A/N: Hello everyone, and sorry for being absent. Last week I was sick with evil-temperature-control-loss syndrome (I have no idea what it actually was), and then this past weekend the marching band went on a trip to Cincinatti. But now the marching band season is over and I have time to write more for you all. Yippee!
Now, I'd like to thank Troublesome Pyro Pyromaniac, saywhattt, MiaCnnr, Edward Changed Me, bubzchoc, CourtneyC1, Sum1cooler, JessamineLovelace, swagtastickatie, huyandhieu, TengeloNightmares, BieberHendersongrl, Lewkis, and Ano-nee-mus for your reviews, faves, and alerts. I'd also like to thank all those who started reading Adopted and who read It's Who I Am.
Now, time to end this long note and get started with writing. Here it goes!
Chapter XI
When Carlos' eyes fluttered open the next morning, he was hit directly in the face with a ray of light. Groaning loudly, he shifted to try to get the light to go away, but no such thing occurred. The tan boy sat up slowly, pushing sheets and a muscular arm off of his body, the bleach white bed's softness dulling the speed of his already sluggish movements as he turned toward the window. Sunlight was filtering in through the small window, interrupting his sleep, the Latino swinging his legs off the bed to go close the curtains. Clutching his arms to his bare chest to keep warm, Carlos walked over to the window in a daze, but only once he pulled the curtains shut and plunged the room back into semi-darkness did his still groggy mind register his current situation.
He once again wasn't in his ugly and uncomfortable bed at the apartment he called home. However, this time he wasn't on that apartment's ugly and uncomfortable brown couch either. Slowly turning around, Carlos' jaw dropped at the sight he took in. He was still at Logan's house. He had been sleeping in Logan's bed. Logan was still in the bed, his arm still lying in the spot once occupied by the tan boy. They had slept together, literally and possibly figuratively. The Latino squeaked in excitement, but upon noticing his current state of near-complete undress, the excitement turned to embarrassment. Blushing madly, he tiptoed quietly around the room in an attempt to find his shirt, finally noticing it and his pants folded neatly on a chair along the wall across from the window. At least the shirt was nice and warm from sitting in the sunbeam.
Crawling back into the covers and the gymnast's comforting grasp, Carlos watched the brunet take slow, deep breaths while he slept. It was a little awkward and creepy, but he was allowed to do that now. They were boyfriends. The Latino squealed softly from joy at the word, repeating it over and over in his head using a sing-songy voice. Leaning forward, Carlos placed a hand on the brunet's cheek, making small circles in an attempt to wake him. When that didn't work, he tried patting the pale skin, still to no avail. In one last attempt to wake him, the tan boy brought his lips down to touch the ones of the still sleeping gymnast. What he didn't expect was for Logan's hand to come up and wrap itself around the back of his neck, pulling him deeper into the kiss. Carlos moaned happily, pulling away when the need for air became too great and staring Logan in the eyes.
"Good morning, handsome," the brunet whispered with a chuckle, sitting up in the bed. The tan boy failed to respond for a bit, too busy gawking at the beautifully sculpted muscle of Logan's chest and stomach to formulate a reply. The gymnast laughed quietly to himself, waiting for his new boyfriend to recover from the bliss-induced shock. "I'm not going to have to get the smelling salts every time I take off my shirt, am I? And why are you suddenly dressed, everything was perfectly fine the way it was." Carlos shook his head, jaw snapping back up from its formerly slack position.
"Uh, no, no. Of course not! I was cold, and… and… And you were faking being asleep until I kissed you, weren't you?" Logan put on an innocent-looking grin, causing the Latino's heart to flutter again.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You do so!"
"Nuh-uh!" With that, the raven-haired boy dove on top of the brunet, the two bodies flipping back and forth on the bed as Carlos tried to pin Logan's arms down. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't nearly as strong as the gymnast and he quickly ended up with his own arms crossed behind his head. Logan beamed down at him, leaning down to touch his nose to the Latino's.
"So do I get a prize for winning?" he asked, donning a lopsided half-smile. The tan boy smirked in response, tipping his head back a bit.
"Only if you can catch it." Logan always enjoyed a challenge. This relationship was already turning out to be one of the best things he had ever experienced in his life.
After almost half an hour more of playing around and making out (Carlos was very surprised that Logan had never kissed anyone before him; the brunet was reallygood at it), Logan stood up.
"Care for some breakfast?" The tan boy's eyes lit up as he rolled off the bed, running over to grab the brunet's hands excitedly.
"Food? Sure thing, let's go!" Carlos attempted to drag Logan to the stairs, the gymnast easily resisting the movement, listening as the Latino began to blurt out his breakfast plans under his breath. "I could make pancakes! Or waffles, or French toast, or eggs, or… or… Logan, come on! I'm starviiiing!"
'He's so adorable…' "Carlos, wait…"
"Pleeeease? I'm so hungry I'm gonna die!" The Latino looked up at his boyfriend with sad, watering eyes, attempting to guilt the boy into moving, but the gymnast continued to stand completely still.
"Carlos, for one thing you aren't going to die, and for another thing I need to get dressed. Even if you usually walk around your home in only your boxers, I don't. It's a little uncomforting to me. Plus… uh… I'm cold?" Carlos raised an eyebrow.
"So you're saying that you want me to take off my shirt too then?"
"…come again?"
"You want me to take off my shirt again and share in your discomfort, and I'm perfectly happy to oblige."
"That's not what I'm saying at all!" However, Carlos' shirt was already back on the chair where it had been sitting all night long, the boy's beautifully tanned back to the gymnast. The Latino slowly turned around once more, a crafty smirk crossing his face.
"But you like the idea, don't you?" Logan sighed, but then put on a smile and looked back at the mischievously twinkling brown orbs.
"Fine. I'll do it, but just because I get to see this," he replied as he took a couple steps forward, running his hands up and down the deeply tanned chest, marveling at the softness of the boy's skin. "And, because I get to do this," the gymnast added, bringing his mouth down to kiss his way down the line of Carlos' jaw and finally bring their lips together, the Latino moaning loudly and allowing Logan's tongue to make its way inside his mouth. After a very short-lived battle for dominance, Logan won out, but Carlos eventually pulled his mouth away.
"Food time." Logan laughed. Looks like he was pretty much on the same level as food when it came to importance for the shorter boy right now, the tan back already retreating hastily down the stairs. Within ten seconds he heard loud rustling followed by two crashes and yappy barking come from the kitchen, so the gymnast hurried down to inspect the damage and found the floor covered in flour with two upturned and slightly dented pots laying in the center of the white, powdery mess. Carlos was standing next to the row of cabinets hanging on the wall, looking down at the mess before rushing over to Logan with a panicked look and wrapping his arms around the larger boy's frame. Shocked and confused, all Logan could do was reciprocate the gesture and wait for the smaller boy to calm down.
"Oh man, oh my god. I'm sorry, I am so sorry. I guess this is why James doesn't let me cook… I can fix this! I will fix this!" The words spilled out of his mouth in a storm, the tan boy attempting to pull out of the brunet's grasp.
"Carlos, Carlos, hun, please calm down," Logan soothed the boy that was struggling in his grip, fingers curling in and out of the pitch-black hair on the Latino's head. The struggling began to slow and eventually stopped, brown eyes turning up to meet Logan's own. "It's just fine, I'm not mad."
"…you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Now, I'll clean this up when I get home from the gym, and we can just eat toaster waffles and sit out on the deck." Carlos' demeanor instantly changed, the same mischievous smirk from before breaking out as the smaller boy began to giggle.
"Out on the deck?"
"Yes, Carlitos." The Latino giggled once more, Logan assuming it was from the nickname. It was a suiting nickname, just as cute as the boy it described.
"You promise?"
"Yes, I…" The gymnast paused, analyzing what he had said more closely. "Wait, I mean in the living room! Yeah, we can eat in the living room! Not outside where everyone can see me almost indecent."
"Hey, no take-backs! We're eating out on the deck, undies or not. You just promised." Carlos danced happily to the freezer, shivering as the door opened. He quickly pulled out some waffles, popping them into the toaster and grabbing the taller boy's wrist. "Come on, outside now! You said it yourself, so we're going out there."
"Carlos…"
"But Logie, you said we would! Besides, it's so nice out this morning, we have to go out there." The Latino pulled harder on his wrist, and Logan sighed loudly, raising his other hand to his forehead. Carlos frowned, walking over to the sliding glass door that led out to the deck and pulling it open.
"I didn't mean to say that, it was just to get you to calm down about-"
"Logan Mitchell, we're going outside!" Carlos ordered, pointing to the now open door and scowling. The pale boy raised his hand to argue, but Carlos only repeated his gesture more emphatically to get his idea across. The tan boy's face softened when Logan sighed and walked over, placing his hand on the taller boy's shoulder and giving him yet another sly smirk.
"If you make a promise to me, there's no going back."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. At least I still get to do this," the gymnast replied, his right hand loosely wrapping around the shorter boy's neck and his head leaning down to touch their lips together again. Carlos sighed happily into the lip lock, cheeks reddening and mouth hanging open just wide enough for Logan's tongue to once again slip inside and dance with the Latino's. After another weakly fought battle for dominance, Logan's tongue tried to quickly explore and memorize any sensitive spots it could find, but the time was cut short by the sound of the toaster popping up. The brunet was still proud of himself, as he managed to find one really good spot that sent a shiver straight down the tan boy's spine. Carlos pulled away, a lighthearted smile crossing his face as his blush disappeared. He poked Logan on the nose playfully, then pointed to the door.
"The food's done, so go outside. I'll meet you out there with our breakfast." Logan groaned unhappily, partially at the loss of the shorter boy's lips and partially from the same boy's insistence with going outside when he was dressed only in a pair of boxer-briefs and the Latino only had on boxers.
"Do we really have to go outside?"
"Logan…"
"Alright, alright…"
James' morning began just like every other. He woke up at 10:30AM on the dot, rolled out of bed, stretched, and walked to the apartment's bathroom. After a fifteen-minute shower that involved washing his lustrous and beautiful brown locks multiple times, the brunet returned to his room to get dressed. Halfway through picking out his outfit for the day, a stray thought crossed his mind concerning Carlos' whereabouts. 'Oh, he's probably still at Logan's house,' he thought, a smirk breaking onto his face upon imagining what the two shorter boys must have done. The tall brunet was suddenly hit with realization. 'Wait…'
It was Monday. Carlos had Spanish on Mondays at… sometime before James woke up. If he wasn't back yet… Well, it was just one missed class, it couldn't hurt too much. Except for that Señora Wainright didn't really like Carlos… 'Aww jeez, why did I leave those keys for him? Now he's gonna be mad at me for making him miss class… even though it is his fault, he didn't have to go see Logan.' James sighed loudly, pulling out his phone and punching in a number.
"Good morning James. Did you sleep well?" Kendall's voice answered on the opposite end.
"Very well, Kenny. Would you mind doing me a favor?"
Kendall's car pulled up outside Logan's house, the tall blond stepping slowly up to the front door after getting out. He reached out to ring the doorbell, but his finger stopped and his eyes widened when he heard voices from around the side of the house, coming from the deck.
"Just relax, Logie. It'll go much more easily if you do." Carlos' voice was followed by a pleasured groan in the gymnast's voice. Kendall's mind immediately rushed to conclusions from the one statement. 'Oh my god, he wouldn't…'
"Ooh, Carlos, you're really-ah-good at this…"
"I've had a lot of practice." The blond heard a loud, extremely pleasured moan come from Logan a few seconds later.
"Ah, right there, right there!"
"Feel good?"
"Oh, definitely, keep going."
The manager took large strides around the sides of the house, quickly ending up with a view of the deck where he saw the Latino boy kneeling behind Logan in a chair, hands lightly massaging the taller boy's shoulders and back. The pale boy would moan every couple seconds as the skilled tan hands hit exactly the right spot, relieving the tension in his shoulders. Noting the state of undress that the two were in, Kendall blushed and looked down to his feet, clearing his throat to get their attention. The two looked over at him, Carlos' hands never stopping in their massaging movements while Logan's face paled a bit then reddened in embarrassment. However, another particularly sensitive touch caused the gymnast to moan happily and shut his eyes tightly.
"Ah, right there please."
"Okay babe. And hey Kendall, how was your night with James?" the tan boy asked, hands moving lower down the brunet's back, causing him to sigh with delight. The blond stepped up onto the deck.
"It was nice, but I got a request from him to bring you home. He didn't say why, he just said you had to come home soon. He sent me to come get you since he doesn't have a car of his own." Kendall was overjoyed to receive that phone call from James. He had no idea what it was about Carlos that he didn't like, but there was just something wrong with the idea of this boy dating Logan to him and the blond was quite happy to take him home and away from Logan for a while. The Latino's hand slowed to a stop, Logan's eyes opening again.
"…well, I guess this means I had better go get dressed," Carlos replied with a frown. Logan turned his head to look at the tan boy as he stood up, the pale boy placing a hand onto his back and guiding him inside. The blond followed the two, passing by a large white flour pile in the center of the kitchen on his way to wait by the front door.
About five minutes later, the two came back down the stairs, both fully dressed. Kendall beckoned for Carlos to follow him, pulling the door open and walking out toward his car. The tan boy turned to Logan, pulling him into a quick embrace and planting his lips on the brunet's. He sighed happily, breaking the embrace and smiling, his hands resting lightly in the grasp of his boyfriend's.
"I'll call you later, I had an idea for what we could do tonight."
"Okay. Stay safe, Kendall's driving is a little reckless." Carlos smirked and delivered one more chaste kiss to the gymnast's lips before stepping down from the front porch.
"I'll remember that."
Before they drove off, Kendall rolled down his window. "Remember Logan, you have to go to the gym today. 3 hours at least, gotta stay in shape."
"I know, I know."
The blond dropped the Latino off at his apartment, driving away once he saw that the boy had made it inside. James was waiting for him on the other side of the door.
"'Sup James? You wanted me home, right?" Carlos asked, placing his keys onto the kitchen counter as he walked past James. The pretty boy crossed his arms over his chest and sighed.
"You do know that you missed Señora Wainright's class today, right?"
"…Come again?"
"This morning. You had class. You were at Logan's, so you missed it. You told me that Ms. Wainright doesn't like you, so why would you miss her class?" Carlos groaned and shook his head. He couldn't believe how stupid James was being!
"James, it's Sunday! I don't have class on Sundays! You fucking idiot, you just made Kendall come and separate me and Logan because you don't know what day it is!" James furrowed his eyebrows in anger, arms going down to his sides.
"Well I'm sorry, I made a god damn mistake. How often do you make mistakes that I'm fine with?" The tan boy scowled, annoyance intensifying into anger.
"It's not about that! It's about the fact that you made me come home for no fucking reason to bitch at me about how I 'missed class' when I was enjoying a nice morning with my boyfriend!" James gritted his teeth. So maybe it was his fault, but the Latino could at least be thankful that James was looking out for him even if he was wrong.
"Well excuse me for caring about your goddamn education. I'm done with this," James angrily replied, turning on a heel and heading toward his bedroom. Carlos grabbed his keys from the counter, hastily stepping back out the front door and slamming it behind him.
A/N: Ooh, conflict. And for all of you who expected something different to be happening on the deck: you're all weird for assuming they were having sexytimes on the deck even though that's exactly what I was trying to imply. Logan would never do that!
Once again, sorry about the lateness of the update, but I've had a lot of stuff to do and it's not getting any better (just got assigned a math independent study project on knot theory… I don't understand it at all). I was going to try to get up stuff for a one-shot and Adopted too, but I didn't have any time to write either of them. I really wish I had more time.
Anyways, thanks for reading, please do review. I hope that I'll have something else for next week, but I give you no guarantees. I really want to do a Halloween one-shot (even though everyone is going to do one), but once more, no promises. Hectic life is hectic. So now, I'd just like to wish you a good morning/afternoon/evening depending on your time zone, and happy reading!