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Remus traced his finger over the half crown that he owned. Thomas’ words echoed in his mind, and not even Deceit could make Remus crack a smile. Sure, Remus had left with a grin and seemed fine as he had sunk out. But he was an actor. Just like his brother. Words still hurt, whether he showed it or not.
It didn’t help that Patton and Virgil’s initial reaction to sensing him was to panic, and cause Thomas a lot of stress about it. That still stung quite a bit.
He set down the broken accessory, a momentum of sorts of who he was before he and Roman split. It would usually make him feel better, but it couldn’t help, not now. Not when he was thought to be scary and bad.
Why else would he be a Dark Side?
Remus hugged himself, tears slipping down his cheeks as he cried, alone within his room. Maybe it was better that he was alone. He’d probably hurt someone if they were near him.
Quite a bit of time passed, perhaps two hours or so if Remus had to guess, when he felt another presence in his room. It was a strong and familiar presence, one that made him feel safe and protected.
He wiped his eyes, sitting up in his bed and turning to the side who had decided to visit him. His breath hitched as Roman stood, much closer than Remus had anticipated. Roman gestured to the bed, silently asking for permission to sit.
Remus nodded slowly, and Roman wrapped an arm around his brother. Remus took in a shaky breath, arms finding their way around Roman and he let out a small sigh, that sense of protection washing over him.
“Deceit told me you’ve been up here for awhile… it’s about earlier, huh?”
Remus laughed quietly. “Very observant, Princey.”
Roman rubbed Remus’ back slowly, taking in the messy and honestly disturbing room. Roman didn’t like coming into Remus’ domain, but he hated seeing one of the sides crying, especially Remus. So he had to set aside his feelings about Remus’ choice in decor for the moment, he could always tease Remus later.
“Anything I can do to help?”
Remus shook his head before Roman could even finish. “He thinks I’m scary, Roman. I can’t change that. And neither can you.”
Silence fell between them, Roman frowning at his brother’s statement. But he couldn’t say anything to prove him wrong- Thomas did say Remus was scary. And had been excited when he saw Remus had “left.”
And Roman was definitely not the best person to help deal with insecurities.
“Well- Patton and Virgil are going to try to be less extreme from now on, and Logan didn’t have a problem with you before, and Deceit’s always there for you.”
“And what about you? Or Thomas, who is literally our host?”
“I know we don’t exactly get along, but I’m here for you too. You’re still my brother, after all. And…” Roman trailed off for a moment, spotting the half crown nearby on the floor. “And we can work with Thomas. We were once one, he’s gonna have to accept that we’re both part of him.”
Remus was quiet for a moment. But when he spoke again, his voice was unusually soft. “Do you miss him? Being King, I mean?”
Roman’s arms tightened around Remus, holding his brother just a bit closer. “Sometimes.”
More silence followed, and neither twin moved from the embrace.