mortmere, this topic came up with fresca and she thought that too - that it's a lame attempt to prove he's straight - "nothing to see here!"

This angle interests me too. Particularly how you put it - "S4 syndrome". It's right in line with him wearing that bowling shirt that says "Al" - he's looking for ways around being Hutch; he's deliberately stepping out of character. That could include the whole mess with Kira too. Oh, the lovely angst of it.