..oOOo.. Taking Byers' chair, Langly hunched into himself in a defensive posture, his arms crossed over his chest. Asking a few easy questions meant to get the man talking, Evans found himself on the receiving end of only a few noncommittal grunts and shrugs. He decided it was time to make a harder move, even if it meant getting Langly angry. The doctor just needed to get *some* reaction from the man. "Do you want to give up on your relationship so soon?" he bit out harshly. "To throw away this special bond you have obviously worked so hard to create with John?" Langly's head snapped up and he glared at the doctor with more cold emotion than Evans had ever seen in him. "Is that what you think? Is that what John thinks? Did he tell you that? That I don't want to be with him anymore?" "What John and I spoke of is between him and I. It's my job to find out what *you* feel, what you want to do so that we can move on from there." The younger man sprang to his feet angrily. "This is bullshit. I'm NOT giving up! I don't...I can't lose him." He glared for another moment at the stunned doctor and launched himself out the door, slamming it open. Byers stood when he heard the door fly open, and flinched when Langly blew by him without so much as a glance. He looked up and caught the eye of Dr. Evans, who gave him a bewildered shake of his head. In the parking lot, Byers found Langly leaning against the passenger door of the van, waiting for him. Byers stopped in front of the younger man, and gave into impulse. He reached his hand up to cup Langly's chin, lifting the pale, tight face to meet his eyes. Langly jerked away quickly. "Just...don't," he hissed. Byers sighed and unlocked the door, waiting until the younger man was in before moving to the driver's side. The drive home was unbearably tense, silent, and frustrating for Byers. He wanted to say something, to know what had happened with the doctor but every time he glanced toward his lover he felt unable to speak. When he parked the van and shut off the engine, Langly reached over and snatched the keys, jumping out of the van and striding as quickly as he could to the basement door. Still behind the wheel, Byers watched Langly until he was out of sight. The moment he was inside Byers slammed his clenched fist against the steering wheel twice, hard. "FUCK," he yelled, punching the wheel one last time before getting out of the van himself. He charged full-on down the stairs and throw the door out of his way, still open from Langly's entrance. Byers saw Frohike standing nearby, the shorter man's eyebrows raised as high as he'd ever seen them. Without a word, the oldest Gunmen grabbed the keys Langly hand thrown on the table and made a speedy exit, closing the door behind him. Moving further into the basement, Byers spotted Langly leaning forward against a table, his weight on his outstretched arms. Byers moved around the table but kept his distance. "What the hell was that? What is WRONG with you?" he snapped. Langly's head shot up and he scowled at the other man. "What's wrong with YOU? Telling Evans that we're over? That I don't want us to be together so I've stopped caring?" Byers gaped at him, unbelieving. "What? Is that what he told you?" "He didn't tell me anything you said, but I got the idea. You want to quit, fine. I don't, but whatever, John." Langly made a dismissive wave with his hand then put it back on the edge of the table. "Wait a minute--" "No, YOU wait, John. I don't know what gave you the impression that I wanted us to break up, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry for feeling like such shit that I can't even breathe without it hurting. I'm sorry for not wanting to talk about how much I hate what happened." "Ree, please don't. It's...you're not..." Byers stumbled for words. "Damn it, I'm the one who needs to apologize," he finally got out. "For doing this...for everything that happened to you." Langly slammed his fist against the table. "NO! Fuck, John! Why can't you LISTEN? *I* did this, okay? I'M the one who wanted us to have a child, I'M the one who got the chance and I'M the one who blew it. ME, not you. I..." he faltered, swallowing hard and blinking back the stinging tears that sprang up. "I guess I can't blame you for wanting to end it." Byers stepped closer cautiously. "But I don't. That's what I'm trying to say, what I've been trying to tell you for the past week, but I just couldn't get through to you." The younger man's head lolled forward in ragged defeat. "Why would you want to?" he asked in a pained voice. "Because I love you, all right? I love you, I want to get back to where we were before all of this," Byers pleaded with him, sensing that for the first time, Langly was listening to him, really listening. "Why? I...I can't give you want we both want, John. A family...kids." "If it means losing you, I don't want that. You are the most important part of my life and I won't give you up for anything," his voice dropped to a rough, near-whispered tone. Choking out a sob, Langly's already shaky grip on the table slipped and he lost his struggle to stay on his feet. But Byers was right there in a heartbeat, catching him before he hit the ground and gathering the shaking figure into his arms and sat them both on the floor. From somewhere near his shoulder, Byers heard a muffled sniff. "God, John, I don't deserve you." Byers stroked his hair, letting his hands move down to soothe the trembling he felt across Langly's back as the younger man sobbed against his shoulder, finally finding the release he had held back for so long. "Yes, you do, and you're stuck with me, okay?" he smiled into the soft tangle of blonde hair pressed against his chin even as a few tears of his own escaped. The younger man gave a shaky half sob, half laugh and burrowed deeper into Byers' arms. "Can't believe how much I love you," he muttered with a sigh, closing his eyes and relaxing into the gentle rhythm of his lover's slight rocking. ..oOOo..