A/N: Lol. This took a while. Soz, folks, but that's life sometimes. Uni thoroughly kicked my ass last semester, then Christmas, my birthday and New Year's rolled around, then I got the flu, then my mum had some pretty serious health issues that made me miss the first week of this semester, and since then I've just been trying to catch up. This is the first time I've had a break in literal months, so I thought I should take the opportunity to finally edit and upload the final chapter of this fic. Hope you'll enjoy, and please leave a review at the end!

London, April 18th, 1998

Robert was alone in the elevator this time, tugging at the sleeve of his suit, bought for the occasion. Sol hadn't seen it yet. Robert had kicked him out of their suite almost an hour ago and told him to amuse himself until it was time for their dinner reservation.

Their wives knew that they were in London, but they didn't know much else. They'd accepted the flimsy, job-related excuse without question; they didn't know that Robert and Sol were really here on vacation, nor that they were staying at The Ritz, and certainly not that they were sharing a room. No, Grace and Frankie were as much in the dark as they ever had been.

But tonight was not the time to think about them. Tonight was a special occasion, even though Sol didn't know it yet. Tonight, Robert was finally going to do it. Something he ought to have done a long time ago.

The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened. Robert stepped out into the grand entrance hall, looking around for Sol, and finally spotted him near the restaurant entrance, waiting for Robert to arrive.

'Sol!' Robert called, striding forward, ignoring the way his heart sped up. Sol met him with a broad smile and a kiss. There was something very liberating about being in another country, where there was absolutely no risk of being recognised. And if the maître d' was looking at them with a slight moue of distaste, well, what was it to them? They didn't have to answer to her.

Sol stepped back and gave Robert a once-over, his eyebrows rising towards his hairline. 'Is that suit new?'

'It is,' Robert said, trying hard not to smile and most likely failing miserably. He'd been hoping Sol would notice. 'I want tonight to be special.'

'Well, I feel underdressed now,' said Sol, the corners of his mouth twitching in an attempt to fight a smile of his own, as he looked down on his striped shirt and tie.

'Oh, nonsense. You look fantastic.'

'In that case, shall we?'

'We shall.'

Hands linked, they approached the maître d', who gave them a smile that only looked a little bit forced. 'Welcome to The Ritz Restaurant, gentlemen. What can I do for you?'

'We have a table for two booked. Robert Hanson.'

'Excellent.' She looked down, searching her book for a few moments, before looking up again with the same bright smile. 'Follow me, please.'

She led them to a fairly secluded table near the back of the restaurant and handed them each a menu as soon as they were seated. 'A waitress will be with you shortly. Please, enjoy your meal.'

'Thank you,' Robert said, echoed by Sol, before the maître d' returned to the front of the restaurant.

Robert opened his menu and smiled at Sol. He smiled back, soft brown eyes crinkling in the corners, looking about as besotted as Robert felt. London had been a good idea. This, tonight, was a good idea.

An hour later, Robert and Sol had finished the main course, and their waiter returned to ask if they wanted dessert. Robert scanned the menu and made up his mind in an instant. 'I'll have the chocolate soufflé.'

Grace would never have allowed it—she'd have alluded to his weight and then told the waiter that they didn't want dessert. But Sol just smiled, nodded, and said, 'That sounds wonderful, dear. I think I'll have one, too.'

That small exchange, that tiny gesture of acceptance and affection, finally gave Robert the courage to broach the subject he'd been trying to voice since they'd finished their entrees. The reason he'd brought Sol here.

'Sol,' he said, as soon as the waiter had left. 'There's something we need to talk about.'

'Okay,' Sol replied, leaning back a little, eyebrows at the ready to form a frown. Heart so hopelessly stuck on his sleeve—another thing that Robert loved about him.

'It's been almost five years since Los Angeles. We said that we would explore this, and, well, I think we have.'

'Oh.' Sol shrank into his seat a bit. 'And now I suppose you want us to stop?'

'No!' Robert exclaimed, earning himself a couple of curious glances from nearby diners. 'God, no. Sol, I …' Deep breath. 'I love you.'

'Oh, Robert,' Sol said, the worried crease between his brows disappearing and his eyes going softer than Robert had ever seen them before. 'I love you, too.'

Robert's heart felt as though it had just sprouted wings and was about to take off into the sky, but he needed to reign it in for a little longer. He had to make it through the rest of his speech. 'And this—what we're doing—it's not just exploring anymore. It's a relationship. One that I don't want to end. Sol … I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you. One day, if-if it becomes legal, I want to marry you. I don't love Grace—'

'Robert,' Sol began, but Robert held up a hand and he fell silent.

'I don't love Grace,' Robert continued, 'but I know you still love Frankie. I know you don't want to hurt her. I'm not asking you to decide right now, and I'm definitely not asking you to leave her right now. I'm not ready to leave Grace yet, either. Not until the girls are moved out and busy living their own lives and—well, when the time is right.'

Sol's eyes were brimming with tears, but for once, Robert couldn't tell if they were from happiness or sadness. After a few moments of silence, Sol took a deep breath. 'I … want all of that, so much, Robert. But Frankie will be heartbroken no matter when we do it. And the boys, they … they might hate me. I'm just not sure I could live with that. Not sure at all.'

Robert nodded, looking down at his lap. 'I know. The girls might hate me, too. And Grace … who knows? Perhaps she'd be hurt in her own way. I know that if we did this, we would upend the lives of everyone we love. I know. But I still had to ask, or I would never have forgiven myself.'

Just then, their waiter arrived with their soufflés, giving them an excuse to be silent for a little while. Any other time, Robert would have revelled in the sweet, rich texture of the chocolate soufflé coupled with the silky smoothness of the vanilla Chantilly cream, but now he barely tasted it. Where would they go from here? Where could they go from here?

'I'll do it.'

Robert's head snapped up. He'd misheard, surely. Sol hadn't just said … 'You'll do it?'

Sol nodded. 'I was thinking. About-about our options. If we don't do it, we could either, well, go on as we have. But that would mean lying to Frankie for the rest of my life, and I really don't think I could do that. Besides, if she would find out … it would be horrible. For all of us. And the only other option would be-would be to end this. And I couldn't do that. That's the only idea that hurts more than the idea of hurting Frankie and the boys. I love you so much, Robert. And I don't think I could be really happy without you.'

'So …'

'Let's do it. When the time is right. Even if that's ten years from now.'

Robert smiled, and oh, this was what it was supposed to feel like. How could he ever have confused his feelings for Grace with this? 'Well, then. When the time is right, let's—let's leave our wives!'

'And if we live to see it become legal … let's get married.'

Happy boys! Dw babies, you'll get there eventually.

And that wraps up this story! Thank you so much for reading, and a special thanks to the … three? … people who've left comments so far. Love you lots!

Hannoie