Chapter Text
The mind palace library wasn’t a spot often visited by the other sides apart from Logan, so when he heard the rap of knuckles against the door frame, he jumped slightly in his seat and looked up. Standing there was the serpent himself, Deceit. Logan sighed and turned his attention back down to his planner.
“Hello to you too, Logic,” Deceit hummed. “I’m doing well, thanks for asking.”
“Do you need something, Deceit?” Logan asked, not looking up.
Deceit said nothing as he walked over to the table where Logan was sitting. The logical side tried to pay him no mind, but it was quite difficult after growing so used to being alone in the library. The change was distracting. Deceit placed a hand on the table and leaned over to stare at Logan’s planner.
“Plotting world domination?” Deceit asked.
“World domination would be impractical. If you want to gain power, start small and work your way up,” Logan explained.
“Go big or go home.”
“We’re literally in Thomas’ head, that’s the closest to home we’re going to get.”
Deceit sighed and sat down across from Logan. “What are you doing?”
Logan glanced up for a moment to try and get a read on the snake's face. The other four sides were easy, all relying heavily on emotions to make any and all decisions. Their expressions gave everything away. Deceit on the other hand was tricky. He was much better at hiding what he was thinking. It was all part of his job after all.
“If you must know, I am looking back at Thomas’ past New Years resolutions and taking note of when he stopped following them so I can better prepare for this year,” Logan explained.
“Ooo, sounds like fun,” Deceit said, trying to read what Logan had written down. “I love New Years resolutions.”
“Hm,” was all Logan added. He wasn’t a fan of being interrupted during his work.
“What are you thinking the big man himself needs to work on this year?” Deceit asked, trying to push the conversation.
Logan sighed and flipped to his future notes. “Well, it goes without saying that Thomas needs to work on expanding his mind. He’s set on this YouTube thing, so the more knowledge he acquires, the easier it’ll be for him to make engaging, educational content.”
He waited for Deceit to call him boring or say his resolution was stupid, but the snake just nodded. “I agree, Thomas knowing more in general would definitely be beneficial in the long run.”
Logan’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the side across the table. “None of the others ever agree with my ideas.”
“Well, that sounds like a them problem.”
“What do you want?” Logan asked. He wasn’t a fan of these back and forth games Deceit liked to play. He also didn’t trust the fact that the snake’s buddy, Anxiety, recently made himself known to Thomas. How much longer before Thomas learned about the other sides that lingered in his personality?
“Who says I want anything?” Deceit asked, grinning widely. “I’m just happy that you’re looking out for Thomas!”
“Falsehood,” Logan snapped. “You’re up to something, and I want to know what.”
“Logan,” the snake hummed, sending a chill down the logical side’s spine. It was rare to hear his name being used so casually. Thomas didn’t even know their names yet. “All I want is for Thomas to stick to his goals. This year will be different, I can feel it.”
“And why do you care if Thomas sticks to his goals or not?” Logan asked.
“You know I’m more than just deceit,” Deceit said. “Goals to better oneself are beneficial, even if they don’t last too long. A little improvement for a short amount of time is better than no improvement at all. As Thomas’ self preservation, him setting goals soothes me. The healthier and smarter a person is, the easier they are to keep alive.”
That made sense. Deceit did have a role to play, even if Thomas wasn’t yet aware of his existence. He was there to look out for Thomas and Thomas alone. Someone to balance Patton’s extreme selflessness out.
“My question then is why are you coming to me about this?” Logan asked. “What, do Anxiety and the Duke not not agree with your thoughts on New Year's resolutions?”
Deceit scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Remus couldn’t care less what goals Thomas sets. Anxiety on the other hand, he thinks resolutions are pointless. Since Thomas failed in the past, he thinks Thomas won’t succeed in the future.”
Logan nodded. “Thomas’ track record with keeping up on his New Year's resolutions is quite dismal.”
“But that doesn’t mean he’s incapable of doing better.”
“Correct, there is always room for improvement,” Logan agreed.
Deceit smiled and leaned back in his chair. “Glad we’re on the same page.”
“I still don’t fully understand why you came to me,” Logan said. “Our two groups don’t interact often.”
“Anxiety started interacting with you guys,” Deceit pointed out. “Listen, I like Anxiety, but he can be a bit... negative. I just don’t want him to convince Thomas to give up before he even starts.”
“So you want me to convince Thomas to stick to his resolutions? You do realize that I do that every year, right?” Logan asked.
“I want you to convince Thomas to not give up on his resolutions before he even gives them a shot,” Deceit clarified.
“Why not just show up and talk to Thomas yourself?”
Deceit just stared at him. “Yes, let me just show up, no warning, introduce myself as Deceit, and then instantly have Princey and Patton shoot me down before I can get a single word out. Great idea, I can see why they call you Logic.”
“I can see why that wouldn’t go over well,” Logan agreed, speaking slowly. “But how do you plan on convincing Roman and Patton to go along with your plan of getting Thomas to follow through on his resolutions?”
“Oh please!” Deceit laughed. “I don’t have to do anything with those two. They’re so full of endless optimism that they’ll fight to convince him even if Anxiety shows up to say otherwise. I just came to talk to you to see if all of you were on the same page.”
“This doesn’t seem like your normal type of scheme.”
“I’m just looking out for Thomas. Honest.”
“It seems strange that you’re sitting here talking to me to plot against one of your friends,” Logan stated. While Deceit was making excellent points in their discussion, he still didn’t trust him.
“Strange how you didn’t shout ‘evil!’ upon seeing me enter and actually managed to get through a conversation with me despite our differences,” Deceit countered.
“I’m always up for a healthy discussion.”
“As am I,” Deceit smiled. With that, he stood up and walked away from the table, leaving the mind palace library. Logan was suddenly alone again, left to his thoughts and his planner. While he still wasn’t exactly sure what Deceit got out of that conversation, it didn’t change Logan’s plans. He was still going to come up with resolutions for Thomas to follow this upcoming year. Cutting out carbs, working to stop procrastinating, fixing his sleep schedule-
All of these felt like lies starring Logan in the face. He knew Thomas wouldn’t be able to stick to any of them for too long, but like Deceit said, even a little bit of improvement for a short period of time was better than no improvement at all. Maybe convincing Thomas that he could actually stick to his resolutions, even if it was a lie, wouldn’t be so bad.