Reptile - Janus Angst

Chapter One

"I'll be back soon."

"Goodbye, then, Virgil."

"Virgil? What are you wearing?"

"I can help Thomas more... on the other side."

"V-Virgil, wait!"

"VIRGIL!"

Gasp!

Janus shot up, suddenly wide awake, dripping in cold sweat, and looked around with wild eyes. He was in his room. His room that was the same as it had been yesterday. The same pale yellow walls, the same glass floor and ceiling filled with stars, the same fireplace in the far wall, the same wardrobe by the same vanity mirror on the same desk across from the same bed that he sat in now, his arms wrapped around himself. His room wasn't the room it had been.

"A dream," he mumbled in a shaky voice. "It was a... a dream."

He rubbed his arms for a moment. He felt colder than he usually did. He slipped out of bed and over to the fireplace. He quickly got a flame going and revelled in the heat.
He stayed there for several moments, his snake eye and shiny, green scales almost glowing from the light.

After a few minutes, he stood up and went to his wardrobe, changing into his usual attire. He then went over to his desk and checked himself in the mirror. He looked tired but, overall, good. He fixed his hair and oh so delicately placed his bowler hat on top. He smiled, then got up again, ready to head downstairs to see the others.

Logan, Patton, Roman, and Virgil were already in the kitchen. Patton had made toast and put a variety of spreads on the table. Logan was leaning against the counter with a cup of coffee in his hands. Roman and Virgil were sat at the table eating.
Patton saw Janus come in and smiled.

"Good morning, Janus! How'd you sleep?"

"Simply 'dreadful'."

He hadn't meant for it to be so sarcastic. Patton frowned. Janus adjusted his caplet and sat down at the table, the other end from Roman and Virgil who were still wary of him being there.

Give them time, he told himself. They'll come around at some point.

Patton offered Janus some toast but he politely refused. Patton frowned again but this time there was surprise in his eyes, followed quickly by worry.

"O-Oh, sorry, I should've considered if you eat differently considering, er... you know," Patton said with an awkward smile. Janus smiled at him.

"Don't worry, Patton, my eating habits are no different than anyone else's. I'm simply not hungry this morning."

Janus' smile was gentle. He knew this for a fact. The amount of times he'd practiced in the mirror made sure of that.
Patton seemed to relax a little at the reassurance.

"Ok, that's good to know. I just want you to feel like a part of our family, ya know?"

Patton's eyes had softened. They were so warm and friendly. Janus looked into them for a moment before responding.

"Understood," he said simply.

The others finished eating then the five of them went to meet up with Thomas. They rose up into the living room where he was waiting. Thomas smiled when he saw them.

"Morning, guys," he said cheerfully.

"Morning, kiddo," Patton greeted. "So what are we doing today?"

Thomas' smile grew.

"Well, I was thinking, since it's been a while since we've done a QnA and De- Janus has joined us now-"

Roman squealed with excitement and bounced a little on the souls of his feet, his eyes shining.

"Yes! It's been sooooo long!"

"Please calm down," came Logan's voice.

Janus stood with a completely neutral expression on his face as he adjusted his gloves. A QnA huh?

"What do you say, Janus? Want to answer some questions? You seem to have gained some popularity since the last Sides episode," Thomas said.

The corner of Janus' mouth twitched up a little.

"Well, yes, thats what usually happens when an ex 'villain' gets accepted into the main group," he said.

"So... you ok to answer questions or...?"

The response had thrown Thomas off a little. He'd expected Janus to be excited by his rise in popularity, but then it wasn't always easy to know what the snake-like side was thinking.

Janus took note of the expression on Thomas' face and bit his lip.

"I suppose a few questions couldn't hurt," he said. He did his best to keep his expression neutral, almost uninterested, but the smiles that were on the others' faces made it harder. His lip twitched up a little again.

"Great. I'll send a tweet out and get some questions for everyone. You guys can chill here until then," Thomas said, indicating for them all to take a seat on the sofa.

The sides did so, most of them getting comfortable. Janus, however, felt weird being invited to just sit with the others. He wasn't so used to the whole 'being accepted' thing just yet so he sat straight-backed and adjusted his caplet then his gloves. He then rested both hands on his knee and looked around the room. He realised, just then, that this was the first time he was in Thomas' living room not as a villain. That also felt weird.

Patton, who was sat next to Janus, noticed his ridiculously straight posture and darting eyes and pondering expression. He placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Janus, you can relax you know," he said gently.

Janus looked at him.

"I know."