"Cute dogs!"
It's the first thing Kendall hears when he steps into the studio, Logan not far behind since their fingers are currently intertwined. Kendall winces at the volume, "Yeah?" He asks, expecting a, "Stop being cute in the studio!" or an equally as obnoxious, "You make me want to vomit!" It could be anything like that with Gustavo. Instead, he's greeted with a face full of camera flash.
"What the hell, Gustavo?"
"I need you to look cute." Gustavo says in response, holding the camera up for another shot, "Tell your boyfriend to look at the camera this time."
"Logan, look at the camera this time." Kendall says with a smirk as Logan looks offended, "And smile." Logan instantly grimaces, clearly not in the mood for smiling. Kendall sticks his tongue out and the camera flashes as Gustavo says something triumphant and slightly disgusted.
"Um, what is this for?" Logan asks sticking his tongue out at Kendall in retaliation only when he's sure Gustavo isn't looking. Kendall likes the fact that his boyfriend is camera shy. It makes him that much more adorable, although it's weird he never knew that before.
"An LGBT ad campaign." Gustavo shakes the camera at them as if to emphasize his words, "They've used everyone from Daniel Radcliffe to Ellen DeGeneres."
"So why do they need us?"
"Because." Gustavo says stiffly, "You dogs are cute."
"Aw, thanks, Gustavo." Kendall says and Gustavo scowls at him.
"And you're in a popular band." He continues, "Ever since you two dogs came out we've gained an even bigger fan base. People eat this stuff up."
"Did you hear that, Logan? We're famous." Kendall says goofily and Logan rolls his eyes.
"I never knew." He says drily and the camera goes off again, "Could you stop that?" Logan snaps, "Or at least give me time to prepare."
"Three, two, one." Gustavo barks and presses the button, "You dogs should be flattered. I could have done this with James and Carlos."
"James Diamond is not gay for Carlos Garcia!" James yells from the booth, "Although I would look fabulous on a billboard. Could we do that? Minus the gay for Carlos part?"
"If James gets a billboard, I get one too, right?" Carlos butts in, sounding excited, "Can mine be beside that one building downtown? You know, the one we always go by on our way to the hockey rink?" He sounds so eager Kendall doesn't have the heart to tell him they have no idea which building he's talking about. Gustavo sighs and looks like he's regretting ever mentioning ad campaigns.
"Only dogs with boyfriends get billboards and ad campaigns."
"Damn." James swears, "What about dogs with hot girlfriends?"
"Only dogs with boyfriends get billboards and ad campaigns." Gustavo repeats, sounding near the end of his patience, and Kendall steps in.
"So, are we going to be on any billboards?"
"It's whatever the people want." Gustavo answers, "You could be on t-shirts or something." The "for all I care" is implied. Logan looks stunned, then nervous. Kendall notes the way he tenses at the words. But what's wrong? Logan's perfectly comfortable being with Kendall, or at least he's pretended to be since they got together a year ago. What's changed now? Is it just the fact that they're going public? Or is it something else?
The thought makes Kendall uncomfortable, so he focuses on nudging Logan until the other teen rolls his eyes and smiles again, "Perfect." Gustavo says as close to happily as he ever gets and Logan looks relieve, "But we're not done." And now Logan looks annoyed again.
"What do you mean?" Logan says exasperatedly and runs a hand through his hair, "You've been taking pictures since we got here."
"I make the rules, dog. Not you."
"But-"
"Please tell me they'll be posing in a closet." James says from the sound booth, "Please, please tell me they'll be in a closet, Gustavo."
"Shut up, James." Logan snaps, "That's immature."
"Ouch," James says with a hint of hurt in his voice, "Kendall, you need to talk to your boyfriend."
Logan looks like he's going to say something, but instead he shakes his head and leaves the room, not even bothering to take Kendall along. Gustavo huffs and waves a hand at Kendall, "Go get your boyfriend back, dog. I need these pictures done by tonight."
"Right."
Kendall sends James a pointed look before heading back out into the hall, looking for Logan. It's not hard to find him, he's just sitting on the floor, back against the wall, but Kendall isn't really sure what to say or do. He doesn't know the problem is and, unlike all the other times Logan has gotten upset, he can't even begin to guess. Well, he can, but he'd prefer not to think about that. What if Logan doesn't want to be with him anymore?
But he can't let that stop him from helping his boyfriend/friend/band mate.
"What happened?"
Logan looks up, "What do you mean?"
"You just kind of left." Kendall leans against the wall, slides down so he's sitting beside Logan, and reaches out a hand. To his immense relief, Logan takes it easily and reflexively, "James was being an asshole, but-"
"He's always an asshole." Logan finishes, "Yeah, I know."
"So..." Kendall prompts, "What happened?"
Logan sighs and turns so he's facing Kendall, waiting until Kendall does the same, "You know I love being with you, right?" He asks seriously and Kendall nods slowly, because he does know that, "And I love you, right?" This nod comes with a smile, because he loves hearing Logan say that. No matter how many times it comes out of Logan's mouth, it always makes him feel lighter and fuller, all at the same time. Logan's love makes him feel like a better person, or something like that. It just does.
"And I love you."
Logan smiles softly, "Good."
"So, what's the problem?"
"I love you, Kendall, I do." Logan repeats, completely adamant, "But my parents have a problem with...us." He looks away for a moment, then back at Kendall, "You know that."
"Yeah," Kendall says slowly, "That's why you're worried?"
"I'm afraid this campaign will push them over the edge." Logan says nervously, "I mean, what if they bring me back home? What if they stop talking to me? I've read some things, other people's stories, and it could get bad. I don't want to lose my parents, but I don't want to lose you."
"Then we don't do the campaign." Kendall says, relieved, "Easy."
"You really think Gustavo's going to go for that?" Logan asks, "This is a huge deal. We'll be all over the world and we'll be an inspiration to people. Big Time Rush will get huge coverage off of this, why would he pass that up?" Logan bites his lip and Kendall does the same, almost a knee jerk reaction. Even after only one year they're incredibly in tune. It's almost alarming, but not really.
"Because he's not a dick?"
Logan gives him a look, "Okay, so he is a dick." He concedes, "So..." And here's where he stops, because he honestly doesn't know what to do.
Logan looks at him, "You know what scares me?"
"The dark?" Kendall says bemusedly, "And failure?"
"No." Logan shakes his head, "That if it comes to it, I'm going to choose you."
"That scares you?" Kendall says with a frown, "Why does that scare you?"
"Come on, Kendall. Wouldn't it scare you?"
Kendall takes a moment to think about it, really think about it, and his frown deepens, "Yeah, I guess it would." There's no guessing about it, though.
Logan looks satisfied, "You don't scare me, Kendall."
"Am I supposed to?"
Logan's smile, genuine and happier than before, makes him smile as well, "No." Logan says decisively, "No, you are not." He pushes off the floor and Kendall pulls him back down, laughing at the yelp Logan emits mid-fall, "We're supposed to be campaigning!"
"That can wait."
As Kendall kisses Logan, he hears the unmistakable flip of a camera, which he responds to with a raised middle finger in Gustavo's general direction.
He hopes Gustavo likes the damn photo.