A year after leaving his life and friends behind, Tony returns to a less than warm welcome. Overdue conversations are had and Tony is forced to face some painful truths, and questions he can't answer. Can he undo the damage, or should he just walk away for good? Will they forgive him for leaving? Who will be there to pick up the pieces?

Two months after Justin leaves for New York, Brian suddenly disappears without a word to anyone. Michael finally tracks him down, but is he too late to save Brian from himself and his feelings of abandonment? Contains adult content/language. May become slash in later chapters.

Gibbs works on a special project while Tony recovers from "the mother of all hangovers." A three-word prompt fic told through a series of flashbacks. My words: Wooden frame, stray cats and dry heaves! A Tibbs romance, but no explicit slashiness! I hope you like it.

Written in response to Amy H's Bubble Fic Challenge of 2014. Starts out with a case but pretty quickly turns into some pretty serious playtime! This is slash - you have been warned. It's rated M for a reason. Enjoy!