Even

## Revised Meta

**Timing:** the day after "Volunteered" and "Job", 21 Apr 2025

**Setting:** Blossom's guest house, neighbourhood park

## Revised Text

"Button ... food goes in your mouth, not on the floor," chides Blossom.

Button beams, sends another bite of biscuit crashing to the guest house rug.

The clock ticks over to thirteen-hundred hours and the doorbell chimes.

"Ooo, that must be Logan. Let's get you ready for a visitor." Blossom brushes crumbs from Button's face and shirt—

Button blows a raspberry.

—gathers him up, eases to her feet. "Be nice."

A giggle.

After a check of the peephole, she unlocks and swings open the door, greets, "Afternoon."

"'ey, Orchid," replies Logan, head bowed.

Button shrieks happily, leans out of Blossom's arms.

Blossom tucks him closer. "It's 'Tang Lan', Buttercup."

Button grumps.

"I told you: I don't speak Chinese."

Blossom laughs, gestures him inside.

He takes a careful, almost reluctant, step over the threshold and reaches for the door, just as Blossom pushes it—

They knock hands.

He freezes.

She steps back.

Logan closes the door behind him.

Blossom smiles.

Button babbles, waves.

"Here." Logan offers a tissue-filled gift bag. "This's for the bean."

"Hands are kinda occupied here."

He flushes pink. "Uh, trade ye?"

"Lose the coat first, if you're gonna stay."

"Oh. Right." Logan's pink deepens as he shimmies out of his jacket and hangs it on a hook.

Blossom grins, slides Button into his arms—

Button coos, snuggles under Logan's chin.

—takes the bag, leads the way to the couch, settles in.

Logan perches next to her. "'s a plushie. A tiger. For the bean."

Blossom's eyes get shiny.

Logan turns scarlet. "I got one for each of Jack's kids. A plushie. Not a tiger."

Blossom nudges his shoulder. "Relax, Buttercup. It's a toy, not an engagement ring."

He huffs.

"Thanks. Button'll love it." Places it on the floor between them, straightens with a deep breath. "You okay?"

Logan raises an eyebrow, 'Really?'

Blossom ducks her head. "Physically, I mean. You're not as fluid as you used to be."

He grunts.

"Years of hard living catching up with you?"

"Years of Jaegers, more like," Logan grumbles. "Throwing punches with that thing was like dragging concrete blocks. Even /**walking** was a chore." Rolls his shoulder—it crunches—grimaces. "I wore out the cartilage. Doctors say nothing short of replacement'll fix it—"

Blossom hisses.

"—and I'm not going there 'til I can't stand it anymore." Deep breath. "Mostly wrecked the nerves in my knee at Brisbane; that's probably what you're seeing." Sighs. "I survived, though, so I'm not gonna complain."

"Gotta play the tough guy, ay?"

Logan bows his head, murmurs, "Six weeks after we went on active duty, I listened to two guys get beaten to death from /**just** too far away to help them—" [1]

"/**Jesus**, Logan."

"—'m not gonna complain about some aches." Buries his nose in Button's hair.

Button giggles.

"None of us got out of those things whole," continues Logan. "Jack's got a dodgy hip, Egan needs a cane, Chuckles' ankle is screwed together, Bubbles has pins in her neck—"

"That little—"

Logan clears his throat.

"—liar!" yelps Blossom. "She said she was fine!"

"She /**is** fine, 'long as she doesn't crack that vertebra again."

Blossom huffs.

Logan shakes his head. "Hell, even Vos—Jack's neighbour—the /**mechanic**, has burn scars on his arm. An' we're the ones who /**lived**."

"Christ." Blossom bows her head. "I'm never whining about stretch marks again."

Logan wrinkles his nose.

Blossom chuckles. "At least being a war hero hasn't changed /**that** about you."

"Who's calling me that?" he scoffs.

"Only the entire world press after that stunt you pulled in Brisbane."

Logan shudders. "Had no choice."

Blossom rolls her eyes. "Of course you did."

"Not if I wanted to not die."

"You're really, really good at not dying."

Deep breath. "Only didn't there because Bubbles saved my a— butt twice."

"Then you saved hers back."

"Still owe her one."

"Life's not a checkbook, Buttercup."

"I don't really know how else be fair."

Blossom hums, twists her hair.

"Empathy thing still doesn't work right." He takes a deep breath and swallows. "'m sorry. 'bout what I said that last day in the 'Dome."

"The whole 'not caring what happened to me' thing?"

Cringes. "Yea. That."

"You were trying to show them hurting me wasn't getting them what they wanted." Smiles. "You didn't mean a word of it."

Logan raises an eyebrow.

"You went right back to your quarters and called the cavalry."

His eyes slide off her to the rug and he rubs his neck.

"Hey. Look at me."

Lifts his eyes, not his head.

"You saved me and Button from f— /**god** knows what." Wobbly smile. "So, by your math, we owe you."

Logan turns sheet white, the muscles in his throat work. He forces his attention from Blossom to his lap. "'ey, Button," he rasps.

Button leans back, looks up at him.

"This's yours." He scruffs the tiger out of the bag, nuzzles Button's tummy with it.

Button squeaks, squishes the tiger with both arms, coos, "Kit."

Blossom leans over, whispers in Button's ear, "You like Kit, Button?"

Button giggles, squeezes the tiger tighter.

Logan slides to his feet, easing Button (and Kit) against his shoulder. "Getting stuffy in here; let's get some air."

Blossom stands, heads back to the foyer, steps into her shoes, shrugs into her coat, reclaims Button.

Logan climbs back into his jacket.

Blossom digs a little green hat from her bag, pulls it over Button's head.

Button squirms, coos.

"Not pink?"

"Nah. Pink's mine." Blossom glows. "'sides, he looks good in green."

"So, how long 'til the first dye job?"

"About fifteen years."

"It's gonna be a hard wait, ay?"

"I've got plenty of adults to practice on." Blossom smiles. "Drop by someday and I'll do yours." She touches—

Logan leans away, huffs, "I like brown just fine, thank you." He gets the door.

"Where're we going?"

"There's a park down the street a bit."

Blossom locks up.

They set off down the mostly-deserted sidewalk.

Logan leads the way to a park full of shade trees, over to a grassy little hillock, eases himself to sit cross-legged.

Blossom drops beside Logan.

Button yawns, snuffles against her neck.

"This's nice."

Logan hums, tips himself backward, lies down on the grass, one hand tucked under his head, and closes his eyes.

Blossom watches the grass wiggle in the breeze.

Button's head sags; he snores.

Logan snorts.

Blossom huffs, "If you're gonna lie there like a mattress, I'm gonna put you to use."

"Wha?"

She pillows Button on Logan's chest.

Button wiggles, snortles.

"Work, work, work," mumbles Logan, lightly resting his free hand on Button's back.

Button sighs.

Blossom pokes Logan's shoulder. "Can only think of one other kind of work you can do flat on your back, Buttercup, and I don't think you'd like it." [2]

Logan frowns.

"Never. Gets. Old," smirks Blossom.

"Careful, /**Ms** /**Wei**, I've got a ready-made hostage."

"Careful, /**Mr** /**Jones**, I know your secret ticklish spot."

"Wouldn't want the hostage hurt in the struggle, would ye?"

Blossom smothers a laugh. "I give. You win."

Logan sniffs.

Blossom tucks her knees up, basks in the autumn sunshine.

Button snores contentedly.

"Ever think of taking an overseas vacation?"

"Can't. I've got a shiny new mental health sanction says I can't leave the /**state** without government permission." Does his best to shrug. "No idea what visa offices'll make of it."

"Pretty sure Cousin can find a loophole."

Logan carefully sits up. "Better be a good one. My ID, name, or face get run any place I'm not cleared to be and it's a year in a psych ward, minimum."

"/**Jesus.** That's a hell of a short leash."

Wry smile. "Yup." Sighs. "Jack's on the same one. He can't visit his in-laws without a signed note."

"He wants to?"

"They're odd, but can't say anything bad about 'em." Kinda shrugs. "They homeschool their kids and grow emus."

Blossom laughs. "Says the guy who taught himself how to fight."

Logan rolls his eyes.

"I think it's 'raise' emus, by the way."

"Really don't care."

"Aww, did Wogan get bit by a big bad emu?"

He scowls.

"Knew it." Smiles smugly to herself.

Button snorts, jerks awake, looks around in confusion.

"'ey, bean," says Logan.

Button tracks the sound, stares at Logan.

Logan makes a face.

Button smiles a whole-face smile.

Blossom beams.

Logan tucks Button inside his jacket.

Button, muffled by fabric, giggles.

Logan gives the peanut a little bounce.

More giggles.

Blossom grins, "/**Totally** a natural."

Logan huffs.

"Never thought you'd be good with kids 'til I saw you with Baby. You're kinda amazing."

Logan peeks inside his jacket. "Drifting, uh, crosses people up, yea?" Another bounce—

A delighted squeal.

—"Pretty sure I caught it from Jack." His shoulders tense.

"What's—"

"Tyke's got my nose."

Blossom laughs.

Logan reaches inside, fiddles about—

Button makes a disappointed sound.

—lifts his head, rubbing his nose. "Got a pretty good grip, there."

"I've almost had to use a prybar on him a couple times."

Logan snorts.

Button wiggles into Logan's armpit.

He nudges him more firmly onto his lap with an elbow.

A grumpy noise as Button squirms and takes hold of coat lining.

"Okay," says Blossom, cringing a little. "Mum's separation anxiety is kicking in: gimme my baby back."

Logan extracts Button.

Button waves Logan's wallet happily.

A laugh bursts out. "What kind of kid are you raising, here?" Logan grins, pries the item out of Button's chubby hand—

Button whines.

—"Bean hasn't even had a birthday and's already picking pockets."

Blossom wipes her eyes, snickers, "Probably catching it from you."

Logan winces, rallies. "Go back to mum, ye little criminal." Slides Button onto Blossom's lap.

Blossom wraps a hand around Button's central pudge, leans gingerly against Logan's side.

He makes no effort to shift away.

"You know, I may like this version of Buttercup even better than the old one."

Logan sighs. "I'm not sure what I think of him yet."

"It's a big change." Her eyes twinkle and she presses closer. "It'll take some getting used to, I'm sure."

Logan rubs his neck.

"Buttercup?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm going to talk to Cousin about that loophole. Maybe we can get something worked out by July."

"Why July?"

"Button's first birthday's the thirtieth. We'll be having a big party."

"Ah." Logan watches clouds scudding by. "If you get something sorted, it'd be nice to actually /**see** that neighbourhood." Smiles. "Was a little too busy not dying to really take in the sights."

"That was a particularly magnificent job of not dying, by the way."

Logan turns to face Blossom. "Might not have made it if not for you."

Blossom blinks rapidly. "Wha?"

"I swam a /**lot** of laps when I was grounded after you left. Probably wouldn't have made it to shore otherwise."

"So ... we're even?"

Logan blinks. "I ... have no idea."

.

[1] The Tunari brothers and the former /*Coyote Tango*, 6 Nov 2022, while the Joneses are on their 'punishment' tour of Anchorage, to be covered in "Listening".

[2] There's a joke about prostitutes in here, but I'm not sure I found it.

## Original Meta

**Timing:** a follow-on/continuation to "Weird"

**Setting:** Logan's building, neighbourhood park

## Original Text

Blossom watches Logan with her peripheral vision as they stroll side-by-side along the hallway, Button snoozing against his shoulder.

"You've lost some fluidity the last couple of years."

"Finally starting to feel my age."

She holds open the stairwell door. "Years of hard living catching up with you?"

Down they go.

"Shoulder, yea, that's wear and tear. Leg, though, that's all-at-once nerve damage."

Blossom twists her hair. "And the all-at-once was ...?"

"Brisbane."

"Oh."

"Yea, that was ugly."

"You got your name in the papers as a hero, though."

Logan raises an eyebrow.

"We have the in-ter-net at back home."

He rolls his eyes, sighs. "Only got to be a 'hero' because Bubbles saved my ass twice."

"Then you saved hers back."

"Still owe her one."

"Life's not a checkbook, Buttercup." >oh my god. would a kid born in 1995 make this reference? are my idioms aging out of usefulness? ｡ﾟヽ(ﾟ´Д｀)ﾉﾟ｡<

Logan opens the lobby door with his hip. "I don't really know how else be fair."

Blossom slides past.

"Empathy thing still doesn't work right," he adds.

Blossom hums, twists her hair.

They cross the lobby in silence.

Blossom gets the door. "That flat's a step up from the last place of yours I visited."

Logan sniffs. "'s my reward to myself for continued good behaviour. Go left."

They set off down the mostly-deserted sidewalk.

"I assume that means you've found new ways to entertain yourself?"

"A few," concedes Logan. "Mostly read, play video games, help Jack and Charlie with their beans, take long walks around town, sit in the park and watch grass grow, do counter-surveillance work for family."

"One of those things is not like the others."

"My former employer likes to hide bugs in our houses. I like finding and squishing 'em."

"Did—"

"Cleaned my place this morning." Side-eyes her. "Before you ask, Weegie taught me and keeps me current. It's cool."

Blossom raises her eyebrows. "Weegie. /**The** Weegie." Blinks. "You got /**Weegie** to work with you."

"Yup."

"I know she's the best," says Blossom doubtfully, "but I thought she hated you."

He rolls to a stop at a corner to wait for a signal to change, smirks. "Not while I can give her easy access to their field tech."

"Ah. Clever boy."

"'m not just dumb muscle, ay?"

Blossom stretches, pats his head—

Logan glowers.

—"Of course you're not, Buttercup."

He huffs.

The signal changes.

Logan pushes off. "'s just across here."

He leads the way to a park ringed with shade trees, over to a grassy little hillock, eases himself to sit cross-legged.

Blossom drops beside him.

Button shifts against Logan, snortles.

Blossom digs a little green hat from her bag, pulls it on over Button's head.

Button squirms, coos.

Logan quirks an eyebrow. ["Not pink?"

"Nah. Pink's mine." Glows. "'sides, Button looks good in green."

"So, how] long 'til the first dye job?"

"About fifteen years."

"It's gonna be a hard wait, ay?" His eyes sparkle.

"I've got plenty of adults to practice on." Blossom smiles. "Drop by someday and I'll do yours." She touches—

Logan leans away, huffs, "I like brown just fine, thank you." Squints at the sky. "Besides, that shiny new sanction? Can't leave the /**state** without special permission. No idea what visa offices will make of it."

"Pretty sure The Narrator can find a loophole."

"Better be a good one. My ID, name, or face get run any place I'm not cleared to be and it's a year in a psych ward, minimum."

"/**Jesus.** That's a hell of a short leash."

Wry smile. "Yup." Sigh. "Jack's on the same one. He can't visit his in-laws without a permission slip."

"He wants to?"

"Odd, but can't say anything bad about 'em." Kinda shrugs. "They homeschool their kids and grow emus." >I don't know if they actually have to pay taxes; ah, was employing that phrase as American shorthand for 'law-abiding' DX<

Blossom laughs. "Says the guy who taught himself how to fight."

Logan rolls his eyes.

"I think it's 'raise' emus, by the way."

"Really don't care."

"Aww, did Wogan get bit by a big bad emu?"

He scowls.

"Knew it." Smiles smugly to herself, watches the grass wiggle in the breeze.

Button snuffles.

"This's nice."

Logan hums, tips himself backward—

"What're you—"

—lies down on the grass, one hand tucked under his head, the other resting lightly on Button's back. "Easy, there. Didn't even wake the bean."

Blossom exhales. "Sorry. Still not used to other people holding Button. I can get a little jumpy."

Logan hums.

Button snores contentedly on Logan's chest.

Blossom sits beside them with her knees tucked up, eyes closed against the sun, basking.

Something warm and soft and purring presses against Blossom's legs.

Blossom eeps.

Logan lifts his head, peers around Button.

"How did—? I locked the door!"

Logan lets his head flop back. "I have no idea. I'm starting to think he uses portals."

Blossom chuckles, strokes Snicket's back.

Snicket purrs, leans against Blossom's shins, slinks along, headbutts Logan's leg.

Logan sighs. "Mind switching? Somebody wants to cut in."

"Sure." Blossom eases Button from Logan—

Button wiggles, snorts, kicks chubby legs.

—cuddles Button to her chest.

Snicket flows onto Logan, curls up, tucks his nose under his tail.

"Can I use your arm as a pillow?"

"Sure."

Blossom lies down next to him with Button snoozing on her chest, her head resting on Logan's arm.

Logan closes his eyes.

Blossom watches clouds scudding by, settles her hands on Button's back.

Button coos.

"Buttercup?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm going to talk to The Narrator about that loophole. Maybe we can get something set up by July."

Logan cracks an eye. "Why July?"

"Button's first birthday's the thirtieth. [We'll be having a big party.]"

"Ah." Closes the eye. "If you get something worked out, it'd be nice to actually /**see** that neighbourhood." Smiles. "I was a little too busy not dying to really take in the sights."

"That was a magnificent job of not dying, by the way."

Logan turns to face Blossom. "Might not have made it if not for you."

Blossom blinks rapidly. "Wha?"

"I swam a /**lot** of laps when I was grounded after you left. Probably wouldn't have made it to shore otherwise."

"So ... we're even?"

Logan blinks. "I ... have no idea."

.