Microsoft stopped by Yahoo’s apartment this morning to pick up a bottle of cologne, a pair of sweat pants, and the mountain bike that it had left there and found that Yahoo had stayed home from work. They got to talking and it seems that absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder, as the two companies are considering an alternative agreement which would “not involve a full buyout” of Yahoo by Microsoft, according to Reuters.

In a statement, Microsoft said it “is not proposing to make a new bid to acquire all of Yahoo at this time, but reserves the right to reconsider that alternative”…

…After Microsoft’s statement, Yahoo confirmed it was looking at a number of “value maximising” alternatives with Microsoft, and would assess offers made by the firm.

Details beyond that are pretty scant as this point, but isn’t it nice to see these kids try to work out their differences? They just needed some space, that’s all.