Clive raced out of the building, wracking his brain to think of where Flora might have gone. She couldn't have gotten very far; so he'd have to check areas you could get to within five minutes. Flora was a creature of routine, he knew, so she'd go to a place she felt comfortable.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks as he realized. "Oh, stupid, stupid. Of course she'd be there," he muttered, looking around to find the quickest route.

Even though it had been months since he'd last been there, the little shop was quite easy to find. Sure enough, he could see her sitting at a table, absent-mindedly tracing her finger around the rim of her cup. She looked up and smiled weakly as a lanky man sat down next to her, placing his hand on hers comfortingly. Clive nearly stormed into the shop right then, but quickly reasoned with himself. It wouldn't help his case much if he made an arse of himself, so he opted to hang back in the shadows and observe before acting (he also needed to catch his breath, but that was beside the point).

Soon, a woman joined the table and made the man scoot over so she could sit by Flora. Clive moved closer so he could hear their conversation; while he wanted to make up with Flora, he could not have her compromising him or his company.

"…poor baby!" Jenny said as she rubbed Flora's shoulders. Flora, who had been sitting in a near daze only caught the last part of her friend's sentence.

"I'm fine, Jenny. Just tired, that's all," Flora said unconvincingly. She looked around, then asked, "Where'd Molly and Arthur go?"

Rupert spoke up, "Cooking up enough comfort food to feed an army and, most likely, plotting to murder whoever did this."

At this, Flora blushed but looked a bit pleased at having so many people who cared here. She knew it wasn't very fair of her to show up unannounced after months, nearly bawling, but she had good friends who accepted her without question, even if she wouldn't explain what had happened.

"Well, I'm so happy for you two!" Flora said, successfully changing the subject.

Jenny beamed and Rupert blushed. "I think we owe you a big thanks for that," he said.

"Oh no, Rupert, if you got Jenny Marrigan to agree to marriage, then you can do anything, really."

Jenny scoffed and hit Flora playfully, but she smiled softly at Rupert. "Really, though, Flora. I'm as happy as I've ever been, I think."

Flora felt a genuine smile flit across her features. Jenny continued, "And Flora, you have to be my maid of honor, okay?"

Rupert nodded his agreement. "You're our best friend."

Any jealousy ("What jealousy?" Clive would say) Clive might have felt dissipated when he saw the woman and the man interact. Even before he heard any of their conversation, he could tell just how sickeningly in love those two were. Just the way they were sitting; inclined towards each other; gave it away, but their whole body language screamed it.

He wanted to scoff at them. Love. It was a good thing he didn't have room in his black little heart for that pointless emotion.

Then why are you here?

Because I need to get Flora, he answered, not even bothering to ponder where the question had come from in the first place. Even Clive himself did not want to delve too deep into his mind.

If you don't love her, why bother?

Sex, he thought immediately, but knew that wasn't it. Well, not entirely.

Ah. You know that's not true.

Clive chose not to respond.

Alright, the voice continued, let's compare the two of you, shall we? She's a young girl with her whole life ahead of her, a pure, kind, soul. You are a junkie-turned-alcoholic who has murdered men just to save face.

And if I don't love her, I shouldn't bother dragging her down with me, Clive finished. The voice was good, he thought appreciatively. Well, most likely because it was his subconscious or whatever, but in any case.

Exactly. So, do you love her?

They were discussing wedding plans now, and Clive's jealousy returned. Because she had an entire life; friends, a job; that he didn't know about, and that killed him. He wanted to know everything, be apart of everything in her life.

He opened the door to the café.

As he entered, the bell jingling cheerily, Flora looked up. What color had returned drained from her face, and she gasped with shock. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes; they'd known each other for nearly ten months now, and his presence still evoked the same response from her.

"Really, love, did this come as such a surprise to you? And you said I'm the shallow one!" he said smoothly, strolling over to her table. Her friends looked over their shoulders simultaneously at the sound of his voice, confusion etched on their faces.

The girl – Jenny – he corrected, quickly turned to look back at Flora, who hadn't moved an inch. Seeing her friend's expression, she said, "Flora, do you know him?"

He stopped when he reached Flora's side of the table, hand stuck in his pocket. He cocked his head. "I thought we might go for a walk."

"I'd rather not," she said, not unkindly.

His head straightened along with his whole body, so he was looking down at her. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist. You and I need to have a little chat."

Jenny has always been the one to stand up for Flora, who had often been too timid and shy to do it herself, and her jaw twitched with annoyance at the man's arrogant attitude. He was acting as if he owned Flora!

"Hey!" she called out. "Leave her alone!" But she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Flora shaking her head slightly.

"It's fine," she said softly. "I should probably go with him, anyways."

After gathering her things and shooting her friends a weak smile, she followed Clive out the door. Jenny scowled when she saw the smug smirk on the man's face, and if Flora saw it she had chosen to ignore it. Or, she was just used to it.

But as the two left, and both Molly and Arthur had wandered out to the front of the store, Rupert voiced the question they all were wondering.

"Who the hell is he?"

They walked in silence for nearly five blocks, until Clive cleared his throat.

"I… I'm sorry," he said finally.

Flora nodded, a small smile on her face. She knew how hard it must have been for Clive to stoop so low as to actually apologize to someone, and she appreciated it.

"I know," she replied.

They continued to walk, until they reached the street corner, illuminated by the single lamp post. Over the past few months, a strange knotting and twisting feeling had been building up in Clive, as he and Flora grew closer. And now, it had come again even more until he felt so weighed down, as if lead had been placed in his chest. He rounded on Flora, who looked up in surprise at his change in demeanor.

He stepped forward to grab her arms, and she instinctively stepped back, but was stopped when her back met the hard surface of the brick building. She looked up at him with wide eyes, her body rigid in his grasp.

"I–I need you, Flora, goddamn, I need you," he said. He spoke as if he were voicing his own thoughts, half to himself instead of to her.

"Clive…" she managed to say, having been completely shocked at his words.

"I've never been with someone like you, never cared about someone like you before." One hand ran through his light hair, and his other tightened around the arm he was still holding.

"What are you saying?" she asked in bewilderment.

He shot her an annoyed look. "Isn't it obvious? I want there to be an us!" he all but shouted. "I want you to be mine and I want you to just stay with me, as you have, and I want–"

He was cut off as she closed the gap between them, pressing a soft kiss against his lips. She pulled back after an instant, carefully looking at him. Clive nearly growled, and captured her lips again, crashing them together in a fierce kiss. Her arms wound around his neck, pulling herself closer. His hands slid down from her arms to the curve of her waist, one hand snaking around to hold her closer and the other resting firmly on her hip.

A breathy moan escaped her, she could feel him smirk against her lips. He pulled away reluctantly, but still held her to him. Then, he stooped down again and kissed her very gently, then straightened. Flora knew it was a silent question, and she looked up at him fondly.

"Wasn't my answer obvious?" she asked teasingly.

"I think I may need another demonstration," Clive said with his trademark smirk before his lips found hers again.

A/N: Yay! I liked this chapter a lot more than the last one.

I have some big thank yous for: AltavaAngel (I'm so glad you like it! Your review really made me smile!), Seventh Sunset (That's exactly what I was going for with their banter; I'm glad you found it that way!), Alice-pyon (You are such a sweetheart! Thanks!), bookworm52 (Amen, sister! I've had it with plotless copy-catters {excuse my childish terminology}), EmiikaChuu (Mwahaha yes! I've converted another! Ah– I mean, thank you so much!), forgetmenotflowers, ItalianPrincess92 (That is such a kind thing to say! Thank you!), Boot-chan, Ethera, dreamingleaf7, and Kenzie-Onee-Chan for being truly amazing people.

Expect the next chapter in a week! :)

*Also, I was thinking I might start a series of drabbles for these two, whenever I get an idea. Would you guys be interested in something like that?