Chapter Text
Nico gave the thick metal fence between him and the bank of the Great Salt Lake an impatient kick. For some inexplicable reason, Logan had told him to go here, instead of his apartment. He’d gotten the message he was on his way just a second ago. It was a twenty minute drive. That meant he had about ten minutes till Logan would be here.
He leaned onto the fence, staring out over the small inland sea. The deep turquoise water reflected the setting sun like a mirror. Stunning, obviously, but right now it only served as a reminder of what he actually came to see…
Nico lifted his chin off of his arms. He pulled out his phone, then looked to his right. Still no sign of him. He opened his messages and fumbled around for a bit until he reached it. He opened the last photo Logan had sent him.
He took in all the details, refreshing them in his memory. A cake that was practically all candles overlit the photo like a small bonfire, Logan holding Nico in a headlock behind it to prevent him from running off, smiling almost as bright as the candles, Nico desperately hiding his face behind the back of his hand and the side of Gwen’s face, only barely showing off her signature mischievous smile, taking up an entire half of the frame. No matter how you looked at it, it was a pretty terrible photo. He smiled at it.
“That's one of my favourites too” Logan said over his left shoulder.
Nico jolted.
They stared at where his phone had just disappeared into the water.
“My bad… I’ll get you a new one” Logan offered quietly.
Nico sucked in his lips and turned around, leaning against the fence with his lower back. The fire on his cheeks almost fully died down. “So, why’d you tell me to come here?” he sighed.
Logan cocked his head, giving the lake an apprehensive side-eye. “What? You don’t think it’s romantic…?” he asked with a careful grin.
Nico felt a little bad. “Yeah”. Still… “I mean, if the lake hadn’t just mugged me…” he joked.
Logan pursed his lips. “Yeah, okay… That’s fair”. His eyes lit up as his grin turned devious. He moved closer, gripping the fence at Nico’s sides and leaning in.
Nico didn’t back down, grinning right back. There it was, the view he’d been waiting for. He ran his fingers over Logan’s as their lips met, running his thumb over his when they met again, and again. Eventually, all of the Salt Lake was forgiven.
Logan pulled back, clearly pleased with himself. The fire in his eyes dimmed into a pensive look. He opened his mouth, glancing down at the water. He snapped it back shut.
“What?” Nico asked.
Logan’s eyes locked back onto his, warming back up instantly. He shook his head. “Let’s go home. It’s getting late”.
In the span of a little over a year, Logan’s apartment had acquired a strong industrial taste. It was moody. Lots of dark metal, wood tones and leather. Well… More than any of that, it was a huge mess. Fitting…
Nico picked up a random T-shirt from the chaos on the old, beaten up leather couch. The Misfits logo grinned at them as he held it up. “See you added your own personal touch to my hard work since I've been gone a full four days…”.
Logan grinned. “I'm trying to go for a homey, ‘lived in’ vibe”.
Nico cast the T-shirt back into the chaos on the couch. Alright. He could do whatever he wanted. It was all his, after all. “Good for you. Look at you go, a real adult” he said with some pride.
“Yep, and all it cost me was both my parents” Logan replied flatly.
Nico almost gasped. He took a stranglehold on the back of Logan's neck. “Stop joking about that! It's fucked up!”.
Logan snickered. “That's exactly how my therapist used to sound”.
Nico let go of his neck. “So, start paying me. I'm not going to keep trying to fix you for free”.
Logan nudged him in the side. “I already pay for everything. You hobosexual”.
Ouch. Nico threw his head back, closed his eyes and drew a sharp breath. Guilt and annoyance fought each other. He tried not to die pulling them apart. “I’m working on that” he said weakly.
“Right…!” Logan remembered. “How is your ghost hunting business doing?” he asked, a little too amused.
Nico grinned to himself. This time he’d actually got some good news. “Pretty good actually. Just done with my first job. You’ll stop making fun of it once you see how much I got paid” he retorted. “Besides, I’m probably one of the only legit ones out there. So I’m not going to let you shame me”.
Logan raised an eyebrow. “Wait… There was an actual haunting?” he asked.
Crap… His first cliënt had been an obviously very wealthy, and even more obviously very lonely lady. She had been nice enough, and kinda crazy... But, she’d been so relieved when he’d ‘exorcised’ her house… And he had given her some genuine advice on how to keep spirits out. Like turning off the tv before going to bed and, most importantly, turning off the gas stove when you’re not using it… Honestly he hadn’t really wanted to take her money, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer and she had gotten very intense about it.
Nico felt the corner of his mouth twitch. He shifted to dodge the truth. “They do exist. You know that. You’ve seen them…”. His embarrassed glare was met with a warm, proud look. He melted a little. “I’ll pay you back” he vowed quietly.
Logan closed his eyes and huffed in annoyance. “Stop saying that. I told you I don’t want you to!”.
No, but I want to, you noble idiot… He was about to resurrect the by now age old discussion when he got nudged in the leg. Crazy Butch circled him, rasping impatiently. He stuck his claws in his pants and immediately got stuck. Someone save me from these idiots…
Nico bent over trying not to get swiped as he attempted to free Butch from the trap of his own making. He failed with flying colours, not only getting scratched, but getting another claw stuck in his pants while doing so. He jolted as Logan pinched him.
“You barely eat, what are you packing back there?”. Logan almost sounded annoyed.
“My childhood trauma” Nico replied dryly, earning a chuckle. “Don't distract people when they're defusing bombs” he added more sternly.
Logan picked Butch up, freeing both of them. He kissed Butch on the forehead. Great, now the idiots are teaming up... Only Logan would be crazy enough to casually put his face that close to a freaked out, feral cat…
Butch gave Nico some stink eye, apparently getting a boost in his confidence from his superior position In Logan's arms. Still, he wasn't about to feud with a cat. Especially not a crazy one. He was above that… No, he wasn’t. He booped Butch's nose. Butch scrambled to scratch him, almost instantly falling to the ground. Nico smirked to himself.
“So…”. Logan smiled provocatively. “Tell me about your first day at group therapy. That middle finger you sent looked promising”. He was not even remotely trying to hide his amusement.
Nico clenched his teeth and groaned as he remembered yesterday. It had been so fucking intense. “Well, I hate it. But it's kinda hilarious actually” he laughed. “We had to sit on a chair and channel our ‘inner critic’. After I was done bullying myself the guy next to me got all pissed off. He asked me to get up, and he beat up the chair”.
Logan grinned. “That's actually really cute though”.
Nico shot him an amused look. “I guess, in an unhinged way. It sure got me to stop crying right away… Everyone there is insane!”.
Logan grinned wider “Sounds like you fit in just fine”.
Nico snorted. “Oh yeah, I'm probably the craziest one there…”.
Logan shifted a little and gave him an adoring look. “I’m so proud of you” he mused, clearly trying to hold back his excitement.
Nico pursed his lips and side-eyed him. “Alright… Do your worst, tough guy”.
Logan moved quick. He grabbed him by the upper legs and lifted him up, attacking his neck with his mouth.
Nico grabbed onto his shoulders and braced himself, trying not to laugh. He started pushing when he felt Logan go in for a hickey. “Enough! Enough!” he begged.
Logan let up, but didn’t let go. Rocking side to side just a little bit. Nico put his arms around his neck. Group therapy was going to straight up suck, for a long time, but guess he was kinda proud of himself too.
After doing the dishes, Logan had gone right ahead sharpening his sword in the kitchen sink. He was frowning at it like it had disappointed him deeply somehow…
Nico pursed his lips. Logan got like that sometimes when he was thinking particularly long and hard about something. That barely ever happened. Logan couldn't keep a thought to himself to save his life. Even when he did keep a secret, he'd gloat about it…
Nico snuck up behind him. He snaked his hands around him and kissed his neck. Logan jolted a little, but instantly pressed himself into his embrace.
Good.
He turned to grin at Nico. His eyes lit up instantly in a warm glow. No hint of worry left.
Very good.
“To what do I owe that?" Logan asked carefully.
Nico grinned back. Couldn't hurt to pry a little. He wasn't gonna be too nice about it, though. Had to keep it lighthearted. “So, I like the way you look when your brain tries to fry itself. It's cute. But, I thought I better stop you, before you hurt yourself”.
Logan hummed in annoyed amusement. “Are you sure you want to be that mean to me right now? I'm armed”. He held up his sword a little.
Nico pursed his lips. Before he got the chance to try again, Logan turned back around, immediately lost in thought.
“You’re off in space…” Nico complained.
Logan huffed in disagreement.
“Alright. What did I just say to you?” Nico asked, goading him.
Logan gave him a puzzled look, then looked down. He tapped the sink a few times. “Something stupid?” he offered weakly.
“Nice try, but you can't use my own trick on me” Nico huffed. “I didn't say anything” he added with a smug grin.
Logan looked annoyed. “That's not fair” he grumbled.
“Sure it is. You would have known if you'd paid attention. So what's on your mind?” Nico asked.
Logan gave him a funny look. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, pressing a kiss on the scar on Nico’s forehead. With another warm look, and shake of his head, he turned back to his sword. “You get ready for bed, okay? I’ll be right over”.
Nico clicked his tongue. This was starting to get him worried.
Somewhere far off, his aimless trail of incoherent thoughts got interrupted by a rare moment of clarity. Well… as clear as was possible right now. Logan? That seemed right somehow… The name felt like a warm caress on his cheek. No? A feather light kiss? Either way, he smiled to himself and settled into the feeling. The aimless trail of thoughts sprawled out before him again, a lot less lonely this time. He didn't have to go far.
Half of him woke up to the sound of the front door closing.
Oof! The other half of him woke up as Butch suddenly jumped up on his chest and sat down like he owned it.
They stared each other down for a few seconds. The mild annoyance made Nico extra determined not to lose their usual staring contest. His furry opponent expertly broke him with a swift little Butch slap in the face.
Butch ran off towards the kitchen triumphantically. He loudly grated a wail, pleading for his prize.
Yep. Alright. He’d earned it.
Nico dragged himself out of bed and into a pair of pants. He followed the familiar sound of a bowl scraping against the floor tiles and caught the usual suspect red pawed.
Butch glared up at him and swatted angrily at his empty bowl. Nico could almost hear a raspy little voice say ‘Look at this shit! You see what I have to deal with?’.
Nico pursed his lips as he got rasped, pawed and headbutted at. It seemed the evil spirit possessing Butch was trying to communicate with him somehow… But what was it trying to tell him…? He hummed in wonder, then grinned as he filled the bowl with the dried out little corpse chunks. Butch seemed very pleased with him, running his cheek along his knee on the way to digging in.
His phone buzzed. He opened the screen and petted Butch as he read the messages pouring in.
[dont forget to eat]. Yeah, yeah… He smiled. [CB been fed btw dont fall for it].
Nico stopped mid pet and clicked his tongue. He glared down at Crazy Butch. “You sly little devil…” he muttered.
Butch happily ignored him, continuing his stolen meal.
[later <3]. His smile came back to live. Fine. This was fine. He finished his pet and replied.
Something caught his eye, right in the corner of it. He turned. Why was the detergent on the microwave? Right. He was doing laundry yesterday. Well, he was going to. He should really get to that... Later.
Right now was for figuring out his new phone. His stupid ‘smart’ phone, with way too many menus and way too little buttons. Why did people get these things? Why had he allowed Logan to get one for him?
Butch gnawed at his spiky little leather collar, distracting him. He remembered when Logan had brought that thing home. His words echoed in his mind. ‘It just suits him! He's living proof punk’s not dead’. Afterwards Logan had the scratches to prove it…
Nico grinned to himself as Butch kicked himself in the face repeatedly, trying to get at it. He ran a hand over him. Butch was too preoccupied to bite him. Nico shook his head and turned his attention back to the impossible little machine in his hand. He scoffed at the unopened manual on the table. As if!
Crap! What time was it?! The clock congratulated him for being on time for once. A smile crept up, then it faded. It felt like he was forgetting something…
Right. He was doing laundry. He clicked his tongue. He was still in time… He could probably make it if he hurried. He sped over and opened the door. Just two steps. Detergent, button. Easy.
Why wasn't it easy? Where was the fucking detergent?! Fuck the detergent. Fuck the laundry. Time to go. He checked his pocket for his keys, just to be sure. Haha… Ha… He drew out a whine. Extra pathetically to really relish in it. Alright, time to do some remodelling…
He paused and glared at a dried bloodstain on the floor. He wondered… Butch or Logan?... He shook his head and kept moving. Nope. No time to play that game right now. Besides, the answer was usually the same anyway… Both… At least it was a small one this time…
During his search, Nico's eyes fell on Mark and Cindy's Christmas card on the coffee table. The first time they'd ever sent out a traditional family photo. And for a very good reason.
He smiled at their tired faces. Slightly emaciated, pale, but very happy. Then he chuckled at the tiny elves on their laps. The twins took after their parents in features only. Clearly well fed, bright red and crying hysterically. Tears of joy, he reckoned, at the fortune of being born in such a loving family.
Butch had fallen asleep peacefully. Sprawled out, taking up as much of the couch as he possibly could with his tiny, furry body. The collar hung around his neck, still an undefeated champion.
Nico pulled open a drawer in Logan's bedside table. Fat chance, but Logan did have a habit of randomly grabbing things and then putting them somewhere else without even thinking about it. So, not zero chance.
The stony dinosaur tooth slid down the bottom of the drawer. He almost didn't register, too caught up with what was next to it.
A framed picture stared back at him, probably just as surprised to see him. Logan's mother looked beautiful. He instantly recognized her from the numerous pictures at Logan's grandparents’ house. She had the same devious smile as her mother, and not just her… Logan couldn't have been much older than ten. He made a funny face, proudly showing off two missing teeth. Nico got a little nervous looking at Curtis. He'd really not expected to find any trace of him in Logan's home… He looked so… Normal. He looked happy even.
Nico carefully closed the drawer. He probably shouldn't have seen that...
Keys! No time to feel bad.
His eyes fell on the usual huge pile of clothes on the floor. A well balanced blend of clean, dirty, Nico’s and Logan’s. An infallible system! He really hoped the keys weren’t in there… Just to be sure, he wasn’t going to check.
Something roughly key-sized in the corner of his eyes beckoned to him. His hopes were crushed when half the remains of what he hoped had once been a mouse revealed themselves instead. They looked fresh enough. Guess that answered that question he'd decided not to ask… He sighed as he made the damned little critter clean itself up. Its remaining legs dragged it up the windowsill, and finally out, with surprising agility.
Wait… That's not what he came here for, right? A high pitched shriek outside broke his concentration. He grit his teeth. Oops… He was leaving anyway…
The longer he looked, the more frustrated he got and the more of a mess he made. Gods damn it. He was already so late. Screw the keys. He didn't need them in his life. He'd just bet on Logan not forgetting his this time... When you put the two of them in a house together, you didn't really get to have nice things like keys, wallets or TV-remotes. He huffed as he shoved his feet in his shoes, hands already on the small leather straps.
He stopped, then pulled the keys out of his shoe with a faint smile. Touché, past Nico.
Logan picked the worst time and place to be even more late than Nico was. He felt eyes drill into the side of his head. He tried to ignore them. The eyes decided not to allow that.
“Are you a vampire?” a giggly voice asked him.
Nico turned to see not one, but two young girls looking up at him expectantly through some very heavy black eyeliner. He scowled at the two rude little raccoons. They ducked down a little and giggled harder as he did, but didn’t back down, apparently finding strength even in small numbers.
“No, I’m something way scarier. I’m a mentally ill weirdo looming near a schoolyard. Don’t talk to strangers” he warned.
“Hot!” one of the girls declared loudly. They ran off giggling in a pitch only dogs could hear.
Nico closed his eyes in a silent prayer for the future generation, then let out an impatient huff. He pulled out his phone, trying to figure out how to call someone with a touch screen. Fuck this fucking useless brick... There! He jabbed the lack of buttons extra hard to show the brick who's boss.
A picture of Crazy Butch's scrungy face stared back at him as Logan picked up. “Come pick me up, I'm scared” Nico said dryly.
“Hey, geezer. You actually figured out how to use your phone, huh?”.
Nico pursed his lips. “I miss buttons” he stated solemnly.
“Stop crying about your buttons. Just because you're almost ninety doesn't mean you get to be a little bitch about technology”. He heard someone yell something in the background and then heard Logan give a firm reply that he couldn't quite make out. “C'mon, this'll be good for you” he added while trying, and failing, not to laugh.
“Did something happen?” Nico asked warily.
“Oh, no... But some people should probably mind their own fucking business” Logan said cheerfully. “I'll tell you in a bit. I'm almost there”.
Nico hung up, even more wary. He looked at his phone, then he looked up and shoved it back in his pocket. Whatever Logan got up to, it wasn't his problem.
Almost there, my ass... He winced as someone messed up his hair. He elbowed Logan in his stomach. “So, what adventure did you get up to on your way here?” Nico asked, fixing the mess he just made.
Logan grinned. “Some nosy colleague ripped into me for being a rude bitch to my grandpa. I fucking loved seeing her face twist in disgust when I told her you're my boyfriend” he giggled.
Nico groaned. He looked him over. Seeing him in a dress shirt was still kinda weird, even if it was black and at least one size too big. “Roll down your sleeves. You look like a ‘cool’ youth pastor” he complained.
Logan pointed at him. “Aha! But that means it’s working!” he replied excitedly.
Nico raised an eyebrow.
“I got told I’m ‘too intimidating’…” Logan added begrudgingly.
Nico smiled sympathetically. “That doesn’t have to be a bad thing” he offered.
Logan looked pensively at the school building. “Guess not… But, I’m really trying here. I’m just no good at trying to fit in to ‘normal’ society. I hope I figure it out soon…” A dark grin spread over his face. “Then again… If all else fails I can always burn the whole place down…” he concluded with a low voice. The fire in his eyes reflected a dangerously likely future.
Nico clicked his tongue. “Sometimes I wonder if you're on the right side of that desk…” he said, unimpressed.
Logan gave him an exaggerated profound look. “It's an asset, actually! I use it all the time. All my experience as a ‘problem child’ really helps those kids relate to me” he said, clenching a fist for emphasis.
Nico snorted, quickly hiding his mouth behind a fist of his own.
“Mr. Venema!” a teenage boy called out from a distance. “I just put up another one! Way bigger this time!” he yelled proudly, showing a can of spray paint on the inside of his jacket.
Logan angrily pointed a finger at him. “What did I tell you?!” he started.
Maybe there was some hope after all, Nico wondered.
“Don't brag to me about stuff like that outside my office, you dumbass!” Logan yelled back.
Nope.
“Oops! See you tomorrow!" the boy yelled back happily.
Logan sighed. “Yeah, guess I will… Damn it, that's another email”.
Nico blinked a few times. “He seems excited to talk to you about vandalism…?”.
Logan sighed deeply. “No, he's dealing with some ‘super secret’ other issues he wants to talk about… He's just trying to save face… Typical teenage boy, high school behaviour…” he complained sourly.
Nico blinked even more. “I wouldn’t know. I didn't exactly live the typical high school experience” he countered.
“Oh, right. You do have a little bit of a ‘homeschool’ vibe” Logan stated, seemingly mostly sincere.
Nico thought back to the striking lack of ‘home’ and ‘school’ during most of his childhood. “... Sure”.
Jeering somewhere close by caught both their attention. Logan groaned and stomped off in the direction of a small crowd before Nico even figured out what was going on. Nico watched him elbow himself to the centre of a circle of boys and girls, getting right between two young boys and seemingly trying to talk to one of them.
Nico walked up closer, then stopped when the situation escalated. One of the boys went for the other, flinging a fist at his head. Logan grabbed his wrist before it could land. The boy turned to Logan instantly and punched him right in the face with his other hand. A low “Ooh” went through the crowd. The other boy spun around and ran off. Everybody went dead silent.
Logan turned his face back to look at the culprit, still gripping his wrist.
Nico held his breath.
“For fuck’s sake, Derek… Now I have to suspend you…” Logan said with a low voice. The defeat was clearly audible.
Nico exhaled.
“I didn't mean to-” Derek muttered.
“Uhm, you're not allowed to swear in front of students!” someone in the crowd yelled.
Despite the distance Nico saw the flames in Logan's eyes flicker before he turned to the crowd. “Oh, now you care about rules?!”. He regained his composure. “You can file a complaint on the school website. Looking forward to it... Now get lost, all of you. I have work to do”. He looked back to Derek, the crowd dissipating behind them.
“How is your face?” Derek asked carefully.
“Disappointed” Logan replied coldly.
“You're bleeding” Derek muttered.
“Seems like a pretty reasonable response to being punched in the face, right?” Logan responded even colder.
There was a short but uncomfortable silence.
“I'm really sorry, Mr. Venema” Derek added finally.
Logan seemed to warm up a little. “Good, be sure to tell Ms. Alvarez that too” he replied. “Go to her office. You and I will talk about this tomorrow” Logan let go of his wrist “You better show up this time”.
Derek bowed his head down. “Yes, sir”.
Logan half smiled. Derek scuttled away, scooping up his bag on the way.
“Don't think I won't check if you went to see her! I always do!” Logan yelled after him. He wiped at his face and looked at the bloodstain on his hand.
Nico finally dared to walk up to him. “Cool job you have there” he said sarcastically.
Logan smirked. “Right? Pretty good chance he'll show up now and I'll actually get to do my ‘job’ for once. All it took was a punch to the face”.
Nico wiped the last of the bloodstain off the corner of Logan's mouth. “Does it hurt?”.
Logan cocked his head a little. “Pretty impressive left hook, not going to lie. But I've had worse”.
Nico looked him in the eye. “I was being sarcastic before, but… that seriously was pretty cool. I thought you were going to freak out, for sure. But, you didn't. Not even a little”.
Logan shrugged. “They're kids. They're dumb. They do dumb stuff. It doesn't get to me”. He seemed lost in thought for a second. “Don't get me wrong. I care, but I'm not going to let them have any power over me”.
Nico hummed in agreement.
Logan shot him an annoyed look. “You didn't seriously think I'd ever beat up a child, right?”.
Nico pretended to think long and hard, then shook his head disapprovingly. “You're letting Ares down”.
Logan laughed. “Good”. He leaned in to kiss him.
Nico met him halfway. He ignored the taste of blood.
The sound of a camera shutter ruined the moment. They turned to look. A group of young girls scattered like cockroaches.
Logan pulled back and closed his eyes. “Yep, should have figured… That's going to spread like wildfire…” he sighed.
Nico hummed. “Hope they got a good angle”. He tried to sound reassuring. Damn… What a mess all of this was… “Is it… Always like this here?” he asked carefully, gesturing at the red mark on Logan’s chin.
“I mean, not to brag but, we are consistently voted the worst school in the city. Every. Single. Year.” Logan explained, nodding along slowly.
“So that's why they hired you on the spot even though you showed up in fucking combat boots…” Nico realized out loud.
“Yep… I was the only one who applied. First one in over a year!”.
Nico snorted. Logan sounded so genuinely satisfied with that.
“At least you're excited…”.
Logan's grin softened to a warm smile. “I am…”.
Nico pursed his lips, a smile hidden behind them. “Well… They're lucky to have you. Seriously”. He adjusted Logan's collar. Going in to button him up a bit more, he discovered an aggravating lack of button… “Are you kidding me?! Another one?! You need to stop doing that…” he complained, tugging out the now useless thread sticking out of the fabric.
“Everything’s covered! It’s in line with the dress code…” Logan countered.
Nico sighed. Deep. He kept holding onto Logan’s collar the first steps towards the car.
He worked on autopilot, not even needing to remember any of the steps. His mind wandered, decades into the past. Some of his oldest memories. The yearly, many hours long train trips down to Rome blurred together. It was all so long ago, he’d been very young then…
Some details stood out. Other things were always the same. Those stood out even more. His grandmother’s excitement to see them. The happy tears. Her long slender fingers as she would gesture hastily. Her stern, yet kind voice while he and Bianca helped her in the kitchen. Mostly, the pride in her eyes when she would plate her favourite dish. Matriciana, as she called it in her Romanesco accent. Well, not just her. It was an old recipe. Even then.
He never quite got the flavour right. Close, but not exactly as she used to make it. He probably wouldn’t manage it this time either… Decent quality ingredients were hard to come by over here… He exhaled deeply. He wondered if his mother even let her know when they took off to-!
“Need help?” Logan offered somewhere from the present.
“Nope” Nico quickly dismissed with a raised hand. He didn’t even need to look at him.
Logan’s eyes scorched his back intently. “Is this still about that time I broke the spaghetti in half?” he asked, unamused.
“No…” Nico lied. Well, actually… He didn’t lie… He bit his tongue. “It was Bucatini” slipped past his teeth, giving himself away.
Nico tutted at Logan’s groan. If anyone deserved to groan, it was him. “I can't trust you! So get out already!” he demanded, raising his hand a lot more sternly. This time he did glance.
Logan put up his hands in defeat and turned around, raising a finger. “Fine! But you're going to have to get over that some day!” he threw over his shoulder on his way out.
“Nope!” Nico threw back at him. And he promised himself he wouldn’t. Ever.
They tried to eat in peace despite Butch's unrelenting green-eyed glare. Butch rasped adamantly when Nico accidentally made direct eye contact. Nico slowly shook his head and took another bite.
“Give up, you bum. It’s never going to work” Logan argued, scratching Butch behind the ear.
Butch swished his tail in angry disagreement.
“You don't even like spice…” Logan bargained.
Butch licked his lips trying to convince him otherwise. Logan rapped his fingers against the table. Butch rubbed against his leg and dropped down on his foot, presenting his hungry belly. Logan cocked his head and pursed his lips.
“Don’t…” Nico warned.
Logan turned to him. “But if he can just see that he actually doesn’t like it, he’ll-” he started.
“No, he won’t” Nico cut in. “He never does. You keep falling into his traps…”.
Logan narrowed his eyes, then closed them and relaxed his shoulders. When he opened his eyes back up, they glowed warm. He leaned in a little. “Thanks for cooking. It’s really good”.
Nico returned a smile.
Logan cocked his head a notch. “I’m sorry about breaking the spaghetti. I mean it” he offered. He didn’t need to clarify that, he always did. Still, he sounded even more genuine than usual.
Nico smiled wider, leaning forward to rest his chin on his hands. “Bucatini” he corrected.
Logan closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath. “Gods, you’re so pretty…” he exhaled through his teeth. He pushed himself off the table and gathered the plates.
“I’m sorry” Nico offered, also more genuine than usual.
Logan looked back, not entirely pleased. “You’re still not going to forgive me, are you?”.
Nico pursed his lips apologetically. “I wish I could…” He tossed up his hands and let them drop back down on the table in defeat. “But, my grandmother would haunt us for the rest of our lives…”.
Nico looked on from the living room as Logan did the dishes. Even from all the way over here, even from the back, he could tell he was lost in thought again. Nico took a deep, sharp breath. He wondered what was going on in-!
Crazy Butch sprinted through the doorway with a low growl. He drifted under the couch, his nails making an unsettling noise as they dragged across the wood.
Nico clicked his tongue. Alright. There was no peace in this house. “Your little monster is going to ruin your floor” he complained loudly.
Butch growled loud and raspily, clawing his way out and behind the curtains, only proving Nico’s point further.
“It's his floor too!” Logan countered, sounding offended on Butch's behalf.
Nico prepared his arsenal of sarcasm.
Logan didn’t let him. “He uses it more than I do” he added matter-of-factly.
Nico closed his eyes and gave up on him. Whatever, he'd just-!
He jumped a bit as Butch crashed out of the curtains, right in front of him. They stared at each other in disbelief. Butch pulled back his ear, arched his back and hobbled away backwards. He let out a low, gravelly growl all the way back into the kitchen.
Al…right… Nico gave his head a shake and took a pensive sip of his wine. He'd exorcise him later. This was his free time…
Nico watched Logan scowl intently at the now empty sink, flicking his Greek fire on and off. He sighed and shifted, getting ready to get up and go confront Logan. Whatever was going on had taken long enough. Not even his favourite music could take his mind off of it. Worse than that, blasting his least favourite didn’t even seem to take Logan’s mind off of it either.
Crazy Butch casually strolled onto his lap and flopped down. Well, guess he wasn't moving any time soon…
Logan leaned against one of the large metal beams, staring at him with a heated, pensive amber glow. Nico looked on helplessly as he threw his phone somewhere on his beaten up leather couch, sure to be lost for the next two days.
Nico raised an eyebrow. “I’m not helping you look for that when you forget in five minutes” he warned coldly.
Logan’s eyes flashed in annoyed amusement. He cocked his head away from the beam. “Being a bitch… Glass of wine… Terrible music… Am I dating my mom?” he wondered out loud.
Thank the Gods. So he had noticed his ‘sneak’ attack. “Alright. No! I'm not touching that. You need to go back to your therapist” Nico shot back.
Logan pursed his lips and walked over. “Enough. I can't handle this. At least one of those three things has to go. You'll get your shitty post-punk music back later” he said, turning down the radio.
Ha! Got you now, noob. “The Sisters of Mercy are goth rock, you fucking poser” Nico stabbed venomously.
Logan groaned in annoyance. The grin gave him away. He bowed down a little and took Nico's hand in his. “Forgive me, my edgelord” he pleaded dryly, kissing his skull ring.
Nico hummed, pretending to consider it. “No” he finally declared, going slightly mad with power. He took a triumphant sip of red wine. It tasted even better than before. He stroked Crazy Butch behind his good ear, earning a guttural sound in approval.
Logan pursed his lips and gave up. “Smug bastards, both of you” he left behind as he retreated into the bedroom.
Damn right. Nico held up the remote and turned the radio back up. He grinned at Butch widely.
Logan walked back out, right towards the radio, and pushed a button. Nico’s musical warfare made way for a musical counter attack in the form of a wall of noise as ‘Discharge’ yelled at them, clearly upset about something again.
Nico clicked his tongue. “Why…” he muttered unimpressed.
Logan winked at him. “You owe them. You tore them up”.
Nico narrowed his eyes. “Saving your life!” he countered.
Logan shook his head. “Nope, doesn’t count. I saved you first”.
Damn it. Nico took a defeated sip of wine. He pursed his lips at the window. Double damn it. When did he start liking his terrible music?
Logan undid his buttons. About half of his aggravatingly perfect torso peered through. He shoved his hands in his pockets.
Nico clicked his tongue in irritation. “Either stay dressed or take it off” he demanded. “None of this nineties boyband crap”. He gestured at him with an angry motion.
Logan smirked. “Okay, fine” he conceded. “You can take it off”.
Nico closed his eyes for a second and sighed. Yep… He turned to him, getting up close. He gave Logan an unimpressed look as he ran his hands over his back up to his shoulders. He ripped his shirt down in a single motion and tossed it to the side. Logan swallowed hard. Nico smirked. That's fucking right.
Logan seemed completely lost in thought for a while.
Probably thinking of something stupidly clever to say, Nico assumed. “Yan's right. You really are prettier when you’re quiet” he teased.
Logan smiled widely, more than a little amused. He finally opened his mouth, then quickly caught himself and closed it. He glanced down for a second, then back into Nico's eyes. He almost looked… Scared?
Nico narrowed his eyes. “What?” he asked, surprising himself with how concerned he sounded.
Logan seemed to be too. “Sorry!... Uh, nothing” he stammered quickly.
Nico felt like he got hit with a bucket of cold water, not just the water, the entire bucket. Now he knew why Logan never lied… He was Gods awful at it!
“You're lying…” Nico said, more appalled than accusing.
Logan pursed his lips, then smiled weakly. “Yeah… Sorry, I'll tell you later” he promised, nudging Nico in the stomach.
Everything almost seemed alright again.
Nico returned a weak smile. “Yeah”.
Logan smiled warmer. “Don't worry about it” he reassured.
“Alright” Nico reassured him back. He sighed in relief.
Everything was fine.
Logan held up his hands. “It's not a big deal” he lied.
Nico froze. Logan didn't seem to realize, already on his way to the bedroom. This was bad. This was really bad. No. Nico willed his heart to calm down. It wasn’t. If there was something bad going on Logan wouldn’t have kept it from him. He was sure about that. Logan had always been honest… Until recently…
He pushed the panic back down as hard as he could. So, just now had been weird. Whatever. He needed to clear his head a little.
Nico shoved himself over to the bathroom. He turned the temperature up and turned on the shower. He absentmindedly shook off his clothes and got under. His thoughts wandered further under the clattering warm water. He went over the day, trying not to miss any important details. He made mental notes along the way.
Yes, something was definitely up.
Logan had been… Off. Not all the time, and not in a bad way… Except for the blatant lies just now. Mostly, he just seemed lost in thought a lot. That wasn't very like him either, actually…
Aside from that, he'd been making eyes at him all day. That part Nico definitely didn’t mind as much… His face heated up. He bit his lip. Just to be sure, he decided to clean up extra well. He didn't want to be unprepared for anything.
*
He dried off quickly and put on his pants, not bothering with his shirt. It would just get in the way.
He followed the sound of a poorly tuned guitar into the bedroom. Logan didn't react immediately, lost in thought again. Nico leaned against the desk and looked at him for a while, admiring his fingers run over the guitar strings with mild envy. The still bare chest behind the guitar's body made up for the technical prowess behind the guitar’s sound.
“Even more piercing eyes?” Logan asked with some amusement. He looked up at him.
There it was again, the heated amber, making eyes at him. He'd been all over the world, but this was by far the most beautiful sunset he'd ever seen. He would never get enough of it. He melted instantly, smiling fondly.
“Just enjoying the view” he said softly, unusually honest.
Logan seemed to notice too. He got up and close. “Oh? Those are fighting words…” he said accusatorily. “Barging in here half naked. You've got some nerve”.
Nico felt himself give in to the excitement, turning him a little less… Compliant. “Are you threatening me?” he asked, trying to goad him.
“Do you want me to?” Logan asked suggestively.
Nico smirked. “Depends. What are you planning to do to me?” he responded casually.
Logan smirked back, his eyes glowing mischievously. He gripped Nico's earring between two fingers firmly and leaned in closer. “Whatever I want” he said quietly.
Nico felt his face heat up. He laughed, gripping the edge of the desk a little tighter. “You think I'm just going to lie down and take it?” he asked.
Logan got up close, rising to the challenge. He leaned down, making their foreheads touch, nudging his nose with his. “I bet I can make you” he threatened.
Nico swallowed at the sudden huskyness of his voice. His reaction made Logan snicker.
Gods. These pants were way too tight… Nico sighed in annoyance. He got up from the desk, grabbed Logan by the hem of his pants and shoved himself against him. He went in for a kiss, grabbing the back of his neck and lower back. Logan reached down into the back of Nico's pants, grabbing a firm hold.
A tingle went down Nico's spine as their tongues met. Another went after it as Logan slowly and deliberately tickled the bottom of Nico's tongue with his.
Logan let out a low hum as Nico grazed it with his teeth and bit down ever so slightly. Nico felt Logan's heartbeat pick up pace and his fingers twitch. He grinned against his lips. Got you.
He’d gotten pretty good at their little game. Ironically, if Nico could manage to get down on his knees for him, that would be an easy victory. He’d be able to get him to do anything at that point. He just needed to get free and-!
His breath caught when Logan tightened his grip and ground his hips against him. Fuck. He’d gotten trapped. He lowered both hands to Logan's hips in defense, holding him off.
Logan took his offensive further, grabbing Nico's wrists. He pushed Nico's hands behind his back, holding his wrists in place.
Nico couldn’t get his hand off, the grip was more than just assertive. Logan ran his other hand up over Nico's upper arm. He bit down on Nico's lower lip to give it a little tug before letting go. A devious grin spread over his face as he did. Nico watched the warm fire glow in his eyes.
“Nice try” he practically breathed.
Nico froze. Logan shoved his foot behind Nico's lower leg and spun him around. He put a warm hand on the back of his neck and bent him over the desk, holding him down. He squeezed tight, it bordered on uncomfortable. Logan always knew exactly how to walk the line...
They breathed heavily for a few seconds, then Logan made a move. He pulled Nico against his hips, bucking them against him as he reached around to undo his zipper.
Nico moved back as much as allowed, pressing against him. He slowly lifted his hips, making sure to grind against Logan’s, as intently as possible. He couldn't resist letting an evil little chuckle out when he felt Logan react.
Logan shoved him back in place, then ripped Nico's pants down. Not far, but far enough. He pried Nico's legs apart slightly with his knee.
Logan seemed to hesitate for a few seconds.
Nico huffed in frustration and looked back. “Are you gloating? Or are you waiting for an invitation? Get on with it alr-!”.
Logan smacked his ass with his free hand, hard. It made Nico choke on his words. Logan left his hand there, giving him a firm squeeze.
Nico looked back to glare again. The fire in Logan's eyes raged. He had a smug grin on his face, almost evil. He roughly loosened his buckle and pulled out the belt from his pants. Just as roughly, he tied Nico's wrists in place tightly, giving the belt an extra tug just to get on his nerves.
Nico winced just a bit.
Logan pressed him down, and held him there. With his other hand, he grabbed a condom from his back pocket, then tore the wrapper with his teeth.
Nico smirked and faced away in anticipation.
He felt something very cold and wet. Then something hard and hot pressed against him.
“I can tell you had fun in the shower…” Logan muttered accusatorily.
Nico smirked wider and braced himself as he felt Logan enter a bit, then slowly and deeply exhaled.
“About fucking time” he scoffed.
He suppressed a yelp as Logan suddenly entered a lot deeper, rough and fast.
Nico let out a breathless gasp.
Logan laughed. “Where's that sharp tongue of yours now, hm?” he asked with a breathy voice.
Nico turned to him to make a smart remark, but was shut up by Logan suddenly entering completely. All he could do was let out a whine. Heat overwhelmed his face, in embarrassment and pain and pleasure.
Logan gripped Nico's hair and shoved his face down on the desk, leaning in close to his ear.
“That's what I thought” he laughed with a low voice. He kissed him on the temple.
Nico scowled at him, he struggled to keep it up as Logan began to move.
Logan smirked at him as Nico's expression started to falter. “You look so beautiful like this…” he hissed, looking at him in awe.
Fuck.
His genuine tone ripped into him mercilessly, making his heart skip a beat. Nico quickly faced away and bit his lower lip to keep quiet.
Logan built up slowly. Nico felt his breathing go coarse. Every thrust pushed him a little closer to the edge.
Logan picked up the pace with a grunt, firmly gripping him by his hips with both hands. He went deep.
Nico let out a shameful noise. Logan responded with a low, short laugh through his panting.
After making Nico squirm for a while, he shifted position. He put his hands next to Nico's waist and bent down over him, not letting up the pace. He slipped one of his hands under Nico's chest to the base of his neck and pulled him up a bit, pressing his back against his chest. He took Nico's shoulder between his teeth and bit him, just hard enough to hurt.
Nico gasped.
Logan adjusted his grip on his neck a little and reached down between Nico's legs with his other hand. It just barely grazed him, making Nico jolt.
“Logan…! Please…!” Nico begged desperately.
Logan relented.
Nico cried out at his touch. A warm, sturdy hand closed around him. The type of hand that got things done, he was quickly reminded. He felt Logan tense up against him, tightening all hold on him. His teeth let go of his shoulder. Nico felt his lips make their way up to his ear. Logan took his earring between his teeth and gave it a light tug. He kissed him behind the ear and stayed there.
Logan shifted his-!
Shivers shot down Nico’s spine. The thrusts hit him just right. He gasped, loudly.
“Yeah?” Logan panted against his ear. “Right there?”.
Nico nodded furiously, turning too stupid with each hit to be able to string even one word together. Logan was never subtle, but especially not now. The sounds he let out were intoxicating. Nico fought his hardest to stay quiet, but he couldn't hold it in anymore.
“It's so fucking hot when you sing” Logan taunted, his voice strained.
Nico let a desperate whimper slip out. Logan moved his hand up from Nico’s throat, tilting his chin towards him. The rest of his desperation now led directly against Logan’s lips. He felt Logan’s tongue run over his teeth, then between them. Nico tried to keep up, but being completely overwhelmed, couldn’t do more than follow along.
He let out another shaky whimper in defeat. Logan accepted it greedily, closing his lips around it. All the while still keeping absolutely. Perfect. Pace.
Whatever game they were playing, Nico was losing. And he loved it.
Logan’s grip tightened a little more.
Oh, f-!
“Fuck…!” Logan groaned under his breath.
It was too much, Nico couldn't take it anymore. He braced himself. That instantly got a reaction.
“I can't-! When you squeeze like that-!”. The pants were so heavy and damp, the words almost dripped down his ear.
That was all he needed to hear. With a loud, hitched breath, his entire body tensed up. The tension slowly slipped down his body in one final, drawn out moan.
He shuddered in the release, panting loudly.
Logan slowed down, his movements turning a little more erratic, until Nico felt him twitch inside. Logan stopped and exhaled shakily.
He ran a hand down Nico's back, stopping at the belt, pulling it loose with a single jerk. Nico felt him slump over his back, pressing him down onto the desk. He relaxed under the warmth. They caught their breath for a moment.
Logan shifted and kissed Nico's shoulder, right on the bitemark. It stung a little. That was definitely going to bruise, he realized with a smirk.
Logan turned his face to Nico's. Nico turned to meet his lips. Logan broke the kiss with a sigh.
“You good?” he breathed against him.
Nico smiled, nudging Logan's lips with his. “Better than good… You fucking savage” he chuckled.
*
After another thorough shower, Nico decided to forget about getting dressed entirely.
He found Logan lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He dropped down next to him, extra close to break his concentration.
They looked at each other.
“Dick” Nico addressed him.
“Asshole” Logan acknowledged.
They grinned at each other.
“I'd been meaning to dick you down a peg” Logan jabbed lightly, right into his stomach.
“Pfff! Please! Life fucks me in the ass harder than you ever could! Every. Single. Day!” Nico bragged, wagging not just one, but all his fingers in Logan’s face for emphasis.
Logan locked his own fingers between them and shoved them down onto the bed, grinning at him. Nico pursed his lips, curling up his fingers.
“But… Not usually that lovingly, I'll give you that”.
Logan’s grin turned into a proud smile, then into another pensive look. He glanced down at their hands, nervously. There it was again... Whatever it was, it was starting to freak Nico out more and more. None of this fitted the usual style of gentle warfare in their relationship… He was done, and he was sore.
“What's going on with you?” Nico asked with a thinly veiled accusation.
Logan tensed up a little.
“You've been weird since I got here… Just spit it out already” he demanded, his tone a lot more stern now.
Logan looked a little apprehensive.
Nico was seriously starting to get worried now. Was something wrong? But they seemed so… Right only a while ago. “You're the one always saying people should be upfront” he accused.
Logan smiled with mild frustration. “Yeah, I do keep saying that… Don't I…?”.
Nico held his breath as Logan inhaled deeply.
“I don't want to put pressure on you…” Logan said quickly.
“Huh?” Nico let out.
They gave each other a worried look.
Nico narrowed his eyes. “I swear to Hades, if this is about a sex thing…”.
Logan burst out laughing. “Fuck no!”. Then he turned and smiled. “Do you wanna move in with me?”.
It hit Nico like a brick. There were no thoughts.
“You really don't have to” Logan added reassuringly.
Nico huffed in astonishment.
Logan closed his eyes and turned away for a second. “Damn it… I kept waiting for the right moment… Guess I sort of fucked that up…”.
Nico watched him dig into his pocket and pull something out. Something small. Something round. Logan laid it in the palm of his hand. Nico looked at the white gold ring. There were numbers inscribed on the inside, a date.
“Is that…?” he started.
“The day we met” Logan finished.
Nico's hand trembled too much to slip it on. Logan reached up and helped him. It matched Logan's silver bracelet perfectly. It would have no matter what it’d looked like…
“Perfect fit” Logan muttered approvingly, running a finger over the ring.
Nico clenched his fist. “Yeah” he pushed out without any air. He was never going to take that off. He almost couldn't bear to look at it. Mostly he couldn't bear to look away from Logan's eyes.
Logan narrowed them. Two scrutinizing little sunsets. Absolutely gorgeous. “So, that's a “yes” then?” he teased. Under the bravado were some unconcealed nerves.
Nico felt a grin spread across his face. “Yes” he said happily “I'll move in with you”.
Logan grinned back. He rolled on top of Nico, looking him even deeper in the eye. His eyes didn't just glow this time, they were radiant. “Fucking awesome. Now we both have a ring we can't get rid off!” he declared loudly. “And I already have a ton of dead plants to make you feel at home”.
Nico giggled… He didn't even mind. Not this time. He faced away and let out a happy sigh.
How did they get here? He wasn't complaining. In fact, he was doing the opposite of complaining-!
Logan kissed his neck. Nico tried to push him off. It didn't work. Logan worked his way upwards to his ear. “I love you so much” he whispered.
Nico felt his words heat him up to the core. “Ti amo di più” he replied softly.
They laid there for a while, just basking in the afterglow of the moment.
Nico woke up a few hours later as Butch jumped up onto the bed right next to his head. He winced as his face got sniffed very rudely.
He found Butch's head in the darkness and stroked him behind his lack of ear a few times. Butch made a pleased guttural sound before he bit at his fingers and happily strutted down to their feet.
He sighed, then rolled over to his other side and almost sprawled over Logan. Oops.
Logan didn’t move, able to sleep through anything nowadays. A useful skill he’d been forced to master back in the Ares cabin. In the before days. It was still going to take Nico some getting used to. Gladly, of course. He put his head down on Logan's chest and watched the moon stare at them through a crack in the curtains.
Light raindrops gently tapped on the window. A bolt of lightning split one of the many thick, heavy stormclouds. A moody rumble rolled through the sky.
Normally, Nico would find this relaxing...
The tapping on the window turned urgent. The next flash, alarmed. The rumble, weary. Nico's thoughts started wandering. Worries started flying in one by one, then all at the same time. The ring on his finger tightened with each breath, threatening to suffocate him. He breathed faster. The ring choked him harder. He grabbed it, making it tremble in his grip. Before ripping it off, he forced himself to stop.
His heart sped up. Then sped up even more.
No problem. He went through the motions of what he’d learned. He didn’t even need to think about it anymore. Two seconds in through the nose, four seconds out through the mouth. He focussed on keeping his breathing low, down from his stomach. He kept it up, as long as needed.
Slowly, the thoughts stopped being terrifying. Even slower, the thoughts stopped being at all.
The ring loosened into a gentle embrace around his finger. It felt warm and smooth in his grip, soothing him lovingly as he turned it. He kissed it, then moved his hand over his heart. It knocked against the ring, in a steadily decreasing beat.
Butch stretching out dramatically between their legs pulled him back into the here and now with two lazy little paws.
He felt the rise and fall of Logan's stomach under his arm. Nico closed his eyes and focussed on the calm rhythm of Logan's heart beat. When he finally calmed down enough, he thought about the past few years.
Everything that had changed. Everything that had stayed the same...
He exhaled as deeply as he could. Yep. Life was pretty good.
I can do this, he repeated. And for the first time in a very long time, he really meant that. He smiled to himself with a small sense of pride.