Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Roman sighed as he set a handgun into its holster at his waist. There was some reported mob activity in the east of the city again, and he had made it his personal job to take care of any complications there, since there were always so many problems. He didn’t want any of his officers to get mixed up in it all.

The mob controlling the east of Newshore was very active and known for its ruthlessness. They were cruel and uncaring, and anyone who crossed them was never seen again. Or at least, that's what the rumors said. And the raging crime there gave enough evidence to make the rumors appear real. Roman tried to keep things in order though.

As chief of police in Newshore, it was Roman's duty to keep the citizens safe. And he was pretty good at it too, if he might say so himself. Since he joined the force, things seemed to calm down a bit all over. When people felt safe, they were less likely to put others in danger. Feeling safe and happy is contagious in a way, and that was a good thing. It made Roman's job easier.

Though, and he would only ever admit this to himself, he found himself almost appreciating the gang activity. It gave him an adventure, something to do, someone to save. What could he say? He was born for adventure.

Roman left the station, just as it was starting to get dark. He was gonna take care of this and go home right after, it wouldn't take long. With a hand on his 'back up' he sighed again. He really preferred not to carry heat, but they left him no choice. That neighborhood was still a little dicey and Roman couldn't afford to get injured.

He smirked to himself as he got in his car, knowing he wouldn't need the gun.

~~~~~~~~~~

Roman swerved into an alleyway, slamming the breaks of his car in front of a group of fighting people. Looked like a deal gone wrong to him. And, just as Roman had expected, there he was at the head of it all. The boss, Basilisk. He was the one who practically owned the east side, and therefore was usually a cause of most of the trouble. His metallic green scaly tattoo that covered one half of his face shone in the dim light. Basilisk was dressed in his usual yellow shirt under a black trench coat and a top hat, with yellow gloves and a yellow snake decorated cane. He didn't actually need a cane, he was much too young and strong, but Roman guessed it was for intimidation. As if his rumored snake-like eyes and aggressive demeanor weren't enough.

"Hey! Lower your weapons, all of you!," Roman eventually shouted. As expected, nobody actually lowered their weapons, instead opting to duck to the sides and aim every one of their guns at Roman. All of them except for the Basilisk, who just stood there with a cold confidence.

"Put down your guns, idiots. This was a ridiculous fight to begin with, and since it's so late, how about we all just shut up and go home before I get pissed and blow your heads off?" Despite his violent threat, he didn't bat an eye or even sound angry. The men around in the alley reluctantly tucked their guns away and stomped off.

Once they were all gone, Roman stepped out of the car, approaching Basilisk. After looking around to make sure no one else was around, he took his gloved hands and pulled him close, giving him a quick and gentle kiss.

"Roman, you dumbass. What are you doing getting caught up in my business again? I almost had that deal."

"You did not, I can sense a shootout when I see one." He just rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's get home before someone sees us."

~~~~~~~~~~

The two were complete opposites. Basilisk, or as Roman knew, Janus, was the leader of Newshore’s largest mob, and Roman was the chief of police. It made no sense for them to ever get along, especially not in a romantic sense. But ever since they had met, something clicked, and despite the other’s profession, they couldn’t help but love each other.

They lived in a little ‘house’ they were renting, though it could hardly be considered a house. There was a small kitchen and dining room combined, and a little room for a small couch. Upstairs, there was a bedroom and a small bathroom, both never quite clean no matter how much Roman tried to scrub off the grime. But, despite the grungy nature of the place, it was theirs, and they could be together here.

Roman entered through the back door, Janus through the front. They couldn’t be seen together, so they had to do a lot of planning on how they would take on the simplest of tasks. Besides, their house was in a bad neighborhood, so Roman didn’t want to be seen in general. A lot of people here had it out for the cops.

Once they both got inside, Roman immediately ran to their little radio and turned it on, pleased at the slow dance song playing. The soft piano seemed to carry him over to his partner at the front of the house and he began to dance with him.

Janus used to grumble and act tough whenever Roman would want to dance with him, but he eventually gave in and it became a daily event. Roman loved dancing with him, and Janus just loved being with him in general, no matter what they were doing. So every night when they got home, they would put on a song and dance to it, looking into each other’s eyes and just smiling and enjoying the moment.

The song ended and the two parted. Roman walked over to the kitchen, a new song playing in the background, and he started cooking dinner. He chuckled and asked, “How was work, Mi Amoré?”

“Would’ve been better if you didn’t mess up my deal. I could’ve gotten more defenses out of that.”

“Ah, I almost forgot. You know you’ll be fine. Besides, I couldn’t have you getting shot, could I? All of those guys had their guns just aimed everywhere, someone would’ve gotten hurt.”

“People get hurt every day, Roman. It’s just what happens, and a lot of the time it’s necessary.”

“Well who the hell says that? Why do people have to get hurt all the time?” Roman huffed. “Nevermind, I shouldn’t have brought up work, just forget about it.”

“Gladly.” Janus walked up behind Roman and snaked his arms around his waist, hugging him from behind and softly kissing the back of his neck. “Let's just be happy okay?"

Roman turned. “Well I just want as many people as possible to be happy. Who gave us the right to decide who gets hurt?”

“Roman. Shut up. We’re not talking about this tonight, I’m tired, and I just want to ignore it right now.” Janus frowned and kissed Roman, hard. It was an angry, yet still loving kiss, mostly intended to shut Roman up.

“Fine, fine.” Roman muttered into his boyfriend’s lips. “I’ll forget about it for now.”

“Good.”

“Now can I make dinner?”

“Okay, okay. I’ll be upstairs.”

~~~~~~~~~~

The next day at work, Roman was incredibly busy. He was running all over town breaking up small gang fights and stopping small robberies. At about 3:00 P.M. he got a report from someone who had heard several gunshots in a neighborhood on the east side. Which meant it was his job. Sometimes he regretted ordering everyone to leave problems over there to him, but then he remembered that Janus would likely get killed if he sent anyone else. So, he begrudgingly got into his car and drove over to where the problem was, thinking to himself, Damn you, Janus. Always getting into trouble.

He drove around for a moment in the area, listening closely for gunshots or yelling, and trying to find where they were. When a gun finally did sound off, Roman made a sharp turn towards the sound. He couldn’t help but worry about who made the shot.

As he got closer, the crowd of people spotted his car and immediately jumped into theirs, taking off with a tire screech and Roman following close behind. He was relieved that there were no bodies lying where the people had been.

They swerved around corners, Roman keeping close to the escapist’s car. He couldn’t just let them get away. They were going 80 now, and they sure as hell weren’t slowing down. If they made a turn at this speed they were sure to get hurt. Roman saw his chance, a t-intersection was ahead of them, the speeding vehicle had no choice but to either turn or slow down and either way, Roman would get them then.

The idiot driving the getaway car chose to turn without slowing down at all, and instantly ran right into a stop sign, stopping the car in its tracks. Roman slowed to a stop, and jumped out of his car, running to the crashed car. While it certainly wouldn’t be driving away, the passengers thankfully looked okay. Roman knocked on the window to get the attention of the driver, someone he didn’t recognize, and motioned for him to open the door. The man panicked and started slamming against the door. It wouldn’t open. Roman moved to the back of the car, pressing his hands against the back window to attempt to see inside. There he was. Janus needed a better driver than this idiot.

He bent down and picked up a large rock. Moving back to the front window, he instructed the driver to move as far from the window as possible. After he did, Roman readied himself and brought the rock to the glass forcefully. There was a crack! But the glass was only left with spider web lines throughout it. Roman smashed the window again and again, and finally it gave way.

The man inside looked relieved for a moment, before panic and dread spread across his face as he realized he was certain to be arrested. Janus groaned from the back seat, likely regaining consciousness. “Jonathon, you dumbass. You crashed the car?” He sighed frustratedly. Roman had them.

However, Roman realized that it was a problem for him too. Every day, there was always some way that Janus got away. That way, he could always stay away from death row. Roman knew he had mountains of evidence stacked against him for everything he had done, and the second the authorities got a hold of him, he'd be done for. For a moment, Roman considered just letting them go, as there were no civilians around, but there was still the driver, Jonathon apparently. It didn't matter who, no one could learn about him and Janus.

Roman jumped, falling to the ground, startled by a huge bang! He knew exactly what that was. He regained his composure and got up, glancing at a screaming Jonathon. Exactly what he had expected.

"Goddamnit, Janus! Why the fuck would you shoot him!"

"I had to! It's blackmail, that way he won't blow our cover."

"You two fucking know each other?" Jonathon yelled through his screams of pain, "Well then I don't fucking care! Just get me outta this goddamn car so I can drink the goddamn bullet wound you gave me away!"

Roman turned his focus away from his anger. "That won't help. You need to clean it up and remove the bullet. You need to see a doctor," he told Jonathon as he pried open the door.

"Hah. And get locked up? Or worse? I'd rather die on my own terms," he replied, painfully sadly and through clenched teeth. This is what Roman hated about his job. Sure, he wanted justice and criminals off the streets, but when it just hurt everyone that much more, then what was the point? He didn't want that.

"You won't get the death sentence."

"Janus will."

Don't say that. Roman couldn't think that.

"Janus isn't my problem right now. You are. You need medical attention, or else you could get an infection. That could kill you, and not on your own terms, and not in an easy way. We're getting you to a doctor."

"You don't want me to die, huh? Well then, how about this, I'll go to a doctor, and you won't turn me in."

"You're in no place to strike a deal--"

"And neither are you. Tell me, how does the chief of police know my boss on a first name basis? He keeps that pretty secret ya know. So look. Just get me a doc and lemme go. I won't say shit about this."

Roman was trapped. He shouldn't make deals with criminals, but… Janus… he didn't want to lose him.

Roman put aside his morals and nodded in acceptance. Jonathon smiled smugly. "Good. Now, let's get outta this car before it tries to blow."

"It won't."

Roman first helped Janus out of the car, glaring at Jonathon as he did. Janus seemed unfazed, if not pleased, by the deal. This was ridiculous.

Jonathon got out of the car himself, after struggling with the seatbelt for a moment. He paused, then took off running away. Roman jumped into action, ready to chase him when Janus stopped him.

"What? I have to catch him, he's getting away!"

"Let him go. It doesn't matter."

"Really? And how are you so confident he won't turn his back and say everything? Our entire lives, Janus! Let me--"

"He won't say anything. Trust me."

Chapter Text

Roman stumbled through his front door, exhausted. He couldn't stop worrying about what happened. Any day now, he was expecting someone to burst into his office, fire him, and probably arrest him on the spot. So far, nothing had happened.

Inside, he saw Janus on the couch, watching the small T.V. Roman smiled faintly and turned on the radio, an upbeat song playing this time. Janus swung around, frowning, but quickly stood up and smiled. It… wasn't genuine. It was good enough for Roman.

Janus held Roman in a dancing position, a trace of a strange anger flickering through his eyes, and kissed Roman's forehead. Roman couldn't keep the confusion and worry from his face as he cupped Janus's tattooed cheek in his hand.

"What's wrong, Mi Amoré?"

"Nothing, just a stressful day."

While Roman didn't really believe him, he put it aside for now and just danced, then made some food. He and Janus went to sit on the couch and watch T.V. together while they ate. Something felt off.

Roman spoke up, "So what happened today?"

"Nothing."

"Bullshit."

"Leave it alone."

"Why should I?"

"Because."

"Because why?" Roman teased, mostly joking.

"Because it's your fault," Janus muttered angrily, causing Roman to stop.

What? What was his fault? He didn't even have any calls over on this side of town today. What was he talking about?

"I didn't mean that…" Janus said regretfully. "But if you want to hear it so bad, fine. “ A sense of dread was in the air. He refused to look at Roman, staring dead ahead at the T.V. “I killed Jonathon today."

Roman's blood ran ice cold. "What…?” he whispered, too shocked to react yet.

“He knew too much, we couldn’t trust him.”

“So you killed him???” Roman shouted, standing up in anger.

"This is why I didn't tell you. I knew you wouldn't understand."

"Understand? This isn't a matter of understanding! You killed a man!"

"It's not the first time," he muttered,

“That doesn’t mean you should ever do it again! That isn’t right, Janus! That is a person! Why would you ever think that’s okay?”

“I never said it was okay!” Janus said, standing up as well, “I just told you I had to! You said it yourself, our lives, everything we have ever worked for could have easily been destroyed by him and I was not going to let that happen. I never said it was okay."

Roman shook his head, tears in his eyes. "I…" He turned and ran upstairs, Janus immediately following him.

"Roman!"

"No!" He closed himself in a room and sat against the door.

"Roman, what else was I supposed to do? Between both of our lives and his, I had to choose one. I chose us." Janus paused, kneeled down at the door, trying to figure out what to say to him. "He wasn't a good person, if that helps. I mean, I'm sure it doesn't but I don't know what else to tell you. It's my job? I didn't make him suffer?" Silence. Janus sighed. "Ro, I was scared. I did the only thing I could think to do."

He heard the door click unlocked and looked up a bit hopefully. Roman stared down, glaring harshly, and then stepped past him. "You don't just kill people to save yourself."

Janus stood, biting his tongue and already regretting his reply. "That's what you and the force do too though, isn't it? Kill criminals for your 'greater good?'"

"Don't. You know that's not up to me. All I do is catch the criminals, I don't kill them."

"... I know. Can we just forge-"

"No. I'm not forgetting this one. I'll ignore it, but I'm not forgetting."

"Fine, then I'm not forgetting either. Things aren't as good and just as you want them to be! I can't just take back what I did to make it better. It's… too late."

"That's why you don't do it in the first place!"

"I know! Now! But you could've been arrested and I could have died. The stakes were too high. He could have offered your precious cops the information and gotten away with what he had done. He was in the position to make a deal. What else was I supposed to do?"

Roman stopped in his tracks. He sighed. "Like I know…" He sat on the top step of the stairs. "Clearly I'm not exactly the best moral compass either."

Janus walked over and sat down next to him, Roman's head finding a place on his shoulder. "You haven't done anything wrong, Ro. You're trying. That's… good."

"You suck at pep talks. And apologies."

Janus chuckled. "I know. But you deal with it."

"Yeah…" Roman paused. "I didn't know anything about the real world when I first set out to be the 'good guy.' I… don't think there is one. Whatever 'side' you're on doesn't matter. The cops are pretty much as messed up as anyone else in this stupid city. And all I'm doing is helping what I think might be the lesser of two evils."

Janus yawned. "You're wrong. There is a good guy." He kissed Roman's forehead. "You."

"That's cheesy as hell."

"Too bad. Come on, let's go to bed. We need some sleep."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Ro, wake up. You're gonna be late for work."

Roman rubbed his eyes and stretched. "Hmm? Okay, I'll go make breakfast."

He heard Janus laugh exasperatedly. "You don't get it, Ro. You're supposed to be there in half an hour. You're late. I made breakfast instead."

Roman shook his head, still not quite awake. "What? I'm… oh!" He snapped up. "Oh shit!"

"... There you go."

"I gotta go!" Roman ran to his drawer, grabbed some clothes, and ran into the bathroom to get ready.

Janus sighed. Roman would remember yesterday eventually. And then he'd be upset again.

Roman rushed out of the bathroom and hugged Janus.

"I've got some negotiations today, but they should go well. You shouldn't have any problems with me today."

"Okay. Thanks." Roman quickly kissed Janus before he left.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Come on, come on!" Roman held back his panic. He had never called for backup over here before, but he had no choice this time. This wasn't a little scuffle like usual. People were really going to get hurt, if they weren't already.

Within a couple of minutes, the sirens of his help were here and he ran after the fugitives. Soon he heard several footsteps behind him and he had the target in sight. Shit. Of course it was Janus. He pulled out his gun, not sure what he was going to do with it and kept running. He couldn't back off now, he had at least two officers behind him, and several civilians not too far away. But he couldn't catch him either.

Janus glanced behind him and Roman saw his cool look melt away to panic. He realized the scenario too. There was a fence quickly approaching, and Roman had to make a decision quick.

Janus scrambled over the fence, his lead shrinking quickly. Just as he was about to drop down the other side, Roman clenched his teeth, aimed, and fired.

He screamed out, his lower leg seared with pain. Somehow, he limped over to the car that was waiting for him and shouted at the driver to go. Police, including Roman, were close behind, though slowed by the fence. Janus rolled into the car just as it began driving away, hissing in agony as the adrenaline wore off.

~~~~~~~~~~

Janus got home late, having stayed away for a few hours to patch himself up and be angry at Roman. He didn't particularly want to start another fight. At least he had his cane to help him walk. This would be much more of a problem without it.

So, he stumbled through the door at some ungodly hour in the morning, calling, "Roman? You awake?"

"Janus?"

He followed Roman's voice to see him just woken up on the kitchen floor beneath the radio. Goddamnit. "You… fell asleep waiting for me?"

"I guess." He sleepily asked, "How was work?"

"Fine. Would've been better if you hadn't shot me."

"Oh, god, Jan! I-Shit I'm sorry."

"It's fine… I meant it as more of a joke anyways."

"Asshole."

Janus laughed. "Sure. Now, come on. Get up."

"Why…" Roman whined stubbornly.

"Because this 'asshole' is gonna dance with you," he replied, turning on the radio. Some classical song, probably intended to put people to sleep. It'd do.

Roman clapped sleepily and stood up, draping his arms around Janus' shoulders and then pausing. "Wait no! Your leg…"

"Yeah? Well…" Janus dragged a nearby chair over and sat down. "That make you feel better?"

"Well yes. But how are you going to dance if you can't stand?"

"Get down here and you'll see." Roman kneeled down next to him with a puzzled expression. "No." Janus sighed. "Stand up and come here." Once he did, Janus tugged him down so he was sitting on his lap. "Like that," he said with a smirk, all of this causing Roman to turn red.

"Janus!"

"What? Now we're on the same level."

Roman humphed stubbornly and Janus took his hands and started swaying with him to the music. As they went on, Roman relaxed and danced along. He slowly sunk, eventually resting his head on his shoulder. Janus kissed the top of Roman's head, feeling tired himself.

"Okay, time to go to bed, Ro."

"Time for you to get more nicknames for me."

"Sure. Now come on, you need to wake up as on time as possible in the morning."

"Okay, my knight."

"I'm no knight. Come on, off to bed."

Roman got up, but seemed insistent on continuing the conversation. "Well I don't care, I'll call you a knight if I want. My handsome, handsome knight."

Janus was thankful Roman was mostly turned away from him because he was tomato red after that. He didn't handle compliments well. Faking calmness, he said, "Well then if I'm your knight, you're my sleepy little prince."

"I like that," Roman said, reaching the bedroom and climbing into bed, not bothering to change. Janus followed suit.

"Of course you do, Princey."

Chapter Text

Pancake batter sizzled quietly as Roman poured it on the pan. After yesterday, he needed to make sure Janus was okay, and a big breakfast was good bribery to sit down and wait while he checked the wound. Roman was pretty sure Janus had a 'doctor' to help him out, but he didn't take chances with Janus.

Roman finished preparing the food, pancakes, bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, and Janus' favorite, Ramen. His argument, not that anyone was necessarily protesting the greatness of ramen, was that it was cheap, warm, and you could change it. Janus liked his with copious amounts of chili powder and other spices. Roman argued it was so spicy he could smell it across the room, and there was no way that was okay to eat.

"Jaaanuss?" Roman called, pushing open the door. "I made some food."

Sleepily, Janus rubbed his eyes and yawned. Roman rarely got to see him this adorable. Without his walls, he looked like a little kitten stretching. 

"Morning babe," Janus sat up, clearly not registering what Roman said. He turned to stand up and winced through his teeth. "Shit!"

Roman walked over, putting down the plate and bowl and helping Janus reposition himself. "No way am I letting you get up how you are, my darling. I brought you some food, so eat it before the smell kills me," he laughed.

"Okay, you spice wuss." Janus looked over to the nightstand, laughing. "That is a shit ton of food."

Not even noticing the adoring look on Janus' face, Roman defended, "Yeah, well I figured that you might want a little of everything, and of course there's the rame-Don't get up! You gotta stay down, you're hurt!"

Janus rolled his eyes, "If you won't let me get up there, then get your ass down here."

Roman huffed and kneeled down, surprised when Janus took his face and kissed him. "Thanks for the food, Princey. But I can't stay here all day, I have things to do."

Ignoring his own blushing, Roman answered, "Exactly. And the 'things' you have to do is heal. I will personally stay here to make sure you don't get out of bed. And that is a threat." He quieted, "I tried to just graze you but… you looked pretty hurt." He stared hard at the ground, before suddenly shaking his head and smiling. "It never said in the job description that I'd be shooting at my boyfriend." He loved using that word, 'boyfriend.' It rarely failed to fluster Janus. "Now can you let me take a look at that wound?"

"I have a doctor you know. And he did a perfectly fine job."

"Well, in case he didn't tell you; no amount of wrappings is still stopping the bleeding after you decided to move that much."

"Then I'll just go see him again today. You're not a doctor, and I'm not letting you pretend to be one. Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if you fainted at the sight of blood."

"Fine then," Roman said, grabbing the huge meal he prepared. "None of this food for you. Guess you'll just get oatmeal."

Janus groaned, wordlessly moving the blanket off of his leg to let Roman look at it. He set back down the food and looked horrified at the blood-soaked bandages. He wasn't new to gunshot wounds of course, but seeing this damage on someone he cared so much for scared him. 

"Wh-where's that doctor you keep talking about? Cause you need this to be taken care of."

Roman draped Janus' arm over his shoulder and helped him downstairs.

"You know you're going to have to stop babying me and let me walk so we're not seen, Ro."

Roman paused. He knew Janus really should not be walking, especially not without help. But he had a point.

"I have a cane, and it's not far," Janus explained in an effort to ease Roman's worry. "Go on to the car and I'll follow in a minute."

"If we're going separately, you're going first so you can rest in the car."

"That can be our compromise, I suppose. Fine, I'll go first."

After Janus stumbled out the door, much to Roman's protest, Roman waited a few minutes before going out the opposite direction. He paused, hearing a crinkling beneath his steps. He backed up and picked up the offending piece of paper. 

It was folded up, so he put it in his pocket for now. He didn't have time right now. He had to get Janus help.

Roman drove them wherever Janus told him to go, helping him out of the car once they arrived. He went to knock on the door, interrupted by Janus simply pushing through.

"Patton?" He called out into the dimly lit room. Something straight out of a horror movie. Roman ducked behind the door, not wanting to be seen here, before being tugged back in by Janus. "It's okay, Patton won't do anything." That didn't help Roman to feel any more comfortable. He didn't trust anyone to see them together.

A man's face popped out from behind a wall. "Oh! Janus! You actually came for your return checkup?"

"Not my choice. Roman dragged me here after he saw the bleeding."

Patton turned on a light, smiling brightly. He seemed like a very homely, kind person, even though his very pastel punk style showed a bit differently. His t-shirt’s rainbow text said, “Destroy POWER, not PEOPLE.” Maybe Roman could understand why he and Janus knew each other.

"Who's Roman? Oh, wait, that's probably you, huh?" Roman nodded, and Patton held out his hand to be shaken. "Well nice to meet you! The name's Patton."

Shaking his hand, Roman muttered, "Nice to meet you too, sir."

"Oh, yeah I should let ya know," Patton said, kneeling to look at Janus' wrappings. "They/them pronouns if ya don't mind." Before Roman got a chance to reply, they shook their head and said, "Jeez, did you walk home?" They laughed, probably knowing he did. "You clearly didn't keep it still like I told you." 

Patton stood up. "Let's get you sitting down so I can wrap that up again. Can you help me get him back to the table, Roman?"

Roman helped and Patton grabbed some things they'd need. "I hope you don't mind if I talk while I do this. It makes things feel less… grim, I guess." They paused in case of protest, then continued, smirking. "So. How do you two know each other?"

Roman froze, not knowing how to reply. "Uh, we just-"

"He's my boyfriend," Janus hissed through his teeth.

"Oh! Good for you! I didn't expect that, what with your professions and all."

Roman immediately panicked, taking several steps away, ready to run out the door. "What? How do you-?"

Patton waved their hands dismissively. "Ah, I'm sorry! That probably sounds worrying to you. Don’t worry, I'm not gonna say anything." Their tone of voice shifted almost like they were talking to a baby or a dog, "Just ‘cause you're an important law official doesn't mean you can't fall in love with our little Basilisk here." They smiled and shrugged., talking normally again. "It's just a bit surprising."

"It certainly does mean that, but," Janus turned to Roman. "Told you they were cool."

"I-you're not gonna tell anyone?"

"No… they'd probably hurt you both if I did. I don't agree with either of you, don't get me wrong, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna throw you under the bus. Besides," they laughed, "if you don't mind my saying, you two seem kinda cute."

"I just told him you were okay!" Janus protested.

Patton laughed heartily. "I know, I won't say it again."

After a moment, Roman said hesitantly, "So, Patton? How did you already know who I am?"

They paused, looking downwards. "When there are this many conflicting opinions, and people fighting, it's good to keep an idea of whos-who. Gotta know who to avoid and who to stand with when things fall down."

"And what about me?"

"Well… before you came here at least, there was no way I would've sided with you. I guess I can't necessarily blame you, but there's a lot of cruel biases you guys have. Now? Maybe you're not so bad… you don't seem like you agree with those things at least. But you can't just stand by while people get hurt!” Patton slammed their fist on the table. “You already have the power to do something about it, so do it already." Patton sighed, shaking their head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get all political on you. This stuff just gets me so mad sometimes."

Roman just nodded in agreement. Patton had a point, that he couldn't deny. He knew there were some vast problems.

The conversation felt over, and Roman remembered the paper he found. He took it out of his pocket and unfolded it, reading the sloppy handwriting.

Roman could've sworn his heart stopped.

I know your secret. Isn't it odd that the chief of the stupidly corrupt NPD and the Basilisk would be trying to settle down in a shitty, rotting house? To get straight to the point, I'm going to send a couple of simple instructions to you both. If you don't follow them in a timely manner, don't count on your secret being a secret for long.

Roman's hands shook, dropping the message to the floor and struggling to catch his breath. Oh god. They knew. How did they know? He and Janus had been more than careful! All of the worst possible outcomes played through his mind vividly. Janus. This person could trade in the info, they knew everything. Roman would at least be fired, probably imprisoned. He could deal with that. But Janus… he was tough, but without Roman keeping him safe he'd be caught eventually. He'd gotten more relaxed, he didn't care that every legal official in town wanted him dead. He'd get caught. And he would die. Janus would die. Roman couldn't stop repeating that thought through his head, even through the swirling thoughts and vision. Janus would die. Janus would die. Janus would be caught and he would die.

"Ro? Roman!" He felt himself fall to the ground.

~~~~~~~~~~

Eventually, Roman opened his eyes, finding himself on the same wooden table Janus had been lying on.

“There ya go. I knew you wouldn’t be asleep for long.”

Who was that? “Patton?”

“Yep. You uh… passed out after reading that lil’ paper there. How are you feel-”

“Shit!” Roman shot up, falling back down from the following head rush. 

“Hey! You can’t sit up yet, you have to let yourself wake up properly. There must be something really wrong with that paper to stress you out enough to faint.” They looked… really concerned. Roman felt a little bad.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” Roman sat up a bit slower this time, satisfied with how he felt and staying upright. “I-I have to go. Where’s Janus?”

“He’s outside, but you can’t go yet." Patton gave a very firm look of determination. "This may not be a proper hospital, but I’m still a doctor and there is no way I’m letting you leave before I know you’re gonna be okay.”

Roman answered some questions, refusing to answer anything about the letter, and they deemed that the stress from yesterday and the lack of sleep were the causes of his little ‘episode’ and sent him off. Roman thanked them and left, finding Janus just outside the door, clutching the paper in a tight fist.

“Oh good, our sleeping beauty has awoken.”

“...Yeah. I’m okay.”

“Good, so is my leg. Let’s head home.” Roman stuttered in place, surprised at Janus' blunt statement.

“What? What about the…” He eluded to the note.

“What about it? We’re going home.” Janus’ voice was devoid of emotion. He stared straight ahead, limping into the car without any clear reaction to what had happened. Roman followed, sitting in the driver’s seat, admittedly scared.

“Janus?”

“What is it?”

“Are you okay? I mean, of course probably not, but you’re acting strange.” Roman couldn’t look at him.

“I’m fine, and this is fine. I’m going to take care of it, but for now, I simply want to go home.”

Roman didn’t have anything else to say, silenced by his own fear, so he drove. Janus was scared too. He could tell. He was never short and quiet like this. When he was mad, he showed you, when he was sad, he'd sigh and look away. But instead, his eyes were wide and his voice so monotonous from the effort to keep it steady. Janus was scared, no doubt about it.

They got home and entered their usual way, just because one person knew didn’t mean the rest of the world could. Roman entered first, opting to just sit on the couch and stare at the blank television. 

A few minutes later, he felt Janus’ gloved hands wipe a tear off of his cheek, and he opened his eyes. Janus was kneeled in front of him, looking sympathetic now. Roman let out a short sob, catching himself and trying to stop as many tears as he could from falling. He wanted to keep Janus safe, crying in front of him made it feel clear that he couldn’t.

“It’ll be okay, Roman. It’s one person, that’s all. We can take care of it.” He had realized that Roman was afraid too, and he needed to stop playing cold and help him.

Like with Jonathon? Roman bit back his response, but Janus must’ve guessed what he was going to say from the glare that escaped him.

“We’ll… talk them out of it. Don’t worry.” He brought Roman’s forehead to his lips and hugged him close. “We’ll be okay.”

Roman clutched Janus’ clothes, refusing to let go. It felt like if he did, he would lose him forever. It hurt Janus to see him like this, and it was only worsened by him feeling the same way, even if he refused to show his worry. He could take care of this. He knew this city and damn near everyone in it, and he wasn’t going to let one of them hurt Roman like this. He just had to figure out who it was. This is impossible, a nagging thought told him. You’re going to die, and Roman will never be the same.

Roman felt the shoulder of his shirt slowly get soaked with tears, ones that Janus would never admit to.

“We’ll be okay. I promise.”

Chapter Text

Roman knew that it was obvious to everyone around him that he was nervous. A second letter had been delivered this morning and it only added to his on-edge mood. It was addressed more to Janus this time, telling him to let debtors off the hook. Of course. That felt like an obvious demand considering the circumstances, but Roman was certainly bothered by it. Janus was stubborn, and there was no way he was gonna listen. He was too confident that he was going to find who was sending the letters and ‘convince them.’ Roman worried what that meant.

Roman was just waiting for the day to be over so he could stop panicking for a moment. His head hurt and his eyes were still a bit puffy from crying. God, he was shaken by this. He was really starting to miss feeling brave. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't just seriously do work like nothing ever happened. He couldn't focus on anything he was supposed to, and anytime he tried he almost ended up crying again.

When he was a kid, he always had to be brave. For a good reason. His brother, Remus, always got scared of little things. Mostly because they'd never leave him alone. It was like Remus had a photographic memory, but only for the things he didn't like. He'd end up spouting some horrible phrase he heard someone say behind the ally and everyone around him would be horrified. He always complained about their looks of shock and anger. Roman never understood those people. They heard that all the time, but now they were going to hurt his brother for it? No way. So anytime Remus would start, no matter how scary what he said or described was, Roman always repaired the scenario. Settled the minds of everyone else. And he was damn good at it too. He was proud and never wavered. He kept his brother safe.

Thinking of Remus honestly helped Roman. Gave him some grounding to the world that was still here, even if he had grown up and gotten scared. He'd give a lot to be a kid again, desperately trying to make treehouses with his brother, or climbing on top of rooftops and over fences. They really went anywhere they could, didn't they? Roman missed that adventure.

He bit his lip, pausing, hesitating. Picking up his phone, he quickly tapped a number and waited while it rang. And rang. And rang. Goddamnit Remus! No answer. Voicemail.

"Um, hey Rem. Know it's been a minute since we talked but I need to say hi if you don't mind. Just… please call back when you can." Click.

~~~~~~~~~~

The sun was setting, he needed to get back home to Roman. So he walked in the back alleys, limping on his cane until he finally made it home.

Janus got home after a long day of keeping up his stupid facade and realized Roman wasn't there yet, so he sat on the couch. He hated this. He hated that it bothered him, that he was actually worried about this person's threats. He built all this power and yet this person made him think it could all fall? This was his city, his home! He did everything so that this problem couldn't happen. The hurting, the manipulation, the killing. All for safety. And now none of that was worth shit. Janus just couldn't let this happen.

The door creaked open, and a tired Roman stepped through, slouched and slow-moving. Janus frowned, moving to sit up before Roman gestured at him to stop. So he sat. Roman, slumped over, staggered over to Janus and fell on the couch next to him. Well, more on Janus and less on the couch. He was so happy to finally be near him again, knowing he was well. Roman pressed little kisses to his neck, so tired now that he could finally relax.

"Miss me, Princey?" Janus said softly. Roman just hummed in response, happily burying his face in his boyfriend's shoulder. He needed to feel him there, needed to not worry for just a moment. At least a moment.

He felt some shifting and ended up in Janus' arms, his fingers combing through his hair. It was so comfortable at last. It had been such a long day with so much worrying that never went away no matter what Roman had tried. But now Janus was so warm, and Roman melted into him like chocolate. It felt so nice to be home.

Roman yawned, his eyes fluttering open tiredly. He was falling asleep here. He couldn't. He had to show the new note to Janus, didn't he? He groaned. This sucked.

"... Janus?" Roman sat up.

"Yes? Are you feeling better now?"

He smiled for a moment, "Yeah. But… um, another note came in today, after you left."

Janus rubbed his temples in exasperation. "What do they want?"

"You're not gonna like it." Roman paused, admittedly a little worried. "They want you to uh... apparently 'forget anyone's debts to you.'"

Janus breathed in, about to go on a furious rant, but he stopped himself. He chewed his tongue for a while, thinking hard before deciding. "Well, then I guess that's what I'll likely have to do."

"What…?"

"What else are we supposed to do, Ro? I can try, but we can't track down every single person in this city. We'll… just have to make it work. Somehow."

Roman was speechless. He expected them to be able to do something! They-he couldn’t just let this person take over their lives. This was only their first request, and Roman did not want to find out what they expected of them in the future. It was as if, with Janus’ answer, Roman had been hit in the face with the reality of how terrible this was. Even if they did everything they could, and this person told no one about their lives, they’d still be stuck under their control. How long was this supposed to go on? A month? A year? Forever, even? If they listened to everything they were told here, they’d likely never get their old life back. It felt like the world was crashing down on him.

But he knew for certain that they had to do something! You never gave in to the villain's request, that would only mean they won.

Roman didn't want this. He didn't want to wonder if he was the good guy or not, and he didn't want to hide. He hated this all.

"That's not… what I thought you'd say."

"Well, it's not what I hoped I'd say. But we don't have other options, Ro, we can't-"

"We can try! We have to try Janus! We can talk to them, or something. Sure, we can let go of debts, fine, whatever, we can live with that. But what are they going to ask for next? What if it's something terrible?" Roman's eyes lit up with the same certainty and confidence he missed from his childhood. He could, and would, stand up. This was their life, he wasn't about to let some random person with a pen and paper try to ruin it.

"I won't just let them win, Mi Amore. Not completely. We can follow this demand, and we will. But I refuse to do whatever they say! We're… we're stronger than that. Right?" Janus nodded. "So… maybe I can get us access to the forensics lab. We can do some tests there, and I promise I can make sure no one will see."

Janus paused, clearly hesitant to agree with him. "Fine. But we’re only going to try this one time. If we don't find them then, I'll work on it myself. It sounds risky, I don’t want to give us too many chances to get caught. I will go through and let everyone know they no longer owe me tomorrow."

Roman smirked, a steely determination in his eyes. "I don't care who this is, I am not letting them win without a fight. They don't threaten me and my boyfriend and get away with it."

Janus teased him for sounding like he was in a cheesy movie, he just smiled back. This was important to Roman. He felt born to defend, to be a hero. It was what he did best. Who cared if he sounded like every cliche there was?

Roman hardly slept that night, anxious for the next day. He was desperate to figure this out and get it over with. He got up long before Janus and made breakfast for them both, and was pacing all over the house afterward.

When Janus left, he sorted through a long list of petty debts. Was he really demanding these people give him four dollars? The more he went about it, the more he felt like this was what he should’ve done a long time ago. Seeing these people’s happy faces when he erased one more problem off their list… it was far worth it. Even though he felt like shit for asking for a lot of the money these people owed him.

By the time he was finished, the sun was setting and his leg burned just as intensely. He hadn’t even let himself limp to avoid showing any signs he was hurt all day, and he was paying for that now. He’d just have to power through it.

Roman had been home for what felt like ages before Janus finally walked through the door, and waited another eternity before they actually left for the department. It made Janus chuckle dryly at how impatient Roman got when he was anxious like this.

They didn’t bother leaving the house at different times. It was dark anyways, and they didn’t see anyone out. Clearly how they handled things didn’t keep them hidden before, what was the point now? So they got in the car together, and Roman drove them to the police department.

They were going to face this together.

Roman unlocked a side door and let Janus inside. He didn’t have a key to the lab, but he had Janus, and that worked just as well. He could pick the lock easily. Roman certainly did not have permission to be here, and he also certainly didn’t care. They needed to know who was threatening them, they needed to stop them, and they needed this technology. Roman continued trying to explain to himself why he was in the right as they entered the room and he brought out some things for tests.

Roman shook his head and let his focus take over. He needed to be in the moment right now, not trying to explain to himself things he already knew. “So… the first thing we should do is check for any good fingerprints. It seems pretty clear to me that this person wouldn’t have exactly hidden something like that, I mean of all things, it’s handwritten so it’s pretty clear that they weren’t super careful about hiding their tracks. The prints still might not be perfect, but it’s a good start.”

Janus nodded and helped Roman as he dusted the paper with two different powders. “Uh, using these here, we get a negative and- you know what, I’ll explain that another time. Hand me that tape, I’m gonna see if these are any good.”

Roman snapped a few pictures and then picked up what he could of the prints using the tape. He ran over to a computer and logged in, inputting the photos into a program that began comparing photos of fingerprints to them.

“While that’s running, there’s a couple of other things I can do...” He continued taking various samples from the letter, muttering, “Real good thing Re got me into this stuff as a kid.”

Janus couldn’t help but admire Roman as he ran around the room, knowing exactly what he was doing with all these machines and materials. Janus himself knew nothing about all of this, which only made it more fascinating how well Roman did. He had that steady look in his eyes, it was clear that this was what he really knew what to do. He was in his element, even if the circumstances were pretty awful. Right now, Janus was sure of it. Roman really was a hero.

Eventually, Roman printed some results, examined them lightly, and smiled.

“It’s not perfect, but we’ve got something here.” He brought the papers over to Janus to show him. “See here? There are imprints all over this paper, from notes, and doodles and stuff. Which means this was probably pulled out of a notebook. They’re a little difficult to see, so it’s not great. But you can see a little swirl here, and I think there is probably a little cloud or something. But that’s not all.” He brought a new paper to the front of the pile. “There are fingerprints all over this thing. I wasn’t quite able to figure out who’s fingerprints they are, I’ll have to get a better look at them when we get home, but even right now one thing is pretty clear.” Roman looked Janus in the eyes, looking so excited that he couldn’t help but feel the same. “There are two different people! See? This one’s significantly smaller, and it swirls differently there. But they’re similar enough, these two are probably related! So we can already tell a couple more things about these people. Again, it’s not perfect, but… it’s a start.”

Janus smiled. “You did good, Princey. Let’s go home, we can do a bit more examination in the morning before you go to work, okay?”

“Alright.” Roman held back a huge smile, wrapping his arms around Janus’ neck and giving him a short, soft kiss. The support was appreciated.

When they finally got back home, they ordered some food to be delivered (Roman was far too tired to cook tonight, and any energy he had left was focused on the test results.) and relaxed on the couch while they ate. It was nice to relax, even a little, knowing that they had something to go off of.

Eventually, Roman noticed that Janus had fallen asleep on his shoulder, and instead of waking him, Roman got as comfortable as possible and resigned himself to sleeping there tonight.

Sunlight poured through the window, waking Janus. Realizing where he was, he laughed a little. Apparently they needed the rest. Janus gently shook Roman awake, “Roman, you should get up now so we have a little time to go over what we found last night.

Roman, still half-asleep, shifted over and leaned into Janus, hugging him close and mumbling something he couldn’t hear. Goddamnit, how was he allowed to be this cute? “Come on, Princey, we don’t have long before you need to go to work. I’ll even make some breakfast today, okay?

Janus lifted him up a little, so he could look him in the eyes. “You can schedule a day off soon, alright? But for today, we really do have to get you there. You get dressed, and I’ll make some toast or something, okay?”

“You’ll burn down the kitchen, dear.”

“No I won’t!” Janus laughed. “Now come on, no more delaying the inevitable. Go change. I’ll be waiting down here for you when you’re ready.”

Once Roman was finally dressed and had eaten, Janus grabbed the notes and pictures off of the table and sat back down next to him.

“Okay, so first of all, these indentations in the paper,” Roman pulled out some photos that were taken using different light sources to accentuate the lines and scribbles. “They’re not super obvious, and mostly hard to read, but look!”

In the first picture, there was what looked like a bunch of random numbers and letters, mixed with something else a bit difficult to distinguish.

“Um… numbers?” Sure it was something, but it didn’t look like enough to get any real information.

“Yes! But- not just that! These are equations. Lots of ‘em! Like math homework!”

“A… student?”

“Uh-huh! Which means…” Roman flipped to another picture. “There should probably be a name at the top.”

It was broken up, but you could just make out:

\   rg  l  ľ  enf  ៴

Chapter Text

Ever since he got that little hint, Roman had been obsessing over these papers. Every spare chance he got (besides the time that was for dancing with Janus of course, he would hate to give that up.) Roman scanned over everything, again and again, tracing out what the full name could be, trying to make out a class hour or teacher or something new.

He wasn’t getting very far with that.

Roman stuffed the piece of paper into his pocket. It had arrived this morning, it was under the door when he got up, he knew exactly what it was, another demand. He should start waiting for them to be delivered, the kid had to come by at some point to put it there. Roman should have shown Janus, he didn’t, and he didn’t even know why.

Maybe he figured that he didn’t really need to worry about it right now. Maybe he hoped that it had nothing to do with Janus, or that it was from family or something. It didn’t much matter, Janus had already left, he would have to wait until tonight to show him anyways.

Roman pulled the crumpled thing out of his pocket and unfurled it. It was a lot shorter this time.

It has been a week since my last demand. You still haven’t complied. You have three more days.

Roman blinked, reading it again and again. What? No, this wasn’t possible, what did they mean? Janus had listened! Didn’t he? He let go of the debts, Roman couldn’t understand. What else was there? Now he really had to show this one to Janus.

Had he lied about it? Roman really didn’t want to assume that, and he wouldn’t, but the thought couldn’t help but cross his mind. It was true that Janus didn’t want to listen to this person. 

Roman shook his head. He wasn’t going to let himself doubt Janus without reason. He would just wait and talk to him about this over dinner. Besides, his bus would be at the stop soon, he needed to leave for work. 

Roman ran out the door and managed to get to the bus stop on time, even though he had been running late. He sat on the bus and stared at the paper. Who was this kid? And what ‘debt’ had Janus not let go? 

Roman kept returning to that thought throughout the day, and he was probably more distracted than ever. Which is why when his phone rang, he nearly jumped out of his seat. 

“Hello? Roman Basilio NPD speaking.”

A laughing voice came through the other side. “No need to be so formal with me you little shit.”

“Remus?”

“Who the fuck else bro?”

“Then why the hell did you call me at my work phone? You know I have a cell, you have the number.”

“I dunno, sure the look on your face was funny as hell though.”

“Oh my goodness.”

“Hah, so what you up to? Why’d you call?”

“I didn’t- Wait, Remus, that was days ago! Why didn’t you- nevermind I bet I don’t even want to know. I uh- well there’s kind of a lot right now, not really something to talk about over the phone. It’s…” Roman sighed, “a lot.”

Remus’ joking tone subsided a bit, and he sounded slightly more concerned. “Uh, do you need me to come visit bro? I’m not exactly close, but if you need me, I’ll be there.”

“No, you don’t have to, Rem,” Roman started. “Well, actually, yeah if… if you can get some time, that would be great.”

Remus chuckled. “Sure Ro, see ya soon.”

Roman had attempted to continue the conversation, but Remus had already hung up. Which wasn’t exactly surprising knowing him.

Roman smiled. He was excited to see his brother.

~~~~~~~~~~

Janus was acting off all day, and for good reason. Even if no one else knew that reason. 

They were a kid. An actual child in school. And Janus was afraid of them. Janus, the Basilisk, was being threatened by a high school student.

If he was being completely honest, he was choosing instead to think of Roman. He had been pretty impressive the other night, with his knowledge of forensics. Janus wondered where he learned it all. He could hardly find a single thing from that paper, he was practically about to go searching for handwriting around town. Roman just held it under some lights and figured out so much. Nevertheless, Janus was impressed.

Obviously, it wasn’t just Roman’s ideas that Janus loved about him, and he definitely wasn’t thinking overly cheesy thoughts about how handsome Roman was, or how his eyes lit up, or how gentle and sweet he was at dancing.

It was easy to ignore his anger at the situation when he could think of Roman. It made the day easier.

~~~~~~~~

The sun was lowering in the sky, Janus guessed without checking that it was probably about 5:00 P.M. and he wanted to get home a bit earlier today. He was walking to his car when he heard a crunch beneath his foot. There was a piece of lined paper, something that, just a couple of weeks ago, Janus wouldn’t have paid any mind to.

He picked it up, curious, and nearly fell down when he read just the top of the page. 

Virgil Renfrew.

There was no mistaking it, the lines that made up the name were so similar to what Roman had pieced together the night before. This was him. Janus had to get home immediately. 

He practically jumped out of the car and ran inside the house, he had to tell Roman. 

“Roman? Roman, where are you, you have to see this!” No reply. “Roman?”

Crap. He wasn’t home yet. He was probably staying a little late to do some sort of work, Janus didn’t know what, which means he’d have to catch the next bus. He’d end up getting home past nine. Janus didn’t want to wait that long. He was going to have to go get him.

~~~~~~~

Roman stepped outside his building and into the parking lot. He had been told that someone (who wouldn’t give anyone his name) was waiting for him there, and he felt a bit grateful for the cameras being around. 

And then he saw his car in the parking lot, with Janus hidden behind the wheel. What the hell is he doing here? He was so likely to get caught!

Roman quickly got in the passenger seat, immediately starting, “Janus! Why the hell are you here? There are cameras everywhere you could be seen!”

“I couldn’t wait for you to get home. You chose the wrong day to stay late. I found something.”

“You… found something?” Janus handed him the paper he had found and started driving.

“Recognize that at all? Specifically the na-”

“Oh my god. Oh my god, Janus! Where did you find this? We- this is a real lead, this is exactly what we needed!” Roman gave Janus a kiss on the cheek in his excitement.

“I found it on the street, I don’t know exactly how it got there, probably fell when he was walking home or something. Doesn’t really matter how I found it, we need to pay this kid a visit.”

“Well Jan, it’s not like this tells us his address or anything. We still have to find him.” 

Janus threw a phone book onto Roman’s lap. “I marked some sections. There are two Renfrew houses here, but that’s not exactly a lot. He’s probably one of those.”

Roman started thumbing through the pages, a couple of entries were circled with a red marker. One was under the name ‘Marcus Renfrew’ and the other under ‘Logan Renfrew.’ “I guess we can check them in this order? Starting with Marcus?”

“Yes, that’s what I was expecting us to do. I can do it tonight, so less people are around.”

Roman quieted. “What are you expecting to happen that you can’t do during the day?”

“I don’t know what could happen there, these people might want me- or us- dead, and I probably shouldn’t be seen.”

“Jan, I’m going with you. At this point, I don’t know how much hiding matters. We can find a back door if that makes you feel better, but I’m not letting you do this alone. This concerns both of us, it’s not just your problem.”

Janus shook his head. “I know that! But I don’t want us to be seen by anyone else, and that’s not exactly the best neighborhood, either.”

“I don’t care, Janus. I can go with you, I’m not some child that needs protection.”

“I’m not saying you are, I just don’t want you to get hurt!” Janus’ voice broke slightly. How could he keep Roman out of harm’s way when he wouldn’t just stay home? Janus was used to this kind of situation, he knew exactly how to defend himself. Roman didn’t.

Roman placed an arm on Janus’ shoulder. “I’m sorry. I know that. And I understand. But I also need you to understand that I’m not going to let this go. I don’t want you to get hurt either.”

Janus sighed. “You’re right. Of course you can come, but we’re waiting until tomorrow in that case. We need some sleep.”

“I agree.” Roman paused for a while. “What do you want for dinner?”

~~~~~~~~~

Roman noticed that Janus had a tight grip on the steering wheel and furrowed eyebrows. They were finally going to confront the person who had been trying to manipulate their lives. It was nerve-wracking. Maybe Roman should have just stayed home instead. He said quietly, “Hey, Jan? You gonna be okay…?” 

“I will be. Once we find this person and can leave all of this behind.” He pressed down on the gas pedal and instinctively scrunched his face against the sting. 

“Janus? Your- Oh my god your leg! You shouldn’t be the one driving, come on, let’s switch. You’re not okay, you haven’t been listening to your doctor, have you? You’ve been overdoing it, I knew-”

“Roman, calm down. I’m fine. If you’re so worried, you can drive. But we have to go, we can’t just sit here talking, we don’t have time.” Janus managed his way out of the car and into the passenger seat, Roman looking satisfied at the arrangement.

Janus gave Roman directions to where they needed to go, and while he was following them, he looked spaced out, not acknowledging Janus’ words. Then, he made a wrong turn. “I said right, not left, what are you doing?”

“I know what you said, and I also know where I’m going. Don’t worry, this little detour shouldn’t take too long.”

“Roman, where are you going?”

“Now if I were to tell you that, my knight, you would stop me before we got there.”

“That makes me want to stop you more! Pull over!”

Roman abandoned his semi-arrogant manner. “No! I promise, I know what I’m doing. It hopefully won’t set us back too far, don’t worry.”

Janus began to protest, but realized it wouldn’t do any good. He just had to wait and see.

Eventually, Roman pulled up to a very familiar place, got out of the car, and knocked on the door. “Roman? Are you kidding me?” Janus shouted as he stepped out, shifting his weight on his cane.

The door swung open, and Roman cheerily said, “Patton! Nice to see you again. Um… a certain someone, ” he emphasized, motioning to Janus, “decided he was too good for doctor’s orders and I was hoping you could help.”

Patton gasped. "Janus! If you ever plan on getting better, you need to listen to me for once!" They ran over to Janus and helped him into the house, fussing over him like a concerned parent. "I told you walking on it was bad! You have to rest!" And the like.

Janus grumbled an excuse but let Patton clean his worsening wound. It still hadn't quite stopped bleeding, and it looked like it was starting to get infected. To say Roman was worried was an understatement. Maybe going out today wasn't such a good idea…

It was like Janus could hear Roman's doubts, he asked Patton, "It's okay for me to drive a car, right? And walk a little?"

"God, no!" Patton responded, shocked that Janus would even ask such a thing. "You need to stay home and in bed for at least a couple of days I'd say. Unless you want to lose a leg."

Shit. That was definitely the answer Janus wanted. This felt like their only chance to figure out who the hell was behind this, and now Roman was missing work for nothing. He couldn't do that often. And no matter how much Janus refused to admit it, he knew he needed Roman's help. He was going to escalate the situation if left alone. Roman was such a people person, he could figure out what to say to these people. They only really had today to do this, and time suddenly felt like it was running out.

"See Jan? You need to stay home! I'm glad I did today, I can take care of you for a while, alright? We can watch movies, it'll be nice." Roman smiled, trying to cheer him up.

Janus sighed and muttered, "No. No, we really can't." He rubbed his eyes in frustration, continuing louder. "Roman, we don't have time. We don't. We don't know what this person could do next, you said so yourself, and I for one, refuse to let them walk all over us."

"Who?" Patton's eyes were wide, and in the silence they had caused, you could hear them breathing heavily. This was far more serious than they thought.

"I said, who? Or, what? What's going on, you two?"

Roman bit his lip, trying to phrase his explanation carefully. It wasn’t exactly the most soothing of explanations. It didn't help much though, Patton was still clearly worried.

"You didn't think to bring this up earlier?" 

"We were just trying to heal up my leg and move on, I didn't think you needed to know."

"Well of course I do! I know you might not realize this, but I'd like to think of you as a friend Janus! And-and if you don't agree there, I'm still at least your doctor, this person could be a danger to your health, especially with your injury! You could have gotten hurt badly and... I wouldn't even know..."

Roman felt his insides twist with Patton's words. "Patton…" he started, vainly hoping for something to say to comfort them. 

For a while, they paused, and then they just sighed. "No, I know. It's not my business, and I don't need to know. I just worry so much, and that made me angry. I'm sorry for yelling, that was mean."

Janus pursed his lips, and Roman could almost see the gears turning in his head, working out the best way to word his thoughts. "I'll… I'll be more careful, Patton. We are friends. I uh, suppose I really don't want to see you upset."

"... Thanks, Jan. If-If you're really in danger, then maybe you can try using your cane or barely walking or something. You should at least let Roman drive." Patton began pacing, grabbing bottles and looking at the labels and inspecting various things with a focused expression. "Pressing the pedal is still bad, rest your feet on the dashboard instead. That'll keep the wound elevated, if a little much so." They handed Janus a small bag in which they had put the bottles in. "Those are some antibacterials and painkillers. Hopefully they can stop a horrible infection until you have a moment to rest.”

Janus smiled, paused, and gave Patton a hug. “Thanks, Patton. I’ll take proper care of myself once this is over. I promise.”

Patton had the biggest smile on their face, if it was tinged with a bit of worry. “Good. Now you get going! And try to visit when you’re not neglecting wounds, okay?”

“Of course! Thank you, Patton, it means a lot.”

And with that, Roman and Janus were back on their way. Nervous was an understatement, to say the least.

~~~~~~~~~~

Roman took a deep breath, trying to keep his focus on driving instead of worrying. Instead, he quickly pulled over and stopped when he remembered something. “Shit!”

Janus sat up, eyes wide. “What? What’s wrong?”

Roman dug his hand into his pocket, feeling for a slip of paper. “There was another note, I forgot to tell you, shit I’m sorry, I-”

“It’s okay Roman,” Janus used a cool tone to try and help him calm down. “Where is it?”

“I-It’s not in my pocket anymore.”

“Did you read it then? Can you tell me what it said?”

Roman stared, unblinking, at nothing in front of him. “It said you didn’t comply. There were still debts, and you had three more days to listen. Today’s the second.”

Janus whispered to himself, “What…?” He sat up more, almost shouting, “What? This makes no sense! I let go of everything! I did what they asked days ago!”

Roman hardly moved. “You… did, right?”

“Of course I did!” Janus scoffed. “Why wouldn’t I? I’ve done harder things to keep us safe. I went to every person, nobody owes me a dime!” He paused, and quieted. “ You know I did, right?”

Roman hesitated more than he’d like. “Yeah. Of course you did. Why wouldn’t you?” He shook his head. “I’m not thinking right, I know you listened Janus, I just over thought it.”

Janus placed his hands on Roman’s shoulders. “Roman, I promise you, nobody owes me any-” He stopped. “Anything... “

“Janus? You didn’t…?”

“No, I thought I did. I let go of monetary debts, no one owes me money, but there’s more than money. Shit.”

“So you didn’t actually do what they wanted.” Roman stopped for a moment, getting angrier. “This is ridiculous! They should’ve been more specific, and now we’re like sitting ducks because of a stupid technicality!” He was so frustrated, tears welled in his eyes. Roman was so tired of this.

Janus had initially moved back, but came closer to Roman and held his cheek in his hand. “It’s okay, Roman. Breathe. We still have time. We have a good clue, we’re close. And if we don’t find them today, I can try to figure out who might owe me a favor and let them off the hook. It'll be okay."

Roman bit his lip and took a deep breath. Janus was right. It'd be okay. They had to hurry, but they still had some time. He leaned into Janus' hand, letting out a shaky breath. "Thank you, Mi Amore. You're right. We'll be alright."

Janus smiled a bit and pulled back his hand. "I would love to stay here like this, but unfortunately," he frowned, "we have a bit of a deadline. We have to pay a couple visits. Are you okay to go again?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay." Roman leaned over and kissed Janus on the cheek before turning back onto the road and heading towards the address. 

It took a short while driving, and about 10 minutes of Roman being lost, before they were sure they had found the address. Roman made sure to park a couple houses down, trying to avoid any suspicions. Janus had brought some different clothes and a different hat so that he would hopefully be less recognizable, and Roman wore a jacket with the hood pulled up. They stepped out of the car and walked behind the house, knocking on the back door from the tiny backyard. And they waited.

Roman shifted his weight from side to side anxiously. “What if they’re not home?”

“Then we go anyway. I’m knocking again.” Just as Janus finished knocking, the door swung open, a woman behind it.

“H-hello? Why are you…” she stepped back, noticing their suspicious outfits, and Janus’ tattoo. “Oh, please don’t hurt us, we haven’t done anything. Do you want money? I can give as much as I-”

Roman interrupted her. “Ma’am, it’s okay, we’re not here to hurt you or anything. And we’re not here for money either. We’re just… doing an investigation. No harm intended.” Roman put out his hand. “I’m Ro- uh, Ryan.” It probably shouldn’t be known that he was in the area. ”Is this the Renfrew home?”

The woman stepped closer, and weakly shook Roman’s hand. “Uh, yes. I’m Jen, there’s also my husband Marcus. It’s just us.” Janus groaned and started to turn away, Roman stopped him.

Roman smiled and said, “Lovely to meet you, is your husband home at the moment?”

“... Yes, he’s upstairs.”

“May we come inside?”

The woman hesitated, standing in the doorway. “Would… it be okay if we all talked out here?”

“Of course, ma’am. I understand the discomfort.”

The woman stepped inside and closed the door. After a moment, Janus and Roman could hear a somewhat loud discussion, and a short while later, Jen and Marcus came out of the house.

Roman held out his hand again. “You must be Marcus, I’m Ryan. Nice to meet you.” He didn’t take his hand.

“Ah, well. We’re conducting a little investigation. Nothing too serious, we just had a couple of questions.”

“Well, what is it?” the man replied, sounding very upset.

Roman tried to choose his words carefully. “Do you have any relatives? Children, siblings?”

Jen opened her mouth to answer, but her husband stepped in front of her. “No,” was all he said.

Roman looked curiously at the two, but figured he couldn’t press further without causing hostility. “Alright… um…”

Janus sighed. “Ro- we need to get to the point.” He turned to the couple. “Do you two know someone by the name of Virgil Renfrew?”

“What do you think you’re doing? Don’t upset them!”

“Yeah, just what do you think you’re doing? Don't bring up that name around us. I'm not listening to your shit anymore." He put a hand on his wife's shoulder and turned them both towards the door. "Come on, we're going inside."

Roman noticed Janus shifting something in a pocket. A weapon. They couldn't leave, Janus couldn't hurt them. "Wait!" he shouted. "Wait, please! Everyone, hold on!" He walked to the couple, "Please, hear me out. I think you do know something, that could help more than you think!"

Jen turned toward Roman, smiling sadly. "Sorry, we have to go. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

They closed the door behind them. Roman felt crushed. They knew something, they probably knew everything. And there went their chance.

Janus stomped to the door, yanking it open. Except, it was locked. "Not locked for long, assholes." He pulled a small bag out of a different pocket.

"Just leave it, Mi Amore," Roman said defeatedly. "They clearly aren't going to talk. We have another house we can go to, let's just… try that."

Janus turned and glared. "We can't just-" He scoffed. "Fine." He stood up and walked to the car, not waiting for Roman.

Roman followed not far behind, and got into the driver’s seat. “I’m sorry it turned out like that.”

“Those assholes should just tell us. What are they hiding that they can’t?”

“I don’t know, and we might never. It’s their business. We still have a lead, they were just first in the phonebook, that doesn’t really mean anything.”

“Alright, but if this doesn’t lead to anything, we’re going back and we’re getting answers. No matter what.”

Roman didn’t like what that meant. “We’ll see.” He started driving to the second address.

Chapter Text

This address was on the edge of the city, and not exactly easy to get to. It took a bit longer than the last, and by the time they had found it, it was already around 6:30 in the evening. Roman was getting more anxious every second, especially since Janus was being so quiet. 

Like before, Roman parked down the street. Except this house didn’t have a back door, it was a part of an apartment building. They stepped through the door and walked up the stairs, lucky that there wasn’t much security. They found the apartment number. Roman put his arm in front of Janus, stopping him.

“Hold on. Just, give me a minute, please.” He took a shaky breath, trying to steady himself before they knocked on the door. Roman lowered his arm, and Janus knocked.

They waited, and after a moment heard hushed voices on the other side. They must have looked through the peephole and recognized them. Janus rolled his eyes and knocked again, louder this time. A small shout came from behind the door, and a second later it swung open. 

There was a man standing there, stern, angry eyes looking through his glasses. He was tall and neat, and he did not look happy to see either of them. Just behind him, there was someone smaller, peeking out from behind his side.

“Go away. You are most unwelcome here,” he said. These had to be the right people.

“Wait! We’re not here to do any harm!” Roman called out. “I know neither of us are really welcome, but I promise we just want to talk!”

“Talk? You never ‘just talk.’ Violence always follows the both of you, especially him.” He pointed at Janus.

“We-we don’t even have to come in! We can stay out here, we don’t have weapons either.” Roman hoped Janus wouldn’t make him a liar. “ Please just let us talk to you!”

“No.” He began to close the door.

“Don’t.” Janus put his foot in the way of the door closing. “We’re talking, whether you want us to or not.” Janus’ tone was harsh, Roman was worried he’d just upset them more.

“This is our home. I’m demanding that you leave.”

“Or what? You’ll call the cops?” He gestured to Roman.

Roman could see the man in the doorway stop. He was stuck. He had to hear them out. This didn’t feel right.

He needed to say something. “Please. We know you’re the right people, we just need you to hear us out.”

The smaller person hidden behind him stepped to the side. “Just… let ‘em in Lo. They’re not gonna leave us alone until we do.”

The taller man sighed, stepping slightly away from the open door. Roman thanked him and stepped inside himself, pessing against the wall to avoid intruding. Janus followed, not seeming to care as much about being polite, and sat on the couch. Roman could notice how heavily he was using his cane.

The smaller person was easier to see now. He wasn’t as small as he seemed, but he was hunched over as if he was trying to hide himself. His longer hair was messy and he wore a zip-up hoodie, not nearly as tidy as the other man. He stood near the door, looking ready to run.

Roman hesitated. These people were likely their enemies, the people that had threatened everything he held dear. And yet, he couldn’t help but feel bad for them. “A-are you Virgil?”

The smaller boy bit his lip. “Yeah. Yeah, and this is Logan.”

“Virgil!”

“We’re already this bad in it, Lo. Telling ‘em our names won’t make it worse.”

“It absolutely could. You’re being careless.”

“Hah. Wonder why.” He sat on the floor.

“I… I know you’re worried about our being here, but I promise that we have no intention of hurting you. We just wanted to ask questions,” Roman was trying to help them calm down, he didn’t want anything to go wrong here.

“We’re not here for tea , Roman,” Janus huffed. “Let’s get to the point already. One or both of you has been writing threatening letters addressed to the two of us, correct?”

Virgil fidgeted. Logan leaned down and whispered something to him, stood back up, and said. “Yes. Those letters are from… me.” 

Virgil looked up at him, shocked. “Wh-”

“I only did it because you threatened me first.” Logan interrupted him, giving a stern look. “I uh, was being blackmailed and wanted out.”

Janus chuckled, giving Roman chills down his spine. “Well, thank you for giving me a why , but I also know now that you’re an awful liar.”

“What?”

“I recognize your little ‘Virgil’ here now. You’re not the one in debt, it’s him. I would prefer if you wouldn’t lie to my face anymore. I hate being lied to, you know.”

Roman never saw Janus doing this. He seemed so sinister, so evil . He drawled his words out, his entire purpose being to make them afraid. He had cold, glaring eyes, and Roman was shocked at how little this person was the one he loved.

Virgil stood up, looking defensive. “Leave him alone, okay? Yeah, it was me, he’s lying only cause he wants to keep me safe, alright?” Virgil paused and looked away. “I didn’t want to get in all this in the first place. I needed a way out. I ran away from home, I was passing by your house when I saw you. I got scared and hid, and then I saw him go in after you. Logan just helped me write it. It was my idea. I’m the one to be mad at.”

Janus smirked. “Finally, some truth to the situation. So you threatened me with this information and asked me to let you go. Of course, without mentioning yourself specifically. Someone thinks he’s smart, huh?” Janus laughed again. “Well it wasn’t exactly ‘intelligent’ to write it by hand on paper from your notebook. It was easy to find you then.

“And now what should I do with you? I don’t exactly appreciate it when people threaten my life. Maybe I should return the favo-”

“Janus, stop!” Roman couldn’t take it anymore. This was a kid. Janus couldn’t do this.

Janus flicked his head to the side to glare at him, anger flaring in his eyes. “Don’t interrupt me.”

“This isn’t you. We came here to get answers, not threaten them. He’s a kid, Jan! He was scared! I can’t sit there while you do this. It isn’t like you.”

“Maybe it is like me.”

Roman felt his eyes tear up and he bit his lip to stop them spilling over. He didn’t want to cry, but he was scared. He shouldn’t be scared of Janus. But this wasn’t really Janus, it couldn’t be. “I told you, stop! This isn’t okay!”

It was almost as if Janus had been snapped out of a trance. He shifted, looking compassionate again. “You’re right, you’re right. It’s okay, I’ll stop.”

Roman resisted hugging him, but did his best to smile. He was still shaking.

Virgil had moved to a corner, cowering with Logan kneeling down to him, comforting him. Roman stepped nearer, but not too close. He didn’t want to scare them more.

“I… know it doesn’t fix things, but I’m sorry for… that. He shouldn’t have said those things, and I’m sorry if he scared you. I was hoping he wouldn’t do something like that.”

Logan turned, Roman seeing the anger in his eyes before feeling the smack! of something hitting his face. He fell over, catching himself with one hand and holding the other to his cheek. That hurt. Turned around, he could see Janus pointing a gun. Shit, shit, shit.

“No! Wait! It’s fine! I’m fine!” Janus lowered the gun. Roman turned back to Logan, looking no longer angry but afraid. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you,” Roman had backed away, but was still trying to fix the situation.

“You’re apologizing? He’s the one that hit you!”

“He had every reason to, you just threatened someone he clearly cares a lot about.” Roman turned back to Logan. “I get that.”

Logan was huddled in the corner between the wall and a counter with Virgil, holding him. “He’s my brother, of course I do. Don’t hurt him, either of you.”

Roman put his hands up in innocence. “I promise I won’t even try. I don’t want to. I just want to figure out what we can do to ask you not to bring that info to anyone.”

“We told you. In the letter. He still thinks Virgil owes him.”

“He didn’t get to you?”

Janus answered that for him. “He doesn’t owe me money. He owes me a favor. I didn’t think of those, they’re not written down. I helped him out when some… people were ganging up on him. I just told him he owed me. But with the current circumstances, I suppose him not telling anyone is good repayment."

Virgil stayed quiet, not looking up at anyone. Logan put a hand on his shoulder. "Virgil? Did you hear that?" He nodded slightly, and somehow shrunk further into the corner.

Roman furrowed his brow. "Is he okay? Is there something wrong?"

Logan shrugged, and mumbled something to Virgil. Virgil whispered something back before turning away again. “What?! Why would you-” Whatever he said made Logan's eyes go wide with fear again.

Roman’s breath caught. This clearly wasn’t good. "What is it? Logan?"

"Answer him." Janus demanded.

Logan still paused for a moment, thinking of what to do. "I would like to talk to just Roman, if that would be acceptable."

Janus scowled. "Absolutely not."

"What? Janus, I think we should. It won't hurt anything."

"It absolutely could hurt everything. It's an obvious trap.”

Logan shook his head. “I promise it’s not.”

“I’m gonna go talk to him, Jan. It’ll only take a minute, if it takes longer, then you know to come get me, okay?”

“Not okay,” Janus responded, but didn’t do anything to really stop them.

Roman got up and Logan followed, leading Roman to a room further back in the apartment. Once they stood up, Virgil stood and darted to a separate room, and they heard the click of a locking door. Roman and Logan were now in what looked like Logan’s bedroom, which was mostly empty except for a bed and a desk.

“... I-I’m sorry,” Logan started. That wasn’t good.

“What’s going on?”

Logan didn’t look so collected anymore, he fidgeted with his fingers and the cuffs of his sleeves. “Virgil… He’s a good person, he really is. He’s just scared. He gets into a lot of trouble, and our parents didn’t exactly help with that. So he can make errors that he otherwise would never make.”

“Logan, what did he do?” 

“He… he already told your secret.”

What?

“What?” Roman shouted. He couldn’t have heard that right.

“Quiet! I’m worried he’ll hear you.” Logan waited a moment, “He called everyone he could think of today and told everyone. Apparently they said they were going to check your house. He gave them the address.”

Roman fell against the wall. It was over. All they did, all their effort, was worth nothing.

“I’m so sorry, I-”

He was interrupted by Janus slamming the door open, gun in hand. He knelt down next to Roman checking him for wounds. Roman could barely move, but he weakly grabbed for Janus. It was all he could think to do. He was going to lose him, he didn’t want to yet. 

Even though they were shouting, Roman could barely hear Janus’ and Logan’s voices, let alone understand them. His head was swimming, the world around him looked blurry and messy. His stomach turned, he felt numb. He felt his knees curl up to his chest, though he could hardly tell that he moved them. Janus moved away from him, and suddenly he felt cold. He was gone. He was going to be gone forever.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and almost flinched away, but it was hard to move at all.

“Roman? Ro, I’m here. It’s okay. You need to breathe.” That was Janus. He sounded soft, warm, nice. He reached out towards the sound and grabbed his sleeves, realizing now that his eyes were closed. He didn’t want to open them. 

“It’s okay. Slow breaths, I’m right here for you.” Roman listened, doing his best to slow his breathing. He was still breathing too fast, but he could start to understand things again.

Roman mumbled, knowing he wasn’t clear but wanting to say something anyway, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry- I tried and it’s too late- and I-”

“Shh… It’s okay. Don’t work yourself up. We’re going to forget that for now. Just focus on me for a moment, my prince. We’ll get to that later. But for now, it’s just us, alright?” Roman could begin to hear a conversation going on outside the room but ignored it. He could see Janus smile. “There you go.”

As soon as he could see him, Roman jumped into Janus’ arms, hugging him. He felt a kiss press the top of his head. 

“We’re gonna be okay?”

“Yeah, we’ll be okay. We can figure it out.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Even as he was comforting Roman, Janus felt his own fear bubbling up. On the outside he kept cool, that was important at the moment, but he was just as scared. He was no stranger to having people want to kill him, and being fully capable of doing so, but he’d gotten very comfortable in the life he had made for himself. He didn’t want to die now.

He felt Roman crying on his shoulder. It was Janus’ fault he was caught up in this, but it was all Janus had known. He hadn’t even thought to change things after they had met. He wished he had. He wished they were home, dancing to the music on their little radio in the kitchen and waiting for Roman to make another amazing dinner. So the world had given him just enough time to know what he would be missing out on before tearing it all down?

He let himself feel somewhat numb for a moment. He couldn’t be afraid. Not now. Janus had to come up with some sort of a solution.

~~~~~~~~~~

Logan had knocked on the door of Virgil’s room, but got no response. He didn’t want to come to the door. He was terrified that it was Janus sitting out there, ready to kill him.

“Virgil, it’s okay, it’s just me.” Still no response. “I understand that you’re afraid, but you have to let me in. I can help you, but the door is locked. All I need you to do is unlock it.” Logan heard a small click, and opened the door.

Virgil had already hidden himself somewhere in the room. He was good at being small when he wanted to be. 

“Virgil, please. I need you to breathe and please come out of hiding. They’re not here, and I’m not going to let them hurt you. You just did what you felt you had to.” Logan noticed some movement near the closet and moved over there. 

“There you are. You remember your breathing methods?” Virgil nodded. “Good. 4-7-8, okay? I closed the door, too.” Virgil slowly calmed down, and moved just outside the closet.

He wrapped a blanket around himself, and looked up at Logan. “Did they leave?”

“No, I don’t think so. They’re in the other room.”

Virgil started getting up to run. “What? We have to leave, he’ll-he’ll kill me!”

Logan put his hands on Virgil’s shoulders. “That won’t work and you know it. It’s alright, he won’t hurt you. He’s… taking care of the other one right now. I don’t perceive current danger, but I need to talk to you.”

He shook Logan off. “You’re an idiot, Logan. Stupid. He’s evil , there is no way he isn’t on his way to kill us both right now. He has a gun , Lo! It’s not safe. We have to get away.”

“He thought I had physically harmed Roman, and he did not hurt me then. I think for now that we are safe. I just really need to talk to you.”

Virgil sighed and sat back down, looking around anxiously and not paying very much attention.

Logan got to his point. “Virgil, why did you do that? You were supposed to at least wait, we gave them a deadline and you said something before their time was up.”

“They weren’t listening to us anyway, and… I don’t know. I just did.”

“So you don’t know why you ruined their lives without them even having a full chance to convince you to not?” Virgil looked up at him, hurt. “I-I apologize. I shouldn’t have said something that harsh. I know and understand that you were afraid. I just… I wish you hadn’t done that.”

“But I did. There’s nothing that can be done about it now.”

“Perhaps we should help them…” 

“Help them?! Do you know who you’re talking about?”

“Yes, I do. I wouldn’t forget. However, perhaps we can help them simply get to a safe place.”

“He’s a murderer, Logan. Don’t give him sympathy. They’ll get the punishment they deserve, maybe it’ll show the high and mighty police chief there that the law is fucked up,” Virgil said, voice nearly sounding poisonous. “Let’s just go. We can move, they’re not our problem.”

Logan sighed, standing up. “They’re our problem when you’re the one who decided to weaponize their affections. Maybe you can try to make it up to them.” Virgil glared at him.

Logan was about to leave the room when the door opened. Virgil shrieked and hid back in the closet. It was Janus.

“We’re going back to our home, for as long as it’s still standing. But we are coming back. And you had better be here when we do.”

“Understood.” Logan paused. “I’m… I apologize for what’s happened.”

Janus simply glared before leaving with Roman and slamming the front door. Virgil ran up and hugged him from behind. He hoped they would make it through this.

Chapter Text

Roman had never been a risky driver. The idea of getting in an accident was terrifying to him.

But as of right now, he couldn’t seem to worry about that. All he made sure to do was not hurt anyone else. He couldn’t afford to go slow.

Every second felt like a year as he rushed to get home with Janus. He didn’t even know if ‘home’ would still be there. What if there were already people everywhere? Looking for Janus? Waiting for them to get back just so they could-

Roman shook his head to pull himself out of the spiral. He needed to pay attention. They had to get home first. Then they could figure it out from there.

Janus was terrifyingly quiet. He couldn’t say a word. If he were being honest with himself, he’d cry if he even tried. He chose to believe he was thinking of a good plan. Even though he couldn’t do anything but focus on his fear.

Janus was hardly ever afraid. Any time that something happened, he just kept it under control. He never let himself be afraid. At least not this badly. At least not until now.

Before, when he was being chased every day and his life was always on the line, it was an adventure. If he got caught, what of it? He had his fun. Life was just one big game. But then he met Roman. And he made a life for himself. One where he wanted to settle down, where he wanted to really live . Something real. 

He didn’t want- he couldn’t lose that now.

The two finally pulled up to the house. Janus had hidden in the back, just in case. Roman couldn’t see anyone around, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there. He got out and walked inside, trying to look casual. It wasn’t his life on the line.

He stepped inside the house and looked around, searching for any sign of people intruding, or the intruders themselves. There wasn’t much of anywhere to hide.

Roman breathed a sigh of relief, he didn’t find anything out of place. He looked out through the window and motioned for Janus to come inside. He sat down on the couch to wait, his head falling into his hands. 

This was his home. And yet, Roman couldn’t feel safe here now. He was waiting for things to go wrong. He heard the doorknob turn, and he instantly panicked. He couldn’t help it. He was so on edge, the smallest thing scared him so much. It’s just Janus, he thought, but he couldn’t believe that. That would be them . Whoever ‘they’ were, they were here to get him and Janus. 

He jumped over the back of the couch and hid in a ball, hugging his knees, out of sight of the door. They were probably cops, hell they were probably even his coworkers. His ‘friends.’

Roman felt a hand slip into his own and instinctively jumped away. “Get out! Leave us alone!” He could hear multiple sets of footsteps. It was them. Did they already get Janus? He could hear talking. He didn’t want this. Someone started shaking his shoulders.

Roman gasped and opened his eyes, backing into the couch. He blinked. “ Remus? ”

He looked so worried. His thick eyebrows were deeply furrowed, he was frowning. He had grown a bit of a beard since Roman had last seen him, just some stubble, but it was new. But Roman would recognize that face anywhere, it was his brother alright.

“Yeah, Roman, it’s me.”

Roman sighed. He was having a hard time keeping himself together. He hugged his brother and stood up. “Sorry. I… didn’t know you were here.”

“Don’t worry about it, something scared you. You’re not usually so jumpy, and you definitely don’t call me out of nowhere and ask for a visit. So what’s going on?”

He didn’t know anything. “It’s so much… I-” Roman stopped, feeling his heart sink.  “Where’s Janus? Oh, fuck where-”

“I’m right here, Princey.” He rushed over and held Roman’s hands close. He didn’t want him to work himself up all over again. “I was just by the door. It’s okay, I’m okay, I’m here.”

Roman took a deep breath. He was okay. No one else was here. He turned to Remus. “I… I have to explain later. We don’t have a lot of time right here. We mostly came to grab our stuff and leave. I know it’s confusing, but can you help?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely. But maybe explain as we go, got it?”

“Uh, sure. We need clothes, some-” Roman sighed. “Just- grab whatever you think might be important.”

They started upstairs, and from the beginning. It had been a long time since he had seen Remus, and a lot happened since then. Roman explained who Janus even was, and what happened with the letters. Remus added some occasional, vulgar, commentary. It was strange, almost pretending like things were normal, it almost felt like they were packing for a trip, some kind of vacation. Roman guessed it was some sort of denial.

Roman finished explaining the situation and they started to move downstairs. Remus stopped at the top of the stairs.

“Roman… this is really fucked up. I know I was saying shit and all, but… this is really fucked.”

He couldn’t really respond. Remus didn’t make him. “I’m gonna help you finish grabbing stuff, and we’ll go to that asshole’s apartment together.” He heard him mumble, “Always thought I’d be the one to get in trouble like this.”

Roman opened his mouth to thank him when suddenly there was a sharp knock on the front door. All three of them felt their blood turn to ice. They were out of time. They had to get out. 

Remus looked out the window, sure enough, there were several men in black padded outfits. They knew Janus lived here. Janus ran to the back door, but Roman stopped him.

They’re probably out back too, he said with a look. He peeked out the back window. At least two officers in uniform were outside. It was them. Roman even recognized them. He bit his lip, turned to Janus, and shook his head. The knock rang out again, louder this time. Roman suppressed a shout.

Janus grabbed Roman’s arm and ran upstairs. They couldn’t hide here. They needed to escape. How? Janus felt his other arm be tugged, it was Remus. He pulled the two of them to a side window.

“Here. This is the best we’re gonna get. The roof isn’t too far away, lucky you live in such a packed place, or else we’d be ground beef.” Janus gave him a look. “What?”

They opened the window. Remus climbed out first and jumped to the other side. He made it look easy. Janus wondered how many times he’d done this.

Janus followed, Roman’s hand lingering on his shoulder as he stepped out onto a ledge. His leg burned, he wasn’t sure if he could jump at all. He’d at least have to try. If he stayed, he’d die. If he fell, he’d die. But on the off chance he made it across, he had an opportunity to escape. So he closed his eyes and jumped.

Janus slammed into the opposite roof, the wind knocked out of him and biting back a scream. He clasped his hand over his mouth, gasping for breath. When he could finally get air again, he fought against throwing up from the pain. Remus dragged him further onto the roof to get him out of Roman’s way while he recovered.

Roman heard a door crash open downstairs. And thundering footsteps. It sounded as if a thousand people were there. He heard more crashing as they broke things. They were about to come up the stairs. Adrenaline had kicked in, Roman had to go now or he was scared he never would. He climbed out. He could see officers outside below, they hadn’t seemed to notice them up there yet. He looked to Remus, and they both nodded. He couldn’t let himself hesitate anymore, Roman jumped.

He fought a scream, biting his tongue. He couldn’t draw attention to himself, but the roof on the other side wasn’t getting closer and he kept falling. He wasn’t close enough. He was just falling. He closed his eyes, refusing to scream, if he landed quietly he might have a chance. Suddenly he almost felt his arms ripped off. Roman opened his eyes to see nothing but a wall. He looked up, there was Remus and Janus, each holding one of his hands. Thank god. 

They pulled him up and the three scrambled to the other side of the roof. “You two are absolutely terrible at that. And Roman, I can't believe you fallen so far from grace since I left,” Remus joked, Roman chuckling. Janus just responded with a glare. 

“There’s an old apartment building over there,” Janus pointed a few doors down to an old-looking building. “Not so abandoned it’s suspicious, but no one’s really there. We can hide out for a moment.” Remus nodded and climbed down a nearby tree, telling Janus and Roman to wait there. 

He knocked on the front door of whoever’s house he had been on top of. No answer. He turned the knob and walked inside. Why would anyone here not lock their door? Remus looked around and didn’t find anyone. Or anything too interesting. He found his way to the highest window not facing his brother’s house and opened it up. “Ro-bro? Over here!”

After a moment, he saw Roman’s head peek over the edge of the roof. “Down here, you can get through the window.” He took a step back.

Roman shuffled down, clinging to the edge of the roof and tapping the windowsill with the tip of his shoes. He wasn’t letting himself think about how dangerous this was. With one hand he reached down and grabbed the top of the window, doing his best to ignore the threatening shouting at his home. Remus helped pull him in, and he fell to the floor against the wall. 

Janus looked over the edge of the roof. “You two are fucking delusional if you think I can get down there.”

Roman looked up. “What? You have to try, it’s all we have!”

“And then I fall and they catch me immediately? I think I’d rather try to hide on the roof.”

“I’ll catch you or something, just please come on! We don’t have forever, they’re gonna check nearby houses as soon as they realize we’re not there.”

Janus didn’t respond. He just ground his teeth and scrambled down the ledge, dangling by his arms. He swung himself toward the open window, ignoring Roman. Janus hoped he was close enough, and let go, falling towards the window. He felt the back of his head smack on the ledge, and his leg crash against the wall, but he was inside.

Roman interrupted Janus’ pained shouting and cursing with a kiss, nearly falling into him. Janus immediately felt his pain numb, even for a moment.

“I was scared you’d fall,” Roman muttered.

“So was I."

To their side, Remus groaned. “Not to interrupt you guys, but we gotta fucking move before we’re all dead meat. Get your asses to the back door. You’re lucky your neighbors have a six-foot-fucking-tall fence.”

Roman helped Janus to his feet, draping his arm across his shoulders and helping him downstairs. Remus opened the door and they all stepped outside.

“How are we supposed to get out?”

“Uh, we go over? I'll boost you."

Janus' leg flared up in pain, almost on cue. He clenched his teeth against it, keeping any protest he may have inside. They had to get out, he had no other choice. 

Remus leaned against the east side of the fence, hands locked together. "Roman, you first. Don't hop down the other side, you're gonna help pull up Jan."

Roman nodded and stepped into Remus' palms, tugging himself up and onto the top of the fence. He struggled to find his balance for a moment, but sat on the edge, his legs dangling on either side. 

"You got this?" Remus whispered to Janus.

"I have to."

Remus shrugged and put his hands together. "Go on." Janus stepped with his good leg and wrapped both of his hands around Roman's. Scrambling up the side, he managed to roll over the edge and land on the opposite side with a thump. He shoved his hand to his mouth and clenched his jaw to try and quiet his scream. 

Roman jumped down to help him, not that he could do much. Remus pulled himself over the edge and jumped down next to them. "Thanks for the help," he said sarcastically.

They helped Janus up and Roman draped his arm around his shoulder. They took off as fast as they could through the new yard and across the street, turning to the right and bursting through the paint-stripped doors of their temporary safe haven.

A receptionist behind a grungy counter gave them a shocked look. "Sorry for the interruption," Roman muttered. "Is there somewhere we could sit down?"

They were ushered into an empty room - after a bit of convincing - and sat down. They couldn't stay long.

"How are we supposed to get to Logan's?" Roman eventually asked. "We can't walk, and I'm certain our car isn't really… available."

"I can call someone," Janus managed to say. He couldn't think with the pain in his leg. He felt himself almost drifting out of consciousness. 

"Okay." Roman toyed with the edge of his shirt.

Remus nudged Roman's arm. "Roman, can we talk in another room?"

Roman stood. "Uhm. Sure."

They went into a kitchen. "Do you need me to get you out?" Remus' voice was hushed. "I can bring you over to my place, you can get out."

"That… really? Are you sure you have room for us?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "That's not what I'm saying, Roman. He can't come with. I don't know how you got wrapped up with someone like him, but he's clearly got you in trouble. It'd just be you, it's better that way."

Roman felt his heart tug. "Remus, you know I can't do that. I can't leave him. Especially not now."

"This is clearly bad for you! You need to be safe, these are his mistakes not yours. You're better than this."

"Better than? That's not what this is about!" Roman bit his tongue. "This isn't really about the right or wrong anymore. I... love him. I love him more than I ever thought I could. I'm staying with him, through good and bad. Always."

Remus shook his head. "Getting a fucking criminal for a boyfriend and not even telling me till you're both about to get murdered." He sighed.

"Roman?" Janus called from the other room. Roman followed. 

"What?"

"Our ride's here."

"Who?"

"Who do you think? Help me up, we gotta get out of here fast. It's still not safe."

Chapter Text

The group limped out the door to the apartment building, Remus checking the streets first for any officers that might catch them. Once he assured them that it was clear, they ran into a black car that Janus had pointed out.

Roman smiled, recognizing the person in the driver’s seat. “Patton?”

Despite the circumstances, they beamed with a bright smile. “Sure is! Now come on, we gotta go quickly.”

Once everyone was buckled into the car, they took off. Janus must’ve given Patton the address to Logan’s apartment earlier, since he didn’t seem to need any directions. Roman took this chance to check up on Janus’ injury.

He managed to get his leg onto his lap, and pulled up the ankle of his pants. It was damp. The bandages on there were soaked in a big circle of blood; the wound was irritated from all the pressure. It was nauseating. Roman turned away, looking at Janus’ face instead, though that wasn’t any more soothing. He looked so pained, his face scrunched up and his jaw clenched. Roman nearly cried, he wanted to help so badly, but he closed his eyes against the sight instead. What was he going to do?

Janus felt as if he was going to die. If this idiotic wound hurt this bad, he’d almost rather just lose the whole leg. Of course, it wouldn’t hurt this bad if you treated it like Patton told you to, he told himself. It was everything he could do to not cry out in pain. What was almost worse was the knowledge that he was going to have to move it again, walk on it again, pretend it wasn’t there because it was one hell of a weakness. And he had left his cane at the house.

Oh god, the house. Their home. They had to leave it all. And escaping might not even work. Janus didn’t even know where they were going to go. Where could they hide? Would they ever get to go back to normal? He wanted more than anything to just change every choice he had ever made. All of the mistakes, all of the bribery and the harm. It had done him no good.

Another wave of searing pain almost made Janus vomit. He curled into himself, wincing, and felt a warm, soothing thumb on his cheek. He managed to glance up to see Roman, his soft, caring, worried eyes holding him close. Janus felt so wonderful and horrible at the same time. He loved Roman so much. Why was everything going wrong? He felt his heart ache with the longing to just be back in that stupid little kitchen. He blinked away tears and looked away again. He needed to work on his composure.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the familiar building. The trip was much faster than before, Roman thought. He and Remus helped Janus out of the car, leaving Patton as watch. They used the elevator and found the room again. Roman knocked harshly.

Logan opened the door a moment later, looking once again very stern. He started to welcome them in when he paused. “Who’s that?” he said, pointing at Remus.

Roman sighed. “That’s my brother. He’s coming in.”

Logan stepped aside awkwardly. “Virgil’s still here, but he’s too afraid to come out. If… if you could respect that it would be greatly appreciated.”

“Sure.”

Janus huffed. “Anyway. You and your brother are-”

Logan put his hands up, stopping his sentence. “Wait. We’ll help.”

“How?”

“I know it is not ideal, but our grandfather told me of an underground bunker that he owned. It’s located a couple of counties away. It’s a little far, but we can provide any gas money or transportation, and you won’t be found there. I understand entirely that it is not perfect, it doesn’t return your jobs or your house, but it is safe. I promise.”

It felt like a breath of fresh air. “Really? That sounds per-” Roman started.

“How do you know it’s safe? How do we know this isn’t a trap?”

Logan sighed. “I am fully aware that you know of plenty of people who could… carry out your revenge on us if it were a trap. And it’s located about a quarter of a mile into a private forest. Well, private except for the bunker. The only people that know of it are my brother, my parents, and myself.”

There was a silence. No one knew what to say.

A door down the hallway opened a crack, and Virgil’s head peeked out. “To be honest… what other choice do you guys got?”

Janus shot out of his seat, causing Virgil to scream and slam the door closed, before yelling and falling back to the couch out of pain. He had almost forgotten.

“Don’t do that, you’ll just get hurt,” Roman warned. Turning to Logan, he said, “Can I please talk to Virgil? I think… I think that could help us.” Logan glared at Janus. “It’d just be me, he’d stay out here.”

Logan turned away with a frown. “You may try.”

After assuring Janus it would be alright, Roman walked down the hall and tapped on the door gently. “Virgil? It’s uh… it’s Roman. Janus isn’t with me. I… I wanna talk to you.” There was no response. It didn’t fully seem like someone was even in the room. “Please. I know you’re scared. I understand. I really do. But please, just let me have a few words with you?”

Roman heard a quiet click and some footsteps. He turned the handle and opened the door. Virgil was sitting on a messy bed. “Thank you.”

“What do you want?” Virgil demanded more than asked, glaring at Roman.

“I um…” Roman closed the door and sat on the floor. “Sorry, uh, tired." He sighed, "I just wanted to ask a couple questions.” He paused for a moment, taking Virgil’s silence as permission. “Who did you tell?”

Virgil seemed hesitant to answer. “I dunno. Whoever answered the phone at the police station. And a hotline for anonymous tips. And some help hotlines, 911, the newspapers… I think that’s it.”

Roman sighed a little. “What did you tell them?”

Virgil squirmed in his seat. “That I was being bribed. Wouldn’t say who I was. Just that the big criminal ass-face calling himself the “Basilisk” was after my head, and the address, and that I had seen you two… together.”

“What… what happened? How did you meet him?”

“Your boyfriend?” Virgil said with a whiny, mocking tone that Roman chose to ignore.

“Yes.”

Virgil looked down. “I’m not saying. I don’t want to. He already said anything that was important. I was being jumped and he scared ‘em off. That’s all.”

“That’s okay. You don’t have to tell me.” There was a long silence. Roman rubbed tears from his eyes. “I know you had good reason.”

“What?”

“I know that… that you believed it was necessary to give up that info. You did what you thought was right. I get that. That’s what I do every day of my life. I think it’s what everyone does. I just want you to know that… I’m not really mad at you, kid. You were protecting yourself. I hate what’s happening. I hate it more than anything in my entire life and I can still hardly believe that it’s real. But… I’m not mad at you.”

Virgil blinked. “You’re not?” Roman nodded. Virgil opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself in his tracks and went back to staring at the floor. “Did Logan tell you about the place?”

“The bunker? Yeah.”

Virgil scoffed. “Good. You… done? Asking me questions?”

“Yeah.” Roman stood. “It was nice talking to you. Thanks, Virgil.” He opened the door and returned to everyone else. They had hardly moved since he left.

“What happened?” Remus broke the silence.

“Well, he wasn’t kidding when he said he told everyone. But if it’s just one kid telling them this and they don’t find much, then maybe it’ll blow over soon. I hope.”

Logan adjusted his jacket. “We should get going. I am in the understanding that you three are somewhat short on time.”

“I’m coming with,” said a voice from the hall.

Logan sighed. “Virgil, we discussed why that would be a bad idea.”

“Well, I don’t care. This is my fuck-up. I’m gonna help somehow. I need to come with.”

Logan gave in, on the condition that Virgil wouldn't leave his side for even a moment.

Everyone packed up some things, got into two separate cars, and Logan started to lead the way. Roman took the driver’s seat so that Patton could sit in back and tend to Janus’ leg with a small medical pack. They hoped it would do.

Eventually, Janus and Remus fell asleep, leaving Roman and Patton, who was particularly antsy in their seat.

“Roman? Can we talk? About anything, really, I just hate the silence.”

“I can’t really think of a lot of conversation starters right now. Not anything that doesn’t make me nearly cry.”

“Oh." They thought for a moment. "Well… Remus is your brother right?”

“Yeah. Only a couple of years younger than me.”

“Did you two always get along?”

“Absolutely.” Roman paused. “Okay, well, we always had some fights. Just little things, usually nothing serious. For a long time, I sorta kept him safe. Kinda what led me to being a cop in the first place.”

Roman hesitated again. “There was one time. We were in high school, I was a senior. And suddenly, it seemed like he just hated me. More than anything. I guess cause I wouldn’t leave him alone or something. It was pretty bad, we’d shout at each other and then not talk to each other for weeks. I guess at the time, I hated him too.

One day we were fighting and - it shocked me to death I swear - he hit me. Not like a slap or anything, no, no, he punched me in the face. Broke my nose and everything. I don’t remember a lot of it, but we got in a lot of fights after that.” He sighed. “I know punching someone isn’t exactly rare, but it was just something we never did. At the time it made me so mad that we both ended up all bloody and broken."

Patton frowned. "You seem to get along better now."

"Yeah. It was sorta like one day we realized how stupid it was, only took us three years." Roman rolled his eyes and smiled a little. "Glad we're out of that. We don't see each other a whole lot anymore, but we're still close."

"It's good to have someone like that."

Roman nodded. "How about you? Do you have any siblings?"

“Oh, no. I’m an only child to my knowledge.”

“Ah.”

“But…” Patton hesitated. “Oh geez, I don’t really know if…” Patton stayed quiet for a long while, deciding. “I know it’s a dumb question but… can I trust you?”

Roman blinked. “Well, I don’t really think I can answer that right. Cause why would anyone tell you that you couldn’t trust them? But uh… I’d hope so. I do my best to be trustworthy.”

"Hah, I think that is the right answer, actually." Patton seemed to hesitate for a while, playing with his fingers. “I do have some family. I… I have a daughter.” Their eyes flicked down and their voice nearly cracked.

Roman turned for a second in confusion. “What’s wrong? Do you need to go home to her? I can bring you back, it’s gonna be kind of a long drive.”

“No, no. I’m uh… I don’t really have custody of her. Her mom put her up for adoption when she was born ‘cause she didn’t have good support and didn’t really want me around. My daughter found me eventually."

"Aw. What's her name?"

"Sarah." They smiled a little. "But she likes good people to call her Stella. It's a 'cooler' name as she says."

"I uhm- sorry if it's too intrusive, but... what's wrong? You sound so sad about it. Is she okay?" Patton frowned. "Wait no, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to."

"No, no, I think it might be important for you to know. Get some perspective." They gathered their words.

"I wish I could’ve been there for her sooner. Her "caretaker"- if you can even call him that - … he was horrible, he threatened her and hurt her." Patton took a deep breath to steady themself.

"She got in a new home now, but since I can’t prove financial responsibility, I’m not allowed custody still. After she told me though, I saw him once, in person. Recognized the name tag on his uniform. Police." They sneered. "He smiled at me as I walked past, not even knowing who I was. It took every cell in my body not to hit him right then.” Their face looked stern.

“Oh. Is that why…?” Roman alluded.

“Not completely. More like the final straw if we’re being honest. I’ve known the problems with the system for a while now. How it gives total power to so many who don’t deserve it.” They sighed. “Sorry, you already said you don’t want to talk about things like this. I’m sure this… situation is plenty enough worry on our minds without thinking about systemic issues for now.”

Roman frowned. He didn’t know what to say to all that. “Uhm… what’s your favorite food?”

Patton laughed, “Pancakes. You?”

After around two hours of driving, Logan turned onto a dirt road arcing between trees; Roman followed close behind.

"This seems... suspicious to say the least," Roman worried.

"I guess it has to be pretty hard to find to be safe for you two," Patton said.

Janus rubbed his eyes, barely waking up. "It had better be."

Janus shook Remus awake as Logan's car slowed to a stop. They couldn't see anything, but this must be where their new 'home' was.

Everyone slowly stepped out of the cars, quiet and morose. Roman helped Janus despite his grumbling about being able to do it himself. A few steps forward, Logan bent down to the ground and started searching the forest floor.

Logan brushed away some leaves, grimacing, revealing a rusted metal hatch in the ground with a keypad. He punched in a passcode, and struggled to lift it open. "Be my guest," he said reluctantly, motioning to the ladder below.

Roman took a step forward before Janus stopped him. "We're not idiots. You go first."

Logan shrugged, "Alright. Come with me, Virge."

The two climbed down the ladder. What is it with all of this damned leg work, Janus internally groaned. Inside, Logan had flicked on a dim light bulb, showing a disappointing array of shelves filled with canned foods, and two sets of rusted metal bunk beds that Roman was sure would give him tetanus. The walls were a plain concrete grey, and the whole room had about as much space as their old living room and kitchen. And now, it was their whole house.

Luckily there was at least a functional kitchenette on one wall, though it was... not exactly awe-inspiring. About a foot of counter space, a sink, a range and an oven. Obviously they weren't expecting anything luxurious, but Roman especially couldn't help but frown.

Virgil rolled his eyes. "Don't pout too much. We're not even asking for rent."

"Shut your fucking mouth," Janus snapped. "Remember, you're the one who started this. Don't dare talk to us like that."

Logan pulled Virgil closer to him. "He's been through a lot. Please don't make this harder. We don't wish you harm."

"It's alright," Roman said, "We really don't need a big fight or anything right now. Right now, I don't care what this place is like, it means I can sit down and rest for at least a moment." He sat down on one of the bottom bunks. "How sure are you that no one else will be able to find us here?"

Logan thought for a moment. "I'd say about 98 percent. No one followed us on our way here, it's incredibly out of the way, and so long as you two don't draw attention to yourselves, things should die down soon. However, there is always a slight chance of terrible circumstances, and especially with technological progressions-"

"Safe enough I think," Remus interrupted, quickly climbing to a top bunk and hanging over the side to look his brother in the eyes. "Sound good enough to you?"

Roman groaned. "You're chipper."

Remus just shrugged. Logan started moving himself and Virgil towards the exit cautiously. "If... If you don't mind, we'll be leaving now."

"Stop." Janus turned. "What's that passcode? I don't want us getting stuck in any more... unfortunate situations."

"Oh, absolutely. It's uhm... 2189141. I'll uh... write that down for you. Apologies." He scribbled the numbers down, and passed the paper over to Janus. The two climbed up the ladder hurriedly, and from the bunker the others could hear their car start up and drive away.

Roman suddenly realized that Janus was still standing, albeit a little sideways, but still standing. "Hon- uh - Jan, you should sit down. There's still a bottom bunk you could rest in." Begrudgingly, Janus sat down. Roman turned to his brother and Patton. "Do you think... could you two maybe leave us for a moment? I'm sure you want to do your check-ups, or make sure we're okay, but I would really want just to have a moment."

"Oh, of course, no problem," Patton responded. "So long as you follow the policy on activity for him."

"The doc means no fucking," Remus laughed. Both Patton and Roman turned bright red.

"Not at all what I was thinking of! I just- I know that Janus isn't a fan of rules and I didn't want them running around or something." Flustered and giving up on a good explanation, they climbed up the ladder and waited outside.

"No but seriously - no fucking you two. We're not waiting long out there." And with that, Remus followed out.

Roman's face was buried in his hands, and he sighed dramatically.

Janus chuckled. "Don't worry about it, dear. He's only teasing. Something siblings just do."

"I know, but that doesn't make it less embarrassing." Roman felt a familiar fabric nudge his hands away from his face. Janus was leaning forward with a small smile on his face. Roman felt his heart melt and his worry left him for just a moment in a sigh. He leaned into Janus, letting himself fall of the bed to be held. They sat in silence for a moment.

Unfortunately the moment was interrupted by Remus throwing himself down the trapdoor, ignoring the ladder completely. "Told you we wouldn't be gone long. It still felt like an eternity though. So booooooorrrring!" Roman turned and glared. That must have only been literally a minute, and he had wanted so much more.

Patton followed down the ladder. "Well that wasn't a great idea from you. Though I do need to reexamine that leg and disinfect again as soon as possible. I understand that you two probably want to have some time alone to figure things out, and we'll get out of your hair soon enough, but this is important."

Patton started removing the bandages from Janus' leg, revealing a messy wound. Roman got up to go stare at the shelves to avoid looking at the damage. Janus winced.

"This is... not great. But - it is healing, there is progress. I think we might have stopped that infection that was trying to set in there. I think now that you might finally be able to sit down and not use your leg, it'll actually heal."

They continued cleaning and dressing the wound, and Remus decided to take the opportunity to talk to his brother.

"You know, I always thought I'd be the one to get in trouble like this. Who would have guessed that you'd be the first of us to jail?"

Roman clenched his hands. "I'm not going to jail, Remus. Don't - Don't say that. We're going to be fine."

"Sorry, I meant it as a joke."

"Not very funny."

Remus pulled him into a tight hug, startling Roman. "I'm not going home for a while, ok? I'm gonna stick around Patton and we're gonna do dumb grocery runs and pretend like it's fine. But I'm only getting you your favorite cereal if you promise to call me more when you're not getting arrested or dying."

Roman couldn't help but smile, but unfortunately he couldn't evade the churning in his gut. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pull you into so much. I didn't think it would go like this. I thought it would be better. You don't have to stay. I don't want you in any danger."

Remus pulled a cheesy hero pose. "I'm not in danger. Danger's in me," he stated, making Roman burst into laughter.

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"Like - danger is my middle name? Remus Danger Fiorello! *In* my name!"

Roman blinked. "Really?" He couldn't help but chuckle at the joke. He paused. "Seriously, though. If you need to leave at any time, if you need to go back home, I understand. You don't have to stay here. I know it isn't exactly the greatest family reunion."

Remus smiled. "Shut up. I'm here for you."

Patton finished treating Janus' wound, satisfied that they were dodging possible infection so long as he could just stay in the bunker for a couple weeks. Roman assured them he would, despite Janus' own reluctance. It seemed to be enough convincing, as Patton and Remus left to go get the other two some food and bottled water to help them out, and included that they would also pick up anything else they saw that might be helpful. They left up the ladder, leaving Roman and Janus alone again.

Roman meandered along the wall with the cupboards and shelves, pretending like he was checking them closely for something. What that thing was, Roman didn't know, and he didn't care. He was evading the knot in his stomach, trying to innocently distract himself, even though it was obvious that he was also avoiding talking to Janus. He didn't know exactly why the thought made him so afraid. The idea of having to talk about what was happening, what would happen next, what they were going to do, if Janus was even going to make it - it was agonizing. So Roman decided he would rather look at shelves.

Janus didn't agree. He wanted to talk. "Prince?" He started affectionately. He wasn't a fool, he could tell that Roman was scared, but - even though he would hate to even think this - he really needed his comfort right now. He needed someone to talk to him and distract him from his own thoughts, even if the words were still the same, having someone to share them with changed everything.

"Yes, darling?"

"Don't you think you've stared at that cupboard long enough? It's not like it's going anywhere. Come here?"

Roman walked over, a bit reluctantly, "Something wrong?"

"What a funny thing to say now, while we're in this situation." Roman hushed. "Talk to me, Ro. Maybe it can help you relax."

"And what am I supposed to talk about? You know what's on my mind, I don't have to tell you."

"I know you're scared." Janus reached out a hand to hold Roman's. "...I am too. But we can get through this, we will get through this. I know it's awful, but we still have each other at least, and a couple of other people by our side too."

“You’re scared…?” Roman knew that, of course he did. “I mean… You’re admitting that?”

“Dearest, it’s you. Even if I’m not usually honest with people, I can be honest with you. I know that I struggle with showing affection, even to you, and especially as of late. However, despite all that we are going through, I want you to know that I’m still here for you, and you are still my priority.”

“I know that, Janus. I’m more worried about you. I’m scared shitless every second, my heart hasn’t stopped racing in days. I hope Patton has a damn heart pacer because mine is about to explode.” He chuckled anxiously, waiting for a reaction.

But Janus only looked at him with a sad, supportive smile. Roman dropped the fake smile. “I just don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t know how to run. I don’t know how to hide. I’m so clueless and helpless and stuck and I just want to help you, mi amor. I don’t know how, but I have to. I have to figure it out somehow because I need you to be okay and I need you to be with me.” At this point, Roman was trying to hold back tears and failing.

Janus gently wiped his love’s cheeks as best as he could before pulling him close into a hug. “I know, I know. I understand. I promise I’ll be doing my best to keep us safe too. You’re doing great, we’re both doing the best we can. I’m so proud of you darling, this is so difficult and you’re so strong.”

Roman must have been tearing holes in Janus’ shirt he was holding on so tight. He meant the world to him. He felt tears falling onto the top of his head and looked up to see Janus’ eyes red and swollen. How long had he been crying?

“Talk to me, Jan. Say whatever you need.”

He froze. What words could even describe how he felt? He didn’t want to just scare Roman even more. He wanted to be confident for him. But also open and honest, like he said earlier? “I’m lost too. And scared.”

Several seconds passed. “Is that all?” Roman whispered.

“… Yes. No. Maybe.” Janus scrunched his eyebrows, focusing, trying to keep his sobbing contained and his thoughts in line. He took a deep breath. He hissed the air out. His eyes stung and dried, and his lips sealed shut. Roman just leaned back into the hug, realizing he wasn’t going to get anything else out of him.