A/n: So uhh its been a while

All i have to say for myself is: teehee?

One of the many things Virgil shared with Janus was their mommy issues. Of course, they had different kinds of mommy issues, but still. Knowing Janus's mom actually made Virgil happy for not knowing his own. Everything Virgil had ever heard about his own mother was horrible. And most of the time he didn't even hear it from Patton, but outside sources like Remy and Emile, friends Patton had over, his aunts and uncles, etc.

He even did some digging himself. He stalked countless people's facebooks, searching for posts about his mother. He'd even looked through his Mother's facebook a few times. He didn't look like someone Patton would ever get with. Just by her profile picture, he could tell she had probably been a mean girl in high-school. All her posts radiated manipulative, toxic energy. He was happy to have never known her. He was blessed.

He felt extremely bad for Janus. He had to live with a type of mother that Virgil had been lucky to dodge. Virgil grew up in a loving, stable household. Janus grew up around a strict, awful mother. Virgil's home had been his safe space for years, and they were incredibly close. They knew everything about each other. Roman and Remus also knew, to an extent. Janus bitched about his mom a lot. How she'd hit him and scream at him. He used to actually get beat as a kid, but she lightened up on that as he grew older. A hard slap across the cheek was effective enough to make Janus quiet.

Virgil hated Janus's mom. That was another thing about friendship. Virgil could hate the people that Janus couldn't bring himself to. Family relationships were hard, especially when someone who is supposed to love and protect you does the complete opposite. Janus had every right to hate his mother. But he couldn't bring himself to. It was complicated. Virgil knew that not every moment Janus spent with his mom was hell. That she was capable of kindness.

If anything, that should have made him hate her even more, knowing that she had the potential to be a good mother, but just didn't bother to put in any effort. It certainly made Virgil hate her more. Janus carried a heart that was heavy with sorrow and confusion. Wondering if it was his fault. If he was a bad kid. If he deserved what she did to him. Even though the abuse was rarely physical anymore, Virgil could argue that it was worse. The emotional manipulation, the verbal abuse, the extensive punishments—it was a lot.

And he hated that Janus had been kicked out, it sucked, but he was glad that he was in a safer environment now, and with people who actually cared about him. What kind of mother kicks their own son out of the house? Grabs him by his hair, drags him out the front door and slams it in his face? Not a mother that deserved her child, not by any means.

After explaining what had happened to his dad, Virgil could tell that Logan was confused. Patton was heartbroken that Janus had been sleeping outside again. He'd told him that Remus and Roman's parents were already filled in on his situation. That was the only reason that Patton hadn't forced him on the road trip.

"You didn't tell me that you were basically fostering one of Virgil's friends" Logan said, turning to Patton. It was probably 2am at this point. He was still driving towards the hotel. One look at his gps told him that they should get there soon.

Patton sighed, "i'm sorry, I just—well, I guess I forgot to bring it up! I've known Janus since he was a little boy, he kind of already felt like my own. My house has always been a safe space for him, he's spent countless nights with us. I don't use the word hate often, but—his mother is on my list."

Logan hummed, "I hate her too."

Virgil raised a brow, and Patton said the very thing that Virgil had been thinking, "you've never even met her! You've only known she existed for five minutes."

Logan's hands tightened around the steering wheel as he tried to keep a straight face. He'd never said much about his own parents to Patton. He rarely spoke of his childhood, and when he did, he tried to only talk about the good memories, though there were very few. He knew what it was like to live in a household of abuse. Where love and praise weren't given. Everything had to be earned.

"I've heard enough" he muttered. His voice turned almost angry as he continued, "to know that she is undeserving of the benefit of the doubt. Undeserving of any excuse I could make for her. The reality of the situation is that she is a horrible woman, who has ruined the life, ruined the childhood, of a boy who deserves the world. She doesn't deserve a second chance. She will never deserve forgiveness. If she cries out for her boy, Janus ought to ignore it. The process will repeat and he will be left more broken than before."

Before Logan knew what was happening, he had a tear sliding down his cheek, and could feel Patton's hand resting on his shoulder, "Baby..." he whispered.

Logan brought a hand up to his face and wiped the tear away, letting out a shaky sigh as he composed himself. Virgil was sitting in the back, completely shocked.

"Taking Janus in is a good thing. I'm glad you did, he deserves someone capable of loving him" Logan mumbled, "I just—sorry—I really feel for the kid. As you can probably guess, my upbringing was much the same as his. Or at least, partially from what I've heard Virgil speaking about. I have no sympathy for those types of parents. I've learned to hate my own. I've learned to stop caring about giving bad people grace."

Virgil was fucking eating this shit up. Logan wasn't as one-dimensional as he thought. He had a complex story for why he was the way he was. Maybe he was stoic and cold because he had to be. Maybe he stayed quiet during conversations because his voice had never been valued before. The dad lore was going to be insane and Logan wasn't even married to Patton yet.

"Well...I guess we can unpack your childhood trauma once Virgil isn't around" Patton joked.

Virgil gasped, "what?! No way, I want to hear this too!"

Logan laughed, "we are not unpacking my childhood trauma. I saw you guys during five feet apart, both of you would be traumatized yourselves and reduced to tears."

Virgil folded his arms and huffed in defiance, though he couldn't make an argument for himself. Logan was right, as he often was.

A/n: realllyyyy short chapter but dw bc next time we r gonna have some fun teehee