Walking through the woods with Remus was serene, there was a gentle breeze that would lightly pick up every few seconds and tiny birds that would cutely tweet at them as they walked by.
Remus noticed that the way Logan walked was somewhat odd, he always marched around with his hands behind his back and his chest puffed out, it seemed like he was trying to be formal in a very informal situation.
By no means was Remus complaining though, he thought it looked very cute, especially whenever he would look around to look at the birds.
He wasn't sure if Logan knew this or not but every time he spotted one he did this sweet little unintentional half smile, Remus didn't often call things that are actually adorable adorable but Logan's smile was an exception.
When they finally got to camp Logan looked around and noticed something peculiar, for a hunting trip there seemed to be a serious lack of any hunting equipment.
"I thought you guys were supposed to be hunting out here" "we are.".
Logan tried to wrap his brain around how they can hunt with out supplies but was interrupted by a random servant guy yelling "I found some more!" making Logan to turn around and see who it was.
When he turned around he saw a man with burn marks on his face holding a paper bag in one hand as he pointed to a couple mushrooms with the other, an adorable truffle hunting pig sat beside him sniffing the ground.
Logan turned back to Remus "You're hunting mushrooms?" he asked, Remus smirked "What can I say? I like funny fungus with big poofy hats that taste like dirt.".
Logan lightly exhaled out his nose, finding his response some what humorous "So, where's the prince?".
Remus panicked, he was completely blanking on an excuse and he desperately looked at Janus for help, Janus just shook his head and buried his face in his hands, he wanted absolutely no part in this.
"Uhhh... well... he's sick! Very sick! He had to go home early." Logan seemed to buy it "Oh well I hope he's better in time for the ball." Logan was mildly amused by the thought that his step family came all the way out here for nothing, none of them even liked the out doors so this entire trip was pointless for them, that's what they get for stalking royalty.
Janus walked up to Logan and introduced himself "Oh I'm Logan." "Yeah I know, this guy wouldn't shut up about you yesterday." he said, pointing to Remus, causing both Logan and Remus to frantically blush at the same time.
"Hahaha!! Let's go hunt mushrooms and never talk about that!! Ever!! Please!!" Remus shouted, obviously flustered and gently ushering the two deeper into the woods.
It was pretty weird seeing Remus get embarrassed, Logan didn't even know he could get embarrassed, but it was still cute none the less.
While Remus and Janus were looking around Logan paused to gently pet the truffle pig, it affectionately oinked at him and licked his hand.
Remus was pleasantly surprised to see his pet liked Logan as much as he did "Aww, looks like little rotisserie ham likes you.".
"You named your pig rotisserie ham?" "Yes, and it's hilarious.".
Ignoring Remus's odd naming choices, Logan began to describe how he took care of animals since he was a kid, as he talked, Remus glared at Janus with a smug expression.
He was glaring as if he were to say 'See? I told you he was cool.' and despite how much Janus liked to hate everyone and everything and judge Remus for his personal choices, he had to admit, Logan was pretty neat.
The three of them continued on their way until eventually they stopped and got distracted by Remus yelling "What the hell is that!?" at something on the ground.
Logan went to go see what it was and was surprised to see it was a rare type of mushroom, with a pale white color and red liquid oozing out all over it so much that it almost looked like it was bleeding.
He pushed up his glasses and began to explain "I've read about that before, that's Hydnellum peckii, it's a rare type of fungus often nick named as the devil's tooth fungus.".
"Cool!!" said Remus, picking it up, he instantly shoved the whole thing into his mouth, causing screams from Janus and Logan.
"Oh my god!" Janus cried "Is it poisonous?!" He demanded to know, Logan sighed "No but it isn't supposed to be eaten.".
"Tastes bitter." Remus mumbled
through a mouth full of fungi, he loudly swallowed all of it "Anyways I'm tired let's go back to camp.".
He started walking back as Logan and Janus followed, "He didn't even wash it." Said Logan "Yeah he does that, at least it wasn't a rock this time." Replied Janus, making Logan even more confused.
By the time they got back to camp it was sundown and Logan just assumed his step family went home already, he tried not to think about them too much though.
For one, this was supposed to be his break away from them and thinking about them did nothing it damper his mood, and two, he really didn't wanna think about what punishment he would face from running off again.
Yet still, he really hoped Virgil made it home safely and didn't have a totally rotten time in the Forrest, he probably would of invited him to go with him if he knew he was gonna run into Remus.
Logan and Remus got cozy by the camp fire, Janus on the other hand had gone into his tent to lay down.
Remus had cooked some cream of mushroom soup and Logan had downed three whole bowls, it certainly caught Remus off guard but he didn't really mind that he ate a lot.
He was just happy he enjoyed his cooking enough to eat that much of it.
"So, does the prince come out here a lot?" asked Logan "All the time, he loves hanging out in the woods, he loves running around and playing.
He's basically a big kid at heart." said Remus.
"Oh, the prince sounds... ill prepared." Mumbled Logan "what?" "If he's as childish as you say he is it seems like he's not prepared to be king, let alone get married.
I mean, you can be childish and a great ruler but he's never even bothered to make a public appearance before.".
Remus squinted down at the ground in deep thought, it was true Remus complained about how little he knew about the kingdom but truth be told was that he was struggling to care about the kingdom to begin with.
Remus leaned backwards, scoffing "Well for what it's worth, he doesn't wanna be king so there, you won't have to deal with him.".
"Why doesn't he want to be king?" Logan questioned, "Isn't it so demeaning? He's already stuck in a stupid arranged marriage and for the rest of his life he's gonna he stuck in a job he never asked for.
It's awful to be defined entirely by your status and who your parents are rather than who you want to be." Remus was getting very upset and emotional, he pulled his knees to his chest and hugged them tightly "Whatever, I doubt you'd understand that." he continued.
Logan looked at him sympathetically and sighed "trust me, you have no idea how wrong you are.
All I'm trying to say is that there's so much good he can do as king and yet he lacks ambition.".
Remus hugged his legs tighter and buried his face in his legs, muffled he said "What would you do if you were him.".
Logan thought about it, thinking of all the possibilities he had if only he could escape his terrible house hold "I'm not sure, I've always loved books and learning new things and I've found that not many people appreciate reading like I do.
So I'd build something that had to do with that, like maybe a university or a library where anyone could read at their own pleasure and get a good education.".
Remus's eyes practically lit up when Logan started to describe his plans for the future, mentally taking notes, he never really thought about any of this but now Logan had inspired him in a new way.
He couldn't wait to go back home tomorrow and tell his mom and dad about it, he was simply amazed "How do you do it?!".
"How do you construct a librar-" "No! How do you live every day of your life with so much insight! How is it not exhausting?!".
Logan gently brushed his hair behind his ear, somewhat embarrassed by his flattery "I just love learning and I wish people liked it as much as I do, I don't get to meet a lot of people who like books.".
"Why do you like books so much?" "Well, there's lots of reasons, for one I don't get to experience much of the world due to family obligations so books are a form of escapism for me.
I can't leave and even if I could I'm worried about surviving on my own, books give me the opportunity to have all the adventure I want while I safely sit in my own little corner.
I can be anyone I want to be, I also have a deep connection to them because my parents used to read to me a lot before they... they..." Logan bit his lip thinking about his parents, remembering how happy they all used to be.
He didn't know what to say about it, Remus would definitely start asking questions about his parents and why they weren't around anymore and Logan just couldn't bare the idea of talking about it.
Remus could see the pain in Logan's eyes, he gently grabbed his hand and held it closely causing Logan to stare at it and tremble.
"Are you okay? You don't have to say anything if you don't want to." Logan's mouth hung open slightly as he focused on Remus's words.
It was something so small, so insignificant and yet it meant the world for him.
This was the first time Logan didn't have to do something he didn't want to do, not just Picani volunteering to do a chore for him, not just walking away from a problem, but actually being given the option not to do it.
All his life he had been silenced and shooed away and now finally, some one was giving him the choice.
He gently rested his head on Remus's shoulder and hugged him tightly, catching him off guard but as each second passed he grew more and more okay with it until eventually he was softly caressing him and stroking his hair.
The two sat there, embracing each other in sweet silence, the birds were all asleep, they were far away from civilizations, and the only other sound that could be heard was the soft crackling of the fire.
The quiet was almost eerie, it didn't sway Logan though, after years of being isolated silence was comforting, after all, It reminded him that there was no one around to hurt him.
Remus on the other hand couldn't even stay focused on the quiet, all he could do was stare down at the sweet, some what dirty nerd that laid in his arms.
Minutes passed and they soon both fell asleep, it was the best sleep they both had in a very long time.
After all, falling asleep in a handsome "servant" boys arms is definitely better than sleeping alone on a cold dusty floor, Remus on the other hand was just happy he had some one to share the special moment with.
When they finally awoke it was still dark out and well past midnight, Logan scrambled to get home, cursing himself for being so poor at time management and pleading to god that his step family didn't notice he had snuck off for the second time in a row.
As he bid his farewell to Remus and turned to leave he grabbed his arm, "wait" Remus said, Logan turned around to see what he wanted.
"Will I see you at the ball in two days?" he asked "I promise." said Logan, and with that, he fled away from Remus for the second time.
When he finally got home he went through the back door in the kitchen and slammed it shut, he pressed his back against it and slowly slid down to the ground.
He clutched his knees, his mind was racing with so many contradictory thoughts.
He was happy he finally had some one to love, saddened by the fact he would most likely be found out and punished in the morning, scared about wether this love would last and confused about what this would all mean in his life.
Maybe... this was a good thing? Logan always dreamed that something could take him away from this terrible place, it didn't matter what it was as long as it was safe and far away and if that thing had to be an odd ball servant boy with no sense of danger than so be it.
He laid himself down on the ground, pressing his face on his straw mat and closed his eyes, the floor was cold and hard.
Nothing like Remus's embrace, he longed for the soft and compelling feeling of being cuddled again, he had gotten a taste of the kind of love his parents had and he wasn't ready to let it slip away.
As he drifted off he kept thinking about all the different possibilities of his life with Remus, a little frightened about all the uncertainty of his future.
There was one thing Logan knew for sure though, something that didn't matter even if Remus told him he didn't love him in "that way".
He would never go back to being quiet again.