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“Logan!”
Remus exploded through the door in his typical fashion, without any regard for social courtesies like knocking or even letting him know he was coming to the dorm.
Despite all that, Logan turned from his desk with a smile, bracing himself for the inevitable tackle-hug out of habit. He caught a flash of messy brown hair and bright green eyes before Remus bounded across the room, crushing Logan into the chair and kissing him quickly, breathlessly.
No matter how many times he did it, Logan was still struck with a bolt of surprise and happiness (no matter how nonsensical he’d found such descriptions when reading books himself, he’d found it to be more than true). After literal years of questioning their sexualities and genders, the two had figured themselves out - and their relationship as well.
They both laughed when reminded of how they’d somehow started out thinking they were straight. Remus had settled on nonbinary and pansexual, and Logan’d figured out that he was gay after many graphs and notebooks filled with analyses of his own attraction. After Logan had come out, Remus had asked him on a date, and... well, it’d all wound out from there, a web of strings that they’d followed through every intersection.
They went to the same college and spent more nights in each others’ dorms than their own. Since they took similar science classes, daytime was spent together as well. Remus was studying forensics and Logan took classes for his astronomy major, but they took biology classes together.
Remus shook Logan back to the present by grabbing his wrist in a firm grip and dragging him to his bed, collapsing there with a grin. “How was your trip? What’d you do? Did you see any car accidents on your way back? How are Patton and Virgil and Roman?”
“Slow down a bit,” Logan said with a slight smile. “I had a good week. We spent time at the parks, a few restaurants, and at home simply talking. Patton has greatly improved at his cooking, which was pleasant. Virgil is as good, as well, his therapist has found the dose of medication that helps with his anxiety more than any others have yet, so he was very happy about that, and he’s just as good at drawing as I remember. You’d like some of the sketches he showed me, some of them are very dark. He likes drawing organs and anatomy, so I enjoyed looking through some of his sketchbooks as well.”
Remus smiled more genuinely this time. They both worried about Virgil, so it was good to hear that he was making progress - and gory drawings were always good.
“Roman has high hopes for getting the lead role in the big play that his college is putting on. He put on a small performance for me in demonstration, and though I prefer poetry, I could appreciate it. His voice is really quite stunning.”
Remus snorted and snuggled himself further into Logan’s arms. “Knowing him, he sang your ear off the entire time, didn’t he?”
“Not physically, of course, but it’s true that he can be a bit... overbearing at times.” Logan grimaced, then softened. “I missed you.”
Remus’s entire body was at the level of relaxation Logan had only seen when they were together, so he could predict his next words, but... it was nice to hear them, nonetheless.
“I missed you too, Lo.” He brightened. “But wouldn’t it have been interesting if your ear did fall off, all the way?” Well, maybe not those exact words. No one could predict what Remus’s brain would jump to. Logan loved it all the same - and maybe it was partly because of that. The unfamiliar could be fascinating.
“It would. I wonder if medical technology has advanced to the level of reattaching ears - I know that it is possible to fix similar damage to fingers, but the ear has many more intricate functions that it would be difficult to recalibrate,” Logan mused, staring at the ceiling.
Remus was near to purring as his boyfriend’s fingers absentmindedly stroked his hair (although, of course, Logan’s actions were never absentminded).
“We could do an... experiment, if you want,” he said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Logan shook his head, but he was smiling as well.
“I’m afraid an experiment to that extent would be considered illegal, however interesting it may be. Perhaps we could make it a trip to the library or the medical department to ask someone there about the processes later?”
“That sounds great!” Remus said, grinning. Logan nodded and made a mental note to stop by there. He looked down at his partner fondly. It was wonderful to have someone who didn’t recoil immediately at a discussion of a severed body part, or really any partner who wanted to discuss science with him at all.
He’d certainly never had a partner who considered a trip to the medical wing of their college a worthy use of their time - but, thinking back on it, Remus was unlike anyone else he’d ever met. Someone who shared his interests and didn’t hate him for delving into the slightly darker aspects of science, who even came with him into those darker areas.
And it certainly didn’t hurt that Remus was a complete koala - case in point. He was sprawled entirely on top of Logan, head on his chest and legs tangled together. He didn’t shy away from the physical, which was... good. Most others had decided that Logan hated physical affection simply because of his work-oriented personality, but he could tolerate it if it came from Remus.
Only tolerate, of course. Only for Remus’s benefit. If his partner knew exactly when he needed a comforting touch or a hug, well, that was nice. Nice, but not something Logan thought about a lot and certainly not why he had easily surrendered to Remus’s cuddling.
Never something he craved.
Remus unexpectedly jumped up and stared down at him, hands on his hips. His dark clothes were rumpled, many piercings glinting, his shoes - nonexistent, as usual. Logan didn’t know how he got into the college buildings without shoes on, but he could hypothesize that it had something to do with sprinting into a building too fast to be caught and ignoring literally all authorities who tried to talk to him.
“What are you doing for the rest of today?” he demanded.
Logan sat up, adjusting his glasses and smoothing his hair. “I was planning on studying, do you have other plans?”
Remus rolled his eyes. “Lo, it’s Friday night, you don’t need to be studying. Do you have no sense of fun?” he waved a hand. “Wait, no, don’t answer that, I already know you don’t.” He sighed at Logan’s slightly offended expression. “And you know that I’m joking.”
“Did you have a better idea?” Logan asked, still a bit disgruntled.
Remus laughed, somehow still looking very attractive despite being entirely not put together and cackling like a crow at the ceiling. “I always have a better idea. You should know this by now.”
“Alright then,” Logan said, standing up to his full four inches taller than his partner. “What’s your idea?”
Remus’s eyes narrowed. “Not fair.” He jumped past Logan onto the bed and balanced on one foot, making a wide gesture with his hands and almost overbalancing. “you’re not allowed to be taller than me when I’m telling you my wonderful plans!”
“My idea, ” he drew out the word, glaring at Logan playfully to see if he would interrupt again. “is to go out and actually have fun. We could go to a club, or some kind of music place! And have alcohol, of course.”
Logan opened his mouth, but Remus touched his mouth to quiet him. Needless to say, the soft touch rendered him speechless.
“And then we are going to come and cuddle and watch a movie with blood in it and you are not going to study. ” He smiled at Logan’s woeful stare. “But we can go over your vocab while we walk.”
“See what I told you about compromise? It works.” Logan smirked, giving Remus the lightest of pushes. He let out a shriek and collapsed dramatically on the bed, hand across his forehead.
“Thou hast wounded me, my greatest love, how could you?”
Logan sat down next to him. “Thy words beckoned me, my sun, how could I not answer their call with my own?” He took his hand. “Though I apologize for thy mortal wounds, we can only hope they are healed by Apollo’s setting, or thou wilt turn on your promise of a night of revelry.”
“Jackass,” Remus said with a laugh, breaking the Shakespearean streak. “you’d stab me just to get in some more study time? How could you.”
Logan grinned back. Add this onto the list of reasons why Remus was wonderful - he’d learned how to indulge Logan’s odder interests, such as dramatic monologues.
Remus jumped up and pointed to the door. “Let us adventure!” he said enthusiastically.
“Wait,” Logan said. He walked to his desk and grabbed his phone and wallet, turning off the light.
“So responsible, how will I ever survive,” Remus sighed, leaning against the doorframe.
“I’m ready now,” Logan said pointedly, walking out the door in front of Remus. He perked up immediately, grabbing Logan’s hand and yanking him down the hallway.
“This is where you decided to take me?” Logan asked, looking around. They were just outside the open doors of a club, the music rolling through the walls and many people either milling around the bar or the dance space.
“Yeah!” Remus shouted over the music. He was shifting from foot to foot and tapping his fingers on the back of Logan’s hand, eager to get inside. “They play good music and they have good alcohol, so I knew you’d like it. Plus, y’know, you get to dance with your incredibly attractive partner, and I get to dance with mine, so,” he raised a smirking eyebrow at Logan, who blushed slightly.
They walked inside, and Logan immediately pressed closer to Remus. Everything was very loud, so they had to practically shout to hear each other. Despite the unfamiliar environment, Logan did find himself enjoying the vibrations and crash of the music as he felt the slightly drunk, slightly fantastical haze of it all start to wrap around him.
Remus led him to the crowded beer and ordered two of something that Logan didn’t know the name of. Alcohol wasn’t something he was well versed in, but the sharp-sweet taste added to the delicious, somehow very tangible feelings. The cold of Logan’s cup bit into his hand, and his other held onto Remus, both tethering him to earth.
They communicated only through touch and expressions now, holding tightly to each other among the crowd of singing, yelling people. Remus drew Logan close, standing on his tiptoes. Thankfully, he’d put on shoes before coming in.
“It’s really busy right now, because it’s Friday, but I think you’ll like it! Come on!” Logan willingly followed him, taking a few more large swallows of his drink and then throwing the plastic cup into the nearest trash bin, hoping he didn’t splash any of the tightly pressed bodies around them.
He liked his drink, more than he’d expected himself to, but from the way Remus was chugging his, it would be better to have one closer-to-sober person around.
Logan found himself close to the stage where a DJ was... doing whatever a DJ did to produce the music roaring around them. Yet another thing Logan didn’t know much about, but as he’d thought before: the unfamiliar can be fascinating.
Logan didn’t exactly know how to dance, either, especially among the crowd with not much room to move freely, but he moved in tandem with Remus, keeping him from spilling his drink, spinning him when he reached out a hand, admiring his gloriously wild movements that he could never in a thousand years recreate, and generally watching his partner have the time of his life, perfectly content to do so.
Remus was indeed in his element, stomping and spinning and singing with the rest of the crowd around them. His piercings on his lip and eyebrow flashed with the lights in an almost mesmerizing pattern, body twisting and thrumming with the music like that was all it was made to do.
Logan realized distantly that he was staring, but he didn’t particularly mind. He didn’t mind when Remus offered him a hand and an elated smile, shining from the inside. He didn’t mind when he came near to tripping over Remus’s feet as they danced together, and he didn’t mind when they were pressed close together by the crowd.
Honestly, Logan didn’t find himself minding anything that happened, most of which was because of who he was here with. He took Remus back to the bar to get one more drink, but that’s all, he said at the injured look he got. From how much the first drink had affected him, two was enough.
But even though he’d only drunk two, Remus was using him for balance by the time half an hour more had passed. They hadn’t left the dance space except to go to the bar once, and Logan was tiring. Remus, however, was still going, just as strongly as he had started - besides grabbing onto whatever part of Logan was in reach when he tripped every so often.
Logan watched him with a smile, letting his partner’s mood influence his. Normally he would hate a place like this, but watching Remus made it all worth it. He looked like some kind of siren out here, and Logan could see a few other people who seemed to be noticing the same.
He didn’t worry about it, though, seeing as how Remus was kissing him every few minutes and mumbling about how pretty he looked every time he looked at him. Logan didn’t know whether it was the alcohol, the compliments, or the heat that made his cheeks redden, or all three.
Either way, he kissed back with a passion (and if he lengthened them more than he would normally because he was dating this wonderful person and no one else was, could you blame him, really?)
After a while, Logan looked at the phone that was securely zipped into his pocket (if Remus’s wasn’t still at his dorm it would undoubtedly have fallen onto the floor several times by now) and saw that it was eleven pm.
He pointed at the clock, showing the faintly glowing screen to Remus, but all he got was a brilliant smile, another kiss, and a shout of “it’s still so early!” Logan shook his head but didn’t protest.
But another small infinity later, when Remus tripped on air and fell backwards onto Logan, smiling dazedly at him all the way, Logan made the executive decision to guide him off the dance floor. Remus protested, but was still draping himself all over Logan as they left.
“Lo?” Remus asked as they walked (Logan walked, to be more specific, Remus stumbled) out the door into the warm, breezy night.
“Mhm?”
“M’love you,” he said, wrapping his arms around his neck and peering up at him with warm green eyes.
“I love you too,” Logan said, smiling. He wrapped his arms around Remus in return, holding him tightly. Words, he knew how to use. He was good at words. But Remus better understood physical languages, so if Logan had to learn them to tell him how much he loved him in return, he would.
After another kiss, Logan disengaged. If they became too involved, they might waste another forty five minutes out here in the dark.
They walked back to the dorm, twined together in the night. It was nice, Logan thought. It was nice to do this with him. To experience different parts of his world and enjoy them together.
Logan pointed out constellations as they walked, eternally grateful that their college wasn’t near any big cities with a lot of light pollution. He didn’t know what he would’ve done if he hadn’t seen the stars through his window as a child and fallen in love with them, deciding to become an astronomer.
If his family hadn’t fueled that interest, getting him books and telescopes and everything he could ask for until he got here, at college studying the thing he loved most - or, he thought, looking at his partner with his arm wrapped around his waist and looking up at the sky with wide eyes - second most.
Nothing could compare to seeing the stars through a telescope and experiencing their flaming beauty close to firsthand, but walking down the path with Remus and telling him about the universe got pretty damn close. Pretty damn close indeed.