New Year, Same Us
Happy holidays @jasonbehrs!
I was so thrilled to be matched with a fellow Kogan lover and to try my hand at some henderschmidt which I love but have never contributed to.
December 31st, 7:00 PM. Logan finds himself scraping dishes and loading the dishwasher with the gentle strums of an acoustic guitar playing idly through the apartment.
“You know the best part of being in this relationship?” He asks, closing the dishwasher and starting it. “I get to both prepare the meal and do the dishes! It’s almost like having my own place again, except with half the space”
Kendall smiles and continues strumming. “Yeah, but I do the shopping”
“And have I mentioned yet how much I love the organic, whole wheat, fair trade, $800 grocery bill, babe?”
“Don’t worry sweetie, I know. And you’re welcome”
Logan makes his way to the couch and acquiesces to the kiss Kendall leans up for, before draping his arm over the musician’s shoulders and pulling out his phone.
“And how could you forget the ambience I provide?”
“Incomparable”
“Isn’t it?” He strums a bit more before a shit grin blooms on his face “Anyway, here’s ‘Wonderwall’” he takes a big inhale and speeds up the strumming before “TODAY, IS GONNA BE THE-” Logan clamps his hand over Kendall’s mouth, probably harder than needed, and laughs at Kendall’s muffled curses as he squeezes his head against his chest. That is, until he feels that slimy tongue of his wriggling against his palm. With a shout of disgust he frees his laughing partner from his grasp and wipes his hand on his jeans.
“I can’t believe that worked! You act like you haven’t had my tongue on and in every part of you” Kendall wheezes.
“Yeah well, that’s in the heat of the moment”
“Aww, do I not heat you up anymore, pookie?” Kendall asks, pouting out his lip dramatically.
“Nah, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that actually. I’m leaving you”
“For Katelyn?”
“How’d you know?”
Kendall resumes his place against Logan’s chest.
“Saw the twitter speculation. It’s ‘cause she still has hair, isn't it?”
That bit feels a little too sincere on Kendall's part; a little too close to something Logan knows he genuinely feels at least some insecurity over; so he responds in kind.
“Nah, never mind” he says, kissing the fuzz on his lover’s scalp and rubbing it with his hand “I could never give up my lucky cue ball”
Kendall sighs gently and resumes his strumming. Logan relaxes into the couch, continuing to absentmindedly massage Kendall’s head with one hand and scroll his phone with the other. Periodically he hums along with Kendall or sings quietly.
Evening slips into night as they while away the hours.
Kendall’s strings begin playing something that stirs Logan’s heart and he sets his phone down, presses his lips to the top of Kendall’s head as those oh so familiar chords begin, and keeps them there as Kendall begins.
“Young, and full of running. Tell me where has that taken me? Just a great…”
“Just a great” Logan echoes, taking his traditional part in this duet of theirs
“Figure eight, or a tiny infinity…”
He continues the song, holding Kendall and singing into his head, feeling sentimental in a way he doesn’t often indulge in. Kendall kind of dominates the sappy emotionality domain of their relationship and someone’s gotta keep it somewhat together or they’d just end up a puddle of warm emotional goo.
Sometimes he’s not sure why he thinks that would be so bad.
“There, I just said it. I’m scared you’ll forget about me” they finish in practiced harmony. Logan sighs and rests his cheek against Kendall’s head, thinking about their tiny infinity. The years since they met. The way this song became theirs. The way he grew from scared, closeted 20-something to comfortable, who-cares-anymore 30-something. The man who wove in and out of his life throughout those years, until the fibers of their being were so enmeshed he wasn’t sure how to even categorize what they meant to each other anymore.
“What time is it?” Kendall asks with a yawn and Logan checks his phone.
“Little after 10:30”
“Damn, I don’t think I’m gonna make it to midnight” he laughs and stretches, pressing into Logan’s side. A little painfully, honestly.
“Wanna turn in?” Logan’s never cared that much about New Year’s Eve. Ever since the first time he watched that light ball make its slow, slow, slooowww descent down its pole he felt it was something of a letdown. “It’s not like the ball’s gonna drop any different this year than any other year”
“We gotta stay up, it’s tradition”
“We also gotta rest these old ass bones. Doctor’s orders, after all”
“I don’t think that’s quite what she said” Kendall retorts with a rueful smile.
“In so many words” Logan sighs. Then playfully nudges Kendall with a smirk. “And don’t forget, I’m something of a doctor myself”
Kendall chuckles at that “Only in the fanfics my dude”
“Close enough. Come on let’s get to bed” Logan shifts on the couch and lifts Kendall into a sitting position. Kendall frowns.
“Why the face?”
Kendall grumbles something as Logan stands up and stretches as well.
“Hmm?” He asks, looking down at him.
“We have to do our midnight kiss” Kendall says indignantly. “You know? At midnight you’re supposed to be doing something that you wanna spend the rest of the year doing”
“Where’d you hear that? I’m pretty sure people just kiss to celebrate randomly”
“Traditions aren’t random dude, they do it for a reason. That’s how the magic works”
Logan smiles and cups Kendall’s face in his hands “Ok then. At midnight, we can be sleeping warm in our bed, side by side, right? How about we spend the year doing that?”
Kendall smiles softly, misty-eyed, and while Logan is being genuine, it’s still nice to know exactly how to work Kendall.
“Lead the way” he says, allowing Logan to pull him up from the couch.
Logan is asleep when midnight strikes and the new year begins, but he knows it will bring one thing for certain: Kendall Schmidt by his side.
A constant.
His tiny infinity.