It is, obviously and unsurprisingly, a somewhat awkward kiss, but I can feel the potential in it even so. We're both just so awfully tense, and it really is disconcerting to be so close to one man while kissing another. I give Will a smile, both for encouragement and to indicate that I'm far from unhappy with the experience even if we're both a little bit lost here.

And then I turn my head to look at John. I will never in a million years admit that I haven't the first clue how this is supposed to work, in actual practice, any more than Laurence does, but I do trust that he knows us both well enough to provide some kind of direction, if he can, toward the shape of what we're trying to become. At the very least, I hope he has some idea of where he ought to fit here as well.