I'll Find You... I Promise

Chapter 9

TW: None. Wow, look at that, I'm so awesome


The drive back to the group home was nothing of excitement. They stopped once to get gas and use the bathroom. Virgil had taken a nap at some point, laying across the seats and using Janus's lap as a pillow. Patton had given him his jacket to use as a blanket, and Logan had muttered a quiet complaint to Patton about how laying down would not end well if they were in a crash, Patton had simply hushed him and made a comment about how cute Virgil looked asleep. Janus's phone battery died about halfway through, forcing him to remove his earbuds and listen to the radio with the two adults as Virgil slept, but that had turned to static not too long after. 

The radio hadn't been off for very long though before Patton tried to start a conversation. Apparently, he wasn't the type of person who was fine sitting in silence like Janus and Logan were. He made multiple attempts at dialogue but seemed he was just as persistent in talking as Janus was in not. He'd ask questions about school, or favorites, and would receive short, clipped replies that left nothing to build off of. Janus attempted to get his message of I don't want to talk to you.' across in his answers, but Patton either ignored the hints or didn't notice as he continued to answer.

"What's your favorite book Janus?"

"Don't have one."

"Do you have any hobbies?"

"No."

"What are your friends like?"

"Friendly."

Logan was eventually dragged into the attempts too, and his answers were a little harder to dodge or ignore more so because of what they were rather than the topic. The doctor had seemed to pick up on the fact that Janus liked a good debate (it probably hadn't been hard to figure out) and would bring up topics that under normal circumstances Janus would easily make conversation out of. But here, now, he was aware of what Logan was trying to do and knew not to fall prey to his trap. Questions like how one should define success or whether or not homework did more harm than good were answered with 'I don't know' and 'I don't care'. Patton and Logan ended up talking to each other instead, and would sometimes ask for Janus's opinion but he'd just continue to give them the same treatment he'd been giving.

"I don't know hun, my favorite tradition has always been watching movies with you and the boys," Patton said when the conversation had somehow turned into holidays and traditions or whatever else, "What about you Janus? Do you and Virgil have any Christmas traditions?"

"We're Jewish," Janus told them boredly, head resting against the window as he watched the wildlife pass.

"Oh," Patton replied, "That's interesting. Do you celebrate Hanukah?"

"Is that the only thing you know about Jewish holidays?" He asked. It was more of a final answer than having to explain that celebrating Hanukah was hard when you lived in a Group Home. Hell, holidays, in general, were hard. Didn't matter how many charities donated toys or gifts or what, it wasn't going to replace what they really wanted. Even when they weren't in group homes, and had been placed in foster homes instead, they had never been placed with a Jewish family. 

"Do you know any Hebrew?" Logan asked.

Janus shrugged, he used to learn Hebrew when he attended some sorta youth group at his parent's synagogue, but he'd forgotten most of it by now. Only knowing a few words here and there. It wasn't even enough to ask for directions. To be fair though, it had been nearly six years and he hadn't practiced at all since then. He'd never even really liked it, he'd thought it was boring. When he realized he was starting to forget, he hadn't even really cared all that much. At this point, he didn't even know if he could call himself Jewish. He knew Virgil didn't think of himself that way, he'd been three, and he couldn't even remember celebrating Hanukah.