"We've had the best time, haven't we Clark."

☆

"What time did you say you were expecting them?" Oliver questions as he looks through the glass fronted door of the eclectic bookstore. His body slouched over the counter, keeping him from crashing to the floor completely with boredom, with the only strength he did possess, being used to shovel the chips and battered fish into his mouth. 

"They just said after lunch." Morton replies, gazing in the same direction as Oliver, as he heads away from the window, feather duster in hand. He then turns and looks at his friend's obviously fed up demeanour. "You don't have to be here you know." 

Oliver stands up a little straighter at the words. "I'm not bored." 

"Yes you are." Morton laughs. "I can tell." He heads around the back of the counter, finding some polish and a cloth. "Why don't you help me? Clark will kill me if sees his precious bookstore looking like a forgotten attic." 

Oliver grabs the cleaning products being offered to him. "This place is a forgotten attic." Oliver chuckles. "I don't know how he makes his money."

"You know, when people visit here, It's usually because they have made a point of it. They want something specific. I mean…" Morton pulls a book from the shelf and reads out the title. "One Hot Summer…this is a yaoi book. You're not gonna find that sort of thing in WH Smith are you?" 

"You almost sound like him." Oliver smiles. "Are you sure you want to hand back the keys?" 

"Gladly." Morton says, with relief. "Six months has been long enough."  

"What will you do next?" Oliver questions as he half heartedly buffs up the cash register with the cloth.  

"I don't know?  The world is my oyster as they say." Morton sighs. 

"And what is your oyster?" 

"Like I said, I don't know." Morton huffs as he heads back around the counter, putting the feather duster on a low shelf. "But I need to do something because not only do I need to find another job, I need a place to stay. Clark will no doubt want his room upstairs back."

"He may not." Oliver interrupts. "He may just move in with Roshan. The guy owns a house." 

"I suppose..." Morton shrugs, "but still, I need to stop relying on Clark for everything. I need to stop wasting my life away." 

"Well if you're going down that road, that makes two of us. I mean, I don't mind working at the petrol station, but I don't want to think I'll be there forever. Visiting you here is my highlight." Oliver laughs.

"Shit! Then you are having a crisis!" Morton laughs, but his smile soon fades when he sees the familiar red convertible mini pull up in front of the shop, the soft top down, with the driver adorning some mirrored sunglasses, whereas the passenger was sporting a thick fleece, zipped up to the neck, looking decidedly perished. "They're back. Quick, hide the chips!" Morton panics as Oliver reluctantly pushes their shared half eaten lunch in the bin, whilst Morton sprays some airfreshener to eradicate the fishy smell. They now find themselves standing behind the counter, like soldiers in a barracks, waiting for an inspection. 

The door opens and in steps Roshan. "Hey hey hey!" He says with a grand entrance as he pushes his sunglasses onto his head. "Did you miss us?"

"Hey Chef, hey Clark." Morton and Oliver reply in unison. Clark soon follows, rubbing his hands together. 

"Ro, you don't have to have the top down all the time." Clark complains, but it seems to fall on deaf ears. 

"We've had the best time, haven't we Clark. We went fishing on the coast of Italy, climbed the mountains in Switzerland, made sweet love on the beaches of Spain…" 

Oliver snorts out a laugh as Morton clears his throat. "Well, that sounds… lovely."

"How's my beautiful book shop?" Clark says as he steps past Roshan to get to the two men standing behind the counter. 

"Still here." Morton replies, before leaning in a little closer to Clark's ear. "Hey, is Chef ok? He seems a little, like…high on something." 

"Life Morton. He's high on life." Clark says with a grin. "You should give it a try." 

"But the trip is over now. What's he gonna do?" Morton looks at the Chef as he approaches."

"Isn't that the best part? The thrill of not knowing?" Roshan says as he drapes an arm over Clark's shoulder. "No more schedules and box ticking for me." 

Clark looks partially over his shoulder at his boyfriend. He smiles fondly. "You can't live on dreams alone, my love. We need to make some plans."

"Well, I have a wedding…" Roshan begins.

"What?...you're getting married?" Morton stammers.

'No, not us. Ben and Tully. They want me to do the catering, though I suspect it may only be sandwiches." Roshan chuckles. 

"Ben and Tully?" Morton questions. 

"The guys who sat in front of me in Ro's class. Where it all began." Clark leans in, kissing Roshan's cheek as his chin rested on Clark's shoulder. He then looks back at Morton and Oliver. "But there is something we do need to discuss with you." 

"I know. You're back so you don't need me to work here anymore and you want your place back." Morton smiles weakly. 

"Well, yes and no." Clark moves away a little from Roshan, with the chef's hand dropping from his shoulder. "I'm selling this place." 

"You're selling your bookshop? Are you serious? You love your books." Morton can't believe what he is hearing. 

"Relax. I'm not selling my business, just the premises." Clark looks at Roshan smiling. "Roshan and I are going into business together." 

"So, lemme get this straight, are you both going to be cooking or selling books?" Morton wonders. 

"Morton, both you and I know I cannot cook." 

"And the last book I read to the end was the Deathly Hallows in 2015." Roshan says laughing.

"Hey, what about the one I lent you?" Clark says, a little disgruntled. 

"Don't look at me like that! You still can't fry an egg." Roshan says defensively. 

"Hey, no domestics!" Morton holds up his hands in order to calm the scene. "Just tell me your plans." 

The two males look back at Morton. "We are going to open a book cafè" 

"A book café?"

"Yeah. What better way to spend your time than getting lost in a book…" Clark begins.

"Whilst eating cake." Roshan ads.

"Yeah I guess." Morton smiles. 

"But there is something we want to ask you." Clark says smiling. 

"What is it?" Morton asks warily. 

"A job is on offer. Only if you want it. Someone to help with the place." Clark smiles. 

"A job?" Morton glances over at his friend. "What about Oliver? Is there a job for him too?" 

Clark looks at the other male standing silently behind the counter. "I guess there could be." He smiles at Oliver. 

"Are you two dating?" Roshan suddenly says. 

"No"

"No" 

Comes a collective voice. 

"Ro, we still need to work on your perception skills." Clark laughs. 

"They look suspicious." Roshan says through squinted eyes. 

Clark now looks at the pair with equal suspicion. "You're right. They actually do look guilty of something." He begins to sniff the air. "What's that smell?" 

Roshan begins to inhale the air in the shop. "It smells like cod." 

Morton can feel the muscles in his body tense up as Clark steps around the counter. "It's stronger round here… Morton, have you been eating greasy food around my precious books?" 

"Well ..It's great to see you back, but Oliver and I need to be somewhere." Morton grabs Oliver by the arm and pulls him towards the door. 

He manages to turn the handle before he hears the shout. "MORTON!!"