Genre : Hurt/Comfort
Warnings : Temporary character death(not any of the sides!) ; Sympathetic Remus, Logan, and Deceit ; Morally-Gray Roman(he doesn't know any better) ; please tell me if I should add anything else!

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It had happened as it usually did, a sword through her heart. Her amulet sucked her physical form back inside to heal. Remus found it in the grass as he strolled along the borders of his kingdom and Roman's. Nearly stepping on it, he wasn't surprised to find it there.

But it still hurt, as if he'd been stabbed in her place.

Picking up the trinket, tears burned in his eyes and he held it carefully to his chest. Remus had to remind himself that she and Roman were enemies- of course it would've happened again. It was inevitable. But the anger that flickered to life, although pushed deep down in his mind, was still there.

He took a deep breath and sunk out of the Imagination before Roman detected Remus had crossed their borders.

And that's when the waterworks began, after his attempts to keep his presence in Roman's land at bay. Apparently the princely side had still felt him there, and came to Remus's room to interrogate him.

Roman didn't notice Remus's bloodshot eyes nor the way Remus's makeup smeared. Remus kept his head tilted down and the amulet safe in his pocket as he answered with nothing but lies, picking at the skin on his fingers as he bit back the onslaught of tears to come.

Eventually Roman gave up on his questioning, leaving with a huff and claim for Remus to not go into his side of the Imagination again. Tears slipped down, staining Remus's cheeks in a deep purple as he pulled the necklace free and held it to his chest, shaking with silent sobs.

An hour, maybe four, passed on with little change. Deceit was too busy with a new side to check up on Remus, and Remus honestly didn't blame him. He knew with everything going on that Deceit was stressed out of his mind, and Remus didn't want to add onto the stress anyway.

It was edging closer to the fifth hour, Remus curled around his life-sized octopus plush with all his own tentacles, when there was a particular knock at his door. Sniffling, Remus removed his face from the soft fabric and took in a shaky breath, calling out a weak "Come in," because only two sides ever cared to knock first.

The door open and closed softly, and Remus felt the tension leave his shoulders as he pushed aside the plush to make room for the other.

Logan sat down beside Remus, pulling him into a soft embrace. Remus wrapped himself and all his limbs- tentacles included- around Logan, tucking his head under Logan's chin. Logan began to run his fingers through Remus's hair with one hand, the other rubbing circles on Remus's back where all the tentacles started from.

"What happened?" Logan asked gently, feeling Remus's grip tighten just a bit more around him.

Remus shook his head. "It's nothing for you to worry about," he mumbled, and then added something. But Logan didn't hear, as it was muffled into his clothes instead.

"I didn't catch that last bit, Love."

Remus moved only slightly. "Tell me about Crofters. Everything about them. Please?" He glanced up at Logan with pleading eyes, still shining bright with unused tears. And Logan felt his heart break.

Hesitant at first, Logan did agree. "So long as you tell me what happened later, okay?" Remus nodded quickly, moving so he was behind Logan and holding him close.

Logan laughed lightly at Remus's swift movements, two tentacles still firmly around his waist. He noticed two, maybe even three, reach out to grab some things and felt Remus's hands in his hair.

"Can I do this while you talk?" Remus's voice was hoarse, Logan didn't miss this. And he nodded ever so slightly, a light blush creeping to his cheeks when Remus placed a soft kiss to the back of his neck. "Thanks, now ramble... Please?"

And so Logan did, feeling Remus's fingers curl in his hair as he droned on about Crofters, from the ingredients to the different flavors, which other foods they went with. Logan seemed to know everything about the jelly. The logical side could also feel Remus's hands stop shaking as the brush was moved carefully through his hair, and the tentacles around him loosened but didn't dare move unless asked.

Eventually, Logan ran out of facts. And Remus finished braiding the final wilted flower into Logan's hair, smiling at his handiwork. He pulled Logan to his chest with nothing more than a simple tug and flipped back onto his bed, humming in content.

Logan turned in Remus's arms, all of them, and rested his head on the other's shoulder. "Your turn," Logan hummed. Remus seemed to stiffen ever so slightly, but he took a deep breath and reached for something Logan could not see.

"So, I know you've heard about the Dragon Witch, yeah? And how she and Roman are like, sworn enemies?"

"I was not aware they were sworn enemies, but it makes sense. I have heard of her."

Remus held the amulet out for Logan to examine, biting his lip before continuing. "Her name's Hope. They get into a lot of fights, Hope and my brother. She often loses and... This happens."

Logan gently took the jewel from Remus's hand, cradling it just as carefully as Remus had. "She was... Pulled inside?"

Remus chuckled, shaking his head. "No, she uh... She transformed into it. That's how Hope heals."

"And you have the amulet because...?"

"Cause she's my best friend! Well- next to you and Deceit of course! Hope was the first person to ever put up with me after the split."

Logan glanced up at Remus for a moment, before his eyes were drawn back to the amulet in his hands. Then something seemed to click, a figurative lightbulb going off.

"Hasn't Roman slayed her dozens of times? Like, for years since you both split?"

Remus remained silent, his tentacles drawing back ever so slightly from Logan, as if recoiling. But he returned them around the side after a moment, nuzzling his face into Logan's hair.

"He doesn't know how close Hope and I are," he mumbled.

Logan tore away from Remus's arms, almost towering over the creative trait, a look of absolute horror on his face. Remus smiled up sadly at Logan, and suddenly the tear stains seemed so much more prominent. "You've dealt with each time alone, haven't you?"

Remus glanced away, two tentacles crossing over his chest, his own hands remaining on Logan's waist. "Deceit's stayed with me through a few of the times..."

Logan felt as if his heart had literally been ripped from his chest and stomped on. "Oh Remus..." He whispered, taking Remus's face in his hands tenderly. Remus's brows furrowed in confusion as Logan's hands trailed down a bit, and then he yelped as Logan pulled him into a sitting position, holding Remus close. "I'm so sorry..."

Remus buried his face into Logan's neck, arms and tentacles tightening around Logan. He breathed in the familiar and calming scent of books, some reason Logan always smelled of a freshly bought novel. "Not your fault, Logie. Only Deceit really knew."

"Still!" Logan pressed a gentle kiss to his temple, starting to run his fingers through Remus's curls. "I wish you'd told me sooner, maybe I would've been able to help a bit more."

Remus laughed lightly. "I'll keep that in mind."

Silence reigned over them, and eventually they returned to lying down. Remus's tentacles eventually disappeared for comfort reasons, and Remus held Logan close, his head tucked once more under Logan's chin. Logan was humming softly, still moving his fingers through Remus's hair. He was starting to feel drowsy, Logan's tune and warmth certain to bring him to sleep.

"Hey Lo?"

"Yes, Remus?"

Remus moved up a bit, planting a feather-light kiss to Logan's lips. Logan smiled, deepening it ever so slightly before Remus drew away and set his head back onto Logan's chest.

"Thank you."

"For the kiss?"

Remus laughed, shaking his head slightly. "For the comfort!" He exclaimed through his giggles. "It was nice..."

Logan made a small humming sound, pressing a kiss to the top of Remus's head. "Anything for my love," he whispered, tightening his arms around Remus's waist.

Remus's cheeks tinted pink as he nuzzled Logan's neck. "Sap."

"Says you."

"Just go to sleep!" Remus huffed out, smiling brightly, even with the amulet in his vision.

"Fine, fine." Logan placed one last kiss to his head. "Love you."

"Love you too."

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You can thank these two for the prompts, cause I couldn't think of anything. I didn't follow either prompt exactly but.... I'd say it counts. Also! I know this wasn't pure fluff, but I did say it'd have a happy ending! So I kept that promise! Hopefully y'all enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it <3