Someone was pounding on the door.

Lance quickly put down the book and reached for a mini version of the Binder Bubble. He walked through the apartment so that he was always covered letting the music play. It masked his footsteps.

"Lance, it's me, open!"

It could have been a trap. Still covered, he got to the door. Standing with his back to the wall he reached for the doorknob. Jerked the door open and aimed the bubble gun directly at...

Walter.

Lovey flew inside deeper into the apartment.

"Lance! I did it!" He threw up his hands in the air.

He exhaled and lowered the bubble gun. "Hello, Walter." He stepped aside. "Do you want to come in?"

Walter almost ran inside. "I got it, I figured it out!"

Lance looked at him. He hadn't seen him in a long time. Walter's been avoiding him. He didn't come over for months. Still looking for the right formula. And now he was standing here. Rumpled and with big bags under his eyes.

"When was the last time you slept?" Lance asked him.

"Not important. I have it. Look!" He pulled a small bottle of yellow liquid from his pocket. "You drink it and won't love me anymore!"

He froze. "I see." He walked into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. He drank slowly.

Walter followed him, but he kept his distance, as he always did since the accident. "Lance? Say something."

He put down his glass and leaned against the counter. "If I drink it, I won't love you anymore?"

A confident nod.

"I won't like you at all?"

"It's not... you should still like me... as a friend."

He closed his eyes. He'll try one last time. Just like he's tried several times in the last few months.

Walter always explained to him that Lance doesn't actually feel what he feels and how so. Then he left as quickly as possible and avoided Lance for a few days. Or, he was as friendly as possible, but with a clear distance and boundaries. And he always took it as proof that the potion effects didn't fade as they should.

It was a paradox that saying it out loud was easier and easier. "Walter, I really love you. And I've loved you before too."

"I know you think so, but it's just your frontal lobe that affects both short-term and long-term memory. You think it's real but it is not. It's just chemicals that affect the receptors in your brain."

He nodded. As always. "What if I stop liking you completely. What if I start acting like that jerk from before. What if I go back to guns, grenades, what if wouldn't want to be on the Team Weird anymore?"

Walter shook his head. "Not gonna happen. I tested it."

He looked into his eyes. "Is the idea that I love you really that terrible?"

"Not at all! But it's not right. I made you. It's not real. You do not love me. If I didn't do anything and then it faded, you would hate me. I can't influence people to fall in love with me and abuse them!"

He drank his water again. A new song started playing. He cursed in his thoughts when he recognized the melody. I'll Be Loving You by New Kids On The Block. His dad called it a baby-maker. He couldn't bring himself to delete it from his playlist. He still liked it.

He managed to turn it off just before the chorus started.

I'll love you forever. As long as you want.

Silence echoed through his apartment. Snow was falling outside the windows.

Lance gave up. "If you really want it, fine. I'll do it."

"Really?" Walter smiled, and at that moment, Lance hated the relief in his voice.

"Yeah. Really. I have only one thing I'd like to ask you."

"What is it? Whatever you need."

"Go out with me. Only once. If I stop loving you at all and maybe start hating you, at least we'll have something like a farewell. Please."

Walter pursed his lips and looked down.

"Walter?"

He looked at Lance. He smiled, but Lance saw how forced it was. Walter was... sad.

"Yeah, I'll go. But you're going to drink it after. Promise?"

"I promise."