O'Knutzy Week 2023: 31st July- 4th August

This is the space for all things O'Knutzy week 2023. Come and have fun! Header credit: @lumosinlove

[oknutzyweek2023]

O'Knutzy Week Bingo Board 2023

A1: Proposal, A2: Cooking Mishaps, A3: Summer Vacation, A4: Dance, A5: Smile

B1: Bucket Hat, B2: Tomato Soup, B3: Migraine, B4: Camping, B5: New

C1: Festival, C2: Laundry, C3: Free Space, C4: Race, C5: Mail

D1: Advice, D2: Gardening, D3: Costume, D4: Borrowed, D5: Cookouts

E1: Toys, E2: Bondage, E3: Phone, E4: Daddy, E5: Treat

The Rules

[fruitcoops]

Kindling & Embers

O'Knutzy Week Day 5 (HA!!): Camping (B4) and Borrowed (D4)! Characters belong to @lumosinlove, and one last massive thank-you to @oknutzyweek2023 for the most fabulous of fests <3

For more of this AU, check out First Burn and Spark ;)

TW for mentioned alcohol

Deft hands plucked two bottles from the picnic table; they hung loose for a moment’s hesitation, then vanished in the shadows as a figure turned away from the bonfire and began heading Leo’s way with startling purpose.

Sweet mother of fuck, Leo thought, dragging his eyes along lambswool lapels and porcelain wrists. He even looks delicious in denim.

Footsteps came to a soft halt in the blanket of pine needles. “Hi.”

“Hi.” Leo winced at his own breathlessness. His small t-shirt—perhaps too small, but he could take a bit of ribbing from Remus if it meant he got to pick up tonight—suddenly felt too warm. “Uh, hi.”

“Leo, right?”

“Knut.” He caught himself, and shook his head. “I mean—yes, I’m Leo. Leo Knut. Station Twelve.”

“Right.” A smile cracked over rose-petal lips like a firework. The bottles clinked lightly as they were transferred to one hand, the other held out in offer. “Finn O’Hara. Seventeen.”

“I know who you are,” Leo said through a smile, though he shook Finn’s hand. It was cool and long-fingered; the touch lingered at his wrist for a split second. His stomach plummeted. His heart soared.

Finn’s eyebrow arched in curious mischief. “Oh, do you?”

“We’ve met.”

Finn’s smile dropped. “Fuck, have we?”

“Yeah,” Leo laughed. Christ, who was he, a middle schooler with a crush? “The Christmas party?”

He was gifted reprieve from earnest, sparkling eyes when Finn glanced to the side, one canine tooth poking out as he bit his lip. His thumbpad traced a dewy bottlecap. Leo kind of wanted to stick it in his mouth. “The Christmas—” Finn’s gaze snapped to him. “Oh my god.”

“It’s fine—”

“Oh my god,” Finn repeated, raking a hand through his hair. “Yes, no, I remember you. God. Fuck. Sorry. About this and—yeah. Christmas.”

“I told you, it’s fine!”

Merry Christmas!

…hi?

Hi! Can I sit on your lap?

Leo had been so distracted by the teasing press of tongue to a pointy tooth that he had utterly forgotten about his dumb, ‘I-lost-a-bet’ costume.

Huh?

Santa, right? I’m Finn. Can I sit on your lap?

Finn’s blush looked just as magical in firelight as it had under twinkling false snowflakes. This time, though, it was more mortified than bold. “I…am so sorry,” he said with a shake of his head.

“Hey, no apologies.” Leo pushed him gently on the shoulder and immediately regretted it. Under the soft denim, Finn was fucking firm. Sneaky little firefighter. He half-wondered what else was hidden under adorable layers. “You were not the only person to ask me that.”

“That, I can believe,” Finn huffed. The tips of his ears went red. “Oh—sorry, that was out loud.”

Another laugh bubbled out of Leo. He should just start kicking his feet and twirling his hair at this rate. He took a shaky breath and nodded to the beers. “Got something for me?”

“What?” Finn glanced down, then gave a bit of a start. “Yeah, I—yeah. You didn’t have anything, so I figured you might…you know. Want something.”

A door, opening just a crack. Leo dove for it. “I do,” he said carefully, ducking his head with a small smile. Finn’s pretty eyes flickered over his face. He cracked the caps off the bottles in two quick motions and held one out—Leo let his pinky brush the curve of Finn’s fingers when he took it. “Thanks, Finn.”

Finn’s throat bobbed. “You can call me Harzy, if you want to.”

“That what your friends call you?”

“Mhmm.”

Leo hummed. Condensation cooled his burning palms. His pulse hammered with concerning speed. “I like your jacket. Very REI-chic. Ready to go camping in the Adirondacks.”

“My brother gave it to me.” Finn held his arm out. “I used to borrow it, like, every day in high school. The elbows and the cuffs are kind of fucked, see?”

Leo reached out—past the threadbare cuffs, past the patched sleeves, until he could take the woolly lapel in his hand. It was unbearably soft under his thumb, creamier than Finn’s freckled skin. He was close enough to risk a touch like this. An inch up and he’d know what that razor-sharp collarbone felt like. “Nah,” he said instead, forcing back the tremor in his voice. “Suits you.”

Maybe it was his imagination, but he thought he felt Finn sway toward him. “Hey,” Finn began. “Do you wanna take a walk?”

A smile fought its way onto Leo’s face. “Sure.”

“Sick.” Finn stuffed his hand in his pocket, grinning into the rim of his beer. “I really love these get-togethers, but the smoke gets to be a little much, y’know?”

“It is kind of ironic. Guess that’s the point.” Something clicked in Leo’s memory as they headed for the perimeter. “Y’all do wildfires, right?”

Finn, halfway through a swig, shook his head and swallowed. “Yeah, but just the regular for me. Seventeen’s a combo unit, since we’re way the fuck out there.”

“I was chatting with one of your guys at New Year’s.” Among other things. That night had been interesting, and Logan, even moreso. His glossy lashes still haunted Leo’s best dreams. “Guess there aren’t a lot of houses to burn in the yeehaw sector.”

“Right,” Finn snorted. “We’ve got a tight squad, though. You should visit sometime. We could use another set of hands.”

“I don’t pull people out of buildings, Harzy. I just stick ‘em back together.”

“And I bet you do a mighty fine job of it.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

“Maybe.” Finn’s face seemed to dance in the distant light of the fire. Sir, please put your freckles away.

Leo brought his beer to his lips to cover his smile. His trachea and esophagus were wound around each other, screaming without end. “Hm.”

“Come on,” Finn teased, nudging their shoulders together. “I gotta get a couple in to make up for Christmas.”

“I told you, I’m really not bothered, or offended, or anything.”

“Makes one of us.” Finn paused, then tilted his face toward the sky. It was dark enough to pick out a few stars if Leo squinted, but…he didn’t really want to look away from Finn. “Seriously, that was dumb and rude of me.” Finn’s voice was quieter than before, more serious. “I shouldn’t have flirted with you, and especially not like that.”

Leo’s trachea-esophagus pretzel constricted and sent words popping from his mouth like a bottle rocket. “You can flirt with me if you want.”

…fuck.

Finn’s brows had disappeared under his thick, floppy hair. Leo could see his wide eyes even in the near-total darkness of the woods. “Do you want me to?”

Jesus, please strike me with a convenient case of lockjaw.

Leo tested his jaw. No such luck.

“I—” He wondered if Finn knew Logan. A tight squad, and all that. He wondered if Logan had told anyone about New Year’s. About rough red brick leaving stains on the back of Leo’s coat for days. About so many almosts and panting pleases and hands desperate for something before the clock ran out. About pressing hot and close in the frigid bite of December-January until they heard the party start up again inside. Logan had fit against Leo’s body like a puzzle piece finding home, and took something with him when he left.

The wildfires were bad this year, burning out of control. Finn was here, under the silent stars. Finn was here, and Logan was not. Flushed pink against his borrowed jean jacket and watching Leo with concern and—and a little bit of hope.

“Yes, please,” Leo said quietly.

This smile was newer. Softer. Finn’s chin dipped; his blush was strawberry-pink and warm when Leo reached out to run his knuckles over it. He felt and heard Finn’s breath stutter.

“Finn…”

Finn was nodding before he could even ask, sliding an electric hand along Leo’s hip.

“Harzy,” Leo sighed into the first press of lips to his own. Finn made a questioning noise; Leo bit his smile into Finn’s lower lip. “Can I sit in your lap?”

[oknutzyweek2023]

So we have two prize-winners who will receive either a t-shirt or a bundle of stickers! They are @tea-moon-ster and @givemetherapyimwritingtravesty! I've reached out privately to both of you to let you know and to arrange prize sending.

Congrats to you both, and a massive thank you to @girlwithcurls96 for being so generous to provide the prize.

And of course, a final big thank you to all who participated this year. Can't wait to see you all over at @noots-fic-fests who will be hosting fic-o-ween 2023 in October.

[oknutzyweek2023]

So, we haven't forgotten about the raffle for those that have completed a line/board. I'm just a little busy at the mo...but fear not I'm hoping to be able to gather names and pull the winners on Sunday.

[tea-moon-ster]

O'Knutzy Week (late) day four

O'Knutzy Vacation! In Italy!

So, this was meant to be for O'Knutzy Week (which has been over for a week now, but what is time anyway?) It's the first of two parts (pt2 is close behind!) and also a present for sweet Harzy! Happy bday bud. Have some love and be a lit nerd with me. Chraracters credits to the wonderful @lumosinlove, prompt and hosting credits to @oknutzyweek2023.

Prompt: Summer Vacation

“Lo, tell me that I’m a genius.”

“You’re a genius.”

“And that you love me.”

“I love you so, so much.”

“Yeah, you do.”

Logan raised an eyebrow at Leo. He was sitting on the couch with a proud grin on his face, his iPad close to his chest in the way Finn held his books after finishing them. He looked like a kid too excited not to speak, Logan noted. Cute. “You know that I love serenading you, but that grin tells me there’s something else. What is it?”

“So, we’ll be in Nice in August.”

“Ouais.”

“Did you know Nice was part of Italy once?”

Logan’s eyes widened in alarm. “Look, it’s better if it doesn’t come up while we’re there, or with my mother. People don’t like to…”

“No, Lo, I mean. It’s close. Literally so close.”

“Yeah, I went there once or twice as a kid. You…wanna go?”

“Could we?”

Logan went to sit on the armrest of the couch and left a kiss among soft curls. “We can do whatever we want, Peanut.”

Leo’s smile almost blinded him. “Great. Because I found something our Harzy will love.”

Logan let himself slide next to Leo, circling his shoulders with an arm. “Tell me everything.”

“Did he enjoy studying Romanticism in college?”

Logan laughed. “Butter, I distinctly remember him crying over Romanticism in college. More than twice.”

They spent two weeks in Nice, rediscovering the bliss of taking their time. They started their slow, quiet days with the sun high in the sky, rolling over in bed to find each other despite the heat. Nice was a constant flow of colors, sounds and touches that Finn never wanted to forget. It was the smiles and kisses shared for the pictures, and Logan showing them little villages on the coast and immense lavender fields. It was Leo’s hand dragging them around colorful markets, and it was Logan ordering meals in a quick and slightly different flow of French.

“Perfect."

•••

It was everything.

It was…a car?

Finn blinked. And not just some car. It was an old-style, red Chevy that shined under the sun, convertible roof and elegant lines. Finn swore had come out straight of an old movie. Leo and Logan were there, leaning on the car with two pleased, smug smiles plastered on their pretty faces. At their feet, their bags were packed.

“Hop on, sweetheart,” Leo smiled, rolling the slow vowels in his mouth as honey dripping from a spoon. “We’re goin’ on an adventure.”

Finn blinked again. “Guys, what…” The flight home is in a week. That’s not our car. Why are our bags packed? Did I forget something we had planned? Did something happen?

“We,” Logan interrupted his thoughts, opening the backseat’s door for him , “Are taking you on a trip.”

“We are on a trip,” Finn mumbled absently, but he stepped forward. He peeked inside. A pile of books was neatly displayed on the cream leather backseat. He  gasped and launched himself, making the car creak eerily.

“Harz,” Leo laughed. “The car is as old as it looks, hun.”

But Finn didn’t pay him any attention, as unusual as it sounds. He was busy studying the various books. A quick scan of the titles made him frown. The Greatest Romantic Poems. Romanticism in Italy. The Gulf of the Poets: inspiration for immortal verses.

“You guys,” Finn breathed. He passed a reverent hand on the book covers, as if he’d just found a treasure.

The road was a wonderful, continuous landscape of coasts and alps. Finn remembered it all like a dream the moment you wake up. Confused flashes and big emotions you can’t quite put a finger on. He remembered Leo’s tanned arms on the steering wheel and Logan’s hair dancing wildly in the wind. Hands reaching blindly for his knee and flipping the books’ pages and photos to understand what was happening. At one point he caught Leo’s smiling eyes in the review mirror. We can surprise you, too, Harzy. He guessed he’d turned pretty insistent at some point, too, because they explained him everything.

Logan squeezed his shoulder lightly. “Allons, mon rouge. We have a reservation for dinner.”

“There’s this bay with the cutest little villages,” Leo said as he raised the convertible roof and silence replaced the roaring wind. The sun was high in the sky, and Finn had gotten plenty of sun in the last few weeks. “And that’s where some of your favorite poets lived for some time. Shelley, Byron, others. And it was pretty close, you know?”

“So, Leo thought we’d make a little surprise trip. He looked it all up.”

“Well, Logan found the car and the books.”

“And,” Logan smiled, “A cooking class on how to make authentic focaccia, tomorrow night.”

Leo gasped without looking away from the road. His hand found Logan’s and brought it to his lips for a kiss. “Sweetheart, you didn’t.”

“It’s a cooking class with aperitif. We’ll have spritz with an Italian grandma.”

“I love you so much.”

“Yeah, you do.”

They laughed, but Finn just smiled and leaned back in his seat. He didn’t trust himself with words just yet. He focused on the group of colorful, crumpled houses that were getting bigger and bigger instead, wondering how did the stars align so perfectly that he’d ended up with two boyfriends like that. Two people that knew him so well, and cared so much to make all that fuss just for him. He leaned forward to take Logan’s hand and squeeze Leo’s shoulder, and received a squeeze back and a quick kiss to his hand. They must have understood what was going on with him, because they didn’t say a thing. They always knew what Finn was thinking- even when Finn himself had no idea.

They soon reached their destination, a white villa that looked directly on to the sea and stood regally against the deep blue. Next to the big entrance, a marble plaque. Finn squinted to read it, and his eyes widened. He remembered thinking fuck it as he let the grip in his throat, that had kept him on edge since the beginning of the trip, loose into watery sobs.

“Guys, what the fuck,” he cried. Leo hopped down the car and cooed him into a hug as Logan quickly made his way over and took his place under Finn’s chin. They just held him there, in between them, as he stared at the big house. “The Shelley’s villa. Shelley’s. They lived here.”

“It’s a hotel and museum now,” Leo explained, a smile in his voice and against Finn’s forehead. “Couldn’t let it pass.”

Finn held them tighter. “Of course you couldn’t.”

The next few days passed in an enchanted haze. It was the crashing sound of the waves that woke them up, and later rocked them into gripping bedsheets and each other hard. They explored villages lost in time, enjoying their slow rhythms and careless calm. They kept themselves off the beaten path that the area had traced for tourists, and the villa itself was located out of the nearest town. No one would recognize them. Their days on the Italian coast were full of brighty colored houses that spied the sea, and midnights jump into the dark water to escape the heat.

•••

As it turned out, Leo had kept one last surprise to himself just like Logan. Where the steps of the villa met the sea, a white motorboat was waiting for them. Finn let himself be guided onto the passenger seat as Leo took them far from the rocky shores, and Logan pressed smiles and kisses on him.

But it was on the third day that Finn’s own personal catharsis came to a peak.

He was more or less shoved into the car by a too excited Leo and an amused Logan for a short drive to a village close by. It was beautiful and colorful like the many others they’d seen, but it was at the top of a cliff that the magic was revealed. Old walls stood timeless and climbed up to a little church that faced the sea on its own; and behind the walls, a narrow passage on the side of the rocks went down.

Finn squinted in the sun to read the plaque above the passage. ‘“This grotto was the inspiration of Lord Byron. It records the immortal poet and daring swimmer…’” he trailed off, eyes widening. He turned, looking at the other two with an alarmed frown. “You guys are fucking with me. You… you’re just putting on these plaques in random places. To kill me.”

Logan laughed at that, patting his shoulder. “Ouais, Harzy, that’s exactly how things went. You didn’t notice Knutty slipping out of bed this morning while I was riding the life out of you.”

Finn opened and closed his mouth a few times, even more at loss of word. At least he could pretend the redness on his cheeks was sunburn.

“Stop thinking of this morning, Harz,” Logan called. “Allez, it’s Byon’s cave. You love him. This is the core of your Italian adventure.”

Finn studied the plaque a moment longer, before glancing at the passage with a sudden urgency. “So, this…this is where he composed his most important poems.” His voice trembled a bit.

Leo handed him the tote bag he’d been carrying around with a smile. “Inside there’s a notebook and your favorite pen, some music and a towel.”

Finn frowned. “You’re not coming with me? No, you two are my Italian adventure.”

Long fingers squished his cheeks around a kiss. “We thought we might give you some time, and then come and get you.”

“Come on, Rouge,” Logan came at their side. “We know you’re dying to have your poet moment. We’ll be right here.”

Finn stared at them for a second, disbelievingly, then drew them both into a hug, squeezing as hard as he could. “I love you so much. I love you, love you, love you.”

Carefully, he started to go down the steep passage. Only a slim railing kept him from the risk of falling, but Finn found he couldn’t slow down as he jumped from rock to rock, ignoring Leo and Logan telling him to be careful. After a sharp turn, the cave appeared. Finn kept his breath as he wandered inside, nose up to the dark walls and the landscape the grotto framed.

He felt his eyes burn. He remembered reading again and again poems about that place- so much that it felt a bit like coming home. Hell, he’d done it all; he’d read, recited, written essays and annotated every line of those pages. Of those clouds at the horizon. The fact that he remembered everything so vividly was infinitesimal compared to the realization that Logan remembered, too. Quiet nights in their Harward room, only a small light in between them for Finn to read to him. And Leo…oh, Leo. So careful to everything Finn as much as breathed on. It was easy to picture him putting that trip together in silence, without leaving anything to chance.

He took a seat on a rock, taking it all in. The rocky cliffs, covered by the lively green of pines, ended abruptly into the sea. The gentle rocking of the waves arrived at his ankles. Finn understood what the poets were so desperately trying to communicate through their bleeding lines. What they’d been lacking before they found that paradise, and why their lives and poetry would forever be tied to those shores.

But the only thing Finn could think of was them.

Logan’s smile that morning. And every morning before. And every morning forever.

Leo jumping into the crystal blue water, and his smile resurfacing before anything else. He looked like a nymph appearing from the waves. His own personal muse. His hero that would not end in tragedy.

Finn closed his eyes and breathed.

When he exhaled, messy ink had filled pages on his lap, and the sun had lowered a bit.

“Wow.”

Finn turned, to see Leo and Logan staring mesmerized at the sea, holding hands. Leo raised his free one to him, mouth still half open. Finn got up, and squeezed it as he joined them, keeping quiet as if not to disturb the waves.

They breathed together. Finn’s eyes were wide and a little red. He licked his lips. “I wrote some poems for you."

•

•

•

Notes: this was a pretty self indulgent piece, more fluff will come in pt2! Hope you enjoyed!

[fruitcoops]

Belong to You

O'Knutzy Week Day 4: Summer Vacation + Phone. Thanks to @oknutzyweek2023 for organizing and @lumosinlove for creating these characters! One more day...

“Spin, spin, spin, there it is!”

Logan stretched until his toes brushed the baseboards; the scent of lemon still clung to the floor beneath his nose.

“And turn, and turn—follow me, hon, you’re going backwards.”

Laughter echoed off the gentle slopes of the ceiling, dappled with sun and splotches of paint. Someone’s bare foot squeaked on the hardwood and they stumbled. Logan smiled into his forearms.

“One-two, three-four, you-step, step-left—left, honey, rem—ow. Do you know your right from your left?”

“…oops.”

Finn grinned into Leo’s sheepish kiss. His skin glimmered pearl in the afternoon heat, but Leo’s furrowed brow showed no sign of breaking a sweat. Logan lazily tracked a droplet as it slipped down Finn’s back before vanishing into the band of his loose shorts, then stretched again, just to feel the tense and release of his muscles. Moving always wreaked havoc on his joints.

Those with an ounce of energy in the heat had gone back to the basics, it seemed. Finn’s hand hovered above Leo’s hip, close enough that he could guide him forward with little tugs on (frequent) occasion. Leo’s head was bent—he was frowning just slightly and bobbing his head to the music in adorable concentration.

Christ, Logan couldn’t recall the last time he had been so relaxed on summer vacation. He was about ready to melt into the floor.

“You can bend your knees,” Finn teased, giving the back of Leo’s thigh a playful squeeze. “C’mere, I won’t bite unless you ask me to.”

“Ha ha.” Leo glanced up just long enough to scrunch his nose at Finn. His next step was tentative, narrowly missing Finn’s toes for the fourth time in as many minutes. “Is that—was that right?”

“No, that’s your left.” Finn’s smile turned wicked at Leo’s groan. “But yes, that’s correct. Fill my space, yeah?”

“Fill the space,” Leo muttered to himself.

“When I step here—” Finn’s foot slid back, winter-pale up to the ankle, where thick summer freckles began to pepper him. “—you come forward where I used to be. My hand is on your waist and we’re close. You can feel my leg move, right?”

“Mhmm.”

Finn leaned in and nudged at Leo’s nose until he looked up, blinking. “So keep your head up. Let me see that pretty face.”

A smile bloomed over Leo’s cheeks with a blush on its heels. The teal swatch behind him made it look even warmer; Logan made a note of that in the back of his mind. “But I need to watch.”

“You can feel me,” Finn reminded him. “You just have to follow. Bend your knees. I got you, sunshine.”

Leo looked back when Finn leaned away to fuss with his phone—the new system was persnickety, prone to irritating Logan’s ancient speakers and skipping songs with wild abandon. They’d have to replace it soon. Logan didn’t care. There were much more important things to worry about.

Leo, for instance. Because Leo was the fucking sun, and he was standing in the squeaky-clean living room they got to share forever and ever and ever until Logan really did melt into the floorboards.

There was that smile, just for him.

“Having fun?” Logan asked, propping his chin on his arms.

“Oh, you know it,” Leo laughed. “Almost amputated our boyfriend’s toes, but whatever.”

Finn shrugged and straightened. The universe was so cruel, giving him those biceps and placing Logan out of biting range. “I have ten of them. ‘Kay, you ready?”

“I think a demonstration would be helpful.”

Logan’s eyes snapped up to Leo’s smug little face in half a second. “That’s a great idea!” Finn exclaimed, before Logan could get a breath in edgewise.

“Oh, non—”

“Oh, yon.”

He didn’t even have time to attempt an escape. Perhaps he had grown too comfortable on the floor.

But Finn’s hands were cool on his overwarm skin when he pulled Logan to his feet. He was a bit sweaty and entirely perfect where their bare chests pressed together. Slender fingers slipped against his palm and splayed over his lower back. Narrow hips stayed close enough to Logan’s own that he could feel every sway and step while Finn led him around like the lost puppy he absolutely was.

He found Leo’s gaze over Finn’s shoulder. A quirk of the brow, a cheeky wink. No sign of apology whatsoever.

Logan pressed his smile into Finn’s collarbone and threaded his hand in the loose waves at the base of his neck, where he was everything Logan could want.

“Thanks for your help,” Finn murmured just below his ear.

“Thanks for the house,” Logan laughed.

“Our house, with our money.”

“Hmm.” He nosed at Finn’s jaw until he found the special secret freckle beneath the hinge, and kissed it softly. “Thanks for carrying boxes in boiling weather, then.”

Finn spun him in place; the moment he was in range again, Logan took him by the chin and kissed his smiling lips. “My pleasure.”

“Non, it wasn’t.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Finn snorted, dipping him back. “You’re welcome.”

“Think Knutty’s learned enough yet?”

“No,” Leo answered for him. His phone case glinted in the sunlight streaming through their front window.

Finn’s laugh ghosted over Logan’s neck. A squeeze of his hip made his stomach swoop. “Finish the song with me, baby.”

“D’accord.” Logan stretched up, ankles popping, hips aching, shoulders releasing as he dropped his arms around Finn’s neck and brought him close just to be close. Finn’s forehead rested so well in the slope of Logan’s nose.

A press and pull of Finn’s hip—he felt a space open up and, eyes closed, moved right into it.

[awanderingdeal]

O'Knutzy week 2023 - Day 2

Character credit - @lumosinlove

For @oknutzyweek2023

Prompts: Proposal, cooking mishaps, advice, laundry, new

Leo is going to propose to Logan and Finn, and it is going to be perfect. He's just a little nervous about it.

He buys the rings. That part goes great. 3 simple white gold bands. Logan and Finn's are inscribed with ' L x' That's the way Leo always signs off his notes to them. His own is inscribed with "Yours always,." Nothing else about the run-up seems to go right. He can't decide when or where to do it.

Finn and Logan are getting worried because Leo seems to be super distracted and making silly little mistakes he didn't usually. Including a few cooking mishaps - a very flat cake, a burnt chicken and a chilli that nearly kills Logan. ("How is it?" Leo called from the kitchen. He knows Logan and Finn will have started even without the sour cream and cheese he was currently holding. A little taste test, they called it. Except he didn't get the usual plethora of compliments. Then he hears the coughing. Was someone choking? "Guys! What's happening?!" His heart pounded in his chest as he rushed back into the dining area. Nobody was choking, but Logan was pushed his chair back from the table, beads of sweat pilling at his forehead and breath now coming in short little pants. "Is it bad?" Leo asked sceptically. He didn't make bad chilli; his ancestors would disown him. "Just a little hot," Logan said.)

The next time he phones his dad, he asks for his advice. He'd proposed to his mom so surely he must have tips, right? His dad is less than helpful with ideas, but he does calm him down. "Most folk that propose are nervous, son. But let me tell you something. If those boys of yours want to say yes, then they will say yes no matter what. And there ain't no perfect time or place that's going to turn a no into a yes. If you ask me though, they'll say yes. Be stupid not to."

In the end he does it on new year's eve. They'd decided on a quiet one this year. They'd just moved into a new place and had literally finished unpacking the last box - or at least those that didn't include those ones that would sit in the garage for the next two years before being donated - the day before. It's 4pm in the afternoon and the three of them are folding a pile of laundry. "I don't remember wearing this," Finn said, as he folded an old Harvard hoodie. "It was me," Logan shrugged, plucking a t-shirt from the pile. That one was Leo's. "This one too. But you can have them back, they won't smell like you any more." "Marry me." The words slip out of Leo's mouth before he even realises. He blinks. Logan blinks. Finn blinks. Leo is the first to recover. "Fuck. This wasn't supposed to go like this. I have rings and everything. Wait here," Leo said. He doesn't wait for a reply as he jogs to the spare room where he's hidden the rings. "Spoiler alert, I'm going to say yes!" Finn laughs.

[awanderingdeal]

O'Knutzy week - Day 1

For @oknutzyweek2023. Character credit goes to @lumosinlove <3

Prompts used: Festival, bucket hat, tomato soup, migraine, borrowed.

Content warning: Drunkenness (not excessive and no violence), medication and side-effects of medication.

Leo, Logan and Finn go to a festival. Some of the rest of the team go too including Regulus and Layla. ("You taste like cherries," Logan said, pressing a second kiss to Leo's lips before letting his flop back onto the pillow. "Shots," Leo hummed. "Blame Layla.")

Prior to going, the three of them have a conversation about accommodation in which Finn says he doesn't want to camp because he's too old for that shit. (Leo laughed, moving to wipe the coffee that sloshed over the side his mug before it stained the wood. "Alright Grandad. You're 29, not 92." "Tell that to my knees, sunshine," Finn said, his bones cracking, as if to prove a point, when he pushed up out of his chair.) They end up compromising on one of the fancy bell tents in the bougie section.

Ultimately Leo is glad for the luxury because he ends up getting a wee bit drunk and Finn gets a migraine pretty early into the first day. Finn's been getting the migraines since the last concussion they are prepared, if disappointed he couldn't escape one this weekend.

The story starts with Leo's return to the tent for the night. Logan has stayed behind with Finn. He attempts to sneak in without waking anyone, but is being much louder than he thinks and wakes Logan up - not that it's difficult. Leo asks how Finn is doing. ("He's better than he was. Managed to eat some tomato soup from the truck earlier." Logan chuckled, and Leo raised an eyebrow. "He was very passionate about the fact your soup is better. I learnt a new word...ambrosial.")

Eventually Finn wakes too. Finn is a bit loopy from the medicine has taken. ("Hey," Finn protests. "That's my hat." Leo pulled the hat from his head, running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to tidy the curls slightly. "Just borrowed it for the day. Thought it'd like the trip out while you were incapacitated." Finn squinted slightly as if considering something. "You stole it," he said. Logan's lips were pressed together, curling slightly at the corners and a funny breath of air escaped his nostrils. "I borrowed it," Leo repeated, placing the bucket hat on Finn's chest. The bold orange and blue was bright against his pale skin. Finn gave a satisfied grunt, and tugged the hat closer to him before closing his eyes and promptly falling back to sleep.)

[oknutzyweek2023]

O'Knutzy week 2023 is officially over! Thank you so much to everybody who participated. Your work has all been incredible 🥰

If you still have things to post, please do tag this account and I'll keep reblogging them.

And of course a massive thank you to @lumosinlove for creating Finn O'Hara, Logan Tremblay and Leo Knut and for letting us play with them.

[arrowofcarnations]

O’Knutzy Week Day Four (a day late but shhh)

The fourth installment of the Cubs' Hogwarts shenanigans, written for @oknutzyweek2023. Going to be splitting this one into two parts, with the second part coming tomorrow (separate from Day 5). Characters belong to @lumosinlove <3

cw: description of panic attack

Day 4: Smiles (A5), Part 1

It was a bone-chilling late February afternoon at Hogwarts, all gray skies and harsh winds. It wasn't the sort of day you'd normally walk yourself down to the Great Lake in nothing but a thin, sleeveless swim shirt and trunks and have yourself a swim, but this wasn't a normal day. It was time for the second task of the Triwizard Tournament to begin, and Finn was ready.

He stood tall and proud on the wooden platform, thankful for the few courtesy heating charms the teachers had cast around the lake's edge to keep the champions from coming down with a pesky bit of hypothermia. It was still cold as a hag's tit out there, though. Finn couldn't wait for the adrenaline to kick in once he hit the water, taking his mind off everything but the task at hand.

As the warmly dressed judges welcomed the crowd and made their announcements, Finn scanned the sea of faces for Alex, but didn't see him. He stole a glance at Leo and Logan, standing on their own platforms; Leo's smile was more of a grimace, and Finn winced in sympathy. If he thought it was cold, Leo must've been freezing his balls off. He couldn't wait to kiss some warmth back into him later like he did a few weeks ago on Leo's birthday, committing the sight of those dimpled, flushed-pink cheeks to memory. ("Finally seventeen, Knutty. Guess you're not cheating anymore." "Excuse me, I was never cheating. I will be seventeen if and when I win the tournament, which is the rule in the fucking rulebook that no one read but me.")

Logan's expression was carefully neutral, but when he caught Finn's eye he gave him a small, private smile that made something in Finn's chest kick happily.

Noelle? Finn mouthed. He hadn't spotted her, either, but wanted to wave to her if Logan pointed her out.

Logan shook his head. Alex? he mouthed back, and Finn gave the same answer.

He felt more than saw McGonagall's reprimanding look and trained his eyes forward again on the lake's murky surface, half-listening to the rest of the official spiel. "Last night, something was stolen from each of the champions—a treasure of sorts. These three treasures now lie on the bottom of the Great Lake..."

Finn didn't know which of the things he treasured would be waiting for him down there, but he supposed it didn't matter. He'd swim all the way down, retrieve it, and try not to piss off any merpeople on the way back up.

He and Logan had practiced the bubble-head charm ad nauseam, and he'd privately worked in a few extra charms to bolster his speed and buoyancy in the water. He felt confident. He wanted the win.

He had time to catch Logan and Leo's eyes once more, shooting them a sharp little smile that said bring it on, boys loud enough to make them both grin back with the same edge, before the cannons went off.

And Finn was diving into the lake like he'd done a thousand times back home, just using a little more magic than usual.

They kept their distance from each other at first, all heading downward but spread out in three different parts of the lake. The bubble-head charm was solid, feeding him an almost endless supply of breathable air, and he could feel the extra push his other charmwork was giving him as he stretched his arms above his head and used his legs to propel him down, down, down.

Visibility got worse the farther he went, and he was just starting to worry about not knowing any sight-enhancing spells before the silty, sandy bottom came into view. It was quiet down this far, he noticed as he began his search—the kind of deep, dark quiet that almost feels loud. And it was clearer, which Finn was grateful for. Finding a personal object seemed much more doable now.

He needn't have worried. He made his way carefully around the cracked half of a large stone column and immediately saw the unmistakable red hair of his brother flowing with the movement of the water as though in an eerie, silent dance. He was wearing the dark-blue jumper he'd gotten on Christmas; their grandmother had knitted one for each of them, a matching pair as always. His eyes were closed, and he was so still. He was so still.

Finn had a sudden, horrible realization. It wasn't something that was stolen from each of them. It was someone.

[arrowofcarnations]

O'Knutzy Week Day Three!!!

The third part of my little Cubs-at-Hogwarts AU. Characters belong to @lumosinlove! This was written for @oknutzyweek2023 :)

tw: alcohol (no drunkenness)

Day 3: Dance (A4)

“It’s bad.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“No, it is, Finn, it’s—quel est le mot, Leo?”

“Hideous?”

“Oui, hideous.”

Logan grimaced at his reflection in the floor-length mirror. The dress robes had been worn by his father for one formal event or another during his school days, but they might as well have belonged to some distant Tremblay ancestor; they were loudly out of fashion, all lace and frills and an exaggeratedly wide collar.

Logan was not fucking wearing these to the Yule Ball.

“I’ll just go in my uniform,” he said, making his mind up as he turned away from the sight of himself. Leo was shaking his head, a sympathetic frown on his face.

“You’ll be so underdressed, you’ll stick out anyway.”

“Non, my formal uniform. The ones we had on when we got here.” He glanced at the open wardrobe, where a glimpse of pale blue silk could be seen. He could stand to wear that again. He wouldn’t be laughed out of Hogwarts, at least.

“You’ll get in trouble. You heard the teachers—dress robes required.”

Logan made a sound of frustration; he knew Leo was right, but he needed a solution. One that didn’t involve him looking (and smelling) like his great-great-grandfather Jean Claude. He turned pleading eyes to Finn, who looked like he was doing his level best not to burst out laughing. Logan scowled at him. “Fuck you.”

“I didn’t say anything!” But a laugh tumbled out of Finn the second he opened his mouth. A smile tugged at the corners of Leo’s mouth as Finn covered his own.

“I’m going to find a dragon from the first task and get it to kill you both.”

Leo patted Logan on the back. “I’ll just charm it again,” he said with a smug grin that was, annoyingly, cute. Logan had been in awe of him that day, watching from the sidelines as Leo lulled the dragon into a state of such peaceful calm that it just let him take the egg. Judging by the expression on Finn’s face as he watched beside him, Logan guessed he hadn’t been the only one.

The spellwork had been beautiful. Leo had been beautiful. He was beautiful all the time, slumped over half-asleep at breakfast and catching his breath after a training session and winking at him with that smile as they snuck around the castle after dark, and it was driving Logan to distraction.

He watched Leo’s gaze fall to the ruffles obstructing his neck and chest and was pulled back to his present predicament. “I’m not going. I’ll say I’m sick.”

“And abandon me and Le like that?” Finn was teasing, but Logan had to swallow the no in his throat anyway. He would take every stolen second he got with them. He hadn’t forgotten how temporary all this was; sometimes it felt like a clock was levitating above his head, ticking down the time until he got on the boat back to France, Leo went back to America, and Finn stayed here, waving them goodbye. Would they miss him? Would they stay in touch? Logan didn’t want to think about it if the answer was no.

Finn must’ve seen something on his face because his expression softened. “Right, look. Give me your robes. I transfigured a Slytherin bloke’s jumper into a bikini once—can’t be too much harder to turn this into something you can wear.”

Logan looked at him skeptically. “The ball is in three days.”

Finn took him by the shoulders and smiled reassuringly. Logan’s eyes darted to the freckle on his upper lip he’d wanted to kiss for weeks now before he caught himself and looked back up. “Then it’ll be fixed in three days,” Finn said. Then he gave Logan’s shoulders a gentle shake. “Come on, Tremblay, have a little faith. Yeah?”

Logan smiled despite himself. “Yeah.”

Finn shook him harder. “Yeah?”

“Yes, okay, get the fuck off me,” Logan laughed, shoving him. Leo laughed, too, and Logan grinned at him as he started undoing his bowtie, eager to get back into normal clothes.

•

Between classes, homework, and mandatory pre-ball dance lessons with their respective schoolmates, Leo felt like he hardly saw Finn or Logan the rest of the week. Now he stood in the room he’d been sleeping in for the past few months, messing with his hair and thinking about a certain redhead and brunette.

He wondered if the lessons also made them want to be trampled by a hippogriff. He wondered if Finn had cracked Logan’s outfit problem. He wondered if Logan would let him stand too close during The Weird Sisters’ performance, and he wondered if Finn would hold his hand like he did last week running through the halls, honey-brown eyes aglow as he leaned in and…and—

“Earth to Knutty,” came Kasey’s voice, snapping him out of his thoughts. “You ready, or do you need more time to stare at yourself?”

“I’m ready, I’m ready,” Leo said, turning around. Kasey looked classically handsome in his black dress robes and white bowtie, hair half up in a ponytail and so effortlessly perfect Leo would swear on his mama’s gumbo that he’d charmed it to stay that way. “You look good.”

“Thanks. So do you.” Kasey gestured to Leo’s dress robes—deep blue with a cranberry red bowtie, reflecting Ilvermorny’s colors. He’d had to learn how to charm an extra inch of fabric onto the bottom of the trousers after trying them on for the first time since last summer, but everything was fitting well now. “Trying to impress O’Hara?”

Leo felt heat rise in his cheeks. “I could ask you the same thing,” he countered. He’d definitely taken note of how much time Kasey had been spending with Finn’s older brother, Alex. He was pretty sure they’d even gone for drinks in Hogsmeade together last weekend.

Kasey opened his mouth, closed it, then laughed. “Touché. So it is Finn you’ve been daydreaming about, then?”

“...Some of the time.”

“Oh? Oh, Tremblay, too, huh? That’s what his sister thought. Guess I owe her a galleon.”

“Do you, Alex and Noelle spend all your free time gossiping about us?”

Kasey shrugged as he led the way out of the guest dorms and down the steep stone staircase. “Sometimes we talk about quidditch. Come on, rookie, you’re going to be late.”

The Great Hall had outdone itself for the occasion. Gone were the long tables Leo had come to know, replaced by smaller round ones lit by flickering lanterns on either side of the large dance floor. Leo gaped up at the charmed ceiling—it looked just like the night sky over his porch back home, perfectly clear and studded with countless stars—and his eyes followed the strands of festive mistletoe and ivy that crossed it in every which way, ending on the walls covered in a silver frost that almost made him shiver instinctively.

It was breathtaking. And all of it paled in comparison to the two boys who’d just walked through the doors.

Logan came into view first, gorgeous in a set of forest green dress robes that made his eyes almost otherworldly. From the outside, he looked calm and confident, but Leo could see him fiddling with his cuffs and scanning the room for a friendly face. A moment later, Finn strode in and met him, wearing dress robes in the Gryffindor red and gold that Leo always loved on him. Finn leaned in and whispered something in Logan’s ear that made him laugh, then saw Leo and beamed, waving him over. Leo’s heart leapt.

He’d already taken a few steps toward them before he turned around and shot an apologetic look at Kasey. “Uh, I’m—”

Kasey smiled knowingly and waved him off. “Have fun.”

There were about a hundred things Leo wanted to say to the two of them,, but once he’d reached them, all that came out was “Hi.”

Logan smiled at him like he’d said the right thing anyway. “Bonjour, Knutty.”

Finn let out a low whistle, looking Leo up and down, then Logan. “Can I just state for the record—we clean up nice.”

“Thanks to you,” Logan said, gesturing to his own outfit. “How are these the same robes?”

Finn threw an arm around Logan’s shoulders, then Leo’s, herding them over toward the drinks table. “It was nothing, mon cherry.”

“Chéri,” Leo laughed, falling into step with them. “And don’t go throwin’ that one around. Unless you want half the school to think you’re their boyfriend, Heartthrob O’Hara.”

“Ah shit, you heard that one?”

“Yeah, I heard that one.”

Finn’s arm lingered around him just a moment too long once they’d reached the burbling fountain of pumpkin juice; Leo could still feel the warmth of it even after Finn took it back to grab them a trio of silver goblets and start ladling liquid into each one. The crooked-grin-cheeky-wink combo Finn gave him as he handed him his drink hit him harder than any jelly-legs jinx ever had.

He handed a drink to Logan, too, then held his own up between them. “Right, boys. Cheers to…?”

“The flask of whiskey in your pocket,” Logan said, glancing down at Finn’s robes pointedly.

“Sure I’m not just happy to see you?” Finn fired back, batting his eyelashes.

Logan scoffed, but Leo saw the color rise on his cheeks a little. “Rude not to share.”

“I’m gonna. Not yet—wait ‘til the teachers get distracted later on.”

“Cheers to sharing,” Leo offered, raising his cup. “And to us, surviving this crazy fucking year.”

Finn’s whole face lit up at that. “Cheers to us,” he declared. “Sláinte.” They knocked their cups together and drank.

•

For a school-sanctioned event that required waltzing and dress robes, it was a decently fun time, in Finn's opinion. As champions, he, Logan and Leo were asked to perform the first dance with their dates. Dates was a very loose term this year, though: Logan danced with his sister, Noelle, who'd been popping in regularly since the fall to cover the tournament for The Daily Prophet; Leo danced with one of his classmates, a girl with hair the color of candy floss who must've been a foot shorter than him; and Finn had had fun twirling his friend June around the dance floor.

"I think that one's jealous," she'd muttered, nodding toward Logan. Finn looked over her shoulder as they turned and found Logan's eyes already on him, but they quickly flicked back to Noelle. He found himself craving more of that green. More Logan. And he wanted more blue, more Leo, just as much. Fuck.

"I mean, you're looking good, Carter, can you blame him?" She did, dark hair plaited elegantly around a high bun and swathed in robes of deep purple. Their fourth-year romance may have only lasted a whopping two weeks (on account of June realizing she only fancied girls), but Finn had eyes.

June just looked at him like he was thick. "Not of you," she said. He knew that tone, that expression; he'd regularly been on the receiving end of it for almost seven years now. She was waiting for him to catch up to something obvious.

"Wait. Of—you? So, like..."

Her gold filigree earrings swung in tempo as she nodded. He twirled her out toward the onlookers, then pulled her back in, moving through the steps they'd all practiced dozens of times by now.

"Well? Do you like him back? Reckon so, you're with him and Knut, like, all the time."

"Not all the time," Finn protested. He didn't say anything else for a moment, but she had a way of waiting him out. "I do like him. And Leo."

Her brown eyes went a bit wider at that. "Oh, you mean?"

"Yeah."

"Aw, that's cute!"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!" she said, squeezing his shoulder and smiling. "I mean, they're both trying to steal Gryff's glory, so not everybody's gonna love it, but who cares? Also, Blondie definitely also likes you."

The dance came to a close, they all bowed and curtsied politely amidst the applause, and the ball was officially in progress. Finn and June weaved their way off the dance floor as it started to fill.

Finn fiddled with his clothes until June knocked her shoulder into his. "They feel the same, Fish. Just go talk to them. Or skip straight to snogging, that's fine, too."

Heat immediately crept up his cheeks as he considered it. It certainly wasn't the first time he'd fantasized about doing just that—laughing in the kitchens after dark, studying in the library, sitting close together on his favorite sofa in the Gryffindor common room as the fireplace gently roared—but it seemed closer to real, now, like something he could actually do.

"You think it'd work? Without one or both of them decking me, I mean." So many what-ifs raced through his mind, and the possibility of losing them as friends sat like a stone in his stomach.

She just smiled and shrugged. "Never know until you try. But I do know that Logan's sister's already ditched him for Talker, so you'd better go get him before the truly mad number of people making heart-eyes at him take their chances."

"What'll you do?"

"Go snog Amy, obviously."

"Obviously. Right, you're the worst, love you, see you later."

"You're a bloody idiot, love you too, bye."

•

The ball wasn't as torturous as Logan thought it'd be. The Weird Sisters were playing their hearts out. He'd only had to gently turn down two girls who'd asked him to dance—one shyly, one so boldly it'd made him blush. He liked to dance when it was with people he knew, and he did, with Nolly and Saint and a semi-reluctant Luke, but Luke spent most of the time dancing with-with Saint, and his sister beamed like the sun when Thomas swept her away.

He was happy for all of them. And it made his urge to be next to Leo and Finn again all the sharper.

It wasn't hard to find Leo, tall as he was. They spent a while toward the front of the room, searching for the best snacks, and danced next to each other for a couple of the faster songs, which wasn't the same as what the couples were doing but was fun. It was enough, more than enough, if that was all Leo wanted it to be.

Every time one of them looked around for Finn, he seemed to get pulled into a dance or conversation with someone else, but finally, he locked eyes with them and made a determined beeline to their spot on the edge of the dance floor.

"Hi. Merlin's tits, that took ages."

"You're friends with everyone, aren't you?" Leo laughed.

Finn shrugged, grinning a little. Logan could look at his smile forever. It scared the shit out of him.

"Your date looks nice," he said before he could help it.

Finn's expression turned a little...Logan didn't know what. Curious, maybe. Leo was eyeing him, too, and he wished he could shove the words back in his mouth but here they were. "June's a stunner, yeah. She's a lesbian with a girlfriend, though, sorry to rain on your parade."

"Quoi? Non, I wasn't—I don't like her." Finn's eyebrows raised; fucking hell, this was coming out all wrong. "I thought you liked her, maybe."

"Oh, as a baby fourth year I absolutely did. But, nah, she's like family now."

The flames of jealousy that had been licking at Logan's heels all night sputtered out.

Finn cleared his throat, then added, "Plus, I...like someone else."

Logan's stomach dropped to his shoes. "Oh?"

But Finn gave him a significant look, then looked at Leo the same way. "Someones. I like...someones."

Logan admired a lot of things about Finn: his big heart, his willingness to trust the world, the way he took care of people. But looking at him now under the shimmering silver lights, he thought the thing he admired most about him was his bravery.

"Me, too," he said around his dry throat.

Leo's eyebrows pitched up as he looked between them with a disbelieving smile. "Yes," he said, voice hushed like if he said it any louder, everything would vanish in a poof of smoke. Logan understood.

They stood like that for who knew how long—seconds? Hours?—just grinning at each other like they'd won something bigger than the tournament. Then Logan had the sense to steer them out of the Great Hall, the massive doors shutting out the party behind them.

It was blessedly quiet in the hallway, and Logan was grateful for it and the privacy. He reached into Finn’s robes—Finn spluttered, eyebrows practically disappearing in his hairline—and retrieved the flask, taking swig and passing it to Leo, who took a long pull himself before returning it to Finn. The band was muffled, but they all heard the song change as Finn swallowed his own mouthful of fiery liquor—a slower love song started up.

"Oh, I love this one," Leo said, but he didn't seem to want to go back inside.

Finn held out his hands—one to Leo, one to Logan. "Dance with me?"

It startled a laugh out of Logan. "Here?"

"Why not? I'd dance with you both in there, too, but I know you don't like being gawked at."

It did something funny to Logan's chest that Finn knew that about him already, that he'd said it matter-of-factly like there was no chance he'd gotten it wrong.

"What do you say, Frenchie, wanna fraternize with the enemy?"

Logan cocked an eyebrow at him, but he was already taking his and Leo's hands in his own and pulling them closer. "Is that what you call it?"

Finn's laugh was the sweetest music.

[under-theweirwood]

@oknutzyweek2023 day five ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

my brain is a machine that produces harvard era finnlo so this is what i have to offer. pls don't ask me what happened to day four hehehe. instead enjoy college boys and sillysoft bus ride feelings. featuring a new hoodie and a playlist from alex.

Finn was cold. He was cold and he was annoyed and his feet hurt and it was all his fault. And it was a Sunday night and they were going to get back to campus so late. He could feel himself pouting but he couldn't bring himself to snap out of it. 

“Why is it already cold now?” Finn complained, hunching his shoulders in. It wasn’t like it was winter, but he had left his sweatshirt almost certainly in the away team locker room. His perfect, reliable, heavy enough for a chilly day but easy to bring to practice sweatshirt. 

Logan went along with the bitching, though. Reliable Logan.  Logan whose quiet, private jokes had been distracting him from everything all evening. Logan who looked so pretty after he scored a goal it made Finn catch his breath suddenly. “Man, I know.” 

Logan looked at Finn sideways. They were standing in line at a gas station in upstate New York, headed home from an away game. The bus was getting gas, so the team was released onto the store, stocking up on snacks like they wouldn’t reach civilization for weeks. “Did you leave your sweatshirt?” 

“Yeah,” Finn sighed.  One of them always forgot something, either on the way, which was annoying, or on the way back, which was disappointing. 

“No wonder you’re cold,” Logan said. “You’re always cold. Merde, no wonder you’ve been like an ice cube.” 

Finn blushed and tried to cover it up by tweaking Logan’s beanie. His stupid, silly beanie that pushed down his dark wavy bangs around his eyes. “No one said you had to take a nap on me if I was so cold,” he said. And it was true; no one had told Logan that he should lean his head on Finn’s shoulder and knock out with his headphones on. It was just something he did, instinctual, like the way he’d sometimes reach out and rub Logan’s ankles while they watched TV, or the way he’d fallen asleep instantly in Logan’s bed the other week during a movie and slept there through the night. 

Then it was Logan’s turn to blush. It made a little rushing feeling go through Finn when Logan blushed back, or when their eyes caught in a look they wouldn’t name. The feeling of possibility--  and then a whole flickering array of other things, like hope and excitement and panic and fear fear fear-- and then, putting it away. 

“Stay here. Get your snacks. I’ll be back,” Logan called as he turned to walk, toward the bathroom or something, Finn figured. He shrugged. He knew what Logan wanted. 

Finn caught up with Will and Percy in line, scooped up twizzlers and cheez-its and some peanut m&ms for the journey ahead. Percy was acting out something from a movie, it seemed like, gesticulating wildly with the hand that wasn’t clutching a bag of sweet chili doritos. Finn rubbed his hands up and down his arms and let himself be distracted. 

Moments later, they were headed back out, armed with enough sugar to raise the dead. 

“Got you this.” Logan jogged to catch up with Finn. He didn’t look right at Finn but he was smirking as he shoved something into Finn’s arms. 

Finn shook it out. It was a thick gray hoodie, with some text in garishly sparkly neon green lettering reading out, “New York is for Lovers”. 

Finn had to laugh. It was so kitschy, so cheesy, but also...something in his silly, unreliable heart tweaked out a little at the word “lover” on anything that Logan was pushing into his hands. He didn’t want to ruin it by overthinking.

Not thinking about it at all, he pulled it over his head, sighing in relief. It was somehow incredibly soft, smelling like cleaning chemicals and faintly of movie theater popcorn butter. And it was from Logan who was so sweet and so unpredictable. Finn could not have seen this coming. 

“So you’re not an ice cube for the rest of the drive,” Logan said, yanking the hood down over Finn’s eyes as soon as it was over his head. 

“Uhhuh, I knew you had an agenda,” Finn laughed. His heart was beating quickly, though, his whole body warm in a way that had set on too fast to just be from the hoodie Logan had handed him. No, this was a fizzy, pulsing warmth not unrelated to how it felt lining a shot up into open goalspace. 

Logan looked right at him, just for a second, and it was just the two of them. Locked eyes together in the parking lot of a Kwik Trip in nowhere, NY, on a Sunday night on the way back to campus. The night, dark and chilly and quiet besides for the whooshing of cars passing just up on the highway and the murmur of conversation from inside, from the bus. 

And then just as quick as the moment arrived, it was over. With a sharp, and frankly unnecessarily screech of whistle, Coach was herding everyone back onto the bus, announcing their ETA back in Cambridge and starting to issue reminders about morning practice the next day. 

Finn followed Logan to their normal spot, halfway up on the right side, and slid into the aisle seat. He pulled his arms in to hug himself, cocooned in the sweatshirt. Standing outside with Logan had been enough of an adrenaline rush to cause a little crash, and Finn felt impossibly tired all of the sudden, his feet aching once again as he pulled out his phone and looked at the practice schedule for the week. 

Next to him, Logan’s headphones were back on, his eyes closed as he tilted his head back. Finn wiggled his shoulders over minutely, enough for Logan to do what he was undeniably waiting for the opportunity for. 

The bus accelerated onto the highway, everyone seeming to quiet down and nestle in for the last leg of the trip. Logan didn’t disappoint; he dropped his head back against Finn’s chest and wiggled over so their thighs almost overlapped. Logan was toasty, of course, a little scowling space heater conveniently positioned on Finn’s right. 

The lights were down, so Finn didn’t worry about the blush staining his cheeks or the goofy smile he quickly tucked away. He pulled out his headphones and scrolled back through texts until he found the playlist Alex had sent him a few days before. They didn’t have the exact same taste in music but it always felt good to think about his brother down in Tampa, jamming out or running to the same songs as him up in Cambridge.

Finn pressed shuffle and closed his eyes. His feet were sore but he felt perfectly content, going 60 miles per hour toward home with Logan next to him and his team all around them.

[marmarifer]

O’Knutzy Week Day Four!!

A day late but here it is! Summer Vacation with the cubs ☀️

@oknutzyweek2023

Character credit @lumosinlove

[fruitcoops]

Chicken Strip(tease)

O'Knutzy Week Day 3: Cooking Mishap + Bondage! For @oknutzyweek2023 and many thanks to @lumosinlove <3

It was January in Gryffindor—in other words, fucking miserable. Leo gave himself a little extra grace for that when the screaming toddlers at the corner store started feeling a tad too relatable. The weather couldn’t decide between sleet, hail, and snow, so it vomited out some nightmare combination of the three with the magnificent addition of near-freezing temperatures from dawn (short) till dusk (even shorter). Any of Leo’s grumbling was sharply silenced by a blast of shearing wind to tell him to shove it up his ass.

The living room plants had a special light to mimic the sun during the months of garbage disposal weather.

Leo had the oven. And he was going to bloom and grow and photosynthesize, goddammit.

Simmer pots went from a monthly occurrence to a weekly staple—ostensibly, he needed to use up the extra oranges before they went bad. They had soup every night for a week, and as the sky grew darker, he transitioned to frequent roasts. The three of them could demolish a hunk of pork in one sitting without any trouble at all; Leo was sure anemia spooked and ran the second it glanced their way.

“What’s—”

“Veggies.” The first two rows of tiles by the oven were warmer than the rest of the floor. He had discovered that just after Cap’s birthday. “Carrots, celery, beets. The works. How’s your mom’n’em?”

“My—they’re good.” Finn’s socks muffled his footsteps. Leo stared into the tiny oven window, entranced by golden light. “Yeah, no, everyone’s fine. Excited to see us for the holidays. Mom sends kisses.”

Leo hummed. That would be nice. He wasn’t keen on winter any further north than Kentucky, but the O’Hara house was always warm. Warmer than Rimouski, at least. It was a testament to Logan’s love that he didn’t ask Leo to bury himself in snow that could be measured in meters.

“…you okay, baby?”

“Hmm?” He scooted an inch closer to the oven and gleefully wiggled his toes on the nearly-too-hot tile. “Mhmm.”

“You’re sitting, like, really close to the oven.”

“Warm,” Leo supplied. Wind shrieked down the brick siding of their building and he closed his eyes, leaning in. The oil was starting to sizzle.

“Please don’t bake yourself.”

The concern in Finn’s voice made him pause. He blinked. His face was beginning to prickle.

In the glass reflection, Finn squatted with a soft groan. His fingertips brushed Leo’s spine. “Le? You listening?”

“Mhmm.” The carrots would be ready to caramelize soon. Maybe he could do another soup as a side course.

“You gotta sit back, Butter.”

“ ‘S warm here.”

Finn sighed. “C’mon. Let’s get you a blanket.”

Arms came around his chest to haul him off the ground like a ragdoll. “No,” Leo protested weakly, reaching for his little square of salvation.

“Yes,” Finn mimicked. His sweater sleeves gave gentle cushion to Leo’s underarms as he was (dragged) hustled to the other side of the kitchen; Finn paused, moved to his front, and boosted him onto the countertop with only a quiet grunt of effort.

Leo couldn’t help the slide of his lower lip. “But…”

“Uh-uh. No baked boyfriends, please.” Finn leaned up to kiss his cheek, but swerved an inch before he made contact. “Oh, that looks tasty.”

Leo exhaled miserably and plopped his forehead onto Finn’s shoulder. A hand found his nape within seconds. “Chicken.”

“I see that,” Finn laughed. “Looks great, honey.”

“Might have soup, too.”

“You’re really feeling the soup, huh?”

“Tasty. Easy.”

“It’s amazing,” Finn agreed. He toyed with a few overgrown curls, then leaned toward the doorway. “Lo! Le made a chicken!”

An instant ruckus followed—Leo buried his smile in Finn’s neck. For someone so small, Logan couldn’t do anything quietly. “A chick—oh, coucou, you look cozy.”

“I hate January, and I hate the weather, and…” Leo groaned and pushed his face into the warm, spicy hollow of Finn’s neck and shoulder. “And I really like soup.”

“Okay,” Logan laughed. “Is that what we’re having?”

There was a nudge to his arm; Leo lifted it to make room and shuffled Logan against himself, resting his chin on the top of his head. Perfectly snuggle-able, that one. Warm, too. He knew he kept him around for a reason.

He had made a bit of a mess, when he really looked at it. The chicken was a work of art but he had been more concerned with lingering near the oven than cleaning as he cooked, which left a disaster of impressive proportions sprawling across the countertop. A small pool of olive oil oozed along the tiles. Pepper caught the edge and diverted it onto a spoon. He followed the lazy river past a bowl, a ramekin, and a spoon (half-burnt from one of Logan’s ill-fated baking attempts) before catching at the corner of the pan. A soft hiss followed, then cooled.

Before his very eyes, his Jacques-Pepin wet dream of a rotisserie chicken sat up and began to dance burlesque.

A startled laugh burst from him. One crispy leg lifted in arabesque—a wing shimmied at him, seductive and gorgeous and golden. Leo turned to muffle himself in Logan’s hair, unable to look away despite mild horror at Finn’s fingers all over his moment of divine inspiration. “Oh my god.”

The chicken paused, gave a sultry half-turn, and wiggled its voluptuous white meat at him.

The giggles flooded forth, and he simply couldn’t stop them. Logan’s chest shook under his hand.

“I can’t…” Finn’s tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth as he attempted to beckon with a wing. “God, you’ve got this thing all done up in—fucking bondage or something.”

“It’s trussed!” Leo propped his chin on Logan’s head. A warm hand folded over his own. He made eye contact with Finn and pressed a kiss to Logan’s ear. “And it’s perfect.”

“Course it is, it’s you.”

His grin made his cheeks hurt. “Stop playing with your food and come kiss me, Chicken Boy.”

[givemetherapyimawritingtravesty]

One last @oknutzyweek2023 as the little life snippets of the boys come to an end... for now.

Friday, R5 – These Are The Days

“Celeste made a treat for everyone… Scotcharoos!” Dumo announced as he made his way out into the backyard, where the team had gathered for a cookout.

Logan sent a smile over to where Finn and Leo were sitting; those were Finn’s favorite, he remembered from college. He was over at the grill with Cap and he didn’t miss the knowing look he sent to his own boyfriend, Loops was a fan of them too it seemed.

“How did we get so lucky?” Logan said, a dreamy look in his eyes and voice sounding a bit dazed.

“I really don’t know. Must have done something great in a past life to deserve it. Them. I know the relationships aren’t… new, but every time I look at Re it’s just… not like the first time, but it’s special. I’m not scared of it anymore, like I was then. How could I ever think he was bad for me, you know?” Sirius glanced over at Logan, still flipping things on the grill.

Logan looked back at him, catching his eyes for the briefest moments. “Yeah, I do. And there’s only so far you can run away from it before it catches up,” He looked back over at where Leo was planted in Finn’s lap, laughing at something he said and looking down at him like he was the sun.

“Or,” Sirius said, a smirk obvious in his voice, “You crash headfirst into someone else. And he forces you two idiots to get your shit together.”

“Oh yeah? What about having you own father figure force you to share a guest bedroom and confront your feelings? Hmm? What about that?” Logan said, giving Sirius a shove.

“Okay fine, you got me. But it all worked out for both of us, oui?”

Logan huffed a laugh and shook his head, watching as Finn finally got his hands on a piece of the desert Celeste had made. “Oui. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go get that recipe from Celeste, her’s are always way better than when I try to make it and I need to know the secret.”

“Good luck with that,” Sirius chuckled, “I once asked her for it and she said she’d mail it over. I’m still waiting and that was back when I lived in her basement!”

[oknutzyweek2023]

I can't believe we're on the fifth and final day of o'knutzyweek2023 already!

[girlwithcurls96]

O’Knutzy Week Day 5

Thank you to @lumosinlove in love for the sweet beans and to @oknutzyweek2023 for hosting!

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