Patton cracked his eyes open, a strange daze of dreams fading quickly as he woke up. He was so thirsty, and his entire body ached. There was talking all around him, and he was confused.
"Janus won't come out of his room." Roman was saying. "He won't eat."
"Put a %#*&ing tray out for him," Virgil snapped, his voice layered. "He'll get food when he's desperate. Because he's definitely not coming out after what happened."
"I don't see why not. It was an entirely instinctive reaction," Logan said "Patton was openly hostile toward him, and he is part snake."
Patton's neck throbbed, and he became aware that he was in pain. Janus had bitten him while he was lost in his feelings. Only it wasn't the usual way he was lost in his feelings. In the Imagination, it had been more real, more tangible, and it had been relief to express himself. But he'd gone too far. He'd seen it in Janus's eyes as he'd tugged him closer to hiss at him. But before he could relax his grip, Janus had panicked and lashed out. And then he'd gone all hot and cold.
"Jan…" he croaked, trying to move.
"He's awake!" Roman exclaimed.
"Go get Remus," Virgil ordered.
Roman turned and ran out the door. Virgil leaned over him and studied his face.
"Hey, Patton. You okay?"
"Water…" he begged.
Logan was suddenly there, tilting his head up and helping him sip on cool water. He hummed happily and swallowed several mouthfuls before collapsing back, exhausted.
"Cold," he gasped, shivering.
"That would be the venom," Virgil said. "It'll make your temperature go haywire. We'll wrap you up, but you'll get hot soon."
Remus and Roman appeared in the door, and Remus hurried over. "What does he need?"
"Blankets."
A snap and blankets were piled high on the bed. Patton sighed as he grew exponentially warmer.
"Thanks."
"Temperature needs to be taken," Remus said.
Logan turned and retrieved a thermometer, swiping it across Patton's forehead. He looked positively alarmed. "Several degrees too low."
"That's normal," Virgil assured him. "I'm guessing if it's that low, Jan drained all his reserves into Patton."
"Meaning?" Logan asked.
"Meaning you get to take note of his symptoms and mark down interesting $&!# because he has no immunity whatsoever, and he was given all the venom," Remus said grimly. "Virgil and I have quite a bit of resistance to the venom, due to years of exposure. But Patton? He's a snow-white virgin that just got royally fu—"
"Remus! Please!" Roman exclaimed, blushing.
"Oh, shut up. It's your %#*&ing fault this happened!"
Roman's face pinched and he looked away. "I'm sorry."
"Tell that to Patton. And Janus," Remus growled. "And while you're at it, better say it to Virgil, too. He's going to go into adrenal failure if he can't calm the #%*& down!"
"I'll be fine, Rem," Virgil muttered.
"You've had your undertone for two days Virgil. You haven't slept at all. And your patches are huge. You need to calm down!" Remus snapped.
"How?" Virgil snarled, baring his teeth to reveal his canines.
"I'm okay, Virgil," Patton whispered weakly. He tried to reach up, but his body wouldn't obey. He wiggled his fingers, and Virgil grasped his hand. Patton squeezed gently. "Calm down, Virge," he murmured. "Take in a deep breath. Relax for me?"
Virgil huffed but obeyed, taking a long, deep breath and letting it out slowly. Then again. And again. Patton watched as the tension began to ease out of Virgil's body. His eye patches, which had been across his cheekbones, began to recede. After several minutes, Virgil slumped and yawned.
"Atta boy," Patton sighed. "Good job, kiddo."
"Thanks, Pat," Virgil said softly. "It's good to hear your voice again. That helped a lot."
"So what's gonna happen to me?" Patton asked when the silence stretched on.
"Temperature fluctuations," Virgil said. "Tremors. Weakness. Nausea. And… muscle relaxation."
"Huh?"
Remus crossed his arms. "You're probably going to piss yourself. Multiple times."
Patton blushed. "Ah."
"Can't be helped. He gave you a $&!#load of venom. You really had him panicked."
"Is he okay? Somebody said he's not eating."
There was a pause. Then Logan adjusted his glasses nervously. "Ah, well Janus is not coming out of his room. He won't let anybody in. He won't accept food or an invitation to talk. He appears to be quite distressed over what occurred."
"Why?" Patton asked.
Virgil squeezed Patton's hand. "Biting one of you Light Sides was not in any plan of his, but the fact that it was you was apparently too much. If I had to guess, he's ashamed and disgusted with himself."
"Is there anything we can do?" Patton asked. "Can I talk with him?"
"When viper fangs is in a snit, it's best to leave him alone for a few days," Remus said. "He'll come out soon. He'll have to."
"Hope it's not too stressful," Virgil said. "Considering the time of year."
Remus's eyes widened. "Well, $&!#. Hope you're right." Before any of the Light Sides could ask what he meant, Remus switched topics. "How about a nice bath, Pop-injay? You've been tossing and turning for two days, sweating like a whore in church."
Patton blushed. "I, ah, can't move."
"Consider us your personal transportation," Virgil said, flashing a canine-less smile.
"It's going to be weird…" Patton muttered.
"Yep. But we can handle weird," Remus said.
Patton's cheeks were warm, but a bath sounded so nice. "Okay."
Virgil stood up and walked into the bathroom, and the sound of running water was heard moments later. Remus pulled off the blankets one at a time then peeled the bottom layer off of Patton. It stuck to his skin, and he shivered as the cold air touched him. He realized that he was naked, and he blushed.
"We'll get you a fresh blanket," Logan promised.
"All it takes is a snap," Remus said, demonstrating it at once. The blankets were clean and fresh and neatly folded off to the side. "Now let's get you to the bathroom."
Remus lifted him easily and carried him to the tub. He stepped in and lowered Patton into the hot water. Patton shuddered.
"Easy," Remus said. "Relax, Pop Star."
Patton laughed at the nickname and slowly relaxed into the water. Remus made sure he wouldn't go under then stepped out of the tub and snapped his fingers to dry himself off.
"There. How about some bubbles?"
"Yeah. That sounds good."
Patton was grateful for the suggestion. He felt shy, and anything for a bit of privacy would make him feel less vulnerable. Remus snapped again and poured sweet-smelling bubble bath into the tub. Thick, rich bubbles in a rainbow of colors spread quickly across the surface, and Patton giggled.
"Wow! That's pretty cool."
"Figured it would brighten your day," Remus said.
Patton noticed Roman slumped in the doorway. "You okay, Roman?"
Roman glanced over and shrugged. "Doesn't matter."
"Of course it does."
"You shouldn't care."
"Why wouldn't I?" Patton asked, puzzled.
"Because I'm the reason you can't move."
"I share some of that blame," Logan argued. "I said things I shouldn't have." He turned to Patton. "Please forgive me for insinuating that you don't think things through. It was wrong of me to say something so blatantly false. I was worried that you'd gotten lost, and it didn't help that you were in the darker half of the Imagination."
Patton shrugged weakly. "I didn't intend to go in there. But…"
"Remus explained that you had intrusive thoughts that pushed you into going in," Logan said soothingly. "I hadn't even considered that. But it makes sense."
"How did you guys know that I went in?" Patton asked Virgil and Remus.
Virgil was trying not to doze off. "Mm? The door was wide open when we came back. And you left cookies on the table."
"You should go and sleep," Patton chided.
"When you're back in bed, I will," Virgil promised.
"If I felt better, I'd make some chamomile with honey," Patton said.
"I can make some," Logan said. "We could all use a soothing cup of tea, I believe."
"Yeah, Logan. That sounds good. Thanks for apologizing. It makes me feel better to know you were just worried and don't actually think I'm stupid. I'm sorry I worried you. And I'm sorry I hurt you and Roman." His eyes flickered down to Logan's bare arms, where there were several deep, raw wounds. "I can't believe I did that…"
"You were in pain, Patton," Virgil said. "And you were connected to the Imagination through your emotions."
"Yeah. And you were in my half," Remus said. "It exacerbated your feelings and coaxed them out. You weren't ready for that, so you didn't know how to handle it. We'll work on it, okay? We can go in whenever you feel better and I'll help to teach you what to do. It should have happened ages ago."
Remus shot an angry look at Roman, who flinched and looked away. "How about I make the tea?"
Without waiting for an answer, Roman turned and left. Patton watched him go with concern. "Is he okay?"
"Probably not," Virgil said.
"He's still a dumb#$&," Remus grumbled.
"You should talk with him," Virgil said.
"Ha! He wouldn't talk to me," Remus sneered. "I'm the #%*& up in our relationship. Mr. Perfect would never say he's done anything wrong. That's my job."
Patton could see the bitterness in Remus's eyes, and he wanted to help. "Remus?"
"What?"
"Roman loves you. But you're twins. You're so similar and different and it's confusing, and I don't think Roman knows how to talk to you. It's been years since you were close."
Remus flexed his fingers and the temperature of the room notched up ten degrees. "He'll never talk to me, Patton. Please change the subject."
The "please" told both Patton and Logan that they'd finally found a sore spot for the Duke. Though they were curious, they backed off the topic. Remus had backed off of several things they found to be too much, so they gave him space. Patton soaked in the warm water for a while and they chatted about things going on in their spheres of Thomas's life. After he'd been dried off and tucked back into bed, Patton had some more water and Roman brought in some soup with the tea.
"Roman! How sweet!" Patton exclaimed.
"It's microwaved. Since I can't cook."
Remus snorted. "You can't cook? Even I can cook."
"Yeah, well raw fish doesn't count," Roman growled.
Remus's cheeks flushed, and he hugged his sides as if to protect his tentacles. "Shut your #%*&ing mouth! I can't help that I like raw fish!"
Roman looked puzzled for a moment then he remembered that his twin was part octopus. "Oh! I… I didn't mean…"
"Stop talking!" Remus ordered, turning away to hide his red face. "Or better yet, just #%*&ing leave! Nobody needs you here!"
Roman looked crushed and reached out toward Remus before his hands fell to his sides. "Okay. If that's what you want."
"Yes!" Remus snapped.
Roman looked wounded, and Virgil, Patton, and Logan could see that Roman wanted so badly to reconnect with Remus, but Patton had been right. He didn't know how. And as his bottom lip trembled, they saw raw pain flash across Roman's face. But when he spoke, he was calm and steady. "Okay. Hit me up later?"
"#%*& off," Remus spat.
Roman slumped then turned and hurried away. They heard a muffled sob before Patton's door shut, but Remus didn't react. His fingers tightened at his sides and he reached up to scrub at his eyes.
"Rem, it's okay," Virgil said gently.
"I #%*&ing hate that I care," he whispered.
"I know," Virgil said.
Remus sniffed and turned to grab the soup. "Come on, Patton. Let's get some food in your stomach. Hopefully I won't end up wearing it!"
"Remus?" Patton said quietly.
"Hm?"
"Promise you'll try to make up with Roman?"
Remus stopped and met Patton's eyes. "If Roman makes the first move? Yeah, I promise. But I didn't leave."
Patton nodded and suddenly felt suffocated. "Oh my…"
"Temperature check," Remus ordered.
Logan took it and nearly dropped the thermometer at the reading. "Hot! Hot! Cool him down!"
"Relax, Logan," Virgil said with a laugh. "He's not going to die. But he'll be really uncomfortable."
"A fan please?" Patton whimpered.
Virgil and Logan stripped the blankets off the bed until it was just a sheet between Patton and the air. Remus snapped and a fan began running, chilling the room. Patton was still flushed with heat and found himself rather dizzy.
"Um, I think I'll hold off on the soup…" he muttered.
Remus laughed. "Afraid you'll spew?"
Patton turned green. Logan rolled his eyes. Virgil smiled. "Just put something on to pass the time. Any suggestions?"
"If I might suggest Steven Universe?" Remus said, twisting his mustache. "It's quite fun to watch that baked outta your gourd. And you're high as a kite on venom. Should be fun."
"I pick SpongeBob," Virgil said. "That show is wild when you've got venom in your veins."
Logan blinked at them. "The venom… is a drug?"
"Well, it has drug-like properties," Remus said. "It's all just chemicals fighting in your essence and #%*&ing with your hormone levels. Same difference."
"And you've experimented?" Logan asked disapprovingly.
Patton blinked slowly at him. Everything rang in his ears, and he closed his eyes at the waves of colors. "Don't care. Gonna rest," he grumbled.
Logan carefully arranged the sheet and adjusted the fan. "Perhaps a cool cloth, Remus?"
Remus nodded and snapped. As Logan wiped down Patton's sweaty face, Remus turned to Virgil.
"You sleeping in here? Because you promised him."
Virgil thought about it. "Yeah. That's okay."
Remus expanded the room and put another bed in the corner. "There. Now sleep, #&$% it."
Virgil snapped, and he was in a comfortable pair of sweats and a sweater. He crawled into bed and curled up.
"Wait! Don't forget Maskie," Remus said, a teasing note in his voice. With a flourish, a stuffed raccoon appeared in his hands and he tucked it in beside Virgil. Virgil's cheeks reddened, but Logan saw him curl an arm around the stuffed animal as he pretended to push it away. Logan's lips twitched. Of course Virgil would have a stuffed raccoon. He wiped Patton's face off again, sensing Remus watching him.
"You better start recording his symptoms. Scientific hoo-ha and stuff like that. Should interest you."
Logan turned to face him. "Thank you, Remus."
Remus blinked. "Huh?"
"You've kept a cooler head than anybody else, besides myself. Thank you. It's nice to have somebody dependable."
There was a pause. Then Remus smiled. "No problem, Pocket Protector. I'm not always as bad as I have been lately. Thomas slowing down has helped. And acknowledgment isn't so bad either. It's nice to be noticed."
Logan smiled and adjusted his glasses. "Please, may I ask if you would recite the common symptoms that you experience so I can compare them with Patton's?"
"Sure, dork. I got nothing better to do."
Remus conjured two big soft chairs and they sat down. Logan pulled out a notebook and a pen then looked up expectantly. As Patton and Virgil slept, Logan and Remus talked about symptoms. Logan began to realize that Patton would probably be sick for a while longer, and they planned for the various scenarios they came up with. The mind was quiet as night settled and Thomas fell into bed. Two Sides were sleeping. Two Sides were deep in conversation. And two Sides were hidden away, lamenting the past and wondering if they would ever be able to make up for what they'd done.
