Through A Different Lens {Marina/Maya & Carina}

1st And Foremost (Chapter 17)

"I don't get it" Jack spoke, his eyes wandering around the apartment, decorations hanging from almost every corner.

"You don't get what?" Logan questioned beside him, a bottle of wine and a blue birthday bag in her hands.

"All the decorations. Can a one year old even see these? Like surely he doesn't understand it right?" He added, using his index finger to poke at one of the helium balloons. Logan instantly slapped his hand away, stopping him from touching anything. "Hey, what was that for"

"Stop acting like a child"

"It's a child's birthday party" He spoke as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"That doesn't mean that you act like a child" She shook her head at his antics. "Plus I really don't want any attention on us, so can you please just not" Logan wasn't going to admit it out loud, but she was nervous to be here right now. It was weird enough that Maya and Carina had extended Finn's birthday invitation to her, but now being here, in their apartment, it was more surreal.

It's not that she was on bad terms with them, in fact she didn't feel like they were on any sort of terms. She knew if she were to sit down with Carina and talk, that they would just fall back into that friendly rhythm they shared, but for Maya it was different.

Maya had been more accepting recently though. She would share a smile of acknowledgement every now and again, maybe a compliment on her fire skills, but there was never conversation. Although it was over a year ago, Logan had been living with her consequences. She still felt a grudge in the air, and even if Maya had to limit it because she had taken on a child, there was a lingering feeling in the air.

It had recently dissolved as Maya grew though, seeing more of the important things in her life. But as she did, Logan had been living with that guilt for a year, the guilt of disrespecting a captain that she truly respected, pushing a captain that did in fact not need pushing. She never got the chance to apologise or at least gain closure over their spew.

She doesn't have a grudge against the whole Carina situation. She never did, she saw that Carina was happy, and even if it hurt, Logan had equally grown from it. Plus she also fell in love with the man that stood next to her, eagerly picking at the blue tack that held up the happy birth banners, sometimes she found it hard to believe it was a win. But they were made for each other, because if it weren't for Logan sublty panicking that she was now in Maya and Carina's apartment, she would most definitely be picking at the banners also.

"Can you stop?" She asked more grisly now, pulling the man away from the decor by picking his shirt between her fingers.

"Calm down, she's not gonna yell at you or something-"

"I won't, but Carina will if you keep messing up her decorations" Maya said as she appeared next to the couple. Logan's chest instantly stiffening as she let her eyes rest on Maya, her hair down in a natural curl resting over a grey and black henley with the sleeves tucked up to her elbows, paired with some navy denim jeans.

"Hi, happy birthday? For Finn? Or...Happy one year as a parent?" Jack mumbled, struggling on how to approach the situation.

"Just a hi will do, Jack"

"Right, yeah, hi" He wiggled his fingers, almost in a semi wave. Maya just raised her eyebrows, amused by the clumsiness of his words. "We brought wine!...well, Logan brought wine, I just drove to the store" He extended his hands out to Logan, now pinning the pale firefighter in the spotlight.

Maya rotated her head towards Logan, seeing the bottle of wine in her hands and the blue bag. "Wine for a one year old's birthday party?"

"uh, well this is for you and Carina...um this is Finn's" Logan muttered, extending the gifts out towards her. Maya noticed the slight shaking in her voice, so she offered her a grateful smile, hoping to ease her panic.