Jake stood there. Exasperated, concussed, confused, but mainly hot. His heart pounded, lava flowed down the volcano. He glanced at it. He had maybe five minutes before it exploded and he joined Dirk in death. Roxy and Jane. He'd be able to meet them all then. Be able to see Grandma again. Be able to tell Dirk the stuff he'd rather be saying now.

He liked Dirk, loved him. Jake had thought Jane had liked him and asked, so not to have a guilty conscience for going to someone else. He had done the right thing.

But, he didn't want to kiss Dirk like this. Didn't want his first kiss like this.

The cooling flesh was cradled in his hands, blood that flowed in rivets now trickling down his wrist. The Auto Responder, Hal he'd called himself, glowing red in the shades.

Space Odyssey, 2001. Not a protagonist. Whispered his brain.

He'd seen that film! Hal 9000 had killed everyone. Did Lil Hal do the same? No, mustn't have. He was confusing his addled brain with 'conductors' and 'filthy tubas'.

Red flashed against the glasses of his skulltop.

TT: Our love will be your haunting refrain.

Love? Did Dirk love him? Or Hal? He needed clarification.

"Whoa wait whoa whoa… Our love? Hang on a minute. Mine an-"

TT: Stfu and kiss me.

"I'm going to! God!" He groaned, giving out and exasperated groan, "I just," he looked at his feet, rubbing Dirk's soft hair with his fingers. The last of his warmth leached out by the icy hands of Death himself, "This isn't how I pictured it going."

TT: Pictured what?

Jake could almost hear the curiosity in words. How his voice would lilt up at the last syllables.

"Between him and me," Jake closed his eyes. Picturing another world where they sat together, cuddled up. A conversation would start and a kiss, maybe more, would finish it. "There had to be a better way than this!"

TT: This is the only way it can be.

"I guess if it was going to go this way," He shrugged, looking deep into the black hole of the shades, "I kinda pictured something different? There was stuff I wanted to say. To the real him I mean."

TT: Tick, tock, Jake. Time is dead kids.

TT: How 'bout that smooch?

"Stop being so pushy!" Jake snapped, adjusting the head in his slick hands.

TT: I thought you were supposed to like adventure?

"I love adventure and you know it!"

TT: I'm not sure what to believe anymore, frankly.

He knew he was baiting him. It worked. Jake screamed something. He couldn't exactly remember what.

And then he kissed him.

The urge to throw up over powered him. He tasted the dull copper of blood and his stomach churned. The volcano erupted. He felt like crying. He loved Dirk. Loved him so much.

A cough pulled him away. Blood stained his lips and he looked towards – Dirk? He dropped the head and it rolled with a series of wet thuds which both Jake and Dirk flinched at. He dragged his sleeve over his mouth and jumped off the crumbled wall.

Jane and Roxy both stood there, disgusted looks on their faces. Roxy looked more shocked than disgusted. Jake tugged his skulltop off, hair dishevelled and some of it stuck to his crown. Then he burst into tears and threw himself at Dirk.

He clung onto him, wrapping his arms around his neck and sobbing – hysterically trying to explain everything.

"AR told me you were dead. H-he told me I had to kiss you to wake you up. I-I…" Dirk glanced at Roxy and Jane, stoic face clearly panicked. Jane grabbed Roxy into a hug and began stroking her hair, looking pointedly at Dirk. The girls pulled away and watched as Dirk awkwardly copied her.

They exchanged a glance and Roxy dove back at Jane for another hug, pulling them away so they could talk and give the boys some privacy.

Dirk rested his head against Jake's, closing his eyes. Jake moved, pulling back and wrapped his hands around his waist before resting his head in the crook of Dirk's neck.

They stood like that for a minute, hearts pounding. Jake eventually stopped crying, wiping his eyes with one hand.

"English, I need to tell you something." He pulled away again. Their arms were still around each other. "Jake, I –"

"I love you."

"That's what I was about to say."

They stood there: noses touching, breaths mingling, arms around each other.

Throwing caution to the wind, Dirk kissed him.

It wasn't co-ordinated. Teeth clashed and noses bumped. Tongues tasted the others lips, but no one furthered it. Jake wrapped his arms around Dirk's neck, pushing himself against his body on his tiptoes. Dirk gripped Jake's hips, marvelling at how they stuck out. Like handles.

Roxy rolled her eyes at Jane and grimaced. Jane copied her.

"Excuse me! End of the world here!" Called out Roxy, giggling as they both jumped apart blushing.