Chapter Seven

Christmas

A/N With the addition of this chapter, I should reach 100,00 words, this would not have happened if it wasn't for the support I was receiving in comments, favorites, and follows. I didn't understand, before, why authors would say that comments would inspire them to write more, because before this I rarely received comments on work I posted. I took a look at the comments again very recently, and reading them flipped a switch and gave me the inspiration I needed to keep writing. This is the longest and most complex story I've ever devised, and there's plenty more to come. I want to take this moment, since 100,000 words is such a big milestone for me as a writer, to thank my readers and my followers. 52 people are following this story. 55 people favorited it. That might not be a lot compared to more popular fanfictions but for me, that's huge. This fanfiction has almost 19,000 views! That is actually insane. I hope you like this chapter, a lot of love went into it.

Additional A/N So…the newest name reveal… JANUS! I love it! I changed his name to his proper one for this chapter, I'm like geeking out so hard gaahhahewhfukhadhwshdhfhi I'll probably put a reason in there or I just won't. That is a possibility.

Christmas was quickly approaching and Logan seemed to be getting in the spirit of things. He'd been making trips back and forward from the Light Domain, driving Lucius insane with it. He'd fixed up a few of the rooms in the commons to be more cheery(sparkling icicles and floating candles that produced no heat), and only went back in his room to sleep. He insisted that Janus take it easy for while, seeing as he'd been caring for the other dark sides by himself for years, and made the meals for the others in increasing complexity and impressiveness. Janus didn't think he'd ever be able to learn to cook as well as Logan did and, though he knew Remus and Nate wouldn't complain about food so long as they were being fed, he felt that it would be almost unfair to take up his old duties again if Logan still wished to continue them. He was beginning to feel obsolete, and the phrase he'd once spoken to Roman when they were young kept badgering him relentlessly; "Lies are just inferior truths." Wasn't Logan a beacon of truth and fact? Wasn't Janus just a pale, inferior imitation of the intellectual trait? But Logan, insightful as ever, seemed to sense that Janus felt like this. He'd taken it upon himself to remind Janus how much he meant to the other three. He was constantly thanking and encouraging Janus in practically everything he did, whether he was running errands for Lucius, cleaning up after Remus, keeping Nate in line, or fussing over Logan to make him take care of himself. Nate had taken to similar behaviour, though his thanks and compliments came much more randomly placed and delivered in more interesting ways. Even Remus, in his own way, had picked up on the practice. He'd taken to leaving dead animals outside Janus's door-which he typically fed to his pet snakes- with little notes that were slightly creepy, seeing as they were made of cut newspaper clippings and held a few oddly specific details about his life, but sweet all the same. He'd also picked up the habit of trailing his fingers somewhat creepily over Janus's shoulders, but the deceitful trait found he didn't mind it as much as he should have. Janus had never, in his life, felt more appreciated. All the same, he had not expected anything much different of this year's Christmas. Logan, he was sure, would insist on making the Christmas Eve and Christmas day dinners, but Janus really wanted to and was just as certain that he could convince Logan to let him. He was fairly sure that would be the only difference. Janus had found and created presents for everyone in the few days leading up to Christmas Eve. He had absolutely no idea what Logan would want aside from jam and books, but he sincerely hoped that the newly appointed cunning trait would enjoy what he had collected for him. Logan had become somewhat boisterous over the weeks he was out of his room. He was using the zipline just as often as the other two, and could be seen hanging upside down from them at one point or another, but he seemed to be just as responsible as usual when it came to the others. He cleaned and bandaged a cut Nate had acquired, refusing to let the rebel 'just walk it off', he'd calmed Remus when he'd entered into a manic panic over something Janus couldn't understand, he scolded the boys for chasing each other with knives without making them feel like children, he seemed to take a special liking to helping Janus with daily activities like cleaning and disinfecting, and he insisted- to the delight of the other two- that if any dangerous or risky activities were to take place, he should be invited. The night before Christmas eve found the Dark Sides without Lucius. They all pretended to be sad to hear he had to disappear on a study over Christmas, but were all secretly relieved. That night, they celebrated together about Lucius's brief departure. In a strange twist of events, and to the immense joy of Remus and Nate, Logan had brought out several bottles of tequila for them all to share. Janus, resigning to be the responsible one yet again, had about half a glass of a spiked soda drink all together whereas the other three started off the party with a shot contest. Surprisingly, Logan won. Nate had ducked out of the contest after six and Remus threw up after nine. Janus knew Remus had an unnaturally high alcohol resistance, but nine was definitely the most he'd ever had all at once. Janus was, therefore, entirely shocked when Logan only dropped after ten. He was fairly sure that it was entirely impossible to not be very ill after that much alcohol, but maybe it was different for sides. Logan passed out five minutes after the contest, and Nate, having continued to sip off glasses of drinks even though he felt ill, followed suit roughly ten minutes later. Janus moved both of them to their respective rooms, mumbling about how irresponsible they'd been but smiling fondly all the while. He came back out to the commons, and that left him with a highly intoxicated Remus who, in Janus's opinion, was actually very cute when tipsy. He giggled much more softly and airily than usual after drinking and became just a little bit clingy. This particular night, seeing as Remus was particularly drunk, he was particularly adorable. He was cuddling into Janus's side and grumbling about something, with a cute pout on his face. His cheeks were bright pink and his eyes were sparkling brightly, even while his expression contradicted that. Suddenly, he sat up and looked Janus in the eyes.

"I have to tell you something." He told him seriously.

"Alright." Janus humored him. "What is it?"

"I fucking love you." He replied forcefully, his words slurring a little bit. Janus smiled at him.

"I love you too Remus." He said gently, brushing a lock of the duke's hair away from his eyes.

"No." He said. "You don't get it." He shifted forward and Janus found himself practically pinned to the couch by Remus's hands and knees. "I love you." He growled roughly. With almost no hesitation he swooped down and attacked Janus's mouth sloppily with his own. Janus didn't have the heart to fend him off. It had nothing to do with the fact that he liked him, he told himself, because he did not take advantage of drunk people. It had nothing to do with how much he enjoyed the kiss, because this wasn't about him. When they broke apart, Remus's eyes were gleaming dangerously.

"Oi!" Someone said from the corner. Virgil was back. He was leaning against the wall, smirking at the two of them. "Tomorrow is Christmas eve." He told them.

"Yes." Janus agreed, slipping out of Remus's grasp. "Tomorrow is Christmas eve."

"Us light sides are having a party." Virgil informed him.

"And?" Remus said moodily, pouting.

"Patton sent me to invite you guys." He shrugged.

"What?" Janus blinked.

"All of you are invited. Except Lucius. He's not welcome." Virgil clarified.

"Oh." Was all Janus said.

"Where's Logan and Nate?" He asked him, almost suspiciously.

"Asleep." Janus replied evenly. That was technically true, he supposed.

"Already?" The suspicion in Virgil's voice increased.

"Yeah they did a lot today." Janus said.

"We had a drinking contest." Remus informed Virgil, draping himself unceremoniously over Janus's lap.

"Logan actually participated?" Virgil sounded highly dubious.

"And he won." Remus nodded.

"Mhm." Virgil still sounded as though he didn't believe a single word. "Anyway, pass the message along, will you?" He said.

"Sure." Janus assured him. Virgil hesitated for a minute then gave Janus an unsure smile that Janus returned as warmly as possible. Remus waved him off impatiently, grabbing Janus roughly by the shoulders and pulling him into another bruising kiss. Janus distinctly heard an over exaggerated faux gagging coming from where Virgil was standing, so- and purely just to spite him, not because he was enjoying the kiss- he moved his hands to Remus's shoulders and made a lewd noise into his mouth, smirking slightly when he felt the energy of the room shift; knowing that Virgil was gone.

When Janus woke the morning of Christmas eve, his lower back was sore, but he took pleasure in knowing that he would be the only one without an awful hangover. It only took about five minutes to freshen himself up, and then he left Remus's room for the kitchen. In all honesty, he was both giddy and scared for what would happen when Remus woke up. Would he remember what had happened last night and what they said to each other? Did Janus want him to remember? What if Remus didn't really mean it and he was just trying to get in his pants? Worse, what if he had meant it, but changed his mind? Even Remus would rather not share his bed with Janus after he'd shared it with someone like Logan in the past. Oh god what if he-

"Janus! Chill, your aura feels like mine after Thomas falls down a flight of stairs in front of a bunch of strangers." Virgil was sitting at the counter, leaning on it with the tiniest hint of an amused smile about his face. Logan was standing on the other side of the counter, smiling pleasantly (Pleasantly!) and it was abundantly clear he was not suffering from a hangover. Janus felt his cheeks begin to heat up, and he fought down the blush.

"Hello, Virgil." Janus said in as pleasant a voice as he could muster that early in the morning. "What brings you here?"

"Hypervigilance." He said with all seriousness. "I was worried about Logan and I didn't believe your story from last night…" He shifted uncomfortably. "Sorry." He added begrudgingly.

"That's fair." Janus nodded. "It was extremely out of character for him." Virgil nodded in agreement, eyes flitting over to Logan briefly and back to Janus.

"Virgil was telling me about the Christmas party tonight," Logan began, "and all about how us dark sides get to go too."

"What!?" Nate was standing in the doorway, a big grin on his face. "We get to go? That's awesome!" Logan bobbed his head slightly.

"I'm quite glad we will be attending." Logan agreed. "It will be a great opportunity to help bridge the gap, as one might say, between the dark and light domains." Remus dropped down from the ceiling, landing face down on the floor. He looked up at Virgil without moving the rest of his body and grinned a shit-eating grin.

"Boo." Virgil had flinched when Remus had hit the ground but was now looking at him with disinterest, clearly unimpressed.

"Patton's really excited about this Christmas." Virgil began, sweeping a biting gaze over the collected dark sides. "If something goes wrong I'll be holding you accountable." Logan noticed that Virgil avoided eye contact with him, even though he stared down the other three. Surprisingly, it was Janus who replied;

"Oh of course, we're being invited so you have a villain to blame."

"Come now, Janus," Logan began, ignoring Remus's snickers, "I'm sure he didn't mean it that way. He's only trying to look out for Patton, he's had a particularly hard time with all of this." Janus gave off a noncomential sound somewhere between a disbelieving huff and an irritated snake hiss. Virgil made no comment on what Logan had said, but he did send a scrutinizing look over his way. After a moment, he seemed to have decided something.

"All I'm going to ask of you tonight, is to not show up high, okay?" There was some sort of look about his face Logan couldn't explain. Logan felt hot shame wash over him. Janus and Nate both seemed confused, and Logan didn't know how he was going to explain himself to them. They actually looked up to him, how was he to tell them? Before he could open his mouth, however, Remus jumped to his defence.

"Holy shit, you're an asshole. Damn, can you not be a little bitch for like two seconds and just leave him the fuck alone? We didn't ask to go to your goddamn party you piece of shit!"

"Remus, that's quite enough." Logan said sternly. He was grateful that Remus defended him, but Virgil was right to mock Logan, he was weak and pathetic and deserved the ridicule.

"Bullshit!" Remus snapped at Logan, before turning his attention back to Virgil. "You can't just march right up on here into our home and start throwing insults and threats around and expect us to just take it, General." He sneered the title in a mocking voice. "You aren't Chief Rein of Fear anymore, Logan is. You don't run the show, mkay bitch?"

"Remus." Logan bit. "Are you trying to restart a war?"

"Well, to defend you, maybe we should." Nate barked.

"That's absurd!" Logan practically squacked. "You don't start a war over an insult."

"Hey!" Virgil cut in. "I didn't mean it as an insult. I know Logan's struggling. I just want him to be able to look back on tonight and not regret anything. That won't be able to happen if he's high." Logan felt a sharp shock go through him at Virgil's statement. Nate looked properly abashed, but Remus held no such dignity. He opened his mouth but Janus cut across him.

"Thank you, for inviting us Virgil, we'll be happy to attend." He said hastily.

"Indeed, we will." Logan agreed as Janus began ushering Virgil towards the exit of the dark domain. "Do take care." After the door closed behind Virgil, Janus and Remus began talking, Nate joining in, but Logan could barely hear them over his own thoughts. Time seemed to slow down again and their voices dulled to background noise as he thought.

Virgil's still looking out for me, even though he saw what I did to Tom. It's possible that he's faking concern in order to convince me to arrive sober and sound of mind in order to increase Patton's enjoyment of the night, but the likelihood of that is about equivalent to the likelihood of him genuinely caring about me. Virgil dislikes dark sides not on the principle that we are dark sides but under the belief that we are unwaveringly "bad". Simply, Virgil still believes me to be good, albeit misguided. Therefore, in order to gain Virgil's trust and therein the trust of the others, we must display the traits each of us keeps hidden; Janus his capacity for love, Remus his kindness, Nate his loyalty, and I my weakness. My weakness has been displayed already and therefore it is not necessary to show much of it. Now to highlight the specific traits in them should be simple. I convince them that tonight is not a night for having our guard up. We arrive expecting to be treated with hospitality and return the kindness. Remus will have brought presents for everyone, likely they will be stuffed animals, the purity and innocence of which will pleasantly surprise all the light sides. I can create a few situations in which Nate's loyalty to Remus and Janus can be brought up naturally, and Janus will inadvertently charm them with the way he insists on being of help. After the light sides see the good in us, they will open up to us, and that may lead to a chance to bridge the figurative gap between the light and dark domains. If the dark and the light coexist in harmony, Thomas will be as balanced as a human can possibly be. He will be healthier, happier, and more productive than he ever has been. This could work! But wait… Lucius would never agree to this, he wants total control over Thomas. Simply fixed, he will be disposed of. How though? An uprising. The other three dark sides look up to me, I can lead them on a conquest to free themselves from Lucius's tyrannical control. With me to protect them there is no reason for them to obey Lucius, he cannot hope to best me in combat and therefore has no power over me besides having the other three at his disposal. Overthrow of a king aside, we have a peace mission to plan.

Logan's attention snapped back to reality as time lurched forward to its regular speed. Nate was shouting about how they should still be fighting the light sides over Virgil's actions towards Logan while Remus was yelling obscenities and Janus was shaking his head disappointedly.

"Silence." Logan hadn't raised his voice very much, but everyone quieted immediately. "I have a plan, and I'd like all of you to help." The other three dark sides turned expectant looks to Logan, Remus literally vibrating with excitement. "The mission I am about to give the three of you is not in the slightest sanctioned by the dark one, in fact he can not know about it." Janus suddenly looked nervous, but Remus was beginning to bounce up and down on his toes and Nate grinned devilishly. "Phase one will take place tonight at the light side's Christmas party. This is the most crucial part, the rest cannot take place if this does not go well."

"I thought you didn't want to start things up with the light sides again?" Janus pointed out quietly.

"I don't, phase one is a peace mission. Everything has to go perfectly tonight, I want you three on your best behavior, but try to let your walls down. Let them see you the way you've let me see you recently. They must see you as people if this is going to work."

"With all due respect, I don't think that's going to happen. Winston and Patton may be easy enough to convince, but Virgil and Roman hate us on principle." Janus spoke up again, his eyes cast toward the ground.

"Not on the principle of darkness on the principle of evil. If they see good in you, they'll come around." Logan offered Janus a small smile.

"Okay, but what's the big goal here? The dark one will find out eventually." Nate said.

"And by the time he finds out, he will no longer be our ruler." Logan informed him. "Short term goal is to overthrow the dark one."

"YES!" Remus practically screamed. "I've always wanted to be part of a rebellion!"

"Yo." Nate said.

"Where were you during the first revolt?" Logan asked curiously. "I was surprised you weren't involved."

"There was a revolt?" Remus screeched. "And I wasn't invited?"

"You were in temporary exile, remember?" Janus explained. "We were forbidden from mentioning it after it ended."

"Does that have something to do with his weird collar?" Remus asked.

"Yeah." Nate replied. "I'm surprised you didn't ask about that sooner."

"I just thought he was getting kinky with someone." Remus shrugged. Nate erupted into laughter and Janus pinked slightly and frowned. Logan felt a smile tug at his lips as he shook his head.

"What about the long term goal, Sir?" Janus asked. Logan frowned at the title.

"The long term goal is for the dark and the light to coexist in harmony and peace so Thomas can be happier and more productive."

"Lit." Nate said.

"Yay! We get to be the good guys!" Remus cheered. "So how are we supposed to make them like us, again?"

"Just act the way you do here when the dark one isn't around." Logan told them.

"Should I bring presents? I'mma bring presents." Remus muttered to himself. He then zipped off to his room.

"There's a problem with that. I'm annoying." Nate pointed out.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Logan replied honestly. "Either way, your fierce loyalty and protectiveness over the people you care about will garner their respect, all I ask is try to be nice."

"No promises. Especially if alcohol is involved." Nate told him with a shrug and a smirk. Logan nodded his appreciation for Nate's honesty.

"What about me?" Janus asked quietly. "They're afraid of me. Roman looks at me like a villain."

"He looked at Virgil the same way before, once upon a time." Logan pointed out. "He was faced with Virgil's human aspects, his good side. Roman was the one that really sold Virgil on coming back from ducking out." Janus nodded, seemingly to himself.

"Maybe." He muttered distractedly.

Logan wasn't really ready for the Light Sides' Christmas party. Physically, everything was in order. He had gifts ready to offer to his former family, he had changed up his outfit to be a bit more palatable for them, he had successfully gone the whole day without taking a pill- instead having decided to exercise all day while he was preparing, hoping the endorphins would be enough of a rush for him. It worked well enough for the time being. Mentally, however, was a different story. He was a nervous wreck and if it weren't for his ability to cloak his aura he was sure Virgil would've come plowing through the dark side with a flamethrower, thinking Logan was being murdered. He didn't want to accidentally hurt the light sides again, he loved them too much… well maybe he wouldn't mind hurting Winston a little bit. He looked himself over in the mirror again. Black button down with long sleeves, white bowtie, deep blue silk vest with silver trimming, black slacks, and his new regular heeled black boots. He had done his makeup differently as well. He'd had a lot of time to practice in the last few weeks and after experimenting with many different kinds of tools and materials- some of which only existed in the imagination- he was able to create hyper realistic tears in Patton, Roman, and Virgil's colors dripping down his cheeks. He painted starry skies over his eyelids, wondering what the others would think of the eyeshadow. Would Virgil think it was cool? Would Roman be impressed? Would Patton like the way it looked on him? Logan physically shook himself. They had five minutes until they were expected to arrive. He left his room, patting Daylan on the way out, and made his way through his winding hallways at full speed, levitating the presents behind him. He made his way to the entrance and exit of the dark side where they were to meet up. Janus had presents piled up in his arms, struggling to carry them but as usual, refusing to ask for help. Logan levitated them into the air with a small smile. Janus thanked him quietly. Nate didn't have any presents with him, unsurprisingly. Remus came barreling out of his hall, sliding to a stop near the other three. He had a bag with him and was waving it around excitedly.

"I fit everyone's presents into this bag!" He claimed excitedly. "Lookit Logan! Lookit!" Logan smiled fondly.

"Yes, Remus, excellent work." He told him. Remus beamed proudly.

"Interesting makeup." Nate commented.

"Do you think it's inappropriate for the occasion?" Logan frowned.

"No, I just think it's interesting." Nate said.

"I like it!" Remus claimed loudly. "You look like a hot ghost!"

"You think all ghosts are hot." Janus pointed out, causing the collected sides to laugh. "Should we get going?" He directed his question to Logan.

"That's probably wise." Logan nodded an affirmative. As one, they sunk out and reappeared in front of the entrance to the light domain. Logan was about to knock, but Remus beat him to it, rapping the door enthusiastically. After a brief moment, Patton answered, smiling warmly and brightly.

"Heya kiddos! Glad you could make it!" He said genuinely. Logan allowed himself a small smile but internally reminded himself to keep his emotions in check. "Wow! That's a lot of presents, do you want help with those?" He stepped aside to let the dark sides in.

"Thank you Patton, but levitating light objects like these puts next to no strain on me at all." He directed the boxes to set themselves gently near another large stack under the light sides tree.

"LOGAN SANDERS!" Everyone flinched slightly, but grinned at Princey's loud, boisterous voice. Something heavy collided with Logan's side, and it took him a second to register that the white and red clad prince was tackle-hugging him.

"Salutations, Roman." Logan said fondly as he hugged him back. "I'm glad to see one of the processes was successful. Roman straightened up, looking suddenly awkward.

"Let's not talk about that tonight." He said quietly. His face lit up in a big smile again as Remus pounced with a shout of;

"BROTHER!" The two of them went down in a laughing heap. Logan couldn't remember a time since they were very small that Roman and Remus were getting along together this well.

"I really hope they don't start hanging out again. I'm pretty sure they'd destroy the world." Virgil joked. He was leaning against the wall with a small smirk on his face. "Hey, L, what's up?" Logan looked up, then returned his attention back to Virgil.

"Far too many bundles of Mistletoe." He replied pleasantly. Virgil snorted.

"Truth." He agreed. Remus suddenly squeaked and shot up.

"Guys, guys, guys, guys! I have presents for you!" He crowed, waving his bag around again. "Is Remy coming? If not I could probably drop it off in his closet." The light sides exchanged uneasy looks.

"We did not invite Remy or Caesar." Winston said after a moment. "Considering what happened-" It was the first time Logan had ever seen Winston at a loss for what to say. He wanted so badly to tease him for it, but he held himself back with practiced discipline. Remus saved him by shouting,

"Guys! Presents!" And pulling out a ridiculously large red stuffed dragon from his bag. "ROMAN! PRESENTS!" The energy in the room immediately picked back up as Remus threw the dragon at his brother who caught it, laughing good naturedly. Patton giggled.

"That's so cute!" He said.

"You know what else is cute?" Remus asked him. "Frogs. Frogs are cute." And he pulled a four foot pastel green frog from his bag. The eyes were closed and it's tongue- which was sticking out of a closed smile- was bubblegum pink. There was a soft blue flower on its head. He tossed it to Patton who squealed.

"AAAAAA I love it!"

"Virgil!" Remus shouted next.

"Oh god." Virgil murmured tiredly.

"Please Virgil, call me Remus." Remus wiggled his shoulders suggestively as Virgil rolled his eyes. "Check it out." Virgil's present was a large cartoon bat in varying shades of black and grey with large purple eyes and wings. Virgil smiled when he caught it.

"Thanks Remus." He said shyly.

"Winston…" Remus whispered. "I got you a shirtle." He pulled out a strange looking creature, that was cute nonetheless. It was a soft, pinkish colored turtle with large purple eyes, but instead of a shell it had a large patch of fluffy, curly white wool. "Also can be called a teep." He informed him factually.

"Delightful." Winston said honestly, catching the stuffed animal with a smile.

"Nate! Raccoon!" Remus trilled. Nate suddenly found himself with a face full of raccoon plushie.

"LllllloooOOOOGAaaaaaan!" He sang, withdrawing an enormous unicorn with a flourish and presenting it to him.

"Thank you Remus, it's lovely." Logan said softly, finding that its white fur was incredibly comforting to touch.

"Aaaaaand Janus gets a snek!" It was a two headed snake, in fact. One head was very serious-looking, with squinted eyes, a top hat, and a bow tie. The other head had larger, kinder eyes and a big smile, as well as a bowler hat. Both of them had little tongues sticking out.

"Hold on a minute, did you just call him Janus?" Roman asked, confused.

"That's my real name." Janus told him quietly. "I told everyone it was Janus because I had to lie and it was close." He looked down and blushed shyly. Roman bit his lip to stop himself from laughing, and Patton gave him an, "Are you kidding me? Please be nice." look.

"Hey Pat!" Remus called, once again being the one to take everyone's attention off the darkness of the near past. "Whatever you're cooking smells awesome! What is it?" Patton beamed, and Logan had to fight down a blush.

"That would be the goose." He said brightly. "Thanks for reminding me kiddo! It should be coming out soon!" He put his frog down carefully and trotted off toward the kitchen.

"Would you like help?" Janus offered, already putting down his two headed snake.

"Sure, kiddo, that'd be great!" Patton chirped. So far, everything was going perfectly.