"I still don't get why you didn't ask me for help," Remus groused, stabbing at his hash browns. "I'm an expert at taking down assholes. You know that."
"Yes, but you also got absolutely no sleep the night before due to overindulgence of sugar," Janus reminded him. "I thought I might go easy on you and give you a rest."
"Plus, we were trying to avoid having a dead body on our hands," Virgil added, pointing his fork at him. "Things would've gone downhill the moment that little punk called Janus 'freaky-looking.'"
Remus's head snapped up. "He what?"
Janus slowly closed his eyes and buried his head in his hands. When he'd told Remus about the confrontation, he'd left out the part about Dexter's reaction to his looks, and for good reason. Apparently, that reasoning was lost on Virgil.
"Yeah, he'd apparently never seen someone with vitiligo before." Virgil gave him a confused look. "Did Janus not tell you about that?"
"No, but I'm gonna let that slide, since I have an underclassman to kill," Remus said, standing up.
Janus grabbed him by the sleeve. "Leave it, darling. Virgil's creature probably knocked enough sense into him."
"That's not enough! He called you freaky! He deserves to die!"
"Look, you know I'm hot, I know I'm hot, and he's just an idiot who can't see past his own dick, so sit down and rid your mind of thoughts of murder," Janus told him, gently pulling him back down. "I do appreciate you defending my honor, but it's already been taken care of."
"But I like defending your honor," Remus mumbled. "And I like doing heists with you."
"I know, darling, I know," Janus said, kissing him on the cheek. "You're my knight in rusted armor, and I love you for it."
Logan looked up from his omelet. "Isn't the expression 'knight in shining armor?'"
Remus snorted. "Please. Like I'd ever be so obsessed with appearances that I'd make my armor shiny all the time."
"Yes, but rusted armor is highly impractical---"
"Just let us be romantic and don't bother us," Janus told him.
Virgil nudged Logan. "Don't you ever give Patton little pet names?"
"Certainly not," Logan said, adjusting his tie. "He's the one who gives me pet names. I don't find it necessary to express my affection for him in such a childish manner."
Janus raised an eyebrow. "I distinctly overheard you call him 'Starlight' the other day."
Logan flushed. "That---that is taken out of context---"
"I really can't imagine how it would be different in any other context, Lo."
"Would you---"
"Hey, death goddess alert!" Virgil said, high-fiving Persephone as she came up to them. "How're you doing? How's freshman year?"
"Going pretty well so far," Persephone answered. "Um---Jan, could I talk to you for a sec?"
Janus blinked, surprised. "Um, yeah, sure." He got up and followed her out of the dining hall.
"So," he said, leaning against the wall. "What's this all about?"
"Nothing really important," Persephone answered, scratching the back of her neck. "Just... feels a bit awkward, having to thank your idiot brother in a crowded dining hall."
"Ah." Janus grinned. "Dexter's stopped bothering you?"
She laughed. "Oh, has he ever. He actually runs whenever he sees me now."
"Nice to see me and Virgil got the point across."
"Yeah." Persephone looked down at the ground. "But, um... you really don't have to always stick up for me, you know."
"Oh." Janus twisted his lips. "Do... do you not want me to help you anymore, or---"
"No, I'm really grateful," Persephone said quickly. "I'm fucking lucky to have a brother like you. But I don't want to just be known as the girl who always needs her big brother to save her whenever she gets into trouble. I probably would've kicked Dexter's arse at some point, if I'm being honest, but..." She trailed off. "I dunno."
"Hey." Janus rested his hand on her shoulder. "I've been sticking up for you and protecting you since I could walk. You're my little sister, and it's pretty much ingrained in me to take down any arsehole who thinks they can mess with you at this point."
"I know," Persephone mumbled.
"That being said," he continued, "you're fourteen now. And, unfortunately, you're going to have to deal with a lot of Dexters, and I'm not going to be around to kill them all the time. I know full well that you can take care of yourself---hell, you even take care of me sometimes---and I promise that I'll give you the chance to kill any other Dexters that happen to cross your path." He smiled. "But I'd still like to be able to help you. Whenever I can."
Persephone returned his smile and gave him a hug. "Thanks, Jan."
"My pleasure," Janus said, hugging her back. "And, by the way, if you ever find yourself a Hades---"
"Oh, gods, don't make everyone starve for six months a year," she groaned, stepping away.
"No, 'course not. I might be protective over you, but I'm not your Demeter. If anything, I'm your Hermes." Janus smirked. "And if it's the ghost-summoning girl I'm thinking of, I don't think I'll need to worry."
Persephone punched him in the arm. "Shut up."
"Hey! Ow! What did I do to deserve this assault?" he complained, rubbing his arm. "I just did you a great service!"
"Yeah, well, you ruined it by teasing me about Pam."
..........
Augustus stepped into the huge lab, trying his best to avoid tripping over any wires. "Hello?" he called. "Anyone here?"
"Come in, Mr. Griffins," someone with a deep voice and a heavy Russian accent called. "Your mother told me that you are starting today."
A tall man with salt-and-pepper hair, square glasses, a close-cropped beard, and a pressed black suit stood up from behind one of the computers and walked over to him, giving him a slightly judgmental stare.
Augustus inclined his head out of habit. "Hey, Maximilian."
"Call me Dr. Jacobi," Maximilian told him. "You are neither family nor friend---you are my employee. You must address me by my title."
"Yes, sir." Augustus scratched the back of his neck. "So... where exactly do I start?"
Maximilian gave him a cold look. "What?"
"I'm supposed to help you do security work, right?"
He scoffed. "Please. You barely know your way around a keyboard. Elena will be instructing you on the basics of code, and when she feels that you are ready, then you will officially be helping the two of us."
Oh. Okay. That's better than what I was expecting.
"So, uh..." Augustus looked around. "Where is she?"
"In the back. Follow me." Maximilian strode off.
The room was pretty much filled with laptops, desktops, and holographic screens, and the setup reminded Augustus of a labyrinth. He could barely get through it while following Maximilian---oh, sorry, Dr. Jacobi, insert snooty accent here---and he couldn't even imagine what it would be like to get through it every day.
"Here we are," Maximilian said, pushing open a door. The second he did, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" blasted out the room at full volume.
Well, that's a good omen, at least, Augustus thought.
"ELENA!" Max shouted. "TURN THAT OFF!"
"The room's soundproof! It's not gonna bother you unless you open the door!" Elena called.
"YOU'RE INSTRUCTING YOUR FRIEND TODAY, ELENA! HE CAN'T LEARN ANYTHING WITH THAT NOISE IN HIS EARS!"
"It's fine, really," Augustus said. "I love this song---"
"You are here to learn, not to listen," Maximilian hissed, storming into the room. "Elena, turn that nonsense off."
She rolled her eyes and hit the pause button.
"Good." He clapped Augustus on the shoulder. "Do your best to teach him. I will leave you two alone." He started out the door, then turned around. "No funny business."
The door slammed shut behind him.
Augustus looked around at the room. It was kind of small compared to the rest of it---covered in blue and white soundproofing foam, one long desk with exactly one desktop, one laptop, and two holographic screens, a bookshelf filled to the brim with sci-fi novels (Stranger in a Strange Land was pinned to a dart board with several darts in it for whatever reason), a basket filled with records, a record player sitting on the desk, a small bluetooth speaker, and... a bed.
"Wait, this is your room?" Augustus exclaimed.
"It's where I stay when Dedushka has to stay here," Elena responded. "Now you know why I don't let you come in my room."
"Yeah, no shit. If I had all this tech in here, I'd put up a barbed wire fence." Augustus started to sit down on the desk.
"Hey! Careful!" Elena said, pushing him off. "I have an extra rolling chair! Use it!"
"Um... okay," Augustus mumbled, sitting down in the chair.
Elena let out a massive sigh. "Boys. Honestly."
"So, uh, what exactly are we doing here today?"
"I'm going to be showing you the basics, and also how to sabotage without Dedushka noticing."
Augustus paused. "Sorry, sabotage? And who's 'Dedushka?'"
"My grandpa. Know your Russian."
"I just know 'yes,' 'no,' and 'grandma.' Nothing else."
Elena sighed again. "God."
"Really, back to the sabotage thing."
"Ah! Right." Elena scooted over to one of the holographic screens. "So, Ian told me that you're sore about not having a functional left eye and want to bring the Circle down---quite understandable. And luckily for you, I've been working at it ever since Dedushka made me his assistant."
"All right, I'm... I'm intrigued." Augustus sat forward. "So, what do you do?"
"It's quite simple, really," Elena said. "Dedushka lets me do a once-over on the firewalls, just to make sure everything's in order---he knows I'm smarter than him, so he trusts me---and I add in a way for people to breach it. I make it so he can't tell it's there, but if you poke around enough, you'll be able to find it."
Augustus paused. "I... uh... don't think I'll be able to do that."
"Of course not. I'm just gonna teach you the basics of code so you can at least act like you're helping, and I might be able to get you to my level before I leave."
Before she leaves?
"Uh, what was that about leaving?" Augustus questioned.
Elena looked up from her screen. "Sylvie's turning eighteen in October. I'm turning eighteen in December. We won't have to answer to our families anymore, and we can leave the Circle."
"Oh."
"And it's not just the prospect of not working for the Circle anymore," she continued. "You know why Sophia and Logan and Quinn aren't part of the Jacobi family, as far as Dedushka's concerned?"
Augustus frowned. "Um... because they're all bi and Quinn's enby?"
"Because Aunt Joanna's not white."
Oh, yeah, Max is an asshole squared.
"Is that part of the reason why you haven't told him about Sylvie?"
Elena nodded. "It's bad enough that I'm dating a girl. The fact that she's half Argentinian would make it worse. And Sylvie's parents aren't a fan of her being gay, either."
"So it'd be better for you guys to leave."
"It'd be better for you to leave," Elena reminded him. "If Dedushka did to me what your mother did to you, I wouldn't wait until my eighteenth birthday to run."
Augustus's hand traveled to his eye. "I don't have a choice. Mom's my legal guardian."
"She's clearly not fit to be one."
"Well, she's all I have."
Elena gave him a look. "Your brother is still alive, isn't he?"
"He might not be," Augustus muttered, hunching his shoulders. "I could've just been seeing things."
"Me, Sylvie, and Ian all saw him after Nero's funeral, too," she reminded him. "We saw him spitting on his grave, and then leaving."
"But I don't know where he is."
Elena sighed and put a hand on his shoulder. "Look," she said quietly. "I know for a fact that my parents are gone, and Dedushka's the only family member who's able to take care of me. You still have hope. You have a brother out there who's a legal adult, and I'm sure he'd love to be able to take you in. You shouldn't have to live under the eye of someone who scarred the both of you."
Augustus shrugged her off. "I didn't ask you to give me family advice, Elena."
"Your loss," she murmured.