This scene is such an important moment in all of Ms. Marvel in regards to not only serving as a defining character moment for Kamala’s older brother Aamir, but also in how it actively subverts and shatters Islamophobic stereotypes and misconceptions about Muslim men!
From Ms. Marvel (2014) #18 by G. Willow Wilson & Adrian Alphona.
These lyrics came to me for these photos, though I interpret them differently than the classic Four Seasons song they’re from. Each of these boys has walked/walks his own personal and professional path, sharing part of that journey together. And each uniquely and boldly expresses his masculinity - often shattering stereotypes. 💕
The rest of the morning seemed to go by in a blur. Logan couldn’t help but hear the gossip as it swirled around him, quickly making its way through the school.
When the bell rang for lunch, Logan’s stomach dropped.
The moment he entered the cafeteria, his arm was grabbed. He let out a yelp as he was dragged straight to his table, pushed down into the seat with a firm hand.
“I heard a rumor.” Remy said as he slid over top of the table to look Logan in the eyes. “Care to explain?”
Flushing bright red, Logan rubbed the back of his neck. “...Roman and I are dating now.”
“Fucking FINALLY!” Despite his excitement, Remy was able to keep his voice somewhat low, something Logan was grateful for. “First of all, you should’ve told me immediately. But whatever, that time has passed. How did it happen? I heard you kissed, is he a good kisser?”
“Is who a good kisser and why do you care?”
Emile sat down next to Remy, a look of extreme jealousy in his eyes. Remy’s expression turned soft in two seconds flat. “I’m curious, babe. It doesn’t matter anyway, you’re the only one I ever want to kiss again.”
“Who are we talking about?”
“Roman. He and Logan hooked up.”
“We did not ‘hook up’.” Logan interjected, face burning even more. “We got together. There’s a big difference between those two phrases -”
“Aww, you’re finally together?” Emile cooed, his jealousy gone. This was proven by the fact that he snuggled closer to Remy, who’d tentatively wrapped an arm around the smaller boy. “It’s about time.”
Remy coughed, and Logan realized he was still waiting for answers. “He um...well we were doing our project for English. Ours had a bit of everything, drama, fantasy, romance. During the romance bit he leaned really close and I kind of ranoutoftheclassroom.”
There was a smacking sound as Remy face palmed. But he didn’t interrupt, and neither did Emile, so Logan continued.
“He chased me down and found me under the stairs. Turns out, when I was sick, he’d grabbed the folder I’d slipped my poem into. The one I was gonna ask him to homecoming with.”
Emile gasped. “Oh my gosh!”
“Yeah, it wasn’t how I wanted him to find out.” Logan could feel his face returning to a bit of a more normal temperature, though it was still a bit warm due to his embarrassment. “But he told me he reciprocated the feelings. And then he kissed me. And then Mx. Stokes found us and told us to come back to class.”
“Ooooh, busted by a teacher.”
Emile rolled his eyes. “We’ve been busted plenty of times.”
“We’ve also gotten away with it plenty of times.” He kissed Emile just to make a point, smirking when none of the lunch monitors saw them. While Emile was reeling from the kiss, Remy turned back to Logan. “So? The kiss?”
“It was perfect.” Logan admitted, sliding out of his seat so he could go buy some lunch. “Not really what I’d pictured, but the spark was there regardless.”
There was more squealing by Emile, which continued when Logan came back and started gushing about Roman.
“He was just radiating heat and I felt so safe.”
Before either of the others could respond, the bell rang, signalling that lunch was over. They said their goodbyes before heading out their separate ways.
When study hall rolled around, Virgil didn’t say a single word. All he did was raise an eyebrow, and Logan found himself relaying the entire story once more.
“That’s pretty adorable, not going to lie.” Virgil said when Logan was done. “Definitely a great story to tell at your wedding.”
Logan, who’d taken a drink of water, practically spit it all over the table. “Virgil!”
“I’m just saying.” He said in a singsong voice. “There’s three ways it ends. Breaking up, just staying boyfriends, or getting married. And if there’s anything I’ve learned about Roman since we started hanging out, it’s that he’s a hopeless romantic.”
Rolling his eyes, Logan wiped some excess water from his mouth. “Well, we’ll see when we get there I suppose. No use in planning that far ahead.”
The two of them spent the rest of the period talking about how cute their boyfriends were. Virgil was in the middle of talking about how Patton had saved a kitten off the street, despite his allergies, when the bell rang.
“TGIF, am I right?”
“Virgil, it’s Thursday.”
There was a thunk as Virgil let his head drop onto the table in front of him. “Fuck me.”
“I’m sure Patton wouldn’t mind.” Logan commented, unable to resist such a perfect setup.
His desired effect happened in an instant. Virgil’s face turned bright red and he started gaping like a fish. “You - no fair!”
“You got your teasing in, I’m just getting my daily dose.”
With a wave, Logan headed off to his locker. He laughed to himself as he heard Virgil sputtering behind him.
As he was swapping out his books and grabbing what he needed for homework, Roman appeared, leaning against the locker next to him. “So, do I still get to come over every day?”
Logan’s eyes flew wide. Roman started to backtrack, but Logan shook his head. “No, I’m not - it’s fine, I just...my dads don’t know.”
“They definitely suspected something.” Roman’s eyes swept over Logan’s face. “If you’re not comfortable with it today, that’s fine. I get that.”
“I want you to come over.” Logan’s heart was beating quickly in his chest. He knew his dads were going to make a bigger deal out of this than they needed to, particularly Preston. “It’ll make it easier to tell them honestly.”
Roman nodded. He waited for Logan to finish grabbing his books, a mischievous look in his eyes. Once Logan was done, he grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together. “Is this okay?”
A blush bloomed on Logan’s cheeks as he noticed a bunch of other students staring at them. For a moment, he was tempted to pull away. Before he realized that he didn’t care what they thought. He had his friends, he had Roman, and that was what really mattered.
The two of them walked out of school hand in hand, heading to Logan’s house.
“Oh, by the way,” Roman started as they crossed a street. “I texted my mom at lunch. She’s really happy for us, but she said that you need to come over for dinner again sometime and bring your dads.”
“That seems fair.”
As they walked, they talked about the rest of their day. Apparently Remy had a similar conversation with Roman in their Chem class, which resulted in the gossip nearly starting a fire.
Logan was laughing as he walked in the door, which immediately alerted his dads that he was home.
“How did it go today?” Thomas asked as he walked out of the kitchen, Preston hot on his heels.
They seemed to notice the boys joined hands at the same moment. Thomas gave them a soft smile, but Preston had a different approach.
“Finally!”
“DAD!”
Thomas poked his husband in the side. “Leave them alone, Pres.”
“I’ve had to endure the pining for months.”
Ignoring them as they started play-fighting, Logan called out, “We’ll be in my room!”
They headed up the stairs, Logan dragging Roman inside immediately. “Sorry about them, I knew they were going to be embarrassing -”
“Lo, it’s fine.” Roman insisted, stepping closer. He reached out and wrapped an arm around Logan’s waist, pulling the shorter boy to him. “My parents will be the same way.”
Letting his brain short-circuit due to their close proximity, Logan leaned forward, connecting their lips together for the second time that day.
It was just as dizzying as the first time. Logan cursed the human body’s inability to hold in oxygen as he pulled back to breathe.
He snapped out of his fog in seconds when he realized his bedroom door was closed.
“Lo? You okay?” Roman stepped back, turning Logan’s brain function back on.
“Yeah, I - can we keep the door open?” He felt awful the second the question was out of his mouth. “I’m sorry, I just -”
“Hey, you don’t have to be sorry.” Letting go of Logan’s waist, Roman pulled the door open, going so far as to block it with a stopper. “This is your first relationship, right? My mom always says communication is key, so don’t ever feel sorry or stupid for asking about something.”
The tension slid out of Logan’s body with those words. He nodded, before grabbing his laptop. “So, Netflix without chill?”
Roman laughed and nodded. They got settled on Logan’s bed, Logan curling up into his side immediately.
It wasn’t long before Roman was hearing soft snores. He glanced down, seeing his boyfriend completely passed out.
Sliding his phone out, Roman pressed his lips to Logan’s cheek, snapping a quick picture and setting it as his new background.
When Thomas came up to get them an hour later, he found both boys curled up together, fast asleep.
Warnings: Anxiety, holding grudges, I think that’s it?
Pairings: Romantic Mox and Remile established, Romantic Logince to come
Word Count: ~1.3k
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
Read from the beginning
Chapter 12
When Monday rolled around, Logan didn’t want to go to school. He knew it was illogical, but he was afraid of what would happen with Toby. He was definitely still mad about what had happened with the dance. Toby had held a grudge against Seth for years over something that had happened in fourth grade.
Because of this, Logan was in the English classroom before the first bell rang. Mx. Stokes gave him a slight look of confusion, but didn’t press the issue. They opted to write the lesson plan on the board instead.
Once the first bell had rung and students began to file in, Logan relaxed slightly. Toby would be forced to go to his own class or risk detention, which could sit him out of the first game.
“Thank God for jocks and their one-track minds.”
“Hey, I take offense to that.”
Jumping ever so slightly, Logan turned sideways to find Roman settling into his seat. “Am I wrong though?”
Roman gave him a mock glare. “...no.”
“So...what happened with...you know.” Logan bit his lip, hoping that Roman didn’t get into trouble after he left.
Roman waved a hand. “Mr. Anderson noticed that Toby was the only one actually doing any fighting. He had me explain my side of the story and the others jumped in as witnesses. So no need to worry, my name is clear.”
Feeling the blood creep into his cheeks, Logan nodded. “You know, you didn’t have to -”
“I did have to. We’re friends, Lo, and I’m sorry I didn’t realize that earlier.” Roman poked him in the shoulder. “You’re way better than Toby anyway.”
Cheeks completely flaring now, Logan muttered a “thanks” before turning to face the board.
His blush had dissipated by the time class was over, but came back full force when Roman walked with him to his next class.
“Roman -”
“Can’t a friend walk you to class?” Roman asked, giving a nod to someone down the hall. “You’re stuck with me now, Lo. Unless you want me to go.”
Logan laughed. “And I thought you were insufferable before.”
There was a sputter to his right, making him laugh even more. The two of them fell into easy conversation as they headed to the science wing. Once they’d reached their destination, Roman waved before turning around and darting off to his next class.
Finally lunch rolled around, which meant that Logan would be able to get the proper gossip about Toby.
Gathering his tray, Logan sat down at the table to find Remy half-pulling Emile onto his lap, kissing the other deeply.
“Ahem.”
Wiping a string of saliva from his mouth, Emile settled into his seat, slowly turning red. Remy, on the other hand, simply grinned at Logan.
“So, Roman’s part of the group now.”
“Yes.”
“When are you going to ask him out?”
“Remy!” Emile scolded, turning red as a tomato when Remy pressed a quick kiss to his neck. “Leave Logan alone, he’ll do what he wants to when he’s ready.”
“I don’t mind leaving Logan alone if it means I’m with you.” Remy said, the dark look clearing from his eyes as he gave Emile the softest smile Logan had ever seen on the gossip’s face.
Emile pecked his cheek, giggling as Remy wrapped an arm around him. He looked over to Logan, who rolled his eyes at their antics. “You wanna know what happened with Toby, right?”
“Oh!” Remy let go of Emile to lean forward on his hands. “So, after Mr. Anderson talked to Toby, he talked to our dear Roman. The four of us obviously backed up his story, because we saw the whole thing. Even though he didn’t believe what I said, he had to believe Pat and Em, because they’re the most innocent of all of us. Well, at least in the teacher’s eyes.”
“Rem.”
“You know I love it, babe.” Remy winked at his boyfriend before continuing. “After that Mr. Anderson pulled Toby aside again and threatened him with suspension. He’s known that Toby is trouble for a while, but Toby’s really good at doing things not on school grounds, so Mr. Anderson couldn’t do anything until Toby snapped at the dance. Toby is on the teacher’s watchlist now, which means he can’t do anything to you at school.”
Hearing those words was like a weight had been lifted off of Logan’s shoulders. Toby was easy enough to avoid after school. He doubted Toby knew the town even had a library, let alone where it was, and he certainly didn’t know where Logan lived.
That thought floated Logan through the rest of the day. When he got into study hall, Virgil didn’t mention the dance at all.
“Roman’s pretty cool.” Was the first thing Virgil said as Logan sat down. “Though I think I made him self-destruct at lunch when I mentioned that Disney movies aren’t all sunshine and rainbows.”
Logan snorted. “He really does love his Disney. It blew his mind when I told him that the Lion King and Hamlet were essentially the same story.”
The two talked for a few minutes more, before Virgil pulled out his math homework. Logan helped him through it, mad that the teachers didn’t accommodate for different learning styles. Virgil was definitely one that needed one-on-one attention.
When the bell finally rang, the two parted ways with a wave. Logan headed to his locker, jumping when someone leaned against the one next to him.
“Woah, are you okay?”
Hearing Roman’s warm voice had Logan relaxing instantly. “I am now.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Logan internally panicked.
That was such a gay thing to say, why did I - god now Roman’s going to know -
“I know you’re worried about Toby, but your friends have your back.” Roman flashed Logan a blinding smile, unknowingly making Logan’s insides melt.
They walked outside, heading to Logan’s house to work on their project. As soon as they’d walked in the door, Roman grabbed Logan’s arms and sat him on the couch.
“I need you to do me a favor.”
Hoping Roman would ignore the heat rising into his cheeks, Logan nodded. “What is it?”
“...I want to try out for the spring musical.”
“Isn’t that during baseball season?” Logan asked, mentally face-palming as he did. “I mean -”
“No, you’re right.” Roman was blushing now, rubbing the back of his neck. “But I...doing this project has made me realize that I don’t really like baseball. Theater is much more my speed.”
Logan nodded, trying very much to ignore the fact that one of Roman’s hands was still wrapped around his forearm. “I’m glad you recognize that, but what does that have to do with me?”
“Oh! Right, so…” Roman bit his lip and Logan started cursing his gay brain. “I was hoping you’d help me with my audition? I don’t want my parents to know just yet, because I know my dad wants me to stay on the baseball team.”
“What would that entail?”
“I mean I’m over here almost every day for this project anyway, so maybe we can either shorten our project time or I can stay over longer?” Finally taking his hand off of Logan’s arm, Roman waved them in the air as he spoke. “Like, we do the project and then you help me out with my audition material. Only if you want though, I can find somewhere else to practice too. Patton offered, but he said that you might be the better option.”
Thinking of how he really needed to thank Patton for that, Logan nodded. “Sure. Any particular scene or play you’d like to look at?”
Roman shook his head. “Not exactly.”
“Roman, are you staying for dinner?” Preston called from the kitchen.
“If you’ll have me!”
“Anytime!”
Logan pulled out his laptop, pulling up a few of his favorite monologues. He swallowed hard as Roman leaned into his side, feeling his warmth where their skin touched. “Let’s start with these.”
Pairings: Romantic Mox and Remile established, Romantic Logince to come
Word Count: ~1.5k
Thanks to @not-so-innocent-bi-sander for betaing this chapter for me!
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
Read from the beginning
Chapter 8
Before Logan could blink, Homecoming week had arrived. He sat at the breakfast table, a little bleary eyed from sleep, picking at his eggs.
“Logan?” Thomas sat across from his son. “You okay?”
Logan bit his tongue, knowing that he had to come up with an excuse unrelated to Roman. “I’m fine. I’m just...debating whether or not I want to dress up today. The theme is a bit ridiculous.”
“What is it?”
Rolling his eyes, Logan said, “Onesie day. Something about being comfortable during a movie marathon.”
“Don’t you own a onesie?” Thomas asked. Preston walked into the room, kissing Thomas on the cheek. Thomas gave him a smile before continuing. “In fact, wasn’t it a gift from the two of us?”
Blood rushed to Logan’s cheeks. “Yes, but...it’s not proper attire for school.”
“It is this week. And besides, don’t you get points for dressing up? The more people that dress up, the more likely your chance of being the winning class at the pep rally, right?”
Appealing to Logan’s competitive streak won out. He shoveled the rest of his food into his mouth before racing up the stairs to get dressed. The points had completely slipped his mind, and he’d be damned if he didn’t help his class win.
It only took a few moments for him to slip on the onesie. The hood was left off, knowing that some teachers would still consider it a “hat” and make him take it off anyway.
“Lo? Ready to go?” Thomas called out, before laughing at his rhyme.
Grabbing his backpack, Logan headed down the stairs and to the car. The short drive to the school was relatively silent, filled only with the various pop songs taking over the radio.
Logan’s nerves buzzed as they pulled up to the school. It would be humiliating if he’d gotten the day wrong.
Shaking his head, he cleared those thoughts. His Google calendar was linked to the school calendar. It would be almost impossible for him to get the date wrong.
“Love you!” Thomas said as Logan got out of the car.
“Love you too.”
Walking quickly, Logan headed to Mx. Stokes’ class. Hardly anyone gave him a second glance, other than a few friendly kids who merely waved at him as they headed past.
As he walked into the classroom, he was slightly shocked to see Roman sitting at his desk, dressed in a lion onesie. From what he’d heard, the so-called popular kids usually didn’t participate in that kind of thing.
He supposed that was what he got for listening to rumors.
Roman’s face lit up in a blinding smile as his eyes landed on Logan. “I didn’t think you would be one to participate in this, nerd.”
It was strange how a nickname that had once filled him with rage was now endearing.
“I assumed you didn’t have a onesie in your fashion sense.”
Laughter bubbled out of Roman, the sound making Logan blush ever so slightly. Damn his stupid crush.
The bell rang and Mx. Stokes got out of their chair. They were wearing a Pikachu onesie.
“All right, let’s get you guys counted up. Freshman who are dressed up, please raise your hand. And only if you’re dressed up, I swear I’ll subtract points if you aren’t.”
The threat was an empty one, but it worked nonetheless. They quickly worked their way up the classes, nodding to Logan and Roman as they counted them.
“I do like your onesie though.” Roman whispered as Mx. Stokes continued counting. “Unicorns are awesome.”
“You like unicorns?”
Roman nodded. “If I had my way, I’d live in a fantasy world. Ideally, I’d be a prince and do the saving, but I wouldn’t mind being saved every once in a while.”
Logan couldn’t help but stare at that adorable shy smile on Roman’s face. His heart pounded in his chest, reminding him just how gay he was for this man.
“Alright, I know we’ve done quite a bit so far and the test is on Wednesday. So how about a review game?”
The whole class cheered as the familiar tune to Jeopardy filled the room.
As soon as lunch rolled around, Logan found himself at a table with Remy and Emile again. It was starting to become a regular thing.
“Ohhhh, your onesie is so cute!” Emile squealed as he spotted Logan. He then threw his hood up and gave a little twirl, showing off his Totoro onesie.
Remy wasn’t far behind him. The man’s eyes raked over Emile as he spun. And while Emile may have been oblivious, Logan was not. He shot Remy a look, making him flush pink.
“How come you’re not dressed up?” Logan asked as they began to eat.
Remy sipped on his drink before giving an answer. “I’m not really into the whole ‘dressing up’ thing.”
“But you love Halloween!” Emile protested. “How is this different?”
“He does have a point, Remy.” Logan sat up a little straighter. “Besides, the whole point of the dress up week is school pride. It’s meant to bring everyone together as a unit.”
“And it’s fun!”
Logan could see Remy’s walls crumbling down. It took a few more seconds of Logan’s staring and Emile’s puppy dog eyes before they broke completely.
“All right, fine. What’s tomorrow’s day?”
Grabbing his planner, Logan flipped it open. “It looks like tomorrow is Red Carpet day.”
Instantly, mischief filled Remy’s eyes. He flipped his sunglasses back down. “I can definitely work with that.”
“Don’t do something that’ll get you in trouble.”
Emile’s comment got a wounded look from Remy. “Trouble? Whatever do you mean?”
Remy’s mischievous idea came to light the next day, when he came to the lunch table wearing what could be called a little black dress, complete with fishnet tights and studded heels.
“How are you even walking in those?” Logan asked, somewhat impressed.
Remy winked at him. “Practice, babe-uh, Logan.”
“I can’t believe that you haven’t gotten detention for that yet.” Emile said as he sat down, dusting off his white suit. “And Lo, you look really handsome today!”
Logan tugged at his black bowtie, which went perfectly with his three-piece navy suit. “Thank you, Emile. Though you might want to tell Remy how nice he looks before he gets too jealous.”
“I’m not jealous!”
The next day, Logan couldn’t help but smile as Remy and Emile came to the table as a Ruby and Sapphire for Cartoon Day. Remy was much more subdued than normal, while Emile was more than ecstatic.
“You’re happy today.”
Emile nodded, bouncing up and down. “Remy asked me to Homecoming last night!”
As Emile babbled on about how Remy had done it, something to do with cartoons, Logan couldn’t help but smile.
If Remy could do it and Virgil could do it, why couldn’t he? Perhaps he could give Roman the note at the football game.
“That’s a great idea!” Emile said, an encouraging smile on his face.
Logan paled. “I-I said that out loud?”
“Yeah, you did. Though maybe you should do that around Roman, you’d probably ask him then.”
“Remy!”
“What, I’m just teasing him, babe.”
Emile’s face flushed at the nickname. “You should definitely ask him though. I heard him turning down Steve the other day.”
Logan relayed this information to Virgil in study hall, his thoughts not as positive as they once were. “Perhaps he wants to go alone.”
“He doesn’t. Trust me.” Virgil tugged on his sweater sleeves. “He might be loud and a little pretentious, but it’s all an act. On the inside, he’s insecure and he wants someone to talk to about the things he can’t.”
“How do you know this?”
Virgil gestured to himself. “This whole loner emo persona is the same thing.”
“Virgil -”
“It’s fine, I’ve got people now. I don’t...I don’t feel as lonely as I used to.” A smile wormed its way onto Virgil’s face. “It helps when your boyf- when your date threatens to fight you if you talk bad about yourself.”
Favorite character day was mostly uneventful, with Logan getting a lot of compliments on his stunning cosplay of Connor from Detroit: Become Human. Logan had really played up the whole robot persona, making Virgil crack up in study hall.
“Forgive me for asking, but which character is this?” Logan gestured to Virgil’s outfit.
“Oh, I’m JD.” Virgil said, flipping the collar of his coat. “It’s from Heathers, which is both a movie and a musical, so I get if you haven’t seen it. His character is actually terrible, but it fits my aesthetic. But I bet you Roman has seen it.”
Logan couldn’t have stopped his blush if he tried. “I’m not going to watch it just because Roman may or may not have seen it.”
“Sure.” Virgil teased, nudging Logan’s shoulder. “Did you figure out when you’re going to ask him?”
“I don’t know.”
Before Logan could panic, Virgil laid a hand on his arm. “Relax, Lo. You’ve got this. Maybe try after the pep rally tomorrow?”
“Yeah. That’s a good idea.”
The bell rang, leaving Logan more nervous than ever.
Made the Shattering Stereotypes boys in a chibi maker!
I forgot Patton’s freckles, his hair isn’t quite the right red, and they didn’t have a good auburn color for Emile’s hair. Other than that, they’re pretty accurate!
Me? Creating another au? It’s more likely than you think.
Shattering Stereotypes is going to be a high school au, focused on Logince with some Moxiety and Remile thrown in there too. Note: Deceit will not be in this au.
Characters
Logan Sanders - resident nerd
Roman Prince - baseball jock
Virgil Sweeney - art student
Patton Hart - social butterfly
Remy Sinclair - school gossip
Emile Picani - president of AMC (animation and media club)
If you’d like to be tagged in this, please send me an ask! If you reply/reblog this, there’s a high chance I won’t see it!
