"So, what are you thinking?" George asks Andrew; they're stood in the local park, getting some fresh air. "Because if you're going to ask the bird to be your girlfriend, you have to be imaginative. Creative. Emotional. Sentimental."

Andrew already looks overwhelmed by all these adjectives that his friend is throwing around. "I-I was just going to invite her over to mine, and ask her. Nothing flashy." He adjusts his shirt collar nervously. "I'm sure Nancy would appreciate the simplicity rather than me going all out."

"Mate — you've just got a new job, and you're earning a decent income now. Why not at least do something that you'll remember in a year?" George chuckles, at what he deems to be Andrew's naïvety. "Give her a token gift at least, so that she can show all her friends how sweet and loving her boyfriend will be."

"Hm, maybe you're right about that," Andrew reasons, his hand touching upon his chin in thought. "How about a single red rose? Don't girls like that?"

"It'll die in three days," George reminds him. "Unless you get a fake one. Then it'll last forever. Hopefully, like your relationship with her if she says yes."

"I could get her a real rose and a fake one." Andrew snaps his fingers at his little eureka moment. "Then, I can give her some soppy bullshit about how one represents how long I want us to last; the other is because I wanted to give her a real one. I don't know."

"I've just been sick a bit in my mouth," George jibes, opening his mouth and sticking his tongue down his throat playfully. "You're every girl's dream. It's disgusting."

"I just really like her." By now, Andrew is a little more serious; all jokes aside, his feelings for Nancy have only gotten more intense since their first encounter. "I really want her to realise I mean business."

George pats his friend's back supportively. "And she will. She'll be falling at your feet with how irresistible you are, mate."

Andrew gives a mellow smile. "Thanks, Yog. I can always count on you to lift me up."

"Hey — isn't it what friends are for?" George glances at his watch. "Time's getting on a bit now. Go buy your soppy roses, and go and get your girl. And obviously tell me all about it afterwards." He rests his hands on Andrew's shoulders, like a sports coach trying to motivate a team member. "Good luck Andy. I'll catch you later."

"See you later. Thanks." Andrew waves to his best friend, as he walks away from George.

Once he's out of sight, George heads over to a swing set, taking a seat on one of them. He drags his feet against the floor, applying pressure slightly to push the swing back and forth a little. He allows himself to get lost in thought about everything that's going on in his life at the moment. From Andrew's lifestyle changes; to his own improved mood as a result of having a friend in Levi — things seem to be looking up, although there is still a solitary issue. That, of course, is Stephanie. Lately, the sham couple have been getting on better than they ever have before; this only makes George feel guiltier about the things that he is hiding. He has recently come to the conclusion, however, that Levi was correct — George should find a man he wishes to share his life with, before he tells Stephanie about his sexuality. This is only because he knows her far too well; if he admitted he was gay without physical proof in a new partner, Steph would most-likely assume it's merely an untrue excuse to leave her.

George holds onto the swing handles, to keep himself steady; he heaves a sigh, as he remembers the pure joy he felt when he went to Goring a few days ago. Everything felt different there — with how quiet and quaint the place is, it vastly contradicts the huge, bustling streets of London in the sweetest way. He frowns, remembering the gorgeous scenery from that day — the trees; and the flowers; and the river. And of course, all his questions surrounding Levi's character and his appearance were answered, too. That day gave George closure in a number of ways; it cured his insatiable feelings of curiosity surrounding this new friend of his. Arguably the greatest element of this, to George; is the fact that Levi is truly the most similar person he has ever met, to himself. There are obvious similarities, such as their sexualities — but it spans so much further than that. They both share a mutual respect for their mothers; they both have the same sense of humour; and they both become excitable when discussing something they are passionate about.

Deciding that it's best to go home, George rises from the swing; then, he trudges towards the park gates to leave. Stephanie is working today, so he has plenty of free time; as he walks home, he tries to think of how he can use this rare period. After a short while, he arrives at his front door; he unlocks it, entering the house like clockwork. He removes his coat, slinging it onto the coat rack carelessly before entering the living room. The whole house has an eerie quietness about it; he's used to being here alone whenever Stephanie isn't here, but it feels different today. He can't quite figure out why. George lets his body fall onto the sofa, then he grabs the TV remote to see what's showing. After flicking through the limited number of channels available, he comes to the conclusion that watching something isn't an option for now. He switches the TV off, before dumping the remote on the coffee table in front of him.

"What's a man to do?" he quizzes himself, leaning his elbows against his knees; he rests his head in his hands. "Steph is working. Mum and Dad are working. Andrew's flirting. I wonder what Yioda and Melanie are doing." He heads to the telephone, dialling his sister Mel's number; he holds the phone to his ear as it rings.

She's rather fast at answering. "Hello?"

"Hello Melanie," George greets her; he and Mel have always had a great sibling relationship. Being the youngest child, George was always taken care of by his older sisters growing up. Melanie and Yioda were both very patient with their baby brother; playing with him, helping to feed him, and all the typical sisterly duties.

"Hiya, Gogos," Melanie responds, sounding happy to hear his voice. "Long time, no speak. How have you been?"

"I've been ... just fine," George answers vaguely, unsure of what to update her on. "I'm not sure how much Mum and dad tell you about me and my sad existence."

"The last I heard, you got spiked in a club a bit back," she informs him, before she chuckles at him. "How did you manage that one, hey?"

"Long story. Slightly traumatic. Some stupid bitch," he summarises, trying to find amusement in it. "But it's okay, because she got arrested. And that didn't happen until I managed to give her a piece of my mind. She'd been following me all evening."

"Sounds as if she got exactly what was coming her way." Mel laughs, although of course she has a certain level of concern. "I heard you had to go to hospital though. Was it really bad?"

"It was more to check how I was. I did feel horrendous, and I was sick a couple of times. But, it's out of my system now and I'm functioning as normal again." Despite her being unable to see his face, he grins playfully as his way of coping with what happened. "How have things been in your world?"

"I've just been working a lot during the week. Helping Dad out at the restaurant on weekends. Marcus has been looking after Tee."

"I need to come and see her again," George gushes; he is extremely fond of his little niece. Tee, a nickname derived from the latter syllable of her full name Christina, was born a couple of years ago — in 1984. Since Melanie found out she was pregnant, George has doted on the precious little human. He was the one to find out her gender and plan a special party for Melanie and Marcus; he had organised a huge cake for all the family. This, of course, had pink sponge inside in order to give away that they were expecting a girl. George is also Tee's godfather; a role he has always taken extremely seriously. He doesn't yet have an interest in having children himself, so she is the closest thing he is willing to accept for now.

"I'm sure she'd be very happy to see Uncle Yoggie," Melanie snickers. This is Tee's adorable pet name for George; being only two years old, her fine motor and communication skills are pretty limited — thus, she cannot even say 'George', let alone 'Georgios'.

"We need to arrange something. It's already been far too long," George responds sadly. "Last time I saw her was Christmas last year."

"Quite a few months," Melanie comments matter-of-factly. "She's missed you a lot, Gogos. She's always asking when she gets to see you."

"Don't make me feel even more guilty!" George laughs softly, trying to make light of how heartbreaking this news actually is. "She knows how much I love her. In fact, I've got all day off work and Stephanie's working. How about I come and see her? And you, of course."

"Sounds good. I'll be heading out to work around 3:00PM though, so if you want to babysit that would be much appreciated." She's being playful, but secretly she hopes he will be enthusiastic about the idea.

"Gives Marcus a break, doesn't it?" George reasons, falling right into her trap. "So of course. As long as the fridge is not out of bounds."

"Take whatever you like. I know you're like a human rubbish bin," she jibes. "But please leave something in there for me, would you?"

"Hey, I can't promise that." He rubs his neck with his free hand, shifting his body weight from one foot to the other. "Alright then. I'll get myself over to yours now. I'll be there in fifteen."

"Alright. See you soon." She doesn't give him chance to give her any kind of farewell, before she hangs up on her side of the line.

"Okay, bye sis," George speaks, to himself; he shakes his head in amusement as he places the phone back on the receiver. "I guess that's my afternoon and evening sorted, then."

•••

George arrives at the front door of his sister's home; he knocks three times to alert her that he's here. It takes a few moments, but she eventually answers the door with a grin.

"Hiya," she greets; she's flustered because she has been rushing around to get ready for work. "Go and sit in the living room. I'll bring Tee downstairs to see you. She doesn't know you're here."

"Oh goodness," George beams, the idea of surprising his favourite little person sounding very appealing to him. He enters the house, dipping into the living room to avoid being seen or heard by Tee before he even settles in. He sits down on the sofa, leant forward in anticipation; he leans his forearms on his lap, his hands clasped together.

"Come on sweetheart — I told you we need to go downstairs!" He hears his sister going on and on about the intense need for her daughter to follow her instructions. "I have something to show you!"

The pair arrive into the living room; the moment Tee sees her beloved uncle, she runs up into his arms. "Yoggie!"

George is on the verge of tears as he embraces the sweet little girl. "Hello my darling!" he squeals, his voice taking on a higher register automatically. "Uncle Yoggie missed you so, so much!" He pulls her up to sit on his lap, before continuing to interrogate her. "Did you miss me, too?"

"Yeah," she answers shortly, before she gives him a dramatic pout and matching puppy-dog eyes.

George moves some hair from out of her face. "Well, guess what?" he quizzes. "I'll be here all day now!" To this, Tee expresses pure excitement. She bounces up and down in his lap, which nearly causes her to fall. He giggles, holding onto her a little firmer to prevent any accidents. "Hey, hey — be careful, sweet. Uncle Yoggie doesn't want to be taking you to hospital because you jumped off him!" He knows she may not be quite intelligent enough to understand every word he's saying, but he continues speaking anyway. He shakes his head at her enthusiasm; he forgot quite how lively she can be. "So, what do you want to do? Colouring? ... Toys?"

"Crayons," Tee responds, with a grin.

"Colouring," George interprets, before sliding her off of him, placing her on the floor; he stands up in a bid to find the resources needed, but this results in him calling for Melanie's help. "Mel! Where's Tee's colouring books and crayons?"

"In the cupboard next to the toy box," she shouts back from whichever room she's in. "You can't miss them."

"Thanks." He heads towards said cupboard, tugging at the handle to open it. Inside, he finds what he's looking for; he brings out the collection of vivid books and assorted crayons, showing them to his niece. "This?" She claps her hands to indicate that she's satisfied with what he has presented to her; he takes this as confirmation, before he places each book on the floor. "So, Tee — do you want the fairy one? Or the dinosaur one? Or the animal one?"

"Di-saur!" she squeals, pointing at the book with the child-friendly cartoon T-Rex on the front.

"And what noise does the dinosaur make?" George tests; his way of trying to make the activity remotely 'educational'.

Tee curls up the fingers of both of her hands, forming claws; and she pulls an aggressive face. "Rrr," she growls, before erupting into giggles; this evokes George into laughing with her, over her adorable impersonation.

"That's right," he praises, sitting on the floor beside her; he places a protective hand against her back as she starts to scribble over some of the colouring pages. "You're getting very good at colouring, too."

She halts her activity briefly, only to look up at him with a smile that suggests she's seeking his approval. He gives it to her, beaming at her; with eyes full of pure love and adoration, as he encourages her to keep going with her pictures.

•••

Bit of a cutesy end there! Hope you enjoyed seeing a bit of a different side to George's character. xx