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fruitcoops · 5 months

Note

can you write something with this quote I found? It’s so fitting for coops !

“I hope the most beautiful thing you ever see if another human”

In honor of final exams, here's some Harvard FinnLo fluff to share in the suffering--or, you're in a library with a beautiful boy...

Character credit goes to @lumosinlove , who shattered me into a thousand pieces with the new art and will be receiving a UPS box containing my entire heart soon. It's just easier that way.

(and to my friends, who do not know this blog exists but have spent their night/ early morning sitting across from me while we work, I love you v much)

“I’m gonna die.”

“Non.”

“I’m going to fail out of Harvard.”

“Non.”

“Yon.”

Logan’s eyes flicked up over the edge of the wooden table divider and narrowed, the green made bright by the black band of his chunky headphones. “You’re not failing out.”

“Might.” Finn slumped further into the palm of his hand. Another half-inch of Logan disappeared on the opposite side of their table. They had been here for hours. His body ached. His mind fizzled softly, like bacon fried so long it crumbled at the first touch.

Huh. Maybe he could use that in his paper. Reformation-era literary techniques had to fit somewhere in there.

A sigh gusted out of Logan; Finn straightened just enough to peek over the mahogany separating them. Blunt fingertips pressed against the inner corners of his eyes and turned the skin white, then dragged along the first hints of exhausted shadows before pulling down until Logan had to blink. He caught Finn watching and the almost of a smile shimmered across his face before he pointedly pulled his headphones back over his ears and bent his head to his notebook.

They had learned their lesson from midterms season—any tables where they could see each other only led to hours upon hours of talking instead of studying. But working alone was not an option (not that Finn had ever suggested it), so. Dividers. They had blinders on the sides, too. Finn sort of felt like he had been put in a filing box when they worked here.

“Lo,” he hissed. The scratch of a mechanical pencil answered. “Logan.”

A girl at the table next to them shot him an unamused look. Finn hoped his smile seemed apologetic, or at least sincere.

“Tremzy.”

The toe of a worn-out sneaker found his ankle. Solid, but gentle.

“Fucker,” Finn whispered, hiding his grin behind their divider.

A puff of air would have rustled his notes if they had been studying at their usual place at the dining room table. He listened to Logan scribble; always stilted when his hands got tired. Their room would smell like Tiger Balm tonight. He’d get to see the funny little wrinkle of Logan’s nose, too. Warm light from the swirling green lamps beside them made his hair glow chestnut and maple. It curled at the ends from his shower after practice, now far enough gone that each thick lock was mostly dry. He hated going to bed damp.

A faint ripping noise made the girl next to them glance over. Something gave a faint plastic rattle. Finn had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep his laugh back when Logan’s hand appeared over the divider and haphazardly taped a torn corner of notebook paper to Finn’s side.

SHUT. WORKING.

Reformation literature could wait.

Finn’s pen smudged blue streaks across the side of his palm. He took Logan’s note and carefully peeled the tape off, then smoothed the curling edge over the section he had torn from his own notes.

On what?????

The sliver of Logan’s back he could see heaved.

Finn waited for a long moment.

The tape came free with a nigh-imperceptible snick.

Econ. Logan’s fingernails were ragged at the edges from biting.

Econ-your-mom-ics.

The crumpled-up note came sailing back over without a response—he caught it half an inch from his forehead and tucked it into the waterbottle pouch of his backpack before carefully sliding his chair back and leaning forward, far enough to rest his chin on top of the divider.

Logan’s work station was a disaster. Hurricane Tremblay has entered the building, he thought as Logan’s marking of a demand curve slowed to a stop. Highlighters of three different sizes were scattered among half a dozen pens and dull pencils. A thin layer of used-eraser confetti littered every page and worksheet.

Logan had switched to a blue pen—one of Finn’s, he realized. Likely borrowed during their last study session. Finn pressed his chin harder to the wooden edge and waited. Always patient. Logan would crack soon.

Ever so slowly, Logan looked up at him from under his lashes. His hands flattened over his notes. He would have looked immensely unimpressed if Finn didn’t know better.

The cold press of a ballpoint to the tip of his nose was…not unwelcome, but not unexpected. Finn scrunched his face up and heard a short, amused exhale. The pen retreated. Logan was really smiling now, tiny and mischievous. “There.” He was always better at whispering than Finn. “Rudolph’s fucked-up cousin.”

Finn had to duck into his sweater at that, shoulders shaking with the force of a contained bark of laughter. The girl next to them made a show of turning up her music in her earbuds. God, he should feel bad, shouldn’t he? They should go home—go to their room and try one more time to be productive without the laws of Harvard’s libraries looming over them. Percy had been trying to convince him to bring one of the library lamps home for ages.

Logan finally looked away from his notebook, grinning wildly as he shook his head and gave Finn’s forehead a light push. The chair creaked when Finn sat again and scooted forward. He didn’t even want to think about how old these things were, or he’d start getting philosophical. It was much more fun to wax poetic about the importance of Harvard history regarding antique chairs when he was drunk and in Will’s care for the evening.

Logan would listen, Finn thought as he woke his computer up and flexed his hands over the keyboard. Some of the letters were worn nearly bare from his fingers. Logan would laugh at him, but he would listen. He could hear it now. Okay, Harz. Uh-huh. Oh, really? Should I leave you and the chairs alone for a while?

No, no, he would say. I gotta show you. You gotta know.

Logan would shake his head again. Finn figured he’d have a fifty-fifty chance of getting Logan to come with him on a late-night library run versus letting him wrangle him back to bed. He’d be happy either way.

For now, Microsoft Word was waiting with a heading, six sources, and an impatient cursor tapping its foot over his bolded [TITLE!!!!] notation.

Midnight came and went between paragraphs four and five. The girl next to them packed her things five minutes later, slinging her satchel over her shoulder as if it weighed eight hundred pounds.

Logan dropped a pen—black, this time—just after one o’clock.

The library lights flickered when the clock hit 1:30. They gathered their things, not bothering to pack their bags, and relocated to the first floor’s 24-hour room with the rest of the pitiful souls relinquishing their night to the altar of academia.

Finn’s eyes began to burn at 2:37.

The first soft snore sounded at 2:51.

He had been so good. So good. He hadn’t bothered Logan at all, not counting the friendly slap to the back of his head when he came back from the bathroom. Nine glorious pages of semi-decent analysis were finally in existence.

The next snore was a touch louder, like Logan had breathed away whatever muffled it before. Finn leaned up on his elbows to see over the edge and smiled to himself at the curls pressed flat to spiraled aluminum. Logan’s lips were parted on the paper. His pencil—back to the pencil? Finn would never understand him—hung limp in the valley of his thumb. His other hand rested on the back of his neck, like he had been supporting himself on it before sleep made him slump right over.

“Tremz. Logan. Hey, number ten.”

Logan’s finger twitched.

Finn sat back, stretched his leg out, and landed a light kick on Logan’s shin. He heard a snort before Logan’s jolt reached his foot. “Calice de crisse—”

“Good morning.”

Logan was blinking hard and slow when Finn leaned up again, both hands wrapped around the table edge and maybe, maybe, one foot on earth. “When time?”

“It’s three o’clock.”

“…practice?”

“In the morning.”

Logan nodded, slothlike, eyelids drooping. Graphite stamped the round part of his cheek; he scratched at it, yawned, and stretched both arms out in front of himself in an Oscar-worthy performance of someone who was any kind of awake.

“We should go back,” Finn suggested.

“Non. All-nighter.”

“It’s officially morning.”

Logan exhaled through his nose for several seconds. He was staring into the middle distance again, right along the seam of their barrier. “I have another chapter.”

I ‘ave anuzzer shapter. Soft, and low, and raspy. So close to his morning voice, but not quite. Finn nudged him with his toe. His heart gave a flip at Logan’s light frown. “I’m going to run through my paper one more time,” he offered. “We can head out after that.”

Logan looked up at him, the picture of confusion. “You’re going running?”

“Editing.”

“Oh.” He nodded. “Okay.”

“Finish your chapter.”

“Okay.”

He cracked his knuckles twice before bending over his notes. One hand rubbed through the back of his hair, left long for the end of the season. He’d probably get it cut over winter break. Finn sort of didn’t want him to.

There was a throbbing behind Finn’s eye that had started somewhere around his first attempt at a concluding paragraph. His fingertips were numb and his wrists were sure to hurt as soon as he stopped writing. He wasn’t sure when exactly his mouth had gone so dry, but it had, and he spared a moment’s thought toward the drink station in the lobby. They always had coffee around finals—it was decent, if a little burnt. He wondered if they’d have mint tea.

Logan’s pencil moved audibly slower than before. Loops and swirls and scratches, a language Finn would never understand. Words were his place: endless white pages and safe letters to curl up in. But numbers and statistics, the things with straight answers, were all for Logan’s clever mind.

Those same words echoed in his head and blurred as he scrolled through a halfhearted read-through. It wasn’t long before he shut his dying laptop and finally let it rest, sagging low in his chair. He turned his face to the ceiling and closed his eyes. It would be easy to fall asleep here, with Logan’s foot against his and the gentle sounds of the library wrapping him up.

“Harzy.”

“ ‘m awake.”

“I’m not.” Something tapped the back of Finn’s hand. “Allez, or I’m leaving without you.”

As if. Finn took the proffered hand without opening his eyes and let Logan pull him up, groaning at the pinch in his legs. The crinkle of paper as he shoved it into his bag made him wince, but that was a problem for the morning. It looked like Logan hadn’t bothered to organize, either.

“Zipper,” Logan reminded him, not looking up from his phone. “I don’t want to hear you complain about more lost pens.”

“Thanks.”

“That’s why you have me.”

How Finn wished that was true.

“You know, I read something kind of neat earlier,” he said as they left the study room. At Logan’s hum of mild interest, he turned to walk backward for a few steps. “I hope the most beautiful thing you ever see is another human. Kinda nice to think about, huh?”

“Hmm.”

“I dunno.” Logan tapped them out of the library with his ID. Finn hadn’t bothered to reach for his own in a long time. He smiled to himself as December bit their cheeks, jostling Logan’s shoulder at the first scrape of brick below their feet. “I like it.”

“You would.”

“Shut up.”

“Non.”

“Yon.”

#finn ohara #logan tremblay #finnlo #harvard finnlo #coast to coast #lumosinlove #my fic #fanfic #fluff #studying #all-nighters

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itsaash · 1 year

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[podfic] Roots and Veins by fruitcoops, art by waltzedintherain

in the theme of being post-feb 14, maybe you're in the mood for some hurt/comfort.

If so, here is the podfic for you, Roots and Veins by @fruitcoops

I had a request for this fic by a lovely anonymous listener and it was such a good request!! I recorded after a hard day and it was so cathartic to record. I think listening might come across as more just sad, but sometimes that's the vibe!

It absolutely needed cover art to match eve's writing and I'm so thankful to @waltzedintherain for jumping in with both feet with me! I can't even express how amazing this art is. THANK YOU!!!

Characters by @lumosinlove <3

Enjoy!!

#podfic #sweater weather #characters by lumosinlove #written by fruitcoops #art by waltzedintherain #ready by ashata #hurt/comfort #injury and pain #wolfstar #sirius/remus #posting another podfic with a very different vibe asap

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tenthprinceofhell · 1 year

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A Masterlist of Marauders Fic Recommendations to Read That Aren't by Zar (because people just need to leave him alone)

(ATYD, Choices, & Art Heist, Baby! are obvs at the top, but most people have read those so I'm gonna give the spotlight to some that aren't as overwhelmingly popular)

The Cadence of Part-Time Poets by motswolo

Wolfstar Boarding School/Rock-Band AU with LOTS of slowburn; 979,817 words

A Black Mass Over Highway Ninety by greenvlvetcouch

Wolfstar American Road Trip AU where Sirius and Remus drop everything and go on a road trip around the country (genuinely my favorite fic I've ever read in my LIFE); 225,172 words

Kill Your Darlings by MesserMoon

WIP Jegulus/Wolfstar/Rosekiller/Marylily Modern College AU where the Marauders gang all goes to the same university; 193,728 words (so far)

Sweater Weather by lumosinlove

Wolfstar Modern Hockey AU where Sirius is an NHL player and Remus is the team physical therapist; 156,108 words

Whatever Happened to the Young, Young Lovers? by georgia_sk

Jegulus fic in a scenario where Reg survived the cave and destroyed all the horcruxes; 324,210 words

Beneath a Big Blue Sky by eyra

Wolfstar Modern Farm AU where Remus is a sheep farmer on his family's farm and Sirius + James go to work at the farm for a summer; 68,298 words

On Another Ocean by colgatebluemintygel

WIP Wolfstar Modern Vacation AU where Remus and Sirius go vacationing across Europe; 103,434 words (so far)

That's the Art of Getting By by sarewolf

Wolfstar fic in a scenario where Harry was sent to live with Remus instead of at the Dursley's (like we all know he should have been); 40,459 words

Slow Endings by rweoutofthewoods

Jegulus fic in a scenario where Harry found a series of old love letters between James/Reg when he was cleaning out Grimmauld Place (the saddest shit I have EVER read); 6,958 words

Moony's Midnight Mix by padfootsoftly

WIP Wolfstar Modern College AU where Sirius plays college hockey and Remus runs the university radio station; 17,662 words (so far)

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divkazkdovikde · 1 year

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fav marauders fics

(continuously updated) (all on ao3 ofc) (just wanted to share my bookmarks i did today, so enjoy)

(more notes below)

update: okay, the thing is, i’m actually pretty fucking lazy sometimes. i’ve been meaning to make other parts to this, but well… anyway, here are my ao3 collections of bookmarks for fics i’ve read and enjoyed. those i am actually updating. so feel free to go through them.

All the Young Dudes - MsKingBean89

Best Friend’s Brother - zeppazariel

Changes - chothocholate

intermission - zeppazariel

just lovers (like we were supposed to be) - zeppazariel

Sober Thoughts - moonymoment, zeppazariel

Sweater Weather - lumosinlove

that’s the art of getting by - sarewolf

‘tis the damn season - moonymoment

okay. so. first of all. i am a simple person with simple needs okay? (well not really but-) when i say i like it i mean it. when i don’t like a book i don’t. simple. so here’s the ones that i read and liked and are finished. second, english is not my first language, so that should explain my grammar mistakes. i know about them, ask me if i care. third, this is mostly for me. some kind of diary about marauders fanfics because i am absolutely obsessed. but also i wanted to post it because when i started i wanted some recommendations and there are not many so i hope this will come in handy to someone.

also here are some fics that i absolutely love but are not finished or i haven’t finished reading them yet:

All the Young Dudes - Sirius’s Perspective - Rollercoasterwords

Choices - MesserMoon

Crimson Rivers - zeppazariel

disintegration - moonymoment

edge - pinkpalaceapartments

Give Me Some Credit - brokenvibes

on another ocean - colgatebluemintygel

red lips and rosy cheeks - soloorganaas

Vaincre - lumosinlove

waterloo - frogsandfairies

whatever happened to the young young lovers - georgia_sk

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waltzedintherain · 2 years

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aaahh sketches of logan!!<3💚

character credit to @lumosinlove <333

#lo bby #AHG #logan tremblay #sweater weather lumosinlove #lumosinlove #o'knutzy #coast to coast lumosinlove #sweater weather #coast to coast #sweater weather fanart #my art tag

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cailynwrites · 5 months

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Harry Potter Rec Fest Day 13 - Over 100K

I so appreciate the dedication that it takes for someone to write over 100K words; I think even my M.A. thesis topped out at 30K (with much academic padding). I've read a ton of long fics so there's probably some recency bias here for @hprecfest day 13, but I've also tried to share a couple different pairings ...

Blood Magic (Podfic) written and read by houseofthehebrideanblcks and thestralsofspinnersend Pairing: Draco x Harry Word count: 334,676 Length: 33:05:11 Rating: E

@thistlecatfics already said all the things about this fic in their recommendation for the podfic the other day, and said it in a much lovelier and more eloquent way than I ever could. I guess I came at it from a different perspective though - as someone who is very lucky to feel not too traumatized by life or struggling with addiction or mental health (not a brag, just context), I got to see inside the brains of people like that and feel great empathy for them. Isn't that what art should do - put you in the shoes of different people and make you see the world differently? This is a slow, beautiful story of down-and-out Draco AND Harry heading toward something like peace and love, but it's a long road to get there. Also featuring endlessly patient counselor Luna, supportive Ron & Hermione, and lots of magical creatures.

The podfic is also really well done. The authors recorded it as a podcast originally. If the 33 hour single file on InternetArchive isn't really your speed, you can get the podcast version here, which includes their commentary after each chapter. Maybe not for everyone, but I found it interesting as a companion piece to hear their writing process and talk about trauma, treatment, and recovery in their own lives.

Choice and Chance by @chaoticcrumpets (Podfic by @etl-echo-audiobooks) Pairing: Draco x Hermione Word count: 116,972 Length: almost 10 hours Rating: M

This fic is so interesting. I had gotten a little burned out on Dramione before listening to this fic and this fully resparked my interest. I don't want to give too much away, but it's a mystery, a time travel adventure, and a romance. All the characterizations are very real, even though there might be more than one characterization of some of the characters. Can I use character more times in one sentence? Ah, and the twist at the end!!! *Chef's kiss*

Sweater Weather written by @lumosinlove (Podfic by @itsaash & cast) Pairing: Wolfstar, other adorable OC pairings and more! Word count: 156,108 Length: 15:23:00 Rating: E

I didn't think a hockey AU would be for me, even though I kinda like hockey. I was tempted by the prospect of Everyone Lives (TM) and I'm so grateful for it. This fic is beautiful, the development of all the characters, both canon and original, is incredible. I laughed, I cried, I gasped, I sighed, and when I was done, I wanted to start reading it all over again. At the time, it was newly finished and a sequel was on the way. I've been waiting for a nice vacation or sick day to reread it and its sequel, Vaincre. @lumosinlove has created a wonderful world and I just want to see the characters play around in it forever. I haven't listened to the podfic, but I'd encourage everyone to give it a shot!

************************************************************************

This one barely counts as a self-rec because I'm really just gushing about the author ...

Way Down We Go by @xiaq Podfic read by Cailynwrites (with @etl-echo-audiobooks) with beautiful album art by @abrilas-art Pairing: Draco x Harry Word count: 109,767 Length: 13 hours Rating: T

If you had asked me the ratings of my two out of three of my favorite novel-length Drarry fics yesterday, I wouldn't have thought the answer would be T, but apparently it is. This story, along with Away Childish Things, rewired my brain. I love the pace, I love the development of both boys' characters, I love the ancillary characters both old and new. It's just a perfectly told story. Although I should be encouraging you to go listen to my podfic on AO3 or Spotify, I can definitely also recommend the reading experience. Don't skip the adorable author's notes containing the adventures of the author's dog and grad school woes (relatable).

If you want to get a taste for the podfic before diving in, try this snippet or this one.

#hprecfest2023 #hp podfic #drarry #wolfstar #marauders #sweater weather #dramione #harry potter #draco malfoy #hermione granger #remus lupin #sirius black

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emma-cowboylikeme · 1 year

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my year in fic 2022

marauders edition

i started reading marauders fanfiction in July, and these are all the fics i have completed since, in order of when i read them (roughly)

just lovers (like we were supposed to be) & intermission by zeppazariel

Best Friend's Brother by zeppazariel (i will admit, i'm saving the last chapter of this one, so i'm not technically done)

Crimson Rivers by zeppazariel

All the Young Dudes by MsKingBean89

All the Young Dudes - Sirius's Perspective by Rollercoasterwords

The Hand That Feeds (series) by Rollercoasterwords

Kill Your Darlings by MesserMoon

The Cadence of Part-time Poets & Cadence: The B-Sides by motswolo

Hey Dorcas by moonymoment

The Chimaera & The Wolf (series) by Keysie

Here's Looking at You Kid by MesserMoon

Sweater Weather, Coast to Coast, & Vaincre by lumosinlove

wading in waist-high water by colgatebluemintygel

that's the art of getting by by sarewolf

Of Memories and Milk Thievery by moonymoment

Stereotypical by introvertedhufflepuff

Sober Thoughts by moonymoment & zeppazariel

This Rotten Work by Rollercoasterwords

Staying Strangers by 3amAndCounting

millions of words later...

i don't read books anymore, just them <3

#marauders fanfiction #ao3 #jegulus #wolfstar #dorlene #marylily #emmary #jily #jegulus may have gotten me started but wolfstar and dorlene are my actual favorites #this is such a good rec list #marauders fanfic recommendations #i have such nice memories reading these #and writing about them in my journal

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tea-moon-ster · 6 months

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Fic-O-Ween Dat 9: Sugar Rush

Hello! Here's another tremendously late work for Fic-O-Ween. Life really got in the way and I was not able to participate as I had planned.

This work is not part of the Fantasy Magic Au I've been posting during the fest. Instead, here's some slices of life of older Cubs managing a café and safe place for youth! The general idea is that as life got less busy, they opened a library-café that is open 24/7 to everyone. Here are just some random slices but I'd love to come back to this idea in the future!

Note: This work is takes inspiration from a conversation in the server and many ideas are not my own.

Credits to @lumosinlove for the characters (except Helias, Elise and Aramaiah) and to @noots-fic-fests for hosting and prompt! read it on ao3 here.

Sometimes nights the café was busy. Those were the nights of book presentations, cultural themed events, study groups at the end of terms, all sorts of clubs -Finn had founded the book club, and Leo could swear that Regulus had attended multiple crochet sessions. Sometimes they simply put on music and danced. Then there were quiet nights. A few people minding their businesses here and there, on the tables or couches in the low lights of the late hours. Logan in his office doing the math for the shop. Finn reading quietly on his favorite armchair and Leo either at their side or already beginning to cook for the following day.

That was one of those nights. A mid-week, cold night with no planned events or full tables. Leo didn’t mind the quiet nights; he needed them as a break from the eventful ones, who had considerably grown in numbers over the years. The café had become more popular, and every member of their stuff or costumer was invited to add suggestions, and that’s why they had a monthly movie night, theatre night, karaoke night, art night, and so on.

Quiet nights were perfect for when sleep couldn’t seem to find Leo. He would silently make his way out of bed, careful not to wake Finn or Logan -who’d become only more sensible to one of them missing from his side with time- and join whoever was at the café that night.

Leo peeked in the kitchen to say hello to Amy, yet another chef assistant they’d hired. There hadn’t really been a need to hire her per se, because the café was only so big, and their staff was at full capacity. But she was a young mother and student who needed a job, and who were they to deny her that?

The long, full days and nights when it had been just the three of them managing everything were now a memory. But for how fondly Leo could remember those times, he was secretly glad that didn’t have to stand for longs periods in the kitchen anymore. His hip had begun to make itself heard, an injury from 2027 that hadn’t bothered him in a few decades and was now sporadically back. Go figure. Finn claimed it was normal.

Leo went to the counter to make sure everything was in place. He spent some time organizing new recipes and what to include in the spring menu. It was once he made his way to the vinyl recorder to put some background jazz on that he noticed one table was occupied.

A young boy was sitting there. A hand supporting his chin and a mildly resigned face in a sea of books and messily written math exercises. Oh, am I glad those days are over, Leo mused as he opted for some low, relaxing music instead so not to disturb him. He smiled at the boy, who looked up at him as he walked back to the counter, and received a small, shy wave of a hand in return.

Leo decided to let the kid study in peace, even if ‘peace’ wasn’t the word he would have chosen to describe the situation. He snooped from his cooking books from time to time, only to see the poor boy writing furiously or turning pages frantically. When the third long, suffering sigh filled the room, Leo decided it was time for him to step in.

He smiled when even his steps getting closer didn’t make the boy look up from the books, and gently cleared his throat. Two big, dark circles -oh, and some eyes, too- were on him as he took a seat in front of him, placing a fuming mug carefully away from his books, and offered a smile.

“Hey, I’m Leo. Care for an herbal? Chamomile and lavender do miracles for stress.”

The boy, after the initial surprise, accepted the cup with a thankful nod. A shy one, then.

“What are you struggling on?”

The boy bit his lip, a light red coloring his cheeks. “Maths.”

Leo made a face. “Aw, hun. I’m sorry, I’d help you if I were able to. But I’m gay, good at sports and I know how to drive. There was no place left for math.” The boy sighed again, shaking his head at the open books.

“I’m gay, too.”

“Oh, shoot.”

The next half hour saw Leo and the young boy, Helias, really trying to make sense of the numbers and letters mixing without apparent logic in the books. Four pages of failed exercises, two additional herbals and various swearwords later, Leo stated that enough was enough. That’s when he saw Logan’s messages. He was awake, as predicted. He dialed his number.

A misty, heavy accented mumble replied seconds later. “Mon soleil,” he yawned. “Où are you? Ça va?”

“Hey lovey, I’m at the café. Tout va bien, I’m with Helias, we’re trying to do…calculi. We have a test tomorrow. Please come here and make it make sense?”

“J’arrive.”

Helias was quite worried about Leo calling his husband in the middle of the night to join them and help him with calculus. Sure, the friends that had introduced him to the café had mentioned the owners, ex-hockey players so sweet and helpful to make the whole neighborhood melt. But wasn’t expecting this. He tried to politely refuse, saying that there was no need, he really didn’t want to bother- who was he to make a grown man move in the middle of the night to help him with calculi, goodness. But the blonde man dismissed him with a hand, affirming that his Logan was already up and would have joined them in a matter of time anyways. And he never minded helping.

So, Helias let Leo push him on a beanbag as they waited, and he closed his eyes to soothing music coming from the vinyl recorder.

Logan arrived twenty minutes later, sitting down at the table covered in books and sheets of paper after a soft hug with his husband -Helias tried not to stare, he really did, but he’d never seen adult queer people interact in sweet domesticity as they did. Logan’s hair was messy, and his face was still drowsy with sleep, but he threw a reassuring smile at the boy as he took a pencil in hand. “Alors, let’s see what we have here.”

Slowly, things began to follow a logic. A contorted, full of exceptions and formulas logic, but a logic, nevertheless. Helias felt the lump of anxiety in his throat gradually detangle as he followed Logan’s patient voice through the equations. At some point Leo joined them again, with a mint tea and a kiss on the cheek for Logan, and a plate of oven-hot cookies that he placed in between them.

As the topics were covered and exercises began to be correct, Helias could feel a warm feeling expanding in his chest. It couldn’t be the sugar rush from all the baked goods Leo was filling the table with. No, it was something else. The way both men had not hesitated to help. Their untold understanding of each other and the kindness transpiring from every gesture. The way they always used we, we have a test tomorrow, we’re gonna try this method and see how it goes. The hands on one’s leg or shoulder and the feather-light kisses. Helias wanted that, someday. With a husband or two or three, it didn’t really matter. But he wanted that love and he wanted to help as he could, like they were doing.

When the clock reached two in the morning, Logan closed the books gently and looked at him in the eyes. Helias almost gulped when being studied by those eyes. They were tired, and small wrinkles framed them, but they were also deep, and intense. Helias hadn’t been warned that he’d need to get a grip in front of senior men in that café.

“I think you’re ready,” Logan nodded. “Now you need to catch a few hours of sleep to do well tomorrow, okay? Do you know how to get home? We can give you a lift.”

“I have my bike,” Helias replied noncommittally.

Leo shook his head as he placed a brown bag in front of him, raised eyebrow and hand on his hip. “Nonsense. You’ll come get it tomorrow, but it’s not safe this late, and you’re already falling asleep. Here’s something for breakfast tomorrow. Your brain needs sugars to give a top-notch performance.”

Helias wanted to cry a bit as Logan helped him gather his things and Leo went to the kitchen to say they were leaving. The drive home was silent with sleepiness and the warm air coming from the AC. In his exhausted state, Helias hadn’t remotely worried about accepting a lift from two random adults. But, he reasoned, if the ex-NHL players with a city-famous little business kidnapped teenagers, someone would have heard of it in all those years.

When they reached Helias’ house, both men turned to look at him, and the boy had to stop himself from pretending they were his parents, concerned and loving. At least not too much.

“You get home and sleep, don’t worry about the test,” Logan said gently. “You know everything you need to know. And it’s a test, anyways, so however it goes, you’ll do great because you did your best.”

Leo nodded, smiling softly. “And you let us know how it goes, yeah? It was a team effort.”

Coming from ex-NHL players, that phrase was something valiant and fierce.

Helias turned the lights off that night without a single worry about the test. He repeated himself what Logan had told him. You’ll have a long and full life, and you’ll remember nothing about this topic or the test. It doesn’t affect your life whatsoever. Tomorrow, you go to school thinking this. Except, he would forever remember that night. Even if math and formulas had nothing to do with it.

There was an old vinyl player in the corner, and a messy mountain of old custodies at its side. Finn and two girls were dancing chaotically to Abba’s, Leo smiling as he dried clean mugs behind the counter, but the moment Angel Eyes came up, Finn jumped the counter to come and get him to dance with them. The two girls laughed as they watched the two men swinging their shoulders in a well-coordinated choreography. Finn put a hand on Leo’s waist, moving them gently back and forth, nose against nose. Finn made him spin once, twice and ended it in a casqué, grinning, cheeks red with the dancing. Leo shook his head fondly, allowing a soft peck on the mouth from the man, before he was pulled up. His hip protested a bit, but it was fine. He went to sit on one of the stools by the counter and watched his husband mouthing the words of Dancing Queen with Aramiah and Elise.

When the last song slowly died down, they returned to the open books on one of the tables nearby. They had an English class to pass, after all. In the following hour, they did much of the work the two girls had been anxious about- Finn got on the table to recite Hamlet, explained everything they needed to know and made them analyze the texts on their own.

Leo supplied pieces of chocolate cake when they made another break.

“Whatcha making?” Logan asked, in a tone that was all Finn and made them both laugh. Leo smiled, a sweet memory on his lips as he chopped strawberries and put them in a bowl.

“Strawberry shortcakes.”

When Leo was met with silence, he raised his head to find Logan smiling at him smittenly, and he knew. They were both remembering the first time he’d made those for them. A smile so radiant, so happy and in love, after thirty years together, that made his heart ache. Leo could still see it all if he closed his eyes. The summer sun on their faces, wind, and splashes of salty water against their bodies. Him leading the motorboat with Logan pressed at his side, and Finn taking pictures and pictures and smiling so hard. Candle lights in the quietness of the bayou, kissing and feeling high on each other, on their first Cup, on their first summer together. Leo remembered feeling invincible.

The present Logan came to tuck himself under his arm, pressing his nose against his neck, just like he had all those years ago. Leo leaned to kiss the soft, greying curls.

Now those pictures were hanging in their hallway, together with many others. Logan had a copy in his office, and Leo had lost track of all the pictures crumpled in Finn’s wallet, almost round with yellowing polaroid’s. The café’s kitchen walls were full of smiling faces, too, because Leo liked to remember what had kept alive his cooking passion for all those years.

“Je me le souviens comme si c’était hier », Logan murmured, bringing a hand to Leo’s chest. I remember it as if it were yesterday.

“Moi aussi, mon doucet,” Leo smiled, putting the knife down to hug Logan properly. “Moi aussi.”

They remained in silence for a while, content in the embrace and reliving the memory. How many boat trips had followed. On their own, then with their kids, and with the team, at dawn and in the middle of the night to escape the heat of New Orleans. Leo sighed happily, tugging Logan closer, a sudden lump stuck in his throat. When he sniffed, Logan parted to bring a hand to his cheek, mesmerized green eyes studying him. But Leo only smiled, and when had that not meant that Logan would smile, too?

#fic o ween 2023 #fic fest #lumosinlove #lou's writing #fic o ween #fic-o-ween

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