A/N: New chapter, all ready to go. This is part 1 of the conversation Ryan and Greg have...meaning that the next chapter will be part 2! Also meaning, of course, that this one may be a slight cliffie...read on to find out! Usual disclaimer applies, with the added disclaimer that I do not own Dove chocolates or the wonderful little phrases you find on the wrapper. Please review!

Chapter 2

"Cuz I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
And desire and love and empty things
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days"

Greg was never the prompt type. He enjoyed taking his time, often too much for more punctual people (such as Ryan and various bosses Greg had had over the years). Still, the second hand on Greg's watch slid over the twelve, making the time exactly nine o'clock as Greg rang the doorbell at Ryan's apartment.

He had bought flowers.

He felt like an idiot.

Actually, he felt like a nervous date coming over for the first time to meet some girl's father. There again, when he thought of it, that would be probably safer. After all, Ryan was authorized to carry and use a gun. Still, he reasoned, this was Florida, and a lot of fathers were also probably registered gun owners. So it may not be any safer to meet a girl's father for the first time.

All he knew, in this ridiculously tense period waiting for Ryan to answer the door, was that, more than anything in this moment, he did not want to blow this. He wanted to make this the perfect night to ease back into their relationship. He only hoped it would work out that way.

The lock on the door clicked open, and Greg straightened, trying to arrange his face into something that didn't show how desperately nervous he was. He also vaguely hoped that he didn't look like a complete dumbass.

As the door opened, he shifted the flowers from one hand to the other, pasting a smile on his face. That smile slid off his face, replaced by confusion as the door was answered not by Ryan but by Calleigh. "Hey, Greg," she said, a smile on her face as she embraced him.

Still struggling to catch up to what was going on, Greg was a little hesitant in returning her hug. "Hey, Calleigh," he said, the confusion furrowing his brow. "What're you doing here? I thought you and Ryan went out for a little girl time?"

"We did," said Calleigh, still smiling. "And then we came back here for some more girl talk and for some wine and chocolate."

"The perfect girl's night," remarked Greg, raising an eyebrow, his mouth automatically curving into a smirk.

Calleigh grinned. "You got it. Anyway, I was just on my way out. I've afraid I've been yacking poor Ryan's ear off, so I figure it's your turn." She hugged Greg again, lingering long enough to whisper into Greg's ear, "He's really been looking forward to this all night. I think that's a pretty good sign. Good luck."

"What're you two whispering about out here?" asked Ryan, mock-suspiciously, coming out to join them. "If Calleigh's sharing any more embarrassing anecdotes…"

Holding up her hands and laughing, Calleigh said, "Guilty as charged. What can I say? The wine went straight to my head." She hugged Ryan quickly before saying to both of them, "I'll see you at work tomorrow." Then, as she turned to leave, she winked quickly at Greg, who rolled his eyes in response.

Greg turned to Ryan, raising one eyebrow. "She was in a cheery mood."

"Yeah, I'll say," agreed Ryan, frowning at Calleigh's retreating back. Then he looked back at Greg, his brow furrowing. "She didn't actually say anything embarrassing about me, did she?" he asked, his voice full of constrained worry and nerves.

Hiding a smile, Greg said seriously, "She said nothing that would be embarrassing to you. Thankfully. She did say that you two had wine and chocolate, and that was as far as we got in our conversation before you came out here to join us." He paused and grimaced. "And thank goodness you did. I swear if you had left us alone out here a moment longer, the talk would've taken a nasty turn, and I would've been stuck listening to stories about Eric for an hour while you waited inside."

Ryan grinned. "I figured as much, which is why I decided it was time to break up your little party." He paused, then his smile slipped. "I'm sorry, where are my manners tonight? Come inside, please."

Greg smiled as well as he strolled into the apartment. "Before you ask," he called over his shoulder, taking his customary place on the couch, "I'll take a glass of water, please. And any chocolate, if you even have any left over after Calleigh got to it."

"You're in luck," Ryan replied as he bustled around in the kitchen. "I happen to have enough chocolate here for the two of us, even after Calleigh had some." He emerged from the kitchen, two glasses of water in hand, the bag of chocolates tucked under one arm. "Here you are," he said courteously, handing Greg one of the glasses of water.

"Thanks," said Greg, taking it. Then, he blushed and ducked his head while thrusting the bouquet of flowers that he had brought at Ryan. "And, um, these are for you. I didn't know what kind of flowers you liked best, so…I guessed."

Ryan breathed their fragrant scent in, and he smiled widely, obviously pleased with Greg's choice. "I love Gardenias," he said breathlessly, blushing slightly. "Let me just go grab a vase for these."

Still blushing slightly, Greg reached for the bag of chocolate that Ryan had set down on the coffee table. It was Dove chocolate—one of Greg's favorites. He unwrapped one of the creamy chocolates and popped it into his mouth before looking down at the wrapper. Like all Dove chocolates, it had a little saying on the inside of the wrapper. Greg raised an eyebrow as he read what it said. "Share a smile with someone you love."

Greg snorted. That wouldn't be hard. After all, he had Ryan here, and he hoped that tonight, they would be able to share a lot of smiles, a lot of laughs, and, most of all, a lot of love. Ryan walked back into the room, vase in hand. "This isn't really the right type of vase for these flowers," he said, frowning slightly as he set the vase on the coffee table. Then he looked up at Greg, raising one eyebrow. "What?" he asked.

Greg realized quickly that he was smiling at Ryan, really, genuinely grinning. He ducked his head again, but his smile didn't fade. "It's nothing," he said, eyes sparkling with amusement. "I just can't believe I'm taking the advice of a chocolate wrapper."

"Hey, don't mess with the chocolate," said Ryan, sitting on the couch next to Greg—a fact that made Greg's heart beat ten times faster. "Chocolate contains sage wisdom that escapes the minds of ordinary humans. Anyway, what did it advise you to do, young chocolate padawan learner?"

Still smiling, Greg recited, "Share a smile with someone you love."

Now it was Ryan's turn to blush, though he met Greg's eye, smiling as well. "Well, thank you," he said softly. "I appreciate the smile and the affirmation of your affection."

Greg sobered quickly, his face instantly becoming serious as he leaned forward, intensity radiating from his posture. "You know I'm serious, though, right? I really, really do love you. More than anything else in my life. And I know I haven't always made that clear, and I know that I've made some really poor choices regarding my love for you and how I handled that. But I've finally realized that I really can't live without you." Pausing, he felt his eyes involuntarily fill with tears. "I mean, you saw what happened when we were apart. I fell apart, quite literally. Granted, I had problems before that which contributed to my most recent problems, undoubtedly, but that's no excuse for what I did." He paused away, looking at Ryan, his chocolate-colored eyes searching Ryan's. "And I know that this will take time. I know that things cannot just immediately be the way they were." He broke off, a half-smile emerging on his face. "And I think if we're completely honest, we don't really want things to be the way they were either."

Ryan nodded slowly, remembering all too well the pointless fights and arguments that they had gotten in. "Yeah, I don't think either of us want to go back to that."

"But the thing is," Greg continued, reaching out to grab Ryan's hand, "if there's one thing I've realized, it's that even if I had to go back to that kind of relationship, I would take it, just so that I could be able to sleep next to you again and hold you in my arms and kiss you and do unspeakable things with you on this very couch. I would do it all over again just so that I could hear you tell me that you love me one more time. Because I've learned that that is more important than anything else in my life. Not just loving you—but having you love me."

"Greg—" Ryan interjected, but Greg cut him off.

"I'm not quite done. I still have a few things I want to say." Greg took a deep breath, looking down at his hand entwined with Ryan's. "But the truth is, I can be content with just loving you. It would break my heart everyday if I never heard you tell me that you love me again, but my life would still be complete just knowing that I loved you. And right now, what's most important in our relationship is that we're ok. We don't have to be boyfriends now or ever again, if you don't want it. We don't even have to be friends. All I want is for you to be happy. I don't care if that happiness is with me or someone else, but I know you're not happy right now, Ryan, and all I want is for you to be truly happy again."

Pausing, Greg closed his eyes for a moment. "As for me, I'm happy as long as you're happy. My life can be whole again, as long as you're happy, and that is more than enough for me."

"Are you done yet?" asked Ryan, his voice a little higher than usual and his tone sharper than Greg expected.

Greg squared his shoulders, raising his shoulders ever so slightly. "Yes, I'm done," he said, raising an eyebrow at Ryan. "The floor is all yours."

"Good," said Ryan, though it came out in a gentle growl. "Because now it's my turn."