Logan, his whole life, had never been a big fan of the ocean. Beaches sure, the sand was nice, dry and solid. But the open water..no, definitely not a fan. Today was no exception. Doing an infiltrating deep sea mission with a high risk of failure? Even less okay with that. On top of it all, it was bit weird going on mission without his older brother, Hesh. He was so accustomed to having his brother at his back or side covering him, covering each other.
But as he stared over at Keegan, who was checking his under-water rifle, he felt that familiar stir in his stomach and uneven rhythm in his heart. He instantly dropped his eyes and suddenly became very interested in his hands. These feelings turned the usually grounded, level-headed young solider into a stuttering, nervous mess. He wasn't used to feeling like this. Ever since he met the man in the woods and his icy gaze fell over him it's been this way.
It was obvious, he liked the older Sergeant, more than he should. And certainly more than his dad or brother would approve of, he's sure. Keegan was usually quite the loner. Yet, from the get go, the scout sniper seemed to drift towards Logan.
In battle, he was always directly in view of him or when they needed to move up he'd be crouched in the back waiting for Logan to catch up. Logan was a bit clumsy sometimes or maybe a touch accident-prone, but still a damn talented soldier. Regardless, Keegan was always there first to lend him a hand in a firm grasp to help him up.
Then, when they weren't fighting and back at the base he'd still find his way to him. If Logan was lounging on the couch after a particularly brutal mission, Keegan would be in the chair next to him reading silently. He's fallen asleep on the same couch many times before and woken up covered by a blanket that he's pretty damn sure wasn't there before and Keegan was still sitting in the same chair.
Logan wasn't sure what to make of the man's actions. He frustrated the youngest member of the Ghosts frequently with his mysterious nature, yet it only seemed to rope him in deeper. Keegan even seemed to speak to Logan the most..in a non-mission critical sort of way. Which he hadn't even seen him do much with Merrick..whom he'd known for years. They could sit comfortably in silence together just listening to the other breathing or the let out the occasional sigh. Other times they could speak about anything and everything really even if it was Logan doing most of the talking. Keegan still looked interested and entirely focused on what Logan had to say. The two of them were by far the most introverted of the Ghosts, so maybe that's why they winded up together so often. It was still new territory for Logan to, for once, not want to follow his older brother around all the time. And this whole stupid crush thing or whatever you wanted to call it, was even more of a new thing for him.
The nerves crept up on him again, he moved about in his seat and dared to lift his eyes back to stare at the dark haired man across from him. Keegan being with him, as much as it made him nervous, gave him strength and made him a little less afraid of a lifelong fear. Keegan seemed to notice the younger Sergeant's unease and stared at him intently with a raised brow which wasn't helping Logan's already racing heart.
"You ok, kid?" Keegan's rough voice was unusually soft.
"Honestly?" Logan hesitated, not really sure if Keegan would laugh at him for his childish fear of the ocean. Logan sighed quietly to himself and looked up at Keegan who gave him a small smile and nod to urge him on. "Well to be honest...no. You can't laugh ok because Hesh already has plenty of times. But I kind of hate the ocean..it scares me alright."
Keegan had a confused expression on his face and he sat back as if to get a better view of Logan but still, as he silently promised, didn't laugh. "That seems a bit odd considering the fact that you've lived by the ocean your whole life."
"Yeah..tell me about it.." Logan said sarcastically.
"Well, is there any specific reason it scares you, kid?"
"I don't know, Keegan. It's hard to explain. The ocean is so huge and unknown. It's a little fucking scary. I swear if a megalodon eats me today I'm gonna be so pissed. Hell, Hesh would be even more pissed at me I'm sure and not the shark." Logan rambled on, mostly because of the stress that never seemed to have left him. But then a soft sound reached his ears causing them to perk up, something he hadn't heard before. It was a deep low chuckle that came from Keegan's mouth. Logan was a bit taken aback from the sweet noise and stared on at the other man not sure how to respond. Keegan leaned forward and placed his hand on Logan's wet suit covered knee and squeezed it, Logan suddenly felt a lot more than nervous about the ocean.
"Look kid..Logan, you're not going down there alone. I'll be right by your side the whole time, I promise. I sure as hell won't let a fucking giant extinct shark get you. Though I'm sure you'd put up quite the fight against one, I'd bet on you." Keegan's voice was reassuring and gentle but edged with a slightly humorous tone. His hand still remained on Logan's knee, when the younger man realized this, he felt his cheeks heat up. Thank god for the black face paint that covered some of his face. Although it seemed that the other man did notice and seemed to smirk slightly before removing his hand.
Then, as Keegan leaned back into his seat, he reached for his signature skull mask and pulled it over his face. Logan fought back the nearly audible whine of disapproval for this action and tried to ignore the subtle ache in his chest for not being able to see Keegan's face fully. But he did see the sniper's eyes, the striking blue that sent electric volts to his heart. He swallowed and pushed the thoughts from his mind, trying to re-focus on the mission without lingering too long on the underwater part.
"You can do this Logan, I know you can. We can do this." Keegan sounded so confident, so sure. "We'll be fine, you'll see. After this we'll go someplace dry, preferably with delicious food." Even though Keegan's face was covered, Logan could sense the smile that was surely on his face.
"Ok then, it's a date." Logan sputtered out before he could think. "I mean, cool...that sounds great." He coughed awkwardly hoping that what he said didn't sink in too deep with Keegan.
"Yeah, thought it sounded like a nice date too." Keegan shrugged and crossed his arms.
Logan nearly choked on air.
So far, the mission had been successful apart from one close call with a shark. Keegan was right, they definitely weren't the only hunters out here. Fucking sharks.
Keegan and Logan were an excellent team, and they'd taken out all the hostiles with little problems.
Soon enough, they reached the old broken down lighthouse near the ship and swam inside it to the top.
"We need to take out that sub. I'll line it up, you guide it in." Logan's focus faltered for a second at the older Ghosts' wording. Damn his dirty mind. Logan quickly snapped his attention back to the task at hand and led the torpedo perfectly to the weak point of the ship and they both watched as it blew up.
"Alright good shot, that was easier than I thought. Let's get the hell out of-" Keegan was cut off by the blast of the sub's explosion. "Logan, come on! Move! Move!" They both could see the lighthouse was coming down. Keegan tried to grab onto Logan and help him but the two were quickly separated from the impact. Before Logan could try to swim away he was struck by a large piece of the lighthouse's brick.
"Kid! Logan! Logan!" Logan could barley make out the sound of Keegan's panicked voice as his body hit the bottom of the ocean floor. He felt as though he lungs would burst, his vision started to flicker to black. He struggled to remain conscious, trying to stay calm and get the heavy metal off his arm.
All at once Logan felt a huge amount of pressure being taken off his chest and his breathing tube was re-attached.
"Logan, talk to me dammit, are you ok?" softer then, "stay with me, I need you to be ok.."
"K..Keegan." Logan took a huge breath and tried to steady his focus on the sound of Keegan's voice.
"You okay?" Keegan put up the 'ok' sign with his fingers and Logan responded with a nod.
"Logan..thank god. Let's get the rest of this shit off of you." Logan helped Keegan as much as he could to pull of the rest the wall. Before he could fully recover, he was being pulled into Keegan's arms.
"Jesus kid, I thought..I thought you were dead. You can't do that to me." Then, still in shock from being in the man's arms he leaned forward pressing his forehead into Keegan's, still breathing deeply.
"Sorry...I'll have to watch out for falling lighthouse in the future." Logan said a bit of breath, "Can we just get out of this fucking ocean?"
Logan heard that warm sound of Keegan's laughter which seemed to brighten all the previous darkness that had consumed him. Keegan then pressed his forehead closer and said,
"I like the sound of that."
Logan was restless, he was laying on this stupid medical bed and wasn't even hurt! Not all that bad at least. Just a couple bruised ribs and maybe less of a fear of oceans and more of a fear of lighthouses. But the young sergeant has definitely had worse injuries. The only thing that really was on the his mind was one thing..where was Keegan? Logan was going stir crazy since he hadn't seen his friend in hours.
The nurses insisted repeatedly that he get some sleep but how could he when his mind was all consumed with Keegan. Now that the mission was out of the way it seemed to be the only thing that his mind was willing to think of.
He didn't understand why the man had reacted the way he did when he got hurt and what was up with the date thing from earlier that day?
Was it possible? No..no it couldn't be..but what if it was that he felt the same for Logan as Logan felt for him. Did he fall for him too? It didn't seem possible that the gorgeous, quiet man with the best sniper skills he'd ever seen would want to be with someone like him. Just some kid from San Diego. Logan began to piece together everything that had happened between them since they'd met to try and make sense of it all.. But damn was Keegan was so fucking mysterious. He was hard man to read and all of this was just giving him a headache.
A door opening quietly interrupted his thoughts and he saw that face, unmasked, the one that sent his head spinning and immediately his body responded by sitting up slightly. His face scrunched up in pain at the motion.
"Hey kid...are you up?" Keegan's deep voice whispered cutting through the silence. It was pretty dark in the room and probably hard to see.
"Keegan, hey. Yeah I'm up. How did you get past the medics? They seemed to be hell bent on me getting some sleep.." Keegan laughed, third time that day. It was a sweet sound, one Logan would love to hear again and again, especially if he was the one who caused it.
"Well it sure as hell wasn't easy. I tried to sneak past those nurses ten damn times but..man do they watch you like a hawk." Keegan crossed the room and gestured to the chair beside Logan's bed. "Mind if I..?"
"No, no of course not. Go ahead." Logan tried to reel in his happiness at finally being in the man's presence again, "You tried to sneak past the nurses? Really Keegan?" It was Logan's turn to laugh and he saw that soft smile from earlier creep on the edges of Keegan's mouth. Logan's eyes drifted to the other man's lips, fuck..he had such a nice smile. The urge to move closer to the dark haired man was almost impossible to fight. Keegan's light blue eyes flickered up to meet Logan's dark brown one's.
"Yeah it was a pretty poor display on my part. Especially since I'm supposed to be a 'stealth expert'." Keegan moved closer to Logan as well, he could feel his breath hitting his face and Logan noticed Keegan's eyes move lower to his lips, a look in the older man's eyes he'd never seen before.
"I don't know, you must have been pretty damn good since you bested them." Logan's voice became rougher feeling the intense desire to kiss the man before him.
"You give me too much credit..I had to play dirty in the end. Nearly ended up going prone." His voice was husky and it sent a shivers down the young sergeant's spine.
"Hah, now that's something I'd like to see." Logan smirked, another small laugh escaping his lips as he imagined the older man crawling past nurses just to see him laying all pathetically in bed.
"Nah you should be glad you didn't, I tell ya kid it was awful." Keegan let his hand ruffle through the younger soldiers tousled blonde hair..the action seemed to linger a bit longer than he may have intended before he removed it. Instantly Logan missed the sensation. Keegan seemed to eye Logan all over, assessing his injuries. "So, what's the damage? They wouldn't tell me shit."
Logan shifted a bit uncomfortably in the bed, "Nothing too bad, just a couple bruised ribs and they think my wrist might be a bit sprained. Plus they had to stitch it up. Nothing to keep me out of action." Keegan seemed to squint at this, scrutinizing him further now, Logan felt a little self-conscious under his stare. Keegan's hand moved from his lap to the bed now, and it drifted to Logan's bandaged arm, his fingers gently ran across the cloth, his expression unreadable.
"I know you can take care of yourself..but I still wish they was something I could have done." His fingers still grazed the bandage and Logan hadn't realized that he wasn't breathing until he needed a huge breath to fill him up. This seemed to snap Keegan out of his daze as he quickly removed his caressing fingers. If Logan would have known that would have happened he would have gladly blacked out from lack of oxygen.
A silence feel between them now, not awkward..but full of too many unspoken things. Keegan leaned far over Logan's bed, resting his elbows on the mattress. Both staring at each other not daring to break the contact but not brave enough to move any closer. The thoughts that damn near had driven Logan crazy just a little bit ago had returned in full force and he couldn't help what came out of his mouth next.
"Keegan...I...what was that about..down there in the water? The hug. And..the date thing?" Logan was unable to hold it back anymore. It had been far too long..far too many nights tossing and turning trying to understand what was between them. Friendship? Brother-hood? Love? He didn't want anymore questions or mysteries. He wanted the truth..no matter if it was what he wanted to hear or not. Logan knew that if he didn't ask Keegan, the quiet, keeping-to-himself man point blank..he might never know and that thought killed him more than anything. The uncertainty.
The look on Keegan's face was unreadable but he instantly seemed uncomfortable, and moved his face, that was dangerously close to Logan's, away. "Kid..can we not do this, please. I..I'm not good at this kind of stuff. I'm really just the worst kind of awkward." Keegan stuttered, he seemed hesitant as he rubbed the back of his neck anxiously but then Logan gave him the same reassuring smile that he'd given to Logan earlier and it seemed to be just the push the man needed. He leaned forward towards Logan, not as close as before but still close enough to feel his heart beat quicken. He reached over and grabbed Logan's good hand, Logan felt his fingers twine with his and a crushing relief wash over him, he squeezed back.
"Just tell me, Keegan." Logan whispered sitting up almost on the edge of desperation at this point. He heard Keegan clear his throat and breathe shakily. Logan found his breathing mirroring his. He knew that this was the point of no return. Keegan's eyes closed for a moment or two, he seemed deep in thought. Eyebrows pulled together in concentration before he opened his mouth.
"Look, I'll say it plainly. I'm pretty damn crazy for you, kid. From the moment I met you in those woods. You knocked me off my feet, kid. I've never wanted to get close to anyone..I've been there before and it always ends badly..but with you.. With you it felt as easy and natural as breathing. Shit..crazy for you isn't enough. I..I love you, Logan. You and your constantly messy blonde hair and the way you tell stories about your family with the most exhilarating smile that lights up your whole face, the way you always fall asleep on the couch after missions and talk in your sleep. The way you..the way you make me feel, I've never felt like this before. No one ever makes me laugh but you..it's just everything about you, Logan."
Logan felt his heart seize in his chest. So this was it. He did feel the same..fuck. And he knew about the sleep talking. Also, fuck. Keegan didn't look up at Logan until he said the words again.
"I love you, Logan. You don't have to feel like you need to say it back or if you don't feel the same..then I'm sorry about all this. I could just go? I could..I probably should-" Keegan made a move to get up, unwrapping his fingers from Logan's. The younger man panicked and grabbed Keegan's forearm to stop him from leaving with such force that the older man fell back in his chair. Logan ignored the slight pain in his ribs as he leaned over fully to Keegan, placing his other hand that wasn't being held, on Keegan's face. His fingers grazing over the sharp jaw and stubble that covered it. Keegan's eyes seemed to flutter a bit, leaning into the touch.
"Keegan..I've loved you from the moment you said 'Watch and learn, kid.' From all the times you stayed back and fought by my side, all those times you'd read in your chair and tell me the best parts, and when I'd fall asleep I'd be covered up and you'd still be watching over me. How could you ever think I wouldn't feel the same? Of course I do, Keegan..you have no idea how long I've wanted to be with you."
Keegan had a look of disbelief on his face and shook his head slowly before a smile of sheer happiness broke out that Logan couldn't believe belonged to the same man he'd fallen for. Then, Keegan closed the gap between their faces and crushed their lips together. /Finally/, was all that Logan could think. Little did he know, Keegan was thinking the same. The kiss was full of many things, months of pent up longing, pining, love, it was hard and rough..and yet the softest thing either had ever felt. Their mouths moved together in perfect sync, noses bumping together as the hand that was on Keegan's face slid down to his neck. The kiss lasted a few more seconds before Keegan pulled away, breathing hard, once again resting his forehead on Logan's his own hand coming up to stroke the younger's face.
"So, I guess we're still on for that date then?" Keegan let out a soft groan when Logan moved his forehead away from his and kissed at his neck. Logan nodded against him fervently.
"Oh yeah, definitely." Logan replied breathlessly. Keegan smiled again and let out that laugh that laugh that was now surely Logan's favorite sound.
"Glad to hear it. But uh..you probably should get some rest though, Logan." Keegan said biting his lip, looking like he was ready to go in for another kiss.
"Mmm..probably..but I think I'd like to kiss you some more first." With that their lips connected again and they both let out a nearly simultaneous moan of pleasure. They continued this for several more minuets getting lost in the feeling before Logan pulled away this time and beyond his control, yawned.
"Okay..so maybe sleep would be a good idea...if you stayed here with me, that is?" Logan questioned innocently, but it was deceitful thanks to mischievous smile on his face.
"Ah..of course, where else would I go? But really we should actually sleep, pretty sure we have to be up in less than 4 hours, as much as I do enjoy the kissing." He let his eyes drop down to Logan's kissed bruised lips longing to taste them again, but resisting. Well almost, he let himself give Logan one more kiss, lingering for a moment or two before he stood from his chair, and managed to squeeze himself onto the bed next to Logan, who instantly curled himself on Keegan's chest.
"You wait til morning, then I'll make you sick of kissing." Logan mumbled drowsily.
"Hah, I doubt it, kid." Keegan wrapped his arms around Logan completely, carefully avoiding his injured ribs and wrist then said, "night, Logan."
"Night Keegan, I love you." The laugh again from Keegan, only this time softer, sweeter almost in awe and he felt lips brushing against his messy blonde locks.
"Love you too, Logan."
Okay..maybe that was Logan's favorite sound.