"You can come and stay with me..." said Dom, voice strangely tentative for him.

That unnerved Lofty more than the words; even when his confidence had just been blown to pieces by that evil registrar, Dom had still used his voice like a well-practised soldier wielded a weapon. Then Lofty understood the words. It took a lot to surprise Lofty.

The folder he was holding slipped from his fingers, hitting the hard floor with a loud clunk. But Lofty still stood there, staring at Dom and at a loss for words. Why was that it Dom seemed to have the ability to go from zero to a hundred miles an hour in seconds? At Zosia's wedding they had gone from kissing to sleeping together within about ten minutes and now Dom was suggesting moving in together when they hadn't even been on a date. And Lofty was pretty sure they weren't together, unless he'd seriously missed something again.

Dom was starting to retract into himself, Lofty could see it in the expression on his face. In a minute the barriers would be up, and Lofty knew from experience that once they were, he wouldn't be able to speak to Dom about this again.

"Okay," said Lofty, diving to the floor to scoop up the folder and hide his embarrassment. That was not the answer he'd meant to give.

"I mean, just as friends," Dom added hurriedly, as though it were Lofty who had done something insane.

"Of course," said Lofty, as blankly as possible, surprised that it wasn't relief he felt. "Just friends. It'll be great."

Yes, he thought bitterly, great catching glimpses of Dom getting out of the shower, glistening and wet with only a towel for modesty. Or just sitting watching telly, his expression unguarded and relaxed. That would be just as enticing to Lofty.

"Well that's settled," said Dom. "You're bringing all your stuff and moving into mine. This weekend."

"Great," Lofty repeated, hopelessly.

"Good," said Dom.

Lofty fell over a trolley the second he turned to walk away.

...

That was only the start of what turned out to be an extremely bad day. Actual tears of laughter rolled down his Gran's face when he told her the news. Although she was struggling to talk since her stroke she still managed to get out the words:

"Piglet...love...nest."

"It's not like that," he'd replied, knowing it wasn't. Dom was just being a good friend that was all. And it didn't help him that Robyn had sent the aubergine emoji after he'd texted her the news. He'd even caught Sacha and Essie at the nurse's desk whispering to each other and then going deadly silent the minute he got close to hearing range. Dom on the other hand seemed to walking around the ward with a smile on his face. Maybe he'd been lonely living on his own.

It was distracting seeing Dom smile. It wasn't just that he looked so good with a smile, it was that the smile meant so much. When Lofty first met Dom, he had never seemed to smile. He'd been snappy, angry, sad, self-loathing, bitter. Every time Dom did something as small as a smile, or a funny comment, or even a self-addressed box of glitter cupcakes and sneaky kisses beside taxis, Lofty had to enjoy watching. It gave Lofty a warm feeling inside to see Dom's recovery.

It was definitely just because Lofty liked to see people get better. That was why he became a nurse, after all. It was not because of any unrequited feelings. He and Dom had had their chance, and now Lofty was over it. Totally over it.

Well maybe a little part of him wasn't, but he'd be able to ignore it during his brief stay with Dom. Besides, it would only be until his Gran got better, that was all. He could do this. And living with a doctor and nurse would mean she got the best care possible. Lofty was so busy thinking that he walked straight into a wall and cursed, he scowled at it and wondered where it had come from. He was sure it wasn't usually there! When he checked to see if anyone had seen, he saw his Gran was looking at him with a knowing glint in her eyes.

When he arrived at Dom's flat, laden with suitcases and boxes, he spotted three bottles of champagne on the side in the kitchen. He wondered whether Dom was going to a party that he hadn't mentioned.

The man in question smiled at him and took the topmost box and carried it from the front door and to the spare bedroom, with that glint of mischief that Lofty had spotted before. "I thought this room would be OK for your gran," he said.

Lofty smiled back. It was obvious Dom had gone to some effort to make the room stroke patient friendly. It was a very kind and thoughtful thing to do, and not easy. "It's great, thank you," Lofty told him, honestly.

He brought in some more boxes. Each time he made the journey, he grew hotter and hotter, until he was sweating. "I've gotta get down the gym," he told Dom, "I feel like I'm in a sauna right now."

Dom laughed. His cheeks were slightly pink. Though his help was very much limited to light boxes inside the flat, Lofty thought the Doctor was sweating a bit too.

He crashed onto the sofa, and Dom brought over a beautifully cold drink. Lofty sighed at the sight. He pressed it against his cheek. He moaned. Then flushed with embarrassment.

He looked at Dom. Luckily he was just watching with a pleasant smile.

"Sorry," Lofty said anyway. "I'm just very hot."

"Can't disagree with that," Dom mumbled.

Lofty rolled his eyes. He grabbed his sweaty t-shirt which was sticking uncomfortably to his skin. "Is it a bit hot in here?" he asked.

"Yes, sorry," said Dom. "The boiler is broken. I can't get anyone out to it until next week."

"Oh," said Lofty. For some reason he had the feeling Dom may be lying but he decided he was just being stupid. "It's like a sauna in here."

"Well there are towels are in the bathroom if you need to strip down," replied Dom, fixing his face into a picture of innocence.

Lofty nearly spat out his drink.

"Anyway," said Dom, seeming to sense the awkwardness in the air. "Here's the sofa and your new bed."

Lofty was not expecting a strange sofa that didn't match anything else in the room, it looked like it belonged in some Victorian TV drama.

"Is that a price tag?" asked Lofty.

"No!" said Dom, diving across the room and pulling the label off, shoving it into his pocket like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Lofty glared at the sofa with suspicion. It looked hard and uncomfortable.

"Cleaning tag!" Dom snapped.

"Sorry?"

"The tag. It was from the sofa cleaners! I got it cleaned. For you. Well, I mean, the man at the sofa cleaners was hot, so..."

"Sofa cleaners?" asked Lofty, doubtfully.

"That's a thing!" Dom protested.

"Sure," said Lofty.

"Anyway, it's not new! It's been here for years!" Dom dropped onto the sofa, casually, flinched and jumped straight up again. He carried on as though nothing had happened.

"We've had good times this sofa and me..."

"Oh God," Lofty cried, "please tell me you've never had sex on the sofa!"

Dom's lips twitched. "Well, I don't want to put you off..."

Lofty stared at the sofa. And glared.

Dom shrugged, "Well you could always..." he nodded towards the master bedroom.

Lofty followed the gaze.

"Well, we don't have to decide now," said Dom, with a smirk. "Champers?"

He woke up next to Dominic in a comfortable double bed with an empty champagne bottle on the bedside table, another in the kitchen, and, for some reason he hoped never to remember, one in the bathroom. His head was aching slightly and during the night Dom had wrapped himself around Lofty like an octopus.

He was relieved to find he was still wearing his jeans, as he edged out of bed, careful not to wake Dom. The doctor looked peaceful when he slept and there was a vulnerability on his face that Lofty rarely saw. For a moment Lofty nearly reached down to touch his cheek, but at the last moment thought better of it.

The lines already seemed to be blurring slightly in his head and he needed to make sure this didn't happen again, even if it meant sleeping on the horrible sofa in the living room. As he stepped into the bathroom, he caught sight of the third empty champagne bottle and was reminded of Dom's devilish smile on Valentine's Day, right after he'd kissed him. Lofty wasn't sure why the image had come to him, but him, alcohol and Dom normally didn't end well...

He had a shower, thankful that whatever was wrong with the boiler wasn't affecting the shower. He tried not to think about Dominic, alone and vulnerable, beautiful on the bed. The trust he must have in Lofty to allow that made Lofty feel warm again. He felt privileged to be allowed into Dom's private space, even if it was just as friends.

He stepped out of the shower and looked round for the clean towels Dom had stated he had left out for him. He spotted some in the corner neatly piled up. He grabbed the uppermost one and shook it out, ready to wrap it around himself.

It was about the size of a tea towel.

He put that one down and picked up another, assuming he'd just picked up a hand towel by mistake. It, too, was barely two foot long. He checked them all. Towel after towel was small, too small to wrap around his waist. His face grew hot as he imagined running across the hallway to… his bag in the middle of the living room.

He opened the door a crack.

"Uh… Dom?" he called.

The flat was quiet. Dom was presumably still asleep.

"Dom?" he called, louder, his hair dripping water into his eyes.

"Lofty?" Dom replies, sounding confused.

"Dom, could you… uh…"

"Lofty?" Dom repeated. "Is something wrong?"

"Are there any…"

"Lofty?"

And Dom appeared at the doorway, wearing just some boxers, showing acres of skin, and Lofty stared for a moment.

"Is something wrong Lofty?" Dom asked, leaning against a wall, and putting a hand on his hip. As though he was displaying himself. But that would be accidental, because Dom wouldn't' do that on purpose.

"Uh," said Lofty, momentarily distracted by the semi-naked man before him. "Uh… Are there any bigger towels?"

The corners of Dom's mouth twitched, "I put a pile in there yesterday," he said.

Lofty checked his own body was hidden by the door, "Yes, but… they're just a bit… small…"

"Small?" Dom repeated, stupidly.

"Yeah, I think they're all the type for hand washing…"

"Did you check them all?" Dom asked, but Lofty wasn't convinced the concern in his voice was genuine.

"Yes, I think so…" said Lofty. "Are there… any others…?"

"Not clean, no," said Dom. "I'm sorry, I thought I bought proper ones."

"Oh, no, that's… I'm not complaining," said Lofty.

"That's…"

"I just… I'm not got much covering my modesty…"

Dom smiled again, apparently enjoying Lofty's predicament.

"Well I'll try to get some more this weekend," said Dom.

"I can do it…" Lofty protested.

"No way!" Dom replied. "It's my flat, and you're my guests. Besides, you've got a grandmother to look after."

"You've already done enough," Lofty continued. He really was so grateful to Dom.

"I insist," said Dom, stepping forward to make full on eye contact that made Lofty slightly breathless.

"Well, that's… nice of you," Lofty finished, lamely. "Thank you. Really."

Dom smiled, far more genuinely than his other smiles had been. "You're welcome," he said.

Lofty had to think hard to remember not to kiss him.

By the time Lofty reached work his head was full of Dom. Dom in bed in the morning, Dom half naked by the bathroom, Dom making them both breakfast and Dom humming along to a silly tune on the radio as he buttered his toast. And pretty soon those images would be replaced by the sneaked glances of him that Lofty often took when Dom was doing his rounds on Keller.

Lofty opened his locker and shoved his bag into it, quickly pulling on his scrubs. The door to the locker room opened and Dom stepped in, his face lighting up with a smile when he saw Lofty.

"You're just in time," said Dom. "Mrs Hastings in bed six has just thrown up and Sacha is looking for an unlucky victim to clean her up."

"Brilliant," said Lofty, although he didn't particularly mind, as he was used to the sight of sick by now.

"I was thinking we could get a take away tonight and watch a film?" said Dom, looking oddly vulnerable as he waited for Lofty to reply. "Unless you're busy?"

"No, I'm not busy," said Lofty quickly. "How about I pick it up on the way back from work?"

"Sounds good," said Dom, smiling. "I'll text you my order." He then stepped forwards and kissed Lofty on the cheek. "Thanks, love." And without another word he left the locker room, as if nothing unusual or untoward had happened.

For a few seconds he stood there, wondering if he'd imagined the whole thing, before he internally shook himself and followed Dom out of the locker room. He saw Essie was sitting at the nurses' station as he wandered onto the ward.

"Morning," he said to her cheerfully.

"You're both idiots," said Essie, without even looking up from her computer.

"Sorry?" asked Lofty in confusion.

She rolled her eyes and finally looked at him. "You and Dom. This whole living together as friends thing isn't going to work. I've told him that this morning and now because you're my friend I'm telling you."

Lofty felt oddly defensive. "It's working okay so far."

Essie made a noise and turned back to the computer.

"It is," said Lofty. "Dom even made me breakfast this morning."

"I wish the two of you would just sort it out," said Essie. "This whole dancing around each other thing is getting old."

"Dancing?" asked Lofty, dumbly.

"Lofty!"

Lofty turned away and saw that Sacha was standing at the nurses' station, shooting Essie a look.

"Just the man I wanted to see," said Sacha. "I need some help with Mrs Hastings in bed six."

Lofty gave Essie an extra suspicious look, before going to help Mrs Hastings.

Lofty ran down to Pulses as soon as was polite, and came back with lunch for himself and Dom. Carefully, he'd chosen food that was tasty and healthy, and he got back glowing with pride. He arranged it on the table in the staff room, and then went in search of Dom. It turned out Dom was in theatre, an emergency, apparently, so Lofty stood awkwardly by the food, slapping away the hands of curious nurses and a peckish Sacha.

"So, you and Dom," said Sacha, shaking his hand, "I should, really, you know…"

"What?" Lofty asked, glaring at a hungry looking porter who happened to be passing.

"Well, you know, I know you know, that…. You know…"

"Sorry?" Lofty interrupted, already confused.

Sacha dropped his head, "That was bad start," he admitted. "I just want to check that you know… that Dom is… well he pretends to be strong and … and … confident, but…"

"But he struggles to believe he's worthy of good things?" Lofty suggested.

"Yes!" Sacha agreed, "I mean, there was the Isaac stuff, and he's still struggling with that…"

"And he still misses Arthur passionately," said Lofty.

"Yes! Yes, of course," Sacha agreed, "but…"

"But even before then he struggled with his self-worth," said Lofty, "I didn't know him, of course, but I've heard enough about his father…"

"Yes…" said Sacha. "I…"

"You feel protective of him," said Lofty.

"Well, yes…"

Lofty smiled and put a hand on Sacha's shoulder. "He's lucky to have you," he said, genuinely.

Sacha blushed, looked embarrassed, shook his head, "Oh, I don't know…"

Lofty nodded, "Absolutely! You're a brilliant mentor! You're kind and you build up his confidence, and you don't give up on him, even when he's being difficult, you're still patient and full of guidance."

"Well, I … I try…" said Sacha, obviously pleased. Lofty smiled at him.

"What's all this?" a voice interrupted them.

Dom, fresh out of theatre, had appeared in the doorway.

"Just a thank you!" said Lofty, quickly, "For letting Gran and me move in."

"Lofty," Dom protested.

"It's nothing, really," said Lofty. "I just went down to pulses, grabbed some of your favourites."

He had picked out Dom's favourites and he knew it. He saw the things Dom's eyes strayed to when they were in the canteen, the things he resisted but secretly wanted. As Dom sat down to eat with him, his face animated as he talked about the surgery, clearly proud of himself for a job he'd done well, Lofty found himself grinning. Neither of them noticed Sacha leaving.

"Uh, Dom?" Lofty called, from the living room where he'd spent an uncomfortable night on the sofa. He was looking at his suitcase which yesterday had been full of clothes.

"Yes, love?" said Dom, coming from his own room, shirtless once again, and distracting Lofty so he forgot, once again, to comment on the word choice.

"Uh, did you move any of my, er… clothes?" Lofty asked.

"Oh, I put a load on when I got in last night," said Dom. "Darks. Then this morning I put on lights. I mean, it makes sense for us to put the laundry together, doesn't it?"

"Oh, thank you..." said Lofty, not wanting to seem ungrateful, but there was a problem. "Did you… take all my clothes?"

"Well, I may have spilt some wine on the bag," said Dom, guiltily, "I'm sorry…"

"No, it's fine…" said Lofty, looking through the suitcase once more, as though hoping clothes would appear there by some miracle.

"Is there a problem?" Dom asked, innocently.

"Well, um… I just…" Lofty felt hugely awkward. "I don't seem to have… any clothes. At all…"

"Oh no, really?" asked Dom, in a voice that didn't sound too sincere. "I didn't realise I'd washed them all. It's just red wine can stain clothes and I didn't want yours to be ruined. How about I lend you some of mine?"

Lofty swallowed hard. "Your clothes?"

Dom nodded. "I've got plenty, let me just get you some."

He disappeared into his bedroom and a moment later appeared again with a pile of clothes. Lofty tentatively took the pile from him, it was some jeans and a t-shirt Lofty had never seen Dom wear before. The clothes smelt distinctly of Dom; washing powder and his aftershave and it made Lofty want to bury his face into them and purr like a cat, but he wasn't going to because that would be odd. Now not only was he going to think of Dom all day, but also smell like him too.

"Are they okay?" asked Dom, looking a little unsure of himself.

"They're fine, thank you," said Lofty, as he smiled at Dom.

H pulled off his t-shirt and tugged on the one Dom had given him, it was quite a tight fit and left a small line of skin exposed around his hips. When he looked at Dom he saw he had a slightly glazed look on his face and was staring at the tight fitting t-shirt.

"Does it look that bad?" asked Lofty, tugging a little at the fabric.

Dom shook his head. "I'm sure many men go around in t-shirts that looked like they've been stolen from their twelve year old sister's wardrobe."

"It's your t-shirt!" said Lofty, pouting a little.

Dom shrugged. "I haven't worn that in years."

Somehow Lofty doubted that, as there seemed to be a price tag digging into his back.

"Maybe it will look better with the jeans?" suggested Dom.

It didn't. The jeans were so tight that Lofty was struggling to breathe and they stuck to him like a second skin. He was seriously beginning to doubt that Dom had ever worn the clothes he'd given him.

"I can't wear these," said Lofty, throwing off the jeans and finally the t-shirt. It seemed he was going to have to spend the rest of the day wearing his pyjamas or just his boxer shorts. He finally pulled his pyjama t-shirt back on, resigned to the fact he wouldn't be leaving the flat today. Even his clothes from the night before seemed to have disappeared.

"How about I make you breakfast?" suggested Dom. "I've got some fresh fruit for smoothies."

"That would be nice," said Lofty.

They went into the kitchen and chatted as Dom sliced up some fruit and threw it into his blender. While they were doing that, Lofty made them both a coffee. It was nice again and it felt as if they were in their own little bubble. Lofty was even starting to forget about his annoyance of having no clothes to wear that day; Dom was trying his best after all.

"Are you alright to put the blender on while I do the croissants?" asked Dom, taking a sip of his coffee.

Lofty complied and made his way over to the blender. He pressed the on button and it was then his bad day got even worse. One minute everything was fine and the next he was showered by a pink wave of lumpy, cold water exploding from the top of the blender. He let out a cry of alarm as more and more juice splattered over him, covering his curls and body with strawberry pulp and banana. Finally he managed to reach forward and switch off the blender. But the damage was already done, as he was plastered from the head down in banana and strawberry smoothie.

There was a silence, as he thought about what to do next. Then there was a snort from behind him.

He turned. Dom was covering his mouth, looking ready to burst, his face bright red. Lofty wiped some smoothie from his eyes.

"Sorry!" Dom managed, through the laughter. "I really didn't plan that one!"

"What am I going to wear now?" Lofty groaned. "What do you mean, that one?"

Dom shook his head. "Nothing," he said, "You look… ridiculous."

"Oh yeah?" said Lofty, "Well, so do you."

Dom frowned. He didn't see it coming, which was good, as it gave Lofty the chance to get that little bit closer so that when he scooped up some of the gunk from his face, it landed right on the centre of Dom's forehead.

Dom gaped.

Lofty laughed, and reloaded his weapon (scooped up more gunk from his clothes) and stood ready.

"I was feeling sorry for you!" Dom protested, but it wasn't believable. Lofty threw again, but this time Dom ducked, and sneaked past Lofty to the blender.

"Don't you dare!" Lofty cried, but Dom merely grinned, and threw a handful at Lofty, who didn't duck in time.

"Right, this means war!" Lofty announced.

An hour later, they'd both showered and done a half-hearted job of cleaning the kitchen. Lofty ran a towel over his hair, wearing some old jogging bottoms left out for him by Dom. They were much more comfortable than the pair he'd been wearing earlier. There was a t-shirt, too, but Lofty had left it off for now.

Dom was sat on the couch, also in his second set of clothes for the day, staring into the middle distance. Lofty watched him for a long moment, appreciating his company even while he was silent. After a while he said "Dom."

Dom snapped to attention, "Yes, lo… Lofty?"

Lofty took a step closer. "Was… everything… you know…

Dom looked confused. "Sorry?"

Lofty tried again, hoping he would make more sense, "Did the stuff that happened, you know, today and yesterday. Did it happen on purpose?"

Dom blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Like, the towels, and … the sofa, and… and my clothes…"

"What makes you say that?" asked Dom, anxiously.

Lofty felt supremely awkward, "Well, they just seemed… a bit… you know…"

"What?"

"Purposeful," Lofty finished, lamely. "I mean, have they been?"

"Been purposeful?" asked Dom.

"Yeah," said Lofty.

Dom went to talk but failed. It was all the answer Lofty needed.

"So… you just… wanted to… what?"

Dom shrugged. It didn't help Lofty understand, "… if you didn't want me living here…"

"I do!" Dom gasped. "Of course I do!"

"Then, what was all that?" Lofty asked. "I just… I don't get it sometimes. Sometimes I think you like me, then you…"

"I like you!" Dom protested.

"Do you?" Lofty asked, genuinely concerned. "After we slept together, you could barely look at me."

"Lofty…"

"Look, should I find somewhere else?" Lofty asked. "Is this going to be too complicated?"

Dom's face lost all its colour. He sat more stiffly on the sofa. "If that's what you want," he said, distantly.

"Is it what you want?" Lofty asked, realising that he was hanging on Dom's words with terror.

Dom pursed his lips and shrugged.

"Right," said Lofty. "OK."

He went to work without saying any more words to the doctor, but with a new dark storm cloud in his heart.

Sacha was sat behind his desk, rubbing at his forehead, when Lofty stepped into his office. He finally glanced up when Lofty stood awkwardly in front of his desk. At the sight of Lofty he let out a long suffering sigh.

"No."

"No?" asked Lofty, confused.

Sacha looked up at the ceiling, as if he was hoping for some kind of divine intervention. "That's my answer to the question you're about to ask."

Lofty awkwardly scratched his head. "But I haven't asked it yet."

"No," said Sacha, leaning back into his chair. "But you're about to."

For a moment Lofty wondered if Sacha had developed some type of weird Jedi mind powers.

"Go on then," said Sacha, after an awkward pause.

"I want to request a transfer to AAU," said Lofty, knowing it was the only solution to the problem he had got himself into with Dom.

Sacha opened the drawer behind his desk and took out a chocolate bar, slowly he unwrapped it and biting into it. He swallowed and then placed the half eaten Mars bar back on his desk.

"No."

"Sacha," started Lofty, desperate for Sacha to change his mind. He couldn't continue to work with Dom, it hurt too much. And it seemed Dom found it fun play games with him and Lofty didn't like people who played games. He'd been such a fool to move in with him. What had he been thinking?

"No," repeated Sacha. "We're not doing this again Lofty. I like our Keller family and you and Dom need to sort this out once and for all. You can't keep doing this."

"I know," said Lofty, biting his lip.

"It's not good for any of us," said Sacha. "You and Dom get close, Dom screws up, you transfer to AAU and then something happens to draw the two of you back together and the whole process starts again. So for yours and Dom's sake I'm not agreeing to this transfer."

"But-"

"And Essie has already got to Fletch," stated Sacha. "So don't even think about going to him."

"I just can't..." said Lofty, struggling for the words he needed. He swallowed hard, knowing he was losing control of his emotions.

"I can't believe I'm about to say this," said Sacha. "I said from the start I wouldn't get involved in this thing between the two of you. But Lofty, if Dom asked you to move in with him, he wanted you to move in with him. Dom is complicated and makes some really questionable decisions sometimes, but underneath all that he has a heart of gold and, unfortunately, an extremely mischievous streak that he uses to get his own way most of the time."

Lofty frowned. "I don't understand."

"Then maybe you should talk to Dom," stated Sacha, looking down at his watch as if he was waiting for something.

What he was waiting for became apparent as Dom burst into the office, looking slightly pink faced and out of breath.

"Don't...don't transfer to AAU," said Dom. "If anyone should transfer, it should be me."

Sacha finally stood up, with a look on his face that said he'd had enough. "No one is transferring and it seems I'm not going to get any work done until the two of you sort this out."

"It's my fault," said Dom.

Sacha rolled his eyes. "I don't really care whose fault it is. Just use my office and sort it out, or I will send Essie in or Lofty's gran. And neither of those two will be quite as polite as me."

Sacha left his own office. Lofty went to follow, but Sacha closed the door on his face.

"Well, that wasn't very polite," Lofty said to the door.

He turned back to Dom. The doctor was looking worried, his eyes not quite focusing on Lofty.

Lofty waited for him. He was struggling to understand. Had Dom done any of this stuff through genuine affection? Or was he making fun of Lofty? Lofty suspected that Dom was capable of being very unkind if he wanted to be.

"I…" Dom started.

He stopped quickly. Maybe he didn't know what Dom felt, either. Maybe they were both just reaching out in the darkness and getting clues of what was there but were missing the whole picture.

"Dom," said Lofty. "I think we just have to be completely honest."

Dom looked pale at that, but nodded.

They both stood in silence a moment longer. Both hoping the other one would go first.

Dom groaned. "I'm crap at this," he said.

"No," Lofty protested, "It's just hard, that's all. You're no worse than me."

Dom half smiled. "I… what do you want me to say?"

"The truth?" Lofty suggested. "Like why you invited me and my gran to stay?"

"Well you go straight for the hard stuff," Dom joked.

"I don't want to push you, Dom," said Lofty, honestly.

"No, you're right," Dom protested, "I need to say this." He took a very deep breath. "I invited you to stay because you needed somewhere and I would do anything to help you."

Lofty blinked. "Wow," he said.

"Yes," said Dom. "You … are… perfect. In so many ways. I just… you make me … whenever I see you, I smile. Isn't that ridiculous?"

Lofty blinked again, and closed his mouth that had been hanging open. "I'm not… obviously I'm not… you know… that. What you said." He knew he was blushing. It was stupid. He was clumsy and stupid and didn't even realise when people were being mean to him half the time. Dom only laughed at him.

"To me you are," he said, with what sounded like honesty. You're so…. so kind and loving and thoughtful and gentle and clever and warm and ridiculous and clumsy and…"

"Are these still compliments?" Lofty interrupted.

"To me, you are perfect," Dom spoke over him. "Is that from Love Actually?"

"Um, I think so," said Lofty.

"Well, who cares? It's true," Dom shook his head, "I get stupidly jealous of other people when they talk to you. Even Gaskell, who's old enough to be your dad, and I get stupidly protective of you, even when you don't need protecting, like when Freddie insulted your suit, I just took your side without even thinking about it. And when I see that you need help, like now, I just want to be that help."

"That's… that's a lot…" said Lofty.

"Well, I mean it," Dom told him. "I just didn't know how to say it before. I didn't want to scare you away. I mean, I wasn't even sure you could like me, and then you did, and then I thought it wasn't me, it was just … men, and then… I just hoped and hoped, but I didn't… know how to …"

"I love you too," said Lofty.

Dom stopped speaking. He looked at Lofty like he'd grown a third head.

"Do I have to list all the things, too?" Lofty asked. "You're clever and witty and silly and rude and so strong, I mean the way you've built yourself back up after such awful stuff. And you're loving and caring, and dedicated and…"

"Lofty…" Dom protested. "I didn't say… that…"

It was Lofty's turn to stop, taken by surprise. "But that… wasn't that…"

Dom put a hand on Lofty's mouth. "Benjamin Lofty Chiltern," he said, "I … " he stopped, maybe he'd freaked out, Lofty's heart was in his mouth. "I … love you too."

Lofty grinned. Dom smiled back.

"So… do you still want one of us to transfer?" Dom asked, "I can go behind Sacha's back, go straight to Serena, me and her are like …"

Lofty kissed him to shut him up.

"Is that a no?" asked Dom.

Lofty kissed him again.

This time the kiss was longer and when Lofty pulled away Dom was practically radiating with happiness.

"You never did answer why you did all those things," said Lofty, still wrapped around Dom.

"Well you said bad things happen when we get together," said Dom, his eyes dropping down to Lofty's lips once again. "So I thought maybe we could just be together, but just in a non-conventional sense."

Lofty blinked at him. "That's probably the most insane thing I've heard all week."

Dom grinned wickedly at him. "It worked, didn't it? I got to sleep with you and see you practically naked quite a few times. It was win-win for everyone involved."

Lofty let out a huff. "I'm in love with a mad man."

This time it was Dom's turn to silence him with a kiss, this one lasted longer than the other two. But of course the sound of a door slamming interrupted the two of them and they guiltily sprang apart.

"Some of us have work to do," said Sacha, although there was no heat behind his words. He actually looked quite happy with himself.

Dom pulled a face at him. "You're the one who gave us your office to use."

"Yes," said Sacha. "Which was a onetime offer. And I expect all things that happen in it going forwards to be PG rated or below. Now get out before I put in a transfer to AAU myself."

"Serena would soon send you back," stated Dom.

"Out!"

"Come on," said Dom, slipping his hand into Lofty's. "We'll pick this back up tonight. And maybe by then some of your clothes will be dry."

He couldn't help but laugh at that statement, starting to see the humour in some of Dom's antics over the last few days. Yes, Dom may be some secret evil genius who did crazy things to get his own way, but Lofty wouldn't have him any other way.