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Today, we have some more Janus and Remus being friends content.

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"Okay, now you just need to sew the last tentacle on, and you're done."

Remus beamed as he started threading the yarn needle, and Janus felt a smile pulling at his own lips as well. He'd been teaching Remus how to crochet for a few weeks now, and the other man was finally about to finish his first stuffed animal. He'd had to start with teaching Remus the stitches, and once he got the hang of that, Janus showed him how to do some simpler things first, like a potholder. But Remus had been itching to make an octopus, so Janus figured out a pattern for one and started helping him make it when they both had free time.

A few stitches later, the octopus was done, and Remus held it out to Janus proudly. The toy wasn't perfect, seeing as Remus had made some mistakes here and there, but considering the fact that Remus hadn't even known how to crochet a few weeks ago, it was rather impressive. It wasn't exactly the easiest of patterns. And besides, Remus likely wouldn't mind the imperfections, and Janus himself felt like that just gave the octopus something that was just so Remus (not that he was trying to call Remus imperfect- he more thought of it as 'going off script' to create something truly unique). Patterns weren't exactly the creative side's thing most of the time, so of course Remus would have deviated from it slightly.

Adding to this, Remus had also picked a color scheme that was similar to his own, choosing to use green, grey, and black. Half of the main body was bright green, while the bottom half switched over to grey. Each tentacle was a different color, with a second color being used for the tips of the tentacles.

Janus clapped in an uncommon expression of excitement.

"Great job, Remus! You did really well!"

Remus's smile grew even wider.

"I'm gonna name it Lord Murder Destruction IV," Remus announced. "Do ya think I could build a castle for him in the imagination?"

"If you want to," Janus shrugged.

And then Remus pulled the octopus back toward his chest and squeezed it tight.

"Thanks for teaching me, Dee!" Remus exclaimed. "Next step: crochet an army."

"I think I already have one, but increasing our numbers shouldn't hurt."

Remus hummed, suddenly appearing thoughtful. He patted Lord Murder.

"... Ya know, it's nice spending time with you, Dee. I missed it."

Janus felt his fondness for Remus continue to well up.

"I know… I'm sorry for shutting you out so much," Janus apologized.

Remus shrugged.

"Yeah, I know. But still," Remus continued. "... It's nice seeing you happy, too."

At this, Janus's face grew red.

"But that's enough sappy stuff!" announced Remus. "Let's go raid Daddy's chocolate chip stash."

The two of them stood up to leave the room, and even though it probably messed with his villain aesthetic, Janus couldn't keep the smile off his face.

XXX

"Okay, so which one is this?"

Remus was holding up a pink cat.

"That's Prince Lucian. He's the heir to the throne of the Cat Kingdom, but he would rather be a dentist. He's also engaged to Prince Julio the narwhal, but he's having an affair with Marmalade the donkey. Julio's not terrible, but he's kind of an idiot, so Lucian thinks he's annoying. Marmalade's an ex-doctor-turned-librarian with a mysterious past," Janus explained, pointing at each stuffed animal as he mentioned them. "Last time I played, Julio almost found out about the affair, but Lucian convinced him that Marmalade's his long-lost half-brother because breaking off their engagement would end the truce between their kingdoms and lead to a bloody war."

"Oooo, when do we get to the war part?"

"After Julio discovers the truth. When that happens depends on what we do," Janus continued. "But right now, Julio and Lucian are traveling to Julio's kingdom to meet with his father. They've been on a ship for almost a month now."

"Can Lord Murder attack it?"

Janus nodded.

"Yes."

"Sweet!"

And so, the two of them started setting up the game. Janus took one of the pillows off of his bed to act as the 'ship', and he placed the relevant stuffed animals on top. They began to play the parts of the animals (which Janus usually wouldn't do out loud, but it would be hard to play the game with Remus if neither of them said anything).

"~Isn't it a beautiful day, Lucian?~" Remus spoke, his voice pitched high.

"~Sure, Julio.~" Janus responded. "~ But what's that?~"

Janus lifted the cat's arm to point off the ship.

"~Why, that appears to be a rock.~"

"~Rocks don't float, Julio. And they aren't green.~"

"~An island, then!~"

"~Your stupidity amazes me sometimes, Julio.~"

"~What was that, darling?~"

"~Oh. Um. I said 'serendipity glazes cheese sometimes'.~"

"~Ah, that's what I thought you said!~"

"~But seriously, what is that?~"

And then Remus stood up so he could drop Lord Murder on top of the 'ship'.

"~MWAHAHAHAHAHA! IT IS I, LORD MURDER DESTRUCTION IV! FEAR MY TENTACLES OF DOOM!~"

"~OH NO, NOT LORD MURDER!~" Janus gasped.

"~Do you know this man, Lucian?~" Remus questioned.

"~What? Of course not!~"

"~Oh, okay.~"

"But little did Prince Julio know: Lord Murder is Prince Lucian's ex-boyfriend from when they were in middle school. They broke up because…," Janus explained, trailing off to let Remus fill in the blank.

"Because he ate Lucian's hamster!"

"Because he ate Lucian's hamster," Janus repeated. "And ever since the break-up, Lord Murder has been plotting his revenge."

"~Prepare for your demise, Lucian! You broke my heart, so now I'll break yours! Literally!~"

Remus made the octopus lunge toward the cat, but Janus moved Lucian out of the way.

"~I may have broken your heart, but you broke my hamster!~"

"~If you didn't want me to eat him, he shouldn't have been covered in ketchup!~"

"~YOU'RE THE ONE WHO POURED KETCHUP ON HIM.~"

"~DETAILS, DETAILS! NOW, PREPARE FOR YOUR DEMISE! HAHAHAHAHAHA!~"

"~HOLD IT!~"

Janus dropped Marmalade onto the 'ship'.

"~OH NO! NOT MY NEMESIS, DOCTOR MARMALADE!~"

"~It's Librarian Marmalade now, Lord Murder!~"

"~Oh. That's kind of a downgrade, don't ya think?~"

"~...Ouch. Anyway, I will defeat you, you tentacle beast!~"

"~I dare you to try! What are you gonna do? Throw books at me?~"

"~Close! I hereby challenge you to a children's card game-!~"

XXX

Everything was set up. Virgil had told Patton and Logan that he wanted to try to work on his relationship with Janus and suggested that they invite him to a movie night. Patton was ecstatic, and Logan seemed to be pleasantly surprised. Roman made a show of being angry about it but reluctantly agreeing.

All that he had to do now was get Janus to agree.

And so, Virgil trekked back to the Dark Side of the mind palace and went to the hallway where his old room used to be. Sure enough, Janus's door was still where they'd seen it on the map.

"Okay. Just gotta knock and ask him if he'll go."

He approached the door and paused again. Surprisingly, he heard laughing and happy chatter, though he couldn't make out any words through the door. Janus must be spending time with Remus, he thought. Even still, though, he couldn't remember the last time he heard Janus giggle, and yet, he could hear another voice joining in with Remus's boisterous laughter.

Now confused as well as apprehensive, Virgil raised his hand and knocked.

The chatter immediately stopped.

And Virgil stood there, waiting for Janus to come answer the door, but the door never opened. Instead, he felt a hand place itself on his shoulder.

"HOLY SHI-!" Virgil screeched as he nearly jumped out of his skin.

Whirling around, he saw Janus standing behind him, one hand over his mouth to hide an amused smirk.

"What the actual fuck, dude?!" Virgil yelled questioningly.

Janus shrugged.

"Terribly sorry, Virgil, I didn't think it would spook you so much," Janus replied in a voice that let Virgil know he was lying. "But do you need something? I'm in the middle of something at the moment."

Virgil took a deep breath.

He shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets.

"Pat wanted me to invite you to movie night. It's tomorrow."

He saw Janus's eyes widen the slightest bit.

"Oh? That's strange; Patton usually tries to invite me himself."

Virgil shrugged.

"Yeah, well, you always decline, so."

"And Patton thought asking you would make me more likely to agree?"

He shrugged again.

"Guess so."

Janus crossed his arms loosely, his face neutral.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline," Janus denied. "Go enjoy your little movie night, Virgil. Tell Patton I'm busy or something."

Go time. He could do this.

"Come on, Jan, just come," he tried, trying to sound casual. "I mean, you aren't actually busy, are you? It'll be fun, ya know?"

Now Janus was looking at him with unhidden shock, his eyes widening further, before his eyebrows crinkled in confusion. Virgil just stared back at him with a hopefully blank expression, not wanting to give anything away.

"... I'll consider it," Janus said finally. "I'll let Patton know at breakfast tomorrow."

"Yeah, okay," Virgil accepted.

And even though Virgil had gotten as much of an answer as he was going to get, he found his mouth opening again.

"So… Are you hanging out with Remus right now? I… heard you two laughing."

Janus shifted uncomfortably.

"Um. Well. Yeah."

"Oh. Um. Okay. Have… fun, then?"

"I mean, we already were."

"Oh, uh, cool. Um. Bye."

"... Goodnight, Virgil…"

And then Virgil left, sinking out to the Light Side of the mind palace.

XXX

Janus made his way to the Light Sides' living room in unusually casual clothes.

He had decided to attend the movie night he had been invited to, though he wasn't quite sure why he had done so. He knew that Patton was still trying to get him to be involved more, but he also knew that they didn't really want him around. He still didn't get why Patton sent Virgil to convince him to go when Virgil hated him, but… it had apparently worked.

Why had Virgil insisted that he come? Why hadn't he just accepted Janus's refusal and reported back to Patton that he'd tried? Why had Virgil even tried at all? He never accepted before, so he could have just assumed that he wouldn't come, and Patton wouldn't have found that to be suspicious.

So why had he…?

Regardless, Janus told Patton he would go, and now he had to, or Patton would probably come to pester him.

Right before entering the living room, Janus paused to listen in, making sure there wasn't any kind of arguing going on (as there had been when Patton first started dragging him to eat with them). But today, there was no arguing, only some light clattering and brief chatter.

And so, steeling himself, he walked in.

"Heya, Janus! Glad you decided to come!"

"Good evening, Patton," Janus replied, one of his gloved hands lightly grasping at the bottom of his shirt.

"Wow, you look really different when you change your outfit!" Patton exclaimed, coming closer to Janus to get a better look. "I can't remember the last time I saw you without your hat!"

Janus's human half of his face grew slightly pink.

He was wearing a simple, black t-shirt and fluffy, yellow pajama bottoms. As Patton had pointed out, he had forgone wearing his hat. He wasn't wearing his capelet, either, though he was still wearing his signature gloves.

It was strange to be wearing this outside of his room- or, rather, it was strange to be out of his room while not wearing his full outfit. It made him feel more exposed, more uncertain. But he also knew that, if he had shown up fully-dressed, he would probably have been called out on it.

"Yes, well, I believe we're supposed to wear our pajamas to this?" Janus replied. "It's not like I sleep in my hat."

"Actually, we're supposed to wear onesies," Logan chimed in. "I tried getting out of it, but it seems I have been figuratively dragged back into it."

"Oh, come off it, specs," Roman chided. "We all know you like wearing it."

"... I don't have a onesie," Janus told them. "So, this will have to suffice."

"Okay, you're lying," Virgil called from where he was sitting on the couch. "I know you have a Scooby Doo one."

Janus's face was growing pink yet again.

"I got rid of it."

"Sure ya did."

"I can whip one up for you real quick," Roman offered.

And that was strange. Roman was offering to do something for him. Roman. Roman, who wasn't glaring at him or anything. Virgil wasn't glaring at him, either.

Janus wasn't sure what to make of this, but his mind wasn't able to fully dismiss the thought that they were making fun of him. He knew, of course, that the others wore onesies semi-regularly, but part of him still wondered if they were trying to make him wear one to prove he was a little childish baby.

"Thank you, Roman, but I'm perfectly comfortable in what I'm already wearing."

Which was technically a lie- he wasn't comfortable- but he would be far more uncomfortable if the others forced him into a onesie.

"That's fine!" Patton exclaimed. "As long as you're comfy! I'm gonna go grab the popcorn, so everyone get settled, okay?"

Then Patton was gone, disappearing into the kitchen.

Deceit ended up sitting on the floor next to Roman, not too close, but much closer than he had intended to sit next to any of the others.

"Man, you should have worn your hat," Roman mused. "Then we could have used it for the voting again."

Janus raised an eyebrow at him, and Virgil let out a snort.

"You would have rigged it anyway, Princey."

Roman put a hand to his chest, covering his heart in mock offense.

"How could you accuse me of such a thing, Virgil?!" he gasped. "I thought we were friends!"

And Virgil just rolled his eyes and threw a piece of popcorn at him, which Roman caught, proceeding to throw it into his mouth.

"Why don't we let Janus decide on the first movie?" Patton suggested. "Since he doesn't usually come."

And to Janus's surprise, Virgil only shrugged.

"Sure."

And Roman let out a huff, but he didn't actually seem angry when he sighed out:

"Fiiiiiine."

"I don't see a problem with that," Logan chimed in.

What was going on here? Okay, Patton was trying to make amends or whatever, and he got along with Logan well enough nowadays, but what had gotten into the other two? Roman and Virgil were always suspecting him, always accusing him of something, and the two of them could barely stand to be in the same room as him most days. If it weren't for Patton forcing them to spend time together, Janus was reasonably sure that he'd rarely interact with the two of them at all.

But now? Virgil was suddenly sent to invite him to movie night, and now he and Roman were behaving civilly toward him? And not just civil, but maybe almost kind?

It had to be a trap. He didn't know quite what kind of trap it could be, or what they hoped to gain from this, but he knew they had to be up to something. Even if Roman's affections could be won with a few kind words, he knew Virgil would never be so easily convinced, especially when it came to him. Virgil didn't trust him, hadn't even really trusted him back when they sort-of got along in the Dark Side.

They were up to something.

And with that thought, Deceit felt his hand twitch in his lap. He suddenly wished that he had one of his stuffed animals, preferably his newest snake. He wanted to wrap himself up in it and stroke its head and comfort himself so he didn't make a fool of himself by getting anxious around the others, except doing that would most definitely make a fool of himself.

But even so, he couldn't help but wish he had it.

"Hey, Snakes and Ladders, it's not that big of a decision," Roman spoke, jolting Janus out of his thoughts. "You don't need to think that hard about which movie to watch."

Janus rolled his eyes, trying not to let on that he knew they were up to something.

"Well, I heard there's a new documentary on Emmanuel Kant…"

And despite his suspicions, Janus couldn't help but smile at the way Roman groaned at the same time that Logan's face lit up.

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This chapter was a lot of fun to write. I love writing Janus and Remus doing friendship things ;w;

Also, the octopus Remus made it actually supposed to look like the Remus Octopus I made. I also made a Janus snake and a Virgil cat (never got around to crocheting the light sides)

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