One late night and Thomas suddenly woke up in his bed alone. After not seeing Ethan within his vicinity, Thomas slowly got out of the bed to find him.

After calling his name, Thomas walked towards the other voice and found Ethan hiding in the kitchen. "What are you doing?"

Ethan turned back to face Thomas with a tub of ice cream in one hand, and a used spoon in the other. "Stress eating."

Thomas placed a kiss on the top of Ethan's head as he then moved past him to sit down together. "Doesn't ice cream give you nightmares when you eat if before sleeping?"

Ethan shrugged his shoulders as he then placed a large spoonful of cookie dough ice cream into his mouth. Ethan continued to stare at the delicious treat in front of him as he continued to indulge in the ice cream.

Thomas was tempted by the frozen treat as he wanted some too. "Give me a spoon."

Ethan nodded his head as he then gave Thomas a spoonful himself. Ethan was in the middle of feeding himself when he heard Thomas suddenly laughing.

"I meant from the drawer..." Thomas said as he gestured towards it.

Ethan hid the blush on his face by moving about to get Thomas his own spoon from the drawers. He avoid looking into Thomas' amused eyes as he then pushed the tub of ice cream between them.

"So what are you stressed about?" Thomas asked after eating a spoonful of ice cream.

Ethan was honest when he told Thomas, "I'm stressed about what's going to happen next."

Thomas then realised that he had never asked Ethan how long he was staying. "You haven't been home in 4 days."

Ethan nodded his head as he then shared, "Harrison told me that Lewis has been stepping up to what I should be doing. It's like my job was originally meant to be his to begin with."

"How do you feel about that?" Thomas asked.

Ethan didn't know how to feel as he felt like he's been made practically redundant. Although his job was a very important aspect in his life, Ethan didn't have any strong bonds to it as he had barely thought about work in the last couple of days.

Ethan was having a small crisis about his life, as he thought about how his world was failing at balancing itself between work, his home life, and Thomas. Those important things in Ethan's life were on different routes, and Ethan was back at the starting point that broke him and Thomas up. 

"Work has been doing fine without me since I told them that I was staying here longer. I didn't want to leave you when you had everything with your dad going on, and then I didn't want to leave you after it settled down either."

Thomas couldn't thank Ethan enough for everything he did to support him over the last couple of days. Thomas knew he had broken down after seeing his dad in hospital, and Thomas knew that he could only compose himself because of Ethan and everything he did to help him.

Thomas took a deep and calming breath as he then shared something nobody else knew about. "I never told anyone this, but before you came here, I was offered a job in New Zealand."

"Oh?" Ethan looked back into Thomas' eyes as he waited for the bodyguard to continue.

"Back then I thought it would have been best to move and hide my feelings away from you, so that you couldn't suddenly fly to my home or something like that." Thomas chuckled.

"Sorry." Ethan laughed along with Thomas.

Thomas continued where he was going with this conversation as he added, "I ended up rejecting the job offer once my dad ended up in hospital. And then after he woke up, I decided that I wasn't ever going to leave his side."

Ethan was listening intently to what Thomas was telling him. But after learning that Thomas gave Xavier the job instead, Ethan was still unsure why Thomas was sharing this with him.

"This job in New Zealand offered me a better title than just a managing director. There was an actual house that I would have moved into, significantly more money, and even a personal assistant."

"Can I take the job instead?" Ethan joked.

Thomas chuckled as he then summed up the main reason he declined the job offer. "I chose my dad over all of those things. I wanted to be near my dad because I was so terrified of losing him, so all of that other stuff wasn't even an option afterwards."

Ethan began to understand how Thomas was pointing out that he couldn't have it all anymore. He couldn't have the career that gave Ethan this sense of accomplishment, as well as the lifestyle that gave him this cosy life, as well as Thomas that made him feel loved and cherished.

Ethan was going through this next milestone in his life, and Ethan knew that he couldn't cling onto the past life anymore.

~~~~~~~~~

Ethan was back home 2 days later as he stood outside the Shelton Manor for dinner. Ethan entered the mansion alone as he tried searching for his family - eventually finding them in one of the living rooms.

Javier was surprised to see his son after it had been so long since they stood face to face with each other. "Ethan!"

Ethan intimately hugged Javier back as Giles' hospital visit made Ethan appreciate all of his loved ones even more. "Hey Dad."

Ethan then greeted everyone else in the room as one by one he hugged his family. "Sorry I was gone for a while."

"We understand," Javier assured Ethan. "How is Giles and Thomas anyway?"

Ethan was nodding his head as he was happy to share the good news. "They're both great. Giles was released from hospital yesterday, and Thomas is probably with him right now."

Kristen briefly took Ethan aside so that she could talk to her brother privately. She gave Ethan a knowing look as she then gently asked, "Did you sort out everything you needed with Thomas."

Ethan was confident as he showed her a small smile. Ethan had come to terms with how his life was changing, and Ethan had decided that he wasn't going to back out from what he felt like he needed.

Ethan gathered everyone back into the living room as he then gestured for everyone to sit down. Ethan was nervous because he had to break the news to his family, but it was something Ethan wanted and needed to do.

"I quit."

~~~~~~~~~~

"You quit?" Javier was repeating what Ethan had said because he wasn't sure he heard correctly. "You quit what?"

"It's actually more like stepping down," Ethan awkwardly laughed. "But it's not as dramatic and fun if I don't say quit."

"Where's all this coming from?" Camilla asked.

Ethan had decided the other night that he was finally choosing love over everything else. After spending years on focussing on everything he thought he needed, Ethan was finally able to see that the empty void inside of him could only be filled with the love he yearned for.

"I'm in love with Thomas," Ethan announced to his family proudly. "We both want to be together, and that can't happen if we still live five thousand miles apart."

"Plus long distance relationships suck." Harrison added.

Ethan agreed as a long distance relationship was ruled out of the equation. After attempting a long distance relationship, Ethan and Thomas both knew that it would be too difficult to continue their relationship like that.

"Everything we've been through in our relationship, everything that happened during the breakup, and everything that happened last week... All of it made it clear to me that I love Thomas too much to be without him."

Everybody in the room was slowly taking in all of the news and sudden information. It was a lot to learn as they all heard Ethan passionately declare his love for Thomas.

"So what are you going to do next?" Kristen asked.

Ethan was nervously rubbing his hands together as he was going to take a very big step in regards to his relationship with Thomas. "I'm going to move in with Thomas for a 1 month trial."

Ethan overcame the complete silence in the room as he continued elaborating, "Even though we both know we love each other, we just want to see how things go out between us. Thomas can't leave Giles whilst he is still recovering from his heart attack, so I'm going to Thomas instead."

Javier was in a state of shock as he was trying to process how his son was moving away from him. Even though one month may not seem like a long time, it felt like a lot to Javier.

Camilla became emotional at the prospect of her entire family not being physically close anymore. "And you're sure that this is the right decision? Leaving your comfortable and routine life behind?"

Ethan was terrified at the idea of losing everything he had, but he needed to do this for himself. "My whole life has been built around the silver spoon in my mouth. I had all sorts of advantages in my life because of our name and money, so I never really knew what I earned or deserved."

Ethan then thought about how Thomas made him feel. His mood was instantly lifted as he bathed in the warm glow that was Thomas' love and affection.

"I know Thomas loves me in spite of all of that. Thomas is someone that I can see a happy and fulfilling future with, and I need to invest my time in our relationship so that we can work on it together."

The room was silent again as Ethan announced his potential life changing move. Ethan was scared that all of this was too sudden for their relationship, especially since they've only known each other for less than five months, but Ethan believed in his future with Thomas.

Kristen began to tear up as she hugged her brother. "I'm going to miss you."

Harrison was rubbing his wife's back as he smiled at Ethan. "Good luck to the both of you."

Ethan thanked them both as he then turned to see his parent's reaction. Ethan wasn't going to change his mind about moving in with Thomas, even if they resented his decision, but Ethan hoped that they didn't hate him for seemingly abandoning his family so suddenly.

Camilla finally stood up from her seat as everyone watched her next movement. A few seconds later and Camilla burst into tears, rushing forward to hug and kiss her son goodbye.

"If this is something you need to do sweetheart, then make sure you grab it with both hands." Camilla whispered tearfully.

Ethan nodded his head as he then rested it on her shoulder. "I love him, Mom. I know this isn't what you thought and planned out for me, but Thomas is who I want and need to be with."

Camilla moved away from Ethan so that she could hold his face gently. She smiled sweetly at Ethan as she nodded her head in agreement. "Your happiness is all I ever wanted, Ethan. So whatever or whoever makes you happy, then I'm happy too."

Ethan was feeling overwhelmed as he was receiving Camilla's acceptance and support. Ethan knew that this was going to take a while for his mom to adjust to, so Ethan was just glad that she was seemingly already along the way.

Ethan rubbed his eyes dry as he then stood in front of Javier. Ethan knelt down on the floor as he then began to talk to the man who was always his closest friend and confidant.

"Please say something." Ethan whispered gently.

Javier calmed down his breathing as he then soon felt relaxed. But Javier got all emotional again as he looked back at the tearful green eyes. Behind those eyes was the son that Javier has deeply loved for over the last 26 years, and Javier couldn't control himself any longer.

Javier pulled his son into a warm and loving embrace. He didn't want to see Ethan leave him, but Javier knew that Ethan was destined to go down his own path.

"Ethan, you know I love so much." Javier whispered, "And I support you no matter what decision you end up making. Go be happy with Thomas."

Ethan's tears finally came pouring out as he had his family by his side in this important moment. Ethan was feeling brave as he heard his family overwhelmingly support his life changing decision. After spending 26 years with them, Ethan knew that he was going to miss all of them so much.

"Maybe you guys will be lucky and we break up." Ethan joked. "Then I would have to come back."

Javier wholeheartedly laughed as he then smacked his son on the head. "Don't talk like that! You need to make sure you have a proper go at this relationship."

Ethan knew that he was going to make the most out of all the time he was going to spend with Thomas. As long as there was love between them, it was all Ethan needed as he felt like everything truly was going to be perfect with Thomas.

~~~~~~~~~~

Back in his own home, Ethan was ready for bed as he then got his laptop out. Seeing the time on his screen, Ethan already began to smile as he called Thomas.

The video call eventually connected and Ethan was soon reunited with Thomas. "Hi Tommy."

Thomas was trying to be quiet so that he wouldn't wake up his dad in the other room. His smile was bright as he talked to the other man on the screen. "Hey Ethan. How was your day?"

Ethan came straight out with it as he told Thomas about the family dinner. "I told them all about me moving away in 3 days time."

Thomas admired Ethan for being the brave one to take this next step for them. "How did they react?"

Ethan smiled along as he nodded his head assuringly. "They're all fully supportive of me moving away from them to live with my boyfriend."

Thomas felt like he could finally breathe as he was relieved that there were no hiccups for Ethan. As much as he knew how dedicated Ethan was to moving in with him, Thomas knew that Ethan placed his family's support on a higher level than he would initially claim.

Ethan felt like a weight was no longer pressed down onto his chest as he finally felt free in the world. There were no more obstacles in his life as Ethan was truly happy to see and be with Thomas.

"Now that I have officially stepped down from my position at Shelton, you think you can live with someone that's only a sales representative in the foreign market?" Ethan teased.

Thomas had a soft and loving expression on his face as he simply nodded his head. "I would love nothing more."

"I'll see you in 2 days, alright?" Ethan reminded him. "You have to help me pack some of my things."

Thomas happily nodded his head as he then heard his dad calling for him. Thomas had to end the video call because he intended to check on Giles.

"I need to go now, so I'll see you in 2 days." Thomas said confidently. "Love you."

Ethan blushed slightly as he then said it back. "Love you too."

The video call quickly ended as Ethan then closed his laptop shut. Ethan felt calm and peaceful knowing that everything was truly going their way, because they were going to be physically close to each other soon.

There was an unanimous feeling of certainty in their relationship as the video call ended on a high note, compared to those other times where they were unsure of how things were going to go between them.

It felt surreal knowing that this may be the last time they needed to speak over a screen like this, because they were soon going to be living together - where they could see each other every day. And the both of them were excited to spend the rest of their lives living with this feeling and certainty.

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