#will morgan

It came around every December. November, really, for those closest; either way, it preyed on the dark trudge through the last dregs of autumn. The insurmountable task. The impossible question. What to give to Sirius Black, the man who had it all?

His birthday was a buffer for many. A birthday card from CVS was more than enough (more than he expected), but anything could double as a trial run for the real deal while leaving time for delivery. In the way of every other person on Earth, getting a gift triggered thoughts of oh, I needed that and what if I… that would inevitably lead to an offhand mention a week later. And, really, there was a point when getting gift cards for a man making nine million a year began to feel ridiculous.

James was impervious to this challenge, and everyone else despised him for it. The leather jacket for Sirius’ last birthday had not just raised the bar for the rest of them, but shot it off into the stratosphere. There was simply no hope at all.

(It was vitally important that Sirius knew nothing of this struggle. They would never live it down, and he would never accept a gift again.)

Monday evening found an odd flock gathered around Dumo’s living room coffee table. They had a candle going and everything, and evergreen boughs draped over the fireplace. The fire itself was safely contained by brick and a wide mantle, where photographs had been temporarily replaced by nine felt-covered stockings.

“I’m saying,” Alex pressed, covering Logan’s mouth blindly with one hand. “I don’t have the gift for him because I’m seeing him in two days at our fucking house.”

“You don’t love me,” Finn said loudly.

“Two days!”

“You didn’t get me anything!” Finn continued. “You forgot! You hate me and you want to ruin my Christmas!”

He jabbed a finger at Alex, who rolled his eyes. “Yes, Fish, I hate you and Christmas and I’ve never given you a present in your entire life.”

“He admits it,” Leo said, shaking his head. “Wow. Brutal.”

“I’m telling mom you said you hated me in front of our friends.”

Alex kicked at him under the table; Finn quickly pulled his legs into Percy’s lap. “I’m going next,” Logan declared, dodging Alex’s subsequent attempt to smother him. He set a paper-covered box on the table with a decisive thud, then held his hand out in a gimme motion. “Hit me.”

Alex punched him in the arm.

“With my presents,” Logan complained, elbowing him back.

“We have your birthday present in the car,” Remus informed him. “But I was also your secret Santa, so you’ll have to open this one first.”

In direct opposition to one Sirius Black, Logan was incredibly easy to shop for. The whimsy of receiving a gift overwhelmed any thoughts he had about the actual contents, and even the littlest, most sappy-sentimental tchotchkes would be treasured with the kind of sincerity inherent in people who just liked to be thought of. Though much like James, Logan never seemed to struggle with finding a gift for Sirius. Perhaps it was something in the honesty of it. Something in the seeing and the knowing.

His short shout of elation made Remus grin. “For me?” he asked, as if his name wasn’t scrawled on a sticker-tag across the top. Logan held the pan up for everyone to see, the nonstick surface glistening in the warm light of the living room. There were many oohs and aahs, and a smattering of applause when he held up the Ten-Step Meals for the Beginner Cook hardcover that had been set inside it.

“It’s not all sandwiches,” Remus added as Logan took his hand for a one-armed hug across the table. “I checked.”

“Merci, Loops, my egg budget thanks you.” He knocked the sides of their heads together before they parted again, then reached for the box he had brought. “You made this very easy, ‘cause I got your boy.”

Sirius perked up next to him, straightening from where he had leaned back to bask in the fire’s heat behind him. Logan slid the box across the table. He was pulling on the ribbon at the top before Logan’s hand even left it. “Nice wrapping.”

“Ta gueule.”

Logan’s eagerness was obvious in the quick flashes of his eyes between the gift and Sirius’ face. That, and the way he sat on his hands while Sirius peeled the paper away. Then tape, then cardboard, then bubble wrap, then—

“Jesus, Tremz, did you send this thing through a war?” Saint laughed.

“It was a long flight!”

“Oh!” Sirius closed the top of the box with a delighted smile. “Really?”

Logan nodded. A flush crept up his neck and onto his cheeks.

“For me?”

“The real deal.”

“Okay, show us plebians.” Leo was only half-awake, Finn’s hand in his hair and his ankles laid over the brick step in front of the fire. He managed to lift his head a whole inch to peer at Sirius’ box.

“Caribou.”

“He got you a fucking deer?”

“The drink,” several voices chorused. Sirius lifted the bottle out of the box; Leo raised his hands in surrender, relaxing back into the edge of the couch.

Sirius gave a low whistle when he looked at the front and tilted it toward Remus, who did a very passable impression of someone that knew what they were looking at. “It’s maple,” Sirius explained for the many, many others squinting to see. “Like, a whiskey or something. Or some sort of port wine?”

Logan shrugged, already opening the cover of his cookbook. “It’s caribou.”

“Dumo knows, ask him.” Sirius raised the bottle. “Merci, Tremz, joyeux noël.”

“Nah, she’s in the other room,” Thomas said, sending a ripple of laughter through their strange pride. They’d never had opponents in the Dumais home for Christmas. In fact, the closest they had come was nearly a decade ago—Sergei had been traded for a total of two months, one of those fire-lighting swaps that made everyone miserable and only sometimes led to success. He and Dumo had told the story nine times already tonight. After everything, it wasn’t hard to convince him to let a couple of the house-trained Rangers tag along for a gift exchange.

“Alright, I had Nat, but I think she’s watching a movie with the girls.” Sirius passed his gift to Kasey, who didn’t skip a beat before leaning over to drop his in front of Saint.

“You’re kidding.”

“Not even a little,” Kasey laughed.

Saint shook his head. “And these were random?”

“Goalie powers, Montague.”

Saint began removing the first piece of tissue paper, then paused. His eyes narrowed. “Is this a sabotage attempt?”

“I’m not doing bad enough for sabotage,” Leo complained.

“It’s alcohol and candy,” Kasey answered dryly.

“Oh, good.” Faux-suspicion gave way to something like a smile as he dug into the bag and emerged with his prizes, lining them up neatly in the crook of Luke’s leg that stretched out beside him. Luke gave a slow, sleepy blink. Saint pinched his chin between thumb and forefinger and cracked open the twist-top of the seltzer. “Za zhizn.”

Kuny stuck two fingers in his mouth to whistle, still decked out in the hat, scarf, and vivid purple sunglasses gifted to him by James despite being indoors. His sweater had long since been abandoned, leaving him in jeans and a plain undershirt with a hole in the neckline. His light-up Christmas socks (also from James) glowed faintly in his pantlegs.

Saint gifted Will a set of nice wineglasses, and Will passed Leo a boxed set of mystery novels with a bow taped to the top. Around they went, lazy in the way of familiar partygoers after a long day, with even more long days ahead. The gift exchange was purely for the novelty at this point—a party game to bring a laugh or affectionate cuff. Most of them had either already exchanged more formal gifts or decided to wait until after the holidays were done, when they’d all be back in the same place again without the stress of upcoming travel. NHL schedules were unforgiving, and coaches, even moreso.

These moments made it worth it. Cole snapped a photo of Sirius and Remus squeezing into the same armchair on his new disposable camera—one of five gifted to him by Thomas, each labeled with a different theme. Team. Gryff. Friends. Home. Your Girl. Saint split his seltzer with Kasey and Leo exclusively, thankyouverymuch. Luke’s pleading look earned him only a chocolate-covered caramel pressed to his mouth. They were from a tiny sweets shop in the depths of Manhattan; Finn had taped the address to the underside, along with a full punch card.

A sudden herd of children sent the room into chaos, scattering them to the movie room, basement, kitchen, and anywhere they could tuck away their gifts to not be forgotten at the end of the night. Harry, at two years old still the youngest and slowest of the group, didn’t go far. He crawled onto Sirius’ lap and promptly closed his eyes, not caring a whit for Dumo and Logan on either side of him or the three crystal glasses Dumo had brought along. All he knew was warmth, and snow falling gently outside.

They kept their toast to the French Court quiet for his sake. A clink clink clink and stifled laughter at Sirius’ careful reach. The smooth sweetness of maple syrup, with a bite of alcohol beneath. Logan had found a good one. Dumo would be pleased to find a bottle of his own hidden under the tree in a few days, this time to split with the beautiful journalist in the other room wearing the green sweater that made him feel nineteen and hopeless again.

Remus watched them from the doorway: three figures by the fire, turned toward the wide bay windows like little kids seeing their first white Christmas. Sirius had a pine needle in the back of his hair. Logan’s shirt had come untucked on one side. One pajama-covered foot dangled off the side of Sirius’ lap, content.

On the other side of the house, Lily had fallen asleep with her head in Natalie’s lap and her legs across James’. Her boots were still by the front door, leaving her festive, gingerbread-emblazoned stockings on display to be admired. She snored the same as her son. While she slept, Alex took full advantage of Natalie’s unwillingness to wake her best friend and stole several sips of her eggnog. It was Celeste’s special recipe. Who could blame him?

Logan skated hard to a stop by the Lions’ net, breathing harshly through his nose. Knut had snatched the puck out of the hair with a flash of his glove. Now, he was grinning at Logan through his mask, standing up and passing the puck to the ref. Logan narrowed his eyes. Fuck Leo Knut and his stupid reflexes, and his stupid flexible legs, and his stupidly pretty blue eyes, and his annoyingly gorgeous curls that he shook out every time he took off his helmet, and-

Logan’s brain finally caught up to what Knut had said, and he huffed. “Non.”

Knut raised his eyebrows playfully. “Non? Tu ne veux pas baiser?”

Logan sucked in a sharp breath. Fuck Leo Knut and his stupid, dirty, strange-sounding French mouth. “You-”

“Speak French, too, honey.” Knut jerked his head. “Face off.”

Logan blinked hard, and turned around to find O’Hara waiting at the dot. Finn O’Hara with his stupid brown eyes, and red hair, and gorgeous puck handling, and mischievous grin-

A whistle blew, and Logan groaned as he lost the face off, chasing after the 17 on O’Hara’s jersey.

***

Logan let out a yelp as he tripped over a stick, flying on his back right into the Lions’ goal. Leo Knut fell on him with a grunt, Logan holding up his hands to soften the impact, even if it made a minimal difference with a strong, tall body colliding with his. Really, it didn’t do much- it just had him that much more trapped under Knut’s watchful gaze.

After recovering for a moment, Knut barked out a twinkly laugh. “Gotta say, Tremblay,” he said in that strange French of his. “You don’t look that bad underneath me.”

Logan grinded his teeth against his mouthguard. “Knut,” he attempted to growl, but it really came out as a groan. “Are you alright?”

Leo’s eyes were mischievous. “Well, I’ve got a nice view, that’s for sure.”

Logan went to retort, but the moment was interrupted by a hand grabbing the back of his jersey. “Up you go, Tremblay.”

Oh God, Logan could not handle Finn O’Hara right now. “You-”

“Yeah, yeah, my bad, sorry my stick wiped the floor with you.” He winked. “You do look nice and pretty on the floor, though.” Finn- O’Hara, Logan’s mind supplied- paid no mind to Logan’s choking sound and went to help Leo- Knut, what was up with him- up. “Okay, Le?”

Logan didn’t know for sure, but he swore he saw Knut’s gaze soften. “All good, Fish. Just surprised me.”

“Oh-ho, that Tremblay is full of surprises.” He turned around and tapped Logan’s butt with his stick. “C’mon, Trelembalaylay, we’re both off to the box. They gave you two minutes for goalie interference, chop chop.”

Logan let out a frustrated sound (he didn’t mean to crash into Knut) and tried to will away the blush that rose when O’Hara winked at him. 

***

He saw them walking through Central Park on a chilly October afternoon. At first, he didn’t realize it was them, but he slowed down his running pace to get a better look. O’Hara had his arm over Knut’s shoulder and was pointing to something on the ground. Knut made a confused face, then laughed when O’Hara bent down to pick something from the grass to hand to him. It was a four-leaf cover. Knut threw his head back and laughed (and Logan certainly didn’t look at the sharp angle of his jaw). He craned his neck down so that his and O’Hara’s noses were almost touching, their smiles wide in the golden afternoon light. Logan’s own eyes widened, suddenly feeling as though he was intruding, when O’Hara spotted him and waved. Knut looked, too, confused for a moment, then broke out into a smile. They both started to walk over.

“Logan,” O’Hara said by way of greeting, freckles stark against his pale skin.

Logan nodded. “O’Hara, Knut.”

Knut snorted. “Please, you’ve played us enough times to be less formal.” His gaze softened, and goddamn did his curls look like golden silk. “It’s Leo.”

“And Finn!”

“Yes, and Finn.” 

“Désolé,” Logan said. 

Leo shook his head. “It’s alright.” He looked at Finn briefly, then back at Logan. “You ready for the game tomorrow?”

Logan blinked. “Uh, ouais.”

Finn cocked his head, amused. “Good run?”

“Ouais.”

Now Finn’s eyes were mirthful. “You aren’t usually this quiet.”

“Oh,” Logan laughed nervously. “Guess I’ve- comment dit-on-” He waved his hand. “Got a lot on my mind?” Like blue eyes, and freckles, and capable hands, and lean backs, and-

“I get it,” Finn said. Logan swore he saw his pinky finger brush Leo’s. “I run a lot, too.” He jabbed his fingers into Leo’s waist. “Sometimes this one accompanies me.”

Leo flinched away with a laugh and slapped Finn’s hand playfully. Logan watched the movement with careful eyes, and didn’t miss the way Leo blushed when he looked back up at him. “Only if he promises to buy me a pastry after.”

That perked Logan up. “I like pastries,” he said, then felt immediately stupid.

But Finn just studied him carefully, kindly. He dedicated his full attention to most things, Logan realized. “Yeah?”

“Ouais, je-” He swallowed, then started again. “I, um, I really like this place in the village. Foli-”

“Foligno’s, yeah,” Finn added. He looked slightly embarrassed that he’d interrupted. His ears turned bright red. “Uh, sorry, that was- I used to go there a lot, when I was a kid. With my brother.”

Logan licked his lips. “Alex.”

“Yeah.”

Alex O’Hara had been traded back to the Rangers from Tampa about two weeks ago. Logan had almost had a heart attack when he first walked into the locker room, thinking he was Finn. And then he had felt even more ashamed when he had hopefully looked for Leo coming behind him. 

Logan tilted his head. “You’re from here.”

That got a real O’Hara grin, crinkled freckles and all. “Born and raised. I’ve got an apartment still, so that’s where Le and I stay when we play here. We’ve got a day off Sunday, so we’re gonna fly back on Monday morning.”

Logan did the quick math. Today was Friday. The Lions flew in today and must have had a practice, and would have morning skate before the matinee game tomorrow. Then, for one whole day, Finn, Leo, and himself would have nothing to do and would be in the same city. Logan looked at Finn’s smile and Leo’s gentle eyes and tried not to let himself get hopeful. 

“That must be nice,” he said. “Are your parents coming?”

Finn nodded. “Yeah. We’re actually on our way to get dinner with them now. They’re coming to the game tomorrow, too, but have a wedding on Sunday, so we won’t see them after.”

Logan nodded. He flicked his gaze over to Leo, who was watching something that was akin to amusement. “And you’re not from here. From the South.”

“New Orleans,” Leo said with a fond look. “Not exactly a hockey hub, but I made it work.”

Logan nodded quickly. “You definitely did, you’re-” He realized he was bouncing on his toes and settled back onto his feet, crossing his arms. “You’re really good.”

“Aw, thanks.”

“You speak strange French, though.” 

That got both Leo and Finn to laugh. Leo’s curls bounced against his forehead, which was entirely too distracting. “Well, you do, too.”

Logan grinned. “Ouais, I do.” 

He felt his watch buzz with a text. It was from Luke. Where are you? At Sally’s. 

“Merde,” he cursed. “I- I have to go, my friend- we’re getting burgers.”

Leo hummed. “Yeah, we’ve got supper with Finn’s family.” He directed that perfect Southern accent and charm Logan’s way. “See you tomorrow?”

“Ouais,” Logan said. He suddenly felt breathless. “Oui, ouais, I’ll- see you tomorrow.”

Finn raised his hand in a wave. “Bye, Logan.”

“Bye.”

And as he jogged away, trying to run and text Luke at the same time, he couldn’t help but look back. Leo and Finn were walking in the opposite direction, the sun gleaming perfectly off their hair. They were laughing, and holding hands, and when Finn leaned in to kiss Leo’s cheek Logan had the sudden feeling that he was standing on the edge of a cliff. He ignored the growing warmth in his stomach, took a deep breath, and pounded his feet against the pavement.

***

One more comment from Leo Knut and Logan was going to throw his stick at a wall. 

“Focus,” Logan mumbled to himself. “Allez, focus.”

“What?” Will Morgan asked from beside him in the locker room.

“Nothing,” Logan said, shaking his head. “Just distracted.”

From Will’s other side, Percy snorted. “I’ll bet. That Knut has been chirping you all game.”

 “He always does,” Will commented. “It’s like he knows how to press your buttons.” 

Alex O’Hara snorted. “Maybe not yours,” he whispered, low enough so just Logan could hear. “But certainly my baby brother’s. The clingy fucks.”

Logan whipped his head around, a question on the tip of his tongue. “Alex, they’re-?”

Alex nodded minutely, busy adjusting his skates to go out for the third period. They were tied, 1-1. “Yeah,” he said. His eyes flicked up to Percy and Will, who were distracted by talking about something with their goalie, Saint, then caught Logan’s eye again. “They told me last night they thought you knew. Or, figured it out.”

Logan licked his lips. “I didn’t- I mean- I thought I saw something, ouais.”

Alex raised his eyebrows. “A kiss in the park.”

Logan let out a laugh. “Do you tell each other everything?”

Alex smiled. “Almost, yeah.” He sat up. “It’s not- it’s not impossible, you know. Three people.”

Logan blinked hard. “What?”

Alex looked at him carefully. “My boyfriend’s on the Lions. And my girlfriend, well- we all met when I last was playing for New York. He was the goalie here. Then they started dating, then he got traded to Gryff, and then last year, during the Lions’ Cup run, we all- yeah.”

Logan’s eyes widened. “Kasey Winter?”

Alex nodded. He was fiddling with the pendant necklace he wore all the time. “And Natalia Darcy. Well, Natalie, but she’s Natalia to me.”

Logan huffed in amusement. “You and Finn are both so…”

“Weird?” When Logan nodded sheepishly, Alex laughed. “Our partners say the same thing, don’t worry.”

Logan felt like the elephant was back in the room. Being gay in the NHL was new, but not unheard of, not since Sirius Black and Remus Lupin from the Lions had started dating last season. He glanced around nervously. They only had a few minutes left of intermission, and he needed to know. “How long have Finn and Leo been…?”

“Since June,” Alex said. “After the Cup win it all- came to a head, so to speak. But they loved each other long before that. I swear Finn was in love with Leo the day he stepped into his apartment at the beginning of last season.” Alex pulled his jersey back on. “Honestly, can’t blame him. That Leo is a firecracker with the face of a prince, that’s for sure.”

“Ouais,” Logan said thoughtfully, pulling on his own jersey.

“As Finn always says, every prince needs a jester. Or a bard, something like that. He just loves Leo a lot.” He went silent for a moment, then looked at Logan carefully. “And every prince and jester need a knight.”

Logan furrowed his eyebrows. “What?”

Alex just shrugged. “Don’t know, sometimes the words just come to me.” He stood and slapped Logan’s shoulder. “C’mon, Tremblay. Gotta whoop my baby brother’s and my boyfriend’s ass, let’s go.” 

Logan stayed in his stall for a moment, confused beyond measure, before standing and coming at his coach’s call.

***

“Nice hair there, Rapunzel.”

“You looked so pretty pressed up against the boards down there.”

“Take that fire you got to bed, sweetheart.”

“You know, you can keep coming back into my crease if you want. I like seeing your pretty eyes.”

At the last comment, Logan stopped hard in front of Leo’s crease, spraying him with a layer of snow. He hated that it made Leo’s blue eyes look stark and beautiful.

“Stop that,” he growled in French, leaning in. He tapped Leo with his stick, and for the first time, Leo’s gaze went unsure, dark, and a little challenging. “Stop distracting me.”

The next thing he knew, a body was up against his and hands were shoving at his back. “Fucking watch it, seventy-one.” 

Logan spun and faced Finn. “The hell was that for?”

“Stop fucking touching my goalie.” Finn shoved past him and went to Leo. “Le, baby, you-” He stopped, looking at Logan with wide eyes. “I-”

Logan rolled his eyes. “I don’t care, O’Hara.”

Finn rounded on him again. “The fuck is that tone? You got a problem?”

Logan tried to will the heat pooling in his hips away when he caught sight of Finn’s intense, sweaty face. “Non.”

“You sure?”

“Yes,” Logan spat. He glared at Leo, who was now standing. If he was tall in real life, he was a giant on skates. “But stop fucking distracting me.”

“What, can’t take a little chirping?”

Leo winced. “Finn-”

“No, uh-uh, I don’t care.” Finn gripped the front of Logan’s jersey. “You don’t touch my goalie.”

“He’s just your goalie?”

Finn looked like Logan had slapped him. His grip loosened on Logan’s jersey. Logan used it to get leverage, gripping Finn’s back and drawing their faces together.

“I don’t fucking care,” Logan snarled. “I really don’t. But he needs to stop trying to distract me.”

Logan swore he saw Finn’s eyes dart to his lips before meeting his own gaze. “You know what your problem is, Tremblay?”

“What?”

“You can yell at us both all you fucking want,” Finn said lowly, dangerously. “But you still look fucking gorgeous when you pretend to be angry.”

At that moment, the refs finally decided to break them apart, and Logan was left reeling from Finn’s intense gaze, the heat of his breath. He was breathing shakily as he was led back to the bench by Luke, his eyes fixed on Finn’s strong frame and Leo’s slightly anxious eyes. 

Luke gave him a nudge. “What the hell happened?”

Logan turned to look at him, his neck tendons straining as his jaw clenched. “I-” He shook his head, the words lost. He watched as Finn went back to his own bench, but not before flashing Logan a look he couldn’t comprehend. He took a trembling breath. “I really don’t fucking know.”

And when they lost, 2-1 on a beauty of a wrist shot by Finn O’Hara, all Logan could see was Alex’s meaningful look as they sat next to each other in the locker room. Logan stared back, biting the inside of his cheek, before standing with a grunt and stomping his way to the showers.

***

An hour and a half later saw him at a bar nursing a shitty beer, his teammates laughing and joking around him. Though they had lost, they decided to take advantage of the matinee game and were all out for an early drink. Logan figured they’d order burgers or something here to eat, then he could make his escape to go and seethe by himself. It seemed appropriate, given the game he had just had.

“Dude,” Percy said. “What is up, man, you’re fucking out of it today.”

Logan let out a frustrated breath. “O’Hara. Knut. Fucking in my face.”

Percy made eye contact with Will and smiled mischievously. “You mean, the two hotshot Lions who have definitely been flirting with you since last season?”

Logan scoffed. “No they have not.”

Will shrugged and took a sip of his own beer. “Maybe not together, like they do now sometimes, but separately, for sure. You always lose your cool when we play Gryff.”

“Hey,” Percy said, clapping Logan on the shoulder. “If I swung that way, I’d go for them, too.”

Will slapped him upside the back of the head. “Dude. So not smooth.” He sighed and looked at Logan again, face serious. “What Percy meant to say is… it is okay. If you swing that way.”

Percy nodded quickly. “Any way. Or all ways.”

Logan felt his face heat. “I- thank you, I- but I’ve never- not with a- you know.”

Will examined his face for a moment. “Don’t have to kiss a boy to know you like them.”

“Yeah,” Percy agreed. “I mean, I knew I liked girls way before I kissed them.”

Will snorted. “You’ve kissed, like, four.”

Percy stuck his tongue out. “I’m just waiting for the right one. Like-”

“Cassie Baker, we know, oh my God.” Will knocked the rest of his beer back. “I’m so thankful I married young, you’re so pathetic.”

“Hey!”

Logan slapped them each on the shoulder. “I’m going to get a rum and coke. This beer’s shit.”

Will patted his back as he walked past. When he arrived at the bar, Alex was leaning against the wood, chatting with the bartender. He looked so freakishly like Finn it made Logan’s stomach do a weird summersault.

“Oh hey,” Alex said with a smile. “Come for something sweeter?”

“How did you know?” Logan asked, surprised.

“Heard from a little birdie that you like pastries. Put that together with all the candy you sneak in, and I made an assumption.” He waved a hand up and down Logan’s body. “I don’t know how you get away eating so much shit and still end up looking like that. Un-fucking-fair.”

That made Logan laugh. “Ouais, I- I’ve just always been like that.” He quickly hailed the bartender and ordered his drink.

“Hm.” Alex played with a napkin for a minute before looking cautiously up at Logan. “So,” he said. “My brother and you got in a scuffle.”

Logan tried to act casual, but he knew his cheeks were flaming. “It’s just… you know, on the ice. Nothing personal.”

Alex cocked his head. “Does the ice have to not be personal?” But Logan didn’t have a chance to answer, because Alex caught sight of someone in the bar and his entire body softened. “Hey.”

“Hi,” Kasey Winter said, sidling up to Alex’s side to press a quick kiss to his lips. He wrapped a large hand around Alex’s waist. “Good game.”

“Thank you.” Alex leaned in for one more soft kiss, hand covering Kasey’s, before he turned back to Logan. “Logan, this is Kasey. Kase, this is Mr. Hot Head Shortie Pants.”

Logan balked a bit at the name, but Kasey just laughed and patted Alex’s hip. “You’re so weird.” He held out a hand for Logan to shake. “Nice to officially meet you.”

“You, too.” Logan cleared his throat. He accepted his drink with a thanks, then turned back to the two other men. “How is your thigh?”

That made Kasey look almost pleasantly surprised. “Hanging in there. For now. Thank goodness I’ve got Leo, it’s really nice to be able to evenly switch out starts and stuff.”

Logan choked a little on his drink. He ignored Alex’s raised eyebrows. “Uh, ouais, yeah, Leo’s- Knut’s good.”

Kasey had a small, amused smile on his face. “He is.” He bumped his hips with Alex’s. “Want to go say hi to some of the guys? Thomas has been talking about playing foosball with you all day.”

“Oh boy.” Alex’s grin was wide as he ducked his forehead closer to Kasey’s. “Can’t pass off that invitation.” He nodded to Logan. “If you’ll excuse me, Mr. Frenchie, I’ve got boyfriend duties to attend to.” 

“Have fun,” Logan said, raising his glass. 

He moved to a quieter end of the bar, resting his hip against the wood. It wasn’t too rowdy, and it was mostly the Rangers and the Lions filling the space. Logan spotted a few he recognized- Dumais, Lupin, Black, Walker. He tried to stop the hard beating in his chest and pressed a hand over his heart. Just because their teammates were here didn’t mean they-

“Salut.”

Logan choked on a sip of his drink as Leo Knut stepped in front of him. He swallowed, coughed, and looked up at him and his striking blue eyes. “Salut.”

Leo’s face was a bit scrunched. Logan had the sudden urge to reach up and smooth the worried crease between his eyebrows.

“I’m sorry,” Leo said in French. “For saying all those things to you. That was too much.”

“Non,” Logan said, shaking his head. “Non, I’m sorry for speaking to you that way. That wasn’t fair.” He let out a humored breath. “It’s just a game.”

Leo didn’t answer right away, just bit the inside of his cheek and nodded. His eyes gave Logan a once over- they were so blue against his blonde hair and black sweater. “Yeah,” he finally said. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Le, baby.” Logan’s heart gave a little jerk as Finn approached, his fingers shifting to discreetly fiddle with Leo’s. He flashed his eyes to Logan. “Logan.” He looked back up to Leo. “Good?”

Leo nodded, his eyes still anxious. “Good.”

Finn nodded, gaze lingering on the still-present furrow of Leo’s eyebrows, before he turned to Logan. “I’m here to apologize. I said some out-of-line stuff.”

“Me, too,” Logan said. He swiped a finger through the condensation on his glass. His breathing was a bit jagged. “Those comments I made- I’m sorry, I really don’t care if you’re together.” His eyes widened, and he looked between the two of them. “Non- non, that’s not- I meant, I do care that you’re together, but not in a- je, c’est-” He groaned, letting out a heavy breath. “I’m sorry.”

“No.” Leo nudged Logan’s shoe with his own. His eyes were slightly amused now. “No, it’s okay. We get it. Thank you.”

Logan nodded slowly, meeting Leo’s eyes. They were still a striking blue, but softer now, gentle. Logan almost didn’t want to admit how easily they were reading him. 

“How-” he started, then cleared his throat. “How did you know?”

Finn cocked his head. His brown eyes were so focused it made Logan’s heart pick up. “What?”

Logan licked his lips. “That it was okay. To be… you know, in the league.”

Finn laced his fingers with Leo’s, then took a step closer to Logan. “Are you… Logan.”

Logan suddenly felt too warm. He looked at their hands, then up at Finn’s face, which was closer now. His eyes flashed down to Finn’s lips, red and wet and inviting, then to Leo’s face, his own perfect Cupid’s bow parted. He sucked in a sharp breath.

“Merde,” he swore. “Shit, I-” 

Then he looked between the two of them once more, breathing heavy, and spun on his heel down the hallway behind him.

***

The room he found was unlit save for the warm hallway lights shining through the windows. There was a pool table at one end and dining tables with chairs flipped upside on top of them on the other. Logan guessed that it was an event room. He probably shouldn’t be there. 

He closed the door probably too harshly behind him and stumbled his way in. He didn’t feel drunk, but he needed to lean his hands against the pool table anyway. His chest was heaving against the fabric of his shirt.

“Merde,” he whispered, pressing his hand over his chest. “Oh, fuck.”

He let out a whimpering sound and pressed his forehead into his hands, elbows against the soft green table cover. His head ached. He felt his pulse at his temples, and he was sure that he couldn’t go back out there. Not while they were-

The door clicked open behind him. Two sets of footsteps followed. Logan cursed again. “I can’t-”

But then there was a warm palm at his back and he felt his body shudder. “Logan.”

Logan turned to face him. Finn’s eyes were concerned, his mouth turned downwards in a way that Logan somehow knew meant he was really upset. His broad shoulders and lean waist were almost pressed against Logan’s. His hand had moved with Logan’s body and was now resting on his ribs. Logan felt a sharp burst of desperation and confusion work its way up his throat. He let out what he meant to be a grunt, but was more of a groan. “What do you want?”

“You.”

It wasn’t Finn who had answered. Logan’s heart stopped as he jerked his head to look at Leo. He had stayed in the doorway, but was making his way over slowly now, blue eyes pinning Logan in place. He stopped just beside Finn, close enough that Logan could reach out and cup his jaw and-

“We want you.” 

Logan suddenly felt angry. “For what? So you can just-”

“No, not like that,” Leo said firmly. His gaze was somehow challenging and loving and Logan was so gone. “For real.”

“Quoi? Why?”

“How could we not?” Finn whispered lowly. He bent his head so their foreheads were almost touching, his mouth by Logan’s ear. “With that fire you got in you, with those hands on the ice.” Logan felt his smile brush the shell of his ear. “Your sweet tooth.”

Logan let out a soft sound and closed his eyes. “Finn.”

“You’re so gorgeous, baby.” Finn made a pleased sound at Logan’s shaky intake of breath. “So gorgeous all the time. Your smile, your laugh. The way you shake out your hair before you put a helmet back on. The way you pretend you’re so tough, when all you want is for someone to touch you gently.” Finn pressed his nose into Logan’s hair. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

Logan’s eyes fluttered behind his eyelids. Now that he was thinking about it, his life had been wrapped up in Leo and Finn long before this. First, him and Finn getting drafted a year apart, meeting on the ice, on nights out, at the All Stars. Polite interactions on the ice, in a bar, watching as Finn made everyone around him laugh and smile. And then Leo, joining last year. He and Finn were instantly inseparable. The Lions social media had a field day with it. But Logan watched them more carefully, though he loathed to admit it. He saw the way Leo was gentle, kind, how he always listened intently. They, too, had crossed paths in bars after games. He always had an arm around someone, always had a good thing to say to Logan after they played each other, even if it had been brutal and rough on the ice. But Logan also knew he got cold easily. Every time he saw him, he always had a sweater on, even on a spring night. 

And Finn and Leo both, Logan realized, only sought him out. They said a polite hi to the other Rangers, maybe talked a little more with Alex, but mostly they went to Logan. Always Logan. Always a warm hand to shake, always a smile when they ran into each other on their pre-game runs in whatever stadium they were playing, a slap on the back in the dim lights of a pub when they saw each other after a game, even amidst that competitive second round of the playoffs the year previous. 

Maybe, Logan thought, they had always been waiting for each other. Even when they didn’t know it.

He realized he hadn’t answered Finn’s challenge, and Finn was starting to pull away, a bit tense against Logan’s body. “Non,” Logan said. He reached both hands out, placing them on the dip of Finn’s waist. He pulled his head back to meet Finn’s eyes, their noses brushing. Finn’s pupils were dark and blown. “You’re not wrong.”

Logan only had a moment to breathe before Finn was kissing him. 

He let out a soft sound against Finn’s mouth. Oh, Finn O’Hara could kiss. He kissed with his entire body, with his entire being, both hands clutching hard at Logan’s hips and kneading the skin. Logan moved his hands upwards, one around Finn’s back, one in those thick red waves. Finn’s lips pressed harder against his, his movement precise in taking Logan apart as he coaxed his mouth open with his tongue. 

“Finn,” Logan whimpered. 

“Fuck, baby,” Finn said, and grinned against Logan’s lips at the wanting sound he made. He began to kiss down Logan’s neck. “You’re so gorgeous.”

Logan hung his head back, inviting Finn to continue pressing those biting kisses to his skin. There was a sharp nip of his teeth, a soft brush of his tongue. Logan felt himself floating higher, higher, his head dizzy, his eyes closed. A third hand on him made him let out a noise, eyes flashing open. “Leo.”

Leo was there, one hand on Logan, another on Finn, watching them carefully. His strong chest was heaving in the dim light, his curls reflecting the warmth. He flashed his eyes to where Finn was still kissing Logan’s neck, then met Logan’s gaze. “Lo, sweetheart.”

Logan whined, then Finn was kissing his mouth again. “Finn,” he gasped against Finn’s lips. “Leo, Leo, Leo, kiss me.”

Finn stepped back and then Leo was there, cupping Logan’s jaw and bringing their lips together. His palms were large and warm. He brought one to grip Logan’s waist and leaned further over him. It moved down Logan’s body, and he arched into the touch, letting himself fall backwards against the pool table as Leo hitched his thigh around his waist. 

“Fuck,” Leo whispered. “Logan.”

“Please.” Logan didn’t even know what he was asking for. He was shaking. “Please.”

Leo’s chest brushed his own and Logan clenched his knee against Leo’s lean hips. He squirmed under the attention, heat working its way up his spine as he pressed himself upwards. He tugged Leo’s soft curls with one hand, pushing his other under Leo’s T-shirt to dig his fingers into his bare, strong back. Leo smiled and let out a pleased sound before dragging his teeth gently over Logan’s lip. It drove Logan crazy.

“Fuck,” Finn whispered, then his lips were on Logan’s jaw, his hand covering Leo’s on Logan’s waist. “You two.”

Logan knew that if he didn’t stop them now, he wouldn’t ever. He’d have them right on this pool table and then he’d never leave. Not now that he knew what their skin felt like. Not now that he knew how they kissed. Not now that he knew how they wanted him. 

“Attendez,” he gasped. “Wait, ouais, wait, I-” He let out a moan when Leo captured his lips in one last kiss and Finn sucked a bruise under his jaw. “Merde.”

Leo finally pulled back, laughing softly against Logan’s mouth. “Oh God.” He pressed their foreheads together. “Shit, okay, we have to stop.” His blue eyes, when they met Logan’s, were bright and playful, slightly glazed over with a hint of arousal. “God, you’re beautiful.”

Logan was stunned. “I- you-” he stuttered.

That made Finn giggle slightly into the hinge of his jaw. “Oh my.” He sounded a bit giddy. “Fuck, we’ve been waiting forever to do that.” He took a step back and kissed Leo’s cheek, then cupped Leo’s hips. “Up you get.”

Leo let out a strained sound as he pushed himself to stand, then held out a hand for Logan. Logan took it and sat up, reaching out to pull Leo’s shirt down where he had shucked it up. “Sorry.”

Leo snorted. “Don’t even think about that, Tremblay.” He squeezed Logan’s fingers. “That was the hottest thing ever.”

“Damn fucking right.”

Logan felt his cheeks flush and he bit his lip around his smile. “Ouais.”

They let the moment hang in the air for a moment, smiling at each other, before Finn stepped in between Logan's legs. He cupped Logan’s cheeks, gentle and less desperate outside the heat of the moment, and kissed him quickly. “Seriously, though. Go on a date with us?”

Logan looked up at him through his lashes, admiring the way Finn looked at him. “Really?”

“Yes, really,” Leo said. He still hadn’t let go of Logan’s hand. He brought it up to his mouth and kissed the back of it. “Please?”

And how could Logan refuse those blue eyes, peeking out at him through those silky curls? He brought Leo’s hand to his own mouth now and pressed his lips gently to his fingers. He felt energized and calm all at once. “Oui.”

The grin Finn gave him was all teeth. “Really?”

“Ouais.”

“Really?”

Logan laughed. “Yes.”

Finn made some sort of happy, growling noise, unable to contain himself, and wrapped his arms tightly around Logan’s waist, lifting him off the table. Leo was looking fondly at them, smiling with his tongue poking through his teeth. Logan laughed as Finn let out a happy shout.

“Yes, yes, yes, fuck yes!” He set Logan down and began to press kisses all over his cheek. “Oh my God, thank fuck, we were so worried you’d say no, but we couldn’t wait any longer, you’re just so-”

Logan cut him off with a burst of happy kisses, Finn immediately relaxing under his hands. He pulled away and smiled. He felt light. “Of course I said yes.”

Finn was almost vibrating. He turned to Leo with a ridiculous grin on his face. “Le.”

“Oh God,” Leo laughed. He brushed Finn’s cheek with the back of his fingers, then did the same to Logan. He towered over Logan, but not in an intimidating way. Logan kind of wanted to ask him to lie down on the pool table and cover Logan’s body with his own, just to feel the weight of him. “Look what you’ve done.”

Finn gripped Leo’s chin between his thumb and forefinger and kissed him hard. “We fucking did it.” He turned back to Logan, bouncing on his toes. “Come over for dinner?”

“Finn!” 

“What?” Finn turned to look at Leo, who was laughing and shaking his head fondly. “What? We’re here for another full day, my parents leave for the wedding tonight, so we won’t see them, and it’s almost dinner time.” He let out a gasp and tapped a hand against Leo’s chest repeatedly. “You left stew in the crockpot, and you got that bread, we could go back to ours and eat-”

“Okay.” Leo cupped Finn’s face and kissed him slowly. Logan felt something warm settle in the pit of his stomach, watching them. “Okay, we can do that.” He looked down at Logan. “You like stew? Wanna come over for dinner?”

Logan nodded, smiling softly. “Ouais.” An anxious thought unfolded itself in the back of his mind. “But…”

Finn gripped Logan’s hips more insistently. “What? What’s wrong, what?”

Logan shook his head. “Nothing, I just-” He took a deep breath and met their eyes. “After dinner. I’ve never- not with a…” He swallowed. “A boy.”

“Oh.” Finn’s shoulders sagged in relief and he smiled. “Oh, baby, that’s okay.” He kissed Logan’s forehead. “We don’t have to. We probably shouldn’t, actually, should probably talk and stuff first.” 

“Yeah,” Leo said. He, too, kissed Logan’s forehead, and Logan preened under the attention. Leo smiled down at him and took Logan’s hands. “It’s okay. Finn hadn’t either, before we got together, and he did just fine.”

“Well, I had a good teacher. And we practice a lot.”

Leo rolled his eyes, but he was blushing. “Well,” he said finally. “Yes, we do.” He squeezed Logan’s fingers. “But we don’t have to do anything. Not until you’re ready, okay? This is gonna be a lot, for all of us. We need to talk, get to know each other better. You can even stay over. We've got the whole day tomorrow.” He paused and lifted one hand to brush a thumb over Logan's lip. “But we don't have to do anything.”

“But when we do,” Finn said, eyes bright and kind. “It’ll be so good, ‘cause it’s with you.” He kissed Logan softly. “And then it’s gonna be a problem, because we’re not gonna want to stop.”

“Finn.”

“What? Look at him, Le.” Finn waggled his eyebrows. “Look how gorgeous.”

Logan felt like he was basking in the sun under their attention. Leo seemed to notice, and kissed his warm cheek. “Ouais. Si beau.”

“Oh, c’mon. I can’t have two Frenchies ganging up on me now, that’s not fair!”

Leo threw his head back and laughed. He wrapped his long arms around them both, and Logan placed a hand on his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart. They were warm against him and so beautiful Logan almost didn’t know what to do with himself. He sank into the feeling and tucked his head against Leo’s chest. He felt Finn rest his head on top of his hair and let out a content sigh.

“Allez,” Logan said. “I’m starving.” He looked up at Leo. “Stew?”

“Yeah,” Leo nodded, pressing a lingering kiss to Logan’s forehead, then Finn’s. “Stew.”

***

Seven months later

“Welcome to your new home, Trelembalaylay. Hope it meets your expectations.”

Logan turned around and wrapped his arms around Finn’s neck, tugging at the base of his hair. “Does it have you in it?”

“Sure does.”

“Mm.” Logan stood on his toes to kiss him through a smile. “Then I think I’ll be fine.”

Finn made a happy sound. “You sure you’re not gonna miss that old dusty apartment of yours?”

Logan smacked the back of his head. “It was not.”

“Yeah-huh. Last time you went there was, like two months ago. It was dusty today, baby.”

“Good thing I’m not living there anymore, eh?”

Finn kissed him again. “Good thing.” He wrapped Logan up in a hug and tucked his nose into Logan’s neck. “It’s gonna be nice, having you live here. Even if we’re apart during the season. Like the thought of having you in my home.” He kissed Logan’s neck. “Our home.”

“Ouais, mon rouge.” Logan kissed Finn’s neck back. “Our home.” He pulled back to look at Finn’s face, slightly burnt across his nose from the June sun. “When are we moving some of my stuff to Gryff again?”

Finn shrugged. “Dunno. Might not be until after we get back from New Orleans. We’ve got Alex’s engagement party next week, then mom and dad’s thirty-fifth anniversary the week after, then we go down to Louisiana.” He kissed Logan quickly. “Might be nice just to chill all together here for a while. Plus, Leo loves the bakery down the street.”

Logan laughed. “Ouais, he does.” He absentmindedly ran his hands through Finn’s hair. “He’s excited to go down to New Orleans.”

Leo had been bouncing on his toes when he brought the idea up in April. He and Logan had been FaceTiming while Leo made breakfast one morning, Finn out for a run. He had looked so good, bare back lean and strong in the morning light filtering in through the kitchen windows of his and Finn’s Gryffindor apartment. Logan was in Finn’s apartment in New York, practically moved in at that point, even if not officially. Eloise and Wyatt had just been up for a brief visit for one of Wyatt’s work trips, which coincidentally coincided to a day when the Rangers played the Lions in Gryffindor. The Knuts had gone out to dinner with Logan, Finn, Leo, Kasey, Alex, and Natalie, and had vaguely brought up the idea of Leo bringing Finn and Logan home for a few weeks of training in New Orleans. Leo had been rambling about it and scrambling eggs while Logan watched him fondly through the screen.

“I could take you out to the cove, Finn loves the cove. I think you would, too. And you’ll get all nice and tan, you and your muscles, which already drive me crazy, you know.” Leo bit into a piece of bacon. “And my parents obviously love you both so much. My mother couldn’t stop raving about how handsome you were when you met her at Christmas, honestly, and she was so happy sitting between you and Finn at dinner the other day.”

Logan had smiled at the memory. After dinner, when they were all saying goodbye, Eloise had drawn him into a hug that lasted long enough for Logan to relax into it. Her arms were strong and warm, just like her son’s.

 “You make my Leo so happy,” she had whispered. “You and Finn both. He loves you so much.” She had kissed his cheek. “You’re his family, sweetheart, so you’re ours. We are so lucky to have you.”

Logan had had to try really hard to blink back the tears in his eyes as he pressed his cheek into her shoulder.

Now, in their New York apartment, wrapped in Finn’s arms, Logan felt more settled than he had in a long time. Family. 

He looked around the apartment, then back up at Finn. “Where’s Le?”

Finn looked around, too. “Dunno?”

Logan spun in Finn’s arms, his back to Finn’s chest. “Soleil?”

“In here!” Leo emerged from their bedroom. He was smiling with a stack of empty boxes in his hands. “I unpacked all your clothes for here, honey, and organized them.” 

Logan narrowed his eyes playfully. “I know what you’re doing.”

Leo shrugged innocently and set the boxes down in the entryway. “It’s probably futile. I’ll still find your socks in the dishwasher or something, I swear.” He stood and smiled at them both, stepping into their space to cup Logan’s hips. “Hi.” 

“Salut.” Logan cupped the back of Leo’s head with one hand and stood on his toes to kiss him. “Merci. For unpacking. That was really fast.”

“Yeah,” Finn agreed, leaning over Logan’s shoulder for a kiss of his own from Leo. “How the hell did you do that?”

“Magic,” Leo teased. He made a happy noise and bent to kiss Logan’s neck in a burst. “I’m so happy you’re here.”

“I’m here all the time.”

“Yeah, but officially officially here. Moved in. Forever.” Leo nudged their noses together. “It’s exciting.”

Logan smiled. “Je t'aime.”

Leo kissed him once, happy. “I love you.”

“Hey, what am I, chopped liver?”

Leo stood up straight and rolled his eyes playfully at Finn. “You know you’re not.” He shifted a bit to stand at their sides and drew Finn in for a long kiss. “I love you.”

Finn smiled. “I love you.” He wrapped Logan up tighter and bit his shoulder. “And I love you. I get two boyfriends, I’m so lucky.” 

“Hm.” Leo pushed Finn’s hair back from his forehead, then Logan’s. Logan loved when he did that- his fingers were always so gentle. “Lucky you.” He ducked to kiss them each one last time, then clapped his hands. “Okay. Next, we’ve got to make sense of the miscellaneous box. Honestly, Lo, I don’t know what to do with all those nutcrackers you collect, there’s so many of them.”

Finn barked out a laugh. “Oh, baby,” he said, walking him and Logan forward to follow Leo into the bedroom. “Welcome home.”

Logan hummed, reaching back to scratch a hand through Finn’s hair as they watched Leo mutter to himself, sorting through Logan’s, admittedly, extensive collection of nutcrackers. “Home.”

“Home.”

“Seriously, Lo, I think we might have to box these up and use them to decorate for Christmas, I don’t know what else to do with them.” A pause. “Oh! Hey, I was looking for this photo!” He held up a small picture of the three of them at All Stars, dressed up in their suits. It was the first big public event they went to together. Leo had printed it out and pinned it to the fridge.

“Oh, ouais,” Logan said. “I took that with me on a long roadie. Guess I forgot to give it back.”

Leo shook his head, standing. He was still looking fondly at the photo. “Don’t worry.” He smiled at them both. “I got the real thing right in front of me. So it’s okay.”

Logan felt himself melt into Finn’s arms. “Ouais. Ouais, it’s okay.” He let out a sigh. “I love you so much.”

Finn kissed his neck. “Forever, Tremblay. Don’t you forget that.”

“So, Will, now that we’ve covered the gametime questions…”

“Uh-oh,” Will joked.

They ate it up, chuckling like he was the world’s most mediocre comedian. The man in the front collected himself and set his notepad in his lap. “About O’Hara and Tremblay.”

“Good guys,” he agreed.

“I’m sure you’ve seen the news.”

Will gave him a mild look. Ask, he thought, and all your questions will get a zero-sum answer.

“About their relationship,” the reporter elaborated. His pen was poised. “With Leo Knut, the rookie goalie?”

“I’m not sure you can call Knut a rookie with that record of his.”

“Well,” the man said. Will didn’t like his tone. “You have to admit, the kid’s young.”

“Hockey doesn’t favor the old.”

“Did you know?”

“Yeah, that’s why I started right out of college. Gave my knees a fighting chance.”

Laughter rippled through the rows of folding chairs. Will gave a placid smile and looked for the next hand.

“Did you know about O’Hara and Tremblay? You were on their team at Harvard. Their captain, if memory serves.”

The moment passed with a whiff of air and the tang of gasoline. Damn. Will liked nothing more than a smooth exit. “I wasn’t aware of their relationship until the end of this year,” he said. “As far as I know, it’s still pretty new.”

“Were there signs?”

“Of what?”

“Feelings, between them.”

Will shook his head. “Look, Logan only joined us a couple of months ago. Before that, I’d see them maybe twice a year. I’m a pretty busy guy. So are they.”

“But you knew them in college.”

“Where they were fantastic hockey players and excellent friends.” Too clipped; more than he meant to give. He saw a woman exchange a glance with her companion and pasted on a better smile. “I loved being their teammate, and I’m glad we get to play together as professionals.”

“So they weren’t together in college?”

“They were best friends.” Best friends who shared Finn’s hidden good whiskey on the roof. Who drove Percy half-mad with their late-night conversations across the five feet of space between their beds. Who got breakfast together every single morning, rain or shine, even when it meant they were awake before anyone else in the house. “They dated plenty of other people in college.”

Best friends who had, at separate and distinct times, drunkenly begged Will to take them home right as the other found one of those other people for the night.

“Other people? Like other men?”

A new voice; not a welcome one. “No,” Will said. “I really doubt it.”

“Were there other…” A third reporter trailed off with a vague gesture. “Gay or bisexual people in the frat house?”

“Excuse me?”

“Were Logan and Finn the first?” she rephrased, as if that’s what he had been asking.

‘Shut the fuck up’ wasn’t a permissible answer in his contract. He held it behind his front teeth until he could force it down on a slow exhale through his nose. The cameras would note his pause. The things these people thought they could get away with. “I don’t know.”

“Did you know about them?”

“No.”

“Did anyone else?”

“No idea.”

“Did you ever suspect a relationship between them?”

I don’t understand. Finn, three sheets to the wind and sobbing his eyes out on the curb four feet from where Will had let him out of the car. His face buried in his forearms, his knobbly knees bent up as if to protect his soft underbelly. I don’t—at home—and we—I don’t understand, Will, I can’t keep doing this.

Will’s stomach turned. “No.”

I can’t live like this. Finn didn’t remember a thing past eight p.m. when he woke the next morning. Will had watched him close the next few days. I can’t live like this.

“Finn—” He startled a little at the name. “—mentioned that it had been a long time coming. Do you know what that means?”

Finn wasn’t meant to live in a box. He was so bright at the Cup party. So happy it made Will’s chest tight, just looking at him. He held Logan so close under his arm, and gentle. “I don’t make a habit of interpreting Finn’s words for him,” he said with a half-smile to ease the way out. “There are too many for me to keep up with.”

“Dennis highlighted that you were the captain. Did either of them speak to you about their feelings?”

“What, generally?” Will laughed, sending hairline cracks through the tension in the room. Dennis. He tucked the name in the back of his mind for later. “I mean, I’ve got stories from every guy on the team after a little liquid courage, but we weren’t a very touchy-feely group.”

“Some could argue,” snorted a voice from the back.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Will kept his smile in place. Several others throughout the room dropped in a domino tumble of awkward coughs. Loafers shuffled on the carpet. He drummed his fingertips on the table.

“No, seriously, what?”

If you want to play ball, motherfucker, step right the fuck up. Black suit. Bad haircut. Expensive notepad. “Ah,” the man said, tapping his pen against the page. He shrugged. “Sorry, I meant it as a joke.”

“What’s the joke? I missed it.”

“Just—” His laugh was still too confident for Will’s liking. “I don’t know, man, the touchy-feely comment, and they’re. You know.”

Will waited. The silence marinated about as well as hot yogurt. “I don’t,” he finally said. “That’s why I’m asking.”

“They’re…together. Touchy. Feely. All that.”

In his periphery, he could see Ella waving at him from the wings. The camera operators were looking at her, too. He would have taken that exit three minutes ago. Batter up.

“Are you single?”

“Married,” the man answered.

“Oh, nice. How do you touch your wife?”

A collective intake of breath burned the air. The man’s face went slack. “Excuse me?”

“You just seem really interested in how other people are touching each other.” He was four rows back. He had brown eyes and a constipated look on his face. “Figured you’d be fine talking about it in front of these lovely people.”

I can’t live like this. And Logan. God, Logan. Hanging off Finn’s every word, shadowing him like Silver after treats for the first six months. Party after party, year after year, never more than a room away from him. Four or five shots would have him half a breath from sharing the same couch cushion as Finn. Will tried to run interference when he could. Because Logan, who looked like a bump of Finn’s shoulder would raise him from the dead, would rather dig himself back into the grave than remember any toe out of line in the morning. And his line was hard. His line was a trench.

“Had you met any LGBT hockey players before Finn and Logan?”

“Are you guys looking for Patient Zero, or something?” Will leaned back in his chair and crossed his ankle over his knee. “I’m just—I’m having a really hard time figuring out what the huge deal is, here. No, I don’t know that anyone was anything during college. No, I don’t know if anyone in the NHL is anything. Black and Lupin were the first. It wasn’t my business then. It definitely isn’t now.”

“Would you say Harvard was accepting of the gay community?”

“It depends on who you ask. It wasn’t on my radar.”

MacMillan was a slimy shithead. Everyone knew it. But he was good on defense, 240 pounds, and always had a girl on his arm. He stayed, and so did the slime. We’re gonna bend that shit over!

“Was the locker room environment accepting of queer players?”

When they played Yale…Will had never heard some of those words before. He didn’t need to look them up. He remembered meeting Percy’s eyes across the locker room and seeing the sickened downturn of his mouth, the hard bob of his throat when he looked away from a crowd of whooping, turned-up seniors. Finn next to him, two months into his sophomore year, picking at his stick tape. He couldn’t remember where Logan had been. He vanished into the liminal space of his stall, one of the only times Will had ever looked at him and thought small.

“We did our best,” he answered. He did. The minute he made captain, the minute MacMillan and his cronies graduated. He tried. Hey, man, don’t. C’mon, gross. A hundred stock phrases to run the line without being pinned himself. The regret hounded him, some days. “It didn’t come up often.”

“Do you think the sport had any impact on players’ sexualities?”

The question stopped Will in his tracks. He felt himself straighten slightly, leaning forward, and had to take a second to replay it in his head. “Are you asking if hockey turns people gay?”

“Well, not like that, I—”

“Dude, what?” A laugh caught in his throat. He glanced around the room. One woman was visibly stifling a smile, thank god. Will shook his head. “This isn’t…no, what? Do you think one gay player goes beetlejuice, beetlejuice, beetlejuice and then a bunch more just pop up out of the ground?”

That got him more laughs. The reporter went red, Will started to turn to Ella, and—

“Do you think such a blatant and physical relationship is appropriate for the NHL?”

Foul ball. Will took a breath.

“I think your obsession with one kiss to celebrate the highest achievement of our sport is, frankly, concerning.” In the wings, Ella took a step back. Permission granted. Will took a swig of water and folded his hands on the table. “I think a lot of you are abusing your position in this room to dig up gossip instead of actually doing what you’re paid for. I think you’re wasting my time and your network’s.

“I think hockey is hard game,” he continued. That would be bleeped out later. He hoped it wasn’t. “I think being a young man in any sport is hard, and I think it’s harder when you feel different than your team for reasons you can’t control. I think a lot of guys feel really isolated, for a lot of reasons, and I know that it’s a captain’s job to make sure the locker room has space for them.”

I’m a bad person. Eighteen years old. Logan had been eighteen years old, vacant-eyed, petting a stray cat on the back porch in the dead of winter. Dumped by his girlfriend in a pretty spectacular and heartbreaking series of accusations. Will was pretty sure rum was the only thing keeping him warm. You’re not, Will had said, pulling the blanket around his shoulders. Hey, man, you’re one of my favorite people. Logan shook at the warmth and leaned into him with a soft sound that should have been tears. I’m a bad friend. I’m hurting him so much. I just wanted to fix it.

“I think, regardless of the locker room, or Harvard, or whatever else, Finn and Logan knew about you people.” Oh, he wouldn’t be seeing a postgame interview for months. “I think they knew the minute they weren’t heterosexual beyond question, you would tear their dreams apart for a story and a Christmas bonus. I think they were best friends in college, and best friends now, and neither of them was willing to risk watching a life go down in flames because someone like you was just dying to know whether they made out when they were nineteen and how they did it.”

Once. One time, when the room was spinning and Will was feeling like a god on earth with his medal and the most beautiful girl he ever saw holding a booth for them. Finn’s back to the alley wall and both hands holding Logan’s face, black eye and all, like he would break if Finn held too hard. Logan had been all but melted against his chest. In the haze, Will couldn’t tell whose legs or arms or body were whose. Just that the kiss was more tender than anything he’d seen in his life.

If Will flicked a drop of water onto the floor, they’d all hear it like a bomb going off. He tapped his pen against his opposite thumb. They gave him time.

“I think Sirius Black is the bravest person I’ve ever met,” he said. “I know that I can sit here and say all this because I have a wife and a son who mean the world to me, so I don’t have to be afraid that when I leave this room, people will accuse me of something that would ruin my entire career. And I can tell you right now, I’m not letting my son touch this sport with a ten foot pole while this is still happening.

“I’ve spoken with several queer hockey players.” Their eyes flicked up again. Vultures. “You want to know what they said?” Hunger, like sharks in a blood frenzy. Will didn’t hate a lot of people, but he hated this. “They talked about fear. Fear of your friends, your team, the future, the world. They had to choose between living their lives and playing the sport they excel in beyond millions of people.”

Finn, still an emotional drunk by his senior year, breathing through a panic attack Will wasn’t sure he knew he was having in the 3 a.m. aftermath of a house party. Please don’t go. I don’t wanna be alone. Showing up on their porch after saying goodbye, so torn up and halfway to incoherent that Will thought he had been in an accident. Is Logan here? I forgot something. Letting Finn leave, alone.

“That shit kills people.” Will saw them flinch. “Do you understand that?”

“Will,” Ella said quietly.

“I don’t even know if these cameras are on anymore,” Will said. Though in the back, with a big one perched on his shoulder, he saw one man nod. “I don’t really care. Yes, I was Finn and Logan’s captain. I was in charge. I know what I know. They’re young and happy and some of the best hockey players I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting. Stop asking me about them, do your job, and let everyone fucking breathe.”

He stood, and he left.

Ella let him go.

He didn’t know the way out, he realized, blood thundering in his ears. There were fewer people around back here. They were all looking at him. Will found the nearest door and shoved it open. He needed to call Ray. She would be in the family box, with Noah, and maybe they had heard it all but he needed her. There was a rough feeling building in the back of his throat.

“Will.”

Will turned hard enough to make his head hurt. “Hey,” he said hoarsely, and then Logan was there, arms around him, squeezing like Will didn’t need air. Will held him back just as hard.

My boyfriend loves those. A hiccup of hesitation from someone loud and hotheaded enough to break so many fingers they started a scoreboard. Baby baby baby baby Lo baby, so much he’d be sick of it if he didn’t love hearing it so much. Hours on the roof like they were the only two people in the world. He didn’t know Knut as well as he wanted to, but Will had never seen someone fit between Finn and Logan so seamlessly.

A tear slid down Will’s cheek. Logan was hot under his hands, even through his shirt. “You’re so happy,” he whispered. “I’m so happy for you. So happy.”

Logan held tight to the back of his shirt.

“I lost it in there, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t.” Logan’s voice was barely a sound.

“You’re...” Waves of it all, hammering the inside of his head. Will screwed his eyes shut. “I can’t listen to that shit anymore. I can’t do it.”

Logan took a shaking breath. “Yeah.”

“I don’t wanna hear them talk about you like—like it doesn’t matter.” He could hardly breathe, but he needed to speak. “You matter so much to me, Lo. Both of you, I can’t…god, I almost lost you both.”

Logan made a sound like he’d been hit. “Will.” A hand caught him by the scruff and gave a squeeze. "Morgs. Hey. Listen to me. Will, listen.”

He let Logan pull him up. That green stare had never been anything but intense.

“You never lost us.” Will felt his lip tremble. Logan pushed his knuckles against his chest, gentle and firm. “You did everything you could, compris? Even if it didn’t work out, you wouldn’t have lost us.”

“I was really worried about you,” Will rasped. “Like, really worried.”

The sides of Logan’s mouth turned down hard, like they always had. He pulled Will back in for a hug. It was less desperate, now. Nobody could stand between heaven and earth like Logan.

They swayed for a minute more. He was glad Logan didn’t have to get wasted to talk about his feelings anymore. He deserved good things without suffering for it the next day. Hockey, and boyfriends, and tentatively colorful shirts. “It’s a hell of a lot easier to talk about this when you’re not sloshed.”

Logan hit him on the shoulder for that, but he was laughing.

“Finn, too.”

“Oh, god, Finn,” Logan groaned. “Worst person to babysit.”

“I loved it.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he told you all the juicy details.”

“Nah, man, it was just good to know someone else on the team had feelings.”

They separated, lighter in the shoulders and chest. Will jostled Logan’s hat around until it was sideways.

“He’s going to propose next time he sees you,” Logan said as he smoothed his hair back out of his eyes. “Finn, I mean.”

“I’ll see if Ray has an extra ring laying around. She loves him.”

“Everyone loves Finn.” Logan glanced at the conference room door and his mouth twisted with wry mischief. “By force, if needed, apparently.”

“You’re looking at your number one defender, Tremblay.”

He expected a quip back, but Logan just knocked their shoulders together and looked ahead, toward the street-level window that let the late-night lights in. “Ouais,” he finally said, turning back to Will. “Sounds right to me.”

“We’re going to talk about all of it sometime,” Will warned.

“Okay.”

“You can bring Finn if I get to bring Percy.”

“Alex already interrogated me, so go crazy.”

Will scrubbed both hands through his hair. “Christ, Tremz, I think I just did.”

Logan laughed. Loud. It hit somewhere below Will’s ribs. “No kidding,” he said. “I think I still smell smoke.”

“I gotta get out of here, man.”

“Your family?”

“The box.”

Logan hummed, and the solid weight of his arm across Will’s back cooled the pounding in his skull. “Allez. I want to watch you fry them on the big TV.”

Nobody bothered them as they moved through the halls. Will caught a couple sideways glances, but that was all. He saw Ray across the room the moment the door opened. She had handed Noah off to Saint, whose keen eyes were fixed on Will with the weight of the world. The choked feeling hit him again when she began to move.

Logan didn’t even like the taste of beer that much, but the cold liquid did feel good sliding down his throat after a win. It was late April now, just before the playoffs, and the Rangers had finished their undefeated home streak with another win, setting off an electric feeling in the locker room. They had barely finished taking off their jersey when Percy and Alex had supplied them with beers. 

“Fucking beauty of a goal, Tremz!” Percy shouted in his ear over the thumping bass music. “OT win to close it out, let’s fucking go!”

Logan laughed and let Percy tip his head back again and press a can to his lips. It wasn’t the nice beer- that would be ordered later at the bar they would inevitably end up at- so it left a lingering dirty after taste, but Logan soaked up the warm feeling of his teammates around him and the adrenaline of the win and let it fill him right up. He felt Percy slap him on the back as he removed the can from his lips.

“Gentlemen!” he yelled, turning to look at Logan with a sly grin. “I think it’s time for our three scorers of the game to get this party started.”

“What the fuck are you planning?” Will asked with narrowed eyes.

“A Harvard hockey tradition,” Percy said. He reached into the cardboard box and pulled out three beers. “Morgs, Hazard, Tremz, sit.”

Logan took a breath in and shook his head amusedly. “Non, no fucking way.”

“Yes way, man, you gotta! You were the king of this!”

Logan sighed and sat between Will and Alex in front of their stalls. Alex leaned over with confused eyes. “What the hell is going on?” he whispered. 

Logan grinned. “We have to open the cans with our skate blades and shotgun them.”

Alex just blinked at him. “You’re joking.”

“I’m not. We used to do this back at Harvard.”

“Finn too?”

“Ouais.” Logan laughed at the memories. “He was never very good at it.”

“Nah, he doesn’t like chugging alcohol. Prefers to sip, the pretentious bastard.”

Logan just nudged him playfully. “I think it’s cute.”

“Of course you do, you have no chill.” Alex sat up and slapped his thighs. “Alright, Perseus, hit me.”

Percy’s smile was elated and, perhaps, slightly tipsy. “That’s the fucking spirit, bro.” He handed them each their beers. 

“Fuck, haven’t done this in years,” Will said from Logan’s other side. “You remember that time after playing BC? Your rookie season?”

Logan laughed. “Fuck, that was shit beer.”

Will smiled at him. “Yeah, it was. Finn gave up halfway through.” He reached up to ruffle Logan’s waves. “But I remember some rookie leaving us all in the dust.”

“Ouais,” Logan said, rolling his eyes playfully. “I guess I had a reputation.”

“You absolutely fucking did,” Percy interrupted. “Okay, okay, who’s videoing? Who’s got a phone?”

“Ici,” Logan said, reaching behind him into his stall and getting his phone. He held it out to Luke, who’d come over to watch. “Allez, Dev, take it, please.”

Luke sighed. “I forget that you’re a frat boy sometimes.”

“Non, I’m not,” Logan protested, aligning the can underneath his skate blade as Alex and Will did the same. “Not anymore.”

“Habits are hard to break,” Luke teased, laughing at Logan’s scoff. He held up the phone. Saint came to his side to watch, and Logan didn’t miss the way their hips were brushing. “Okay, ready.”

“Gentlemen!” Percy called again. “Are you ready?”

“Jesus, you’re so dramatic,” Will said, poised and ready. “Let’s just get this over with.”

“On your marks, get set, go!”

Logan slashed the can with the heel of his blade and scooped it up to his mouth. He could hear the cheers around him, Will, and Alex as they chugged. Alex made some sort of strangled sound from beside him, but Logan ignored it, forcing his throat to open to let the liquid down. He sucked in, one, two, three, four, and when he felt nothing left, he slammed the can onto the ground with a gasp and a pant. “Allez!”

Will let out a laugh as he took one last chug, and Alex coughed as he finished his own beer. “Fucking hell, that’s shit.”

“You still got it, don’t you?” Will said, squeezing his can between his hands to crush it. “Jesus, that’s harder than it was five years ago.”

“How did you do that?” Alex groaned. “Fuck, the hole was too fucking small, and that is really awful beer. Kase and Nat aren’t gonna believe I did this.”

“Practice, mon ami.” Logan slapped him on the back and stood. “Did you get it?” he asked Luke.

“Yeah,” Luke said, handing over Logan’s phone. “Your boys are gonna love that one.”

Logan punched him softly in the arm. “Shut up.”

Luke just winked and turned to go take off his pads. Logan sighed, looking down at his phone. He watched the video once. It felt like a trip- with him, Will and Alex, who look so much like Finn, sitting and chugging beer, Logan could almost pretend he was back at Harvard, reliving the first time he did this in the BC locker room. He remembered he had felt hot and bothered with Finn’s thigh pressed against his and confused by the swirling emotion in his chest. He sighed, a little wistfully, and opened his group chat with Finn and Leo. They’d already sent him texts after his game, ranging from inappropriate to sweet, but always smitten. He bit his lip as his cheeks heated up and sent them the video. Percy made us do it, he typed. I love you. 

He listened to the swoosh sound of the message going through and propped his leg up to take off his skates.

***

Hours later, Logan was pleasantly buzzed and fumbling with his keys to open his apartment door. Behind him, Alex was laughing. “You okay, Tremz?”

“Ouais.” Logan stuck his tongue through his teeth and focused. When he got the key in the lock and turned, he let out a sigh of relief. “Allez, it’s open.”

“Good.” Alex pulled him in for a hug. “Night, bud, say hi to my brother and Leo.”

Logan laughed disbelievingly. “What? How did you…?”

Alex rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “You have two sips of alcohol and you turn into the biggest softie known to man. Go, go call them, they’re probably waiting.”

“Ah, ouais,” Logan said sheepishly. “Let me know when you get home.”

Alex winked. “Will do. Night, Lo.”

Logan felt himself smile at the nickname. “Night, Al.”

He felt a little fuzzy as he went through the motions of getting ready for bed. No sooner had he stepped through his apartment door than he was ripping his shirt off, body hot from the alcohol and the spring evening, and putting on a clean pair of boxers like Leo would have wanted him to do. He smiled at the thought as he put his clothes in the laundry hamper and pulled out his phone to check the time. It was late, around one in the morning, but he had received a text from Leo not thirty minutes prior. The Lions had a few days off, and he knew Finn and Leo had gone out to dinner with Thomas and Cole, so there was a chance they were still awake. He smiled as he opened the message. It was a video of Finn, sitting on the couch in nice black slacks and a thin light purple shirt. His collar was undone and he had obviously been in the middle of undoing his belt when he got distracted by something on his phone. Logan squinted and realized it was the video of him. Logan laughed as Finn replayed once, then twice more. His ears were red. Leo flipped the camera, shaking his head fondly, then winked. “Love you,” he whispered, then the video stopped.

The sigh Logan let out sounded wanting, even to himself, as he rolled over onto his stomach on the bed. He still felt a little out of it from the beer and the four rum and cokes he’d drunk at the bar, so he didn’t even think before pressing the video camera icon just beside Leo’s name. 

When Leo picked up, Logan got a full view of his smile and fluffy curls peeking out of the hood of his maroon sweatshirt. It looked like one of Finn’s from Harvard. He was sitting on the couch, the overhead lights dimmed in the late night. “Hi, sweetheart. Good game.” When Logan didn’t say anything, just smiled at him, he let out a snort and his eyes lit up further. “Oh my God, how much did you have to drink?”

Logan just made a happy sound and hid his face in the pillows. He and Leo just gazed at each other for a moment before there was a voice from off the screen. “Is that Lo?” 

Leo looked up to where Logan presumed Finn was. “Yeah, honey, come say hi.”

Finn suddenly appeared at Leo’s side, his reading glasses shifting as his nose scrunched with his freckled smile. “Hi, baby. Good night?”

Logan nodded. “Ouais. Went to a bar.”

Finn’s eyes flitted over his face. “I know, I can tell. You’ve got sleepy eyes.” He turned his head to press kisses to Leo’s rosy cheeks. 

Logan hated the distance more than anything, but he did love watching them love one another, even if it was through a screen. He lived for these video calls more than he could ever put into words. “Did you like my video?”

Leo nodded, and Finn made an approving sound against his skin. With a last kiss, he pulled away and turned back to look at Logan again. “Like it? Fucking loved it, what a blast from the past. You’re so hot and sexy, Lo, baby.” 

Logan wiggled his hips unconsciously, pleased. He looked at Leo. “Et toi, soleil?”

Leo’s smile made him feel cozy all over. “Of course I loved it, sweetheart. Very impressive.”

“Mm, good.” He yawned. “I’m sleepy.”

Leo made a tisking sound. “I know, honey. Have you brushed your teeth and washed your face?”

Logan hid his face in the pillows. “Non. Not yet.”

“Take us with you, honey, and we’ll talk before bed. It’s late.”

“Mm.” Logan didn’t get up immediately, just folded his arms on top of a pillow and let his phone lean against the headboard. “I miss you,” he sighed. “Wish you were here to snuggle me.”

Leo was still smiling at him, but Logan saw his eyes turn a little sad. He was always trying to be positive and make things better, and Logan loved him for it, but sometimes even that mask slipped a little. Leo probably wouldn’t sleep tonight. Logan wanted to be there to rub his back and kiss his forehead in the moonlight. 

“Us, too, Lo,” Finn said. He pulled Leo’s head to rest onto his shoulder and wrapped his arms around him. It seemed he’d noticed Leo’s eyes dim a little bit, too. Despite the pain, that comforted Logan a bit, and he watched as Finn watched him. “We’ll see you in a few weeks, baby, I promise. Go get ready for bed, we’ll be right here.”

Logan didn’t think he’d ever get used to going through his night routine without someone there to put their hands on his hips or press kisses to his neck. He had suddenly felt cold, and dug around in his closet for the Saints sweatshirt that still smelled like Leo’s cologne. Now, he had his tooth brush hanging out of his mouth and his phone propped against his soap bottle as Leo told him a story about how Finn scared a girl at the bar today.

“...and he just stood there, silent, waiting for her to move so he could use the bathroom. And she was short, like five feet tall, so obviously she got scared shitless when a big man was behind her trying to squeeze by.” Leo smiled delightedly at Finn’s groan. “She spilled her drink all over her white pants.”

Logan laughed as Finn came out of his hiding place that was Leo’s neck. “Oh, mon rouge.”

“I didn’t know what to do, okay? I thought I had enough space to squeeze past!”

Leo tilted his head to meet Finn’s eyes. “Honey, you’re a six foot professional hockey player, you can’t just squeeze through anywhere.” He kissed Finn’s chest and rested his face against it. It squished his cheek and Logan suppressed the urge to reach through the screen and pinch his other one. “Anyways, he bought her and her friends two rounds of drinks, then they really liked him. I had to go rescue our boyfriend again, honey.”

Logan smiled as he washed his face. “Again?” he teased, standing to reach for a towel.

“I can’t help it!” Finn defeatedly slouched forward to press his face into Leo’s neck. “I don’t know why everyone thinks that I’m flirting, I’m just friendly.”

“Yeah, too friendly,” Leo joked.

Finn made a playful sound and bit at Leo’s jaw. “I’m only too friendly with you two, I’ll have you know.” His big brown eyes blinked out tiredly at Logan. “Hi, Lo, baby.”

“Salut.” Logan picked his phone up and walked back to his bedroom, boxing himself in with pillows and snuggling under the sheets. “D’accord, it’s late. You need to go to bed.”

“No,” Finn whined. Logan saw him squeeze Leo tightly, even through his yawn. “No, no, let’s stay up and talk. An all-nighter.”

Logan shook his head, smiling softly. “Non, rouge, I have practice in the morning, then we fly out to Calgary.”

“No,” Finn protested again. His voice was a little tight, and his brow was furrowed. Logan could see Leo biting the inside of his cheek at Finn’s distress. “No, Lo, stay up. Stay up, baby.”

“Rouge.” Logan’s eyes felt a little hot. “Rouge, you have to sleep.”

Finn sighed heavily. “I miss you.” Leo shifted to sit up fully, bringing Finn to rest on his chest now.

“Je sais,” Logan whispered. “Look at me, mon amour.” When Finn did, Logan watched a tear fall down his cheek. Logan thought about what Leo would do if he were far away from them, and he plastered a smile on his face. It felt almost sad, but it was real. He didn’t force his smiles for Finn anymore. “I love you. I miss you, but I love you, too, d’accord? I love you more than I miss you. And that’s what matters, oui?”

“I know.” Finn sniffed. He clutched at the hands Leo had wrapped around his waist. “I know, I love you, too.” 

Logan smiled a little wider now, then looked at Leo’s face. He was smiling, too, a little sadly. He dipped his chin into Finn’s hair. I’ve got him. Don’t worry, sweetheart.

“Allez.” Logan pursed his lips in a kiss. “I love you, mes amours. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“We love you, honey.” Leo kissed the top of Finn’s head, which was lolling back as he obviously struggled to not close his eyes. The purple under his eyes made him look exhausted, but he was still just as gorgeous as the day Logan had met him. Leo, too, with his crystal blue eyes that were gazing at Logan so lovingly it made his breath catch. “Sweet dreams, Lo, we’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Love you,” Logan said once more before hanging up. The second he shut his phone off, it felt as though warmth had left him. It wasn’t okay, but Logan had learned to sleep in cold sheets. 

He lay awake for a while, a pillow clutched in his arms and curled on his side, when his phone lit up with a text. He reached for it and squinted. Leo again.

When he opened it, it was a photo. Finn and Leo were in bed now, Finn passed out with his cheek against Leo’s chest and his fingers curled around the neckline of Leo’s sweatshirt. Logan could tell he was sleeping heavily in the way he did when he was really exhausted, his mouth open slightly. Logan could almost hear his soft snoring. Leo had slightly dark circles under his eyes, but he was smiling, cheek resting on the top of Finn’s head. He looked so soft and cozy and warm, and Logan wanted nothing more than to be wrapped in his arms. 

We love you, sweetheart, Leo’s text read. Sleep tight.

I love you, I love you, I love you so much, Logan wrote back. Good night.

He went to set his phone back on his nightstand, but paused. He rubbed his thumb over Leo’s smile, over the slope of Finn’s nose, as if he could actually feel them. No, he decided. The nightstand would be too far. So, he clutched his phone to his chest and stared at it, imagining their body heat mixing with his, until he fell asleep. 

Luke tapped his fingers along the side of his beer glass. His short nails clinked against it lightly, a soft undertone to the loud music and chatter that surrounded him. He was sat in the middle of the room, a place that he didn’t really like to be normally, but there were no other spots available when he arrived. Next to him, Alex O’Hara and Percy Marshall were playing some sort of card game. Luke didn’t know what it was, but it seemed complex and had been going on when he had sat down. That was over an hour ago. 

He stretched his neck, closing his eyes briefly against the feeling. His eyes, when they opened, were staring at the section of the bar where there were high tops. Logan was sat on a stool with a rum and coke in front of him. He looked a bit sleepy and was leaning against someone- Leo, Luke realized.

He observed silently for a moment. Leo was laughing and talking to Will Morgan and his wife, Ray. He was standing, tall, even for a professional hockey player, and his laugh reverberated around the space. Logan pressed closer to him, ducking under Leo’s arm, his own coming to wrap around Leo’s waist. Leo looked down at him with a smile, kissed his forehead, then went back to talking with Will and Ray. Logan didn’t move his gaze from Leo for a second, though, just rested his chin on Leo’s chest to look up at him. Leo gave no obvious indication that he realized Logan was gazing at him, but he did bring his hand up to run a thumb over Logan’s jaw.

Suddenly, as if from thin air, Finn appeared by their sides. He clapped Will’s hand, kissed Ray’s cheek, then went over to his boyfriends. His cheeks and ears were flushed, obviously a bit tipsy, as he bent to kiss Logan’s cheek repeatedly. Logan laughed, scrunching his nose, but he was obviously pleased. Leo looked happy, too, and soft, until Finn leaned over Logan’s head to press those same kisses to his face. Then, he opened up, almost like a flower, curls bouncing with his laughter. Luke got why they called him the sun. 

Logan, in between the two of them, just looked happy, content. He had an arm resting on each of their ribs. When Finn pulled away, he started talking to rapidly, a hand on each of them, mindlessly touching. They didn’t seem aware, nor to care, that Will and Ray were still there. They had watched amusedly, but now were talking to Saint, who was at the high top next to them. Luke’s breath caught. 

“Ugh, they’re so gross,” Alex scoffed from beside Luke, breaking him from his reverie. “It’s like they don’t even realize it.”

Luke just turned to him, eyebrows raised. “I think Finn’s just a little tipsy, too.”

Percy laughed. “Yeah, he kind of goes crazy when that happens.” The cards in his hands slapped against one another as he shuffled them. “It’s nice, though. It was tough, watching him and Logan in college, sometimes. But they figured their shit out- and Leo is good at keeping them honest, too. He’s good for the both of them.”

Alex nodded solemnly. “Yeah, they really needed him. Need him.” He looked contemplatively at his younger brother. “He makes it all easier, I think.”

Luke furrowed his eyebrows. “What?”

Alex shrugged. “He’s part of them allowing themselves to love each other. By loving him, they are okay loving one another, too.” He looked serious. “And I think- well, Leo makes them being public easier, too. From what Finn’s told me, he was always sure of who he was, what they were, even if they, especially Logan, were nervous. Or afraid.”

Luke nodded, biting his lip as he turned back to look across the bar. Leo was now talking to the both of them. He looked like he was telling a story, the light reflecting off his blonde curls as they bobbed with his head. Logan had his head leaning against Leo’s bicep, tucked in close and safe. Finn, seemingly without knowing once again, had Leo’s hand in his own, pressing soft kisses to the back of it and up his forearm. Leo didn’t even look phased. He smiled at Finn, and nicked his cheekbone with his pointer finger, but didn’t stop telling his story. Finn was nodding rapidly along. He replied to something Leo had said, and it must have been snarky, because Logan turned with a wide grin to contribute. In sync, they both looked at Leo. He just shook his head and rolled his eyes fondly at them. 

“Luke?” 

Luke jerked, turning to Alex, who was looking at him strangely. “Yeah?”

Alex ran his tongue over his lips. It was brief, but Luke saw his eyes flash over to where they both knew Saint still was. “You okay?”

Luke swallowed. “Mhm.”

Alex looked him up and down. When his eyes met Luke’s, they were the most serious Luke had ever seen them. “Sometimes you can’t make it easier. Here, out in the world. But you can choose to try.”

Luke just stared at him. His body felt hot, and his chest felt a tug, as if a string was pulling on it. Probably pulling it right across the bar to the other high top table. 

“Uh, Hazard? Tweedle? The fuck is going on?”

The look in Alex’s eyes vanished as quickly as it had come, and he turned that signature O’Hara grin on Percy. “Nothing, Perseus.” He nudged Luke with his elbow. “Just letting Luke here know that it will hurt for you both to lose, but that you can try not to, anyways.”

Percy narrowed his eyes at Alex’s smile, but sighed. “Fine. Fine, that’s not it, but I’ll let it slide.” He flipped his hat backwards. “Game fucking on.”

Alex turned to look at Luke. His smile was still playful, but his eyes were back to serious. “You dealing in, Tweeds?”