Their days shifted together. Landon had been a drifting thought in their lives. Occasionally, Janus noticed the painful passing glance Logan threw at his phone as a familiar number shined. He always swiped it away, refusing to speak to his brother, and Janus could hardly blame him.

Besides their bumps, the months passed, and Janus found himself falling into their gentle routine, relishing in it. He looked forward to their mornings, whether he slipped or not, Logan often cooked breakfast before he worked. He'd either feed Janus, or they'd engage in a quiet run down of how their day would go. While unemployed, Janus mainly took care of the house. He hated how useless he felt, not having a part in providing for the two of them, and in part, Logan made the deal that if he did the housework, then he'd be chipping in. Only when big, of course.

When little and left alone all day, he was given strict rules, no knives, no hot surfaces, don't leave the house, don't play with the cleaning products, basically it was an entire lecture of "Don't die." And Janus hated every moment. He may be regressed, but he wasn't incompetent. He knew not to swallow the laundry detergent for God's sake!

He couldn't be upset at Logan, though, not when he treated him so kindly, so patient as he wormed through his complicated thoughts and feelings, soothing him through tantrums. No, he couldn't be upset at him at all.

Their day began the same as it always did, Logan sat across from him, chewing slowly at his bagel smeared with cream cheese and blackberry jam. On the side is a small portion of bacon and a mug of plain black coffee. Janus gratefully had been served his bagel plain, merely buttered.

"Janus."

Janus' eyes quickly jumped up towards Logans, their content silence quickly broken. "Yeah?" He answers back, his voice slightly muffled by his bagel, quickly chewing through the thick pastry.

"I'm curious if you'd like to go on a date today."

Janus nearly choked on the last bits of his bagel, gulping down a few mouthfuls of orange juice while Logan raised a brow, his fingers tapping against the wooden table.

"W-Well- don't you have work?" Janus stumbles, flushed a bit. They'd been out plenty sure. They've been dating for a few years at this point. Of course, they've been on too many dates to count. And yet, everytime Logan asks him, Janus finds himself right back at the first time all over again, his stomach doing summersaults and his cheeks warming.

Logan shakes his head. "There's been an opening in my schedule unexpectedly, so I don't have any other meetings until later this afternoon, giving us ample time to have a day to ourselves." He explains bluntly, watching as Janus softens a bit, his lips curling into a soft smile.

"Logan, I'd love to. Always." He murmurs, reaching his hand out to take his, enjoying the way Logans pale cheeks began to glow pink as well, his own lips curling to a smile.

"Very well. I've been brainstorming a few ideas. I don't believe we've been in the city much recently, have we? There are plenty of landmarks and parks to walk through. Shops, parlors, markets, the works. Would that suffice?"

Janus swoons internally.

"That all sounds lovely." He sighs sweetly, relaxing into his slightest of touch. "We haven't had a day without me regressing in a bit. I miss our dates." And while he hides his slight jab towards his regression well, Logan clocks it immediately.

He frowns and shakes his head. "Janus, your regression isn't a burden."

Janus mirrors his expression and glances away briefly. "I didn't say it was."

"I sense a bit of negativity towards your regression, though."

Janus stays silent for a moment. And then he sighs. "I just miss us." He murmurs solemnly. "It isn't that I don't enjoy regressing, and I do agree that it's helped a lot, but..." His frown deepens. "It feels like it's all I do!"

Logans eyebrows shoot up a bit in surprise, and Janus jumps a little at his own raising voice, not quite sure where his sudden frustration came from. He watched as Logan sat up a bit straighter and tightened his hold on his hand.

"I see."

Janus glances down at the table, biting his lip. "I regress a lot."

"To help with your alcoholism." Logan reminds, bit too sharply, and Janus grits his teeth.

"But then...then it's all I am all over again." Janus argues, and Logan frowns as his voice dampens, growing softer. "Am I just an alcoholic? Regress to help with the fact I'm an alcoholic, I have no job because I'm an alcoholic, I stay at home every day besides the day you take me out because I'm an alcoholic. I could go somewhere but where? The bar?" His voice almost comes out as a sneer, barely noticing his hand beginning to tremble in Logans hold. "Will I ever be... more than what I am?"

"Janus," Logan firmly speaks, and yet his thumb softly rubs against his knuckles. "You are much more than that. You're a brilliant man with a cunning mind. You're always three steps ahead of everyone you meet, always playing the game before the match is called. You are an amazing person who has been dealt a hard hand to play, gambling a few too many cards and losing them in the process," His hand closes around his, grounding him as he squeezes his hand. "You are more than just my little snake. More than a troubled man, you are my lover, you are my world, you are Janus." His free hand swiftly slides up his cheek, watching as his teary eyes drank up his words.

"Yeah?" Janus softly murmurs.

"Yes." Logan confirms, without hesitancy and nods. "You are everything. And while I enjoy being your caregiver, I am your partner first. I'll ask again with better confirmation, Janus, my lover. Would you accompany me on a date?"

Janus barks out a teary laugh and melts further into his warm hand, and nods slowly. "Yes, Logan. I'd love that."

"Good." He soothes, merely holding him there. "Because I love you, and I enjoy our time together. No matter how it's spent. Whether we are enjoying each other's company while reading or if I'm cleaning up your blocks, there isn't anywhere else I'd rather be."

---

An aquarium. The large tanks filled with so many different types of sea life towered over the pair as they walked the interior hall. It wasn't busy, it's a Monday after all, around one or so, children are at school and other adults are most likely working. Janus and Logan had no qualms, it was actually why they chose the aquarium. Logan is able to ramble about the animals, spewing far too many facts for Janus to remgember—which simply meant Logan would have to tell him again, what a shame—and Janus got to see sea snakes.

They both win really.

There's soft music playing from the intercom, Janus presses his fingertips against the glass as a shark swivels by, swallowing after another larger shark. Fish swarm the tank, swimming and packs and Janus watches, mindlessly stroking his thumb over Logans knuckles.

"Did you know," Logan begins, in that telling way that he was about to spew an interesting fact, and Logan leaned in expectantly. "Sharks have special organs called ampullae of Lorenzini that allow them to detect electrical fields in the water, helping them locate prey?"

"I didn't." Janus muses, he had no reason to really, sharks are rather interesting to look at, but he didn't have that same itch of curiosity to know everything as Logan does. He adores his curiosity, his yearning to know everything about the world, constantly learning what he can to take away from everything he didn't.

"It's called Electroreception."

Janus paused for a moment and raised a brow at Logan. "Say that five times fast."

Logan rolls his eyes, amusement twinkling behind his mock annoyance. "I will do no such thing. That's ridiculous. Once should be enough."

Janus shrugs. "I don't know, I don't think I heard you well. I think you need to say it again." He muses, his lips curling up while Logan mirrors him.

"Oh dear, don't tell me you're feeling little? Are big words too difficult for you right now?"

Janus flushed, his amusement simmering as he glares and turns his head away. "I hate you."

Logan hums, barely phased and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. "I love you too."

"You're such a sap. It's disgusting. Get away." He complains, lightly pushing at his chest while his lips twitch upwards, laughing as Logan makes a show of peppering his face with kisses.

"I don't think I will. I doubt you want me to anyhow." Janus snorts and swats at him playfully, cheeks flushing at the blatant show of affection. It was nothing like their early days of their relationship—subtle brushes over his knuckles, the occasional kiss in public. There's nothing wrong with subtly, though, Janus adored this more, open and free. Logan loved him and woukd show the world. A man who didn't show nearly as much emotion towards anyone else, does for him.

They continue walking through the different displays of different sea creatures until the glass disappears into open spaces. They wander towards the stingray exhibit, and of course they have to pet them. They wait in line behind families mostly, little kids excitingly hopping in place or shyly clinging to their parents as they usher them forward. Plenty of them push harder than they should, while most lean over and delicately stroke over the smooth skin.

When it's their turn, Janus watches them glide and wiggle around each other. He kneels, the exhbit admittingly made for children rather than adults. It reminds him of his age—of how old he really is and for some reason that makes his chest clench a little despite having insisted that he wanted to be big for their date. He is big. Then why did it upset him that he was?

Logan notices his dismay, because Logan somehow always knows about what he's thinking. He rarely had to voice it, rarely had to explain. He just knew. It's a little infuriating.

He places a solid hand on his shoulder and Janus lifts his eyes to meet his. Warm hues meet cool ones, and despite the whirlwind of blues he might as well as been diving into a pool full of lava with the warmth that blossomed in his chest. Logan doesn't smile reassuringly, but he does lean in and press a kiss to his cool skin, burning him further from the inside out.

"You're thinking quite a bit there." It wasn't a question, nor really an accusation, just a blatant statement. "What is it?"

Janus looks away from his knowing eyes, his hand reaching out into the cool water and drags his finger over the stingray delicately, letting it swim away with ease. "I'm big."

"You are. Is that a problem?"

Janus sighs and melts further against the glass display, his eyes watching the creatures. For being held behind a wall of glass, the way they swam just felt so freeing. "No, I don't want to regress I just feel old standing next to actual children."

Logan's eyes search his face for a moment before he leans in near him, mimicking his actions of gently petting the stingray. "I hate to break it to you, but aging is inevitable."

Janus rolls his eyes. "I'm well aware of the excruciating thought of growing older and feeling as if I'm running out of time."

"Then why spend it worrying about how you look doing something you enjoy? Something harmless? You don't have to be regressed to enjoy something that is simply advertised as a child-friendly activity. Besides," Logan pauses for a moment, and Janus shifts his gaze, realizing he too was admiring the movement of the stingray, the way they twisted and surveyed their space with ease. They didn't seem bothered by their limited space, they adapted. In some ways, Logan envied their instincts to do so. "I'm not a little at all and I enjoy this."

"I know," Janus murmurs, rubbing his neck a little. "It's a weird feeling. Just feels wrong."

"I understand." Logan pulls his hand from the water and moves towards the sanitation station, gathering them carefully and Janus unconsciously follows after him, allowing their spots to be taken by a pair of teens. After their hands are clean, Logan cups his cheek and tilts his head up ever so slightly in a way that always seems to make him melt against him.

"Big or small, I think you are magnificent." His words were so true, so definite. If theres one thing about Logan, he's genuine—truthful. The opposite of himself, a liar. Maybe thats what pulled him toward him in the end. It was nice to have someone who called him out on his lies, who never did so himself and was himself through and through. Someone unafraid to face the facts of life while Janus burned through every alley instead of taking the main road.

Logan isn't a liar, so he believed every syllable.

"Thank you." His voice was so quiet even to his own ears, and when soft lips pressed against his, his mind and body were nothing of concern. Nothing was, and really, he didn't want it any other way.

---

2026 and I'm finally posting a new chapter of this book and it feels surreal. I'm sorry for how long its taken, and while this book isn't amazing—hush, hush let me finish—I do find it rather nostalgic of a time I wrote far more frequently and interacted with a community I loved and enjoyed. Life feels like its moving so quickly and I got lost in it for awhile and writing just became harder for me, something that used to rush out onto a page just diminished. However, out of all my books this one (and maybe Little Villian, thats an entire separate note on its own lol) I want to at least finish this book and end it even if there are points I wanted to expand on. At one point I even had a sequel planned for Remus' and Virgil's story! I doubt that'll happen, but who knows. Anyway, if you've read all the way through thank you for all your support! This book has one more chapter and then It'll be finished. Enjoy :)