A/N: This is the sequel to the previous chapter. Prompted by the song So Desperate by The Mountain Goats.

Vince has been sitting next to the shop door for two hours now, and his back is really starting to hurt. He's about to go upstairs for a pillow when the bell jingles, and in steps Howard, carrying a suitcase and looking tired.

Vince stands up and Howard jumps. "…Vince," he says, once he gets over the initial shock, "what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" Vince repeats incredulously. "I live here, you berk. And so do you," he adds, softening.

"Well…how's the shop, then?" Howard asks, glancing around nervously.

"How's the shop?" Vince squawks. "Is that all you care about? Remember why you came back?" he asks pointedly.

Howard coughs and looks down at his shoes. Suddenly he drops his suitcase and looks Vince in the eyes.

Vince swallows noisily and waits.

"I came back because I missed you," Howard says, "and I'm very glad to be home."

Neither one of them is sure who reaches for whom, but suddenly they're hugging in the middle of the shop. Vince's chest feels tight, and not unpleasantly so. "Always the man of action," he breathes into Howard's shoulder, and they laugh together for the first time in weeks.