Chapter Text
The sky was cloudy, yet sunny. A perfect day to get punched in the face. Well, almost get punched in the face. Logan’s fist stopped right before impact, freezing Nico in place. Nico blinked as Logan nudged his nose with it.
“You’re too predictable…” Logan complained. He backed up, shaking his head, then got right back in position.
Nico huffed in frustration, readying himself for his next strike. He hadn’t managed to land a single hit yet. Too predictable… He adjusted his grip on Specter’s hilt, making sure to keep his point on Logan. He struck right before Logan could-!
Nevermind… He sighed, waiting for Logan to let go of his wrist.
Logan didn’t, tightening his grip instead.
Nico watched his eyes burn mischievously. He braced himself for a throw, making sure to stay light on his feet and feel which way Logan might try to move him. Exactly the one way, he hadn’t accounted for apparently. Logan pulled his wrist straight up, sticking Specter into the air and making their chests collide.
Nico huffed at the impact and squirmed against him as Logan slid his other arm around his back. Logan let out a low chuckle while leaning in close, the flames no longer mischievous, but evil.
Nico sighed dramatically before closing the distance. Logan twisted Specter out of his hand. Nico let himself get pulled closer, trying not to get too lost in the moment. Well, not too lost to do this! He hooked his leg behind Logan’s knee and threw him on his back, landing on top of him. Logan’s surprised gasp took long enough to straddle him between his thighs and swipe Specter off the grass.
Nico looked down at him with a smug little smile, his sword raised above Logan’s face in an empty threat to stab it down. “I learned that from you” he teased.
In turn Logan stared up at him with pride, hands up in surrender. His eyes darted from the tip of the sword, to his face. Another mischievous flicker went through them as he slowly moved his hands over to Nico’s hips. “Yeah! Maybe there is some use teaching you…”. He slipped under the fabric of Nico’s shirt.
Nico snorted, stabbed Specter into the grass next to Logan’s face and rolled off. He grinned at the sound of Logan’s disappointed groan and rested the back of his head on his hands. Specter’s blade protected him from the pout next to him, only leaving room for the pleading eyes above it.
Nico smiled victoriously at the cloudy, evening sky above them, catching his breath. A whale slowly floated by, then a mushroom, followed by the pointlessness of existence. Welp, time to stop…
Valentina skipped past them on their way to the door, waving happily. The dimples next to her smile looked especially adorable today, probably because she smiled wider than usual. “Bye boys~!” she mused.
Nico stuck up a hand, smiling back.
“Gwen couldn’t force you into dinner?” Logan asked, by the sound of it, genuinely impressed by Valentina’s perseverance.
“No! Not tonight!” Valentina confirmed. “I have a date with my boyfriend!”.
Logan grinned and jabbed her in the arm. “Ooh! Good for you! Must be a nice guy if you’re so excited about him!” he concluded warmly.
Valentina smiled back, rubbing her arm. “Oh, he is! You probably don't know him. He's a little older” she said quietly. “His name is Richard”.
Nico sucked in his lips and side-eyed Logan. He was just in time to see his expression go dark.
“Son of Hermes?” Logan asked in a low voice.
Valentina looked at him anxiously. She looked at Nico, then back at Logan. “Yes?” she offered politely, but in a noticeably higher pitch.
“The guy that cheated on Yan…?” Logan asked with an even lower voice and even darker expression.
Valentina's eyes went wide. “Cheated…?” she asked with a voice so thin it was barely audible. “When?...!”.
Nico gripped Logan's upper arm, making sure to keep him in check. He tried to sound as delicate as he could. “About four months ago”.
Valentina's shy, polite demeanor shattered like a vase shot with a cannon. “Gods fucking damn it!” she roared with a guttural sound. “That motherfucking-!” She pulled up a locket out of her sweater and gnawed at the chain. “Enculé de fils de pute!”. She ripped the locket from her neck and smashed it into the ground. “We've been dating for-! Five-! Fucking-! Months!” she underlined each word by stomping on the locket with her neat little kitten heels.
“Val…” Logan tried, completely taken aback. He put his hands up, inching them to her shoulders.
Valentina straightened up, tossing her hair over her shoulder. She looked up and fanned herself a little with her hands. She took a few deep breaths and put on a bright smile. “Oopsie! Sorry!” she chirped. She gave Logan a quick hug. Then put out her arms to Nico, offering the same.
Oh. Alright? He quickly accepted.
Her muscles strained around him, audibly. “Thank you so much for telling me~” she almost sang. She smiled even brighter and pointed two fingers to the kitchen door. “I'm going to go inside and make a quick call!”. She looked up and shook her head side to side in feigned excitement, then strode off, slamming the door behind her.
“Poor girl…” Nico muttered.
“Dumb guy…” Logan added. “I think she might actually kill him. Even if she doesn’t, Gwen will… Come to think of it, I still owe Yan his nuts too…”.
Nico hummed in approval. “I love a happy ending” he mused, smiling to himself.
Logan nudged him.
They watched Valentina’s silhouette fight a bunch of invisible assailants through the heavily lit kitchen curtains. Her muffled screaming added to the ambience.
“Let’s give her some space…” Nico concluded.
Nico and Logan finished cooking where Gwen left off, allowing her to follow Valentina through the whole house and interject some careful, soothing words between all the yelling and swearing.
Angry tears streamed over Valentina’s lack of dimples as she gnawed on her fork with her pearly white teeth. Nobody dared to say anything, listening intently to the sound of a knife cutting right into ceramics. Her cutlery almost stayed upright when she let go of it.
She glanced at Logan and took a deep breath, inflating a forced smile. “I heard you bought an apartment”. The smile warmed up. “Congratulations!”.
“Thanks!” Logan replied. “Yep! I’m moving first thing tomorrow”.
Nico breathed a quiet sigh of relief as the conversation left Richard behind in the dust, and steered towards a brighter future.
Nico’s worries focussed on Gwen’s kitchen door. They’d spent barely a single hour packing Logan’s modest amount of possessions into the beat up red truck. Only one thing left to pack… Technically not even his… And it had already taken more time than everything else combined.
Logan finally barged through the door, very pleased with himself. “Look who's finally ready for the next step in our relationship!”.
He smiled triumphantically, lifting up a beat up cat carrier. A miserable rasp flowed out. It didn't really draw attention, however. Nico hissed as he took in the state of Logan's arms.
Dozens of short and long scratches spread out in all possible directions. Butch had seemingly thrown in some deep bite wounds just to mix up the pattern. Blood flowed out like small rivers, flooding over his arm and onto the floor. Some drops fell on the carrier while he held it out. It shook aggressively as Butch fought to break out of his confinement.
Logan put the carrier onto the counter next to him. Gwen quickly grabbed a kitchen towel and started wiping at the closest arm. She let out an anguished groan.
Nico shook his head. “You look like you got mauled by a bear…” he muttered in dismay.
“Pretty much felt like it too!” Logan replied, gently pulling the towel out of Gwen's hand and wiping his other arm. “That was easily one of my hardest fights yet. Vicious little bastard” he said with admiration.
He leaned down a bit in front of the carrier and patted the top. The carrier practically jumped, a loud, angry rasp erupted from it.
“Sorry, buddy… I'll make it up to you. Promise” Logan cooed, seemingly sharing in some of Butch's misery. He stood up straight, giving them a half smile. “Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get a Tetanus shot!” he declared cheerfully. Some of the joy from earlier had apparently found its way back to him.
He threw the blood stained towel into the sink, grabbed his coat and strolled out the door, holding up a scratched up hand.
Nico walked over to the tiny prison. He leaned down and looked at its equally tiny inmate, giving him a well deserved scowl for the violent crime he'd just committed. He got a long, angry hiss in response.
Nico's expression softened a little. Butch looked easily as terrified as he did angry. He had pushed himself as far back as he physically could, almost folding over himself.
Nico sighed. “I know… But I still don't forgive you” he told him sternly. “...Yet” he added quietly.
Gwen leaned in next to him. She pouted angrily at Butch. He lowered his head and let out a guttural whine.
Her pout instantly turned sad. “Aww… Poor little asshole…” she murmured with genuine pity. She picked up another kitchen towel and covered the small grated door. “I'm going to clean up his room real quick…” she started, smiling brightly. “Well, the guest room, I guess”. She giggled soundlessly.
Nico noticed something lurking in the shadows of the corners of her lips. “Need help?”.
“Nope!” she tried to chime. “You watch the evil furball!”.
Alright. Should be easy enough. He leaned back against the-!
Butch pounced at the side of the carrier, slamming it into his arm. Nico shot back up, arms around himself. Right...
Logan returned home with an air of irritation. He threw off his coat. The kitchen tiles let out dozens of small startled shrieks as the spikes hit them. “Look at what they did to me!” he shouted desperately.
He held out his arms, wrapped all the way in bandages. “They smeared some bullshit all over them and now I'm not allowed to take these off for at least two days!” he complained loudly.
Nico looked at him, making sure to show how unimpressed he was. “What did you expect, idiot? You were ripped to shreds. Did you seriously think they were just going to stab you with a needle and let you back out the door?” he asked a little angrily.
“I was sort of hoping that…” Logan replied, his tone much quieter.
“How did they even manage to put those on you? Figured you'd fight to the death…” Nico wondered out loud.
Logan pouted. “I have a weak spot for stern women…”.
Nico gave him a bitter look.
“And she was sooo old” Logan quickly added.
Nico huffed. “So you have a thing for older women now?”. He added a little more venom than he had in him. He couldn't let him off easy all the time.
“Relax. You're way more stern” Logan replied. “And waaay older” he added with a smirk. The smirk didn't last when he looked down at his arms again. “How am I going to shower with these?” he whined.
Nico opened his mouth and quickly shut it again. Too late.
Logan smirked at him mischievously. “... Were you going to offer to help me?” he asked, smirking wider.
“... No” Nico lied.
Logan cocked his head a little. “Too bad…” he chuckled. “When they say two days, it's really just a recommendation right?” he asked with feigned sincerity.
In Nico's mind he was practically already ripping them off. “You fucking better not touch those!” he snapped. “Gods! Alright, fine. I'll help you”.
Logan seemed to weigh his options for a few seconds. He grinned. Nico felt a smile creep through his annoyance.
Gwen wrapped her arms around Logan and pulled him against her. She rubbed her face on his shoulder and swayed him from side to side, humming a happy little tune. “Aaargh! I’m going to miss you so much!” she muffled into his shoulder.
Logan ruffled her hair. “I’m going to miss you too. So come visit soon!”.
Gwen nodded against his shirt. Logan tried to pull away. Gwen held on tighter, burying her face even deeper. Her arms trembled.
Oh…!
Logan chuckled and kissed the side of her head. “Thanks for everything, Gwen. I really owe you. More than I can probably ever make up for”.
Gwen hastily shook her head, letting out a shaky breath.
Nico grabbed the carrier, quickly but gently lifting Butch off of the counter. He ignored Butch’s loud protest as he gestured to the door. After getting an approving nod, he made his escape.
Nico looked at the broken off blade stuck deep into Gwen's apple tree. Melancholy hit him. Then confusion. The brave little tree was proudly blossoming to the fullest, like there hadn't been a nearly successful attempt on its life. Not only that, he realized, it was off season…
“You ready?” Logan asked him, tapping all thoughts out of his head with a finger to the forehead.
“Yeah” Nico replied. He was. He followed Logan's gaze to the kitchen window.
Gwen was looking at them, arms crossed on the counter, resting her chin on them. She noticed them looking. Her bittersweet smile brightened. She happily stuck up a middle finger. Logan smiled back and raised his own. Gwen smiled wider, then hastily wiped her eyes.
Nico sucked in his lips trying not to laugh. That would be culturally insensitive, after all. He stuck up a hand instead. Gwen found him and waved her middle finger excitedly, quickly realizing and correcting herself with an apologetic grin. A laugh escaped him after all. He grinned back at her before grabbing the grill, offering his other hand to Logan.
Logan was quiet. Pensive. That made sense. Goodbyes were never easy, no matter how ready you thought you were. He looked at Gwen one last time before reaching out.
The shadows curled out from under the truck, wrapping themselves around it. Butch’s hiss cut through the whispers.
The darkness unwrapped in Wilmington, Delaware, the first stop on their one way trip. The truck let out a scrapy groan as its suspension settled on the quiet road. A remarkably well kept, quiet road.
Nico’s eyes went over the large houses in the neighbourhood, all standing apart from one another at a reserved distance, the borders of their enclaves distinctly etched out with perfectly cut lawns.
Yan sped over a neatly laid red brick path, away from the largest house of all. “Hiii~!” she screeched excitedly, arms already spread. She flew into them, trusting them to catch her.
“Hi” Nico grunted on impact, slowly lowering her back to the ground.
Yan beamed a proud smile at Logan, letting him mess up her hair. She knelt down to greet Crazy Butch. Her smile shot down into a grimace when his claws hooked around the openings in the wire door. “Huuh…” she concluded, carefully patting the top.
Nico grinned, strapping the carrier in tightly on the back seat. Yan took the seat on the other side, making sure to stay as far away as possible. Nico waited for Logan to get in before doing the same. He gripped the chair tightly, closing his eyes to concentrate better. This wasn’t going to be easy… With an exhale he let the shadows pull them into the darkness of the stormdrain.
They flushed back out on the shady side of a hill. A little steeper than the one he’d actually aimed for. Yan gasped as the car almost tilted to the side, then luckily fell back on all fours. Nico took a sharp breath, slipping down his seat.
Logan reached over and gave his shoulder a warm, concerned squeeze. “You good?” he asked.
“Yeah” Nico replied weakly, pushing himself back up. He glanced over.
Logan smiled, relieved, then fixed his eyes at the road across from them. The road to Salt Lake City. Just a few miles now. He narrowed his eyes, fire burning low. Pensive again.
Nico saw pensive make way for determined with just a few raps of his fingers against the steering wheel. Right, that reminded him… He fastened his seatbelt, he was going to need it.
The small prison jolted and shook in panicked surprise as Logan started the car. Nico pursed his lips in pity. He listened to Butch trying to dig himself out through the bottom of the carrier, then heard him give up and settle down with a surprisingly heavy sound.
Butch let out a miserable and gravelly melody. It sounded like he was playing a raspy little harmonica...
Speeding through the downtown area, the truck suddenly screeched to a stop in front of a battered looking apartment building. Nico blinked at the broken window next to the main entrance, his eyes fell on the figure underneath it. A person laid on a strip of torn cardboard, stretched out on their side, facing the wall. Most of them was hidden under a large hoodie, the hood pulled over their head.
“Hey, Merv” Logan greeted his new neighbour as he walked up to the door.
Merv grunted, rolling over to his other side. He was wearing not one, but two stained and torn hoodies. His scraggly beard covered almost all the parts of his face the tightly shut hoods couldn’t reach. Nico guesstimated him to be somewhere between thirty and eighty.
“Those big boxes they brought in last week yours?” Merv grunted inquisitively, bloodshot eyes wide and unblinking.
Logan hummed in affirmation.
Merv’s eyes narrowed. “I want in on that cardboard” he grunted.
Logan smirked. “It’s all yours, bud”.
“Sweet” Merv grunted, smiling with his eyes. His eyes narrowed right back down “Got any change on you?”. The grunt had an undertone of guilt.
Logan hissed. “After buying this shithole?” he nodded to an upper floor. “Fraid not…”.
Yan sprang into action, her frog shaped coin purse at the ready. She snipped open the mouth and emptied the shiny stomach contents into her hand. “Here you go, sir!”.
Merv sat up to accept them gratefully. “Bless you, ma’am!”. He made the sign of the cross. He turned back to Logan. “That’s a sweet lady you got there”.
Logan grinned. “She sure is, but she isn’t mine”. He gestured at Nico. “The scary one is”.
Merv looked Nico over carefully, then raised an unkempt eyebrow. “Uhuh… But, has he got change…?” he grunted in wonder, his final appraisal obviously hinging on the answer.
Nico snorted. He carefully lowered Butch to the sidewalk before rifling through his pocket. A drachma brought itself to light with a golden shimmer and dropped down in Merv’s hand.
Merv turned it over a few times in his fingers. He revealed some broken teeth, biting down on the coin’s edge. “Just as sweet as the lady!” he grunted happily.
Six flights of stairs later, Nico lowered the cat carrier down once again, on a scratched up wooden floor. Butch growled sadly, practically rattling a small cup against the bars of his cage door.
Nico let his eyes wander over Logan’s new apartment. Bare brick walls all around. Large slanted windows, broken up in a roster of small rectangles by the iron frame. Beautiful, but a bitch to clean. Three tall, dark metal beams held up the high ceiling. A small collection of very big boxes waited for them in the middle of the floor.
Yan cooed empathetically at the carrier when Butch let out another raspy cry.
Logan flipped the lock on the small jail cell and opened the door, approving Butch for parole. Butch disagreed, pushing himself further back. Apparently in a short few hours he'd already gotten so used to life behind bars, he didn't know how to adjust to society anymore.
Logan patted the top of the carrier. “Yeah? You want your own apartment? Fine by me”. He got up and walked away. A cabinet door shut soon after.
Nico gave the carrier a pitiful look. He wondered if Butch was going to be able to live a ‘proper’ life after all his time on the street.
He watched Butch happily run out towards the sound of kibble hitting a bowl.
Ha…
Over the next hour all three of them walked back and forth, unloading everything they’d packed up just that morning. Yan and Nico spent most of that time groaning as Logan shrugged at every single inquiry where to put anything. They groaned even harder at the somehow even less clear instructions on how to put the bed together.
Nico glanced at her over the clearly incorrectly built bedside. “You’ll never guess who got dumped by Valentina yesterday” he set up.
Yan’s eyebrow raised at the manual she was reading.
“Richard” Nico revealed without any flair.
Yan pursed her lips, the smallest, smuggest little smile all the way on top of them. “Who…?” she asked coyly.
They both chuckled.
Yan let out a long, sad sigh.
Nico folded his arms over the bedside, looking at her sternly. “That’s not about him I hope…”.
“Ha!” Yan blurted out, resting her elbow on her side of the bedframe and furrowing her brow at him. “Gods, no!” she assured. “No… Dating is just the worst. I broke up with someone last week… He was so perfect. I liked him so much, but… I was so busy trying to make sure he liked me back, that I sort of forgot that he was supposed to like me the way I am… I’m not making that mistake again!”.
Nico half smiled at her. “Good for you, Yan… But, yeah. That definitely sucks” he affirmed.
Yan grinned through her misery. “This doesn’t even scratch the surface! The guy before that insisted on paying for dinner on our first date, and by that I mean he snuck out to pay after I said no for the hundredth time, and then guess what? When I told him it wasn’t going to work out two days later, he sent me a fricking Venmo request!”.
Nico laughed in second hand frustration. “Fucking Hell… I don’t envy you, having to date straight guys” he joked with exaggerated heaviness.
“Ha!” Yan let out again, hitting the bedframe for emphasis. “Says you!” she accused.
Nico raised an eyebrow above his grin and shook his head, not getting it.
Yan stuck up a finger. “Observe”. She turned to the open door and cupped her mouth. “Lo! What type of deodorant do you use?!”.
“Green!” Logan’s voice yelled back at her confidently.
Yan bent over herself and giggled loudly.
Nico sucked in his lips. “That’s a completely different type of idiot…!” he argued quietly, screwing yet another stubby metal leg onto the bed.
Yan looked over the still wonky bedframe, then back at the manual, turning it over in her hands, and back again. She sighed in defeat and bent over her knees, holding the useless papers out for Nico. He reached over and took them, reading them carefully. The seemingly completely unrelated pictures taunted him from the corner of his eyes. Logan walked up and waited in the doorway.
“Hm?” Nico let out without looking.
“Have you seen my phone?” Logan asked.
“Yeah, it was in the bookshelf for some reason…” Nico muttered, trying to keep his attention on the encrypted code in front of him.
“Thanks” Logan said cheerfully as he turned to saunter off.
Nico furrowed his brow. “You don’t even read!” he grumbled after him in exasperation.
They gathered the last things from the truckbed. Exactly three boxes left. Merv grunted a happy tune while folding his new cardboard in and out behind them, building his new fortress exactly to his liking.
A teenage boy rode his skateboard past a group of girls waiting at the bus stop across the street, staring straight ahead, hands in his pockets. He glanced around indifferently, slowly rolling to a stop. The girls chatted on happily, admiring each others’ brightly coloured keychains. Spontaneously, the boy turned around and tried again. He successfully caught all the girls’ attention when one of his wheels found a pothole and threw him at their feet.
Logan’s laugh was stronger than Yan’s grip on his cheek. Nico shook his head disapprovingly, a mean little edge in the corner of the grin he was trying to suppress.
Butch stared at them out from under the perfectly assembled bed while they ate their dinner. Eritrean food, from the welcoming little place down the street, in three very different degrees of spiciness.
“How's university life?” Yan asked, visibly dreading the answer.
“Pretty decent” Logan answered. “Somehow I even managed to pass all my exams this year, despite the fact that I can't read”. He looked quite pleased with himself.
Yan cracked up a little. She crossed her arms. “Well, at least you do all your assignments in time and don't skip any of your classes right?” she asked, pretending she didn’t know the answer.
Logan gave her an awkward smile. “I go to the mandatory lectures” he offered. “... Most of them” he added quietly.
She gave him a stern pout. “As long as you don't get in trouble anymore”.
Logan looked a lot more confident now. “Yes, ma’am!”. He tugged on her hair.
Nico returned out of the shadows behind the stack of boxes in the still mostly empty apartment, Yan now safely back home in her mansion. The two way trip took a little more out of him than he’d anticipated. He steadied himself on a box, almost falling over when his hand sank through the opening. Butch flew out of the box next to it, finally revealing where he’d been hiding all day.
Nico jolted, cursing under his breath as he pulled his hand out of the untrustworthy cube, opening up the flaps. A small figure right in the middle of the opening gave him a stern look, waiting for him impatiently on top of the pile of other miscellaneous trinkets.
He reached for it. Something he must have accidentally left in Logan’s room ages ago. Something he’d completely forgotten about, just for a little while. Something that didn’t belong in the slightest. Not anywhere, not anymore… He traced the folds of the robes of the small figurine with his thumb.
“Is that from the boardgame you were so obsessed with?” Logan asked from his side. “I promise I won’t make fun of you” he added, sounding genuine enough.
Still… Nico folded his hands and pressed them against his mouth. Logan was trying, so hard. Nico appreciated that, so much… He was stronger than this. This wasn't even really about Mythomagic. No. He couldn’t help it. “It’s not a boardgame. It’s a figurine-based trading card game” he explained, gesturing with his hands for emphasis.
The corner of Logan’s mouth twitched, he bit his lip. “... You’re making this really hard on me” he said through gritted teeth.
“I’m just saying” Nico doubled down, gesturing extra firmly.
“Look, if I don’t get to call you a nerd, at least let me call it a boardgame. I’m not going to even pretend to try to remember what a-”. Logan seemed to think hard trying to remember, then caught himself and shook his head. “You know what? I got my answer. I’ll just leave you two alone”.
Nico chuckled to himself. A win is a win. Even if it wasn't on purpose...
“My sister left it to me” he told Logan's back.
Logan stopped.
Nico looked carefully at the figurine in his hand and continued. “Percy gave it to me after she died. She wanted me to have it… If it weren't for that I would have gotten rid of it ages ago, just like all the others…” he muttered to himself. Crap. Was he going to cry? A warm hand ran over his back.
“Sorry…” Logan muttered.
Nico huffed in surprise. Poor guy. He smiled and nudged Logan with his hip. “Why? How could you have possibly known that? I never tell you anything” he said with a chuckle.
Logan looked up and cocked his head. “Hah… Yeah, true. You do like dropping your sad lore on me only when I least expect it” he complained. He smiled warmly. “Keeps me on my toes. Hoping I get to hear more…”. It sounded like a plea, maybe an invitation.
Yeah… Nico wished he was better at this. Hell, he'd settle for just not being absolutely terrible at this…
“Hey, it's okay! You don't have to tell me everything , if you don't want to. But... Just know that you can talk to me about anything ” Logan reassured.
Stop it! I get it. It's fine… Nico wrapped his arms around him and pressed himself against him, staring deeply into his eyes. They lit up as he did. He let out a deep sigh. “I know that, but thanks for saying it anyway” he said softly.
Logan leaned in. Nico pulled back a little, staying out of reach. Logan looked a little betrayed.
“Now stop being so nice to me. It's freaking me out” Nico warned.
“Okay fine, you emotionally constipated masochist” Logan relented.
They grinned at each other.
“Way better” Nico said happily. He closed the distance. Determination took over. He was going to try harder to share.
They pulled away.
“So who's that?” Logan asked with genuine interest.
Crap… Could he start trying to share more from tomorrow on? No. No excuses.
“Hades” he replied weakly.
A wicked grin flashed over Logan's face. He quickly swallowed it back and nodded, obviously trying everything he could not to make fun of him. “Hah” he let out, just as weakly.
They pursed their lips at the figurine and stared at it for a while.
“Daddy's boy…” Logan muttered quietly.
Nico cracked up a little.
“Sorry! Sorry!” Logan followed quickly. “I couldn't keep it in…”.
Having spent the entire day being productive, enjoying the fulfilling task of moving things from one place to another, they hadn’t actually had much chance to catch up. That seemed like a good enough excuse to stay the night. Not that he needed one.
Logan stared at him from his side of the bed. His eyes glowed with a low burning, warm fire. “Thank you for all your help” he almost whispered. The fire died down a little. “How are you?” he asked, a hint of guilt overshadowed by genuine concern.
Nico shrugged. “Relieved. Glad it’s over.” he replied with a half smile, realizing how sore his shoulders were. “Glad you’re settled”. He almost jolted when he remembered he did have some news. “Hazel and Frank want us to come over again soon” he shared diligently. He was never going to allow himself to let her slip to the wayside again.
Logan smiled, humming in obvious agreement. “Sure. Probably the least we can do as their evil twins, right?”.
Nico snorted. Surprisingly spot on… Gross! “You have to stop pointing out how related we all are…” he complained.
Logan smiled wider, humming in even more obvious disagreement.
“How are you? You got any news?” Nico asked, trying to change the subject.
Logan stopped mid shrug, visibly mulling it over. He looked at his phone to make sure he didn't miss anything. Seems he had. “Right. My grandpa’s butt said ‘#$’ this morning” he relayed dryly.
“Ha. Look at his butt go. Keeping up with the times. Better than me, honestly” Nico replied.
Logan grinned deviously at the screen. Something really bad was about to happen… “I'll tell him you're impressed by his butt” he snickered.
“Please don't do that to either of us…” Nico begged desperately, already plagued by prophecies of their next, sure to be doomed, visit.
Logan gave him a pleading look. Good, that meant he wasn’t too late this time.
“Delete it” Nico ordered more sternly.
Logan groaned in disappointment, thankfully obedient. He threw his phone into his pile of clothes on the floor and rolled over. He turned off the light, his light, and gave Nico a kiss goodnight.
Nico rolled onto his back when he pulled away, making sure to press his back down onto Logan’s new mattress extra heavily. He rolled his shoulders, feeling every inch of it. Yep this was definitely bigger. Softer too. Not nearly as creaky. No more cramped nights, unable to move without jabbing or kicking on accident. He definitely wasn't going to miss the aching muscles and bones.
Even in the dark he could still make out Logan's familiar silhouette. The slow rise and fall of his breathing. Already sleeping peacefully. All the way over there… Without him… Gods damn this stupid big ass bed!