#logan x finn x leo

[remuslupininskirts]

I need Wolfstar recs! Please. I can never find good fics.

Wait give me a minute to compile.

*Me takes ages to get list then forgets about ask by accident*

Me: shit.

Okay here we go

Storms and stress

Sirius is a student at durmstrang and comes to hogwarts then meets the boys

Forever is a state of mind

Deaf dance choreographer remus with young teddy meets make-up artist sirius.

Red, White & Royal Annoyance

Rwrb au for wolfstar (the garden kiss)

Siriusly? The moon!? Okay i went through a period of really liking social media aus so this is another

Countermoves

Hunger games au.

Literally read anything by athenowl and you should be good so hears some of their other stuffs

Axe and sword

Royal au -athenowl

The secret garden

A secret garden au -athenowl

Okay i will stop with the athenowl love now

Turn on my charm

Oh wait another fuckin YouTuber au i promise i dont have a problem

.You’re my kaleidoscope

Raising teddy au after he was left on remus’s doorstep. James and sirius step up to the plate to help

The kitchens

Will you accept another royal au?

OKAY AND THE BEST FOR LAST. MY FAVOURITE SHIP AND SUB-FANDOM

Sweater weather

Ice hockey au. It has the best fandom ever around it with loads of other fics.

My favourites being written by @/fruitcoops

Who may or may not also be athenowl

Their fics are just crazy good okay.

[xxxregulusblackxxx]

Anyone else want more Leo Knut and Regulus content? Like PLEASE there always said to be hanging out, show me them! We already know Regulus wears his jersey to games, show me them fake flirting in front of the team, show me Regulus having his gay realization one of those times and show me Remus picking up on it. Show me big Brother Remus Lupin to Regulus and show me Regulus having a breakdown over a crush that's forming show me him TRYING to distance himself from Leo but there so co dependent at that point he can't. Show me Logan realizing Regulus feelings and telling him it's okay and he gets it. Show me Regulus falling for the Cubs and them falling back but not saying anything to each till Logan says something to Finn and Leo. Show me Leo inviting Regulus over and confessioning then his other 2 confesse after and Regulus is so overwhelmed but it's good and show me Regulus just kissing Leo then kissing Finnlo.

OR Show be best friends Regulus and Leo. Show me Regulus ranting about Barty and possibly Evan to Leo and trying to decide if he wants to ask them out or not. Show me Regulus showing up at halftime to a game the Lions are losing and just saying to Leo. "My boyfriend's are here do better Knut. They can't be thinking my best friends is a loser" In his super sarcastic tone that he only uses with Leo and Rosekiller and then show me Leo getting super excited because "You asked them out?" And it just boosting his mood so much that it affects the whole team. Show me Regulus bringing his boys in saying "Good job you aren't all losers. Meet my boyfriends" Show me Sirius absolutely lose his mind because "what the fuck" and "Reggie you're gay?". Show me Leo smiling watching his best friend then coming up to Barty and Even and being super supportive but also threatening.

Look. I'm a multi shipper what do you want from me? I ship Jegulus too just not in the SW universe

[floralflorence]

i really thought that the hardest part about writing ships with 4 male characters was making sure that when i used 'he' yall would know who i was on about. apparently names are also an issue. Just wrote that logan was sucking himself off and didn't think anything of it... 🫠🫠

[ajanonsworld]

Just thinking about how after wc 2022 there were a bunch of messi x Taylor swift edits and now after finishing Sweather weather by lumosinlove all I can think about is someone making the same edit of Sirius to your on your own kid 🥲

Imagine young Sirius at the start and by the end it's full of pride flags, Sirius being more open and friendly in interviews and ending the edit with Sirius and Remus on the ice after they won the cup 😭😭 wish an edit like this existed low-key!

[clickoly]

O'Knutzy Week - Day 2

Part II of Starboys, a Cubs Formula One AU

Characters by @lumosinlove, for @oknutzy-week-2024

Prompts: Changes, Racing

Links to: Part I, Ao3

Here comes Nutter Butter 🌻

•••

Endless weekend on a wave 

FormulaNews24 @formulanews24 (1d)

Eyes on the track as we witness history in the making! Silver Racing unveils a new bold addition to Tremblay's strategy team. Meet 22 year old Leo Knut, the youngest race engineer in F1 history. 

#ItalianGP #SilverRacing #LT10

"Loops!" Finn shouted. His curious eyes darted over the picture of a smiling blond man on the X For You page.

Qualifying was about to start and Finn was killing time, trying to calm his nerves before jumping into the car. 

The fireproof undershirt felt suffocating, and his cherry red racing suit lay unfastened and loose around his hips, in a hopeless attempt to beat the sweltering heat. 

Finn locked the phone's screen and pulled up from the desk he was leaning on, scanning the noisy garage. Remus was sitting on a stool, one leg shaking nervously on the footrest, lips pinched between long, bitten fingers. His full attention was caught between too many monitors at once.  

"Loops." Finn moved closer. 

Remus didn't bother to acknowledge him, he just pointed to a sheet of data on screen. "Here," he said. "You're braking too early over there, before the chicane."

"By how many–"

"Two hundredths," Remus was always one step ahead. "I've been up all night studying the numbers, Harz," he turned to him, looking resolute. "This is your only chance to get the pole." 

Finn blew out a long, deep sigh. "I know it is." 

"And I know you can do it." 

Can I ? Finn couldn't help but wonder. 

"Aw, Loops," he cooed instead. "You're gonna make me cry." 

Remus just shook his head affectionately. 

Starting from the front row on Sunday wouldn’t be enough. Finn wanted the pole position. But weighing down the load of an emotionally tough week were the expectations of too many people he couldn't disappoint. It was the Scuderia's home race, after all, and all eyes were on him and his teammate Kasey. 

Right now, however, Finn couldn't bring himself to think about numbers, times, and strategies. Together with his team, he had discussed all the details a hundred times that morning, right after the third and final free practice session. Because Logan had set the fastest lap. 

Finn knew exactly what to do and how to do it. He just wished he could escape that oppressive weight on his shoulders, the intrusive fear of failing—a bitter consequence of the events of the past week.

So he dared a topic switch, if only to avoid giving himself and his concerns away. 

"Hey, where's Black?" He asked casually. 

Remus eyed him suspiciously. "How should I know?" 

"I understand that you want to be professional," Finn arched one of his dark red eyebrows. "You know, being friends with the enemy," he pretended to whisper. "But honestly, you two are as thick as thieves." 

The veil of pink that brushed Remus' pale cheeks betrayed him. "You're the one to talk," he grumbled back, then pretended to check the time. "Green light in five, Harz. Go get ready." 

"You're no fun, you know that, right?" 

"Yeah? Want to trade me for your bff' s new race engineer?" Remus' grin was teasing. 

"No need to get defensive," Finn scoffed indignantly. "And that's why I asked about Sirius, by the way." 

"Meaning?" 

"I'm curious," Finn shrugged. "I thought he might have told you something about their new acquisition." 

Remus went back to the screens. "He didn't say much. Just that Knut's young and talented. But rumor has it he's a real hothead."

"Well," a familiar voice chimed into the conversation. "He sure is hot." 

A sharp elbow hit Finn's waist and he found himself shoulder to shoulder with a smirking Natalie Darcy.

"What's up Loops?" 

"Hey Nat," Remus laughed. 

"What?" Finn asked, confused by her amused face. 

"Were you blushing, O'Hara?" 

"No. I... I'm," Finn stuttered. "What? I wasn't blushing." 

"If you say so," she smiled smugly. "Sorry to interrupt, guys, but I need Freckle here," she gestured toward Finn with the camera in her hands. "Gotta get some shots for the qualy posts." 

"Better do that in the car," Remus suggested. "Harz, radio check in two minutes." 

"Copy," Finn nodded, then spun on his heels to go grab the rest of his equipment. 

"We should do another close-up with the helmet on," Natalie offered as Finn stepped into the car. "Fans go crazy for those big eyes, you know?" 

"Yeah?" Finn tried to act casual as Natalie nimbly captured his movements from different angles. 

"Yep," she twisted the lens again with a smooth flick of her wrist. "But I prefer Kasey's." 

"Of course you do," he chuckled, then finally pulled down the visor. "Wish me luck," he said louder as the engine roared to life. 

Natalie patted his helmet. "You won't need it."

–

There had always been a moment before a race when Logan would simply close his eyes and breathe deeply. A peaceful silence would permeate his mind, leaving out the deafening noise of twenty rumbling engines ready to run, and the roaring crowd, ecstatic and impatient for some action. It was a much-needed release to make room for concentration and nothing else, right before the emotional rush that washed over him every time the countdown began.

That Sunday, Logan was starting from P2. To his left, perfectly positioned on the first grid slot, was Finn's car. The crimson livery shone brightly in the few rays of a timid sun. The pattern of red and yellow lines on Finn's glossy black helmet, partially hidden behind the halo, reflected the afternoon light perfectly, drawing a slightly curving 17 on top of his head. 

Logan had tried to be mad about it. He'd wanted the pole, he'd put in a fantastic lap, and yet Finn had overqualified him by three hundredths of a second. He'd really meant to be upset, if only for the sake of appearances. But as soon as they'd climbed out of their cars, sweaty and out of breath, the glow that had brightened Finn's face at the crowd's loud cheers had instantly tamed Logan's furor.

On the other hand, the hint of disappointment in Leo’s voice had also been a hard pill to swallow. I’m sorry , he’d said over the radio at the end of the Q3 session, as if it had been his fault. But Leo had done a perfect job. He’d been confident and meticulous, showing his professionalism to everyone in the pit wall, and to Logan as well. He didn’t want Leo to feel guilty about that. Sharing the front row with Finn was a good starting point for a thrilling battle for the win. 

Still, Logan understood his concerns and the impulsive urge to prove that he was worthy of the responsibility he’d been given, despite his young age and all the rumors that had made their way to the paddock. 

Now, feet ready on the pedals and hands tight on the steering wheel, where gloved fingers brushed over the shift paddles, Logan looked out at the clear track in front of him and felt the first wave of adrenaline run down his spine. 

"Mode A on," Leo’s voice came through the earbuds. "Lights out in thirty seconds." 

"Let’s bring this home, Nut," Logan grinned to himself. "And tonight we're going to celebrate together." 

The next second, his eyes were locked on the starting gantry, intent and alert. Somewhere near the end of the pit lane, the hand of a clock marked two o'clock, and the five lights ahead of him began to turn on in sequence.

One.

Two. Breathe.

Three. Focus.

Four.

Five. 

It’s lights out and away we go here in Monza! Amazing reaction time for both men in Red, with Logan Tremblay still in between, contending the lead with O’Hara and Winter down to turn one. Here comes O’Hara first, then Tremblay, and James Potter goes to the inside, but Winter has the power to hang on to third position, as they all make their way through the first chicane. 

It wasn't until Turn 3 that Leo realized he was holding his breath, caught in his dry throat. He scanned the monitor, looking for anomalies, the back of his pen clicking insistently on the full page of notes in his journal. Everything seemed fine. 

The live feed showed Logan darting away from Kasey and rushing behind Finn, waiting for the best chance to overtake him.

"You all right, Knutty?"

Leo lowered one of the earpieces of his headset and faced Sirius, nodding briefly and giving him a polite smile.

"Good, you're doing great," Sirius smiled back, and once again Leo couldn't believe his luck. 

How many times he'd imagined this exact moment, he couldn't say. Late, sleepless nights spent over books. Endless days of training, split between work at the factory and research for his thesis. Leaving New Orleans, his family and friends, and moving to England to fulfill his dream. It all finally made sense, because this was where he was meant to be. 

He could be grateful for all the risks he'd taken, all the sacrifices he'd made. And on top of that, he'd been assigned to Logan, Silver Racing's star driver, to assist him in one of the greatest battles for the world championship ever witnessed.

Leo reached for the radio console with one hand and held the boom microphone to his mouth with the other as he spoke. "DRS is enabled," he told Logan. "Right now you're 0.4 behind."

Logan's voice came back scratchy, slightly static. "I'm trying," he panted. "He's too fast."  

As a fan of the sport, Leo had followed both of them throughout their careers. Finn was an incredibly gifted driver, and Leo remembered the struggle of the past few years, trying to get the best out of a very problematic car that had allowed him only a few wins. Logan was just as skilled, born to speed through tight corners and sharp hairpins. Lucky to drive an exceptionally fast car that had rarely been beaten in recent seasons.

Watching them race against each other had always been astonishing, an emotional experience like admiring a masterpiece of art. So it shouldn't have surprised Leo to see them battling for the lead, showing off technical offensive and defensive moves that were driving the crowd crazy.

Until something unexpected happened just before the start of lap thirty-five.

"Shit, look at that," Sirius nudged him, pointing to his laptop.

Leo watched as the track map on screen slowly filled with patches of different shades of blue.

"Heavy rain expected in ten minutes," he heard Sirius tell James over the radio, before looking back at him expectantly. It was then that Leo noticed the dark clouds approaching rapidly with the increasing force of the wind. 

A strategy. They needed a new, effective strategy. Quickly.

"Finn has fresh medium tires," Leo began, twiddling the pen between his long fingers as he spoke. "They're going to pit Kasey first, 'cause he won't have any grip for a full lap with washed hards."

Sirius kept humming as he followed his train of thought.

"And they might be expecting a red flag, or maybe a safety car if someone slides off the track. But if we call Logan in for inters as soon as it starts raining harder..."

"What if they don't want to wait?" Sirius said. 

"We'll pit him anyway, just follow plan A. Same strategy as the leader," Leo explained. "But if we manage to get Logan in before Finn, he could easily end up leading the race."

Sirius rubbed a hand over his dark stubble, his icy grey eyes telling Leo he was thinking a mile a minute. "Okay," he breathed. "But James is coming in with him."

Leo nodded. "It's going to be chaotic, but it'll work out."

Please, I need this to work out.

At the other end of the pit lane, the mechanics rushed to grab two sets of new intermediate tires. Then they took their positions in the pit stall, helmets on, ready to spring into action.

Leo felt the smell of rain first, the strong scent that the contact with the hot asphalt released. He spun around in his chair to hold a flat palm over the canopy, where a gentle drizzle wet his hand, the intensity increasing by the second.

He locked eyes with Sirius again as they silently agreed to proceed with their plan. A single, confident nod was all he needed.

"Box, box," Leo chanted over the radio.

"What? Already?" Logan protested.

"Yes," he insisted. "Please Logan, confirm the pit stop."

Now, this is unusual. Silver is calling both of their drivers to box on this lap. That's Tremblay coming into the pits, followed by Kasey Winter and, wow, it's getting crowded out there. It's going to be a real mess with the intensity of this rain. 

O’Hara stays out, and with a quick look at the data I can tell you he’s slowing down considerably to keep the car on track. 

With a 2.2 second pit stop Logan Tremblay leads the way out of the pit lane, Winter and Potter on his tail. And isn't that brilliant? They're coming back right behind the nine cars being called to pit right now! 

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new race leader. 

The whole grid held out for eighteen laps in wet conditions, and despite the downpour, Logan managed to gain a considerable advantage over the others. Finn made his comeback to second place, overtaking car after car in almost zero visibility—a true racing masterclass that had sent a thrill up Leo's spine.

But Finn couldn't reach Logan, too far away, now engaged in navigating the infamous high-speed parabola just a few meters from the checkered flag. 

"Leo," Logan shouted into his ears. He could picture some kind of delirious grin on Logan's lips just from his voice.

And wasn't Leo delirious himself.

He stared, heart in his throat, as the GPS signal of Logan's car crossed the finish line. Only then did he realize what had just happened.

Leo didn't know what face he was making when Sirius clapped a strong hand on his back. His smile was euphoric, so wide it began to hurt a little in the corners. But he held himself still, enough to look composed if a camera caught him.

"Well done, Logan." He smiled into the mic. The radio message would certainly have been broadcast on tv. "A well-deserved win. You did a fantastic job today."

"I want you on the podium," was Logan's reply, a little breathless. Leo swore he could faint right then and there. "This one is yours as well." 

If this was a dream, Leo didn't want to wake up, ever .

Sirius had dragged him to the cool down room to wait for the top three drivers before the podium ceremony. He'd also insisted that Leo should be the team representative to accept the trophy for their victory. And as if that wasn't enough, Leo's mind was blown the second he spotted Logan and Finn walking together to their assigned posts, soaked from head to toe��their hair a complete mess from the helmets.

"Looks like I have a new nemesis," Finn greeted him with a teasing wink.

"Oh, you better be careful out there," Leo bit back, unable to stop himself from giggling when Logan rolled his eyes—a shade of green that stood out perfectly against his black racing suit.

"Not tonight," Logan said. "Tonight we're having fun."

"Yeah?" Finn sounded surprised. “What are you up to, Tremblay?”

Logan looked mischievously between them. "You're going to find out. Hey, Bliz," he turned to Kasey, who was busy chugging a bottle of water in one go. "You with us?"

"Sorry, guys," he panted a little, then smiled. "I promised a date to a fancy Italian restaurant."

"And you? What do you say?" Logan playfully shoved Leo. As if he could ever say no to something like that.

"Sounds fun." He crossed his arms over his chest, a mocking grin on his lips. "But wherever we're going, I am driving."

"No way," Finn and Logan chorused back, and a carefree laugh broke out of Leo's chest. He felt blissful.

And maybe it wasn't, but this all felt like a crazy dream.

[eludin-realm]

Character Name Ideas (Male)

So I've been browsing through BehindTheName (great resource!) recently and have compiled several name lists. Here are some names, A-Z, that I like. NOTE: If you want to use any of these please verify sources, meanings etc, I just used BehindTheName to browse and find all of these. Under the cut:

A: Austin, Aiden, Adam, Alex, Angus, Anthony, Archie, Argo, Ari, Aric, Arno, Atlas, August, Aurelius, Alexei, Archer, Angelo, Adric, Acarius, Achilou, Alphard, Amelian, Archander B: Bodhi, Bastian, Baz, Beau, Beck, Buck, Basil, Benny, Bentley, Blake, Bowie, Brad, Brady, Brody, Brennan, Brent, Brett, Brycen C: Cab, Cal, Caden, Cáel, Caelan, Caleb, Cameron, Chase, Carlos, Cooper, Carter, Cas, Cash, Cassian, Castiel, Cedric, Cenric, Chance, Chandler, Chaz, Chad, Chester, Chet, Chip, Christian, Cillian, Claude, Cicero, Clint, Cody, Cory, Coy, Cole, Colt, Colton, Colin, Colorado, Colum, Conan, Conrad, Conway, Connor, Cornelius, Creed, Cyneric, Cynric, Cyrano, Cyril, Cyrus, Crestian, Ceric D: Dallas, Damien, Daniel, Darach, Dash, Dax, Dayton, Denver, Derek, Des, Desmond, Devin, Dewey, Dexter, Dietrich, Dion, Dmitri, Dominic, Dorian, Douglas, Draco, Drake, Drew, Dudley, Dustin, Dusty, Dylan, Danièu E: Eadric, Evan, Ethan, Easton, Eddie, Eddy, Einar, Eli, Eilas, Eiljah, Elliott, Elton, Emanuel, Emile, Emmett, Enzo, Erik, Evander, Everett, Ezio F: Faolán, Faron, Ferlin, Felix, Fenrir, Fergus, Finley, Finlay, Finn, Finnian, Finnegan, Flint, Flip, Flynn, Florian, Forrest, Fritz G: Gage, Gabe, Grady, Grant, Gray, Grayson, Gunnar, Gunther, Galahad H: Hale, Harley, Harper, Harvey, Harry, Huey, Hugh, Hunter, Huxley I: Ian, Ianto, Ike, Inigo, Isaac, Isaias, Ivan, Ísak J: Jack, Jacob, Jake, Jason, Jasper, Jax, Jay, Jensen, Jed, Jeremy, Jeremiah, Jesse, Jett, Jimmie, Jonas, Jonas, Jonathan, Jordan, Josh, Julien, Jovian, Jun, Justin, Joseph, Joni, K: Kaden, Kai, Kale, Kane, Kaz, Keane, Keaton, Keith, Kenji, Kenneth, Kent, Kevin, Kieran, Kip, Knox, Kris, Kristian, Kyle, Kay, Kristján, Kristófer L: Lamont, Lance, Landon, Lane, Lars, László, Laurent, Layton, Leander, Leif, Leo, Leonidas, Leopold, Levi, Lewis, Louie, Liam, Liberty, Lincoln, Linc, Linus, Lionel, Logan, Loki, Lucas, Lucian, Lucio, Lucky, Luke, Luther, Lyall, Lycus, Lykos, Lyle, Lyndon, Llewellyn, Landri, Laurian, Lionç M: Major, Manny, Manuel, Marcus, Mason, Matt, Matthew, Matthias, Maverick, Maxim, Memphis, Midas, Mikko, Miles, Mitch, Mordecai, Mordred, Morgan, Macari, Maïus, Maxenci, Micolau, Miro N: Nate, Nathan, Nathaniel, Niall, Nico, Niels, Nik, Noah, Nolan, Niilo, Nikander, Novak, O: Oakley, Octavian, Odin, Orlando, Orrick, Ǫrvar, Othello, Otis, Otto, Ovid, Owain, Owen, Øyvind, Ozzie, Ollie, Oliver, Onni P: Paisley, Palmer, Percival, Percy, Perry, Peyton, Phelan, Phineas, Phoenix, Piers, Pierce, Porter, Presley, Preston, Pacian Q: Quinn, Quincy, Quintin R: Ragnar, Raiden, Ren, Rain, Rainier, Ramos, Ramsey, Ransom, Raul, Ray, Roy, Reagan, Redd, Reese, Rhys, Rhett, Reginald, Remiel, Remy, Ridge, Ridley, Ripley, Rigby, Riggs, Riley, River, Robert, Rocky, Rokas, Roman, Ronan, Ronin, Romeo, Rory, Ross, Ruairí, Rufus, Rusty, Ryder, Ryker, Rylan, Riku, Roni S: Sammie, Sammy, Samuel, Samson, Sanford, Sawyer, Scout, Seán, Seth, Sebastian, Seymour, Shane, Shaun, Shawn, Sheldon, Shiloh, Shun, Sid, Sidney, Silas, Skip, Skipper, Skyler, Slade, Spencer, Spike, Stan, Stanford, Sterling, Stevie, Stijn, Suni, Sylvan, Sylvester T: Tab, Tad, Tanner, Tate, Tennessee, Tero, Terrance, Tevin, Thatcher, Tierno, Tino, Titus, Tobias, Tony, Torin, Trace, Trent, Trenton, Trev, Trevor, Trey, Troy, Tripp, Tristan, Tucker, Turner, Tyler, Ty, Teemu U: Ulric V: Valerius, Valor, Van, Vernon, Vespasian, Vic, Victor, Vico, Vince, Vinny, Vincent W: Wade, Walker, Wallis, Wally, Walt, Wardell, Warwick, Watson, Waylon, Wayne, Wes, Wesley, Weston, Whitley, Wilder, Wiley, William, Wolfe, Wolfgang, Woody, Wulfric, Wyatt, Wynn X: Xander, Xavier Z: Zachary, Zach, Zane, Zeb, Zebediah, Zed, Zeke, Zeph, Zaccai

[awanderingdeal]

O'Knutzy week 2023 - Day 2

Character credit - @lumosinlove

For @oknutzyweek2023

Prompts: Proposal, cooking mishaps, advice, laundry, new

Leo is going to propose to Logan and Finn, and it is going to be perfect. He's just a little nervous about it.

He buys the rings. That part goes great. 3 simple white gold bands. Logan and Finn's are inscribed with ' L x' That's the way Leo always signs off his notes to them. His own is inscribed with "Yours always,." Nothing else about the run-up seems to go right. He can't decide when or where to do it.

Finn and Logan are getting worried because Leo seems to be super distracted and making silly little mistakes he didn't usually. Including a few cooking mishaps - a very flat cake, a burnt chicken and a chilli that nearly kills Logan. ("How is it?" Leo called from the kitchen. He knows Logan and Finn will have started even without the sour cream and cheese he was currently holding. A little taste test, they called it. Except he didn't get the usual plethora of compliments. Then he hears the coughing. Was someone choking? "Guys! What's happening?!" His heart pounded in his chest as he rushed back into the dining area. Nobody was choking, but Logan was pushed his chair back from the table, beads of sweat pilling at his forehead and breath now coming in short little pants. "Is it bad?" Leo asked sceptically. He didn't make bad chilli; his ancestors would disown him. "Just a little hot," Logan said.)

The next time he phones his dad, he asks for his advice. He'd proposed to his mom so surely he must have tips, right? His dad is less than helpful with ideas, but he does calm him down. "Most folk that propose are nervous, son. But let me tell you something. If those boys of yours want to say yes, then they will say yes no matter what. And there ain't no perfect time or place that's going to turn a no into a yes. If you ask me though, they'll say yes. Be stupid not to."

In the end he does it on new year's eve. They'd decided on a quiet one this year. They'd just moved into a new place and had literally finished unpacking the last box - or at least those that didn't include those ones that would sit in the garage for the next two years before being donated - the day before. It's 4pm in the afternoon and the three of them are folding a pile of laundry. "I don't remember wearing this," Finn said, as he folded an old Harvard hoodie. "It was me," Logan shrugged, plucking a t-shirt from the pile. That one was Leo's. "This one too. But you can have them back, they won't smell like you any more." "Marry me." The words slip out of Leo's mouth before he even realises. He blinks. Logan blinks. Finn blinks. Leo is the first to recover. "Fuck. This wasn't supposed to go like this. I have rings and everything. Wait here," Leo said. He doesn't wait for a reply as he jogs to the spare room where he's hidden the rings. "Spoiler alert, I'm going to say yes!" Finn laughs.

[themomsandthecity]

Phoenix, Oscar, Leo, Arlo, and 170 More of the Cutest Names For Baby Boys

Brainstorming baby names can be one of the most fun (and important) aspects of planning for the arrival of your little one, but it can also feel really overwhelming. If you don't have certain requirements, like wanting a name that runs in the family, the possibilities can seem endless. Our names are the first thing tied to our identities, and we know how daunting that sounds - so we're here to ease you of any stress you have on your hunt for cute baby boy names. Choosing a cute boy name that will be equally fitting for an adorable infant and the adult he grows into can be a challenge, which is why we compiled this list of cute, unique boy names. You're sure to find an option that flow well with your last name or other kids' names among the cute names for boys we rounded up here. You might even find two that you like to help you out with a middle name option. (Oh, and if you want options for cute girls' names, we have you covered for that too, with our list of cute girl names.) Cute Names For Boys A Abe, Addison, Aiden, Amir, Amos, Ansel, Archie, Ari, Arlo, Asher, Atticus, August, Austin, Avery, Axel B Beau, Beckett, Bentley, Benicio, Benito, Benjamin, Billy, Bishop, Blake, Bodhi, Briggs, Brody, Brooks C Caleb, Campbell, Carter, Caspian, Charlie, Cody, Colby, Cole, Colton, Cooper, Crew, Crosby, Cruz D Dallas, Dash, Dawson, Dax, Deacon, Diego, Dillan, Donovan, Dorian, Duke, Dustin, Dylan E Easton, Eden, Eli, Elias, Elliott, Emerson, Emmett, Ender, Enrique, Enzo, Everest, Ewan, Ezra F Felipe, Finley, Finn, Fletcher, Ford, Frankie, G Gabriel, Gage, Gavin, Graham, Grant, Gray, Greyson, Griffin, Gus Related: Waverly, Merritt, and 103 Other Unique and Beautiful Girls' Names H Harley, Henry, Hudson, Hugh, Hurley I Ian, Ira, Isaac, Isaiah J Jacob, Jack, Jaime, Jasper, Jaxon, Jayden, Jett, Jude, Julian K Kai, Khalil, Kingsley, Knox L Larkin, Leo, Liam, Logan, Luke M Mason, Maverick, Max, Memphis, Miles, Milo, Morris N Nate, Neo, Nico, Noah, Noe, Nolan O Oden, Oliver, Omari, Oscar, Otis, Owen P Peyton, Phoenix, Pierce Q Quentin, Quinn Related: 50 Adorable and Meaningful Names For Baby Boys in 2022 R Remy, Rhett, Rhys, Roman, Ronin, Rowan, Ryan, Ryder S Samuel, Sawyer, Santiago, Sebastian, Shane, Silas T Tate, Theodore, Titan, Tobias, Toby, Trenton U Uri V Valentino, Van, Virgil W Walker, Wesley, Wren, Wrenynn, Wyatt X Xander, Xavi, Xavier Y Yasir, Yates, Yonah, York, Yunis, Yuri Z Zachary, Zaiden, Zander, Zane https://www.popsugar.com/family/Cute-Boy-Names-43713664?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[splendidlyinlove]

hi!! super cute sweet nothing fic <3

was wondering if you would write a fluffy, domestic fic for the cubs? just like sleepiness or doing chores together or reading together idk i will take anything sweet!! x

I sure can! <3

To Love and Be Loved

Pairing: O'Knutzy

Rating: Teen and Up (for a singular swear)

Summary: Leo is making a grocery list. Logan is not pleased.

Read it on ao3!

All characters belong to the lovely and talented @lumosinlove 

Content warning for mentions of food!

Eggs. 

Bread.

Those croissants Fish likes.

I’m missing something…..

Leo worried the tip of his pen between his lips, his brow furrowed in cocentration, when a mass of blankets hit him square in the back. 

“Oof. Good morning to you too, mon amour.” 

“Iffs fol ihout oo n’ eree.” 

“I’m afraid that is not a language I speak” Leo chuckled. Logan lifted his head away from Leo’s back and out from the blanket enshrouding him. His curls were sticking up in varying directions and his bleary eyes shone in the early morning sun. 

“I said ‘It’s cold without you in there’ come back to bed Le.” 

“I’m in the middle of something and you’re cold because you're not wearing anything except boxers, go put some clothes on.” Leo smiled as arms tightened around his waist.  

“It's a Saturday, it's illegal to wear anything more than underwear and what is more important than going back to bed with your hot, and as you pointed out, half naked boyfriend at five in the morning?” 

“It’s nine thirty.” Logan let out a long exasperated sigh and let his forehead drop heavily against Leo’s back. Leo chuckled and  continued, “I’m making a grocery list, everything has been so hectic this week I forgot to get groceries and now we have literally nothing in the fridge to eat for breakfast. I meant to catch Finn before his morning run but he snuck out of bed without me noticing. So, I need to run out real quick and come back before I can make breakfast.” Leo rested his arm on the corner of the counter and gently rubbed his forehead with his hand. I’m missing something, what am I missing?

“We can always just order something from the diner around the corner. You don’t have to make breakfast for us, especially if you have to get up early to do it. Don’t worry Le, we’ll order something and I’ll get groceries this afternoon.” Logan placed a soft kiss in the middle of his spine. 

“I know, but it's something I like to do for y’all. It’s how I show you that I love you.” Leo turned around and softly gazed into Logan’s eyes, Logan’s mouth spread into a soft smile. 

“I think we’re both very aware of just how much you love us.” Logan took Leo’s hand and twined their fingers together. At that moment the telltale sound of a keys jingling spread throughout the apartment. Then a door opening. Then very loud rustling. Then something that sounded suspiciously like tripping and then a muffled shit. Leo shook his head, smiling in disbelief that this was Finn trying to be quiet, while Logan tried to stifle his laughter into Leo’s chest. Finn rounded the corner into the kitchen sweaty, flushed, and slightly out of breath carrying brown paper bags. He also had a small grimace on his face as he did a very good impression of a cartoon character tiptoeing. When he saw Logan and Leo his face broke into a wide relieved smile. 

“Oh, thank god you guys are already awake. I was so scared I woke you two up. Anyways,” Finn lifted up the paper bags in his hand “ I saw that we had no food in the fridge, so I went grocery shopping after my run. I got eggs, bread, those croissants I like, milk, and some other things. I got at least enough for breakfast, we might need to go back to get something I missed. I didn't have a list-” Finn continued to ramble. 

 Leo paused. Milk. Milk! That's what he was missing. A smile that shined like the sun bloomed on Leo’s face. He grabbed Finn’s face between his palms and kissed him soundly on the lips.

“You’re wonderful, you know?” 

Finn pulled back looking both dazed and in love. “Thanks?” 

Logan cleared his throat. “Now can we all go back to bed?” 

Finn looked down at his clothes, still sweaty from his run. “Would you settle for a warm shower?” 

Logan made a show of pondering this for a minute, before airily sighing and tilting his head towards the air. “I guess I can make that sacrifice.”

Finn flicked him on the back of the head. He grabbed both Leo’s and Logan’s wrists and dragged them towards the bathroom. 

[ninak803]

Elitist Nightmares

Another chapter is ready! Enjoy it. & read tags for CW.

@whataboutmyfries I don't know what to say... You're such an incredible good, nice, amazing bean!

Characters belong to @lumosinlove

@sunflowerfox87 here is a new Chapter!

Chapter 6

Remus

Remus walked up and down in his living room. He felt Leo’s eyes on him, following every step he took

The last few days, they had spent refining their plan and by now it was a pretty decent one. Sure, there still were variables, like Sirius himself, but they couldn't do much about it. They also didn't know when they would kick it off or how everything would work out in the end, but their plan couldn't get any better.

Remus sighed and sat down next to Leo.

“I went over it again and again. It's good as it is.” he said.

Leo nodded.

“You're nervous.” he stated.

Remus bit his lip; nervous was an understatement. He was supposed to trust a Black. Someone who was part of the family, who… No. His mind wouldn't go back to his own family. Not now, he still had work to do. He needed to stay calm.

“Yeah. I am. This is just not what I thought this mission would look like, not at all. I like to have control over things and now I have to trust Sirius Black to work with me.” Remus shook his head “I don't like it. I don't like him, I guess.”

“You don't like his family. And if he really is lying, you can still kill him.”

Remus laughed a little.

“You're right.”

They sat in silence for a while, Remus still thinking about everything he and Leo had talked about the last couple of hours. Remus rotated his shoulders a little to get rid of the tension in his muscles. It didn't work.

“You're going to work with O'Hara and Tremblay afterwards.” Remus said.

The younger one turned his head to look at him, something showing in his eyes. Curiosity, joy maybe, but definitely a bit of nervousness.

“They can teach you more. Both of them are pretty good at what they are doing. Usually. And I don't know what Dumbledore wants me to do next, I guess I'll have some time off, which would be good, considering that I have a houseguest by then.”

Leo nodded, a small smile on his lips.

“Yeah, sure. I don't mind. They both seemed… nice.”

Remus looked at him, then grinned a bit.

“Sure. You'll be doing fine with them.”

He took a sip from his coffee and scrunched his nose. It was cold by now and there was nothing worse than cold coffee, he sighed.

“Okay… You have the rest of the day off, Leo. I'm going to meet Sirius tonight and tell him about the details. I don't need you for that.”

“You sure? I could wait in the car, like the last time.”

Remus shook his head.

“No. I appreciate it, but no. You get some sleep tonight.”

---

It was the middle of the night as Remus sneaked through the Blacks mansion. He tried to not make any sound and listened very carefully if there was someone still awake who could notice him. He opened Sirius' bedroom door just a crack and slipped in. It was dark and Remus could hear Sirius soft, regular breaths. He was asleep. Well, not for very long anymore. Remus moved closer to his bed and looked at him; he was lying on his back, his mouth slightly ajar, his hair a mess around his head. He looked… calm. Remus hadn't seen him so relaxed before, he always seemed so stressed and restrained, but right now he seemed peaceful. Remus almost had a bad conscience that he would wake him up any moment. Just almost.

He touched Sirius' shoulder gently. When he didn't react, Remus shook him a bit. That did the trick. Sirius opened his eyes and almost jumped out of his bed when he noticed Remus. His hand moved up to his heart.

“Fuck you. You scared me. That's your way to get in touch with me? Scaring me to death?” Sirius said, his voice still heavy from sleeping.

Sirius sat upright, moved a hand through his hair.

“So what's up, Amber Eyes?”

That confused Remus a bit.

“Amber Eyes?” he asked.

Sirius just shrugged.

“Tell me why you're here.”

Remus sat down next to Sirius on his bed and nodded.

“Okay, so we came up with a plan, how we will handle this situation, but you have to cooperate, otherwise your death is inevitable.”

“Im fine with my death…” Sirius whispered, almost inaudible.

That and the sadness in his voice made Remus heart hurt. He swallowed.

“Well, we're going to fake your death, everyone is going to think you're dead. That'll work for my purposes. And until everything is solved, and we got rid of your parents, you're going to stay at my place. You can't stay at a hotel, people would recognize you.”

Remus looked at Sirius, who remained silent.

“I'll need your blood to prepare the crime scene. It has to be a lot of blood, so it'll be plausible. You'll feel dizzy for a while, but you'll survive. After that I'll bring you to my place and then we have to wait.”

Sirius still didn't say a word, he just looked at Remus with a look he didn't quite understand.

“I have to tell James and my brother.” Sirius then said.

Remus shook his head.

“No. You can't tell anyone. I'm sorry, but I don’t think your brother would lie to your parents about it, I think he couldn't do it.”

“I still have to tell James, though. He is about to lose his job, he has a wife and a child, he needs to know. Also, he is my best friend, he will blame himself for it, he'll think it was his fault. That'll destroy him. I can't let that happen. You want me to work with you? Then let me tell my best friend.” he sounded determined.

Remus sighed.

“You think you can trust him? He's loyal to you, not your parents? He won't sell us out?”

“No.” Sirius laughed a little “He will be happy to know I’m out of my parents' reach, to be honest. I do trust him.”

“Okay, I'll be back on Wednesday. Try to act unsuspicious until then. Oh, and you can't take anything with you… No clothes, no phone, nothing. Otherwise it would look like you had run away.”

Sirius nodded a little.

“Okay…”

Remus got up and looked at him.

“I'll see you on Wednesday then. Don't do anything stupid, Im still watching you, remember that.”

Then he silently made his way out of the house.

---

Sirius

He couldn't fall asleep that night again, too many thoughts occupying his mind.

“You look tired.” James said.

They were on their way to a meeting early in the morning.

“Can we talk later?” Sirius asked him.

James looked at him worriedly.

“ sure. Whenever you want to talk, I'm here. You know that.”

Sirius sighed and nodded. He had three days. Three days he had to act normal, though everything was far from normal.. So he acted normal, he attended the meetings of the day; he said his opinion on topics where no one actually cared what he thought. He ignored the angry looks from his parents. Perfectly normal.

Back home he went to his bedroom with James, who sat down on his bed. Sirius preferred to stay in the moment. He looked at James, who was waiting patiently until he found the courage to say what was on his mind all day. Sirius was sure he had already noticed the nervousness, James knew him better than anyone else.

Sirius sighed.

“Okay, you won't like what I'm telling you now, but promise me you'll listen first.”

James raised an eyebrow, looking confused.

“Okay? I promise, go on then.”

Sirius looked at his hands, fiddling them. He swallowed before he started speaking again.

“So a couple of days ago, this guy broke into my bedroom. He actually came to kill me. He had a knife and everything…” his hand moved up to his throat as he remembered.

Shock showed on James’s face as the realization sank in. He opened his mouth to say something but Sirius lifted his hand before he could start.

“Nothing happened, obviously. I'm good, don't worry. I don't know what made him change his mind, though. He came back yesterday with a plan and you won't like that either: We're going to fake my death and I'm going to hide somewhere, I don't know where yet. And I'm telling you this, so you don't blame yourself for it. this is going to be hell for you. My parents will investigate against you, obviously. You'll get fired, you have to find a new job, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, James…” he swallowed again.

James got up the moment he had finished talking.

“No. That's not going to happen. I won't let that happen. This shouldn't have happened in the first place!” he moved a hand through his hair in frustration.

“James, that's nothing to discuss. It is going to happen, even if you're not okay with it. I just wanted to let you know beforehand.”

James shook his head vigorously.

“It's my chance to get away from my parents, to get out of this hell of a life.” Sirius tried to argue, “Please, don't be angry.”

He looked at his best friend pleading, and James sighed.

“Promise me nothing is going to happen to you. And you have to contact me as soon as possible, I need to know you're okay and not actually dead. Fuck. I don't like this, I don't like this at all.”

Sirius smiled a little.

“I know you don’t. And I promise, I'll behave so no one has to shut my mouth and I'll be in touch.”

He pulled James in for a hug and he wished he never had to let go. He wasn't so sure if Remus would let him call James or write to him, but he was going to try it, anyway.

After a moment, he let go of his best friend reluctantly.

“When?” James asked.

“Soon.” was all Sirius told him.

---

Sirius was sitting on his bed dabbing on his freshly cut lip with a cloth, when the bedroom door opened and his brother stormed in.

“Why can't you just shut up for once in your life? It's like you want her to do this to you! Why do you have to provoke them all the time!” he shouted.

“I just told her what I was thinking.”

“Well then, don’t!”

Sirius shook his head, getting angry with his little brother. Who did he think he was?

“And then what? Just do as they tell me? No. I will not kiss their asses, I'm not you. I don't care what they say about me or what they do to me! And you shouldn’t either.”

Sirius got up and looked down at his brother, both of them angry now.

“I do care what's happening with you! But you know what? Maybe you're right. Maybe I shouldn't. You obviously don't care what consequences your behaviour might have for others! For me. You just care about yourself, you selfish asshole.” and with that Regulus left.

Sirius heard him go to his own bedroom, the door closing loudly.

He rolled his eyes. His brother was such a drama queen sometimes, so Sirius went after him, knocking on his door.

“Reggie, come on. Let me explain everything, without fighting.” he tried.

“No. I don't want to talk to you now. Maybe tomorrow, now fuck off.”

Sirius shook his head, swallowing. They won't be able to talk tomorrow. It was Wednesday already.

p.s. there will be more of Finn, Logan & Leo the following chapters, I promise!!

[arewelonely]

calypso cubs, @lumosinlove fanfiction

i never get AU ideas this was a joy

ok so logan is calypso. he's just there and it's hot and he's missing his family and he's somehow surviving day by day, resigning himself to the fact that he's alone, on this island, and what is he supposed to do to pass the centuries?

then a redhead washes up on shore and he's gorgeous and logan pushes that aside to heal the boy and help him repair his ship. but finn has personality and jokes and also somehow sees logan and when he returns to his lil hut at night his brain is running in circles because there is no way on earth that finn would stay here, on this island, with logan until the end of time. logan can't ask finn to do that. so we get the logan denying his feelings and doing a little bit of hot and cold, as he does.

but he likes finn. there's something about him. and they kiss one day and it's good but logan pulls himself away because this is unfair, to finn and unfair of the gods to logan himself and the look on finn's face about breaks him. a few days later they make up; finn reveals his feelings and logan reveals the tragedy that is his life: if they are to be together, finn must stay on this island.

finn convinces logan to try and leave with him. he's so insistent and persistent and logan sees the love and hope in his eyes and he gets tired of saying no and he gets tired of wanting. so the two climb into the boat and they push off of the island.

it's fine for a bit. they get a bit away, to the deeper part of the ocean, and logan feels his chest rise in spite of his worries. finn is firey and grinning and has not interacted with the gods as closely as logan has.

the waves increase in their intensity. the joy on finn's face is replaced with shock and then a cold splash of fear as he's thrown from the boat. logan jumps in after him and struggles him back to the surface despite the rocky waves. he hauls him up back on the boat and lifts himself to peer over the edge, confirming finn is alright–he is. he's breathing. just a little stunned.

and logan dives under the water and doesn't resurface until he's close enough back to the island that finn won't see him.

logan's devastated. cursing the gods. pissed off at the world. angry as he goes around and sees the bits of finn left behind, the little messes they hadn't cleaned up before leaving. he hopes that finn has returned safely to his war. he hopes finn doesn't hate him too much.

and then a few weeks later there's splashing in the water and logan looks over, his heart beating, and it's not finn, but a tall sunshine boy who crawls his way on to the beach and lugs his boat behind him before collapsing and falling into a deep exhausted sleep.

logan wishes he didn't do it, wishes he acted better, but he stares at the boy for a good few minutes, wondering if there is any way the boy will wake up on his own, hop back in his boat, and just leave, before wrapping his arms around the boy's shoulders and dragging him along the sand to logan's hut.

the boy stays asleep for days. logan is both grateful and ungrateful for this–he doesn't have to talk to the boy. he can continue to grieve. but he knows at any moment the boy will become his responsibility–frankly, the boy is already his responsibility. he's making him drink some water whenever he mumbles and he knows his heart is pounding whenever the boy, fast asleep, clutches his wrist.

leo wakes up. he sees that logan is hurting and a bit cracked and he gives him as much space as he can–after all, logan is still caring for him. but logan also looks at him in ways he can't decipher and logan, frankly, has no idea why he's looking at him so much. there's none of finn in his face. but his eyes sparkle when he speaks.

logan pushes leo away when he kisses him. he then reaches out to bring leo back, but leo shakes his head and backs away. logan is either in, or he's out. and logan can't do this to leo, and he can't do this to himself. and he shakes his head, because leo's all healed and his boat has been fine since he's arrived on this island and logan just needs leo gone.

but, of course, it's worse without leo.

logan prays to the gods that no fucking other boy will come to this island, and, for a year, no one does. he is astonished that the gods are listening to him, but thankful all the same. his heart longs for the two boys... he doesn't have it in him to care for any others.

leo returns to the war. he is tougher than when he left, a bit more guarded, and his friends don't understand where he was that changed him this way. he refuses to speak about it–what's the point? he was hurt, and he doesn't want to go back... he doesn't even know if it's possible to go back. so, he'll never see logan again. alright. good riddance.

there's another boy who hangs out in the camp, somehow lively despite the stress they're under. and yes, he has red hair, not brown, and yes, the two are in entirely different circumstances, but leo tenses his jaw regardless and looks away. they're in a war. this could still have a devastating end.

finn understands this, and he and leo fight side by side, growing more comfortable with each other and avoiding any and all pulls to each other for the sake of their future sanity. but then leo isn't quite sure if their current sanity is better for this, and he looks at finn for a long time one night and then finn meets his eyes and then they're kissing and leo misses logan so very much.

the war fades to an end, or they win, or they lose, and finn and leo each know that something is missing between them. finn has determined that the pang in his heart is only a bit smeared with anger towards the way logan just gave up on him–logan was caring for him by sticking him back on the boat. logan wanted to make sure finn could return to his life. logan was trying to act kindly, even if it sucked.

leo and finn get to talking about their time during the war, the time that both of them, about a month apart, were lost at sea for a bit. their mouths hang open when they realize. logan.

they build a sturdier boat. they bring it to the edge of the sea. they travel back, trying to figure out where exactly they got lost the last time, how the winds sent them to wash up on logan's island. they wonder how logan's doing.

it takes days to arrive. the gods have zero interest in helping them and quite a bit of interest in pushing them away from this island. but they see it, in the distance, or they believe that they do and they keep going. leo shouts when he actually sees it, the trees as he remembers and a faint hut that brings back the pang in his chest.

finn has explained why logan, probably, refused to kiss leo. leo explained how logan had pulled him back in, and he knows that logan's feelings for him were most likely marred by his curse. he hopes this is the case.

getting to the island is a test of both finn and leo's strength. the waves are rocky as all hell and the wind refuses to help and they pull hard on the ropes for the sails to corral the wind somehow to get them to this island. logan has seen them and his heart is pounding because there are two people on this ship, and they're both standing, and they look like people he loves, and he stands at the edge of the water, not wanting to go and help for fear of making it worse.

but as they get closer, the waves increase on their own. logan makes eye contact with first finn, who has tears in his eyes, and then leo, whose sturdy expression he recognizes from the moment when leo asked him: was he in, or was he out?

finn calls to logan to swim up to the boat, and logan shifts his eyes to leo again, who nods harshly, and logan truly doesn't know what to do because he can't handle causing more harm to these two wonderful humans. but then they're both calling to him and they say to come and swim and logan remembers how good he felt when he spoke to both of them, and he pushes aside his fears as much as he can, swimming faster and faster until leo hauls him up on the boat and they're just staring.

but thunder cracks and logan flinches, hard, and finn wraps his hand around logan's arm and pulls him to the center of the boat and gives him something to do and tells him they'll talk when they get away. logan tries to explain it's not going to work–does he remember what happened last time?–and finn and leo tell him to shut up and just focus while they sail away.

and, somehow, they do. leo and finn are strong and skilled and logan is in awe and just trying to assist however he can. one or both of the boys look over every time the thunder booms above them and he just stares into their eyes as he shudders because, despite everything, they're somehow all here.

after hours upon hours, the seas and skies give up. they all fall to the ground and breathe heavily. logan reaches out his hand to leo and rests it next to his tentatively. he apologizes. leo nods, grabs his hand, and pulls him into a hug. finn makes some quip about how pretty they look and logan reaches out his hand to pull him in.

they land back on shore eventually. the gods are not pleased and make the journey take far too long. but it gives them much time to talk. logan learns how finn and leo know each other. he tells them everything–what's the point in hiding, if taking these leaps so far have brought him this much joy? who is he to deny them all the possibility for more?

logan sobs when he gets back on shore–but a different shore. he has told finn and leo about his sisters, and they've all planned to search for them. but first, they want to make a home. sprawling, no boundaries, with grass and trees and neighbors and no ocean as far as the eye can see.

logan isn't sure he'll ever get back on a boat.

finn just wants to wrap up his boys and explore their village.

leo befriends the farmers instantly and the three of them plant a garden.

logan stares out at his new home and smiles.

[lumosinlove]

Vaincre

February (part two)

Sirius took Remus’ hand across the center console, and let out a breath when Remus squeezed it.

“Maybe…” Remus began. “Maybe I should take it off?” He looked down at the ring, the diamond catching the sunlight. “God, I don’t want to, but maybe just for today.”

“Non, non,” Sirius shook his head, eyes on the road. “I don’t think anyone would want you to feel like that.” Sirius, eyes still sad, sent a smile Remus’ way. “I also don’t want you to take it off.”

“I know, but, maybe…” Remus sighed and rubbed his eyes. “God, I have fucking, like…emotional whiplash or something.”

“Tell me about it,” Sirius mumbled and threw his blinker on. He looked tired. They’d stayed up late, very happily, and then even later still once Remus had made the mistake of checking his phone before bed. “Merde, I…I really didn’t think…”

“I mean, maybe it’s one of those loan trades, you know?” Remus said. “That makes the most sense to me, Tremz’s contract had, what, one more season on it? He was about to be a free agent, the Rangers were looking for a solid winger for their top line and we’re slumping hard.”

“Loan doesn’t always mean we get him back, though,” Sirius said. “And I want him back.”

“No, but it means new blood, a mix-up. We’ve seen teams coming right off of a Cup do this before. I wouldn’t be surprised if management thinks we needed a kick in the ass.”

“This isn’t a kick in the ass,” Sirius sighed as the arena came into view. “This is a kick in the teeth.”

Remus brought Sirius’ knuckles up to his lips and kissed them. “I know. I know it is. I’m not trying to reason it out, I just…”

“At least one of us can see reason in it,” Sirius raised a few fingers off of the steering wheel at Ned, who manned the parking lot booth. There were fans at the gate, as always, but Sirius gave them a shaky smile only. Remus saw a few holding up Tremblay jerseys and looked away.

“Do you think Finn and Leo are in?” Remus asked as the jerseys disappeared from his rear view mirror.

“I don’t know…I don’t even want to think about them. What—what do we even say to them?” Remus watched the way Sirius’ hands flexed on the steering wheel, watched his chest rise and fall tightly. “And Dumo. And…practice is just going to be horrible—who thought this would help us?”

“I’m so sorry, baby,” Remus said softly. Remus knew he was part of that us, but this was still Sirius’ team. Sirius shouldered more weight than he did, and always would when it came to the team’s wellbeing. And he had a point. The Lions, anyone had to admit, had been more or less unchanged for much longer than any other team in the League. It was unheard of, boarder-line strange, how little trading had been done in the past five years. Kasey had been acquired of course, but Cole and Leo were products of the draft—no switch-arounds necessary. And then there was himself, an entirely different and even stranger case.

Remus had always admired it as a PT, how tightly-knit a group the Lions were, but it had always scared him a little, too—especially when he’d really started to get to know Sirius. Bonds like that didn’t break easy, and they would never break in the way hockey expected them to. No one on this Lions roster would ever have an easy go of friends-one-day-old-teammates-the-next. Logan wasn’t a Ranger now. He was a Lion in the wrong sweater. Remus was worried because he wasn’t sure Logan, especially Logan, was going to be able to stop feeling that way like the League expected him to.

“This isn’t happening,” Sirius breathed as they pulled into their spot near the elevators. He all but yanked the car into park. “I’m talking to Coach.”

Sirius, without a proper family, had woven one around him through what seemed like sheer willpower and skill. He was good enough to make those around him even better. It was why the lines worked and stayed the same. Remus wondered just how much pull Sirius might actually have. He also worried about what Sirius would put himself through if he couldn’t turn this around.

Remus sighed and then slipped off his ring and put it into his pocket. For now, it was for the best. He pushed out of the car after Sirius.

“And say what?” Remus said, jogging a few steps to where Sirius was waiting for him, palm up. Remus laced their fingers together. Sirius frowned at his fingers.

“Just for now, sweetheart.”

“I don’t know,” Sirius sighed. He ran a hand through his hair, said something low and frustrated in French that Remus didn’t catch.

“Sirius,” Remus tugged him to a stop in front of the elevator. Sirius glanced down at Remus’ look of warning, but his jaw remained tight and defiant. "Don’t put this on yourself.”

“It’s not on me,” Sirius said. He jammed the elevator button and looked down at Remus. “It’s on them. And I’m going to make them see that.”

When they reached their floor, even the hallway was quiet, not to mention the eerily still locker room. Remus pushed the locker room door open first, and some of the boys looked up and straight at Sirius. Remus felt the way Sirius’ posture changed, shifting into his role, but his hand tightened around Remus’. He was scared. He wasn’t sure how to lead them, or where. Logan’s absence was in the air like mist. Leo and Finn were in their stalls, Logan’s empty one, a blaring light beside Finn. Leo was studying Sirius carefully, whereas Finn didn’t look up at all, just focused on the roll of tape he was wrapping a stick with as it went round and round. With a jolt, Remus realized he was wearing Logan’s necklace. He kept glancing at his phone, face-up in his stall beside him. Remus caught Leo’s eye, finally, but when he took one step forward, Leo shook his head minutely, sent him a shaky smile, and dropped his gaze, shadowed by the brim of his hat. He didn’t want to talk. Remus didn’t blame him.

“I already can’t take this. I’ll be right back.” Sirius didn’t exactly whisper and earned himself more than a few curious looks as gave Remus’ hand a squeeze before letting it go and banging back out into the hallway again, where the coaches offices were.

“Sirius,” Remus couldn’t help but hiss out, but he was already gone. Remus closed his eyes briefly. He turned back to the room and cast a quick glance around. Leo, Finn, looking like wrecks. Sullen faces. Pascal, tired eyes and watching Remus carefully.

“Hey, Loo.”

Remus looked and found, with relief, that Thomas was standing by the coffee cart. He tried not to walk over too quickly. Thomas looked sad, too, but really his face shared Remus’ worry more than anything else.

“I love our boy,” Thomas said, nodding into the direction Sirius had just left in. “But what the hell was that?”

“He thinks he can talk sense into…well.” Remus wasn’t even sure he should say it. “He thinks he can get Logan back.”

“Can he?”

They both turned to look at Finn, who was standing now, brown eyes alert, almost a little wild. Remus couldn’t stop glancing at Logan’s necklace around his neck.

“Can Sirius do something? Because if he can—”

“Finn,” Leo said quietly from behind him. He reached out for Finn’s sleeve but Finn pulled away.

“If he can, he should. If he has any pull, he’s gotta use it.” Finn’s voice was firm, fiery. “Logan belongs here—”

He was cut off this time, not by Leo, but by the door opening. Kota Takahashi walked through.

If the locker room had been quiet before, it was soundless now. Kota had an expression on his face like he regretted walking in, his footsteps slowing to a stop just inside the door. He looked at Finn, and Finn looked back, brown eyes hard. Remus was struck by how much he didn’t look like himself. He’d never seen Finn be anything but kind except on the ice, which was different. Now, Finn turned on his heel sharply, swiping his phone up out of his stall before brushing out of the room without a word.

Kota adjusted his bag over his shoulder uncomfortably. “Uh. Hey, guys.” His eyes found Kasey. “Winter.”

Kasey stood, a little awkward with one goal pad already strapped onto his leg, and reached out a hand. “How’ve you been, Kota?”

Their voices seemed loud in the room and Remus’ brain raced for something, anything to say. The two must have been on the Rangers together, and Remus opened his mouth to ask about it, when he remembered. The Rangers probably weren’t the best topic right now. God, it felt like they were all at open sea.

“Been all right,” Kota said. His eyes darted after Finn. “You know. Short flight, all that.”

“Right,” Kasey smiled, but it was shaky. “Well, welcome to Gryffindor. We should grab a drink tonight.” He looked at Remus. “Loops? T?”

“Hell yeah,” Thomas said and strode forward. His smile lit up the room, as usual. Remus all but felt some of the misty dimness subside. Thank God for Thomas Walker. “What’s up, man, welcome to the team. We’ll show you all the best spots. You like pool?”

Kota seemed to feel the tension ease, too, just a tad. “Absolutely, if you like losing.”

“Oh-ho,” Thomas laughed. “Well, if it’s me you’re challenging, that might be a good bet.” He jerked a thumb back at Remus. “But don’t go making words at this guy, he’ll flatten you with that table.”

Remus couldn’t help but smile at that. “Come on, T, he might be a secret champion, we don’t know. Hey, Kota, nice to meet you.”

Remus watched Kota look him over. He didn’t take it personally. He’d felt the same stares from across the ice. Guys were curious about him, and he knew that the rumors of favoritism or worse flew around the League. But Kota shook his hand and smiled easily.

“Nice to me you, Lupin. Where’s your other half?”

Remus narrowed his eyes a little, saw Thomas do the same. He thought it was kind of sloppy form when people they didn’t know in hockey referred to Sirius and his relationship rather than their professional roles. But he decided that Kota might mean nothing by it, might just be nervous.

“The Captain’s talking to Coach,” Remus replied.

Kota raised an eyebrow. “You always call him that?”

Remus crossed his arms. Two strikes. “When I’m in this room, that’s what he is.”

“You should probably call him that, too,” Thomas said, a little more friendly, tag-teaming with Remus’ cooler look. It worked, the read each other just like on the ice. Remus felt a flood of warmth because of it.

Kota, to his credit, looked taken aback. “I—oh, no, yeah, I…of course. I didn’t mean…” he looked at Remus, then at Thomas, then away and to his stall. “Um.”

Leo was sitting stiffly in his locker, staring at the place Finn had just been. Remus watched him blink once, twice, shoulders rising and falling in a sharp breath, before he stood and threw on a shaky smile.

“Hey, Kota, I’m Leo. Welcome to Gryffindor.” His accent seemed stronger from lack of sleep, Remus thought, the way Sirius’ got, too. His words drawled sweetly but Remus could see the effort it took. Leo wasn’t that much younger than him, but Remus suddenly felt a familiar swell of pride, the same he got for Julian sometimes. That smile of Leo’s must have been killing him.

“Hey, Knut, right?” Kota smiled. “Looks like we’re seat mates.”

“Looks like,” Leo nodded.

“Uh,” Kota glanced at Finn’s empty space. “Guess you guys’ll be missing Tremblay around here, huh?”

Leo went a little pale.

“Most,” Evgeni’s deep voice came, and he gave Kota’s shoulder a hard pat as he passed, headed for the ice. “We drink tonight. You impress.”

“That was an invitation, not a threat,” Jackson smiled appeasingly and shook Kota’s hand as he followed Evgeni. “Even though they always sound a little similar coming from him. See you out there.”

Kota sat down heavily in Logan’s seat, looking a little dazed.

“We miss him, yeah,” Leo said quietly from beside him. “But we’re real glad to have you.”

Finally, Remus thought when the locker room doors opened again. Some of the team had already made it out onto the ice as Sirius followed Coach back through the doors. Remus widened his eyes at Sirius a little, hoping where the hell have you been? came across clearly. Sirius looked back, eyes stormy. Obviously, he hadn’t been as successful as he had hoped.

Kota was on his feet again in a second, looking at Sirius the way they all did. Almost hungry, awe-filled and excited. I’m going to play with Sirius Black, he’d probably said to someone. His partner, maybe, or his parents. Sirius fucking Black.

“Takahashi,” Coach said. “How you doin’? These guys giving you trouble?” He looked back at Sirius when he said trouble and Sirius stuck his hands in his pockets.

“Uh,” Kota said, then laughed a little. “No?”

Coach arched a brow, smiling. “Yeah. You sound real sure about that.”

“C’mon, we’re all making plans!” Kasey said. “That’s all, Coach, that’s all.”

“Yeah? Well, why don’t you all plan to get your butts out on the ice in twenty, okay?”

“Yes, Coach,” Remus chorused with the rest of them, then gave Sirius an elbow to the ribs.

“Kota,” Sirius said, stepping forward. “How was your flight over?”

“Short,” Kota said again, a little breathlessly. “Hi. Captain.”

Sirius blinked, then began to smile. “Oh, uh, you can just call me Si—”

Thomas clapped loudly. “We gotta get to that ice, boys. Let’s go, Captain!”

Kota all but jumped back to his stall to get changed, and Remus tapped Sirius lightly on his back to get him to follow him away.

“Really?” Remus said when they were alone. “What the hell was that, walking away—”

“It’s one year,” Sirius said in a low voice to Remus. “It’s a one year contract, and it’s meant to get the Rangers into the playoffs this year. If the Rangers make the playoffs, we get two of their first round picks.”

“Well…” Remus sighed. “Okay. Now you know. But you’ve got a new player in there who, thanks to Finn, really already knows just how welcomed he is here and—”

“Well, management should know how important Logan is here,” Sirius cut him off. “Regarde—Look at the fans, even, it’s all over fucking Twitter, no one is happy. C’est—It’s a bullshit move.”

“All right, I know, I know,” Remus said, and stroked a hand up and down Sirius’ arm as Sirius rubbed at his eyes. “I know, baby. I miss him, too.”

“Sirius?” They looked up to see Finn there, half-dressed in his padding.

“What did they say?” Finn said. “I—look, if the Rangers don’t make the playoffs, maybe he can come back.”

Sirius looked at Finn quietly for a moment. “Maybe. But Finn…”

Remus reached into his pocket and touched his ring nervously. “Guys, we have no control over this.”

“We can keep them out of the playoffs by playing better,” Finn said flatly.

“That’s ridiculous,” Remus said. “We’re not the only two teams in the Met Division, Finn.”

“We could at least try—”

“Quoi, and we weren’t trying before?” Sirius snapped. “Go get dressed, Harzy.”

Finn looked like he wanted to argue, looked like it took some effort to turn back to the locker room. Remus looked up at Sirius.

“You okay?”

“Let’s just go,” Sirius sighed and then leaned down to kiss Remus’ temple. “See how Kota plays, I guess.”

“Be nice,” Remus said. “It’s not his fault.”

“I’m always nice,” Sirius said, a smile creeping onto his face.

“You’re intimidating,” Remus said, and leaned up for a light kiss.

“What happened with the Captain thing?” Sirius murmured into the kiss.

“Nothing,” Remus said. It wasn’t really a problem—if it was, then he’d tell. “Now, come on before Coach makes us do sprints.”

~

“We didn’t lose that game,” Percy was saying, beer in one hand, the other pounding on the bar table. “It ran away.”

Logan watched as Will snorted into his own glass. “That’s not how it works, Perc.”

The bar was loud and crowded, but Logan preferred it that way—at least while he was tucked into a booth between teammates. It was classic. Logan recognized it as one of Finn’s favorite places, all license plates and two dollar bills covering the walls. The booths were of red, cracked leather and there were softly buzzing neon signs on the walls that said things like Pabst Blue Ribbon, to NOQUITNY. They were recognized by almost everyone who walked in, but beside a few cheers and back slaps, they were left alone. Maybe that’s why the boys frequented this place so much. The beer pitchers were cold and the owner, a guy fondly referred to as Lenny who remembered Logan all the way back from college, had a tan, kind-eyed face that made Logan think of Pascal.

Logan checked the clock then took out his phone.

I miss you, he typed out. He wasn’t sure why that was easier to write than anything to Leo or Finn, but it was. Pascal replied immediately.

We all miss you very much, Logan. You’re playing so well!! Celeste wants to send you some things so get us your address when you can

And then, a second text: Also we’re taking you down in April

Logan clicked his phone off and ran a hand over his face. He realized that he was smiling. Dumo. God, he missed Dumo.

It felt almost like old times with Percy on his left and Will on his right. And there was Alex, who was a mean, trick-of-the-light version of Finn. Luke and Saint had joined, too, and he knew Fox and Miller and some of the other guys were around here somewhere. It was okay like this. He was okay like this. People talking around him. They were fresh off of another win that was bringing them closer and closer to the play-offs, which he knew was why he was here in the first place, even if it didn’t feel like those wins even belonged to him. The Rangers had been willing to let go of two first round picks for him. And he was playing well. Being met with the roar of Madison Square Garden was any little kid’s dream. But then he’d go home at the end of the day, after the adrenaline wore off, and he’d be alone again. Finn would call. Leo would text. But something in him just couldn’t face it.

Logan flashed a smile to Percy when their eyes met, but ducked his head down a little, taking a sip of his beer.

“No, no, no,” Percy was still on the old Harvard game they’d been talking about. “Wisconsin—those hits Wisconsin used to hand out were lethal and dirty. We could’ve stole it in penalty minutes but—”

“You do know how long ago that game was, don’t you?” Logan replied, hoping to get Percy to stop looking at him like that, like he could see right into Logan’s brain.

Alex scoffed. “Oh, like you ever forget a game, Tremzy.”

Logan let a small smile creep onto his face. He figured Alex remembered parts of Logan and Finn’s Harvard days as well as they did. Logan had all but lived at their New York place during the first part of their summers.

“I guess I don’t,” Logan said.

“Hey, when we play Gryf in a few weeks, we gotta get Harzy out with us,” Percy said. “I mean, c’mon, how fucking perfect is this? The gang’s back together. The O’Hara brothers, us—”

“We’re feeling real included right now, Perseus,” Saint piped in dryly.

Percy just laughed and stole Saint’s hat—which Logan was pretty sure had actually been on Luke’s head at the beginning of the night—and placed it over his thick blond curls.

“You can come, too!” Percy said. “Finn’ll get a real kick out of you.”

Logan couldn’t help but smile at that. He was right. Finn would like Saint. He was loud and sarcastic and had the locker room in stitches most of the time, even Logan. Even Luke, who seemed to spend most of his time scowling at anyone and anything—except Saint. Or, usually, especially Saint. Even now, he narrowed his eyes at Percy and snatched his hat back, but returned it to Saint’s head instead of his own.

The truth was, Logan missed Gryffindor more than anything…but he liked this team. They had the same tight-knit nature as the Lions did, looking out for each other off ice as much as on.

“Wonderful,” Saint rolled his. brown eyes. “I love being invited so people can get a kick out of me.”

Percy waved him off and slapped Logan on the back instead. “Tremzy, come get the next round with me, eh?”

Logan supposed that he did want another beer. He was feeling loose. Relaxed. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt that way. It was like a bad headache had finally cleared up to a small ache behind the skull.

“Ouais,” Logan said. “Yeah, let’s go. Fries, too?”

“Fuck yes,” Luke said as he stretched out an arm along the back of the booth behind Saint. Logan’s eye caught on how his fingers brushed along the back of Saint’s neck, dipping below the collar of his t-shirt for a flash of a second.

Logan knew that move. He knew that move all too well. Half of Logan’s life was that move. When Saint saw him looking though, he didn’t flinch. He smiled, arching an eyebrow that was almost challenging. Yes? it said. And?

Logan followed Percy up to the bar.

“So,” Percy reached for one of the bowls of peanuts at the bar and popped a few into his mouth. His Star of David caught the light of some of the neon signs—bright blue and red. “What is it, are you and Harz not close anymore or something? Because, frankly, that’s hard to imagine.”

Logan felt his own eyebrows rise in surprise. “What?”

Percy shrugged, leaning on his elbows the way Logan was. It was nice to be around someone his own height for once. And Percy was just as scrappy. They made a good team with Alex as their center.

“Every time I bring him up, you, like…flinch or something, I don’t know.”

Logan straightened, flexing his wrists against the slightly sticky wood bar top. “I—no, we’re, y’know.”

“FinnAndLogan?” Percy smiled.

Logan laughed. “We’re really close.” He cleared his throat. “Guess I just miss him.”

“Been a while since you played without each other.”

Logan looked down, picking at a lone napkin that had a wet glass ring on it. It came apart easily in his hands. “Ouais.”

“Maybe us Harvard boys aren’t supposed to be apart, eh?” Percy said, and then stayed quiet for a while when Logan merely nodded. The bar tender was still busy, hung up with a crowd that looked like a bachelorette party. Percy tapped out a few different rhythms on the bar, reminding Logan that he played guitar. Logan had fallen asleep lots of nights to the soft, electric chords coming from the room below him in Harvard’s OKN house.

“I’m sorry, Tremz,” Percy finally said, more quietly. “You’ve been having kind of a hard time with this trade, haven’t you? I can see it. Morgy can, too.” Percy knocked their shoulders together. “We know you, man, don’t forget.”

Logan bit down on the inside of his cheek hard. “I’m okay. Hockey’s hockey.”

“Bullshit.” Percy leaned in. “I know it’s been a while between us, but I was there when Finn and Will graduated. It hit you harder than it hit me, and Will’s my best friend in the whole world.”

“I…” Logan said. He could feel himself drawing in. This was getting too close for comfort. “What do you…”

“I’m just saying I’m here for you,” Percy said, and finally the bar tender noticed them. He tapped Logan on the back. “And I know Morg and Hazard are, too. That’s all.”

“What can I get for you, gents?” the barman said.

“Another round, Mike,” Percy said, and with a pointed look at Logan, “And some fries.”

Logan gave him a shove and smiled, and just like that something eased again, right back into place. Logan didn’t have a lot of positive emotions associated with the phrase like no time passed at all, but he was more than happy to feel that way with Percy.

“C’mon,” Logan threw an arm around Percy’s shoulder. “I’ll kick your ass a bubble hockey.”

Logan looked around his new apartment as he closed the door, easy with a pleasant buzz. He felt good, with laughter left over in his mouth. The second the door closed behind him though, the quiet was so loud that it rang. He kept expecting something different, but it was always this. Quiet. The warm smell of beer and fries was left by the door as he hung up his jacket, like Leo would have wanted. He swallowed and tried to keep it with him. It had felt good to talk to Will and Percy again. Alex was as fun to be around as he always remembered. Saint had such wild stories that Logan wondered if he’d lived another life before hockey. Logan clung to it as he kicked his shoes off. He went to his electric kettle and flicked it on before opening the cupboard above it. It was bare except for a box of mint tea. This part felt okay, too, now. Methodical. Familiar. The kettle boiled and Logan drew another long breath in before letting it out again.

He was tossing his teabag when his phone began to ring. Finn’s face lit up his screen. It was a picture from Logan’s freshman year of college, Finn’s sophomore. Finn was slumped low in a library chair and looked exhausted, but happy. Logan wanted to kiss the purple beneath his eyes, wanted to touch the way his hood pushed his hair forward. Logan stared at it and stared at it until it went to voicemail. A text followed, almost immediately.

Night, Lo xoxoxoxoxoxoxo love you so much

The tears sprang up so fast that it actually pulled the corners of Logan’s mouth down a little, drew his eyebrows together. He blinked hard. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe Percy’s words from earlier, but the feeling from the bar—lighter, something beginning to ease off of his shoulders—disappeared with a snap. He missed them so fiercely it burned.

Hope the apartment is okay. Leo says not to leave your towels on the bathroom floor.

Logan definitely had left his towel on the floor, wet. He rubbed at his eyes, feeling hopeless at all of it all over again. Living alone. Being alone. Even at feeling okay. Was he really doing better if the feeling could vanish just like that?

Finn’s texts were nearly a steady stream. Logan didn’t reply. He wanted to. He could picture it. Went to your favorite spot tonight. Had Italian with the boys last night, Leo’s is better. He’d told him he needed time but he wasn’t sure Finn had completely understood. Not talking didn’t mean Logan wanted to be talked at. He wanted to grab Finn by the shoulders and shake him. And kiss him.

Please call, was the last thing Finn had said before he’d left. Please.

Maybe it was guilt that was eating at him, too.

Logan sipped his tea and leaned against the counter, staring around the space. The furniture wasn’t theirs. The refrigerator was take-out leftovers. Logan couldn’t look at anything without choking up. When he was alone, he had constant goosebumps but he couldn’t seem to shiver. Eventually, Leo’s text came, too. Leo, who was probably having trouble sleeping. And Logan wasn’t there.

Good game tonight <3 Leo’s text came in.

Neither of them pushed him to call or text back exactly, but the unspoken words were there. More imagined responses flitted through Logan’s head. I miss our midnight talks. God, he missed everything about Leo.

Logan held the phone to his ear and tried to will the lump in his throat away. The phone only rang once.

“Hi, Lolo,” Noelle chimed. “How’s the big apple treating you?”

Logan dropped to an elbow against his kitchen counter and inhaled a sharp, hitching breath. “Noelle…”

“Oh,” Noelle whispered. “God, Logan, hey…” she sounded like she was moving away from other people, closing a door. She switched to French. “I know. I know, Lo. Go ahead. You can cry, you’re all right. I’m right here.”

Logan pressed his forehead into the crook of his arm and fought away the tears. “It’s been—I need to be okay by now. I can’t do this, what if I can’t do this?”

“You can. Logan, you’re doing it, of course it’s going to take time.” Noelle had what Logan liked to think of as her big sister voice on. It wasn’t so different than her captain voice. “What do your boys say?”

Logan had known in making this call that he would run straight into that question. And he’d made the call anyway. Your boys. But they felt so far away.

“We haven’t talked.”

He was met by a silence that made him rub at his eyes fiercely. It brought spots to his gaze as he looked around the dim kitchen. A siren was whining down a street somewhere nearby.

“You haven’t…” Noelle began. “Logan.”

“Don’t look at me like that,” Logan sighed.

“First of all, you can’t even see me,” Noelle scoffed. “And second—Logan. What the hell?”

“I can’t.” Logan was surprised by how hoarsely he said the words. “Noelle, I…”

Logan grit his teeth against the fresh wave of tears that threatened, hung up the call, and dropped his face into his folded arms, willing himself not to cry. He ignored her both times she tried to call him back.

~

It was getting better, but not by much. Maybe this is what it was now, Remus thought. Back and forth, like any homesickness and grief. Springing between okay and not okay with only time to rely on to make it better. The next week felt like five. Remus could tell the coaching staff was noticing, too. Everything was stilted. Finn couldn’t make a shot—but Leo couldn’t seem to miss one. The fuel of Logan’s absence seemed to bring different things to different people. Sirius took breath away with insane angled shots, Finn delivered hits like never before, but he was scrappy about it. The littlest comment sent him off the rails, taking stupid penalty after stupid penalty. And then, Sirius would go in after, defending him. They played 4 on 3 more than Remus even wanted to think about. Still, they were winning games now. Six in a row so far and still running hot.

Remus stood by Leo’s goal when Coach blew the whistle between scrimmages at practice. He didn’t push, and Leo didn’t respond to his presence for a few long moments, but finally he let out a breath. Remus had a feeling he was holding it all in. Remus skated a little closer, watching as Leo shoved his mask up and took some water, then pushing it back down again. He traced another line around the crease.

“Do you know he stayed with Alex for a couple weeks, but he’s got his own place now?” Leo finally said, as if they’d been talking already.

“Oh?” Remus replied, trying not to sound too overly interested. “No, I didn’t. Sirius has tried to reach out, but…That’s nice. Do you have pictures?”

“No, he…” Leo chewed on his lip for a second. “He sent us, like, one text.”

Remus nodded, taking that in. He looked over to Finn, who was getting an earful from one of the assistant coaches. “What do you mean, ‘one text’?”

Leo looked down, tracing the blue crease of his goal with his stick. “Nothing. He…he won’t really talk to us.”

Remus’ heart sank. “You mean…since he left?” he asked softly. He had been so long.

“He warned us,” Leo added quickly, and kept his mask down. A barrier. A shield. “We’re not—like, we understand. Well,” he sent a glance towards Finn, now giving the coach back just as good. “I understand. But still. It’s been so long…and my birthday…”

Leo cut the word off halfway through, as if he wished he hadn’t said it. He gave his head a hard shake.

“Well, I thought he’d call, at least.”

“Oh, Nutty,” Remus said again. He couldn’t imagine getting traded and not calling Sirius the second he got to wherever he was going. “Well…I mean, I don’t know. Lo’s very…”

“Scared?” Leo supplied. “Stubborn?”

Remus bit his lip. “Well, I’d say give him time, but…” Three weeks was a long time to hear nothing. Even thinking about going that long without talking to Sirius made him want to shake the thought from his head.

“I know,” Leo’s voice came out frustrated, and he glanced up apologetically. “Sorry. Sorry, I don’t want to take any of this out on you.”

“It’s okay,” Remus said, skating closer. “Seriously, I won’t take anything personally. Especially not now. Especially when I think Finn just tried to take my head off with a shot.”

Leo’s expression seemed to get heavier. “He’s really not doing well. And I’m okay, but I…I get out three plates for dinner.”

Remus put his glove on Leo’s shoulder. “Aw, Leo…God, I’m so sorry.”

Leo just shook his head with a slight smile, blue eyes blinking away tears.

“I just wish…I do understand, I just…” He sniffed and jumped a little as Thomas called Remus over for face-off. “We’ll be okay.”

“I know you will,” Remus said. “But, like…it’s okay to hurt about it, you know? Or not understand. And…” Remus shrugged. “Maybe it’s okay to give Finn a piece of your mind.”

Leo actually laughed a little, then sniffed. “I think I’m getting there.”

Practice was a little brutal once Remus skated away. Finn nearly broke a stick as Leo blocked shot after shot of his, Sirius collected an even hat trick against Kasey, but it all finally came to a peak when Finn shook Remus up against the boards in a hard—and not entirely clean—hit.

“Fucking whoa,” Thomas called out, voice echoing in the empty stadium, just as Coach blew a shrill whistle that made all of them duck their heads.

“O’Hara!” Coach barked. “I see another hit like that in practice, I’m gonna sit you so hard next game you’ll put a hole in that bench!”

Remus rolled his shoulder out, glancing up at Finn’s stony expression. Finn didn’t reply, and didn’t so much as glance at Remus as he skated away—straight for the locker room, Remus realized. They still had fifteen minutes.

Remus heard the familiar sound of Sirius’ skating stop sharply next to him. His hair peaked out of his helmet in dark, sweat-slick strands and his eyes were wide, watching Finn retreat. “Loops. Merde, Re, are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Remus said, putting a glove on his arm. “Just surprised me mostly.”

“Lupin?” Coach called out.

“I’m fine, Coach.”

“Yeah, he’s damn lucky you’re fine,” Thomas grumbled. “What the fuck. Season’s finished at this rate.”

“Don’t say that,” Remus began as Coach blew the whistle again.

“All right, I think we’ve all had enough for one morning. Hit the showers, boys. Be ready for video review later.”

Remus felt the tension thicken as the team skated off the ice. He looked up at Leo when he tapped his shin with his stick. His blue eyes looked almost mournful.

“Are you okay?” Leo asked. “I can’t believe…I don’t know why he…”

Remus made sure his smile looked real and not worried. “I’m okay. Really, I am.”

Leo didn’t look convinced, but he filed back down the tunnel with the rest of them in silence. That silence was only broken when they made it into the locker room to find Finn already half-undressed.

Before anyone could so much as mutter a word, Sirius had Finn by the straps of his chest padding, pushed up against the edge between his own and what was now Kota’s stall.

Remus had to bite his own tongue to keep from yelling Sirius’ name. He had to let him do this.

“You want to push your own team around?” Sirius all but growled. “That’s really what you want to do?”

Finn tried to shove Sirius away but he wouldn’t budge. Remus saw his eyes dart to Leo, but Leo had his eyes down, unstrapping his own padding. Remus guessed Leo thought Finn needed this, too. Kota looked a little wide-eyed, but kept his distance with the others.

“You’re just mad ‘cause it was Loops—” Finn shot back, and Sirius gave him another firm push.

“You know that’s not true,” Sirius said. “You’re taking stupid penalties in games, and you’re taking your problems out on everyone else like this whole situation isn’t effecting the rest of us, too. You’re not the only person in this room, and every person here fucking loves you. So stop acting like you’re alone. I’ve been there. It’s not true.”

And that was it. Sirius turned away to his own stall, placing his helmet down evenly and pulling his jersey over his head. Slowly, the others followed. Remus’ throat felt dry as he looked at Finn. His brown eyes were cast down and unfocused, his chest rising and falling rapidly. Remus began undressing slowly, too, but when Sirius headed towards change room, he jogged after him.

“Hey,” Remus said, catching him around the arm.

They were both sweaty, but when Sirius turned towards him and wrapped him up in his arms, Remus didn’t care. Maybe they both needed a moment away from it all, away from Kota, who was nice enough but a constant reminder of how heavy this season now felt without Logan. Away from Finn’s snapping remarks and Leo’s sad eyes. They needed a moment away from wondering how they were going to ever bring up their engagement. A moment away from feeling guilty about how damn happy they were.

“Was that too much?” Sirius asked, dropping a kiss to Remus’ head.

“No, he needed that,” Remus whispered. “All this just makes me think about…” He couldn’t even say the word trade. He was a player now, just like any other. Sirius wasn’t going anywhere but that didn’t protect him, nor should it.

“Non,” Sirius shushed him softly. “No, I wouldn’t let that happen.”

“It’s not up to you,” Remus pulled back to look at him.

“I’d go on strike.”

Remus let out a slight laugh. “No, you definitely wouldn’t.”

He felt Sirius smile against his temple. “Non, maybe not.” He wrapped Remus up tighter. “But we’d be okay.”

It was so close to what Leo had just said that Remus had to squeeze his eyes shut and let out a steadying breath through his nose. He looked up at Sirius, wanting a kiss. “I know we would be. But I’d want to call you every night, okay? Just so you know.”

Sirius leaned down, brushing their lips together. “I’d want to call you every hour.”

They jumped a little when Finn came around the corner and stopped dead, looking at them with wide eyes that quickly dulled. It was like he was making a bad habit of simply tucking the emotion away. He was fiddling with Logan’s necklace.

Remus felt Sirius pull away a little as guilt flooded him.

“Sorry,” Finn said, eyes down, and pushed around them to the showers.

“Merde,” Sirius breathed, looking after him.

“Tremz isn’t calling them,” Remus whispered. “At All Stars, you—baby, you got to get him to call them. I get not wanting to in the beginning, but I don’t think it’s helping anyone. Not anymore.”

Sirius frowned. “He’s not calling them? Why?” He nodded quickly when Remus just looked at him. “Okay, d’accord, you know what I meant. God…” Sirius pressed a soft kiss to Remus’ mouth. “Is that what brought this on?”

Remus bit his lip, then nodded.

“No wonder Finn’s so…God, maybe I was too harsh. I didn’t know that.” Sirius looked after the direction Finn had gone. Remus pressed his cheek to Sirius’ chest and felt him take a long, slow breath. “All right. Yeah, I’ll talk to him. I still think we can get him home.”

“Sirius, that’s not helpful for anyone right now,” Remus closed his eyes, holding him tighter. “Especially you.”

“But if I can convince—”

“You can’t,” Remus said. “Hey, listen to me, you can’t.” He pressed both of his palms to Sirius’ cheeks. “And, baby, you frankly shouldn’t be able to. You know those rumors flying around about you getting me this spot? Yeah, well, the Lions made a whole big thing about you not having any pull then, so they’re sure as hell not gonna give any to you right now.”

Sirius closed his eyes, which made him look sweet with his cheeks pressed between Remus’ palms. Remus had to lean up and kiss him again.

“I know,” Sirius whispered. “I just—he’s like my brother. But I know.”

“And maybe don’t fight with Finn again.”

“Then get him to stop tempting me.”

“I know,” Remus pressed up for another kiss. “Look, you’ll be at All Stars next week and all the guys will get a much needed break.”

Sirius’ fiery expression melted into a smile. “You’re coming with me to New York, you know that, right? I have plans.”

Remus wound his arms around Sirius’ neck. “Hmm, plans?”

Sirius smiled into their next kiss. “Plans.”

~

Leo watched Finn’s eyes dart to his phone every time the screen lit up. They had settled down on the couch to watch the All Stars opening red carpet. It all looked too bright, the commentator’s happy tones, the pump-up music. Leo had Finn tucked against his side—he’d finally stopped fidgeting, getting up and sitting back down again—but neither of them could deny that the couch felt empty. It had felt that way for three weeks.

The phone screen on the table lit up again, a news alert, and Finn’s body tensed as he leaned forward a little to check it.

“Sweetheart, I don’t think…” Leo began hesitantly, stroking Finn’s hair back from his face. They hadn’t talked about how practice had been going yet. They hadn’t talked about Sirius’ talk-down.

Finn just pressed himself harder into Leo’s side.

“You…you can’t be angry with him for not talking to us,” Leo whispered. “He’s—we all have to just…deal with this, and if that’s how he’s—”

“Yeah, I got it,” Finn said shortly, and pushed himself up from the couch. “I’m going for a run.”

“You shouldn’t,” Leo sighed, closing his eyes. “Baby, it’s dark—first of all—and second, we had a tough practice today and we have a game tomorrow.”

“Well, I’m going to,” Finn was already tugging his shirt over his head.

“No, Finn,” Leo said and stood. “No, you’re not. Tomorrow, fine, at morning skate, but no, not right now. You need to rest. Plus, the show’s about to start.”

“I don’t know if I want to watch him interviewed,” Finn mumbled as he disappeared into the bedroom.

Leo looked back at the TV. Truthfully, there was nothing Leo wanted more than to catch a glimpse of Logan walking down the red carpet, or suiting up in the All Stars locker room beside Sirius. Anything. He’d take anything, he missed Logan so bad it hurt.

“Finn,” he sighed, and pushed himself up from the couch. He’d expected to have to pry the running shoes out of Finn’s hands, but when he got to the bedroom, Finn was just sitting on the bed, elbows on his knees. The position made Logan’s fleur-de-lis swing lightly from his neck. Leo stared at it. Sometimes, when he couldn’t sleep and Finn was, as usual, soundly full under, he’d reach out and touch it where it rested against Finn’s chest, or, if he was on his side, against the mattress. It didn’t exactly put him to sleep, not with the lump it brought to his throat, but it helped all the same.

Leo took another step towards the bed. “Finn—”

“At All Stars, we could’ve—” Finn said suddenly standing back up. “What’s that all about? That’s not a fucking phone call that’s too hard to deal with. We’d be there. We’d be there in the fucking hotel room with him, all together, why doesn’t he—” Finn’s voice broke and his bare shoulders seemed to curl down a little. He pressed his hands over his face and Leo pushed forward, putting his hands on Finn’s waist, trying to steady him. Finn was shaking his head, brow pinched. “Why doesn’t he want us there, I…I don’t…”

“You know that’s not true,” Leo said. His voice wavered and he fought to control it. “You know he wants us there, it’s just—put yourself in his shoes. It would be torture. Finn, it would be torture, for me at least, to know that you two were together and I wasn’t there. God, I hate it, too, but I get it. It’s horrible but I get it.”

“I’d want a week with you!” Finn said. “And not to mention your fucking birthday like—at least then he should—I would’ve fucking—”

“Well, Logan’s not you,” Leo said, more firmly than he’d meant to, but, God, Finn was so sad, so angry, all the time. It was getting to Leo, too. His birthday. Leo crossed his arms over his chest and took a step back. “You’re the only one here who’s had to leave the others before and I…” Leo pressed his lips together, sniffing. He closed his eyes and took a breath. “Look, you don’t have to watch, but I really want to see him, so…join me, don’t join me. Whichever.”

And he turned back towards the living room.

It only took a few minutes for Finn to walk back into the living room and stand uncertainly by the couch until Leo lifted the blanket for him. He let out what sounded like a relieved sigh and tucked Leo into his side this time, pressing a gentle kiss to his temple.

“I love you,” Finn whispered. “God, Le, I love you. I know I’ve been…”

Leo rubbed a hand over Finn’s chest, his soft t-shirt and the bump of the pendant, but didn’t take his eyes away from where they were showing Logan and Sirius, standing beside each other on the red carpet. They weren’t smiling exactly, but their shoulders were close. Leo swallowed. He would have given anything for the three of them to be sitting on this couch right now.

“I love you, too,” he whispered, and tilted his head to rest against Finn’s shoulder just as the camera zoomed in close to Logan.

“He looks—” Finn said quietly, voice breaking off. “Oh, Lo…”

They both leaned forward. Logan’s cheeks looked a little sunken. He had darkness beneath his eyes. He had his hands deep in his pockets and his brown waves of hair were free and tussled. His green eyes darted around, like they couldn’t settle. Leo pressed a hand to his chest. He’d never seen Logan look like that. Almost frail, the pink of his cheeks tender. Had he been working himself too hard? Had he been sleeping?

“No,” Finn whispered, and pushed up again, hand rubbing the back of his neck. “No, I can’t watch this.”

Leo faintly heard their bedroom door close, but he felt frozen there on the couch, knowing Logan couldn’t see him but somehow silently begging him to look at him, to know he was there.

~

They hadn’t said anything at first. Logan had requested they wait to see each other, really see each other, until the first day’s opening events were done, and, really, Sirius didn’t want cameras around, either. One moment Sirius had been standing in Logan’s hotel room doorway and the next they were hugging. It was such a relief, when Logan started speaking French. Sirius was so choked up right now he wasn’t sure he felt like managing English. It felt like it had hugging Regulus again. He didn’t want to lose another brother.

“Tremz,” Sirius whispered. “Merde…”

“I can’t believe this,” Logan breathed as they pulled away. His dark green suit looked brighter against the ugly red carpet of the hallway. “God, Cap—I mean…”

“Don’t you dare stop calling me that,” Sirius said. “Fuck, nothing’s the same without you. I can’t tell you how hard it’s been.”

“Come in,” Logan all but pulled him in and shut the door. He thought of Remus a few doors down. He’d almost asked him to come, but something in Sirius was thinking of last year’s All Stars and how it had been Logan to talk some sense into him. He wanted it to be just the two of them for now.

“Tell me,” Logan said, and Sirius’ heart hurt at the strained note of pleading in his voice. “Please. I just—just tell me.”

“It’s…” Sirius began haltingly. How in hell was he supposed to tell him about Finn? “Well, Leo is… But Finn…” Sirius didn’t know how to say it. “Finn’s not doing so well right now.”

Logan’s green eyes were big and almost terrified. “And—Leo?”

“Hides it better, but I keep find him just staring at your stall. I can’t imagine…I mean, when he’s at your home…”

“And Kota?”

Sirius tilted his head, grimacing a little. “Kota seems nice enough. But Finn’s being a real ass, I’m not going to lie.”

Logan blinked and Sirius almost felt bad for bringing it up, but part of him knew Remus was right. Logan needed to know. “To Leo even?”

“To everyone.”

“He’s upset with me. Him more than Leo, I think,” Logan bit his lip, ran his hand through his hair. “I told them not to come this week.”

“Ouais…I know about that.” Sirius nodded. “Why—”

“Are they angry?”

Sirius hesitated before answering. “Well, I think you have to do what’s best for you right now.”

“That’s not an answer,” Logan sighed. “Cap, I…I just…” Logan shook his head, eyes on the floor. “I just started, like, being hungry even. Sleeping through the night. Seeing them, spending a week with them…I don’t think it would be…good. Not now. Merde, I love them, but I don’t want to lose my appetite when I’m not with them.”

Sirius sat down slowly on the bed, rubbing his palms together. “I understand. Really, Tremz, I get it.”

“Then what?” Logan sighed.

Sirius shook his head. “Nothing, I just…”

“Non, I know that look, you’re not saying something.”

Sirius couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Well, first, I’m proud of you. I can’t imagine how hard this has been. Oh, and don’t let me forget I have some cookies from Celeste for you. Apparently Katie packed her backpack, said she was coming with me to see you.”

“Oh,” Logan just offered a shaky smile. “Katie…”

It was the same smile Logan had been giving on the carpet all day, to the cameras and fans. Today had been an exhausting one, but Sirius knew that he’d be feeling a whole lot worse right now if Remus hadn’t been by his side through it, holding his hand.

“Second,” Sirius said. “How the hell are you playing so well while feeling like all that?”

Logan blew out a breath and sat down, too. “I can either get Coach Gallant to give me more minutes or sit on the bench and feel sorry for myself. And…” Logan sighed, voice smaller. “Who knows, you know? It’s a one year contract and if they want me for a playoff run and I help get it for them…maybe I’ll have a little more say next time.”

Sirius winced. “That’s a pretty big gamble. But that’s also what Finn said.”

“Really?” Logan asked. “Oh.”

“He’s really not doing well,” Sirius said again. “I…”

Logan waved him on. “Just tell me, Cap.”

Sirius huffed out a laugh. “I’m that obvious?”

“Always have been,” Logan shrugged. “Well. Not always, I guess.”

Sirius took another breath. “I know you aren’t calling them.”

Logan shrunk into himself a bit then, and Sirius felt guilty but not enough to back down. Logan looked away.

He had lost a little weight, Sirius had noticed on the carpet. Not enough to be very noticeable, but Sirius had spent hours and hours with Logan. His cheeks looked a little sharper. His lips were chapped, eyes tired.

“Cap…” Logan shook his head.

Sirius put a hand on Logan’s knee. “Tremz, I know how it was with you and Finn. I’ll never feel what you two felt, I know that, and it must have been so, so horrible, but have you…have you thought about how this doesn’t have to be all or nothing in the way that Harvard was?”

Sirius felt Logan hold himself very still. Sirius was being truthful when he said that he couldn’t imagine what Finn and Logan must have gone through. He’d only truly fallen for Remus when they’d started seeing each other. To feel the way he did about Remus for years and not be able to do anything…he couldn’t begin to imagine.

“Is Loops with you?” Logan asked.

Sirius sighed a little at the topic change but nodded. “Yeah. We thought we’d make a trip of it. Together.”

Logan shot him a look. “Did you kick him out of this talk?”

Sirius laughed. “A little, yeah.”

Sirius paused. He thought of the ring that sat prettily on Remus’ finger. They’d been so dead-set on not rubbing the news into the Cubs’ faces, but maybe…maybe it wouldn’t hurt. Maybe it would help. For Sirius, marrying Remus was the ultimate sign that life, hard and brutal sometimes, worked out.

“Tremz,” Sirius began, and ran a hand through his hair. He wished now that he’d taken the time to change out of his suit. It felt too hot and tight. Logan looked back at him expectantly. He really did look so tired. It made Sirius want to tuck him into his side. God, he hoped this was the right thing to say right now.

“I finally did it,” he said, and Logan tilted his head for a moment before his eyes widened. “I asked Remus to marry me.”

“You did?” Logan said breathlessly. “You finally—the ring?”

Sirius laughed. “I completely forgot about the ring actually.”

Logan laughed, too, reached out and gripped Sirius’ hand, then he blinked and a tear fell. He curled into himself a little. He touched his own wet cheek. “Oh, sorry, I—Oh.”

Sirius felt himself tearing up to. “Don’t you cry, I’ll cry.”

Logan nodded, and then he didn’t seem to be able to speak. He buried his face in his hands. His next breath was a sob.

“Hey,” Sirius said softly. “Tremz, hey…” He squeezed Logan’s hands. “No, I…I’m sorry, I thought it might help to see that things do work out and—”

“Non, I’m so happy for you—I’m sorry—”

Sirius didn’t know what to do but sit there and let Logan squeeze his hands so hard that it hurt a little.

“We were going to come out,” Logan’s words were all tangled up with tears. “We decided—maybe an hour before I got the call.”

“You were—” Sirius felt his heart lurch. A moment later Logan was sort of listing to one side and Sirius pulled him in against his chest. “Oh my god. Oh God, Logan…”

“I wanted to,” Logan cried, clutching at Sirius’ suit jacket. “I finally wanted to and then…”

“I’m sorry,” Sirius said through tears in his throat. He felt Logan’s seeping through the thin cotton of his shirt. “That’s not going to be the last time you want to. Don’t worry about that, Lo, don’t worry.”

“I miss them so bad,” Logan said. “I miss them.”

“Call them,” Sirius said, and realized he was pushing his fingers through Logan’s hair, the way he did with Remus. It felt right with the way Logan leaned into it. “Logan. You know them. I know it’s hard, but you know them. They love you so fucking much. Do you really think seeing their faces, hearing their voices, will be harder than this?”

“I don’t know,” Logan said. “Saying goodbye was so horrible, I…”

“That’s because you’re acting like you’re never going to see them again. It’s a three hour drive or something. You can do that in a day off. It’s not the best, but you can. You can.”

Logan let out a breath and sat up. He wiped at his eyes, dark eyelashes clumped together with tears, and looked at Sirius. “Ouais…” He wiped at more fresh tears. “Ugh. I’ve never cried so much in my life.”

Sirius ruffled Logan’s hair again and then let them sit for a few minutes. He reached up and loosened his own tie, then did the same for Logan, who sent him a grateful look.

“Sorry about your shirt.”

“I could care less about this shirt,” Sirius said, and looked at Logan’s bare throat. “Gave Finn your necklace.”

Logan just nodded and touched where the missing piece would have hung. He sat up a little straighter, scrunching his nose a little, blocked up. “Is Loops just waiting for you?”

“He can entertain himself,” Sirius laughed, and put a hand on Logan’s shoulder. “You’re really important to us, Tremz.”

Logan cracked a smile. “Does he want to watch a movie with us?”

“Absolutely.”

Logan’s smile reached his eyes this time, which he gave another firm rub. “All right. I’m going to get out of this suit.”

“Ouais, me too.” Sirius had one hand on the door when Logan’s phone lit up. Finn, Sirius could see. A picture that looked like it was from Harvard. Finn looked much more like Alex now.

“Want me to give you a bit?” he asked carefully.

When Logan didn’t reply right away, Sirius shut the door again. They watched the phone ring out together.

“D’accord,” Sirius sighed. “Meet up in ten?”

Logan was quiet for a long moment. Sirius watched his eyes dart to the clock, then away. Finally, he straightened. “Non. You two go enjoy yourselves. I have something I need to do.”

Sirius’ chest flooded with relief. “Okay.” He slapped Logan’s shoulder. “Good.”

~

Finn couldn’t help himself anymore. Leo was in the shower, water loud, and Finn pressed his phone harder against his ear.

“Hi,” he whispered to Logan’s voicemail. He’d not yet left a message. He couldn’t help it. Maybe it was seeing him, and not just on Youtube in a press interview (which he and Leo had been watching maybe too many of), but seeing a live feed of Logan walking and talking to other people. How tired he’d looked, how lonely. “Lo, I…I know you said you couldn’t—“

Finn had to stop for a moment, get his breathing under control. He didn’t want to cry. He was so tired of crying, of feeling this way.

“But I need…I can deal with you being in New York. I—I can do that, I really can, but I can’t do this again. I can’t do the silence again, please, please, please…”

His breathing hitched and he covered his eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I said I wouldn’t do this, but please call us. It’s just—so hard like this, Lo, it’s so hard—”

His nose was running horribly. Leo would know immediately he’d been crying but Finn wanted nothing more than to sink into Leo’s arms after this.

He let out a long breath. “God, I’m sorry. I love you. Fuck, don’t listen to this, okay—”

He hung up and tossed the phone onto the bed, resting his head back against the pillows. He shouldn’t have done that. Logan had asked him not to do that, not to do any of what he’d been doing. But when he’d left Harvard, Finn hadn’t said a thing after that single, horrible phone call and it had been hell. How much deeper could they sink? Apparently some ways.

He listened to Leo humming softly to himself for a moment before pushing himself up from the bed and cracking the door to the steamed up bathroom.

Le? Can I come in?” Finn asked over the steam, and he saw Leo’s silhouette freeze at the sound of his blocked up nose.

“Oh, sweetheart, of course,” Leo said. “C’mere.”

The second Finn was undressed and stepping onto the wet tile he was taking Leo into his arms.

“I called him, I’m sorry…”

“Finn—” Leo began, holding him tight. “No, it’s okay, it’s okay.”

It felt good, just to breathe each other in, skin on skin. Finn ran his hands up and down Leo’s back, just as Leo did the same for him. He took a deep breath, gathering himself, and leaned back to look at Leo. He pushed his blond hair away from his eyes.

“I’m such an asshole—”

Leo shushed him gently, pressing three gentle fingers over his mouth.

“I just want to hold you, okay?” Leo said. “And I want you to hold me.”

Finn loved him. Finn loved him so much. He nodded, and let Leo tuck his face back into his neck, pressing him close beneath the shower’s warm spray.

~

Sirius shut the door to his and Remus’ room in New York and sat down heavily on the bed. He brought Remus’ hand up to his mouth and kissed where he had replaced his engagement ring. Sirius didn’t like it, but it probably was for the best that he’d taken it off for the red carpets. At least for now, until they told the team officially.

“I think he’s going to call them,” he said, and Remus’ shoulders visibly loosened.

“Yes. Good Logan.”

“Yeah,” Sirius wrapped an arm around Remus’ waist. “Re, they were going to come out.”

Remus’ eyes widened and he dropped his forehead to Sirius’ shoulder. “Oh my god. Aw, Leo…I knew there was something else he wasn’t saying. Oh my god, I can’t even imagine…and when Logan was asking me about it…”

Neither of them found more words, just sat on the cool hotel sheets. Remus started twisting his ring around his finger at one point and Sirius watched the flash of the diamond as it came round and round again.

“Okay,” Sirius said, and pressed a kiss to Remus’ temple. “I love Logan, I miss him, but right now I’ve had a camera in my face all day and we deserve to celebrate,” Sirius tugged Remus closer. “I’m going to start us on our Pre-Wedding Honeymoon New York City Itinerary.”

Sirius took delight in nothing more than the smile that slowly broke over Remus’ face.

“Oh?”

“Mhm,” Sirius said, and pressed a gentle kiss to Remus’ mouth. “Get your coat.”

“My coat?” Remus laughed. “It’s like eleven at night!”

“What, there’s no where to go at night? Come on, allez.” He pulled Remus up and right into another kiss. “I’ve been thinking so much about Tremz, of course I have, but…” Sirius sighed. “All I want to think about is you.” He let his next kiss linger. “You and you and you.”

“Hmm,” Remus’ smiled. “Where are we going?”

Sirius pressed the words into his mouth along with kisses. He tucked Remus up against his body and turned them in a slow circle. “Dancing.”

Remus’ laugh was light. “Sirius Black is taking me dancing?”

“He is,” Sirius smiled into another kiss. “And he can’t wait.”

If Sirius had learned anything from his life so far, it was to seize the moment he was in. Worry would always be there. Problems were never in short supply. But he had Remus blushing with excitement and looking for their room key and his shoes. He was going to grab onto that and keep it close.

~

Leo hadn’t needed anything for his birthday, really. Finn had tried so hard that night, but neither of their hearts were really in it. They’d had dinner out at Leo’s favorite restaurant, and Leo had thought Finn looked so good. In another version of this night, he’d have them skip dessert entirely so he could take Finn home. But both of them had been waiting for a call from Logan that had never come. They had skipped dessert at the restaurant, if only because Finn knew Leo didn’t really like the attention public birthday candles brought. Instead, once they were both in their pajamas, Finn had brought out a perfect slice of chocolate coconut cake from the bakery down the street, a single candle in it, and kissed his cheek and neck in bursts while Leo tried to blow it out and laugh at the same time. They’d read their books with their feet tangled. They’d had a game the next day, and it had been a good night considering that they were both sore and jumping every time their phone lit up. In the end, Leo had pulled Finn to bed and made himself small against Finn’s warm chest. Finn had rubbed his back until they’d both fallen asleep.

Leo didn’t mind. What he did mind was staring up at the dark bedroom ceiling for what felt like the thousandth night in a row. It was somewhere closer to two in the morning now and Leo rubbed at his eyes, frustrated. He needed to sleep. God, he needed to sleep so bad. Finn had been tracing patterns across his back for a while, but he’d long since fallen asleep and rolled onto his other side.

He played back each glimpse they’d had of Logan on the TV. His green suit they’d picked out. He’d looked gorgeous in it. So gorgeous. Leo sighed and rolled onto one side, watching Finn’s back rise and fall beneath his t-shirt. His hair was still a little damp from the shower and Leo reached out to stroke the soft red strands at the base of his neck a few times. God, he was so tired. He was playing so well, though, it didn’t make any sense. They were finally winning games, and Twitter was giving some sort of weird, superstitious credit to shaking the team and lines up. Leo wanted to through his phone across the room more often than not.

He closed his eyes. They felt so heavy, dry with strain, but his body wouldn’t rest. He’d end up listening to his own heartbeat pound in his ears, or counting the soft freckles across Finn’s neck. He was scooting closer to Finn, softly fitting their bodies together again in hopes that it would help, when a sound from the living room made him freeze.

It was the scratch of keys in the door. The bolt opening. Leo tensed, lifting his head, wide awake now. His first thought was some sort of thief, but as the door opened and someone let out a breath, the telltale sound of keys being dropped into the bowl by the door made him sit up sharply. Finn always forgot about the bowl, no matter how many times Leo pointed it out to him. His keys ended up anywhere but that bowl Leo had put there. Couch, counter, bathroom, sheets.

But Logan. Logan had worked hard to make Leo happy and put his set there beside Leo’s, ready to be found again.

Leo realized he was shaking a little as he hurriedly pushed the covers off and stood, listening hard. Had he imagined it? He looked towards Finn’s sleeping form, but he didn’t want to wake him up if it was nothing. God, what if it was nothing, and Leo was standing there like some love-sick maniac, imagining Logan…But there was definitely someone in the living room. Leo took slow steps, pushing the bedroom door open slowly. There was more rustling. A suitcase rolled to a stop. A phone clicked off and was put on the counter. Shoes were toed off. Logan’s shoes. His keys might stay put, but his shoes ended up in two different rooms. Leo was always finding them and matching them back together by the door, socks, too.

Leo stepped out of the bedroom, took one step, two, three—

And there was Logan, standing by the kitchen counter, green eyes catching the light of the city outside. Leo’s heart gave a hard, lurching thud as they stared at each other.

“I was trying to be quiet,” Logan whispered and, God, his voice. Leo had all but clung to each word he’d heard Logan say in the interviews on TV. But that was nothing compared to hearing it here, now, scratched with tiredness and emotion. He was wearing a thick Rangers sweatshirt and gray sweatpants. Leo wanted to press the two of them together until they were one.

Leo couldn’t help it, he broke into a smile, eyes filling. “I was awake already.”

“You were?” Logan asked, eyes going sad, and dropped his bag onto the floor. He was looking at Leo almost greedily, body edging forward.

“What…did you drive all the way here?” Leo said, wiping at his eyes. There was so much space between them, and Leo was dying to close it, but he wanted to let Logan make the first move. He needed Logan to make the first move.

“Ouais,” Logan said. “I’ll get a fine for missing the skills competitions tomorrow, but…” He took a step forward. “I think I can afford it.”

“I’d give them triple if it meant having you here.”

Logan’s brows knit. He had been twisting his sweatshirt in his hands, but he let it go now, reached out a palm. “Le…”

And then the distance was closed and they were clutching each other. Leo felt a laugh bubble up inside him and mix with his tears. He turned his face into Logan’s hair and inhaled. “Hi. Hi, sweetheart. Lo…”

Logan was up on his toes, arms pulling Leo down to wrap around his neck, fingers in his hair, while Leo gripped his strong shoulders.

“I was so wrong,” Logan whispered.

Leo just shook his head and held him tighter. “It doesn’t matter now. I just need you to kiss me.”

Logan didn’t hesitate. He barely pulled away to press their mouths together hard. He stroked his tongue along Leo’s bottom lip lovingly. Leo let his teeth scrape gently against Logan’s, opening to him, needing the closeness, the warmth. He pressed his palm to Logan’s cheek and kissed him until he couldn’t breathe.

They panted softly into the quiet space of the living room.

“Do I have Sirius Black to thank for this?” Leo whispered.

“He told me to call you,” Logan replied. “I thought I could do better than that, since we technically have almost a week off.”

“God,” Leo laughed and wrapped Logan up again. “I’m so—I’ve been sick to my stomach thinking of you all alone.”

Logan clung to him. “I was worried it was just me.”

“Of course it wasn’t, you—dummy.”

The word startled a laugh out of both of them. Logan made a soft, low sound as Leo cupped a palm to the back of his neck, another to the small of his back.

“I’m not alone,” Logan said, pressing a kiss to the underside of Leo’s jaw. “Alex was so good to me, and Morgy and Perc…but then I’d go to sleep at night and I just…” He pressed himself into Leo harder, as if he could soak up all of his warmth. He lifted his nose into Leo’s neck, breathing him in.

They stood there, swaying slightly, in the middle of the apartment. Logan still had the cold February air clinging to him and Leo was determined to warm him up through and through.

“It’s so good to be home,” Logan whispered, and while Leo knew that it was his first time back in the apartment, the way Logan squeezed his shoulders let him know that Logan was talking about him. Logan pulled back and smiled up at him, wiping his thumbs gently beneath Leo’s eyes.

“You should go wake Finn up,” Leo smiled, feeling a little giddy at the thought of Finn’s face. “God, Lo, I’m so happy you’re here. He’s going to be so happy.”

Logan paused and Leo saw actual worry pass over his face. “Are you sure? Cap said that he’s been…”

Leo just shook his head and smiled. “I know. And he has been, but…come on.” He laced his fingers through Logan’s. “It’s you. It’s us. Come on.”

They crept back into the dark bedroom and Leo flicked on the dim lamp on his side of the bed as Logan sat down carefully on Finn’s side. It washed the room in a glow that finally felt warm again. Leo felt choked up all over again at the fact that the three of them were all in the same room once more. The bed felt softer, the light like a cocoon. He studied Logan as he frowned at the furrow in Finn’s brow, even in sleep, and the purple beneath his eyes. For a moment, it felt like Logan had never left. He sent Leo a soft smile before putting a hand on Finn’s back through the worn-out Harvard t-shirt he was wearing, rubbing gently. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Finn’s temple that was so tender it made Leo ache.

“Mon rouge,” Logan whispered. “Wake up. I love you, wake up.”

Finn stirred a little, and the crease between his brows deepened before relaxing into sleep again. His fingers fisted his pillow and he turned his face into it, making a soft sound. Leo realized he thought he was dreaming. He sat down on the bed, scooting close to Finn’s sleeping form and smiled at Logan, nodding for him to to try again.

“Harzy. Harzy…” Logan dropped his forehead to Finn’s shoulder. “Wake up, I missed…” The words cut off and Leo watched Logan swallow down his emotion. “Finn.”

Finn stirred again, lips parting, and then he stilled at the feeling of Logan’s cheek against his shoulder, his breath against his neck.

Without opening his eyes, Finn asked, voice sleep-coarse, “Is this real?”

Logan let out a soft laugh—Leo’s favorite laugh—and pressed a kiss to Finn’s shoulder, then his neck, then his cheek. “Ouais, mon amour, open your eyes.”

But Finn still didn’t, just allowed his hand to find the back of Logan’s neck, the other between his shoulder blades, and pulled him down against his chest.

“Lo,” Finn breathed, and turned his face into Logan’s neck.

“It’s me,” Logan whispered, and Leo had to hook his cheek over Finn’s shoulder, then, hand on his hip. Logan pressed another series of hard kisses to Finn’s cheek, to Finn’s tears falling there. “Shh, c’est moi.”

Leo smiled as Logan’s words dissolved into gentle French, then began to cry, too, when Finn did.

“I’m sorry,” Finn said through hitching breaths. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry—”

“No apologies,” Logan whispered, and cupped Finn’s cheek. “Remember? Please, open your eyes…”

Finn rubbed a palm over the for a moment, like he was still scared it was all going to disappear, before finally letting his eyes flutter open to look at Logan. The brown of them looked so warm in the light that Leo had to duck to kiss his jaw.

“Surprise,” Leo whispered.

Finn just reached up and traced a finger along Logan’s neck. “Did you know, Le?” He asked Leo.

Leo shook his head as Logan kissed Finn’s fingers, shifting so that more of his weight pressed against Finn’s chest. He touched his fleur-de-lis around Finn’s neck.

“I didn’t even know until a few hours ago.” Logan turned and kissed Finn’s palm, too, when it pressed to his cheek. “I hope it’s a good surprise.”

“I should punch you for thinking it wouldn’t be,” Finn said, and made a fist and gave the Rangers logo on Logan’s sweatshirt a light bump. But then his hand flattened, pressed right over Logan’s heart. Finn looked over at Leo and then he was grinning, wide, eyes crinkled at the corners. “Got our boy back, Le.”

“We did,” Leo laughed, and bent down to meet Finn’s mouth when he tilted his chin up.

“Come here,” Finn said, and all but heaved Logan into the middle between them, startling a laugh out of him. “Come here right fucking now.”

Leo wrapped his arms around Logan’s waist and pressed his lips to his neck just as Finn brought Logan into a hard kiss. Leo felt Logan’s soft sound vibrate against his lips and Logan reached back to hold Leo there.

“We missed you,” Finn breathed. “Baby, we missed you so much.”

“I know,” Logan said, green eyes bright. “Me too.”

Leo threw his leg over Logan’s hip, could see Finn tangle his and Logan’s ankles together.

“Oh,” Logan let out a long, relieved sigh and tilted his head back into the pillows, closing his eyes. “This is all I’ve wanted.”

Across Logan’s shoulder, Leo met Finn’s eyes. Finn reached out and cupped his cheek. I love you he mouthed, and Leo kissed his wrist.

“Sleep, Lo,” Leo whispered. “We’ve got all week.”

And they slept, curled together, with no alarm to wake them in the morning.

[xxxregulusblackxxx]

Waiting for you're favorite fic to update is so hard. Especially when it's the only thing you want to read, God I can't get anything done today if it doesn't update ahhhh!

[floralflorence]

Have you noticed that the Regulus star is in the Leo constellation and is commonly referred to as "the heart of the lion"? Just one more reason to ship the cubs x Reg

I didn't but that makes SO much sense for them! if anyone needed more reasons to love them together, thank anon for giving us all one!! reg is really the final piece for them... the heart of the lion cubs indeed 🌸

[ajanonsworld]

Sweater weather!Sirius is just Max Verstappen BUT hockey version.

[waltzedintherain]

hey y’all!!

i’m gonna do some poly drawing prompts, so send in:

- number

- letter

- ship of your choice!

anyways!! this is gonna be exciting :DD

(drawings are by @mcnuggyy !!<3)