It was the kiss on her forehead that broke his commitment to staying put as she had firmly instructed. The kiss was so soft and familiar that there had to be more to their encounter than just hot cocoa. It was a kiss that Dory himself had given her thousands of times over their decade of friendship. A kiss he had envisioned giving her after tonight even.

"No Gus-" his voice catching on the other man's name, his frustration evident. Had Winnie begun to fear him somehow? Had she confided in some other man? Is that why Gus was posturing as if she needed protection? Dory was further agitated by the very thought. When had he ever hurt her? When had he ever given her cause for fear?

"You stay. I have nothing to say anymore tonight anyway." The note said otherwise, the note explained that he'd come to finally work through the underlying tension between them, that he hoped she would come to his tonight. She would find it or she wouldn't, with any luck it would be morning when she discovered it and he would already have left for work. Perhaps another three months of infrequent and missed meetings was for the best.

Stepping around Winnie, Dory reached for his own fistful of floo powder, determined to abandon all plans for the night.

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