"Hmm, I needed that." Remy sighed against Roman's skin as he snuggled closer to his bare chest. Reflexively, Roman's arm wrapped around Remy's waist warmly. He listened with his eyes closed, still tired from their previous activity. "This week has been exhausting."

He heard the sheets rustle as Remy gestured. His hand thumped against Roman's side every so often.

"The stupid school pharmacy doesn't have my refill and so I'll be without for, like, two weeks! It's only been three days and I think my head's gonna explode!" He groaned dramatically and pressed his forehead against Roman's neck. "And Missy's so worried, babe, like, she tries to stay up with me at night, right? But she's normal, so she eventually falls asleep. And I can't!"

Roman opened his eyes to look down at him. He asked, "Does fusing help?"

"Not really. Kind of." He sighed, tapping his fingers against Roman distractedly. "Slap makes it easier for me to not fall over and die. But it's such a drain on Missy. She feels sick and tired and it's totally not worth it."

"Well," Roman said after a beat, "Why don't you take the over the counter stuff?"

"Drugstore pills?" Remy sat up enough to look at him. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Uh-" Roman said, a little confused. Roman was more of the type to get physical injuries from roughhousing with the lads, than the type who requires specific prescriptions. "No?"

Remy rolled his eyes and continued, with less pep than he usually sported. "And to add to that, my Narcolepsy has been going crazy, so I'll pass out somewhere and Miss has to carry me home!"

"Do you at least feel better after you sleep from those attacks? Like, more rested?" Roman asked.

"If I'm lucky." Remy grumbles. He lays back down against Roman and gives a big sigh. He props his head up and looks at him. "What 'bout you, babe, what's happenin'? You seemed distracted."

Roman throws a hand to his chest, staring at Remy in offense, "Distracted!? I was the best you've ever had, as always!"

"I don't know," Remy said, an impish smile on his face, "I almost fell asleep."

Roman scoffed and swatted at Remy's ass. They were quiet for a moment, then he remembered everything that had happened since he and Remy last got together. "Oh my god, so, I have these two Sides, right?"

"Love it." Remy said, grinning.

"And I thought they were Logic and Morality," Roman held up two fingers, "But it turns out they're Easily-Swayed and Deceit!"

Remy gasped, "A twist!"

Roman groaned and looked up at Remy's ceiling. "The cute, sweet, nice guy was a lying jerk!"

"We've all been there, girl." Remy said, giving his hand a squeeze. "So, now what?"
"Well, Logic pulled my hair and made me agree to be nice to him." Roman said, his cheeks heating slightly at the memory of their discussion. Remy was nodding, an approving grin on his face.

"Yes, daddy, we love it! More!"

"Shut up! It wasn't like that." Roman laughed, pushing him away. He carried on unable to make eye contact. "He must've done the same thing with Deceit, because he promised to not lie to us. Apparently."

Remy wiggled against him, "Sounds fun!"

"It sounds horrible! Because it is!" Roman shook his head, "Nothing is stopping Deceit from lying! I don't like him! I just have to be nice to him when Logic's around. 'Give him a chance' - a chance to what? Stab me?!"

"Babe, I'm living for this drama." Remy said, "I need updates 24/7. Your lovelife is my lifeline and I'm always streaming!"

"Thanks for the support, babe." Roman huffed, glaring down at Remy. The other man grinned at him before leaning up to kiss him. Roman felt himself relax. He couldn't stay mad at Remy. He was perfect.

Roman broke the kiss with a sigh, pressing their foreheads together. "I wish we could've been Sides. That would've been so easy." Remy smiled, staring into his eyes. "You, Me, Miss, Logic, and some other guy."
"Virge." Remy mumbled, leaning closer to him, just a breath away. "He was after you."

"Bet he was nothing compared to me." Roman said with a grin.

A giggle tumbled past Remy's lips, "Well, you're hard to beat, my Dream Boy."

"Yeah, there we go, got all five." Roman mumbled, a pleased little smile on his face. "Wouldn't that be nice?"

Remy weaseled his way against Roman's neck, kissing the soft skin there.

"Well," he said between kisses, "if that were the case, then I'd never be able to kiss you when we're gone."

Roman shivered, either at the words or the sensation, he wasn't sure. "Don't talk about Establishment like that."

"Like what?" He asked, then kissed, kissed, kissed, "The Last Sleep?"

"You think you're smart." Roman said, tilting his head to let Remy get a better angle. "It's not like we die, we just-"
"Don't have bodily autonomy, turn into someone else entirely, and no longer legally exist as a person?" Remy had stopped kissing him, his grip on Roman's shoulders turning tight.

Roman held Remy's wrists gently, a frown pulling on his face. Remy's eyes unfocused and he blinked rapidly.

"Hey, are you okay?" Roman sat up, pulling Remy into a more upright position. Remy swayed against his chest and nodded slowly.

"I'm okay-" He said, his voice a little slurred. "Jus' dizzy."

"Those were some strong opinions just there. I thought you and Missy were really into the idea of Establishment." Roman said slowly.

Remy sighed, glaring down at the bedsheets. "Yeah, when it felt like a possibility. How is it that every Side we meet is someone else's?"

"I think that's normal." Roman said, his brows pinching together briefly.

"Then what makes you so special?" Remy snapped. He winced and pushed his fists into his eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I'm so fucking tired."

"Do you have a problem with my Sides?" Roman asked, sitting up straighter. He held his gaze and asked, "Do they change anything between us?"
"No, babe." Remy said, leaning back a little to shake his head. "I'm completely fine with you having Sides, obviously. And, like, you and your Sides being together romantically or sexually- I'm all for it, babe. I just haven't slept in twenty-seven hours, and I wish I had another Side who could fuse with Slap so maybe we'd stand a chance at being a functioning person!"

"So it's fine that I kiss Logic and stuff?" Roman said after a small beat. He watched as Remy sighed and nodded.

"As long as they're chill with sharing you, I don't care what you do with them." Remy said, his hands shaking sickly. Roman froze up, which Remy noticed immediately. He shook his head, "Babe."

"Okay, so maybe I haven't yet had the conversation-"
"You haven't talked about me?!" Remy ducked his head and threw tiny punches at his belly. They didn't hurt, but Roman still got the message. "Babe! You can't just have secret boyfriends!"

"I know, I know. But there was never a good time to sit down and talk about it. We were always busy with something else." Roman said, alreadying imaging having to talk about Remy to Deceit. Somehow, he didn't think that conversation would be fun. "I promise, I'll talk to them about it, soon."

"You better." Remy said, his voice sounding small. Roman looked down at him, to find fat, exhausted tears rolling down Remy's cheeks. He blinked slowly at Roman, then whispered, "I just want to sleep."

"Shh," Roman whispered, cradling him close to him once more. He held Remy tightly and swayed side to side. The slow, repetitive movements soothed even his thoughts. Remy stayed quiet, apart from the occasional sniffle.

Roman looked down at the fatigued man. He admittedly had never seen Remy off his meds before, suffering from the full brunt of exhaustion and emotional drainage. Roman ran his fingers through Remy's hair soothingly and looked up at the ceiling. If this was Remy at his lows, and he was usually perfect, amazing, wonderful. Then what would medication do to Deceit? Could Jan be … cool?

Maybe he could talk to Logic about it. He glanced down at Remy, who was quietly focusing on his breathing. If there was a guide on how to make Remy feel better, the first suggestion would be gossiping.

Roman held Remy closer and took a deep breath. Then he said, "Logic thinks he can diagnose me."

"Me too." Remy said, poking his pec. "It's Sexy."

"He thinks I'm some kind of Jealousy trait." Roman said it like Logic had suggested wearing crocs to a wedding.

Remy giggled and chirped, "Possessive."

"Ew, no." Roman shook his head, "I'm something cool, like, like- Prince Charming Extraordinaire!"

"And what personality trait would that be?" Remy asked with a sleepy smile. Tear tracks had dried on his cheeks, and his eyes were puffy. Roman rubbed his thumb against his cheek soothingly.

"Only the best traits, of course. Dashing! Heroic! Handsome!" Roman imagined a crowd of fans, lining up to meet him and ride on his fancy horse. "Good with the ladies and gets bad with the men."

"You just described me." Remy said, his eyes closed and his head resting entirely on Roman. He had to shift to accommodate for the extra weight, but Roman didn't complain. Remy's breathing was slow and his body growing limp. Pushed to its limits, his body was falling asleep during their conversation.

Roman stopped himself from continuing, once he was sure Remy was snoring. Without moving his torso too much, he reached over to the bedside table and grabbed his phone. He had a new message. Before he looked at it, he sent a text to Missy, telling her that Remy was asleep in their bed.

Then he opened the new message.

Deceit: Our dearest Logic wishes for us to spend time together. Dinner? Tonight?

Roman squinted at the text, the slightest bit peeved. He could've written it better. It's like he barely tried! Two can play that game.

Me: K

Deceit: Great. I will meet you at La Bella Notte at seven.

Me: Great.

Deceit: Great.

Me: Great.

Deceit: I'm going to look gayer than you.

Me: Bet

Roman talked a little more with Missy and scrolled through his phone for outfit ideas for a couple minutes. Then he slowly maneuvered Remy into a better sleeping position and crawled off the bed. He dressed quickly, still scrolling through Pinterest.

Once he was ready, he kissed Remy's messy hair and ducked out of the room. He locked the door to the apartment behind him, Slap's spare key jingling in his pocket.

He spent his entire walk home planning his outfit. He will not be out hotted, out gayed, out anything tonight. He was going to strut in there with six inch heels and big brain moves.

Roman wasn't going to be tricked tonight. You don't need to know the names of the chess pieces, if there's only two kings on the board.


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