I Want You to Want Me

Chapter Seven: Falling in Love a Coffee Shop (Final Moments Part One)

They stood there, holding each other, not much longer than a minute or two. It felt like forever, though, and some small voice at the back of Remus' mind told him it could be. He smushed it like an annoying cockroach, crushed it into a tiny, metaphorical paste and tossed it back into its closet, slamming the door shut and propping up a chair against the knob.

When Janus and Logan finally let go of him, Remus already missed the warmth of their skin on his. He could kind of understand Janus' constant need to hold onto people or to layer up when he couldn't.

"We should have breakfast." Logan took a half-step back, adjusting his glasses. "There is a decent cafe nearby that should be open now."

He glanced at Janus, who shrugged. "Fine by me. Remus?"

Did they think they had to bring him along just because he was still there? "Oh, uh, it's okay. I should probably get going."

"What do you mean? Are we keeping you from something?"

"No, you don't- I just- I'm not that hungry. Plus, Remy made some coffee already." He lifted the tray in his hand.

"Remus, we just woke up and are barely even clothed," Janus scoffed, gesturing to their various states of undress before grabbing one of the cups. "So unless you snuck out for a meal while we were asleep一in which case, fuck you一none of us have eaten since yesterday evening. We're getting breakfast."

And with that, Janus tugged him and Logan back into their room, picking up and tossing them their clothes to get dressed. For the next ten or so minutes, Remus dumbly followed along after the two as they proceeded from their rooms to the back area that Remus had never been to before. The pair stopped first in the greenroom to change into their casual clothes and then made a quick visit to the staff lounge where they said their personal belongings were kept behind code locks. Remus stayed in the hallway for the whole ordeal, occasionally peeking curiously around the ajar doors into what might as well have been an entirely different world. Still, he didn't get much time to mull over all the clothing racks or makeup stalls in the green room, nor did he get to process the sheer amount of cartoon merchandise in the staff lounge before the dancers were ready to leave.

It was actually pretty fascinating, getting a peek behind the scenes, catching a quick glimpse of the other costumes and props backstage一most of them sparkly or glittery, of course一but the real surprise was how normal Logan and Janus looked out of costume, in what Remus assumed to be their more usual style of dress. Not that they looked anything less than spectacular, no matter what they wore (or didn't).

Logan emerged wearing a navy polo and tan slacks, complete with a striped necktie and sensible shoes, seeming more like a teacher or an accountant than a stripper. He tilted his head back to drain the rest of his coffee; in the bright, fluorescent light, his eyeglasses were revealed to have dark blue frames, not the black Remus had initially thought they were. The taller man was still hot as hell, though, and the aesthetic really worked for him. Remus distantly wondered if he had some kind of 'teacher fantasy' costume tucked away among his dance apparel. If not, would he be opposed to Remus buying him one? No, no, he couldn't think about that.

Janus' casual look was less of a shock, but Remus hadn't ever seen him in more masculine clothes before. The man stepped out in a button-down and narrow trousers, entirely in black, along with a bowler hat sporting a bright yellow band that matched his gloves, nudging a corresponding chain snugly around his neck. His personal style seemed more in line with Remus' first impression of him一sleek, elegant, and classy as fuck一though it was still a lot more understated than a lot of his costumes.

They looked good together, Remus mused. Whether they were dancing, speaking, or simply existing near each other, they seemed to fit perfectly, with an ease that could only come from years of closeness. It only made Remus feel even worse for trespassing on what they had together. He shouldn't be there, being a third wheel and taking up their attention and their time together. It felt just like when Roman invited him along on his trips with Patton and Virgil一brought along because he was a pitiful loner with no friends outside of his brother. The same brother who had to be nice to him.