Roman had never actually seen Remus' castle before, and what he saw was nothing like what he had expected, which confused him more than anything. Roman thought that he knew his brother fairly decently. He at least knew to expect the unexpected from Remus. Of course, then the most unexpected thing happened. Remus' castle was completely normal.

Sure, the architecture, lighting, and decorating was a little darker and more gothic than Roman would personally make for himself, but it wasn't that outrageous of a design. He actually liked it, though he wouldn't ever admit it to any of the others, especially not Remus.

Another thing that surprised Roman was how empty his brother's castle was. He was used to seeing Remus' creations wandering all around his realm, getting into trouble and looking for attention. Other than the trees that had grabbed at them and the creatures Roman and Remus had created in the tide pool, he hadn't seen any other beings on Remus' side of the imagination.

Roman had thought it was odd before, but he'd been able to ignore it. Now, when they were in Remus' castle, the center of his kingdom, Roman couldn't just look past how odd it was. Remus' castle was completely barren. There were no monsters under the bed wandering around the halls, waiting to sneak up on them. There wasn't a horribly deformed creature to give Remus and Roman the royal greetings that they had both come to love. There wasn't even a rat scurrying up the walls. The castle had been abandoned.

"Where is everybody?" Roman asked.

"Oh, I gave them the day off," Remus said, like it was something that he did all the time, and for all Roman knew it was. "They know to not bother me when I have guests."

Roman frowned slightly. "How often do you have guests?"

"Uh, not much anymore," Remus said, and he looked almost upset for a moment before he looked back to normal. "Virgil doesn't like my part of the imagination, and Dee...well, he's really busy. You know Thomas, he won't exactly take care of himself."

Roman stiffened. "Don't remind me," He scowled. Remus gave him a curious look.

"Oh, are things not going smoothly in your perfect little world?" Remus sounded like he was just seconds away from laughing, and Roman didn't appreciate it. Nothing about this situation was funny, even for somebody with as twisted a sense of humor as Remus had.

"Don't," Roman said in a cold tone that caught him off guard. He didn't feel cold, distant anger the way that Virgil did. Roman's anger was fast to come, but even quicker to burn out. With Deceit sneaking his way into their ranks and all of the changes that came with it, Roman had been feeling constantly tense and upset, like he expected things to go wrong at any given moment. If this was how Virgil felt all the time, it was no wonder he was such a downer. This stress was hard to deal with.

Remus frowned slightly, but he didn't provoke Roman more, like he normally would. Roman was surprised, but he wasn't about to complain about his brother finally bothering to learn some decency and restraint.

Remus rocked on his feet and fiddled with the hem of his shirt. Somehow, it didn't come off as anxious like it did when Virgil did it. Remus just looked like he wanted to do something with his hands. "Do you want to see my dungeons?"

"Dungeons?" Roman frowned slightly. "Meaning more than one?"

Remus giggled. "I have three different dungeons. They all have their own special purpose." Roman wasn't surprised about Remus having a dungeon, but he thought that three dungeons was a little excessive, even for the duke. What could remus possibly do with three dungeons.

Roman knew that he would regret this, but he was curious, in an adventurous mood, and needed to keep Remus in a good mood so he would open up to him about Deceit's plan.

"You know what? Sure, I'll see your dungeons."

Remus grinned like a kid on Christmas and clapped his hands excitedly. "I think you'll really love at least one of my dungeons." Remus hurried his way down the halls and Roman had little choice but to follow him. Remus's dungeons were in the basement, so they had to go down very steep, very slippery stairs to get there. Remus ran down them, not caring when he slipped and fumbled down a few stairs before he was able to find his footing.

Roman went as cautiously as he could. It wasn't long before Remus was out of his sights, but Roman wasn't worried. He didn't doubt that Remus would get back to him fairly quickly. He always came back.

When Roman reached the bottom of the stairs he could see Remus sprawled on the ground. He looked like he had fallen and hit his head or something, but Roman didn't think that something like that would slow Remus down much.

"Come on, Re-Re, get up." Roman held out his hand. Remus opened one eye and squinted at him. The duke smirked and took his hand. Remus tugged his hand, and for a moment it seemed that he was going to try to pull Roman down, but then he seemed to change his mind and just let himself be pulled to his feet.

Remus flinched and staggered slightly when he put pressure on his feet. Roman could see him favoring his left foot. He'd gone and twisted his ankle.

"That's what you get," Roman sighed. He put himself in front of Remus and bent his legs slightly to make his back accessible. "Get on."

"Uh, really?" Remus asked, and his shocked tone reminded Roman of just who he was offering to help. He couldn't find it in him to take his offer back. As a prince and hero, Roman's instinct was to save those in need, even if the one in need was the brother that he could barely bring himself to tolerate.

"Yes, of course," Roman said. "Just don't tell the others."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Remus said. Roman didn't exactly believe him, but there wasn't much more he could do about it. Remus climbed onto Roman's back and wrapped his arms tightly around his neck.

Roman coughed and tried to loosen Remus' hold on him, but his brother didn't budge. "What, are you trying to choke me?"

"No," Remus said in a tone that he probably thought was innocent sounding, but Roman knew it meant that he was up to something. "I can, though, if you want." Remus tightened his grip and wiggled slightly, grinding his hips against Roman's back. The prince was tempted to drop his brother right here and walk away, but he had come this far. It wasn't worth it to walk away now. He had handled Remus' obnoxious, immature behavior when they were kids, he could handle it now.

"Pass," Roman said stiffly. Remus giggled but loosened his grip around Roman's neck just enough to allow him to breathe comfortably. "So, where are your dungeons?"

"Just down those halls," Remus pointed so passionately and suddenly that Roman thought he was going to lose his balance. "Look for a barred door or a door with latex curtains around it. If you run into a locked door, you've gone too far."

Roman frowned. Remus wasn't one for secrets. Why would he have a locked door anywhere in his realm, let alone in the favorite area of his castle? "Do I want to know what you have locked away?"

"Oh, it's just my dungeon." Remus said. His tone was casual enough, and Roman could tell that he wasn't trying to keep secrets, but it seemed like there was something more to this. There was a strange tone in Remus' voice, though Roman couldn't say whether it was pained, mischievous, or angry.

Roman was sick and tired of secrets and lies, but he knew that anything that Remus kept behind a locked door was probably not something he wanted to see for himself. "Alright, we'll stick to the latex and bars."

Remus chuckled and leaned closer to Roman. "Sounds like my kind of a party." Roman didn't even dignify that with a response.

"Gremlin," Roman muttered under his breath. Remus made a contented noise and almost seemed to nuzzle against him, which felt really odd.

Roman walked until he found a large door that looked like a very traditional castle dungeon entrance. The barred door. Roman walked closer to it and Remus opened the door with just a thought. Through the door Roman saw a dungeon that was nearly identical to the one he had in his own castle, except the torches burned lower and the floors were more damp.

Roman was a little confused. The dungeon looked a little tame for Remus' aesthetic, just like how Roman's dungeon was harsher than more of his other creations. "What inspired you to design your dungeon like this?"

"I...don't really know," Remus looked around in confusion, like he was only just now realizing how empty and boring his dungeon was. "It just felt right. I never thought about changing it." Roman nodded in understanding. He felt similarly about his own dungeon. The dungeons just felt natural the way they were, which was exactly what made Roman feel uncomfortable about it. He was uncomfortable with anything that reminded him of his connection with Remus.

"Do you want to give the cuffs a try?" Remus asked suddenly and loudly. Roman turned his head to see that his brother looked a little uncomfortable himself. Maybe he was having similar thoughts as Roman was. "As tempting as that is, I'm going to have to say no," Roman said. "What's your latex dungeon like?"

Remus smirked broadly and Roman realized just what he had said. He groaned and tilted his head back slightly. "No, no, nevermind, I don't want to know."

"Too late," Remus cackled. "Come take a look at my toys. Who knows, maybe you'll find something you like?"

"I'm not going to play with you like that," Roman said loudly. He wasn't going to bend on that.

"Come on, you prude, you might like it." Remus said. "I'll make you a deal, if you come see my toys, I'll tone it down for you."

"You...I'm sorry, you'll what?" Roman was sure that he hadn't heard that right. It couldn't be possible. Remus never toned himself down for anything.

"No blood, no gore," Remus promised. "I won't even show you the sex stuff." Remus seemed to be a lot more desperate to look at his collection. There had to be an ulterior motive.

"What's the angle?" Roman asked.

"No angle," Remus assured him. "I don't get to share my toys with many people, and I think you'll really like at least some of my things."

"Bro, I swear, if this is a trick of any kind I will drag you back to the river where our truce is null and void." Roman said. Technically, his threat could be seen as a violation of their truce, but Remus didn't call him out on it. So long as Remus wasn't bothered or felt threatened, it was acceptable.

"No trick," Remus said. "Come on, please?" With that one word Romangave in. Remus wasn't in the habit of asking for anything, let alone asking politely. This seemed to be very important to him, and Roman had come here to get on his brother's good side. He supposed it couldn't hurt to at least hear him out, and then follow through with his warning if Remus went back on his word.

"Fine, we'll give it a try," Roman said. Remus giggled and embraced him as much as he could from on his back. Somehow Roman felt even weirder about the gentle, completely innocent hug from his brother than he did about Remus' most gruesome attempts to shock him.

Roman left the traditional dungeon and followed Remus' instructions on how to get to his dungeon that was surely dedicated to BDSM or other things along those lines. Remus was surprisingly quiet as they went. Roman had expected him to blather on and on about his play dungeon, but Remus was surprisingly quiet about it. He seemed to want it to be a surprise. Roman didn't know whether that was a good or bad thing. He was prepared either way.

When they got to the door Remus hopped off of Roman's back, stumbling slightly as he irritated his foot, but Remus didn't seem to care. He limped slightly to the door and opened it with a dramatic flair. Remus stepped to the side and gave a deep bow as he gestured inside. "Welcome to my playroom."

Roman cautiously entered, and he was pleasantly surprised at what he saw. It was much less chaotic than he expected. The room was large, but there was a lot going on. Roman saw about a dozen different pieces of furniture meant to restrain Remus in unique ways. Roman only had a decent guess about what half of them did. He didn't think he wanted to know what the large steel circles with a bar going through the middle of it was for.

"Alright, what did you want to show me?" Roman asked.

Remus walked past two cabinets. Based on the obvious sex toy lying on the ground outside one cabinet and what looked like fur poking out of the other one, Roman didn't mind passing them by. Remus finally opened the third cabinet, which was much more elegant and fancy looking than the other two, and opened it with a flourish Roman was stunned at the contents.

It looked like the inside of one of Roman's cabinets. There were a few crowns, and coronets sitting nicely on shelves. There were a lot of collars and handcuffs, but they were designed in such a way that at first glance they just looked like choker necklaces and fancy cuffs. There were harnesses, leashes, and other bondage gear made entirely of chainmail. Roman had worn chainmail before, he knew that it could pinch painfully when padding wasn't worn beneath it. Knowing Remus though, he probably didn't care about that.

What really caught Roman's eye was what looked like a coronation cape, except it was made with forest green velvet instead of the normal red. The quality was exquisite. Roman knew he would definitely wear it if he was ever given the chance, even though green wasn't his color and he didn't think he would ever think to wear something that Remus had ever touched.

"What is with the royal regalia?" Roman asked.

"Sometimes I just want to be treated like royalty." Remus said as he straightened his velvet cape. "It was fun to figure out how to use this stuff for my games."

Roman was quiet for a moment, but it wasn't long before he just couldn't keep his curiosity back anymore. "How, pray tell, could you possibly use a crown for all of...this." Roman gestured to the furniture around them."

"Oh, I think you'll like this," Remus grinned. He picked up one of the smaller crowns. He turned it so Roman could take a look at the part that rested on the head. The crown had studs going all around the inside of it. Crowns weren't exactly comfortable in the first place, which was why Roman didn't regularly wear one, but this particular crown looked like it would hurt, with the studs digging straight into the skin.

"And you actually like this?" Roman asked with a frown. He slid his hand across the studs. "Doesn't it hurt?"

"Of course it does," Remus grinned broadly and there was a look of longing in his eyes. "It feels amazing."

"I don't think I'll ever understand you," Roman said. Remus giggled, but his grin slipped slightly. Roman frequently said things that he probably shouldn't, and he wasn't very good at knowing when he went too far, but he knew that he was definitely walking on a thin line right now. He had to dial down his disapproval of his brother.

"I'm not sure I would like the studs, but I certainly appreciate the design," Roman said. "What about the cape? Don't tell me the inside is imbued with poison that will slowly drain you of your energy."

Remus looked ecstatic at the suggestion. "That's an amazing idea, Ro-Ro. I didn't know you had it in you." Roman flinched slightly. He hadn't meant to give his brother any ideas. "No, nothing like that. The cape is completely normal. It's for aftercare."

Roman gave his brother a confused look. While he didn't care much for the particular details about this kind of thing, he certainly knew about aftercare. Lavender scented bubble baths, snuggling with a heavy blanket and stuffed animal, cuddling with a loving partner, those were the things that Roman lived for, but he hadn't thought that Remus would have any interest in it.

"I didn't think you did aftercare." Roman said. He wasn't trying to be offensive or ignorant, he was just genuinely confused. Remus was the embodiment of Thomas' intrusive thoughts and dark creativity. If anybody could enjoy the rough play without even a hint of softness involved, it would be Remus.

"Dee makes me," Remus pouted slightly. "He won't play with me unless I let him pamper me afterwards." Only Remus could make being properly taken care of sound like a bad thing.

Roman knew he should appreciate that Remus had somebody to make sure he was happy and safe, but all Roman felt was annoyed. Both because Deceit could make Remus behave a certain way when none of them other than Logan could manage it, and because Deceit seemed to have everybody, not just the light sides, caught in this web of false caring of his.

Remus frowned and leaned towards Roman. "Are you...upset that Deedee takes care of me?"

Roman flinched. When it was phrased that way it made Roman sound like a big jerk, but he wasn't. He was a hero, he just wished the others would recognize and acknowledge it.

"Everybody's treating Deceit like he's a hero, and he's not," Roman scowled.

Remus chuckled and shook his head. "A hero? Double D? That's hilarious. Dee's as much a hero as I'm a benevolent king." Remus burst into a fit of giggles and Roman soon found himself laughing along with him.

Roman felt his chest lighten a little. He'd been dealing with the others not really taking his feelings about Deceit seriously. He knew they weren't trying to invalidate how he felt about Deceit, but he could tell that they thought he was overreacting and being unfair. Roman hadn't realized just how much he had needed somebody to agree with him. It felt nice, even if that acknowledgement was coming from his brother.

Perhaps spending more time with his brother wouldn't be as bad as he thought it would be.

"I'm going to have to return to the mindscape soon," Roman said. Patton always got worried when he was in the Imagination for more than a few hours at a time. Patton would be especially concerned now, considering Roman's mood lately. Roman appreciated Patton's concern, but he didn't want to raise any suspicion, at least not yet. If Patton knew that Roman was spending more time with Remus, Janus would learn it sooner rather than later, and that could ruin everything.

Remus pouted. "Do you have to leave so soon? There's so much I can show you."

"Perhaps another time," Roman said. Remus' eyes widened.

"You'll come back?" Remus asked.

"Of course," Roman said, like it was obvious. "Though maybe next time the two of us could meet up in my castle. We can have a movie night." It would be much easier for Roman to tolerate Remus' presence if he was somewhere he felt comfortable and doing something that always put him at ease.

"A movie night?" Remus looked even more excited than before. "I love watching movies."

"I have quite the collection," Roman said proudly. He had a lot of Disney, naturally, but a lot more than just that. Because he was feeling generous and wanted to keep Remus happy he decided to make him an offer that he barely ever made, even for the others. "I'll tell you what, as long as you keep it PG-13, you can pick what we watch."

"Really?" Remus said so loudly that it was just shy of a scream. Roman was shocked, but not exactly startled. He was used to sudden loud noises. "Even Janus doesn't let me pick."

Perhaps this was a mistake, but taking the offer back now would be even worse than if he had never made the offer in the first place.

"Yes, really," Roman promised. He was a man of his word. "I have to go now, but I'll send a message along later to arrange a time."

"I'll be waiting," Remus said, and Roman knew that his brother wasn't a patient person by nature. Leaving him to wait for too long could be disastrous. It was just more incentive to keep his promise.

"I shall see you later, brother," Roman said as he sank out of the Imagination and arrived back in his room. Sinking in and out of the Imagination could be rather complicated. No matter where Roman sank out, he always appeared back in his bedroom. And if he wanted to rise into the Imagination he could only ever arrive in his castle. Roman was sure that if he and Remus didn't have a truce in place at the moment then he wouldn't be able to sink out from this side of the Imagination at all.

Roman went into his private bathroom to take a shower. He smelled like Remus, and that was never a good thing. It made Roman feel gross. He always enjoyed a long shower, but this time he felt that it was completely necessary. He had to scrub the stench and feel of his brother away.

Roman went downstairs just in time to find Patton and Virgil setting the table while Deceit and Logan put the finishing touches on dinner. It was usually Patton who did the cooking, sometimes with Logan's assistance when the logical side felt that they needed healthier, more balanced food in their life. Lately though Deceit seemed to completely take over the kitchen. Roman wasn't happy about it, but he had to admit that Deceit's food tasted quite good, though that probably had more to do with the snake's perception than his cooking skills.

Somehow Deceit seemed to know what every single one of them needed on any given day. When Patton was feeling especially nostalgic or upset, Deceit would make the comfort meals that Thomas' mom used to make when he was young. If Virgil was having a rough day, the snake would be right there with salmon flavored with turmeric. Deceit also made sure they had enough Crofter's to satisfy both Logan and Roman.

Today's dinner was a toasted cheese sandwich with some tomato soap and soft boiled eggs on the side. Eggs didn't exactly go well with sandwiches and soup, but they were one of Deceit's favorites, and since he was the one making food Roman knew he couldn't complain. He'd tried to once, but the look of disappointment that Patton had given him had been enough to shut him down.

"There you are, Kiddo," Patton gave Roman a smile as he sat at the table. "Where've you been? We haven't seen you around all day."

"I was in the Imagination," Roman said.

"What monster were you fighting this time?" Virgil asked. Roman couldn't tell if the question was because he was curious or concerned, but he appreciated it all the same. Roman loved talking about his adventures.

"Actually, I decided to try something new," Roman said. "I've decided to try taming a creature instead. It's a work in progress, but I think I'm doing decently."

"That's great!" Patton looked so excited for him, but the snake frowned and looked at Roman with a small frown. He stiffened ever so slightly as he realized that Deceit could possibly sense his small lie of omission.

This was another reason why Roman didn't like Deceit around so much. Because acting and lying were distant cousins (very, very distant, barely even related at all cousins), Roman was so used to exaggerating the truth sometimes. He didn't consider it as lying, it was just making his adventures seem both more exciting as well as more safe. Apparently his storytelling and claims were close enough to lying that Deceit could sense it.

The snake hadn't called Roman out to the others yet, but he was sure that it was only a matter of time before the other shoe dropped. Deceit just must be waiting for Roman to take things just a step too far, or for the perfect chance for him to blackmail him.

"So, what's on the menu for tonight?" Roman asked.

"Crab cakes and shrimp," Deceit said. Roman only knew that he wasn't lying because he could see the food as and Logan brought it over.

"Ah, don't take this the wrong way, but that seems more like appetizers than a main course," Roman said.

"There's also rice and vegetables to balance out the meal," Logan said. He started to dish himself up, but Patton cleared his throat pointedly.

"Hang on, kiddo," Patton said. "Don't you think we're forgetting something?"

"Ah, yes," Logan sighed in barely restrained annoyance. "Grace,"

"As much fun as it sounds to give thanks to a deity who may or may not exist, even though they had nothing to do with the preparation of this meal, I have a prior engagement," Deceit filled a plate with half the total crab cakes, put a serving of shrimp and rice in a bowl, and then returned to the kitchen.

"Aw, do you have to?" Patton pouted. "We were going to have a game night after dinner,"

"That sounds absolutely terrible," Deceit came out of the kitchen with a second bowl stacked on top of the first. This one looked like it was filled to the brim with raw shrimp. "I certainly won't make it to the next one."

Patton looked devastated for a second before he remembered who he was talking to. "Oh, great! Well, have fun."

"I won't," Deceit said before he made his way towards the door that led to the Dark Side. Patton had been trying to convince him to move to the Light Side permanently, but Deceit had made it clear that he was perfectly content where he was, which Roman was relieved about. Deceit may come here often, but he didn't technically live here, which meant that there was still hope. And if Deceit left, Remus would be on his own in the Dark Side, and nothing good ever came from a bored and lonely Remus.

With Deceit gone and a plan in his mind to get rid of the snake for good Roman allowed himself to relax. He made himself not worry about his brother or Deceit's schemes. Tonight was dedicated to famILY, and not even the Dark Sides could ruin this for Roman.