Sanders Sides One Shots

Balance

Summary: Few had ever thought Morality and Deceit would stand each other, much less get along. Not even they had thought it possible at first, but when they started trying… it just came naturally.

Pairing: Queerplatonic Moceit

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"Patton."

"Janus?"

"Give it back."

"What?"

"You know what."

“No, I don’t.”

“You do. Give it back.”

"The hat?"

"Fedora. My fedora."

"Not anymore, it isn't."

Janus fake-sighed and rolled his eyes, but there was a little smile tugging at his lips, betraying his real emotions.

It had taken a while for them to understand each other. At the beginning, their values opposed one another; Patton always wanted to go for the selfless option, while Janus wanted to lie and manipulate his way to success. 

"But I care so much about my fedora!" the dark side said, feigning concern. "I need it back!"

"Nope," Morality said happily and then gave Janus a toothy grin.

What finally brought them together were, ironically enough, those differences. They needed to solve the imbalance if they wanted to help Thomas, and while they worked out their problems, they came to appreciate one another in ways they hadn’t known they could. 

“I need it, Patton.”

“But it looks so good; I want to keep it for a little longer!”

“Of course, everyone agrees that it looks good.”

Patton’s smile fell a little. “I’m sorry about what the others said, I’m sure they didn’t mean it.”

“We’ve talked about this. We said that apologizing about things that aren’t your fault makes perfect sense so you should obviously continue to do it,” Janus immediately said.

Something Patton had come to appreciate was the honesty behind Janus’s lies. The dark side tended to say the things that meant too much to him through lies, both good or bad things.

Morality pursed his lips in a sad expression, unfazed by the lie. “I didn’t do enough.”

“You absolutely didn’t , you only pouted and stomped your foot adorably, then said I had a great fashion sense. An of course horrible defense, not like it made me feel better or feel like throwing up rainbows.”

But Patton wasn’t quite convinced yet. He sighed.

“You look like you want… to give a hug, Patton.”

No one could blame the light side for lighting up as he did. 

Janus had come to appreciate Patton’s enthusiasm and displays of affection, even if he wasn’t as fond of the physical aspect as his partner was. He had always felt it shallow and fake, but Patton had shown him wrong.

“Can I?” the moral side asked with shiny, hopeful eyes.

Patton only needed a nod before launching himself into his partner’s arms.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Patton,” he said in his usual slow voice, as he allowed himself to be hugged.

“Thank you,” Morality muttered in contentment.

They had found out how to reach the much needed balance, not only for Thomas but also for themselves. Janus’s voice and demeanor regulated Patton's at times excessive energy, and he also helped the light side see reality so that he didn’t get hurt as often as he did. In turn, Patton helped Janus identify the moral limits in what he did, not suppressing his nature but instead making it grow in a healthy way.

"They called you slimy again after you left," Patton commented after a couple of seconds of silence.

"I'm so slimy."

"You aren’t," Patton said, breaking the hug only so he could put a hand on Janus's cheek. He then tugged the corner of his mouth with his thumb, "but you could be smiley!"

And Janus did smile, though it wasn't because of the hand tugging his cheek.

Few had ever thought Morality and Deceit could stand each other, much less get along. Not even they had thought it possible at first, but when they started trying… it just came naturally. 

They simply balanced each other. And it felt wonderful.