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Language:
English
Series:
Part 2 of Who Knew Trilogy
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Published:
2022-04-24
Completed:
2022-09-04
Words:
20,698
Chapters:
20/20
Comments:
33
Kudos:
21
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3
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320

I Knew

Chapter 16: Change

Summary:

The fallout of the previous days’ events comes back to bite everyone

TW:
cursing, sexual innuendo, fire, crying

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Janus wasn’t really sure why he decided to go to work today. He had literally just found out his boss had been essentially tracking him and had stolen the files, and he was still willing to just go to work the next day like nothing ever happened.

Janus had called Remus that morning while he slipped a yellow jean jacket over his black T-shirt. Remus said there was a good chance that Logan was still oblivious to the whole situation, but that did very little to calm Janus’ nerves.

He pushed open the giant glass doors at the front of his workplace and met Remus in the lobby.

“The new receptionist said Logan wants to see you in his office,” Remus relayed, gesturing at the person behind the front desk. Seeing someone different there sent shivers up Janus’ spine. He missed Melinda. The new person had shorter hair with a name tag that read “Thomas he/him.”

Janus slowly turned his attention back to Remus. “Do you know what it’s about?”

Remus shook his head. “Not a clue, but I’m coming with you regardless.”

Janus rolled his eyes but didn’t argue as Remus followed him into the elevator and then to Logan’s office.

Logan himself sat behind his desk wearing a simple black button-up, hands steepled. It was different than the other times people entered his office, him being busy and appearing to fit them into his schedule. No, he was 100% prepared for Janus to enter the room and fixed him with a piercing gaze that wasn’t the cool glare he always sent. This glare meant “get the fuck out of my sight, I never want to see you again.”

“Janus,” Logan simply said, gaze never leaving Janus’. “I assume, Janus, that I need not bring up the reason I’ve asked to speak with you.” He never regarded Remus standing in the doorway aside from shutting the door behind him with a gust of wind once he was beyond the threshold.

Janus sighed. “I could sue you.”

If you could afford it,” Logan corrected, “your case would be flimsy at best. However, lawsuits aside, your recent actions have caused me to lose my faith in you as an employee. Janus Atkins, you are hereby fired. If you have any personal belongings, you have until the end of the day to gather them and leave the premises.”

Remus took a step forward. “That’s bullshi—“ Logan gestured sharply, and Remus suddenly gasped for air, reaching up to paw at his throat.

Logan narrowed his eyes. “My decision is not up for debate. Is that understood?”

“You’re killing him, you monster!” Janus screamed, slamming his hands down on Logan’s desk. “Let him go already!”

Logan reversed the motion, and Remus sucked in a gulp of air as soon as he was able, clutching onto the back of the chair in front of him. “Kinky,” Remus said weakly with a wink.

“I feel the need to say,” Logan continued, ignoring Remus, “that Remus, though you deeply, deeply annoy me, you are not fired. You are still a valuable asset to our—“

“I don’t give a shit about being your fucking asset!” Remus chuckled. “You literally just fired my boyfriend right in front of me. I’m not gonna bend to your stupid will. Go find another loyal flunky somewhere else. I quit,” he flipped Logan off as he and Janus left with a shared sigh of exasperation.

-~-

Janus paced in his apartment as he packed a box while Remus leaned on the wall next to him. “Remind me again, Janny, why you’re packing.”

Janus shook his head. “With the power Logan has, if we don’t do something, we could get killed.”

“So why are you packing?” Remus indicated the half-packed box Janus was currently stuffing various items into.

“Because,” he paused, pushing the contents of the box down to make room for more, “we need to move out of town before he does it for us.”

Remus shrugged. “Cool. I have a place.”

Janus glared at him. “How many secrets do you have?”

“Well, I dunno,” Remus said. “I don’t call them secrets; more like spicy character qualities. Anyway, there’s a cabin on the edge of town that Logan bought for Roman before I moved here. Once I did, my lovely brother who I love oh so much decided to help me pay for rent by sharing an apartment with me, but he also gave me ownership over the cabin in case I ever wanted to move out. I go there from time to time when I wanna just chill, so it’s not, like, run-down or anything.”

-~-

“So this is it, then?” Janus asked, slamming his car door shut as Remus also stepped out of the passenger’s side. Janus had also just now learned that Remus and Roman shared a car, and that’s why Remus had ridden with Janus. They were currently parked in a small field beside the cabin. It was two stories, and Remus had assured him that there were two bedrooms, so Janus didn’t need to feel pressured to take that step in their relationship just yet.

With a small box tucked under his shoulder, Janus stepped onto the front porch of the house and breathed in the woodsy scent around him. “It feels like home. Hurry up and bring these boxes in so I can finally pass out.”

And sure enough, they brought the boxes in and had unpacked the essentials. They were now sitting on the couch together in silence when Janus suddenly sighed.

“We need to do something about those files,” he quietly said.

Remus chuckled lightly. “Arson?”

Janus chuckled back, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he met Remus’ gaze. “Why not?”

“Then, I’ll get a campfire going, hun,” Remus stood up and kissed Janus on the cheek. Janus closed his eyes. The sun was beginning to set outside, and the sight was to die for. The orange and pinks peeking between the pine trees looked straight out of a movie. After a couple minutes of Janus simply reveling in the perfection of this scene, he eventually got up and gathered the files before joining Remus in the backyard.

“Alright, I think I’ve just about got it going,” Remus said, standing over the campfire. He turned to Janus. “Hey, you alright?”

Janus blinked, snapping back to reality. “Sorry, I dissociated there for a bit. I’m fine.”

Remus frowned. “Don’t apologize, hun. Pass me a log,” he gestured with a stick to the pile of chopped logs behind Janus.

“Where did you get all this wood?” Janus asked, stooping down to pick up the log closest to him before extending it to Remus.

He accepted it and began feeding it to the fire. “Roman sometimes ‘secretly’ orders them in bulk for me, but most of the time, I cut down a couple trees.” Once the log was fully in the fire, Remus dusted his hands off before motioning Janus closer to him. “Toss ‘em in, Janny.”

Janus obliged, deliberately only doing one or two pieces of paper at a time to make the moment last. After they had all gone up in flames, Janus let out a satisfied sigh and rested his head on Remus’ shoulder.

“Hey, Remus?” Janus whispered, barely loud enough over the fire crackling before them. Remus hummed in affirmation. Janus shut his eyes. “I love you.”

He felt Remus kiss the top of his head. “I love you, too.”

-~-

Melinda had locked herself in her dorm room. Her roommates had never been particularly supportive, so it was no surprise to her that they had silently agreed to leave her alone for the next week.

Even she was startled by the tears still streaming out of her own eyes. She sat there, wallowing in her own self-pity for what felt like hours before one of her roommates timidly knocked on her door. “Um, Melinda? I went to go check the mail, and something arrived for you. Uh, I’ll just…” they trailed off as a slip of paper was slid under the crack of the door.

Melinda immediately rushed to pick it up. It was a letter, which she tore into instantly.

 

“Ms. Bradbury,

I have some matters I wish to discuss with you tomorrow. Feel free to decline if you are not interested.

-Logan Flores”

 

Attached was an address and a time. She typed the location into her phone, and it came up as a part of town she’d never been to before.

She made the foolish decision of deciding to take him up on the offer.

Notes:

As always, comments, questions, and theories are very much welcome! Don’t forget to hydrate and make sure to love yourself!

~Tulip