The Last Punch

Shep came out of the kitchen carrying the pan of triple tomato tabbouleh, the first dish we ordered on our first date when Alex and I stayed in England for an improv shoot.
The tabbouleh was put into the table and Shep ran into the kitchen, I'm assuming, to grab utensils, plates, and something to drink.
I was about to dip my fingers into the top layer of the pan when Shep turned around the corner, "Don't touch the dish! This our date night and we will be eating together."
I sighed and leaned back letting my little prince serve out a perfectly placed portion of the vegetarian dish. He kept the utensils away from me making sure I didn't start eating until he was sat down and waiting.
— — —
The pan was now empty, Shep eating most of it himself and I can see the resistance in him from going and licking the plates clean.
I pulled him outside to the wrap around balcony to sit and relax, looking over the city of London.
Shep and I were in the preliminary discussions of weddings when I saw a flash shine in the corner of my eye.
I stood up quickly and peered down onto the parking lot, where a seemingly familiar face looked up at me, "Adrien? Let me up? I need to talk with you."
I excused myself from the balcony and apologised to Shep, running down the large flight of stairs and opening the door. I put my palm on the door frame and rested my weight on it, blocking him from entering.
"I need to talk with Alex.” The man said messing with his tattooed hands nervously. I rolled my eyes and let out a sort of huff.
"Okay, she's touring Europe right now doing some shoots and is coming here soon for a get away sort of thing.” I said letting him in and shaking my head afterwards. “How am I even sure she wants to talk to you? I mean you guys haven’t talked in a while…” I shrugged and headed up the stairs, him following me close behind.
“Can I get to talk to her somewhere? While she's here... I want to talk. I need to. Forget it. It's in my bones that I talk to her.” The man said almost pathetically as I led him up to the living room.
"Okay I'll let you talk to her. Let's just get it over with. And how did you even get the address for our place??” I sat of the couch and he followed. Unlike Shep I could refrain from the standard raging about which country our couch was from, but Shep was still on the balcony.
"I asked one of our friends from high school. Then they asked her and yeah… It was a process.” He laughed nervously and cracked his knuckles.
“So what did you want to do?” I asked again, slightly annoyed.
“I just wanted to surprise her. She deserves it, I mean after all the shit she’s been through.. I just have to tell her that she means the world to me, she is my world…” He sighed and looked at me. “She’s never fully understood how much I love her and I just have to tell her.” He laughed nervously and looked down at his ripped jeans.
“I can help.. You can stay here till she arrives. Then she can decide whether to send you home or keep you here. Sound good? Now come on out, I need to talk to Shep with you…” I got up and walked to the balcony. I was uncertain as to if Alex would want this right now. I mean I don’t even know when the last time she had even talked to him was… This is gonna be fun...

Notes

Hello chemical kids and mechanical brides! It's Adrien here; the plan is all coming together
Who do you think the surprise guest was, during Shep and Adrien's date night?
xoxo Happy reading! -Adrien