A few minutes earlier...

Allison had entered the restaurant, walking closer and closer towards Jen and Adam; panic was setting in.

Jen hadn't known it was the same Allison, the random girl from the gym, the one she'd become friendly with in recent days. How could she have known? In the brief time Timmy and Allison were dating, she'd never chanced to meet her. She'd heard passing mention of her back in the day from Adam - there's this girl at work that Timmy's dating, man they're really going at it, who knew he had it in him? At some point there had to have been talk of a breakup, or at any rate she'd known he was unattached. But Jen wasn't very observant at times, she really wasn't a very good listener when it didn't strike her interest. And now it had led to a mistake of perhaps monumental proportions.

She genuinely liked Timmy, they were becoming good friends, and she'd accidentally invited his ex out to dinner. He was currently hauled up with Russell in the bathroom. Russell, who had recently revealed himself as the possessive, jealous type, and was harboring some weird, retrospective animosity for the woman currently approaching them.

Well, this was just great.

She ordered Adam to follow the men to the bathroom, to keep them there, to not let them see her. She wasn't sure what else to do; she watched him leave and set about trying to figure out how to distract Allison, to get rid of her, something, anything, but before she could begin to make a plan, Allison reached her, warm smile and relaxed, as though nothing were wrong at all. Oh, Allison.

"Hi, Jen! Was that your husband? I barely caught a glimpse, he sure ran off in a hurry."

Jen forced a laugh. "Oh, he just had some bad...sausage earlier, you know how it goes, running to the bathroom all night."

Allison sneered softly. "Oh. I'm...I'm sorry?"

"Let's go to the bar, you look like you could use a good stiff drink, you look really pent up, are you pent up, you want a drink? Let's have a drink!" Jen took a deep breath. Dial it back, woman.

Allison took a small step back. "No, I'm...I'm not pent up, I feel great. But sure, I'll take a drink." They started for the bar. "Weren't we meeting with a couple of your friends? Where are they?"

"They ate the sausage, too."

"Oh..."

The women took their seats at the bar and were greeted a moment later by a tall, dark-haired bartender, flashing pearly whites. "What can I get you ladies?"

Allison returned a flirtatious grin. "I'll just have a-"

"Scotch," said Jen gruffly. "Hold the rocks."

Allison shot Jen a glance.

"Never mind. Beer. Just bring us whatever's on tap."

"You ladies sure you're old enough?" The bartender flashed his cheesy grin again as the ladies retrieved their IDs, eliciting a giggle from Allison.

"What's the name, red?"

"Allison."

"Scott. You new around here?"

"Oh, no, been here awhile."

As he went about retrieving their drinks, Jen nudged Allison a few too many times and leaned in, whispering. "Maybe he gets off work soon, maybe he wants to take you out, huh? Ready to get out of here?"

Allison dropped her smile, looking to Jen in confusion. "I just got here...aren't we waiting for your husband and your friends to get back?"

The bartender returned, plunking drinks down in front of the ladies. "Well, Allison, and-"

"Jen."

"Allison and Jen. If you're looking for something to do after this..."

The women sat on the edge of their seats.

"...my boyfriend and I love the new show playing downtown, you should definitely go check it out, it's a blast and a half."

Jen's head hit the counter as the bartender walked away. Finally, she looked back to Allison and wriggled in her chair a bit, flustered, seeking a solution, attempting to keep her voice steady. Don't freak out. Everything's fine. "Hey, how about you and me go do something else?"

"And just leave your husband here?"

"I'll let him know. Tonight is all about you, Allison. The scene in here isn't looking all that great, I mean...we've got baldie to the right over here, I'm spotting Mr. Hawaiian Shirt with ketchup stain over there, these are not good prospects. I know a club downtown that just opened up, super happening."

"Clubs aren't really my thing...I don't really go for club guys..." She leaned gently on a hand. "Then again, I haven't had much luck lately, maybe there's some diamonds in the rough."

Jen was on a roll now. She was loosening up. "There you go. And really, you wanna hang around with the losers I brought tonight? All Adam does is talk, he never shuts up, talk talk talk all the time, and he seems to be on this weird kick about pie, I mean...god, shut up about pie!" Stop while you're ahead. "And seriously...Timmy and Russell basically just spend all their time insulting each other. 'Oh, you're a sleaze ball,' 'oh, I'm going to say something racially stereotyping!', I mean it gets really boring, Allison."

Allison did a double-take. Jen slapped a hand across her mouth.

"Wait, did you just say Timmy and Russ-"

"Hello, Allison."

Allison turned her head gently; her eyes met with Timmy's. For a time, neither of them spoke, looking to one another in something of a stunned silence.

Jen, rendered speechless, hand still firm to her mouth, heart racing, peered back towards Russell, who had caught up to Timmy, now. He kept himself a few feet back, seething, forcing himself to stay down, to not attack.

And then Timmy and Allison smiled at one another. A soft, gentle smile. Allison stood down from her seat at the bar, walked softly towards Timmy, heaved out a breath, shook her head in shock.

"Oh my goodness, what are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same question...when Jennifer said she had a friend named Allison, it never occurred to me-"

"I wasn't aware you were friends with Jen."

"Yes, we've known each other for years." Timmy huffed out softly. "My goodness, I haven't seen you in the longest time."

Adam came running up to Jen...about time. Jen jumped from her seat, leading him away, teeth ground in frustration. "Where the heck have you been?!"

"I'm sorry, I kind of told Russell and I came out here to warn you but then I stopped to gather my thoughts, and-"

"Oh my god, never stop to gather your thoughts, Adam, it's impossible! There's never enough time to gather your thoughts!"

Timmy was staring, lost. And then it occurred to him to turn around, to look back towards Russell, who grew more agitated by the moment. Well, Russell was being immature about this, he could just continue throwing his little fit; Timmy turned back towards Allison.

"How long have you been back in town? I assumed you were still in Chicago."

"Around six months. I apologize for not calling, I assumed you weren't interested..."

Russell interjected, now. "You're right, he wasn't."

Timmy flipped around, voice harsh. "I can speak for myself, thank you very much."

Russell was none too pleased with this declaration. He walked to Timmy now and stood barely an inch away, lurking uncomfortably over him.

Jen and Adam approached the group again, and Jen spoke meekly. "Listen guys, I'm so sorry...I never would have set this up if I'd known, I swear-"

"It's okay," said Allison. She flipped her hair behind an ear, coy, sweet. "I was thinking lately that I wouldn't mind seeing Timmy again."

Timmy perked. "W-what was that?"

Russell flicked Timmy's ear, eliciting an "ow" and a dirty look.

Timmy spoke through gritted teeth in Russell's direction. "Let me handle this!"

"No."

"Russell, I assure you, everything is-"

Russell applied an aggravated smack to the back of Timmy's head and whispered in his ear. "Don't be a moron, she wants you, I'm not sticking around while the little pipsqueak flirts you up all night!"

"Timmy?" The men focused back on Allison, who, watching them with a great deal of intrigue, squeaked out gently, "Uhm, why is your boss beating you up? Hi, Russell."

Russell sneered and was about to lay out a verbal assault when Timmy placed a hand across his mouth, eyeing him scoldingly before returning to Allison.

"Oh my, Allison, there's so much to explain, how do I explain all of this?" He looked back to Russell, their eyes meeting sharply, and slowly removed his hand from his mouth. "I think it's best if we do this someplace a bit more secluded or I may not get a word in edgewise...perhaps we could have a moment alone."

Russell laughed a bit too loudly. "No. No-o-o, buddy, that's not happening."

"I promise, it's fine." Timmy reached for Russell's hand. "Please, we'll only be a moment." He squeezed Russell's hand gently, and was satisfied to feel Russell squeeze back, a sign of reluctant acceptance.

Russell watched Timmy walk away, out of the restaurant. With Allison. He stood, defeated, unable to breathe, until Jen approached him finally.

Russell spoke softly, mockingly. "'Hey, Russell and Timmy, let's go out to dinner, you guys need to get out, you're so stressed.' Thanks. Thanks, I'm feeling crazy chill."

"I'm sorry, Russell...I really didn't know..."

Adam joined them. "Man, Jen said the name Allison so many times, we all heard it, it just didn't click. We're all idiots."

Russell shook his head as he made his way for the front door. "No. Timmy's the idiot."

Jen and Adam stood nervously; they watched as Russell stopped just outside the entrance. Watching; spying. This wouldn't end well. There was no way this could end well.

Jen hung her head. "I'm the worst friend in the world."

Adam patted her lightly on the shoulder. "Nah, honey. I mean, like...top ten, maybe. But worst? Nah."

Timmy and Allison walked outside, and a strange sensation flooded over Timmy. He felt all at once both relief to be out of the restaurant and a sudden influx of nerves - Russell's presence had been creating an unwanted tension, but his absence created tension of a new sort. Maybe this had been a poor decision, after all.

"That was a little strange in there, Timmy, were you holding Russell Dunbar's hand?"

"Allison...Allison, I really must explain something to you, and this is going to sound quite bizarre at first, but-" Timmy choked on the words, somehow - he was so tired of explaining this to people, and his brain was struggling to work properly in her presence. Before he went further, he motioned her towards a bench a few feet away, and they walked together, sitting down. She sat a bit closer to him than he had anticipated, their legs brushing together. For a moment he forgot what he was about to say; an old familiar sensation began to rise up his leg and through his body. Memories of moments stolen in Allison's office...every time they would-

"Timmy?"

"What?"

"What were you saying?"

"Uhm...right. Yes. You see, I was...Russell and I...how long have you been back around, did you say?"

"Six months. I guess Chicago wasn't really my cup of tea. I liked it here a lot better. The atmosphere, the shopping, the people. Especially...certain people."

For a second Timmy considered Russell's words; she was, wasn't she? Flirting him up? Was this- did she want him? No. No, they were simply conversing, they'd barely begun talking. Just innocent conversation.

"Why didn't you call?" Timmy sputtered at his own question. Why had he asked that? Why? "It's a bit...it's bad timing, really, it's irrelevant, I shouldn't even be asking this question, I'm sorry. I mean, six months ago it wouldn't have been- it doesn't matter, but uhm...no, never mind, I should really explain."

"I wanted to call. But then, I was trying to move on, you know, it's been so long, I guess I just figured you'd moved on too."

"Well, I have. I mean, at the time I hadn't. But now, I suppose..."

"It's hard to meet people. I mean, it's hard to meet the right kind of people."

"Ah, yes, indeed."

"And then it seems that as soon as you do find the right kind of person, something always gets in the way."

"Well, you know, Allison, sometimes the wrong kind of person ends up being the right kind of person. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but trust me on this, love doesn't always work the way one expects."

Having rendered her in temporary contemplation, Timmy searched his brain for a topic of diversion. She seemed quite heavily focused on relationships; wait, hadn't he needed to tell her something rather important on this topic? Brain scrambling. "So, have you seen any good shows lately?"

"Timmy? Do you feel it?"

Timmy choked back. "Feel what, what do I feel?"

"The energy? I feel it. I always did feel it. Between you and me. I mean, mostly what we had was sexual...but Timmy, it was the best sex I've ever had in my life."

"Oh, lord."

"I've thought about you a lot, Timmy."

"Allison...I shan't lie to you, yes, of course there's something here, there always has been, but please...please stop this at once, I really must tell you about me and-"

Before he could get out another word, she had lunged forward, kissing him. For a moment, he didn't return the gesture; he instructed himself not to, he ordered himself to resist what was happening - and then he leaned into it. Deeply, instinctively. When the kiss broke, he looked to her, stunned. "Oh. Oh...my...god."

"Yeah," she said, smiling.

"No. No, you...don't...understand..." He froze. And then the heavy breathing started. He stood, pacing wildly. "I didn't just do that. No. No, that did not just happen..."

"Timmy, what's the matter?"

He flailed his hands about, until finally he shot his left hand in front of Allison's face, displaying his ring finger.

"What?! What, are you...do you have a fiance, a wife?!"

"I'm married! I have a-" He was nearly hyperventilating, and let out the next word harshly, breathlessly: "-husband."

"You're married?! To-to a man? How can you be married to a man, who are you married to?!"

Unable to speak, he gestured towards the restaurant.

Allison shook her head in confusion. "I don't...understand..."

"Russell."

"...What?"

"I'm...I'm married to Russell."

"Your boss, Russell?"

Timmy nodded emphatically.

Allison laughed. "Is this a joke, am I on hidden camera or something?"

"No. No Allison, this is not a joke, this is my life, this is the insanity that is my life, my husband is in that restaurant right now waiting for me to come back inside and I just...oh, lord."

Allison watched Timmy pace in front of her, taking some time to process what was happening. He was serious - this was weird.

"Well, how the heck did you end up married to Russell Dunbar?"

"It's such a long story...I needed a green card."

"Well, that's not a real marriage-"

"Yes, yes, I know, I know, that's why we got married, Allison, it's not why we're together."

"Oh. I see. This is all very confusing."

He stopped pacing now. "Yes, tell me about it!" He had practically yelled in her face, causing her to recoil slightly.

"So...you and Russell...are a- a couple?"

"Yes."

"And you just kissed me."

"Technically you kissed me, but this is a problem, yes."

"I didn't know."

"I was trying to tell you!"

"I'm sorry, Timmy." She paused, her face confused. "So...so you and him...you're together? Really?"

"Allison!"

"I'm sorry, this doesn't make any sense, the last thing I remember is you hating him, he was making your life miserable! He was just awful, he was a perverted little weasel, he treated you like garbage, how could you end up married to him?"

"Well, yes, that's all true, but even then he was sort of my best friend, you see, it's quite a bit more complicated than I even let on back then I'm afraid, and then I quit working for him, and then we got married and I moved in with him and now we're together and I love him, Allison, and I still sort of hate him but that doesn't excuse the fact that I just kissed you and god help me I'm considering doing it again and HE'S NARY SEVERAL YARDS AWAY AT THIS VERY MOMENT."

"What did you say?"

"He's nary several yards-"

"No, the other part."

"Which part?"

"You're considering kissing me again?"

Timmy had set back to pacing wildly back and forth in front of Allison. "Did I say that? No, ignore that, my subconscious was talking, it does that sometimes, terrible loudmouth, my subconscious." He hit his head several times. "Shut up!"

"Timmy, calm down."

"I think I'm going insane. Yes, I've gone insane, this is it, I'm done for now."

Allison stood up, snatching Timmy firmly by the shoulders. "Timmy!"

This calmed him down straight away; his body relaxed as he stared deeply into her eyes. And then, he leaned hesitantly forward - lips near enough to hers to feel the heat from her mouth rising to meet his, tempting him, luring him forward, and he closed his eyes, thinking, urging himself to make a decision.

He pulled away. "This is wrong, I can't believe I would even consider..." He shook his head, meeting Allison's eyes. "Thank you, Allison."

"For what?"

"For helping me to realize something. I've been...we've been trying so hard to deny it. Stubbornly, foolishly, something undeniable. I think you've just proven something very important to me. And, uhm. Yes, I believe I need to speak with Russell."

Allison nodded. "Well, I don't really understand any of this, Timmy, but if this is what makes you happy...I'm happy for you." She kissed him softly on the cheek. "Perhaps I should go."

"Under the circumstances, I should think that wise."

Allison was focused now on Timmy's face as he looked back towards the restaurant; towards Russell. There was a longing in his eyes, a depth that was never there in all the time she'd known him.

"Wow...you've really got it bad for him, don't you?"

Timmy nodded softly. "Yes. Yes, I suppose I do."

Russell saw Timmy fast approaching the restaurant, and did his best to look nonchalant by the time he walked inside. Timmy was taken aback to find Russell right inside the door, and the men feigned casualty as they stood together in the entryway, avoiding eye contact.

"So," said Russell finally. "What happened out there?"

Timmy was trying to formulate his story in such a way so as to not set Russell off; this was taking too long. There was no right way to do this.

"Timmy?"

"Just...just give me a moment."

"I was watching, Timmy."

Timmy flicked his eyes up towards Russell; he was met with a deathly serious gaze. His mouth started running at lightning speed.

"Nothing happened, Russell, please, let me explain-"

"If nothing happened, then what is there to explain?"

Timmy hesitated - Russell nodded, turning away sharply.

"Please don't walk away, I realize what you saw and I know what it looked like but I'll explain everything if you'll just give me a chance, please."

Russell turned back slowly; he looked ready for the slaughter, but at least Timmy had his attention.

"Okay. Now...Allison may or may not have initiated a small, meaningless kiss." Timmy paused, gauging Russell's reaction; stone cold. He continued. "And I may or may not have accepted and participated in said kiss, but - and this is the important part - after this I panicked, Russell, I panicked and I told her about us and I sent her away and she's gone now and everything is fine."

"That's the important part? Everything is fine?!"

"Yes!"

"Are you sure the important part isn't where you kissed her?"

"It was one kiss, Russell, and I promise you I felt practically nothing-"

"Practically nothing?!"

"-and what I realize now is that we've been avoiding this topic, you know, the topic of exclusivity? Perhaps we were afraid, somehow. I mean, we didn't enter into this relationship as one normally would, it's taken us awhile to admit to certain things, it's been a process. And I really don't know why we've been avoiding this topic, because it's...it's fairly evident that, uhm...that..." Timmy began to fumble over his words; Russell was fuming. "That, uhm...that we actually...have very strong...feelings..." Russell's eyes were piercing. "Feelings on this...this topic. So isn't that lovely, Russell, that now we know for certain that we absolutely should...be...exclusive? As...as a couple, as husbands? I mean, there's really no question now as to our relationship being legitima-"

"You kissed her!"

Timmy looked away. "I'm so sorry, Russell, please forgive me. It meant nothing."

Russell leaned in close to Timmy, breath heavy, angry. "I have just enough self respect not to kill you in front of all these people. Get a cab."

Russell slammed the apartment door before Timmy could follow him inside.

Timmy stood outside the door. The ride home had been tense, silent, anticipatory of the horrific evening to come. Now here they were. He closed his eyes, gathered himself, and entered the apartment, talking rapidly. "Now, listen, Russell, please, we have to talk about this-"

"There's nothing to talk about."

In desperation Timmy made one last ditch effort: "Shall we count to five...?"

Silently, Russell put his hand in front of Timmy's face. He brought down one finger at a time as he counted: "One, two, three, four-" And, leaving only the center finger square in the middle of Timmy's face "-five."

"Please, Russell-"

"Nothing to talk about. You thought sucking saliva with your former slut while I was a few yards away sounded like a super fun idea, so you ran with it."

"That's not how it happened! I told you, she initiated the kiss!"

"You wanted to kiss her!"

Timmy grew a little too quiet and Russell nodded in victory.

"Yes," said Timmy. "Alright, I...I admit there was a touch of tension but for god's sake Russell, all Allison and I ever used to do was have sex, our relationship barely went beyond the physical, what is my body supposed to do around that woman, shrivel up? I'm still human. It was stupid. I told her just as much and I sent her away, what more was I to do?"

"What if I hadn't been there? What would you have done if I hadn't been there?"

"If you hadn't been there? If what, then? If I had run into her where, Russell, at some seedy little out of the way place?"

"Yeah, whatever, would you have fucked her, Timmy?"

"Of course not!"

"Likely story."

"How do I win, Russell? Alright, fine, yes! Yes, I would have slept with Allison, is that what you want to hear, does that make you happy?! And I would have left her riddled with a dozen random sexually transmitted diseases acquired from weeks of nonstop intercourse with you! So lovely to see you again Allison, here, why not have some gonorrhea!"

"Okay, knock it off with that..."

"And some herpes!"

"Shut up!"

"And some chlamydia!"

"Hey, I got rid of the chlamydia, I never gave you chlamydia!"

"Oh, so just the gonorrhea and the herpes then? And herpes lasts forever, well done, two for three!"

"The hell is wrong with you, why am I the bad guy here?!"

Timmy stopped his tirade...he didn't have an answer. He was at fault, he knew he was, but he couldn't let it go. There were other factors at play, it wasn't that simple.

Russell's voice grew soft, fragile. "Maybe you shoulda just stuck with Allison. I get the score."

Timmy was very close to saying the correct thing - No, Russell, I want to be with you. Don't be stupid, Russell. But, no. They weren't done hurting one another quite yet.

"Well, maybe I would have had a chance with Allison if not for you."

"What the hell are you talking about? She moved, she broke it off with you..."

"I never even got to develop a real relationship with Allison, and do you know why? Because you interfered, from day one you had your hand in it, you sent her that tawdry email posing as me. It got us both going and from that day forward it was little more than sex!"

"You're complaining that I got you laid, are you serious?!"

"Yes! Yes, I am, because unlike you I realize there's more to a relationship than sex, you need to develop real meaningful connections to build a lasting relationship...something of which you're incapable of doing."

The men stared one another down. Timmy's implication was clear, and he knew it was perhaps the cruelest blow of all - to imply that what they had wasn't meaningful, to imply it wasn't lasting, was a dagger straight to Russell's heart.

Russell was done. No holds barred. "You would have fucked her just like you fucked that slut the first day."

"What on earth are you on about?"

"When we first got together. You screwed me over man, you left me and you went and you picked up that chick-"

Timmy sighed heavily, turning away. "Not this again."

"Yeah, this again!"

"We didn't even know what we were doing at that juncture, Russell, you can't hold that against me. I was confused. Don't lie and tell me you haven't been with any women since then."

"I haven't!"

Timmy flipped back around. He had an ace, he had the upper hand, and he knew this. He was hesitating. "I can't possibly believe that. I know you've been with other people, Russell. When you gave me this ring, you told me you'd gone on dates, you told me you'd tried and failed."

"Yeah, I failed! For like a minute, I tried. I was scared, I didn't know what I was doing. I couldn't do it, Timmy, I wanted to be with you, I didn't want to be with anybody else!"

"And it took you getting to the point of mounting them to realize this, did it?"

"Why the hell am I the one on trial here, huh? I'm not the one kissing my ex-girlfriend!"

"I'm not the one carrying condoms in my pockets!"

Russell froze. Something in his face told Timmy everything he needed to know, and he nodded as he walked away.

"Timmy, wait, I can explain that-"

"Needn't bother."

"Tim- Tim, please..." The anger had vanished from Russell's voice, replaced with a desperate pleading. Just keep him here, don't let him leave; get angry at him again once you've gotten him to stay. Fix this, fix it fix it fix it. "You've gotta believe me, please, I'm sorry..."

"If you've done nothing wrong, then why are you sorry?" Timmy flipped back around. "Being sorry is an admittance of guilt. I'm not stupid. I should have known better than to expect you to change." He scoffed softly. "So then I suppose I am rather stupid after all, aren't I? I don't know why I've allowed myself to fall in love with you, knowing precisely how this would end."

"Wait, what- what, end? Dude, you're not even letting me talk! You just kissed your ex-girlfriend and you're gonna break up with me, is this seriously how tonight is going down? What the hell is wrong with you?"

Timmy took a deep breath, attempting to center himself, to give Russell a chance. "Fine. Fine, if there's an explanation, then explain."

Russell put a hand to his mouth. He needed to be careful; he was never careful with his words, and he knew that he could mess this up without much effort. "Okay...I don't...I don't trust myself."

"So then, why should I trust you?"

Russell chose to ignore Timmy, to try and carry on calmly. "I keep the condoms on me in case I screw up. Because I don't wanna hurt you."

"You realize that doesn't make any sense?"

"Because if I had sex with somebody else, if something were to happen, I'd need to keep it covered because I'm coming home to you, it doesn't just affect me anymore, it affects you too. And then I'd have to get tested and...yeah, I know, it sounds sick. I'm a perv, okay? All I think about is sex, Timmy, you know this about me, I'm sorry, I'm trying here. And it's like, it's a comfort thing, okay? I've never not had the damn condoms in my pocket, since I was a teenager I've carried 'em around with me, I'm not sleeping around, please, you've gotta believe me...please."

"You've thought about it. You've thought about what would happen if you did."

"Well, yeah, sure - but I didn't. I've never been in something this heavy before, Timmy, my brain's trying to catch up! And I'm not the one who did anything, you are, you're the one who kissed Allison tonight, and I had to watch you do it, I had to watch you kiss her a million times in front of me when you were dating and I had to watch you kiss her tonight."

"We've watched one another date any number of women! We weren't even on the precipice of being together then, you didn't care when I was dating Allison, you weren't jealous of Allison!"

"...Maybe I was. Maybe I just didn't know it, yet."

A long silence. Finally Timmy grimaced angrily. "Do you know how many times I've watched you have sex? Not kissing, Russell, sex! From the moment you hired me you would show me videos of you pummeling random women...for what, for shock value, to make me jump. You had me catalogue every vile sexual act you've ever engaged in with a woman, sometimes multiple women at a time, my brain has been utterly violated! You had me convert twenty year old VHS tapes of you having sex, I mean...who does these things, do you think that doesn't affect me now, knowing such disgusting details about the person I intend to spend my life with, do you think that doesn't make me have just the slightest lack of faith in you? The leopard doesn't change his spots that easily."

More silence. A harsh realization.

"So...so maybe we can't trust each other at all," concluded Russell. "Is that it? Is that the bottom line, here?"

Timmy's voice grew soft again, sincere. "We've- we've been avoiding this, Russell. The topic of fidelity, of trust. I'm so sorry for what I've done, I'm sorry I've hurt you, please forgive me, but you must understand where I'm coming from, we need to talk about this if we're to move forward together..."

There was a desperate urge to end this; somehow, they had leveled the playing field, driving them towards reconciliation. And then Russell remembered what had led them here. He wasn't going to let Timmy win.

"No. Go find your skank."

Timmy watched Russell walk away towards the bedroom. He wanted to go after him; to grab him, to smack some sense into him. They couldn't go on like this. Instead, he felt anger rising through his core. Rather than waste time on more begging, he hauled back and screamed, eyes on the brink of tears.

"Go find some random slut to shag and leave in a broken pile of humiliation five minutes later!"

"Yeah," said Russell a bit too calmly, "maybe I will." He turned back to Timmy, staring him down intently. "Y'know, even if I have to pay somebody to pretend to care..." He huffed. "Yeah, well, at least somebody'll care about me...and I'll know it's all fake ahead of time. I won't have to find out after the fact. After I'm already in love." He shook his head with a soft laugh. "But then what the hell is love anyway, huh, Tim? You wouldn't know much about that, would ya?" And with that he walked into the bedroom, slamming the door.

For awhile Timmy was rendered speechless, motionless; last night, Russell had showered him with more love than perhaps any other human had bestowed upon him in his life. This afternoon, Timmy had made a fool of himself over Russell's eyes, for god's sake...those eyes that for the last few months had looked upon him so selflessly, for once. No more than several hours ago they were happy, and in a single stupid moment it had all been shattered...

Timmy made his way to the bedroom door. He leaned his head against it, considering his next move. He wanted to walk inside. He wanted to talk to him, to make him listen - it couldn't end this way. After years of threatening to leave Russell, after years of it being abundantly clear who was at fault, the tables had turned. He no longer wanted to leave. He wanted to stay.

With a heavy sigh, he turned, walking slowly, regretfully to the front door, and out of the apartment.