20 December, 1892 — Ty's House, Wellingtonshire

Ford's general level of paranoia had not decreased since his conversation with Noble on the second, but it had shifted focus. When he'd finally freed himself of the conversation and made it to his bedroom he'd written Tycho straight away to tell him he wouldn't be coming back that night, or for the foreseeable future, and if Ty needed to write him he should do so care of the Ministry. That, he was sure, would have painted a picture for his lover of the stakes as he perceived them. Maybe routing his mail through work was an unnecessary precaution, but Ford wasn't keen on Noble knowing he was currently seeing somebody. He certainly didn't want him knowing who. Anything he could do to remove the clues before Noble pieced any together, Ford was more than willing to do. He just had to hope that Ty trusted him, and that his inclusion of I love you, I love you, I love you in the letter would have gone some way towards soothing any immediate doubts.

As the month dragged on, though, Ford became increasingly aware of how long it had been since he'd spent time with Tycho. Nearly three weeks. They hadn't gone this long without at least a shared dinner since they'd become friends in the first place, unless one counted the month Tycho had spent as a lion earlier that year. Ford began to worry less about Noble being wary of him and more about Tycho losing patience with him. By the time they finally set a date, Ford had nearly convinced himself (based on very little, if any, real evidence) that Ty was mad at him and that he'd spend the entire evening desperately trying to make amends.

"Knock knock," he called into the house at large as he came in the front door. He had fallen out of the habit of actually knocking at Tycho's door when he visited, though he didn't know when he'd stopped. "Ty?"

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Set by Lady!

Tycho had not really been sure what to think when he had gotten Fords missive. Had something happened at the Greengrass home? He didn't feel comfortable inquiring through care of the Ministry. So he had kept his letters purposely clear of his usual romantic flair. He did not want Ford to come under fire at work because of him. He was worried as the weeks went on. It had been a long while but at least the flower arrangement he had gotten for Ford was keeping thanks to the enchantments Tycho had put on them.

He had been cleaning his collection of crystal balls when he heard Fords voice. Going downstairs, he made a show of dramatically gasping. "My dear lovely Ford, I had almost forgotten what you looked like," he teased. "Then again, it is almost because you were quite the star in my dreams." He left it up to Ford how to interpret how dirty he meant that to be.

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   Fortitude Greengrass

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Can we dance like we're all alone
Stop the time and make it still
Hold you like I always will

It was clear from his tone that Tycho was teasing him, but primed as he was to expect Ty to be angry, Ford couldn't help but hear it as an accusation. His stomach roiled with guilt. Ford lost no time in closing the distance between them, loosening his winter layers as he went.

"I know. I'm sorry," he said. He wanted to curl into Tycho, but he was still wearing his heavy coat and scarf, which wouldn't have made the situation very sustainable. He might even get Ty snowy if he tried; there had been flecks in the air as he walked over, though none of it had started to stick yet. So he didn't embrace Tycho, but he did reach up to lay his hand again the side of Ty's face and met his eyes with a long, earnest look.

"I missed you," he said before reluctantly taking his hand away so that he could unto the scarf from around his neck. "I've been — dealing with a lot."

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Set by Lady!

Tycho smiled as his lover closed the distance between them. He was very curious to know what had happened. He leaned into the other mans touch as Ford lay his hand against the side of his face. Whatever had happened, Tycho could sense it was still weighing on Ford heavily.

"I missed you, too. When you're ready to talk about what you've been dealing with I am all ears," Tycho said as Ford took off his scarf. He began helping peel away the layers. "I have a surprise for you, too."

  

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Can we dance like we're all alone
Stop the time and make it still
Hold you like I always will

Ford did want to tell Tycho everything that had happened, not because he was keen to relive it but rather because he felt he owed Ty an explanation for his behavior this month. That said, it was difficult to focus on how he wanted to explain when Ty had started helping him undress. It was all innocent at this point, removing his coat and gloves and hat while still leaving him fully dressed below, but even so there was a spark that hit him every time Tycho touched him. They could head upstairs (or not, if they proved too impatient even for stairs) and talk about this later, couldn't they? It wasn't going to get any worse in the next twenty minutes, and Ford desperately wanted to be touched.

"Yeah, it's — I'll tell you," he said with a nod. Probably best to do that first, because he didn't want Ty to think he was hiding anything, or to build it up as something worse than it was. It was bad, obviously, but not for Tycho; his name was out of it, at least so far. Still, as soon as Ford had his winter layers removed he couldn't help more or less throwing himself into Ty's arms. "It's nothing to do with you. You're out of it, and I'm going to keep it that way. That's why — what's the surprise?" What Ty said had taken a minute to catch up to him, but once it did he was immediately curious.

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Set by Lady!

Tycho was glad that Ford was planning to tell him. He caught Ford in his arms as the other man basically threw himself into them. Tycho offered as much comfort as he could by rubbing the others back. He followed along as Ford said it was something that had nothing to do with him and that he was out of it. He had to wonder if Ford would elaborate as Fords focus seemed to shift. "It's in my greenhouse room," he said, guiding the other towards it so that he could grab the bouquet he had procured from The Florist Potts. "And what has nothing to do with me?"

  

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Can we dance like we're all alone
Stop the time and make it still
Hold you like I always will

Ford's brows drew together at the mention of the greenhouse, confused. He didn't spend much time in greenhouses, and his mind went (entirely irrationally) to the witches' ganglion that had once featured in one of his boggarts. He'd never told Ty about that, though, and he didn't have any connections that he knew of to any other plant. Maybe this didn't actually have anything to do with him at all; it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that all Tycho wanted to show him was something to do with his latest project, bizarre hobby, or odd obsession, and just expected that Ford would be as enthusiastic about it as he was. He was less curious, then, but allowed himself to be lead towards the greenhouse room easily enough.

"The difficulty I've been in," Ford replied, though this did not illuminate much (by design; he didn't want to get midway through an explanation and then have to pause while Tycho told him about some random herbology project). "It started the night I was supposed to come back to yours, and didn't, but it's not about you."

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Set by Lady!

Tycho could not help but chuckle a bit at the clear confusion on Fords face. "I did wonder what had happened. And then that message you sent only thickened the mystery," Tycho said as he got the bouquet out from the spot in the Greenhouse Room that he had been keeping it in. The arrangements flower language could basically be summed up as I love you and I am your captive if Ford was at all fluent in flower language.

"I was walking by the Florist Potts the other day and thought of you. I kept them in here so that they would keep since I couldn't be sure when I would be able to see you again," he said as he brought the bouquet over to Ford.

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   Fortitude Greengrass

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Can we dance like we're all alone
Stop the time and make it still
Hold you like I always will

Ford offered Ty a thin smile and set about trying to find some way to explain the letter he'd sent without getting into everything, but had not quite managed it by the time Tycho was moving on. Ford wasn't sure if he was supposed to follow him through the room or not, so he lingered by the door until he saw the bouquet of flowers in Ty's hands.

Ford's shoulders tensed slightly and his eyebrows shot up. He stayed where he was in the door, motionless except for a tremble that had crept into his hands. "You bought me flowers," he said, and had to keep his tone flat to prevent it from wavering. He remembered during the conversation with Noble that his brother couldn't get his mind around two men actually caring for each other; that even after reading Ford's letters, full to the brim with sentiment and emotion, he acted as though he wasn't sure it was possible. And here Tycho had bought Ford flowers.

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Set by Lady!

Well, that was not quite the reaction Tycho had been hoping for. Had the flowers been a misstep? He didn't think so. There had to be something more at play here. "Yes, I bought you flowers," he confirmed as he pressed them into Fords hands. "I figured that all those courting, engaged and what have you couples can do it - why can't I?" He was pretty sure that had been one of his exact that's when he had decided to do so, at least. "Do you dislike them?"

  

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Can we dance like we're all alone
Stop the time and make it still
Hold you like I always will

Ford sniffed as Tycho pressed the bouquet into his hands, not as though he wanted to smell them but rather as though he were trying not to cry. His hands were still shaking and now that he had flowers in them it was more obvious; some of the smaller flora in the arrangement shuddered in the air. It was the sight of the flowers shaking that broke him, or more specifically the thought that followed: you're not fooling anyone.

"Oh Ty," he practically sobbed, throwing his arms around the other man (nearly hitting himself in the face with the bouquet as he did and almost certainly crushing some of the flowers). "I wish it was just you and me in the world. I wish I could lock myself up in your house and never leave."

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Set by Lady!

Ford was sniffling like he was trying not to cry and his hands were shaking. The flowers only making the fact more obvious. His heart broke as Ford sobbed. Tycho wrapped his arms around his lover as Ford threw his arms around him. He kissed the others forehead and continued to rub his back in comfort. "Something clearly has you distraught, what happened? Are your siblings and mother okay?" He knew Fords family was very important to the older man but try as he might, he didn't see a connection between something having happened to them and Ford wanting to be alone in the world with him.

  

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Can we dance like we're all alone
Stop the time and make it still
Hold you like I always will

Ford shook his head, or tried to. Between being pressed up against Tycho and with the bouquet poking over Ty's shoulder there wasn't actually much room to move his head. "I just missed you so much," he said. He felt as though he had to explain his reaction before he could actually explain what had happened at the beginning of the month, though he was struggling to find the words for it. "I know I could have come earlier, I just... I wish I didn't have to care what anyone else thought. I wish no one cared where I went at night or what I did or who I was with. I just want to be with you," he said through a hiccup.

"I'm sorry. I'm such a mess," he continued, pulling himself off of Ty just enough to rub at his eyes with his free hand. "I've been a disaster all month. I'm sorry. You're lovely."

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Set by Lady!

"I missed you, too," Tycho said as Ford said once again said that he had missed him. He continued rubbing Fords back as his lover spoke through a hiccup. Tycho lived alone but he knew where Ford was coming from. Tycho had held the luxury of being able to move out of the family home, Ford could not.

Tycho rubbed his thumb across Fords cheek as he brought his hands up to cup the older mans face. He kissed the tip of his lovers nose as the other seemed to calm at least the smallest bit. "You keep saying sorry when you don't have to. I understand that things can happen."

  

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Can we dance like we're all alone
Stop the time and make it still
Hold you like I always will

"Yeah," Ford said, more in acknowledgement than anything else. He sniffed again and settled back on his feet, disentangling himself from Tycho. He did feel a little better now, maybe because he'd been able to get some of this nervous energy out of his system just now, or maybe because Ty was being so accommodating and caring about this. Ford brought the bouquet back around to the space between them and took a second to look it over properly for the first time. It was pretty, despite some of the blooms being a little misshapen by this point.

"My brother found out," he eventually said, still looking at the flowers. "That I've — been with men."

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Set by Lady!

Tycho felt like he was having an out of body experience as Ford said his brother found out. How did that not involve him? Then Ford elaborated and Tycho deduced that Ford had meant Noble did not know that Tycho was one of those men. "How did he find that out? From how you have been, I can assume he did not react well?" Then again, Tycho did not know many people who would unless fully a part of the life themselves. "I'm here for you," he added on, feeling it very important that Ford know he was not alone in this.

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   Fortitude Greengrass

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Can we dance like we're all alone
Stop the time and make it still
Hold you like I always will