Chapter Text
His big day finally came. Nico bravely withstood all the nervous sweat, clattering teeth and anxious sighs. All happening right next to him at the breakfast table.
“How are you holding up, Mark?” Nico asked carefully.
Mark pursed his lips and nodded casually, two shades paler than usual.
Sherman reached over the table and punched him in the shoulder with a loud, reassuring thud. “Just think of Cindy, bro. She’s waiting for you!”.
Two mahogany brown flashes lit up at the mention of her name. Mark grinned through the nerves, a faint red broke through on his cheeks.
Nico looked on carefully as the pale stranger in the mirror adjusted his collar. The tense young man went on to fix his messy black hair for him, slowly taming it. All the while, Nico silently blessed Aphrodite for thinking ahead and sponsoring his wedding attire a few months back. He’d offer her some champagne with a libation later. Not just for the suit, also for Mark and Cindy’s future.
Satisfied with his work, he turned around and leaned back on the dresser, watching Logan button up his dress shirt. The same one he remembered. It was still true, Nico realized as he watched Logan’s suit jacket slip around his waist perfectly, Logan cleaned up nice.
‘What are you looking at me like that for? You've already seen all of this” Logan pretended to complain. Well, not all of it was pretend, he reminded himself when Logan pulled his top button loose again with a single jerk.
“Yeah, but… Last time I had to pretend I didn't ” Nico explained, moving closer to button him back up.
“You didn't have to, you wimp. I told you that you looked hot” Logan chuckled, narrowing his eyes at the tie in his hand. He smirked and tied it into a noose.
Nico huffed, pulling the tie from his hands and loosening it back up. “ No way! You said I looked evil ” he countered, quickly tying an appropriate knot and hanging it around Logan’s neck.
“I love evil” Logan reminded him, voice low. His eyes glowed mischievously.
Logan’s smirk turned into a scowl when Nico pulled the tie tight. Nico stifled a laugh and held onto it, quickly pulling their lips together. He felt the scowl give up instantly.
“For the record, it looks even better with the earrings” Nico muttered, running the back of his fingers over the studs.
Logan smiled, then smirked as he hooked a finger behind Nico’s turtleneck collar and tugged. “Just so you know, hiding it only makes it more interesting for me… I like a challenge ”.
Nico glared at him. “If you try to undress me at the wedding, I swear I’ll make you regret it… ”
Logan’s eyes flashed in excitement. “Ooh~! Do I hear an even bigger challenge?”
Nico’s eyes narrowed in the opposite. “I could kill you in so many ways!” he reminded him in a thinly veiled threat.
Logan moved in closer. “I know! It’s so hot! ” he mused.
Nico moved out of reach. “Stop being trash! Just for today, alright?”.
Logan groaned in disapproval. Nico braced himself for the rest of what was promising to be a very long day. He shook his head and moved for the door, ready to go face the rest of Mark’s life, pulling Logan along by his tie.
An Amazonian queen turned to them when they made their appearance on the porch, making her long plum dress twirl around her. Gwen’s wavy hair had been caught in an elegant bun. Together with the dark lipstick, it drew even more attention to her pretty face.
“Wow! You look great!” Nico blurted out. He smiled awkwardly at his own brashness.
Gwen blew him a kiss. “So do you two!” she cooed, squishing their cheeks.
“Look at those morons” Logan said, gesturing at Mark and Sherman over in the grass further ahead.
Nico looked on while they threw rocks at each other in their fancy suits, giggling like toddlers as they did. “Well, at least they're happy” he replied.
They grinned widely as they stood there watching them.
Gwen huffed “Just because you two use words instead of rocks, doesn’t mean this isn’t exactly the same”.
The smug joy in their grins dissipated instantly. Not even Mark getting hit in the crotch with a particularly good throw seemed all that funny anymore.
The venue was perfect for the time of year. Well, it would be perfect most times of the year. The seemingly endless, large windows on all sides had a great view of the snowy orchard surrounding them. Hundreds of cherry trees stuck out their thousands of arms to catch the snowflakes as they fell. Large fireplaces kept all the cold outside.
Yan would have loved this, he realized with some guilt. She’d insisted he went, of course, but Nico didn’t even like parties. Well, that wasn’t what he was here for anyway, he reminded himself. Logan didn’t seem all that into parties either. So at least they could be mildly uncomfortable together.
Nico glanced away from the familiar faces in their row of chairs, to gaze over the crowd of unfamiliar faces in all the others. Mark and Cindy were popular, he had to conclude.
His eyes went over the bridal party. Four equally stunning women in four stunning, identical dresses guarded Cindy’s spot at the altar like lionesses. Next to Sherman stood three handsome, muscular men wearing the same monkey suits. All pulling faces behind Mark’s nervous smile as the photographer tried desperately to get a single decent picture. Sherman swiftly punched them all back in line one by one.
On her cue, the elderly angel in the corner tickled her fingers over her gigantic golden harp. It started giggling a warm, romantic melody.
With a determined stride, a little girl in a white tutu took position at the entrance and raised her basket of flower petals. She took a calculating look at the aisle, then turned her basket over and dumped the petals in a frilly heap at her feet. She smiled proudly before being whisked away by a hasty, chiding hand.
A beautiful bride made her dramatic appearance from behind the large velvet curtains in the back. The countless small, shiny gemstones in the abundance of shapely white lace shimmered like ice crystals in the low light. Her long red hair draped over her shoulders and back, down to her waist, gleaming like it had been spun from the finest silk. A light veil obscured her face. Cindy was lucky Aphrodite wasn’t there. There was no doubt in Nico’s mind she would have struck her down in a fit of jealous rage before she could have taken her first step down the aisle.
The proud older man on Cindy’s arm silently wept as he started to lead her down to the future waiting for her at the end of the path ahead. Nico glanced back to the altar at the sound of a dull thump. And another. He caught the last two of the groomsmen reaching over at their turn to beat the shit out of Mark’s shoulder in awe of his luck.
Mark bit his lip, clearly trying not to cry. Not because of the pain, Nico reckoned, seeing as Mark hadn’t even taken his eyes off of her for a second. He quickly gave himself a slap in the face to get it back together. A very hard one. The sound of the smack got a shocked ‘Ooh’ from one half of the room, and a quiet snicker from the other. With all the pummeling, Nico wondered if Mark would still be standing for the next round of this ceremony…
Cindy dealt him the final blow when her veil got lifted, revealing her beaming smile. Knocked out cold, Mark needed another encouraging punch from Sherman to start straining through his vows. His sweet, but honestly terribly corny vows, Nico found out.
Logan’s hand brushed against Nico’s, he slowly locked their pinkies together. Ha. Funny, after that the words suddenly all sounded a lot less corny…
“Cinnabun… You’re such a total babe, inside and out-!” Mark croaked tearfully.
Cindy put both hands over her mouth in a silent gasp, even more tearful.
Nico only caught his laugh at the very last second, having to smack his own hand over his mouth to do so. Other than a half amused, half warning grin right next to him, luckily nobody seemed to have noticed.
Two rings announced the final round. One kiss sealed both their victories.
Cindy’s father was the first to reach the couple, almost doing so in a single leap. After embracing his daughter, he moved onto Mark. He wouldn’t let go. Cindy’s mother politely, but firmly pried him off under the guise of it being her turn now.
Waiters rushed around chairs and glasses of champagne, preparing for the part of the day Nico had been quietly dreading a little. He stuck close to Logan as everyone started to mingle, waves of cheerful chatter flowing through the room. Logan put a hand on the small of his back, leading him over to Mark and Cindy.
As they waited their turn, Nico stopped him from downing his champagne in one go by placing a stern finger on the stem of his glass, keeping it down at socially acceptable level. Logan tried not to choke and gave him an annoyed pout. Nico pretended not to notice.
Mark beamed at them with pride as he crushed their hands. “So? What did you think? Pretty impressive, huh?” he asked excitedly.
“Definitely!” Nico assured. “I think it’s really sweet you wrote your own vows. They were very you” he offered with full honesty, under another warning grin at his side.
Two cackling toddlers in ill fitting suits ran up to Cindy and started pulling on her dress with their adorable, grubby little fingers. She turned around and bent over to greet the rowdy little gentlemen. Don't, Nico willed himself. He couldn't help it. He glanced down. Yep. Their landlord was a disgusting creep, but he definitely wasn't blind.
Logan gave him an unimpressed look. “Really? You of all people?” he asked. “I expected better from you…” he added with a hiss. His faint smile gave him away.
“People need to stop doing that” Nico retorted. He took a smug sip of champagne.
Mark gave him a proud, very self satisfied smile. Nico half smiled and raised his glass a little.
They watched Mark and his fellow himbos flex for the camera. The photographer quickly sped around them in various equally impressive moves to capture their true essence.
“Damn, am I glad I turned that down…” Logan huffed as he watched them.
Nico snorted. Those pictures would have been priceless. He almost dropped his champagne when someone put their arms around his neck.
“Sorry, Nicky!” Gwen cooed, quickly letting go. “I got a little excited!”. She pulled a stupidly handsome man against her. “This is Taylor! My date~!”.
Taylor gave him a beautiful smile. “Enchanté” he greeted with a deep voice, offering a hand.
Nico shook it.
“Nico” Logan offered for him with a quiet chuckle.
Right. Nico smiled through the embarrassment. The mild burn on his cheeks slowly simmered down through the rest of the conversation.
Gwen pulled Taylor along to the dancefloor. Nico watched her giggle as she got twirled. Her eyes burned the brightest blue he’d ever seen them.
Nico turned to Logan. “Wow, I'm actually a little impressed that you managed to woo Mr. ‘Tall dark and handsome’ over there. No wonder Gwen was so angry”.
Logan grinned proudly. “What can I say. I have a type. He's got nothing on you though, in any way. She can keep him” he mused, jabbing Nico in the chest. He hadn't even needed to, his words beat him to it.
Nico just gaped at him, stunned, unable to get himself to stop grinning.
Logan chuckled and leaned in. “Gods, I love it when I get you to shut up” he teased.
Nico recovered a little at that. “Don't get used to it” he warned.
A tall, slightly broad young woman in a beautiful green sun dress kept glancing over. As she noticed Nico notice, she quickly stepped forward. Her friendly looking, large blue eyes snapped to look at Nico, then Logan, then back at Nico again. Her tight blonde pony tail swung a little as she did. She stuck out her hand to Nico excitedly.
“This little demon is my younger sister…” Logan explained, eyes fixed on her. “Amy, this is Nico” he added with a gesture.
Nico smiled at her and reached out. As he grabbed her hand all friendliness in her eyes turned devious instantly.
She held on tightly, turning to look at Logan. “He's cute” she declared to him.
Nico felt his face start to burn, her grip didn't budge. Logan’s smile widened in clear annoyance.
“Is this your boyfriend?” she asked, her mouth slightly agape and her eyes even more devious. She gripped Nico's hand tighter.
“Yes, now give him back” Logan snapped, grabbing her wrist.
Her eyes gleamed, her mouth twisted open further in a large, gaping grin. “I still can't believe you got an actual boyfriend!” she exclaimed.
Logan's knuckles turned white as he squeezed her wrist tighter, scowling at her.
She finally let go, giggling. Then she glanced at Nico with a smile. “Nice to meet you~!” she almost sang to him.
“Yeah… You too” Nico muttered, still a little flustered.
She'd already ripped her hand free from Logan's grasp and bounced off.
“Little brat!” Logan grumbled.
They found Clarisse standing a little off to the side in an uncharacteristically dainty floor length gown. She had an attractive hispanic man on her arm. The atmosphere got a little uncomfortable as she noticed them.
“Hey, sis” Logan greeted. “Chris, this is Nico” he added with a nod to both of them.
Chris smiled and reached out. They quickly shook hands.
Clarisse took a sip of her champagne. “How are you?” she asked Logan firmly.
“Ups and downs” Logan replied with a shrug.
She hummed, neither in approval nor disapproval. “Good to see you” she said with stern look to both of them, leading Chris away.
“That's the deepest talk we've ever had” Logan chuckled as soon as they disappeared into the crowd.
They watched a young man scare his date with what Nico had to assume was an attempt at breakdancing. His date hid behind her clutch purse at the unmistakable sound of pants ripping. The young man pulled himself off the ground with a proud smirk, completely unaware of the large streak of white underwear tearing down his backside.
Logan downed a glass of wine, right through his evil grin.
“She’s got it bad enough. Don’t say a word” Nico warned.
“Why would I?” Logan asked coyly, a mild twinge of disappointment in the corner of his grin.
“Because you've got no filter” Nico replied accusatorily.
“Pff! There's plenty I don't talk about! Like, on purpose!” Logan almost shouted.
“Yeah, right!” Nico almost shouted back. “Bullshit. You've never even once kept a single thought inside that thick skull of yours”. He pointed at him for emphasis.
Logan turned dramatically. “Ha! How about the fact that we're related?! You're my dad's cousin. I think about that at least once a day! Never mentioned it before!”.
Nico shuddered. “Gross! That's… Gross!” he replied, waving his hands in defense.
“I don't know what that makes us, but it's something too close to be doing what we're doing” Logan added.
“Stop! Just stop. You've made your point!” Nico demanded, waving his hands in exasperation. “I'm just saying, there's a lot more stuff you could not say to people”.
Gwen walked over, hands in her sides. “Okay, lovebirds. What are you fighting about this time? And it better be good, if you're going to do this on Mark’s wedding day” she warned.
“Incest” Logan replied.
Gwen dropped her hands and spun around, strutting away at an impressive pace.
Nico shoved his face in his hands. “That was on purpose…”. He sighed out as much frustration as he could. Not nearly all of it.
Logan winked. “Most things I do are” he teased. His grin turned a little apologetic.
Nico sucked in his lips. “Tell me about it…” he complained. “You're always yourself. Around everyone” he added. A backhanded compliment, but somehow no less sincere.
Logan’s grin turned downright puzzled. “Who the fuck else would I be?” he chuckled, shaking his head.
Ha…
As soon as he caught on, Nico had stopped resisting and let himself get pulled away to the hallway. No crowds. No loud music. No need to force a smile. He relished in that fact, frowning gratefully.
Logan watched him intently. “This really doesn’t do anything for you?” he asked, gesturing at the wall hiding all the festivity. “It's pretty cute right?” he nudged.
“You want to get married?” Nico asked in disbelief.
“And acknowledge the power of the state? Or even worse… The church? Nope. No way” Logan scoffed, then his expression softened. “But, for you? Sure… Of course I would”.
Nico felt his cheeks start to ignite. He hid his grin under a much deeper frown. “Hm. I told you, I'm not into parties. Especially not big ones… I'm way more of a funeral guy. Much more fun”.
Logan chuckled and put his arms around him, hands on his lower back. “C'mon don't you think that's at least a little romantic? I'm really trying here…” he asked sincerely. He pulled Nico closer and kissed him behind his ear.
Nico could feel his hips against his, swaying to the music the tiniest bit. Subconsciously he followed. He smiled to himself. He’d gotten a little lost in Logan’s genuine excitement. Logan kinda had ‘dog energy’ sometimes.
Logan slowly slipped his hands lower.
Ha… ‘Bad dog’ energy… “No. Bad” Nico said firmly. “Down!” he demanded.
Logan moved his hands away and faced him. His eyes flickered dangerously. Crap. He should have figured he’d be into that… Nico didn't have time to protest. Logan moved Nico's chin to the side with his thumb, then leaned back in and licked him from his neck up to the back of his ear. Nico felt his breath get stuck in his throat.
“I’ll be your dog if you want me to” Logan whispered in his ear.
“Wh-! Gross!” Nico shouted, wiping at his neck.
Logan pulled away. He tapped the tiny skull dangling from Nico’s earring, making it jingle under his ear.
“You already are a dog” Nico said accusatorily. He was still annoyed, but couldn’t help smirking anyway.
“Woof” Logan said flatly.
Nico snapped to look to the side when he heard loud giggling.
Luckily, they hadn’t gotten caught. Unluckily, he’d now caught someone else. A very tipsy elderly man and an equally tipsy elderly woman awkwardly made their way over to the door of the coat room in a mess of limbs, loudly shushing each other every time they bumped into something. Nico bit his fist when they managed to paw the door open and fell in on top of one another, quickly kicking their way behind the door.
“Grandma! Grandpa!” Cindy scolded loudly from a distance.
The doorknob quickly rattled, then locked with more muffled giggles before Cindy’s sister managed to reach it. Nico bit down harder, probably actually leaving a mark on his finger by now.
Logan laughed with a poor attempt at quietly next to his ear. “Okay… That’s a little too romantic. Even for me. I’m going to get some air”
When Logan left, Steph peered around the corner. Nico looked at her. She quickly hid behind the doorway. He suppressed a laugh.
“Your hair is sticking out” he pointed out.
She reluctantly stepped into view, obviously upset. He looked at her expectantly. She looked right past him before she spoke.
“You're gay right…?” she asked with a small voice. It didn't suit her at all.
“Yeah” he replied.
She looked up, visibly nervous. “How did you know?”.
Oh. Part of him expected this. Part of him thought she was going to bully him. He didn't know which he hoped for... Stop being a pussy. He could actually help someone. In a way he'd missed out on himself. It's the least he could do.
“Uh…” he let out. “You know what it feels like to like someone? As more than a friend?” he asked in return.
Steph looked unsure. “I dunno” she finally replied.
“When you think about them all the time, you always wanna be around them, you wanna kiss them…” he explained. Fuck. He better not have to give her the talk... That's where he drew the line.
She looked miserable. “Yeah, I think so…”.
He gave her a half smile. “Then I think you know if you're gay… Not what you were hoping for?”.
She sighed and shook her head. He could see her eyes well up.
“It wasn't what I wanted either…” he started. “You can take as long as you need with this, you know? You don't owe anybody anything. You don't have to share with anyone you don't want to. But… Once you stop being ashamed of it, it does get a lot better. Turned out pretty good for me, actually. I mean, some people suck… And it's not going to be easy all the time, but you seem pretty strong”.
She smiled through the tears. “Hm” she let out. She sounded hopeful.
“Wouldn't you… Rather talk about this with your brother?” he asked carefully.
Steph shook her head, all hints of tears gone. “He's too different” she said resolutely. “He thinks everyone just does whatever they want…”.
Nico hummed in agreement. Yeah. He sure does…
“Thanks” Steph said softly, moving to leave.
“Good luck, Steph” Nico sent along with her, making her pause for a second.
She smiled at him, sincerely. “Thanks!” she repeated. She almost left, then didn’t. “Oh, it's Steph, by the way. Not Steph” she corrected.
Nico blinked at her… Was… there a difference…?! He just smiled and nodded, vowing to never say her name again.
Alright. No more hiding. He rolled his shoulders, bracing himself for the rest of the evening.
Greg was drunk. An annoying drunk. “So, you're Logan's latest victim right? Mark told me” he elbowed Mark in the side.
Mark didn't look very enthusiastic about it, a little wary even.
Greg didn't seem to mind, or notice... “You better watch out” he continued. “That boy's been places. Lots of them. Not really one to break the whole bisexual stereotype” he laughed as he said it, seemingly not noticing he was the only one. “Is he really going to swear off women for you? If he is, you must be a pretty interesting guy!”.
This was the first time Nico had ever actually seen Mark's eyes catch fire. The mahogany brown burned a lot darker than Logan's or Gwen's eyes. That only made them more intimidating.
He swatted Greg against the back of his head, making him wince. “Shut your stupid fucking mouth, Greg” he commanded in a low growl.
Greg did just that.
Nico faked a smile. He tried to think of an excuse to get out of there. “You know, I don't actually know if he’s done with women. I'll go ask him right now” he put up his hand and walked off.
“Uhm, you really don't have to do that!” Greg shouted after him.
Nico didn’t look back, eyes locked on the door. After the door, there were many more. A young couple pulled their faces apart to look at him, faces flushed, hair messy.
“Have you seen a guy about my height, dark blonde…? Probably some random blood stains on him for some reason?” Nico asked.
The couple smiled. “Logan? He's outside”. They pointed at the door right across the hallway.
The long spiny fingers of the cherry trees almost looked monstrous in the darkness, creeping out of the thick piles of snow. The moon cast cold, white light over the even colder, whiter field. Logan was too busy admiring it to even notice Nico’s intrusion.
A tie hung helplessly over the back of a lawn chair. Logan was definitely going to forget that. He probably already had. He managed to lose everything somehow. It was almost impressive… Almost. Nico made a mental note to grab it on the way back. Seriously, what would he do without him?
Nico walked up next to him. He glanced from the moon to Logan, working up the nerve to speak. He took a sharp breath, catching Logan’s attention. “So, you like both men and women right?” he asked.
“Some of them” Logan clarified. His tone was flat. No… Careful.
“Right… So, you're bisexual…?” Nico asked further.
Logan shifted. Careful turned into mildly disapproving. “I don't know. I never think about that type of stuff. I don't want to put a label on it. Labels mean rules. I know what I like, when I like it”.
Nico smiled as he thought about it. That seemed fair. Fitting at least. Still, it wasn't very satisfying. Probably because he hadn't asked what he really meant to ask… Probably because it was kinda wrong to ask anyway…
“Aren't you going to miss women?” Nico asked as carefully as he could.
Logan's face turned cold for a second. Then a little bit of amusement shone through the cracks. “Was I supposed to lose all women? I better text Yan. She'll probably understand”. He pulled out his phone.
“I swear if you text her that-!”. Nico regained his composure, holding up his hands. He was the one overstepping anyway. “Look, you know what I mean. And it's driving me crazy. I'm sorry, I have to know. I don't want to keep you from anything you wanna do. You know? Make rules for you and all that…”.
Logan turned colder again, an air of sadness hung over him. “I just don't get where this is coming from all of a sudden. Wasn't Will into women too?”.
Nico squirmed a little, really regretting this whole conversation. “Well, yeah… But, Will was a lot less…” he stopped himself and squirmed harder.
“Slutty?” Logan asked, grinning slightly.
“Active” Nico corrected hastily. “It's just… Being here, I met some people and someone asked me if you were really going to swear off women, seeing as-”.
Logan got up and cut him off. “Please stop worrying about other people so much… For someone so cynical you sure are naive sometimes…”.
Nico swallowed and looked away. This was too embarrassing. “Alright, but still… Are you sure? You’ve been with a lot more women than men, right?” he asked carefully.
Logan’s hurt turned into mischief. “Yeah, but that’s just because most men can’t handle me. They’re probably intimidated by my strong, independent personality”. He shook his head in exaggerated disappointment.
Nico huffed. It was either annoyance or amusement. Probably both. He wasn’t sure. He wasn’t really sure about anything right about now. Still, Logan was actually making sense somehow…
“Look, Spooky, I promise you are more than stimulating enough for me. Seriously, who else would be stupid enough to ask me all these super offensive questions? Exciting as hell right…? And… I haven't been with anyone else in almost a year. Not even when you dumped me! Truth is, I've got my hands full with just you”.
Nico looked down. Yeah. He definitely believed that. “I'm really sorry-” he started, forcing his eyes back up.
“Don't be” Logan interrupted.
“No, seriously. I'm sorry I keep doing this to you” Nico continued. “You could have had a normal relationship…” he sighed.
Logan gave him a deeply offended look. “First off, how dare you imply I'd be into that. That's the meanest thing you've ever said to me. Second, that's probably also the biggest fucking lie you've ever told me”.
Yeah. Fair.
They smiled awkwardly at each other.
“Next time just tell people to ask me that stuff directly. Part of me hopes they actually will”. Logan grinned deviously.
Nico looked away again. “Yeah…”.
Logan pulled him in. “Thanks for being upfront with me. I'm glad you dared to ask. I shouldn't have made it so hard on you”.
Nico rested the side of his head against Logan's. Fuck nosy people, they can all eat shit.
“You gotta trust me… and be a little more confident, you hot weirdo”.
Nico laughed. “Yeah, I'll work on it”.
Logan drummed his fingers on Nico's back. “Who was it?” he asked with a good attempt at a reassuring smile.
Logan truly was like the sun, Nico realized as he watched the bright orange flicker. Eyes that could sustain all life on earth with their warmth when he smiled, hiding a very real threatening explosion so enormous it could just as easily wipe out the entire planet, and the seven around it…
“I'm not telling you, this was bad enough. Mark hit him in the head already anyway” Nico tried in a mildly desperate attempt to appease him.
Logan hummed. “Greg. That tracks”.
Nico pursed his lips. “Please don't make this worse” he tried, a lot more desperately.
Logan cocked his head a little. “Oh, don't worry. I'm just going to say hello. Catch up. Ask him some questions. You know? Just to clear some things up”.
Nico didn't respond right away.
“Please don't…” he repeated, down to begging now.
Logan kissed him on the cheek. “I would never start a fight at a wedding, let alone my brother's. I'm not that trashy”. He patted Nico on the shoulder as he walked past him. “Not a physical fight anyway…” he added quietly.
Nico debated staying here for a bit.
He heard Logan shout cheerfully behind him. “Hey Greg, I wanna clear some things up with you real quick!”.
Yeah, he was definitely staying here for a bit.
“Are you seriously trying to run away, you fucking coward?!”.
The moon looked beautiful from where he was standing. He smiled to himself. The moment didn't last.
He heard a crash in the background. A woman screamed. Logan cackled.
Alright… Guess that was the end of his little escape. He turned around and walked over, a little slower than his usual pace.
He saw Greg sitting on the ground a little further away, a woman was fussing over him. She handed him a beer bottle. Greg pressed it to one side of his face.
Nico walked up to Logan's side and scowled at him.
Logan put up his hands defensively. “I didn't even touch him. He tripped over a chair”.
Nico looked over again. There was a broken chair laying in front of Greg. Guess that checked out. “Still…” Nico started, disapproval clearly audible.
“Yeah… Terrible shame” Logan said in agreement. “Watching that chair take him out like a pro… It made me realize that was probably my favourite chair…”. He pulled out his phone and took a picture of the scene. “I'll always remember its sacrifice” he said solemnly, looking at the picture.
Nico shoved him. Logan seemed unfazed.
Nico glanced at Logan's phone. He did a double take. “Is your background picture a pug on a skateboard…?” he asked.
Logan grinned. “Yeah it’s a reminder to be more hateful” he replied casually. “I figured you wouldn't want me to use a picture of you” he added more seriously.
Nico got caught off guard a little. “At this point I'd rather you use anything other than that Goddamn dog” he said with a cool tone.
Logan smiled. He messed around a bit with his phone and quickly put it away. Nico could only catch a glimpse. He recognized the picture Logan had sent to him once. A warm feeling came over him. He grabbed Logan's hand.
Mark seemed to have appeared out of thin air at their side. Nico only noticed him when he heard him sigh deeply. Mark looked at Greg, then at Logan.
Logan gestured at the chair. “I'll pay for that”.
Mark smiled and nudged Logan's chin with his fist. “No, don't want you to. Not your fault... I'll just see it as a tax for having Greg at my wedding… Drunk asshat…”.
Logan gave him an appreciative look. “Thanks for hitting him”.
Mark glanced at Nico. “You snitched on me on my big day? Snake…” he huffed.
Nico shrugged. “It was a cute story” he said “Thought it might help Logan calm down”.
Mark and Logan snorted in unison.
Mark slapped his upper legs. “I'll go send Greg home. Time to wrap up anyway…”.
They got the hint.
“Alright, we've caused enough damage here. We'll get out of your hair. Unless you need help of course” Nico said.
“Don't worry about the clean up, we've got people for that”. Mark smiled fondly. “Thanks for coming, both of you. I'll treasure the memories…” He jabbed Logan in the arm. “Send me that picture”.
They grinned at each other. Nico lifted his hand. The shadows dripped down the walls, all over them.
They stepped out of the shadow of Gwen’s fridge, the darkest corner of her kitchen. Logan undid another button. Nico glanced down and smiled appreciatively at his chest, and lack of Goddamn tie…