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(Present day and a hidden glimpse at the past)
The truth comes out. All of it.

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“They say the truth hurts, so I lied to you
Yes, I lied to you”
- I Lied to You by Miles Caton

“Honey, you’re familiar like my mirror years ago
Idealism sits in prison, chivalry fell on his sword
Innocence died screaming, honey, ask me, I should know
I slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door”
- From Eden - by Hozier

Silk sash cool against his cheek, warm arms gripping him tight. The crack and splinter of wood breaking. Patton’s voice, thick with tears. Little One’s, too, with a low almost monotone chant just beneath them both.

Darkness.

A flash of bright pink hair above a furrowed brow, light shining in one eye, then the other. More voices, hushed, tight with worry and fear.

Glass clanked against glass, liquid sloshing. “We found more in the closet…” Logan’s voice.

“Merde. Those are from my kingdom.”

“The fucking hooch is from mine.”

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(Present day) After finding Mo broken and shoved under the couch, Patton comes to the natural conclusion of who broke him. - WC: 1994

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“They’re all around me
Circling like vultures
They wanna break me and wash away my colors”
- Song: My Demons - Acoustic by STARSET

Lucas and Roman stepped back, revealing the pieces of Mo spread out on the coffee table. “Um, well,” Patton began, not quite able to meet either of Logan or Remus’ gazes. “We were kinda hoping Remus might be able to explain—”

“Mo?” Remus jumped down the final steps and ran to the table, hand still gripping Logan’s. A wave of worry and hurt and care flowed off of both of them.

Patton stared at their hands. He’d thought Logan was holding him back, not…

The two’d certainly been spending more time together but he hadn’t realized the… feelings he’d been picking up around the Mindscape had anything to do with them.

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(Present day) Janus wakes in the pre-dawn and nearly falls in the kitchen. Somethingone breaks his fall. - WC: 2856

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Oh, captain, let’s make a deal
Where we both say the things that we both really feel
I feel scared and I’m starting to sink
And I only sink deeper the deeper I think
- Song: Ship in a Bottle by Fin Argus

A steady click-click-brr dragged Janus from his stupor, the rhythmic sound of mechanical distress underlaid by the faint pop and hiss of his record player’s speakers left alone with nothing to play. How long ago had the last record stopped? His bottle had fallen, tipped to its side on the floor. The rug beneath it was unstained and dry.

At least he’d managed to finish it before he’d dropped it.

Limbs heavy, he sat motionless for a long time, letting the click-click-brr of the record player’s arm against the spindle wash over him. Without his intervention, it would keep trying, again and again and again, seeking music, seeking a memory already played.

He’d damage the needle this way. Hadn’t he set it to shut off automatically when a record had finished?

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(In the past) How Remus was born. - WC: 3536

A/N: Last March, I posted an early version of this chapter on AO3 as Paint it Red.

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“When I’m gone, cast the bronze for the bust of my head
To be displayed in the library
Engrave that I gave my consent
To be anything that anyone prefer I be”
- Song: - Cast the Bronze by Raynes

“When your day is through
And so is your temper
You know what to do
I’m gonna always be there”
- Song: The Promise by When in Rome

FADE IN

A CRAMPED DRESSING ROOM IN A SHADY NIGHT CLUB - NIGHT

FEATHER BOAS, CHAIN MAIL, AND VARIOUS STAGE WEAPONS AND PROPS ARE HEAPED HAPHAZARDLY ON EVERY HOOK, ROD, AND FLAT SURFACE AROUND THE CRAMPED DRESSING ROOM. THE DRESSING MIRROR IS CRACKED AND SMUDGED, AND TWO BULBS ARE OUT, CASTING HALF THE DRESSING TABLE IN HARSH SHADOW.

Grown-up THOMAS SANDERS, 22, sits in front of the mirror, applying face powder. CUT IN a sharp rap at the door and a stage manager’s irritated voice.

MAN (THROUGH THE DOOR)

Sanders!

THOMAS startles and drops the powder puff. MAN continues without pausing.

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(Present day) Janus isn’t the only one to notice Remus and Logan’s growing relationship. - WC: 2890

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“I tried to find my reflection on the glass
But all I ever saw were the things I lacked
All the smudges on the mirror made me go insane
All I ever thought I was
Was a mistake”
- Antidote by Faith Marie

Hands pressed flat against the door. Chest tight, Logan choked on a sob and he struggled to breath through his nose. Dizzy, overheating, still he kept his mouth sealed, biting his lips to keep them closed, to keep himself silent as fire raged in his belly, in his heart, in his mind.

“Logan, you know all we want is what’s best for you.” Patton’s voice was thick with a cloying sweetness. “We’ve noticed you’ve been spending an awful lot time with—”

“My disgusting brother,” Roman interrupted. “Really, how can you even stand to be in the same room with him? Half the time he smells like—”

“Now Kiddo, Logan says that’s not his fault and we need to believe him.” Patton didn’t sound so certain as he hooked his arm through Roman’s and patted his hand. “But we do have to wonder,” he said, turning back to Logan, “if all this… ‘attention’ isn’t just Remus trying to influence you somehow so he can get closer to Thomas and—”

Tears burned his eyes but he would not break. He would not let them see him cry, let them see him lose his calm, his composure. His control.

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