"Absolutely the fuck not," Remus declared.
Emile gave him a tired look. "Be reasonable here—"
"I am being reasonable! You're the one who's on crack!"
"All I'm doing is suggesting that you help—"
"A psychopath?" Remus said, putting his hands on Emile's desk. "Macklewhore's rabid dog? I'm sorry, Picani, but if he's suffering, then he fucking deserves it."
"Okay, let's not use outdated gendered insults, even for someone like her," Emile told him, raising an eyebrow. "And Augustus does not deserve whatever he's going through."
Remus sputtered a little. "Wh—are you—do you—do you even remember what he did to Janus?"
"Of course I do—"
"Then we leave him there!" Remus spun around. "Virgil, Ro, back me up here! You agree with me, right?"
Virgil and Roman shared a look.
"Come on!" he exclaimed. "You get my point!"
"I mean... the guy was helping us," Virgil said, shrugging. "That signals a turnaround."
"How? He could've just been setting us up!"
"By sending us anonymous emails that were obviously intended to help us?" Logan said from the corner, looking up from his phone. "Let me remind you, we have not seen him in almost a year."
Remus pointed at him. "And how much do you think he's changed, huh? He's been an ass forever! Even when we were rooming, he was an ass! He's not gonna change!"
"I mean... he could have changed," Roman admitted, scratching his neck. "We don't know what Augustina did to him after we escaped. And if he sent those emails, well... at least he's trying, right?"
"But—no! This is Augustass! I am not risking my life to save Augustass!"
"I am," Patton said, standing up.
Remus gave him an incredulous look. "Didn't I just say—"
"Oh, don't get me wrong, I still think he has a lot to answer for," Patton interrupted. "But I believe that if people are genuinely making an effort, then they should be given a second chance."
"Making an effort? Making an effort?" Remus repeated. "Two helpful emails doesn't make up for everything he did!"
"I don't care," Patton snapped. "We need to repay that. And if he does turn on us again, we'll be ready—especially you, judging by your attitude right now."
"We do not need to repay any—"
"All right, that's it." Logan stood up. "Remus, shut up. You're being irrational."
Remus started to retort, but Logan just waved his hand. "No. Nope. I'm revoking your talking privileges. Let me speak."
Virgil sat forward. "What's your opinion on this?"
"I agree with Patton—and not because he's my boyfriend," Logan added, pointing at Remus. "I have actual reasoning behind this."
"Well, then, let's hear it, Microsoft Nerd," Roman said.
Logan adjusted his glasses. "First, let's look back at past events. Yes, Augustus was a figurative dickhead for a few years, but I remember what he was like in seventh grade. A bit unapproachable? Yes. Fairly closed off? Absolutely. But he wasn't needlessly harming people. That only seemed to start after he was assigned to work with Janus."
Emile motioned for him to go on.
"Fast-forward to when we last saw him, when he had that little meltdown after Remus tried to throttle him," Logan continued. "In that instant, he seemed much more like the antisocial twelve-year-old who would leave class on seemingly random occasions—judging by his behavior prior to leaving class, those were panic attacks. Not to mention, the information he dropped points to him having been in an incredibly dangerous situation already. Living with that woman's influence hanging over his head could not have been healthy, especially seeing as he lost the only positive adult role model in his life at age ten."
"Hmm, yeah, good point," Virgil said, nodding along. "You think failing might've kickstarted something in him?"
"Not just the failure—though that is an incredibly good point," Logan told him. "Well done, Virgil. But I think whatever Augustina did to punish him for failing could have given him the push he needed to make a change in his life. Not to say he couldn't have gotten that push if we hadn't left him behind the first time—and yes, I will remind you, we had that chance, and we chose not to take it because certain members of our crew were still angry at him—but all signs point to him having tried to do better. We haven't been present in his life for nearly a year, so there's no way of knowing how much he's changed. But those emails indicate that he's trying. And if he's trying, we should help him."
Something struck Virgil. "Wait, wait, wait—if we left him behind the first time, does that mean he's going through... whatever Augustina is putting him through because of us? If we'd saved him back then, what—"
"It doesn't do well to dwell on what might have been," Logan interjected. "We have to focus on the now, and what we can do looking forward. Besides, Janus, didn't you say he had a friend who seemed like a good influence? A friend who had a crush on him, no less?"
"Yeah, Janus, you've been awfully quiet," Roman said, raising an eyebrow. "Have anything to add?"
Janus raised both of his middle fingers into the air, a sullen expression on his face.
"Noted. Thank you for your contribution." Logan cleared his throat. "That friend could've helped him out as well, emotionally speaking. And beyond any theoretical growth, Augustus has up-to-date inside knowledge of the Divinity Circle, unlike his brother. Getting him out isn't just the right thing to do from a moral and logical standpoint, it's the right thing to do from a strategic standpoint as well. I guarantee you, the only reason the Circle is becoming so bold is because fairly soon, they will likely become a threat not only to the Academy, but to the world at large. So we'll need someone who knows how it operates."
Patton let out a cheer and hugged Logan. "There's my genius!"
"Yes, Patton, I was very proud of that, I love you," Logan said under his breath, patting him on the head.
"But that doesn't change anything!" Remus protested. "He still—"
"I'm not saying that Augustus still has some very big and very sincere apologies to make," Logan said, holding up a finger. "But maybe we give him the chance to actually say them, hmm?"
Emile looked up from his sheet. "All right, that's two people so far who are willing to do this. Roman? Virgil? Anything to add?"
Virgil hesitated. "Well... Logan did make some good points, and I'd feel pretty guilty if we left him. But personally... I would still hold off on trusting him. And I'd have to meet him in person to know for sure."
"So you'll be staying behind?" Emile said gently.
He nodded, biting his lip.
"That's all right, Virgil. Roman?"
"Yeah, I think I'm with him on this," Roman said after a beat. "Rather not risk my life for someone who I don't even know if I like or not."
Emile made a note of that. "Seems like the couples have begun to align. Brainwave says yes, Prince Nyx says yes but they won't be going, and Masquerduke, unsurprisingly, says—"
"You can save him."
Everyone looked over at Janus, who'd just spoken for the first time in almost an hour—a true miracle.
"Sorry?" Emile questioned.
"I said, you can save him," Janus repeated through gritted teeth. "I know what he is and I know what he did to me, but nobody deserves to be in the hands of a monster like her. You get him out of there and you do it quick."
Emile lit up. "Janus, I never expected—"
"But there is no way in heaven, hell, or earth you will make me go," he continued, his two-toned eyes flashing with deep resentment. "I won't lift a finger to save his sorry hide—you'll have to do that yourselves. And the second you rescue him, the second he is away from there, is the second that I stop caring about him. From that moment on, he is dead to me. Understood?"
Emile deflated. "Yes. I understand."
"Good." Janus stood up and walked out of the office.
Remus stared after him for a split second, then ran after him. It wasn't long before shouting could be heard down the hallway.
Virgil looked around at everyone's dumbstruck faces. "Anybody wanna go see what's up?"
"Not it," Roman and Patton chorused.
"Gotcha. My turn." He got up and raced out of the office, skidding to a stop a little ways away from Janus and Remus.
"I'm not being unreasonable!" Remus protested. "I just don't see why you're willing to stick your neck out for that asshole!"
"Didn't you hear me? I'm not sticking my neck out! All I said was that it's fine if they got him out!"
"But getting him out means that he could hurt you again! I'm not going to take that risk—"
"Oh, for Shiva's SAKE, Remus, leave it alone!" Janus snapped. "I'm not a damsel in need of rescuing! I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself!"
Virgil raised his eyebrows. Woah.
Janus realized what he'd said and instantly dialed it back. "I'm—I'm sorry, darling, I didn't mean—"
"No, no, go on," Remus told him, holding up a hand. "Tell me what's wrong."
"I... fine." Janus exhaled. "I love that you care about me, and I love that you want to protect me—really, I do—but you're going overboard lately. You're worrying far too much, and it's getting a little tiresome."
"Oh." Remus hunched his shoulders slightly. "I... sorry. I didn't realize."
"Of course you didn't realize, I never brought it up until now."
"Well, why didn't you?" Remus asked softly. "It seems like it's been bugging you for a bit."
Janus twisted his lips. "It wasn't a major deal. I didn't feel like I should've."
"Hey." Remus put a hand on his shoulder. "If I'm doing something that's making you uncomfortable, you should bring it up."
"I know, I know, I..." Janus gave him a small smile. "I just didn't want you to overreact."
"When do I ever overreact?"
"You're overreacting about Augustus," Janus reminded him. "Worst-case scenario, he gives me reason to beat the shit out of him and throw him from the top of the main building, and best-case scenario, he moves to Boston with his brother and I never see him again."
Remus laughed a little bit. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry for being such a worrywart."
"You're doing your best." Janus dusted Remus's shoulders. "Just try to tone it down a little, hmm? I know you like it when I take down bad guys."
"I love it when you take down bad guys."
"Then let me do it." Janus stretched up a little and kissed him on the nose. "I do love you."
"Love you too."
Virgil chose that moment to start applauding. Janus and Remus gave him a look that wasn't too dissimilar to the look you'd give a bug that just appeared in your bedroom.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Remus said, pointing at him.
"When Masquerduke fights, the world could potentially come to an end," Virgil informed him. "I was just making sure that the apocalypse wasn't going to come."
"Oh, fuck off, Hayashi," Janus groaned.
Virgil considered this. "Nah."
A/N: I don't write couple conflict often, do I? Should I do that more?