Hank wasn’t sure what the hell had gotten into him, but he just couldn’t stop being around Eric.

First, he’d all but growled at Preston to back off. Preston had gotten the message, luckily — Eric did not deserve to deal with Preston’s bullshit — but Hank couldn’t help but gravitate towards them whenever Preston got near Eric again. Just in case.

Second, he couldn’t stop staring at Eric in his outfit.

He’d only ever seen Eric in suits, but now Eric was wearing a soft, dark green sweater that brought out the green in his eyes, and a pair of jeans that looked well-worn and comfortable. Hank couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to slide his hands over that denim, feel the fabric and the muscles underneath. Eric’s hair was looser as well, not combed into submission but casually finger-combed; it made him look ten times more attractive, which Hank hadn’t even thought was possible.

It was like the sex, and the talk in the diner, had flipped some sort of switch in his brain. He just kept being near Eric, wanting to touch him, although Hank managed to swallow those urges at the last minute.

He wasn’t some lovestruck teenager, but that was how he was acting, and he overall felt very confused and plenty frustrated.

“You should really just relax,” Lance said as Eric went to bowl. “Would it really be so bad if you let yourself like him?”

“It’s complicated,” Hank replied, watching Eric struggle with getting a good grip on the bowling ball.

“That’s what I used to tell people about Travis,” Lance said. “And I’m sure Adam and Luke said the same things at some point. Didn’t stop them. And now look at how happy they are.”

Luke was doing that thing where he wrapped his arms around Adam from behind and hooked his chin over Adam’s shoulder. It was sickeningly adorable, especially when it wasn’t for any particular reason and it was just a habit, the way that they stood now.

“And Davis managed to find someone,” Lance added, indicating where Paul was making Davis laugh so hard it looked like Davis was in danger of falling out of his chair. Paul had a proud but also shit-eating grin on his face, and Matthew was snorting in laughter as well, although whether it was at Paul’s joke or Davis’s contortions of laughter, it was hard to tell.

“Go for it,” Lance said. “Don’t wait years like I did.”

Hank looked over at Eric, who was lining up the shot and really going to hurt his wrist if he kept at it that way, and thought that maybe Lance was right. He deserved to indulge in this, didn’t he? To finally feel the way that his friends were feeling?

If nothing else, he could let himself have fun.

Eric seemed a bit confused at first by Hank’s behavior, but he welcomed it easily enough. It was shockingly easy to fall into the idea that he could touch Eric however he wanted, could just be in his space, and it wasn’t a huge deal. Eric seemed comfortable around him, and Hank felt comfortable in return.

Maybe this hadn’t been just sex the whole time? Maybe that was why he’d gotten so snappy and upset at Eric so easily — because a part of him knew that there was the potential for more in there, and was upset that he now had to walk away from it.

After the bowling night finally died down, some of the guys wanted to go to Joe’s and get some drinks. Luke and Adam begged off, partially because they were exhausted with all the planning leading up to the wedding, and partially because they wanted some time just with Seth. Eric and Enid both had to get back to the city, and so reluctantly — or at least he hoped it was reluctant on Eric’s part — turned the invitation down.

Hank took a deep breath. Eric was heading to his car. It was now or never.

“Hey,” he called out, jogging a little to reach him. “I’m glad you came. It looked like you had a really good time.”

“I did,” Eric said, smiling. He looked more relaxed than Hank had seen him, except for those few minutes after they’d both … well. But that was a boneless, used-up kind of relaxed. This was something soft and easy; very different, but just, Hank was realizing, as valuable to him. He wanted to see a lot more of both out of Eric.

“You should try and come hang out more,” Hank said.

Eric raised an eyebrow. “Is that an invitation?” he asked. “I thought we had to keep things separate and professional.”

He sounded a bit like he was trying to be playful, but also a little bit like he genuinely wasn’t sure about this whole thing. Hank could sympathize; he really had no idea what he was doing either. “I like being around you,” he admitted. “I figured we could do … more of that. Other than just for negotiations and stuff.”

“And what about those negotiations?” Eric asked. He sounded a little breathless, his eyes going dark, and Hank couldn’t resist stepping forward a little, getting into Eric’s personal space the way he’d kind of been doing all night, only now it was deliberate.

“Adam and Luke didn’t let a custody battle stop them,” Hank pointed out. “Why should we let this mess stop us?”

Eric looked at him for a moment, considering, then closed the small gap between them, pressing his lips to Hank’s.

It was nothing like their previous kisses. This was soft, hesitant almost, like the way their first kiss probably should’ve been. Hank’s hands came up to rest on Eric’s hips, for lack of any better place to put them, unsure suddenly about where he could and couldn’t touch.

Eric made a small noise in the back of his throat, like he was approving of Hank’s touch, and then he carefully — as if he was just as nervous — put his hands on Hank’s upper arms.

They pulled back a bit, for once just needing to breathe in more air, instead of gulping it because they’d been kissing heavily for too long. Eric cleared his throat, looking nervous still, but also more relaxed than Hank had seen him before.

“So your big plan is … figure out how to make it work?” Eric asked.

Hank forced himself not to shrug, and instead to look straight into Eric’s eyes. “If you’re okay with that,” he said, knowing that he sounded lame.

Eric took a moment to think about it. Hank even started to wonder if Eric was going to back down, say that this wasn’t worth all the trouble it was going to inevitably cause — but then he nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

Eric nodded again, a shy smile creeping over his face. “Yeah, okay.”

He kissed the corner of Hank’s mouth, just a soft brush of lips. Hank might have melted just a little, but he certainly wasn’t going to tell anybody that.

“I’m still going home, though,” Eric added, laughter in his voice. “I’m exhausted and need to get to bed.”

“Yeah, of course, no problem.” Hank nodded, stepping away. “But, uh … I don’t think I have your number, actually.”

Eric huffed in amusement. “You managed to get into my office, but you don’t have my phone number.”

“I had to get directions from Adam, actually,” Hank admitted.

Eric pulled out his phone and they exchanged numbers. “I’ll … look forward to hearing from you, then,” Eric said. “In a non-work-related capacity.”

Hank nodded. “Right, yeah, of course.”

He almost slapped his own face. He sounded just like those lovestruck idiots he’d always rolled his eyes at, like Travis when Lance accidentally spilled water all over himself. At least he wasn’t babbling the way Davis did.

When he was late to the bar, everyone demanded an explanation. Paul had clocked in for his late shift and was making drinks, but everyone else was crowded into their usual end of the bar top.

Hank didn’t know how to say ‘I was late because I was watching Eric get into his car and drive away’ without it sounding even stupider out loud than in his head.

“Took you long enough,” Jake said, as Hank slid past him to check on the kitchen staff — just in case.

“Careful,” he warned Paul, who was showing off by flipping a bottle of vodka all over the place.

Paul set the bottle down on the counter and spread his arms wide, like he was expecting applause or something. Hank just rolled his eyes.

“Hold on,” Matthew said, talking to Davis. “You’re telling me that season four was really better than season five? Are you serious?”

Hank looked at Paul, who shrugged. “Some TV show.”

“I figured,” Hank replied.

“So, you and the development guy, huh?” Paul asked, a teasing glint in his eye.

Dating Davis might have mellowed Paul out in some ways, but it couldn’t seem to completely get rid of that troublemaking spark that he had. It was just no longer directing itself towards the chaos of a trail of broken hearts.

“Yeah,” Hank said. “We’re just being casual.”

“He told me his job,” Paul said. “Isn’t the company he works for the one that’s been giving your folks a hard time all these years?”

“Yup,” Hank replied. He didn’t see how he could lie; Paul could literally ask anyone else in the bar, and they could tell him the same thing. Some days it felt like everyone was up in his family’s business — the downside of this having been a small town once upon a time.

“That’s not going to cause any problems?” Paul asked.

“I’m sure it might,” Hank replied. “Trust me, I’m still not sure if this is a good idea or not.”

“You sure seemed to think it was earlier,” Paul said, winking at him. “But hey, I think it’s a good thing. You’ve got a prime opportunity.”

“Oh?”

“You can convince him to back off on your family’s property.”

Hank blinked at him. “I can what?”

Paul gave him a look that was half mischief, half you idiot. “If you’re dating him, that means that he likes you, right? And he’ll be more inclined to do something that will help you out. You can persuade him that what he’s doing is wrong, and get him to find a way to back off and leave your family alone.”

Hank frowned. “That’s what we like to call tricking someone, Paul.”

“Is it trickery if you really like him?” Paul replied. “Or is it just a lucky coincidence? If you were only dating him to get him to convince his bosses to back off, that would be one thing. But if you genuinely want to date him, then consider this an added bonus. A fortunate opportunity.”

“Not sure if I should be taking advice from the guy who managed to screw up how many relationships?”

“You’re also taking advice from the guy who made an awesome and passionate declaration of love in a restaurant that totally convinced Davis to date me,” Paul pointed out.

“I don’t know if that’s something to brag about,” Hank replied. “You’re lucky Brad was enchanted with the whole thing, and not pissed that his date was stolen from under his nose.”

“I’ve met your roommate, Hank; he’s an anger management counselor, and I don’t think he’s even physically capable of getting pissed,” Paul said. He braced his hands on the edge of the bar top and leaned forward.

“C’mon, man. Think about it. A few well-placed words, maybe when you’re cuddling in bed after sex, maybe when you make him breakfast the next morning … this is a golden opportunity, Hank.”

Hank didn’t know. He didn’t like the idea of lying to someone, especially Eric, when Eric had been so honest with him throughout the whole thing. But on the other hand, Paul had a point. This was an opportunity to persuade Eric to find a way to get his company to drop the issue of the trailer park.

If Hank could do that, if he could just … while they were spending time together, talk to Eric about it more…

He knew from their conversation in the diner that Eric had doubts. That he wasn’t sure if he should do this, or at least knew that he shouldn’t, but that he had to. If Hank could get Eric’s conscience to be louder than his loyalty to his job and his career…

But on the other hand, this career meant everything to Eric. It was what he had been working towards for ages. If he found a way to stop this harassment of Hank’s family, would that mean that he was really cost his promotion? Would he have to start all over again? They couldn’t put him on probation or anything just for this, but they could take the promotion away from him, that was for certain, especially if nothing was in writing and the promotion was just implied.

Paul seemed to take Hank’s silence for affirmation. “Just think about it,” he said. “You know you’re out of options, right? They’ve got tons more money and lawyers than your family does. Just consider. This could be your only way of getting them off your back.”

He moved on to serve a customer after that, and after that he went to go flirt with Davis, as if he was trying to get the guy’s goddamn number, and not like they’d been dating for months and Davis was giving him a ride home after Paul closed up.

Hank was frozen.

Could he pull it off? Maybe. Possibly. He thought that maybe he could. The way that Eric was looking at him all soft, like he’d made up his mind about something, but was still adorably nervous about it — it made Hank worry that Eric would do whatever Hank asked.

Should he do it?

That was an entirely different question.

He couldn’t shake Aunt Laura’s anger, or his mom’s soft faith in him, out of his mind. And Grandpa — when was the last time he’d really sat down with his grandfather and spoken to him? And yet Grandpa had said for them all to go ahead and put their faith in Hank.

Hank had kept his distance from them, and let their judgment affect him and prevent him from being the family member that he should. This was his chance to prove his loyalty and to fix the wrongs he’d made.

But what if he hurt Eric in the process?

…but then Eric wouldn’t need to know, would he?

If Eric did it for Hank, and Hank convinced him, it wasn’t like Hank was going to turn around and dump him. Hank genuinely liked Eric, and wanted to try being with him. It was the first time that he’d felt this solid about trying to be with someone romantically, the first time he’d felt the proverbial butterflies. He wasn’t going to break up with Eric, and he wasn’t going to be with him just because of the trailer park.

It was just a bonus, like Paul had said.

He sipped at the beer that Paul had automatically put in front of him — Paul and Luke had the group’s orders down to an instinct by now, just unconsciously putting their favorite drinks in front of them when one of them walked up. Hank hadn’t even realized the beer had been delivered until he was already reaching for it, knowing it would be there.

He could do this. He could make this work. He could convince Eric to change his mind and get the company to leave the trailer park and his family alone, and Eric wouldn’t mind, and Hank could still date him, and it would all be fine. It wasn’t like this was his sole reason for dating Eric. It would all be okay.

He just had to do it carefully.