Logan slept the rest of the day and all night, so Thomas didn't stick to any sort of schedule. But when he finally woke up, he felt refreshed and better than he had in a while. After pondering the strangeness of that, he debated what he should do for a few minutes. He needed to have a conversation with the others, but how to go about it? He was still pondering the dilemma as he went to the kitchen and made coffee. While he was waiting, he decided that breakfast would be a good time to discuss what had happened the day before.
So he prepared a healthy breakfast for the others. Without a second thought, he included plates for Janus and Remus then went to wake everybody up. He decided to start with the Dark Sides, so he walked down the stairs to the Subconscious. He paused at the bottom. He hadn't been in the Subconscious in a long time, and he peered into the Dark Sides common room, curious and a bit uneasy.
It was dingy in the dim lighting, and it looked kind of sad. Cobwebs were strung in the corners and all the furniture was patchy and old. The carpet was fraying around the edges of the room, and the walls had cracks and peeling paint. Was this really where Janus and Remus spent their free time? Was this why Virgil had been so stunned by how bright and clean everything was in the Conscious? More importantly, was this really any kind of place for anybody to live?
Logan walked into the hall to the rooms, his movements careful. When he got to the doors, he looked around. It was easy enough to tell which room was which. Remus's door was green with rude words scrawled all over it, and Janus's door was yellow with an amazingly realistic snake painted on it. A third door was just past that, and Logan stepped over to look at it. It was dark purple, and it was clearly Virgil's old room. He wondered if it was as he remembered, and his hand was on the knob before he stopped himself. He was getting off track.
With purpose he strolled over to the other two doors and considered his options. Janus was the more reasonable of the two, so he reached out to knock then hesitated. After what had happened the day before, would Janus be angry at him? He hadn't seemed upset while sitting on the couch and talking to them, but he was the embodiment of Deceit. He could be waiting for a chance to tell him what he really thought. And Logan could still see Janus's face splitting open under his relentless fists, and he was sickened by the remembrance of a twisted sense of pleasure that he'd received from seeing him so weak and helpless.
Logan turned and knocked on Remus's door. There was a snort then nothing. He knocked again, and a groggy voice answered.
"What the %#*& are you knocking for? Come in!"
Logan opened the door and nearly toppled backward at the strange scent that met his nose. He couldn't even begin to process what it was. "Good Lord!" he gasped, his eyes watering as he coughed. "What's that smell?!"
Remus was lying in a pile of filthy blankets in an equally dirty room, and he sat up, blinking stupidly at Logan. "What?" he asked blankly. "Janny? Are you playing dress-up again?" He squinted then stood up. He was completely naked as he strode over and peered at him. "No. You're Logan. What are you doing?"
"I made breakfast," Logan gasped through his tears, holding his elbow over his nose. It didn't help.
"And your point is?" Remus asked.
"What do you mean?" Logan asked. "Do you or do you not want to eat breakfast?" Even he was considering saying no at this point. His stomach churned unpleasantly. He tried breathing through his mouth then stopped at once. He could taste it, whatever it was.
Remus tilted his head, his eyes narrowing. "You're inviting me to breakfast?"
"I am planning to also invite Janus," Logan wheezed. "We have some things to discuss, and as much as I don't want to have the conversation, I would rather have everybody present."
The calculating stare he got from Remus was disconcerting, made more so by the fact that he was completely naked and completely comfortable, which somehow made it worse. Finally, Remus huffed and strode across the hall, opening the door and sticking his head in. A wave of almost oppressively humid heat rolled out of the room and Logan began to sweat immediately
"Jan! Wake up!" Remus said. "Dorky is inviting us for breakfast. Get dressed."
There was a pause then a rustle and Janus appeared in the doorway. Logan's face paled when he saw the damage he'd inflicted. Janus looked awful, dark bruises blooming across his face with his human eye almost swollen shut, the cuts ugly and raw. But more striking than that, Logan saw Janus disheveled for the first time in his existence. His hair was a mess, sticking up wildly, and he wore a loose-fitting pair of pajamas that had little snakes all over them. It was almost cute, if Logan could be bothered to notice such things.
"What are you blathering about?" Janus asked, yawning. Logan adjusted his glasses and peered closely, seeing no sign of fangs. Had he imagined them?
"The Microsoft Nerd is inviting us to breakfast," Remus repeated.
Janus's eyes turned to look blankly at Logan, then something happened that the logical side didn't expect. Janus blushed, at least on his human side, and he snapped his fingers. In a blink, he wore his usual outfit, though he still looked a bit sleepy, and his cheek was still red. With what? Embarrassment? Logan was very curious. He didn't think Janus or Remus cared much about what others thought of them. Was that wrong, perhaps?
"You're inviting us for breakfast?" Janus asked. "Up there?" He pointed at the ceiling.
"Yes," Logan said, trying not to breathe. "Is that objectionable?"
"Why would you do that?" Janus asked, leaning on his doorway.
Logan pulled at his collar, awash in the odd smell and incredible heat. "I promised I would talk about the incident yesterday, and I want everybody present." The heat was making the smell stronger, and Logan turned to cough, trying and failing to repress a gag.
"Shut your door, Remus, before I make you clean your room again," Janus said.
Remus pulled the door shut and pouted. "No fair, Jan! It hasn't been three months yet!"
Janus shrugged then focused on Logan again. "Really?"
The smell was dissipating, but the heat continued to roll out of Janus's room. It felt like a jungle to Logan, and he was sweating profusely now. How was Janus in so many layers without even looking uncomfortable? He wasn't even sweating! "Yes."
"Why?"
"Why what?" Logan asked, wiping his forehead.
"Why would you want us to be present?"
"I owe you an explanation after…" Logan squirmed and looked away, unable to admit what had happened. "So please?"
Janus thumbed his puffy bottom lip. "What do you say, Remus?"
"Sounds like I get to annoy my brother," he replied with a grin.
"Very well, Logan. We shall come and eat with you."
Janus turned and shut his door, and Logan turned and hurried into the common room, a bit breathless. He was soaked with sweat. What in the world was wrong with Janus's room? Why was it so unbearably hot? Did he not have a temperature control? Logan was alarmed as the room suddenly tilted beneath his feet.
"Sit down," Janus commanded, and Logan was pushed into the couch.
"Sorry. Just… do you have water?" Logan panted. He found himself overwhelmed by the heat and he was almost unbearably thirsty.
"Salty or sweet?" Remus asked.
"You drink salt water?" Logan asked, bewildered.
"Sometimes," Remus said. "So which is it?"
"Um… sweet? Unless that has sugar…."
"I'll get the water," Janus said. "You make sure he's okay."
Logan panted. It was unusually warm in the whole common room, too. Remus came over to stand beside him, and Logan glanced at him then blinked in surprise at a, ahem, certain piece of anatomy that was in his face. "You are still naked," he said, a pink tinge rising on his cheeks as he quickly averted his gaze.
"Hm?" Remus looked down and appeared to be surprised at his lack of clothing. "Oh. Right." He snapped his fingers, and his outfit appeared. He adjusted his shirt then grinned at Logan. "Better?"
"Yes. Thank you."
For a moment, Remus looked absolutely thrilled to have received the thanks, but that quickly changed to a surprised, almost panicked expression, and he looked away, his eyes searching the room frantically.
"So, dork, what's up?"
"The ceiling," Logan replied.
"Not you then?"
"I am awake," Logan said slowly.
"But are you up, dork?"
"I-I'm sorry, what?"
"It's an erection joke," Janus said smoothly as he came into the room. "He wants you to say you're up, because he called you a whale penis."
"Oh! Come on Jan! You're no fun!" Remus whined.
"It would have taken a pair of pliers to jerk that answer out of him," Janus said.
"Mm, like dental surgery?"
"Sure. So I'm saving you the trouble and him the uncomfortable experience."
Logan was surprised by the thoughtfulness. He peered at Janus as he took the glass of water. Janus gestured at the water.
"Drink. You're losing too much water."
Logan obeyed, and he couldn't help but gulp the whole glass down. "What's wrong with your room?" he asked.
"My room?" Janus asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes. Certainly there's a way to cool it down. Unless it's broken?"
Again, Janus blushed, and Logan studied him. The embodiment of Deceit looked away and reached up to take off his hat. He flipped it over and over in his hands and didn't answer.
"Janus?"
"You said breakfast?" Janus asked abruptly. "I am rather hungry, so let's go and eat, yes?"
He stood up and wouldn't look at Logan as he walked over to the stairs. Logan pursed his lips, puzzled, but followed. He was still soaked from the sweat and the pure humidity that had poured from Janus's room, but his reaction to the simple question was interesting. Did Janus like the room to be like that? And if so, why not tell him so? Still, he decided not to pry and they walked up the stairs. As soon as they were in cooler air, Logan waved his hand and restored himself to his usual crisp appearance. That done, he went and called the others to breakfast. It only took a knock and one word at each door then he went into the kitchen to see Janus and Remus pawing through the fridge.
"Looking for something?" Logan asked.
"You have so much food," Janus muttered, almost to himself.
"Um, yes we do." Logan paused again. "Do you not?"
Janus and Remus looked over. "We have less… variety," Janus said, shifting and glancing away.
"No kidding. This place is the $&!#!" Remus crowed and grabbed a bottle of soy sauce. He popped the top and started swigging out of it.
"Well, let me get breakfast on the table," Logan said, and he turned away.
Why was his chest so tight? Why did he feel so upset by their words? Was it simply because of the upcoming conversation? Or did he actually feel sorry for the Dark Sides? After seeing where they lived, after actually going down those practically forbidden stairs and seeing the pitiable state they lived in, Logan ached for them. He had always lived up in the Conscious, and what he'd seen down in the Subconscious was both odd and sad.
"What are you doing?" Remus asked from behind him.
Logan blinked and straightened. The last thing he remembered was carrying the food to the table. But now he was standing in the middle of the kitchen, and he had no idea how long he'd been doing so. "Hm?" He felt warmth bloom on his cheeks and he adjusted his glasses. "Oh, nothing."
"Liar," Janus said at once.
Logan looked over to see that Janus wasn't smiling, but he also didn't seem inclined to push for the truth like yesterday. He was stating a simple fact that Logan was lying, and now he was peering into the cabinets, an almost wistful look in his eyes. Still, Logan decided to test the waters.
"My apologies. I was thinking."
"Mm. Bully for you," Janus murmured. "Thinking can be dangerous, you know."
"I do," Logan replied solemnly.
"What in the name of Heracles's headdress is going on?!"
Logan turned to see Roman standing in the doorway, gaping at the two Dark Sides. "Ah, Roman, good. I made breakfast."
"And invited them?!" Roman spluttered. Patton and Virgil peeked in to see what had Roman in a snit. "Why?!"
"I owe them an explanation for my behavior after what I… after yesterday." Logan squirmed again at the memory.
"Oh! So we're going to talk about it now?" Patton asked brightly. He walked in. "Hey Jan. Hey… Remus? Are you drinking soy sauce?"
Remus took another swig. "Mmhm. Want some?"
"Erm, no thanks, buddy. I'm good."
"Your loss, Pop-injay. It's good."
Patton paused then a slow grin spread across his face. "Was that a dad-themed nickname?"
Remus shrugged and glanced at Virgil. "Hey Virge. Come on in. I won't bite."
Virgil's lips twitched. "I don't believe you."
Remus giggled. "I guess my track record ain't so good with that."
"It's hit and miss."
Janus had his arms crossed as he gazed coolly at the others. Virgil peeked at him then looked away, his lips tightening. Logan noticed. Patton and Roman were watching Remus again.
"So," Logan said. "Breakfast."
They headed for the table, and Janus and Remus waited until everybody else was seated before cautiously sitting down. Janus sat right next to Logan and looked wary. Was he afraid of them? Or was it something else? And then Janus turned to appraise Logan. He picked up his fork and raised his eyebrows.
"How are you feeling today, Logan?"
And Logan's stomach twisted.
