Fic: A Piece of the Action (2/2)
Fic: A Piece of the Action (2/2 -- part 1)
Rating/Warnings: T: wacky hijinks and crazy capers, and also embarrassment and misunderstandings. But mostly hijinks.
Pairings: James/Logan and Kendall/Jo, with a lengthy detour through James/Kendall
Disclaimer: Sometimes I think this show was created just for me, but alas, still not mine.
Notes: Enormous thanks to elucreh for the inspiration, poisonivory for the hijinks, and especially lielabell for hand-holding and beta reading. ♥
Summary: "It's not my fault I'm this attractive," James sulked. "I can't help that everyone wants to make out with me."
Logan grinned. Maybe even smirked. "Would you care to make a little wager on that?"
Friday Afternoon.
Now that he was looking for it, Kendall was aware that it wasn't just James -- everyone at the Palm Woods was staring at him, though mostly they were trying to be subtle about it. It was kind of disconcerting.
He sat down across from Jo in the lobby. They were planning their date, but mostly Kendall's eyes were glued to the clock. Minutes ticked by -- it passed 4:00, and then 4:10. 4:15, 4:20, 4:23 --
"Hey, is there a Kendall Knight here?"
Kendall looked up. A delivery man had come in, wheeling an enormous, pink box with an oversized gold bow near the top. Kendall waved. "That's me. Is that... what is that?"
"A delivery for you. Sign here." He held out a clipboard, and Kendall dutifully signed (accidentally providing the sort of messy autograph fans got, rather than a legible signature, but habit was habit). The delivery man said, "Happy birthday!" and started off.
"Well, it's not my birthday..." Kendall mused, staring at the box. It came up to his shoulder -- large enough to hold a smallish person. Or a large-ish person hunched over, for that matter. He glanced at Jo and raised his eyebrows. She gestured at the box. So Kendall mumbled, "Oh, I can not wait to see what this is," and pulled off the bow.
Apparently that was the lynchpin for the whole box, as all four walls immediately fell outwards and Kendall had to duck back a few steps to avoid getting bopped by one.
The box contained a birthday cake. An enormous birthday cake, with multiple tiers, carefully frosted in green, red, and gold -- the Wild's colors. That was a nice touch, really.
"So..." He looked around. Everyone in the lobby had given up and was now just staring at him. Bitters was eating popcorn with Carlos and Katie; Buddha Bob was holding his hedge clippers in the doorway; Logan lurked next to the back stairs. "Anyone want cake?"
The cake exploded. Well, sort of. James burst out through the top, and shoved his way forward, smashing most of the cake out of recognition as he went. If Kendall had suspected James was shopping from a male stripper's wardrobe before, now he was sure: James had black pants on (although they were smudged with frosting), a set of detached wrist cuffs, and a collar with a bowtie. No shirt.
A slow version of "Happy Birthday" began playing. Kendall just stood there, staring, as James... danced. Shimmied. On him. Like, on him.
Kendall swallowed. This was... awkward. But at least if the boyband thing fell through, James had a backup career as a stripper ready to go.
James' dance number finally came to a halt, and if the clock in the lobby was right, it was 4:28. Kendall glanced around, and everyone was staring at them. Which was fair enough. Bets or no bets, James jumping out of a cake would have attracted attention.
Kendall swallowed and said, "Um. You've known me since... I don't know, the womb? You know my birthday is in March."
"I still owed you a present from last year," James answered, not moving from his final pose. Which happened to be with one leg hitched up over Kendall's hip. "So what do you think?"
"Creative," Kendall said. His voice cracked. "But... you did put in a lot of effort, so." He swallowed and tried not to look into James' eyes. "So. I guess. You know, why the hell not?"
He kissed James.
James made a soft noise of surprise, which was hilarious, considering the last forty-eight hours. Somehow, that actually made the whole thing kind of fun. Kendall brought a hand down to support James' leg, and he buried his other hand in James' hair. James shifted the angle of his head just a little, and whoa, the tongue wasn't really in Kendall's plan, but okay.
Weirdly, Kendall actually could have kept it up, but across the lobby, Camille shrieked, "Yes! I am rich!" and started clapping. Around the lobby, most people began mumbling in annoyance, with only a few others celebrating. Kendall was careful not to look at Jo. It would have been too blatant for her to place a bet directly, but...
Yeah, the most romantic anniversary date of all time was now paid for in full. Jo had found someone to fence for them, and though Katie was too smart not to know she apparently didn't care, and James wasn't actually the worst kisser in the world or anything, so everything was fine. Though...
"You can unwrap your leg any time now, Diamond."
James yelped and jumped back from Kendall. "Yeah. Um. Happy birthday?"
"And you can cut the act," Kendall added. "And you owe me forever. And I will have my revenge, James."
James laughed and started to say something, but then he went silent. And stiff. And his whole face dropped.
Kendall swiveled to see Logan staring at the two of them with a look of... Kendall had no idea. He'd never seen Logan with that expression before. But it wasn't annoyance or anger or anything else he'd have expected from someone who lost a bet. It definitely wasn't the expression of someone who was amused, and if nothing else, Kendall knew what had just happened had been entertaining.
He was about to say something, but Bitters yelled, "That cake isn't going to clean itself, you know!" and whatever it was passed. Logan's expression faded to mild chagrin, James laughed awkwardly, and they looked away from each other.
"I suppose you're going to make me clean this up, huh?" James said.
Kendall snorted. "You think?"
--
"So... did you want to talk about it?" Kendall asked, as he held a tie up over his shirt. "And does this work with my jacket?" He turned away from the mirror to face Logan, who was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He turned his head to look at Kendall in response to the second question.
"I'm not talking to you. And no."
Kendall set the tie down. It was his favorite -- it had the Wild's logo on it, which was really cool, but yeah, hard to match to any of his nicer clothes. He picked up a boring, solid blue tie and slid it around his neck.
He ignored Logan's comment about not talking to him, since Logan didn't really have that kind of willpower, and said, "So what, you're mad at me because I kissed James?"
"No. I don't care who either of you kisses," Logan muttered.
"Oh, good. Because if anything, I should be mad at you, since you're the one responsible for the two weirdest days of my life, ya jerk."
Logan rolled his eyes and punched at the pillow under his head, fluffing it up. "Well, I lost, so I don't see what you're complaining about. Don't pretend you didn't enjoy it."
So Logan did care about the kissing. That was... interesting. Kendall pulled his the end of the tie through the loop, leaving a decent knot, checked the length of the two ends, and he said carefully, "Well... James is a pretty good kisser. Practice makes perfect, I guess. Can't complain about that part. The rest of it, though? That was not fun."
"Sounds like it was worth it," Logan snitted.
"It was. Not for the kiss itself, though." Kendall wrinkled his nose a little. Like he'd said, the kiss was fine, but... it was James. Kendall wasn't interested in boys, and if he was interested in a boy, it wouldn't be James. He had no idea who it would be, but had no real interest in carrying that thought through to the end.
"Then... what?"
"Well, the way I see it, I took a fall, and everyone won," Kendall said. "Jo and I made a ton of money, so we can get our perfect anniversary date --"
"It's not an anniversary --"
" -- and Carlos gets his homework done, James gets a wingman, everyone else got some entertainment. Everyone wins." Kendall shrugged. "I guess except you. But you're not usually a sore loser, so..."
"Whatever. I don't even care. It's just..."
"Yeah?" Kendall prompted.
Logan shook his head. "Nothing. Forget it. Thanks for screwing me, now leave me alone and go on your date. Maybe if it's perfect enough, Jo will let you screw her."
"Oh, like you didn't get anything out of this."
"What could I possibly have gotten out of this? More work to do, because I had so much time to do it all before? Or did you mean more work and being forced to schlep James around and watch while he makes out with his flavor of the night?"
Kendall lifted his eyebrows. "I meant more like certain knowledge that James is perfectly happy to kiss boys?"
"Why would I care about that?"
Kendall stared at Logan for a long moment, then reached for his jacket and said, "No reason. Never mind. I have to go, I have an anniversary dinner."
"It's not your anniversary!" Logan yelled at him, exploding a little. "Nine months isn't an anni-anything. It's nothing. It's not a big deal, so what the hell was so important that you decided it was worth making out with James Diamond for, Kendall?"
Kendall slid his jacket on, then decided he might as well fess up: "Because I love her. And I've never said it, and I'm going to, and she'll probably just say 'duh,' but... I wanted to do it somewhere nicer than Fun Burger. There's no holiday, no birthday, no nothing right now, so yeah. Nine month not-iversary it is."
Logan stared at him. Then said, "Oh."
Kendall shrugged. "See you later." He strolled out, smoothing his shirt and jacket as he went, but paused to look back at the doorway. Logan was a smart guy. Smart enough that he would figure things out, right?
But maybe a little nudge wouldn't hurt, either.
James was lying sprawled on his back on the couch, a plate of pie balanced carefully on his chest, kicking Carlos with one foot. Kendall called his name, and James looked up at him.
"How do I look?" Kendall asked, giving James his best smile. "Hot enough to make out with?"
"Very funny." He took a bite, then said, mouth full, "You look good, though."
Carlos chimed in, "Go get 'er, champ."
"Going to. Just..." He looked back at James. "We need to talk later, Jamez."
"Is it 'cause you're in love with me?" James asked him eagerly. "One kiss was all it took, and now --"
"Carlos?" Kendall prompted.
"On it," Carlos said, set aside his own pie, and tackled James off the couch. James yelled something indignant about his dessert, and Kendall laughed, leaving them behind in a pile of flailing limbs.
--
James lay on the couch, staring at whatever mindless thing was on TV. Carlos had gone to bed, which left him alone -- Kendall was still out, and Logan had never even come out of his room. Not once since the kiss that afternoon. Which was actually kind of impressive, because Logan must have needed to pee at some point, and he wasn't the kind of guy who'd just go in a mug and shrug it off.
Every time James thought he heard someone stir from the hallway, his heart leapt and his stomach dropped. Logan would have to come out eventually.
Come out. As if that was the sort of coming out James cared about.
He stretched and flipped the channel to some random cable access show. It looked like a polar bear puppet and a raccoon puppet were dancing together. Weird.
The front door opened and Kendall came swaggering in. He was holding his jacket, his tie was crooked and so loose it was almost undone, his hair was mussed up, and even in the dim light, James could make out a red blotch just above his collar.
"Got lucky?" James guessed.
Kendall grinned. "None of your business. But you are definitely not the person I've gone farthest with today."
James laughed. "Good for you, buddy."
Kendall tossed his jacket over the hockey dome and collapsed down on the couch. "It was great. We had dinner -- and they had this live piano player, who played our song for us -- I sang it -- and we danced, then, and yeah. And I told her I love her."
"Aww, you do?" James grinned, genuinely happy for Kendall. "What did she say?"
"She said duh. Apparently I'm pretty obvious." Kendall beamed a little bit. "And that she loves me, too. It was all really romantic and classy, for a change."
James poked Kendall's hickey. "Super classy."
Kendall slapped his hand away. "I'm not sure you're allowed to touch me."
"Afraid you won't be able to resist me?" James waggled his eyebrows and Kendall laughed.
"I'm traumatized, is more like it," Kendall answered, giving him a friendly shove. "But about that?"
"Sorry, Kendall, I know you're disappointed, but I'm not actually into you." James smirked at him and kicked his foot. "But if you're feeling curious and Jo's okay with it, I'm pretty sure Jett Stetson wants to pin you up against a wall and do you."
"Ewww," Kendall said, actually wrinkling his nose with distaste. He kicked James back and added, "Tell me that was a joke."
"Of course it was a joke. I'm pretty sure he wants to be the one getting pinned."
Kendall kicked him harder. "Thanks for that. Now my night is ruined. And that's not what I wanted to talk about."
"Well?"
"You, uh... So you kiss guys, huh? I mean, I wouldn't have taken that bet. Being straight and all."
"Are we seriously having this conversation?" James blinked at him, but it didn't look like he was joking. "I know you're straight, if that's what you're --"
"No, I know. I just wanted to ask you if you're, you know... straight. Or not. Or whatever."
James had never really bothered to consider that. He glanced back towards the hallway, but there was still no sign of Logan. He supposed, considering how much he'd wanted Logan, and for how long... "Not. I guess. I mean, I like girls and all, but not..."
"Not exclusively," Kendall finished for him.
"Yeah, that."
"Huh." Kendall leaned back on the couch and rubbed his palm over his hickey. Finally, he said, "So you know I took a fall on the bet --"
"Making out with me is not taking a fall!" James objected.
Kendall rolled his eyes. "Ahem. I was saying, I took the fall and everything, but I've seen you in action, and even if it didn't work on me --"
"Except it basically did --"
"I just wanted to say, you know, I think you really can do it. Seduce basically anyone."
James grinned. "Naturally. Thank you. Tell Logan that, please."
"Because it's important to you that he knows? You made a bet on it and everything."
James had the unpleasant feeling Kendall was outmaneuvering him somehow, but he wasn't sure how. So he admitted, "Yeah..."
"Because you like him. And you want to make out with him -- no. Well, yes," Kendall was obviously on a roll now, "but you want him to want to make out with you. Wow, did you pick a stupid way to go about that."
"What would you have done?" James demanded, then realized belatedly that he'd just admitted to Kendall that yes, he was into Logan. But whatever; he'd jumped out of a cake for Kendall, so it wasn't even the weirdest thing to happen between them that day.
"Probably gone the more direct route," Kendall said, standing up. "I mean, come on. You can seduce anyone, so what the heck are you waiting for?"
Saturday.
If weekday mornings were crazy, weekends were often the opposite. James liked beauty sleep, something he rarely got during the week, so on Saturday he finally rolled out of bed around 12:30 and took a long, leisurely shower. As his brain finally started working, he mulled over plans.
Step one: make sure Logan was still talking to him. He honestly wasn't sure. But at least Logan was out of his room now. While James fixed himself a breakfast of toaster waffles and finished up a carton of OJ without bothering with a cup, he stole a few glances over at the couch.
Logan was perched near the corner, with piles and piles of paper and stacks of books stretched out on either direction. He was scribbling furiously in a three-ring binder. Katie and Carlos were both sitting on the floor in front of the couch, watching something with a car chase, with spilled cereal, empty boxes, and abandoned bowls of funky-colored milk near them. James smiled a little. Katie was only eleven, and Carlos totally used her as an excuse to relieve his childhood of Saturday morning cartoons. And action movies, apparently. Or maybe that was Fox News. They had the volume turned down pretty low, so James couldn't quite tell.
Once he'd stacked his plate up with waffles and drowned them in syrup, he wandered towards them. He reached for the nearest pile of stuff, and --
"Don't." Logan didn't even look up.
"I just want to sit," James protested.
"Floor," Logan said, voice flat. "I've got everything all sorted out and prioritized and then alphabetized within those categories, and if you wreck it I will injure you."
James speared a waffle on his fork and said, "What is all this?"
"Carlos' back assignments. If you're going to sit, be quiet."
Oh. James shrugged, sat on Katie's other side, crossed his legs, balanced his plate on his knee, and ate, trying not to drip syrup on his jeans. He wasn't sure what to say, and finally settled on, "Pretty sure Kendall got laid last night."
"Did you see his neck? It's, like, purple," Carlos said, voice reverent.
Katie stood and turned around to scowl at them. "Ew," she said, pointing at James, then at Carlos, "and ew. I never want to hear about it."
"You're too young to even know what that means!" Carlos protested.
"Katie's been on at least one more date than you have," Logan snarked at him.
"Mean!"
"Trying to focus, here," Logan snapped. "So if you're going to chat, go away."
Carlos started to answer, but apparently decided not to. He just shrugged and walked off. Katie shook her head, watching him go, and said, "For what it's worth, I really thought you had that bet in the bag, Logan. I really don't get the whole teenage dating thing," before heading off herself.
James set aside his plate, doing it just noisily enough that Logan looked up to glare at him. With Logan watching him, James very deliberately licked a drop of syrup off his thumb. He opened his mouth to make a suggestive comment, but Logan kicked him in the side.
"Don't bother. I'm too busy. Go away."
James rubbed his side and said, "Don't blame me for being irresistible."
Logan snorted but didn't say anything to that.
"Are you mad at me?" James hazarded. "For winning?"
"No," Logan snapped.
"Because I'd be pissed if you won."
"I'm not pissed. It was a stupid bet. Whatever. I don't care. I'm just busy, in case you missed the piles and piles of crap sitting around here."
James tapped his fingers against his knee, then said, "But we have a date tonight."
Logan dropped his pen, scrambled to grab it, and turned to stare at him. "Come again?"
"Well, okay, not a date-date," James improvised, "but you're my wingman, and I'm going to get lucky, and you have to come help me. Just like you have to do all of," he waved an arm at the couch, "that."
"How am I supposed to have time for that?" Logan demanded. "I have all this, and my own work, and studying for the ACTs! And you don't need help. You pretty much proved that, didn't you?"
That was true enough, but James protested, "We had a bet. I won fair and square!"
"No. You didn't. Kendall threw the bet so he could make some fast money, which makes him -- hey, what's that word for someone who exchanges sexual services for money? Oh yeah, a prostitute!"
His voice rose significantly on the last few words, and he hollered them in the direction of the bedroom he and Kendall shared. Okay, so maybe Logan was pissed, but not at James. That was something.
"I still won," James said.
"On a technicality. So yeah, James, I'll do... whatever. But not right now. Just... just leave me alone."
James frowned, but picked up his plate, and Katie's and Carlos' discarded bowls, and walked over to drop them in the sink. Then he hesitated by the couch and sighed. He knew Logan wouldn't ignore his end of the bet; Logan was too honest for that. But he obviously wasn't looking forward to upholding it, either.
"Okay, so it was a technicality," James admitted. "So I'll make you a deal."
"No," Logan said.
"You haven't even heard --"
"Look around," Logan said, gesturing at the piles of work again. "I've learned my lesson, okay? No more deals, no dares, and no bets."
"But this isn't... just hear me out," James said. "You and me. We hit the town tonight, because I won. And you're my wingman and we'll have a good time and maybe you'll even end up getting it on, too. You never know."
"How is this a deal?"
"And," James continued, "since it was just that -- that technicality that let me win, after tonight, you're off the hook."
Logan frowned at him. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, I know our bet said you had to be my wingman forever, but..." He shrugged. "I'm not a jerk, you know."
"Well... okay, but I've still got to get through..." Logan sighed and brandished his pen.
"So I'll help," James offered.
"You? Help? With homework that's not even your own?" Logan looked up at him, then laughed.
"Sure," James said. "I mean, gosh, think about it. Wouldn't it be a total shame if Carlos got his homework done but it turned out his grades still weren't very good? Like this." He grabbed the nearest paper, a print out. "Multiple choice, easy. The answer is C for all of them."
"You're not even looking at the questions," Logan said, his eyes bugging out like he was having some kind of academic nightmare.
"True. But I'll probably get almost a quarter of them right, right? And my way is way faster than yours. We'll be done with this in no time."
This time, Logan's laugh wasn't sarcastic. "Well, if you insist..."
James shifted a pile -- carefully -- and sat. Logan handed him a pen, and as James got to work, he added, "I'll make all the plans for tonight, okay? Just dress hot and we'll have a great time. Promise."
Logan didn't answer. But he didn't object, either.
--
Logan heaved a deep breath and looked at himself in the mirror. He was determined to be a good sport about this. Complaining about how he lost wasn't going to get him out of anything, so his best bet was just to grin and bear it, and hope that everyone forgot about it. So he'd just accepted Carlos' truckload of work, and he was willing to go out to dinner with James, either. Even though the absolute last thing he ever wanted was to go out with James and help James trick some pretty girl into making out with him. He'd have to drive James home after, and hear all the stupid details, and --
He pressed the heel of his hands against his eyes, trying to banish the imaginary girl from his brain, but all shutting his eyes did was bring back images of James and Kendall wrapped around each other, kissing in a way that was way too convincing to be fake.
Not that he cared. Not that it was any of his freaking business who James made out with.
Deciding he looked pretty good, he headed out to the living room to face James, who let out a wolf whistle. "Looking hot, Logie!"
Logan rolled his eyes. James had dressed up, too, and Logan knew full well that standing next to James Diamond, no one would notice him. Which was fine. His goal wasn't to meet anyone, his goal was to get James whatever it was he wanted, and get home as quickly and painlessly as possible.
Kendall, who was sitting on the couch, laughed. "Have a nice date, you two."
Logan narrowed his eyes at Kendall, then fake coughed the word "whore" into his hand. Kendall's smile got a little more forced, but he didn't say anything.
James threw an arm around Logan and said, "Let's roll!"
Logan just nodded and let James steer him out, only pausing to grab the car keys.
--
James watched Logan take in the sight of the restaurant. It was huge and fancy and James had needed to beg his mom for an advance on his next month's worth of allowances to pay for it, but he wasn't going to scrimp on this. He had one shot to impress Logan, and he was going to make it perfect.
"Whoa," Logan said, as the hostess showed them to a table. Which happened to be sandwiched between a gorgeous fountain on one side, someone playing violin on the other, and directly under a chandelier. "James, you can't afford any girls you might meet here."
James waved that notion off. "You let me worry about that. I'll tell you when it's time for you to do something, okay? In the mean time, kick back, relax, and order a steak or something."
Logan looked at the menu. "The steak costs the same as my dad's monthly mortgage payment. I can't aff-- "
Another wave. "Dinner's on me, okay?"
"What?"
"I'm the one who dragged you out, so it's on me."
Logan stared at him for a long minute, then finally said, "Fine."
They ordered after a few minutes, and after the waitress walked away, Logan said, "What about her? She's hot."
James glanced after her. She was hot, probably a college student with a weekend job, or an aspiring actress hoping to be discovered. Young and blond with a tight body and legs for miles. Under other circumstances, James absolutely would have hit on her. But these weren't other circumstances, so he shook his head and said, "Nope, not my type."
"Your type?" Logan repeated. "Your type is breathing. No offense, but you're kind of a slut."
That stung a little, but James knew it was basically true. He just didn't want Logan to think of him like that.
He shrugged. "I know, but when it comes down to it... I like brunets."
"Okay," Logan said, and craned his neck, looking around. "There's a hot brunet at the bar, but she's kind of old for you. Unless you're into that."
The woman at the bar did kind of have a sexy cougar thing going on, but James shook his head. "Just relax. I'll let you know."
"Okay, okay." Logan leaned back in his chair, one hand idly playing with his napkin. "I just don't see how a restaurant like this is going to help. People come here on dates, not because they're looking for dates."
"I have a plan," James said. Which was true. He just didn't mention to Logan that picking up a date was not part of it.
"If you say so. I mean, just, jeez." Logan looked over at the violinist. "It looks like we're on a date."
James almost choked on his drink. "Wh-what?"
Logan nodded. "That's what I would think, if I were some girl walking by. I wouldn't stop to hit on you, is all. You should have gotten Kendall's help with this plan, James. You're not very good at scheming all on your own."
"I thought you were mad at Kendall."
Logan rolled his eyes. "I'm not. It's fine. He's a whore, but whatever."
"So I'm a slut, he's a whore... you got any opinions on Carlos you want to share?"
"He's messy?" Logan shrugged. "I'm just saying. Kendall will make out with people he claims he doesn't want for cash --"
"Claims?"
"-- and you'll make out with anyone, ever. But I'm neurotic and nerdy, so who am I to judge?"
"I don't think you're neurotic," James said.
Logan gave him a crooked smile. "Only because you don't know what that means."
James laughed. "I'm pretty enough that I don't need to be smart."
"Well, we don't all have that going for us."
"True," James said, and let his gaze linger on Logan for a moment. "You're not pretty, but you're... I don't know. More than cute, but not old enough to be handsome."
"Um, thanks, I guess," Logan said, his cheeks going slightly rosy.
James grinned. Logan was adorable when he blushed.
--
So this was James' idea of a big night out. Logan was baffled, but every time he asked James how exactly the two of them eating a giant, fancy dinner was going to get James a date, James just laughed the question off. So it was weird.
But not bad. Logan was mostly used to hanging out with the guys as a group, but chilling with just James was... pretty nice, he decided cautiously. For all James spent most of his time checking his hair in the reflection of silverware, he was also funny and easy to get along with. And he had this way of dropping off-hand comments that made Logan feel... appreciated, he supposed. Logan knew James didn't really care about the history of chandeliers within interior design, but Logan had read about it somewhere and when he mentioned it, James didn't seem too bored by it, and then he made some comment about being impressed by how much random stuff Logan could remember.
It felt weird and warm and Logan had never noticed it before. He'd also never noticed the way James' whole face lit up when he laughed, or how easy it was to make James laugh, or how good it felt when he did it.
As, after James handed over enough cash to pay for a semester at college, they stood up. Logan shook his head a little. "I don't know. I don't get it."
"What's to get?" James asked, leaning against him and nudging him with his elbow. James led the way out, ushering Logan with a hand on the small of his back. Then he added, "You want to see a movie or something?"
"Do I... what is this, dinner and a movie?" Logan asked. He peered into the parking lot and found their car. "That's what I don't get. The whole point of having a wingman is having someone to help you get laid, or get a date, or whatever, and --"
"Did you have a good time?" James interrupted.
"Well, yeah," Logan said, flushing. He had. If this was all James wanted from him, Logan actually wouldn't have minded doing it more than once, but that wasn't the point.
"Because so did I," James said. "In fact, I had a great time."
"Well, great." Logan hit the button to open the car door. "But my point stands. You didn't even look at any of the girls in there. Or any of the boys, for that matter, since I guess that's a thing you do."
"It is," James said. "And you're wrong. I absolutely was checking out this one guy. He just didn't notice."
"What?" Logan asked, a little stunned. He'd spent the whole night waiting, bracing himself for it, but hadn't seen James look at anyone.
"And I did get a good date out of it," James continued.
"James, what are you talking ab--"
"Logan," James interrupted. His voice was soft, but his tone was firm, and Logan fell silent. "I think I've got something in my eye," James continued. "Can you do me a favor and check?"
Logan swallowed. "It's pretty dark out here, I wouldn't be able to --"
"Just. Just look. Please?"
So Logan stepped close to James and looked up into James' eyes.
And.
Oh.
The world spun away from him and he couldn't look away. James' eyes seemed infinitely deep, perfect, beautiful... And just like that, Logan knew that he hated listening to James talk about girls because he was jealous, stupidly, bitterly jealous; and he wasn't mad at Kendall over a stupid bet, he was mad at Kendall for getting what he wanted. And that was what it all came down to: want.
Raw, desperate desire.
Oh.
James ducked his head and kissed Logan. Logan felt arms around him, felt James pull him until they were body to body. Logan had been kissed before, and passionately at that, but it had been nothing like this. This was like James' eyes, like infinity, like everything he had no idea he craved...
But of course he craved it. Because everyone wanted James. That was the point, wasn't it?
Logan stumbled back and pushed James away. He felt for the door handle and opened it, ducked inside, and fumbled to get the key to the ignition and his seatbelt in place. He just sat there and stared out the windshield as James clamored over to the passenger side and slid in.
"Logan --" James started.
"Don't. You made your point. I get it."
"Get what?" James asked, his voice breaking.
"There's no one at the Palm Woods who wouldn't make out with you. I get it, okay? Did Kendall put you up to this?"
"No! No, Logan, I'm not --"
"I don't want to -- stop," Logan said. He swallowed hard and finally turned the key. "Just stop. Leave me a little dignity and leave me alone."
James didn't say anything on the whole ride home.
--
Kendall banged on the door to his bedroom. It was locked, but there was no sound of movement from within. He banged again and again, but got nothing.
He moved down the hall and knocked on Carlos' and James' door. Carlos answered it, but he just shook his head. Kendall peered around him and saw James lying on the floor, looking like someone had stolen his swagger. "He's comatose," Carlos said. "Stumbled in. Lay down. Hasn't moved."
"So I take it the seduction isn't going well, Romeo?" Kendall asked. He sat down on the floor, and nudged James.
James turned his head to look, then said, "Leave me alone to die."
"James --"
"The direct route has ruined my life." James rolled on to his stomach and smooshed his face against the carpet. That was definitely a bad sign.
"You're gonna get rugburn on your face," Carlos mused.
James mumbled something incoherent.
"What happened?" Kendall asked.
Another mumble. Kendall nudged James with his foot, and James rolled on to his side and swatted at Kendall's foot. Then groaned and said, "I kissed him and he hated it."
"Seriously?" Carlos gasped.
"But you're a great kisser," Kendall said, then coughed awkwardly when James smirked at him and Carlos raised his eyebrows.
"Logan doesn't think so. Logan hates me."
"I'm sure he doesn't hate you," Carlos tried.
"He does." James flopped back on to his stomach.
Kendall tipped his head back, considering. James just looked kind of pathetic -- but of course he did. The weird thing was how much sense it made to Kendall. James hadn't actually cared about seducing him at all, so it had been no problem for him to just keep trying and trying. But if he really liked Logan, and Logan had turned him down...
This called for a pep talk. Kendall got to his feet and started pacing.
"James, do you remember when we were twelve, and you had pneumonia the week of our biggest hockey game? There was no way we could win without you, and the day before you were so sick you could barely stand up. But did you let that stop you?"
"No!" Carlos said enthusiastically. Then, "Or... or did you want him to say that?"
James mumbled incoherently.
"Carlos is right," Kendall continued. "You snuck out of your house and hid in my mom's trunk, and you had to be hospitalized as soon as the game ended, but you made it and we won."
"That was awesome," Carlos put in.
"Right!" Kendall continued. "And of the four of us, who was the first to make out with a girl -- and get to second base -- and, uh, beyond?"
James rolled over and admitted, "Okay, that was me. And it was pretty awesome."
"Right," Kendall continued. "You've always been fearless on the ice, and fearless when it comes to girls."
"But Logan's not a girl," Carlos said.
Kendall shot him a glare and plowed on: "So now you've got a challenge in front of you. Are you going to lie there and get rug burn all over your pretty face, or are you going to get up, dust off, and go break down the door and seduce your boy?"
There was a long pause, then James sat up. "Fine. Carlos, get your helmet. We have a door to break down."
"Awesome!" Carlos cheered, and reached for his helmet. Then added, "But you know Logan's not in there, right?"
"Huh?" Kendall and James asked in unison.
"Yeah. He snuck out the window awhile ago." Carlos shrugged. "He always does that when he's upset."
James collapsed back on to the floor and Kendall hazarded, "Well... at least you've got time to scheme. And between the three of us, we can probably come up with a pretty good scheme."
--
Logan sat out in Palm Woods park by himself for a long time. It was a little eerie late at night, and when he looked up at the sky he couldn't make out a single star, which was depressing. Back home in Minnesota, he and the guys would sleep outside all the time during the summer, and years ago, he'd memorized dozens of constellations. But Hollywood wasn't Minnesota, and nothing was quite so simple here.
So he liked James. He liked boys. That actually wasn't too hard to come to terms with. It wasn't like Logan had ever thought of it before, but he'd had enough passing thoughts that all it really did was crystallize what had been in the back of his mind. It wasn't the sexuality component that bothered him. It was just that it was James.
Logan was too smart to think James was serious. The kiss had been... well, great. But of course it had. Practice made perfect, and practicing kissing was basically James' favorite thing in the world. He'd do it with anyone, and do way more than kiss if they'd let him get away with it, and it never meant anything. It was just his fun, Saturday night activity.
With Logan, it probably hadn't even been that. James liked to rub it in when he won -- they all did, an unfortunate side-effect of being hyper-competitive all the time -- so Logan should have known something was coming when James practically let him off the hook for their bet. Sure, Logan would only have to go out with James once, but James was going to make his point once and for all: absolutely everyone wanted him, and that included Logan. He'd given Logan no choice but to admit it.
Eventually, it got late enough that Logan's head began to nod and he figured everyone else was asleep. He really couldn't deal with anyone yet. Sure enough, when he got to the foot of the building, there were no lights on in any of 2J's windows. Which was good, but on the other hand, the darkness made it a little difficult to scramble up, over his the windowsill, and in.
Logan hauled himself over the edge, then froze as a light flared to life. He spun towards Kendall's bed, ready to apologize for locking Kendall out when he wasn't even in the room (sneaking out just avoided awkward where-are-you-going, when-will-you-be-back, what's-the-matter questions), but Kendall's bed was empty.
Slowly, he turned to face his own bed.
James was lying in it.
And James was wearing a labcoat with a pair of thick-rimmed, lens-less glasses, and licking a sliderule.
Logan blinked, his brain not really processing anything but that last part. Where the heck did James even get a sliderule?
"Where did you even get a sliderule?" he blathered, then winced, screwing his eyes shut and waiting for laughter.
None came.
Logan opened his eyes, and found James had shifted, and the labcoat had fallen open, revealing that James wasn't wearing a shirt beneath it. Logan actually let out a tiny, involuntary gasp. James' washboard abs just weren't fair. His voice cracked when he said, "This isn't funny."
"I'm not joking." James waggled his eyebrows and made an incredibly dirty motion with his tongue against the sliderule.
Logan turned away and stared resolutely at Kendall's stupid hockey posters. "You made your point! You win! Now go away!"
"Why? What's wrong with me?" James demanded. "Am I not pretty enough for you? Am I not a good enough kisser?"
"Just stop. I don't want..." Logan trailed off, and slowly turned back around. He swallowed, staring at James, taking in the sight. God, James was gorgeous. Logan remembered how he'd kissed, remembered how that evening had felt... but... James was just making a stupid point, and he'd make out with anyone. Even Kendall, who had probably made James do this as revenge.
"What don't you want?" James asked softly. "Because I was pretty sure this," he gestured at the labcoat, "would do it for you, but if you want something else, I'll do it. The store I was at earlier had a fireman costume --"
"Stop!" Logan yelped. "You made your point already!"
"I'm not making a point!" James yelled back.
Logan stared at him. "Then... what are you doing?"
"If you have to ask, I'm obviously not doing a very good job." James waggled his eyebrows and shifted so the labcoat fell further open. "I mean, come on. We went out, we had a good time, and here I am."
Logan froze, his brain working through that as another possibility. If this wasn't about the bet and James proving himself, then... Then James thought of him as just another Saturday night girl. Boy. Whatever. What was sad was how much that hurt, too. It was a little better than what Logan had thought, but not much. Because he didn't want to be just another one of James' conquests, he wanted... more. Maybe it was Kendall's stupid romantic anniversary -- non-anniversary -- rubbing off on him or something, but Logan didn't just want some fling with James. Which was stupid. James only did flings.
"I'm not..." Logan heaved a breath and made himself look away from James' six-pack, which was no easy feat. "I don't just... I can't just... No."
"Why not? It was a good kiss, wasn't it?"
Logan almost laughed. Of course James thought it was all about kissing. "That's why. It was great, but I don't just kiss people, okay? I only do that with people I really like, so unless you're suddenly looking for a relationship and not just someone to screw around with..."
"But that is what I want," James said.
"Yeah, right."
"Logan!" James squawked. "Look at me! Have you ever seen me work this hard for anyone?"
"Yeah. Kendall. Yesterday."
"That was a bet! I had to do that, to prove to you that I'm awesome, so you'd want me like I want you!"
"You..." Logan stared at him. "What?"
James shrugged. "I've been trying to show you how great I am for months now, and you kept not noticing, so when you told me to seduce Kendall, I had to. I didn't want to! But I had to."
Logan massaged his temples and reminded himself that James was not actually that bright. So okay, from James' point of view... bragging about his conquests wasn't just meant to show off, it was meant to impress Logan? Because, oh. Right. If Logan knew what a great kisser he was, or whatever, the Logan would want to...
The pieces fell into place and Logan laughed. James made a little offended noise, but Logan waved that off. "So you just wanted me to notice, and I just wanted you to shut up. Because I was jealous of all of those girls," Logan explained.
"You could have told me!" James squeaked.
"You could have told me," Logan shot back.
"I -- but -- uh -- you -- wait," James said, and held up his hands. "Wait. So you're saying you like me. And I like you. And it was a good kiss, right?"
"Great," Logan admitted.
"So... why are you still standing over there, instead of being here, on the bed, with me, making out?"
Logan blinked. "For a guy who's not bright, sometimes you're very smart." He laughed and stumbled towards the bed, let James grab his arm and pull him down. Then he was suddenly grateful that James was more experienced than he was, because James tugged him down and shifted and the next thing Logan knew, he was sprawled on top of James, one hand pressed against James' very, very solid chest. He traced his way down, ran a finger across the sharp lines of James' washboard abs, his mind going blank as he marveled at the feeling. James grinned, then shifted yet again, rolling them over so he was on top, and he ducked his head and kissed Logan.
Logan's brain shorted out. James was -- the kiss was -- their limbs were all entwined, tangled, god -- James smelled good and felt good and he wanted him, Logan, and not just some fling. It was too much, and too great, and Logan moaned and couldn't stop himself from thrusting, rubbing against James' body. Not that James seemed to mind. He made a noise somewhere low in his throat and did something with his hips that sent a jolt of electricity all the way up Logan's spine.
"See?" James panted in his ear. "This is good, right?"
Logan was smart, which was why he answered, "If I say no, are you going to keep this up just to impress me?"
"Probably. But if you say yes, we get to do this all the time anyway."
"Then..." Logan tipped his chin up to kiss James, because James was right there,wouldn't? Anyone would, but the fact that James wanted him left Logan giddy. He chuckled against James' ear and said, "Yeah, yeah. This is very good. Practically perfect. I just..." He moaned as James did that thing with his hips again, then looked at him teasingly.
"Just?" James prompted, his hand stroking slowly down Logan's arm. He murmured, "Damn, Logan, nice guns," and tipped his head to kiss Logan again.
"Just one question," Logan panted, turning his head slightly so he could talk.
"Then you'll stop interrupting me so we can make out?" James asked.
"Yeah," Logan agreed, and tried to mimic James' earlier move, rolling them back over. He didn't quite make it, but they ended up on their sides, with James' back right against the wall, legs still all tangled together. Logan kissed James again, and James made that delicious noise, and Logan almost forgot, but --
"So what's your question?" James asked, mumbling right against Logan's jaw.
Logan laughed, running his hand up James' shoulder, tugging the labcoat off a little. It was ridiculous. James' whole outfit was, but he'd had done it just to turn Logan on, and it would be a lie if Logan claimed it hadn't worked --
"Well?" James added, shrugging the white coat off entirely.
Logan grinned. "I just have to know one thing."
"What?"
"Where... where did you get the sliderule?"
End.
Rating/Warnings: T: wacky hijinks and crazy capers, and also embarrassment and misunderstandings. But mostly hijinks.
Pairings: James/Logan and Kendall/Jo, with a lengthy detour through James/Kendall
Disclaimer: Sometimes I think this show was created just for me, but alas, still not mine.
Notes: Enormous thanks to elucreh for the inspiration, poisonivory for the hijinks, and especially lielabell for hand-holding and beta reading. ♥
Summary: "It's not my fault I'm this attractive," James sulked. "I can't help that everyone wants to make out with me."
Logan grinned. Maybe even smirked. "Would you care to make a little wager on that?"
Friday Afternoon.
Now that he was looking for it, Kendall was aware that it wasn't just James -- everyone at the Palm Woods was staring at him, though mostly they were trying to be subtle about it. It was kind of disconcerting.
He sat down across from Jo in the lobby. They were planning their date, but mostly Kendall's eyes were glued to the clock. Minutes ticked by -- it passed 4:00, and then 4:10. 4:15, 4:20, 4:23 --
"Hey, is there a Kendall Knight here?"
Kendall looked up. A delivery man had come in, wheeling an enormous, pink box with an oversized gold bow near the top. Kendall waved. "That's me. Is that... what is that?"
"A delivery for you. Sign here." He held out a clipboard, and Kendall dutifully signed (accidentally providing the sort of messy autograph fans got, rather than a legible signature, but habit was habit). The delivery man said, "Happy birthday!" and started off.
"Well, it's not my birthday..." Kendall mused, staring at the box. It came up to his shoulder -- large enough to hold a smallish person. Or a large-ish person hunched over, for that matter. He glanced at Jo and raised his eyebrows. She gestured at the box. So Kendall mumbled, "Oh, I can not wait to see what this is," and pulled off the bow.
Apparently that was the lynchpin for the whole box, as all four walls immediately fell outwards and Kendall had to duck back a few steps to avoid getting bopped by one.
The box contained a birthday cake. An enormous birthday cake, with multiple tiers, carefully frosted in green, red, and gold -- the Wild's colors. That was a nice touch, really.
"So..." He looked around. Everyone in the lobby had given up and was now just staring at him. Bitters was eating popcorn with Carlos and Katie; Buddha Bob was holding his hedge clippers in the doorway; Logan lurked next to the back stairs. "Anyone want cake?"
The cake exploded. Well, sort of. James burst out through the top, and shoved his way forward, smashing most of the cake out of recognition as he went. If Kendall had suspected James was shopping from a male stripper's wardrobe before, now he was sure: James had black pants on (although they were smudged with frosting), a set of detached wrist cuffs, and a collar with a bowtie. No shirt.
A slow version of "Happy Birthday" began playing. Kendall just stood there, staring, as James... danced. Shimmied. On him. Like, on him.
Kendall swallowed. This was... awkward. But at least if the boyband thing fell through, James had a backup career as a stripper ready to go.
James' dance number finally came to a halt, and if the clock in the lobby was right, it was 4:28. Kendall glanced around, and everyone was staring at them. Which was fair enough. Bets or no bets, James jumping out of a cake would have attracted attention.
Kendall swallowed and said, "Um. You've known me since... I don't know, the womb? You know my birthday is in March."
"I still owed you a present from last year," James answered, not moving from his final pose. Which happened to be with one leg hitched up over Kendall's hip. "So what do you think?"
"Creative," Kendall said. His voice cracked. "But... you did put in a lot of effort, so." He swallowed and tried not to look into James' eyes. "So. I guess. You know, why the hell not?"
He kissed James.
James made a soft noise of surprise, which was hilarious, considering the last forty-eight hours. Somehow, that actually made the whole thing kind of fun. Kendall brought a hand down to support James' leg, and he buried his other hand in James' hair. James shifted the angle of his head just a little, and whoa, the tongue wasn't really in Kendall's plan, but okay.
Weirdly, Kendall actually could have kept it up, but across the lobby, Camille shrieked, "Yes! I am rich!" and started clapping. Around the lobby, most people began mumbling in annoyance, with only a few others celebrating. Kendall was careful not to look at Jo. It would have been too blatant for her to place a bet directly, but...
Yeah, the most romantic anniversary date of all time was now paid for in full. Jo had found someone to fence for them, and though Katie was too smart not to know she apparently didn't care, and James wasn't actually the worst kisser in the world or anything, so everything was fine. Though...
"You can unwrap your leg any time now, Diamond."
James yelped and jumped back from Kendall. "Yeah. Um. Happy birthday?"
"And you can cut the act," Kendall added. "And you owe me forever. And I will have my revenge, James."
James laughed and started to say something, but then he went silent. And stiff. And his whole face dropped.
Kendall swiveled to see Logan staring at the two of them with a look of... Kendall had no idea. He'd never seen Logan with that expression before. But it wasn't annoyance or anger or anything else he'd have expected from someone who lost a bet. It definitely wasn't the expression of someone who was amused, and if nothing else, Kendall knew what had just happened had been entertaining.
He was about to say something, but Bitters yelled, "That cake isn't going to clean itself, you know!" and whatever it was passed. Logan's expression faded to mild chagrin, James laughed awkwardly, and they looked away from each other.
"I suppose you're going to make me clean this up, huh?" James said.
Kendall snorted. "You think?"
--
"So... did you want to talk about it?" Kendall asked, as he held a tie up over his shirt. "And does this work with my jacket?" He turned away from the mirror to face Logan, who was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He turned his head to look at Kendall in response to the second question.
"I'm not talking to you. And no."
Kendall set the tie down. It was his favorite -- it had the Wild's logo on it, which was really cool, but yeah, hard to match to any of his nicer clothes. He picked up a boring, solid blue tie and slid it around his neck.
He ignored Logan's comment about not talking to him, since Logan didn't really have that kind of willpower, and said, "So what, you're mad at me because I kissed James?"
"No. I don't care who either of you kisses," Logan muttered.
"Oh, good. Because if anything, I should be mad at you, since you're the one responsible for the two weirdest days of my life, ya jerk."
Logan rolled his eyes and punched at the pillow under his head, fluffing it up. "Well, I lost, so I don't see what you're complaining about. Don't pretend you didn't enjoy it."
So Logan did care about the kissing. That was... interesting. Kendall pulled his the end of the tie through the loop, leaving a decent knot, checked the length of the two ends, and he said carefully, "Well... James is a pretty good kisser. Practice makes perfect, I guess. Can't complain about that part. The rest of it, though? That was not fun."
"Sounds like it was worth it," Logan snitted.
"It was. Not for the kiss itself, though." Kendall wrinkled his nose a little. Like he'd said, the kiss was fine, but... it was James. Kendall wasn't interested in boys, and if he was interested in a boy, it wouldn't be James. He had no idea who it would be, but had no real interest in carrying that thought through to the end.
"Then... what?"
"Well, the way I see it, I took a fall, and everyone won," Kendall said. "Jo and I made a ton of money, so we can get our perfect anniversary date --"
"It's not an anniversary --"
" -- and Carlos gets his homework done, James gets a wingman, everyone else got some entertainment. Everyone wins." Kendall shrugged. "I guess except you. But you're not usually a sore loser, so..."
"Whatever. I don't even care. It's just..."
"Yeah?" Kendall prompted.
Logan shook his head. "Nothing. Forget it. Thanks for screwing me, now leave me alone and go on your date. Maybe if it's perfect enough, Jo will let you screw her."
"Oh, like you didn't get anything out of this."
"What could I possibly have gotten out of this? More work to do, because I had so much time to do it all before? Or did you mean more work and being forced to schlep James around and watch while he makes out with his flavor of the night?"
Kendall lifted his eyebrows. "I meant more like certain knowledge that James is perfectly happy to kiss boys?"
"Why would I care about that?"
Kendall stared at Logan for a long moment, then reached for his jacket and said, "No reason. Never mind. I have to go, I have an anniversary dinner."
"It's not your anniversary!" Logan yelled at him, exploding a little. "Nine months isn't an anni-anything. It's nothing. It's not a big deal, so what the hell was so important that you decided it was worth making out with James Diamond for, Kendall?"
Kendall slid his jacket on, then decided he might as well fess up: "Because I love her. And I've never said it, and I'm going to, and she'll probably just say 'duh,' but... I wanted to do it somewhere nicer than Fun Burger. There's no holiday, no birthday, no nothing right now, so yeah. Nine month not-iversary it is."
Logan stared at him. Then said, "Oh."
Kendall shrugged. "See you later." He strolled out, smoothing his shirt and jacket as he went, but paused to look back at the doorway. Logan was a smart guy. Smart enough that he would figure things out, right?
But maybe a little nudge wouldn't hurt, either.
James was lying sprawled on his back on the couch, a plate of pie balanced carefully on his chest, kicking Carlos with one foot. Kendall called his name, and James looked up at him.
"How do I look?" Kendall asked, giving James his best smile. "Hot enough to make out with?"
"Very funny." He took a bite, then said, mouth full, "You look good, though."
Carlos chimed in, "Go get 'er, champ."
"Going to. Just..." He looked back at James. "We need to talk later, Jamez."
"Is it 'cause you're in love with me?" James asked him eagerly. "One kiss was all it took, and now --"
"Carlos?" Kendall prompted.
"On it," Carlos said, set aside his own pie, and tackled James off the couch. James yelled something indignant about his dessert, and Kendall laughed, leaving them behind in a pile of flailing limbs.
--
James lay on the couch, staring at whatever mindless thing was on TV. Carlos had gone to bed, which left him alone -- Kendall was still out, and Logan had never even come out of his room. Not once since the kiss that afternoon. Which was actually kind of impressive, because Logan must have needed to pee at some point, and he wasn't the kind of guy who'd just go in a mug and shrug it off.
Every time James thought he heard someone stir from the hallway, his heart leapt and his stomach dropped. Logan would have to come out eventually.
Come out. As if that was the sort of coming out James cared about.
He stretched and flipped the channel to some random cable access show. It looked like a polar bear puppet and a raccoon puppet were dancing together. Weird.
The front door opened and Kendall came swaggering in. He was holding his jacket, his tie was crooked and so loose it was almost undone, his hair was mussed up, and even in the dim light, James could make out a red blotch just above his collar.
"Got lucky?" James guessed.
Kendall grinned. "None of your business. But you are definitely not the person I've gone farthest with today."
James laughed. "Good for you, buddy."
Kendall tossed his jacket over the hockey dome and collapsed down on the couch. "It was great. We had dinner -- and they had this live piano player, who played our song for us -- I sang it -- and we danced, then, and yeah. And I told her I love her."
"Aww, you do?" James grinned, genuinely happy for Kendall. "What did she say?"
"She said duh. Apparently I'm pretty obvious." Kendall beamed a little bit. "And that she loves me, too. It was all really romantic and classy, for a change."
James poked Kendall's hickey. "Super classy."
Kendall slapped his hand away. "I'm not sure you're allowed to touch me."
"Afraid you won't be able to resist me?" James waggled his eyebrows and Kendall laughed.
"I'm traumatized, is more like it," Kendall answered, giving him a friendly shove. "But about that?"
"Sorry, Kendall, I know you're disappointed, but I'm not actually into you." James smirked at him and kicked his foot. "But if you're feeling curious and Jo's okay with it, I'm pretty sure Jett Stetson wants to pin you up against a wall and do you."
"Ewww," Kendall said, actually wrinkling his nose with distaste. He kicked James back and added, "Tell me that was a joke."
"Of course it was a joke. I'm pretty sure he wants to be the one getting pinned."
Kendall kicked him harder. "Thanks for that. Now my night is ruined. And that's not what I wanted to talk about."
"Well?"
"You, uh... So you kiss guys, huh? I mean, I wouldn't have taken that bet. Being straight and all."
"Are we seriously having this conversation?" James blinked at him, but it didn't look like he was joking. "I know you're straight, if that's what you're --"
"No, I know. I just wanted to ask you if you're, you know... straight. Or not. Or whatever."
James had never really bothered to consider that. He glanced back towards the hallway, but there was still no sign of Logan. He supposed, considering how much he'd wanted Logan, and for how long... "Not. I guess. I mean, I like girls and all, but not..."
"Not exclusively," Kendall finished for him.
"Yeah, that."
"Huh." Kendall leaned back on the couch and rubbed his palm over his hickey. Finally, he said, "So you know I took a fall on the bet --"
"Making out with me is not taking a fall!" James objected.
Kendall rolled his eyes. "Ahem. I was saying, I took the fall and everything, but I've seen you in action, and even if it didn't work on me --"
"Except it basically did --"
"I just wanted to say, you know, I think you really can do it. Seduce basically anyone."
James grinned. "Naturally. Thank you. Tell Logan that, please."
"Because it's important to you that he knows? You made a bet on it and everything."
James had the unpleasant feeling Kendall was outmaneuvering him somehow, but he wasn't sure how. So he admitted, "Yeah..."
"Because you like him. And you want to make out with him -- no. Well, yes," Kendall was obviously on a roll now, "but you want him to want to make out with you. Wow, did you pick a stupid way to go about that."
"What would you have done?" James demanded, then realized belatedly that he'd just admitted to Kendall that yes, he was into Logan. But whatever; he'd jumped out of a cake for Kendall, so it wasn't even the weirdest thing to happen between them that day.
"Probably gone the more direct route," Kendall said, standing up. "I mean, come on. You can seduce anyone, so what the heck are you waiting for?"
Saturday.
If weekday mornings were crazy, weekends were often the opposite. James liked beauty sleep, something he rarely got during the week, so on Saturday he finally rolled out of bed around 12:30 and took a long, leisurely shower. As his brain finally started working, he mulled over plans.
Step one: make sure Logan was still talking to him. He honestly wasn't sure. But at least Logan was out of his room now. While James fixed himself a breakfast of toaster waffles and finished up a carton of OJ without bothering with a cup, he stole a few glances over at the couch.
Logan was perched near the corner, with piles and piles of paper and stacks of books stretched out on either direction. He was scribbling furiously in a three-ring binder. Katie and Carlos were both sitting on the floor in front of the couch, watching something with a car chase, with spilled cereal, empty boxes, and abandoned bowls of funky-colored milk near them. James smiled a little. Katie was only eleven, and Carlos totally used her as an excuse to relieve his childhood of Saturday morning cartoons. And action movies, apparently. Or maybe that was Fox News. They had the volume turned down pretty low, so James couldn't quite tell.
Once he'd stacked his plate up with waffles and drowned them in syrup, he wandered towards them. He reached for the nearest pile of stuff, and --
"Don't." Logan didn't even look up.
"I just want to sit," James protested.
"Floor," Logan said, voice flat. "I've got everything all sorted out and prioritized and then alphabetized within those categories, and if you wreck it I will injure you."
James speared a waffle on his fork and said, "What is all this?"
"Carlos' back assignments. If you're going to sit, be quiet."
Oh. James shrugged, sat on Katie's other side, crossed his legs, balanced his plate on his knee, and ate, trying not to drip syrup on his jeans. He wasn't sure what to say, and finally settled on, "Pretty sure Kendall got laid last night."
"Did you see his neck? It's, like, purple," Carlos said, voice reverent.
Katie stood and turned around to scowl at them. "Ew," she said, pointing at James, then at Carlos, "and ew. I never want to hear about it."
"You're too young to even know what that means!" Carlos protested.
"Katie's been on at least one more date than you have," Logan snarked at him.
"Mean!"
"Trying to focus, here," Logan snapped. "So if you're going to chat, go away."
Carlos started to answer, but apparently decided not to. He just shrugged and walked off. Katie shook her head, watching him go, and said, "For what it's worth, I really thought you had that bet in the bag, Logan. I really don't get the whole teenage dating thing," before heading off herself.
James set aside his plate, doing it just noisily enough that Logan looked up to glare at him. With Logan watching him, James very deliberately licked a drop of syrup off his thumb. He opened his mouth to make a suggestive comment, but Logan kicked him in the side.
"Don't bother. I'm too busy. Go away."
James rubbed his side and said, "Don't blame me for being irresistible."
Logan snorted but didn't say anything to that.
"Are you mad at me?" James hazarded. "For winning?"
"No," Logan snapped.
"Because I'd be pissed if you won."
"I'm not pissed. It was a stupid bet. Whatever. I don't care. I'm just busy, in case you missed the piles and piles of crap sitting around here."
James tapped his fingers against his knee, then said, "But we have a date tonight."
Logan dropped his pen, scrambled to grab it, and turned to stare at him. "Come again?"
"Well, okay, not a date-date," James improvised, "but you're my wingman, and I'm going to get lucky, and you have to come help me. Just like you have to do all of," he waved an arm at the couch, "that."
"How am I supposed to have time for that?" Logan demanded. "I have all this, and my own work, and studying for the ACTs! And you don't need help. You pretty much proved that, didn't you?"
That was true enough, but James protested, "We had a bet. I won fair and square!"
"No. You didn't. Kendall threw the bet so he could make some fast money, which makes him -- hey, what's that word for someone who exchanges sexual services for money? Oh yeah, a prostitute!"
His voice rose significantly on the last few words, and he hollered them in the direction of the bedroom he and Kendall shared. Okay, so maybe Logan was pissed, but not at James. That was something.
"I still won," James said.
"On a technicality. So yeah, James, I'll do... whatever. But not right now. Just... just leave me alone."
James frowned, but picked up his plate, and Katie's and Carlos' discarded bowls, and walked over to drop them in the sink. Then he hesitated by the couch and sighed. He knew Logan wouldn't ignore his end of the bet; Logan was too honest for that. But he obviously wasn't looking forward to upholding it, either.
"Okay, so it was a technicality," James admitted. "So I'll make you a deal."
"No," Logan said.
"You haven't even heard --"
"Look around," Logan said, gesturing at the piles of work again. "I've learned my lesson, okay? No more deals, no dares, and no bets."
"But this isn't... just hear me out," James said. "You and me. We hit the town tonight, because I won. And you're my wingman and we'll have a good time and maybe you'll even end up getting it on, too. You never know."
"How is this a deal?"
"And," James continued, "since it was just that -- that technicality that let me win, after tonight, you're off the hook."
Logan frowned at him. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, I know our bet said you had to be my wingman forever, but..." He shrugged. "I'm not a jerk, you know."
"Well... okay, but I've still got to get through..." Logan sighed and brandished his pen.
"So I'll help," James offered.
"You? Help? With homework that's not even your own?" Logan looked up at him, then laughed.
"Sure," James said. "I mean, gosh, think about it. Wouldn't it be a total shame if Carlos got his homework done but it turned out his grades still weren't very good? Like this." He grabbed the nearest paper, a print out. "Multiple choice, easy. The answer is C for all of them."
"You're not even looking at the questions," Logan said, his eyes bugging out like he was having some kind of academic nightmare.
"True. But I'll probably get almost a quarter of them right, right? And my way is way faster than yours. We'll be done with this in no time."
This time, Logan's laugh wasn't sarcastic. "Well, if you insist..."
James shifted a pile -- carefully -- and sat. Logan handed him a pen, and as James got to work, he added, "I'll make all the plans for tonight, okay? Just dress hot and we'll have a great time. Promise."
Logan didn't answer. But he didn't object, either.
--
Logan heaved a deep breath and looked at himself in the mirror. He was determined to be a good sport about this. Complaining about how he lost wasn't going to get him out of anything, so his best bet was just to grin and bear it, and hope that everyone forgot about it. So he'd just accepted Carlos' truckload of work, and he was willing to go out to dinner with James, either. Even though the absolute last thing he ever wanted was to go out with James and help James trick some pretty girl into making out with him. He'd have to drive James home after, and hear all the stupid details, and --
He pressed the heel of his hands against his eyes, trying to banish the imaginary girl from his brain, but all shutting his eyes did was bring back images of James and Kendall wrapped around each other, kissing in a way that was way too convincing to be fake.
Not that he cared. Not that it was any of his freaking business who James made out with.
Deciding he looked pretty good, he headed out to the living room to face James, who let out a wolf whistle. "Looking hot, Logie!"
Logan rolled his eyes. James had dressed up, too, and Logan knew full well that standing next to James Diamond, no one would notice him. Which was fine. His goal wasn't to meet anyone, his goal was to get James whatever it was he wanted, and get home as quickly and painlessly as possible.
Kendall, who was sitting on the couch, laughed. "Have a nice date, you two."
Logan narrowed his eyes at Kendall, then fake coughed the word "whore" into his hand. Kendall's smile got a little more forced, but he didn't say anything.
James threw an arm around Logan and said, "Let's roll!"
Logan just nodded and let James steer him out, only pausing to grab the car keys.
--
James watched Logan take in the sight of the restaurant. It was huge and fancy and James had needed to beg his mom for an advance on his next month's worth of allowances to pay for it, but he wasn't going to scrimp on this. He had one shot to impress Logan, and he was going to make it perfect.
"Whoa," Logan said, as the hostess showed them to a table. Which happened to be sandwiched between a gorgeous fountain on one side, someone playing violin on the other, and directly under a chandelier. "James, you can't afford any girls you might meet here."
James waved that notion off. "You let me worry about that. I'll tell you when it's time for you to do something, okay? In the mean time, kick back, relax, and order a steak or something."
Logan looked at the menu. "The steak costs the same as my dad's monthly mortgage payment. I can't aff-- "
Another wave. "Dinner's on me, okay?"
"What?"
"I'm the one who dragged you out, so it's on me."
Logan stared at him for a long minute, then finally said, "Fine."
They ordered after a few minutes, and after the waitress walked away, Logan said, "What about her? She's hot."
James glanced after her. She was hot, probably a college student with a weekend job, or an aspiring actress hoping to be discovered. Young and blond with a tight body and legs for miles. Under other circumstances, James absolutely would have hit on her. But these weren't other circumstances, so he shook his head and said, "Nope, not my type."
"Your type?" Logan repeated. "Your type is breathing. No offense, but you're kind of a slut."
That stung a little, but James knew it was basically true. He just didn't want Logan to think of him like that.
He shrugged. "I know, but when it comes down to it... I like brunets."
"Okay," Logan said, and craned his neck, looking around. "There's a hot brunet at the bar, but she's kind of old for you. Unless you're into that."
The woman at the bar did kind of have a sexy cougar thing going on, but James shook his head. "Just relax. I'll let you know."
"Okay, okay." Logan leaned back in his chair, one hand idly playing with his napkin. "I just don't see how a restaurant like this is going to help. People come here on dates, not because they're looking for dates."
"I have a plan," James said. Which was true. He just didn't mention to Logan that picking up a date was not part of it.
"If you say so. I mean, just, jeez." Logan looked over at the violinist. "It looks like we're on a date."
James almost choked on his drink. "Wh-what?"
Logan nodded. "That's what I would think, if I were some girl walking by. I wouldn't stop to hit on you, is all. You should have gotten Kendall's help with this plan, James. You're not very good at scheming all on your own."
"I thought you were mad at Kendall."
Logan rolled his eyes. "I'm not. It's fine. He's a whore, but whatever."
"So I'm a slut, he's a whore... you got any opinions on Carlos you want to share?"
"He's messy?" Logan shrugged. "I'm just saying. Kendall will make out with people he claims he doesn't want for cash --"
"Claims?"
"-- and you'll make out with anyone, ever. But I'm neurotic and nerdy, so who am I to judge?"
"I don't think you're neurotic," James said.
Logan gave him a crooked smile. "Only because you don't know what that means."
James laughed. "I'm pretty enough that I don't need to be smart."
"Well, we don't all have that going for us."
"True," James said, and let his gaze linger on Logan for a moment. "You're not pretty, but you're... I don't know. More than cute, but not old enough to be handsome."
"Um, thanks, I guess," Logan said, his cheeks going slightly rosy.
James grinned. Logan was adorable when he blushed.
--
So this was James' idea of a big night out. Logan was baffled, but every time he asked James how exactly the two of them eating a giant, fancy dinner was going to get James a date, James just laughed the question off. So it was weird.
But not bad. Logan was mostly used to hanging out with the guys as a group, but chilling with just James was... pretty nice, he decided cautiously. For all James spent most of his time checking his hair in the reflection of silverware, he was also funny and easy to get along with. And he had this way of dropping off-hand comments that made Logan feel... appreciated, he supposed. Logan knew James didn't really care about the history of chandeliers within interior design, but Logan had read about it somewhere and when he mentioned it, James didn't seem too bored by it, and then he made some comment about being impressed by how much random stuff Logan could remember.
It felt weird and warm and Logan had never noticed it before. He'd also never noticed the way James' whole face lit up when he laughed, or how easy it was to make James laugh, or how good it felt when he did it.
As, after James handed over enough cash to pay for a semester at college, they stood up. Logan shook his head a little. "I don't know. I don't get it."
"What's to get?" James asked, leaning against him and nudging him with his elbow. James led the way out, ushering Logan with a hand on the small of his back. Then he added, "You want to see a movie or something?"
"Do I... what is this, dinner and a movie?" Logan asked. He peered into the parking lot and found their car. "That's what I don't get. The whole point of having a wingman is having someone to help you get laid, or get a date, or whatever, and --"
"Did you have a good time?" James interrupted.
"Well, yeah," Logan said, flushing. He had. If this was all James wanted from him, Logan actually wouldn't have minded doing it more than once, but that wasn't the point.
"Because so did I," James said. "In fact, I had a great time."
"Well, great." Logan hit the button to open the car door. "But my point stands. You didn't even look at any of the girls in there. Or any of the boys, for that matter, since I guess that's a thing you do."
"It is," James said. "And you're wrong. I absolutely was checking out this one guy. He just didn't notice."
"What?" Logan asked, a little stunned. He'd spent the whole night waiting, bracing himself for it, but hadn't seen James look at anyone.
"And I did get a good date out of it," James continued.
"James, what are you talking ab--"
"Logan," James interrupted. His voice was soft, but his tone was firm, and Logan fell silent. "I think I've got something in my eye," James continued. "Can you do me a favor and check?"
Logan swallowed. "It's pretty dark out here, I wouldn't be able to --"
"Just. Just look. Please?"
So Logan stepped close to James and looked up into James' eyes.
And.
Oh.
The world spun away from him and he couldn't look away. James' eyes seemed infinitely deep, perfect, beautiful... And just like that, Logan knew that he hated listening to James talk about girls because he was jealous, stupidly, bitterly jealous; and he wasn't mad at Kendall over a stupid bet, he was mad at Kendall for getting what he wanted. And that was what it all came down to: want.
Raw, desperate desire.
Oh.
James ducked his head and kissed Logan. Logan felt arms around him, felt James pull him until they were body to body. Logan had been kissed before, and passionately at that, but it had been nothing like this. This was like James' eyes, like infinity, like everything he had no idea he craved...
But of course he craved it. Because everyone wanted James. That was the point, wasn't it?
Logan stumbled back and pushed James away. He felt for the door handle and opened it, ducked inside, and fumbled to get the key to the ignition and his seatbelt in place. He just sat there and stared out the windshield as James clamored over to the passenger side and slid in.
"Logan --" James started.
"Don't. You made your point. I get it."
"Get what?" James asked, his voice breaking.
"There's no one at the Palm Woods who wouldn't make out with you. I get it, okay? Did Kendall put you up to this?"
"No! No, Logan, I'm not --"
"I don't want to -- stop," Logan said. He swallowed hard and finally turned the key. "Just stop. Leave me a little dignity and leave me alone."
James didn't say anything on the whole ride home.
--
Kendall banged on the door to his bedroom. It was locked, but there was no sound of movement from within. He banged again and again, but got nothing.
He moved down the hall and knocked on Carlos' and James' door. Carlos answered it, but he just shook his head. Kendall peered around him and saw James lying on the floor, looking like someone had stolen his swagger. "He's comatose," Carlos said. "Stumbled in. Lay down. Hasn't moved."
"So I take it the seduction isn't going well, Romeo?" Kendall asked. He sat down on the floor, and nudged James.
James turned his head to look, then said, "Leave me alone to die."
"James --"
"The direct route has ruined my life." James rolled on to his stomach and smooshed his face against the carpet. That was definitely a bad sign.
"You're gonna get rugburn on your face," Carlos mused.
James mumbled something incoherent.
"What happened?" Kendall asked.
Another mumble. Kendall nudged James with his foot, and James rolled on to his side and swatted at Kendall's foot. Then groaned and said, "I kissed him and he hated it."
"Seriously?" Carlos gasped.
"But you're a great kisser," Kendall said, then coughed awkwardly when James smirked at him and Carlos raised his eyebrows.
"Logan doesn't think so. Logan hates me."
"I'm sure he doesn't hate you," Carlos tried.
"He does." James flopped back on to his stomach.
Kendall tipped his head back, considering. James just looked kind of pathetic -- but of course he did. The weird thing was how much sense it made to Kendall. James hadn't actually cared about seducing him at all, so it had been no problem for him to just keep trying and trying. But if he really liked Logan, and Logan had turned him down...
This called for a pep talk. Kendall got to his feet and started pacing.
"James, do you remember when we were twelve, and you had pneumonia the week of our biggest hockey game? There was no way we could win without you, and the day before you were so sick you could barely stand up. But did you let that stop you?"
"No!" Carlos said enthusiastically. Then, "Or... or did you want him to say that?"
James mumbled incoherently.
"Carlos is right," Kendall continued. "You snuck out of your house and hid in my mom's trunk, and you had to be hospitalized as soon as the game ended, but you made it and we won."
"That was awesome," Carlos put in.
"Right!" Kendall continued. "And of the four of us, who was the first to make out with a girl -- and get to second base -- and, uh, beyond?"
James rolled over and admitted, "Okay, that was me. And it was pretty awesome."
"Right," Kendall continued. "You've always been fearless on the ice, and fearless when it comes to girls."
"But Logan's not a girl," Carlos said.
Kendall shot him a glare and plowed on: "So now you've got a challenge in front of you. Are you going to lie there and get rug burn all over your pretty face, or are you going to get up, dust off, and go break down the door and seduce your boy?"
There was a long pause, then James sat up. "Fine. Carlos, get your helmet. We have a door to break down."
"Awesome!" Carlos cheered, and reached for his helmet. Then added, "But you know Logan's not in there, right?"
"Huh?" Kendall and James asked in unison.
"Yeah. He snuck out the window awhile ago." Carlos shrugged. "He always does that when he's upset."
James collapsed back on to the floor and Kendall hazarded, "Well... at least you've got time to scheme. And between the three of us, we can probably come up with a pretty good scheme."
--
Logan sat out in Palm Woods park by himself for a long time. It was a little eerie late at night, and when he looked up at the sky he couldn't make out a single star, which was depressing. Back home in Minnesota, he and the guys would sleep outside all the time during the summer, and years ago, he'd memorized dozens of constellations. But Hollywood wasn't Minnesota, and nothing was quite so simple here.
So he liked James. He liked boys. That actually wasn't too hard to come to terms with. It wasn't like Logan had ever thought of it before, but he'd had enough passing thoughts that all it really did was crystallize what had been in the back of his mind. It wasn't the sexuality component that bothered him. It was just that it was James.
Logan was too smart to think James was serious. The kiss had been... well, great. But of course it had. Practice made perfect, and practicing kissing was basically James' favorite thing in the world. He'd do it with anyone, and do way more than kiss if they'd let him get away with it, and it never meant anything. It was just his fun, Saturday night activity.
With Logan, it probably hadn't even been that. James liked to rub it in when he won -- they all did, an unfortunate side-effect of being hyper-competitive all the time -- so Logan should have known something was coming when James practically let him off the hook for their bet. Sure, Logan would only have to go out with James once, but James was going to make his point once and for all: absolutely everyone wanted him, and that included Logan. He'd given Logan no choice but to admit it.
Eventually, it got late enough that Logan's head began to nod and he figured everyone else was asleep. He really couldn't deal with anyone yet. Sure enough, when he got to the foot of the building, there were no lights on in any of 2J's windows. Which was good, but on the other hand, the darkness made it a little difficult to scramble up, over his the windowsill, and in.
Logan hauled himself over the edge, then froze as a light flared to life. He spun towards Kendall's bed, ready to apologize for locking Kendall out when he wasn't even in the room (sneaking out just avoided awkward where-are-you-going, when-will-you-be-back, what's-the-matter questions), but Kendall's bed was empty.
Slowly, he turned to face his own bed.
James was lying in it.
And James was wearing a labcoat with a pair of thick-rimmed, lens-less glasses, and licking a sliderule.
Logan blinked, his brain not really processing anything but that last part. Where the heck did James even get a sliderule?
"Where did you even get a sliderule?" he blathered, then winced, screwing his eyes shut and waiting for laughter.
None came.
Logan opened his eyes, and found James had shifted, and the labcoat had fallen open, revealing that James wasn't wearing a shirt beneath it. Logan actually let out a tiny, involuntary gasp. James' washboard abs just weren't fair. His voice cracked when he said, "This isn't funny."
"I'm not joking." James waggled his eyebrows and made an incredibly dirty motion with his tongue against the sliderule.
Logan turned away and stared resolutely at Kendall's stupid hockey posters. "You made your point! You win! Now go away!"
"Why? What's wrong with me?" James demanded. "Am I not pretty enough for you? Am I not a good enough kisser?"
"Just stop. I don't want..." Logan trailed off, and slowly turned back around. He swallowed, staring at James, taking in the sight. God, James was gorgeous. Logan remembered how he'd kissed, remembered how that evening had felt... but... James was just making a stupid point, and he'd make out with anyone. Even Kendall, who had probably made James do this as revenge.
"What don't you want?" James asked softly. "Because I was pretty sure this," he gestured at the labcoat, "would do it for you, but if you want something else, I'll do it. The store I was at earlier had a fireman costume --"
"Stop!" Logan yelped. "You made your point already!"
"I'm not making a point!" James yelled back.
Logan stared at him. "Then... what are you doing?"
"If you have to ask, I'm obviously not doing a very good job." James waggled his eyebrows and shifted so the labcoat fell further open. "I mean, come on. We went out, we had a good time, and here I am."
Logan froze, his brain working through that as another possibility. If this wasn't about the bet and James proving himself, then... Then James thought of him as just another Saturday night girl. Boy. Whatever. What was sad was how much that hurt, too. It was a little better than what Logan had thought, but not much. Because he didn't want to be just another one of James' conquests, he wanted... more. Maybe it was Kendall's stupid romantic anniversary -- non-anniversary -- rubbing off on him or something, but Logan didn't just want some fling with James. Which was stupid. James only did flings.
"I'm not..." Logan heaved a breath and made himself look away from James' six-pack, which was no easy feat. "I don't just... I can't just... No."
"Why not? It was a good kiss, wasn't it?"
Logan almost laughed. Of course James thought it was all about kissing. "That's why. It was great, but I don't just kiss people, okay? I only do that with people I really like, so unless you're suddenly looking for a relationship and not just someone to screw around with..."
"But that is what I want," James said.
"Yeah, right."
"Logan!" James squawked. "Look at me! Have you ever seen me work this hard for anyone?"
"Yeah. Kendall. Yesterday."
"That was a bet! I had to do that, to prove to you that I'm awesome, so you'd want me like I want you!"
"You..." Logan stared at him. "What?"
James shrugged. "I've been trying to show you how great I am for months now, and you kept not noticing, so when you told me to seduce Kendall, I had to. I didn't want to! But I had to."
Logan massaged his temples and reminded himself that James was not actually that bright. So okay, from James' point of view... bragging about his conquests wasn't just meant to show off, it was meant to impress Logan? Because, oh. Right. If Logan knew what a great kisser he was, or whatever, the Logan would want to...
The pieces fell into place and Logan laughed. James made a little offended noise, but Logan waved that off. "So you just wanted me to notice, and I just wanted you to shut up. Because I was jealous of all of those girls," Logan explained.
"You could have told me!" James squeaked.
"You could have told me," Logan shot back.
"I -- but -- uh -- you -- wait," James said, and held up his hands. "Wait. So you're saying you like me. And I like you. And it was a good kiss, right?"
"Great," Logan admitted.
"So... why are you still standing over there, instead of being here, on the bed, with me, making out?"
Logan blinked. "For a guy who's not bright, sometimes you're very smart." He laughed and stumbled towards the bed, let James grab his arm and pull him down. Then he was suddenly grateful that James was more experienced than he was, because James tugged him down and shifted and the next thing Logan knew, he was sprawled on top of James, one hand pressed against James' very, very solid chest. He traced his way down, ran a finger across the sharp lines of James' washboard abs, his mind going blank as he marveled at the feeling. James grinned, then shifted yet again, rolling them over so he was on top, and he ducked his head and kissed Logan.
Logan's brain shorted out. James was -- the kiss was -- their limbs were all entwined, tangled, god -- James smelled good and felt good and he wanted him, Logan, and not just some fling. It was too much, and too great, and Logan moaned and couldn't stop himself from thrusting, rubbing against James' body. Not that James seemed to mind. He made a noise somewhere low in his throat and did something with his hips that sent a jolt of electricity all the way up Logan's spine.
"See?" James panted in his ear. "This is good, right?"
Logan was smart, which was why he answered, "If I say no, are you going to keep this up just to impress me?"
"Probably. But if you say yes, we get to do this all the time anyway."
"Then..." Logan tipped his chin up to kiss James, because James was right there,wouldn't? Anyone would, but the fact that James wanted him left Logan giddy. He chuckled against James' ear and said, "Yeah, yeah. This is very good. Practically perfect. I just..." He moaned as James did that thing with his hips again, then looked at him teasingly.
"Just?" James prompted, his hand stroking slowly down Logan's arm. He murmured, "Damn, Logan, nice guns," and tipped his head to kiss Logan again.
"Just one question," Logan panted, turning his head slightly so he could talk.
"Then you'll stop interrupting me so we can make out?" James asked.
"Yeah," Logan agreed, and tried to mimic James' earlier move, rolling them back over. He didn't quite make it, but they ended up on their sides, with James' back right against the wall, legs still all tangled together. Logan kissed James again, and James made that delicious noise, and Logan almost forgot, but --
"So what's your question?" James asked, mumbling right against Logan's jaw.
Logan laughed, running his hand up James' shoulder, tugging the labcoat off a little. It was ridiculous. James' whole outfit was, but he'd had done it just to turn Logan on, and it would be a lie if Logan claimed it hadn't worked --
"Well?" James added, shrugging the white coat off entirely.
Logan grinned. "I just have to know one thing."
"What?"
"Where... where did you get the sliderule?"
End.