Vices and Maces

Chapter 48: Wakey Wakey Janny Wanny

CW: hospitals, mentions of a neglectful absent father

Janus did look better than the night before now that they're getting the medical treatment they needed. However, that didn't make Remus worry any less.

Roman stayed in the room, but the moment he sat down on a chair in the corner of the room he passed out so Remus was left alone to his thoughts. He tried his best to get control over them because he really didn't want Janus to wake up to him crying, but intrusive thoughts seemed to consume him.

Either he was thinking about what state Janus might be in when they wake up, considering that any normal person would be traumatized from what they went through, or he was debating whether or not the new wings were a good thing.

Roman was right, not being able to fly ever again sounded horrible and he definitely didn't want to figure out a life without wings. But... that still didn't change the fact that they weren't his wings!

Aside from being smaller than average for an orc and fire powers, his wings were one of the few things he got from his dad's side. And yeah, he and Roman hated that motherfucker for leaving before they were even born, and not just that, but while their mom struggled to feed them three meals a day, their dad went out and became a millionaire. So of course they hated him but... he was still part of them in some way.

Not to mention Roman looked a lot like him. When they saw pictures, there were only a few differences. The dark skin and curly hair... The pink wings were his fathers... Roman hates it but Remus doesn't. So what he got from his fathers side made it proof he's brothers with Roman. It was a nice reminder.

And these new wings... they're not him. They weren't a part of him. They were Janus, who created them with the purpose of letting him fly again. Well... once he gets used to these new wings at least. This sucks...

His back ached but he couldn't lean back against the chair just yet. He can't lay against his back at all until these wings become part of him. He stood up to stretch, hearing his back pop. As he did he carefully fluttered the wings on his back.

There was a powder coating them, possibly baby powder. You can't exactly stitch a wing this delicate, so they had to use a special glue, and the powder keeps the glue from sticking the two wings together. The wing will gradually become attached to him, but for now he has to be careful.

Maybe... maybe he shouldn't be too upset. If it were Roman who had lost his wings... Remus would probably have done the same. He was still upset but less so. Not that he'll let Roman know.

Remus heard movement from the hospital bed and his head snapped as he turned to see Janus. The shifter moved an arm to rub their eye before opening them.

"Janus?" Remus gently asked, letting a smile form on his face.

They looked up to see the fairy and tension filled the room so thick you could cut it with scissors. Tears filled both of their eyes as Remus sat back down in the chair in front of the shifter.

"Remus?" Janus asked, moving their hand forward.

The halfling took it. "Hey snakey... how are you feeling?"

"I'm... I'm fine I..." The shifter's tears became thicker and started to run down their face. "I'm so sorry! I-I... Your wings!"

"Hey, you don't need to worry about that," Remus tried to comfort him.

"No- no I-I tried to do my best to help but you wouldn't have gotten hurt if-if-"

Remus let go of Janus's hands and cupped their face. "Hey Janny. Mc shut the fuck up and listen ya dumb duck." That got the shifter to blink in surprise, calming their tears enough to listen. "You're hurt worse than me, and you didn't do this. You didn't do any of this on purpose, right?"

Janus shook his head no. "But- but they saw us together. And I let them sneak into my apartment, my room. I should have been on guard..."

"That's not your fault! You don't need to apologize for any of this... Please don't. I should apologize because you never would have been caught if it wasn't for me. So... please don't cry for me. I can't imagine all of that stress is good for your injuries."

The shifter sniffled and reached up to wipe the tears away, pushing Remus's hands away. "It wasn't your fault... I agreed to each date we went on. I just never wanted anyone to get hurt... I hope Vee is okay..."

"Vee?"

"The-the man who helped you guys, the dragon."

"Shit, the dragon! What happened to him? Do you know?"

Janus looked down. "He went back to Wolfsbane. I hope he wasn't caught..."

"Oh hold on." Remus looked around the room. "Ugh, where did my bag go? And my phone? I could see if there's any news about what happened last night... I'm pretty sure the bar burned down thanks to my brother." The only phone in sight was Janus's, which Virgil had given to them. It sat on a table next to Janus's bed, being charged by a spare phone charger.

"Oh right, Burning Petals..."

"Yup! I used to be into welding and I made him a rose mace a while ago, and I made it so gasoline can be held in it and drip out at the press of a button for him to light up, which is where he got his nickname from! It's a pain to clean though... Then I made myself a morning star, it was honestly really difficult. But the spikes reminded me of thorns so..."

Janus smiled. "I think Vee would love to study it."

"I think he tried to when my brother was fighting cause he couldn't take his eyes off of him."

"That sounds like him."

"Yeah... you have a good friend."

Janus got a sad look in his eyes. "Had. I can't talk to him anymore, or I could put him in danger. I don't want to risk it. He put too much on stake for me already..."

"Why does he even work for Black? It seemed like he doesn't like it."

"I don't know, blackmail? He wouldn't tell me, saying I couldn't help him if I tried. And trust me, I've asked him a lot. I really hope he's okay."

"Yeah... I doubt you can message him, his phone is probably being watched. But... if he was caught he knows how to get a hold of my brother, so hopefully he'll escape long enough to find help. After last night, I doubt my brother would say no to helping him."

"I'm glad... I'm also glad your brother didn't try to kill him again. The first time they fought, I almost killed him 'cause he was about to kill Vee."

Remus laughed. "And just last night they were fighting together."

"I wish I wasn't too dazed to realize, that would have been fun to watch. Vee takes too many stupid risks..." Janus closed their eyes as the two of them fell into a comfortable silence. One that was quickly interrupted by a buzz as the shifter's phone got a notification. "Please tell me he didn't take another stupid risk."

Remus looked at the phone. "Well you got a text from an unsaved number."

Janus sighed. "Oh thank goodness, I have his number saved. But... what does the message say?" They opened their eyes and turned to the phone.

"It says, 'I'm sending this from my super computer-' that's cool. 'Don't worry about me, I don't think I was caught,' and it's signed, 'Dr. VN.'"

"Goddammit he did take a stupid risk. He's lucky I have a VPN on at all times so Black can't read my messages."

"He's a doctor?"

"He has a doctorate in engineering, Dr. Noble."

"Noble? Like, the Noble?! I have a kid that's inspired by him! Oh he would have loved to meet him- ugh but now I know he can't... Stupid Black, he ruins everything."

"Yeah..." Janus looked to the side. "He really does."