Ford's lower lip quivered. "We're being careful," he protested, but weakly. He'd thought they were being careful, because that was the point of all the rules they'd laid out before they'd started seeing each other again. No surprise overnight visits, no contact in public places, nothing happening at Macnair's primary residence with his wife. All of these precautions were supposed to keep them safe, because Ford knew the impact to his reputation if they were found out would be dire. He knew the Greengrass family couldn't survive it. He knew what he was doing was dangerous, but he'd thought he'd taken enough steps to ensure his safety — but if Cash had figured it out then clearly he was wrong. Cash had more opportunity than most people did, since he had connections to both of them, but if Cash could figure it out then someone else could, too.

Ford felt defeated. This was worse than how he'd been feeling about everything so far, because if he wasn't being careful enough then it didn't even matter about the baby — they'd have to call things off anyway. Worse, it would likely prevent him from having relationships in the future, too, at least as long as he still had family members attached to him whose reputation he had to give great care to. This wasn't fair (again, as though fairness mattered at all in these things). Ford wasn't ever going to be able to get married — he couldn't afford it, not in a million years — so that meant he was just... alone. Forever.

He lacked the energy to keep standing or to cross the room to one of the chairs, so instead sat right where he was on the floor, with his back against the table leg. He rested his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. "We meant to be careful," he amended quietly.

---

Everybody always meant to be careful.

Cash took a few steps closer, and sat down next to Ford on the floor. He put one arm around the other man’s shoulders. He didn’t know what to say, because he felt like a cautionary tale come to life, but maybe this was enough.

---

Ford wasn't crying, but he felt as though he could have been. He sniffled as Cash put his arms around him. This felt like a departure from their typical dynamic, but it was what Ford needed — he didn't have the presence of mind to be the stronger one at the moment. He shuffled on the floor slightly so that he could better fit under Cash's arm and leaned his head against the other man's chest. He took a deep breath and tried, without much success, to quell the rising tide of loneliness inside him.

"It's not fair," he said, although he knew that didn't matter.

---

Fairness wasn’t really the point, but Cash knew that Ford knew that. ”I know,” he said. It wasn’t fair that people like them had to live like this, but Cash didn’t expect it to change anytime soon.

---