"It's not the end of the world, Joe. Or, it doesn't have to be." Chris leaned against the table's edge and watched Joey pace. Back and forth, same number of steps each time. "Dude," he said mildly, when it became obvious Joey wasn't listening. Or possibly ignoring him. "You're gonna wear a hole in my carpet."

Joey looked up then, like the words finally registered. Maybe they had. He'd been drunk when he showed up on Chris's doorstep earlier in the day; at this point he was probably hung-over, and certainly not processing. "I'll buy you a new one," he mumbled. Chris shrugged.

"It's not the carpet that's worryin' me, dude." Chris waited until Joey's steps brought him back within grabbing range, then reached out and settled his hands onto Joey's shoulders. "C'mon, man. Everything's gonna be all right."

"Yeah?" Joey snorted, though he didn't try to shrug Chris's hands away-this time. "You're not the one gettin' slapped with a paternity suit."

"No, I'm not. But it is my boyfriend who is." Chris arched an eyebrow and watched the dull flush spread across Joey's cheeks.

"I shouldn't have slept with her. I shouldn't've, but I did-"

"I never said you didn't. Never said you couldn't, or shouldn't, or nothin' like that. That's not how we operate. You dig chicks, I dig chicks, shit happens. That don't mean you don't love me, right?" Chris waited for the nod, then leaned in and brushed a kiss across Joey's mouth. "So you gotta believe me, it's gonna be okay. We'll get it worked out, settled, whatever. Okay?"

"I wish I had your faith," Joey muttered, leaning into Chris. There was still tension in the big body, and Chris shifted his hands to rub up and down Joey's back; slow, gentle circles that slowly bled some of the tension away.

"You got better than that," Chris murmured. "You got me."