People in their life who always assumed FJ is the emotional one between them just haven't spent enough time around Rick to realize his skin is as tough as an old peach left in rain for three weeks (in other words, he's just a little boo in a big body, pls do not ask him sentimental questions 😭💔)
Story rambling:
This was at the end of the first couple of months since Rick and FJ first met each other. They spent a lot of that time trying to figure out who exactly FJ was before he got injured and slowly worked on triggering his memories in any way they possibly could (as he had a head injury-related memory loss). This accidentally lead to a formation of a really tight friendship that started to overtake why they were spending time together in the first place. Eventually, Rick managed to identify him and the time came for FJ to go back to Sandcrest, something neither of them were really looking forward to at that point, even though they didn't want to admit it.
FJ made a mistake of asking about Rick's wedding ring, something that Rick was never really prepared to talk about and it lead to this very moment. It's been five years since Loretta's passing but he was nowhere near over it, nor accustom to the emptiness it left behind. He felt immensely guilty about his inability to celebrate her life without falling apart, and FJ unintentionally made him feel alive again, even for just a little while. It was then that they both realized the difference they made in each other's lives, and the rest is history ❤️🩹🤎
They kind of nearly went separate ways after this before they used honey cake and Christmas as a reason why FJ shouldn't really rush home THAT quickly, and he just never left the Kostrovs ever since hahah
