At The Core or On The Edge

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Patton's grin fades to a grimace, recalling the memories once again of a few minutes ago.

"I didn't... mean to show up here..." He says, but that's all he can manage.

Janus pushes further, "Do you want to go back?"

"No."

His response shocks him. He didn't mean for that to slip out? What...

"Oop..." Remus mutters, raising his eyebrows and fidgeting with Chips.

"I-I mean-"

"Patton, if you're going to try to lie, you shouldn't have what you're actually thinking right on the tip of your tongue," Janus advises.

'Oh, The whole "lying" thing.'

"Why don't you want to go back? Did you all fight?" Janus continues questioning.

"Was it bloody?" Remus interjects.

"He means 'physical,'" Janus corrects with a glance.

"N-no! We didn't. We wouldn't ever fight past words..."

Janus stops him, "Try again."

"Uh. As far as I... know?" Patton corrects himself.

"Better."

"Can we keep him?" Remus smiles excitedly, though with a hint of creepiness, towards Janus.

He scoffs, "Could you imagine how Virgil would act if he thought we kidnapped Patton?"

"Y-you're not kidnapping me, though...?" Patton argues in his passive way.

'I'm a dad, not a kid,' He adds in his mind, 'I can't be kidnapped.'

"Exactly!!" Remus agrees enthusiastically, "C'mon, Jaaaan..."

The other sighs.

"Well, if there's one thing we're good at on the Edge, it's some goddamn self-care." Janus says as he stands.

He places a hand on Patton's arm comfortingly.

"You can stay as long as you like. If being with us, being here, means feeling better? We could always use some light-hearted movies."

"And an audience!" Remus adds.

"Hm? Oh, yes," Janus agrees.

Patton, as confused as he is, feels his heart explode in relief. Or comfort. Some soft feeling, like when a dog chooses to sit on your lap. He grins awkwardly, as if he'd been gifted something super expensive, but knew the gift in return wasn't half as incredible.

"So, do you want to stay?" Janus tilts his head, "Or are you feeling okay enough to go back?"

"It's not like I've got much to go back to." Patton says with a sad smile, avoiding eye contact.

While he sees Remus's demeanor soften, Janus doesn't stop there.

"And the Twins are the dramatic ones?- Yes or no, Patton."

"Yes. I want to... stay here for a bit."

Suddenly, Remus's eyes roll up into his head. His neck cracks to the side, and his shoulders slump.

"T̷͍̈̂̽h̷̘̼̺͉̖̙͋̕é̵͎̬͌̅͊̋ ̶̳̈͆̊̾́̚͠p̴̬͕̓͆̿ą̸͎́̃c̵̳̲̀̀̽͆̇͘ț̷̡͙̰̈́̓ ̸͉̗̦͆̈́̉̚͠h̷͓͙̝͔̩̮̉́͂̃a̵̡̺̳̻̯̭̜͆̆̂s̵͚͓̠̈́̓͊́̈́̚ ̴̪̝̱̼͍̀̂̉b̴̨̂̒e̵̡̤̙̪͒͛̑́̆̎̈͜e̷̤̩͒̒̃͛͝n̸̝͓̙̟̲̽̒͂̌̐̀͜ ̴̛̥͑͑͒͝f̴̟̘̂̐̽̿̐̀͘ȯ̸̜̙̟̼̞̩̑͌̐̚͜ř̵̲̋̿g̶̨̧̫̱̲̫̐̎̓́̋͌̊ȩ̵͈͛̀̄d̸͉̩̞͂̔"Says a deep, echoing voice.

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