8:06 pm.

"No no nohohohoho. Why must it be this way? Let it be me instead!"

Chum Chum paused. "You instead? But if you went to Muk Muk's house instead of me we'd still be apart."

"Wh-what?" the sniveling Fanboy squeaked at his friend's feet. "I can't hear you. I'm up to my ears in self-pity."

"Don't make it harder than it already is, buddy," the younger superhero said shakily. "It's just for tonight. My cousin has the flu and she really wants to see me. My juggling act always cheers her up."

Fanboy sniffled and clung tighter to his sidekick's ankles.

"You're a superhero, Fanboy," Chum Chum patted his leader's head. "You've gotta be strong. Now I have to get going before the storm hits."

8:09 pm. Chum Chum was gone. Fanboy was curled on the floor, fishing a locket from his shoe. He opened the pendant and gazed tearfully at the face of his friend.

"We haven't spent a night apart since we met," he sobbed before carefully tucking the closed locket back in his sneaker. "And we won't tonight either."

8:23 pm. Halfway to the couch Fanboy collapsed on the floor in grief.

8:40 pm. Fanboy gathered up the strength to pull himself onto the loveseat, where he curled up again.

By 9:15 the storm had started. With each bolt of lightning Fanboy pulled his blanket more tightly around him; with each crack of thunder he buried his face deeper into his pillow. Normally he preferred to stay up rather late, but without his best buddy to play with he had succumbed to boredom and dragged himself into bed.

His large ears were sharply attuned to the door, in hopes Chum Chum would return early, and so even over the thunder he caught the sound of knocking.

He shot out of the restraint of his bed sheets and flew to the door. Convinced he already knew who it was, Fanboy swung the door open and eagerly welcomed the person inside.

He bent down to give a happy hug, but instead of Chum Chum's torso his arms were wrapped around Kyle's legs.

"What are you doing?" the wizard asked while closing the door behind him.

"Kyle?" Fanboy rose and looked around. "Is Chum Chum with you?"

"I don't see why he would be," Kyle wrung his cape out. "Listen, I have an odd favor to ask of you. I thought I could make it home before it started raining, but, well, I didn't. This storm is forecasted to last for quite some time, so, um…"

"What, buddy?"

"Um, would you mind too much if I were to spend the night here?"

Fanboy brightened. It was the happiest he had been all evening. "Yay! A sleepover! Just what I need to help fill the void in my heart!" In one motion he grabbed the other boy's arm and dashed to his room.

"You do realize I wouldn't normally ask this of you," Kyle added as the fanchild parked him on Chum Chum's bed. "It's just that it's pouring, and you know how rain is harmful to wizards, and—"

"What do ya wanna do first?"

"Actually, I am rather fatigued…"

Fanboy seemed rather disappointed. "Aw, the night's still young, you know. We could play games, watch movies; your choice, buddy."

"No, thank you," the other boy looked from Fanboy, who had sat down on his own bed, to the bed adorned with his sidekick's logo.

"Where's Chum Chum on this horrid night?"

"With his sick cousin," Fanboy grumbled. "Muk Muk. The home wrecker."

"I…see," Kyle said slowly, a bit confused but not willing to get in the middle of what seemed to be a relationship crisis.

"I guess you can take his bed tonight," the fan pulled his covers back and curled up under them.

"Very well then, thank you," the young mage settled into the unfamiliar bed sheets. "Goodnight, I suppose."

"Yeah, I guess I'm a little worn out myself. I would have more energy if this hadn't been such a rough work day."

"Work?" Kyle looked up from wriggling into a comfortable position.

"Yeah, I had to fly to the moon to get this rare tuna casserole to appease a giant ninja antique dealer so he wouldn't destroy Galaxy Hills. I had to barter Chum Chum's snowmobile for it, but it was really good tuna. Normally I would have just defeated that mean ol' giant, but I had pulled a muscle earlier fighting off all of those cyborg samurai trolls."

"My walls must be quite thick," Kyle mumbled sarcastically. "One would think I would have heard a giant ambling through town."

"Ninjas are light on their feet, Kyle," Fanboy pointed out simply.

There was no arguing with him. The other child rolled his eyes and rolled to face the wall.

But he turned back to face Fanboy when frequent flashes of lightning in the window shone through his eyelids, no matter how hard he closed them. This gave him a chance to really watch his sometimes despised friend much more closely than he ever had. Fanboy was lying on his back, twiddling his thumbs and looking up at the ceiling. Seeing the look in his eyes, Kyle was suddenly amused with the realization that he had never believed until now that Fanboy was even capable of being lost in thought. His amusement turned to grim shock though, when a particularly sharp bout of thunder sounded. Feeling shaken, he cuddled closer to—he did not have his teddy bear. No wonder it was so hard for him to fall asleep. The sounds of a storm outside were easily withstood as long as Admiral Fluffington was in his arms.

A pillow and bedcovers did not seem sufficient to snuggle with. He needed something…a little more lifelike. He nearly called out to Fanboy to ask if perhaps he could borrow some toy of his, but it occurred to him that most likely all of Fanboy's toys were those "action figurines". Hard plastic was not optimal for cuddling.

As he looked a little longer at Fanboy, Kyle noticed that, though the fan was lying in bed without a stuffed animal, he looked quite settled in. It almost seemed that his own body was all the softness he needed. Perhaps—

Kyle pushed the resulting thought out of his mind. This was Fanboy—his hyperactive, unhygienic, annoying classmate. And yet, something about him looked so inviting, and the look in his eyes as he stared at the ceiling—probably thinking of how much he missed his sidekick—was so wanting.

Kyle was sure he would hate himself in the morning for doing this, but he took his pillow, climbed out of bed, and uneasily approached his temporary roommate.

When Fanboy looked at him the conjurer was at a complete loss for words. Making eye contact Fanboy's eyebrows rose as he suddenly sensed what his friend wanted. His mouth twitched, making a funny face; he couldn't decide whether he should grin or only smile slightly. He slid over to the far side of the bed and lifted the other side of the covers. Kyle, uncertain, got into bed slowly beside him.

"You know," Fanboy said quietly, somewhat bemusedly, "when I heard you moving around on that bed and didn't look directly at you, I could pretend…you know…that it was Chum Chum over there."

A small pain hit the wizard's heart. He knew Fanboy and Chum Chum were inseparable friends, but—Fanboy had been pretending Kyle was someone else. But why did that hurt? Why did he care what Fanboy was thinking, let alone what Fanboy was thinking about him?

A very still moment passed, in which neither boy noticed the storm still raging on. Until another loud crack of thunder sent them into each other's arms.

They trembled and held one another, badly startled, but when the storm became quieter, they somehow did not have the urge to let go. It was then that Kyle noticed that the fabric of the superhero costume felt somewhat like an elastic satin…and Fanboy really was as warm as he had looked.

He had never openly considered himself close to Fanboy, and so he felt apprehensive about this…this snuggling. But when the happy-go-lucky ninny squeezed him more tightly and buried his face into the striped shirt, the reluctant boy would daresay that…his heart…fluttered. He hoped Fanboy didn't hear it, with his face so close to it.

Fanboy had not thought he was going to find any peace at all that night. But there was something soothing about being in Kyle's arms. He smelled of magic incense and some fancy perfume the fanchild imagined came in a crystal bottle. He raised his head to meet his beloved Brit's eyes, and an instant blush came to the pale face. The fan smiled, finding the other boy's timid look adorable. He never noticed until now that Kyle's eyes were jade green, or that his teeth and braces resembled uniquely cut pearls set in a sterling silver bracelet. And his pullover was not necessarily soft, but it felt extremely…huggable…

Fanboy squeezed his friend more snugly, until their faces were pressed together.

And, caught up in the moment—

—Fanboy pressed their lips together as well.

When he pulled away to see Kyle's reaction, he immediately regretted his impulsive action. The wizard looked shocked and confused, and with those jade eyes widened he searched Fanboy's face for an answer to the unspoken question, "What was that about?"

"What was that about?" He finally spoke.

"Ehhh, I was just, um, in the moment, you know," the little hero grinned his most sheepish grin. "Yeah, like, you remember that time Scrivener Elf was writing us excuse notes and we were so excited we held hands before we realized what we were doing?"

"Ah," Kyle looked oddly calmed by this answer. "So it's just like that." He looked away and furrowed an eyebrow. "So you regret that kiss?"

"Of course, buddy!" Fanboy tried to laugh it off.

But Kyle wasn't so quick to do the same. "Well then," he leaned in a little. "Take it back." And he pressed his lips against Fanboy's for the same duration.

And then a little longer.

And then much longer.

When the boys began to suffocate they broke it off. Catching their breath they lay there for a while, the movement of each boy's chest having a relaxing effect on the other.

11:01 pm. The last thought that crossed Fanboy's mind before he fell asleep in Kyle's arms was 'Muk Muk can get sick anytime she wants.'