Alex was as good as his word. It was a hugely fantastic, utterly satisfying and completely laddish 'lets-forget-about-Rimmer' day. They ate crap, drank about a ton of cola, got thoroughly hyperactive and giggly, let out all their sugar-fired energy on the A.R. games (Lister beat Alex three times at Jupiter Grand Prix Racer, but then Alex beat him to a pulp on the Zero-Gee Kickboxing) and then went for a quiet drink to round off a perfect day.

As they sat at their table in a companionable silence, sipping at their lagers and watching the rest of the world – or rather the ship - go by, it occurred to Lister that this was exactly how he'd always wanted his life to be.

"What are you smiling at?" Alex asked him.

"Nothing really," Lister shrugged, "I'm just happy."

"Oh. Good," Alex smiled, "I'm happy you're happy. You want another drink to bolster that happiness?"

"I think I could manage one."

"Excellent. My round." He got up and went to the bar.

Lister watched him from their table as he stood there and waited to be served. He saw him shake his hair out of his eyes in a gesture startlingly similar to that of a certain Ace Rimmer, although without the smug self-awareness, and Lister felt a smile skip across his face. Alex really was very good-looking. All dark hair and bright blue eyes. Lister wondered vaguely if he was jealous about that, but he didn't think he was. Not jealous exactly. Envious perhaps. Lister wasn't someone who'd ever really been that concerned about his own appearance, as most of his wardrobe went to show, but almost without realising it, he'd started to make an effort when he knew he was going to see Alex. He'd bought some new clothes even; a couple of pairs of jeans and some new shirts and t-shirts. It wasn't really in his nature to be competitive, to try and 'keep up' with other people, but he'd be lying if he didn't admit that Alex had been at the back of his mind when he'd bought the stuff.

Alex, leaning patiently against the bar, turned back to look at him and they shared a smile. The barmaid finally got round to him and placed her hand on his arm to get his attention. Alex turned round to place the order, giving her a warm smile. She beamed back and went to pour their drinks. She obviously fancied him. Lister watched; curious to see what he'd do. When she came back with the drinks, she said something, a joke obviously, and Alex laughed but didn't take the opportunity to strike up a conversation. He looked back at Lister, sitting on his own waiting for him, gave her the money and started to bring the drinks back to the table. Lister felt happy. Most blokes would have seized the chance to get a shag and forgotten all about their mates, but Alex had put him first. Hell, he'd put the whole day aside to do fun stuff with him and cheer him up. It felt good that someone cared enough to do that for him. Alex really was a great friend.

"Hey," he said, sitting back down and setting the drinks in the centre of the table, "Tequila shots!"

"Oh smeg," Lister said cheerfully, "Tequila always gets me ratted."

"Well, I was thinking of making this the last round, actually," Alex shrugged, "I've got a few bottles stashed in the fridge back at my place. Thought maybe we could go back and stick a movie on or something."

"Sounds good. I'm up for that," Lister agreed. The clinked their glasses together and knocked back the fiery liquid; doing the traditional face-pulling and tongue sticking-out that goes with downing tequila. "Okay?" Alex asked hoarsely after a few seconds.

"Okay," Lister confirmed, "Let's get out of here."

The barmaid waved to them as they left. "You could have got her number, you know," Lister said as they wandered down the corridor to Alex's quarters, "She totally had the hots for you, man." Alex shrugged,

"Maybe," he seemed unconcerned. Lister laughed,

"Must be nice to be handsome enough not to feel the need to pounce on an opportunity like that. The rest of us have to take what we can while we can, know what I mean?" Alex looked at him, an eyebrow raised,

"Like Kristine Kochanski? She's not exactly Tuesday night's leftovers, is she?"

"No, but then I have a sneaking suspicion that's why we're not together anymore," Lister pointed out, smiling. "Oh, don't come out with shit like that," Alex said, "There's nothing wrong with you!"

"I suppose," Lister sighed, "I just wish I looked more like you sometimes, that's all."

Alex went a little bit red, "We need to stop this conversation right now and get some more drink in you," he said firmly.