"But it did," Logan interrupted. "So — "
"Logan, you told me to talk, right?" Oz blew out a deep breath. "Then shut up and let me talk."
Logan hesitated, then nodded; making a zipping motion over his mouth.
"So now we have to figure out what to do about it next." Oz looked down with a sigh. "And I've been trying. It's not like someone's written a guidebook called '10 Things I Queer About You' covering how to handle a relationship between roommates on the down low."
Oz paused. "Well,outsideof porn, I mean," he corrected himself.
"I'm…not sure that counts," Logan told him solemnly. "But I'd be happy to be proved wrong if you'd got some recommendations for us to watch."
It earned Logan a flash of a smile, at least, before Oz cleared his throat. "When Eli showed up at the club, it was like a gift."
"I'll say," Logan murmured fondly, earning him a small smile from Oz.
"He's a good friend. A great friend. And yeah, he's a pretty great fuck, too," Oz said in a low, harsh voice. "He was my first for a lot of things. But not until after he'd taken one look at thebabiestof baby gays who'd snuck himself into the club with a fake ID, and told me right to my face to go home; not to come back until I was legal. But while I love him for all that, I'm not — y'know —inlove with him. And his aro ass is never in love withanyone. That's why we work."
Logan frowned. "So…what? You took me over to his place to teach me how the whole friends-with-benefits thing is supposed to go?"
"No," Oz said. "I, uh… Maybe? There's a saying: 'I don't know if I want todohim, or tobehim', right? And with Eli, I thought I had both. I'm… I'm not aro. But I thought maybe, if I hung out with Eli, I could learn — or at least, that I could pretend. That I could fuck him, and Lee, and Brett, and any other guy I wanted, and just leave when I was done; no strings attached. Except then you — fuckingLoganSt. James, the guy I'd blamed for making the last four years of my life total hell — you came along and acted as if I was some pining, hopeless damsel. Like you were God's gift to the gays — "
"Are you saying I'mnot?"
" — here to save me from the horrors of whatever you imagined was my sex life," Oz continued, ignoring him. "And disabusing you of that was tempting enough, but then you fucking knelt at my feet; begging me. 'Oh, Oz! Please,pleaselet me play with your massive, mighty cock— '"
"I don't remember saying it like that."
"Shut up. I won't let you tarnish my most cherished memory with your 'logic' and 'facts'," Oz said, making little air quotes. "' —Oz, with your big, sexy brain— "
"Okay, granted;thatsounds like me."
" —Oh, please, Oz! I need your help!" Oz's lips pursed thoughtfully. "And then I think we rescued the galaxy or something."
"Definitely remember that part," Logan nodded sagely.
Oz sighed, some of the humor draining from his face. "My point is, you weren't supposed to be any different from those other guys. Given our history, youshouldn'thave been any different. But here you are, turning my life inside out on me again. I guess you've always been pretty good at getting under my skin."
"I'm…sorry?" Logan offered, confused.
Oz's eyes flicked Logan's way, an amused little smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
"You should be. Because when I'm in here with you, I… It's easy to forget how it's supposed to go. That I can't keep you. That after all this was done, I'd have to let you go."
"What if I don't want you to let me go?"
"Well, it just so happens: that makes two of us," Oz sighed. "I just… I don't know what to do with you."
"You've had some pretty good ideas in the past."
"Yeah, but that was before — " Oz made a little all-encompassing circle gesture. " — and now you're talking about coming out? Logan, up until yesterday, you were straight."
"No, yesterday youcalledme straight,' Logan corrected. "As you were grinding your cock into my ass, I'll add. So I'm bi. Why is that so bad?"
"Because you don'thaveto be," Oz huffed, tipping his head up to glare at the ceiling. "You should go get yourself a girlfriend, get married, have your two-point-five babies. Be happy."
Logan glanced over at him. "I don't want kids, Oz."
"What?"
