're dissssssssssgusting!" Janus gasped through his laughter. He gathered his strength and shoved Roman away from his little brother, drilling his fingers into Roman's ribs as the other side fell back on his haunches.

"Nah-- ahaha-- no!" Roman gasped. He keeled forward, grinning and giggling against Remus' stomach. Virgil tried to reach forward to push Janus' hand off of Roman, only for Remus to easily grab the anxious side's wrist and hold his arm out for Janus' other hand to dive under with wiggling fingers.

Around and around and around it went-- hands and fingers and curses and teases and giggles flew. Roman blew breathless raspberries against Remus' tummy while Janus fought to keep his fingers vibrating wildly under Virgil's arm. In turn Virgil dove down to scrabble his nail's blindly against Janus' back, while Remus did the same on either side of Roman's neck. The peals of laughter rose and melded into one loud happy harmony, and it wasn't long before the four of them were breathless with giggles, tickling without even seeing who they were attacking.

It was messy, chaotic, and perfect. Just like their family.

Patton wasn't sure when things had started to slow down. All he knew was that there was a sudden drop in the volume of the twins laughter-- it seems they had finally tired themselves out, and were now panting heavily from their disheveled positions on the living room floor. Virgil's giggles still rang through the air, albeit less desperate and more happy than anything else, until Janus relented with one final squeeze to his brother's belly before he, too, flopped back to the floor.

There they lay, those four Sides, curled like pretzels in a giant puppy pile, catching their breath and letting their last few giggles peter out. Patton took the time to examine the room: furniture shoved out of place in the mad scrambles to escape the tickles, the couch cushions were pulled out and squashed against the floor, and there was popcorn everywhere. He made eyes with Logan, expecting to see that familiar chagrin he knew so well, but was instead greeted with a look of nose-wrinkled affection.

"Blankets?" he mouthed, and Patton grinned. He reached over and grabbed one of the blankets they'd been using on the couch, and without warning threw it over the four Sides on the floor.

"Ah!" Virgil yelped first; he was the only one who saw it coming, but that half-second warning wasn't enough to save him or the others from getting absolutely draped in the oversized blanket. "D-- Patton!"

"Hm?" Patton said, grabbing the other two blankets and flinging them on the pile with ease. "Can't hear you!"

Someone was giggling again from inside the pile, probably Remus. Janus emerged first, his hair adorably mussed.

"Patton. Why."

"You looked so comfy! I wanted to help!"

"You could've helped us off of the floor."

"Aw, but you looked so cute down there." Patton giggled, lightly kicking at Janus' shoulder, causing him to hiss with displeasure.

Logan gave a light laugh. "You all did just play a very strenuous game." He reached out and patted a random ankle that was sticking out of the pile; it jerked back in over-sensitive self defense, Roman's gasp of laughter giving away its identity.

"Remus started it," came his muffled response. Remus blew a raspberry, worming his way out from underneath the covers.

"Oh, please, I didn't do shit! It was Pattycake!"

"Yes, it was!" Patton said proudly. "And I'd do it again!" Without warning he slid himself onto the floor and grabbed Remus around the waist, holding the squawking Side in a tight hug.

"My little kiddos," he cooed, and yes he knew he was laying it on thick but that was part of the fun. "Having so much fun together! It makes Logan and I so happy when you all play so nicely, I'm very proud of you--"

"Fine okay enough!" Janus shrieked; Virgil was reduced to desperate hissing as Roman buried his face in his hands. Remus pretended to gag, but Patton could feel how tightly he was returning the hug.

"Alright," Logan said warmly, silencing the group. "Let's regroup. Roman, Janus, will you fix the pillows and blankets, please? Virgil and Remus, go get some more snacks-- preferably ones that won't make a mess when thrown."

Patton watched as the other Sides, with good-natured grumbling, began working together to get their movie night back on track. It made something heavy in his chest get a little bit lighter.

He started when he realized Logan had joined him back on the couch, this time sitting right next to him. The two locked eyes, unable and unwilling to stop the soft smiles growing on their faces. Logan fumbled for Patton's hand, and he turned it over so they could lock their fingers together.

He felt like his relationship with Virgil was more on the rocks, ever since Virgil was accepted by the other sides. So, he wanted to try and mend things between them. So, Janus decided to cook up and give Virgil one of Virgil’s favorite meals. 

And what did that favorite meal happen to be? 

Well…It was ramen! And not just the ramen in a cup, or the instant ramen…It was the real ramen you can get at a traditional ramen shop! The onions, the eggs, the pork cutlet, the Narutomaki, aka the fish cake, and the dark lettuce or nori (seaweed). 

Janus put each item into the ramen, and grabbed the bowl of broth. He dumped the broth into the bowl without a soup spoon, and watched as the ramen and the other things started to react and float in the broth. Janus smiled at his success and put the pot down. 

Then, Janus grabbed a pair of wooden chopsticks and the red renge (the spoon for ramen), and headed to Virgil’s room. He put the chopsticks on top of the ramen bowl, and put the renge, or the ramen spoon, into the ramen before knocking on the door. While he waited for Virgil to answer the door, he carefully fixed his hand position on the plate under the ramen bowl. 

The door opened, revealing Virgil with his hood up to cover up his cat ears. “Oh…Hi.” Virgil said. 

“Upset I’m not Patton?” Janus asked. 

Virgil shook his head. “No…just surprised it’s you.” Virgil admitted. 

“Alright. So…Hello Virgil. I may or may not have made you your favorite food. Would you like some?” Janus asked. 

Virgil softened his expression as he smelled the ramen. It looked appetizing…almost too appetizing. Virgil hesitantly took the plate and bowl with his paws. “This isn’t poisoned…is it?” Virgil asked. 

Janus raised an eyebrow. “Yes?” He replied. 

Virgil narrowed his eyes before bringing the ramen further into his room. “What’s the occasion?” 

Janus chuckled. “No occasion. Just thought you could use a little warm hug from something other than the traditional arm hug.” Janus replied. 

Virgil hummed as he placed the ramen on his dresser. He set up a card table and placed it against the side of his bed. Virgil put the ramen bowl onto the card table, before sitting down on the side of his bed to eat. 

“So…what has been happening?” Janus asked. 

Virgil shrugged his shoulders, humming as he shoved some noodles into his mouth. “Not much…” Virgil replied. 

Janus nodded as he sat on a chair across from Virgil. “Is it bad?” Janus asked. 

Virgil shook his head as he took another mouthful. “It’th really gooth.” Virgil replied with his mouth full. Virgil swallowed. “You were always a really good cook.” Virgil added. 

Janus smiled and nodded as a symbol of thanks. 

“What kind of broth did you use?” Virgil asked. 

“Swanson chicken broth.” Janus replied. 

“I see…You didn’t make chicken broth from scratch?” Virgil teased. 

Janus narrowed his eyes. “Why?” Janus asked. 

Virgil chuckled. “Just joking.” Virgil replied. 

Virgil ate half an egg in one bite, while Janus watched him eat for a couple minutes. “Small question:” Janus said. 

Virgil looked up at Janus. “Hm?” 

“Are your ears still ticklish?” Janus asked. 

Virgil stared at Janus with a blank, slightly impatient face. He swallowed. “…Why?” 

“…No reason.” Janus replied. 

Virgil scoffed. “Sure.” He took in another mouthful of noodles along with some green onions. 

Janus bit his lip and looked down. “Sorry…” 

Virgil shrugged his shoulders. “I’ll tell you if you tell me.” Virgil replied. 

Janus raised an eyebrow. “Tell you what?” 

Virgil smiled slightly. “Are your scales still ticklish?” Virgil asked with a smirk. 

Janus widened his eyes and stared at Virgil. Then, he looked to the side. “Uuuuh…” 

Virgil waited for his answer. “‘Uuuh’…is that a yes? Or a no?” 

Janus awkwardly scratched the back of his scaly neck. “Well…No.” 

Virgil laughed. “I knew it.” 

Janus chuckled nervously. “Nothing to see here…” 

Virgil smirked. “Sure…” 

Janus looked at Virgil. “So…what’s your answer? Yes, your ears are still ticklish? Or no, your ears are not ticklish?” Janus asked. 

Virgil swallowed and put the chopsticks on top of the bowl. “Yes. My ears are still ticklish.” Virgil told Janus. “...and a melt spot.”

Janus smiled eagerly at the last sentence. “Would you mind if I tested this answer?” Janus asked. 

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Why?” 

Janus shrugged his shoulders. “Because it was cute.” 

Virgil scoffed. “Yeah, when I was 7.” He muttered. 

Janus removed his gloves. “I will not tickle you hard.” 

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Not happening, Deceit.” 

“Please?” Janus asked. 

“Not. Happening.” Virgil commanded. 

Janus looked at Virgil with a serious look. “I’ll let you tickle me first.” 

Virgil guffawed. “Wow…Willing to sacrifice your own embarrassment to embarrass me?” Virgil asked. 

Janus shrugged his shoulders. “Sure.” 

Virgil chuckled with a small smile. “So determined...” 

Janus frowned slightly. “I will.” He put up his right hand without the glove on. “I promise.” 

Virgil stared at him with a ‘you have got to be kidding’ face. “You…you’re serious about this?” Virgil asked. 

Janus nodded. “Yes. 100%. Completely serious.” Janus told Virgil. He wasn’t even lying at this point. That was how dedicated Janus was. 

Virgil softened his expression a bit. He bit his lip before making a choice. “Fine. But this means I’m allowed to tickle your armpits, right?” Virgil asked. 

Janus nodded. “Yes.” 

Virgil nodded. “Deal.” Virgil said as he got up. Virgil took off his own sweater and placed it on the bed before walking up to Janus. He wrapped his hand around Janus’s upper hip, and started squeezing his fingers on both sides. “Is thi-”

“GaaAAAHAHAHAHAHAhahahahaha!” Janus shouted. “WHOhohohoa- ohohokahay! Wohohow!” He reacted. 

Virgil smirked a bit and added his other hand to the other hip to steady himself. Janus just laughed and giggled up a storm as he wiggled around uncontrollably. 

“So…which hip tickles more?” Virgil asked. “This one?” Virgil started squeezing only the skin hip. 

Janus threw his head back with a fit of giggles. “EEHEheheheek! Hehey!” 

“Or this hip?” Virgil switched to tickling his scaly hip. Janus snorted and laughed hysterically. “BAAHAHAHAHA! THIS ONE! THIHIHIS OHONE IS WOHORRRSE!” Janus yelled. 

“Oooooh! Interesting.” Virgil reacted. 

Virgil moved his hands to Janus’s sides next. He lifted up Janus’s collared shirt and cracked his knuckles. “Which one tickles more? The skin side?” Virgil started squeezing and skittering his fingers on the right side, aka the skin side. 

Janus felt as his hat fell off his head while he shook his head wildly. “Myhyhyhy hahahat! Nohohoho!” Janus reacted. 

Virgil took a moment to move his hat over to the bed. “I’ll give you the hat after.” Virgil told him. Then, he went right to tickling the left side, aka the scarly side. 

Janus wheezed and bursted out in strong, deep laughter. “Hahahahaha! Yohohou ahare a bruhuhutal tihihickleherr!” Janus reacted. 

“I know~” Virgil teased. 

Virgil moved his hands up to the armpits and lifted the right arm up. “Tell me: are you more ticklish here?” Virgil asked as he tickled the right armpit, aka the skin armpit. 

Janus squeezed his eyes shut and giggled all high-pitched like a little giggly child. 

Virgil couldn’t help but chuckle at this. “Or more ticklish here?” Virgil asked next as he lifted up Janus’s right arm and tickled Janus’s right armpit. 

Janus guffawed and laughed gleefully as he wiggled around to get out of Virgil’s grasp. “THE RIHIHIGHT! THEHEHE RIHIHIGHT’S WOHOHORRRSE!” Janus yelled. 

“Wow! I can certainly tell.” Virgil reacted. 

“AHAHAHALRIGHT, MYHYHY TUHUHURN!” Janus told him. 

“Aww…already?” Virgil asked. 

“YEHEHEHEHEHESS!” Janus replied. 

Virgil nodded and let go of Janus’s arm. He removed his hand from Janus’s scaly armpit, before backing up a bit to let the half-snake replenish his oxygen intake. Janus coughed a bit and took in deeper breaths so he could recuperate faster and more efficiently. Though, he was careful. He didn’t want to suck in too much air, for fear of creating a coughing fit. 

Virgil grabbed the chopsticks and ate a bit more of his noodles while she waited for Janus to get better. A few mouthfuls later, Virgil put the chopsticks down again, sat down on the ground in criss-cross-apple-sauce, and smiled as Janus started to sit up. 

“Alright..,my turn.” Janus said as he got up. Janus crawled himself up to Virgil and placed a hand onto his little right cat ear. 

Virgil squeaked and covered his mouth in shock. Did he really just make that noise?! 

Janus chuckled. “Awww…” He said. 

Virgil groaned and covered his whole face with both his paws. How embarrassing…

But Janus was a good sport about it. He gently brought Virgil against his chest, and cuddled him. He petted his back for a little bit, trying to help him relax and grow calm. Amazingly, this actually worked. Virgil seemed to calm down enough in Janus’s arms. Perhaps this cuddling reminded Virgil of when they were younger?

Soon, Janus decided to proceed with his idea: 

He brought his left hand up to Virgil’s ear, and started massaging the lower ear. Virgil began to smile and shake slightly from the giggles that were spilling out of his mouth. 

“Mmmhmhmhmhm…” Virgil mumbled some giggles. 

Janus paused his tickling. “Having fun?” Janus asked. 

Virgil nodded and looked up at Janus with his wide, kitty eyes. “Mmhmm…” 

Janus widened his eyes and smiled brightly. He hadn’t seen Virgil look at him like this since age 14! This was incredible!! 

Janus decided to give Virgil’s ears a few more massages. He placed one hand each onto Virgil’s ears, and started massaging and scratching. 

“Pfffhehehehehehe!” Virgil giggled, shoving his face further into Janus’s chest. 

Janus smiled and playfully blew gentle air onto Virgil’s right ear. This made Virgil’s ear flutter as the cat let out a high pitched squeak. “Doooon’t!” Virgil whined. 

“Too much?” Janus asked. 

Virgil nodded, rubbing his face up and down against Janus’s chest. Janus just chuckled softly as he went back to massaging his ears again. 

Virgil continued to giggle and squeal his way through janus’s gentle tickles. And once Virgil got used to his strategies for tickling, he began to enjoy it a little more. Janus always knew that his ears were a ticklish melt spot on him…and usually it was an embarrassing fact that he didn’t like  about himself. But…maybe the melt spot is growing on Virgil now…

The melt spot had certainly grown onto Janus a long time ago. He loved the melt spot so much as a kid! Probably too much…to the point of really missing it when Virgil told him to stop tickling the spot. So being able to do this decades later, was a huge blessing. 

Janus and Virgil stayed like this for a long time. It was long enough that when Virgil was finally able to finish his noodles, the meal was ice cold. He ended up needing to heat it up in the microwave. And when Virgil went to the kitchen, Virgil discovered the huge mess in the kitchen. 

“Oh my…” But he couldn’t complete the sentence, his frantic giggling taking over him and his fuzzy brain, for a moment Janus closed his eyes, just enjoying the moment. “gohohohohohod.” As Virgil undid his the slightly bond tying his ankles to the bed frame, he kicked lightly to expel the giddiness tingling on his nerves, the goosebumps flying on his spine and the explosion of a feeling he could only describe as safeness and happiness filling his senses, flying like butterflies across his body.

 After a minute or more he took his hands off of his face, only to find the purple lover sitting on the mattress, a pure amazed expression bloomed on his face together with the small smirk decorating his features and Janus couldn’t bring himself to stop smiling back at him.

 “You’re so fucking cute.” Virgil said and Janus snorted to ignore the hot flaming his cheeks.

 So, as response, he grabbed a pillow and threw at him, “Get the heck out of here and just come back with my tea and a good movie for us to watch.”

 “Does the majesty want something more?” The irony was generous dripped in the words, but with no real heat behind them, the other already in his way to the door.

 “Forget the honey in my tea and I’m locking you out.”

 “Try me and fucking watch as I make a hole in your ceiling to get back.” And he barked a laugh – they both always seemed much lighter and gigglier after their tickle sessions - when Janus’ retort was throwing all the pillows and blankets on him.

 “Idiot.” The one still a bit breathless fondly remarked as Virgil’s form disappeared in the hall, rolling on the bed and tittering when memories of the playful fingers scribbling, teasing and exploring his tickle spots flooded back, the teases whispered on his ears, accompanied by nibbles and kisses on his vulnerable skin. He sat and stretched, putting his arms up only to quickly put them back down when a cold wind hit his still high-sensitive armpits, a soft snort escaping from his nose when he remembered the game of Arms Up they played on the beginning of the tickling.

 When Virgil got into the room bringing the tea, honey, chocolate, salty crackers, fruits slices, water, more water and other snacks to help to bring his energy back that he very much likely asked Logan beforehand, Janus was already on his PJs, making a face to him that clearly said he couldn’t believe that Virgil called Janus the cute one.

 “Shut up.” He laid the things on the desk near to the bed, taking his time to turn on the TV and put the DVD inside, setting everything up as the other drank and ate, both doesn’t taking too much to cuddle.

 “I was only going to say ‘thank you’.” Virgil just rolled his eyes, clear disbelief. “For being such a lovely, wonderful, mean, good and an amazingly ler. I totally didn’t enjoy it at all as you could see by my complete lack of laughter during the whole order.”

 “Dork.” The ler tried to hide his smile and blush by kissing his temple, signing in pure calmness. “You were also, uh, cool or whatever.”

 “Oh, so flattering.”

 “You know I’m not good at this. But… Yeah, it was fun. I’m happy I got to know you,” Virgil ignored the ‘awww, so he has feelings!’ from the former “so I could tickle the shit out of you and that smug face.”

 Both smiled and ignored the other’s smile for their sakes of keeping a reputation. However, Janus just couldn’t ignore the way Virgil’s hands shake and fingers picked the fabric of his shirt, so he entangled their limbs even more, his fingers slipping and resting on the other’s side.

 “You know,” his nails started to drag up and down, in the slowest and lightest motion he could muster, adding pressure enough only to make the spider lover yelp, hiding his face on the crook of Janus’ neck, puffs of laughter hitting his skin, “I really think you made an incredible job and delivered rather delightful teases and tickles that I will be more than happy to give you back once the right time arrives.”

 With the free hand that wasn’t spidering tickles on his ribs, he grabbed the other’s hand, kissing his knuckles and intertwining their fingers. “I love you.”

~~~

"One Mississippi! Two Mississippi! THREE Mississippi!" "Stohohohop counting in Missihihihihissippi’s!"

Roman huffed again after “losing his place” and started over.

"One Florida Gator, Two Florida Gator…" "IHIHIHIHI SWEAR, ROMAN!"

Roman huffed impatiently.

"Fine then!"

Roman summoned an assortment of brush tip markers, pulling up Janus’ dress shirt even further. He marked himself to make sure that the tips were working. He applied the first number, shouting out:

"Uno!" "ROMAHAHAHAHAN! STAHAHAP TOUCHING MY BAHACK!" "Dos! Tres! Cuatro!" "STOP SPEHEHEHAKING IN SPANISH!!" "I! II! III! IV! V!" "WHAHAHAHAT THE HEHEHEHELL!!"

Janus couldn’t take anymore of this counting nonsense and shoved the fanciful trait off him while simultaneously summoning his extra arms.

"Let’s see how much you like counting~" "Wait, Jan! I take it back!" "Null. Eins. Zwei." "Thehehehe hehehehell?! Yohohou can speak Geheheherman?" "Oh, excuse my misunderstanding… Un. Deux. Trois. Quatre." "Ihihihihi didn’t say switch languages!" "Oh you meant for me to say it in Swahili, didn’t you?" "Ihihihihihi swhehear, Jahahan!"

~~~

"MORNING, JANUS!!"

Janus scowled and simultaneously screeched at Remus’ sudden appearance. A sneak attack from the Duke wasn't as uncommon as one might think. Janus should be used to it but alas, it was something that he desperately tried not to let get the better of him. But the question still remained if 6:30 in the damn morning was the appropriate time for this? That something Janus was not prepared to answer.

The only thing that snapped him out of his slightly confused state was Remus pulling up his nightshirt enough for his stomach to be exposed. He was comfortable enough around Remus for the idea of showing off his scales to not bother him as much as it might for the other Sides. However, with the expression Remus had, Janus knew it wasn't a good thing that he was about to do. Though he was in a bit of a panic on the inside, he kept his displeased look plastered on his face.

"Remus? What exactly are you doi–" "I see you have the Monday Blues~! Let me fix that~"

With that, Remus blew into the snake aspect’s belly which made Janus shriek. Janus had to bite his forked tongue to not start belly laughing. Oh, he saw what Remus was up to. So, he wanted to play like that? Fair game then! Janus noticed the latter trait’s shirt had fallen down due to Remus' positioning due to his tentacles being attached to the ceiling. Janus put as much pressure on Remus’ stomach as the emerald trait did on him. The intrusive facet yelped as he felt the harsh blowing against his lower right side, nearly falling to the ground.

Janus caught him before he did though. All six arms out and completely set on wrecking the other aspect of Thomas' mind. Remus thrashed as best he could but could not fight against Janus' multitude of arms without the fear of accidentally hurting him. This went on for a couple of more minutes before Remus bound Janus’ hands together with his own extra appendages. Janus let go, letting Remus recover on the living room floor. It wasn't long before Remus popped back up, ready to start again.

~~~

Snooty. That was the first word that came to the younger figments of Thomas’ mind when it came to this new face. He went by the title “Deceit”. It was a fitting title considering his ways of saying things that he didn’t really mean with a sarcastic shrug or roll of his eyes and him being… well… half snake. It was kind of obvious but that didn’t deter the slight discomfort of the anxious aspect. This “Deceit” character never once mentioned his own name, not even after a few months of being there.

"What stick got rammed up his ass, Fear?" "I don’t know either, Insanity. Doesn’t really matter to me, either." "But it matters to meeeee!"

Virgil was the first one over there and after a few years, Remus showed up and started his daily task of causing mayhem and destruction everywhere he went. Virgil balanced him out most of the time but when he was really feeling like starting trouble, he would make his presence known. Virgil flopped down on his bed and fiddled with a nearby box of fidgets. Stress ball for thinking. He even tossed Remus a fidget spinner.

"You’re Creativity, too. What do you think we should do?" "Well, we could start by finding ways to not get on his nerves as much." "You and I both know you can’t do that."

Virgil flicked Remus’ nose with the fidget he was currently playing with. There was a fond brotherhood between the two. Remus gasped happily.

"What?! What is it?!" "We coooould start playing pranks on him." "Wha– Oh NO! Nonono… Ree! I can’t be out there, messing with… that! First of all… between you and me… he's kinda scary…"

Remus looked at Virgil in surprise, a face breaking smile spreading across his face.

"No~ Really?! He scares you??" "I know! I know! I’m Fear! Meaning that EVERYTHING should scare me! But you don’t! At least… most of the time you don’t."

Remus snickered. How could Virgil possibly be scared of this newcomer? With his half-snake appearance and yellow and black clothing that managed to rival and yet be completely different from their own clothing style. And his way of saying things but not really meaning them with his ability to unhinge his jaw and eat things whole and…

Oh… well… there might be actual reasons to be scared of him. But that didn’t mean they couldn't try to get the snooty aspect to indulge in a little bit of fun.

"Well… let me do the first few and then you can do some. Then we can do a few as a team. What do you think?" "As long as we don’t get caught too often. I don’t want to know what he’s like when he’s mad." "Neato!"

Remus rushed out of the room with Virgil right on his tail.

~~~

Mission (Prank) #1: Tip The Water Bucket

Remus set it all up the night before. He made sure it was filled with ice so that when it melted, it would still be mostly freezing when it fell on Deceit. The two listened from Virgil’s bedroom and suddenly heard a scream and their titles being shouted across the apartment. Remus snickered as Virgil made his way to the kitchen.

"Would either of you like to explain why I am not wet?" "Well, you seem rather wet to us!"

Remus could barely contain his excitement while Virgil looked immensely horrified. Virgil summoned a bath sheet for the sopping side.

"W-w-are so-so sorry, Deceit!" "So both of you are responsible for this?" "Well-well, it was Remus who did it."

Janus huffed as he wrapped himself up in the giant towel. He groaned lightly before walking away.

"You two! Clean this up! The kitchen better not be spotless by the time I return."

With that, the snake aspect sank out. Remus shot a glare at the anxious trait.

"What was that about?!" "Did you not see how pissed he looked? He was probably ready to devour both of us for that stunt!" "Kinky~"

Virgil facepalmed and handed Remus a mop.

"You clean it. After all, this was your prank."

Remus sighed roughly before snatching the mop and getting to work.

~~~

Mission (Prank) #24: Slime Slushie

"WHY YOU LITTLE–"

The two looked over the back of the sofa where Janus was emerging, completely covered in green, purple, black, and pink slime. This prank was completed by both parties this time and got double the laughter. They could barely breathe with how much they were laughing. Despite still having his usual anxiety towards the new figment of Thomas, he was starting to become less and less scared. The more pranks they pulled, the more reactions they got from the deceptive trait, which brought forth a new version of him to his mind.

Seeing the variety of reactions that Deceit had when he was taken off guard was incredibly hilarious. It started with minor things and now it was getting up where they were doing more thorough pranks.

"Oh, what’s the matter, D-Dee~? Can’t handle a little slime?" "INSSSSANITY! IT’SSSS ALL OVER MY CLOTHESSSS! I JUST IRONED ALL OF THISSSS! NOW I’M GOING TO HAVE TO CONJURE A WHOLE NEW OUTFIT BECAUSSSSE YOU TWO RUINED THISSSS!"

Janus stomped off in the other direction. Was it wrong that they both felt bad but good all the same while doing these pranks? It’s very likely but they weren’t stopping anytime soon. It was so relieving to see that even the snobbiest of all of them had a bit of fear in him.

~~~

Mission (Prank) #50: The Apology

"THAT’SSSSSSS IT! I’VE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH ALL OF YOUR LUDICROUSSSSSSS, JUVENILE, IDIOTIC ROGUERIESSSSSSS~"

The other Dark Sides were staring at their feet after pulling the last prank with a rubber band over the faucet sprayer. It was the fifth prank involving water.

"Maybe we should've done the ice in the pants one last." "Shut it, In!"

Remus or Virgil could’ve mentioned that he could’ve stopped falling for them if they were getting predictable but knew that Janus was being serious and didn’t want “back sass”. Janus walked away again while shouting over his shoulder:

"FOR THE LASSSSST… FUCKING TIME!! CLEAN UP YOUR MESSSSSSS!! I will be in my room! If I even get the feeling you two are up to ssssomething elsssse… you will like the conssssequencessss that follow~"

Janus walked out of the kitchen, slamming the door behind him which startled the two other sides. Remus finally had bit of a guilt hit from that. They were only trying to make Janus feel better and loosen up.

"I guess we went too far?"

Virgil sighed.

"I said that back at Prank 31." "Hey! You laughed! Seeing him desperately fight against my ant collection was the highlight of the week."

They heard a slam in the distance and cringed slightly from the unwavering amount of swears.

"Or at least it was."

They both sighed as they finished fixing everything. A few hours after beating themselves up and feeling guilty, they went off to Janus’ room, peering in the doorway. Janus looked up from his slumped position on bed as he put his pet snake back in its cage.

"This better be good. What prank have you two conjured up for me this time?" "We…" "We?"

Virgil kicked Remus in the ankle to silence him.

"We came to apologize. Genuinely this time."

Janus gave them a blank stare before softening his approach. He sighed softly.

"Oh? For what exactly? Or is this another attempt to get under my skin, Fear?" "For angering you. We just… well… Insanity wanted to see you smile more for once." "Yeah. You’re so uptight and snooty all the time. We thought if we found ways to make you laugh, maybe some of that stuck-up attitude would fizzle away like a can of flat soda."

Deceit looked the two up and down before he sighed, letting himself smile genuinely. A real smile? Not one of those half-assed fake ones that he did when he was about to scold them. Insanity and Fear couldn’t believe it. All they had to do was apologize for them inconveniencing him and he would do it!

"I want to apologize to you as well. I never considered my behavior to be 'stuck up' and 'snooty', I was just looking out for you." "What? Why?" "Unlike what you may know about me. Though my main title is Deceit, I have another title. It’s Self-Preservation."

The two stared at each other before looking back at Janus in confusion. Janus pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Self-Preservation means preservation of oneself from destruction or harm. In other words, I’m the embodiment of Thomas' Self-Care too." "So, we have the real Mamba Dearest." "Insanity." "Mamba? That’s a pleasant nickname."

This was the longest the deceptive trait had went without indirectly scolding them for being too loud or obnoxious. It was unnerving to Fear but Insanity welcomed this new approach. The tallest of the three was already bouncing with joy.

"How do you feel about being tackled?" "I wouldn't prefer other alternatives to getting me on the ground—"

Insanity didn’t wait for the rest of Deceit’s response before tackling him down on the bed from where Deceit was sitting up a few moments ago. Deceit grunted and struggled against Insanity, accidentally summoning his extra arms. Remus gasped.

"YOU HAVE EXTRA LIMBS?!? SO DO WE!!"

He summoned his tentacles, letting the wrap around the multitude of arms that Deceit now had exposed.

"You are… quite strong for your height…" "Hey! I know you’re not talking about height."

Remus poked the sides of Janus’ neck, getting a squeak out of him and a bigger smile than before. Remus giggled in amazement.

"Woah! You’re ticklish! Just like us!" "Rehehehehemuhuhus! Stop touhuhuching my neheheck!" "Oh, you don’t mean that, Serpent boy~"

Deceit scrunched his neck, feeling Insanity smothered the human half of his neck with his surprisingly tickly facial hair. Wait… why did Insanity have facial hair?

"Why do you hahahave facial hair? Aren’t yohohou like twehehehelve?" "Nope! 15! Just a little younger than Spiderman here." "No, you’re older than me. My birthday’s at the end of the year. Yours is in July." "Yep!"

Insanity hit a specific part of Insanity's shoulders that got him cackling and thrashing.

"NOT THERE!! NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" "Aww~ I knew that if we got you to laugh, you would stop being so whiny and bitchy!" "IHIHIHIHIHI WASN’T BEING BIHIHIHIHITCHY!"

Fear did get the sensation that happened when he sensed anxiety in others, Janus had had enough and told Insanity to stop. But Remus didn't want to and pouted at Fear.

"Awh! But I wasn’t done yet!" "Ehehehehehehe… whohoho’s whiny now?"

Fear took it back and rammed into thumbs into one of the Deceit’s hipbones. Deceit lurched, belly laughter pouring out of his lips.

"PLEHEHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHEHEHEASE!! STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP!! TOOMUCH!!"

Fear could feel the spike in adrenaline coming from the yellow side but could tell it was from instinctive fight-or-flight, not real fight-or-flight. Fear continued his assault on Deceit's hips while Remus moved to toying with Deceit's soles with his multiple octopus tentacles.

"Nope! Remus was right! You were being so bitchy earlier~" "VIRGIL!!" "What’s wrong, Dee? Can’t stand a little tickle tickle tickling~?"

The latter figments scales glowed a bit similar to his human half blushing. Fear and Insanity turned Deceit on his stomach, with Insanity binding his arms and legs, pig-tie style and Fear taking off Deceit’s socks. Deceit blood ran cold for a moment. Not again. At least the socks being on protected his poor soles but Deceit guessed that this was some kind of revenge for something else that he did.

He remembered the playfulness of his younger brother on the other side of the MindScape. The side that the two didn’t know anything about yet. Tenets would treat him to many nights to platonic tickle fights that were usually one sided despite his extra appendages. The raspberries on his stomach that would make his giggles bubbly and adorable, the paint that he would use all over his sensitive back that would leave him silently laughing, the way he knew every. single. spot. on his feet and would exploit every section until Deceit was gasping for air. He was fair but ruthless at times. He wished things didn’t have to end the way it did.

"P-please… mercy??"

Janus screamed, falling in and out of laughter as Virgil and Remus used their extra limbs and hands to get every square inch of Janus’ sole.

"PLAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHASE!! OHMYFUCUCUCUCUCUCUCUCK!! IHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIT TICKLES!! SO BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAD!!" "We’ll make a deal with you. Tell us your name and we will stop." "WHAHAHAHAHAHAT?! NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!" "Then we will be here all night~" "No matter how long it takes~"

When the oil was spread across his feet and tools were heard falling on the bed, Janus knew he couldn’t hold out for much longer. He stayed in moments of silence for longer than he originally was. It wasn't everyday that he could experience this like he used to. When he was with the… others. There was always some kind of playful squabbling or bickering. But this was a different with Fear and Insanity. It seemed like there was no advantage he had. And Deceit didn't mind that too much. After a few more minutes of being tortured, Deceit finally hollered out:

"JANUS!! THAHAHAHAHAT’S MY NAME!! MAHAHAKE IT STAHAHAHAHAP!!"

The two immediately halted their movement, letting go of Dec— Janus who curled up. His forked tongue was making long hisses while he regained his footing and breathing. Virgil was the first to speak after the revealing of the other Dark Side's name.

"You said your name was…" "Ugh… ehehehe… Jahahanus… it’s Janus." "Ooh! Like the two-faced god in Roman mythology?"

Janus nodded his head. At least Insanity was a bit smarter than he had originally anticipated.

"That’s a cool name! Both of ours also comes from Roman myth." "How so?" "Well… my name is Remus!" "Oh, right. Remus, the twin of Romulus." "And mine… is… umm… Virgil…" "Ah, yes. Virgil, the name of a Roman poet that has ties to the Underworld." "Yep! Under all that snootiness, you are actually a fine guy, Janus!"

Janus breathing was becoming more even than it previously was.

"Well, you got your answer. I can, in fact, frown."

Janus flashed his fangs slightly, getting the other two to also smile. Janus took their brief moment of comfort and pulled them into his grasp, using his main hands to hold up their own and his extra ones to knead and claw into their sides and hipbones.

"Just a rule of thumb for you two: I can be very charismatic~ It comes with the territory of being Thomas' deception after all~" "Jahahahahahahan. Nohohohoho. Wehehehe didn’t mean to take it too fahahar." "But you did intend to prank me for the past two weeks. Revenge is best served cold~"