Chapter Text
By lunchtime, their visit was practically already on its way out. Logan seemed a little worried about that fact, probably on account of the mysterious missing McGuffin.
His grandfather watched him rap his fingers on the table. “Are you going to visit your mother's grave on the way back?” he asked.
Logan's expression softened a bit. “Yeah, I think so…”.
Mr. Venema smiled faintly. “Do you want to bring anything?”.
Logan shrugged. “Not like she's going to appreciate it anyway”.
Mr. Venema turned stoic again. “I suppose. But, you might”.
Logan sighed. “I dunno. I don’t have anything on me”.
Mr. Venema sprung into action true to form, getting up slowly and sauntering to a cabinet. He went over the labels of several bottles of wine until he found what he was looking for. “Here” he muttered, handing it over.
Logan gave him a puzzled look. “Her favourite wine?” he asked, a little amused.
“It's an ancient Greek tradition, right?” Mr. Venema asked in return.
Logan grinned. “Yeah, thanks”.
Mr. Venema patted him on the shoulder, just a little harder than you'd want.
Logan didn't seem to mind. He turned his attention to his grandmother. “Have you seen my old bracelet anywhere? I can't find it”.
Nico blinked. Bracelet…? So that’s what they were after?
Ms. Venema turned around, cradling her teapot. “I haven't seen it”. Her expression turned worried. “Are you sure you brought it with you…? I haven't seen you wear it since…”.
Logan sighed. “Ah” he let out. “Yeah, I was afraid so… It's probably still at home…”. His fingers rapping on the table filled the silence. “I'll pick it up on the way back” he added flatly.
Nico looked at him. That wasn't part of the plan… And kind of a big deal… Not something to throw in so casually. “You sure?” he asked.
Logan half smiled in response. “Gotta go there at some point. Don't think I'm ever going to be more ready than I am now…” he reasoned.
“Sentimental bracelet?” Nico asked, gauging just how inevitable this whole sidequest was going to be exactly.
Logan smiled fully now. “Yeah…” he muttered in a drawn out exhale.
I was afraid so…
“You don't have to come with” Logan reassured him.
“Uhuh” Nico replied, unimpressed. “Fat chance. I'm not missing out on your mental breakdown. You'll have way too much fun without me”.
They grinned at each other.
Ms. Venema smiled, worried, but bright nonetheless. She plopped the teapot down on the table. “Tea time!” she chimed. She put her hands in her sides and looked at it with pride.
Mr. Venema saved Nico from getting crushed to death, wedging Ms. Venema off of him with a strategic attempt at a handshake. “Nice meeting you, son”.
“Thank you, sir” Nico replied politely, gratefully shaking his hand. “It was great meeting you too”. He gave Logan a proud look and got in, buckling up.
Logan grinned mischievously.
Oh no…
Logan locked the doors.
Oh no!
Logan turned to his grandfather. “By the way, since you mentioned the age gap yesterday… Before it becomes a whole thing. He’s ten years older than you” he chimed, rolling up the window.
Mr. Venema’s stoic expression cracked. Ms. Venema’s happy smile turned to stone as she quickly grabbed onto Mr. Venema's shoulder.
Logan snickered to himself as he shoved his foot on the gas, jerking the car into motion and sending them off quickly.
Nico didn’t dare to look back. He stared at Logan in disbelief. “Why the fuck would you-?”.
Logan cut him off. “Calm down! They’ll be over it by next Christmas” he soothed, still grinning.
Nico turned his stare into a glare.
Logan cocked his head a little, eyes still on the road. “Look, I’m terrible at keeping secrets. You know that. Better to throw it at them on the way out than if I’d have let it slip during dinner or something… Right?”.
Nico felt the corner of his eye twitch. “No!”. He leaned his head back against his seat. “Yeah, alright… But, still!”. He crossed his arms and sighed.
Logan shook his head, grinning wider. “They’ve had worse”. The devious chuckle ruined any chance of a reassuring tone. “At least I’m not pregnant”.
Nico snorted. “You should have told them that just now. Might have taken the edge off…”. He crossed his arms tighter to hold onto the anger when he felt it try to slip away.
A winged woman swept down on the road ahead of them. She raised a huge, sharp talon at them out from under her blood soaked robes. In seconds, they were getting so close Nico could make out each individual razorlike tooth in the Keres’ menacing grin. He braced himself. Brake!
Logan let out a maniacal laugh and sped up as fast as he could, making the engine roar. He stuck his lower arm against Nico's chest, holding him in place.
Nico's breath got stuck, painfully high.
The Keres’ grin turned into a shriek. She wrapped her wings around herself and dove to the side right before impact, seemingly forgetting she could fly.
Logan groaned in annoyance, ripping his arm away and hitting the steering wheel with his fist. The car swore with a loud beep. Nico glanced at him in disbelief, trying to catch his breath. His heart beat against the back of his throat. Logan looked genuinely let down, almost pouting.
“Huh…” Nico let out shakily. Then he got angry. “What the fuck!” he shouted. “Just who are you trying to kill here?!”.
Logan's hand shot up. “Don't worry! This thing's sturdy”. He slapped the ancient dashboard. “She knows that too, otherwise she wouldn't have jumped!”.
Nico shoved his hands in his face and sighed. “I think Eris is getting impatient…”.
“I know…” Logan grumbled. “We’ll get to it” he said a little more assuringly.
Nico got an eerie feeling before they even got out of the car. Probably the nerves, he decided. He wasn't very excited to see what this was going to do to Logan. Logan seemed to be playing it cool so far, though.
They walked up to the door. It had been padlocked shut, bolted onto the door crudely right above the splintered wood around the original lock.
“Right… The cops” Logan remembered out loud. “Let’s use the back door”. He let go of the key between his fingers in favor of another one.
The back door was a little bit too accessible, opening and closing slightly in the breeze. The calm, rhythmic creaking almost sounded like breathing… The window had been smashed in at the corner, presumably to get access to the lock.
“Guess we won't be needing these” Logan said, shoving the keys back into his pocket.
The door blew fully open as he reached for it, inviting him in with a loud bang against the wall. An empty hallway greeted them. Logan seemed to hesitate. Nico decided to go in first, in an attempt to ease the tension.
As soon as he passed the door he was sure. There was definitely something brewing here… Should he tell Logan? Maybe they could get out of here before anything happened. He decided to ignore it. “Do you think it's upstairs?” he asked.
“Yeah, I have an idea where it should be” Logan responded. He sounded far away. Not quite indifferent, but closed off.
Nico paused at the doorway to the living room. There was a huge sloppy pentagram spray-painted on the floor. Laying in the centre was a lone picture frame. A collection of pitiful, burned up candles decorated the edges. The furniture and some trash strewn about. Crap! “Uh…” he let out. He turned around, but before he could even attempt to stop Logan he'd already caught up with him. Nico stuck his arm out and grabbed Logan's arm in a reflex.
Logan raised an eyebrow. He glanced over Nico's shoulder at the mess on the living room floor and snorted. “I hope it worked and she kicked their asses”. He gestured at the stairs. “C'mon”.
Nico felt whatever it was trying to get closer. He wondered if Logan felt the uneasy atmosphere. No doubt, but he probably felt uneasy enough on his own... He followed him up the stairs. Nico noticed that whatever it was, was not a what, it was a who. A very, very restless who. He had a pretty good idea who it might be too…
He should have known. This is bad. This is going to be so bad.
They walked into a room, Logan's he assumed. Another broken window. A crack split it all the way through, leaving a large hole in the middle. Leaves had blown in and spread themselves around on the floor.
“Logan…”. Nico swallowed. “I think your… I think Curtis is here” he stammered.
The temperature dropped. The leaves stirred. Nico felt his ears pick up on something almost audible. Logan stopped. He barely even looked at Nico.
“He seems upset. I think he's trying to make contact with you” Nico pushed on.
Logan turned his attention to a beat up looking dresser and opened a drawer, grabbing something out of it. “He can go ahead and fuck right off into the afterlife. There's nothing to talk about” he answered coldly. Nico thought he heard his voice tremble a little.
A small guitar in the corner of the room fell over, hitting the floor with a strumming sound. They turned around.
All coldness in Logan's attitude burned away in a flash fire. “Okay, you asshole! Spit it out!”.
The temperature dropped further. Nico heard whispers shout all around him. After one last look at the flames in Logan’s eyes, he conjured Curtis out of the shadows.
A clean-cut, anguished looking man stared at them from the corner. His transparent, almost glowing form standing in the small guitar. “Logan…” he started, his voice low and hollow. “I didn't think you'd come back here…”.
Nico heard Logan take a raspy breath. The expression in his eyes was almost as nervous as it was angry. Then the familiar flames took over. His voice cracked as he shouted. “You're lucky you're already dead, Curt!”.
Curtis didn't react in the slightest. He'd probably expected this reaction. “I know you don't want to see me. You probably don't want to hear what I have to say… But, I owe you an explanation”.
This set Logan off again. “How could you possibly explain what you did?!” he yelled at the top of his lungs. “There is no fucking reason why anyone would do what you did!”.
Nico recoiled at the sudden loudness of Logan's voice. He felt his heart racing. Logan was obviously losing control. He debated casting Curtis off again, but that didn't seem right either.
Curtis spoke, calmly. “You're right. There is no excuse for it. I'm not trying to defend what I did. I just want to say that none of it was you or your mother's fault”.
Logan picked up a photo frame from the dresser and threw it through Curtis. It shattered against the wall. “Don't you fucking dare tell me this isn't my fault, or mom's. Like I don't fucking know that!”. Nico could see his hands were trembling. “Why'd you have that gun on you?”.
This seemed to get a reaction. Curtis looked through them as if they were as transparent as he was. He stayed silent for a while. When he spoke he sounded even more hollow than before. “The mission I went on… I did something terrible. Because I was told to. I knew it was wrong. But in the heat of the moment… I did it anyway. When I came back, I couldn't cope with the world anymore”. He bowed his head a notch. His image seemed to fade a little.
“Everything was so frustratingly normal. But I wasn't anymore. I didn't fit in anymore. It ate at me. I started taking that out on you and your mother. I hated who I turned into… I couldn't live with myself anymore”. The temperature in the room dropped further as he continued.
“That night. With that gun. I was going to end my life”.
One of Logan's fingers twitched. He seemed to be holding his breath.
“I never meant for this to happen. What I did to your mother… To you. I wish I had put a stop to myself earlier” he almost whispered. “I'm not asking for forgiveness. But I want you to know that I am so, so sorry for what I did. I will be for eternity. And I deserve that”.
Logan didn't say anything. He just stared at Curtis, or at the wall behind him, arms crossed. The silence was deafening.
“How have you been?” Curtis asked.
Logan's fingers dug into his arms. “Bad” he said bitterly. Curtis nodded and looked down, sorrow emanating from him. “But I'm getting better” Logan continued. “I'm getting help. I'm not going to make the same mistake you did” he spat.
Curtis looked up at him. His expression hopeful. “Good!” He said “I'm proud-”. He stopped himself.
Logan looked at him with nothing other than hurt and contempt in his eyes. He took a deep breath. “I don't want you around anymore, Curt. You being here makes everything worse. You need to let go”.
Curtis looked miserable. “If I could do that for you, I would”.
Nico almost jolted. Finally! He could actually do something! He stepped forward. “You can. With my help. I’ll release your spirit so you can cross over to the underworld”.
They both looked at Logan. He put his hands in his pockets without a word.
Curtis nodded at Nico. “Thank you”. He looked at Logan. “Logan, I want you to know that despite everything…”. He stopped in the middle of his sentence, he looked heartbroken. “If you want me to stop thinking of you as my son, I will”.
Nico thought he'd seen Logan shook before, apparently he was wrong. It only lasted a second. With a hard swallow he looked away, back to indifferent aside from a noticeable shiver. Nico met his eyes, all fire gone. A flash of a painfully pleading look went through them.
Yeah. Got it. Nico held out his hand. “Stay still” he instructed. He looked Curtis in the eye and sent him on his way.
The light shifted as the shadows moved in. Curtis lit up and then vanished. The leaves on the ground stirred. The temperature rose, instantly melting the frost that had formed on the broken window.
Logan immediately lost his composure. “Dumb piece of shit!” he yelled at the empty floor. He turned away and kicked the dresser, making it explode into large, jagged pieces. He panted, his breath hitched, and wiped his eyes with his lower arm.
Nico walked up to him and put his arms around him, pressing himself against Logan's back. Logan shuddered as he did. Nico rested his forehead against the back of his head. Nico felt him swallow. A few droplets fell on Nico's arms.
“Don't hold it in…” he pleaded.
Logan leaned his head back against Nico’s forehead.
Feeling him sob against him was gutwrenching, but not nearly as painful as hearing it. The quiet little sounds drowned out everything else. Nico endured them, just holding onto him. It was unbearably hard, but at the same time it was the easiest thing he’d ever done. In fact, he probably couldn’t even have stopped himself if he wanted to. Eventually, the sobs turned into deep, sorrowful breaths.
“How are you?” Nico asked carefully. It was a stupid question seeing everything that just went down, but he didn't really have any better equipment at hand.
“Dunno…” Logan said quietly. “Empty…?” he suggested.
“Is there anything I can do…?” Nico asked, sticking with his repertoire of pointless questions.
“Even more? Hah. No, I honestly don't think so” Logan said more firmly. He shifted, seemingly trying to break free from Nico's grasp. He let him go. “Thank you for getting rid of him” he added, wiping at his face one last time. He turned to look at Nico.
He looked absolutely beat. It didn't suit him. It reminded him of the way he'd looked that night on the balcony...
Nico did his best to hide how flustered he was by the situation. He'd been dreading seeing how Logan would react to being here, but it turned out so much worse than he'd thought. He'd known coming here was going to be very hard, but he hadn't expected it to turn into a literal confrontation with the actions of his stepfather. He probably should have though… He knows how restless spirits can be, and after what happened here…
“I got it. Let's just get out of here” Logan almost pleaded.
Nico nodded and walked out the door. He waited when he heard Logan stop. Logan stood still in the doorway, he looked back at his old room. He lingered at the small guitar in the corner, still on the floor. He seemed to hesitate, then quickly went back in and grabbed it. He walked past Nico on his way to the stairs. His steps sounded angry as he stomped down. Nico winced at the sound of the door slam and followed after him. At least Logan hadn't lost his spark... He hoped that was a good sign...
He stood still and watched Logan throw the guitar on the backseat. “What are you going to do with it?” he asked.
“Smash it” Logan responded with a low voice, slamming the door. As he went to open the driver seat door, he paused. “I don't know yet…”.
Nico got in on the other side. They sat in silence for a while.
Logan started the car.
“You sure you should be driving?” Nico asked carefully. “Yeah, I'm fine” he responded casually.
Nico tried not to yell. “Like hell you are. This was fucking horrible. Don't say you're fine. I'm not even fine”.
Logan smiled. It seemed genuine. “Okay. Not the right word. I'm not fine. But, I'm a lot better than I thought I would be. Don't get me wrong, it kind of sucked my soul out, but this was good... In a fucked up way, I'm almost a little relieved”. Their eyes met. “I want to drive, it helps me clear my head. I’m probably going to need some time to process this”. He gave Nico a reassuring smile. “Thanks again, by the way. I'm really happy you were there… I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been…”.
Nico felt his face heat up. He'd felt pretty useless back there. Almost like he’d caused it even, seeing as he helped channel Curtis to the world of the living. Not that he felt he had much of a choice though… The only time he felt like he'd done anything to help was when he'd passed Curtis to the other side. “No problem” he muttered.
He watched Logan drive for a while. It was clear the whole ordeal was eating at him.
“I think I'm going to sell it” Logan said suddenly.
Nico was lost. “The guitar…?”.
Logan shook his head. “No, the house” he clarified. “It feels-” he cut himself off, lost in thought. “It's not really my house anymore, anyway”.
Nico blinked.
Logan continued. “I've been thinking… Well no actually, I've been brooding… But, after the whole thing with Curt just now, I realized something. I guess I felt like I had to keep it. Like I had to get over it. Not let what happened rule my life, you know? To try to prove that I could or something. But I don’t think keeping it is really going to help me. I think I would just be making it harder for myself. I don’t need that” Logan stared at the road ahead. “So I don’t think I want to keep it” he shrugged.
Nico blinked a few times. Then he hummed in agreement. Logan took a deep breath. He looked tired, and sad. But Nico wasn't as worried as he was before.
Logan was strong. Not just physically, but mentally. Even more than that, he was brave, in the purest sense of the word. He always seemed to deal with life as it came at him. Not without kicking or screaming… And definitely not without fear… But being fearless wasn’t what bravery was about, was it? What would bravery even mean without fear? True bravery meant being scared shitless of something, and then facing it anyway. And that’s what Logan tried to do. Every single time. At least in the end. When it really came down to it, he dared to really look at himself, accept his own feelings and tried to move forward. No matter how hard that was. Even when it made him physically sick. Nico admired that, despite it being the main reason for a lot of their awkward conversations. Maybe even because of that…
“What?” Logan asked, glancing at him.
“I'm proud of you” Nico said. It came out with a lot more emotion than he wanted. Whatever. He meant it, emotions and all.
Logan smiled. “I've got a long way to go still…” he almost sighed out.
“You'll get there” Nico replied, patting Logan's hand on the gear stick. His hand lingered for a while.
More death and confrontation lay waiting for them behind the heavy metal cemetery gates. Logan stopped in front of him, reluctantly looking ahead. Nico stopped dead in his tracks, but not for the same reason. He’d noticed something. Something he'd secretly been keeping an eye out for.
“One second!” he said hastily. That is some timing…!
He knelt down and held out his hand slightly above the ground. He willed his find to come up. This was going to take a while. It was deep, very deep. And stuck to something big, something incredibly big… He shifted a little to get a better angle and smiled when it finally broke free. The ground shook a little. The tiles of the sidewalk gave way, lifting up under the palm of his hand. Something heavy hit it soon after. Jackpot. He stood up and held out his hand, hiding what was inside.
Logan gave him a confused look over, lingering on Nico's smirk. “What are you up to...?” he asked warily. He stuck out his hand anyway.
Nico pressed the small, well not small, object into his hand.
Logan stared at the sharp, stony fang. He let out an impressed huff. “No way” he said slowly. “Is that a dinosaur tooth?”.
Nico shrugged. “I really hope so. If not, that was one horrifying chicken once…”. He tried to look sly about it, but he couldn't hide how pleased he was with himself.
Logan gave him a warm smile, an excited flicker of fire going through his eyes. “That's fucking awesome”. He shoved it into his pocket and pulled Nico in for a rough kiss. “Thanks” he almost whispered against his lips as he pulled back. “I’ll keep it close for good luck. Forever”.
Nico forgot all about trying to look sly. This was better than the reaction he’d hoped for. Heat smacked him in the face when Logan kissed him under the ear. In self defense, he quickly set out to ruin the moment. Just enough to keep some dignity... “I knew you were sentimental, but… You’re superstitious too?” he mocked gently, giving Logan a quick peck on the cheek before pushing him off.
Logan seemed unfazed in his enthusiasm. “Sure, why not? The fucking Greek Gods turned out to be real” he shrugged, walking on with much more confidence.
Touché… Nico’s smug expression cracked in half. “Ha…”. He quickly moved to catch up
Logan stood still and turned to the tombstone next to him. This had to be it, Nico reckoned. He stood next to him, reading the inscription. Yes. This was her. They stayed quiet. Not just her, he realized a little unsettled.
The grave looked peaceful, and well taken care of. There was a small bouquet of white roses in an old looking vase standing near the top. Its slightly tacky flower print and missing chip in the rim screamed Ms. Venema.
There was another, much bigger and much more intricate bouquet laying right in the middle. White poppies stole the show. It seemed a lot more fresh... Based on what he'd heard, this screamed someone else’s name…
Nico eyed Logan a little nervously. He looked apathetic. Then he didn't. He drew a breath and looked away. When he turned to glance at Nico his expression was sad. No, not just sad, drained... Nico reached his hand over to Logan’s, intertwinging their fingers. They smiled reassuringly at each other. Logan turned back to the tombstone.
He inhaled deeply. “Yep”. He cocked his head slightly. “Still dead” he concluded dryly.
Nico's breath caught. He snapped his head to face him in disbelief. Logan snickered at his reaction, leaning away in anticipation. Nico resisted the urge to smack him in the back of the head right then and there. Logan's breath hitched a little as he settled down.
Yeah, alright… He’d let it slide this time… Nico sighed and rested the side of his head on his shoulder. Stupid spikes be damned. He listened as Logan's breathing slowly calmed back down.
Logan grasped at his collar, pulling at it. Nico shifted a little with concern. He exhaled as soon as he saw Logan pull his mother's dog tag out of his shirt. Logan closed his fingers around it, slowly running over the letters with his thumb. His hand trembled… Nico slowly reached over, closing his hand around Logan's. He froze when Logan pulled his hand out underneath. His breath caught when he closed it around his, gently squeezing the small metal plate into Nico's grip. He relaxed back onto Logan's shoulder.
An arm slipped around his back, drawing him in even closer. “She would have loved you, you know?” Logan muttered. The tone of his voice was low and pensive.
Nico lifted his head to look at him. He couldn’t get Logan to meet his eyes, still lost in thought. “I probably would have loved her too” he said without thinking. It was true though. She sounded great.
Logan finally looked at him, seemingly caught off guard a little. Before Nico could react, Logan grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him in. “Cute” he concluded after pulling away a bit.
He looked back to the grave, then held up the bottle of wine. Nico glanced at the label. An Italian red wine. Chianti, but on the more complex side it seemed... He pursed his lips with a small hint of pride, slightly impressed.
“I don't get why she likes it so much. It's just old grape juice” Logan muttered, like a moron.
One accusatory finger wasn't enough, he pointed his entire hand in his face. “Don't mess with Italians or their wine, you uncultured savage! People have gotten killed for less!” Nico spat.
“Oh, right. I forgot you're basically the Gothfather… What now? Are you going to make me disappear?” Logan asked dryly.
Clever… Very clever… “Shut the fuck up, darling…” Nico mustered up. “It's a good wine… And it's to honor your dead mother. So, be a little more respectful… I promise I'll stop complaining. ” he offered, pleaded.
“Oh, an offer I can't refuse… Fine” Logan chuckled.
Nico closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Fine.
Logan grinned and turned his attention back to the task at hand. “Probably should’ve brought something to open it” he muttered, turning the bottle in his hand. “Oh, well”. He knocked off the top against the tombstone, splattering some wine onto the roughly textured stone and onto Nico's pride. He knelt down and carefully poured the rest of the bottle onto the grave. All over the intricate bouquet, moving the bottle around to douse as many flowers as possible.
Nico saw a hint of an evil smile while he did so. He bit his tongue. Whatever you need, hun… This was hard enough. No reason to make it worse. Besides… Even based on the limited knowledge he had of her, his mother probably would have appreciated the gesture anyway. Maybe even more so... He smiled to himself.
“Hey, hag. It’s your favourite” Logan mused to the ground. His expression soured a bit. “Sorry I haven’t visited, it’s been a weird few-”. His shoulders tensed up. “It’s been a weird year… Fuck, man…”. He shook the last bit of wine out and shoved down the broken bottle next to him. He folded his arms over his knees and stared at the tombstone pensively for a while, then turned to look at Nico, still deep in thought. He got up. “C’mon” he said, gesturing the other way.
“You sure?” Nico asked.
“Yeah, I’m done” Logan replied flatly.
Nico tried not to look too worried.
“It’s a pretty good start, right?” Logan asked, suddenly sounding a little insecure.
Nico smiled faintly. “Yeah” he assured.
Nico walked up to the car, grabbing the grill with one hand reaching out to Logan with the other. “Come on” he beckoned. “I’m taking you home. To Gwen’s”. It wasn’t up for discussion.
Logan wasn’t listening, too lost in the bracelet in his hand. He held it up, closely inspecting it. It was made of obviously aged, heavy looking silver chainlinks.
Logan was surprisingly sentimental about things sometimes. Nico wondered what memory made him go all the way back for it. Maybe his mom?
“So, what's so special about that bracelet?” Nico asked.
Logan smiled mysteriously. He gave him a warm look, his eyes burned with a hint of mischief. Nico braced himself. What was he up to? Gods, did they come all the way here and go through all that for a gift from an ex…? Which would be fine, he reminded himself. He braced himself a little harder anyway.
“You tell me”. Logan slipped it around Nico's wrist and hooked it shut.
Nico's breath stuck for a second. He looked at his wrist. No way, right?
“It's the first thing I ever bought with my own money. I always thought it brought me luck, but I’ve got plenty of luck… I know you don’t believe in that crap, but you wear silver, right?” he asked, gently running his finger over Nico's earring. “Just a little nicer than a fucking cigarette, at least…”.
Nico was stumped. He couldn't look away from it. That cruel asshole. How could he do something so thoughtful to him? Straight up torture! Right… So, how had he not seen it coming?
“Look, you don't have to wear it. I just want you to have-”.
Shut up. Right now, or I'm going to cry on you. Nico quickly cut him off by pulling him in by the collar. He wrapped his arms around the back of his neck, trapping their mouths together. He felt him smile against him. It was too much. His heart couldn't handle it. Just as quickly, he pulled away and wiped at his eyes. He turned away trying to get his breathing to even out.
Logan ran a hand through his hair. “Looks good on you. Way better than it did on me”.
Nico sniffed in response, a little pathetically honestly. He didn't care. That was fine, as long as the grin on his face wouldn't get stuck forever… Eh. Whatever. It could stick around all it wanted. He quickly grasped Logan’s hand and tossed the shadows over them.
The truck gave him a shove as it rolled out of the shadows. His bracelet clattered against the hood as he caught himself. Logan’s hands were on his hips before he had the chance to straighten up. Warm amber eyes looking down into his own with concern. Not just concern…
Logan grabbed the back of his neck and gently, but firmly bent him over backwards onto the hood. He shifted his hips between Nico’s legs, running a hand over his waist. A trail of flames tickled his skin as his shirt ran up. “This takes me back…” he murmured, touching his forehead with his own.
Nico let out a huff, even more out of breath now. He closed his eyes, hooking an arm around Logan’s neck trying to pull him closer.
“This is how that night was supposed to end” Logan whispered against his lips, before finally giving in and showing exactly what he meant.
Maybe the truck wasn’t so bad after all, Nico decided as his back arched against it.