Getting Tycho up out of the snow was enough of a victory to be worth the mild indignity of having whined his name a moment ago. Ford had to bite back a smile both at that and at a thought that occurred to him when Ty started brushing himself off. Missed a spot, he could claim, and use it as an excuse to get his hand on Ty's butt. They weren't in private but it was dark enough that a brief touch would have been safe enough. Tycho clearly wasn't in the mood yet, though, so Ford put his hands in his pockets and said nothing until they'd fallen into step with each other.

"So what did you hear?" he asked. He expected this to be settled quickly, as long as Tycho cooperated. Ty would repeat whatever rumor society had spun up, Ford would reply well, that didn't happen, and they'd move right along.

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