A few hours go by as Jones and Midas run around the island. It was one hell of a workout and by the time they rounded a corner to Pleasant Park, the blond was nearly fully out of breath. But Midas had a lot of confidence in him and begins encouraging him to keep going.

"Come now Jones we're literally almost at the end. You can do it!"

"Can....can we take a break.... maybe....when we get there... please?"

"Of course. Now come on!"

Midas offers his hand, Jones taking it with no hesitation. The duo make a final dash to the finish line that was the front of their home, Jules waving at them in the distance.

"Not a bad time boys." Jules smiles, stopping a stopwatch in her hand. " I'll admit 3 hours is pretty good for your first go Jones."

He gives a thumbs up, nearly collapsing into Midas' arms.

"I'll have to join Jones with that break. I haven't put myself through a workout like that in a long time." He huffs, supporting Jones as he carries him inside.

"I know why. You're an old man Midas." Jules jokes, snickering to herself.

"Excuse me I'm not that old. I'm 30!" Midas yells, nudging her shoulder harshly. "I feel very offended. Need I remind you that your 27. 3 years younger than me."

"Whatever you say boomer." Jules taunts, running off.

Midas groans but decides to not go after her. He lays Jones on the couch, putting a blanket over him before going into the kitchen to make himself and Jones and cup of tea each.

---------

"I...guess this is where it ends, huh Jones?"

"Mmm...wha?"

Jones sits up, rubbing his head and opening his eyes to see he was trapped in his subconscious again. Infront of him was an illusion of him and Janice talking in the Bridge, the place used to send people into the Loop.

"Yeah. I'm... gonna miss you Jan."

"Oh don't be silly. I know you'll do great."

His eyes widen when he realises what this scenario was. It was THAT day...

"Oh no. No no no! Not again!"

Jones and Janice share a hug, and present day Jones gasps when that...thing appears behind them, taking the form of Slone. He dashes towards it, desperate to stop it from shooting his long lost love.

"No wait!! Don't-"

A gunshot rings out, echoing through his mind. Janice's body grows limp and cold as she falls into not the other Jones' arms...but in present day Jones'.

The creature and Janice's decaying corpse taunts him.

Those 3 words echo as they continue to be said, taunting the poor man to the point that he lets out a heart wrenching cry as the voices grow louder and more harsh.

The creature then slips behind him and whispers;

"She never wanted you to begin with... You were never good enough for her..."

Before another gunshot erupts.

"And you're certainly not good enough for him..."

-----------

Midas hums softly to himself, pouring the milk into his and Jones' tea and stirring it. A shout from the living room however causes his fight or flight instincts to take over. Grabbing a nearby pistol left on the dining table he charges into the room, ready to attack.

"Don't worry I'm here! Where's the intruder?!" He asks, ready to protect his boyfriend.

He lowers his weapon when he realises no one had broken into the house and it was just Jones shivering on the couch, covering his face. Putting the pistol aside, Midas goes to sit next to Jones.

"Hey... what's wrong? Are you alright-"

The troubled blond wraps his arms around him tightly, burying his head in Midas' chest. He sighs and rubs his back softly.

"It was that thing again wasn't it?"

He nods.

"What did it show you this time?"

Jones struggles to put his thoughts into words as his crying turns into sniffles. Midas passes him a tissue box, smiling warmly at him.

"Shhh... it's okay. Take your time. I'm not going anywhere."

Within time, Jones manages to calm down enough to talk to Midas without sounding too much like a mess.

"It taunted me with the last thing I needed to see..." He mutters. "Seeing her die in my arms again...I couldn't handle it..."

Midas hums, wiping his tears with his thumb. He felt bad that this thing was forcing him to relive his wife's death...but at the same time it made him think that Jones wasn't ready for another relationship yet.

It hurt him because he really wanted to be with him and ask him out...but now he was having second thoughts about it...

"I... know how you feel. I still have nightmares about what I did to my father..." Midas sympathies with him. "So... you're not alone. Remember that I'll always be here if you need a shoulder to cry on... okay?"

"... you really mean that?"

"I promise."

Jones sniffles, wiping his eyes as a small smile appears on his face.

"Thanks goldie..."

Midas blushes slightly, not expecting the nickname just given to him. But he brushes it aside with a snicker.

"Uh, anyway. I made you some tea. That'll help take your mind off things."

Midas dashes back into the kitchen and emerges five seconds later with said cups of tea. He passes one to John, who promptly begins downing it with a smile.

"So, what other routines do have planned for my training?" Jonesy asks, eager to know more.

"Come with me. I'll show you."

--------

Midas leads Jones down into the basement and switches on the lights. Lying around was a lot of gym equipment and gear, some enriched with a golden touch, some not.

"Woah... how'd you set all this up in one night?" Jones asks.

"I asked Meowscles if he still had the workout things from the yacht and if he has willing to let me borrow them." Midas explains. "And I spent the night setting it up...so I didn't really get much sleep..."

"Ah...wait, you had a yacht?"

"Yes but that's not important right now."

Midas grabs a pair of boxing gloves and tosses it to Jones whilst he grabs a pair of his own.

"Now, as much as I'd like to use this stuff now...after that run, I'm struggling to keep my strength up to stay awake. So instead, just for today, we're going to have a little sparring practice."

"On the punching bag over there?" Jones points.

"No...my dear, you're up against me."

Jones' heart skips a beat.

"Huh? But I don't want to hurt you. 'sides, you're WAY stronger than I can ever hope to be. You'd beat me no problem."

"Well with the aliens running around and stealing other people's identities, albeit very poorly, you never know..."

Jones sighs sadly. He was right.

"O-Okay. Hit me with your best shot-"

Almost immediately, Jones is met with a punch in the chest. Midas smirks, eyeing him with his golden iris.

"What? You did say hit me with your best shot, did you not?"

The blond retaliates, punching Midas in the face, almost immediately regretting it.

"Ah..s-sorry if that was a bit too hard."

He simply chuckles, shaking his head as his hair becomes more messy. He had a pretty proud smile on his face despite the bruise on his left cheek.

"Don't apologize my dear. I can already tell this is going to be a lot of fun."

---

15 minutes later...

Both men throw solid blows at each other, tanking the damage and still grinning and bearing with it.

Jones quickly dodges to the left and deals another punch onto Midas. It was that powerful that he looses his balance and has to grip onto the wall for support!

"Wow! I didn't expect such a hard hit from you John." He laughs, a proud smile on his face. "I'm very impressed."

He blushes bright red, chuckling lightly.

"Thanks. Maybe the hard hits are from my pent up anger at Slone or that thing in my head."

"Well whichever it may be, you're shaping to be quite the fighter if I say so myself." He compliments the blond. "But I believe that's enough for today."

"Yeah. I'm getting kinda hungry. What did Jules say she was doing?"

"Scrambled eggs on toast I believe." Midas guesses. "I have some work to finish but I'll meet you both at dinner. As for our workout, we'll resume same time tomorrow morning."

"Gotcha. See you later goldie!"

Jones walks back upstairs to the ground floor, leaving a flustered Midas trailing behind.

"Heh...there he goes again with that nickname. Goldie..."

He smiles warmly to himself, his heart beating and cheeks heating up. As he goes upstairs into his room, he couldn't help but think to himself;

"He's perfect in every way..."