Age plot (jack)

[echolls_cursed]

Camping was the most exciting thing ever, and Logan bounced a little on his heals as he watched Jack put up their tent.

"Can we roast something on the fire?" he asked. "Will you tell me ghost stories? That would be cool," Logan babbled, still small and youthful.

He wandered over and tried to help. Dragging the blanket around and making their bed.At some point he'd acquired a teddy bear, and he placed it carefully on the make-shift sleeping bag before wandering back over to Jack's side.

"I like the fire," he said, pointing at it. "When it gets darker it'll be really cool."

Comments

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan's little eyes went wide, and he looked at Jack as if he was magic.

"How did you get them?" he gasped, inching closer to inspect them.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"You wished for them and they appeared," Jack said plainly. It had been quite a while since he'd really had to get someone to believe something so far-fetched, but once upon a time he'd been fantastic at conning people.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan considered that for a moment, and then closed his eyes again.

A moment later and they were open once more as he looked around.

"It didn't work this time," he said sadly, closing his eyes to try and wish again.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"One wish per day," Jack replied. "That's how it goes. What did you wish for just then?"

With his luck it was probably something he could have never come up with, so the one wish a day idea was a good one as far as he was concerned.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"My mom," Logan said softly. "Marshmallows were a stupid wish," he added, looking down at his hands as he spoke.

"I'm not hungry anymore," he decided quietly, getting up and toddling over to the tent.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

Jack sighed heavily. He'd wondered when that was going to come up. Eventually...it had to. Logan was a little boy and little boys wanted their moms.

"She's not here, Logan," he said softly. He put the food away so no sneaky monkeys or other jungle creatures would get at it and then went over to join Logan.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "It was a story. The marshmallows weren't here because you wished for them. I brought them because I thought they'd make you happy. You have to have marshmallows when you camp. I'm pretty sure it's the law."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"So there aren't any wishes?" Logan asked softly, looking hurt for a moment, and then kicking Jack as hard as he could.

"I hate you! I hate you, and you're stupid! And- And you have a stupid face!"

Logan scrambled to his feet and started to run- because running was all he knew to do when everything went wrong. At least it was all he'd known as a child.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Ow! Son of a-" Jack said, rubbing his leg. "Logan! Logan, stop. You can't...it's getting dark...Logan! Get back here!"

He left the fire and food and everything and raced after the little boy into the thick jungle that had already practically swallowed Logan up.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan kept running, but he only had little legs, and he could only get so far so fast.

He stumbled a little and then fell, landing on hands and knees .He felt tiny and lost, and he didn't like it. He missed being grown. He missed being able to ignore how bad things felt sometimes. He missed being able to forget the past.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

He caught up to the boy and bent over him, taking hold of him and helping him to his feet.

"Come on," he said gently. "You can't go running off like this every time you get mad. Come on, there's snakes and things out here. Let's go back to the fire."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"No!" Logan shouted, smacking Jack's arm and then turning away.

"I hope the snakes eat me," he said.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"They will eat you," Jack said just before he picked Logan up and threw him over his shoulder to carry him back.

"And boars. And spiders. And giant jungle rats. And...tapirs. And, um,"

He had to think for a moment.

"...Vermicious knids."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"You're making things up," Logan protested quietly, dangling lifelessly over the other man's shoulder.

As soon as Jack put him back down, he looked up at the other man.

"I don't want to be little anymore," he said quietly. "I miss my mom."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"It can't last much longer, baby. It never does. Until then...you've got me and I love you and nothing bad will happen," he said, then caught sight of the ugly bruise on Logan's arm. "Okay, nothing really bad will happen."

He stroked Logan's hair gently.

"We should talk about your mom," Jack said. "Why don't you tell me what you miss most?"

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan shook his head a little and looked down at his feet. "I don't want to," he said quietly. "I want teddy."

He looked embarrassed as he said it, and quickly made his over to the tent to retrieve the bear.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

Jack decided he'd better not make a big deal out of it and he returned to the fire. He added a little more wood and then dug in the bag for the sausages to he could put them on sticks and cook them for them both.

"Logan?" he asked after a minute. "Do you really hate me?"

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

When Logan returned, he was holding the bear. He wasn't embracing it like some children would though. Instead he simply had its plush arm held tightly in his little hand.

Shaking his head, Logan looked at his feet again.

"No. Not really. I don't hate you," he admitted.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Good. I was worried," Jack replied softly. He turned and looked at Logan and smiled a little.

"I love you. I love you when you're my husband and I love you now, like this. I don't think I could hate you if I tried," he said. Jack pulled the sausage out of the fire, touched it, then put it back in.

"Dinner will be ready in a minute."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"I'm still your husband," Logan said, sitting down beside Jack and leaning against him.

"I love you too though," he whispered, as if he was telling Jack a secret.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

That made Jack smile and he leaned against Logan in return.

"I love you three," he said and his smile grew. "We used to say that when I was a boy. We'd just...count. Count how much we loved each other. I mean, it was my parents. Not anyone I was married to."

He shrugged and then took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. It was funny what memories crept up at the strangest times.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Do you look like them?" Logan asked, watching Jack cook as he sat teddy carefully away from the fire.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"More like my mom than my dad...I think. I hardly remember. But, then, when I was a boy my hair was lighter and I was smaller and...I don't know. I grew up," Jack said slowly, thinking it through. One of the sausage popped and the juice sizzled in the flames so Jack pulled it back for it to cool so they could eat.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan reached for it, suddenly starving.

"That smells good!" he said happily, grinning at Jack and forgetting all about what they'd been talking about.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"It's hot!" he warned, but it really wasn't. Once it wasn't above the flames it had cooled enough to handle.

Jack thought for a moment about how strange it was to feel compelled to warn Logan from things like that. As an adult he was a perfectly capable man. He didn't need to be told things like be careful and all that. But right now Jack just couldn't help it.

"I bet you'll finish yours first," he said as he got his own ready. Never once did it occur to him to eat first and make Logan wait.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Gimmie!" Logan chirped, giggling a little as he took the food and leaned against him.