Logan finishes packing and does a quick visual sweep of the bedroom to ensure that he and James haven't left anything behind.
Once he's satisfied everything has been retrieved and will be returning to 2J with them, he zips up the overnight bag and swings it over his shoulder. He makes the short trek to the front door, dropping the bag down by it.
Logan surveys the open area of the first floor, searching for any signs of clutter that would give Griffin a cause to rethink letting them return to the eccentric man's beach house whenever they request.
Because it's still a shock to Logan that Griffin agreed the first time he asked.
This time around, James must have done the asking because Logan didn't, and yet here they are, almost ready to go back home. The whole stay was a surprise to Logan, much like the last beach day was for James.
Keys were dangling in front of Logan's face.
"Why do you have the keys to the car?" he asked the hand holding them in his view, its owner standing behind Logan.
"Because we're taking a few days for ourselves. I've packed what you need; let's go."
Logan twisted himself around so he could look James in the eye. "And just where are we headed?"
Instead of answering, James produced a second set of keys, which Logan recognized.
"Malibu? At this time of night?"
"It's only eight now, old man. We'll be staying for a couple of days so it won't matter that the sun will be down by the time we get there."
Logan reached out for the car keys. "Alright, let's go."
The already long drive took even longer being it was a Friday evening and everyone was hurrying to get out of the city.
Sure enough, by the time they reached Griffin's beach house, the sun had been set for a good half hour. Logan parked the car and watched James take the rather sizable overnight bag from the trunk of the car. "Just how long are we staying?"
James closed the trunk and smiled. "Forever, if you'd like."
The thought of him and James and their own beach house did funny things to Logan's heart, so he replied, "How about we start with the weekend?"
James nodded as he made his way to the building's front door, Logan right behind him. Once the door was opened, Logan strode past James and led him to a guest bedroom on the first floor.
"It's funny how you know exactly where a bedroom is, Logie. Is there something you're not telling me?" James teased.
Logan blushed as he answered. "I memorized the house's floor plan when Carlos and I were drilling in the basement."
James stepped up behind Logan, tossing the bag on the bed in front of them while he pressed his lips to the back of Logan's neck. "Uh-huh. You unpack, and when you're done, come meet me on the beach."
Logan felt the loss of James' body heat as he backed away and left the room. A deep breath in and out cleared Logan's mind enough to allow him to somewhat unpack the things James had decided were necessary for a weekend stay at a beach house.
The first item pulled from the bag was a can of Cuda. So was the second item, and the third. Logan was grateful to find beach appropriate clothing at the very bottom of the bag, along with a tiny bag of his necessities, and put the shorts, shirts and various undergarments into a small dresser next to the doorway to the hall./em
After he hauled the entire Cuda product line into the bathroom and unpacked a small number of toiletries, Logan sat down on the bed and quickly removed his socks and shoes, rolling his pant legs up to the knees with the rationalization that changing at this point would only dirty a second set of clothes so he'd make due with what he was currently wearing.
He stood again, opened the room's windows and made his way outside, down to the beach via the patio.
It didn't take Logan long to spot James as not only was the beach virtually deserted, but he was the only one with a decent-sized bonfire in front of him. James sat with his back to the house, eyes focused on the waves of the ocean so Logan made a little extra noise as to not startle James into accidentally burning himself when he appeared next to the daydreaming boy.
Before Logan could say a word, James stretched out his long legs and held out his hand. Logan knew that was his cue to settle down in front of James so that they could cuddle before the fire.
As Logan made himself comfortable, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist and aided in the process. Finally at peace, the two sat in silence for several minutes, enjoying the crackling of the fire with the roar of the waves, the still warm sand beneath their feet, and each other.
Wordlessly, James offered Logan a stick with a marshmallow already attached. Logan took it and stuck the sugary item into the fire, rotating the stick every so often to try to keep the toasting even all the way around.
Roasted marshmallows were always a favorite of Logan's.
Staring hard at the rapidly browning marshmallow and deeming it done, Logan decided he needed to say something. "You didn't have to do this, you know."
Plunging the non-marshmallowed end of the stick into the sand to allow the treat to cool, Logan turned to face James. He closed his eyes when he felt James cup his face and trace his thumbs over the smudges of bruises under Logan's equally dark eyes.
"Yes, I did. You've been working yourself too hard and it shows."
Logan reopened his eyes and found the reflection of the fire dancing in James'. He leaned forward and kissed James softly. "Thank you."
Spinning back around, Logan grabbed his marshmallow and popped it in his mouth, enjoying the way it made his lips stick together. "Got any more?"
A chuckle vibrated through Logan's back as the voice close to his ear said, "You bet I do," and the bag of marshmallows found its way into Logan's lap.
They sat that way for almost an hour; James wrapped around Logan as Logan ate marshmallow after marshmallow, talking about the ocean or the numerous stars in the sky or anything else his giant brain deemed worthy.
James' hands found their way into the bag a couple of times, stealing marshmallows to eat flame-free. When Logan caught him, he thought a sticky kiss on the cheek would deter James from taking his snack. He quickly found out James didn't mind at all because the marshmallows started to disappear even faster.
After about an hour, fog rolled in and they decided to call it a night once Logan made sure that the bonfire was completely extinguished. It was a slow, sleepy walk back up to the house and into the guest bedroom.
Both made quick work of changing and as Logan's nighttime routine was far simpler than James', he climbed into bed first.
Despite eating a fair amount of marshmallows, Logan was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. James crept into the room, slid in behind him, and kissed
Logan's temple before he joined the genius in dreamland.
The next morning, Logan was awakened by the sounds of the crashing waves.
Hearing them made Logan smile.
"Hey, you. Good morning."
Hearing that forced a bigger smile to spread across Logan's face.
"I'm sorry to tell you this, but it's raining."
Logan opened his eyes and stared up at James. "Why are you sorry?"
James pulled Logan closer and nuzzled his face into Logan's hair. "Because I brought you here for a wonderful, relaxing weekend and now the weather's ruined any plans I might have had for us today."
Logan buried his face in the crook of James' neck. "You know what? I think it's awesome it's raining. It means we get to have a lazy day."
So that's what they did- having a movie marathon once they found out they could access Griffin's online video service through the television across from the bed and kissing, playing various games with the deck of cards James found in the nightstand and kissing, and just laying quietly as they listened to the lull of surf meeting the shore, which overpowered all sounds being made by the falling rain, while kissing.
Before they knew it, lazy day had turned into lazy night and after hearing the soothing sounds of the ocean all day, Logan and James succumbed to them at last and fell deeply asleep in each other's arms.
Logan smiles as he closes the door behind him and makes his way to the car with the overnight bag. Maybe I do want to stay forever, he thinks.
He raises the trunk's lid and carefully places the bag inside, not wanting to set off any of James' cans of Cuda by accident. Once is more than enough, thank you.
As he shuts the trunk, he can see James out on the beach, if he squints. It's like the sun is making up for missing a day by being extra bright today. "James! Come on! It's time to go home!"
"Hold on, I'm looking for something!" Logan hears James call.
Logan refrains from rolling his eyes as he wanders down to collect James.
He watches the pretty boy pace back and forth along the shoreline, eyes seemingly glued to the sand. Every few steps, James appears to lean down and dig through the sand a little to pull out a piece of a seashell only to discard it a second later.
"What are you doing?"
James is focusing hard on his task; he fails to hear Logan approach and jumps when Logan speaks. "I'm looking for something," he repeats without looking up. "A conch."
"Why?" Logan's baffled; James has never shown an interest in shells before. Why now?
"Because you can hear the ocean waves when you hold it up to your ear."
"That's not true."
"What?" James' head whips in Logan's direction. "But I've heard them before in other shells!"
"What you've heard are various sound waves that bounce off of things, like the inside of a shell, before they reach your ear drum. Holding an item to your ear can make certain sound waves you'd normally ignore, stronger. Sometimes, it just happens that these sound waves resemble the sound of the oceans' waves."
The look on James' face is something Logan has seen only a small handful of times in his life and it kills him each time: crushing disappointment.
Logan walks over to James and pulls him down so that they sit in the sand away from the incoming tide. He puts his arms around James, places his forehead against James' and whispers, "Why did you want to hear the ocean waves so badly? We're right here and so are they."
Just as quietly, James replies, "I wanted a memento of our weekend. Being the sound of the waves was the background music of it all, I was looking for something that would hold the sound of the ocean so that I could pick it up and remember how great this trip was many years from now."
James wants a souvenir? He's going to get one. It may not be tangible; however, Logan thinks it'll be just as memorable.
Logan tightens his hold on James. "I may not make the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore, but if you hold me close, I will always tell you that I love you."
They sit quietly for a few more moments before James helps Logan to his feet. "I know you're itching to start the drive because traffic gets worse on PCH as the day goes on, so let's go home."
Logan understands James needs more time to process Logan basically saying 'I love you' for the first time, so he bobs his head in agreement and they walk back to the car hand in hand.
As Logan goes to release James' hand to walk to the other side of the car, James tugs Logan back into his arms. Recognizing the gesture for the confirmation it is, he says, "I love you," to the boy that holds both him and his heart.
"I love you too." Logan doesn't even try to suppress the grin that blooms at James' response or hold back the surprised laugh that follows the next part, even though James is talking mostly to himself, "This is so much better than a shell."