Well, here are, another little moment in the life of our new roommates. Again, thanks to all who are reviewing, it's nice to know whether we're going down the right track. Things will eventually take a more dramatic turn, I promise.

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Tori woke early after a fitful sleep, torn apart by weird anxiety dreams of chasing a mute and tearful Jade through the woods, punctuated by visions so darkly erotic that she began to question her own sanity. She lay there panting, wondering if these things were connected. Meanwhile, her brain had already started worrying without her. She scurried to catch up.

It seemed the thought that had occurred to her the previous morning was still refusing to go gentle into that good night.

What if it was me?

Did I drive her away?

It sounded ridiculous. She'd always thought that Jade had secretly liked looking after her, doing little things for her, being the one she turned to. So much so that she'd found herself playing up to it, pleading helplessness in the face of things she knew she could do, offering up that winsome little smile that made Jade roll her eyes and say I'll do it. She'd acted weak because she thought that Jade wanted to be strong.

But maybe she hadn't. Maybe that long-suffering sigh she let out to greet each new calamity or request had been real, a sign that she was slowly but surely losing patience. Tori had treated her like a boyfriend, sometimes like her dad, and she wondered now if Jade had resented it, found it oppressive, insulting even. She tried to recall the weeks before Jade had left, tried to think of the last time she'd complimented her or comforted her, told her how pretty she was. She'd thought Jade wasn't interested in those things, was too tough to care. What if she'd been wrong? And now it was all too late.

What if Jade had left her because she wanted to be looked after for once? What if Tori really had driven her into the arms of someone who hurt her?

This isn't your fault, her conscience told her, sternly. She left you for her career.

But what if-

She could have talked about it, told you how she felt, but she didn't. She ran away like a coward.

Maybe she didn't feel-

Not. Your. Fault.

Frustrated by the effort of arguing with herself, she crawled out of bed and went to find the girl in question.

Bacon was frying, and she found herself salivating and wondering how long her digestion and figure could cope with her visitor.

"Breakfast," Jade announced.

"You don't have to do this, you know."

"I like to do it." She shrugged. "Anyway, it gives me an excuse to get up off that awful sofa. I'm going to need physio for months after this."

Tori was about to point out the inadvisability of looking a gift horse in the mouth, but thought better of it, considering she was about to eat what was essentially a free breakfast. This was clearly Jade's food, Tori's fridge was just a large box for keeping cold air and old milk in.

She sat, while Jade fussed around her, eventually settling herself noisily into the seat opposite.

They ate in silence for a minute. "Jade," Tori said. "Can I ask you something?"

Jade sighed. "A couple of weeks. Three, max. I'm trying, Tori, I've just got to-"

"No, it not that."

Jade narrowed her eyes. "Then what?" she said. "Unless... Oh."

The sound was low and drawn out, a groan of recognition and resignation.

"What?"

"Do you really want to have this conversation over breakfast?"

"Which conversation?" Tori said. "You don't even know what I'm going to say yet."

"I think I do."

"Then what is it?"

"This is the conversation," said Jade, stabbing a piece of bacon, "where you want to know why I left you."

"No it isn't!"

"Yeah, it is."

"It isn't!"

"Well, what then?"

"All right, it kind of is."

"Ugh."

"I just wanted to know," Tori said, quietly, "if it was my fault."

Jade choked on her coffee. "Your fault?"

"Yes."

"What on earth makes you think it was your fault?"

"Well, I don't know," Tori said, her face flushing. "Because of the way I was."

"What way?"

"You know."

"Really don't."

"Did you ever resent the fact that I..." She hesitated. "Did you ever feel bad that you had to be the 'guy'?"

"The guy?"

"Yeah. You know. In the relationship."

There was a pause.

"You're saying I'm butch?"

"What? No!"

"You think I'm manly?"

"Jade!"

"I mean, that's quite something to find out after all this time."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"I gotta start shaving more often."

"Look-"

"Keep my big hairy hands in my pockets, just in case."

"Stop that!"

Jade waited for a moment, a blank expression on her face.

"I'm sorry, little lady, I was too busy staring at your tits to listen. You know what us guys are like. What were you saying?"

"Urrgh." Tori wrapped her gown tightly across her chest, self-consciously.

"Sorry. That reminds me, I was going to do us a couple of fried eggs."

The bacon hit Jade right in the eye. "Aargh!" she cried, clutching at her face. "Man down!"

"I told you to stop with the... Are you all right?" Tori said, anxiously, when Jade bent over the table, moaning, head in her hands. "Jade?"

Jade slowly stretched out one shaking hand away from her face, it's palm stained red.

"Oh, my God!" Tori squeaked, clamping her hands to her mouth in horror. "I'm so sorry! I'm so... I'm..." She saw that Jade's shoulders were shaking in silent laughter.

"Very funny," she said, grumpily, as Jade looked up grinning, and licked the ketchup off her hand. "The last time you tried that, we had to clean all that crap out of the school canteen."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm trying to have a serious conversation here."

"And I'm trying not to. Honestly, Tori," Jade said, "do we have to do this?"

"I think so."

"Okay, let's put it another way. Are you going to throw me out if we don't?"

That was it. Tori slammed her fork down. "For God's sake, Jade," she snapped. "Of course not. Look, I know there are things you don't want to talk about, and I understand that. But don't you think I deserve something?"

"Tori-"

"I'm not asking you to explain," she said. "I'm not asking you to grovel, or tell me it was a mistake, or that you've missed me, or that I was the best thing you ever had. I'm not even asking you to apologize. I just want to know that one simple thing." Tori could feel tears stinging her eyes, and fought them back. "I just need to know whether it was me," she said, in a tight little voice. "Whether I did something to make you leave."

"It's complicated..."

"I have to know."

Jade caught her eye for a moment and then looked away. "No," she said, softly. "You didn't do anything."

"Really?"

"Really."

Tori exhaled the breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "Thank you."

"Is that... it?"

"Yes."

"You don't want to know anything else?"

"No."

"Okay. Look, I never wanted you to think-"

"It's fine."

"Right."

"Good." Slightly embarrassed by her outburst, Tori stared down at her plate, and noticed it was empty. "Could I… have my bacon back?"

"You want your bacon back?"

"Yes."

"This bacon?"

"If you don't mind."

"This razor sharp bacon that you threw at me?"

"Look, just give me the... oh no. No. Not like that. No! Don't you dare!"

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"Okay, you can get off of me now."

"Do you surrender?"

"I surrender."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure. Just... put the ketchup bottle down."