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Hey, so, here's the scene where Janus tries to comfort Remus in more detail.

Warning: This one's gonna be darker than the main fic, which is why I decided to post it separately (I also may have written it last…). So. Just make sure to heed the warnings- there is slight self harm in this.

Please skip this chapter if you don't want to read the scene last chapter began on in more detail.

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Janus left the other sides in a huff, various emotions spinning around inside him- the frustration still present from earlier, the guilt about not being able to help Thomas, the fear about being found out, the embarrassment over how he liked to spend his free time.

He hadn't wanted to deal with the others right then, and he really wished that Thomas had been having trouble sleeping literally any other day (or, really, he didn't want Thomas to have trouble sleeping at all, but if he was going to, he'd much rather it be when he wasn't already irrationally annoyed about something).

Truthfully, he didn't really want to track down Remus, either, but he did know that the creative side was involved in the issue. He had also realized that he hadn't seen much of Remus recently, and Janus knew Remus well enough to know that being alone for too long wasn't good for him. He doubted that the others, even his brother (especially his brother), had come to visit him during Janus's absence, so Remus really had probably spent a majority of his time lately being alone.

That thought added some additional guilt to the storm inside him.

It wasn't hard to find Remus- Janus knew he would likely be in his room, the basement, or the imagination. He'd started with the bedroom, and luck had it that that happened to be where he was.

Remus had left the door cracked open so that an unearthly glow and a disembodied cackle could filter out into the hallway. Remus had never really been one to care too much if someone invaded his privacy, but Janus knocked anyway.

"Remus? Are you in here?"

He received no response, and repeating the action gave no better results.

Knowing Remus wouldn't mind, Janus lightly pushed the door open to peer into the room. It was dark, so it took a moment for Janus's eyes to adjust to it, but once he got used to it, he glanced around- first toward the bed covered in balled-up sheets, then the desk with a glowing green lamp, then toward Remus's closet, to see if he was possibly in there. Still not seeing him, Janus was about to conclude the other man wasn't there and check the basement when he heard something, something other than the strange voices Remus played like music:

A short, hitching breath.

Janus listened closer and realized that, beneath the typical sounds of the room, there was a quiet mumble, one in a voice he recognized.

"Remus?" Janus called out as he fully stepped into the room.

It still took him another second to find him, but once he was inside, he spotted him in the corner blocked by the door.

Instantly, all of his frustration (along with most of the other emotions in the storm) flew from his mind as he saw the state his friend was in.

Remus was curled up in a tight ball, back to the wall, with his knees pulled up to his chest. His arms were digging into his sleeves, and considering how sharp the man's nails were, Janus had a feeling that they were probably digging into his skin, too. His face was hidden in his legs, but now that Janus knew to seek out the voice, he could tell that Remus was definitely mumbling something in a voice that he didn't like the sound of.

Still, all Janus could do was stare for a moment. It wasn't like this was the first time he'd found Remus like this, but it was still hard to see every time.

Steeling himself, Janus came further into the room and settled himself closer to the other man, kneeling on the floor in front of him. Remus didn't react to his presence, but now that he was closer, Janus could hear his mumbling more clearly.

"Put your hand on the stove… No, cut it out, you're gonna make Thomas do it… Put your hand on the stove… No! Stop it!"

Hearing the words made Janus's heart flutter in alarm, especially when he noticed how Remus's grip on himself was growing tighter. Not wanting Remus to hurt himself too much, Janus reached out a careful hand in an attempt to encourage the other side to loosen his grip.

"Hey, Ree, don't do that," Janus spoke softly.

Remus flinched, though Janus couldn't tell if it was from his voice, his touch, or both.

"It's okay, Ree. It's just me," Janus told him. "Do you think you can let go of your arms?"

Remus shook his head, still hiding his face.

"Alright," Janus accepted. "Do you want to talk about it?"

At this, Remus lifted his face up a bit, and Janus could see the tears streaking down his cheeks.

"Dee…," Remus spoke, his voice cracking. "My head won't shut. Up!"

"I know. I'm sorry."

"And I can't- I can't stop thinking things, and there's too much for me to deal with, so Thomas keeps thinking them too, and- Dee, I don't really want Thomas to jump out of a car or put his hand on a stove! But he's gonna because I can't make it stop!"

"No, he's not."

"How do you know?! I've already been keeping him up, and Thomas makes a ton of shit decisions when he's tired!"

"I don't think he's tired enough to hurt himself on a whim, Remus," Janus argued. "You're not going to make Thomas hurt himself."

"BUT WHAT IF I DO?!"

"Remus…"

Not wanting the argument to just go back and forth, Janus shifted his hands so they rested on the other man's shoulders.

"Nothing bad is going to happen to Thomas because of you. Even if Thomas accidentally gets hurt, it wouldn't be your fault," he told him.

"How would it not be my fault?! If I give him an intrusive thought, and he does what I tell him, that's on me!"

Janus shook his head.

"No, Ree. I know that you can't always control these thoughts, either," Janus denied. "You said it yourself- you don't really want Thomas to hurt himself."

At this, Remus let out a sob.

"Everyone thinks I do, though!"

That was true enough, Janus thought. The others most definitely blamed Remus, at least on some level, for Thomas's current dilemma. Janus also knew that part of that was because Remus sometimes said things that really made it sound like he did want Thomas to follow his intrusive thoughts. Janus knew him well enough that, even if he joked about it, that wasn't what Remus really wanted, but the others didn't (he might have thought that Virgil, at least, would know better, but Virgil had always been more afraid of Remus than Janus had been. Just because Virgil lived with Remus didn't mean he understood Remus, and considering the way Virgil regarded the both of them now, he wouldn't exactly be surprised if Virgil had completely disregarded the glimpses of Remus's true feelings on the matter of his intrusive thoughts). Janus also wasn't stupid enough to mention any of that right then.

"I don't think that," Janus rejected. "You know I don't."

"But they. Do!" Remus yelled. "Thomas hates me and he's always gonna either hate me or ignore me, and the others can't even stand to be in the same room as me! My own brother would probably slice me up into teeny little bits if he could, and even you don't want to talk to me anymore! It doesn't matter what I really think or want because everything I do makes people hate me!"

Remus's words felt like a stab in the gut, and watching the man further break down into sobs felt even worse.

"No, Ree, no…," Janus spoke, shaking his head. "I do want to talk to you, and I certainly don't hate you. I know that the others are afraid of you right now, but that's because they don't really know you. And it sucks that they don't try to, but that's not your fault. Nor is it your fault that I've been ignoring you, even though I'm supposed to be your friend."

Remus rubbed his eyes and sniffed.

"If you don't hate me, then why have you been ignoring me?"

Janus sighed.

"... You know how I get sometimes, Ree. I get absorbed in what I'm doing, and sometimes I forget to check in with people. It's not because of anything you did," Janus explained. "I really am sorry about it, though."

Remus sniffed and rubbed his face, going quiet for a moment.

"... Okay…," Remus accepted. "But I still can't make my thoughts stop."

"I know. But, hey, maybe we can have a sleepover in my room?" Janus suggested. "It helped Thomas calm down and fall asleep the other day, so maybe it can help you too? Or at least slow the thoughts down a little."

"A sleepover?" Remus questioned his voice sounding hopeful.

Janus nodded, trying to give Remus a reassuring smile.

"You sure?"

"Yes, Remus."

"But you never let me into your room."

Janus winced, since it was true.

"Yes, well, I am inviting you this time. So," Janus shuffled awkwardly. "But do you want to? It's alright if you'd rather not."

Remus shook his head.

"No! I want to!"

"Alright, then."

And it took a while before Remus had calmed down enough for Janus to sink them down into his room, but Janus tried his best to help his friend.

He hadn't been there for Remus lately, but just because he hadn't been there before didn't mean he couldn't be there now.

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And that's the end of this scene. If you're reading this but haven't read the larger story, this is technically continued there. So, check it out if you want :3.