Luxin's POV

The teens brought back their Lions quickly, especially considering the fact that Lux had expected them (in his usual, cynical way) to fail miserably at this task. The last two to get back were Arin and Kaiden, the former of which showboating her Lion as they descended into the hangar. He didn't scold her for it, though - they'd all had a fairly long couple of days, so perhaps she deserved a bit of slack.

What Luxin had expected the least out of the whole situation was the familiar face that rode with Arin in the Orange Lion. The aura that he gave off was faint from this distance, and Luxin wouldn't have even felt it had he not been so deeply connected with its bearer.

Kol'syk.

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Kol'syk's POV

Years ago...

"Thank you all very much for doing this for us," the Altean named Alfor said to Kol'syk's commander as he led them down the halls of the base they had constructed with the Olkari people. Kol'syk didn't particularly understand what they were doing here, exactly, but the generalized gist of it was that it was going to help out the universe in the end by taking out the Altean empire. The young Galra couldn't help but think of it as strange and admirable that these two single Alteans were willing to go against their own people for the sake of everyone else from all races.

The commander nodded his large head and offered Alfor a gentle smile. "The Blade of Marmora can spare two soldiers for such a worthy cause," he responded, nodding to the two soldiers in question. The older - Phiram - was to watch over Alfor, and the younger - Kol'syk - was supposed to watch over the one called Luxin.

They had yet to meet, but that was about to change.

As soon as they stepped into the main laboratory, the younger Altean came up to meet them. He looked much like Alfor, especially in coloring - dark skin and white hair, with brilliant blue eyes. However, he seemed slightly less put-together than the other - messier hair, larger eyes, glasses askew on his face. Behind them, his eyes widened at the sight of the older Altean.

"Alfor, I believe I've found a way to combine the quintessence with pieces of specific metals and technology, though I'm not quite positive how that would work just yet. I wanted your opinion before-" He cut off, apparently just now noticing the three Galra behind his kin. "Ah, hello there! I apologize for being rude, but what, exactly, is going on here?"

The commander smiled slightly at the younger Altean's enthusiasm. "The Blade and Alfor have decided that it would be in everyone's best interests to continue working together. Two of my best soldiers have been selected to be your personal bodyguards."

Luxin blinked a couple of times, his pointed ears twitching as he tried to take in that information. "Did we not even think of asking my opinion on the matter?" he suddenly demanded, puffing out his chest and placing his hands on his hips. "Alfor, you understand better than anyone that I do not need a bodyguard."

Alfor simply shrugged at the younger man, blue eyes soft as he regarded him. "Luxin, I understand that you are capable, but this is important. I know that you do not like to depend on others for assistance, but sometimes, it is necessary." The younger Altean narrowed his eyes further and glanced to the side. "How would I be able to do all of this on my own if you were to die?"

That seemed to get the younger's attention, because he rolled his eyes in one last display of slight rebellion before accepting his fate. "Alright," he muttered, straightening his posture and looking at the Galra. "I apologize for my behavior," he said calmly, dipping his head.

"He has issues with trusting others," Alfor interjected, and Luxin shot him a furious glare.

The commander chuckled - a deep, rumbling sound - and shrugged one shoulder in return. "I believe we all do, in one way or another. Your behavior is forgiven." He looked over at his two soldiers. "I have brought to you Phiram, who is to watch over Alfor, and Kol'syk, who is to be beside Luxin." They both stepped forward when their names were mentioned, and approached their charges.

Kol'syk had to crane his neck down to look at Luxin, who was even shorter than Alfor himself. The young Altean was studying him carefully behind his glasses, in a head-to-toe manner that made Kol'syk slightly uncomfortable.

"My name is Kol'syk Adar," he introduced, dipping his head down in respect.

Luxin snorted softly and reached out a hand for him to shake. "Please. It is not like you are beneath me; there is no need for formalities," he asserted, and Kol'syk shook his hand awkwardly. "My name is Luxin, though normally I am called Lux."

Hesitantly, Kol'syk allowed himself to believe that this man might not be so bad.

...Unfortunately, he was wrong.

Over the next several months, Kol'syk had come to find that Luxin was a manic, anxious mess half the time, and that led to temper fits and lengthy periods of silence. Usually, his anger was directed at the nearest person, which, in turn, was usually Kol'syk. The young Galra had to believe that much of it was likely due to lack of sleep and the unbearable pressure that he was under as he and Alfor worked day and night to build these giant, mechanical... cats in the base.

In the end, they built one fully-functional robot out of a specific mixture of rare metals. The lion husk was white in color, and Lux was quite proud of it. Alfor was, too, but the older Altean was much more stoic about it. Through much trial and effort, they finally managed to get the quintessence to flow into the metallic body, but they still could not get the creature to awaken for them. Still, though, they clapped one another's hands in a sort of high five, sweating and exhausted.

It was all quite confusing for the two Galran soldiers who stood guard on the other side of the room.

Later that night, when Kol'syk was sleeping in his cot in the room directly across from Luxin's own, he was surprisingly awoken by the younger Altean. Dark hands brushed across purple shoulders as Luxin shook him, and Kol'syk was instantly on high alert. He reached over to grab his blade and get to his feet, looking around wildly for any sort of danger. "What is it?" he demanded, still half-asleep. "What's wrong?!"

The young Altean tilted his head to the side with a light chuckle, then got to his feet. "Relax - I was just waking you up so that you could come to the lab and see what I've been working on," he placated, his voice hushed, and Kol'syk - thoroughly confused - reluctantly sheathed his blade.

"You have been in the lab tonight?" he asked, brows furrowing as he took in Lux's state of dress. He even had shoes on his feet.

Again, the Altean smiled, ears twitching. "Well, of course. It is the only time I can work without you breathing down my neck," he brushed off the concern with a wave of his hand, and then headed over to the doors. "Come along, now. I believe that you might find this immensely exciting."

Tired but committed to his job, Kol'syk begrudgingly followed. It was times like this that he really wished he had never agreed to bodyguard one of the Alteans.

Luxin's pace was brisk as he headed down the halls toward the main lab, and he managed to beat the Galra there. For as soon as Kol'syk entered the room, he had to raise his hands to catch a projectile that had been thrown at his chest. Immediately, his first thought was that he was under attack, but Luxin was standing and smiling at him. The young Galra looked down at the object in his palms - it was mostly just white metal, and kind of shaped in a circular fashion. Curious, he looked up at Luxin for answers.

"I am calling it a bayard," the Altean was quick to explain, brandishing one of his own in his right hand. "Hold it like I am, and watch." Luxin raised his hand and the 'bayard' morphed into a small, butterfly knife before Kol'syk's very eyes.

Dumbfounded, Kol'syk obeyed, and his own extended into a much larger, heavier blade than Luxin's. It curved at the end, and was bright silver in color.

"I took inspiration from the Olkari," the young Altean enthused, clearly extremely proud of himself. "Oh, and even a little bit from when the Galra blades are awoken. The bayards conform to the thought processes and physiques of whomever is using them. They react with brain waves and muscle tone and height and weight to create a weapon completely befitting for that particular user."

Kol'syk was silent for several moments before he realized that the other young man was waiting for him to say something. "This is... interesting," he tried, still a bit taken aback by the weapon in his hands. He hadn't imagined technology could be so advanced.

One white brow raised, and Luxin placed a hand on his hip incredulously. "Interesting? Really? Is that all you have to say about it?"

"Were you expecting more?" the Galra asked uncomfortably - he'd never been the best with expression.

Luxin gave a longsuffering sigh, running one hang through his chaotically-messy ivory hair. "I suppose not," he acquiesced, then seemed to brighten up a bit as he extended one hand toward his bodyguard. "Would you like to join me for a short training session?"

Kol'syk had won that night, which was no surprise, but Luxin had held his own and been an astonishingly formidable opponent.

Their relationship had improved drastically after that, and Lux had become increasingly easier to be around. It wasn't so much that he was less anxious or stressed, or even less temperamental, but it was that he was sneaking in ways to show kindness as well. For example, actually making an attempt to get to know his bodyguard, and then remembering the details about what he was told.

The young Galra was particularly shocked one morning when he woke and found a bowl of Balmeran leeches by his cot. Luxin had been sitting on the floor by the wall, one leg crossed over the other as he wrote things on a holographic clipboard.

"You said those were your favorites, right?" the Altean had asked as he wrote, only pausing for a brief moment to meet Kol'syk's gaze.

He had taken the bowl of leeches and skewered one with a fork to begin eating his breakfast. "I did," he told him, still hindered by sleep and the unusual show of kindness. But the question was just begging to be asked - "Where did you get them?"

Lux had smirked and shrugged his shoulders, then put the holographic clipboard down for a minute. "There was a Balmera only a jump or two away, and I snuck out before you woke up so that I could get some for you," he explained, uncrossing his legs and leaning forward, intrigued. "Why do you like those things, anyway? Isn't it strange to eat insects?"

"Why would you do that for me?" Kol'syk questioned, fully ignoring the fact that he'd also been asked something and instead ingesting another leech.

"I needed some of the crystals anyway, to power some smaller electronics I have lying around." The statement was short and clipped, and then he pointed at the bowl in Kol'syk's hands. "How can you eat that? Does it taste good?"

Kol'syk swallowed and extended the fork out, a leech on the end of it. "Do you want to try it?" he asked, and swore Luxin turned a bit green underneath his dark complexion.

"Not in the slightest."

After that, Kol'syk had gone to Alfor to ask what was going on with the younger Altean, and the older just laughed in response. "Well, it appears that Luxin might fancy you as a friend," he responded breezily, his cheeks dimpling as he smiled. "You must be a special one indeed for him to go to such lengths to do something for you."

A friend?

Kol'syk had not planned on making friends on this mission. Or on any mission, come to think of it. He had been so wrapped up in his training and his end goal to take down the evil Altean empire that he hadn't even considered having a friend even a remote possibility.

He would hazard a guess that Luxin hadn't, either.

So, he set off to find the young Altean, fully intent on questioning him of his intentions, and located him in his room. And clearly, Lux had just gotten out of the showers. His chin-length white hair was plastered to his skull and his dark skin was sleek and wet. Kol'syk felt slightly awkward about the Altean's state of undress, but Luxin just offered him a smile and stepped into a pair of loose pants and dried his hair with a nearby towel.

"Did you need something?" he asked as he sat down on the bed, tilting his head to the side and patting the bed for Kol'syk to sit down with him if he wanted.

"Are we friends?" the question was asked quickly and bluntly, striding over to plunk all nine-foot-six of himself down beside the tiny (by comparison) Lux.

Regardless of the suddenness of the question, the white-haired man snorted and reached a hand up to pat Kol'syk's shoulder affectionately. "Well, obviously. I really didn't think I could be more clear about it," he teased lightly, a lopsided smirk on his lips. "Did I have to tell you directly or something?"

"Yes."

A gentle laugh pulled itself from Luxin's mouth and his blue eyes twinkled as he obliged. "We're friends, Kol."

Or, perhaps, even more than friends. The two of them became almost inseparable after that day - it was rare to find one anywhere without the other. It had become clear to anyone in passing that the two were taken with one another. But it was shown in different ways - Luxin was intent on remembering every detail of what Kol'syk told him, and giving him gifts and dragging him around to every part of the lab to show him was going on. Kol'syk, however, had become a constant presence beside the Altean, even though Luxin had become particularly good at causing the Galra extreme emotional discomfort. Sometimes, it was difficult for him to form a complete sentence in the presence of the smaller man - especially if they were touching.

They went on like two infatuated little school children for months - years, perhaps, although time moved differently for Alteans than it did for Galra, so they couldn't tell, - but neither minded it.

The only change came while Luxin and Alfor were working on one of the three mechanical Lions they'd built. Phiram and Kol'syk stood at the back of the room, awaiting their charges to return, when the unthinkable happened. Something went wrong in the engine of the Lion, and there was absolutely no warning before a deafening explosion went off somewhere inside its core. Phiram and Kol'syk had not hesitated before racing into the flaming metal, and Kol'syk had never felt quite so terrified in his life. Not for himself, he found, but for the Altean in question.

And even though Alfor and Luxin both got out on their own, the Galra couldn't help himself from snatching up the younger into his arms for a desperate hug. Luxin, bleeding from a cut on his forehead and covered in soot, but otherwise fine, had hugged him back. Neither one was sure which of them initiated the kiss that followed, but Phiram and Alfor bore witness as the younger two pressed their lips together.

When they broke apart, Alfor coughed uncomfortably into his fist, and both of the younger men blushed furiously (though Kol'syk had the benefit of his pale purple fur to cover it up for him.) "Well. I can't say that I didn't expect it," he started, smiling just a bit. "Congratulations, you two."

Kol'syk had never been more embarrassed, but he had also never been happier.

Things grew to be more intimate between them after that. Luxin almost never slept in his own room anymore, opting to wedge himself into his lover's bed instead. And of course, Kol'syk did not mind one bit. It enabled him to protect the Altean easier, make sure he got more sleep, and (most importantly, perhaps) he got to simply hold the smaller being in his arms.

Some nights they would stay up and talk for hours, and other nights, they just wouldn't speak at all. There was discussion of, when the war was over, settling down somewhere very far away, in the middle of the countryside, where they could just live out the rest of their days in peace. But nothing had fundamentally changed in their lives, apart from their relationship with one another. Kol'syk was still loyal to the Blade, and Luxin was still tirelessly attempting to build the Lions and find ways to take down the Altean empire. It was only ever at night that they truly got to spend time with one another.

Things were as near to perfection as they could be, under the circumstances...

...but nothing good can last forever.

An - Shorter chapter this time, but I was anxious to get into Kol'syk and Luxin's relationship. The next chapter will probably still be mainly from Kol's POV, and will deal with graphic descriptions of bodily functions (vomit, urine, sweat, bleeding, illness, etc.) so please be warned. It won't be for the weak of heart or stomach, but it is a part of the story, so I will share it with you guys. :3

Thank you all for your support! You've been so awesome!

Question of the Day: Who is your favorite character (so far) in this story?

Love,

anim8or