Logic and Roman only left when Patton showed up with Virgil. They raced downstairs, excited to talk to their new Sides. Janus let them run off, choosing instead to unpack his things alone. He started with his bedding, which was all stuffed into one of Frank's old gym bags.
He put the girls' cage on the floor so he could maneuver sheets and blankets. He had one pillow and three blankets total. He might take more from Frank, but he'd have to wait until the weather gets warmer. (Because Florida is very cold.) He'd be less likely to notice one missing then.
Once his bed was made, he moved to his posters. He silently unfolded and taped each picture to the walls. He chose the spot with care, picking what looked best aesthetically. Every so often, he could hear the other four talking or moving about. That was weird.
He had only ever lived with Frank, and he didn't make much noise, aside from yelling at the TV. Janus would sometimes share meals with him, but they mostly just existed in passing. Janus would hide out in the basement, or make himself scarce outside.
But this, this noise and movement and energy surrounding him all the time. It already felt overwhelming and it was only day one. He looked at his crabs, who were taking naps. They get tired after being held.
"I'm in way over my head, girls." He told them, just as he heard someone - Roman? Patton? - laugh. "What made me think I could do this?"
He stopped working on the posters when he ripped the edge of one. He decided to put his clothes away, dragging two of his bags into the closet. He pulled out his shirts and pants, lining them up on the built-in shelves. He would have to "borrow" hangers from one of the others for the rest of it. He lined his shoes along the wall, pleased with his collection. He didn't have much, Frank wasn't one for spoiling kids, but what he did have he treasured.
He crawled out of the closet, looking at it, a little fuller now. He smiled to himself. Maybe having four roommates would be worth it, if it meant having a space that was actually his. It wasn't made by shoving boxes out of the way, a haphazard second thought; it was a deliberate decision. It was reserved for him. Not the room, any room would've done. But the space. Janus's Space. He never had a 'space' before.
There was a knock at the door. Janus looked over at it from his spot on the floor. He heard Patton laugh before he poked his head in. His smile fell when he saw Janus.
Right. Almost forgot about that.
"Uh, Logic is calling a family meeting to start things off." He said. "You have to be there."
Since when are we a family? Janus wanted to say. Instead he said, "Okay."
"It's, uh, downstairs." Patton added awkwardly. He glanced behind him and giggled.
Janus could hear Virgil's voice, "Let's go!"
"Five minutes or we're sending in Roman!" Patton said before closing the door again. His next words and laugh were muffled by the door. Janus closed his eyes and exhaled out his nose. That wasn't too hard. Now he just has to survive interactions like that for the rest of his life. Easy peasy.
He waited a couple minutes just so he wouldn't have to see Patton or Virgil in the hall. He had lost his hat while unpacking and grabbed his nearest beanie before deciding to head down. Roman, Patton, and Virgil were gathered on the couch, while Logic stood in front of them. Beside him, bizarrely, a whiteboard.
"Oh, so we're being homeschooled now." Janus said as he sat on the arm of the couch, his knee brushing Roman's side. "That's fun. I'll be the gym teacher."
"No, this actually has to do with my class project." Logic said, gesturing to the board.
Janus picked his nails, already losing interest. "Forty push ups."
Roman snorted, "Like he could do ten."
"Forty for you, too."
"Gentlemen, please." Logic sighed, focusing his attention on Patton and Virgil, who haven't heard this a million bajillion times already. Logic explained, "I am studying our fusions as a part of my final project for my Fusion Studies course. This is a graph I made detailing what I know so far."
The graph was a five by five grid with each of their names across the top and side. Where 'Logic' and 'Janus' intersected, he had written 'Eugene Polemic'. For him and Roman, he put 'Innovative'.
Janus couldn't help but frown. His fusion made Mr. Argumentative and they made Einstein? How was that fair? Was he doomed to have terrible fusions?
"Oh! We have a fusion!" Patton said, interrupting whatever Logic was saying. "His name is Kyler!"
Logic perked up in interest, writing on the board. "Kyler? Would you be willing to introduce us?"
"You'll meet him soon enough." Virgil said, shaking his head.
"He's Empathy!" Patton didn't seem bothered by Virgil's refusal. "He's really good with the kiddos, but he's kind of a pushover. He let Alice have an extra three cookies when I firmly drew the line at two."
This time Janus couldn't hold his tongue. "Wait, wait, wait. He's Empathy," He points to Virgil, then to himself, "But I'm Denial?!"
Logic was glancing between them, his marker to the board, "Denial?"
"There's a pretty big difference between Virge and Deceit." Patton said, crossing his arms. Virgil sunk lower into the couch.
Janus put his hand on his hips, glaring at Patton. "Care to explain it to me?"
"Perhaps I could help." Logic said, stepping between them. He had finished writing Denial on their space. He gently pressed a hand to Janus' side and nudged him back against the couch. He felt Roman's hands on his hips, pulling him back to the arm rest. Janus reluctantly settled; Roman kept a hand on his hip.
Logic glanced between the two of them before he started to say, "Although we cannot pinpoint the cause of a fusion's diagnosis, we're fairly certain it's a combination of your trait characteristics, your personalities, and your relationship towards each other."
"So if you don't like someone, you can have a worse fusion?" Roman asked, tilting his head.
"No fusion is better or worse than another. They're all just a part of an Established individual." Logic said, "How you feel about a fusion is entirely subjective." He paused, then added, "But a fusion will function more effectively if their Sides can work well together. The healthier a relationship between the Sides, the more stable the fusion will be."
Roman leaned forward, staring at the board. "Wait," He said slowly, "Could this help me get diagnosed?"
"You're not diagnosed?" Virgil said with a snort.
Roman glared at him, his jaw tightening as he said, "We're working on it." He looked to Logic, "Right?"
"Yes, every moment I spend with you helps me narrow it down." Logic said, watching Roman closely. Janus shifted awkwardly, making accidental eye contact with Patton over Roman's head. Patton looked away first.
Logic cleared his throat and said, "To answer your question; both yes and no. It certainly can't hurt to know what your fusions are, as they may lead us to the correct diagnosis. But," He sighed and crossed his arms. "There's no guarantee in any given fusion formula. They're not concrete recipes."
"What?" Patton asked, frowning.
"For example," Logic gestured to the empty space next to the graph and began drawing four stick figures; two were labeled 'Logic' and two were labeled 'Sensitive'. He then drew lines connecting the pairs to signify fusion. "These Sides share the same traits, but their fusions will have different outcomes. This pair," He points to the first one, "makes an Introvert Fusion. And this one makes an Empathy Fusion."
Patton sat up straight, "But we're Empathy!"
"Yes," Logic said, "But there are many different ways to be empathetic." He gestured with his marker like he just said something important. "And that's the conundrum fusion scientists debate every day. The individuality of Fusion."
Janus glanced around, wondering why he was needed for this. Roman seemed vaguely interested. Patton looked confused, but happy to participate. Virgil was watching him. They both looked away. Out of all of them, Virgil confused him the most.
He had the energy of a Negative trait, even if Anxiety and similar Sides were reclassified. He was observant in the way Logic sides weren't. In the way Janus was. He didn't offer anything willingly. He knew how to fight.
And yet he chose Mr. Sunshine Perfect Patton to hang around. Janus couldn't imagine it. Doesn't he get annoying?
Janus tried to not look at Virgil again for a bit. He pretended like he was listening to Logic.
"Roman, would you be willing to participate in an example with me?" Logic asked, an adorable awkward tilt to his voice.
"Yes!" Roman stood up way too quickly to be chill. Janus smirked, watching the tips of Roman's ears turn red. He stepped up bravely nonetheless. Janus sat back, leaning against the wall. He crossed his arms and watched as his boyfriends held hands.
Roman asked, "Uh, how do you-?"
"I assume you know a box step?" Logic asked, adjusting their hands to a dancer's hold.
Roman smiled, switching their hand positions again so he was leading, "Yes."
Janus watched as they started moving in sync to silent music. He found himself watching their feet, surprised by their steps. He decided he needed to learn how to dance properly.
After the third turn, a light flashed and the two men were gone. Janus had missed it, distracted with thoughts of himself looking cool and suave while dancing.
"Oh look! An audience!" The new fusion, Innovative, said with a wave. Patton waved back. "This stage is subpar. We could build a bigger couch. Ooh! With a second row behind the first, movie theater style."
"Where would we put that?" Janus asked.
Patton interrupted before Innovative could respond. He was holding a paper, "Mr. Innovative, Logic said we should go through these questions, is that alright?"
"Ask away." Innovative said, sitting down on the floor. He took off his shoes and said, "I can multitask."
Patton and Virgil glanced at each other. Innovative began pulling the strings out of his shoe laces.
"Okay." Patton said, "Um, what's your name?"
"Innovative." He said, taking the padding out of the shoe as well. He then looked around, before asking, "Do we have knives?"
"No." Patton said.
"Yeah." Virgil said, holding his pocket knife.
"No." Janus said, also holding a pocket knife.
Patton gasped like a preacher's wife who heard a swear word. Janus glanced at him with a smirk when Innovative took his knife.
Virgil spoke up, tossing the closed knife between his hands a bit before putting it back away. "Do you have an Established name, Inny?"
"Philip." Innovative said, shoving the pocket knife into his shoe and cutting. There was a beat of silence, where they just watched him work for a moment. He glanced up at them, then said, "Like the prince."
Patton read the next question, "Do you currently feel any pain?"
"Nope." He popped the 'p' sound as he began working with the shoelaces.
He was wrapping one side around Logic's dry erase marker. Janus had no idea what he was doing, but he felt like he could watch Innovative work all day. He had an intensity to his movements that drew Janus in. He had a plan, and a back up plan, and a back up back up plan. Janus wished he had that power.
"What is your most recent memory?" Patton asked.
"I was thinking about-" He paused for a moment, the only time he sat still. Then he started moving again at the same speed as before, "A backpack with arms."
Patton glanced down at the paper. "There's, like, fifty more of these questions."
"Gross." Virgil said, leaning over Patton's shoulder to read. He looked at Innovative for a moment before he asked, "Do you still have Roman's tattoo?"
Innovative paused what he was working on and quickly unbuttoned his shirt. He pulled it back to reveal his chest. Janus's eyes roamed up and down his pale skin.
"The 'K' is gone." Innovative reported before turning back to his work.
Virgil stood up, kneeling beside Innovative. Philip let him peel the shirt back again. His eyes were on the ink. Sure enough, the 'K' was missing, leaving a simple, floating crown.
"Need a closer look at the strip show?" Janus asked, earning scowls from Virgil and Patton.
Virgil pulled back, letting the shirt cover the tattoo.
"Excuse me for checking in on a customer's healing process." Virgil said, glaring at Janus as he walked back to the couch. "You're not really supposed to fuse for two weeks after getting a tattoo. They're more likely to smear or something like that." Virgil tilted his head back, looking at Janus down his nose, "Not that you'd care, considering the tattoo was just a rouse to find us."
"I-" Janus tried to defend himself, he'd already argued with Logic and Roman about this a thousand times. But no words came.
"Done." Innovative said, dropping his new contraption onto the table. Made entirely from his shoe, Innovative had hand crafted a tiny catapult. He tugged on a shoelace and the mechanism threw the marker at Janus' knee.
Virgil frowned, "Why would we need this?"
"To fight against a tiny invading army." Janus quipped, returning the marker to Innovative. He reset it and fired it again. This time he aimed at Virgil, who immediately smacked the marker out of the air, saving himself.
Innovative stood up, looking around. "Right, what next?"
He moved to step towards the kitchen, but tripped on his other, untied shoe. He stumbled to the ground, hitting a cardboard box on the way. Janus winced at the crash, not surprised to find two Sides in Philip's place.
"Are you guys okay?" Patton asked, jumping up to help them. He pulled Roman up by his arm, completely missing the way those two were staring at each other. Roman cleared his throat and looked up to Patton, nodding at whatever he was saying.
Logic sat up a second later, his hair ruffled and his glasses askew. Janus sighed, cupping his head in his hand.
He didn't want to be in their spot, being watched by Patton and Virgil as he danced and blushed. At least, that's what he kept telling himself.
Logic eventually stood up and said, "Yes, well, that's really all I anticipated."
"Was that good enough?" Roman asked, his eyebrows pinching together.
"A perfect example." Logic said. Roman beamed, and the sight made Janus's chest constrict. Holy shit, he was cute. Logic continued, unbothered by the beauty before him. "All I require is for the fusion to appear, answer as many questions as they're comfortable with, and provide enough context for us to determine their position or diagnosis."
"Sounds easy enough." Patton said with a small smile. "Uh, as long as we don't-"
He glanced at Janus. Jan tried to not feel like shit when Logic immediately waved him off.
"No one will be forced to partake in a fusion they're not comfortable with." He said, "If anyone doesn't want to fuse at all, that's something we as a group should discuss, regardless of my project."
"Hey, Teach, question," Virgil said, half raising his hand, "Do we have to do this every day?"
"Almost every day, yes." Logic said, nodding, "In order for my research to be done by the end of the semester. But, no one will have to fuse two days in a row if they don't want to. Is that agreeable?"
Everyone mumbled vague affirmatives. Janus stared at the board, his gaze sliding down each empty square. Each of those was a person, waiting to be made. A part of himself, waiting to be found. Janus shivered involuntarily at the thought. Did he even want to meet them?
"I would be immensely grateful if you all took this research as seriously as I did." Logic said.
"We can try." Roman said with a snicker, "But I don't think any of us could be more serious than you."
Virgil let out a breathy huff and Patton giggled. At Logic's confused pout, they promised to be serious. Janus reluctantly agreed.
"Are we done now? I still have lots of things to unpack." Janus said, thinking of his mostly empty bags in his mostly empty room.
"Wait, wait. I need to have a super serious discussion with everyone." Roman stood, switching spots with Logic, who sat next to Janus. He took a deep breath, then said, "I have a boyfriend. He's not our Side."
Janus looked to the others. Logic sat stiffly, but otherwise didn't seem bothered. Virgil's eyebrows flew up and he stared at Roman openly. Patton frowned, shifting in his seat.
"Does anyone object to that?" Roman asked.
"Well, no, but," Patton seemed at a loss for words before he settled on, "Why?"
Roman said, "Because I love him."
"He's going to be someone else someday." Virgil said, his expression more relaxed now.
"So will I." Roman responded.
"That's kinda funny." Patton said, shrugging, "But whatever makes you happy."
"Patton have you never had dating experience before?" Logic asked, picking up on his wording.
Patton shook his head. "It's not really for us, you know?"
"No." Janus answered for them.
Patton shifted uncomfortably again, realizing all eyes were on him. "Well, dating and stuff like that, it's an Established thing. You're not supposed to do it until then."
"Oh." Roman said in understanding. He and Logic seemed to reach the same conclusion. Roman's gaze darkened, his jaw clenching. Logic turned to fully face Patton, leaving his back to Jan.
Janus didn't know what they knew, but he was happy to tease Patton for being a prude. He asked, "What about your little Empathy? You mean to tell me you haven't once fused by making out?"
Patton's face flushed dark red, his mouth hung open, horrified, "No- no! I'd never!"
Virgil shifted in his seat, tilting his head down so Janus couldn't see his expression.
"Wait, didn't you go on a date with Janus?" Roman asked, glancing at him.
Patton shook his head, his face still a tomato, "That was different; we were Sides."
"We still are Sides." Janus said firmly.
"So it's okay to date your Sides, but not anyone else?" Virgil asked, sounding as confused as Janus felt.
"Yes." Patton said, forcing himself to take a breath.
Logic asked, with no judgment in his voice, "You're a Western Puritan aren't you?"
"Yes," Patton said again, sounding more relaxed at the topic change.
Virgil glanced at Logic questioningly, so he explained, "The Western Church of Puritans believe that Jesus Christ was born as Sides, is that correct?"
Patton nodded, "Right, so-"
"Hey! Hold on, focus on me," Roman said, snapping. Janus tilted his head, noticing Roman's discomfort. He hid it well, none of the others seemed to catch the crack in his voice. How interesting. They looked at him, "So everyone is okay with me dating Remy?"
Virgil froze, "What did you say?"
"I'm dating someone who's not in this room!" Roman said loudly, "We just went through this!"
"His name is Remy?" Virgil asked, shock clear on his face. "Remy Sleep?"
"Yeah." Roman said, cautious, "He's my boyfriend."
"Uh, good for you guys. I thi- I guess." Virgil scratched his head, shrugging, "He seemed nice?"
Janus glanced between the two of them, watching their facial journeys. Virgil turned more pink the longer Roman stared at him.
Finally Roman asked, "Did you fuck my-"
"NO!" Virgil shouted. He started fumbling through an explanation, while also insulting Roman's tastes; which caused Patton and Roman to talk over each other. It would almost be an argument, if their voices were just a pinch angrier. Instead, it was just loud and annoying. Janus looked to Logic, who watched them with tired eyes.
"Hey," he said, nudging him, "good family meeting."
Logic didn't respond, so Janus leaned forward and shot the marker from the catapult. It hit Roman in the chest.
Tell me what you think!
