Storm Clouds (Sanders Sides)

Aftermath pt 2

Hello friends! I cannot apologize enough for keeping you all waiting for this next part as long as I did. So many things happened last year that put me in such a hard spot and I lost motivation in a lot of different areas, but just know, I do not quit. If I've started something, it gets finished. I will never orphan a work of mine, and certainly without letting you all know that I am doing so. So, thank you so sincerely for being so patient, and I hope the remainder of this fic does you all justice for how lovely you all are <3 <3 <3

{Author's POV}- Light Mind Palace

The Core Four of the Light Sides now sat in various places of their living room, silent as each eyed their "youngest" with various expressions. Logan, in the typical sense, seemed curious, as though a million questions ran behind those eyes, Patton merely jumpy in his itch to jump from the couch and hold his kiddo close until every bad thing in the world went away. It was Roman that caused alarm to strike in the other two, though they concealed it well enough. He seemed ready to burn down the entire world at Virgil's command, start a war and spill as much blood as needed so long as his world remained intact and safe. 

And Virgil? Virgil's eyes remained glued to the carpet at his feet, except for when he momentarily closed them, though the others could see them darting beneath his lids as though he were searching for something. 

The 'someone' went unspoken.

Three pairs of eyes jumped at the sound of the door slamming open, and came upon the scene of Janus and Remus in the doorway, frantically scanning the room until they reached their target. In a manner far too painfully slow for anyone's liking did Virgil's eyes finally rise from the floor as Janus stepped forward, stopping a mere three steps away from him. 

"De-" 

Janus cut off the sob with arms wrapped around the younger's frame, shushing him as he shook with the force of his cries. 

"De, I...I can't feel him anymore. I can't hear him." 

"That's ok, Virgil. You are ok," Remus choked out, refusing to hide the tears sliding down his face. 

"All he ever wanted was his family back and now-" Virgil whispered before he seemed to realize what he was saying. He froze, meeting Janus's eyes as he pulled back. 

"We're here now. And I know he's down there somewhere, deep down, and he knows it. We are here for both of you, if you'll have us again."

"I am so sorry it took us so long," Remus interjected.

Janus stood from Virgil's place in the room, turning and facing the others. "And I am sorry," he followed, though one could not ignore the fleeting gaze passed between each of those to whom he spoke, pain and sincerity with the most deeply masked fear behind them. Patton's eyes softened, and he took a step towards Janus while Logan's flickered over and froze with the realization. 

Only Patton could tell with full sincerity that he was not lying.

And only Patton could tell just how fearful Janus truly was. 

Janus, meanwhile, held up a finger, silently asking Patton to hold in his advance, which was respected as Patton backed down. "I am so sorry we sat by and allowed ourselves to feel threatened by...him...so much that we felt our only option was to follow him, and I am sorry that we attempted to quell such silly feelings by following him in causing so much strife and damage-"

"Your feelings are not silly, Janus." Patton finally interrupted, and though Janus's breath hitched in anticipation, he did not stop his speech this time. "You were terrorized by someone with a lot of power, and..." Patton stopped himself speaking, eyeballing Virgil with his next words and carefully weighing them for the reaction he knew would come, "...and 'Fear' was his name, it's who he was. You cannot blame yourself for feeling exactly what he is the embodiment of."

"He's Thomas's fear, not ours!" Janus snapped, not missing the flinch in Virgil's shoulders from the corner of his eye. 

"And?" This time it was Roman that spoke, catching his brother's attention in equal surprise to Janus's. "Virgil is Thomas's anxiety, but we all know he can have an affect on the rest of us. He knows how to work his specialty best, knows how to make us look at situations differently based on things he knows that we might not notice. Virgil knows how to make people cautious, fear knows how to make people afraid. Janus...you know how to use the truth and their false counterparts when its necessary and, though I've been hesitant in the past to admit it, sometimes it is necessary. We are all good at what we do, and we all work together to share our ways of thinking with each other in order to do the best we can with Thomas. But that also means we grow and see more sides of things because of each other's influence just as much as he does." 

Janus opened his mouth to speak once more, only to be interrupted, this time by Logan, who in a gentle voice said, "Whatever it is you feel the need to apologize for is understandable, but most importantly it is forgiven. The Mind's past mistakes have been corrected, Virgil is safe and back with us, and his brother and all the dangers that come with him are taken care of. All is well."

"De?" whispered Virgil, and when Janus, still hesitant as he waited for any one of them to turn on him, spun around to face him, he turned to confusion at the notice of a hint of a smile on his face. 

"Can I sleep over at your guys' place?" 

And Janus merely nodded, hugging him with a whooshing exhale and laughter surrounding them from the others. 

All was truly well. 

I think next chapter will be the last! I have one more little surprise in store, it will be out much faster than this one was. Again, I apologize for the delay, but only one more chapter to go! I am still so so grateful for how many of you enjoy this story, I've enjoyed writing it just as much, and I hope to have you all back with me for one last go of things. 

Thank you for your patience, your support, and for reading. <3 ~Lizzy