"This is it, here he comes." Emmett said watching the door at the diner. Michael was headed inside.

"OK," Ted said. "Just... play it cool. He'll tell us if he wants to. No pressure." Brian sat back in the booth, rolling his eyes.

"Hey guys," Michael smiled. approaching the table.

"So how was it?" Emmett asked. Ted shot him a look. "I'm sorry, I'm curious. So..." He pulled Michael into a seat. "Tell us all about it."

Michael smiled. "It was nice."

"Just nice?" Emmett said. "All this dramatic build up and that's all we get?"

"Well... it was really nice" Michael smiled. "Dinner was great, we went for drinks...."

"Dinner and drinks," Brian said sarcastically. "What a regular gentleman."

Michael felt the sting of the comment, but brushed it off. "So..." Ted said "Does he want to see you again?"

"He said he had a great time." Michael said. "He said he'd call..."

"They always say that" Brian said.

"How do you know?" Ted asked. "When's the last time you were on a date?.... let's think... never."

Michael interrupted the two of them. "I actually believe it." he said. "I think he's really going to call."

"Then you're even more naive than I thought Mikey," Brian said.

Ted and Emmett looked at them as Michael's jaw dropped slightly. They couldn't understand why Brian was going after Michael like this. He had no reason to.

"What the hell's your problem?" Michael said to Brian.

"Get a clue Mikey." Brian said. "You go out, you get laid and then he tells you that he'll call you. He's not going to call you. He wants a quick fuck and that's that."

"In case it's any of your business," Michael spit. "I didn't go to bed with him. The topic never even came up."

"You think about why?"

Michael swallowed hard. "You just don't like that fact that I'm seeing somebody." he said. "That for the first time... in a long time, I'm happy." Michael stood from the booth. "Just because Brian Kinney isn't happy, that automatically means that I don't have the right to be? Is that why you came to the restaurant last night, Brian? To see if I would screw it up? To just wait for me to fuck everything up so that I could spend the night driving you home from Babylon after you picked up your trick?"

Brian was silent. Ted and Emmett sat back in awe. They couldn't remember a time when they had seen Michael go off like this. They didn't think there had ever been a time that Michael had lost it. He had always been the person who would turn the other cheek and then turn it again, and again, and again. So this took them as a shock.

"Well you know what, Brian?" Michael continued. "I didn't fuck up, and as surprising as it may seem to you, David had a wonderful time with me. He thinks I'm attractive and caring and sweet..."

"... and innocent and trusting and blah, blah, blah. He doesn't deserve you."

"Fuck your opinions." Michael yelled. "Fuck your opinions and your feelings. And while we're at it, fuck you!" Michael turned without another word, storming out of the diner.

"Michael!" Ted called after him. He looked at Brian. "I hope you're happy. You just lost the best friend you have in the world." Ted got up from the booth, going after Michael.

"Way to go Brian." Emmett said sarcastically, following after Ted and Michael.

Brian was left alone in the large booth. He leaned back, running his fingers through his hair with a deep sigh. He heard a lone pair of hand clapping sarcastically. "Well you've done it again, haven't you?" Lindsay said approaching the booth.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Brian said. "Shouldn't you be home, having the kid suck on your tits?"

"Gus is fine" she said. "He's with Melanie, he's fine. Which is more than I can say about you." Brian leaned back further. "You are so lucky that Deb switched shifts today or you'd be peeling yourself off the wall right now."

"So I take it you heard." Brian rolled his eyes.

"Along with the rest of this place." she said "But that's just you. Brian Kinney, acting and then thinking all the time. No excuses, no apologies, no regrets."

"Are you quite through?" Brian asked.

"You're just going to let him walk away like that." Lindsay said. "After sixteen years. You're going to end things like this?"

Brian stood from the booth. "I don't think this is any of your fucking business." he said.

Lindsay let out a soft laugh in disbelief. "You fucked up Brian." she said. "Now you need to fix it before there's no going back."