This will be the last chapter for this part. I still have more ideas, though, so it won't be the last chapter of the series.

I figured I would post this chapter today because I think it's happy? Or hopeful, at least.

XXX

Janus hadn't known that, despite just reassuring Virgil, his secret would be revealed so soon. And how could he have known? With most of his worries swept away, Virgil had backed away a bit, not yet having worked up the nerve to confront Janus again, and Patton had apparently decided to let him come to them on his own (which he did not plan to do). And the others didn't notice that anything was wrong at all, or at least, they made no indication that they noticed anything.

But regardless of Janus's false sense of security, his secret was revealed soon enough.

Perhaps ironically, Janus was helping Patton in the kitchen again when it happened, making pasta this time instead of cookies. Virgil was sitting at the table, scrolling endlessly on his phone, and Roman was sitting with Logan in the living room.

It happened when Janus went to dump the pasta pot into the colander. The pot was a lot heavier and the handles a lot hotter than he expected, and it only took a second for him to lose his grip.

Janus managed to maintain enough of a hold on it to prevent the entire pot from pouring over him, dropping it back onto the surface of the stove, but the motion caused a wave of scalding water to splash over the side and onto his hand.

"FUCK!" he yelped.

Before he even fully registered what happened, Patton was at his side and dragging him over to the sink by his arm. The other side turned the sink on so that cold water blasted out of the faucet.

And then Patton pulled off his glove and shoved his hand under the freezing water.

At the moment, Janus didn't even care that his glove was off, as he was too focused on trying to hold back pain-induced tears.

"Everything all right in there?" Roman shouted from the living room, having heard Janus's yelp.

"Janus burned his hand!" Virgil responded.

He hadn't even noticed that Virgil had stood from his chair, now standing next to the two of them.

"Should I go get the first-aid kit?" he asked.

"Yeah," Patton agreed before turning his attention back to Janus. "Are you okay? Did it dump anywhere other than your hand?"

"N-No," Janus gritted out as the water continued to soothe his burnt skin.

Roman and Logan appeared in the doorway while they waited for Virgil to return, and once he did, Patton led Janus over to the kitchen table. They sat down, and Patton opened the first-aid kit to begin treating the burn. It wasn't too large of a burn, but it covered the area surrounding the base of his thumb with red, stinging pain.

Patton moved to take his hand, and that was when Janus realized that he was exposed. Patton could see his hand, see his skin. He would see his fingertips, and he would see that the damage there wasn't from the burn. What if he questioned him? What if he realized that his hands weren't all there was? What would he think? What would they all think?

And so, as he felt Patton's hand brush against his bare skin, he flinched away.

"Oh, sorry!" Patton apologized, thinking that he had touched the burn. "Here, I'll put some burn cream on it, okay?"

"No, no. I can't do it myself," Janus insisted, holding his injured hand with his sill-gloved one.

"It's okay, Janus, I'll be gentle," Patton reassured him.

Janus felt his shoulders rise up, tensing, as he wasn't sure what to do. If he left, he would just look suspicious and they would probably question him about it later. Hell, he was already starting to look suspicious. But if he gave Patton his hand, he would see.

"Just let Patton fix your hand up, Lyin' King," Roman told him. "You know how he is."

Janus felt his heart flutter faster in his chest as he held his breath and froze. And then a hand landed on his shoulder.

"Okay, okay, why did your anxiety just shoot up?" Virgil asked him. "You aren't afraid of burn cream, are you?"

He could tell that Virgil was trying his best to keep his tone light, but Janus knew that Virgil's mind was already trying to come up with the reason Janus was hesitating, likely concocting something even worse than the reality again. Maybe he could convince them that he was scared of medical treatment? That was a reasonable fear, right?. But then Roman might make fun of him for it, and they might not even believe him.

"I believe Janus doesn't want us to see his hand," Logan cut in. "He always wears gloves, refusing to remove them even when not doing so is an inconvenience. Though, I don't know what he could possibly be trying to hide."

So much for trying to lie.

Patton was giving him this look, and Janus didn't know what to think. His eyebrows were pinched inward, and he was frowning, and oh my god he was going to think Janus is disgusting and crazy and he's lying again and Patton hates lying, he knows he still does, and Patton is going to be mad that he hid something from him, and-

"Jan," Virgil spoke firmly. "You need to calm down, okay? What's wrong with us seeing your hand?"

He was frozen.

"Janus, whatever it is, we won't get mad, okay?" Patton told him, his tone reassuring but clearly confused.

Patton reached out again, and this time, Janus let him. This was going to happen whether he wanted it to or not, whether he was ready or not, and his hand really did hurt very badly. The other side pulled his arm toward himself by Janus's wrist, being sure he didn't touch the burn. As the hand was turned so Patton could access the injury, Janus saw his eyes widen slightly before a large, caring smile stretched across his face.

"Well, it looks like the burn isn't too bad. It could have been a lot worse," Patton told him as he unscrewed the cap on the cream. "I'll have to touch it to rub this in, so sorry if it hurts a bit."

Janus nodded stiffly, barely paying attention to the words he was agreeing to. Regret was already washing over him as he realized how stupid he had been for letting his secret be revealed. Why did he have to burn himself? If he had just been a little more careful, this wouldn't have happened. Virgil and Patton would have eventually given up on trying to figure out what was wrong with him, and he could have just gone on without anyone knowing anything. But now, Patton had already seen, and judging by how close Virgil was, he had probably seen too. Logan and Roman were farther behind him, though, and he wasn't sure if they had moved or how much they could see.

But regardless of Janus's thoughts, Patton just gently rubbed the burn cream into his raw skin and carefully wrapped a bandage around his hand. Janus thought he was done, but then Patton took out a few bandaids and started wrapping them around the tips of his fingers, two of which had apparently started bleeding from being blasted by cold water.

When he was done with that, Patton held his hand in both of his.

"See, all taken care of," Patton told him.

And Janus allowed himself to feel the slightest bit of relief because Patton hadn't yelled at him or judged him. And then Roman opened his mouth.

"I don't get it. What was the big deal?"

"Roman-"

"No, I mean, I'm not trying to say that whatever the issue is isn't a big deal or isn't valid or whatever," Roman explained. "I just don't get it. I don't see anything wrong with his hand from here besides the burn."

Janus didn't respond. Virgil remained silent beside him.

"Patton, you bandaged his fingers as well. Was he also injured there?" Logan asked.

"Now, kiddos, I don't think Janus is comfortable talking about this-"

"Is this why your arm was bleeding the other day?" Virigil asked.

He flinched.

"It is, isn't it?" Virgil continued, sighing. "Janus, this isn't as bad as I thought, but it's still not good, you know?"

Janus felt his lip wobble, and he had to, once again, keep himself from crying in front of the others. Virgil was judging him. Virgil thought he was gross and bad and he was going to start hating him again, and all because Deceit, the master of lies, couldn't manage to keep a single secret.

"Seriously, what are you guys talking about? What's wrong?"

And Janus still couldn't answer, and he couldn't stop Virgil from answering either.

"He's been picking at his skin. A lot, by the looks of it," said Virgil.

To Janus, it felt like time stopped. He felt his blood rushing in his ears, and his hands started to shake. It felt like the air around him had suddenly become heavy and dense as it weighed him down.

And that just made Janus all the more surprised when the others responded.

"Oh. Uh. Well, I guess it's good Patton bandaged his fingers too, then?" Roman spoke, his voice uncertain.

"That certainly explains the reluctance to show his hands," Logan nodded. "Janus, you're clearly bothered by it, so perhaps we should try to find a way to break the habit."

That was not what he was expecting. He was expecting Patton to pretend everything was okay or get mad at him for lying. He was expecting Virgil to hate him again. He was expecting Logan to sigh and scold him for doing something so illogical. He was expecting Roman to tell him how he had made a big deal out of nothing.

He wasn't expecting Patton to treat the wounds on his fingertips the same as the burn. He wasn't expecting Roman to accept it without invalidating his fears. He wasn't expecting Logan to try to offer help.

What about Virgil? Was he angry? Disgusted? Or was Janus just making that up too?

"Jan."

He looked up to meet Virgil's eyes. He didn't look angry. Instead, he looked concerned.

"Patton was right when he said we wouldn't get mad at you," Virgil told him. "Everyone has bad habits. It's not a good thing, but none of us think any less of you for it."

Virgil put an arm on his shoulder, giving it a slight, comforting squeeze.

So, Virgil really didn't hate him, then? He wasn't mad or disgusted. This revelation only made it that much harder for Janus to stop the wetness in the corner of his eyes from falling free.

"It's…," Janus tried finally. "It's not just a bad habit… I… I can't stop doing it… I tried, and that barely even lasted a few weeks, and it wasn't even as bad as now…"

His face was burning in embarrassment. He shouldn't have said anything. Now, he just sounded like he was whining.

"... Jan, do you pick your skin when you feel anxious…?" Virgil asked, his tone soft.

Janus shrugged.

"I… I don't know… I… suppose?" Janus replied.

Well, the cat was already out of the bag. No point in hiding now.

"I just… It's pretty much whenever I see my skin…," he tried to explain. "That's why I cover it up all the time…"

Oh, he was going to have to tell so many lies later to make up for all these truths.

"But it is… a lot worse when I'm… anxious," he continued awkwardly, shifting in his chair. "It's… I don't want to do it, not really, but when I feel… not so great is when I do it more… intentionally?"

Janus buried his face in his hands, hoping to at least cover up his red cheeks before he remembered Virgil's fears.

"Ugh, I feel like I didn't explain that right," Janus sighed, frustrated at himself. "I'm not trying to hurt myself. I just can't… help it, I suppose."

He hoped that that was enough to reassure Virgil. The other side had already panicked enough over the idea that Janus was hurting himself, and he didn't want a repeat of that. Because it wasn't really about hurting himself. It was about fulfilling a compulsion and feeling the relief he could only feel when he did so.

"Oh, Janus…," Patton spoke softly, and he sounded heartbroken.

This was definitely a mistake. Sure, the others didn't hate him, but now, he had ended up hurting them. Why did he have to be like this?

"It seems that you likely suffer from excoriation disorder, or dermatillomania," Logan announced, cutting through Janus's negative thoughts. "It's a psychological disorder related to OCD that involves compulsive picking of the skin."

What?

"It's usually treated with cognitive behavioral therapy, though medication is sometimes an option," Logan continued. "Medication might not be an option since we're aspects of Thomas's personality, but I'm sure we can try some strategies from cognitive behavioral therapy to help you cope with the feelings you have when you don't pick your skin. It would probably also help to cut your nails shorter."

Logan was giving him advice. Medical advice.

"I… What?"

He looked up to see that Roman and Logan had moved so they were standing in front of him beside Patton.

"Look, Catcher in the Lie, no one is going to blame you for having a disorder," Roman told him. "And maybe we don't always get along, but I think we are all willing to help you deal with it."

Seriously?

"Roman is correct. It might be difficult to control, but if you're willing, I can help you learn the techniques," Logan offered.

"We love you, kiddo. And when something bothers you, we want to help," added Patton. "And I'm proud of you for telling us, even though it was difficult for you."

"Yeah. And I mean, I'm Anxiety," spoke Virgil. "I know some ways to cope with anxious thoughts, you know? I can help with those, too."

Janus was shocked. He really hadn't expected them to be so understanding, let alone actually want to help him. But they were, and they did, and Janus didn't have to hide this anymore. He didn't have to feel like he was lying to them when he didn't want to.

Now, there was nothing to stop his tears from falling.

"...Okay…"

XXX

And that's the end of this part. The skin picking will come up again in other parts, but it won't necessarily be something particularly focussed on in all of them. I think I'm going to have at least one other part related to this at some point, since you usually don't just immediately stop picking your skin when people find out about it.

Sorry if this got too angsty? It's far from the angstiest fic I've written, but I feel like the subject matter might have taken a strange turn? But idk, I wanted to write a thing about this being the reason Janus wears gloves.

XXX

Well, thanks for reading, and maybe I'll see you in the next part. That one should be a bit lighter (hopefully).