Ulysses and the Fugitive 15
"Right, off you go when you're ready, Lee. I'll probably be up awhile watching this turd of a match. "
Ulysses nodded, and looked to Nera. "What about you?"
"I'm not tired. But I can come rest with you, if you like?"
"I'll be good. You don't have to." Ulysses turned his head toward Giles, whose eyes were fixed on the soccer match.
One of the players was yellow-carded, prompting Giles to curse. Ulysses looked at Nera. "Just don't interfere with
Giles while he's watching the game, okay?"
Nera gave Ulysses her shark-like grin, prompting him to chuckle. She nodded in the affirmative and stroked the
side of his head. "I'll come join you when I get tired," she said.
Ulysses watched the game and drank his beer. The silence on the couch was intermittently broken only by Giles
muttering or cursing or both. When his bottle was empty, Ulysses excused himself, pausing to kiss Nera. Then he
walked down the hall to Giles's spare bedroom.
The excited jabbering of the commentators was the only sound in the living room. Giles's expression was
ambivalent. His gaze didn't stray from the TV.
"Giles?" Said Nera. "I know you have something to say. You can talk to me, if you want to."
"Can't hide anything from you, can I?"
"I don't know. You haven't yet," she said with a shrug.
"Then thank you for the chance to say what I have to say out loud," Giles said, looking over at Nera. "Let me start
by saying: I do believe the two of you love each other. I don't doubt that. And love is a wonderful thing. I've been in
love before, so I do know what it's like. I understand how love was a factor in some of the decisions made earlier
this evening. But I think there are still a few facts that need to be addressed despite those decisions." Giles sipped
from his beer bottle.
"To be completely honest, you're poison for Lee. You're no good for him at all. I don't know if you understand that
or not. It's apparent to me that Lee doesn't understand how you're wrecking his life. His teary overtures to join
you as a permanent guest of the U.S. Government proved it to me." The Australian paused for reaction from Nera,
yet saw little and didn't quite know how to interpret what he did see.
He continued. "You must understand, Lee was a mess before you met him. But now, he's actually worse off. Any
chance of him getting his life on track is completely wrecked if he goes with you. I don't think he deserves that."
Giles paused, once more looking for reaction. Again, he wasn't sure how to interpret what he saw. "You know, I
tried to reason with him about you shortly after you showed up at his flat, and he had none of it. Struth."
Giles downed the rest of his beer. "And look, I am sympathetic to your situation. Truly. I am. You're in an
unwinnable, loony situation. Even the best case scenario for you looks pretty fucking bleak. I get it. But please
don't let Lee go with you. I'm begging you. He's too fucking smitten to know any better." Giles considered the