A/N: This was supposed to be really short, but my mind didn't seem to understand and just kept giving me ideas; part 2 should be up tomorrow. Also, I proofread this after being awake for about 20 hours solid, so sorry if there are any mistakes. Anyway - on with the story!

"Are you sure you'll be alright, guys?" Xephos asked Lalna and Honeydew for the fifth or so time in the space of the last ten minutes. The dwarf laughed at his friend's concern and said, "For the last time, yes! We'll be fine. You enjoy your night out with Lomadia, right? Just stop worrying!" Nodding, Xephos turned to leave.

"Have fun!" Lalna called after him, winking as the spaceman looked back over his shoulder at them. He gave them a small wave and a smile, and then he was gone into the dusk.

Lalna started at the knock on the dorm door. The rain that had been pouring down since soon after Xephos left had lulled the scientist into a state of semi-sleep, but the sharp rapping of knuckles against wood roused him. Swinging his legs over the side of his bed and setting down the book he'd been reading, he crossed the floor and cracked the door open just enough to see who was at the door – any further and the heavy rain would have come in. To say he was surprised to see Xephos was a bit of an understatement. Lalna hadn't expected his friend to be back before the next morning, let alone a mere hour after he'd first set off. "Xephos?" The blond questioned, his confusion evident in his voice. "What's happened?" Xephos was soaking wet, his clothes drenched, his hair dripping, fringe plastered to his forehead.

"Can I come in?" he asked quietly, and Lalna's level of concern increased a little.

"Yeah, of course, sorry..." Standing back, Lalna opened the door slightly wider and Xephos slipped in quickly. Shutting the door firmly against the weather, Lalna took one look at Xephos and pointed out, "You're soaked."

Xephos looked down at himself as if he hadn't noticed the state of his clothes before now. "Oh yeah." He looked back up at Lalna, a dazed expression on his face. Sighing, the scientist stepped away from the door and realised Xephos needed to get out of his wet clothes before he got sick. Seeing that his friend was in no state to do it himself, Lalna began to unbutton Xephos's shirt. This seemed to break the spaceman's reverie, and his hands took over. But when he'd dumped his shirt on the floor and started on his trousers, Lalna busied himself across the other side of the room looking for a towel, his back to the other man. As he heard the thump of wet material on the floorboards, he blushed at the thought of mostly naked Xephos standing behind him. He hated the way his face always betrayed his feelings for the taller man, but he ignored this and said, "We've got no towels, so for now just wear this." He slipped his labcoat off and threw it to Xephos, who swung it over his shoulders and wrapped himself tightly in it. Lalna sat back down on his bed, looking up at Xephos. "Come sit here and tell me what's going on." He patted the expanse of mattress next to him, and Xephos slowly complied. He crossed his legs and sat with the bottom half of his face hidden by the collar of Lalna's labcoat. After a moment or two, he said slowly, "She... dumped me." A single tear rolled down his cheek and fell, sparkling like crystal in the torchlight.

"Shit..." Lalna muttered under his breath. Shifting closer, he slipped his arm around Xephos's shoulders, who buried his face in Lalna's shirt.

"I don't understand. What did I do wrong?" Xephos's voice came out muffled by the fabric, but Lalna could still hear the sadness in his tone.

Trying to reassure his friend as best he could, Lalna said gently, "You could never do anything wrong."

"So why does she hate me now?"

"Oh, come on. I'm sure she doesn't hate you."

At this, Xephos pulled back to look at Lalna. "You didn't see the look on her face. It's like she was... disgusted by me." The brunette dropped his gaze, but Lalna had other ideas.

"Look at me." With the hand that wasn't around Xephos's shoulders, he tilted his face up to look him in the eye. "Forget her. If she hates you, so what? Her loss. There are plenty of other people who like you. Hell, there's people who love you, Xeph!"

Xephos furrowed his brow in disbelief at his friend. Sighing, Lalna leaned forward, closing the small gap between their faces, placing his lips softly on Xephos's. After a few seconds he swiftly pulled away, shocked by his own boldness. Panicking, thinking he may have hurt Xephos even more, an apology tumbled out of his mouth half-formed.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't -"

"You don't know how long I've wanted you to do that."

Lalna stopped speaking abruptly, stunned at Xephos's comment. He sat silent, still; could this be real? He'd had a crush on Xephos for quite a long time now, but he'd always thought it could never happen because Xephos had always been with Lomadia. Was Xephos just feeling desperate? When tomorrow came, would he reject Lalna? Deep within his thoughts, the scientist was completely oblivious to the fact that Xephos was edging closer to him until he was nestled into Lalna's lap, looking at him expectantly. Returning to the present, he blinked dazedly, and could only smile beneath Xephos's lips as the spaceman kissed him once, twice more. Who cared about tomorrow, when right now he had the most perfect man in his arms?