extent | duplicitynet

Figures.

[ it'a exactly the kind of spiteful move that nick would expect from the city, but he's good at not getting angry and he's going to keep not being angry about it, even if looking at the raw marks makes his stomach twist painfully. it's not helpful, so he just frowns a little with focus.

nick comes to stand in front of logan, hand settles on his chest, and he murmurs a soft warning, "this will hurt" before he starts to work. in theory, this should be easy. nick has healed brands off his own skin without even thinking about it, there should be no effort at all to healing something like this. but the magic winds through logan's skin, tries to pull apart the damage and reform the way it should, and it just--doesn't.

his frown deepens. he exhales out a quick frustrated huff. ]

Just....hang on.

[ Truthfully, Logan doesn't expect it to work. As Nick sets his hand on him he wonders if he should mention that. If it's managed to resist his own prodigious healing powers, there's clearly something fucked up going on. But he wants to try, so he sits still and feels the warmth of Nick's palm and the strange buzzing sensation of magical warmth spreading over his skin.

At first it's easy to ignore, but once he starts to focus his mind on it, the squirmy not-quite-heat feeling pulsing against him becomes more and more uncomfortable. He can almost sense the magic fighting against itself, or against his own healing or whatever it is. It feels like an animal digging against him, something mindless and hungry. Teeth gritted, he steadies his breathing.

Eventually he can't stand any more. He reaches up to catch Nick's wrist. ]

Stop. Nick. It ain't gonna happen. [ His grip relaxes a bit. ] It's okay.

[ it's not working and it should, and it's all the more frustrating because nick should have seen it coming. that doesn't mean he doesn't try, he pushes harder, brow knitted with focus as he tries to brute force it with magic that was never meant for that. magic keeps flowing hard, and fast, and nick doesn't stop when his fingertips start to feel cold--

but he stops when logan's hand finds his wrist.

nick blinks like he's surprised, and some of the tension that he hadn't noticed building in his muscles bleeds away as he pulls that power back. it's quick, the absence immediate and noticeable when nick stops trying to push it so damn hard. ]

Sorry. [ he murmurs the word under his breath, stepping closer so that he can press his lips to logan's forehead, and nick knows that it's not his fault but it doesn't stop some vague notion of guilt from creeping in all the same. ] That...that should have worked.

Hey.

[ Logan tips his head back to look up at him and loops his arms around Nick's waist.

It's a kind of relief to have that particular question answered, though not necessarily a pleasant one. But he can push the worry aside for a moment or two as he tries to encourage the younger man forward and into his lap. ]

Hey, it's okay. I figured it was some kinda nonsense. Maybe they ain't done with me, or it'll go away on its own. Thanks for helpin' out. C'mere and sit down before you fall over.

I'm not going to fall over.

[ but he sits down anyway. nick settles in logan's lap, and there's relief in the way that he doesn't hear the huff of painful joints in response, at least. he's back to normal, in every way except one. that has to be a good thing.

this time when his finger brushes light against the pink edge of one of the harsh lines, there's no magic to it. just a soft touch, and nick idly wondering if it looks slightly less tender, or if he's just trying to convince himself to make it feel better. ]

At least all your hair grew back. [ he doesn't much feel like making a joke but he does it anyway, even if there's not much comedic timing in a soft little murmur. ] At your age, baldness is a real risk.

[ There are lots of sayings about how you don't know what you've got until it's gone and Logan figures he ought to be grateful to be out of that haze of pain and fever. He certainly feels as though he has some time to make up for, which might account for the fact that he doesn't grumble when Nick touches the brand again, nor does the joke earn more than a brief grunt of affectionate amusement.

He tucks his chin to watch Nick's finger trace one of the letters, then looks back up at him. His thumbs hook companionably into the back of Nick's waistband as he spreads his hands across his backside. ]

Careful with wisecracks now I can throw ya over my shoulder again.

Oh, what are you going to do.

[ a fond smile cracks despite his best efforts, and it's right around then that nick decides to just rest his palm on logan's chest instead, mostly away from the burnt lines. his fingers splay out over the thick hair and he leans in, pressing his nose in against logan's head, right against his hairline.

the breath he exhales is long, drawn out, but right around when he's done with that he decides--to be mad about the brand, or the fact that he couldn't fix it, or the whole city from the top down, another time. later, when he's home and mulling it all over, or tomorrow. some time when he's not sitting in the lap of logan, as close to his normal as he's been in what feels like forever. ]

Threaten me with something I won't like.

Mm, lemme think.

[ It's nice, sitting like this, with nowhere else they have to be and nothing else to do. Nice and almost normal. It's also not difficult to sense the relief in Nick as he sighs beside his ear, tension seeming to ease out of him a little more the longer he stays there.

He follows Nick's lead, though it's his inhale that's deeper as he nudges his nose up against the curve of Nick's jaw, taking in a catalogue of scents both fresh and stale, the story of the last couple of days overlaid by the stink of magic and wood stain. He just sniffs and nuzzles at him like that for a bit as he considers the suggestion. ]

I could stop doin' those quizzes you like.

You wouldn't dare.

[ he hadn't realised just how much he missed this until this moment. nick doesn't know how many times he's laughed about the 'weird sniffing thing', but it's fond and familiar and--it makes him smile, now, stupid as he might feel about that.

it's been a long month. it's been a hard one, for both of them. there are worse things than getting a little sentimental over someone's scenting habits. ]

How do I smell, you miss it?

[ if he's going to be cringe about something, he might as well go all in. ]

Like yer goddamn chopstick magic. [ No matter what else Nick does with it, that's what it's always going to be for Logan. The wobbly chopsticks floating over to him and the quick flash of genuine self-satisfaction from a kid that's usually too quick, in his opinion, to play down his talents.

He ducks his head a bit so he can snuffle along the collar of Nick's shirt. He could do this from across the room, but he likes the feeling of it as well, reading and marking scents. Understanding where his territory begins and ends. ]

Beeswax, plants, soil. Sweat. Chemicals. Mary Jane. Kyle. Your friends. Nathan. People I ain't had a chance to meet yet. [ His voice takes on a hint of amused irony over that. Not that he minds sharing Nick with whoever Nick wants to spend time with, but game recognises game where being a slut is concerned.

Sitting back, he slides a look up at Nick again and gives his ass a light squeeze. ]

You ever tried to eat somethin' while holdin' your nose? Makes everythin' taste dull. Scent is important. Even more important to someone like me. It was like walkin' around with my eyes closed.

I feel like I need to remind you that I do shower, like, all the time.

[ even as he says it he's grinning, pleased as he sits back just enough that he can get a good look at logan. enough that he can card his fingers through logan's hair. nick is cagey about sharing, even with all the work he's trying to make to unfurl some of that tightly wound privacy, he's still secretive and tight-lipped, and it doesn't make any sense that he would like the way logan can just sniff out all these details into nick's life, his movements and feelings.

but he does. he likes the way that logan can pull out those names, trace back the route he took from work, sniff out the joy and misery in equal measure. there's a--comfort in it, something he can't explain, and something he doesn't think he'll ever try to. ]

How well does it even work? Can you, like, tell what I was using in the potions this afternoon? Or if I had coffee this morning? [ he smirks, which sort of ruins the faux-coy charade as he lowers his eyes. ] Can you tell how long it's been since I had sex?

[ It's not an easy concept to get used to, so Logan doesn't share all that often unless he has a point to prove. People have been known to get a little freaked out at the idea that he can track them like a bloodhound and figure out what they had for lunch just from taking a breath nearby. But Nick, he can tell he enjoys it, so the grin he gives him is full of satisfaction. ]

All of that and more, darlin'.

[ He reaches down without looking to take hold of Nick's wrist, bringing his hand up so his fingertips touch the end of his own nose. ]

I can tell how long it's been since you jerked off. [ He sticks his tongue out to stroke a hot wet stripe up the middle of Nick's palm, still holding his gaze. ] Where Kyle came the last time he fucked you. [ Another lick. ] I can tell when you want someone to fuck you. I can smell it from across the room. Like burnin' flowers.

You can tell all that, huh? [ nick watches with rapt focus as logan's tongue drags over the skin of his palm, eyes following the wet trail before they flick back to logan's face. his teeth catch on his lower lip and he wiggles his fingers just a little where they're caught in logan's grip. ] What do you think I want now, then?

[ for all he hasn't really been thinking too consciously about how logan's depowered month came with a lot less sex at the time -- there'd been too much to worry about, too much going on with him, with nick, with everything -- nick is really thinking about it now.

he leans in, but he doesn't kiss logan. he just stays close by, a suggestion of a tease as he draws just near enough that he can feel logan's breath against his face. ]

Tell me what I want, Logan.

[ It's exactly the right kind of response to make Logan want to snap his teeth and drag Nick down to the floor with him, which is one of the reasons he likes him. The grin that slides across his expression has a lot of points in it. He slides his hand up over Nick's fingers, closing a tight hold around his wrist instead.

His voice drops down to a low growl, pitched almost at a whisper. ]

I can tell you want it hard. Until you're shakin' and whining for more. I can tell you ain't had it that hard for days and now you're achin' for it, you want bruises on your hips, you want someone to sink their teeth into your shoulders. You wanna be used, rode hard and put away wet, then sent home barely able to walk.

[ He pulls down on Nick's wrist and leans up at the same time, so he can brush a kiss over the younger man's jaw. ] How am I doin'?

[ it's almost automatic, the way nick's chin tips as logan's lips meet his jaw, freeing up space at his throat for the man's mouth to travel to without nick even thinking about it. nick might be in logan's lap but they're really not touching all that much--or at least, more accurately, they could be touching much more, than the seat and the grip on his wrist, the lips and occasional brush of logan's chest against nick's arm.

it's not enough. he wants more and logan can tell, and that is maybe the hottest part. that nick telegraphs all that desire without even realising and logan just always knows. ]

I think you're pretty warm. [ he's so casual about the response, voice light and breezy, but at the same time nick moves his hand--and with it the fist logan has wrapped around his wrist--over to his own stomach, slides his palm down over his own shirt, lets it wait at his waistband and tilts his head all the way back. ] Think you can point me in the direction of where I can find all that?

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