They ended up putting off the visit to the deli for a couple of days. Josey only had a few days left of his vacation and he would’ve been more than happy to spend the rest of his time in the apartment with Tor, but they both decided it was best to make the most of the good weather that late spring had brought after the rain. The next day they took a long walk in the neighborhoods near Josey’s building and went to the local farmer’s market to get produce for a beautiful dinner that Tor prepared. The day after that they visited the amusement park down by the wharf, where they shared a questionable hot dog that made both of them regretful later that evening.

“We might need to move someplace that has two toilets in case this ever happens again,” Josey groaned as they chugged Pepto-Bismol on the couch.

“I think the lesson we learned is never to buy a hot dog from a stand that’s been sitting outside in the sun for more than an hour,” Tor replied, trying to suppress a burp.

Fortunately, they both felt perfectly fine the next morning and they went to Etta and Sam’s deli for lunch. When Etta heard about the hot dog, she fussed over them and made them drink iced ginger ale while Sam served up chicken noodle soup. The couple eagerly welcomed the idea of hiring Tor, and Sam even took him behind the counter to try making a few of the regular sandwiches.

“He’s a natural!” Sam said with pleasure afterwards, patting Tor’s shoulder. “We’d be more than happy to have you on board, Captain. We gotta keep the business in the family, after all, and you’re pretty much our son-in-law now!”

Both Josey and Tor blushed furiously at this, but they didn’t deny it. Tor arranged to start working on a part-time basis the same day that Josey returned to the office, and they left the deli with brighter spirits and a paper bag bursting to full with chocolate chip cookies.

“Should we have our fancy dinner date tomorrow night?” Tor asked as they walked through the park. “I can make the reservation tonight. That’ll leave us with one day to chill at home before we have to report to work.”

Josey nodded, not daring to speak for how happy he was. The thought of having a romantic date night with Tor was almost impossible to believe, yet here they were planning one! Tor squeezed his hand.

“I just had another good idea,” he whispered in Josey’s ear, “Would you be interested in doing some life drawings this evening?”

Josey grinned. “Art school style? And you’d be my model?”

“Yup. You need a little sketching practice before you have to go back to work,” Tor replied, and he kissed below Josey’s jaw. “Melissa made it my responsibility to ensure you’d be in good shape when you returned.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want to disappoint Melissa,” Josey laughed, and he threw his arms around Tor’s neck to kiss him back.

Yes, Josey decided the next day as he put on his new waistcoat, his current happiness was worth all the heartbreak he’d gone through before. Even Tor’s initial rejection ended up helping him appreciate how precious this joy was. Would he have understood how much it meant to have Tor’s trust if he hadn’t seen his soulmate in his darkest moments?

“No,” Josey whispered to his reflection. “I wouldn’t have felt this connected to him if it had been straightforward. There’s no courage where there isn’t fear, and Tor makes me courageous enough to be afraid…I’m ready to tell him officially that I love him! Tonight’s the night!”

Tor had reserved a table for them at the city’s premier Italian restaurant and everything about the evening was exquisite. From the moment they walked into the restaurant, they were whisked away to a cozy table under a trellis of ivy and fairy lights. The hostess and their waiter ‘Giuseppe’ were friendly to an almost frightening degree, and not only were they promised a free dessert to accompany their delicious meal, but the restaurant manager himself came out to present them with a complimentary bottle of one of the establishment’s finest wines.

“I can tell this is a special night for you two!” the man said as he departed their table with a wink.

Josey turned to Tor in astonishment. “What the hell did you bribe them with to get all of this?”

But Tor looked just as flabbergasted as he felt.

“I didn’t bribe anyone!” he protested. “I only made the reservation – I thought everyone was being friendly because of YOU!”

“Well, I’ve never had people be this friendly to me before,” Josey replied. “But never mind, let’s just enjoy the wine before they figure out it was a clerical error.”

They chatted and laughed during all of their courses and the mouthwatering tiramisu. Giuseppe helped them into their coats and bid them farewell at the door, making them promise to come back for their anniversary next year. Josey flushed as he thought of all the anniversaries and holidays he’d have with Tor now. Celebrations hadn’t been the same since he’d been kicked out of his parents’ house, but now that he had someone to celebrate with he was actually looking forward to them.

“Should we head home, or do you want to walk for a bit?” Tor asked as he took up his hand.

“Walk please!” Josey replied, pressing close to Tor’s side. “It’s too lovely an evening to end it now.”

“Agreed,” Tor said, and they strolled around the high-end neighborhood where the restaurant was located. They found the fancy candy shop that Josey had put on his field trip list, but it was closed already and so they planned to come back the next day during business hours. It was really was the perfect evening and Josey was in a cloud of bliss.

Suddenly, Tor went tense beside him and Josey looked up.

“Tor, what…” he started, but Tor shushed him.

“Just keep walking normally,” he said.

Josey obediently kept walking, but something about Tor’s body language made him glance ahead. A group of girls in a bachelorette party were laughing and pushing one another playfully, but beyond them Josey caught sight of a man huddled against a building. He wasn’t sure why, but the man gave him a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.

“Tor, is he…” he whispered, but Tor shushed him again.

“I don’t know,” he answered, “but he looks like the kind of person the organizers at the soup kitchen called an ‘unreliable variable’. Keep your eyes on the girls and be ready to run if I tell you.”

Josey’s mouth went dry with nerves, but Tor’s hand in his was confident and so he kept staring ahead at the bachelorette party, watching to make sure nothing happened to them.

The girls laughed and tripped past the huddled man, but nothing happened. Josey was about to let out his breath (which he’d been holding this whole time), when the man suddenly stood up and brandished something that glinted in the lamplights. Tor let go of his hand.

“Run Josey!” he shouted, and he lunged forward to intercept the man as he reached for one of the girls who lagged behind the others. The man screamed as Tor tackled him and again Josey saw that flash of metal glinting in the light. Josey’s limbs felt numb, but somehow he managed to run ahead and pull the stray girl to the safety of the flock, who had all just realized something was wrong.

“Oh my god Sara, are you alright!?” one said as they clutched their startled companion, while another girl demanded of Josey, “What’s going on?!”

“There was a man,” Josey answered dumbly, but he wasn’t paying the girls much attention because he was so focused on Tor. The attacker was down on the ground now, unmoving, and his knife was lying on the sidewalk out of his reach. But Josey’s body went cold when he saw that the blade glinted with bright blood. He glanced at Tor and noticed he was clutching a hand to his side where his dark blue blazer was stained with something even darker.

“TOR!” he screamed, and he was at Tor’s side in a breath’s moment, using his height to prop his soulmate up as he steadied himself.

“It’s alright Josey,” Tor gasped. “He just nicked my side – it’s not life-threatening. I’ll be fine!”

“It’s not fine, he stabbed you!” Josey cried. He fumbled to grab his phone, but for some reason his hands weren’t working; they kept trembling as his panic climbed higher and higher. Tor had been stabbed; Tor was bleeding; Tor was going to die; he was going to lose Tor!

Fortunately, the bride-to-be from the party had her phone out and was already talking to the emergency dispatcher; Josey distantly heard her reassure him that an ambulance was on its way. One of the other girls said she was in nursing school and she came over to press her sweater against Tor’s side in an expert manner. Tor himself was rubbing Josey’s shoulder, whispering reassuring words to him.

“Believe me, this is nothing,” he was saying. “It’s just a scratch – I’m not dying, Green.”

“But why, Tor?” was all that Josey could say, his voice brimming with fear and tears. “Why did you run at him like that?”

Tor ran his free hand over Josey’s cheek.

“Because I didn’t want him to hurt you,” he answered, and there were tears in his eyes too. “I love you, Josey.”

Josey couldn’t help the ugly sob that he let out. 

“I love you, Tor!” he wept, and he pressed his forehead against Tor’s. He’d never imagined that the happiest moment in his life would also be one of the most agonizing.

And yet, Josey still believed it was all worth it.