Big Book of Xephna One Shots

Cheek (S)

TW: None

Xephos had always interested Lalna.

Of course, his spaceman biology awoke the part of Lalna that was truly scientist and nothing else. That kind of interest was feral; it made him rip apart the object of his fascination until he could study every tiny piece, every part of puzzle, and note this knowledge.

Xephos was also interesting to Lalna as a friend. His emotions were sometimes unstable, going off randomly or making him shut down and seal himself away from his life. Lalna enjoyed watching this, seeing the way that a few words or a gentle gesture could make the blue-eyed man emerge from his hiding place. He was so different from the dwarf, so much stronger but yet so much weaker. He could slit a person's throat to save his friends, but wouldn't kill his friends to save himself.

And, without a doubt, Lalna loved Xephos. This was his final form of interest, the one that he hated with all of his might. It quenched the instinctive desire of his scientific curiosity, and fueled his friendly distance into something that was bordering on adoration.

Lalna enjoyed prying into Xephos' head for all of these reasons. He would confuse Xephos on purpose and then pressure him; he'd do all of Xephos' work and watch how he'd act; he'd wait until Xephos was stressed and then give him lots of work to do.

Of course, experimenting on the spaceman like this broke his heart, but Xephos' cheery determination that should have made him feel less guilty only made it worse. 

There was no need for you to do that, his weary but sincere smile taunted the scientist. I'm still fine.

How Lalna wished he could just break Xephos, make him fall apart and scream. He wanted the spaceman to disintegrate, to fall to pieces at his feet. He wanted to destroy Xephos, to let his destructive science curiosity take over and kill the man he loved.

He knew that if he did, his heart would break. To kill Xephos would be to kill him.

Lalna finally made a decision as he worked on the tasks Xephos had given to him this morning, not even five minutes after he'd woken up. His hands moved swiftly over the machine, skillfully adjusting parts and replacing loose connections.

He would satisfy one hunger, but if that hunger was not fed, he would satisfy the other.

Either Xephos would love him in return, or Lalna would rip him apart and study all of him, his glowing eyes, his perfect smile, and his cold heart.

Lalna did it by the easiest means possible; he wasn't a man for complications and problems. He told Xephos he needed help with something on an upper floor that no one used anymore.

Landing lightly on the edge of the wooden floor, the spaceman looked like he'd been using flying rings all his life. He briskly strode over to where Lalna had preoccupied himself with adjusting the few machines left (that ran just fine already).

As he heard Xephos' footsteps approaching, the scientist forced his breathing to be smooth and easy. He was never particularly good with his words; actions had always worked better for him.

When the spaceman paused just behind Lalna, the scientist glanced up and met the blue eyes watching him. In one fluid motion, he set his wrench down, spun around, placed one hand on Xephos' jawline, and kissed him.

Xephos seemed momentarily panicked, then stunned, but then he was kissing back, pulling Lalna closer. The scientist smiled into the kiss as he broke away, very slightly out of breath.

When he looked up at Xephos, those blue eyes were looking everywhere but at him. Much to Lalna's interest, there was a faint blue blush on the spaceman's cheeks - another bit of surprising anatomy.

He giggled lightly, planting a kiss on Xephos' blue cheek. Lalna pressed himself against his chest, hearing his faint heartbeat beneath the blue and white T-shirt.

A blue blush, huh. He hoped he'd see more of that.  

Credit to britishparty on tumblr