Sips was on one tonight. He was practically standing on the long dining table trying to paint the scene for his friends. "So, I'm just farming right. I'm like, into it. I've got my wooden pick and I'm pounding away at the –"
"You're really into it, pounding away at it with your wood?" Sjin interrupted from the seat opposite of Sips. LividCoffee, seated next to Sjin, began to snicker.
"How did it feel?" Sjin asked innocently.
"It was awesome!" Sips was, as usual, unaware of the tangent he on which he was now being taken. "I'm like, in the zone. It was like this pick was just one long extension of my body…"
Sjin and LividCoffee were now doubled over in laughter. Sips voice cracked as he realized that it was too late to stop this analogy now. "Yeah, shit! I'm just pounding away at this fucking thing with my long, hard piece of wood. ..This wood that was now, like, throbbing with my…with my manly efforts, but when I looked up…"
Xephos sighed, tuning out the noise by cradling the bridge of his nose in thumb and index finger. Sjin and LividCoffee were going to hurt themselves laughing, by his estimates. And Sips was just as likely to wind up next to them because if he got any more animated, he was going to fall right off the table.
Xephos sought his refuge. Turning away from the group at the table, he took his plate across the wooden floor and out the thin wooden door. Outside the air was crisp in this tundra biome and the stars twinkled. A gentle wind rocked the hardy tundra flowers. "I brought you dessert."
"OOOh!" Honeydew sat up in the grass with the enthusiasm of a small girl invited to a pretty princess tea party. "You're my favorite Spaceman; you know that, don't you?" Xephos had to admit that he lived for his friend's predictability.
Xephos handed the tray over and sat down in the grass beside the Dwarf. "I better be. Otherwise…" he grasped for a way to finish his sentence. "Otherwise, I'll leave you here with Sips and Sjin."
"You wouldn't dare!" Honeydew answered with mock outrage, taking a large, animated bite out of his Jaffa Cake.
"No," Xephos admitted. "Who would dig my holes?"
"Damn right."
A chill wind passed over the two. The interaction was forced, like reading lines from a script. Xephos looked at his long-time companion. Really looked. The scars from many hard fought battles streaked the Dwarf's shoulders. The proud red beard even bore a streak or two of grey. It had been a long, long time.
Honeydew was thinking much the same about Xephos. "You wouldn't dare." He said again, this time barely audible.
"Would you?" Xephos asked, already knowing the answer in his heart.
Honeydew looked at now empty plate and fidgeted absent-mindedly. "I'm always Dwarfin' things up."
"That's what I love about you," Xephos responded honestly.
Honeydew dropped his head. "Xephos. It's not the same, is it?"
"It has been a very long time."
"Yeah, but it's not the same."
"Does it need to be?" Xephos leaned slightly, resting his shoulder against Honeydew's shoulder.
Honeydew sagged, finally showing his unhappiness. "We've done everything, Xephos. We've become SkyLords, then ShipLords –"
"And you've pushed me off of almost every bridge we've ever crossed," Xephos interjected with a laugh.
"We've saved the world!" Honeydew said, still not believing it himself.
"You've blown holes in every rock wall standing in our way!" Xephos liked remembering the happy times. "I've had to come running to save you from yourself about a million times too."
"Somewhere along the way…between the cannibal cows and the clones…" Honeydew sighed. "You're a good man, Xephos."
"But?" Xephos cocked his head to meet Honeydew's coal black eyes.
"When we're together I feel like I'm… a character in a pre-recorded adventure that the real me is watching in the dark, like hidden away. I'm with you, but it's not real. Not for me. I need something real, Xephos."
"I know." Xephos brought his knees to his chest and locked his arms around them. It was quiet for a time before Xephos could voice his thoughts. "I never thought it would end."
A loud crash and stream of profanity from the house told Xephos that Sips had finally fallen from the table.
Xephos tightly pressed his head into his knees. He took one breath. And then another. "We should go sort that out," he mumbled from his knees.
"Right!" Honeydew agreed cheerfully. Intentionally so. "If that idiot broke anymore dishes, he'll really be hurt; I'll make sure of it."
Honeydew set off towards the house, steel pick axe in hand to validate his promise.
Xephos counted three more slow breaths. Sighed. Shook his head. Then quietly rose to follow his friend inside.