The apartment smelled like paint, and there wasn't much in the way of furniture for him to use. Most everything in the bedroom had been destroyed, and the rest retained the scent of the fire, even had it been worth saving. Michael had decided to get rid of it all, but now the problem persisted, that he had nowhere to sleep except for the floor.

The bedroom wasn't finished, but the living area was largely cleaned up. He looked to where the couch had been, but the countless women he'd been there with were forgotten. He could only remember the day he'd sat and waited for Tibur to come and clean. 6000 measly Modeshi Dollars, and he was willing to do so much to repay it. Across the street, Tibur must be hard at work, studying for his engineering certificate.

Michael opened the broken door and stepped onto the terrace. Tibur's blind was already closed.

I promise not to keep you awake tonight, he vowed.

Tibur couldn't sleep that night.

His blind remained closed until he left for class that morning, his heart beating wildly as he stepped out onto the steet. There was no sign of Michael. Tibur told himself that he probably had better things to do; there was still the apartment for him to take care of, rather than the vestiges of their questionable relationship.

When his class let out, Tibur walked to the supermarket, his eyes peeled for any tall foreigners trying to catch his attention. He needn't have bothered.

Tristan had been dissatisfied with the outcome of Caleb's mission to the north. He'd he been keeping an eye on Tibur's phone the entire day, and no message from Michael had arrived. His husband's explanation that night only made him more annoyed.

"You believed him when he said he'd do it on his own?!" asked Tristan, "Caleb, without some encouragement he might just ghost him forever! And if he really doesn't get in touch this week, if he just leaves without a word, wouldn't that be worse? Give me his number, I'll speak to him myself!"

Caleb hid his phone behind his back.

"Caleb!"

"I don't want to give you another man's phone number..." he sulked, "Give him a couple of days and I'll talk to him again."

Tristan spent most of the evening outside with the cats, refusing to come in even when Caleb warned that the mosquitoes would bite him. The temperature dropped two degrees, and Caleb was sure that Tristan would catch a cold. 

The patio table was filled with snacks, drinks, and repellant sprays, but Tristan wouldn't touch any of them.

His husband was becoming spoiled, and Caleb couldn't be happier.

"Baby" said Caleb, "Please come inside, I'm sorry... I'll listen better next time. Whatever you say, I'll make it happen. Aren't you hungry? There's dinner waiting on the table."

Tristan reluctantly kissed Turkey on its little head and put him down.

"What did you make..?" he asked.

As he graciously sat down for dinner, Tristan made things clear going forward. If Caleb said he'd do something, it would be done; and in the meantime, whatever he suggested to cheer Tibur up, they would try.

"Would you like to go for a drink tonight?" Tristan asked his friend at work the next day.

Tibur was about to decline when Millie caught wind of the conversation.

"Should we?" she asked, "It's been so long. We haven't even celebrated Tristan's return to work... not to mention his memories coming back."

"I can't afford it" said Tibur, "Maybe in a couple of weeks we can do something."

"Haven't you noticed our last paycheck?" asked Millie, "Mr Melik gave us all a raise. I guess he feels guilty that he hasn't been around much. Or at all to be honest... But isn't that enough of a reason to go out?"

Tibur pulled the unopened payslips from his backpack; he'd been so busy lately he hadn't the mind to check them, assuming the regular amount was coming in.

"Why is it so much?!" he queried.

"Backdated. I messaged Mr Melik about it and he said it was all correct. Well? Drinks tonight..?"

Tibur couldn't help but smile at his unexpected windfall. Tristan and Millie realized how much they'd missed the sight of it.

"Just for a couple then" Tibur relented, "I need to save the rest."

Their regular bar didn't match the sense of the occasion. Tristan suggested one of the places by the waterfront where they could sit outside and watch the boats instead.

"It's 'Happy Hour'" he told them, "let's go and be happy for an hour at least." 

With two cocktails for the price of one, the three friends loaded up their table with colorful glasses of various types of alcohol. Tristan took a picture and sent it to Caleb. He couldn't suppress his giggle when he saw the one he received in return. His husband was holding all the kittens, his pleading eyes and pouting face designed to elicit Tristan's sympathy.

'Come home soon' the message read, 'Your family miss you.'

Millie feigned wretching when she saw it.

"The view sure is nice here" she said, "but if you work it out, even the price of one cocktail equates to a whole pitcher of beer. It's still a lot more expensive than I'm used to."

The man at the next table rolled his eyes at her frugal statement. It was clear she couldn't afford to be there then.

"Anna! Jeff!" he called to his friends as they walked up to join him, "This was the only table they had, a couple of bottles should do to start, right?"

The couple sank into their seats. Having checked out of their hotel after lunch with Paul and Michael, they'd picked up their hire car and finally found a tolerable parking spot not too far from the waterside bar.

"Where did the mute get to?" asked Paul.

Anna glared back. 

"He said he had some things to take care of at home, but he should be joining us soon. Don't be too hard on him, it can't be easy having to take a period of leave you didn't ask for."

"What happened there anyway?" asked Jeff, "I didn't want to bring it up at lunch."

"He failed his psych evaluation" said Paul, "And with the way he's been acting it's not hard to see why."

"He doesn't seem all that different" voiced Anna, "Just a little quieter than usual. Maybe he had his heart broken or something?"

Paul burst out laughing.

"You don't think it was because you mailed out your wedding invitations?" he asked, "I think he's probably gotten over you by now!"

This was news to Jeff.

"Did something happen between you two?" he asked Anna.

"Oh, a million years ago!" she confessed, "It was nothing, really, just a stupid hook up at Paul's twentieth. Long before things started up with us."

Jeff poured himself a glass of wine and downed it far too quickly.

"Do you think I should tell them about the 'Happy Hour' deal?" Millie asked Tristan as she motioned to the table next to them.

They looked like foreigners, and had ordered some very expensive wine. Millie recognized it from the imports they stocked at the store, and was worried they'd been overcharged.

"Leave them to it" said Tristan, "You haven't tried the pink one yet, I want to know if it's any good."

The waterfront was dark, the seating areas lit by ambient candlelight. Beyond the glow of the patio heaters, it was hard to see the people coming and going as they strolled along the water's edge. Three cocktails deep, and the party at the next table was finally completed, their second bottle of wine drained to its dregs when Michael arrived. 

"Mikey! Be a pal and order us another since you're up. The service here is lousy!"

Tibur turned in time to lock eyes with Michael. They watered on their own.

"Hey! Dumbass!" called Paul, "I'm talking to you, why are you staring off into space?"

"Maybe if Anna asked he'd listen..." said Jeff bitterly.

"For fuck's sake, Jeff! Let it go. There's nothing between us!" Anna protested.

Michael couldn't take his eyes off Tibur, if it wasn't for Jeff shoving him, he would barely have noticed there was anyone else around.

"Leave it, Jeff! It's not like that!" Anna cried, trying to hold Jeff away from him.

"I might have let it slip..." said Paul, "About that night at the house with you and Anna... You're not still into her, right? After all this time I would've thought you'd moved on."

Michael had heard enough.

"No offense Anna" he said, "but I wasn't that into you then, either... It's men I like."

Paul visibly shrank from him, his physical response all too telling.

"I like men" said Michael, motioning to the wide-eyed Modeshi student, "but I love him."

His emotions were overwhelming him, between tears and smiles he admitted the simple truth. Anna sat Jeff down while she had the chance, and Tristan held Millie's hand beneath the table. All eyes were on Michael and Tibur.

"You love me?" asked Tibur, his watering eyes overflowing, "Idiot... don't you know it's too soon to say that?"

"Two other people have called me an idiot since the day you left... but it's only when I hear it from your lips that I realize how stupid in love with you I am. I'm sorry Tibur... for that day. For every other day that I've made you sad. Give me a chance to make you happy again? I swear, it's the most beautiful thing I've seen in my life. I was just too much of an idiot not to look away."

"Michael" said Paul, "Sit the fuck down. Everyone can hear you."

"That's the point!" shouted Tristan, "Say it loud and proud!"

The pink cocktail as it turned out, was surprisingly potent.

"Yeah!" said Millie, backing him up, "My friend's smile is fucking beautiful! What's your problem, asshole?"

"Anna, bring Jeff and let's get out of here" said Paul.

"Why?" asked Anna, "Our friend's in love; don't you want to see how it turns out?"

"Love?" said Paul, "He's talking about a man!"

"So..?" she replied, viewing her 'friend' through new eyes, "All these years and you never thought to grow up a little? I figured the shit you said in college came from the bigoted mouth of your dad... I didn't think you'd still be spouting it all these years later. Don't pay him any mind, Michael. We're rooting for you! Don't fuck it up!"

"Tibur..." said Michael, pulling his phone out of his pocket, "I won't fuck it up again."

He hurled his phone into the darkness, the splash of the water signaling its journey to the depths of the marina.

You fucking idiot... thought Tibur, my fucking idiot.

"Hurry up and kiss me" he said, "Before I sober up and change my mind."

Michael caught Tibur in his arms, lost in the softness of his velvet lips and the taste of sweet liquor on his breath

"Disgusting..." said Paul, just loud enough for those closest to hear him.

"What did you say?" asked Tristan, swaying as he stood and ready to fight, lest his friend should overhear his hateful words.

"I said-"

"Baby..." the tall and imposing stranger walked over to his side.

"Husband!" cried Tristan, throwing his arms around Caleb's neck.

"Do you have another request for me?" he asked, stealing a peck from Tristan's lips.

Tristan leveled his burning gaze at Paul.

"The fuck is wrong with all of you?!" he cried in panic, backing away from the scene as Caleb stepped closer.

"I think it's time you left" said Caleb, "Right Baby?"

"Right!" shouted Tristan, from behind the safety of his husband's shoulder. 

He didn't even need to touch him. With each step Caleb took, Paul was successfully repelled from the vicinity of the bar.

"All of you..! You're all just a bunch of-"

One sudden surge forward and Paul stumbled back, tripping over the low-lying chain that marked the sidewalk's edge, and tumbling into the water.

The splash attracted a crowd; shining the light from their cellphones at the man who pulled himself out of the marina, dripping from head to toe.

"I didn't even push him!" Caleb told his husband.

Tristan smiled. 

"It's okay if you did..." he whispered, planting a kiss on Caleb's cheek.

As Paul caught his breath, Michael and Tibur approached him, holding hands and unafraid that he or anyone else would see them.

"Thanks for looking for my boyfriend's phone" said Tibur, "But you didn't need to go as far as jumping in to get it... it's not like he'll be answering your calls in future."

Paul spat a mouthful of dirty water onto the sidewalk, narrowly missing Tibur's shoe.

"Hey Paul!" said Michael, his response not so eloquently crafted as Tibur's barb, "Fuck you, man!"

Tibur squeezed Michael's hand as he watched his water-logged former friend squelch away from them; unaware that his car keys were resting peacefully at the bottom of the marina beside Michael's phone.

"Oh shit!" cried Michael.

Tibur looked to him with concern, scared he regretted the series of this evening's events.

"I should have called us a taxi first!"

"What taxi?" asked Tibur, taking his hand back, "If you don't want to walk there's always the bus! Why waste money when it's still so close? And why we do we need a taxi anyway? I'm here with my friends."

Michael was too big to successfully pout.

"I got a pull-out couch today for the living room..." he said, "I just wanted to show you..."

"You want to show off how rich you are?" asked Tibur, "Fine! You can buy a round of drinks for my friends and yours, I think that's the least you can do after all this commotion."

Michael readily agreed, smiling apologetically at the assembled group as he regained his hold on Tibur's hand.

"Just order them cocktails..." Tibur advised in hushed tones, "They're the ones on offer..."