What happens in this chapter makes it kind of obvious that the idea for this fic started out as 'the school au but what if Patton was the bad one instead of Deceit' so sorry for anyone who's actually read the school au (I won't say names but I see you and I love you), the story diverts a lot from that after this so don't worry

Tw: Vague innuendos, manipulation, minor blood mention right at the end (Don't worry no one gets hurt uwu....in this chapter at least)

Logan woke up much earlier than Janus the morning after. He had places to be after all. Places he usually would look forward too though today there was lump in his throat when he thought about it.

He was meeting up with his friends which was fine but Patton would probably be there and he would probably deck patton if he had to look at him for to long. It was what he deserved after hurting Janus like that. After making his friend so on edge a door shutting to hard made him want to hide.

Before he left he sat down and wrote a note so the snake wouldn't panic when he woke up to an empty apartment.

'Salutations awake Janus

I (Logan) am out on business but I will be back before dinner, If not call me. I do not like that I have to write these following sentences but I think I must. You are allowed to go outside (the key to the door is on the kitchen table). You are allowed to do anything you like inside the apartment as well. You are allowed to talk to any other person you might want to communicate with. If you have another flashback please do call me if you're not able to ground yourself without help'

Logan hesitated before opening the door. He walked over and fixed the blanket over Janus. He smiled when his friend mumbled something about snakes and bowler hats in his sleep. He got the urge to kiss him on the cheek as a way to say goodbye but he didn't want to wake him. He left without another word.

... .- ..-. .

Patton was dressed very differently than usual as he entered the cafe. He had on pink heart shaped sunglasses that completely hid his eyes and a light blue polo even though it was nearing summer.

He shone up into a smile when he saw his friends wave at him. He ran over to hug his dark strange son (Virgil) and Roman before sitting down next to Logan. Remy and Remus was sharing a muffin while chattering about a series they'd stayed up all night to binge. Apparently several people had been robbed and one of them was called a crystal meathead? 

Logan tried to keep his normal appearance up. He tried to enjoy the company of his friends because he normally did even though he didn't show it but it was like Pat's presence was a dark cloud which rained down over his entire mood.

He couldn't stop himself from turning to Pat "Do you by any chance know where Janus is?" He asked while holding back his urge to murder the other man right then and there. "I mean have you found him?"

"Oh my poor honey Dee-bee. I found him all cold under a bridge. He'd gone a little...y'know" He spun his finger in a circle next to his head.

Logan had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Patton was already a piece of shit but he could at least respect mental illness "So you're insinuating he had a serious mental breakdown which is not something to be called crazy over?" He said it in the most passive aggressive way possible while forcing a smile.

"..Yes. He's home now luckily. Horrible cold i'm telling you. Must be because of him sleeping outside. I'll make him some chicken soup when I get home" He lied effortlessly as if it was the only thing he'd ever done. "Or maybe some chili soup since he must have gotten quite...chili sleeping outside" He laughed at his own pun.

"Well say hi to him from me" He said with a fake smile before turning his head to the other side so he could roll his eyes in peace. He tried to hide his frown by taking a slurp from the glass of juice he'd bought along with a sandwich.

Logan started to talk with Remy and Remus but it was like his brain was going on autopilot. He mostly agreed along with them even on things he would normally go on rants about how illogical and or illegal the things they were suggesting were.

Instead his gaze kept going over to Patton. How could he sit there and smile and laugh and talk as if nothing had happened. As if Deceit wasn't hurt because of his actions. Lo tried to keep up a happy appearance but his grip on the glass of juice hardened more and more as his body tensed up with rage.

Suddenly he felt a sting in his hand. He looked down and realized that he'd held the glass so hard it'd shattered. A few pieces had gotten stuck in his hand.

"Specs are you alright?" Roman asked while taking his hand to carefully take out the glass pieces. Small droplets of blood dropped out. Virgil cleaned the juice up with some paper while patting the nerd's shoulder.

"I'm fine" He lied through gritted teeth.

"YEAH! Fuck those glasses! Revolution!" Remus exclaimed before smashing his own drink down into the table while laughing.

"You're paying for that!" His brother muttered back.

"IIII knnnnooowww" He sang out before smashing another glass.

"Aww kiddo, your hand looks hurt" Patton cooed while grabbing Lo's wrist "Y'know what they say, a kiss to the wound usually helps"

"If you don't stop touching me right about now I will do the same to your skull that I did to that glass" Logan hissed out in return.

As Patton let go of his wrist his eyes narrowed and they sparked with silent anger even though he kept smiling.

Remus cackled at the image of his skull being smashed like glass. When he finally stopped laughing he leaned his chin against the nerd's shoulder. He dramatically pretended to wipe away  a happy tear.

"Seriously dork is your brain alright or have it turned into goop and gone out of your ears?" The duke asked "Like you're sounding a lil like me and that's not good"

Logan abruptly stood up "Everything is alright....I didn't get enough sleep last night and therefore my mental space is slightly altered. I will take my leave"

He left the cafe so quickly no one even got the chance to say goodbye to him. He was planning to go home and play card games with Janus until he'd calmed down. 

For the people left in the cafe the next hour was much quieter than usual. Sure they talked but with 1....no 2 chairs empty something felt wrong. The entire energy around them seemed to have shifted but no one could put their finger on what had happened. Or well everyone expect for a certain fox in bunny clothing.

Eventually everyone went on their separate ways. Virgil and Roman were planning to go home and romantically cook dinner while listen to music and maybe dance if it got too romantic. Remy was planning to sit alone in their apartment and watch mindless tv and eat chips until 3 am. Patton was planning oh he was planning.

Remus had zoned out a long time ago. Once he became aware of his surroundings again and realized he had been left alone in the cafe he shrugged. He stood up and went outside. He saw a squirrel walking across the road and towards a park. Slowly his mind drifted off into daydream land again. The animal shifted from being a squirrel into being a hideous beast and his clothes shifted from being his normal comfy wear to being a royal dark duke outfit.

His imagination was strong. In the way that it wasn't cute and quirky anymore, more in the way that it seriously affected his work and relationships because he could never focus. It hadn't always been this bad but then he'd gotten into situations where he couldn't take being present and had to run away into a safe space to continue on. After that he preferred his fantasy over reality.

The beast ran ahead and jumped into a near bush. Remus flashed a sharp teethed grin as the grip around his newly summoned morning star tightened. He carefully sneaked after the wild monster as to not give himself away.

In the distance somebody called for his name but Re...the duke shook his head and continued on. He wasn't ready to return just yet. He just wanted to stay a little bit longer.

The duke moved his weapon over his head as his gaze caught a sight of the mighty beast. He was going to scare it so it ran along and lead him along to the rest of the monsters. Right when he was about to strike a hand landed on his shoulder.

The duk....no this was reality...the hand was reality....Remus shrieked and jumped away. He dropped his weap- stick and turned around. Patton stood there looking up at him with a smile. He couldn't help but feel a little bit gloomy over having been forced back out of his fantasy this fast.

He quickly put on a grin as he started to babble out "Hiya daddio! Did you know that Vlad the impaler used to stick poles up people's ass and then let them slowly die! AND then!! He would eat lunch right near them while they died! Imagine that! Oh there you go having a stick up your ass and the asshole who put it there is eating delicious lunch a few meters away from you!"

Patton scrunched his nose as the thought of how that would feel crossed his mind "That's.....interesting" He replied with a frown "So whatcha up to?"

"I've been heavily dissociating for" Rem looked down at his clock (Though he'd nicknamed it his c*ck) "15 minutes! Wow time passes quickly when you're" 'Insane' Patton thought "Dissociating"

"Well kiddo could I talk to you for a moment?"

"What you want? Got any people I need to kill?" His words were a bit muffled as he started to bite off the skin on his thumb.

"Not quite" Patton sat down on the grass with a sad sigh "I just need to vent"

"I'm all ears. And some blood and organs But mostly ears" He said while hunching down beside him.

"DeDe left me!" He cried out as he let the tears start flowing "I woke up with him yelling and choking me and when I pleaded with him to stop he hit me so hard I got a black eye. I'm wearing these glasses to hide the bruise but I swear it happened" 

"I'll get a dragon to incinerate Jannie for you I swear" Remus bit out as anger took over. He couldn't believe his friend would do something like that. His fists closed on instinct.

"To be honest It wasn't the first time he hit me. I'm kind of glad he left" He lied.

"For good reason. You don't need a dirtbag like him" The duke agreed while patting his shoulder "You're a strong independent puffball!"

"Thanks"

"Anytime. Really text me if ever need anything. I can murder him if you want. Hmm what could be the most painful way to die.....I know! I slowly chop off his body parts before setting him on fire!!"

Patton grimaced at his words "How vile"

"What? no, fun! It's what he deserves! Really!!" Remus nodded quickly as if that would make the other man agree with him. "You want me to get ice? For your black eye I mean? It helps. Trust me I've gotten those before" For a moment his smile turned into a grimace before he shook his head and plastered on an even wider grin.

"No, it's okay" He sighed while pouting.

"I can....I can" He tried to think up something that would make Patton happy and not disgusted "I have a bug collection in my room!....and a lot of rotten food and weird spots BUT most importantly a bug collection! I can show you, that always makes me cheer up!"

Patton looked unamused at him. His only answer was to move one of his eyebrows up and cross his arms.

"There are butterflies, you like that right? I mean wouldn't that take your mind of the...bad stuff for a while? Or I can fix something else like some expired chocolate or-"

"No, I would love to see the butterflies" He answered while moving his arms so they were wrapped around Remus' upper arm. He squished his cheek against his shoulder while his eyes which were still hidden behind the sunglasses stayed cold.

When Remus started to walk and rant about some new new facts he'd learned recently Patton's smile turned genuine. There was a sinister glint in his eyes.

..-. .-. .. . -. -.. ... .... .. .--. ?     -.. .- -. --. . .-. ?

Patton started to message Remus every day, their conversations would last hours and he would try and hang out as often as possible. When Remus said that he was busy or had planned something with someone else Patton pretended to be sad and said he had to vent about his last relationship so the duke felt guilty about not paying attention to him.

This particular day it was a Saturday and Patton had invited him over to his apartment to in his words have a good time.

The duke was greeted with a hug when the door opened. "Hiya kiddo!" He exclaimed.

"Sup daddio" Remus replied while taking off his leather jacket. Aside from the jacket he had on a green tank top, a choker, black shorts and fishnet stockings with tall army booths. Only that.

"I haven't chosen a movie yet but I have popped some popcorn" Patton said with a big grin. He had his cat onesie on.

Remus eyes widened "Well this is embarrassing" He chuckled "When you said good times I kind of thought about something else. I kind of thought you've been leading me on this whole time. I brung rope!" He continued while showing the red rope in his backpack.

"What would you need that for?" Patton asked while tilting his head to look innocent.

"Oh you sweet pure little lamb. Basically you tie it *#!!? up around my ##!!* and then you #!#* until I'm #!*?!!#" It was for the best that that was censored.

Patton was about to tell him how disgusting that all was when he got a plan and nodded while smiling.

It was a collaborative effort but some time later Remus was sitting on the bed with his arms tied behind his back and his ankles tied to his thighs so he could at most wiggle around a little. He'd been told to close his eyes.

Patton was standing a few feet away looking at him. He was still fully dressed. The fact that he could hurt the other man in any way and he would have no way of defending himself made adrenaline rush through his veins as he bit his lip.

(bleh time to skip the smut :<)

a little bit under an hour after that the duke was laying under the blue covers of the bed. He'd been untied. Patton was laying next to him but there was a bit of space between them. The man in glasses was happily ranting about his week while Remus was thinking about taking a shower.

He had to scrub it all away so that he could look at himself in the mirror tomorrow and not want to gag. He always thought being used would make him feel better but it only made him feel worse, at least he'd made the other man happy. At least he hadn't had to think for a while. At least the emptiness that felt like a Black Sea of oil in his chest hadn't been so hard to manage for a while.

A stupid intrusive thought crept into his mind and silently questioned if he'd looked good in those positions, just like Janus had? More thoughts followed asking if he was replaceable and worthless and only good for a-

He shook his head to get them to shut up before quietly sitting up and taking on his shorts again. Later on bruises would appear on several places of his body though in this case it's actually okay since he'd consented to and enjoyed getting them.

"Well have a great day daddy" He said while sticking his tongue out. He was about to pick up his tank top but he was interrupted

"Wait" Patton placed his hand on his shoulder and gently moved him back down against the bed. He leaned his head onto his chest and ran his finger in a circle over his olive toned skin "Are you just going to go after that?"

"Ehm yeah that is usually what happens after y'know the juicy stuff. What? you're expecting payment or something?? No offense daddy, you're good but not that good"

"What? I'm just some thing you can throw away after you're done with me? Great, I really shouldn't be surprised. I made myself a target when I vented to you" Patton muttered while crossing his arms and looking away.

"I still want to be your friend but I'm not really a recurring kind of guy. I mean most people think I'm quirky and date me for like a month and then leave me when they get annoyed by my grossness" He explained.

"Can't blame them" Patton whispered it out so quietly the other man didn't hear.

"Listen this, what just happened that's the only good use of me. After this it only goes downwards, when it comes to relationships I don't really have a purpose outside of well this!" The duke shoot out his arms to put umph on the this.

"Who told you that?"

Remus started to internally count people's names but when he got to over 10 he gave up and simply responded with "Most people. Trust me I'm kind of worthless in the long run"

Patton smiled. What he saw in front of him was a scared little bunny who'd given in to what other people had told him and got himself caught in a cage. He could already imagine himself helping the bunny out from the cage and giving it all the affection it could ever need before trapping it in a bear trap.

"That's not true!!" He exclaimed in an overly sweet tone "You just haven't met the right person yet! You're much more than just.....a body"

Remus almost looked surprised at his words "Really?? I mean I'm pretty gross overall and I dunno if anyone would want that and I dunno if anyone would want to hear me talk about fish getting stuck in oil spillage and slowly suffocating and then their organs fail and their blood bec-"

Patton put a finger over his lips to shut him up.

He put on a sad expression "I know it's stupid of me to want to jump into another relationship this soon after my last abusive one but I can not stop my heart and I love you"

Remus stared into the wall as he went through an intense panic for about 3 seconds before responding by blurting out "During cremation the heart burns at 1400 degrees fahrenheit"

The duke felt a warm breath go against the spot between his neck and shoulder and strong but safe arms wrapping around his waist.

"I'll take that as a yes" Patton murmured before kissing him "I love you" 

"III uhh did you know that bunnies can die from loneliness?? They get heart attacks!" The duke's cheeks heated up as he heaved it out. His brain was currently somewhere between screaming and crashing. If he had a tail he would have definitely been waging it out of happiness.

"Uhu" He had an unimpressed look on his face.

"And and I-I Love you too!" Remus answered. He didn't even know if he meant it or not he was just so happy over getting affection. 

He was already delirious at the idea of someone staying with him for more than a few weeks. He feel head over heels at the idea of his boyfriend listening to his more unusual ideas without telling him to shut up. His heart melted at the chance of him belonging with someone else.

When the kisses to his neck turned into bite marks so deep blood dripped out of them his grin only grew wider.

Patton smiled with blood stained teeth at how easy he'd been caught. He'd already taken the first bite out of the bunny and he could already tell the rest of him would be just as delicious.