AN//: To that one person who guessed that Remy was talking about a QPR with the Girls. You were absolutely right!

Tons of Ace and Aro and even AroAce respect juice to go around this chap, it's 7k so drink up babes! ;)

----

They were running in the woods.

"Come on Logic! You need to keep up! You're never gonna pass the training examination if you don't try!"

"I don't need to try Morality! I've already created a chemical that can break through the pens!"

"Well sure you can think with your brain, but you still need to defend yourself!"

"Defend myself against what? If I throw an acid at you, what do you possibly think you can do to me?"

"Not against me silly! You need to defend yourself from others. But if you throw a flammable acid at a fire breathing dragon, what do you think happens to you?"

"I-"

"You'd get burnt like bacon. I like bacon!"

"Well I don't want to be bacon. Lets test speed and endurance, race you to that Birch tree, first one there wins!"

"Wait! I don't know which one's a Birch tree!"

"That's your fault for not reading the notes Nostalgia gave us!" Exclaimed Logan as he prepared to take off.

"Boys be careful!"

The two looked at each other and then shouted back.

"Yes Nostalgia!"

----

"What do you mean by kinda four times Patton?" Asks Janus skeptically.

"Oh, well at first I thought that the Male Nostalgia that escaped from the Dragon Witch was the first one and then had reincarnated into the Female Nostalgia that raised me and Logan; but then I realized something, I was formed first!

I'm the Primary so my Nostalgia had to be formed before the one you met-"

"Wait", calls Thomas, "I thought that a Personality's Rank was dependent on how much I used them, not when they were formed? And even if it were the case, how come you're not the Tertiary Janus? You're obviously older than the Twins if Roman formed after you"

Deceit shrugged. "Well technically I should be but when you look at it, in the power level way...the Imagination's kind of a big place. Besides, I'm more of a behind the scenes person"

"Oh, oK", mumbled the Host. Not quite willing to further question the suddenly prickly Serpent.

Patton suddenly jolted and then snapped his fingers. "Oh! I just remembered, you never met the Emotion who could multiply. That was Mischief, he was an Aspect and I knew him well.

------

As Logan and Patton raced, dodging through trees and throwing sticks at each other, Nostalgia and Mischief stayed a little distance behind.

Now Mischief was very amused at the disorder Patton was most definitely causing. Logan, however, was not and neither was Nostalgia.

She kept calling for them to be careful and to be quiet; they didn't really listen, of course, and Mischief often told her to relax.That obviously did not happen but Nostalgia's worst fear did.

It all happened so quickly.

The boys stopped suddenly, for in front of them lay a huge fallen tree. It bridged a gap that seemed to drop over 20 feet. They decided to walk over the tree one by one as that made the most sense, unbeknownst to them however, there was a Troll that lived inside the tree and thus over the gap. Once the boys were on the tree, The Troll emerged, tall and green and pig like, with a club in its left hand. It smiled at them. Sickly yellow teeth gleaming with black saliva. "You two will make a nice treat for the Queen!" He said cackling as he grabbed the boys.

Nostalgia screamed and as quickly ran towards them, she threw a potion vial out of her pocket and straight at the Beast's eyes. The Troll howled, dropping the two as the scent of burning acid and skin filled the air.

Blind and angry the Troll lifted his club and began swinging wildly. One swing broke the tree in half, sending one half into the gap below. The other half was steadily sliding down and with it, the young Patton and Logan who were holding on the roots.

Mischief split into multiple clones, spanning the gap with his clones like a human bridge. Somehow Nostalgia managed to reach the roots the two were on, grabbing both Patton and Logan before tossing them onto Mischief's bridge.

In the process however the troll's tree bridge, now completely damaged, fell apart and both the Troll and Nostalgia were impaled by the other half of the tree.

Patton and Logan looked on in horror as they crawled over the clones' backs to safety. Once they were safe on the forest floor, Mischief let his clones disperse, he hid his crying face but made sure to softly console and take the younger two back to their Rebel camp.

------

Remus was thrilled.

"See! Now that's a juicy story! Nice and moist with bloodshed! Did you two have to explain to her reincarnation that you got her killed? I want all the details!"

Patton winced at the word 'moist', "um, no, not really. We didn't have to tell Nostalgia anything"

"What do you mean? Oh shit, did you hide it from the reincarnation?!"

"Of course not! The thing is, Nostalgia had a unique ability", explains Patton. "The ability to never forget anything. Not only for Photographic memory and such but everything regarding memory. Nostalgia could even remember what happened reincarnation after reincarnation. Every memory would be intact, including muscle memory, so fighting and training were never a problem."

Janus hummed, "back then, being able to come back with all the knowledge you gathered would be a very useful technique for trickier missions, especially high risk ones"

"Yep", nodded Patton. "Nostalgia always came back...one way or another"

----

An Emotion had formed in the middle of the forest on their return way back.

He looks up shakily at them and the glares.

"Didn't I tell you two to be careful?! Now I have to spend an entire week recovering!"

The two boys flinched, unsure of whether they were supposed to stay put or move and help-

"Nos, you need to be a bit more gentle, I don't think they know it's you", says Mischief sighing as he simply stepped forward and bent to scoop the newly formed Nostalgia into his arms.

"We have work to do Chee! I can't just lay around not doing it!"

"Says the one who can barely keep his eyes open"

"...rude..."

-----

Remus whistles.

"Well I guess Mischief was Bi as hell-"

"Nope!"Chimes Patton. "They weren't attracted to each other!"

The Duke's brows furrowed. "Not even when Nostalgia changed gender like clothes?"

"Well, they were together but not romantically?" The Prominent shrugs, "they had told us that they had a close bond that would last through lifetimes but it wasn't romantic"

Roman joined in, curiously looking between Logan and Patton. "Did they consider each other family?"

Patton shook his head. "No, they called themselves partners in crime a lot though."

"Ah", started Thomas, equally trying to piece things together, "so they just close and were dating other-uh, people then"

"Nope, they were pretty exclusive-"

"Then what, they were just really good friends?" Mumbled Anxiety.

Patton's voice raised a pitch, "I mean, they were more than friends but they were not in a romantic relationship?"

Roman crossed his arms in thought. "How can you be more than friends...and not be more than friends? Was it like a friend with benefits kinda deal?"

"No, they weren't interested in any of that either...they were close? That was just their, uh, thing?" Patton shrugged sheepishly.

Remus however, wasn't having it. "How can you be in a 'more than friends' relationship, not be attracted to each other, not call each other family and still be close?"

Roman frowned, looking at his brother. "Why did you emphasize 'still'?"

"Cause 'hate fucking' is a thing", said Remus matter of factly.

"Fair", conceded Roman with a nod.

Patton turned pink as he sputtered at the Twins' comments "Um. They were pretty adamant that uh that wasn't really their thing either, so..."

"So, let's see if we can make sense of this", calls Janus to the distressed Prominent. "Nostalgia and Mischief were more than friends, did not consider each other family, and were not in a romantic or sexual relationship, but they were together"

"Yes?"

Remy tensed.

All of this felt familiar and he couldn't name it but there was a pit in his stomach and he felt like he'd be sick. Not nauseous in the sense but it was as if someone just dumped ice down his back.

He haunched in on himself in his seat.

He had talked to the Girls about it, long ago. It had been brought up by one of the old servants of the Dream Tower.

The whole delivery into their relationship had started as a scandal, when a maid had found the three of them sleeping in his bed. The maid had said nothing to him but had very scathing words to say about the Girls.

Remy hadn't heard everything, having just woken roughly an hour after the Girls. It was on his way to get coffee that he heard just enough and grew angry fairly quickly.

He stomped up to her with hands on his hips, seething. "What we do behind closed doors is none of your business but if you must know, we were working late and fell asleep. You have a problem with that?"

The maid to her credit turned to him without an once of fear, "quite frankly I do M'lord, even if you claim not to have done anything untoward, what reason do you have for a woman, much less two, to lay in your bed with you if they are not your lovers?" She crossed her arms and Remy found himself frozen in shock. Seeing as no one spoke up, the maid continued, "I am no fool M'lord, tis not the first time I've found you three like this. To further prove matters, only they are allowed into your room at any time and vice versa. Is that not only appropriate for family and lovers? Neither of you are related so what are others to expect?"

"It- it's not like that-" stammered the Guardian.

"No? Then do clarify for me M'lord. Even my closest friends would not do what you three do. So do educate to me on what you would call it?"

"I-"

"Do you love them?" She asks.

"What? Of course-!"

The maid then turned to the Girls, who had been as shocked as Remy had been. "Do you love him?" She asked them.

"Yes but-" and "obviously, but-", were the two simultaneous responses by Serenity and Patience, but the Maid didn't let them continue further.

"You two love him and he loves you both, correct?"

The trio nodded, not bothering to speak again, knowing that the maid would only cut them off again.

She huffed and brushed invisible dirt off her hands.

"Well then, that sounds like lovers to me. I rest my case...and I take my leave of this sin. Good day."

The maid left that day and never returned, taking quite a few others with her.

That night Remy asked the Girls if they wanted to stop hanging out in his room.

"What? Why would we want to do that?" Asks Patience as she flops down on his bed for emphasis. "You've got the best bed inside this place and it's big enough for all three of us!"

The Guardian winces. "Yeah, that's kinda my point-"

Serenity, who had been ready to flop on top of Patience, paused. "Is this because of what happened with Estel?"

"Oh, right!" Mumbles Patience covering her face with her hands, "I got so tired doing the work that the other maids left behind, I forgot why they left. Estel was a pain to deal with anyway, as far as I'm concerned, she can take her snobs elsewhere."

Right, Estel was the name of the maid.

Sleep nodded. "Yeah. I mean, but you saw just how many people left with her. Are we actually doing something wrong?"

Patience sits up, "oh no hun, look, it's like you said. Why does it matter to them what we do or don't do behind closed doors?"

"Exactly!" Pipes Serenity, "we've never slept together in that way and so what if we did? We're not hurting anyone and it's no one else's business."

"Yeah! Besides, we're just-"

Sleep quirks a brow. "Just friends? Cause we're way passed that babes"

Patience throws her hands up in defeat. "Ok, fair. I don't know what we are and I'm afraid if we give it a name that would mean having to go on dates and do sappy stuff and that's just not us"

"We don't have to do any of that," hums Serenity, "we should just keep doing what we're doing-"

Remy huffs. "But what exactly are we doing? It's not romantic, definitely not familial and we apparently went too far beyond 'just friends'."

"Well we aren't friends with benefits either", mumbles Patience, causing both Remy and Serenity to turn pink.

She laughs and flops back onto the bed. "I mean, I'm down, but I gotta be in a very specific mood for that"

"I second that statement!" Giggled Serenity.

Remy snort laughs and flops beside Patience.

"Are you even attracted to women Rem?" Asks Serenity as she flops down on the other side of him.

The Aspect shrugs, "tbh, I've never felt attracted to anyone in my life, but I'm down for whatever fun. Y'know? Like if fun is watching a movie and drinking Starbies then yeah. And if fun is making out while dancing under the sheets then that too. I'm down for whatever, with whoever. I've just never had a crush"

"Lucky bitch! I've had a total of two crushes ever and 10/10 do not recommend. My crushes are absolute idiots and I love them!"

"Ooh, gonna tell us who?~" teases Remy.

Serenity beside him was wiggling her eyebrows, just as eager to find out.

Patience pauses and looks them both dead in the eyes, before sighing. "No...cause they're idiots."

"Fine, keep your secrets!" Giggled Serenity as she chucked a pillow at Patience. "I had one crush, one big one on two people but that's it-"

Patience tosses back the pillow, "then that's two crushes! You're such an idiot!" She laughs as she grabs a free pillow and thwacks the other over and over with it in jest.

Serenity shrieks, grabbing another pillow to defend herself, turning it into a full pillow fight.

When Patience gets whacked hard enough the some feathers stick to her curls, Remy couldn't help but laugh. In response both girls whacked him with a pillow.

After the pillow fight and there was a mess of feathers all over the room, the trio flopped back onto the bed still giggling.

"See", starts Patience, "if we had a conventional relationship, we probably wouldn't get to just do this. She wrinkles her face, "plus we'd have to call each other sappy pet names-"

Remy grins, "what, like asshole, bitch, stupid and idiot aren't sappy pet names? Shame, you've been calling me them for so long-"

Patience tosses what's left of a pillow at his face.

Serenity laughs, happy and content to see the other two bickering for the fun of it. "I think we just skipped all that puppy love phase and went straight to the 'I've been married with these idiots for too long and I know them too well to trust them without adult supervision"

Patience and Remy look at each other before looking at Serenity. "Says the one who lit water on fire!" They exclaimed simultaneously.

Immediately Serenity burst out laughing, "I still don't know how that happened!"

The other two couldn't hold back their own laughter even if they wanted to.

It was when the three of them were halfway to a doze that it really came to light.

"Do you think there's ever gonna be a name for what we have?" Whispers Remy, his eyes drooping.

"Still thinking about it?" Whispers Serenity.

"Yeah", whispers back Remy, thinking that Patience was asleep, "I don't know why though"

"Maybe it's because you like when things are defined", whispers Patience.

The other two tense.

"Oh, you're awake", mumbles Remy absently.

"Yeah, been awake...", whispers back Patience, "I think that even if it doesn't have a name, it wouldn't matter, now would it? Like, it'll still be us"

"Well that can be it!" Exclaims Serenity softly. "It's our thing, it's just us"

"I like that" smiles Patience, we're our own thing. If it gets a name, that would be so cool but for now, it's just us"

"Yeah, us. I like that too." Yawns Remy, the Aspect was now visibly fighting with his eyelids.

The Girls chuckled.

"Go to sleep Remy", giggles Serenity softly.

"Mnh, what if I don't want to?" Grins Sleep.

"Bitch, you haven't slept in two days, close yo damn eyes, dumbass!" Jests Patience, sending Remy and Serenity into a fit of giggles.

The Guardian smiles. "See, pet names~!"

This of course set the three of them off again and they giggled until their eyes closed on them.

Remy had fallen asleep that night, in between both of his Girls, with a different type of relationship than the conventional and a pseudo name to call it, he was as happy as can be.

It was never brought again afterwards and just considered the norm for the Dream Tower trio.

Remy never thought to question if there was wrong with the relationship, nor did he bother to find out if there was a name for it after that.

There was no need to.

But now-

Logan sighed loudly adjusting his glasses as he spoke.

"I believe what Patton was trying to say was that Mischief and Nostalgia were in a Queer Platonic Relationship, or QPR for short."

"Alright, I'll bite specs", starts Roman, "what does it mean?"

"Well in the simplest of terms, it's a relationship which is more intense and intimate than what most people regard as a friendship, because it's not fitting the traditional romantic couple model or the traditional bounds of friendship. It can be characterized by a strong bond, affect, and emotional commitment not regarded by those involved as something beyond a friendship.

Remus looked at the teacher suspiciously.

"So you're definitely sure those two weren't banging?"

Logan rolls his eyes but continues his explanation, "It is a so-called platonic relationship, so it does not usually comprehend sexuality, eroticism or romance, although some people involved in light or non-traditional romantic relationships might also categorize themselves as being queerplatonic. So yes it's possible that some cases of copulation may occur if both partners are willing but it's seen more of a simple, if not tedious, activity rather than the romantic connection other relationships tend to view it as"

Janus chimes in with a shrug, "I'm guessing that would only be the case for two Aromantics who aren't Asexual"

"Well yes, but you can also have an Aro with an Ace. Or an AroAce with their partner of any other sexuality. That being said, keep in mind that Asexulity is a spectrum that falls under three main categories: sex inclined, sex indifferent and sex averse. So an Aro and an Ace can engage in the activity if they wish, even two or more Asexuals given that they are on the former two sides of the categories"

Anxiety, who had been quiet for the most part blinked, and began listing on his hands "So positive, neutral and negative?"

"Precisely-" nods Logan, only to be interrupted by the Duke.

"Hey, hey look!" He says as he lists on his fingers, "If you realize the three categories are just: fuck yes, eh fuck, maybe and fuck no!"

Roman stood up and shot a pillow at his brother's face.

"Oh my fucking, God Remus, shut up!"

To which of course the Duke cackled.

Janus rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Logan. "You said partners."

"Yes", affirms the Secondary, "as a non-romantic relationship, people in a queerplatonic relationship are not restricted to having just one queerplatonic partner, they ten to call each other "QP's" or "QPP's"

"Aww! That's so cute!" Squeals Patton.

"Agreed", answers both Logan and Janus in sync.

"Well", starts Remus as he heads towards the dining room, before he disappears from view he points at Remy with a knowing grin, "now you have a name to call it!"

Sleep felt like he was struck.

Everyone turned to look at the Aspect but no stare seared as much as the Host's.

Thomas looks at Remy curiously, but to the Guardian he might as well have been trying to read his soul. "Wait", he asks, "that was like you and the Girls wasn't it?"

The Aspect's mouth went dry and his throat practically closed on him, he couldn't speak even if he wanted to. So instead he simply held his breath and nodded. The image of the maid leaving in disgust suddenly became Thomas and Remy awaited the rejection from his Host.

"Cool", comments Thomas, "I learnt something new today. Are you Ace? Or Aro? Were the Girls? Um if I can ask I mean..."

Remy, still reeling from the quick acceptance answered without really thinking. "Oh...um, I guess? The Girls really only liked each other and me so, I'm not really sure? It never mattered to us. I haven't really thought about it much for myself either, like I mean romantic relationships are def not my thing and I've never found someone I'm attracted to, so... I guess I'm Aro Ace? But I can and have admired tons of good looking people-"

"Oh please, you'd bang anything pretty that moved!" Calls out Remus as he returns with an arm full of apples and a Mielcabez flower. He hands the flower and an apple to Remy before passing the apple to everyone else.

Sleep shrugs, appreciating his cousin's crude remark for getting most of the attention off of him. "Hey, just more people to love right? And besides I'm not gonna say no to a good time if they ask"

"Nice!" Nods the Duke, seemingly proud of both himself and his little cousin. "Consent is sexy as hell!

"Damn right it is!" Joins Roman with a high five.

Deceit rolls his eyes, poking Remus in the chest lightly in jest. "Says the embodiment of Intrusive thoughts-"

The Duke pokes him back. "Hey! It's one thing to look at a knife and want to stab yourself or someone with it vs giving or getting permission to stab or be stabbed with something else~"

Janus turned as red as Patton. "Remus!"

Roman was now cackling as hard as his brother. Thomas was trying not to laugh.

"What?!" He continues, thoroughly enjoying the attention.. "You can put it any way you like but someone's still technically being impaled~!"

Of course, the darker humor got Anxiety to laugh as well.

Deceit face palmed, shaking his head and then pinching the bridge of his nose as everyone else laughed.

Remy only managed a smile.

His thoughts were still on what happened earlier. They had all given him a nod and moved on, like nothing happened. They all just accepted it and damn, if the Girls were here it would have been so nice to have finally had an actual name for their relationship. Their 'thing' had a name, they weren't alone...

Well he was now.

He looked at the flower and the green apple in his hands. He chose to eat the flower first, hoping it would stop the pain of both his headache and the dull ache of heartbreak.

----

"Ok so your theory on the order of which Nostalgia was formed might be correct." Comments Janus, "we can assume that after the Female Nostalgia you knew died and became Male, then died again. Reincarnated as a Male again and was found by the Dragon Witch.; this is the one that escaped. However Nostalgia died in that same form so why hasn't a reincarnation been done? And what did you mean by kind of?"

Patton jumped and was quick to hold his hands out in a placating manner. "Ok so before anything, we knew that Nostalgia was able to reincarnate really quickly and remember everything right?"

"Right?" Answers Roman confused.

Patton then turned to his Host. "And you know that Personality's have three or four abilities right?"

Thomas looked even more confused by the clarifications. "Yes?"

"Well you see, I have an ability called End. What it basically does is splits, ends and sends Emotions or Figments back into the subconscious, as particles. Unfortunately, you got to see a bit of it with...the Girls."

"Ok?" Questions Anxiety, "and what does this have to do with Nostalgia?"

The Prominent whimpered. "Everything."

Now Thomas was definitely worried. "Um...?"

Patton didn't let Thomas finish, he dove right into the story, completely missing when Anxiety followed Fairy Godmother into the Kitchen.

"Nostalgia had gotten captured and was made to be executed publicly. Normally that wouldn't be a problem because Nostalgia would be able to come back. This time there was a problem because he'd just reincarnate and come back quickly. Apparently the Dragon Witch found out about this and created a weapon to stop reincarnations. After the Male Nostalgia was killed. The new reincarnation was Female, but before she could fully form the Dragon Witch unscathed her claws and wielding the weapon in them, she stabbed into Nostalgia. Mischief tried to help his partner but was stabbed as well"

"Still don't see how splitting them could have saved them", mumbles Roman, "wouldn't it kill them faster?"

The Prominent shakes his head.

"I told you my ability can split Figments and such but the reason it does so is because yes it needs to weaken them in one form or the other. But this can also allow the split parts of the being to live-"

"How, exactly?" Asks Janus tersely.

Patton answers quickly, "if you split a Personality, they turn into two Aspects. If you split an Aspect, you get two Figments. Split Figments you get two emotions."

"Ok, " Pipes Thomas, now very concerned, "what happened for you to have to split them?"

Patton breathed shakily, clenching his fists. "The device somehow malfunctioned and formed a barrier, preventing any Witch's from getting in, but the damage had already been done. The two of them lay there screaming in pain and I knew that when they died Nostalgia wasn't coming back and neither was Mischief. I knew I had to destroy that weapon but I also knew that I wasn't strong enough to do that. Instead I snuck into the barrier and I split Nostalgia into two and I also split Mischief."

"Who did Nostalgia split into?" Asked Logan.

"Wait, you didn't know Logan?" Asks Anxiety as he returns from the kitchen with a glass of water.

"No", admits the Teacher, "I had theories as to where Nostalgia went but I didn't know."

Patton took a deep shaky breath.

"...Nostalgia split into Fiona and Liam."

Anxiety sputtered and choked on his water.

Thomas was quick to pat him on the back.

"No fucking way!" Exclaims Remus, absolutely gobsmacked and thoroughly enjoying it.. "The little Brats are Nostalgia? But they don't know a lot of things-"

The Prominent frown, biting his lip. "Yeah, that's my fault. When I split Nostalgia, something went wrong and now the kids barely have the memories that they should. They have a lot but not all."

"So this is why my Sand doesn't like you, isn't it?" Pipes Remy.

Patton shrugs, "probably kiddo. All the other Aspects I grew up with, I had to split into Figments"

Remy nodded tensely, knowing full well the being across from him could literally end his existence if he wanted to. The Sand from his Shades was whispering for him to keep his distance. Sleep knew very well that doing so would not do him any good, still it wouldn't hurt to stay on the guy's good side, so to speak. Swallowing down the instinctive fear, Remy continued his conversation with Patton, much to his Sand's dismay.

"So, the other Aspects too huh? What about your other kids?"

"Mischief was split in two as well, he was split into Pranks and Misleading compliments"

"That makes sense", commented Remy, the Twins, Logic and Anxiety simultaneously.

"Oh... and Love and Lust were my doing as well, they were once Enamore.

'Wait!" Asks Anxiety, in borderline panic mode now that he'd recovered from his choking, "what about Steven?"

"Oh, no, he was a Figment on his own"

The Emo took a deep breath, "Oh. Okay", he said as he sat down numbly and continued to drink his water.

Roman however sat up.

"So Love and Lust were formed because of you?"

Patton nodded.

Everyone went quiet.

----

The sound of snapping fingers is what breaks the silence. The Prince was the first to rise from his seat.

"Alright Pat", he starts sincerely, "can't say that I wouldn't have done the same, but you probably should have told us sooner."

The Prominent sighs deeply. "Yeah, sorry about that Kiddo-"

Roman just pats him on the shoulder.

He then reaches for Remy and pulls him up from his seat, before addressing everyone else.

"Well I hate to cut the night short but FG says dinner is ready and after that, I'll be ready for bed-", Princey then pokes the confused Aspect's forehead, "this one's headache has been giving me a headache."

Remus then stands up with a shrug, "you're just being a bitch Ro", grins the Duke as he goes over and also pokes the Aspect on the forehead, "his head's been trying to explode all day and I, for one, am willing to wait to see if it happens!"

"Says the one who gave him the Ibuprofen flower"

"I want to see him explode...slowly?"

"Sure~"

Remy steps back, rubbing the area they poked with a grumble.

"You two just gonna keep picking on me?"

Both halves of Creativity looked at each other, before looking back at Sleep.

"Maybe", they said simultaneously, grinning mischievously as they headed to the table.

Everyone else looked at each other before following behind them.

----

After dinner, the related trio cleaned up-

Well, Remy and Roman gave their chicken bones to Remus, who happily ate them whole; while the Aspect washed their dishes and the Prince dried them.

Once they were done, the three bid everyone Goodnight as they headed back to the rooms they woke up in. Leaving Fairy Godmother, Thomas and four Sides at the table.

"So...", starts Anxiety, "Splitting an Aspect makes two Figments; Splitting a Figment makes two Emotions. What does splitting an Emotion make?"

"It makes them dead" , answers Deceit. The look on his scaled face made it clear that he was not lying.

The Youngest blinks in shock, he looks from Janus to Patton-- who nodded sadly-- and with a groan, Anxiety then pulled his hands down his face. "God this is like chemistry all over again!"

"Well", shrugs Logic, "Thomas is a chemical engineer."

The Emo rolled his eyes. "Yeah I know Teach, those nights of brutal university homework were not something I could forget. Not to mention those ridiculously long tests."

Thomas winced, Anxiety's voice was starting to develop an echo, showing just how upset the Youngest Personality was becoming.

Patton pales. "Hey, how bout we change the topi-"

The echo reverbed on what could only be called a low growl. The Emo's tone, while eerily calm, was practically laced with venom; but what truly sent chills down everyone's spine, was the glare he sent the Prominent's way.

"No! No topic change! You split Aspects and you split Figments, you also split Emotions even though that freakin' kills them. Did you ever split a Personality, accidentally or otherwise?"

Patton bit at his lip before shaking his head. "No, I haven't and as far as I know, with the exception of Roman and Remus, none of Thomas' Personalities have ever been split and even then that's a different story entirely. One that they'd have to tell."

Anxiety glared harder; a challenge.

Everybody at the table could feel it. The Youngest Personality's aura was practically drowning the room and in between the space of a blink, the Prominent's aura began pushing back with equal fervor.

To everyone's surprise, Morality was glaring back at Anxiety.

The back and forth; the push and pull of their auras only solidified the intensity.

Thomas felt...drained.

He was terrified and heart hurt to the point where he was numb and completely unable to move. His mind wanted to get up and snap the two out of it, but his body was struggling and refusing to follow.

It's here that it really clicks for the Host, what the others had meant. Now it made sense why they said that if Morality ever fell, Anxiety would be the Prominent. This was a challenge for control; Eldest vs. Youngest...and he'd been caught on the fallout.

Patton kept his glare and raised his chin, as he spoke. Solid, cold and calm. "I have never split a Personality, but I will if I have to, understood?"

Anxiety also kept his glare...if only for a few seconds.

"Cool." Says the Emo with the universal 'I-can-respect-that' nod.

Just like that his aura retracts, the challenge is over and Thomas can breathe.

The Host only gets in a breath or two before Anxiety practically hauled him up from the chair.

"Alright Sanders, time for bed"

"What?" Thomas replies startled, he looks up at the clock on the dining room wall, "It's only nine!"

The Emo raises a brow, "And? You look like you're going to pass out. Bed."

The Manifestor really couldn't say much to that, the other had a point. So he gives a conceding nod. "Yeah... ok." Come to think of it, now he actually felt dizzy and that nod made the room spin.

Anxiety huffs slightly, "glad that's settled. Come on, don't go blacking out on me yet. When you reach the bed then you can drop." With that, the Youngest Personality gently tugged his Host to their room.

Once they left, the last Dark Side remaining stood up and collected his, Anxiety's and Thomas' plates; washing and drying all three in less than a minute. It seemed that six hands made the simple things far easier than they should be. Having finished the dishes, Deceit walks towards Patton with a huff and a quirked brow.

"Well I have to offer you my congratulations My dear Prominent~", the snake's tone was saccharine but there was no less than a snarl on his scaled face. "I have to admit you truly impressed me", he continues as he gestures with a yellow, gloved hand, at the seat Anxiety had been sitting at. "You've managed to scare him more than he's been before in his life and yet he still bounds back and respects you." He scoffs, pretending to pick at his nails through his glove. "I guess", he shrugs, "little white lies suit Morality far better than they suit me, hmm?"

Janus then walks away, but not before tipping his hat at Fairy Godmother and nodding to Logan. He turns down the hallway heading to his and Remus' room.

Patton stayed staring down at the table.

Logan sat there just as frozen. He had been trying to comprehend, just what exactly had set Anxiety off enough for the Younger to have issued a challenge and with Morality of all Sides. He was confused as to why and how said challenge was resolved so quickly and even more so about Deceit's recent reaction to it all.

Before he could come up with a plausible hypothesis, his eyes zeroed in on Patton's shoulder and the Fae's hand that was squeezing it.

"Are you alright, dear Prominent?" She asked.

Patton barely managed not to flinch, Deceit had only just called him that. "I'm fine", he whispers tersely, attempting a smile.

The Fairy simply raises a brow and pats him on the shoulder before snapping her fingers. The last two remaining dishes on the table were suddenly clean and in the rack.

She sighs before she leaves. "Just because you have the ability to lie, doesn't mean you should. Goodnight to you both."

Logic bit his lip, he hated not knowing something and currently he hadn't the slightest clue-

Patton burst into a small fit of manic giggles, tears streaming down his face.

Startled, Logan finally found himself able to move and he was by his Opposite's side faster than he realized.

"Patton, what-?"

"Fairies can't lie", whimpers out the Prominent. His giggles tread on a borderline sob.

The Secondary Personality frowns, "I don't...I don't understand, I'm aware that Fae are incapable of lying but does that have to do with...", he paused as the puzzle pieces began clicking and two scenarios immediately popped into his mind. "Patton, what did you lie about?"

"I lied...", sniffled Morality.

"Yes, I figured. But my question is, what did you lie about? Did you actually split a Personality?"

Thankfully Patton shook his head and Logan let go of a breath that he didn't realize he was holding.

"But I still lied, I just told Anxiety what he wanted to hear. I know it's my job but I don't think I could actually do it. I don't think I can split any of you even if I had to"

Logan's eyes widened as all the pieces clicked together.

Anxiety's primary function was to protect Thomas even if that meant from his other Personalities or himself. Anxiety challenged the Prominent Title to ensure that Patton would be able to take one of them down if need be and if not, the Youngest would do it himself. Anxiety was willing to take a Title that would no doubt be a bigger workload and most definitely stressful for him, just for Thomas.

The fact the Emo would go so far out of his comfort zone to ensure his Host's safety was truly an admirable feat, if not a jittery disaster waiting to happen. Still, admirable.

Logan sighed through his nose.

His Opposite was now quietly crying, he had expected sobbing or bawling but not this. Tears were just flowing non stop from Patton's eyes like rivers, almost like something from a cartoon. Biting back his distaste for emotions Logic leaned down gently and waited for the inevitable...which was, of course, Morality immediately hugging him.

Sighing, he wrapped his arms around and gently rubbed Patton's back. "I think", started Logan, "that you and I both know that you would do what you have to. You'd do anything for Thomas."

----

AN//: Hey guys!

It's all Sugar, Salt and Vinegar today huh?

Remy being a sex inclined/positive Ace is my jam and idk he just doesn't seem like one for a conventional romantic relationship to me and Aro just fits ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

By the way, just because this is a slow burn fic doesn't mean I'm not showing all kinds of love. We full rainbow on this train and I'm including as many letters in the LGBTQ+ as I can. My Pan and Polyam peeps, don't think I forgot about you ;)

Anyway, don't forget that, Roman, Remus and Remy are connected. So the Twins have been feeling bits of Sleep's pain. Wonder what that means when the Guardian completely gets his memories back? >;^)

And then we got Good Ol' Dad. Patton's been hiding some heavy stuff no?

As for everything else, please come chat and or scream with me about this chapter and the new episode, cause I'm somft...

The hand shaking and squeeling and pacing got me but most importantly:

P u r p l e

When very giddy/excited - p u r p l e

It's purple you guys!

And I'm ded. ♥(ˆ⌣ˆԅ) slain by the happiness.

COMMENT OF THE WEEK:

BYNovathedisasterdemigirl

"Loves the chapter!!! I love how Remus just decided that the story was too boring and wanted to make it more fun. That is soooo something he would do. Love how all of their stories were connected in some way too. This is thought out so well. I am wondering why Virgil was in grey and not white though. Remus I understand being different because he was split. So I'm guessing there is some weird reason Virgil is different. Again, I really love this chapter!!!"

Thank you hun! Glad you enjoyed and ye Remus is a wild rat and we love the stinky trash man. Everyone is indeed connected and I can't wait for you guys to see how it really pans out. >;^)

PUN OF THE WEEK:

BY Bejeweled Jack-o-lantern

Remus: Janus what are you doing in my room?

Janus: I threw a dart at a map and it landed in the trash can

Lmaooo! That's a good one! XD

See y'all in the comments section and on the discord chat!