Archive of Our Own ^beta

The sun was pouring down across the plain desert as Logan rode off from Sandrock. His pace was brisk. With the bounty hunter off his trail and no one in sight, he didn’t have to worry. He noticed the mountains coming into view as he got close to where the hideout was.
It was surprisingly easy to find places to hide, thanks to the many leftover ghost towns and mineshafts from the gold rush era. Specifically, Haru’s old town, a well-hidden area just between the mountain range in order to hide from bandits. Now, Haru and Logan used it to hide from the Civil Corps.

The bluenette was waiting for him at the entrance of the town, having stood there for who knows long as Logan dismounted from the goat. Haru’s face was blank as he walked to him, only breaking his gaze from the outlaw to look at the animal. The silence between them was tense, only breaking when Haru finally responded.

“Is he alright?” Was only said, his eyes locked to the spot where Andy used to sit. As the boy’s missing presence was sinking in for Haru, his hands shook as he listened.

“Yeah. He’ll be fine. He’s a strong kid, and they won’t do a thing to him,” Logan briefly replied, trying to convince himself with his words. The kid would be alright. It was better than hanging around the desert and while she had control over the town, she wouldn’t lay a hand on the kid without someone knowing. At least he hoped she wouldn’t.

“Good,” The bluenette got out, his voice almost breaking. He turned from the outlaw, returned to the workshop, and slammed the door behind him. Logan was left alone, the silence of the mountain village sinking in him.

The silence continued through the rest of the day, the outlaw only breaking it to take care of rogue animals around the village. The squeals and cries mixed with his grunt and swings of his daggers were a welcomed distraction that didn’t last long enough It only greeted him with silence and a mess to clean up. Eventually, his mind wandered back to the good old days in the saloon. After a long day dealing with Geeglers and other monsters, he and the Civil Corps members would head to the Blue Moon Saloon, where they would get a drink after work. Pa would join them soon after, with Haru trailing behind. They would spend the night drinking and talking. If it was Saturday, they’d try to goad Owen into telling the story about knights, The Peripheries, or whatever else was on their minds. The night would end with one of them completely drunk. Most of the time, he or Pa would be dragged back home, but on the rare occasion, Logan would get the luxury of bridal carrying Haru back to the house as the drunk bluenette would whisper in his ear, “I love you” like it was secret, all while trying to hide his red face from the boys.

Those were times when Logan didn’t have to worry about the law, when they would get their next supply of water, or food, when the old man was still running around Sandrock, and when he wouldn’t take another glance at the church. Especially that minister that would preach every morning and fireside meeting as their mayor was neglecting her duties, chasing after a dream. But now, Logan was the one chasing after a dream, a dream of justice as Trudy’s plans had risen from the ashes with the help of the new builders in town. Now, he was stuck in silence and sitting outside, just until he heard the voice behind him, “It’s getting late. Aren’t you coming back?”

The bluenette was behind him, his eyes red but his face dry. A not so well hidden attempt to hide what he had been doing in the silence. Not wanting to be nice, Logan just let out: “Thought I was in the doghouse. What are you doing here?”

Haru’s face flushed for a moment before sighing. “I came to apologize. What you did was the right thing, I just. I just freaked out and didn’t want you to deal with it.”

That stung the outlaw. They had been together for years, but Haru always put up a wall whenever troubling times came. During the time of his parents’ deaths and his transition to Sandrock, he was quiet as he was weighed down with grief and gender dysphoria. It only alleviated when the bluenette finally cracked and told Logan and Pa everything that he was feeling. It was probably the third worse night of his life, followed up by the time Pa found Logan and Haru being frisky with each other and just behind the temple bombing.

It was the only night where that wall hadn't come up, but it was a time when the pain of losing Pa was too raw. He was so distressed that he spent screaming and crying in Haru’s arms as the other tried to calm him down in their small camp. The days after that the bluentte stayed supportive through Logan’s grief while almost forgetting his own, taking the chalk-haired man almost pushing him to spill his feelings so they could process together before the little troublemaker came into their lives. Now, they were back to square one and Logan couldn’t help the guilt as he sheepishly replied. “It’s alright. I should have talked to you about it.”

“No, it was still the right choice. I just wished I could have said a proper goodbye to him instead of scolding him for eating candy too late at night,” Haru said before a small smile cracked along his face and disappeared, “Light, that kid’s gonna give them the run-around, isn’t he.”

“Already did. Told me that he tricked them into believing he was that redheaded fella to get this shield. I don't know how, but he managed to get Yan of all people to make it and half decent too!”

That managed to get more of a laugh from both of them, the bluenette adding in, “Probably thinks he’s gonna get a fortune, too bad for him that kid doesn’t have a gol to his name!" The laughter continued on as Haru took his place next to Logan, looking off in the distance where Sandrock was. The silence was better. Logan listened to Haru’s breathing and heartbeat next to his as the blunette had his head on his shoulder. They stayed for a while before Logan’s words slipped past him.

“Do you think he would have liked him?”

It took a beat for a response, "No. He would have loved Andy."

“Yeah that’s what I figured too,” Logan said, finally resting his head on top of Haru’s and closing his eyes as the sun finally set.