I'm back, people!

SisiDraig pointed out that maybe I don't need to keep writing 'Vince' in bold, so I'm gonna listen to her and write it normally. No-one else commented on it, so if anyone else finds it confusing then let me know!

Warning: There are mentions of dismembered bodies in here. I warn you now. I really don't like them, but I couldn't think of anything else to put in, so...

Howard jerked awake when the doorbell rung. He waited a few minutes, hoping whoever it was would leave, but it seemed they weren't going without an answer. He supposed Naboo and Bollo had gone out, seeing as they weren't answering either. Either that or they were too stoned to get up.

Really, Howard thought, I don't know how he can have a go at me about my alcohol the amount he smokes that stuff! It's not like I have a problem or anything, I could stop if I wanted…

He pulled open the door and blinked. Outside were two police officers, a man and a woman. They looked very uncomfortable. "Mr Moon?"

"Yes?"

"Can we come in?"

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"I'm terribly sorry, sir."

"No…"

"If there's anything we can do…"

Howard stared at them, unable to take this in. A farmer in Exmouth had alerted the police when he'd found a piece of clothing washed up on the side of a river. Further dredging had revealed several 'Topshop' bags, a wallet with Vince's ID in it, and, much further down the river, several rotting human bones; which a police forensic expert had told them had only been there for about a year.

There wasn't enough to make a whole body. And the edges were jagged, like they'd been sliced through.

"He's dead…" Howard couldn't believe this. Vince couldn't be dead. And he certainly couldn't have been cut up…what kind of sick twisted bastard would do something like that?

"I'm so sorry for your loss."

Howard looked between the two, at their carefully practised expressions of sorrow and pity. They're not sorry at all! The second they leave this flat they'll forget Vince Noir ever existed. He'll just become another name in a murder investigation that no-one remembers… aloud, he merely said. "Thanks. You can go." They left.

He should feel something. He wanted to feel something, but he just felt numb. This couldn't be happening, it just couldn't. Because he and Vince were a team.

Now Vince was dead.

It seemed obvious to Howard what he had to do now. He and Vince were two sides of the coin, two halves of a person. You couldn't have one without the other. So if Vince couldn't come home to him…

…well, he was just going to have to go to Vince.

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Howard breathed in the cold air. He had walked for what felt like hours to get here. It really was a beautiful view from up here. He was stood on the edge of a high building, just looking over the city. He supposed he would miss it. At least I won't be a bother to Naboo anymore. He thought. He can get his new flatmates…

"Hello?" he whirled his head around, and saw a young man smiling anxiously at him. The man from the bar.

"You!"

He looked surprised. "You! Are you alright?"

"Never better." He said, turning back to the view. "Why is it that whenever I leave the flat these days, you're there? It's like having a second shadow."

He chuckled carefully. "Bit close to the edge, aren't you?"

"That usually help when you're about to jump off it."

"Look, it can't be that bad can it? You're, what; 40? 45? In the prime of your life! What could be worth this?"

"I'm 33!" Howard said indignantly. "Not that it matters." He sighed. "Nothing matters. He's dead. Vince is dead. My best friend in the whole world and he's actually dead…"

"Tell me about him."

Howard smiled in spite of himself. "He was great. The best friend a man could have. Most of the time anyway, sometimes he could be a right bitch. But I loved him anyway."

He edged slightly closer. "What did he used to do? The nice stuff, I mean."

Howard smiled as a memory came to him. "My 32nd birthday. When we were kids, I threw a birthday party and he told everyone I was going to have a bouncy castle. He was afraid people wouldn't show up otherwise and I'd be upset. Only, there wasn't a castle so they all beat me up."

"Ok…"

"Then, for my 32nd birthday party, he bought me a bouncy castle. He actually remembered and bought me one."

He smiled. "He sounds nice."

"Yeah."

"What's your name?"

"Does it matter?"

"Guess not."

There was a pause. "You can't stop me jumping you know."

"But you don't really want to jump, do you? If you did you would have gone when I first arrived. You wouldn't have spent all this time talking to me…" Vince realised he had said the wrong thing when Howard took another step closer to the edge. One more step and he'd be falling... "Wait! I'm sorry, I'm sure you can jump off whenever you want! Look, tell me more about your friend, yeah?"

Howard said nothing, just stared out over the rooftops, eyes blinded by tears.

The man cast an eye over the discarded beer bottles. "You're drunk mate. Trust me; this will all seem better when you're sober. Why don't we go and have a cup of coffee or something, yeah?"

"Why? Vince is dead. What's the point of just drinking fucking coffee! And I'm not drunk. I haven't felt this sober in months."

"Look, I know what you're going through. Well, not exactly, but I can tell how lost and scared you're feeling. About 4 months ago, I was in an accident, right, and I lost my memory. I can't remember any of my life before that point. So believe me when I say that I have to live with a huge loss as well. Don't do this! Would Vince want you to do this?"

"Me and him, we're a team. Two halves of one whole person. We're meant to be together forever…"

"If you mean that much to each other, why would he want you to die, hmm? I think he'd want you to live, live enough for the both of you…"

Howard turned his head, eyes bright with anguished tears. "You don't know that! You didn't know him! Nobody knew him but me. Everyone else thought he was just some vain narcissist, dressing himself up in pretty clothes with the emotional depth of a puddle. But I knew him, the real him! Ok, maybe he was a vain narcissist, and he could be quite shallow, but he was so much more than that! When we were kids, he tried to run away with me when I was being bullied! He stayed up all night with me once when I was sick! He always bails…bailed…me out of situations when I get in trouble! Don't act like you knew anything about him!"

"But it's like I said! Why would he want you hurt if he cared so much?!"

Howard wavered. If it was the other way round, if he were dead and Vince was the one left behind, would he want Vince to die? No. No, I'd want him to live. I'd want him to go on living and continue to be the little electro poof I know and love…so why would he want any different for me?

"Come on. come back from the edge, yeah?"

Howard wanted to. He really did. But the distance down to the concrete below, which had only moments ago appeared friendly and inviting, was suddenly a gaping chasm; greedy for him. "I…I can't. I'll fall."

"Hey…" out of the corner of his eye, Howard saw the man walk towards him slowly and climb over the railings, reaching for his hand. "Grab hold of me, ok? I won't let you fall."

Howard reached blindly backwards, not daring to take his eyes off the pavement below, as if by not looking at it, it could somehow suck him over the edge. He felt a warm hand grip his own and begin to pull him back, back to safety. The man helped him over the railings, tears of relief building in his eyes.

"Thank you." Howard told him awkwardly, not looking at his face.

"No problem."

"You can go if you want."

"You sure? You won't try and jump off again?"

"No. no, I'll be fine." And he meant it. Howard looked up at his rescuer, smiling sadly. As he looked into the man's face, the tiny bit at the back of his brain leapt up again, throwing things around and yelling and generally trying to get attention.

"Thanks again." He said awkwardly. How do you thank someone for saving your life?

"Sure." The other man smiled and headed back towards the door. Just then, a bigger part of Howard's brain noticed the attention seeking smaller part, and alerted his attention to it. He gasped.

"Wait!"

The man stopped and turned around, looking questioning. Howard walked slowly towards him, his eyes never leaving the man's face. He looked at him. Really looked at him. Looked past the thick stubble, past the short brown hair, past the loose fitting jeans and T-shirt, past the slight tan on his face, the lack of makeup... he looked into the big blue eyes, which were now looking a little apprehensive (He must have had his 'rapist' expression on).

Howard felt his stomach flip. He was so sure…suddenly he knew. When he spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.

"Vince?"

Reviews are seriously loved!

A/N: The body in the river quite obviously isnt Vince, but I don't have any sort of plan as to who it is. I just put it in to have some reason for Howard to be suicidal, it isnt really important to the story. Just to let you all know!