Laws of (e)Motion

Logan x Kendall

Law 1: Objects in motion tend to stay in motion, while objects at rest tend to stay at rest.

Logan was a genius, or so everyone told him. His Math, Science, History, English, and World History scores reflected that idea. His Mathlete trophies, Science Fair ribbons, and Model UN awards really sealed the deal.

But this had to be the dumbest decision he'd ever made.

This is what happened when he decided to follow his heart instead of his head. Maybe it was the holiday season that got him more sentimental than usual. He usually didn't allow emotions to cloud his judgments or influence his decisions. But there was a bigger force at hand that pushed through his clinical way of thinking.

And that force's name was Kendall Knight.

Because of course it'd be Kendall.

Logan held his breath as the guy in question shifted around on the bed, heavy eyebrows pinching together in his sleep. They smoothed out a second later after he rolled onto his side, one arm draped up over his head. Settling in, Kendall pushed a long, slow breath out his nose. Only when Kendall's breathing turned rhythmic again did Logan allow himself to breathe. But that started a new problem.

Now face to face, every time Logan breathed out, Kendall breathed in. And when Logan breathed in, Kendall breathed out and he got a whole whiff of him. Of his breath, of his scent, of his dollar store shampoo which carried the lingering scent of coconut from his shower an hour ago. They could afford the shampoo he stocked at his grocery store—the "good" kind—but Kendall still insisted on saving money by using the cheap kind.

Stupid Kendall.

Always looking out for others, standing up for them when they didn't have a voice, putting his own needs and wants aside for others to lean on him. If it weren't for Kendall he wouldn't be in this mess.

Logan would've been happy alone in his home for the holidays. He was used to his mother working while others got time off. She was a lawyer, it was expected of her. And even though Logan asked every year if she'd be around, he knew the answer would be no. And she'd be clinical and straightforward about it, explaining that just because the holidays came around didn't mean her cases were put on ice. (That was her attempt at a joke. He made himself laugh even though he knew she was also being serious.)

And he was fine with that. It gave him more time to work on his experiments, get a jump start taking notes for the units that waited for them in their textbooks, and catch up on all his recordings of Mythbusters. He'd fall asleep to something blowing up and wake up to something else blowing up, so it wasn't like he'd be alone. He and his mom understood how things would go once she got promoted. The long hours meant they had more time together later and the extra money didn't hurt.

But Kendall wouldn't have that. They were chit chatting over lunch a couple days before they were released from school on winter break. They talked about nothing in particular: James mooned over a senior girl saying she was jealous of his hair (and supposedly ran her fingers through it) and Carlos kept showing them the chewed-up food combinations in his mouth and Kendall poked at the mystery meat being served that day. Then at some point the conversation naturally turned over to their Christmas plans (or, for James, Chrismukkah). Carlos talked about all his cousins coming from Mexico to visit and James went on and on about how his dad was going to take him snowboarding (which they all knew wouldn't happen one way or another, but they didn't tell him that.)

And then Kendall, bored with poking the science experiment on his plate, jabbed his fork in Logan's direction and asked with that dimpled smile of his, "What about you, Logie?"

"Gonna build yourself a robot friend?" Carlos cracked. It got James laughing along, holding out his fist for a quick tap which Carlos obliged. Logan, cheek resting against his face, gave off a weak laugh. It was better than staring at Kendall staring at him.

"No, really," Kendall insisted when Logan didn't say anything. "What're you doing?"

He'd contemplated lying, telling them of his mother taking him off on some grand adventure, whisking him away to experience the Pacific Northwest or the New England states. But the words didn't come. Maybe it was because he'd always been bad at lying, maybe because his mother was a lawyer so he knew where perjury could get him. Maybe it was because Kendall asked.

"Nothing. Mom's working so I'm just gonna get a head start on next year's homework…"

The latter part of his answer was drowned out by James and Carlos gagging, flinging themselves over the table to display their slow deaths. Logan gave them an unamused look. Just because they didn't care about their grades…

"You're gonna be alone?" Kendall asked, smile slipping off his face, eyebrows puckering.

"Yeah," he said. Then he forced himself to take a bite of the cold pizza. "No big deal," he added.

"Uh, it's kind of a big deal." Kendall gave up on the mystery meat and took a swig from the chocolate milk carton. A brown line sat on his upper lip before he brushed it away with the frayed hem of his orange plaid shirt.

"Not really. Mom and I talked about it."

"Well I'll talk to my mom and you can come stay with us," Kendall said. He pushed his tray away and reached for Logan's tray. Logan made a halfhearted attempt to shoo him away from the stack of tater tots he'd left in the last tray pocket. His mind had slowed, trying to wrap around the words that just came out of Kendall's mouth.

Logan unpeeled his tongue from his mouth and tried to say something. A strange, warbling sound came out of his mouth. He cleared his throat and tried again, pushing out one word: "What?"

"Yeah," Kendall said, nonchalant as always. "Just come with me after school. It makes sense. We can walk and you'll just hang with me when school lets out. I'm closer anyway."

That was true. He always met up with Kendall two-thirds of the way into his walk to school. And on the days he rode the bus, Kendall would wave from Mrs. Magicowski's front porch where he stopped for a drink or a chat or her driveway where he shoveled snow for her. He never missed a day.

But he couldn't go to Kendall's house. Couldn't stay with him day after day. Couldn't be in close proximity, use his things, be in his space. Not that Kendall would understand. Especially because he wouldn't understand the biggest reason of all. But any way Logan tried to come up with an excuse, turning it over in his mind, he knew it'd fall on deaf ears or that Kendall would find a way to poke holes into his excuses.

So he sighed, pushed a smile on his face, gave a shrug of nonchalance and said, "Sounds good" before scurrying off to study hall when the bell rang signaling lunch hour was over. He didn't need to study anything, he expected to get good marks on his last couple exams, but he needed the quiet to think about what he'd just signed himself up for.

And now here he was a few days later, facing the consequences of his own actions. Or inaction, in this case. Having to lie down, nose to nose, knee to knee, within inches of the face he searched for in the crowded hallways, smiled at when he turned around to make a face in class, and shared an eye-roll with at James and Carlos' theatrics. The face he spotted on the first day of third grade when his hand shot up, volunteering to show the "New Kid" around school.

It aged over the years, but Kendall's face held the same attributes: the sparkling green eyes, the smirk of mischief embedded in his plump lips, the deep dimples carefully carved into his cheeks. And as Logan looked upon it now, his stomach turned like it did all those years ago, with a racing heart and his breaths coming out in stuttering puffs. Only now he didn't have a wide-eyed, cherubic face waiting for him to sweetly declare, "I'm Kendall. Hortense really isn't that bad a name, y'know." Or maybe something shorter but much sweeter.

But something told him if Kendall woke up now to get the full effect of him staring, he wouldn't be entirely sweet about it.

With a sigh matching the weight of his heart, Logan rolled over and stared at the wall.

—

Law 2: Force equals mass times acceleration.

"Why do we always wait until the last minute to get Christmas gifts?" Logan's question hung in the air like suspended vapor from his mouth, crystalizing to form a cloud before dissipating a second later. He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his coat and ducked his mouth behind the lapels of his thick jacket. The cold wind bit his cheeks

"You can't beat that rush!" Kendall gushed. Red seeped into his cheeks and the tip of his nose and he practically skipped past the automatic sliding doors. Once past the second set and into the mouth of the mall, he tilted his head back and drew in a deep breath. "Smell that, Logie! It's the scent of excitement!"

Logan played along, sniffing the air. "Smells more like burnt popcorn to me."

"That too." Grinning, Kendall stepped to the side and knocked his shoulder against Logan's. Logan stumbled from the push. It wasn't particularly hard, but he didn't expect the touch. Which was a silly miscalculation on his part. Kendall was a physical guy and Logan was always within reach. An arm around the neck, a punch to the shoulder, a palm to the chest, a reassuring pat to the back of the hand weren't out of the ordinary for him. The touch lingered like always.

Regaining his balance, they fell into step with the throng of shoppers moving in and out of stores. Some clutched brightly colored bags, some clutched the hands of red-faced kids, and some looked as if they were braving a war with clenched jaws and eyes carrying a steely focus. "So do you have anything in mind or…?"

"Of course not!" Kendall said with a scoff. "That's not the point. I just need to feel what the perfect gift is, you know?"

"What happens if the perfect gift is a diamond necklace?" Logan pointed as they passed by a store. Women bent over the glass cases, admiring the sparkling jewels on the other side. Men stood nearby with their hands shoved in pockets, grimaces twisting their lips.

"Well, I've been pulling overtime at the store." Out the corner of his eye, Logan spied Kendall messing with the ever-present gray beanie covering his dirty blond hair. He shifted it forward and back, forward and back, until he settled it back into place. Clearing his throat he added. "My boss has helped a bit too. He knows how things are. Called it a Christmas bonus." His mouth pulled to the side, just slightly. He pushed his tongue past his lips, shrugged, and a wistful smile came to his face. "…Whatever I find for my mom, she deserves it."

"Mmm." She really did. Mrs. Knight, or Mama Knight as their group as started to call her over the years, was a very special woman. Not just to put up with them going in and out of their house on a daily basis without a complaint, but feeding them and looking after them and housing them with a smile. James' mother wouldn't ever entertain the idea, and while he could have his friends over to study he knew his home was a bit more…clinical than the warmth within the walls of the Knight home. And Carlos' place was too loud and crowded even on the best days. But, like Goldilocks, the Knight home was just right.

So it came as no surprise when he found himself sleeping over and dragging out the hours before he returned home throughout the year. Logan loved being at the Knights' place. It was a little small and sound traveled but it was alive and there was so much love squeezed between the four walls. The family interacted with one another instead of moving around as if in orbit, crossing paths here and there. And it didn't hurt Mama Knight once entertained the idea of being a doctor herself—an OB/GYN specifically—so he had someone he could bounce his dream of being a doctor off of.

"What're you thinking of getting for your mom?"

Kendall's question yanked him out of his thoughts in enough time to sidestep a woman rushing by with a wailing, red faced child. "I already gave it to her. She wanted this reusable planner that expands, and you can add or remove pages and it's reusable so you can erase stuff or change things around."

"That sounds…"

"Like my mom? Yeah."

"Not that." Kendall waved his hand in the air, batting away his words. "I was gonna say that sounds like a letdown. There's no surprise if you gave it to her already is there?"

"Well, she could utilize it now. Get herself prepared and ready for the new year." And she wasn't going to be there anyway, so who was he going to give it to? The air? She was very appreciative when he presented it to her, explaining all the ways she could put it to good use, all the ways she could keep herself organized and on top of her work. He got a hug and a kiss on the cheek for it. He thought she saw a smile but it faded faster than he could blink. Maybe he made it up.

"Geeze, Logan. This year hasn't ended yet and you're already thinking of the next one? Did this year suck or something?"

"Well…" He could have gone without Jenny Tinkler sending a compass through his shoe in math class that one time. And it would've been great if some of his experiments worked out. But this part…

Being alone with Kendall wasn't too bad…

"Ok! This is the one!" Kendall stood in front of a brightly lit bath and body store, hands placed firmly on his hips, chin lifted as he took in the signage. When he twisted at the waist, Logan spied that challenging look in his eye, the one reflecting a fire burning inside him on the ice when they were two points down with forty-seconds left. "What's the game plan?"

"Me? You're the one who always comes up with the plans."

"Then tell me the odds I'm gonna be trampled or whatever. It's gotta be worth it."

"Well…" Logan bit his lip. His eyes darted around the opening of the storefront, where gingham patterned signs screamed about a sale: buy three get two free. People milled in and out, squeezed between . "Okay, just…c'mere." Logan placed his hands on Kendall's shoulders, fingers gripping the round of his bone through the fabric of his jacket. Something spicy wafted off from the back of his neck as Logan turned him seven degrees to the left. He swallowed the pool of saliva filling his mouth. "Go this way." He pointed over Kendall's shoulder. "This is the weakest area. Squeeze through here, use your shoulder. With enough force, you can push people aside if you need to. A few 'excuse me's wouldn't hurt either. You have a sixty-five percent chance of success."

"That's easy." Kendall's shoulders bounced in a nonchalant shrug. "Alright, Logie, give me a push. I'm goin' in!"

Kendall disappeared into the shop on the force of his head start. Logan leaned against fountain nearby, waiting. Kids ran up to the basin, hovering over the ledge to peer at the coins tossed in the water. One by one they'd get a penny or a nickel from their families, happily flick them in, and rush off as their wishes sank to the black bottom. Save for one little boy, who bent so far over the surface of the water Logan was surprised he didn't inhale it.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Logan said.

"Huh?" The little boy looked up at him, finger suspended in mid-air. "Do what?"

"Touch the water."

"Why not? It's just water."

"It is but…" What was the best way to explain this? Was it even his place? "It's recycled."

The boy's nose wrinkled. "You don't recycle water."

"Yes you do."

"No you don't. You recycle, like, bottles and stuff."

"There's a reservoir beneath the fountain that moves the water in a loop. Don't you ever wonder how it doesn't overflow?"

"No."

"Oh." He should've supposed not everyone had spent their formulative years watching the fountains, wondering about the mechanisms deep inside, trying to mentally engineer the pumps and systems used to get the water moving. And the mathematics behind it? Some people counted sheep; he went through equations. At least, in that case, he could anticipate change and variables. "It's still not a good idea."

"Why not?"

"It's filled with bacteria and other contaminants." The kid blinked at him. He should've walked away but he couldn't help himself. "The water's stagnant."

"Stagnant?"

"Stands still."

"But it's jumping."

"Yeah, but that's because of the laminar jet flow."

"…It's powered by airplanes?"

"No, it's actually a pretty advanced system that splits the water midstream due to its propulsion coming into contact with a cutter."

"…It cuts water?"

He was ready to respond when a plump woman hustled over to the fountain, a red-faced wailing child tucked beneath her other arm. She shot Logan a withering look while grabbing the little boy's arm and whisked him away while Logan stuttered apologies. For talking? For over-explaining? For being awkward? For…a reason he couldn't quite figure out but felt compelled to apologize anyway.

Kendall watched them leave with an amused expression, jerking his thumb over his shoulder while approaching. "Wow. You chase guys away just as much as you chase girls away with that science talk, huh?"

"You stick around," Logan grumbled.

"Because you're my best bud. And all that"—Kendall waved his hand in Logan's general area—"is important to you."

His stomach twisted in a way that was equally pleasant and threw him off kilter. He hadn't eaten yet, so perhaps that was the culprit. Nausea could settle in when one's stomach was too empty. That burnt popcorn smell certainly wasn't helping. "Did you get it?" The tilt to his shoulders got them walking again. The sooner he got a pretzel, the better he'd feel.

"Yup! I got her this cool hair clip." Removing it from a small pink plastic bag, he held it up to Logan's face. It was simple yet elegant at the same time: a thin silver clip with three clusters attached in a straight line. Light reflected off the surface, gleaming like glitter.

Logan nodded. "That's nice."

"She's always talking about having to keep her hair back for work."

"Orion's belt," Logan noted. "You know, in Norse mythology the three stars are connected with the goddess, Freya. She's associated with aspects of life including love, fertility, and war."

"Really? That's cool." Kendall turned it his way, rubbing the star clusters with his thumb. "Mom does say she'll kill for us…"

Logan didn't doubt that. "It took you that long to find it?"

"No. I also found this." With a flourish, he pulled his hand out the bag and held a pristine bowtie in Logan's face. With a white background and black lines, the pattern depicted graph paper with SIN, COSINE, and TANGENT written all over it in blue, red, and green. "Thought you'd like it."

"I do. You're not getting anything for Katie?"

"I already have her gift going. I opened a savings account for her. I know she has her own money from the allowance she's saved in a piggy bank but she'll never touch it. This way, if she decides to go to college she'll have something going. It's not much…"

Logan bumped Kendall's shoulder. "It's enough." And when they arrived at the pretzel stand, Logan bought two; it was the least he could do. Kendall wouldn't get one for himself.

—

Law 3: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Carlos. There's no feasible way Santa Claus could actually send gifts to all children around the world." Logan adjusted the phone pressed to his ear, using his now free hands to press a sharp crease into the

"But what if—"

"Still not possible. Let's take into consideration not everyone adheres to Christianity. On top of that, there's the distance between locations to think about and, throwing in various weather patterns, you'll need certain conditions to be met just to be able to fly at the right speed. And that's not including a sled being pulled by reindeer that's weighed down by all the gifts and Santa's mass." His brain whirled. "Actually, if we do the math—"

"Noooo!" Logan jerked his phone away from his ear, saving his hearing from Carlos' wail. "No more math! No more science! We're on vacation! The only thing I want to know is how many deviled eggs I can eat before my stomach pops."

"Mmm…the average stomach can hold about 1.5 liters of food. That doesn't count for stretching. And then there's—"

"But how many can I eat?"

"Fifty, Carlos. You can eat fifty."

"Sweet! I'm totally gonna win my bet back!"

With a gleeful cackle, Carlos hung up on him. Logan chuckled, putting his phone down. He hoped whoever he bet against were willing to put up with his incoming flatulence. They'd need to open a few windows just to be safe.

Logan surveyed the ruler, protractor, tape dispenser, ribbon spool, and x-acto knife laying in front of him. The lights on the tree nearby spilled glitter across the white surface of the wrapping paper laid out before him.

Kendall couldn't get a big tree in his room, but the small plastic alternative was a nice addition. Logan's mom wouldn't let him have one in his room at home. Rooms were for holding their personal items in their specific spaces. The other rooms of the house, where guests had a higher chance of moving through, were carefully curated to present an engaging atmosphere within the order. Conversation and debates were to happen out in the open, anything personal was to be hidden away.

"How do you do that?"

Pressed his finger to a crease in the paper to hold his spot, Logan glanced upwards beneath his lashes, getting an eyeful of Kendall staring back at him. He'd shifted from his position lying on his back to now lying on his stomach, arms dangling over the side of the bed. His head tilted to the side, like a curious puppy. The hockey magazine he'd been leafing through the past few minutes lay crumped on the floor just out of reach.

"Do what?"

"That?" Kendall lifted his chin, gesturing it in Logan's direction. "Wrap the stuff."

"I measure." As if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Because, well…

Kendall's nose wrinkled. "It can't be that easy."

"If you actually take your time and get the dimensions of the gift you're wrapping, you can make it look nice. And in the end, you save paper."

"A gift bag would be easier."

Logan shrugged. It probably would, but he liked the math behind getting the right angles and the right amount of paper. And using the right folds to ensure every piece of the gift was covered properly was relaxing. Therapeutic even. He could let his mind wander while going through the motions. Besides, it was all about the effort wasn't it?

"Show me."

Kendall was already on the floor by Logan's side when he realized what he'd asked. Their knees bumped against one another as Kendall scooted closer, practically leaning over his shoulder to see his folding. Kendall's knee popped out the distressed rip, a somewhat useless choice against the infamous Minnesota cold but he didn't care much about that. He liked what he liked, and he'd wear things until they fell apart.

"You want me to show you…?"

"How to wrap. Yours looks good." Heat crawled up Logan's neck and stained his cheeks as a flutter of pride. He clicked his tongue and added after a beat, "I want my mom's to look that good."

Logan eased a breath out his nose as he pressed his lips together, doing his best to ignore the heat radiating off Kendall over his shoulder and his breath on his cheek. He went through the motions step by step: measuring with the ruler, folding the paper on the roll this way and that to cover and uncover the investment book he bought for Katie, folding, measuring some more, and cutting.

The lines weren't straight. Logan frowned. That couldn't be right. Tossing the scissors aside, Logan grabbed the protractor and then the ruler to check. The scissors were sharp enough to glide in one pass—which was satisfying—and they didn't bunch so that couldn't be it. The paper was a step above dollar store quality—they "splurged" this year, Kendall had explained—and he hadn't run into bunching sending the blades awry. No matter how many times he eyed the paper, the line bent and undulated instead of sitting.

What the hell?

"Do you need help?"

Logan almost laughed at that. He was supposed to be helping Kendall, how did that get turned around. His refusal didn't come fast enough; Kendall put the scissors back into Logan's hand and wrapped his own around Logan's, steadying him as he cut through the paper again. They both leaned forward as the scissors passed through the paper in one seamless stroke.

"Your hands were shaky," Kendall explained. Logan sucked in a breath. They sat nose to nose, arms pressing tight against one another, Kendall's knee overlapped his thigh. When'd they get so close?

"Thanks bud," Logan uttered, getting to his feet. His hands weren't the only things that were shaky as he stumbled his way to the bathroom down the hall. A cold splash of water on his face and he'd be good to go.

It was getting too warm in the room anyway.

—

Law 1 (Revisited): Objects in motion tend to stay in motion, while objects at rest tend to stay at rest (unless acted on by an outside force.)

A series of pops cascaded down Logan's spine when he straightened and, with a relieved sigh, he shoved the blade of his shovel into the snow by Mrs. Magicowski's driveway. The now pristine driveway.

It was a nice change of pace from being inside, whether it was at the mall or in Kendall's room wrapping gifts to keep them from Katie's prying eyes. They took a few walks as the week wore on and occasionally James would join them, complaining about being bored and having nothing to do. He was quick to disappear when Kendall suggested they shovel some driveways for extra money. He didn't want to get too many callouses on his hands. (He thought he could be a hand model one day and didn't want to risk it.)

But Logan looked forward to breathing in the crisp, cold air. It cleared his mind, kept him focused. Chilled him from the inside out, a nice change of pace from the heat he'd' been running on the past couple days.

The snow was left over from a front passing through overnight. Snowmen stood tall in yards adorned with scarves, rocks, and sticks, but the slush by the roads were soaked in grime and dirt, changing the white over to gray. It matched the thick blanket of clouds overhead.

"Looks like more snow," he muttered.

"Y'think?" Kendall sniffed and brushed his mitten beneath his red nose. "Hasn't snowed for a bit."

Logan pointed upward. "The clouds are lower than they were a before. I give it a few more hours."

"We should hurry then."

"Yeah."

"We can come back out later tonight, get a head start before it gets too bad."

Logically, that made sense, but his back and his muscles screamed in pain at the idea of it. He weighed the pros and cons. Would it be better to avoid extra work for tomorrow or would it be better to head inside if the snow was inevitable? He couldn't feel his toes…

"I don't want Mrs. M to get snowed in too bad."

"Yeah, okay." Screw the warmth. Kendall's heart was big enough to warm Logan from head to toe. Thankfully the cold already put redness in his cheeks he didn't have to explain.

God, it was pathetic how fast he fell into his favor. It'd been happening all week. What movie did he want to watch? Anything Kendall picked was fine. What did he want to eat? Anything Kendall picked was fine. Music? Anything Kendall picked. Video game? Kendall already had a great collection; he went for quality over James' quantity and didn't have a problem with it. It was just…easier to let Kendall lead than it was to voice his own opinions.

He didn't trust what would come out.

Gray shifted over to white when Logan lowered his chin, spluttering at the cold sting to his face when the snowball exploded. He hastily wiped against his face, scraping ice crystals over his cold skin. Clumps of white clung to his lashes, clouding his vision. The rest of his senses took over:

Scratching footsteps.

A gleeful laugh.

Cloying cedarwood.

The snow broke his fall as Kendall's weight pressed down on top of him, launching all the air in his chest outwards, a combination of the fall, the surprise, the mirth, and the Kendall of it all.

"Dude!" Logan gasped, wrestling to push Kendall's arms off him.

"Not quick enough, Logan!" Kendall teased, eyes shining.

"Yeah, we'll see."

Logan gathered his strength and heaved, successfully pushing Kendall over. He stretched his leg over, straddling Kendall's waist as he grabbed his hands and pinned them over his head.

"Thought you were faster than that, Captain." His breath bloomed out his mouth, directly into Kendall's face.

Kendall blinked those long lashes of his and smiled that dimpled smile of his and laughed that adorable laugh of his and said, "That's on ice. This is snow; it's a completely different mode of precipitation."

He couldn't be more of a dork if he tried.

And Logan didn't let him, rocking forward with so much momentum he nearly smashed their noses into one another, but his lips landed where he'd been drawn. A little clumsily but they hit their mark, and his heart nearly exploded at the rush cascading through him. They were better than his dreams, softer and plumper and honeyed.

Initially cold, Kendall's lips quickly warmed up as Logan went back in for another kiss, groaning when Kendall's hand slipped into his hair, long fingers curling against the sensitive skin of his scalp. A shiver took ahold of Logan, whether that was due to the fingernails scratching against him, the cold touching his skin, or finally being able to feel the body he admired beneath the thin gray shirt he didn't know. Maybe all of the above. But he was more partial to touching. All those times he watched Kendall throw his body around on the ice, caught glimpses of his taut skin after a shower, having to sleep next to him and fight off the urge to sink his teeth in the crook between his neck and shoulder, this made it worth it. Kendall's hissing at his cold touch turning into a heavy puff of a breath that Logan breathed in until his tongue pushed through it and touched Kendall's.

"Logan…" Kendall murmured and it was enough for Logan to push forward and take Kendall's lower lip between this teeth. "Logan!"

That didn't sound good. Logan jerked backward. He hadn't bit down that hard had he? No, he was sure to be gentle. But that throbbing at the back of his head where fragments of ice slid down his neck was anything but gentle. It popped their bubble and sent reality hurtling back at him where he lay ontop of Kendall with his hand halfway up his shirt.

Logan stared.

Kendall stared.

Mrs. Magicowski stared from five feet away, lifting her eyebrows.

Fuck. Kendall tilted his head back, landing a dazed stare on their voyeur.

"Fuck." Logan leapt off him, scrambling to find footing in the snow that seemed hellbent to keep him in place.

Fuck. What did he just do?

"I'm…I'm…Um…"

"Sorry, Mrs. M." Kendall took his time getting to his feet. He brushed loose snow off his jacket and jeans, readjusted his shirt, and pulled his discarded gray beanie back onto his head. Facing her, he gave her an easy-going smile and a shrug of nonchalance. "Got a little carried away. Turns out two people can't make a snow angel." He made a "who knew?" gesture and yanked the shovel out of the snow. "We'll be back out later to shovel again. Logan says it's going to snow some more."

Mrs. Magicowski glanced at him and all Logan could do was nod. Seemingly happy with that, Kendall grabbed Logan's hand and tugged him along behind him. They passed by Katie who rolled her eyes and brushed snow off her hands.

"Boys."

—

Kendall suggested they get warm. He led Logan through the house and up the stairs to the bathroom by his bedroom. The same one Logan would listen to Kendall shower in over the years and tell himself it was normal to think about. After all, about 80% of falls in the home occur in the bathroom. He didn't want Kendall to become a statistic.

Their boots ricocheted off the tub as they yanked them off unceremoniously. Logan moved on autopilot. It gave him something to do, gave him time to figure out what the heck just happened and what was going on. Their hats went next; Kendall's beanie had darkened due to the water soaking through the thick fabric. It landed with a wet smack against the bottom of the tub. Their socks went next, also falling into a wet heap. Then their coats followed suit.

Logan leaned against the sink. The cool porcelain cut through the damp spot on the back of his shirt. His fingers gripped the edge, anchoring himself.

"Are we going to talk about it?"

Kendall glanced at him over his shoulder. "I didn't think we had to."

"What do you mean? You…"

"Kissed you back? Yeah, I did." He reached behind his head and yanked off the gray shirt. Logan averted his eyes but got a flash of the moles dotting his stretch of skin. It wasn't the first time the urge to play connect the dots on him entered his mind. "I'm not sorry about it."

"…I don't get it."

Now Kendall turned to face him, lips curling in that familiar smirk. "For a genius, you sure can be dumb sometimes Logie." And he pressed his finger to Logan's forehead, pushing it backward for good measure.

Logan groaned. "Kendall…" He didn't need to be messed with. Not now.

"I wanted you here."

Logan's eyebrows slid together. "You always offer us a place."

"Yeah, but you could've easily slept on the couch."

"I…" That was true. They tended to banish Carlos to sleeping on the couch, especially on the nights he inhaled the sauerkraut Mrs. Knight prepared with her tater tot hotdish. Many times they had to decide which was a worse fate: sleeping through the bitter cold with an open window for air or suffocating under Carlos' gas. And on top of that, James liked to get his beauty rest so sleeping with Kendall who tended to roll around was a simple process of elimination. Right?

Logan unpeeled his tone from his dry mouth. "We always share a bed."

"Mhm."

As if it were normal. But it was, he supposed. They never had to think about it, he fell right into bed next to Kendall as if he belonged there. As if it were his space. It'd been the same since Logan first slept over when they were seven. They were smaller then, of course, but even as they grew older he was right by Kendall's side.

"Do you…?" Logan swallowed. It slid downward, painful in his tight throat but he had to try. "Do you…?"

"Figured it would've been obvious with the wrapping paper thing," Kendall said. He stepped forward, resting his palms on the edge of the sink, outside where Logan laid his hands. Kendall's thumb twitched, brushing against his pinky. Electric shocks ran up Logan's arm.

"Your wrapping skills have left a lot to be desired over the years," Logan said dryly.

Amusement burned in Kendall's eyes. "Dude, I went full Ghost on you."

Logan laughed, at the circumstance if not the memory. They were bored one day and started watching Mrs. Knight's movie collection. They chose Ghost because, well, they thought it maybe was a fun movie like Ghostbusters. Neither of them expected it to start up with a scene that made them both so awkward in ways they couldn't explain they went to kick a ball around in the yard instead and talked about anything else but that.

"So, I got you a Christmas present…" Kendall's hand moved to the hem of Logan's shirt. With a pinch, he peeled it away from his wet skin. "Did you get me one?" Goosebumps erupted over his skin.

"Obviously." Even if…this wasn't an option, he wouldn't let his best friend go without. He deserved the world and then some for all he did for everyone else.

"Do I get to unwrap it now?"

Logan locked eyes with him. His words came out with a slight tremble. "Not until Christmas."

Kendall clicked his tongue. "I can't wait that long."

"It's one more day."

"Hmm." Kendall brushed his fingers against Logan's stomach. He gasped, muscles clenching inwards at the strong, pleasant swooping. "Can I unwrap you in the meantime?"

Leaning closer, Logan brushed his nose against Kendall's. "…It is tradition in my house to open one gift on Christmas Eve."

"And what kind of Captain would I be if I didn't listen to my teammates?"

The answer died on his tongue, pushed away when Kendall's mouth descended upon his. Terrible, he would have said. But between his kisses, his touches, and the careful way he held Logan up, Kendall was anything but.