Lewis was sitting in the booth in the apartment living room, staring dazedly at the blank television screen. There was an opened beer sitting in front of him, although he was toying with it more than actually drinking it. The room was nearly silent except for the sound of his bottle sliding back and forth between his hands on the tabletop over the murmuring of voices from downstairs as the nine-to-fivers began their ritual relaxing at the bar below.

The muffled sound of footsteps drawing closer made Lewis glance up at the door just as it swung open. Oswald came in, still dressed in his work uniform, and tossed his coat over the back of the nearest door. "Hey," he said brightly when he saw Lewis sitting at the booth. "Drinking a beer already? I thought you'd stay away for a while after last night."

"Just needed something to steady myself," Lewis said and took a swallow.

"Sounds good to me," Oswald replied. "I'll go change and join you." He disappeared into his room for a while and then reemerged in jeans and a tee-shirt. After grabbing a beer from the fridge he slid into the booth on the side opposite Lewis.

"So, did you go with Drew to see Kate?" Lewis asked curiously, assuming that this was the reason that Oswald was so much later coming home than usual. Either that or he'd gotten lost delivering a package again.

"Yeah, she's doing okay," Oswald said with a slow nod. "She looks a lot better than you did earlier."

"You think she looks a lot better than everything," Lewis pointed out with an arched eyebrow. Oswald gave him an indignant look as Lewis drank down half of his beer. "Besides, there are a lot of things that look better than I did earlier."

"Including you," Oswald commented. "Feeling better?"

"A bit," was Lewis' elusive answer. He was feeling a little better physically but that had allowed his mentality to return and his mind was brooding on the events of the day before. His cynical moodiness was taking over again and he wanted nothing more than to get drunk and forget it all, but he knew that his body was rejecting the very idea.

Oswald could feel this air of tension around him and his brow furrowed. From this angle he had a full view of the bruise on Lewis' face and something about it didn't sit right with him. "So are you going to tell me what you were upset about yesterday?"

Lewis knew that he had a guilty look on his face so he kept his eyes on his drink. "Getting your ass handed to you by mutant primates causes a loss of pride," he said with a hollow laugh. "Besides, who said I was upset yesterday?"

"You didn't talk all day," Oswald said with a chuckle, reaching over and patting Lewis' shoulder. "That's usually a give-away that you aren't feeling right. Also it's rare that you drink to get drunk like you did last night. So, what happened, buddy?"

Lewis sighed heavily. "Can't you be content with worrying about Kate and leave me alone?" he asked hopefully, although there was little emotion behind his voice. He'd never admit it to anyone, but being able to confide in his best friend was a relief. He always acted as if he was harassed into it and simply gave in so Oswald would give him some peace, but it was just that: an act. He figured that Oswald probably knew this, too, but it was a force of habit.

Oswald laughed at the familiar aversion to talking in Lewis' voice. "No, because I live with you, and living with you when you're moody is not fun," he said with a small shrug. He and Lewis exchanged amused smiles at this comment. "Is it Sandra?"

Lewis' smile faltered and he broke eye contact. "Yeah, we broke things off," he said dully. "Well, actually she broke up with me, but after she hit me in the face with the lamp I didn't argue with it."

Oswald's jaw dropped and he gaped at Lewis. "So the bruise really did come from her?" he asked in amazement. "What about the scratches?"

"Those are actually from the monkeys," Lewis answered, laughing blankly. "Damn little buggers had talons."

Oswald smiled at this thought, the mental image of the monkey birds forming but he brushed it away and returned to the conversation. "Why'd she hit you?" he asked quietly. "I thought you two were getting pretty serious."

"I thought we were, too," Lewis said. He sighed and lounged back, the leather squeaking as the pressure of his body met it. "Apparently that wasn't what she wanted. I told her that I was really starting to care about her and she got upset. She told me she didn't want to be in a serious relationship and she was leaving. When I tried to argue she grabbed the lamp and whacked me across the face with the base." He shook his head and his hand unconsciously touched the bruise, making him wince.

"Harsh," Oswald said, concern in his eyes as he gazed at his best friend. "That's a shame; we all thought she might have been the one for you."

Lewis laughed darkly at this thought. "I don't think there is a 'one' for me," he said, his cynical nature taking full control again. He'd been foolish thinking that he could have a real, long-term relationship.

"Of course there is," Oswald said, optimistic as always even though he knew that his encouragement would be lost on his best friend. "There's someone for everyone. You've just had a rough time finding her. Hell, so have I, and Drew, and Kate. But at least we can all have a hard time finding them together. Think how much it would suck alone."

"I'll drink to that," Lewis said with a smile, his eyes silently giving Oswald grateful thanks. They both raised their bottles and Lewis said, "To being single together." They tapped their bottles together and then both promptly took deep swallows. They lapsed into silence for a while, both distracted with other thoughts.

"You're going to go after Kate again, aren't you?" Lewis suddenly asked and Oswald twitched in surprise. "Now that she's single again, you're going to try and get her back."

Oswald shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know," he said in a weary voice. "I've thought about it but I just can't figure anything out. I want her back, I won't deny it. I still love her, Lewis. I just can't figure out what she wants."

"You have to worry about Drew on top of all of that," Lewis pointed out. "You know he wants her back, too. Seems like she's in the middle of everyone's heart strings, isn't she?"

"Yeah, there's been romance between all of us, except you," Oswald said with a laugh, nursing his beer. "I wonder why she never dated you."

"Because I'm an ass," Lewis said simply. "She can't stand me because I'm the only one who can be more obnoxious and cynical than her."

"Makes sense," Oswald said with a laugh. Lewis echoed his laugh and turned his attention away from his friend. This was all true; Kate had shown romantic interest in all of her friends except for him. No matter how much he flirted or hinted, she had always turned him away. At least until last night.

Lewis glanced up at Oswald, who was drinking his beer slowly with a lost expression. He wondered what Oswald and Drew would think if they found out that Kate had finally given in to him. What might have happened to their friendship if Oswald had found Kate in Lewis' room this morning? The image of Oswald's betrayed face formed in his mind and Lewis shook it away. He wasn't sure he could stand seeing his best friend hurt like that, even if it was something he had dearly wanted. He vowed at that moment to put any fantasies of Kate from his mind and forget about it all. It's not like a relationship with Kate would ever have led to anything anyway; they were both just in-betweeners, like they'd said last night. It was a fling, nothing else, and would never be more than that.

"You okay, buddy?" Oswald's question jerked Lewis back into reality and he focused on his friend with a slightly dazed expression.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, shaking his head. "Just spaced out."

Oswald laughed. "Hey, you want to come down to the bar and hang with me and Drew now that you can actually keep up a conversation?" he asked with his characteristic grin. "Just don't drink much so you can still walk again tomorrow."

"Sure, why not?" Lewis grunted. He really didn't want to be down among the noisy crowds and so near the temptation of alcohol, but he needed something to keep his mind of his women troubles and he knew with the condition he was in he wouldn't be able to focus on any better distractions.

"Excellent," Oswald said, standing up. "Just the boys tonight. This will be fun." Lewis forced a grin and joined him as they started down the stairs into the bar. He was inwardly relieved that Kate wouldn't be there; he didn't know if they would be able to act completely casual with last night still on their minds. Provided she even remembers any of last night, he added in his thoughts. Who knows, with how drunk she was she may not remember much.