2:24pm

I reeeaaaaaaaally want a pet snek

Side note: I don't like writing the sides as 'bad' - aka intentionally hurting another side - because I don't believe they'd do it canonically (they did to Virgil but character development~) but whatever this was a request and a few of you really liked the request so here we go
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Over the past few months the Princey aspect of Thomas wasn't doing so well. He usually kept it under raps, even from himself sometimes, because falling apart and admitting what was wrong seemed so terrifying to him - he didn't want to be seen as weak, he was a Prince after all, a courageous Prince who isn't bothered by such things as insecurities. No, he hated feeling insecure and revealing all of this to anyone would make him vulnerable which he felt would overall make him feel even worse and more susceptible to mockery.

If word got to his brother Remus would use it as a field day, not truly understanding how much it affected Roman until it was too late. At least that was what Roman assumed - he had done it in the past, no idea that his words still stuck with Roman to this day. The side knew his brother didn't mean it to hurt him, they insulted each other all the time, maybe Roman was just being pathetic.

Which is why he also didn't want to talk about it - what if he was just being stupid? It's not as bad as he thinks? He is a 'drama queen' after all.

But he didn't think it would get worse. Of course some days were worse than others but today seemed to be excruciating compared to the others - he didn't want to leave his bed and would much rather ignore the world than face it head strong. Truly he didn't know how much strength he had left, real or not.

However today was the worst day he could feel like this for today they were recording a video. It took him a bit of motivation but he finally managed to sit up, pushing away his blanket quick before he could let it draw him back in. The one thing that managed to make him feel slightly better (by distracting him) was his pet dog.

The mind palace was sometimes filled with animals, other times it wasn't - when Thomas was feeling particularly loving towards animals more came, but on days he barely even thought about them, it was pretty empty. However the sides sometimes adopted these pets as their own, especially if that certain animal hung out with them a lot. Logan gathered a few rats as his own after he found them scurrying through the hallway - Thomas had watched many videos of how smart rats could be that day, and as they piqued his interest he kept them, sometimes creating mazes for them to run through.

Patton also had a dog, well two specifically. They were both very boisterous so often Patton would let them play in the Imagination so they'd be tired enough to go to bed later that evening, sometimes he joined, sometimes he didn't, depends how busy he was that particular day but both dogs loved him very much and would always return each day, no matter what.

Virgil, unsurprisingly, had a pet cat. It's fur completely black with piercingly green eyes - the first time Virgil saw her he fell in love and vice versa. Virgil was the only side who understood her in a sense - knew exactly how to treat her, sometimes she wanted cuddles, other times she didn't - Virgil knew her boundaries and was truly the only side she could bare to be in the presence of. They were practically best friends and she was with Virgil wherever he went unless she was feeling particularly lazy or he appeared in real life. The animals were only real in the mind palace.

Unless Roman summoned them, he being the only one who can bring them out and in. But he doesn't do it often.

Deceit had a pet snake but he's had Blossom for years, before the sides ever even thought about having their own pet - the others usually stayed away from her as she wasn't that friendly to anyone but Deceit. Remus didn't really have any pets, he didn't care for animals but would often be found playing with bugs.

Roman looked down at his dog who tilted his head, tongue flopping out his mouth. He could sense Roman's feelings and whined, placing his head onto Roman's knee. The side managed a slight smile, ruffling the fur between his ears. "I'm okay, Buddy" he whispered, Buddy whined again but lifted his head anyway, watching Roman rise up from the bed and sluggishly pull himself over to his vanity, falling heavily into his seat while looking at himself in the mirror. The first thing he noticed were the bags underneath his eyes - he looked like Virgil but worse, his hair messily covering his forehead, skin paler than usual.

His head dropped into his hands and he sighed out. Buddy placed his head onto Roman's knee, the side knew he couldn't do much to make him feel better today.

"Go to the Imagination with your friends Buddy" friends being Patton's dogs. Buddy whined, he didn't want to go but he knew Roman was serious so after a moment he stood up and sadly trotted out the room, the door shutting quietly behind him.

They would need to start filming soon, he could feel Thomas preparing himself to summon him. Clicking his fingers his clothes appeared on his body but they were more ruffled up than usual. He guessed not even his powers were up to par today.

He was summoned a moment later, when he appeared his eyes instantly landed on Thomas who's expression crossed with worry and concern.

Across the room Virgil let out a snort. "Dude, c'mon, you look more emo than I do" he commented, scanning Roman up and down. "Did you forget we were recording a video? You look like a mess" he added which made Roman's shoulders sag even further, hands desperately yanking down his shirt, pulling up his trousers, anything he could to try and make himself seem somewhat presentable.

"Why are you wearing Virgil's makeup?" Logan then asked, crossing his arms. "You will confuse the viewers - this is not your usual style" Roman wanted to tell him it wasn't his fault and he probably couldn't wipe the bags under his eyes if he wanted to.

"Are we ready?" Patton asked, smiling happily. "Not until Princey finished his emo phase" Virgil smirked in amusement at his own comment, Patton glanced over at the side momentarily. "C'mon, Kiddo!" He then called with a small tut, "we need to record today! We can't keep the Fanders waiting forever - we wouldn't want another sixth month gap" he winked jokingly at Thomas, him along with Patton and Virgil laughed while Logan smiled.

"No, definitely not" Thomas sighed in agreement, turning to Roman who was still trying to sort himself out only now his hands were shaking, heart plagued with agony, everything he thought would happen is happening, he lets some of his true emotions show and he's mocked for it, not even Patton - who in the past told him off for mocking Virgil - seemed to be on his side.

He guessed he wasn't the favourite child.

"Does everyone remember their lines?" Logan asked after a moment, Roman being the only one not to respond. Virgil eyed him slightly then rolled his eyes, "seriously Princey? Can you get a grip?"

"What's wrong, Kiddo?" Patton frowned, then grinned, "did you burn your toast again? We told you to stay away from the kitchen!" He giggled along with Virgil who snorted at the memory. "He'd burn water if he could" he quipped which even made Logan manage a slight laugh.

"C'mon, everyone burns toast" Thomas tried, Virgil rose his eyebrow. "Yeah but not five times in a row"

"Five times-okay that's a bit excessive" even the host had to agree and the sides continued listing, listing everything they could think of that Roman had done wrong. Things that he shouldn't have fucked up but he did.

"I told him not to mix his red and whites - his favourite pyjamas were ruined and he cried about it for weeks" Logan sighed out as if it were the worst thing in the world, Virgil groaned at the memory. "Even though he could've easily summoned up a new pair? Seriously, I don't get you Ro-" when the sides looked over at Roman they all silenced, noticing he was covering his mouth and...crying.

He was trying to keep it in but the past five minutes certainly didn't make him feel any better, he didn't need to remember why he was a screw up - why he was a failure at everything he did but it seemed today he was going through memory lane, curtesy of the people he thought were his friends.

After a moment Patton looked to Virgil, raising his eyebrows silently. The side shrugged, leaning on the banister. "You done, Princey?" He asked, not at all believing the 'act'. "Stop crying wolf" he added, remembering the countless times Roman had cried in the past for attention and nothing more.

In a surprise twist of events Remus suddenly appeared beside his brother who was halfway to collapsing to the floor, the side wrapped his arms around Roman to keep him up, allowing the side to lean against him and cry into his chest, hand clasped tight over his mouth to muffle his sobs.

He turned to the sides and Thomas, eyes burning with murderous passion.

"Thomas" he said in a sickeningly sweet voice, "which one of your shit-eaters made my brother cry?" He then spat with enough venom to kill, even Thomas took a slight step back in fear.

"He's faking it, Remus" Virgil growled and suddenly Remus was in his face, pinning him against the wall painfully hard. "Hurt my brother again and I'll rip you apart and force feed your body to the robot and that idiot" he made sure to use insults which bothered both the sides before appearing beside his brother, bringing him into a hug once again.

"Keep yourselves away from him, Thomas" Remus warned in a sing-song voice, "or else" his voice went demonic for just a moment before he shot one more glance in Virgil's direction, forcefully compressing his breathing until he was grasping at his throat, falling down onto the ground, the intense feelings of a severe panic attack crawling at him relentlessly, not leaving him alone until Remus left - even if it lasted a few seconds it was Hell.

Appearing in the dark side of the mind Deceit and Remy looked over at Remus, cutting their conversation short when their eyes landed on Roman who looked distraught and broken.

"What happened?" Remy worried, helping Remus take his brother to the couch, sitting next to him and pulling him into a comforting hug, the side still crying with no signs of stopping. "Those 'light sides' are going to be buried alive, that's what, blended, ripped apart, eaten while they-"

"Shhh" Deceit whispered, pressing one hand to his chest, the other curled around his shoulders. Once he met Remus' eyes the side calmed down instantly, "we knew Roman was upset for awhile" Deceit then turned to Remy, letting Remus walk away for a moment to compose himself best he could.

"I assumed the 'light sides' would catch on" he glanced at Roman warily, "I see that was wrong of me to think" he then took the spot beside Roman, rubbing circles into his back as he sniffled snd heaved, shuddering with each sob that escaped him.

"Okay, come on" Remy pulled Roman up to his feet, "let's get you to bed - I wouldn't suggest Remus' room, the smell alone would make you cry more" they joked, Roman managed a soft chuckle between his sobs which made Remy smile slightly, taking Roman to Deceit's room while Remus and Deceit stayed behind, the latter side staring at Remus who paced back and forth.

"Someone's protective" he murmured.

Remus growled, "someone deserves to be pushed out a moving train into a pile of lemon juice after being covered in paper cuts"

Deceit rolled his eyes fondly, going to stand next to Remus who paused his pacing to lean against his boyfriend. "If you hurt the sides you'll never hear the end of it"

Remus scoffed, "from who? From Thomas? He can choke on knives"

"No, sweetheart, from Roman" and Remus sighed, he knew that, he knew Roman would be pissed at him if he were to severely hurt the 'light sides' - they may have hurt him but he sure loves them too much for them to go through the same thing. "What do we do then?" Remus asked and Deceit shrugged his shoulders.

"We wait until the 'light sides' get their heads out of their ass"

Later that day Roman awoke still in Deceit's room, his round bed surprisingly extremely comfortable, he drew the blanket closer to his chin and sighed out honestly not wanting to leave but then remembered Deceit and Remus were dating and Deceit sure as Hell wasn't staying in Remus' room which meant they've probably had sex on this very bed.

He shrieked and jumped off the bed at an alarming speed, now in a heap on the floor but he felt much better off than he did prior.

"I wash the sheets regularly"

Roman shrieked again when Deceit's voice came from behind him, twirling around and standing in an 'attack pose' while staring at the aspect who had his back to him and was actually sitting at his desk, peering inside of a shoe box. Roman calmed himself down and walked up to him, wondering what he was doing. "Why would I care about your sheets?" He asked a little embarrassed Deceit was here to witness that.

Deceit glanced at him, "I have no idea why" he drawled and Roman huffed, changing the subject.

"What are you doing?" He asked, referring to him holding up a dead rat in front of his pet snake who slithered around in the shoe box, head staring up at the rat as she readied to pounce.

"I'm teaching her how to swim, obviously" he responded, smirking when Roman flinched as Blossom shot up and grabbed the rat, curling around it tightly. Once she began eating, Deceit stood up and turned to Roman who watched Blossom with a faraway look in his eyes.

"Look at that" Deceit dusted his thumb underneath Roman's eye, "your bags are gone"

Roman lifted his hand in front of his face a mirror suddenly appearing in his grip, he looked...better, not great but better. After sleeping most the day the bags were gone, his hair was still messy but at least he didn't appear so pale. Putting away the mirror, he turned to watch Deceit put away some things he brought out to feed Blossom, while doing so he let his mind wander - what if the 'light sides' hate him now?

"Roman, sit down" Deceit broke him from his thoughts, the side didn't hesitate much, sitting down on the end of Deceit's bed awkwardly, watching Deceit fix up a few things before walking up to Roman, waving his hand and sitting down on the chair that appeared opposite.

"Remus is...very mad" Deceit explained, crossing one leg over the other. "He won't tell me what happened, I let him go to calm down - as the last thing I want to do right now is be in the presence of a 'light side' I will have to get my information from you. Do you mind explaining to me?"

Roman knew this question was coming, they'd want to find out eventually and if they weren't asking a 'light side' they were asking him. He shrugged lightly, he did mind but also didn't, thinking about to hurt but he doesn't exactly want to keep it from the side. Softly he began to explain what happened, today wasn't a great day since he woke up, when the sides began mocking him, bringing up mistakes from the past, it made Roman feel worse and worse until he broke down.

"Virgil told Remus I was faking it, I didn't hear what Remus said but he got in Virgil's face and told him something that made him look scared. I should probably talk to him about that" Roman shook his head, he was grateful his brother was protective but he hated when Virgil got anxious. "Then he told Thomas to keep him-selves away from me or else, and you know the rest.." Roman ended, Deceit nodded slowly when he finished.

"It seems your friends don't know the severity of this" he murmured which made Roman chuckle weakly, "you sound like Logan"

Deceit stared at him for a moment, then he had an idea. While Roman was staring at the ground Deceit's hand landed on his but it...wasn't covered with a glove? He looked up and gasped when his eyes met with Patton's, he smiled softly and stood up, offering a hug which Roman instantly agreed to, hugging the side back while burying his face into his neck.

"I've got you, Kiddo" he whispered and Roman felt tears well up in his eyes, not knowing how much he needed to hear those words from such a parental figure. Deep down he knew it was Deceit but he wanted this moment to last - he wanted to know what it felt like for a 'light side' to like him.

The door opened and Roman looked up to see Remus, he noticed the sides eyes hardened when they spotted Patton. "Hey, stupid-head!" He yelled, "That's it I'm ripping your nails off one by-...oh" Remus paused halfway into the room, his anger dissipating. He opened his mouth to say 'Deceit', he could sense it was him and not Patton but he cut himself short - he knew why Deceit did this, he didn't really want to ruin it for his brother.

Instead, he slowly walked up to them, gaining Deceit's attention. "Thomas is worried, he wants to talk to Princey" he explained and Roman sighed, he didn't really want to feel Thomas' anger on top of everything else.

"Want me to come with?" Remy suggested from where they stood in the doorway. Roman slowly leaned away from Deceit who, when he looked at him again, looked like his normal self once more. His heart broke just that little more, it wasn't Deceit's fault, but he guessed confirming the truth that that wasn't Patton just broke him further.

"No" he smiled at Remy gratefully, "I'll do this myself"

"Tell him his brother won't be the only one he'll kill if he hurts you!" Remus called before Roman could duck out, the side sent his brother a look, "leave him alone, Remus" his twin huffed and crossed his arms for he knew Roman was serious, the two sides along with Sleep watched Roman duck out the room and hesitantly appear in Thomas' living room, sighing in relief when the others weren't there.

"Roman!" Thomas exclaimed, jumping from the couch and rushing to his side before Roman even knew what was happening, not expecting the host to pull him into a hug. "I'm so, so sorry Ro" he whispered, hugging Roman even tighter, especially when the side softly hugged him back, resting his face into his shoulder.

"It-it's fine, Thomas"

"It's not" he reinforced, leaning back and holding Roman by his shoulders, staring into his eyes sternly. "It's not" he repeated then took Roman to his couch, sitting him down.

"When you left Virgil cursed out your brother while he composed himself, Patton and Logan comforted him and I...realised something" Thomas shifted closer to his side, "Patton wasn't there for you, at all when Virgil said all those things. I asked him about it and he looked shocked I'd even bring it up, as if they were still in the right. I don't like what Remus did but I'm glad he took you away, when you started to cry I felt it, Virgil was wrong, you weren't faking it, I'm sorry I didn't stop them, when they left I summoned them when I realised and told all of them off - they were confused but it felt right. I...told them to come back when they're ready to apologise" Thomas smiled at him gently, "but it's okay if you're not prepared to see them or forgive them"

Roman couldn't be more grateful he had such a caring host, he managed a smile in response to Thomas' and what he had said. "I'll..." he didn't want to be annoying and drag this out but he also couldn't forgive them just yet, he might start crying from just looking at them. "I'll wait a few days.." he murmured and Thomas nodded in understanding.

"And that's okay, I'll tell them to leave you alone, for now you get to spend time with the 'dark sides'...which" Thomas frowned, "seems more like a punishment" the two chuckled lightly at this.

"They're not so bad, maybe I could get Deceit to teach me how to feed his snake" Thomas smiled lightly, holding both of Roman's hands in his, drifting his thumb across his knuckles. "That sounds great" he agreed trying to push away his thoughts that screamed oh my gosh Deceit has a pet snake what the fuck-

"See you around, Roman" Thomas then prompted and Roman nodded, the two sharing one more hug before Roman sunk back into the mind, appearing in Deceit's room where they all waited for his return.

"How was it?" Remy was first to ask and Roman smiled lightly.

"It was good" he nodded, then turned to Deceit.

"He will be asking about Blossom in the future"

Deceit sighed.

"Great"

—
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11:54pm