Among the Stars

Twenty One

They woke up from the sunlight blinding their eyes, having forgotten to shut the blinds the day before. Milo found himself with his nose buried into Logan's chest. The colourful patterns on Logan's shirt dizzied him, but then it clicked, and he was wide awake.

"Good Morning..." Logan's sleepy voice sounded above him, and Milo detected a faint chuckle. Milo sort of lifted his hand to wave at Logan, but he let it drop over Logan's chest immediately after again. It was way too soon to wake up. Logan laughed louder at that, his chest shaking slightly, and Milo turned his head to look at him.

Logan's blue eyes locked with his, and Milo blushed, only now truly realising in which position he lay. He slowly pushed himself off of Logan, the cold air hitting his bare arms, and yawned.

"You can't possibly still be tired?" Logan chuckled, but Milo nodded. He had dreamed of the stars in Musca, and about his family. He didn't miss them, now that he was with Logan, he didn't miss anything from his old life, but he still thought about them once in a while.

The dream was heavy though, and it had made him even more tired.

"Let's get out of bed, and then I'll make us some coffee." Logan offered, but Milo shook his head. He wanted to lie in the crook of Logan's neck for at least an hour still. "I'll carry you if you don't come out of bed," Logan joked.

"Do it," Milo signed, lifting his hand above his head while he smiled at Logan, challenging.

Logan took his challenge, and while he rolled up his sleeves Milo smiled so his dimples were visible. With a heavy sigh, Logan picked Milo up from the bed and held him close. Milo wrapped his arms around his neck and let himself be carried to the couch in the living room, where Logan dropped him with another sigh.

Milo smiled, his mouth wide open, and looked up at Logan who was rubbing his back and pulling a face like he had just carried Milo all the way up the stairs. "Now make me your coffee." Milo joked, biting his lip. Logan shot him an annoyed, still playful look but turned around anyway and walked towards the kitchen.

"You're not the queen!" He shouted.

Milo gasped so loud Logan could still hear it all the way from the kitchen.

While Logan was making the coffee, which took quite some time, Milo found the time to rummage around Logan's apartment, something he didn't had the chance to before.

The portraits on his shelves all displayed four people. Two older people, presumably Logan's parents, and two younger boys. Milo immediately recognized one as Logan, having his features memorized in such a way he would always recognize Logan. And the other boy had to be Logan's brother.

To the left of the pictures, were countless of boxes Milo had seen in Logan's store. CD boxes, only longer and thicker. On the sides were the titles, which Milo couldn't read, but the colours of the boxes were bright and seems really happy. Just as Milo wanted to pick one off the shelve, Logan came back inside with two steaming mugs in his hand.

"Aren't you impressed of my game collection?" He said, with a smile in his voice. Milo turned his head and frowned. Those were games? "Why are the games in such little boxes?" He signed, wanting to know. He had only seen games in bigger boxes, or completely other games, like soccer, which wasn't in a box at all.

"They're virtual games. You play them on the television or your computer. You know what a computer is?" Logan asked, and Milo nodded quickly. Or course he knew what a computer was, he had built one himself!

"Do you want to play a game?" Logan asked, handing Milo his mug of coffee and sipping on the other one himself. Milo nodded again, and let his fingers skim over the different games. He picked one with bright colours, a red and green figure on the front.

"Mario Kart! Good choice..." Logan said confidently. He must be really good at this game, Milo thought.

Logan put the disk in a box underneath his television, and the screen lit up. "How do I play it?" Milo asked, having no idea how this thing would work.

"Here, take this console," Logan handed him a white rectangle with buttons, and Milo stared at it, confused. "You press the small button here to start the car, and you turn it like a steering wheel to drive it. It's really easy!" Logan pointed at some of the other buttons and told them what they were, but Milo thought he got it. It would be like driving a car but then not actually being in a car. The car would be on the screen.

The idea seemed a bit too abstract for him, but when he saw the small cars on the screen, one above the other, he understood. They both sat down on the couch, Milo close to Logan, and Logan pressed a button which made everything on the screen move. The game had started.

"Now press the button!" Logan said loud, and Milo quickly did so. A couple of grey clouds of smoke erupted from the car on the screen, and it spun around for a second, but then it drove off. The cars in front of him all went much faster, but Milo was proud he got the car working in the first place, and all with just pressing one button. Flying a spaceship would be impossible in comparison to this.

"You gotta make the turns, Milo!" Logan shouted, and Milo moved his controller in the air frantically, but his car kept bumping into things and it didn't make any progress at all, he started pressing really hard on the button, maybe it didn't work well enough.

Logan looked at him and laughed. He stopped his car and dropped his controller on the couch. "I'll show you." He said, now much quieter than before. His cheeks went slightly red as he shifted on the couch, and moved so that Milo was sitting in between his legs and Logan was pressed against Milo's back. He could feel Logan's heartbeat through their shirts, and he blushed hard too. Luckily Logan didn't see that.

Logan's arms hooked around his stomach and he grabbed Milo's hands, which were holding the controller. Milo's heart was beating erratically by now, and then Logan pressed the button again and the game on the screen came to life.

Logan moved his arms in the right directions, moving Milo's hands with him. The car sped up and while Logan's car was stood still on the tracks, Milo's car swiftly moved through the other cars and the obstacles.

Milo watched with big eyes, but his attention was only half devoted to Mario Kart, because Logan's hands felt so warm and comfortable on his that he couldn't help but focus on that too.

Logan moved behind him, and suddenly there was a slight pressure on his shoulder. "You're doing so well..." Logan whispered, so close to his ear that Milo jumped slightly. His voice was so close, and this was all so unfamiliar to Milo. It was so romantic in a way, even while they weren't even together like that.

It was just, Milo had never experienced anything like this. With Rei, it were quick kisses behind the school, and nothing more. Not that Milo didn't like Rei, far from that, but with him he didn't feel the sort of tension he felt with Logan.

With Logan, it was shaking hands and reddening cheeks. Skipping heartbeats and butterflies in your stomach. Logan was lip biting, and hushed conversations in the dark. Milo felt so lost when with Logan, having no idea how to act around him, but it all came so natural it felt like it was meant to be.

When Logan moved closer to him, or accidentally touched his hand for no particular reason, Milo's mind went overdrive and caused him to lose track on what was happening, every time. Again and again, he would blush and stutter because of his shaking hands, and he pretended like nothing was happening, but he was sure Logan had noticed.

Because he had also noticed Logan blushed when he accidentally touched Milo's hand, or told him he was beautiful out of the blue. And after hours of lying awake in bed, over analysing every single detail, Milo had started wondering if maybe, just maybe Logan felt the same way.

That Logan liked him as more than a friend too.