Archive of Our Own ^beta

The room was completely silent, broken only by the hurried footsteps of bare feet on the fine parquet floor.

Two men moved about without speaking, carefully sorting through an array of clothes scattered across the dark red sheets of the double bed in the centre of the room.

It was a team effort.

The first man, tall and dark-haired, dressed in a black turtleneck and jeans of the same colour, was selecting the clothes and tucking them into a black rucksack full of pockets.

The second man, dressed entirely in leather and with a haircut that defied the laws of gravity, was taking the discarded clothes and putting them back in their original places in the wardrobe so that nothing looked out of place.

Erik looked critically at the open doors. 

Sebastian Shaw was certainly not a man who would have wasted his precious time counting clothes in a wardrobe. He would hardly have noticed that anything was missing. That would have given him time to escape.

He and Logan had waited so long for this moment that they could not afford to make a mistake now.

When the rucksack was full, Erik stopped.

He was really going to do it. In a few minutes he would walk out that door, never to return, and his life would be changed forever.

They had waited months for the right opportunity.

Sebastian was a methodical man who liked to control everything he considered his property. Erik had been his thing since he was very young, when the man had found him in one of the poorest suburbs of the city.

In fact, it was Logan himself who had found him first, when Erik had tried to steal his wallet.

The man could have beaten him up or taken him to the nearest police station. Instead, he had given him money for a hot meal and then taught him how to steal better so that he would never be caught again. Erik had been a good student, so much so that one day stealing was no longer enough for him and he asked Logan to become like him.

That was how he first met Logan's boss, Sebastian Shaw, who must have found something interesting in him, although Erik had never understood what it was.

From that moment on, Erik had become Sebastian's right-hand man, and later his lover, and the man had shaped every aspect of his character.

No one in the organisation doubted that Erik would be Sebastian's heir. Not even Erik himself.

But life could sometimes throw surprises.

The day before, Sebastian had left for a meeting with other Mafia bosses to decide on the drug routes for the year. It was an annual meeting that Sebastian always attended with all his men to show the full power of his organisation.

Erik had never been brought, for fear of revealing the name of Sebastian's successor too soon and putting him in danger.

Logan had arranged for him to stay at home to ensure his surveillance.

It was an almost perfect plan that they had both been working on all year. 

And here came the day of the escape.

Erik was still quite dazed by the thought that it was actually going to happen.

"Are you ready?"

Erik picked up the small black rucksack that contained his entire life and slung it over his shoulders with a fluid gesture.

Logan made room for him and he walked through the door of the house where he had lived for the last ten years, knowing that this would be the last time.

The small car was waiting for them at a corner of the block.

The plan was for them to drive downtown by car, then change to a regular bus to the opposite edge of the city, where another car would be waiting to take them to a train station, where they would catch a train across state lines. Finally, a plane would take them to another continent, where their names would disappear and their features would be changed so they could start a new life. 

Erik tried to keep a steady pace, neither too fast nor too slow, so as not to attract further attention. 

It was not unusual for him and Logan to go out to do some work. On the contrary, Sebastian often had them working together, as Logan had been his man for many years and had always proved to be loyal and hardworking, so much so that he had even earned the respect of the boss.

Erik's lips curled slightly. If only Sebastian could have imagined what was about to happen. Surely the discovery would have made him angry and strengthened his desire for revenge, but the thought of the consequences of what they were about to do did not take away from the fun of having succeeded in deceiving him.

There was one thing, however, that felt completely wrong to him, but he could not put his finger on it.

It was only when the first officer got out of the car to get his luggage that Erik realised what was wrong with him.

"Why don't you have a rucksack? Where are your things?"

Logan was waiting for him at the side of the car, tapping his long fingers on the edge of the back door. There was a vivid emotion on his usually impassive face as their eyes met.

"No."

"Erik..."

"Don't even think about it."

"Erik, listen to me..."

Erik took two steps back, his body flooded with too many emotions to contain them all. 

"You're a fucking bastard!"

Logan came forward sharply and pushed him against a wall, topped by a small metal railing that could block their view. Erik was furious and tried to push him away, pressing his hands against the other man's huge chest.

"Shhh... keep your voice down. We can't afford a scene in public, you know."

The two men in the car had gotten out and were casting half concerned, half perplexed glances at the arguing couple. Surely this was not in their manuals.

Erik, however, did not care about safety measures at that moment. His world was about to explode beneath his feet.

"It's your fault. You deceived me. All this time. You never wanted to come away with me, did you?" You tricked me. You fucking bastard!"

Logan's hands wrapped around his head and Erik wanted to scream his anger and frustration even more. He would never have agreed to this plan if Logan had explained to him that he would have to go alone. Logan knew that. That was why he had kept him in the dark. 

Now Erik knew how Shaw would feel when he found out that his protégé had betrayed him. He had seen it before. There was no way out.

"I can handle the investigation. - Now Logan was holding him, cradling his head like a frightened child in need of reassurance. - When you are gone, Sebastian will entrust me with your search and I will make sure that he can never find you. It is the only way to save you, Erik."

Erik felt his eyes sting and squeezed them shut in a desperate attempt to fight off the tears that threatened to roll down his cheeks. This was not right. He didn't want to do this. Logan's plan was stupid and this was not the time to talk about it. They should have discussed it before, when Erik still had a say. Instead, Logan had made the decision for him and told him nothing, knowing full well that Erik would never run away if he knew he had to do it alone.

"I'm not leaving you here alone.  - Erik placed both hands on the older man's cheeks. When they had first met, his fingers had only been able to cover Logan's cheeks, but now they spanned his entire face. - Sebastian will be furious and take revenge on you. You know him better than I do. He will never accept failure. I will not leave you here to suffer the consequences."

"If we ran away together, he would burn the world to find us."

"It was your idea. It was you who wanted me in the police informant programme. It seems a little late to change your mind."

Logan looked at him and Erik understood.

"It's not an afterthought, is it? You never intended to come with me. You didn't change your mind. It was all planned from the beginning..."

"Erik..."

He was not even able to look him in the eye and tell him the truth. Erik was so damn angry. What was the point of leaving and changing his life completely if he couldn't have Logan by his side? That was why he had done it in the first place. Not because of Sebastian's obsession. Not because of the forced sexual affairs. Not because of his fear of him. But just to be able to live with the man he had fallen in love with. But maybe it was not like that for Logan...maybe it had never been like that... ....

All his thoughts vanished as Logan held him tighter and kissed him. It was just like the first time. To convince Logan to enter into a relationship that could end their lives, Erik had had to use all his powers of persuasion and had thrown himself into it with a stubbornness that only youth could justify. Logan had rebuffed him, wavered, and then, when he had finally given in, had taken him and kissed him just like that, pressed against a wall in the men's room.

The only difference was that then Erik had felt so exhilarated that he had touched the sky with one finger, while now the feeling was one of sinking into an abyss of despair.

"I can't do this..."

Logan's lips were inches from his own.

"You can. Everything will be fine. If I can, I'll come looking for you, and I'm sure I'll find you."

"He will never believe that I managed to escape from you. And if he does, he will punish you for your mistakes. There is no way you will get out of this situation unscathed. It's a crazy idea..."

Logan nodded, but his eyes showed no uncertainty.

"You're right. That's why I'm asking you to use this..."

Erik lowered his eyes. Logan was holding a particularly long and heavy wrench. Erik suddenly understood how far Logan was prepared to go.

"He left me with someone who can manipulate metal. He will be angry about my failure, but he won't punish me too harshly because he will admit to himself that he made a mistake in judgement. That will be the reason why he will allow me to make up for my mistakes by bringing you home to him. You won't really hurt me. You know that."

Erik felt the cold metal of the wrench slip into the palm of his right hand.

He didn't have to. He was the linchpin on which Logan's whole plan was based. He could have told the fucking cops that he was no longer willing to give any information about Sebastian and stayed where he was.

But then he would have gone back to Sebastian and slept in his bed and he could not have Logan.

Erik was sure that Logan knew every thought that went through his mind when he discovered his plan and that his final decision would lead him to do what he wanted.

"You can hit me. Hard. Leave me on the ground and then get in the car. You know this is the only way to fool Sebastian."

Erik squeezed the handle until he tapped the wrench on the palm of his free hand. Logan's neck muscles tensed, ready to take the blow.

"You will find me. Promise me."

"I promise I will do everything I can. We're running out of time now. Strike."

"Promise you won't forget me.

"I promise."

Erik moved closer again and pulled the man into a passionate kiss. Their time was up, but he was pretty sure he needed to savour his taste for one last horrible time.

"I hate you."

Logan's lips curved into that half-smile he used to give him when he said impulsive, childish things.

Erik raised both arms above his head and threw the first strike.