Alex took Eliza and Angelica to the airport, after all. He told Eliza that he needed a break between his emotional conversation with George and what was shaping up to be an extremely emotional conversation with Thomas.

"It was nice to meet you, Eliza." George said to Eliza as they left the house. "Thank you for being such a good friend to Alex."

Eliza just smiled back at him.

"Friend?" Angelica echoed as they stepped out of the house and started down the driveway. She looked over at Alex. "Did you tell him you're not engaged?"

Alex nodded.

Eliza looked at Alex, then Angelica. She raised her eyebrows expectantly. Her meaning was clear.

Shouldn't you tell her, too?

Alex frowned. He had been hoping for a break from emotional conversations. He had been looking forward to a car ride full of banter and good-natured teasing.

Eliza looked at him pointedly again, emphasizing her point.

"Fine." Alex sighed. "Angelica."

Angelica looked at him, her eyes full of questions and her eyebrows quirked.

"I'm bisexual." Alex said it much easier than he had with George. He wondered if it would eventually become something he said as casually as the weather. "And I think I'm in love with George and Martha's next-door neighbor."

Angelica looked annoyed.

"You scared me." She accused him. "I thought you were going to say that you were quitting and leaving me all of your clients."

"You're not mad?" Alex was mildly surprised by this.

"I'm mad that you scared me." Angelica replied as they climbed into George's truck. She took the passenger's seat. Eliza acquiesced to the back row with no argument.

"Not about that." Alex huffed as he started the car.

"I knew you were bisexual." Angelica said, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't you tell us all a while ago?"

"No." Alex replied, also raising an eyebrow.

"Oh." Angelica shrugged, apparently unbothered. "Well, I knew. I saw you with that one guy several times. What was his name...the actor?"

"You did?" Alex felt his eyes widen.

"Yes." Angelica didn't seem to think this was a big deal. "Anyway, is the neighbor one of the guys we met last night? If it's that Hercules guy, I have some bad news for you."

"No, it's not Herc." Alex huffed. "He wasn't there with us last night. He doesn't really like to go to clubs."

"Oh." Angelica seemed surprised by this. At least something surprised her. "How's that going to work? You like going to clubs."

"I don't..." Alex hadn't really figured out how their differing personalities would come into play during the course of their relationship.

"Leave him alone." Eliza chimed in from the backseat. "He just told George that he's bisexual."

Angelica swiveled to look at Alex, surprised. "Why did you wait so long?"

"Can we talk about something else, please?" Alex complained.

"Does this mean we're not going to have office sex any more?" Angelica asked.

Eliza coughed uncomfortably from the backseat.

"Uh...I think we sort of hit that territory last night when you and Herc disappeared into the ladies' bathroom." Alex replied, glancing over at Angelica.

Angelica smiled, satisfied with herself.

"Fine." She said, her smile remaining in place.

"You should call Herc, too." Alex added as they neared the airport. He cast Angelica a sidelong glance. "He's not really the 'disappearing into the ladies' bathroom' type. I'm sure he'd like to hear from you again."

"You Virginians." Angelica teased, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. She then lolled her head against the seat rest to look at Alex. She smiled at him affectionately. "You're so sentimental."

After dropping Eliza and Angelica off at the airport, Alex started for Thomas' house. He rehearsed how the conversation might go in his head. He worked out arguments that he expected to arise. He wished that he had time to do some research.

He reached Thomas' driveway. The porch light was on. Alex let out a small sigh of relief as he climbed out of the truck. He started up the driveway, his hands shaking. He had no idea what he would walk out of Thomas' house with – a boyfriend, a broken heart, a promise, a problem to solve...

There are few moments that one is aware that the course of their life hinges on their next decisions, but this was one of them. Alex knew that everything he did, everything he said, would change his life forever.

He knocked on Thomas' door.

This time, he did not allow himself to consider the possibility of running away.

Thomas opened the door after a few seconds. He smiled at the sight of Alex and immediately stepped back to allow him entry into the foyer. Alex stepped into the house without hesitation.

"Hey," Thomas said, his tone one of pleasant surprise. "I thought I wasn't going to see you until tomorrow. I was just writing down a list of all of the ominous topics that you might want to talk about. This whole thing wasn't an elaborate ploy to get one of my kidneys, was it?"

"No." Alex couldn't help but smile. "Your kidneys are safe."

"Hm." Thomas considered this. "That's one thing off the list."

"I told George." Alex blurted out, unable to contain it for much longer.

"You told George?" Thomas asked slowly. Alex watched hope and reservation chase across his face. "About you being...?"

Alex nodded.

"Are you okay?" Thomas inquired.

He was so thoughtful that way.

Alex nodded again.

"I'm happy for you." Thomas said gently. He smiled at Alex, but it wasn't the sort of smile that Alex was expecting. This was the sort of smile that one afforded their friends when they received a promotion. It was the sort of smile that one used to congratulate a teenager who had just won their spelling bee. It was not the sort of smile that screamed 'I love you'.

"Thanks." Alex mumbled.

He had not expected this. He thought that Thomas would immediately turn the conversation to their relationship. How could he not? Alex had come straight here after telling George that he was bisexual. Surely Thomas could see the connection.

Alex stared down at his feet, trying to think of a way to tell Thomas that he wanted to talk about their relationship, whatever it was. He couldn't think of a way to tell Thomas that he wanted serious. He had never asked anyone for a serious relationship before. He didn't know how.

"Are you hungry?" Thomas asked. "I just ordered some pizza."

"Sure." Alex said, though he didn't want to eat pizza. He wanted to ask Thomas to help him make a plan that would ensure they were never without each other again.

They walked into Thomas' kitchen. Alex stared down at his feet, struggling to articulate his feelings. Thomas stared straight ahead, seemingly unaware of the turmoil that Alex was facing.

They each retrieved a slice of pizza, then retired to Thomas' couch. Thomas sat at the edge of the couch. Alex sat right beside him, hoping that their proximity might prompt a discussion about the nature of their relationship.

"How did George take it?" Thomas asked after a spell.

"Oh." Alex swallowed the bite that he had been chewing. He took a long sip of soda – he would have preferred wine; it might have made opening up a bit easier – then shrugged. "Good. Pretty much exactly like everyone told me he would."

"I'm glad." Thomas said, taking a sip of his own soda. He smiled at Alex. "You deserve that."

Alex tried to smile, but he couldn't muster up the energy. He was too absorbed in trying to fix their relationship – whatever that was – before he left for New York. He was agonizing about the different ways he could bring it up, one that would not lead to an argument. He tried to think of the correct words to use to ask Thomas to move to New York with him.

Thomas turned on the TV. Some reality show was on. Alex didn't usually have the time to watch TV, much less reality TV. Thomas grimaced.

"Quarantine has made me like this kind of stuff." He admitted sheepishly. "I like to have it on in the background while I work."

"Sure." Alex hummed.

He was too lost in his thoughts to say something meaningful.

"If there's something else you want to watch..." Thomas started.

Alex shook his head.

"This is fine." He knew that he was making Thomas nervous with his lack of responsiveness. Thomas got nervous about all sorts of things. Alex knew each and every one of those things by heart. "What's the show about?"

Thomas eagerly answered his question, carefully explaining the purpose of the reality show – couples got married without ever having met each other – as well as the personalities of each person on the show. Alex did his best to talk about the show with him, though he couldn't have cared about anything less.

He liked the way that Thomas laughed when one of the characters did something funny. He liked how irrationally angry Thomas got whenever the characters did something that he thought was stupid.

He liked spending a quiet night with Thomas, curled up on the couch. It was a nice change from all of the nights out, all of the parties. Having the attention of an entire room did not beat the thrill that Alex felt when Thomas looked at him and smiled.

After a few episodes, Thomas yawned.

Alex glanced down at his watch. It was nearly midnight.

"Oh, man. It's late." He said regretfully.

He still hadn't come up with a good way to tell Thomas that he wanted something serious.

"Do you want to stay here?" Thomas asked. The look he afforded Alex was shy, somewhat sheepish. "We don't have to...I mean...I like it when you sleep here."

Alex smiled.

Thomas might not have said 'I need you' the way that Alex would have preferred after telling George that he was bisexual, but now, it felt like he was saying it in other ways.

"I'd love to stay here." Alex replied.

Thomas quirked a smile, then heaved himself off of the couch.

"Just leave the dishes." He said. "I can clean those up tomorrow."

Alex didn't have to be told twice. He followed Thomas towards the bedroom. It was the first time that he had walked back to the bedroom without the distraction of Thomas' bare skin and the promise of sex. He took the opportunity to look around at his surroundings.

"I forgot how many rooms are in this place." He remarked. "What do you do with all of this space? I can't imagine you use much of it."

"I don't." Thomas agreed without turning around. "I just leave the doors shut and dust them every few weeks."

"That seems like a waste." Alex remarked.

Thomas shrugged.

They reached the bedroom. Thomas shed his sweater and climbed into the bed with a tired groan. Alex set to work removing his own sweater, as well as his jeans. He found that he was not self-conscious about undressing in front of Thomas, not the way that he was self-conscious around those that he'd dated before Thomas.

"I don't know," Thomas said to no one in particular. "Some days, I think I'll just sell this place and start over new somewhere smaller. Other days, I think about how much I like my garden, and I..." He paused, then shook his head. "Never mind."

"What?" Alex climbed into bed next to him.

"Nothing." Thomas shook his head, smiling. It wasn't a genuine smile. It was too cheerful.

"Tom." Alex pressed.

Thomas sighed, his smile evaporating. He settled against his small tower of pillows and pulled the comforter up to nearly his chin.

"It's stupid." He said, glancing at Alex quickly before returning his stare to the wall. "And I don't want you to take this the wrong way, because I know what this is, but...sometimes I think that maybe I'd like a family some day. Some kids to fill all of these rooms."

"I don't think that's stupid." Alex said softly.

This was it, he knew. This was the perfect time to tell Thomas that he wanted something serious. That maybe they could talk about having a family in a year, maybe two. Alex liked the idea of children running around with Thomas' curls and Thomas' stubborn pout. He could help them with their homework. He could take them camping on the weekend. He could...

"Anyway, I think I'm going to turn in." Thomas changed the subject before Alex could seize it for his own purposes. Alex felt his heart sink as Thomas rolled over and turned off the light. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Alex mumbled into the dark.

Alex stayed up for a majority of the night. He was furious with himself for not telling Thomas that he wanted a serious relationship. He was a coward, he knew. Many adults – a lot of them less functional than he was – were in serious relationships. Surely, if they could do it, so could he.

When day broke over Virginia, Thomas cracked open his eyes. He rolled over to look at Alex, then let out a sleepy yawn that made Alex's heart skip a beat.

"What time is it?" He asked, his voice soft and woolly with sleep.

"Uh..." Alex looked over Thomas' shoulder at his alarm clock. "Seven-thirty."

"Hm." Thomas rubbed at his eyes with his fists. "How long have you been awake?"

"Not long." Alex lied.

"Do you want breakfast?" Thomas rolled out of bed and set to work getting dressed. Alex begrudgingly followed suit. "I don't know what I have in the house, but I may be able to make some toast. The bread is probably stale, though."

"I can eat at George and Martha's." Alex couldn't help but smile. Thomas had never been very good at taking care of himself. Alex wasn't, either. They would have to hire a cook, maybe a cleaning service, too. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Oh," Thomas hesitated before putting on a ragged t-shirt that Martha would never approve of. "No, I don't think I should. It's your last day here. You should spend that with your family."

Alex frowned.

"What about you? I thought I'd come back over sometime -"

Thomas shook his head.

"I want to leave it like this." Thomas replied, gesturing vaguely between himself and Alex. "You know, when things are…good. I don't want to ruin the last time I see you again. You should spend the day with your family."

Alex didn't know how to explain to Thomas that he was his family.

"I'll see you the next time you're here. I'll leave the porch light on and everything." Thomas promised, steamrolling through any argument that Alex might have made against him.

Alex frowned. His shoulders slumped, defeated.

Thomas didn't want him to stay. He didn't want to try to work things out for something more serious. This was enough for him. Alex wondered if it would be enough for him, too.

He didn't say a word. He didn't trust himself to. He walked through the foyer, grabbed his coat, and walked through the front door. He did not intend to ever come back. Not after this humiliation.

He walked to George and Martha's house, swiping furious tears from his face with each step.