I woke up the next morning in an empty bed. Perry and I had both technically had the day off, but not being on the schedule didn't always mean you wouldn't end up at work. I rolled over to make sure I didn't have any missed pages, although I doubt Perry would've let me sleep through a page if we had been called in on the same case. I didn't see anything on the pager, and decided to go into the kitchen, which was also empty.

"Weird," I think to myself as I go to make myself a pot of coffee, only to find that the pot was already full. So Perry hadn't left in a rush by any means. Before I could think any deeper about the issue, the door swung open, and Perry walked in.

"Ah, you're awake." He said, shutting the door behind him.

"Uh, yeah." I stuttered out. "Where'd you go?" I asked.

"I took my kid to school," Perry said, looking at me confused.

"Oh, right," I said, realizing that the idea hadn't even occurred to me.

"I guess that isn't really what you signed up for, huh?" Perry said, more to himself than to me, but I could tell that he was fixating on the age difference between us again.

"Hey. I just wasn't thinking straight. It's morning. I haven't had any coffee yet; do you want a cup?" I asked, trying to distract him.

"Yeah, sure," he said, sitting on the couch and running his hands through his hair. I poured his mug and loaded it with artificial sweeteners, the way he liked it, before bringing him his and making my own. "Come sit down," he urged me, patting the area on the couch next to him. I obliged, settling myself into the space against his chest before blowing the steam away from my coffee and taking a sip. Perry adjusted himself to draw me closer, putting his arm around me and running his hand through my hair, choosing one strand to absentmindedly twirl around his finger.

"Perry," I murmured, not wanting to disturb the almost pristine peace of the moment but knowing that I had to.

"Mm?" Perry answered wordlessly, turning his head to look at me.

"What are… what are we doing?" I asked. Perry's shoulders sank and the look on his face nearly broke my heart. I regretted speaking up instantly.

"What do you want us to be doing?" He asked me, his voice guttural and husky.

"Perry, I don't want to do this. Where are we going? Do we want to keep doing...this? And can we find a word for it that isn't just "this?""

"I don't want to stop this. If you need a word for it, find one. I'll call it whatever you want to call it."

"So you'll call me your boyfriend?"

"Be gentle with me," He said, shooting me a good-natured icy look.

"So you'll call this a relationship, at least?"

"Sure, but do you really want to be telling your friends about this yet? You want to tell Elliot and the Turkletons about your gay relationship with your superior?"

"Since when do you call them the Turkletons?"

"Nancy."

"I guess you're right. Telling them right now would be… messy. We should figure out who we are together first."

"That sounds like a much better compromise."

"Can I call you my boyfriend?"

"As long as I'm not around to hear it."

"I'll take it."