Sympathetic Deceit One Shots

I'm A Monster

[Written October 16, 2018]

Genre: Hurt/Comfort; Angst; Platonic LAMPD

Prompt: Monsters

Word count: 1089

Tws: self deprecation, happy ending

Deceit stared at himself in the mirror. A once unfamiliar sickness curled in his stomach as he took in the scales, the fangs, the forked tongue- The yellow eye.

He never really minded his snake features. In a way, he liked them. It helped him... 'Play the part.' He looked different, because he was different. He was supposed to be different. After all, every Disney villain was easily discernible.

He liked them even more when he realized how much the others hated them- Specifically Virgil and Roman. Good. Let them hate it. Let them hate him. It only made his job easier.

But then- But then he wasn't the bad guy. His snake features weren't something he could be proud of anymore. They became an illness, a deformity. Something that separated him further and further from the people who were supposed to be his family now.

It was his first Halloween with the Core Sides, and Roman and Patton were very proud to say that every year they coordinated their costumes to a theme. This year, of course, was monsters.

While the rest of them holed up in their room to create the perfect surprise costumes, Deceit sat still. How was he supposed to create something that was more monstrous than he already was?

He thought about staying in his room, a little embarrassed about not having made anything, but decided to go anyway. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs, hiding a smile.

Roman was flouncing about in a sea green dress made of flowing ripped fabric and a little turquoise tiara. Every time he sung or hummed, Patton would pretend to go into a daze, following him about and doing a horrible job at repressing his giggles. Patton himself was dressed as some kind of creepy doll, taking his usual innocence and spinning it in a surprisingly clever way. He had on his favourite ballet flats and a little pastel blue dress. His hair was a rats' nest held together by an ungodly amount of hairspray, and he's drawn in notches on his knees and elbows, complete with a painted on red smile and scarlet cheeks.

Logan and Virgil sat in front of the T.V., going through piles and piles of DVDs. Logan was dressed as a Sphinx, with grand wings and and a little tail, his face painted gold. Virgil had on little bat ears and fangs, wearing black lipstick and an intense smokey eye.

Roman gasped as he noticed Deceit standing there, and almost smiled, before it started to fade. Deceit was compelled to rush back up the stairs and hide as Roman whined, "You're not wearing a costume!"

This drew the attention of the others. Patton pouted. "Dee! What happened?"

He forced up a little smirk, drifting into the living room and gesturing to himself. "I already sort of fit the part, no?"

Ro and Pat's faces fell. "Of... A monster?" Roman whispered.

"You're... You're joking, right?" Virgil asked, his voice somewhat flat. He sat down the stack of DVDs he was going through.

Logan followed, and they were all staring straight at him. Shit. This was not the plan. It was supposed to be a small thing, a blip in the day, something clever- It wasn't supposed to be a big deal.

"Why would you say that?!" Patton cried. He rushed forward and threw his arms around Dee.

He just chuckled a little, showing off his sharp fangs. "I don't exactly look normal, do I?" He shrugged and rested a hand on Patton's head. "I don't look like the rest of you."

Roman looked horrified. "You think that makes you a monster?"

He sighed and gently pushed Patton off of him. He plopped onto the couch. "I'm literally Deceit." He thought of reminding them how hellbent they all had been in the beginning to keep him away from them, keep his influence away from Thomas, but he refused to go that low. They were trying. He couldn't throw that in their faces.

"That's hardly monstrous," Logan deadpanned. Deceit's gaze snapped up at him. Logan rolled his eyes and went back to flicking through the movies as he spoke, setting a couple aside for later. "You're with us for the same reason Virgil is- Self preservation. Thomas needs you."

Deceit was already shaking his head. "That's not-"

"As for your appearance, that's not exactly... Factual. A monster is defined as 'large, ugly, and frightening.' I guess it's debatable, but I think we can all unanimously agree that none of those fit you well." He paused. "In fact, I find them endearing."

Patton nodded feverently. "I love them! They're so cute!"

"I was the emo one before you came around." Virgil smirked. "You've got good style."

"You are very frightening," Roman said, "and I love it."

"Now go put on a costume!" Patton glared, looking adorable. "We're supposed to be monsters today."

Roman rose his hand nervously. "I can make one for you, if you want."

Patton gasped excitedly. "You should be a werewolf! Or a mummy! Or a ghost! Or-"

"A- A ghost is alright, yeah," Dee said with a nervous laugh.

"Alright!" Roman grinned and waved his hand, and suddenly Deceit lost his vision.

"Uh..."

"Really, Princey? A sheet?"

"There's not even any eye holes!"

"I- I may have rushed the creative process a bit. Just let me think for one second! Uh... Okay, got it!"

Deceit looked down at himself. His usual cape was replaced with a full length white one, his hair bleached. He stood taller in white stiletto heels, and a long, thin white gown. He had eyeshadow akin to Virgil, only it went all the way around his eyes.

"Behold!" Roman cried, gesturing to him. "A ghost!"

Patton squealed. "He looks so pretty! Aw, but what if the icing gets on his clothes when we make the cookies?!"

"No worries!" Roman grinned proudly. "I can clean it with the snap of a finger!"

Patton gripped Deceit and Virgil's hands. "C'mon, c'mon, we can't watch movies without the cookies!"

Deceit laughed as Patton dragged them to the kitchen, Roman and Logan following. They all looked ridiculous, honestly, but he didn't feel ridiculous. He felt- He felt amazing. He knew the others were coming around to him, but he never thought they were this far. He didn't realize how close they were.

Tonight, he was a monster. But when he took off his costume later, he would finally be rid of that label that's hurt him for so long.