"You left my address lying around in your bedroom?" Bob asked in a sickenly sweet voice after Lisa had left the bathroom. Bart could tell how much anger he was trying to repress – nothing that would set him back off to the path of a killer, only the rage of a man who didn't get as much time with his lover as he'd hoped.

"Maybe..." he replied sheepishly, lowering his head and giving him a guilty look.

"Oh, no, no, no, Bart. This will not work on me," he snapped with a wicked smile. "This will not go unpunished. In the meantime, your sister and I will wait for you downstairs."

Bob slammed the door shut, leaving him in his bath to think. Bart sighed heavily, fearing his sister's reaction. He did not fear Bob's, whatever he meant by that probably meant spending more ambiguous time together.

But for the time being, a discussion took place. It was strange for Bart to put into words what had been happening with Bob, even stranger to tell his sister. But in time, she seemed to accept their situation. Not necessarily understand, but accept, and for now it was enough for him.

Once their discussion was over, and despite Bart's objections, Bob opted to give his sister and him a ride home right away, effectively cutting his stay short. He couldn't say he wasn't mad at Lisa at first. She had snooped into his stuff and deemed it justified to come all the way here, but thinking of it she had every right to be worried. Bart had really been with Sideshow Bob after all, so who could blame her? He only wished the weekend had lasted longer, but he knew they all needed time to let the information sink in. It didn't mean it was all over, far from it.

"You should sit in the back with your sister," Bob murmured to him before they all got into his car. Wise advice, he thought, as Lisa probably didn't want to be kept aside, considering all the new information that had been thrown at her. Sitting in the backseat next to her, he noticed she was looking hesitant, opening her mouth a few times to say something, but changing her mind. Eventually, she spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Bob, but I don't understand. When we were kids, did you-"

"When you two were children," Bob cut off gravely, "all I wanted was my revenge on Bart by killing him. That was all that mattered to me. When I was released from prison, I only wanted to start anew. All thoughts of murder had left me, I settled down, found a new job and I was happy."

Both siblings were listening to him intently – Lisa, to try and make sense of it all, and Bart, to try and catch any information Bob might have omitted to tell him.

"Now I don't believe in fate," he went on. "But I do believe in your brother's passion for being a pain in my neck. So, of course he had to work in that café."

"It was a coincidence!" Bart retorted.

"Nevertheless, he was back into my life. As an adult, one against whom I no longer harbored murderous feelings. Years had passed, he had grown up, and in a way so had I. It took some time for both of us, but here we are now."

Lisa didn't insist, probably trying to find the logic in their relationship. "Does anyone else know about you two?"

"No way," Bart hastily replied as Bob was shaking his head decisively. "Though, I mentioned Bob to Milhouse when I first met him at the café, but he just knows he's a customer. There was no way I was telling him what we were doing."

"Milhouse?" Lisa thought for a second. "I think you should tell him, Bart."

"...Why?" He asked, dubious.

"Because he's convinced he's got you back with your ex. And he's also worried you're working with a homicidal maniac around... N-no offense, Bob..."

"Perfectly understandable on his part, I'd say," The driver replied jokingly, although Lisa didn't seem to appreciate the humor.

Bart hesitated. He didn't need anymore people finding out about them, yet she had a point. He knew Milhouse would be insufferably proud of his match-making victory and rub it in his face, at least until he found out the truth. "Are you sure?" He asked hesitantly.

"He's your best friend."

"Alright," he relented, pulling out his phone.

"If you're going to tell Milhouse," Bob interrupted from the driver's seat, "please spare me the conversation. I've had my fair share of unpleasantness for the rest of the year."

"Oh, right..." He put the phone back into his pocket. He would have to go through another painful conversation at home.

"At least your friend was delicate enough not to come to the café to pester me with questions like a detective on a case," Bob grumbled, glancing at Lisa through the rearview mirror.

Bart slowly turned towards her sister, who was looking more than uncomfortable. "Wait, you did what?"

"Erm..." She laughed awkwardly. "I kinda went to the café on your day off and I met Bob there, so I asked him to stay away from you... I had no idea what was happening, though, and he didn't tell me anything, either."

"Of course, I didn't," Bob huffed. "And 'threaten' would be a more appropriate term."

"You threatened him?" Bart exclaimed, bursting into laughter. "Way to go, Lis!"

"Really? I mean, you're not mad at me?" She asked, relieved but surprised.

"Of course not! Hey, you're looking out for me, why should I be mad at you? Still, though-" he added, glaring towards the driver, "how come I only now hear about that? You didn't tell me you talked with Lisa!"

Bob was tapping on the steering wheel nervously – Bart saw him embarrassed for the first time. "I figured you had enough on your plate already, so I didn't deem it necessary at the time. It wasn't a particularly pleasant conversation either, but I would have told you eventually."

The tension in the car had dissipated to some extent, and after a while, they finally arrived in the Evergreen Terrace neighborhood and parked some way away from the Simpsons' house. Looking around, Bart noticed they were in the exact spot where their relationship had taken a sudden drastic turn, an experience he was fond of reminiscing.

"Thanks for the ride... And sorry about all that," Lisa politely told Bob and left the car, still a little shaken.

"You can go on ahead, Lis, I'll be right there," Bart called out to her. When she was far enough away, Bart climbed to the passenger seat to sit next to Bob. "So, you got any more of those business trips planned?" He asked casually.

"Not for a few months, hopefully," he assured. "I'll make sure to come visit you at work, I wouldn't want you to miss my presence too much," he added with a smirk.

"Mph, it's not just your presence I'm gonna miss."

"Oh, don't you worry," Bob told him in a low tone, grabbing his chin and pulling his head close. "You still deserve some form of punishment, don't you? I'll make sure to take care of you in an appropriate fashion."

"Punishment? For what?" He asked, an excited grin plastered onto his face as he felt his heartrate increase.

"Isn't it your fault our weekend was cut short? My address was found because of your negligence."

"Sorry, geez..." he huffed. "So what's my punishment gonna be?"

"You'll see, in due time. There's no need to spoil the surprise, is there?" He replied, leaning in for a deep kiss, passionate but much too short.

.

Being back home after the events of the weekend felt strange. He didn't tell his mom he was with a former homicidal maniac, she would be heartbroken or completely lost. Homer wouldn't even want to hear that his son was gay. Maggie was much too young to fathom his relationship with Bob. Lisa was the only one who knew what had happened and was still awkward about it, but Bart couldn't really blame her. Back in his bedroom, he pulled out his phone and sighed - he would have to tell Milhouse the truth now. He could only imagine his face – priceless.

"Hey, lucky guy," Milhouse sang over the phone. "So, how's your weekend going?" There it was. Milhouse was so proud of himself, of his idea of inviting Angela to his birthday party. If he didn't tell him the truth now, he would brag about it for days to come. Understandable, but still obnoxious.

"Heh, uhm," Bart cleared his throat awkwardly. "It's... complicated. Say, what do you think I was doing when you called me this morning?"

"Well, you said you'd been running, but I'm pretty sure that's not what was going on," he answered in a very suggestive tone. He could almost hear him raise his blue eyebrows a bunch of time.

"You're right. Only, it wasn't with Angela."

"Oh," he replied with a tinge of disappointment in his voice. "Who was it, then?"

"Let's just say... Whatever you think I was doing, just replace Angela with Sideshow Bob."

"Oh, right, so you were having sex with Sideshow Bob, of course," he snickered.

"Pretty much. We're kind of a thing, now."

The line went silent for a few seconds.

"What?"

Bart took time to explain the whole situation to Milhouse, although he was careful to omit the explicit details. His friend didn't interrupt, he was instead listening carefully, probably trying his best to comprehend. It felt really awkward again, as expected, but when it was over he felt relieved, like a weight had been taken off his shoulders once more.

"Shit, Bart, I... I don't know what to say."

"Lighten up, dude! I'm not dying, I'm just having fun with someone. That someone just happens to be Bob, that's all."

"But- I thought you'd tell me if anything happened with Bob, though. Didn't you promise?"

Guilt came back to hit Bart in the face. "Yeah... Sorry, man. It just kinda happened. And I was right to trust him, he didn't try to kill me. It... turned out really different," he added, feeling his face heat up.

"I mean you've gotta admit it's-"

"Weird as hell. Yeah, I know. I think that's why it's happening."

"...What do you mean?"

Bart shrugged alone in his room, aware his friend wouldn't hear it. "I dunno, I've never really looked at guys before. And this one wanted me dead. I've only ever dated girls, but they didn't do much for me. With Bob, it's all... different. There's something... just different."

"So then, you're bisexual?"

"I guess? At least for Bob, yeah. I kinda got hooked on him. It's been so... special between us," he replied, a smile forming on his lips in spite of himself. "I guess it must be really weird for him, too... We haven't really talked about it. Should we? Do we need to?" He went on mumbling, more to himself than to Milhouse. He was chewing on his bottom lip, torn between his desire to know as much as possible about what Bob felt and his fear of fucking up their relationship.

"I- I dunno, Bart. Heh, at least that's one mortal enemy you can stop worrying about."

"Hey, I don't have that many, come on!" He retorted, making his friend laugh heartily.

"What about the café? Does Bob still go there?"

"Oh yeah, it's like a playground for him. He gets to taunt me all he wants while I'm at work. And he's generous with tips," he added evilly.

Milhouse went silent for a few seconds before he spoke up with an obvious smile in his voice. "Oh, I see how it's all 'different'."

"Shut up!" Bart laughed, all awkwardness gone between his friend and him. They went on talking for the next hour, about their respective jobs, Milhouse's relationship, old times, as well as the most recent moments. As it turned out, Lisa wasn't the only one to point out Bart's changes – being more cheerful, relaxed and confident. They could thank his new job for sure, but Milhouse was hoping his new relationship with Bob had a hand in that, too.

The new week would start soon enough, and Bart couldn't wait to see Bob again. To think he had woken up right next to him that very morning, at his place, all he wanted now was to do it all over again.