Jimmy didn't know if he wanted to sit and listen to his brother lecture him. He had a sense that was what was coming. Rebecca had gone out to rehearsal just as Jimmy had entered the house. He saw his brother stood in the kitchen, holding a glass of wine in his fingertips. He had his usual disapproving look on his face as Jimmy rolled his eyes and loosened his tie. Dropping his battered briefcase down onto the worktop, Jimmy went into the living room and flopped down onto the sofa.

"I take it you heard?" Jimmy asked from his brother.

Chuck followed Jimmy through into the living room and took a seat in the armchair, his legs folding over each other as Jimmy tossed his head back. Closing his eyes and raking a hand through his hair, Jimmy waited for Chuck to begin.

"How you and Cecilia Morris had a screaming match with Martin Johnson and Marnie Goldsmith? I did hear something about that from Donna next door. She had heard from Boris, however, who I think had heard-"

"-I get it," Jimmy said, opening his eyes and holding a hand up to silence his brother. "News sure travels fast in this town, huh?"

Chuck almost rolled his eyes, but he refrained. He took a sip of his wine before speaking again; "What were you thinking, Jimmy? Did you want to embarrass yourself?"

"Hey!" Jimmy snapped, holding a hand up to stop his brother from speaking anymore. "That is unfair. I was defending Cecelia. You know what that guy did to her, right? He cheated on her and then he had the nerve to stand in that supermarket and tell her that his new shiny wife was expecting a baby."

Chuck pursed his lips and lowered his eyes for a moment. It was another second before he nodded his head. "That is rather unfortunate," Chuck managed to say. "However, that does not mean that you need to start a war in a supermarket."

"Hey, I didn't punch him," Jimmy said, almost as though that was something to be proud of. It was another moment before he looked over to Chuck, his eyes full of honesty and earnest as he spoke. "He hurt Cecelia."

"And since when were you so concerned about Cecelia?" Chuck enquired from his brother and Jimmy moved to his feet, feeling jumpy all of a sudden. Moving around the living room, Jimmy's hands went to his hips as he moved up and down, counting the paces he was doing.

"She…she has been my friend for a while," Jimmy said, wondering why he was feeling this way. Why was he so nervous about speaking to his brother about a woman he was seeing? Jimmy was a grown man. He was an adult and a relationship was not something new. He had been married, for goodness sake. "You know that I haven't had many friends since I came here and we're pretty much the same. We both have been cheated on and we just ended up getting close."

"Close?" Chuck echoed.

"What do you want to hear?" Jimmy wondered, standing in front of his brother and flapping his hands by his sides. "That I am in love with her?"

Chuck arched a brow. "Are you?"

"No," Jimmy answered honestly, turning his eyes away before shrugging. "I don't love her, but I do…I do really like her. I…she is special…kind…"

"So you are on the way to falling in love with her?" Chuck continued his line of questioning and Jimmy shrugged before sitting back down on the edge of the sofa.

His knee bounced up and down continuously as his hands clasped together to rest in between his legs. He bowed his head and looked down to the ground before speaking again, almost feeling embarrassed. "She said that she isn't ready for a relationship."

Chuck sipped on his wine once more. "And you are ready?" Chuck wondered.

"I don't know," Jimmy responded. "I just want her to be happy and she is happy being how we are."

"Friends with benefits?" Chuck asked and Jimmy shot a scowl across to him.

"Don't be crass," Jimmy urged.

Chuck shrugged, head tilting to the side as he watched his brother. "It is crass, Jimmy," Chuck said. "And at your age I would have thought that you would have wanted better. You are a grown man, not a hormonal teenager who simply needs to fulfil his urges every weekend."

Jimmy didn't particularly enjoy being spoken to in such a manner. His teeth chewed down on his bottom lip as he looked to his brother and then spoke.

"In case you hadn't noticed, Chuck, I'm not entirely successful myself," Jimmy said. "I live in my office, which, by the way, is in the back of a salon. My wife left me and I was forced to come back here because I almost wound up in jail. Is it any surprise that she doesn't want a relationship with me? I don't have good things. I don't get good things…why should I get her?"

Chuck didn't entirely know what he should say to that. He felt a part of himself ache for his brother and the way he thought. Chuck knew that Jimmy would never forgive him if he knew the truth. He would never forgive him and Chuck couldn't live with that. His brother acted the cocky guy, but he suffered from low self-esteem. He hid it deep down, but Chuck could see it.

"Do you want to be with her?" Chuck asked.

"I want her to be happy," Jimmy merely responded. "I don't know what that means and I don't know if I can be the one to make her happy in the long run, but I need to keep trying…if I keep trying then she might change her mind…she might…I don't know."

Chuck almost felt sorry for Jimmy. He finished his wine and placed the glass down onto the coffee table. Pushing himself to his feet, he moved towards Jimmy and placed his hand onto his shoulder, holding it gently. Jimmy remained still and looked to Chuck. For a moment, Chuck saw the scared little boy he had always known back when Jimmy was younger.

"You deserve happiness as much as anyone else," Chuck informed his brother. "I know you haven't made good decisions all of the time, but that does not mean that you should not be happy."

"Thanks, Chuck," he responded. "You're a good brother."

Chuck gulped and nodded.

…

Cecelia found herself sat on the sofa in Jimmy's office, but Jimmy was not there. She had snuck through the salon and into the office, placing the pizza box down on his desk. She had checked her phone to see if she had a message from him, but there was nothing. She wondered if he had gotten caught up in court. Moving to grab hold of a beer she had bought with her, she took a swig of her drink and then held it in her lap.

Kicking her shoes off, she also tugged off her tights and threw them into the corner. Sitting back on the sofa, it was an hour before Jimmy walked into the office. His tie was halfway down his shirt and his top button undone. He furrowed his brow as he saw her, setting down the drink of cucumber water he had taken from the salon.

"Where have you been?" Cecelia wondered from him.

"Sorry," Jimmy said to her. "I ended up staying at Chuck's later than I had wanted to. I would have text, but my cell's died."

He took out the offending item and tossed it onto his desk. He flopped onto the sofa and Cecelia moved quickly. Jimmy didn't even react as he felt her straddle his lap, her hands coming to his shoulders as her lips found his neck. Jimmy tried to relax as he felt her hand move down his stomach, heading south as he did his best to think coherent.

"Ce," Jimmy spoke in a hushed tone.

Pulling her head up and looking him in the eye, she arched a brow as she saw the confused expression on Jimmy's face. Pulling back slightly, she let her hands move to hold onto his, the touch comforting and familiar. She rested their joint hands on her thighs as she tried to get him to look her in the eye.

"What is it?" Cecelia asked from him.

"I don't know if I can do this," he admitted in a soft whisper.

"Do what?"

"This," he said, motioning between them as he kept hold of her hand. "You and me…but…not you and me."

"Jimmy," Cecelia complained and she slipped from his lap and looked him in the eye. "We discussed this."

"Yeah, I know we did," Jimmy told her. "And I want to be honest with you. I always want to be honest with you, Cecelia. I just don't know if I can do this, okay? I don't know if I can pretend that it is okay when I know deep down that it isn't okay. I know that I risk falling…falling further for you…"

Closing her eyes, Cecelia didn't know if she could listen to anymore. She had promised not to play him. She had promised not to hurt him and she could never do that to him. It was another moment before she moved to her feet and grabbed her shoes and tights. Jimmy cocked his brow and tilted his head.

"Cecelia?"

"No," Cecelia said, shaking her head. "Jimmy, I promised you that I would not play you and I am not going to do that. I respect you too much to do that."

"So you are leaving?" Jimmy wondered, also moving to his feet.

"What would you have me do, Jimmy?" she wondered from him. "I am not going to sit here and tell you that I can give you what you want because I can't do that. You deserve someone who is able to do that and it is not me right now. I'm…I'm not going to hurt you."

"Ce-"

"-No," she interrupted him as she grabbed her jacket and bag, looking to Jimmy for a moment before moving towards him, her hand pressing against his chest. She kept it there for a brief moment before she dared to bend in and peck him on the cheek. "We need space, Jimmy."

"And if I tell you that I never meant it?"

She offered him a soft smile. "No," she said. "I know the truth, Jimmy. I knew it the other night…I suspected it…I should have done from the way you were talking."

"Can we just talk about this?" Jimmy wondered.

"Maybe," Cecelia said. "But not tonight."

Before Jimmy could protest, Cecelia had slipped from his grip and moved out of the office. He watched her go, his eyes sad and his face full of pain. He didn't want this. He wanted her to stay. He wanted her to tell him that things would be alright. But she couldn't do it. Jimmy only wondered if she would in time.

…

A/N: Do let me know what you think!