The night had been nigh-interminable. Tommy has a position squarely in the middle of the company, where he is flirted with by the younger crowd in the hope of getting a leg up, and talked down to by the senior staff. All these affairs go the same way, and the sight of Alfie, in a suit, out of place, has only made them worse. Besides, he now has all the questions to answer, about their previous lives, how are they settling in together- and it feels like such an invasion of their privacy that he is strung tight by the end of the night.

He licks his lips, touches Alfie's shoulders, his waist, while they walk and wait. The chuckle makes him quirk a very tentative smile, but he looks at the elevator light instead of Alfie.

"I'll never make you to again," he says, strained.