Travis walked into the bar with a huff, glancing around, hardly noticing any of the other people, going up to the bar, ordering a beer.

The bartender raised a brow at him with a sort of suspicious look and Travis chose to ignore him, keeping quiet to himself as he sipped his drink, running a tired hand over his face, feeling how sore and numb his badly bruised cheek was.

He frowned, thinking angrily about Zack, telling himself that if Zack showed his ugly face around his place again, he was definitely going to call the cops.

He wondered if maybe talking to Ryan could help, definitely trusting him, knowing he could help him.

He was in the middle of his thoughts when someone sat down next to him, another guy.

"Hi there," The man smiled, setting his drink down.

Travis looked up, offering a nod in greeting, glancing at him faintly. "Hi."

"Oh geez, hey, what happened to your face?" The man frowned at him with concern. "Did somebody hit you?" He reached out to gently grab Travis's chin, gingerly turning his face to have a better look.

Travis flinched a little, frowning softly at him, their eyes locking, Travis immediately feeling a sense of comfort and kindness from him, warmed by his display of concern for him.

"Um, um, yeah, someone did." He frowned, shrugging a little.

The guy looked sympathetic, eyes warm with kindness. "Damn. Who was it?"

"J-Jus' some guy who's been bugging me lately. He won't leave me alone." Travis looked away with a frown, surprised that he wasn't feeling weird about telling this stranger.

"Man." The guy shook his head. "That ain't right. I could never hit someone like that. 'Specially a nice looking guy like you. Hey, if I ever run into the guy, I can get back at him for you if you'd like."

Travis took a sip of his drink, shrugging with a small smile. "Nah, I-it's alright."

The man continued to smile at him. "My name's Jace by the way."

Travis looked at him, admiring how handsome he was. He had brown hair, with beautiful light brown eyes, reminding him of Hershey's chocolate. And his smile….! His teeth almost seemed to sparkle, a dimple formed on his cheek.

Travis instantly thought to how attracted he was to Michael when they met. Something about Jace's looks made him feel like he could already trust him, especially with how he already demonstrated such concern towards him.

Travis found himself smiling back. "I'm Travis."

Jace was still smiling and Travis almost had to look away. "Nice to meet you, Travis. So," He cleared his throat. "Sorry to ask but, the ring…I guess that means you're married…"

"Oh! Oh, no, uh, no, my husband died. Couple years ago." Travis looked to his ring, gently rubbing it in remembrance, something he did often.

"Oh I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything." Jace frowned softly. "I just wanted to know if such a cute guy like you was already taken 'cause otherwise I guess I'd be wasting my time." He talked slowly, eventually smiling at Travis with a twinkle in his eye, Travis almost blushing.

"Heh. Well, I was, but not anymore. So, you're not wasting your time…." He replied, smiling faintly at Jace himself, admittedly feeling a little flirtatious with him, but maybe that was the beer talking.

Jace quickly smiled, seeming to light up. "Oh, I definitely agree…!" He chuckled, nodding knowingly to him, admiring him.

"But you should know," Travis found himself explaining, remembering reality. "I am a firefighter, so I work a lot which kinda dampers things, so if that turns you away-"

"Oh no no no," Jace just shook his head. "Of course not. It just means that while waiting for you to get home from work, I know you'll definitely be worth the wait." He smirked at him but then shook his head, chuckling. "I'm sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. I shouldn't have said that."

"No no, it's alright." Travis just shrugged. "It's been awhile seen I've witnessed such flattery so…."

"Really? A cute guy like you? With all those freckles? I woulda thought guys would all want to be with you." Jace grinned at him, watching Travis blush as he sipped at his beer.

"Not really. But I guess that just makes me even more available to guys like you." He blushed, daring to glance at Jace, who smirked back at him.

Feeling a little unlike himself, knowing he shouldn't be so friendly with this guy, Travis looked away, drinking the rest of his beer.

"Oh hey, let me buy you another one." Jace offered and Travis shook his head. "Oh I dunno, you don't have to-"

"No really, I want to. After all, you deserve it after some jerk hit you." Jace was already ordering another beer for him from the bartender, Travis feeling his somber mood return as he remembered Zack again.

"Right."

"So you wanna talk about it?" Jace questioned and Travis blinked at him. "Talk about what?"

"That jerk who hit you; won't leave you alone…."

Travis frowned, quickly feeling tension build up. "Oh, I don't, I dunno-"

"It's alright, I won't judge." Jace gave a friendly smile and again, Travis couldn't help but trust him.

"Okay, I-I guess." Travis shrugged, looking away with a frown, not even knowing where to start, Jace setting his beer down from the bartender for him. "All I know is he's supposedly dating my ex-boyfriend and basically hates me. First it just started with text messages and some brief encounters but now it's been getting worse and worse. He's even starting coming into my home."

Jace frowned at him, shaking his head. "That's awful. And that's when he hit you?"

Travis nodded a little glumly. "This wasn't the first time either."

"Why not just call the cops?"

Travis rubbed at his fingers out of anxiousness. "He said if I did he'd hurt my best friend instead. I could never let that happen."

"Hmm. Of course not." Jace remarked softly. "Well, does anybody else know? So as to protect you?"

"Nope. You're the first person i've told…." Travis said slowly. "It's been driving me crazy actually, dealing with it all by myself and all." He turned to Zack, feeling so comfortable talking to him right now, surprising even himself.

"Well, now that you've told me, I could help. I'd love to help protect you." Jace almost beamed at him and though Travis found his heart warm, he frowned.

"Oh no, you-you don't wanna get mixed up in this, I couldn't-"

"Travis, it's fine. I'd love to." Jace gave a nod, giving him a look that showed he was being honest.

"But-But what if you got hurt, I-I couldn't just let you get hurt and-"

"Even if I did, it'd be worth it. Besides bruises aren't a good look on you."

Travis almost felt flattered and touched all at once. "I-I guess it really would be a big help. Th-Thanks."

"Of course. Anything to be able to see you again." Jace flashed a smile at him, Travis chuckling faintly, managing a small shrug, his cheeks pink. He hadn't felt this way since Michael flirted with him years ago.

Jace continued to be incredibly polite and kind to Travis the rest of the evening, being patient and considerate, not once angering or upsetting Travis in any way, being perfect in almost every way, Travis's heart fluttering with the fact that he met someone who reminded him so much of Michael, to be so perfect as him.

He didn't want to admit he was falling for him, no, he would be too guilty for that….

When he suggested he should probably get going, Jace offered to him a ride home.

"That's very nice of you, but you don't-"

"No no, I-I want to. My treat."

Travis couldn't help but grin faintly at him. "I'd like that, but I drove here and we're both drunk, perhaps we-"

"Oh, it's alright. I walked and I can handle my alcohol." Jace sort of smirked. "Come on, we'll be fine."

Travis, knowing he shouldn't, finally agreed, going out to his car, letting Jace drive.

Turns out, the man was right, there was nothing to worry about, Jace driving very carefully, getting him home perfectly safe.

Travis eyed his front porch wearily from the car, Jace noticing. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing. It's just, usually he-"

"I'll walk you in, don't worry." Jace grinned, already getting out of the car. Travis got out and walked beside him, eyeing his porch keenly, not wanting Zack to jump out and hurt either of them.

"So this guy, he just shows up on your porch here?" Jace questioned softly from beside him, eyeing Travis protectively.

"Yeah," Travis answered, still watching for Zack.

"Creep." Jace muttered as they got to the door, no sign of Zack anywhere, Travis relieved, turning to look at Jace with a grateful smile. "Uh, th-thanks."

"No problem. Here's my number," He handed him a small slip of paper, grinning that beautiful smile again. "Call me if you see him again, or just call me either way."

Travis grinned softly, nodding. "Th-Thank you. I-It was really nice to meet you, Jace. You seem like a really great guy. I had a great time tonight."

Jace chuckled softly. "Well, if you would like to, you could also have a great time over dinner with me sometime." He smiled at Travis expectedly, Travis blushing as he slowly nodded. "S-Sure, I-I'd like that."

"Great," Jace beamed. "Well, hope to hear from you soon and uh, stay safe okay?"

"Okay, I-I'll try."

"Goodnight, Travis." He smiled at him as he started to walk away, Travis giving a wave. "Night." He watched Jace leave as he unlocked his door and went inside, immediately smiling with happiness as he leaned up against the door.

He didn't know how or why this had happened but, he finally felt safe and for once, loved and when he checked his phone, there wasn't a single new text from Zack. Aside from what had happened earlier, tonight had been a damn good night….

Travis awoke and was still in a good mood after last night, making himself breakfast as he danced to his favorite tunes, took a shower and did a few errands, finding himself smiling, not once even thinking of Zack.

He was still debating however, whether or not he should text Jace. He hadn't yet, because he didn't know if it would be too soon to do so already. But yet the guy seemed so nice, Travis felt like he shouldn't wait any longer to contact him.

Doing some housecleaning and tidying up, he texted occasionally with Vic throughout the day, surprised but not at all disappointed that he hadn't received one text from Zack.

He told himself that perhaps Zack would finally start leaving him alone and he wouldn't have to worry about that creep ever again and he hoped this wasn't just the good mood he was in that was talking.

Getting everything done, Travis happily plopped down on the couch and got caught up on his tv shows, glad to have a break of relaxation for once, not having felt this happy or relaxed in what felt like forever.

Sometime later, a knock at his door came and Travis sat up straight in alarm, his heart starting to race.

Pausing the tv, he eyed the door fearfully, slowly getting to his feet, bracing himself, his brain doing everything it could to convince him it wasn't Zack.

He opened the door cautiously, expecting the scraggly, mean-looking face of Zack, instead getting the very handsome, caring face of Jace, who smiled at him faintly. "Hey."

Travis relaxed, quickly opening the door wider. "Oh, hi! Hi!"

Jace chuckled, shaking his head. "Sorry I'm here, I know you hadn't texted yet and-"

"Oh," Travis frowned, suddenly feeling stupid and embarrassed. "Yeah, I just, I mean, I was going to, honest, I just didn't know if…"

"It's alright," Jace smiled at him, waving him off. "I just uh, wanted to see you again and make sure you were alright. You haven't ran into him again, have you?"

Travis shook his head. "No. No, actually he hasn't texted me at all today, it's kinda weird."

Jace nodded. "Hmm. Perhaps he's finally out of your life for good." He mused and they both chuckled softly, grinning at each other, Travis feeling a little shy as he stared into Zack's beautiful brown eyes.

"Um, I uh, actually also came over to see if you'd like to have dinner with me tonight…." Jace smiled kindly, looking at Travis hopefully.

"Tonight?" Travis found himself asking. "Um, I-"

"If it's too soon, I can just-"

"No, no," Travis snapped himself out of his thoughts, telling himself to just accept it, that he could do this, he trusts him. "I-I'd like that." He smiled back, his spirits suddenly lifted.

"I-I'll just have to change first before we go, I uh, wasn't expecting company." He glanced down at his shirt and sweat-pants, chuckling softly.

Jace was just smiling at him. "That's okay. I don't care what you're wearing, you're still cute."

Travis felt his eyebrows raise, looking away as he blushed, grinning.

"Well, is it alright if I come in?"

"Oh, oh sure, yeah, come in." Travis blinked, stepping aside to let him in, Jace grinning at him as he entered, looking around.

"Nice place. Oh hey, is that your husband?"

Travis frowned when he saw him go over to one of his pictures of Michael, tensing up, feeling shy again. "Um yeah, that's Michael." He said quietly, watching him.

Jace picked it up gently, nodding slowly. "He's handsome. I'm sorry he died, Travis." He set it back down carefully, looking at Travis with a sad look.

Travis came over slowly, nodding. "Yeah. He died in a fire. I was there when it happened. But I didn't even get to say goodbye." He spoke lowly, looking away with a far-off look, trying not to remember the memory.

He felt a soft hand on his shoulder, turning to see Jace's look of sympathy. "I'm so sorry, Travis. I'm here if you need anything. You can trust me."

Travis nodded slowly, comforted by him instantly. "Thank you. That means a lot."

"Anything for you." Jace said softly, tender eyes gazing at him admiringly.

Travis smiled softly before stepping away. "Um, well, I guess I'll go and get changed. I'll only be a minute, make yourself comfortable."

"Sure. Take your time." Jace nodded, taking a seat in one of the chairs before the tv, Travis nodding before he slipped away to his bedroom, going through his closet to find a nice looking button-up shirt and dress pants to change into.

It took a minute to find a nice looking tie, looking through his and Michael's, finally finding a nice plain one, not wanting to use of his corny ones, stepping out as he finished tying it.

Jace was standing in front of the far wall, looking at the hung pictures of Travis and Michael, turning when he saw him, eyes quickly lighting up with a smile.

"You look handsome."

"Th-Thanks," Travis came to him. "Though it has been a little while since I went on a date."

"That doesn't matter to me," Jace just smiled at him, gently taking Travis's hands into his own, Travis quickly tensing up, both of tension and hopefulness as he stood gazing into those chocolate, brown eyes. "All that matters is that I'm with you."

Travis grinned but remembered not to get ahead of himself. "I should tell you, Jace, it may take some time before I can really….commit to another man. I-I'm still having a really hard time after my husband's death. I just don't want to let you down in any way. I'm sorry if I can't-"

Jace interrupted him, talking softly. "Travis. I don't care if I have to wait a hundred years, I will wait as long as I have to for you to fall in love with me." He gently rubbed his thumbs over Travis's hands as he held them tenderly.

Travis smiled faintly, touched, wondering if he could become close to this man as he did Michael, not ever thinking that was ever possible. If Jace was the one, he couldn't believe he had found him that quickly. He certainly hadn't felt this way since Michael….maybe a little with Grant, but not this much.

He didn't answer and after a minute, Jace let go of Travis's hands. "Come on, I've got the perfect place for dinner."

He turned and Travis followed, grinning softly, grabbing his phone as they walked out, locking the door behind him, getting into Jace's car, who soon drove off.

Glancing at Jace with admiration as he drove, Travis had to admit he was honestly excited for this, anticipating it to be such a good night out.

Travis found out more about Jace as the evening passed, finding himself becoming more and more attracted to the man minute by minute.

Turns out he worked at the gym, lived alone and loved to cook and read, exercise and hang out with his friends and coworkers when he could. He seemed to be very plentiful in money, though he didn't say how, and that the last relationship he was in was nearly a year ago.

He said he hadn't met another guy worth enough to go out with, except when he met Travis of course, who blushed as Jace spoke so fondly and kindly of him.

Their evening together was perfect and after Jace payed for their meal and drove Travis home, Travis must've guessed he'd been smiling ever since they had first left.

Walking up to his front porch, they stopped, Travis grinning up at Jace as they chuckled.

"Travis, I had a really great time tonight. You're a really sweet guy. Not to mention cute."

"As are you," He said slowly, ears a little red. "And so did I. I'm really glad I met you Jace, it feels like things are finally starting to go right for once, what with Zack gone now and meeting you….." Travis beamed at him, Jace nodding slowly, eyes sparkling.

"And I'm glad for you, Travis. I'm glad I can make you happy." There was a little pause between them and Travis knew what was coming, his heart suddenly racing.

"M-May I?" Jace asked softly with a kind smile and though Travis was hesitant, he knew he couldn't just pass this up. He gave a nod with a grin and they both leaned in slowly, kissing each other softly, Travis closing his eyes as he felt his heart almost explode.

They kissed tenderly but with passion, Jace cupping a hand to Travis's cheek gently and Travis warmed with happiness, leaning in further.

After the kiss had lasted nearly half a minute, they slowly pulled away, Travis smiling up at Jace with pink cheeks, almost overjoyed.

He almost said thank you, but knew that would just be stupid, stopping himself.

Jace beamed at him, looking quite pleased himself. "I'll see you around, okay?"

"Yeah, I uh, I promise I'll text you this time." Travis grinned, watching as Jace turned to go, almost not wanting him to leave. "Oh, and I have work tomorrow, so I won't be around until-"

"It's okay, You're worth the wait, remember?" Jace turned around, winking at him, waving as he turned, not saying anything else as he got into his car.

Travis watched him go with a big goofy grin, going inside happily, letting out a love-struck sigh, leaning up against the door with happiness. It felt good to feel this way again, it truly did.

And it was all thanks to Jace being the perfect man for him, Travis completely thrilled.

Could things get any better?

Turns out, they could! Seeing each other as much as they could, Travis and Jace became closer than ever over the next few weeks, quickly becoming a couple.

And the best part was, he hadn't heard from or seen Zack once!

Travis couldn't be happier.

Vic teased him about it constantly after he had finally told her he was seeing someone, but she was just glad Travis was finally happy again, grateful to have her best friend be back to normal again.

Jace was perfect in every way, even coming to visit Travis at work, surprising him, and when his shifts ended, he always had supper ready for him, sometimes buying him gifts like flowers and chocolates, taking him out to dinner every now and then, being the perfect boyfriend anyone could ask for.

And Travis was able to be intimate with him, not feeling uncomfortable about it at all, even when it came to being physical. Jace was just so patient and trustful, not once making Travis feel overwhelmed or like he didn't have to be himself, loving how perfect they were together, doing as much as he could to please Jace as much as he pleased him.

Jace had even began to stay over at his place some nights, and Travis loved having him over and bringing him together with the gang of 19, and especially being with him on date nights.

Vic told him she didn't think it was possible for him to find a guy any better than Jace, loving him as well. Travis just agreed with her, knowing it as well.

He had thought it couldn't get any better before and now he thought that this was the best time of his life, that things really couldn't get any better, that it couldn't be possible….

Until things began to get worse….