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The night was as dark as his eyes - and glowed like them too. His eyes were unique in that way, they were easily readable even to strangers. But that was also his vulnerability.
That's what got Logan into this mess. Logan had spend his whole life invisible, that way no-one could pay attention to him and ostracise him for any good or bad actions he did in his life. He kept his head down at school and was never bothered with friends or romance, but Janus changed all of that. He was confident and snarky, and even though his eyes were easy to read there seemed to still be some mystique with him.
"And of course you got yourself in this mess." Logan was talking to Janus as if he was next to him, even though he wasn't. Logan was in fact way out of his comfort zone and walking the inner city streets in the darkness with a borrowed hoodie around him to cover his face. How did he get himself into this mess?
Well, he knew exactly why - a stereotypical whirlwind romance. Janus was a hot new kid that swept the straight-A, well behaved Logan off his feet with promises of intimacy and excitement. This journey was definitely going to be exciting, but not just because of the sexuality element. Sure - that was intriguing too. No-one made Logan feel the way he felt being with Janus. It was addicting to be with him like some kind of hard drug.
But like with hard drugs, Janus had lead Logan down a path he'd rather not be on. He told his parents he was going to bed at 8pm so he'd be up and ready for church in the morning when in all reality he had gotten a text from his boyfriend telling him he needed help. And of course Logan had to help how he could - even though he was told the place Janus was would be very dangerous especially at night.
Logan's phone was ringing Janus, as he had said it was safe to do so, but there was no answer. It just rang and rang and rang, grounding Logan in the situation that he was walking around the city in the dark with nothing but a half-broken flashlight to protect himself. "Come on Jan..." He growled under his breath as he walked, trying to keep his voice as low and manly as possible just in case he had an encounter. Only bad people walked around at night.
"Calculator?" A voice rang through the phone as the ringing had stopped - meaning Janus finally had time to answer the call. "You got lost?"
Janus' questions were very sharp and quick, and there were voices behind him mumbling but the atmosphere didn't seem too threatening. That made Logan wonder why he had to urgently escape his warm, safe house. "No. But I do want to know exactly why we have to meet right now. The way you phrased the text made it sound like you were kidnapped."
Laughter was heard the other side of the phone. "I'm safe Necktie. Trust me, if these guys even laid a finger on me or you they'd be missing within the week." Even though the two sentences were said sharply it seemed to have a tone of gentleness only Logan could actually identify. "Just come to my place - I want to introduce you to my peeps."
Peeps? Peeps as in... people - like family people? That's what that meant right? Now Logan's heart was racing for a different reason. Sure, he had only been dating Janus for a little bit and Janus had never even mentioned any family member in his life but if he believed they were soulmates then Logan had no argument. He would never argue against the adoration he had for Janus now.
"Are you sure I shouldn't have dressed up a little more?" Logan's chirp came through the phone after a while, making Janus laugh again and a scowl escaped his lips.
"If anything you should have dressed down Cracker Jack. Calm yourself. How far away are you?" The phone unleashed Janus' snarky tone as Logan turned a corner and came straight to the apartment block Janus lived in. "Oh, never mind. Remy can see you just outside." A buzz came from a nearby phone box indicating the front doors had been unlocked. "Come on in."
Logan should feel safe inside but he didn't, the whole environment was too quiet and dark (probably because it was reaching 2am) for the uptown nerd to feel like he belonged. Almost silently Logan made his way to Janus' apartment on the second floor, using the stairs as the elevator would just cause his fight or flight reflexes to harden. When he reached the door he only had to knock twice before the door opened.
"Oh my God Jan he looks super-duper posh!" The man who opened the door, dressed in pink and cream, screamed inside the house as soon as he laid eyes on Logan. "Where did you get him from, Oscar de la Renta?"
Soon Janus appeared at the door and immediately grabbed Logan's hand, dragging him in and disregarding the pink wearing man. Logan was lead to a dusty sofa three steps away from the front door and pushed to sit, his eye contact gluing to another man in front of an open window taking one last puff of a cigarette. The two men didn't look that old, maybe college aged, and dressed more youthful than parents too. There was probably a reason Janus never mentioned parents. "Oh! Are these your brothers Jan?" Logan chirped, trying to keep a smile on throughout the unusual meeting. The pink wearer smiled back naturally, the cigarette man just raised an eyebrow at him as he focused on putting the flame out.
"Guess you could call them that. I just bunk here." Janus eventually said back, sitting at the other end of the sofa with a bottle of Pepsi and sipping it like it was cultured wine.
"Promise you won't snitch, kid?" The smoking man growled, putting off his black jacket as he closed the small window. A lump developed in Logan's throat at that question and he sheepishly nodded - something told him he shouldn't question exactly what he wasn't allowed to snitch on.
But the pink wearer was quick to calm. "Don't scare him Remy! We aren't the bad guys here."
"Well he's one of them."
"He's different from them Rem calm it." Janus matched the growl and snapped back, not looking at Logan as he spoke. What was Logan even a part of? He thought he lead a pretty normal and privileged life - two parents, a dog, two little brothers - there wasn't much he could be involved in unless Janus dragged him into it. "He can't help where he's born."
"Can... can I have some context?" Logan's chirp was met with silence, and Remy rolled his eyes as he walked into the kitchen. He wanted to make a good impression on Janus' family but it seemed as though there was some kind of barrier for him to fully achieve it.
Janus lay his head on Logan's shoulder, immediately calming him but Janus carried on looking nonchalant and sipping Pepsi. "We're Robin Hoods. Steal from the rich, give to the poor, that kind of thing. You're not exactly the type of person Remy's used to being near and friendly to."
As Janus' fingers snaked around Logan's hand the nerd couldn't help but smile. Janus trusted him with something he did that was dear to him. But there seemed to be a catch... "Do you... break the law then Jan?"
Janus raised his head again to build up another wall just in case Logan felt like attacking his way of life. "Only petty things. I wanted you to join us as we can make more of an impact with you."
Logan wouldn't have thought he'd spend his upperclassman years of high school falling head over heels and committing crime. He was a good student with promising prospects. But Janus' eyes glowed so cutely as he spoke about the kind of stuff he does. Stealing, no murder, and they hadn't been caught yet. Logan wanted to throw his old life out the window just to look into those eyes.
"I'll join." Logan let a small smile go. The pink-wearer gasped and clapped and Remy was nowhere to be seen. "Just... let me have conditions."