Sure enough, Flint did wake up feeling like shit. His head was pounding, it felt as if his senses were on overdrive, and there was a blank spot in his memories about the night before.

Groaning, he looked down beside him at the bed and saw Evander wasn't there.

"Evander?" No response. "What the hell happened..?"

He looked down at the small table beside the bed and picked up his wrist-comm. There was a text from Evander and a bottle of painkillers for his head. He hastily took one.

You sleep too much when you're hungover. I'm getting breakfast for you, sit tight. -E

"That makes more sense..." he said to himself as memories of the night before began to trickle in.

A bar.

Loosening up with a drink.

Having too many drinks.

Being an idiot.

Being half carried half dragged home by Evander.

Falling asleep alone.

"Flint, you up?" He heard a voice say from the door. He looked over and saw Evander walking in balancing a tray of food in one hand and their room key in the other. 

"Yeah," he said. "Unfortunately."

"Hangovers aren't as much fun as drinking, huh?" Evander asked rhetorically like a father scolding their child as he set a waffle down in front of Flint.

Flint laughed a bit and then winced in pain.
"Holy moly I am never drinking again."

Evander laughed and picked up his bowl of cereal and wandered over to the balcony. "Some fresh air might do you good."

Flint nodded with a mouthful of food. "Yeah."

Evander took a seat at the small table and began chowing slower than usual. Flint sat beside him and finally got a good look at his face.

"You look exhausted," he remarked. "Sorry about last night."

"It's nothing," Evander said with a shrug. "How did you sleep?"

"Pretty good, considering there's drool on my pillow." You both laughed a bit and then Flint spoke again, his voice more serious. "Did you sleep alone?"

"Yeah."

"Why?" Flint asked, looking genuinely perplexed as to why he did that. "Don't you get nightmares when you sleep alone?"

Evander nodded. "Yep." He shoved s spoonful of cereal in his mouth to buy some time to think of what he was going to say next. "How much do you remember about last night?"

"It's coming back quickly," he answered. "Still fizzy and there some blanks, but thanks to my memory I think it'll all come back. Why — did I do anything?"

"Well, for one, apparently you're like a needy toddler when you're drunk. And for another, you stared at me for like an hour before falling asleep," Evander said with an amused smirk.

Flint hung his head dramatically in his hands. "Dear Force, I am so sorry!"

"Don't apologize," Evander said as he clapped him on the shoulder. "Your eyes are pretty so it wasn't that awful." They laughed and finished eating in peace while they discussed where they were off to next.

Illum.

       Later that day as they were making their way to their ship to leave, they began recalling memories from their youngling years.

"I always thought Illum was as weird and crazy as it got," Evander said.

"You were very wrong," Flint said with a laugh. "When I went I almost got impales by a sharp icicle."

"That sounds fun," Evander said sarcastically. "I almost didn't find my crystal," he said with an embarrassed shake of the head.

"I found mine right away," Flint said. "But only because I had memorized the layout and calculate the possible routes in a few minutes of arriving."

"Of course you did." Truth is, Evander was shocked and fascinated by Flint's capacity for remembering anything and everything, but he understood it was a double edged sword.

They made small talk for the rest of the walk, which wasn't far.

"Home sweet home!" Evander shouted in triumph as he dropped his bag and walked to the cockpit. Flint laughed. To him, seeing Evander joke and be like a happy little kid was adorable.

"Good to be back," Flint said with a smile as he brought his bag to his room.

Evander sat down and began gearing up the coordinates and Hyperspace lane queue for Illum. He carefully made sure to set up autopilot-friendly courses that they'd reach overnight.

Then Flint came back to the cockpit with two glasses of water and they settled right back into their routine of reckless traveling.

They arrived just as it was getting dark and they were getting really tired, so the pair decided to get a good night's sleep before exploring the next day. This time, they fell asleep as they usually do.

Evander didn't have nightmares, and Flint got to play with his hair.

The next day when Evander's eyes fluttered open he realized he was the first to wake up that day. He closed his eyes softly again and let himself inhale the scent of Flint's shampoo. His hair was soft against his nose so Evander let himself linger there for a moment.

After a long moment, Flint's eyes softly opened. He smiled and looked down at Evander. Evander allowed himself to stare into his eyes, this time on purpose. He wasn't lying when he told Flint his eyes were pretty. They really were. From afar they just looked blue, but up close you could see specks of white and a deeper shade of blue laying underneath the icy blue on top. It was like a galaxy — a galaxy Evander wanted to explore endlessly.

As if it were the most natural thing in the universe, Flint tipped his head down towards Evander and Evander tilted his up. They met in a soft good-morning-kiss that felt like it was long overdue, and ended way too soon.

"Good morning," Evander said quietly against Flint's lips, his voice raspy from a good night sleep.

Flint reached over and twirled one of Evander's curls around his finger with a soft, endearing smile.
"It is good."

Evander kissed him again and then laid back down, snuggled close so Flint could keep playing with his hair. It was something Evander woke up looking forward to.

They spent the next half hour laying together, kissing and talking and laughing. It was like absolute euphoria for the two of them. Flint never expected to find someone and Evander never expected himself to love again — but they were both defying their own expectations.

"Breakfast?" Evander finally asked.

Flint chuckled softly and nodded. "Sure." They separated and wandered out to their tiny kitchen in their pajamas. Snow was swirling around outside the window, but they had been running power all night so it was pretty warm inside, but not warm enough.

Flint didn't seem to mind so he began to cook something, which Evander was happy about. Flint was way better at cooking than he was.

Evander ran back to his room and grabbed a blanket and a sweatshirt. He put the sweatshirt on and rubbed his arms a few time to try and generate some warmth. When he was back in the kitchen he walked behind Flint and draped the blanket over his shoulders, then wrapped his arms around his lean torso.

"Comfortable?" Flint asked with a small smile as he leaned back into him a touch.

Evander just hummed and pressed a kiss into the nape of his neck. "Smells good."

"It's Bantha kidneys," Flint replied dryly with a chuckle.

Evander pretended to be disgusted, then unwrapped his arms and stood beside him, leaning against the counter. "I know that isn't true 'cause you'd never eat Bantha kidneys."

Flint laughed as he put a lid over the hot pan of crackling food. "Who knows," he replied, then smirked. "I've had the best morning ever so maybe I'm feeling more confident."

"Confident enough to eat a Bantha kidney?" Evander asked with fake astonishment. His voice dropped and he took a step closer. "I'm a miracle worker, aren't I?"

Flint also stepped closer until they were only inches apart. He brought his hand up to Evander's neck and he ran his thumb along his jaw line. "You're something alright."

Evander laughed softly and Flint kissed him. Like the last few times they had kissed that morning, it felt completely natural. Not daunting, not even exciting. It felt peaceful and right.

"I love this," Flint whispered against his lips.

"I do too," Evander said before reaching up to hold his cheeks and kissing him again. He could feel Flint smiling into the kiss and it was the most heartwarming thing he had ever experienced. "I really love this, Flint."

Flint smiled. "You also really love food, right?"

Evander laughed and he raised his eyebrows. "Is it done?"

Flint laughed and side stepped over to the hot pan. "Indeed it is, good sir!"

Evander jumped to grab some plates. "Fantastic, darling!"