He drew in a small breath when he hugged her, and then it all just... sank in. She liked him. She liked him! She liked him the way that he liked her. He thought about however long now, being unsure if he'd felt like that, if she did. The idea that even if he did like her, what then? They led such different lives, were such different people... It'd taken talking to one of his own best friends, in an unknowing parallel to Lexi today with Louie, to sort things out. He just didn't know where to go from there.

And then she kissed him. And where to go suddenly became crystal clear.

"You're one of the best parts of my life too, Lexi." He wrapped his arms around her in kind, as good as he was able, and nuzzled against her gently.