TW: Brief Mentions Of Abuse

They start building together at night. Traveling by tunnel out of sight of Sips Co. or Honeydew Inc., they begin building. At first they don't put a name to what they're building: it's just practice, just sizing up the enemy, just something to do on a sleepless night.

Xephos patches up any scrapes or bruises Sjin shows up with and doesn't ask too many questions. He knows from the bruises the size of Sips' hand, the width of the sticks he uses, the shape of the butt of his mining laser. He doesn't ask because he knows the architect can see the same. From his placating character Sjin knows Honeydew's temper. From his diffidence Sjin knows Lalna's arrogance and impatience. From the burns on his back he knows the dwarf's love and folly with TNT.

The building becomes a second home. It's made of warm wooden planks forming sturdy walls. The roof, Sjin's masterpiece, is a beautiful mess of upside-down stairs that Xephos can't quite figure out. It's not very fancy beyond a single talisman of repair Sjin stole from Sips Co., but they admire the finished structure with pride. They find a few sheep to kill, but the wool is only enough for one bed. Either of them could easily get more, but neither suggests it and they find out how well they fit.

They build a fire pit and tell stories. Sjin loves to hear tales of Lalna's failures and mock his old foe, but his favorites quickly become old children's stories from Xephos' home planet. Xephos laughs at tales of an incompetent pool boy, but given the option he asks for Sjin to describe his latest building project. Sjin's eyes shine almost as brightly as the alien glow of his own as he describes his plans, occasionally tracing them in dirt to explain more complicated ideas. He doesn't boast or brag, but speaks with excitement of very involved floorplans and intricate designs.

That's the first time Xephos thinks about kissing him.

The worst nights are the ones where they can't both get away. Xephos waits one night for hours before he goes back only to see Sjin laboring on a quarry with Sips chattering with him. Sjin waits all night and only finds out the next day that Lalna stayed over and he couldn't get out without waking the scientist. Sjin recommends killing him next time and the seriousness of the suggestion remains uneasily unclear.

"I hope I own Honeydew Inc. one day, when Honeydew gets bored of it." Xephos says as they lay in bed together one night. They're facing each other, legs entwined, holding hands. It feels right. "Not just a bunch of shares like you do, but to have all the say in how things get run. It would be nice." His wistful smile turns to a playful grin. "Do you ever think about buying out Sips one day? Bossing him around for a change?"

Sjin thinks about the head hidden underground, awaiting his control. "No, not really."

"If I owned Honeydew Inc. would you work for me? Chief architect? You could make the plans and other people could do the work."

"What if I wanted to build?"

"We could build together. Alone."

Sjin smiles.

"I'd like that."

Credit to tikukolover on tumblr