A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Third Person POV

When Up continued to sob in Joss's arms, Joss finally said, "Shh... shh... whatever it is that's giving you grief, I promise you, things will be okay."

"No, I don't thinks so," Up continued to sob against Joss's chest.

Joss could not help but feel the warm breath of Up penetrating the fabric of his shirt and going directly into his skin and straight to his heart.

He allowed Up to continue letting out his grief and tried to comfort him by gently running his hand up and down Up's back

When Up finally quieted down, Joss said, "Let's go home."

Up could only nod as he reached out for the package of tissues that he always kept in a receptacle behind the car door.

He wiped his tears away unsuccessfully because they just kept streaming down his cheeks.

Because his tears made his vision blurry he couldn't see the streets that Joss was driving through.

After a while, Joss stopped the car and announced to Up, "We're home."

That was when Up realized that he wasn't at his mansion.

"Where are we?" Up asked, feeling all confused as he surveyed unfamiliar surroundings.

"At my home," Joss replied. "Remember I said I was taking you home and you nodded."

"But I... But I..." Up's feelings were a tangled mess. He could not decide whether it was best to grieve in the comfort of his home but with the chances of Mek and his housekeepers potentially stumbling upon his emotional state or to grieve in the privacy of Joss's home, with only Joss present and with Joss already knowing anyway that he was in emotional turmoil.

Up decided upon the latter.

"Would you rather I took you back to your place?" Joss intruded into Up's thoughts.

"No, no, no, your place is just fine," Up replied looking up at the three story apartment building in front of him.

"My unit is on the third floor," Joss said. "We can take the elevator to get there. But first let me park your car in the spot that's allotted to me at the tenant parking lot.

Joss's unit was in Unit 306. He keyed in his pass code and then pushed his front door open.

Once inside, Up turned to Joss and without warning said to him, "Kiss me, please kiss me."

Joss said in a regretful tone, "I can't, Up, I can't. I won't take advantage of your emotional condition. I brought you to my place because here it's just you and me. At your place you have several employees going about the house."

"Actually those were my thoughts earlier, and the reason that I agreed to come in here with you," Up said with a wry smile.

Up was starting to have a newfound admiration for this man standing in front of him with a very concerned look on his face. But admiration was all he could feel for Joss. His heart had always been reserved for Poom who unfortunately did not reciprocate his feelings.

"Would you like something to drink?" Joss asked.

"Just water for now, please," Up replied.

"Make yourself comfortable anywhere," Joss said while walking towards his refrigerator.

Up walked over to the living room area and sat on the couch, leaning back and closing his eyes. He tried to erase from his mind the image of Boat kneeling beside Poom's ER bed, hugging him tightly while Poom's arms automatically wound themselves around Boat's  back.

Up opened his eyes when he heard Joss say, "He's your water."

"Thank you," Up said, straightening himself and accepting the eight ounce bottle of spring water from Joss. It was ice cold and he shivered slightly as he felt the coldness trickle down his throat.

"I'm sure you haven't had any breakfast yet," Joss said. "If you wish I can fix you something to eat."

"I'm not hungry," Up said, "I just feel tired. Exhausted is probably a more accurate term to describe my current physical and mental condition."

"Would you like to lie down on my bed?" Joss offered.

"If you will lie down beside me, yes," Up replied.

"Don't toy with me, Up," Joss said in a stern voice. "I can only  hold back so far. Everyone has got limits and I'm very close to reaching it."

Up fell silent, suddenly realizing what Joss was trying to tell him. It was a warning for Up not to cross the danger zone.