"The One" – Part 47

Summary and additional notes in part 1.

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! And wow, over 300! That's like insane! Thanks again guys!

Anonymous - Thanks for the kind words :D Glad you're enjoying this fic!

This is not related to my Degrassi timeline fics. (See my Author's profile for details!)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Degrassi!

-oOo-

Fiona sighed as she turned off the shower. She then reached for her towel and began to dry off. She was trying to determine which emotion better described her feelings on last night's hook up gone awry – frustration or disappointment?

Adam's initial reasoning behind waiting made sense to her, but now she wasn't so sure what they were waiting for! They were in love and deeply committed to each other. They were integrating each other into their lives, and had won over most of their skeptics already!

She stepped out of the tub and reached for her clothes. As she put on her bra she decided that they needed to discuss this. She quickly got dressed and brushed her teeth. When she returned to the room she saw that Adam was still asleep. She smiled at the sight of him and debated whether to wake him.

Her stomach suddenly growled, which provided an answer! She quietly retreated from the room in search of food.

"Morning!" a bright voice greeted her when she reached the kitchen.

Fiona blinked. "Oh, hi Joe," she replied. He was sitting at the table, enthralled in his laptop.

Joe smirked at her. "Hmm, did I detect a bit of hesitancy there?"

She laughed. "It's early."

"Yeah, 11:00AM is quite early," he teased.

She gave him a look. "It's a Saturday!" Fiona was used to sleeping in.

Joe nodded and took a sip of his coffee. "Where's Adam?"

Fiona took a seat at the table. "He's still sleeping."

Joe nodded. "Right. I guess that makes sense."

She gave him a quizzical look.

Joe smiled and turned his laptop towards her, so that she could see the screen. "Your boyfriend wrote up a roommate ad and posted it to Craigslist shortly before 5:00am. I've already gotten a few decent responses."

Fiona raised her eyebrows. She didn't know Adam had been up so early! She thought it was sweet that he did that for Joe, but she was a little disheartened to know he had left the room while she was sleeping. "That's good," she said in an upbeat tone.

"Yeah. I thought we were going to get to it this morning, but it was a pleasant surprise," Joe responded.

Fiona nodded. "Indeed. I didn't realize because I slept through the night." She hadn't felt all that tired, but sleep was a welcome reprieve from the disappointment of how the night ended.

"Actually, I'm amazed I managed to get a full night's rest!" Joe laughed. "I've lived with the guy for three years and this place has thin walls. I lost count of how many times Adam's nightcaps have woken me up!"

Fiona frowned at his words.

He grimaced as he realized what he could have said wrong. "Sorry! I forgot you guys haven't had sex yet!"

Fiona looked at him amused. "Does everybody know that?"

Joe grinned at her. "Do all of your friends know?"

She shrugged. "Good point!" She looked at him curiously. "You two really are cut from the same clothe," she noted. His personality reminded her so much of Adam!

"Well, he's like the straight version of me!" Joe said in jest.

The two of them laughed.

"So, how do you like Boston so far?" he asked her.

She smirked. "I like it. I've met some interesting characters so far," she teased. "I've been through here before though."

Joe raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Did you and Adam ever meet up?" he inquired.

She shook her head. "No. I had no idea he was living here at the time."

Joe regarded her curiously as he took another sip of his coffee. "So it really has been radio silence between you guys for seven years?"

She thought about it. "For the most part. I've heard bits and pieces of news about him over the years, but we lost touch."

If he had remained in her life, she wasn't sure if it would have been possible for her to fully move on. The last time she contacted him directly was after right he had top surgery. It was during the summer between his freshman and sophomore years at college.

"Wow," he said. He was amazed they got together so soon after being virtually strangers for so long.

She looked at him. "You've known Adam for years, right?"

He nodded. "Yep. We attended Syracuse University together."

"Ah," she said. Adam mentioned that to her. "So you know Gregory, Meg, and the others?"

He snorted. "Sure do."

"You were a computer science major too?" she asked.

He laughed heartily. "No way! I'm not a computer nerd like Adam, Naomi, and the rest of the lot!" He didn't work in IT. He couldn't think of a job more boring!

She tilted her head in confusion. "Oh. So how did you guys meet?"

"At our campus Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Union," he told her. "It's a mouthful, I know!"

They both laughed.

"Personally I preferred calling it the Queer Kids Club, because that's what it was. Anyway, I was student activist, down for the cause, and Adam attended meetings here and there. He had other stuff going on and wasn't really serious about it. I called him out a few times and accused him of being an 'assimilator'," Joe laughed the memory. He had gone through a militant phase in college.

"Really?" Fiona said surprised. She had a hard time picturing it since they got along so well these days!

Joe nodded, amused. "Yeah. He kind of reminded me of a frat boy at times, which annoyed me. I felt like he didn't really care because straight FTMs can kind of blend into heteronormative society once they finish transitioning. Those of us who are gay or bi are still on the outside in that regards."

"I could see that," she acknowledged. "How did you guys become friends?"

He shrugged. "There wasn't one event that shifted things. Gradually we got to know each other and realized we had a lot in common. Over time we balanced each other out. He helped me to mellow out and have more fun, and with my influence he got more involved with issues in our community."

"Sounds like you guys are a perfect match," she teased.

Joe laughed. "Almost!" He smirked, remembering the conversation he had with Adam and Naomi in the kitchen last night. "After graduation he moved back home and I settled in Boston. I knew he was looked for a job in the States, so when a friend of mine mentioned there was an opening where she worked I forwarded Adam the info."

"You got him his job?" Fiona said surprised. She hadn't known that.

Joe shrugged again. "He fit the qualifications. I needed a roommate so it worked out for both of us."

The microwave chimed and they both turned in the direction of the sudden noise.

"I warmed up a Jimmy Dean's breakfast bowl. You can have it. I have another in the freezer," he offered.

"Are you sure?" she questioned.

"Absolutely!" he informed. "Adam wouldn't think kindly of me starving his girl!" he said in jest. He walked over to the microwave and set it aside. He then grabbed a box from the freezer. Fiona followed him to the counter and placed the hot food on a plate.

"Thanks," she told him.

"No problem!" he assured her. He paused as he remembered something he wanted to say to her. "About yesterday… Naomi has a habit of overstating things. She can go all Mama Bear sometimes."

Fiona furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?" She sat back down at the table with her food.

"What she said about Emily. She's not a terrible person or anything. She and Adam just weren't a good fit. She said and did some hurtful things when they broke up, but so did Adam," Joe explained. "Their relationship wasn't some crazy, unhealthy mess. It was just a bad relationship."

"Oh," Fiona responded. Truth be told, she was getting tired of all the mentions of his Ex. However, she was happy that Joe addressed some lingering questions she had.

"I know it's awkward, but if it wasn't for the wedding this would be a non-issue," Joe stated. "Adam's so over it. And he's never felt about anyone the way he feels about you." He knew this to be a fact.

She grinned at him, before taking a bite of her food.

.

tbc

A/N: I'm with Fiona. Stop with the Emily mentions people! (Then again, this is like yelling at the TV. Nothing I say here actually makes an impact on the story, LOL!) That said, Joe had good intentions. It's cool to see that he and Adam go way back, no?

Reviews rock!

In the next chapter… Adam wakes up, and Fiona + Adam enter negotiations...

Off topic (well, kind of): Dude, this fic keeps going and going! I'm up to 142 pages in Word. Insane, right? Good news is, there's a time jump coming after the Boston chapters :D Looking forward to sharing the later chapters - although at this point I'm letting the story write itself. We'll get there when we get there, but indeed we'll definitely get there!