This takes place about a year and a half after Janus and Virgil meet Patton and Logan. The twins are 13, Janus is about to turn 18 in less than 2 months, and Virgil is 10.

It was a relief when the twins and Virgil came running down the stairs, practically shaking the house with their excitement. Three excited calls of "Christmas!" rang through the air, followed by Patton's laughter. Janus hadn't been able to sleep at all that night, and not because of foolish childish excitement brought on by the thought of presents, hot cocoa, or Patton's Super Secret Christmas Peppermint Chocolate Chip Pancake, or even a full day of not doing anything except watching movies and playing games with his family. Instead, Janus was filled with a tight feeling of nervousness and dread that had kept him up all night.

His bedroom door flew open, and almost instantly, he was engulfed in a dog pile of siblings who were chearing ecstatically.

"Come on Jan! It's Christmas!" Roman shouted, tugging on his arm.

Virgil had snuck behind him, sitting in front of his headboard, and was trying to push him into an upright position, "Santa came! He left presents!"

Remus was tugging on his other arm, and Janus watched with a bemused tired smile as they tried to drag him out of bed, "Get up! Dad says we can't start without you.

Janus rolled his eyes, "Oh no, but however will I do that, when I can't get out of bed?" he replied with a smile.

"What do you mean you can't get out of bed?!" Roman demanded to know.

"Yeah, just get up!" Remus shouted, "It's not like your boyfriend is here to tie you down." Janus frowned and leveled Remus with a scolding look that made him smile nervously, "I'm sorry, don't tell Dad."

He rolled his eyes again, but relented, "I can't get up, if I got up, there would no one to trap the elves."

"What elves?" Virgil asked.

Janus smiled and evil smile that by now, Roman and Remus had come to know very well. Virgil, who was still behind him, didn't see it. He was not offered the same headstart the twins were. The twins looked at each other before scrambling to get off the bed. Janus was faster though, he grabbed Roman by the back of his shirt, and Remus by his ankle and pulled them back. Virgil, now knowing what Janus was doing, tried to escape to, but Janus only had to lean back to pin him against the headboard. He quickly held Roman down with his legs before grabbing Virgil, leaning forward and flipping him over his shoulder and into his lap.

Virgil screamed a little, but it was filled with laughter as Janus flipped them all over (an impressive task seeing as he had two teenagers who were doing there hardest to squirm away from him) so he now laid on top of all three of them.

"Why, the three elves Santa wanted of course." Janus finally replied as he settled in, resting his head on his hand, "You see, last night after putting all the gifts under the tree Santa came in to tell me something. He said that he thought the three of you would make the perfect elves! But, he still had a ton more gifts to deliver so he didn't have any room on his sleigh. So I told him that I'd trap you and hold onto you until he could come back today to pick you up. And I can't break my promise to Santa. So, even if I am sad to see you go, I gotta do what I gotta do. You understand right?"

"Noooo!" Virgil whined

"You traitor! Let us go!" Roman shouted dramatically.

Remus, just as dramatic and whiny, threw his head back over the edge of the bed and let it hang there, kicking his legs to try and free himself, "Deeee!"

Janus pretended to ignore them, nodding sadly and wiping away fake tears, "I'll miss you! Make sure you write, there's no cell service or wifi at the North Pole."

"I don't wanna be an elf!"

"Why not?! Santa runs the best trade school in the world! You'll learn how to make toy trucks, and cool robots, and maybe one day, he'll even show you the secret to building and I-Phone!" Janus poked Roman in the side a few times when he got to close to getting free, making him laugh and giggle and giving Janus the perfect chance to retrap him.

"Get off!!!"

"We gotta open presents!"

"Let us go!"

Janus continued to grin, "I can't do that! Santa would be so upset!"

His siblings groaned and even relented for a moment. But then, Remus seemed to get a very bright idea, "Dad! Papa!" He called loudly

Virgil's eyes widened as he realized what Remus was doing, "Janus won't let us go!"

"Save us from this beast!" Roman begged

Patton and Logan smiled fondly as they appeared in his doorway, "Janus," Patton laughed, "Stop terrorizing your brothers!" 

"But it's fun!" Janus smiled, "You guys can help if you want."

"Nooo!" His three prisoners cried.

"As enjoyable as that sounds, I do not think your bed could take that much weight," Logan said, entering the room, "Now, if I am not mistaken, there is a pile of gifts in the living room that will not unwrap themselves. So, release your brothers."

Janus stuck his tongue out at him, but did indeed get up and free the three goblins.

"First one to the tree gets the first gift" Remus shouted as he sprinted out of the room, nearly knocking Patton into the wall, quickly followed by the other two as they shouted calls of 'No fair!' and 'I wasn't ready!'

Patton laughed, "Oh dear, I should go stop them before they destroy the living room." And Patton followed after them.

Janus was not in as much of a rush, and neither was Logan who patiently waited for Janus to put on his slippers and sweatshirt before they joined the rest of the family. Patton had managed to get the three squirmy gremlins to sit on the ground and wait for them.

"Dee! Come sit next to me!" Virgil called

Remus bounced a little in his spots, "Hurry! I wanna open presents!"

"Calm down," Janus rolled his eyes, making his way to the kitchen, "I'm not doing anything until I have some coffee."

"Ooh! Make me one too kiddo?" Patton requested

"I as well?" Logan asked, already making himself comfortable in the circle Patton was having them make.

"Me three! I want some too!" Remus yelled, and immediately received three very adamant 'No's.

Janus made three cups of coffee, and when he was sure nobody was looking, grabbed what was left of Santa's cookies, because it wasn't like the man in red was going to eat it, and quickly shoved it in his mouth before anyone could catch him in the act. He enjoyed the extra two minutes it gave him to try and settle the nervous pit in his stomach.

Janus picked up the three cups, pausing for a moment and closing his eyes, "Deep breath, it's fine," Janus whispered to himself before continuing back into the living room.

"Oh thank goodness," Patton said as Janus handed them their coffee, "Thanks kiddo, you're a lifesaver."

He only had time to respond with a smile before Virgil and Roman dragged him to sit between them. Patton took a long drink of his coffee before he finally, picked up the first gift from under the tree. "To Virgil. From Santa." Patton read and handed the gift to Virgil.

****

Fifteen minutes, several presents, and a mountain of wrapping paper later, all the gifts had been passed around and unwrapped.

Roman had a bunch of new art supplies, a small pile of high adventure fantasy novels, a new crown, and a new pair of white shoes (which had been wrapped with a fresh pack of fabric markers, Janus was guessing it was an attempt to get Remus to stop drawing on his other shoes. He didn't think it was going to work.)

Remus had a similar pile of art supplies, one child-friendly horror book, a science kit he'd immediately begged Logan to help him with, and an anatomical poster of the human body with all the bones labeled.

Virgil got a new pair of ballet shoes and tutu, several new plushies, a cookbook, and one of those robotic pet things.

Janus now had enough books to last him till Spring Break, a heating pad shaped like a snake which had obviously been made by hand (so that's why Patton had become so interested in sewing recently), a new jacket that had the softest inside Janus had ever felt, and, for some reason, a bowler hat.

Logan got a new mug, a picture frame the twins had decorated, a tie that Virgil had decorated, and a new briefcase from Patton.

Patton got a mug from each of the twins that they had made in art class, neither of which were actually functional, a new sweater, a couple of stuffed animals, and and a clay reindeer from Virgil.

"Alrightie then! Who wants pancakes?" Patton asked, clapping his hands together.

Janus frowned slightly, eyes dropping to the ground as Virgil and Remus cheered loudly. "Can we put chocolate in it!" Virgil asked excitedly, "And blueberries! And strawberries, and-"

Patton laughed, ruffling Virgil's hair, "How about this kiddo, you can make your very own batch and put whatever you want in it. Hows that sound?"

Somehow Virgil managed to grow even more excited, and nodded ecstatically. "Great, so Virgil and I will get started on breakfast, do the rest of you mind helping to clean up?" Patton asked sweetly. Logan nodded, already one step ahead as he opened up a trashbag and began to collect the destroyed paper on the ground.

"Wait!" Roman shouted from where he'd crawled under the tree in search for any hidden presents, "There's one more!"

"There is?" Logan and Patton asked in unison, glancing at each other questioningly. Janus couldn't help but go a little tense.

"Yeah!"

Remus grabbed his twin's leg and pulled him out from under the tree, "Whose it for?"

"Not for you," Roman answered, sticking his tongue out at him, "Its for Dad and Papa!"

"It is?" The two of them said again, both seeming rather confused as Logan took the gift from Roman.

The package was wrapped in shiny golden wrapping papers with silver stars. It was hard to tell what it was by the size and shape alone, thin and rectangular. There was a snowman sticker on it, addressed to Patton and Logan. The 'From' portion was messier. Janus's name had clearly been written down first but it had been cruelly crossed off and been replaced with Santa.

Patton smiled softly, "Aw, kiddo, did you get us something too?"

Janus shook his head, "No," he replied shakily, "It's from Santa, can't you read?"

There was no actual rudeness in the tone, and if either of them noticed Janus acting out of character they brushed it aside as nervousness on whether or not they would like the gift.

"Open it!" Virgil demanded, "What is it? I wanna see!"

Logan laughed a little as he and Patton took a seat on the couch to open the gift at a height more Virgil-friendly. The twins were quick to crowd around as well, while Janus remained firmly in his spot on the floor. Logan pealed away the wrapping paper and everyone leaned forward in anticipation as more and more of the gift became visible.

When it was done, Roman and Remus both deflated in disappointment, "It's just a folder."

Indeed, Logan now held a plastic folder in his hands. However, despite their confusion, Logan and Patton knew there had to be more to this than just a folder.

"Hold on, there are papers inside," Patton pointed out, which did manage to get the twin's attention again, if only momentarily.

Not that it lasted long, "That's too many words," Remus said with a frown, "What does it say?"

Neither Logan nor Patton spoke as they read the papers they'd seen three other times over and over again. The papers shook in Logan's grip and Patton reached for his hand, holding it tightly. Janus still hadn't moved, watching their every move, tracking every emotion.

After what felt like far too long, two heads turned to face him, looking past his three curious brothers, and right at him. Janus almost flinched, almost. He carefully set his coffee mug down on the table and slowly looked up at them.

Patton's eyes were wide-eyed and vulnerable, Logan was in a similar state. His voice was shaky and hopeful, "Are you serious? You're not joking? You really want us to?"

"What? What's'it says!" Virgil asked, trying to read over their shoulder. No one answered him.

Janus nodded tearily, heart hammering in his chest, blood rushing in his ears, anxiety taking over. He opened his mouth, then paused and closed it again, before finding his voice again and very quietly asking, "Will you adopt me?"

Patton squealed in excitement, Logan dropped the folder, and both men lunged forward and pulled Janus into a hug. "Of course, we'll adopt you!" Patton said through tears of joy.

"Are you sure?" Janus asked, still sitting stiffly in their hug.

"Yes! A thousand times yes! Janus-!" Logan hugged him closer, "We'd love to adopt you!"

"You would?"

"Yes!" Both men cried again again.

Janus relaxed, leaning into them, "Okay," he nodded, voice broken and shaky as tears began to spill from his eyes. "A-and can I call you Dad and Papa too?"

That finally made Logan start to cry as well and Patton started laughing, "You can call us whatever you want," Patton told him, pressing a kiss to his future son's head.

Janus nodded, and then, slowly, he tried it out, "I love you, Dad. I love you, Papa."

Logan and Patton hugged him closer, and if Janus wasn't so distracted with the amount of unbelievable happiness he felt right now, he might have complained about it hurting. But he didn't, instead he buried himself further in their arms and tried to stop the tears of joy from pouring out of his eyes.

They remained like that for at least another minute or two. The three of them forming a messy pile of crying nonsense. Before Remus spoke up a little, and reminded them that they weren't the only ones in the room. 

"So..." Remus began hesitantly, "Does this mean you're gonna be our brother now?"

"Like a real brother? And it'll be legal and official and everything?" Roman asked, grabbing Remus's shoulders and holding them tightly.

The nervousness in Remus's question when he'd asked that, the excitement and hope in Roman's... If Janus had known just how badly Roman and Remus had wanted him to be their 'official' brother, he probably would have asked a lot sooner then he did. Because that same nervous energy Remus had been feeling had been that same feeling of absolute dread that had kept him up all night. That excitement Roman was showing was the same he had when Logan and Patton had said yes. 

Janus hadn't ever thought about what the twins felt when it came to his adoption status. The twins had been adopted way before he and Virgil had come into the picture.  Virgil had been adopted over a year ago now, after his anxiety had convinced him that Patton and Logan not adopting them meant they didn't love him. He'd come to Janus crying, and it was some of the most upset Janus had ever seen him. After calming him down, and talking to his therapist about it, Janus had sat Patton and Logan down explained what had happened, and told them that while he still wasn't ready to be adopted yet, Virgil was more than ready and that waiting any longer would probably just worsen his anxieties. 

And so that had just left Janus. And in his eyes, everyone had been fine with him not being adopted. Yes, he knew Logan and Patton wanted to adopt him, but he also knew they'd be fine if they didn't. Virgil had understood when he explained to him why it was only him getting adopted. But the twins...

They'd never said anything about it.

Looking at them now Janus knew that their silence had not been a sign of their indifference. This probably meant just as much to them as it did to him and Patton and Logan.

"You guys are my real brothers," Janus told them, "You've been my real brothers since I met you, and you'll always be my real brothers. A legal document doesn't decide that for us, we decide it by ourselves. But... yeah, I guess, technically, I'll finally be your 'official' brother."

The twins smiled before they to sprang forward in unison, nearly knocking the three of them over as they wrapped their arms around Janus. They all laughed, and Patton turned to face Virgil, holding his arm out to him and smiling, "Come on Virgil, you're family too." Virgil smiled widely, taking Patton's hand and gladly allowing him to pull him into the hug.

They sat there together for a couple more minutes, just hugging. On any other day, Janus probably wouldn't allow this. He wasn't the touchy-feely type of person Patton was. Group hugs were mushy and cliche and not Janus's kind of thing. But he'd been thinking about this for a long time, and it's been everything he could think about and everything he's wanted for weeks. 

He'd been so scared and so nervous, terrified that if he told them directly, then he'd jinx himself and they'd say no. So he'd kept it a secret, waited for the right moment, ignored everything telling him to chicken out and take the envelope back from under the tree and never let it see the light of day. 

Janus sighed happily as he finally pulled out of the hug, the others following suit. Logan removed his glasses and began to wipe at his glasses, cleaning them off. "Ryan..." Janus began, "Ryan said he knew you guys were going to say yes, and he started on some of the process already. He said he could expedite the process, so that it can get done before my birthday."

Patton gasped, "You're birthday! Oh my gosh! You turn 18 in February!"

"Is Ryan sure it'll get done in time?" Logan asked

Janus nodded, "He said he'd do everything he can to make sure it can happen, and I trust Ryan. If he says he can do it, I believe him."

Logan hummed, "We should give him a call tomorrow and begin discussing the process then. Would you like to join Patton and I for that?"

He smiled, shaking his head, "I'm pretty sure if I look at that paperwork anymore I'll go insane, I've read it over so many times. I just want it to be done already, I want to be adopted."

Patton and Logan both smiled again, and Patton placed a hand in his hair,  "Okay hun, don't you worry then. We'll take care of everything. You seem to have done enough stressing about this, leave the rest to us, and we'll get it done.

Janus leaned into him, "Thanks, Dad."

Patton made an excited noise at being called Dad, and his husband laughed fondly, "This is the best Christmas present ever! I don't know how you're gonna top this next year kiddo."

Janus laughed, "I'm sure I'll find a way."

Virgil looked at Patton, fidgeting but smiling, "Can we make pancakes now?"

Word Count: 3215

Merry Christmas everyone! Here is a Christmas special just for you guys. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you're having a great holiday.. Stay safe out there guys gals and nonbinary pals.

(Also, I did want to note. Roman and Remus don't believe in Santa and Virgil has his doubts but he's still kinda hoping. So that joke at the beginning Janus was trying to pull was mostly for fun and mostly for Virgil)

-Kam