Halloween Plot

[echolls_cursed]

They'd been spared.

It was Halloween morning, and there wasn't a pair of hooker-boots between them. It was a huge relief, one which they promptly celebrated with a little roughhousing and a lot of kissing. Both of which were going well until Logan backed into one of Neil's shelves, knocking it down and banging his head.

That sort of killed the mood.

After a brief argument about who's fault it had been, Neil had left in hopes of borrowing some nails and a hammer from the building crew, leaving Logan to tidy up and get dressed. He wasn't alone for long though, and when Logan heard the door open behind him, he instantly assumed it was Joe, coming to see just what the hell they'd been doing.

"You know, in some cultures, they have this thing called 'knocking'. Apparently it stops people from walking in on one another while they're getting dressed," Logan quipped, pulling on a t-shirt and turning around.

He really wished he hadn't.

""Nothing I haven't seen before," Aaron replied, his voice laced with that carefully practiced tone of a loving father. "I spent a good six years bathing you after all."

Something told him that Aaron wasn't going to simply vanish this time, and Logan struggled with himself for a moment as he tried to decide how to react. "You mean the Nanny spent six years bathing me," he corrected, forcing himself to stay casual and relaxed. "Rosalita always had a softer touch than you anyway."

Aaron laughed, a forced and cold sound that Logan was all too familiar with. The calm before the storm. "I've missed you, Logan. I'm really looking forward to becoming a family again."

Logan just shook his head. "You're not my family anymore," he said firmly, voice level and calm. "I'm twenty now, and you're not my father. You were never my father. Just the asshole that..."

He was promptly cut off by the back of Aaron's hand as it hit his cheek, snapping his head to the side with a sound that seemed to echo off the hut walls. "Don't be disrespectful," his father said simply. "I don't care how old you are, you are my son, and you'll show me some respect. You're right, you're not a child anymore, and I won't treat you like one if you don't act like one."

Rubbing his cheek, Logan glared, fighting back the feeling of fear that sat deep in his gut. "You're not my father," he said again, looking up at the older man for a long moment, and then trying to push past him so he could leave.

He really should have known better, but after all this time, he didn't want to be the weak child he'd been two years ago. He didn't want to cave and let Aaron shove him around. He'd built a new life here, and if would take more than a slap in the face to get him to give it up. When Aaron grabbed his arm though, fingers digging into his forearm as he shoved him roughly back into the room and onto the bed, Logan couldn't fight the fear any longer. In that moment, he was seven again, and Aaron... Aaron was the most frightening person in the world.

Mouth open slightly, there was an obvious look of panic on Logan's face as he watched Aaron move closer.

"Is this how it has to be?" he father asked. "Twenty years old, and you still need to be taught how to treat someone with respect? It's embarrassing, Logan, I hope you know that. You should be ashamed of this." Fingers moving to his belt, Aaron just shook his head as he slipped it free from the belt loops on his jeans. "We'll do it this way then."

Logan didn't even argue. He knew better than that. In the long run, the belt tended to be the better option. It was usually enough to calm Aaron down, preventing bloody noses or broken bones. That didn't make it any easier to swallow though, and Logan's stomach turned as he got to his feet and pulled off his shirt. He didn't need to be told to face the wall, he just did it, forcing his mind to go blank as he heard Aaron step up behind him.

"You know I only do this because I love you," he heard his father say... right before the first lash fell.

When it was over, Logan's back burned, and he wasted no time pulling his shirt back on. "I need you to leave," he said calmly, glancing at his father. "You can go to the compound... that big building... you can get a room or something. You can't be here though. Alright?"

Aaron just raised a brow. "Don't want to introduce me to your boyfriend then? You're lucky you're mother's not alive to hear about that. It would have killed her."

Logan just frowned, knowing that wasn't true. "Lucky you drove her to suicide you mean," he corrected coldly. And this time... This time he waited to hit the ground.

(Locked to those close to Logan, If you want to tag in and didn't already get an okay from me, just drop me an e-mail.)

Comments

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"You... You should have left. He'd have stayed here with me," Logan murmured, rubbing his head. "Now he could be anywhere."

[little_moons]

"I wasn't gonna leave you here," I say quietly, reaching up and covering his hand with a sigh, "You weren't moving, Logan... I didn't know- I needed to know that you were okay."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"I'm fine... I'm fine," Logan sighed. "You... Shit," he gasped, noticing the blossom of red on Neil's cheek.

"What did he do to you?"

[little_moons]

"Nothing. Logan, I'm fine. It's nothing," I shake my head, offering him a small, crooked smile, "I don't think he likes me much."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"He hit you," Logan murmured, reaching out to touch hid cheek softly. "I'm so sorry."

[little_moons]

"It's okay," I say, turning onto the touch and letting my lips brush against his palm, "I'm fine. Barely a tap. Guess that's what happens when you call him a pathetic fucking coward, huh?"

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, that's what happens," Logan laughed nervously. "Help me up? I think... I think I'm bleeding. Need you to look at my back."

That and the room was spinning and thought he might be better off in bed.

[little_moons]

Getting to my feet, I lean down to help him up, half dragging him to his feet so he can sit down on the bed.

Carefully, I peel his shirt up and off of him, dropping it down carelessly on the floor and sitting down behind him on the mattress. "Jesus... He didn't waste any fucking time," I say, voice wavering a little as I reach out to gently trace along one of the fainter lashes cutting across his back. My throat closes up and my goddamn eyes start to burn, but I swallow it down, getting up to find the jug of clean water we keep around and a clean cloth off of the shelf that's still standing.

"I'm gonna... Gonna try and clean some of this up, okay?"

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan just tensed a bit and nodded, clearly embarrassed that he'd let his father hurt him so badly. "Is it really that bad?" he asked, already knowing the answer really.

It had been a bad lashing, even by Aaron's standards. But Logan figured his father had just been making up for lost time.

[little_moons]

"It's... a couple of 'em split. One's sorta deep," I murmur, voice hoarse and tight, and my hands are shaking when I pour a little water onto the cloth and start to carefully dab at the wounds.

"Shit," I hiss quietly, my vision blurring, eyes burning and welling up, spilling over one cheek and onto the sheets. I should've been here. Or I should've stopped it. I always promised I wouldn't let Aaron touch him if he suddenly showed up. Lot of fucking good that did, and here I am, cleaning him up and crying behind his back like a fucking kid. But for a second there, when he fell like that and didn't move, I thought...

Jesus Christ, I don't know if I've ever been that scared in my life.

"It's fucking insane out there. Something's going on. I don't even know if we could get to the compound if we wanted to."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan could hear the change in Neil's voice, and he turned slightly to look at him, despite the pain.

"Hey," he said, voice quiet and slightly strained. "Hey, he's gone now, okay? Everything's alright. We're alright."

[little_moons]

"Fuck, I know... That's not- You're not alright. What the fuck does he want with us?" I ask, and it's a stupid fucking question, but I know he's coming back. Just like I know Logan'll keep letting him do this shit to him if it means protecting me or protecting Veronica. Just like I know Logan'll keep Joe from killing the son of a bitch, 'cause he's family and unlike dear old Dad, Logan's not a murderer.

"He's coming back. For dinner. I'm sorry, but I really don't want him in my fucking house again."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"I'll take him somewhere, I won't let him near you again," Logan promised, closing his eyes and bracing himself on the bed.

"I think... I really think I need to lay down," he said.

[little_moons]

"I don't give a fuck about me," I argue, taking hold of his shoulders and slowly helping him to stretch out with his head on the pillows, "I can't leave you alone with him."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"He's less likely to kill me," Logan argued, pulling Neil down with him.

"I'm fine, okay? I just took a bad fall on that last hit. ..I don't want him talking to you."

[little_moons]

"Less likely?" I repeat, voice still strained as I lower myself down next to him and press my forehead gently against his, trying not to jostle him too much, "We need a fucking deadbolt."

I rest my hand against his cheek, thumb sweeping over his cheekbone and my fingertips burying themselves in his hair. "Nothing he can say to me means shit, Logan. I can handle it."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"I knew...I knew he was coming," Logan said quietly. "I knew, you know?"

Sighing, he buried his face in Neil's neck, letting the fear and pain he'd been fighting well up inside him. "He shouldn't be here."

[little_moons]

"I know," I murmur, wrapping my arms around him carefully and pulling him close without pressing on his sliced skin. "I'm... God, I'm so fucking sorry, Logan. I should've... I dunno, fuck... I just thought it was island shit, you know? I just..." I trail off, burying my face in his hair and breathing him in, letting out a broken sigh when something deep in my chest twists painfully.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan wanted to tell Neil that it wasn't his fault, that they had no way of knowing...

All he could manage was a soft sob though.

"I couldn't stop him," he said quietly.

[little_moons]

That twisting in my chest? It's turned up by about a hundred, something breaking sharply, physically painful enough that I let out a sharp gasp and hold onto him a little tighter.

"It's okay. We'll be okay," I say quietly, even though I've got no fucking clue if that's true, and I could be just as likely trying to convince myself. "I'm not leaving you. I can't, Logan. Don't fucking ask me to."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"I just don't wnt him to hurt you, you know?" Logan said quietly, finding Neil's hand and squeezing it.

"He's... He hurt so many people that I love, you're not allowed to be next."

[little_moons]

"Well, you're not allowed to do this shit alone anymore," I argue quietly, lacing our fingers together and letting my lips smudge against his forehead.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan just nodded, trying to ignore the way his body ached and protested as he moved closer. God, he was so tired...

"I know, okay?" he said softly.

[little_moons]

"Just... Just rest for a little while. We'll figure something out," I murmur, looking around the room for... fuck, I don't even know. Something to bar the door with? Something to knock the bastard in the fucking head with? Which the motherfucker deserves, by the way.

Hell, I'm really not completely against suggesting we just run and hide.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"I have to make sure Joe's okay," Logan said after a moment. "If dad's here... Bucky could be here."