Ethan woke up the next morning in his own bedroom. He stayed in bed for just a little while, like he did almost everyday, as he just felt comfortable being isolated from the world in his own bed.

Life eventually caught up with Ethan as he was forced to pee. After sorting himself out, Ethan was just in his underwear as he went downstairs to brew some coffee.

Ethan had a heart attack when he forgot Thomas slept over last night. "Holy shit you scared me!"

Thomas chuckled as he watched the startled Ethan clutch his bare chest. "Good morning to you too."

"What's this?" Ethan asked as he gestured to the food in front of him.

"When I woke up and got dressed, I wanted to make you breakfast for letting me stay over last night." Thomas then opened Ethan's refrigerator in a dramatic style, "But there's nothing in here, except alcohol and microwave meals."

Ethan shrugged his shoulders as he took a seat in front of Thomas. "I'm not going to stock up on food when I mostly order in anyway."

"I'm not judging," Thomas laughed. "I just went out and bought a few pastries. That and with some freshly squeezed juice from some questionable fruit, breakfast is served."

Ethan was given a nicely presented plate of fresh pastries and juice. The space around him was immaculate, and Thomas even went through the effort of adding fresh lilies into a crystal vase.

"Those flowers are just going to die when I forget to water them." Ethan snickered.

Thomas put a cup of coffee down besides Ethan's plate as he warned him, "If they die then I'm personally holding you accountable."

"Of course I would be, they're in my house you idiot." Ethan joked as he sipped the delicious coffee Thomas brewed.

Thomas checked the watch on his wrist, and knew he had to get going fairly soon. He dumped the rest of his own coffee in the sink as he rinsed the cup out.

"What are you doing?" Ethan asked as he started buttering up his croissant.

"Getting your breakfast took a little longer than I expected. So I need to rush back to the apartment and get my bags."

After taking a quick bite, Ethan put his food back down onto the plate as he wiped his hands on his legs. "Let me get dressed and I'll take you to the airport."

Thomas didn't want to take up Ethan's morning as he was perfectly happy to take an Uber to the airport. "It's Sunday morning. I'm sure there are better things you would prefer to be doing."

"Do we have enough time so that I can take a quick shower?" Ethan asked regardless.

Thomas saw that Ethan was waiting for an answer whilst looking unnerved. He took it as a sign that Ethan wasn't going to back down, and was insisting to offer the bodyguard a lift to the airport.

"Sure. Go ahead." Thomas wasn't going to decline Ethan's selfless and generous offer.

Ethan smiled as he nodded his head. "Then I'll be right back. Pour yourself another coffee or something, but don't touch my food!"

Thomas chuckled as Ethan did a u-turn, so that he could shove the croissant messily into his mouth before rushing upstairs.

'I'm really going to miss this idiot.'

~~~~~~~~~~

Ethan received a phone call from Kristen whilst in the car, as he was on his way to the airport with Thomas in the passenger seat.

Accepting the call using the car's Bluetooth, Ethan put his sister on speaker as she could now be heard through the car.

"Ethan? Where are you jerk face?" Kristen asked very loudly.

"Love you too Kristen," Ethan replied dryly. "I'm w-"

Kristen spoke over her brother as she was rushing to speak to her brother. "The two of us were meant to be having brunch with Mom, and she brought one of your 'special friends' to keep you company."

Thomas didn't want to interrupt the conversation, so he mouthed a question to Ethan instead. "Special friend?"

Ethan rolled his eyes as he spoke to Kristen. "Tell Mom I forgot about brunch, and I needed to cancel this embarrassing blind date anyway. I've got something more important going on."

"So you're cancelling last minute?" Kristen reiterated. "What's so important that I'm stuck with watching Mom fall in love with Miss PhD over an eggs Benedict?"

Thomas felt like saving Ethan one last time from an earful, as he directly spoke to Kristen. "Ethan's doing me a favour and is driving me to the airport."

"That's... strangely nice of him." Kristen retorted as she recalled Ethan wouldn't ever let her use his Netflix account.

"I can be nice!" Ethan pouted.

Thomas' tone of vice reflected a smile as he witnessed the siblings bicker, "It's my fault. But I'm sure Ethan would love to reschedule, right?"

Ethan nodded his head as he did want to take the opportunity to try and take care of his personal life more. "I'll iron out the plans on a later date, but for now I need to hang up."

Kristen hummed in understanding as she let them both go. "It was really nice meeting you Thomas. Thanks for all your help."

"It was lovely meeting your family." Thomas answered back as he then heard the phone disconnect.

Thomas turned to Ethan and reassured him that he was doing the right thing by rescheduling, by allowing himself another chance at meeting new people. "Even the tiniest steps helps you finish the marathon..."

"Alright Gandhi. A blind date isn't going to change my life that quickly."

~~~~~~~~~~

They made it to the airport with only a short amount of time left to spare. Thomas was carrying his bags with him as Ethan followed the bodyguard shortly behind.

They continued to walk together until they got to a point where only people with a boarding pass were allowed through - and this meant that the both of them were going to be separated now.

"So..."

Ethan exhaled slowly as he knew that time was up. "Yep."

Thomas smiled softly as he stretched his hand out to shake Ethan's hand. "It was great meeting you, Ethan Shelton."

Ethan looked back at Thomas really confused because of how strangely formal he was acting. He wearily shook Thomas hand as he said, "Sure thing, Queen of England."

They both heard the overhead speaker talking about how Thomas' plane was now boarding. Passengers began to queue up as they handed over their boarding pass to check in.

"That's me I guess." Thomas forced out as he was filling in the silence between them. "I should probably get going."

Ethan nodded his head as he started to feel even more sad that the bodyguard was leaving. "Maybe I'll need your help again sometime?"

Thomas chuckled as he pointed out the likely scenario if Ethan ever needed his help. "If we were to meet again, then that'll mean you're in danger, and will need rescuing again."

"True..."

"So technically I think it's best if we don't meet again in those circumstances." Thomas logically pointed out.

Both of them lived in different parts of the world. Both of them were living a completely different lifestyle from each other. And both of them were busy with living their own lives.

Ethan swallowed uncomfortably as he felt that this was probably their goodbye.

Thomas was taken back by surprise when Ethan rushed forward and hugged him. He was confused because this was the first time Ethan had hugged him like this - and it was strangely comforting.

Ethan had to get it off his chest as he wrapped his arms around Thomas' broad shoulders. The hug was silently returned as Ethan was wrapped in the bodyguard's warm embrace.

"You were a really good friend to me despite being stuck together," Ethan whispered into Thomas' shoulder. "And I think I really needed one too."

Thomas remained silent because a part of him thought that Ethan needed this outlet a lot more than either them could have imagined.

"Thank you for helping me admit my problems that I kept buried. Thank you for always having my back, even when I was a jerk to you. Just... thank you for everything you've did."

Thomas chuckled as he eventually pulled away from the COO. "Easy there Ethan, now you're making me think you actually like me."

A cheeky smile returned on Ethan's face as he looked back at Thomas. "What can I say... You just wore me out."

One last time, Thomas punched Ethan in the arm as Ethan accepted the joshing around. Thomas' plane was also being called again for all the passengers to board the plane.

"Now I really have to go," Thomas chuckled. "Goodbye Ethan."

Ethan understood as he let Thomas leave. "Goodbye Thomas."

Thomas carried his bags as he handed his boarding pass to the man behind the stand. He turned to look behind his shoulder and waved at Ethan once more. "I actually kind of liked it when you called me Tommy."

A cheeky smile naturally came from Ethan as he tilted his head slightly. "Sure thing Thomas." Ethan then suddenly paused as he had a slight realisation, "Wait, was that reverse psychology?"

Ethan saw one last grin from Thomas before he eventually boarded his plane. "Now you'll never know."

The door closed behind Thomas as he was the last passenger to board the plane. Ethan's heart felt like it couldn't rest until he saw Thomas' plane safely fly away.

Ethan knew that he didn't like idea of not seeing Thomas everyday anymore. Ethan didn't like that this was the last time he was ever going to see the bodyguard. And Ethan was going to miss the constant company of the man who suddenly showed up in his world - becoming a ripple that rejuvenated his life.

Ethan was feeling vastly empty as he stood alone at the airport. This feeling was scaring him more than any attack he was a victim to.

The COO was collectively thinking about all of these strange feelings that had been surfacing lately - this eventually led to unusual and complex awakenings that were slowly assembling inside Ethan's head.

'Huh...'

==========

Author's Note: This slow burner may feel super long, but now the relationship can officially develop further.