reddwarfslash | Love & Jealousy 2

Here comes Part 2...

Lister was having lunch in the canteen on floor 22 a few days later, when someone crept up behind him and put their hands over his eyes. His immediate reaction was that it must be Rimmer, but then it occurred to him that Rimmer was unlikely to do something so playful and intimate in front of a room full of people. He was flummoxed. “Guess who!” a cheerful voice behind him piped up and he felt his heart leap. He spun round, his eyes wide.

“Alex!”

“Hey!” He dropped down into the chair next to Lister’s, smiling.

“You’re back!” Lister said, somewhat unnecessarily, “I mean...I knew you were due back soon but...When did you get in?”

“Tuesday night,” Alex replied, sounding surprised that he didn’t know.

“Tuesday? Why didn’t you let me know?”

“I rather thought I did. Didn’t you get my message?”

“What message?”

“I told Rimmer to let you know I was back. I came over in the evening to see you but you weren’t in.”

“No, I was...I was at the cinema,” Lister said slowly, a nasty suspicion blooming in his mind.

“He didn’t pass on the message then,” Alex scoffed, “I might have known. Nice to see he’s as slimy as ever.”

Lister decided to change the subject, “You look great. Where the smeg did they send you? Hawaii?”

“Oh, on the way back we stopped at some rocky little asteroid with a sun nearby to pick up some samples. This was with factor 50 sunblock; you should have seen the guy who thought he could get away with factor 15.” Lister winced,

“Ouch.”

“You’re not kidding.”

“So you had a good time then? It lived up to your expectations?”

“Oh, it was boring as hell, but I’d do it again. You never know when you’re going to find something incredible.”

“But you’re back for a little while now?”

“Yeah, they won’t send me out again for at least another six months. It’s back to the day job for me.”

“You mean you didn’t miss the thrill and excitement of Y-shift?” Lister grinned,

“Only in my deepest, darkest moments of despair,” Alex replied grimly. Lister laughed.

“Do you want to come out for a drink tonight?” Alex asked, “I may as well ask you now while Rimmer’s not around to try and thwart my attempts to spend time with you.” Lister hesitated only very momentarily before saying yes. “Great. Same place, same time?”

“Neutron Nights. Half eight.” Lister confirmed with a smile.

“Ah, there are some things in life that should never change,” Alex said contentedly.

When Lister arrived back at his quarters that evening he started getting ready to go out straight away. He tossed his uniform into a corner and wandered naked into the shower for a wash and brush up. When he came out again, Rimmer was home, and he was putting Lister’s uniform into the laundry basket with a look of mild despair on his face. “Listy,” he said sadly, “I love you but I wish to god you’d learn to put things away.”

“Someday maybe,” Lister said casually, “I’m going out tonight, by the way.”

“Who with?” Rimmer asked with mild interest.

“Alex.” Rimmer visibly stiffened.

“Alex?”

“Yeah, he’s back.” Lister fixed Rimmer with a very cool look, “But then, you already knew that, didn’t you, man?”

Rimmer went pink, embarrassed to have been caught out. “That’s why you were so keen to go out the other night, isn’t it? You didn’t want me to be here when he came over.”

“It slipped my mind,” Rimmer mumbled.

“Uh-huh,” Lister said, unconvinced, “Well, I’m seeing him tonight, so no harm done, eh?”

“Do you have to?” Rimmer asked petulantly.

“No, I don’t have to. But I want to and I’m going to.”

“And you expect me to be happy about it?” Rimmer asked incredulously.

“No. I expect you to be gracious about it. I haven’t seen Alex for six months. It’s not a lot to ask.”

“I’ll just sit here on my own while you go out and knock about with your ex-boyfriend then, shall I?”

“He’s not my ex-boyfriend, for smeg’s sake.”

“He’s your ex-lover,” Rimmer pointed out.

“He’s my friend,” Lister said firmly. “And we’re going to have a friendly drink. Nothing more. Can you handle that?” Rimmer huffed and looked away.

Lister sidled up and slipped his arms around his waist, “Hey,” he smiled impishly, “Remember the night we got together? You remember what I told you about the difference between you and Alex?” He slipped his hand into the front of Rimmer’s trousers and curled his fingers around his cock. Despite himself, Rimmer smiled slightly triumphantly, “Yes, I remember.”

“Good,” Lister kissed him, “Don’t be jealous, Big Man. I know who I’m coming home to.”

Somewhat mollified, Rimmer gave him a squeeze. “Okay. Don’t be back too late though. I want to be awake enough to remind you of the difference between me and Alex when you get home.”

“You can remind me right now if you like,” Lister purred, “I’ve got time for another shower...”