Demus/Dukeceit One Shots

Demus Family (3)

Tw: nightmares, mentions of a building on fire (arson?), past emotional abuse, swearing (please tell me if i missed anything!)
Au: X
Words: 2217

It'd become a hobby for Remus to go out in the middle of the night, not daily however, sometimes he couldn't bring himself to move Janus off of him. His snake always looked so comfortable, so peaceful, cuddled up to Remus' chest. Usually, he'd use his time at night to explore abandoned buildings and presumably haunted places. Y'know- normal stuff to be doing late at night. Remus' hobby had also become less frequent when they adopted Veronica. The last thing Remus wanted was for Veronica to wake up from a nightmare and Janus have to explain that Remus wasn't there at the moment. He wanted to be a good Dad to her, so he would rarely leave the house at night.

At first, Janus didn't know about Remus' outings, not that he minded when he did find out, besides being worried for Remus' safety- and not wanting to be left alone, but that thought was kept inside. They weren't together yet at that point. Also, Remus never went into detail of what he did on these outings, which was probably why Janus wasn't as concerned as you'd expect The Snake to be.

Remus quietly slipped out from under the covers, pressing a light kiss to Janus' fluffy, messy hair. He held his husband's head in his hand, carefully resting it on the pillow. A small, loving smile crept onto Remus' lips and Janus nuzzled the pillow in his sleep. Remus shook his head after a few moments, remembering that he'd planned on going somewhere. He silently left the bedroom, closing the door gently behind him. He made his way down the hallway, past Veronica's room where quiet shuffles could be heard, Remus presumed she was just shuffling around in her sleep. Without interruption, Remus was outside.

Veronica's eye's opened quite quickly and she sat up just as fast, reaching over to grab her snake and octopus plushies. She hugged them to her chest, her breath shaky. It was the same nightmare. It always was. The trees, the lake, the old decaying bricks falling from each side of the decrepit building that was engulfed by darkness, that darkness soon to be illuminated in flames.

A soft noise from the hallway broke Veronica from her memories, the gentle click of a door being closed. She tilted her head and slowly removed her covers, standing up. With her plushies still hugged to her chest, she soundlessly opened her door, peaking out into the dark hallway. She could make out a figure walking towards the stairs, the moonlight allowing her to identify the figure as Remus. This relaxed her a bit. But, where was he going? And why so late at night?

Soon enough, Ver's curiosity had gotten the better of her and she grabbed her backpack, one that Janus had made her a few weeks after she'd started living with them. It was her favorite bag. She quickly stuck her octopus plushie in the bag, along with her notebook which she always had on her. She wrapped the snake plush around her shoulders and grabbed a small torch off of her bedside table, exiting her room in a matter of seconds, silently following Remus as he left the house.

Remus carefully made his way through the forest, hopping over roots and bushes that got in his way. He shone his torch in front of him, the sound of running water catching his attention. "Didn't know there was a lake here," He mumbled to himself, his eyes scanning for a way to get across.

Unbeknownst to Remus, Veronica was still close behind him, having not noticed the dim light from her torch with his back turned the entire time. Veronica frowned, the surroundings seeming familiar to her. 'You'll be okay. Don't be stupid. Your Dad's right there. Just keep going.' Her thoughts encouraged her to keep following. Then, the sound of the lake caused Veronica to freeze, her breath hitching in her throat, turning into a gasp. She covered her mouth with her hand and turned off her torch, aware that she'd made a sound.