Virgil was staring at Logan, his face almost completely neutral besides there being a very obvious yet subtle hint of rage in his eyes. Logan gulped.

Of course this would have happened- why didn't he consider the possibility that saying anything remotely positive about Janus would cause Virgil to get angry? Why would Logan ever be stupid enough to think his boyfriend would be able to hear something nice about his enemy and not immediately turn on the person who said it? Did it possibly matter who said it? Did Logan have any chance to redeem himself, or were those few words he uttered going to cause a rift in their relationship for the rest of its existence?

He silently weighed his options on how to proceed, as he had a few. For starters, he could lie, and say... say what? How could you get out of saying something you already said? Logan could claim he didn't mean it and was only trying to lighten up the situation, but Virgil would never believe that. Plus, if Virgil realized he had lied, he'd be as mad at Logan as he was at Patton. Logan just wanted to be there for Virgil- he didn't want him to have to be alone with no one to talk to.

His second option was to tell the truth. But all the next options revolved around exactly how much of that truth he told. A lie of omission could benefit him, but it could also hurt him. Saying only half of the truth was risky. If Virgil knew any part of it was a lie he would become confused and think the entire phrase was a lie. And Virgil just didn't deserve that kind of confusion, did he? No, not at all.

"Well?"

Logan's time was running out. He had to make a decision.

"Erm..."

"Use your words, Logan. I know you've got them. You're supposed to be the smart one."

...Was Virgil really prepared to turn on Logan that easily? No. He couldn't be.

After a few more moments of thinking, Logan decided he might as well tell all of the truth. If Virgil's reaction to Patton lying was bad, then maybe the exact opposite will at least let him know Janus wasn't rubbing off on him.

"...Right. Well, I suppose I really should come clean, Virgil. I'm very sorry in advance. I just... I always listen to you fully about your hatred of the dark sides along with Janus specifically. I do not mind letting you vent when no one else will listen. I love you more than life itself, more than the moon and the sun and the stars in the sky, and-"

"Stop beating around the bush."

Logan gulped. "I... I'm sorry, but, at the end of the day, after everything I've said, I really have more of a neutral stance on the topic of the dark sides. I have no opinion."

Virgil was silent. Logan watched as the anger in his eyes slowly began to surface into his expression.

"...Wow."

"Look, Virgil, I'm extremely sorry, but-"

"Sorry? Well, gee, it's all cool then! It's not like you lied to me and pretended to actually be on my side for the approximately two years we've been dating. At least you didn't lie about lying, like Patton did. But that doesn't mean you're in the clear."

Logan sighed. "Look, Virgil, can we please talk about this?"

"We already are talking about it."

"I mean, sit down and have a calm discussion. I will start off by just saying that I am so contrite that I never brought this up. I feared you would be angry with me, and it seems my suspicions were correct. I-"

"Logan, I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed."

Logan blinked a few times, and for a split second he saw Virgil's eyes soften with fear, realizing how hurtful the statement was that he had just said, but before Logan could even really take in Virgil's expression it was back to being pissed.

"...Well, Virgil, I knew you would feel some sort of resentment towards me. Can we- look, I love you so much, okay? Can we please just have a civilized discussion about this? I don't believe this is something to be extremely cross about, we only have a difference of opinion on one person. It's not like I cheated on you with him, which you know I would never do. We-"

"You fucking cheated on me with Janus?!"

"Wh- I- Virgil, no! I'm saying I didn't, and what I actually did was not nearly as bad as that would have been. I did not cheat on you and I would never cheat on you. You are the only person I have ever loved, I could never imagine myself with someone-"

"Well, Logan, it's pretty obvious you got something for them. It's almost like you want to-"

"Look- can- I have never- I have never considered becoming a dark side, alright?!"

Virgil's eyes widened, a look of are-you-fucking-kidding-me? plastered on his face.

"You... You liar. You goddamn LIAR! I never accused you of wanting to join them and yet you say that?! Wow. Y-"

"No! Virgil, I promise you I would never. Okay? I love it here with the light sides and I would never join the dark sides. I just want what's best for you- for us. I love you. I'm so sorry. I just want you to be happy, Virgil."

"Well that isn't what it feels like. You obviously-"

"I swear it's true. I have never felt so much love and excitement and joy in my life. The very thought of you existing makes me-"

"Can you stop cutting me off for once and let me speak?!"

He snapped.

"NO, FOR THE LOVE OF ZENO OF CITIUM, VIRGIL- CAN YOU BE QUIET AND STOP ADDING TO THE FACT THAT NO ONE EVER LISTENS TO ME AROUND HERE?!"

Logan clasped a hand over his mouth, now suddenly standing up, and Virgil took a step back, both of them surprised by Logan's sudden outburst of emotion. He had been keeping that one thought down since they had entered the room, of course it would have come up alongside recently repressed anger.

The anger quickly subsided, though, and Logan thought he was going to cry at the sight of Virgil's expression. He really wasn't one to cry, but Virgil just looked so...

"At this rate Patton would be better company than you, Logan."

...pissed.

"W-Wait, Virgil- look, I'm sorry, alright? I didn't mean to yell at you, I don't know why I did. I didn't mean any of that. I am so, so sorry. I-"

"I'll be downstairs."

"...Okay."

Virgil left the room without a moment's hesitation, and as soon as the door was fully closed Logan sat down and buried his head in his hands.

Thoughts swarmed in his mind, and he could have sworn he was getting a migraine from the sudden amount of stress shoved onto his shoulders. Or perhaps the stress was coming from the weeks and months of that one thought he had finally screamed out plaguing his every thought. But the most prevalent thought among all the rest was one simple phrase.

He had blown it.

That was it- Virgil clearly hated him now, just like that. Their relationship was ruined, and it would never be the same, not in a hundred years. It was Logan's fault. All of it. He felt like his life was practically collapsing before his very eyes- he depended on Virgil every single day. He lived to see his smile. He cherished every single physical and personality feature about him. Everything about Virgil made Logan feel happy and wholesome inside, from the top of his head to the soles of his shoes. But now that feeling was gone. They were still dating, perhaps it was just a fight, but when one person in the relationship hates the other person's guts, it's hard not to feel like all amounts of happy emotions were stripped from your body. It was hard for Logan, in that moment, to even grasp what the word happiness meant.

Had he ever even felt it? What was happiness really supposed to feel like?

Not what he was feeling currently, that was for certain. And it was in that moment that Logan realized his relationship had now been somewhat damaged with every single side in the mindscape except for Janus and Remus.

...He just felt so empty with the light sides now.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Logan realized there were a few small tears running down his face and so he quickly wiped them away, looking towards the door with a hopeful expression.

"...V-Virgil?" Logan stuttered out quietly.

"No... it's Janus."

"...Oh. Erm, come in."

The door opened and Janus stood there for a brief moment, looking Logan up and down before sighing and stepping inside. He closed the door behind him and took a few steps forward, standing a few feet away from where Logan was seated on the room's bed.

"How did you know I was in here? This is Virgil's room," Logan asked, very obviously playing dumb. Janus sighed.

"I don't think it takes a genius to know everyone in this entire fucked-up country could hear your little outburst a minute or two ago."

"...Ah."

"Mind if I sit down?"

"Well, I'm not sure if Virgil would... want you in here in the first place, so..."

"I don't care about that." Janus sat down next to Logan, folding his hands in his lap. He sighed once more.

"Why have you come up here? To try and comfort me? I am fine," Logan assured, crossing his arms.

"Hah. You do remember I know when people are lying, right? But, no, I'm not here to comfort you, unless you do really need a hug from someone who isn't too much of a jackass. I came up here because in the midst of your argument with your boyfriend, I-"

"Now- wait, hold on. Boyfriend?"

Logan's eyes were wide at this point, his hands clutching tight to the blankets below him. Janus wasn't supposed to know that. Their relationship was supposed to be a secret. Did Logan accidentally let it slip at some point? Was Janus able to hear Logan professing how much he loved Virgil from all the way downstairs? Who else knew?

"Don't play dumb. You two are dating, aren't you?"

Logan couldn't lie to Janus... it was literally impossible.

"...Fine. Yes, we are. But you mustn't tell- who else knows this?"

"Chill out, if you said he was your boyfriend during that argument no one heard it. I figured it out in the kitchen earlier when Virgil referred to you as his friend. I could tell it was a lie, and after that it wasn't hard to connect the dots between why you two would be around each other so often if you aren't friends."

"Oh... well then."

"But back to what I was saying- I was already venturing upstairs, but during the argument I heard you yourself lie about something, Logan."

Oh, right... right. He said he'd never considered joining the dark sides- yet he actually had. He had a few times by now, actually, and the thought had done more than just cross his mind.

"...Ah."

"So, I just wanted to ask... do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Was it only a consideration, or do you legitimately want to?"

That...

...

"I don't believe... no. No, I do not. I am perfectly content right where I am currently."

"Are you, now?"

"Yes. I do not wish, in any way, to join the dark sides."

Janus raised an eyebrow. After a few moments of silence and slow breathing, he stood.

"...Whatever you say, Logan."

And as Janus left the room, Logan began to wonder if Janus knew something about him that he didn't know himself.

•~~~~•
Okay okay okay okay I know Virgil seems really toxic right now and he definitely is being like that but I swear I don't see him that way and I swear he's not gonna be like this for the entirety of the story. Because no one wants to see that. Or at least, I'm not comfortable writing one of the sides as an inherently bad person. All toxic people have their own backstory, even if they are pretty bad. (Of course, that's not to say you should just go and push aside the stuff toxic people do. If someone is being toxic you make them aware of their behavior and, if necessary, leave the relationship.)

See ya soon, kiddos!🎥