Patton tapped at the door and carried in a tray of food when Roman opened it.

"Thanks. Could you go and get the other dishes? I made a lot of different stuff. It's all in the Dark Side common room."

Roman hurried to grab the rest of the food and get a breath of cooler air. Patton set the tray on the desk and tugged at his collar. He turned to see Janus look away quickly, his face pinching with guilt. Logan was calmly sitting there, scratching patches of scales that went down Janus's left side. Patton was utterly fascinated.

"Wow, Jan! I didn't know you had so many scales!"

Janus's human cheek turned pink, and he shifted uneasily. "Yep."

Patton frowned as Roman carried in another two dishes. "Patton, you overdid it again."

Patton blushed. "Sorry! I was worried."

"Food?" Janus asked, studying Patton.

"What do you want?"

"Anything."

Patton quickly put a large plate together and set it in front of Janus before plopping down in front of him. Janus picked up the plate and made an attempt to control himself as he quickly polished off everything he'd been given. Patton's eyes were wide.

"Wow. Hungry?"

"Mm."

Logan moved to the largest patch of scales and drew his nails over them. Janus shuddered and moaned even as he looked embarrassed. "Sorry. It just itches so badly."

"I can only imagine," Logan said. "It's quite alright if you need to be vocal. Though after you eat, I do have some questions. Like how exactly you know when your scales are going to come off. And how we are to do that."

"Oh, you needn't worry," Janus said quickly.

"Are you sure?" Patton asked.

"Absolutely not." Janus snapped his mouth closed and looked frustrated. "#%*&!"

Patton giggled. "Can you not lie?"

"It's like being turned inside out," Janus mumbled, reaching up to pick at the scales on his left hand.

Logan spoke sharply. "Don't pick. That's not good for you."

Janus turned his head and glared. "I thought you wanted to know if they were ready!"

"Oh." Logan shifted. "Continue then."

Janus picked at his hand then reached to his ribs and picked some more. "Not ready," he sighed, and he sounded relieved and frustrated at the same time.

"Is that good or bad?" Patton asked.

Janus hesitated then looked down. "It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does."

"Why do you care?" Janus demanded. "You should be far, far away from me!"

Patton paused and leaned forward. "Is this about you biting me?"

Janus stood up and shoved Logan's hands off of him. "Of course it is!" He stomped his foot and his face warmed. "#&$% it all!"

"Jan, calm down. It's okay. I promise," Patton said, watching the Side pace up and down the room. Janus tended to pace when agitated, and being unable to lie seemed to genuinely upset him.

"Okay?" Janus hissed then turned and grabbed Patton's face and tilted it up to bare the fang marks. "How is that okay?" he demanded. "I bit you! I poisoned you, Patton! You, of all people! What kind of beast am I, attacking my friend?"

Patton reached up to Janus's bare hand and pulled it away then stood up. "It's okay, Jan. I was crazy. I… I tortured Logan and Roman." Patton's voice was small. "I tortured them… and I liked it. I thought they deserved it. So I'm a bad friend, too."

"Aw, Patton," Roman said. "You're not a bad friend."

"Yes, I am."

Janus snorted. "No, you're not. You were hiding your feelings again, and the Imagination sensed that and locked in. You weren't going to express your feelings any other way, so it helped you. It's only because you have such big feelings that it was able to latch onto you. And you weren't able to recognize it because of… circumstances."

"Yeah, yeah, I should have taught him," Roman snapped. "I know that. Can we please move on?"

Janus stared at him, idly reaching up to scratch at his shoulder. Logan stood up and pushed his hand away then began to scratch for him. Janus shivered and leaned back.

"I take it Remus has preached a sermon?" he asked.

"Oh, good lord, please no," Logan said. "I can't even imagine him preaching."

"It's a saying," Janus said, gesturing lower down his back. Logan followed his direction, and Janus sighed. "I simply meant that Remus has no doubt been lecturing Roman on his considerable idiocy."

"Ah. I see. Then yes."

"I get it. I'm stupid." Roman poured a glass of water from the water cooler he'd managed to conjure and gulped it down.

"You are very intelligent," Janus countered. "But you made a bad decision."

Roman stood very still for a moment, surprised. "You complimented me."

Janus blinked then stomped his foot again. "Oh, for #%*&'s sake!"

Roman actually laughed. "Hey, I like this side of you."

Janus crossed his arms then turned to Patton, a blush darkening his human cheek. "As I was saying, you're not a bad friend. Circumstances proved to be too much for you."

Patton considered this. "The same was true for you, though."

"I should be able to control myself!" Janus shouted.

"Interesting that you should assert that," Logan said.

"Oh really?" Janus asked.

"Yes. Do you control your other animal tendencies?"

"What?"

"You produce venom. Can you stop producing venom?"

"Of course not!"

"Hm. And could you stop shedding if you wanted to?"

"I would have already if I had the choice," Janus grumbled.

"Then it is absurd to think that you can control a base instinct such as protecting yourself when you cannot control the other aspects of your serpentine nature," Logan said.

Janus looked down. "I don't want to attack people."

"I know you don't, Jan. And that's why I'm not mad," Patton said gently. He tilted Janus's chin up and smiled when he met his gaze. "It's okay. I'm okay. It's not deadly. And Logan and Remus and Roman and Virgil have all really helped me out. Heck, I couldn't even feed myself for several days. But I'm going to be okay."

A small smile graced Janus's face then he reached up and touched the bite mark. "I really am sorry, Patton. I really, really am." He frowned at the amount of moisture on his fingers. "And you most certainly will not be okay unless you put something lighter on and have a glass of water." He twisted and touched Logan's face. "You, too. The only one I've seen drinking is Roman."

Logan and Patton both swallowed reflexively and noticed at once that he was right. Logan quit scratching at Janus's scales, and Janus whimpered in disappointment. Roman was swallowing down another glass of water and passing out glasses to the other two, while Patton snapped his fingers and changed into a pair of shorts and a blue sleeveless t-shirt. He brightened at once then took the glass and waited to fill up his water.

"This is better. It's so hot in here!"

Roman glanced at Janus as Logan gulped down his glass then waited to refill it, and he noticed him wriggling and trying not to scratch. Roman hesitated, a bit grossed out by the thought of touching his scales, but Janus just looked so miserable. He sidled up behind him and cleared his throat.

"May I?" he asked awkwardly.

"Ooh, so gallant," Janus teased then nodded. "Not too hard. Like I said, my skin can come off."

Roman reached out and hesitated before drawing his nails over the brittle skin. Janus groaned and pressed back. The texture wasn't as bad as Roman had feared. It was just dry skin, not human but still not completely unrecognizable. He scratched in circles and Janus shivered.

"Move around?" Janus asked shyly.

Roman switched his hand to a different patch of scales, and Janus sighed and shivered, arching his back.

"Feel good?" Roman asked.

"You have no #%*&ing clue," Janus muttered. As Patton came back over, Logan set aside his glass and moved over to the bed.

"May I?"

"May you…?" Janus asked.

"Sit down. I find beds to be very personal, so it's best to ask."

Janus chuckled and shrugged. "Have a seat, Logan."

Logan sat down and adjusted his glasses. "Ready yet?"

Janis picked at his hand again then reached for his ribs again. "Of course not."

"Is that good or bad?"

"Why are you asking that?" Janus asked.

Logan tilted his head. "Because you sound pleased and irritated at the same time. I cannot tell if this is the natural progression or not."

Janus pressed his lips together then moaned as Roman switched to another patch of scales. His human cheek burned, and he looked down.

"It is good because I want Remus and Virgil to be here before they come off, and it is bad because I just want to get it over with. This is not exactly a position I'm proud to be in. Especially with you three."

"Oh, it's okay Jan," Patton said. "I think it's really cool. I can't wait for the skin to come off."

"You sound like Remus," Roman said with a snort.

Patton blinked. "No, no! That's not what I meant!"

Janus laughed, a soft, open noise. "It's quite alright, Patton. I've heard much worse. And it is… invigorating to know that you all are willing to help me. Even though I'd really prefer to sink through the floor right now."

"It's not so bad," Roman admitted. "And you're telling the truth again."

"That time was on purpose," Janus said quietly.

"Would anything help this process to continue more smoothly?" Logan asked.

"A hot bath."

Logan stood up and walked to the bathroom, flipping on the light. "How hot?"

"Not a drop of cold water," Janus replied.

"How? It's already so unbearably hot in here," Roman complained.

"To you."

Logan was about to step into the bathroom then paused at Janus's soft words. He turned and walked over to Janus. "May I take your temperature?"

Janus blushed but shrugged. "If you must."

Logan pressed a hand to Janus's forehead and was astounded. "You're not sweating. Not at all. You're cool to the touch!"

"Really? Let me feel!" Patton exclaimed, and his hand replaced Logan's. "Neato! You really are cool to the touch!"

"How?" Logan asked.

"I, ah, I'm part snake…" Janus muttered.

"Snakes are cold-blooded," Logan breathed. "So you are, too. At least partially. Absolutely fascinating."

"Alright! Alright! That's enough gawking at the circus freak! A bath, Logan!" Janus snapped.

"Easy," Roman said as Logan took a startled step back. "It's okay, Jan. He's not being mean. He's just being, well, Logan."

"Just stop staring," Janus grumbled. "This is already bad enough. Please, just…" Janus's eyes filled with tears and he began to cry. "Oh! #%*& it all!"

Roman chuckled and wrapped an arm around Janus's shoulder. "Hey there. It's okay. I'll only tease you forever."

Janus hiccuped but laughed and wiped at his eyes. "I can't help it. I'm sorry."

Roman and Patton comforted Janus as Logan went in to run a hot bath. When he came back in, his glasses were fogged, and he took them off to try and wipe them down. Unfortunately, his shirt was soaked with sweat, and he sighed in frustration.

"Here," Janus said, reaching over to grab a cloth.

Logan took it and wiped down his glasses. "Many thanks."

"Just one will do," Janus replied.

"Naturally," Logan said with a smile.

"Let's get you in this bath," Roman said.

"Goody goody," Janus grumbled.

"Ooh, calm your enthusiasm," Roman teased.

"So sorry about that," Janus said dryly.

He snapped his fingers and was naked. Roman suddenly realized why he had a lack of enthusiasm. He turned and stalked into the bathroom, his human cheek red. Logan, Roman, and Patton hesitated then followed to see Janus step into the steaming water without a moment's hesitation. His skin flushed and he sighed as he sank into the depressed tub.

"How many times do I have to ask you to stop staring? Yippee, he's naked, can we please move on?"

Logan adjusted his glasses. "Do you need anything?"

"A bit of privacy?" Janus asked.

"Certainly. Call if you need anything."

"And drink more water!" Janus called.

Logan, Patton, and Roman went over to fill their glasses and looked at each other.

"Interesting day," Roman said.

"No kidding. But at least Jan is talking to us again," Patton said.

"I'm more interested in the actual shedding process," Logan said. "A snake sheds its full skin all at once. But Janus cannot do that. So how does this work?"

"If Remus and Virgil don't show up soon, we'll find out," Roman said.

It wasn't exactly as disturbing a thought as Roman expected. He was actually curious to see the process through. As he gulped down another glass of water, he wondered what his brother was doing. He'd been doing that a lot lately. It twisted in his gut like a knife that Remus was avoiding him. Because his twin was, indeed, avoiding him. And after all he'd done, Roman deserved it. The words from Janus's papers filled his mind.

Roman still believes, at least subconsciously, that he does nothing wrong. Over time, he has relaxed his ego a bit, but he seems to need somebody to blame for his own insecurities….

That was stupid. Because Roman had done nothing right in ages. And he knew it. What he didn't know was how to fix everything.

"Um, Patton?" Janus's voice called.

"Yeah, kiddo?" Patton asked brightly.

"Would you bring me a bite to eat?"

"Sure!"

Roman watched Patton scramble around, his feelings of self-loathing growing. He couldn't do anything about that, but he could help Janus. So that's what he would focus on.