TITLE:The Great Escape 2

AUTHOR:JaimiBlue

Feedback: russia_girl@yahoo.com

SUMMARY: This is the sequel to The Great Escape -- the reason Rimmer came back.

Warning: This is a piece of slash fiction. If you don't like that kind of stuff, then you don't have to read it:) -- but don't worry, no smut.



THE GREAT ESCAPE 2
By JaimiBlue
*******

Lister was going mad. It had been three weeks since Ace Rimmer had saved them from the brig on Red Dwarf, three weeks since the crew died for a second time, and three weeks since Ace changed places with the human Arnold Rimmer to rejoin the crew. But he couldn't tell anyone. Only he knew the truth. Smeg, only he knew that Rimmer had taken the opportunity to become the new Ace and had left for all those adventures, rather than dying as they had all thought.

He just couldn't figure it out. Ace's reasons for saving them was obvious. Arnold's reasons for leaving were as well. What he couldn't figure out was why Rimmer came back. He'd said he had simply grown tired of the life Ace lived, and perhaps for someone like Rimmer that was true. But he had the sneaking suspicion there was much more to it.

Lister decided it was time he confronted the hologram. He went over to his room and knocked on the door. He opened it when Rimmer said, "come in."

Rimmer saw the determined expression on Lister's face. He knew what was coming. The curiosity had gotten to be too much for Lister, and he was going to ask again why Rimmer had come back. Well, he wasn't going to get an answer, not while his name was Arnold J. Rimmer.

"Hi man. How you settlin in?" Lister started.

"I'm okay. No problems here. Is that all?" Just get it over with, Rimmer thought.

"Before I go, I thought we should have a little talk."

"What about?"

"I don't believe what you told me, about coming back. I just have this feeling that there's something else goin on that you're not telling me. Come on, I thought we were chums."

"We are, Listy. But believe me when I tell you, there's nothing going on. It's as I told you."

"All right, if you want to play it that way." Lister smiled and left the room, only to return minutes later -- with his guitar.

"No!" Rimmer was getting worried. "Anything but that."

"Okay, Rimmer. Talk."

He had to be strong. "No."

"All right then." Lister began playing his guitar in the usual style -- horribly. He thought it best to begin with a rendition of the "Om" song.

Less than a minute later, Rimmer couldn't take the torture any longer. In all his travels, he had yet to encounter a torture greater than Lister's guitar-playing. What were his choices: talk, or death by guitar.

Instead, he laughed.

"I knew you thought my music was terrible, but I didn't think it was that funny." He smiled as he kept playing.

"God, Listy," said Rimmer, "I've even come to love that terrible music of yours."

The music stopped. Lister was frozen.

Rimmer realized there was no use hiding the truth anymore. He got up and went over to where Lister was sitting.

"The reason I came back is that I realized, by some freak of nature, that I not only missed having you around, but I loved you."

Rimmer reached out a hand to touch Lister's face, then he kissed him. At first, Lister did nothing, still frozen. Then, for a moment, Lister went along with the kiss. When Lister realized what was happening, he pushed Rimmer away, and ran off to his own room.

Lister went back and forth, moping and pacing in his room, for at least an hour. He was deeply disturbed. What disturbed him most was the reason he was deeply disturbed. The kiss had not disturbed him. What freaked him out was that he had enjoyed it. It brought back memories of that dream he'd had after Rimmer had left as Ace. He couldn't figure it out. He'd always loved women, not just loved them but LOVED them. Was it just that he'd been more or less alone in space all this time? He didn't think so. He'd had that dream when Kochanski was aboard. Could it be that, after all the time they'd spent together on Red Dwarf and Starbug, he and Rimmer had fallen in love with each other?

No, it couldn't be. If you're straight all you're life, you don't all of a sudden become gay, do you? No! Not even if you're all of a sudden the last human being alive and your only companions are men? He was starting to wonder. Did people fall in love with the whole person, or did they fall in love with the people themselves, their essense, irregardless of their sex?

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. "Come in."

Rimmer entered, but didn't go much further than the doorway. "I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier, in..the...you know."

"Don't apologize man."

"Well what else am I going to do? We have to live on the same ship, and I'm trying to offer the first olive branch."

"You don't need to man."

"I don't need to apologize. Well...good. I'll leave you to your thoughts."

"Wait, Rimmer. There's something I want to tell you. Come in, sit down."

Rimmer did as he was told, doing his best to hide his nervousness.

"Rimmer, after you'd left Red Dwarf, I missed you man. I'd even had this dream that you'd come back, and kissed me."

Lister waited for a response, but got none.

"I'm sorry I got so freaked out. You know, death has changed you for the better. That human Rimmer just couldn't compare to you man."

Rimmer smiled and chuckled a little.

"What I think I'm saying is, if I've got to be the last guy in this universe, that it wouldn't be such a pain to spend the rest of my days with a smeghead like you."

"You mean that, Lister? You're not just saying that?"

"What I'm saying is, I love you man." There, he'd said it. He felt so much better now that everything was out in the open.

Rimmer couldn't believe his ears. It was more than he'd hoped for. He'd thought, at best, that Lister would be lonely enough to give him a go, and at worst, never speak to him again. But Lister said he loved Rimmer.

Lister saw that his friend was in deep thought, still hesitant. He realized this time it would have to be him making the first move. He approached the sitting Rimmer, reached out to turn his head around, and kissed him. Rimmer stood, and they wrapped their arms around each other.

"God, Listy, tell me this isn't a dream."

"It's not a dream, you smeghead." Lister smiled in that annoyingly optimistic and beautiful way.

As they kissed, years of resistance and denial slipped away. So did their clothing. All of a sudden, Lister remembered that Kryten may come in at any moment, and locked the door. He went back to Rimmer, and they sunk onto the floor.

After several minutes, they lay in each others arms, mostly satisfied.

"God, could I use a cigarette," Lister coulnd't help but comment.

"What will we tell the others? Or will we tell them anything at all? Smeg, they still think I'm dead."

"Don't worry about it, man. We'll figure something out. As long as we're together, we can go to smeggin hell and back, it won't matter. We're quite the team, you and I."

"That we are, Listy. That we are." And with that, Rimmer backed his words up by kissing Lister again, and again, and again...


END

So, what do you think? :)