As the days passed, Tobi did his best not to act differently. The last thing he wanted was for Emilio to suspect he had read the journal. He didn't want to be confronted about it while he was still sorting things out in his head. Though he wasn't doing much of that, either.

Instead, he focused on the nearing discharge date. Tobi had spoken to Mattias a few more times since the journal incident (he pointedly ignored all of Mattias's questions about Emilio). Both brothers agreed that they were anxious to get out of the hospital.

They sat in Mattias's room discussing family gossip before the subject was abruptly changed.

"So," Mattias said, clearly testing the waters. "Have you decided if you're going to date Emilio?" Tobi shook his head. "You should make up your mind before we're discharged. You may not ever see him again."

"That's the point," Tobi replied.

Mattias sighed. "Are you really going to deal with your feelings this way?"

"What feelings? There are no feelings," Tobi snapped.

"Not if you don't give him a chance!" Mattias argued.

Tobi huffed and searched for something to say that would get Mattias to drop the subject. "Fine! I'll think about it once he asks me."

Mattias gave a satisfied smile and allowed the subject to be changed.

It wasn't brought up again until the day of their discharge. Tobi realized with great relief (and absolutely no disappointment) that he would be out of the hospital before Emilio's shift. The nurse would never have a chance to ask him and he wouldn't have to try and sort his feelings out.

Tobi practically sprinted through the halls of the hospital in his eagerness to escape the building that had been his prison for the past month. Mattias waved to him from the parking lot as he stepped into the bright sunlight.

"Ready to get out of here?"

"More than anything," Tobi admitted.

A moment of uncomfortable silence passed before Mattias said, "He never asked you, did he?"

"No," Tobi replied. He ignored the pang in his heart at the realization that he really would never see Emilio again.

Mattias seemed to notice the shift in Tobi's mood but he didn't say anything about it.

A car pulled up and their uncle, Luther, leaned out the driver seat window. "Tobi, Matt, get in!"

Tobi raises an eyebrow and Mattias tipped his head in confusion. "Uncle? What are you doing here?"

It was a bit odd considering their father and uncle no longer got along due to an incident in the past involving Tobi and alcohol.

"Your dad was busy and you guys needed to be picked up from the hospital and brought to the church, so he asked me to do it."

The brothers nodded and moved to get in the car when Tobi heard his name being called. His heart skipped a beat when he recognized the voice.

What is he doing here?

He turned and saw Emilio jogging across the parking lot.

"Is that him?" Mattias asked excitedly. Tobi gave a sharp nod and watched with mixed horror and excitement as Emilio approached.

"I was worried I wouldn't get here in time," he said, slightly out of breath.

"What are you doing here?" Tobi asked.

"I wanted to ask you something."

Tobi's heart pounded. He regretted putting off making a decision.

I don't think I'm ready, Tobi panicked.

"Okay," he said. Mattias nudged him with his elbow; Tobi shot him a glare.

"You're an interesting person, Tobias. I know you weren't always find of my presence—"

"No," Tobi agreed. Mattias winced at his brother's bluntness.

"It's curious," Emilio continued as if he hadn't heard the remark. "I'm not usually like that. Something about you brings out a different part of me. You can be rude and brutally honest at times, but I find myself enjoying your company. Would you perhaps care to join me for coffee?"

He held out a slip of paper that Tobi could only guess had his phone number written on it.

This is ridiculous, Tobi thought as he reached for the paper. You won't be any good at this. One or both of you will end up hurt.

He read the series of digits written across the paper in the same handwriting that had called him perfect. "Okay," he found himself saying.

Emilio looked surprised as though he'd been expecting rejection.

He had.

He'd never imagined that Tobi would agree to a date, but figured he might as well try anyways.

"Okay?" he repeated, cursing himself for sounding stupid.

"Yes. I'll text you."

With that, Tobi turned and climbed into the front passenger seas of the car. Mattias opened his mouth to say something, but Tobi snapped, "Not a word," before he could. He got into the backseat of the car and left the hospital parking lot, leaving Emilio stunned.

"Who was that?" Luther asked.

Tobi ignores him, opting instead to stare out the window. His mind buzzed with an unexpected sense of happiness. He pulled out his phone and typed Emilio's number into it, sending a quick text.

:It's Tobias. Where and when are we meeting?:

Mattias leaned forward in his seat, mistaking Tobi's silence for irritation. "It may be more fun than you think," he said.

Tobi smiled.

Tobi walked into the small coffee shop and scanned the tables for Emilio. The place was quiet and empty, aside from a few students studying. Emilio waved to him from a table near the back of the shop. Tobi sat in the seat across from Emilio, looking slightly anxious.

A gentle smile tugged at Emilio's lips and he ignored the butterflies in his stomach. "Did you have any trouble finding the place?" he asked. Tobi shook his head. "How have you been since the discharge? Did you end up decorating your apartment?"

"A bit," Tobi said. "I put a few paintings on the walls."

Emilio nodded, then glanced at the menu displayed on the wall. "What do you want?"

Tobi studied the menu for a moment before replying. "Black coffee. Two sugars."

He fidgeted in his seat as Emilio went up to order. What was he doing here? He was wasting his time. Domestic coffee shop dates weren't his scene.

He shoved his doubt aside as Emilio returned with their drinks.

"What about you? Has anything interesting happened at the hospital?" asked Tobi. "I imagine you see strange things constantly."

"Not so interesting as you," Emilio admitted, "but every once in a while someone comes in on a hallucinogen and that gets odd sometimes."

"Do you tell your sister about funny things that happen?"

"Sometimes. When they're appropriate." Emilio chuckled.

Tobi decided he didn't want to know and took a sip of his coffee.

"I'm surprised you agreed to this," Emilio said, giving Tobi a relaxed smile.

"I was surprised you asked me," Tobi lied.

Emilio smirked. "I don't think that's quite true."

Terror stabbed at Tobi's heart, but he pushed it away and attempted to act cool. "What do you mean?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and feigning mild interest.

"Please, Tobias. A notebook like that? That isn't something you accidentally leave somewhere."

Tobi tried to pretend he had no idea what Emilio was talking about, but he knew his quickly heating face betrayed the truth.

"I know you read it. I wanted you to."

"Why?"

"You have a tendency to space off and ignore when people talk to you. I wanted you to know I felt that way about you."

"How did you know I would read it?" Tobi asked.

"You've clearly got trust issues. I wouldn't tell you what I was writing. There was no way you weren't going to read it," Emilio explained. He let out a light laugh at the look of shock on Tobi's face. "You do get to know people after taking care of them for a few weeks."

"I liked it," Tobi mumbled, flustered.

"Hm?"

"You write well."

Emilio's eyes sparkled at the praise and he visibly brightened.

Tobi's heart fluttered and he took a large swing of his drink, looking away to try to calm himself.

From there, pleasant conversation was made. They spoke about writing and Tobi ranted about his family for a bit. He felt himself relaxing as the date went on and discovered that Emilio was easy to talk to. An hour and a half slipped by without Tobi noticing.

He only realized the time when a notification went off on Emilio's phone and he announced his shift at the hospital was starting soon.

"I enjoyed this. We should do this again sometime."

Tobi nodded, following Emilio out the door of the shop. As he climbed into his car, his phone went off. It was a text from Mattias.

:How'd it go?:

Tobi grinned.

Vanessa sat on the edge of the couch, entranced by the Disney movie that Emilio had put on for her. She was spending the night at Emilio's house while their parents attended an event.

Emilio sat next to her, not paying attention to the movie at all. He thought over his date with Tobias. It had gone well. Tobi has even agreed to a second date.

Emilio was pleasantly surprised. He hadn't expected the first date, much less a second.

Tobi was a lot less guarded than he had been during his stay at the hospital, which relieved Emilio greatly. He assumed Tobi's boundaries interferes with relationships. He hoped their relationship would last.

"Emilio, it's over!" Vanessa announced as the movie's ending credits rolled. "Can we watch another?"

Emilio glanced at the time, having been ripped from his thoughts. "No, it's getting late."

Vanessa whined but didn't put up a fight as she followed Emilio to her room for when she slept over.

Emilio startled as she asked an unexpected question: "Do you have a crush?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You were all smiley earlier," she said.

Emilio grinned, pleased with his sister's perceptiveness. "I went on a date today," he admitted.

"With who?"

"Tobias— one of the people in the fire on Christmas."

"The one you took care of?" Emilio nodded. "What does he look like?"

"He's got pale skin, black hair, gorgeous glacial blue eyes..."

Vanessa smiles at her brother as he talked about Tobi and the date they went on. It had been a while since he'd had a relationship. She was glad he was happy.

"Night, Emilio!" she chirped, giving him a kiss on the cheek before skipping off to bed.

A/N Look who kept their promise! Title from "Hum Hallelujah" by Fall Out Boy. The story's finally kicking off!