The ensuing complete silence covered the room like a thick, muffling blanket. Both of them were abundantly aware that neither of them were letting go. Of course, the one who recovered fast enough to speak was the one that wasn't Taranza. "Did you do that on purpose?"

He snapped out of the almost trance-like state he was in. "Oh. Uh… not really." He pulled one of his free hands up and brushed something out of his hair that didn't exist. "That just sort of… happened. It was an accident."

"You're still doing it." Despite the slight mocking in his voice, he clearly wasn't unhappy about it.

"Any chance you'll buy that it's still an accident?"

Magolor reached around Taranza and pulled him in closer. He tilted his head slightly toward the back of the couch, a gentle smile on his face. "Oops." Then he shifted backwards, almost imperceptibly. His eyes opened wider. "Your face is turning blue. Is that normal?"

"Yes, that's normal. Nothing to worry about."

Magolor's eyes relaxed again, as he inched forward on the couch. "Heh… that thing I thought I couldn't tell you about, it looks like you found out yourself."

Taranza put a hand behind Magolor and slowly pulled him closer, making sure not to come off as aggressive. You could almost see the tension within him being replaced with a very different kind of tension. "Is this okay?"

A nod. For the first time since they noticed there was any physical contact between them, Magolor let go of Taranza's hand, though it was only to pull down the scarf that covered his mouth. "I'm sure you know where I'm going with this."

"I do. Go right ahead."

Trying to rein in his quickening heartbeat, Magolor took a few slow breaths, closed his eyes, and then leaned forward, kissing him.

Time stopped. Or at least, it may as well have. The only sound either of them could hear was the beating of their hearts. It was as if the world outside this small couch had completely frozen. The world could have been sliced in half at that moment, and they likely wouldn't have noticed. It could have been anywhere between a second and an hour until one of them moved again. Magolor moved his hand up and ran it through Taranza's hair, but flinched and opened his eyes again when he tried to reciprocate. "Ah, uh, sorry. That was just… instinct. Also, I don't have hair like that."

"No, no, it's my fault. I got a little carried away…"

Despite the reaction, the two of them remained there, holding each other. Magolor had to look up to make eye contact. "Did I do that right?"

"Yes. You did great."

Magolor grabbed the blanket behind Taranza and pulled it over them. "Great, huh. I don't get told that one very often. …Thank you, Taranza."

"This is a lot to happen right after I wake up. I haven't even had breakfast yet." He laughed quietly.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't even think about that!" Magolor tilted his head. "Are you hungry?"

Taranza took the blanket and wrapped it around Magolor fully. He started making a quiet noise that Taranza had never heard before. "You don't need to do that for me. As nice as-you can purr?"

"Oh, uh, I guess? I didn't know that myself, actually."

"Hehe. That's really cute." He brushed his thumb along Magolor's scarf. "Seriously though, I'm really hungry, you can get off me. We can cuddle more afterwards, right?"

Magolor looked up, holding one hand in the air like he was about to woefully monologue in an old play. "The hands of fate have guided me somewhere cold and heartless." He got off the couch, a big beaming grin spread across his face. "While you're doing that, I need to go get more food from the grocery store. You just let me know if you need anything, okay?" He went out of the room, leaving the door open.

He went out the front door and headed into town, feeling lighter than he ever had before. On his way, he saw Daroach tiptoeing at terminal velocity in his general direction. "Oh, hey! Daroach notices you're doing a lot better than the Lor said you were! …Oh. She said "never mind" a few minutes ago. What happened?"

"Oh, I was just feeling a little down. Taranza was there, though, and he… always knows what to say."

Daroach snickered. "That was the least subtle thing I've ever heard. A historian could be calling you two roommates and it'd be less obvious than that."

"Hey, cut me some slack, I don't know what I'm doing." He spoke sarcastically.

"I can tell. Anyway, I'm glad you're feeling better. What are you doing?"

Magolor indicated the store nearby. "Well, for one thing, I'm running low on food. If you don't mind, I'd like to get back to fixing that." He gave a salute goodbye, and entered.

- ... . / -. / .. -. / - .- -. - .-.. - .-. / ... - .- -. -.. ... / ..-. - .-. / -. .- -.-

"I'd love for you to spend the night, but you really need to fix your sleep schedule, and I know I'd keep you up." Magolor smiled. "Also, I don't think you'll want to be here for when I go to another planet to break someone out of prison."

Taranza was almost shocked enough to let go of him. Keyword being almost. "Why are you doing that?"

"I feel bad for him. Guy got a life sentence for nine counts of larceny, three counts of arson, and one murder. As the one who actually did all of that, it's only right that I save him, right?"

"Wow, you really were not a good person before you met me."

Magolor laughed quietly. "I really wasn't. I've been trying to fix it for almost a decade now."

Taranza hugged him tight and then put him down on the couch. "Call it bias, but I think you've done that very well. I'll go home and let you take care of what you need to do." He quickly leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight."

Magolor called Daroach on his cell phone. "Hey, how do the squeaks feel about prison breaks?"

"Well, you are one honorarily, so just say the word and we'll join in for the breaking!"

.- -.-. - ..- .- .-.. .-.. -.- / . ...- . .-. -.- / ... .. -. -. .-.. . / .-.. . - - . .-. / .. -. / -... - - ... / - ..-. / - ... . .. .-. / -. .- - . ... / ... - .- -. -.. ... / ..-. - .-. / -. .- -.-

"Well, I felt bad for being in a coma on two of your birthdays, so I decided to get you something extra special." Magolor pulled a flash drive out of his cape. "This is the manuscript for the final entry in that book series you love. The one where the author died before it was ever published."

"What? How did you get this?" Taranza was in disbelief.

"I'll leave that up to the imagination. Anyway, this was finished, but never edited, so this is the manuscript in its purest form. I hope you enjoy it, because I'm no longer allowed within three miles of her home."

Taranza threw his hands around Magolor and pulled him in for a hug. "Thank you. This might be the best gift I've ever gotten." The almost tearful grin on his face faded. "You didn't kill the author, did you?"

"No, but don't ask about the guy who did. I single handedly got him put in jail."

"Oh, nice!"

- ... . / ... ..- -. / ... . - …

Taranza sat under a tree at the top of a cliff, overlooking the ocean. The sky was beginning to turn orange. Taranza looked to his left and saw Magolor approaching. "Oh, hi."

"I noticed you were looking a little forlorn. What's wrong?"

"I was just reminiscing-wait a minute, how could you tell?"

Magolor sat down. "I guess I'm just really smart." The two of them sat in comfortable silence for about a minute before Magolor spoke again. "You know, you really do bring out the worst in me."

Taranza turned to face him, visibly confused. "What?"

"You know, I feel comfortable enough around you to acknowledge the parts of myself that I don't like."

Taranza's look of confusion turned to a smile. "I love that, love you, but that is absolutely not what that means."

"Oh, really? That's-wait."

"What?" It suddenly hit Taranza what he had just said, and he clasped a hand over his mouth. "Oh, uh, I didn't mean to-"

"I love you too."