Roman's hands had stopped hurting, but that didn't stop him from staring at his fingers, his palms, lost in thought. He was used to creating; painting, sculpting, drawing. He was foolish to forget all the broken canvases, shattered pots, and crumpled paper he made along the way.

Janus sat next to him at the kitchen table. How could he be so unbothered? Why doesn't he hate him? Janus caught him staring. He tilted his head slightly, an eyebrow dropping down. Roman shrugged and forced a smile. Janus' hand gently rested on his knee, and Roman had to close his eyes and take a breath at the simple, comforting touch.

"Oh, Kyler." Logic sounded disappointed. "You work at a daycare."

Roman looked up to see Empathy standing in the kitchen doorway. He was wearing the jacket Roman fixed for Virgil, and pink sweatpants. And as always, his second pair of arms were tucked away under his clothing. Roman loved seeing Virgil in his jacket everyday. But seeing Kyler in it sent a happy little shiver down his spine.

That little shiver was nothing compared to how Roman's stomach flipped when he saw the red and purple bruises along both sides of Kyler's neck. One side had far more, darker marks along the jawline. The other had smaller, mostly red marks that ran up and down the neck.

"I didn't do this!" Kyler cried, his face turning red.

"You two really should have more forethought." Logic shook his head.

"We didn't know we-" Kyler covered his face and groaned.

"Wait, wait-" Roman was trying to connect dots, but it was hard when they weren't numbered. "So who did- did Virgil give Patton hickeys?" Roman grinned at the large purple mark on one side of Kyler's neck. "You little octopus."

"No no no!" Kyler shook his hands back and forth. "It wasn't like that! There was a-a competition!"

"A competition?" Janus frowned.

"Please stop talking about it," Kyler whined, his hands moving to cover his neck. "Stop looking at them."

"What kind of competition?" Janus asked.

"A kissing one." Empathy mumbled, as red as Roman's hair.

Roman gasped suddenly. "And I wasn't invited?"

"It wasn't really a group activity…"

Roman hopped up, "I wanna try!"

"Roman, no," Empathy stepped back. He seemed to turn redder at just the thought.

"I can out hickey all of you!" Roman stepped forward determinedly, but Janus grabbed him and pulled him into his lap. Roman squirmed but relented. For now.

Janus was still giving Empathy funny looks. Logic was … taking notes, okay. Roman looked back at Kyler's flushed face and shifting feet.

Roman said, "But, like. Who was it between? Yourselves?"

"Um." Kyler glanced at Janus. "I'd like to change the subject, please."

"That was very insightful, Kyler, thank you." Logic said, putting his notes away.

"What?" Kyler mumbled.

"If no one requires assistance, I will take my leave for the day." Logic said, grabbing his backpack off the ground. It was plain, blue, and heavy as fuck. Roman almost dropped it on his foot once. "I will be back late, after dinner."

"What're you doing?" Kyler asked.

"I have a speech I must prepare for, as well as two essays to begin. And, I believe, a powerpoint presentation." Logic said. "I will be in the library."

Empathy's fingers danced anxiously near his chin. "Aren't you exhausted?"

Logic smiled and said, "I hope to see you later."

He left without responding to the question, but Empathy's expression seemed answer enough. Roman squinted at the Fusion. He had like. Superpowers. Like Scrutiny's freaky Sherlock thing. Roman wanted to ask more about Kyler's emotional telekinesis, but Janus was still holding him in his lap.

Empathy shook himself. He glanced at Roman and Janus, pressing a hand to his neck. His face flushed once more and the Fusion mumbled, "I have to get ready."

He ran out of the kitchen without another word.

Janus tsk'd. "Didn't eat."

"What?" Roman twisted around to look at him. Janus placed a hand on his hip to keep him balanced on his lap. Roman let out a small giggle at the touch.

"Nothing, love." Janus said, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Roman smiled and kicked his feet a little. "What are your plans for today?"

"After class I'm hanging out with Kai and Pop." Roman said. "I was hoping to get to talk to Virge, but, he's probably out of commission for a while."

Roman caught the disappointment sprint across Jan's face. He was quick to cover it with a shrug. "We'll see how long they last."

"A couple days at least." Roman said, "Kyler always sticks around."

That sad look returned to Janus' eye for just a moment. "It'll be alright. Perhaps Virgil needs the break."

"Hey, you know," Roman tried to sound hot and interesting, "If you get lonely in your bed without a certain emo, I'm right next door."

"You snore." Janus said, his voice kind, but his eyes tired.

Roman scoffed, tried to hide his hurt heart. "Alright, sleep alone then."

"Shh." Janus kissed him, and Roman leaned into the touch. His lips were soft and he tasted like tea. Roman didn't like tea, but he loved tasting it on Janus's tongue. "Of course I'll join you tonight, and every other night."

Until the cuter, spookier Side comes back, right?

Roman pushed down his ugly thoughts and focused on the Side in front of him. He kissed Janus again, slower this time. He felt when Janus finally relaxed against him, and only then did he realize Jan was tense before. He slowly pulled away and looked into Janus' eyes. His shoulders were slumped, bags had formed under his eyes, and even his gaze seemed less sharp than usual.

"You okay?" Roman asked him.

Janus nodded slowly, then said, "I suppose, I'm just curious who won that competition."

"Well, obviously, Virgil!" Roman felt his mind run wild with images and ideas. "Did you see that massive purple one?"

Janus smirked, his hand on Roman's hip squeezing for a moment. Roman grinned, as it looked like Jan's mood was rising.

"Maybe we should have a little competition of our own." Roman said, kissing Jan's cheek. He let his lips slide over to Janus' ear and he said, "I bet we could get through it without fusing."

Janus chuckled and tilted his head aside for Roman to kiss better. He said, "Don't be late for your first class, dear."

"Who are you, my Logic?" Roman mumbled, his lips barely leaving Janus' skin.

"Hm, close." Janus leaned back and caught Roman's chin in his hand. "I'm the one our Logic will yell at if we're caught."

"But-"

"Save it for tonight, love." Janus said.

He leaned up and kissed Roman once more. Roman smiled and melted against Janus, pressing as close as he could to him. A small squeak distracted them. Roman turned around to see Kyler in the doorway. His face was red, his eyes locked on them. One hand covered his mouth while the other covered his neck.

"Sorry!" Empathy squeaked, "I didn't mean to interrupt!"

He glanced to the counter, darted over and grabbed Patton's keys. He kept his eyes down as he sped-walked back out of the kitchen.

Roman let out a little giggle. He turned back to Janus and whispered, "I think we turned him on."

Surprisingly, Janus didn't laugh. He blushed.

Roman's face lit up as the dots finally crashed together. "Wait- wait- were the hickeys from yo-"

"Go to class!" Janus pushed him off his lap.

Roman laughed as his ass hit the floor.


Kai and Pop liked to meet at one of the quieter cafeterias on campus. The food there kind of sucked, so it was almost never busy outside of mealtimes. Roman found the two of them sitting at a table by the windows. Outside the sky painted itself orange and pink as the sun disappeared behind the buildings. Kai had a textbook open and was actually doing homework like some kind of psychopath. Pop was playing on her phone, like a sane person.

Roman sat across from them, putting his backpack on the seat beside him. He smiled and said, "My friends!"

"Hey, Ro." Pop waved without looking up from the screen.

Kai closed his book and said, "Can your Logic teach me calculus?"

"He can try. Can you understand calculus?" Roman asked.

Pop snorted and held her hand out, Roman high-fived it and grinned at Kai.

He rolled his eyes and muttered, "No."

"It's okay, me neither." Roman said, waving him off. "We don't need brains, we're the Sides that bring the looks."

Pop nodded, still scrolling. "It's true, that's what the Logical traits are for."

Kai sat back in his chair, gesturing to them both, "Yeah, lucky you two. You actually have Logical traits in your pods. What about us unlucky bitches that'll be stupid when we grow up?"

"Don't worry," Pop said, finally setting her phone down. She placed a hand on Kai's shoulder and said, "Roman will still be stupid, too."

"Hey!" Roman ignored the little ouch he felt in his chest at that one. He knew he wasn't the best student in the world, but what he liked he knew and he knew what he liked.

Pop continued, ignoring him, "Besides, you haven't met all your Sides yet. Maybe you'll still get a Logic."

"Maybe. Maybe not." Kai held his chin in his hand, "I only have two more chances."

"Maybe you're the brains." Roman said.

"I'm not the brains." Kai responded, sounding tired. "I'm the broken body."

Pop perked up, "Oh! Speaking of brains!"

"Yeah?" Roman and Kai shared a look.

"So you remember the Left Brain, Right Brain fiasco?" Pop said, "With the Bos Burnham?"

"Yeah?" Kai leaned over to see Pop Culture's phone screen.

Pop said in a dramatic gasp, "They did it again!"

"On purpose?" Roman asked.

Pop shrugged, "We don't know. During a show one of them made a joke about how they're not allowed to fuse anymore. And then, hold on-"

Pop typed for a second more and then flipped her phone around to show them. "Look!"

The video was clearly taken backstage of some concert. It was pretty dark and a few people were moving around, agitated.

"I can say whatever I want-" Someone, a Bo, shouted.

The video showed some guy in a suit. He held his hand up, right in the Bo's face. "Mr. Burnham."

The Side smacked the hand away. Another Bo jumped forward and grabbed the first, pulling him away. "He is so sorry-!"

"No I'm not!"

"Bo, stop!"

"Mr. Burnham this behavior-"

"Wait-"

A crowd formed as people tried to separate the Bo's from the suit. The shouting grew louder until there was a bright flash. The person filming fumbled and the rest of the footage was extra shakey.

A massive roar came from the speakers, and Kai looked away. The camera didn't focus for a few moments, simply showing a blurry, blinding, blob.

And then the STRESS charged towards them. The video ends with a high pitched scream.

"Woah…" Roman said, taking the phone from her and replaying the footage. The STRESS was big, and ugly.

"That's … unfortunate." Kai mumbled.

"Two got hurt, but not seriously." Pop said, taking the phone back. "They were able to force fission on the STRESS."

Roman's mind shot to the mall. To what he heard. The police showing up and surrounding the mighty beast. The sounds of static and screaming as they ran away.

Roman frowned and asked, "...How?"

Pop glanced at him and shrugged. "I dunno how they do that shit."

"Ugh, I hope I never see one of those things." Kai shook his head. "They're so-"

"But the Bos are ok?" Roman asked.

"Yeah their representative posted a little update that they were resting." Pop gave them a funny look. "Since when were you a big Bos fan?"

"I'm not." Roman glanced away. "I mean I like their music and jokes and stuff but-"

Kai and Pop were looking at him with slightly pinched brows. Roman took a deep breath and steadied himself.

"Anyway," Roman shook his head, trying to clear the mall from his thoughts. "Either of you got any fun plans this weekend?"

"No, but next weekend or in two weeks? I don't know." Kai said, "But Vogue invited me to vidcon."

"What?" Pop said, setting her phone down.

"Do you want to go to vidcon with me?" Kai asked Roman.

Roman nodded frantically, "Uh, yeah!"

"Vogue was going to invite Patton, since he was in some of their videos. But I guess he's fused right now and the tickets only work for one Side or Established person, so-"

Roman bounced in his chair. "Yeah, I wanna go!"

"Ok, cool. It won't be until next weekend, but I'll let Vogue know you're in." Kai said.

"I'm sitting right here," Pop said. "You're going to the biggest internet event of the year and you didn't invite me?"

Kai rolled his eyes. "I literally just said you would need two tickets, they only work for one person."

"I'm a person!"

"You're a Fusion." Kai held up his hands in defense, "I don't make the rules. All Fusions need to buy two or three tickets, that's how events have worked for forever."

Pop crossed her legs and sighed. "This place sucks."

"America?" Roman asked.

"Earth." Pop clarified. She held her chin in her hand, glaring at empty air. "I wanna live in Narnia or something."

Kai nodded. "Same."

Roman asked, "Did you pick a monologue for acting yet?"

"No," Pop sighed. "There's too many to choose from."

"Here, let us help you pick." Kai said, "Any ideas yet?"

Pop began typing on her phone again, likely pulling up the monologs options. "Well, there's always Shakespeare."

"Amy said she's doing Romeo and Juliet." Roman said.

"Ugh. Fine." Pop said, "What about Mary Poppins?"

"Are there any monologues in that?" Kai asked.

Roman sat back and smiled, letting his thoughts drift away as his friends talked. If he tried hard enough, he couldn't even notice the empty spot next to him where an insomniac used to sit.


Exhaustion centered itself snugly in Roman's chest as he came home late. He didn't know if Logic was home from the library yet, but the living room and kitchen were dark and empty. Roman rubbed his eyes and tossed his backpack on the ground by their pile of shoes.

He made his way slowly up the stairs, alone with his thoughts. Fuck, he missed Remy and Missy. It was painful being around their friends and them not being there. Roman remembered a time when he was daydreaming about their wedding, as two Established people- or maybe they'd let Roman stick around, even if he was a Side forever. Sometimes, when we felt extra hopeless romantic-y, he'd imagine a world where he could have it all. Sides and boyfriends and partners and all of them liked each other and liked him. But he wasn't that lucky. His boyfriend left him and his Sides disagree. Roman didn't get his romantic utopia. He was lucky if he was even noticed anymore. Logic was busy with all his classes and Janus-

Roman opened the door to his room. Janus was on his bed. He was playing on his phone, and he looked up and smiled when Roman walked in. The overhead light was off, but the room was lit with the soft glow of fairy lights hanging on the walls. The lights wrapped entirely around the room and framed the doorway. Roman gaped in awe at the simple, yet beautiful decoration.

"What… is this?" Roman asked, looking back over to Janus.

He fidgeted, moving small bowls of fruit from the bedside table sit next to him on the comforter. When Janus glanced up at him, his cheeks were a little pink. He said, "A date?"

Roman walked up to the bed, looking at the bowls of fruit Janus had picked out: strawberries, cherries, and red grapes - which were really purple if you thought about it. Roman sat on the bed beside Janus and smiled, "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Janus shrugged, looking away, "I just feel like, it's been a minute since we got to hang out?"

Roman leaned over and kissed his cheek. Janus hummed a little and leaned closer. As Roman pulled away he said, "I knew you'd miss me."

"Can't miss you if you never leave me alone." Janus said with a smile. He kissed Roman gently. Roman ignored the slight twinge in his chest at that. Was he asking for too much? He didn't want to take all of his Side's time. Logic had so little to spare. Virgil needed to heal. Patton - would probably be fine with Roman bothering him all the time, honestly. But that didn't make him feel any less like a Needy Nelly.

"Hey." Jan said, his gaze darting between his eyes. "What's with that face?"

"Um." Roman rubbed his eyes, feeling overwhelmed by his thoughts. "Nothing. Don't worry."

"Hm. Sounds like a lie." Janus said, pulling him into another kiss.

Roman shrugged when they broke apart. "I don't know. Things have felt weird, since…"

Janus' expression faltered slightly. He cupped Roman's jaw and asked, "Do you… need something… to help?"

Yes, you, more, all the time. And the others, too. Everyone. Never step away. Stay by my side, please! Roman wanted to say.

Instead he said, "Well this is pretty nice."

Janus smiled and guided them both into a more leaning position. He plucked a strawberry from one of the bowls and held it up to Roman. As Roman took a bite, Janus said, "I hope so."

Roman's face warmed at the look in Jan's eye. He looked away, chewing the strawberry slowly. The sweet flavor was a decent distraction for a moment.

Janus pulled his laptop off the bedside table. He opened it and Roman clapped in excitement at the screen. Janus smirked.

"I knew you'd be excited." He said as he pushed play.

Roman leaned against him as the beginning of Into the Woods began to play. He absolutely loved this musical. He snuggled closer to Janus and rested his head on his shoulder.

Janus hummed and presented another strawberry. Roman closed his eyes as he ate it, listening to the opening notes. He imagined a bed full of partners, not just his Sides, curled close in a pile of limbs. But a cute pile not like the how the STRESSes- fuck. He lost it.

Roman tried to hide his sigh as he opened his eyes again. The movie played, but he wasn't watching it. Janus ate a grape. Roman, alone with his thoughts, and Janus, who'd rather be with Virgil. Who would rather be Empathy. Or Logic, who would rather be studying.

Roman's gaze drifted away from the laptop screen, and over to the wall. How can he be in a house full of soulmates and still feel this incomplete? What the hell was wrong with him?


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