Author's Note: Sorry this chapter is coming out a bit late, Readers! I was struck down by a sinus infection last week, and the final draft version of this chapter was on a computer I didn't have access to at home. Yesterday where I live, we had the very first snowflake sighting, but, like Logan at Harvard, I didn't see which flake was the first-it came down in a squall. It's too soon for that foolishness to start again, we had plenty of snow last year to last us through at least 5 years' worth of mild winters. But maybe that's not what's meant to be.

After they had been in their apartment almost a full year, Mrs. Harrison finally accepted one of their many invitations to come see her rugs in their new home. At first when they invited her she insisted it was too soon and she didn't want to "fall in" on the young couple while they were setting up house and settling in. After that, she had to turn down several of their invites with true regret as she had other social and family obligations to fill. She was quite a busy lady.

But finally one spring day she made her way out to Brookline, her driver dropping her off for an afternoon visit. She approved of which rooms they had chosen to put her rugs in, and admired the overall feel of the apartment.

"This is a happy home," she said, smiling as she took a seat on the sofa.

"We can't ever thank you enough for making our place beautiful," Kendall said, sitting on the couch next to her.

"May I offer you refreshments?" Logan asked. "I can make tea, or coffee, and Kendall makes homemade lemonade from organic lemons, we have that in the refrigerator if you'd like something cold…"

"Tea would be perfect, my dear boy," Mrs. Harrison said.

"Coming right up," Logan said, taking off for the kitchen, Essy following at his heels.

"That is a very well behaved dog," Mrs. Harrison said to Kendall.

"She's the best. Logan got her for me as a college graduation present," Kendall said, beaming like a proud father. Essy was being very good. She hadn't so much as yipped when Mrs. Harrison knocked on their door, and she was waiting for the elder lady to make the first move when it came to petting her. Essy had a sixth sense about how to act around humans-with Logan's friends and Kendall's teammates she was all in, rough and tumble friendly, but with a more sophisticated guest, she was willing to wait for attention.

They were sitting in the living room, the built in bookcases to their right as they sat on the couch. There was a coffee table in front of them, clear except for a framed picture of Kendall and Logan when they were five and six, in shorts and sneakers and t shirts standing in front of a bush in the Mitchells' backyard. Logan had one arm around Kendall's waist and Kendall had his hand resting on Logan's shoulder, his fingers lightly touching Logan's neck. They were both smiling warmly at the camera. As they had toured the apartment, Mrs. Harrison had noticed variations on that theme in the framed photographs in all the rooms. There were family photos too, and quite a few pictures of Essy alone and with the boys.

Logan was back with the tea. He and Kendall had bought some antique bone china tea cups on one of their expeditions to look at foliage in the western part of the state the previous fall. They had merely picked out the ones they found the prettiest in various antique shops, not worrying if they matched each other. The result was a very lovely collection that went together well anyway. Logan had chosen to put Mrs. Harrison's tea in a royal blue cup, his own in a cup that had a grassy green background that reminded him of Kendall's eyes, and Kendall's in a delicate light purple cup that was shaped like it had been made from flower petals. They had also bought a china tea pot that had big pansies painted on it. Their cream and sugar set was made of translucent green depression glass.

"Why, boys, all this is just lovely!" Mrs. Harrison said, as Logan placed the tray he was carrying down on the coffee table. "Are these family heirlooms?"

Logan blushed. "No, Mrs. Harrison, it's all stuff we've found together on little trips here and there. Nothing was bought together, really, except the creamer and sugar bowl, so nothing really matches."

"Nonsense, it all goes together beautifully! I've paid designers who haven't ever come up with such a pleasing array. You have very good taste," she beamed. Kendall and Logan just smiled at each other. They liked what they liked and never worried about labels or prices or if anyone else would like it too. When they bought stuff for their home, it was to make them happy.

"I hope teabags are okay…" Logan began. He'd been nervous about this since they heard Mrs. Harrison was coming. He wanted to get loose tea leaves and whatever he'd need to steep it, but Kendall rightly pointed out that they'd probably never use it again, so why bother. Teabags were invented for a reason, Kendall had told Logan with a laugh.

"I personally think teabags are the only way to serve tea-otherwise everyone is at the mercy of their host and it might come out too weak or strong for other people's taste," Mrs. Harrison said. She was quite touched that both Logan and Kendall seemed anxious that she should have a good time in their home.

Logan sat down on a chair close to the table and asked Mrs. Harrison if she took cream or milk in her tea, and she said no thank you to both, and no thank you to sugar as well. Kendall, Logan already knew, liked honey and lemon in his tea, so Logan had already poured honey into Kendall's cup after some hot water (so the honey wouldn't stick to the bottom) out in the kitchen. He had a small dish of lemon slices on the tray as well, but Mrs. Harrison took her tea plain, so only Kendall wound up using some lemon. Logan had his tea plain, but normally would just fix it the same as Kendall's-or Kendall would fix it that way for him when he was the one making tea.

Logan had also brought out a saucer without a cup for the used teabags-he didn't know if that was "proper" but he figured it was nicer than having a soppy wet teabag hanging out on your own saucer. He offered it to Mrs. Harrison for use when she figured her tea had steeped enough. Kendall had already taken his teabag out of his now full cup, he didn't like his tea to get too strong. He placed it on his saucer for now, and Logan knew he wouldn't mind when Logan removed it after Mrs. Harrison had taken hers out to place it on the same saucer. Mrs. Harrison did just that a moment later, so Logan added Kendall's teabag to hers from Kendall's saucer sitting on the table. Finally Logan removed his own and placed it on the saucer as well.

Kendall took over and offered Mrs. Harrison a cookie from the plate Logan also had on the tray.

"Are those coconut meringues?" Mrs. Harrison asked. The boys both nodded and she picked up a cookie and bit into it daintily. "This is delicious, where did you get them?"

Logan smiled shyly while Kendall proudly told her, "Logan made them. They're my favorite."

Mrs. Harrison smiled to herself. Logan took very good care of Kendall, she could see that. Mark had told her about Logan getting Kendall a dog for his graduation, fulfilling that lifelong dream for Kendall. It didn't surprise her at all that Logan home baked Kendall's favorite cookies.

"My mother used to make them for my father," Mrs. Harrison reminisced. "He had heart trouble his whole adult life and had to avoid cholesterol which, back then, mainly meant egg yolks. They didn't know as much as they do now, although they did tell him to cut back on red meat and eat more fish as well. Anyway, my mother would kick her cook out of the kitchen and made these for my father herself. I never thought anyone made them as well as my mother, but, Logan, you have done it."

Logan blushed furiously and Kendall shot him a wink. "I feel the same way about my grandmother's cookies-Logan outdid her too, with her own recipe. Even she admits it."

"Kendall, she did not," Logan said. Grammy Knight hadn't even tried Logan's cookies yet. "She said that she knew you were just being polite when you told her hers were better at Christmas." Logan had told Kendall about that conversation-Logan and Kendall told each other everything.

"Well, I can truly say they're the best I've ever had, even better than my mother's," Mrs. Harrison said. "I don't mean to be nosy, but as I've been sitting here I can't help but notice that enticing looking album in your bookcase. Is that by any chance a photo album?"

It was indeed, and they spent a pleasant hour looking at old and not so old photographs that chronicled their lives together so far. Mrs. Harrison was fully satisfied that Kendall also did all he could to make Logan's dreams come true as well as they talked about Logan getting into and attending Harvard, and that their partnership was definitely a two-way street. She was hard pressed to think of any other couple she had ever known that looked so happy and had so many happy memories all in a book like that. She had never believed in the term "a perfect couple" before, but these two were making her change her thinking. When her driver returned for her, she warmly thanked them for giving her such an enjoyable afternoon. She loved hearing about their lives and seeing firsthand how well they complemented each other. And she was only getting to hear about the parts of their lives that were allowed to be discussed in polite society.

Their lovemaking was always good-when Kendall came home battered and bruised, Logan rubbed liniment where it hurt, kissed his bruises, and was gentle and slow and got Kendall's mind off of any aches and pains with mind-blowing orgasms. When Kendall came home worked up from an aggressive game or practice, Logan loved to go hard and heavy. When Kendall really needed to work out his frustration, Logan was a willing bottom and encouraged Kendall to go as hard as he could. When Kendall had been away on a road trip, there'd been times they don't even make it to the bed-Logan would spin him around in the hall, Kendall would drop his pants and brace himself against the wall and Logan would have him seeing stars. When Logan had been working on a paper or doing hours of intense reading, Kendall would go into the office room, pull the chair away from the desk, get on his knees and suck Logan off and then let him get back to his studies.

Kendall listened to the guys on his team bitch about relationships in general and sex in particular and realized how attuned and attentive to his needs Logan had always been. None of the other guys on the team were gay-or if they were, they weren't out about it. Kendall never talked about his sex life in the locker room either, but not because he was ashamed that he and Logan were both men, but more because he knew Logan wouldn't like being talked about, even favorably, when it came to this stuff. Plus, if the other guys did hear Kendall's honest plain truth about his relationship with Logan, they'd be jealous, or think Kendall was exaggerating. But he wouldn't be.

Kendall did discuss it, with Logan, a bit.

"Ugh, Logan, it's all some of them ever think about, I swear. The single ones worry about where and when and how they can get it, and the married ones bitch that their wives never want to do it, at least not at home-some of them try to get vacation and travel out of it, swearing they'll be more into it if they get away for a few days."

"Well, that might actually be true…" Logan began.

"The guys don't have time to go anywhere during the season! And we travel enough as it is. You'd think a guy could count on being able to get some at home, after a long road trip." Kendall sighed. "At least I don't have that kind of trouble," he added, smiling at his beloved.

Logan laughed. "I always say there's no place like home for hot sex-at least since we moved to an apartment with thick walls and floors and ceilings. We know where everything is and we can do it wherever we want."

"Yeah, but hearing about the wives and girlfriends-maybe you're not always in the mood when I have time?" Kendall asked shyly, not wanting to hear an answer that would change things. He loved their life, and their love life, just the way it was.

Logan took Kendall's face between his two hands and looked him right in the eye. "Baby, there is no such thing as bad sex between us, and I promise you I have never faked a single orgasm."

Kendall giggled, a literal "tee hee" and was so adorable Logan had to have him right then and there. It didn't matter that they were in the kitchen at the time having dessert from their supper. They had made love on the kitchen floor before. And there was lube in the catch-all drawer.

On the rare mornings when they could both sleep in, Kendall would get up early and bring Essy out, then strip back down and get back into bed with Logan. He loved the feeling of slipping his arms around Logan's warm body and either falling back to sleep or having Logan wake up for some morning love. Logan insisted he could take turns bringing Essy out, or go out with them, Essy was Kendall's dog but Logan got her for him so they shared the responsibility of taking care of her. But Kendall insisted that Logan was always getting up earliest to get to school or work and he brought Essy out for her morning constitutionals then, so on the days he didn't have to get up for his other obligations, Kendall wanted him to stay in bed.

They loved to cuddle, whether it was watching TV with Essy snuggling with them or in bed on the nights when they were too tired to engage in their usual energetic sex and would just satisfy each other with their hands or mouths. One of Logan's favorite things to do either in bed or watching TV was to run his fingers over the short soft hair of Kendall's treasure trail-using just enough pressure to keep it from tickling, If it tickled, Kendall unconsciously swatted his hand away, and Logan couldn't have that. And kissing was a favorite activity for both of them too-just good old fashion necking, where their lips would meet and fit together. Kendall especially liked to slot one of Logan's lips-didn't matter which one, top or bottom-between his own and marvel at how perfectly they fit together. He loved how the sides of their noses bumped gently as their faces moved. Logan loved all that too, plus he really liked how Kendall's pointed cat-like tongue had the perfect point for darting not only into his mouth, but also into the slit of his penis. He felt like the luckiest man that ever lived.

Their next summer in the Brookline apartment was a hot one. The old building didn't have central air conditioning; they had window units in the bedroom, living room, and kitchen and made do with fans in the other rooms. Kendall wanted to buy an additional air conditioner to put in Logan's study, but Logan said he could make do and would take his laptop into the living room or bedroom if he got too hot.

By late July, they were in a veritable heat wave. The whole city was experiencing brownouts and the mayor, the governor, and the power company were begging people to shut down all non-essential appliances to avoid power outages. By the third day of the crisis, Logan had unplugged everything in the apartment that potentially drew power even when it was shut off. The only thing he let "run" was the refrigerator. Trying to run the air conditioners was out of the question-in the brownout the motor would just strain, not getting enough power to run properly, and they didn't want any of them to burn out. Logan wouldn't even run the fans during the heat of the day, since that's when power was being used in the city the most. He figured he and Essy could hold on till nightfall, and if it was still hot, they'd try the fans then. Kendall was in Worcester, skating around on a nice, cool rink. That much smaller city wasn't experiencing the strain in the heat wave.

Kendall came home in the early afternoon to find Essy stretched out on the relatively cool kitchen floor and Logan in the tub, trying to keep cool as possible by being in tepid water up to his shoulders. Kendall bent down and gave Logan a kiss on the top of his wet head.

Logan looked up at him lazily and said, "You should've stayed at the rink. It's hotter than hell in here."

"You and Essy look like you're doing okay," Kendall said, sitting on the edge of the big old fashioned tub. He kicked off his Vans and let his bare toes dig into the little bath rug with the colored hearts that was lying next to the tub. "Besides, I couldn't enjoy being cool knowing you guys were toughing it out back home."

Logan produced a pink facecloth from somewhere in the depths of the tub. He folded it twice and placed it, sopping wet, on his forehead. Kendall laughed as water dripped down Logan's face.

"You wanna go to a movie?" Kendall asked. "Get into some AC?"

Logan didn't even open his eyes. "Naw, I know you don't want to leave Essy and I don't have the energy to dry off and get dressed. That'll make me too hot."

"You are hot," Kendall muttered, taking the facecloth off of Logan's head and dipping it down in the water again and placing it back on Logan's forehead. His hand had grazed Logan's penis when he was taking the cloth back out of the water, and he let the side of his hand graze it again after he put the facecloth on Logan's head.

"Kendall…" Logan warned.

"What? I couldn't help but notice how your flaccid penis is the same color as the facecloth," Kendall said distractedly, still looking down but keeping his hand to himself now, although he did leave it in the relatively cool water.

"Flaccid?" Logan wondered aloud. It was his penis, he didn't need Kendall telling him it wasn't hard at the moment.

"Pink," Kendall said, changing Logan's subject by getting back to his own. "And you know what else is the prettiest shade of pink? Your, er, butthole." Logan snorted. "No, really! My whole life, I heard guys being called 'asshole' and I just pictured it as this dirty, dark, brown hole, but yours isn't like that at all! It's a cute pink round doorway, like in the Hobbit movies."

Logan opened his eyes now. Was he having a heatstroke? What was this about Hobbits? "What about Hobbits?" he asked Kendall.

"You know, how their houses have those round doorways…"

"Made out of wood, and stained brown," Logan was trying to follow Kendall's logic, but bringing him back to brown and dark wasn't where Kendall wanted to go.

"I'm just saying-it was a pleasant surprise when it turned out to be pink-a cute pink button of a doorway to a lot of feeling good. All the best parts of you are pink," Kendall said, once again distractedly looking over Logan's body since Logan had shut his eyes again. "Your nipples are pink, your balls are pink, that pinky finger of yours has brought me all kinds of squirming pleasure, the pink of your lips…"

"My lips are a manly strawberry red!" Logan interrupted indignantly, but still keeping his eyes shut. He was enjoying this and didn't want Kendall to stop yet.

" Well, behind them your tongue is pink, and the walls of your mouth when you open wide are pink, and there's that pink flush that spreads up your chest and neck when you're above me…or below me," Kendall said with a smile. "I'm just saying, I have no idea how the whole 'pink is for girls' thing got started. Not by a gay guy, that's for sure."

"Kendall?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Am I still flaccid?"

Kendall looked down. "You are," he replied.

"Do you want to help me change that?"

"Yes, dear." Kendall put out his arm to give Logan something to grab onto as he stood up in the tub. Logan didn't even bother drying off, and a few minutes later, as Kendall looked up at Logan's dripping torso arching above him in the late afternoon light, water and sweat intermingling and running down in rivulets, feeling Logan enter his body and bring about all sorts of powerful feelings and sensations, he thanked his lucky stars yet again that he had this man's love to call his own.

They slept away the heat of the late afternoon, but Kendall woke up right after sunset feeling like he should walk Essy. Logan told him he'd start dinner after a quick shower. Essy and Kendall enjoyed the relative coolness of being out in the yard in the dark for about fifteen minutes, then headed back inside. Kendall offered to help with supper, but Logan told him to go ahead and shower, he was just putting together a cold salad, but if Kendall wanted something more substantial, he'd be happy to make something.

"No, salad's perfect. It's too hot to eat anything heavy. And we have some Mochi balls for dessert," Kendall said, giving Logan a quick kiss before leaving the kitchen. When Kendall came back from his shower, Logan had turned off all the lights in the kitchen except the small light over the stove, and had long taper candles set up on the kitchen table in their only pair of candlesticks. They enjoyed their light supper, the flames of the candles reflecting off their shiny, happy eyes. In the glow of the warm light, they both looked especially handsome.

"Thank you for making dinner, Logan."

"It was nothing, just salad," Logan scoffed.

"Well, it's the best salad I can remember having ever, and you took some trouble to make the table so nice."

Logan grinned. "That was just dumb luck. I noticed the overhead lights were looking dim, like they're still not getting enough power, so I turned them off and the stove hood light got brighter, but that's just a 25 watt bulb and it wasn't throwing enough light to the table, so I dug out the candlesticks. I can't believe we've never used them yet."

"We need to make our dinners romantic like this more often," Kendall said, smiling. He got up and gave Logan a kiss and then went to the freezer for the Mochi balls.

After they finished their dessert, Kendall said he'd do the dishes, since Logan made the meal. He brought the dishes over to the sink, and Logan followed him, carrying the lit candles. Logan placed the candles on the counter near the sink, so Kendall would have their light to wash the few dishes and silverware by. Kendall smiled into Logan's dark eyes.

"Let's let these air dry," Kendall said. Logan laughed and agreed. They each carried a candle down to the bedroom.

When they got in there, Logan flipped on the lights, and Kendall say, "Hey?" He wanted to stick to the romantic mood lighting.

"Just seeing if the brownout is over," Logan said. "The lights look normal, I think we could have the fans on."

Kendall blew out his candle. "Fine," he muttered.

"Aw, sweetie, come on-you need a good night's sleep. I'll take Essy out for one last trip tonight and then we'll go to bed, okay?" Kendall blew out Logan's candle too, as an answer. But then he kissed Logan on the lips, and Logan knew everything was just fine.

When he and Essy came back, Kendall was already on the bed, and he had positioned their floor stand fan across from the window with the big window fan in it, and they were creating a gentle cross breeze over his naked form. Essy was no dummy, she jumped right up on the bed and found a spot where the fans would hit her. She stretched out as long as she could, and was taking up roughly half the bed, the breeze hitting her belly. Kendall patted the tiny spot left on his other side, and Logan got out of his clothes and shut out the light and lay down next to Kendall. It certainly seemed cooler, between the fans and the dark, even if their flesh had to be pressed together. It would've been anyway, even during the hottest nights when their skin would get stuck together, they couldn't bear to sleep even an inch apart.

Autumn returned after the hot summer, and their lives went about their happy routine. Logan was still studying his ass of in medical school, and Kendall was trying his best to prove himself worthy of a spot on an NHL team. The Sharks regular season started in mid-October and would go through April, and of course Logan's school schedule at this level was constant and a lot of hard work. The guys just made the most of their time together, as always. Days they got to completely relax were rare, but they appreciated them to the fullest when they had them.

Of course, whatever time they had, they were sure to devote a lot of it to their dog. Essy was the favorite of the neighborhood, people kept organic baby carrots on hand since Kendall preferred those over cookies and doggie biscuits for her. She also loved broccoli crowns, but Kendall and Logan tried to limit her to one a day because Boston Terriers are gassy to begin with, and broccoli gave her toots extra potency. One cool late fall day, they were all on the couch watching a football game and she ripped off a few and Logan got up and lit a Yankee jar candle. It was Macintosh and as its fragrance filled the air, Kendall, his eyes still on the game, distractedly said to Logan, "Maybe we should try lilac or something, Macintosh always reminds me of our first time and gets me horny…" He looked up and the hard on was easy to see in Logan's sweatpants. Kendall guessed he wasn't the only one to have a reaction to that candle scent.

Logan lifted Essy off Kendall and put her on the recliner next to the couch, then reached into the drawer of a small lamp table between the couch and chair and pulled out a tube. Kendall pulled down Logan's sweatpants where he stood while Logan pulled the shirt off over his head, then he got Kendall to lift his butt to pull down his pants and briefs all the way off and put the cotton throw folded up on the arm of the couch under him (the couch had been Scotchguarded but they've found throughout the years it's easier to wash blankets and towels rather than spot clean cushions). Kendall got his shirt off and then hooked one ankle up on the back of the couch and Logan got him ready pretty quick and pounded into him. It was hot, and loud, and a lot of fun.

After, as they stayed on the couch panting together, Logan collapsed on top of Kendall's long body with Kendall's arms and legs wrapped around him, they celebrated the fact that Essy slept through the whole thing. Logan gently teased Kendall about how he was scared of traumatizing her as a puppy with their love making.

"Hey, that was a legitimate concern; you have no idea how loud you are!" Kendall tried to defend himself.

"Oh please. As if your shouts and moans are mere whispers? Do you have any idea the sounds I can get out of you, barely trying?" Logan laughed, squeezing a convenient soft spot between them in just the right way to get a groan out of Kendall.

"Okay, okay, I give," Kendall said, squirming under Logan. "I admit we're both loud. You're the best thing that ever happened in me."

Logan laughed. It was a slightly funny way of putting it, but he knew what Kendall meant. Essy wagged her little stubby tail at the sound of Logan's laugh, but went right on sleeping.