Maybe, Joe thought, just maybe, Adam wasn't taking this relationship as seriously as he was. The youngest Cartwright desperately loved his eldest brother, and the idea that that love was being taken advantage of nearly drove Joe to insanity. Worst of all, Adam was the only one who seemed not to notice.
About three and a half weeks after Adam had returned home (and made his promise to Joe), Pa and Hoss had come to Joe, demanding to know what had caused the young man to become so miserable.
"I'm worried about you, son," Ben stated, his voice heavy with concern. "You haven't been acting at all like yourself the last two weeks." Little Joe shifted uneasily, glancing first at his father, and then at Hoss.
"Whatever it is, we'll help ya through it," Hoss offered.
"Look, I…I just don't feel quite comfortable talking about this—" Joe answered, attempting to dodge an awkward situation.
"Joseph, keeping this in won't do you a lick of good," Ben insisted. "I want to help you, but I can't do that if you won't tell me what the problem is."
Licking his lips, Little Joe shifted again. After a few seconds of thought, he finally looked his father in the eye.
"There's this girl, Pa," He began, hating himself already. Hadn't he been the one who said that he wanted to tell Pa and Hoss about the relationship? And now he was lying to save his hide.
Realizing that he had paused, Joe continued, "I-I love her. We've spent a lot of time together, Pa; I know her better than I've ever known anyone else in my life. But when I asked her to marry me…" Joe's head dropped, his eyes gazing forlornly at the floor. He couldn't bring himself to lie any further.
"She rejected you," Ben completed the sentence for him. He heaved a heavy sigh and patted his son on the shoulder. That gesture caused Joe to break down in tears. Without realizing it, Ben had pointed out a hidden fear that Little Joe had kept silent. He had hoped all this time that perhaps Adam hadn't forgotten; now he realized that perhaps this was Adam's way of rejecting him.
A large arm swung around Joe's shoulders, pulling his face into Hoss's thick shoulder. "I wish I knew what to tell ya, Joe," the heavily built man whispered, rubbing his brother's back.
"Well, I do. Joseph, look at me," Ben commanded. Two very sorrowful green eyes met two brown eyes filled with wisdom. "I know you love this girl; you love her with all your heart. But that doesn't change the fact that she doesn't return the sentiment enough to marry you. You're just going to have to let your heart heal and move on in life, understand?"
Joe nodded, before he choked out, "But I…I love…" He got no further than that as the sobs refused to let words to venture out of his throat any longer.
"It's ok, son," Ben soothed, "Why don't you go up to your room and rest awhile?" Sniffling, Joe looked blankly at his father and nodded. Hoss helped Joe walk steadily back upstairs, where he collapsed on his bed and fell into an uneasy sleep.
Two weeks later, Joe found himself being gently shaken awake by a slightly nervous looking Adam. Once Joe sat up, Adam hurried to the door and tossed a saddlebag and suitcase to him.
"What's going on?" Joe asked groggily, looking at the items on his bed like he had no idea what they were.
"It's time to go. Get packed and meet me downstairs," Adam ordered. Joe opened his mouth to ask for clarification, but never received a chance. Adam was out of Joe's room and in his own in a flash.
With little understanding of what was going on, Joe began to fill his bags with clothes and other essentials, taking the time only to stuff them in the bags. Once finished, he stepped out of his room, nearly running into Adam. His brother motioned that Joe should follow him, and took him downstairs to the stable to get their horses ready to go.
"Would you please tell me what's going on?" Joe inquired for the fifth time that morning as they entered the house once more.
"I think we'd all like to know," Ben agreed, calling his sons' attention to him. "Come on into the living room, and Adam can explain to the rest of us exactly why he's been sneaking around all morning."
Adam nodded, and murmured to himself, "Might as well be now."
Hoss was already sitting in the chair to the right of the fireplace. Ben stood waiting for an explanation beside the fireplace, as Adam and Joe sat down on the couch.
"You seem to be in a mighty big hurry to leave," Ben noted as he watched Adam closely. "I thought you'd stay home a little longer than this before you headed out on another trip. At the very least, you could have told me you were planning on going."
"The thing is, Pa, I promised I'd take Joe to Japan with me," Adam began, and Ben nodded understandingly.
"I don't mind you taking him; I just would have liked to know beforehand," Ben explained, "You never said a single word to me about this excursion."
"Because there's more to it than that," Adam pressed on, fully aware of Joe's startled gaze heavy on him. "Joe and I aren't just visiting Japan. We're moving there to stay."
"Oh?" Ben inquired, remaining calm. Of course there had to be something more to it than what he was hearing. If there was some sort of problem, surely he could get to the bottom of it and work out a more reasonable solution.
"The thing is, Pa," Adam took a deep breath before meeting his father's gaze once more, "Joe and I have been lovers for the past year."
Hoss sat with his jaw hanging open a full two minutes before his mind registered what Adam had just said. Ben's face turned red with fury, and he looked as though at any moment he might pop.
"Get out of my house," he growled through his teeth. Adam shot to his feet and pulled Joe up after him. They were already halfway to the door when Ben shouted once more, "GET OUT!"
"Quick, on your horse," Adam ordered as they ran outside. Joe didn't need to be told twice. Hoss watched sadly as his brothers rode away, while his father fumed in the study, not to be heard from until Hop Sing announced dinner.