The Aberrations of S.I.D.E.

No. 29: Family Reunion

Janus smirked. "Sorry for trying to set me up with her, or sorry about her in general?"

Fran let out a little laugh. "I will admit, my sister doesn't know how to raise a child without teaching it that the world revolves around them. But yes, I am sorry for thinking that you'd be interested in her, too." She looked Janus up and down. "Come to think of it, I have no clue why I didn't catch on sooner."

"Eh, not your fault that your gaydar doesn't work," he assured her. "Besides, me and Remus are both actors."

"But you love my son." It wasn't a question, just a statement of fact.

Janus paused, then nodded with a little smile. "I do. Very much."

"Well, you seem to make Remus quite happy," Francesca said quietly, patting him on the shoulder. "And that's all that matters. I should've seen that sooner."

Virgil did a little awkward wave. "Um. Hi."

Fran gasped and gave Virgil the most bone-crushing hug he'd ever gotten in his life. It was nice to know, at least, where Roman and Remus got that gene from, but on the other hand, the hug instantly contradicted almost everything he'd been told about her.

"You must be Virgil!" she said, beaming. "It's so nice to finally meet you! I've heard so much about you!"

"You... you too," Virgil managed.

Francesca sighed. "God, the minute I heard that Roman was going to be staying with you over the summer, I should've suspected that something was going on between the two of you. Though, given the way he talked about you when you first met, I probably never would've guessed."

"Oh?" Virgil raised an eyebrow. "Roman, how exactly did you talk about me when we first met?"

Roman turned bright red. "It's---it's not important."

"I believe it was something along the lines of 'the epitome of angsty teen and the most disagreeable person I've ever met,'" Francesca answered, giving Roman a grin. "My, oh, my, how that changed around, didn't it?"

"Mom, do you want to hear more about Janus and Remus?" Roman said loudly. "Because they've got a lot of great stories---"

"Oh, yes, of course, you can tell me all about them at lunch," she told him. "Unless you've eaten already?"

Remus blinked. "No, but---you're taking us to lunch?"

"Yes, of course I am! You don't have to worry about paying, it's all on my tab." Francesca waved. "Taxi!"

..............

"Could you maybe have saved your ability to inhale food for a later date, Virgil?" Roman asked in an undertone.

Virgil swallowed a bite of his food. "I'm going to have to ask you to kindly shut it, sweetie pie."

"When have you ever called me---"

"So!" Francesca beamed. "How did the two of you get together?"

Roman paused, a little grin on his face. "Well, I had intended on sweeping Virgil off of his feet during the Winter Ball last year, complete with a bouquet of purple flowers and getting his favorite song to play over the speakers---"

"Hey, woah, woah, woah, how come I never got that bouquet?" Virgil protested, lifting his head.

"I kind of forgot about it," Roman admitted.

"It's fine, I forgive you."

Francesca cleared her throat. "So, I'm guessing that it didn't happen?"