The Phantom, Chapter 1

The Phantom, Chapter 1

The Debate

The sides were all in the mindscape now, even in Deceit, who had gone out to get himself some ice cream. They all highly doubted that he was doing that, considering he had been gone for the past week. But, hey, at least Thomas hadn’t been lying.

“What was so important that you had to yank me back into the mindscape?” He growled from where he was hanging upside down from the hanging light on the ceiling. Patton sighed up at him.

“Deceit, please come down from there.” “No.”

Logan rubbed his forehead. “Deceit, this is serious. Thomas’s neighbor might-”

“-be a freaking psychopath?!” Virgil exploded as he leapt from the couch.

“Geez, this must be important.” Deceit snorted. “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you yelling.”

“Have you been around him when Thomas is at a party.” Roman deadpanned.

“Everyone, focus!” Patton said. “This is serious! Deceit,” he looked at the side, “Thomas has a neighbor. His name is Nathan, and he’s really nice! But, when Thomas went over to give him cookies-”

“You made him cookies?” Deceit said flatly. Patton bristled.

“LET ME TALK.”

Deceit actually shut up.

“Virgil was out, just in case he had his own sides that we could meet!” Patton went on. “Well, no one showed up for a long time. Thomas and Nate were talking, eating the cookies, Nate was being such a real gentleman and he was being so kind and Thomas invited him over for dinner- shut up Deceit- but then Virgil saw him!”

Virgil jumped into the conversation, explaining the man he had seen quickly and the darkness that he had felt coming off of him. ‘”Excuse me,” Deceit said, sounding very, very offended. “Did you just say that he was more scary then me?”

“It’s not an impossible feat, Deceit.” Logan said flatly.

“Guys, please!” Patton said. “If that’s Nate’s main side, what kind of person is Nate?!”

“Maybe he’s a sweet guy! He might not be evil!” Roman said.

“You’re just defending him because you think he’s cute!” Virgil shouted angrily.

“Well mayBE! Is that a crime?!” Roman growled.

“It is if he ends up hurting Thomas!”

“Guys, we have to remain calm!” Patton said.

“Remain calm?!” Virgil squeaked. “Thomas is having him over for dinner! DINNER! What if he tries to kill him?! Or have HIM for dinner?!”

“You’ve watched too many horror films.” Deceit said blandly. Virgil glared at him.

“That’s because you keep telling Thomas that ‘this one won’t be as scary!’“

“Maybe that wasn’t even his main side!” Roman said, pulling the conversation back to the problem at hand. “Virgil isn’t Thomas’s main side but he was still out.” Deceit glanced at Patton, who sighed.

“No, kiddo... That was his main side alright...” He muttered, before he looked over towards the armchair. “Logan,. what-” He stopped and blinked as he saw that Logan was gone.

“Well, maybe he just stands for something that’s bad like Deceit does!” Roman tried. “Maybe he lies a bit too much! Or, maybe, maybe he doesn’t tip!”

Deceit and Virgil stared at him. “Don’t let anyone tell you you’re just a pretty face Roman.” Deceit said with a false smile, showing off his fangs. Roman blinked before he grinned.

“Thanks-! Wait.”

But before he could press further, Logan suddenly appeared, stumbling slightly before he straightened himself up, adjusting his tie. “Where were you?” Patton asked.

“Thomas needed help beginning dinner.” He said. “But, we have a bit of a problem.

Ding dong!

Their heads snapped around, their eyes widening in horror. Well, Deceit looked interested and mildly amused.

“He’s here.” Patton whispered.

The Phantom

A/N: So, my friend @boxlikebutton actually got me to upload this. This is my first time uploading anything to the Thomas Sanders fandom, usually when I write things I just send it to them. But, they really like this idea, and told me that I just HAD to upload it. So... Here we are! Criticism is welcome, just... please be gentle.

So, this was heavily inspired when my friend sent me a bunch of these edits people have made between the Sanders Sides and the egoes of other Youtubers. Ships are going to be in this, gay ones obviously, but not ones you might expect! Regardless, I hope you guys enjoy! I’m just gonna quit rambling though hdsfjbjdskfb sorry enjoy everyone...!!!

button i hope you’re satisifed

“Because what kind of man was Nate, for his main side to be that?”

Thomas was wondering when someone was going to move into the apartment next to him. When he saw the moving truck pull into the parking lot, he actually thought that someone else was just moving out. But, then he saw the movers carrying boxes of various sizes into the apartment that had been empty for so long beside him, and he realized what was going on. Almost immediately, his sides were buzzing inside of him, their voices bouncing back and forth as they theorized who their new neighbor could be.

I hope they’re nice! Oh, oh, what if they have puppies?! We could puppy-sit! Thomas felt excitement flutter in his heart at Patton’s suggestion.

Perhaps this is our Prince Charming! Thomas rolled his eyes, even though he had to be hoping for it himself since Roman mentioned. But hey, he was a lover, not a fighter!

Whoever it is, Ah, Virgil was right on time, let’s hope they’re not some kind of jerk, or TOO friendly.

There’s no such thing as too friendly, my dark son! Besides, I bet if we make some cookies and bring it over to them, they’ll warm right up to us! Statistics do show that giving people food gives you their friendship. Are those statistics just you, Logan. .... No comment.

Guys, Thomas chuckled, are we making cookies or not?

YES!

Thomas laughed as he walked to the kitchen.

That’s how the next hour went, and even though he was baking alone he somehow ended up getting flour everywhere. But, at the end of it all, he had a plate of steaming cookies and the moving truck was pulling out of the parking lot. There was a car he had never seen before, a black Camaro. It looked well cared for and it's surface gleamed brightly in the sun-rays. Was that his neighbor’s?

Do you really think you should do this, Thomas? Virgil whispered to him, to avoid being heard by the other sides. What if they don’t want to be bothered? What if it’s too early? Or, what if they’re allergic to chocolate? What if they don’t even LIKE cookies?!

Virgil, Thomas was careful to make sure that his voice was gentle, even if somehow, they end up not liking cookies, at least it’s a way to meet them and see what they’re like! And hey, they might even end up liking the cookies!

Virgil made a small noise, but didn’t say anything else. After knowing him for so long, Thomas knew that he wasn’t completely convinced, but he had been soothed enough that he would at least let this play out. Thomas pulled his shoes on and made sure his hair looked presentable in a mirror by his door, and he flashed himself a smile to boost his confidence before he opened the door and stepped outside.

Oh, god, sunlight. Roman, shut up.

Thomas walked down the sidewalk in front of his apartment, glancing at the fancy car one more time as he walked up the pathway to his new neighbor’s door. All of the sides were buzzing in excitement in their own way as he did, when Patton had a bright idea.

Guys, guys, one of us should go out! This guy might have his own sides too that we could be friends with! Why don’t we all just pop out? It would get crowded awfully fast. I think Virgil should meet them! What?! No! Aw, c’mon buddy, you were talking about wanting to get out of your shell more! On my own time! Why would we want them to meet Virgil first? No offense buddy, but- No! I agree! I don’t like this idea! No one likes me at first!

. . .

You shouldn’t have said that.

Thomas had just gotten up to the door when Virgil suddenly appeared beside him, stumbling and tripping over his own feet in his panic.

“No, no no no, let me back in!” He hissed in panic, obviously trying to pop back into Thomas’s mindscape, but he found himself unable to as Patton made it impossible to break through his barrier. “Patton!”

Thomas shook his head at him sadly. “Hey,” he whispered. “you’re gonna be fine! Only their sides are gonna see you!”

“THAT'S THE PROBLEM, THOMAS.”

Thomas smiled sadly but only knocked on the door. Virgil let out a soft whimper, staring at the door fearfully as he quickly moved his hands up to pull his hood up over his head. He had never wanted to crawl into a hole and just die as badly as he did right now. Suddenly, the door opened, and Thomas almost dropped the plate as Roman full out screamed in his head.

The man standing in the doorway was of Asian descent. He had black hair with the bangs pushed back, and his eyes were a deep puppy brown that were mysterious and adorable all at the same time. He wore black skinny jeans, a dark gray button up shirt, and a black leather jacket. His shoes were black army boots that looked like they could break Thomas’s back with one step. And, when he noticed that the man also had square framed glasses sitting on his nose, Thomas found that he wouldn’t even complained.

S T E P  O N  M E! Oh my god, Roman-

Thomas had almost forgotten how to speak, but luckily, his new neighbor gave him time to get his tongue back from the cat that had stolen it.

“Hi! Are you one of the neighbors?”

OH MY GOD HIS VOICE SL AUGH TER ME! Roman, SHUT UP.

“Yes!” Thomas said quickly. “Next door actually, to the right! I saw the movers, and, well, I thought I’d make you a welcome to the neighborhood present!” He lifted up the plate of cookies, smiling a bit sheepishly. The attractive male looked down at the plate before his eyes widened. Thomas felt his chest tighten slightly in fear, trying not to tighten his grip on the plate.

“Those look so good.” The man whispered, and Thomas visibly relaxed. He grinned.

“Oh, I’m so glad! Well, I don’t want to bother you-” “I don’t mind the company if you want to stay!”

The man grinned at Thomas, who fought the urge to blush as Roman went reeling in his mind. “It gives me a reason to procrastinate! Oh!” He held his hand out. “I’m Nathan, Nathan Sharp! But just call me Nate!” Thomas quickly raised his hand and took Nate’s, shaking it as he smiled at the taller man.

“I’m Thomas! Thomas Sanders!” “It’s great to meet you, man! Wanna come in and hang for a bit? It’s a card table, but, I have a table!” “I’d love to!”

Nate stepped back and opened the door wider, allowing Thomas to come in. The apartment’s layout was a lot like his own, which wasn’t surprising. There wasn’t a lot of furniture, but tons and tons of boxes. Like Nate had said though, there was a small card table where he was sure a dining room would be one day. Nate picked up a box sitting on it and carelessly dropped it onto the floor, ignoring the glass sounds that came from it as he grabbed two chairs from across the room and dragged them over. Thomas found himself smiling like crazy as he placed the plate of cookies on the table, giggling when Nate placed a chair behind him.

“I’m glad I brought these cookies over, I almost chickened out.” He admitted as they sat down.

“I’m glad you didn’t! This’ll probably be the only thing I eat tonight.” Nate chuckled.

INVITE HIM TO DINNER, Patton, who was the ultimate dad friend, screamed in Thomas’s head.

“You should come over to my place for dinner then!” He blurted out.

“Noooo!” Virgil whined, covering his face from where he was standing behind Thomas. Nate, of course, didn’t hear or see him.

“Oh, I don’t want to bother you!” Nate said.

“No, no, it’s fine! It’ll give me a reason to actually use my stove.” Thomas said, before muttering to himself, “my poor poor stove…” Nate laughed and Thomas blushed as he realized he had said that out loud.

“Well, I can’t turn down a home-cooked meal.” He smiled. “Haven’t had one of those in awhile, been surviving on cups of noodles and leftover pizza since I’ve started moving.” Thomas could hear Patton losing his absolute shit, while Logan was loudly rattling off many facts that proved that was HIGHLY UNHEALTHY AND YOU SHOULDN’T TAKE NOTES THOMAS!

Thomas smiled. Maybe, just maybe, his Prince had come. It was a surprise if Roman was right for once.

HEY. Shhh, this is so cute!

“What time should I come over?” “When’s a healthy time to start dinner?”

Nate laughed. “I usually have it around nine myself, gives me time to get hungry for a midnight snack.” Thomas grinned.

“Okay! Come over around eighty-thirty, we can chat while I try to keep myself from burning the place down.” He said, and smiled wider when Nate had laughed. God, he should not be falling right now, but he was. He didn’t even know if this guy was gay, though! Or, even into guys!

“That sounds awesome!” Nate smiled, picking up a cookie before he bit into it. He closed his eyes and groaned. “Holy shit…” Thomas laughed, grabbing a cookie for himself and taking a bite. Suddenly, he felt Virgil grab his shoulder with such a tight grip that Thomas almost dropped his cookie. He glanced up at him in confusion, and blinked. Virgil’s entire face was pale, even paler then it usually was. His eyes were wide and filled with horror and fear. Thomas stared up at him and then slowly glanced at where Virgil was staring, but he didn’t see anything there. Just a large box.

But that was simply because Thomas wasn’t a side, so he couldn’t see the man sitting on the box. But Virgil did.

He wore tight black pants and a black vest over a blood red buttoned up shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows to show the tattoos on his arms. His hair was styled in a quiff, midnight black like Nate’s. The sides weren’t shaved but the top was separated from the rest, puffed up slightly at the ends above his forehead. He had faint eyeliner that made his dark brown eyes pop out, and pierced into his earlobes were black plugs, around 00g in sizes. Virgil only knew because he had basically memorized gauge sizes because he had been freaking the hell out when Thomas had been debating on getting them. But that wasn’t the point. In the man’s hand was a black staff with a steel clawed hand at the end, gripping a clear glass orb. He was sitting on the box casually, his leg lifted up and the ankle set on his other leg’s knee. His arms were in his lap and he was leaned back slightly, a smirk on his lips as he stared Virgil right in the eye.

The darkness pouring off of his body put Deceit to shame.

Virgil, come home.

Patton didn’t have to tell Virgil twice, and he disappeared. But that didn’t take care of the big problem here.

Because what kind of man was Nate, if his main side was that?

Got me just as I was writing the second chapter of Musical Sides!

"Honestly, it was Roman's fault, not Logan's- he should've been watching where he was going instead of singing and dancing all over the place."

I don't know that many people so @boxlikebutton here you go babes

Post the last sentence you wrote and tag as many people as there are words in that sentence

“I want you to be able to fit inside.“

I swear this line is completely innocent. Yeah, it’s spoken by a wee little frost troll to a great big bare-chested thundergod, but you’re just going to have to believe me.

I was tagged by the amazing @fairy-changeling and I tag the wonderful @dictionarywrites, @i-bleed-salt, @calamity-cain, @moonsandrock, @softnocturne, @roguewen, @raeseddon, @noelleian and @wouldyouknowmore . I share a lot of friends in the Thorki fandom, so if you’ve already been tagged, guess what, you get a free pass. (Unless you don’t want to pass up a good opportunity. In which case, HAVE AT IT, FRIENDS.)

JOHN WICK DECEIT AU

JOHN WICK DECEIT AU

YALL CAN'T STOP ME

Musical Sides, Chapter One

Virgil bolted into a sitting position on his bed as there was a loud honk from the driveway of his home. His head was spinning as he looked to his alarm clock, and he let out a loud curse. Seven forty-five pm?! School started at eight- SHIT!

Roman woke up as any Prince (the family name, not royalty) did, to the birds chirping happily and the smell of his older twin making his famous chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen. He grinned pleasantly before he stretched, yawning widely before he sat up and rubbed his eyes. 

Virgil heard the car honk again and he yanked himself out of his bed, nearly falling flat on his face as he kicked the tangled sheets off from around his legs. He shoved the doors to his balcony open and stumbled outside, falling against the railing. In the driveway was a familiar dark blue, BMW convertible. The roof was currently down, as it felt pretty nice this morning. Sitting in the driver’s seat was a familiar teen around his age, with light brown hair and black, square glasses. From behind those lens were cross blue eyes glaring up at him, fingertips drumming on top of the steering wheel. Virgil gulped.

If looks could kill, Logan would’ve killed him five times over by now.

“GIVE ME TEN MINUTES!” He shouted down at the car, then winced as he remembered the time on his alarm clock. “FIVE- FIVE MINUTES!” Then he turned and raced back into his room, one of the balcony doors shutting behind him. He immediately stumbled into his bathroom, grabbing the clothes he had laid out last night. He changed so fast he was sure he had set a new record, hurling the dirty clothes into a basketball themed hamper in the corner of the bathroom. He winced at the sight of it.

Roman pulled himself out of bed and walked over to his wardrobe, looking in and pushing back a few pieces of clothing hanging off the hanger to look at others. Hm, what to wear...

Back in the car, Logan’s fingers drummed faster on top of his steering wheel. He glanced at the watch on his wrist. Seven forty-seven. He grabbed the steering wheel and squeezed it. “Virgil Sanders,” he muttered, voice dull despite the anger in his eyes, “I’m going to bury you.”

Patton grinned as he heard movement in his brother’s room. Just in time! The pancakes were done, cooked until they were a beautiful shade of light brown on both sides. He put in extra chocolate chips, since Roman had seemed a little bit bummed last nice. Virgil tripped over his own feet as he grabbed his backpack and slung it onto his shoulder, grabbing his earbuds and fully charged phone from their place by the wall socket closest to his bed. He charged for the balcony doors, going out the one still open before he sped right up to the railing. Logan looked up and his eyes widened. Patton looked over and grinned as he saw his younger twin coming into the kitchen with a loud yawn. His brother was looking stylish as always, some jeans and some nice tennis shoes that were bedazzled central, and a shirt with the words “Woke Up Like This” printed across the upper chest appear in a gold color that popped out against the scarlet red. No doubt though, Roman would be grabbing his red scarf on the way out. He never went out without it, not since Patton had knitted it for him. “Morning kiddo!” He said as he plated the pancakes. Roman lifted tired puppy brown eyes to his twin’s similar eyes, before he grinned.

“Morning~!”

“DON’T YOU-” He shouted, but it was too late. He watched as Virgil flung himself over the railing, before he landed right in the backseat of his car. Logan felt his insides trembling but somehow his hand was steady as put the car into gear. Virgil crawled into the passenger’s seat and buckled his seatbelt, flinging his backpack into the backseat where Logan’s was.

“FLOOR IT!” Logan sighed loudly as he twisted around in his seat, backing up out of the driveway before he hit the road and then the car was racing forward, going as fast as the speed limit allowed.

“Ready for today?” Patton asked as his brother sat at the breakfast bar, placing his plate in front of him, along with the bottle of syrup.

“Definitely!” Roman said, practically drowning his pancakes with syrup before he took a huge bite. “This is the day, Patton!” Patton blinked as he took a bite of his pancakes, which he had drizzled with honey.

“The day?” “Yes! The day that I’m going to finally ask Virgil Sanders out!”

“You stayed up late reading those comics again, didn’t you.” Logan said, and he didn’t have to look away from the road to know that Virgil was grinning at him nervously. “Virgil Sanders, if we’re late-”

“You’re more then welcomed to bury me!” Virgil said, while glancing nervously at the clock. He gulped. Seven fifty. Oh god.

Patton and Roman were getting in Patton’s light blue Chevrolet Spark, talking and laughing. They felt rested and were wide awake despite it being so early, and their bodies and stomachs were warm from Patton’s famous pancakes. Patton started his car and was in the process of pulling out, when another car zipped down the road in front of them. Patton jumped and gasped, causing Roman to look up from his phone with slightly wide eyes.

“What is it?” “Nothing, just...! That car was going pretty fast!”

Roman blinked, then just shrugged. Patton sighed and pulled out into the street, going in the same direction as that car. “I hope they don’t get in an accident...”

Everyone heard Logan’s car screech into the parking lot of Silver Creek High School, home of the Cheetahs. Despite the speed, he parked perfectly and well into the lines. He turned off the engine, shoving his keys into his pants pocket. He didn’t bother putting the roof up; it would take too long and he didn’t have anything to steal in the first place. Maybe a few mints, but that was about it. And, if the weatherman was right, they had clear skies all day. He got out of his car, catching his backpack that Virgil tossed to him before they sprinted across the parking lot and up the stairs to the front door of the high school.

At that moment, Patton drove into the parking lot. His small car was much more quiet and he parked carefully, and Roman popped a piece of gum into his mouth as Patton turned the car off. He patted the wheel affectionately before he and his twin got out, shutting their doors in sync before they walked around to the front of the car and headed to the front doors of their high school.

Roman and Patton were two steps into homeroom when the first bell rang. They moved to their seats, which were side by side, surrounded by their friends that greeted them happily. A low buzz of chatter filled the classroom, as many students wasted homeroom by talking to their friends. But Roman was hardly interested in the conversation, something about baking, his friends were having. He stared past one of them, to the boy who had been his crush for nearly the entire school year.

Virgil P. Sanders. The star of the basketball team. He brought a lot of wins into their court. He had chocolate brown hair that looked so soft and fluffy to the touch. His skin was pale, which reminded Roman of Snow White. He wondered if he liked apples. His eyes though, god his eyes. They were a light brown. They had the flecks of the sun near his irises and whenever he smiled or laughed, god they alone could brighten up an entire room. Today, he was wearing his usual jacket; a black jacket that had some pretty wicked, purple stitch designs all along the dark fabric. Along with that were black jeans ripped at the knees and some beat up red tennis shoes.

He obviously hadn’t tried today and Roman loved it. It was like he was the lovechild of a goth and a jock, with less makeup and muscles. Everything he wore looked perfect on him, especially when he was smiling. Right now, he wasn’t smiling. His head was buried into his arms, which were crossed over each other on his desk as he heaved for breath. Roman wondered what kind of run had made the star of the basketball team so breathless.

He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and he glanced towards it. Another teen their age sat beside Virgil, leaned back against his seat as he breathed heavily, in his mouth and out his nose. Roman’s eyes, gold from eye contacts, narrowed. Logan Foster. The new kid. He had moved up here two months ago, and all of the sudden he and Virgil were just best friends. He made a few waves when he first showed up. First of all, he was incredibly handsome(Roman freaking hated it), and super smart. He became the top student at their school in a mere month, a month.

It pissed Roman off.

While he wasn’t failing at school, there was definitely room for improvement. Everyone loved someone with brains. On top of it all, while Roman himself was extremely handsome, Logan could almost rival his looks and that set him on edge. Listen, he didn’t hate the guy. He was sure he was swell. But he was way to close to Virgil for his liking. They sat together at lunch and Roman really couldn’t understand why. Logan didn’t even eat sometimes, and he constantly had some kind of homework or book with him. Virgil stayed on his phone and in Roman’s opinion, he looked so bored. Who could blame him though? Roman wished he could just find the courage to go over there and invite him to his table, but for once in his life... Something was holding him back.

Suddenly, Logan shifted. He opened his eyes, revealing dark blue eyes. He leaned to the side and disappeared behind the desk for a moment, before he came back up holding a textbook of some kind. Roman rolled his eyes. What a surprise, he thought. Logan nudged Virgil with his elbow, causing the pale teen to jump slightly before he raised his head and looked at his friend with beady eyes.

“Study for that history test with me,” Logan said, and Virgil groaned but scooted his desk closer. Roman wanted his slam his head onto the desk. What a tight ass-

“Roman,” his twin whispered, and the theater geek jumped before he looked at him quickly.

“What is it?” He asked, and Patton smiled at him.

“Aren’t you going to ask...?” He asked, not continuing even though their entire group knew about Roman’s massive crush. Roman hummed and glanced over at Virgil and Logan, who were going over vocabulary terms he didn’t understand or care about. He didn’t want to do it while Virgil was doing something, and he certainly didn’t want to do it around Logan. It was quite obvious to Roman that Logan had a crush on Virgil, and that made him his enemy. That worked though, because every good Disney Prince had to fight for their love! But he, of course, couldn’t settle this with a good old sword fight.

No, he had to be smart.

“Not right now,” he told his twin, “I’m going to do it at lunch.”

Nightmares and Lies

((WARNING: SYMPATHETIC DECEIT AHEAD! If that triggers you, I suggest you don't read!))

Deceit had been in Roman's Fantasy Realm before. Sometimes it was to create mischief and to mess with the sides while true were on quests, to be the perfect bad guy, but other times it was just to... relax. And be alone.

He was used to being alone. As someone who was different from the the other Dark Sides but definitely wasn't welcomed by the Light Sides - well, unwelcome by most, Patton was always the exception - he had grown used to being alone a long, long time ago.

He was at his favorite spot. It was a bridge that went over a bubbling creek. It sounded nice and every now and then, some cute critters would scamper by. The fearless ones would look past his scales and enjoy his pets before running off. He liked it here, because it was peaceful, calm. It was also near a bend. If he heard someone coming, he could sink out before they even saw him. The trick had worked several, several times.

But, Deceit either didn't hear them or he was too wrapped up in his own thoughts this night. He was sitting crosslegged on one of the pillars of he bridge, staring out into the dark night and bubbling water, when he heard that godawful voice.

"Hey there, pumpkin pie!"

Deceit nearly jumped out of his skin; but he tried to act as calm as he could while sighing and turning towards the voice. While the sides were technically the same person they all had their own tones of voices, and Deceit most definitely knew that tone.

"Remy," he said, not even trying to hide the distaste in his voice.

Remy, or Sleep, smirked at him widely. He was sipping from a Starbucks dream that was theee fourths of the way full and he looked very pleased about something. His sunglasses were on his face, as they always were, along with his skinny jeans, white shirt( and leather jacket. His dress was iconic and annoying all at the same time.

"Nice to see you too, Sunshine! What're you doing down here?" He asked, biting the straw of his drink afterwards. Deceit sighed.

"That's definitely your business." He said. "If you could not leave me alone, that would not be delightful-"

"Oh, cut the lying, Snake-Eyes." Remy smirked. "It's gotta be annoying." Deceit bristled and growled, glaring forward. He decided to not spur Remy on with a response, but he should've known that that wouldn't have stopped the sassiest side of them all. "So, what's got you awake?"

"Shouldn't you be able to tell?" Remy shrugged and took a loud sip through his straw.

"I prefer it when people just tell me. Otherwises, I have to dive into your subconscious, and pick around your brain-" He waved his hand while rolling his eyes. "It's just not worth it, darling."

Deceit scoffed but didn't respond right away. He could feel Remy staring at him, waiting rather patiently. The snake-hybrid had known the side long enough to know that he didn't give up easily, and if he wanted an answer, he often got it. So he sighed and shifted, suddenly feeling uneasy.

"My bed's too lonely." He finally admitted, and he almost immediately cursed himself for it. What the hell was he thinking? Remy was either gonna laugh at him, or just not even believe him. Even when he was telling the truth, no one believed him-

"Well, why's that?"

Deceit blinked, before he looked at the other side. Remy was leaning against the bridge now, staring up at him as he waited patiently. Deceit stared at him."

"You must be kidding me." He finally growled. Remy snickered at the annoyance dripping from the deceitful side's tone.

"I'm not. Why is it lonely?"

"If you use some common sense-"

"Oh, c'mon. Work with me here."

Deceit stared at him, before he sighed.

"It's lonely, because... Because no one's there for me. No one's there right now, and no one's gonna be there when I wake up. No one's at my room, waiting for me, worrying about me." He growled and looked away. "It's- It's so stupid. "

"No it's not."

"Yes, it is. I shouldn't feel that way. I have no reason to."

"And why is that?"

"What?"

"Why don't you have a reason to feel that way?"

"..."

"Come on, don't clamp up on me now!" Remy teased, but it was flat. Neither were in a playful mood now.

"Because I'm not good!" Deceit suddenly snapped. "I'm not like the others, who bring something good to Thomas's life! I'm not like Patton, whose happy, and fluffy, and keeps Thomas so happy! And I'm not Logan who strives for the pursuit of knowledge and promotes selfcare! I'm not Roman, who comes up with some wonderful and creative ideas, who help the tours get ready- and I'm not even like Virgil, who keeps Thomas from running out into goddamn traffic and stops him from embarrassing himself! I'm-!" His voice choked and he gritted his teeth, fangs gleaming as he bared them.

"I'm... not... wanted."

Silence fell over them as Deceit bowed his head, taking a shaky breath. His heart was pounding from his outburst. It was the longest he'd ever been honest. He covered his mouth with his hand and took a deep breath through his nose.

"You might not be wanted, but you're needed."

Deceit stiffened.

"How many times have you saved Thomas?"

"Saved? What the hell are you-""

"The airport. When that guy shoved Thomas and his cart over in the elevator. Roman was ready to punch his lights out and Virgil was panicking. What did you do?"

"..."

"You told Thomas to say it was okay. It might not have been the most satisfying choice, but it was the safest choice. Thomas wouldn't have won a fight with that guy. You protected him."

"That-"

"And good lord, how many Thanksgiving's did you help him through? With judgemental relatives asking him when he was going to get a girlfriend?" Remy rolled his eyes. "You have the patience sent from a god, tart."

Deceit snorted, more at the nickname then the compliment.

"Dakota." The side stiffened at his real name and he swallowed before he looked at Remy. Remy stared back, his Starbucks placed beside the pillar Deceit sat on. "You don't need validation from the others. Sure, it's nice, and I'm certain that they're gonna come around one day- but, you don't need it. Thomas would be a wreck without you. He would have gotten into fights, into so many dangerous situations, lord only knows if he would've ever survived Thanksgiving." The usually sassy side smirked, but it was sad, almost bitter. He reached up and pulled off his sunglasses, revealing his eyes to Deceit for the very first time.

He had heavy bags underneath them, and they were bloodshot from his lack of sleep. Deceit understood why. While he saw every lie, Remy saw everyone's nightmares. He walked through every bad dream Thomas had, while Roman was lucky enough to only face the good and wacky ones. There was a valid reason behind all of the Starbucks, the late nights, and his snarky attitude. It was simply how he coped. It was how he kept the others from worrying.

They didn't know about Deceit's ability to see every lie, so he wouldn't be surprised if they didn't know a thing about the hell Remy faced every single night.

"You don't get anything out of misery, Dakota." Remy's voice was soft.

"Take it from me."

The unlikely friends parted without much more words. They probably wouldn't see each other again unless they caught each other the bridge, which was unlikely but not nearly as unlikely as them seeing each other in the common room.

They didn't go home together, or confide in their own troubles some more- sides like them weren't made for happy endings.

But Deceit swore that he heard a familiar voice humming as he drifted off to sleep that night, and that was enough for him.