I agree with Leo- we have to put some more respect on ratatouille. No more of this rat-patootie stuff.
Enjoy fluffy reunion!!!! All credits to @lumosinlove !!
“Do you find me wise yet, nutter butter baby?”
Leo snorted at Finn, whose arms were wrapped underneath Leo’s from behind and attempting to help cook. He was stirring the pot with his left hand and holding the zucchini with his right as Leo chopped it.
“I really don’t think this is effective, Harz.”
“But I’m stirring the onions and garlic! So they don’t burn, like you taught us. And, at the same time, you’re chopping the zucchini and we are cuddling. Win-win-win solution.”
“What’s the third win?”
Finn bonked his head against Leo’s back. “The first is the cuddling, obviously.” He bit at Leo’s shoulder when Leo laughed again. “I’m not done. The first is the cuddling, second is the stirring, and the third is the zucchini chopping.”
“I’m pretty sure we could stir and chop standing separately.”
Finn groaned. “Nutty, but then we’d be standing separately. Now we get to be a homogenous blob.”
That got a real laugh out of Leo, one of his tinkling ones that shook his whole body. “I don’t know if it’s wise, sweetheart, but it’s sure ingenious.”
“Well, you’re engaged to this genius, baby. So no take-backs, no return policy.”
Leo finished chopping the zucchini and put it in the pan. “I’m pretty sure that only applies after we sign the wedding certificate.”
“Tomato, tom-ahto, point is you’re stuck with me for eternity.”
Leo paused his movements and turned in Finn’s arm to plant a kiss on his mouth. “What a shame, then.”
“Hm,” Finn hummed, plying Leo’s lips open with his own. He broke apart. “Shoot, sorry, I stopped stirring.”
Leo giggled. “I got this, honey. Go pour us some wine?”
Finn stepped back with a kiss to Leo’s shoulder and a shimmy towards their wine cabinet. “Speaking my language, baby.” He took out a red. “What are we having again? Rat-patootie?”
Finn couldn’t see Leo’s eye roll, but he knew it was there. “That joke gets less funny every time you say it.”
Finn grinned at his back. “It’s a good movie. Endless possible quotes.”
“Whatever you say, O’Hara, just no disrespect on my ratatouille,” Leo retorted, opening the oven to check on the rosemary chicken.
“Wouldn’t dream of it, Le,” Finn said, pouring each of them a glass. “When’s Lo supposed to get here?”
“He said eight,” Leo replied, adding tomatoes to his pan. “He’s going to take a cab. I offered to pick him up at the airport, but he said they were going to the hotel first to watch some tape, so he’ll be here after that.”
“That’s right,” Finn said, leaning on the counter and appreciating the view of Leo’s back. “Our little Canadian rival.”
Leo sent him an exasperated smile. “You say that like it’s a dramatic novel or something.”
Finn shrugged. “Maybe it is. Enemies to lovers? Friends to lovers? Strangers to friends to lovers to friends to falling in love with a hot ass rookie goalie to lovers?”
That drew another laugh out of Leo, which made Finn smile. He loved making Leo laugh, loved making his curls shake and his dimples show themselves. He looked so good, in his maroon shirt and jeans, making dinner for themselves and Logan on a cool early-October night. Like a romantic angel.
“You wanna write that novel, Harz?”
Finn bit his lip around his happiness. “Nah, baby, I’d rather live it.” He blew Leo a kiss. “I love you.”
That made Leo blush, which in Finn’s opinion was just as good, if not better than making him laugh. “You’re lucky I love you, you romantic sap.”
“No returns.”
They were still giggling when the sound of keys scraping the lock sounded at the door. Both of their heads jerked up just as Logan entered, all gorgeous in his traveling suit pants and a white button-down, his overnight bag and jacket hanging from his shoulder. He looked up and smiled at them. “Salut.”
Finn let out a whoop and ran over to scoop Logan up in his arms, lifting him excitedly off his feet by the waist. Logan was laughing in his ear delightedly, and was still smiling when Finn set him down to kiss him deeply. Finn broke apart to press his lips all over his face. “Baby’s home, baby’s home. Missed you, baby-baby.”
“Ouais, rouge, missed you, too,” Logan sighed. His hand was scratching Finn’s scalp and Finn leaned into the touch briefly. “Soleil?”
“Over here, honey.”
Leo was still standing by the stove and watching them as Logan took off his shoes. He slid over softly and stepped gingerly onto Leo’s feet, wrapping his arms around Leo’s neck to pull him into a kiss. Finn followed with an arm around Logan’s back, pressing soft kisses to Logan’s shoulder. Logan sighed contentedly as Leo moved down to kiss his neck. Leo wrapped his arms around Logan’s waist to hug him. “Missed you, Tremz.” He sighed into Logan’s skin. “Love you.”
“Mm, je t’aime,” Logan said. He rested his lips to Leo’s shoulder. “What’re you making, Le? Smells amazing.”
“Rat-patootie,” Finn said, smirking.
This time, Finn got a full few of Leo’s eye roll. “Ratatouille, Fish. And roasted rosemary chicken.”
“Délicieux,” Logan said, pressing a few soft kisses to Leo’s neck. “Allez, I’m going to shower and change. Ten minutes.” He gave each of them a last kiss before grabbing his bag and heading towards the bathroom. Along the way, he stripped himself of his pants, shirt, and undershirt, leaving a trail of clothes behind him with a smirk. Finn narrowed his eyes.
“You trying to start something there, ten?”
Logan just bit his lip and looked up through his lashes. “Non. Je vais juste prendre une douche.” He disappeared into the bathroom.
Finn breathed out heavily. “That little fucker. Leaving a mess and totally getting away with it.”
Leo just looked at him. “You’d let him do anything as long as he did it naked.”
“Well,” Finn said. “Usually he does fun things when he’s naked.” He grabbed Leo’s hand, spun him, and pulled him to his chest. “You, too, if memory serves.”
Leo kissed him briefly. “Mm, it does.” He pulled away and turned to the stove. “But right now I am making a masterpiece, so clothes will be staying on.”
“Damn.”
While Leo set about finishing dinner, Finn threw Logan’s discarded clothes in the hamper and got out the plates and silverware, lighting a few candles, too. He poured himself another glass of wine, and one for Logan for when he returned. Then he sat by the counter, making gentle conversation with Leo as he tested the chicken with a thermometer and toasted some fresh rolls from the bakery down the street. Finn loved these nights, the domestic and quiet ones, where there was nowhere to go and nothing urgent to be done. He loved it even more when they were all together, Logan’s mere presence in their apartment settling something in his shoulders. He could tell Leo felt the same; he smiled more freely when Logan was around, jaw less tense, and sleep came easier. It was hard sometimes, being separated, especially with Logan’s contract extended. It hadn’t looked like the Lions were going to make a successful offer, so they had decided that it was better that Logan stayed where he was instead of taking a gamble that could send him potentially across the country. It was better than most alternatives, but Finn still cherished these moments when his home was full. Full of love for his boys, for their smiles, the way they smelled, the way they laughed. He himself was so full of love sometimes he didn’t know what to do with it.
Arms wrapped around his shoulders, and he turned to find Logan in Leo’s navy sweater and dark jeans. “Mon rouge.”
Finn leaned his head back onto Logan’s shoulder. “I love you, baby.”
Logan kissed him upside down. “Je t’aime.” He looked at Leo’s back. “Salut, soleil.”
Leo turned to look at them. “Hi, honey.” He tilted his head, a small smile on his face. “Missed seeing you together.”
Finn smiled, too, as Logan pressed a kiss to his cheek. “You look good, peanut.”
“Ouais.”
“Bet I’d look even better without clothes, huh?”
Logan and Finn laughed as Leo turned away, fussing with the pans before turning back. “C’mon, bring the plates over. I’ll serve it from the stove.”
It was delicious, as all things Leo cooked were. Finn could taste the thyme of the ratatouille, the juicy dark meat of the chicken leg, his favorite. Logan kept making appreciative noises. His first bite had had him moaning, eyes closed. “Mon Dieu, soleil. Missed your cooking so much,” he had said, before promptly going in for a second, larger bite.
Leo looked pleased with their feedback, as he always did when they complimented him. His cheeks flushed red, and his shoulders did a happy little shrug. It was unbearably adorable.
After, when Logan and Finn had cleaned the kitchen, they set about getting ready for bed, anxious to be close to one another again. Logan sought out a pair of Finn’s pajama pants and Leo’s sweatshirt, both of which pooled at the ends of his limbs. He had wrapped his arms around Leo’s waist while waiting for the two of them to finish brushing their teeth, pressing kisses to Leo’s spine and Finn’s shoulder. Finn just smiled at Leo in the bathroom mirror.
When they finally made it to the bed, Logan squished himself in the middle, pulling Finn’s head to his chest and tucking himself into Leo’s side. He sighed happily, closing his eyes briefly. “Feels like so long since I’ve been in our bed,” he murmured.
Leo, who was tracing patterns on his abs, pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “Yeah, sweetheart, I know.”
Logan sighed heavily. “Do you ever think…”
At his tone, Finn looked up, pushing himself up on his forearms and steadying himself with one hand on Leo’s torso. “What, Lo, baby?”
Logan pushed his head further back into the pillows. “Do you ever think that it’s- it’s too hard doing this sometimes?”
Red lights flared in Finn’s head, and Leo took in a sharp breath. “Honey, what are you-”
“Logan,” Finn blurted out. “Logan, uh-uh.”
Logan shook his head hard, eyes widening in realization. He looked up at Leo. “Merde, désolé. Non, non, I wasn’t going to say that.” He took Finn’s head in his hands, pressing a hard kiss between his eyebrows. “Rouge, désolé, I’m sorry. Non, non, not ever.”
“Jesus,” Finn said, flopping down on Logan’s chest. “You almost put me in cardiac arrest.”
Logan laughed a little. “Non, non, we can’t have that.”
“Lo,” Leo interrupted, eyes still serious. “What did you mean, seriously?”
Logan sucked at his teeth briefly, pausing. “I meant- what if I retired?”
Finn couldn’t help the gasp. “What? No, Lo, you don’t need to do that.”
Logan looked at him, brow furrowed. “But I- it’s hard, non? Living apart for so long,” he said. “And us not being together is not an option.” He grumbled the last bit, in that Logan way that was somehow grumpy and loving at the same time.
Leo just looked at him, eyebrows raised. “You don’t need to go zero to a hundred, Tremblay.”
“Ouais, je sais,” Logan said. “I just- I miss being home with you guys. And it is hard. I just- I don’t know how many years I can keep doing this.”
“Well,” Leo said, holding himself up on one elbow. “Let’s set a time limit, then.”
Finn and Logan looked at him. “Quoi?” Logan asked.
Leo cocked his head. “Let’s set a time limit. I’ll be a free agent at the end of three years, and Logan, your contract only has three more years on it as well- both including this year. And Finn…” he paused. “Well, yours is up at the end of the season, so we can see about renegotiating a contract with Gryff, or if not, then with New York.” His eyes focused. “We are together- the league knows that. Whether or not they like it, that is a factor in our contract negotiations. And we’ve been doing the distance thing for just over 3 years now, which hasn’t been easy. We’ve done our time.” He put a hand on Logan’s hip. “But none of us are ready to throw the towel in quite yet, nor should we have to. So, let’s say about three years. Three more years of this, of riding out what’s left for each of us with our respective organizations, and then we renegotiate. Together.”
Finn considered for a moment, then nodded. “Okay. Okay, yeah, we can do that. I can do that. Lo?”
Logan traced a hand down Leo’s cheek. “You’re so smart, soleil.” He looked at Finn’s eyes. “Three more years.”
Leo let out a shaky breath. “I know it’s not ideal, but…”
Finn brought him down for a kiss. “No, but it’s a plan. It’s an ending.” He kissed Logan, too, then smiled. “I love hockey, but I have my limits. We have our limits. And we’re getting married.” He traced patterns on their skin. “You both are more important to me than anything else, and like it or not, I’m always gonna put you before some stupid, made up game.”
Logan gasped, then pinched his side. “Non, Harzy. Ne dis pas ça.”
“Nom nom nom.”
Leo laughed. “You got your point across, Harz, I think.”
Finn laughed at the burst of kisses Leo pressed to his neck. “I’m very wise, Leonardo.”
That made Leo full-body laugh again, and he laid himself down on the other side of Logan’s chest. After a minute, he began kissing along Logan’s ribs, open-mouthed and hot against the skin. Logan flushed. “Soleil.”
Finn was getting warmer just looking at them. Leo looked up from a mark he was making on the outside of Logan’s torso, his signature sly grin on his face. “I think Finn said something about fun, naked acitivites.”
They both moved their gazes over to him, and Finn gave a serious set of nods. “Yes. Yes, yes I absolutely did.” He kissed down Logan’s neck. “Naked, very naked activities. Fucking gorgeous boys.”
And with Logan laughing breathlessly under him and Leo kissing along his spine with a smile, Finn thought that this was the wisest decision of them all.