I have been wanting to publish this chapter for forever and I kept waiting for a special moment but you know what? Fuck waiting, I'm publishing this.



TW: Fire/Catching Fire, assault, Peer Pressure regarding drugs, mentions of Janus and Virgil's past, panic attack. 

Janus angst is heavy in this one. but don't worry, I made sure to sprinkle in an extra dose of fluff as well

This takes place over a year after the events in chapter 10. Janus has gotten comfortable in the sander's house and he's learned to trust Logan and Patton. At this point he wants to get adopted but he's not really sure how to bring it up. 

Logan had been in his office when his phone rang. His lunch break had been just about to end and he'd been reading a new mystery novel one of his colleagues had recommended to him. 

He decided to let it go to voicemail. He was at a part in his book where it was to good to put away and he really wanted to finish this chapter before his next appointment. It wasn't like it was anyone at work, if it was they would have called his office phone or paged him. Patton would be teaching right now, so it couldn't be him. The kids school's knew to call Patton first, even during teaching hours, because if it was really an emergency then he was the closest one.  The middle school and elementary school didn't allow students to use phones while on campus and Janus purposefully tried to avoid using his phone during school hours. Meaning that it was most likely just a scammer or spam call.

If it was really an emergency, they would call again.

The phone went to voicemail and a few moments later, it rang again. With a grumble and a sigh, Logan put his bookmark in the pages and wheeled his chair over to the corner where his phone was charging. 

The caller ID read Janus, which was definitely odd. He hummed slightly before bringing the phone to his ear, "Janus, is everything-"

"I need you to pick me up," Janus cut him off quickly. He could hear Janus taking panicked breaths, similar to how Virgil sounded when he was having an anxiety attack. Logan could count the amount of times he'd seen Janus have an anxiety attack on one hand. It wasn't common.

"Why? What's wrong?" Logan asked with confusion

"I-I did something stupid and I- fuck! Logan, I just really need you to come get me. I can't be here anymore I-" Janus's voice trailed off into uncontrolled panicked breathing.

"Alright, calm down Janus, it's going to be alright," Logan tried to reassure, "Take deep breaths now, just like we do for Virgil. In, hold, out hold."

Janus hummed as he struggled to get his breathing back in control. His inhales were shaky though, and his exhales came out in large puffs, far quicker than he should be letting them out. It was working though, for the most part anyway, so Logan didn't try and correct it. "Janus, if you need to be picked up, that's fine. But Patton is far closer than I am and can be at your school in-"

"No," Janus said quickly, a rough rustling sound following it, "No. I'm not at school. I'm not near P-patton."

Logan sat up slightly, worry began to seep into his voice a little more, "What do you mean you're not at school? Where are you? Why aren't you at school?"

"I-I left. Ditched. I'm closer to the hospital now. And Pat doesn't answer his phone, gotta call the school office, and get transferred to much trouble, called you instead."

"Why? Janus, we've talked about this. School is not optional, you have to go to class."

"Please Logan," Janus begged, the panicked out of control breathing returning, "Please come get me. I need to get out of here. I really, really, need to leave."

The doctor was already on his feet, grabbing his coat and only stopping to grab the important things. Keys, wallet, and his phone was already in his hand, he grabbed his briefcase too, even if he didn't fill it with anything he'd taken out earlier, pager, and he was out the door and down the hall. "Okay, I'm coming, don't worry, I'm on my way," Logan told the boy softly as he very briefly stopped at the front desk to notify the nurse he was leaving and to either cancel or reassign any appointments he had for the day. He only had one or two, hopefully his patients would unerstand

"I'm sorry, please hurry, I can't move. I need help."

"Where are you, Janus? Are you hurt? Are you in danger?"

"N-not hurt. Think I'm safe, don't think they'll hurt me now." Janus's voice was quiet, still scared. Logan couldn't help but be a little terrified, what could possibly have the normally so suave and confident teenager as scared as he sounded?

"Where are you Janus" Logan repeated, firmer this time, "Whose they? Did they do something to you? Do I need to inform the police?"

"No! Don't call the police!" 

The shout was a surprise, but Logan didn't let it stop him, "Janus, if they did something to you-"

"If you call the police they'll take me and Virgil away, you-you can't call the police! Please, please, Logan you can't call them. They'll take us and I can't-won't be able to handle it." He was terrified. It was worse than the day they had first met, worse than when Virgil's arm broke, worse than Logan had ever known him to be. Why? What happened? 

"I won't call them," Logan told him as he made it to the parking lot, "Not yet. But Janus, if something happened, something bad, police intervention may be needed."

"No. No, no, no, no, no. You can't," Janus muttered quietly, "Please Logan, they'll take us away."

Logan shook his head, speaking firmly, "They will not, I will make sure of it. I promise Janus, no one will take you away from us."

Janus didn't seem so convinced, "Please hurry. I can't be here. I need to get out. I-I'm- shit. Logan, I'm so so scared. I wanna go home, please, please, I need to go home. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, please just let me go home. I wanna go home."

"You're not in trouble, whatever happened, you're not in trouble."

"I fucked up."

"You'll be alright.

"I'm so stupid, shit, Logan, why am I so stupid?"

Logan all but threw his briefcase into the back seat as he turned the car on and put the phone on speaker, "You are not stupid. Janus, I need the address, can you do that for me?" 

Janus hummed affirmatively. The address came through just as Logan was pulling out of the parking lot and into the street. "Alright, I'm seven minutes away. Do you want me to stay on the phone with you?"

"You don't like to be on the phone while driving," Janus replied weakly.

"Ignore that for now. Would you like me to remain on the line?"

There was silence for a moment before the teen spoke again, "Don't leave me alone," he pleaded, so quietly Logan almost couldn't hear it.

"Of course not, I'm here Janus, you're alright."

*****

A few minutes later and Logan pulled into the parking lot of a school that had been shut down a couple of years ago. 

Logan didn't even turn the car off when he found Janus, barely remembering to put it into park and turn the hazard lights on before he threw open the door and rushed to the teenager's side. Janus sat on the ground, tightly pressed against a short four-foot wall that displayed the school's name at the very front near what used to be the student pick-up and drop-off area. 

He was pale as a sheet, and shaking like a leaf. Barely keeping it together enough to keep his breathing going. His eyes was red and puffy from crying, and a long, freshly opened, scratch stretched across the left side of his face. Weirder than that though was the condition of his jacket. This morning it had been in perfect condition, freshly cleaned even. Now it was torn and black dust stained the yellow fabric. 

Logan got down in front of him and Janus quickly threw himself into his arms. Logan hesitated for only a moment before hugging the boy closely, rubbing circles into his back. "You're okay," Logan assured him quietly, "I'm here, you're safe. I promise."

Janus sobbed, crying into Logan's shoulder as he tried to take deep breaths. Logan let him, Janus didn't cry often. Maybe he needed to cry a little more before Logan worked to calm him down. Minutes passed and the two sat on the ground with each other, the car still running behind them, Logan's door still wide open, and their phone call still going. 

Several yards out, in the soccer field, where the grass grew tall and untamed from years without proper care, Logan could see a small group of teenagers milling about. They were loud, and boisterous, pushing each other around, and seemingly acting just like any other group of teenagers. Somehow Logan found himself doubting that was all they were doing. 

Janus squeezed Logan tightly, as if making sure he really wasn't going to leave, before pulling away. Logan let him do so, watching as the boy leaned back against the wall tiredly. Tears continued to slip past his eyes, and every other breath was coupled with the sound of sniffling and mucus. 

"Sorry," Janus muttered eventually.

Logan tilted his head slightly, "You don't need to be sorry. I'm glad you called me, whatever it was that caused this."

"I made you leave work."

"I would have come even if you told me I needed to leave the continent to get to you," Logan pulled a handkerchief out from his pocket and gently pressed it against the cut on his face. Trying to wipe away the blood and tears. 

"Why?" Janus asked

Logan paused for a moment, would Janus get mad if he answered the truth, he never liked it when anyone called them by familial terms, "Because I love you like my son, even if you don't see me as your father."

A look of confusion crossed his face as he looked down at his hands, "But why?" Janus pressed

"Why wouldn't I?" 

"You say that as if it's the most obvious thing in the world," Janus laughed brokenly, "But, there are so many reasons for people to hate me. Not even to just not love me, or not like me, but to hate me." Janus traced at the burn mark printed on his hand, "And you guys don't. You and Patton, you guys look at me like I'm this gift from god. And the twins and Virgil think I'm the most amazing thing in the world and Remy... Remy sees me and he looks like seeing me just made his entire day better just because I'm there."

 "Have you ever considered that's because all of that is true?"

Janus shook his head, nail scraping against the mark on his hand, "Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to see me how others see me," Janus admitted. Logan frowned slightly as he put his hand on top of Janus's scarred hand. Janus let him, "Not even just you guys either, like anybody... I'll wish I could just see myself through the eyes of anyone, whenever I want... What does the boy who sits next to me in math class think of me? Or that barista with the blue hair at Remy's favorite coffee place? How does my English teacher see me?" Janus sighed tiredly, letting his head fall back against the wall, "To be able to know how and why anyone and everyone thinks of me. With complete and total honesty. I think that would be such an interesting power."

Logan squeezed Janus's hand, "Complete and total honesty?"

"Yeah."

"Honestly, I think you are a very intelligent, very brave, slightly annoying, and wonderful boy. Who's growing up to be a very kind and unique young man. And I think that Patton and I are the luckiest men in the world to have ended up with the four most amazing children on earth." Logan moved so he was now sitting next to Janus rather than in front of him, facing the car, "I think that even if you can be aggravatingly good at getting people to do what you want through manipulation, you're also just a naturally charming person and that also serves as a valuable skill to have."

Janus didn't stop him as he leaned into Logan's body, still holding his hand.  "I think that your sleep schedule is atrocious and you really need to be getting to bed sooner. I think that the way you protect not only Virgil but the twins as well, is reassuring even if you put your own safety ahead of that which I do not like. It comforts me to know that if god forbid something were to happen, you and your siblings would do anything it took to keep each other safe. I think that how quickly you accepted the twins as your family is admirable. I also think it's hilarious that they're the only people that have a hundred percent success record of manipulating you. Not even Remy can do that. That's another thing, I think how you and Remy started dating is ridiculous and if he ever hurts you then I think I might just have to break my Hippocratic oath. I think it's a little bit silly that you spent so much of your own money on a real prescription monocle that you only wear when you're feeling more pretentious than usual."

Janus laughed slightly as Logan kept going, "I think you're smarter than you let on. I think it's amazing and a little bit infuriating that you can tear down someone's whole argument in a matter of seconds. I think that you're a little bit confusing because you let people underestimate you, you lead them in that direction, and then when they fall for it you get awfully angry with them. I think that it's funny and endearing when you act like a real teenager. I think you should do it more often. I think you're scared to be a child, I think that's fair. I think you're handsome, and I say that because I know you never believe people who tell you. I think that I would sell my own kidney if that's what it took for you to see yourself the way we do. And I think that the way you style your hair is strange, and one day you're going to look back at photos and laugh at yourself."

The teenager smiled slightly as he pulled his jacket tighter around him, and dropped his head on Logan's shoulder, "You're not lying."

"No," Logan agreed

"Thank you."

Logan hummed in return, wrapping an arm around Janus's body, rubbing his hand up and down his shoulders in a gesture that was meant to be soothing, "Janus, what happened? Why are we here?"

Janus went stiff and Logan took a large deep breath to remind him to breathe, it worked. His voice was quiet, "Please don't ask me."

"You won't be in trouble, but I do need to know what happened."

Janus sighed, breath shaky, for a moment Logan worried he was going to start crying again. But instead, the teen forced a deep breath and pushed on, "The people behind us," Janus started slowly, "Some of them go to school with me. I thought they were cool, they seemed really cool, so they convinced me to leave school. Cause I'm an idiot. And for a while it was fine, we were just talking and stuff, but then it got not fine."

He stopped. Logan waited to see if he would keep going on his own, but he didn't. The teen sunk deeper into his arms and took more panicked breaths, "Janus..." Logan spoke him softly. Janus whimpered quietly before nodding his head.

"We got here, and some of them started drinking or smoking and getting high or whatever. Which, whatever, I don't care what they do. It's their bodies and they can do what they want. But I said no, because I knew you and Pat would kill me if you found out and even if you didn't I don't like most of that crap and I still needed to get back to school in time to take Vee and the twins home and babysit and I'm not gonna watch my siblings if I'm wasted. So I said no."

Logan decided not to comment on the implication that had Janus not needed to take care of the others he might have joined in or that he must have taken it in the past to know he didn't like it. Besides, he'd said no so there wasn't anything for him to get in trouble for. Janus didn't need a lecture.

"Two of them got mad," Janus told him, "They kept trying to convince me and I kept saying no. It was annoying but we were having fun. But then they started saying shit, and I just ignored them cause they weren't even the guys I came here with, they don't go to my school, and they were just trying to goad me. And after I ignored them one of them shoved me, and another tried to throw his drink at me, and no one was doing anything. And then-" Janus cut himself off, breath completely catching in his throat, he clamped a hand over his mouth, going still next to Logan. As if someone had hit a metaphorical pause button on Janus's entire being.

"Breathe," Logan reminded once again, "They're not going to hurt you. I'm here, but you need to breathe Janus."

Janus nodded, but as soon as he did, as soon as that play button was pressed again, he slipped back into the panicked state he'd been in when Logan had first picked up the phone. Shaking and sobbing. Barely breathing, almost hacking up his lunch, clinging tightly to Logan, refusing to let him go.

Logan tried to gently pull himself away so he could face him properly again, but Janus's grip was too firm so Logan remained where he was. Instead, Logan ended up pulling Janus closer. Which the teen didn't seem to mind, closing his eyes tightly as his head pressed against Logan's chest. Logan kept his voice calm and quiet as he walked Janus through grounding exercises, taking big breaths so Janus could feel his chest rise and fall and hopefully try to match it.

"They lit my backpack on fire," Janus answered as soon as he had enough strength to do so, the words sent him back a few minutes.

Logan's whole body froze before he reminded himself that he wasn't allowed to be panicked, or angry, he wasn't even allowed to be too overly worried because it might just be the thing to make it come crashing down further than it already had.

"I was still wearing it, and they lit it on fire."

His eyes went back to the dark stains and tears on Janus's jacket. In his haste to calm him, and figure out what had caused all of this, he'd completely missed what now seemed obvious to him. The stains weren't dirt or dust, they were ash. The tears weren't from Janus taking scissors to his jacket in an attempt to join in on some sorta fashion fad, or from falling, or even from poor manufacturing. They were burns, holes in the fabric created by fire. The bottom of the jacket, the hem, was in the worst condition, now uneven in length. From what he could see, the shirt he wore beneath had not been damaged by anything other than ash.

"Are you hurt? You're not burned?" Logan asked, because he didn't know what else to say. Janus shook his head, "Good, did they do anything else?"

"They threw it at me," Janus told him, "And-and I think they tried to grab me or something, I-I don't know."

"You don't know?"

Janus shook his head, "Flashback," was all he said in response. Logan could only let out a soft 'oh'.

"I wanna go home," Janus begged, "Papa please, I wanna go home."

"Okay," Logan agreed, "Let's go home."

*****

Logan had briefly stopped at work to collect the last of his things before taking the rest of the day off and taking Janus home. Almost immediately, Janus silently excused himself to his room. Logan came in briefly to drop off a glass of water and apple slices before going into his office/the garage to call Patton and catch him up to speed. 

When that was done Logan sat down on the couch to read his book. They had barely been home for thirty minutes before Janus nervously crept back into the room, crying again. 

"I can't be alone," he told him.

"Alright," Logan answered with a nod, standing up to give the boy another hug. Janus seemed to appreciate it. He wasn't asked to explain or what was wrong. He wasn't told to take deep breaths or to relax. He was so tired of that, he knew why Logan had done it earlier but he was so sick of it now. Janus sighed softly, so glad that Logan had either seen that or just hadn't felt like asking.

"Did you eat your snack?" Logan asked him, Janus shook his head, "Are you hungry? Patton doesn't know I know he bought more Girl-Scout cookies. But I know where he's hidden those lemon ones you like so much, does that sound alright."

"Yeah. Tea too?"

"Of course, lemon cookies don't pair well with our blend of coffee," Logan answered, leading him to the kitchen. Janus was the only person Logan knew who he could trust to enjoy a cup of tea with. Logan was the only person Janus knew who actually liked to drink hot tea on a regular basis. They had their own little version of teatime. Patton liked to call it 'Father Son bonding time'. Janus liked to call it 'Time away from the rugrats and the human-sized teddy bear'. Whatever it was called though, it was appreciated, especially in times like this.

"Can you make it?" Janus asked, stopping at the entrance to the kitchen, eyes flicking toward the gas stove with nervousness. "I just, I don't think I can do it right now."

Logan nodded, already grabbing the tea kettle and filling it with water, "Why don't you get those cookies out? They're in the pantry, hidden in the oatmeal box."

Happy to have something to do, Janus followed Logan's instructions. Sure enough, the oatmeal box was filled with several different varieties of girl scout cookies and was completely void of any actual oatmeal. He also added some toast with jam to the plate since he knew Logan wasn't as big of a fan of the cookies and would probably want something at least somewhat healthy on the plate. That was fine, Janus liked jam anyway and it would still taste good with the tea and cookies.

A few minutes later, Janus was curled up on the couch with his favorite blanket wrapped around him and a fresh cup of tea in his hands. Logan sat on the opposite end of the couch, their snack between them, as they settled down to watch a documentary. It wouldn't have been Janus's first choice, but he'd heard good things about this one in particular and he had an essay coming up on this very topic. 

About an hour into the film, Janus looked to where the other sat, "Hey Logan?"

"Hmm?"

Janus looked down into his empty cup, "Thank you... you're a really good Dad."

Logan smiled, "Well, you do not make it easy. But you are a good kid, and you are worth it."

"'Kay," Janus replied simply, looking away, "We can stop the sappy emotional nonsense now though. We need to finish this documentary before everyone else gets home and Patton tries to make me talk about my feelings."

The doctor laughed as he turned back to the TV, "Okay, no more nonsense then."

*****

The documentary had finished a few minutes ago and Logan had engaged Janus in a discussion about the topic the film had been about (social media addiction and its influence) when the front door flew open and Janus's three favorite monsters ran in.

"Dee!" Virgil shouted, taking the lead in the race to meet him. Janus didn't stand up, knowing if he did they could and would just tackle him back onto the couch. Virgil jumped on top of him first, the twins weren't too far behind. Roman landed on the armrest, wrapping his arms around Janus's head and hugging it to his chest. Remus landed on the spot between Janus and Logan and would have spilled what was left of their snack all over the couch had Logan not been quick enough to move it out of the way.

"Hey guys," Janus said with a smile as he pried Roman's hands off his face, "How was school?"

"Dad said you had a bad day," Roman answered instead.

Remus nodded, "Yeah! He said someone did something really bad to you and you had to go home early. What'd he do? I'll kill them! No one's allowed to hurt my siblings but me!"

"Yeah!" Roman agreed, jumping to his feet on top of the armrest. Janus didn't stop him, instead raising one of his arms and holding onto Roman's hand to help him keep his balance. Roman unsheathed an invisible sword before pointing it at the sky, "Worry not dear brother! Remus and I will avenge you. We'll find that mal intended villain and show him what happens when you mess with the Sanders family!"

"Roman, kiddo, sit down," Patton chastised as he walked into the living room. Logan immediately got up to meet him, kissing him hello before helping him with his coat and backpack.

"Aw man," Roman whined, but he did as he was told. He nearly lost his balance once, but Janus quickly pulled on his arm to keep him standing before helping him back down. 

"What happened?" Virgil asked. 

Janus's smile slipped away, and subtly he pulled his arms closer to his body, "Nothing," he said softly, the lie slipping out before he could stop himself, "Just a bad day at school, no big deal."

Virgil narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously while Roman and Remus looked more confused, "But Patton says somebody made you upset, that they tried to hurt you."

"I didn't give them any specifics," Patton assured as he and Logan took a seat, "What they've said is all they know. You don't have to tell them anything you don't want to."

Janus thought about it for a moment. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell them. He didn't really care. It was everything that would happen after he told them that he cared about. Virgil could get scared and clingy again. Roman and Remus would get angry and try and protect him from something they had no say over. Logan and Patton would get those stupid looks of sympathy on their faces when they looked at him. And he might fall back into a panic attack if he thought about it too hard.

Fall right back into that burning building from seven years ago.

But... they needed to know. They would find out eventually, Janus knew that. It didn't matter if it wasn't now. It didn't matter if he wanted to tell them or not. The truth always comes out. And most of the time, it comes out when you least expect it to. He'd rather do it now than not be prepared for it when they did find out.

"I made friends with some not-so-nice people," Janus started, wrapping an arm around Remus and Roman, "And we left school when we weren't supposed to, because they tricked me into thinking it would be fun. And when they started doing things I didn't want to do, they got mad at me. Two of them lit my backpack on fire while I was wearing it, and then threw it at me when I got it off. I got scared, and I ran away and called your Papa to come help me."

They waited, as if they expected him to tell them more.

"Are you lying again?" Remus asked, he seemed almost hopeful for it.

Janus shook his head, "No, not this time."

"Oh," He replied weakly. 

"Why'd they light you on fire?" Virgil asked, "You coulda've gotten really hurt, don't they know how dangerous that is?"

He shrugged, taking his arm away from Roman to hug Virgil with it, "They got mad at me Vee, and they were bad people."

Roman suddenly grabbed at Janus's face. Holding it between two hands and bringing his own face close. He narrowed his eyes at Janus before sliding his fingers across his cheeks, "No crying," Roman declared as he let him go, "You're okay now. The bad people won't hurt you. We'll be safe, and we can build a fortress to protect you from them forever."

Janus let out a surprised laugh, "A fortress?" He asked skeptically

"Yeah!"

"Why would I need a fortress?"

"Cause you like soft warm things, so you'd like a pillow fort. So we'll build you a pillow fort and then we'll play games, 'cause you always laugh when you play with us so then you won't be sad."

Janus hummed, "You're gonna lock me up in a tower like a princess?"

Remus's eyes widened in excitement, "Ooh! I wanna be the dragon!" 

"Ya! Come on Virgil, you can be my squire!" Roman said, pulling Virgil out of Janus's lap.

"What about Janus?" Virgil asked

Janus smirked as he waved them off, "Oh no, If I'm the princess then I'm not going to build a tower. That's peasant work."

Virgil watched him for a moment, as if he was still searching him for a lie, before smiling and letting Roman pull him away, "Okay! We'll be back with your tower."

Patton and Logan smiled before looking back at him, "Do you wanna talk about it?" 

He shook his head, "Not yet, later. I promise. Not with them around though. Just us three."

"Okay," they agreed with a nod before Logan added, "You do know that you'll have to help them if you want even a remotely suitable fort right?"

"Yeah, but if I let them do most of the work then they'll think they're protecting me more. Even if I don't like that Roman feels the need to always be a hero, it'll make them all feel better." The teenager shrugged, "Besides, they're right. I do like to laugh when we hang out."

Patton smiled, giving Janus a quick hug before pulling away again, "Have fun, let us know if you need a break though. It's been a long day for you. It's okay to need a break."

"I know, I think I'm okay for now though."

*****

"It was awful Patton, he was terrified, and I couldn't do anything about it," Logan's voice was quiet as he and Patton spoke in hushed voices. They sat together at the dining room table, each with a mug of coffee in front of them, as they looked over the fort that took over the majority of the living room. The aftermath of the night's dinner sat on the outside of the fort, a half-eaten slice of pizza still laying uneaten on Remus's plate, and the Disney+ Menu was rotating between the movie covers.

Patton reached across the table, pressing his hand over his husband's, "That's not true, you did do something. You answered the phone," he said softly, "You went to get him. It's more than others have done for him."

"You don't understand, Patton, he was crying. He wouldn't let me go, he was barely breathing. I worried he might faint. Not even Virgil has ever had an attack that large." Logan looked down into his mug with a tight and worried frown as Patton continued to brush his finger across his knuckles.

"Janus is strong, he's gone through a lot. He'll get past this Lo."

"I know, but just because he'll recover from it doesn't mean he should have had to go through it in the first place."

Patton nodded his agreement, the boy had gone through too much for a seventeen-year-old. All their kids had, it wasn't fair to them. It wasn't fair to any child who had to face so much fear or anger that it scarred them. 

"We should inform Dr. Picani of what happened," Logan told him, "Janus may not want to speak with us about what happened today. Even if he promised to do so. But he should have someone to talk to about it, it might help him process things. Remember what was real and what were memories."

"I'll give him a call tomorrow," Patton promised, "I think we should keep Janus from school tomorrow, maybe you can stay with him?"

"Patton, he's 17, I'm sure he can handle staying home alone for a couple of hours."

His husband shrugged, "I know. Just seems like today scared you too, and he seemed comfortable with you today. More open than normal."

Logan sighed, "If Janus decides he'd like a day to recover, then I shall take one too. Fair?"

Patton nodded approvingly before getting up, taking the two mugs with him and dumping what was left of their coffee in the sink before filling them with water and leaving them to soak for the night. 

"Come on sleepy head, we need to be getting some sleep tonight too," Patton said, taking his arm and pulling Logan out of his seat. 

"What if they get scared?" Logan asked

"Logan, he's 17, he's not going to come running to us if he has a nightmare." Patton laughed fondly, stopping in the living room for a moment to collect the paper plates and glasses of water left from dinner, and disappearing into the kitchen to put it all away, "Besides, they have each other, they'll be fine."

Logan didn't reply as he stopped outside the fort for a moment. It was fairly large and impressive if he had to be honest. Held up mostly by three out of six of the chairs from the dinner table, the couch, and some well-placed clothes pins. A homemade flag hung from one of the 'pillars'. Judging by the drawing and art style, it had been Virgil's doing. Four figures stood holding hands, each in their own special color. Above it, in Roman's familiar scrawl and his favorite red glitter pen read 'Princess Janus's Secret Castle of Saftey'.

Inside, some battery-operated fairy lights had been set on the seat of the couch, lighting up the small space. They were all still in costume for the most part, having fallen asleep before they could get the chance to change. Roman wore his prince costume and Remus his monster costume, each of them had their foam weapons tucked underneath their pillow. Virgil wore a pair of fairy wings, his wand deposited to his side. The squire idea was forsaken not long after the game had started

Janus didn't actually have any costumes of his own because they were "childish and ridiculous", though that never seemed to stop him from borrowing a piece or two from one of his siblings whenever whatever role he was playing required it. This time all he had was a plastic tiara that had been set aside, a little less than what he normally wore though whether that was because that was the only princess costume piece that fit or if that was the only thing the other three actually managed to get on him was a bit of a mystery. Janus's costume did not include a weapon. 

Not because he was a princess, because in Roman's words "Princess's would make the best fighters. If you can kick butt in heals you can probably do anything" but because, according to Janus, "Who needs to kick butt when you got three monsters under your control?"

Janus and Roman were squished in the middle of the group. With Roman and Remus practically touching foreheads and Janus's arm thrown across them both carefully. Virgil lay on Janus's other side, his head resting on Janus's other arm, curling close to his older brothers. Bitey, his stuffed therapy bat, was held tightly in his hand, which rested on Janus's chest. Janus himself was tangled within a knot of little sibling limbs and blankets, and though his sleeping position didn't look very comfortable, Logan thought he looked fairly content in the blanket fort.

He smiled as he bent over the structure a little bit, he wanted to examine the fort to make sure it wouldn't collapse in the middle of the night if one of the boys kicked a support beam in their sleep. After making a few careful adjustments, he found himself pleased. Then, carefully, so as to not wake them up, Logan leaned over each of the boys. He pulled the toy weapons out from under the twin's pillows and placed them above their heads on the couch. He unclipped the fairy wings and set them beside the wand, flipped off the fairy lights, and gently removed Roman's cape from the rest of his costume. Finally, when all else seemed fine, he retrieved some spare blankets from the pile of unused supplies and spread them evenly over the four of them.

"They all good?" Patton whispered quietly from the stairs. 

Logan nodded with a warm smile on his face, "Yes, they should be fine."

"Good, bedtime then." 

Logan nodded again before moving to stand up, only to stop when Janus began to shift in his sleep. The teen groaned tiredly, peeling his eyes open and squinting at Logan in the dark.

"Logan?"

"Sorry to wake you, just wanted to make sure you were all safe and warm."

Janus hummed, turning his head and laying it back down on the pillow, "Mama bear."

"Just a little bit," Logan admitted

"Don't worry," Janus muttered with a yawn, "'is good. Feels safe. Patt too, feels safe."

He couldn't help but falter for a moment, Janus had never admitted to feeling safe with them, "oh," he said a bit dumbly

"Night Lo."

He gave a soft sigh as Janus relaxed back into his pile of siblings, pulling himself and Virgil closer to the twins. He took a glance over to Patton, who just as expected looked about as excited as he felt. With one more glance back at Janus and the others to make sure they were all set for the night, he turned to the stairs with his husband.

"Goodnight Janus."

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