Author's Note: So I fail at doing what I'm actually supposed to. I took a walk in the rain (which has been pouring down since last night) today, wearing my trusty rain boots, sheltered under my favorite big umbrella, and this just hit me. I spent the next two hours which I should've spent doing school writing this baby. But it's okay, 'cause this turned out very well, and I think you guys will really like it. :) IMPORTANT! Carlos and Logan are about 8 or 9 years old in this, and it's set in the same universe as "Finding My Religion." Also, to all the readers of "Finding My Religion," a new chapter will be up soon, I promise promise promise! I already have it done, I'm just working it through the editing process. Keep your ears to the ground. Now, onto the story!
Disclaimer: Any recognizable names and/or places are the property of their respective owners.
Warnings: Serious, serious amounts of fluff.
Logan shivered beneath the wide, red-and-white striped umbrella, water pouring off the sides. He turned his face as a fierce wind blew, sweeping rain drops into his face, a deep chill settling into his bones. His fingers, which were tightly gripping the pole of umbrella, were nearly frozen solid. He would be walking home right now, of course, but he was waiting for Carlos — again.
"Carlos!" he called, his voice high and sqeaky, breaking with chill. "You need to be under the umbrella! You're gonna get sick!"
"Oh Logie, it's no fun under the umbrella!" Carlos called back, eyes squinting against the rain. "Come play with me!"
"But I'm cold," Logan whined. "And we've got to get home, or else your dad's going to come looking for us in his police car again and then we'd be in really big trouble."
"Don't worry about him," said Carlos, waving his hand on Logan. "But fine, if you want to walk, then we'll walk. I'll stay in the rain and you can stay under the little baby umbrella — Little Baby."
Logan simmered at the insistence that he was a little baby, but he grit his teeth and moved down the sidewalk.
"Logie," said Carlos, walking in the street beside Logan, who, taking the safe route, stayed on the sidewalk. "Come on. At least come walk beside me."
"No, it's not safe to walk in the street," said Logan, shaking his head firmly. "You're going to get hit by a car."
Carlos made a dismissive noise. "You worry too much, Logie. Besides, all the good puddles are in the street."
Logan opened his mouth to speak but froze when he heard a car whiz down the street perpendicular to them. He swallowed hard. "Carlos, please walk on the sidewalk? There's good puddles over here, too. Look, I'm standing in a big one right now."
Carlos sighed dramatically, his entire body slumping as he did so, then rushed towards the sidewalk. He jumped towards Logan when he was a foot away, landing ankle-deep in the puddle next to Logan, a tide of water splashing up and hitting his jeans.
"Carlos!" cried Logan, feeling water begin to slide down into his boots.
"Oh, sorry, Logie!" said Carlos. "I didn't think I'd make that big of a splash."
Logan huffed, shaking his head and dropping his eyes to the sidewalk. "Let's just go."
Carlos ambled along beside Logan, occassionally rushing ahead to jump in a puddle, taking care to stay far enough away from Logan so as to not splash him again.
Carlos paused in a puddle, waiting for Logan to catch up before continuing down the sidewalk.
"I'm sorry I splashed your leg," said Carlos. "When we get to my house, we can tell my mom to put them in the dryer and I'll let you wear my comfiest 'jama pants until they're warm again."
"It's okay," Logan replied, shrugging. "They're not that wet."
"Are you sure? I don't mind."
Logan nodded, pausing as they reached the end of the sidewalk to wait for cars to pass. As they started forward again, Carlos took hold of Logan's hand.
"What're you doing?" asked Logan.
"Holding your hand," said Carlos. "We're crossing the street; you're s'posed to hold hands when you cross the street."
"That's just when we were little, Carlos," Logan explained. "Our parents only did that so we wouldn't run ahead and get run over."
"Well I think you should hold hands when you cross the street," said Carlos, hopping onto the curb when they reached it. "And besides, I like holding your hand."
Logan scrunched his face together. "Why?"
"I don't know, it just feels nice," Carlos said simply. "You don't like holding my hand?"
"I didn't say that," said Logan. "But, I mean, don't like, moms and dads and people who are dating hold hands?"
"I guess so," Carlos shrugged.
"But, then, why are we holding hands?" asked Logan.
"Best friends can hold hands too, Logie," said Carlos. "And you're my best friend in the whole wide world. Well, next to God, and Kendall, and James, and Gabe, and Mom y Papí, and my grandparents, and cousins, and aunts and uncles, of course. But you're really high on the list."
"You have a lot of best friends," Logan noted.
"I can't help it. I love a lot of people."
Logan watched as Carlos swung their hands between them, peeking his head out of the side of the umbrella to look up at the sky.
"Why do you have girl rain boots?" Logan asked. Carlos frowned, stopping in his tracks to look down at his boots, which were bright green and littered with white polka dots.
"They're not girl rain boots," said Carlos.
"Yeah-huh," said Logan. "They're green, with polka dots."
"So?" said Carlos, resuming his walking, pulling Logan with him.
"They're girly looking."
"Why?"
"'Cause they're green with polka dots!" said Logan, clearly not understand how Carlos was missing something so obvious.
"Just 'cause they're green and have polka dots doesn't mean they're girly," said Carlos.
"But it looks like a girl color," said Logan.
"I don't believe in girl colors or boy colors," said Carlos. "I think God made every color for everyone." He swept his hands out in front of him, yanking Logan forward slightly. "Oh, sorry Logie; forgot I was holding your hand," said Carlos, then continued, "and anyways, even if these were a girl color — which they're not — it wouldn't matter to me. Green's my second favorite color, and I like them, so I'm going to wear them." Carlos nodded curtly, as if satisfied with his statement.
Logan shifted his hand in Carlos's, their palms sliding against each other, and marvled at how Carlos, who was dripping enough freezing water to fill a bath tub, still managed to retain his body heat. Logan could feel the cold evaporating from his hand as they got closer and closer to Carlos's house. Maybe it was nice holding Carlos's hand. After all, it was soft, and warm, and it was fun swinging their hands back and forth when they walked, the way his parents did when he was younger. As they rounded the corner, Carlos's house coming into view, Carlos suddenly broke away from Logan, running forward.
"Hey!" Logan called, taking off after him. "Wait up!"
"Race you back to the how-owse!" Carlos sing-songed. "I'm going to beat you!"
Logan struggled up the street, rain blowing in his eyes, wind catching the umbrella and holding him back. With a shiver, he couldn't help but notice how cold his hand felt without Carlos's holding it. The wind swept him back for a moment, but he pressed ahead, reaching the door just a moment or two after Carlos.
"Mo-om!" Carlos called, leaving the front door open behind him for Logan. He hung up his rain coat and shook out his hair while Logan shook out the umbrella on the front porch. "We're ho-ome!"
"I'm in the kitchen," came the voice of Carlos's mother, Natalie, "make sure you boys take your shoes off!"
"Yeah, yeah," said Carlos, plopping down on the floor, pulling off his wet boots, and tossing them onto a towel by the front door. Logan followed suit, still shivering, then followed Carlos into the kitchen, his wet jeans dragging along the floor.
"Hey Mom," said Carlos, climbing on a counter stool to kiss his mother on the cheek.
"Hey sweetheart," she said, chopping a potato in half. "How was school—" she looked up, sighing when she saw the dripping wet boys. "Boys, did you two jump in all of the puddles on the way home?"
"Carlos did," said Logan. "And he wouldn't walk under the umbrella."
Natalie shook her head. "Honestly, Carlos, I sent you to school with an umbrella for a reason."
"Walking under the umbrella's boring," Carlos told her.
"Of course it is," she said, running her hand through his hair. "Now both of you go and change so I can put your clothes in the dryer. I'll make you boys some hot chocolate and then you can watch a movie."
The boys were seated on the couch, Logan wearing (as Carlos promised) Carlos's comfiest pair of 'jama pants while Carlos wore the second comfiest, and both were buried inside one of Gabe's too-big sweatshirts. Carlos snuggled deep into the blanket he was wrapped in, pulling it a little higher over his shoulder. He freed one of his arms, setting it on the pillow set between him and Logan and yawned, blinking tiredly. He laid his head against his arm and closed his eyes.
Logan's eyes glanced from the screen to Carlos's head to his hand, watching as his fingers curled and uncurled a few times against the pillow before relaxing, palm down. He glanced at Carlos's head again, seeing his eyes close, and shifted in his seat. Logan could feel how cold his fingers still were, even when he held the sleeves of the sweatshirt closed and sandwiched them between his thighs. He shifted in his seat again; Carlos wouldn't mind if he held his hand again, right? Carlos himself even said that best friends can hold hands, too. They're best friends, they can hold hands, right?
Logan shifted in his seat once more, pulling an arm out of his blanket and shaking the sleeve down to his wrist, freeing his hand. He took in a breath, feeling a tiny swoop in his stomach, then reached out and cupped his hand with Carlos's.
Carlos peeked an eye open, looking down at what were now his and Logan's clasped hands, then tilted his head back to look sideways at Logan. Logan felt Carlos's eyes on him and began to blush profusely, sinking a little lower into the couch.
"My hand was cold," Logan said quickly, "a-and your hand is always warm, so I just—"
"It's okay," said Carlos. He freed his other hand, holding it open towards Logan, curling his fingers gently. "Is your other hand cold? I'll warm that one up, too."
Logan shook his other hand free of the sleeve and Carlos took it, bringing it down to his other hand and creating a tiny cocoon to hold both of Logan's hands in. Logan bit on the inside of his lips, trying to keep from smiling too large. He could still feel the blush in his cheeks, the swooping sensation in his stomach. When he spoke, he kept his eyes on the TV.
"I like holding your hand," Logan said quietly. Carlos looked over at Logan again, a smile on his face, and Logan glanced at him, looking away when he, too, started to smile, feeling his face burn even hotter.
"I like holding your hand too, Logie."
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