echolls_cursed | For Joe

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For Joe

Logan had left Jack's early, knowing that before he packed a single bag he needed to go see Joe.

Stepping into the Hamlet, he couldn't help but feel a little heartbroken. Sure, he was excited about moving in with Jack, he wanted to take that next step and see where it took them, but that didn't make it any easier to say goodbye to his home. As small as the island was, each neighbourhood couldn't have been more different, and the Hamlet was like no other. It was small and close knit, and the first place Logan had ever felt at home in.

And of course, there was Joe.

He didn't bother knocking, he rarely did in the morning. Not unless he thought Joe and Dale might be- well, he tried not to think about what Joe and Dale did. Still, he could hear Joe's guitar, and that was enough to make him open the door.

"Hey," he called out. "You decent?"

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"Nah, I'm playing my guitar naked, dick waving free in the morning air," Joe called back, although he was fully dressed with the exception of his boots. Ozzy lifted her head at the sound of Logan's voice, her tail wagging happily and Joe looked up, grinning as he lay a hand over his guitar, silencing the strings.

"Would that stop you from coming in if it was true?" he asked, smirking.

"Probably not," Logan grinned, laughing a little as he stepped inside and headed over to where Joe sat with his guitar and his dog. He sat down without waiting for an invitation, leaning over to ruffle Ozzy's fur.

"Sorry to swing by so early or whatever, I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"It's fine, man, I'm awake," Joe said, waving off Logan's apology before he began to strum the guitar softly once more. It was probably a bad habit; playing all the time while someone was trying to talk to him, but he tried to keep the volume soft, hopefully just background noise.

"So what's up?" he asked. "Wait, lemme guess. The island is making everyone crazy again."

"Uh, I haven't ruled out island insanity as an explanation, but- actually I wanted to tell you that I'm going to be moving out of the Hamlet. ...In fact, I'm actually moving out so I can move in with Jack," Logan said quietly, wetting his lips as he looked down at his feet. "He asked me the other night."

If Joe's expression didn't properly convey his shock, he expected the sudden absence of music probably did and his fingers fell still, hanging in the air in front of the strings. Then, following his surprise, he felt a rush of disappointment.

"Holy shit, you're making me have that fucking empty nest feeling," he realized. In a second, he'd make sure this was something Logan really wanted to do, but at the moment, that realization was a bit overwhelming. "Way to make me a fucking weepy-eyed mother. Jesus."

"I won't be that far away, I'll be right near the compound," Logan replied, though the tone of his voice made it clear that it felt miles away. "If I thought I could get him to move here instead, I would. This place is my home, and it's been- it's been a really big deal being close to you. Trust me, it's not easy for me either, Joe."

"Jesus," Joe muttered, reaching up to rub a hand over his face. It really wasn't that far. It wasn't like he didn't walk up to the Compound every single day anyway. A part of him wanted to ask why Jack didn't want to move to the Hamlet instead, but he didn't.

"You're right, though, it's not that far away," he agreed after a moment.

"We'll still see each other all the time," Logan added. "I mean, we're going to record all that music together, right? And you still have a lot of stuff to teach me about writing music. We'll still hang out and see each other, just maybe a little less."

Staring down at his hands, he frowned slightly. "We're going to start packing my stuff later today. You should come by. I know you aren't his biggest fan or whatever, but I know he's worried you're going to be pissed at him for, I dunno, staling me away or whatever," he said, forcing an awkward laugh and a sad smile. "Besides, the bed comes apart, so that'll be easy enough to move, but I'll need help moving the shelf you made me. I already told Jack he has to make room for it at his place."

Even though he knew it wasn't the case, it sounded like they were both trying to make excuses, floundering for reassurances that they'd be okay. It wasn't like Logan was moving across the fucking country. Even if he shipped out to that second island, he wouldn't be all that far away.

Still, a part of Joe was just used to having him right next door and he knew it would be rough.

"Yeah, of course," he agreed, letting his fingers fall back to the guitar once more. "You know I'll help you, man. Even if helping you means carrying that fucking bookshelf across half the island," he added with a soft laugh.

Logan fell silent for a moment after that, leaning lightly against Joe the same way he had a million times before. Though this time it was just a little different. Not since the morning he'd skipped out on his own wedding had he felt so small and young, not even when he'd been ten years old. He pulled his sleeves down over his fingers, and wrapped his arms loosely around himself as he rested against the other man, his chin digging into Joe's shoulder as he turned his head slightly to look at him.

Edited 2009-05-18 18:29 (UTC)

"It'll be fine," Joe said, looking over at Logan. He shifted, set his guitar down and then leaned back against the wall. "I know that sounds like a fucking bullshit platitude or something, but it will be. It's not that far and it's not like just moving away is gonna do anything, right?"

Maybe he was looking for reassurances as well, wanting Logan to tell him that it would be fine.

"We were close before I moved to the Hamlet," Logan pointed out. "So yeah, I mean, why would anything change? We'll be good. We were then and we will be now. You're family, nothing could ever change that."

He laughed softly, a small but genuine sound of happiness, a grin curling his lips as he sat up a little. "You know Jack called you my dad the other day?"

"Yeah?" Joe asked with a grin of his own, leaning back against the wall again. "Good thing he's got it right, eh?"

Even through his posturing, it was obvious that he liked hearing that. He liked knowing other people thought of him as Logan's dad, not just the two of them. It meant he had to be doing something right, even when he thought shit wasn't exactly like it was supposed to be.

"If he'd gotten it wrong, I wouldn't have agreed to move in with him," Logan nodded. "I can't waste my days with someone who doesn't get that right."

Joe laughed, but it was undeniable that hearing that made him happy. "So when's moving day? Right away or are you packing all your shit up in boxes and calling the phone company to change your number?"

"We're going to start moving some stuff today. I thought it might take longer, since I kind of wanted to build Linus a new pen, but he's stopped biting Jack every time he comes over, and he doesn't run off anywhere, so I might not bother. I should be moved in completely in a few days," Logan replied thoughtfully. "It's weird though. I mean, I never really expected things between me and Jack to go anywhere. ...Now I'm going to be living with him. It's kind of crazy."

"Guess it's proof that sometimes things just take their own fucking path, eh?" Joe asked, leaning back against the wall again. "Weird shit happens all over this fucking island and some of it turns out to be the way it's supposed to be, I guess."

"Yeah," Logan said, his voice a little softer as he turned to look at Joe. "I mean, I always thought you and Billy would be forever, and then he left- and now there's Dale. I hated it at first, I knew it was stupid, but I hated seeing you with someone else. I didn't want things to change. But he made you happy... He made you see just how amazing you are- and now I can't imagine you with anyone else. Everything changes, and I've stopped fighting it. Me and Jack happened for a reason. I don't know if you can see it yet, but he's made me a better person, Joe. I don't know how or why, but he has."

As Logan spoke, Joe nodded, because he'd felt the same way, both about his own situation and about Logan's. For a long time, he'd never figured someone could work for him better than Billy had, but now there was Dale. And for an even longer time, he'd been convinced that Jack wasn't right for Logan.

"That's pretty much all that matters," he said. "Like you said, there's no fucking point fighting it. You just get somewhere and it's too tiring to fight something like that."

"Is that your way of saying you won't hate me for leaving?" Logan asked. "Because that's the real reason I came here. I kind of need to know you're okay with this."

He needed Joe's approval.

"'Course I'm not gonna hate you for leaving," Joe answered honestly, his voice softening. "I mean, yeah, it fucking sucks a lot, I don't want you to go, but I sure as hell can't hate you. I mean, shit, parents have to deal with a hell of a lot worse. They have to deal with their kids moving across the country, across the world."

"Yeah, I guess you lucked out there. I'm only moving down the road. ...Okay down a few roads, but It's not like I'm leaving the island," Logan replied, visibly relaxing.

"Jack tried to move you out to the second island where all the dead people were found, then I'd be pissed," Joe agreed with a soft snort of laughter. "I'd have to take a boat out to see you every damn day."

"Aw, Joe, you'd boat out to come see me?" Logan asked with a wicked grin. "That is fucking adorable, man," he teased.

"Yeah, I'm a regular fucking sweetheart," Joe agreed, rolling his eyes even as he grinned. "Weren't you at my wedding? Remember how fucking adorable I am?"

"You're one hell of a housewife, I remember that much. I think I blocked out a lot of the rest," Logan laughed.

"Yeah, it was pretty important that I make the best damn pie in the world," Joe agreed with a smirk. "And the best flower chains."

"They were very nice flower chains," Logan snorted, flashing a grin. "I only wish I could have truly appreciated mine, Joe," he laughed.

"Yeah, you had no interest in my flower chains," Joe said, laughing. "I guess that can be forgiven, man. Just as long as no one's secretly got a flower chain pressed in a book somewhere."

"I'm amazed you don't have one pressed in a bridal scrap book somewhere," Logan teased lightly. "Maybe Dale kept his. He seems like a bit of a romantic."

"For all the weird shit I did, you can be damn sure I did not start a bridal scrap book. Thank Christ," Joe said, shaking his head in amusement. "That'd be fucking impossible to get rid of. I'm sure someone would grab it as blackmail fodder."

"And it totally ould have been the best blackmail ever," Logan grinned.

"So I should thank my lucky fucking stars that I didn't do it, eh?" Joe asked, smirking. "Or you'd have already found a way to get your hands on it."

"Totally man, you know i couldn't let something like that just slip by," Logan grinned. "But I would have helped you burn it eventually."

"Along with my fucking wedding dress," Joe answered with a snort. "I swear, I would've had one if Dale had let me."

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