A/N ok this is so cliche i'm kinda cringing

Please go read Just Another Star In the Sky by bluesnowpawprints

https://www.wattpad.com/story/88550282-just-another-star-in-the-sky

i'm so sorry for this

________________________

Something's different. Syla's sure of it, but she's not sure why.

After Talik comes running through the middle of the common room, leaping over several couches, Veztsle, and Zyke, face bright red with Sventi chasing him and yelling "Tali, Tali, wait up! I was kidding, I was kidding!", she knows something's up.

"Well he seems better," Zyke comments.

The meeting the rest of the crew was holding about repairs gets postponed in favor of waiting for Talik to calm down and then grilling him about his condition.

The only answer they get when Lienza corners him and asks him if he's alright is "I'm fine now, it won't happen again.".

Lienza seems satisfied. Syla's not, but she knows she'll probably never get answers out of Talik. As far as she can tell, Sventi worked his magic on his best friend again, and everything's fine.

Well, mostly fine. For the two idiots, it's fine, but for Syla it's not. Ever since then, the romantic and sexual tension between the two has increased even more, which she didn't think was possible.

It's gag-worthy. And insanely frustrating.

Talik was still recovering in the days after the incident. Sventi made him sleep in the same room with him so he could keep an eye on him (as soon as the words 'hey, Tali, you should sleep with me tonight' were out of Sventi's mouth, Talik's face exploded with red. Syla, Veztsle, and Zyke all burst out laughing at the look on his face as he registered the implication), and basically mothered him all day. He pulled out his chair for him at lunch, offered to carry him to his room when he dozed off, and insisted on doing all of his daily tasks for him. When Talik protested, he turned and said softly, "Just let me take care of you, Tali." The pink-haired boy pretty much melted and relented.

He seems happier though. He smiles more, and his emotions are generally brighter and not colored with longing as often, though Syla feels a sharp spike of desire when Sventi whispers something in his ear with a devilish grin. She desperately wants to assume Sventi just made a suggestive comment, but knows that it's most likely him teasing his best friend while unknowingly making him want him. Talik's ears go red (jeez, he blushes a lot). The sexual tension is thick in the air, and Veztsle quickly changes the subject, her dark skin tinged slightly pink. Syla tries very hard not to groan in frustration.

After lunch the next day, Syla walks into one of the offices to find Talik with his head in Sventi's lap, sleeping. Sventi is running his hands through his best friend's pink hair, looking down at him with a tender expression. His emotions are full of an overwhelming love for the boy passed out on his lap. Syla sprints out of the room before she barfs and/or squeals her head off at how incredibly cute and stupid they are.

This has to end. Soon, preferably, if Syla is to land on Xetra with her sanity and her fangirl heart intact.

She calls an emergency crew meeting, excluding the idiots (Syla's so done with them, and she's just referring to them as idiots now) while said idiots are napping together in Talik's room. She wonders how Sventi sleeps so much, since he's not the one who didn't sleep for two weeks, but remembers the scene in the office and concludes that he spends much of their 'naps' watching Talik sleep.

Once everyone settles in, Syla pounds her fist on her palm.

"Okay, something has to be done. I can't deal with this anymore. We need a plan."

Zyke nods enthusiastically. "Good idea- wait. What are we talking about?"

"Talik and Sventi. Duh," she answers. "They're so in love it's disgusting. And adorable. And- you know what, nevermind. Anyways, we need to do something to get them together, since they're obviously too dumb to do it themselves."

"I agree," Lienza says with a serious expression. "Logically, they should've figured out their feelings for each other by now."

"And the tension is kinda driving me nuts," Zyke adds.

"Wait a minute," Yeshi interjects quietly. Everyone turns to her. "Aren't they already dating?"

"No," Zyke groans, flopping his head back on the couch.

"What day is it today?"

Yeshi frowns as Lienza supplies her the date. "I could've sworn they were together by now. Has Talik fainted yet?"

"Umm, he's sleeping right now if that's what you're asking," Syla says, confused.

"No, I meant- nevermind. My mistake. Carry on."

"I don't think they're dating," Veztsle says. "They're not acting very different. But then again, Talik's been sleeping most of the time and I haven't seen much of either of them."

"I have," Syla says grimly. In her head she's fangirling, but she has to keep it together for the crew. "The tension is off the charts. And I'm pretty sure Sventi has finally figured out he's in love with Talik."

"Finally!" Zyke cheers. "How do you know?"

Syla tells them about the scene in the office.

"His emotions were sharper, which means he's aware of them now."

"Oh, that might have been my fault," Zyke says. "He told me he noticed a warm feeling in his chest and I asked him how he'd feel if Talik was dating someone else. I'm ninety-nine percent sure he felt jealousy, so he knows there's something."

"It wouldn't make sense for him not to know then," Lienza concludes. "It's safe to assume he's aware of his feelings now."

"Great. Now what?" Veztsle asks. "I talked to Talik the other day, he made it pretty clear he thinks he doesn't have a chance with Sventi."

"Simple. We go with the classics. Locking them in a closet together, that sort of stuff," Syla proposes.

"Um, maybe let's not go with the closet thing. Talik nearly broke my ribs last time we tried that," Zyke reminds her, looking a little traumatized.

"You did what?" Lienza asks, crossing her arms. "When was this?"

"The day we broke the security systems," Zyke replies. Lienza glares at him suspiciously. "It had nothing to do with the systems, I swear! Please don't kill me!" he whimpers.

The captain rolls her eyes. "I'm pretty sure Talik punished you enough for that one. How stupid are you? He and Sventi spar frequently, and they're both fighter class pilots. What made you think you could kidnap him, Mr. Noodle Arms?"

She ignores Zyke's offended 'hey!'.

"Okay not the closet thing then," Syla amends. "But I have other ideas."

And she lays out her battle plan.

---

Veztsle doesn't know why the first task got assigned to her. Tripping someone isn't that hard, is it? But Syla insisted that no one is better at multitasking than her, and apparently that entails nonchalantly putting her foot out in front of Talik while in a conversation, and no one else can do it, and yada yada yada.

But she's right, it is easy, so she doesn't complain.

She feels like she should've, though, when it comes time for her to act a few days later, because she feels sort of bad about she kicking up her foot in Talik's path while he's walking across the common room after more deliberations about repairs. She tries to be subtle, calling Lienza over to ask a question while discreetly sidling towards Sventi.

Sorry, Talik, she thinks as his foot catches on hers. It's for the greater good.

Sventi turns around as Talik yelps in surprise, and the two of them land on the floor, Talik on top of Sventi. Veztsle retracts her foot quickly so as to not arouse suspicion.

Not like they're paying attention anyways, though – Talik's gone pinker than his hair as he pushes himself up with a hand on Sventi's chest and his best friend is just staring at him.

Neither of them move, surprisingly. Veztsle thought Talik would've scrambled to his feet by now or Sventi would've made a joke out of it. But they're just laying there, looking at each other. Veztsle notices a dark look in the older boy's eyes that makes her blush and avert her own. Syla was right, the tension between the two is as thick as honey.

Finally, Talik breaks eye contact, mumbles an apology and rolls off Sventi, offering him a hand as he stands up. Sventi obliges, and the two of them stumble off into a hallway without another word, leaving the incident unacknowledged.

The rest of the crew doesn't say anything to them, but they exchange grins and Syla winks at Veztsle.

She notices, as Talik and Sventi exit, that they forgot to let go of each other's hands. She smiles to herself.

Mission accomplished.

---

Yeshi is sure she hasn't gotten the date wrong again. She's checked multiple times, but she's certain she's not mistaken. She would've helped them before, but now she doesn't see why this is necessary. But she guesses that it won't hurt, so she lets her dumb crewmates drag her into this mess anyways.

She figures she'll make some money out of it in the end.

So here she is, reprogramming the ship's doors to lock when Talik and Sventi are alone in the common room.

She doesn't have to wait too long before the trap is sprung.

On their way to the music studio with Talik's new piece in hand, they enter the common room. As they step in, the doors seal shut behind them. In the control room, Yeshi turns to Syla.

"How is this any different from locking them in a closet?"

"This method does not involve any physical dangers to my person," Syla replies rather smugly, looking all too pleased with herself.

Yeshi thinks she's maybe a little bit dumb.

"Hey! Uh, can you guys hear us?" Taliks voice says over the intercom.

Yeshi presses the button to reply, paying no attention to Syla's frantic glaring and gesturing.

"What is it?" she asks, feigning ignorance.

"I don't know what happened, but Sventi and I are stuck in the common room. Could you let us out?"

Syla vehemently shakes her head.

"Yes," Yeshi answers, disregarding Syla's outraged flailing. To make her stop, she adds, "But it seems you've set off a faulty lockdown setting. It won't deactivate for an hour."

"Um, okay," Talik says, not sounding entirely convinced.

Syla lets out a tiny "Yes!" as she relaxes and smiles brightly.

"What was that noise?"

"Nothing. My foot squeaked against the floor."

"Mm. Are you sure there's no way to get us out of here sooner?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Well, see you in an hour, I guess," Talik says. The intercom shuts off.

"Yay!" Syla squeals. "Wait, wait! Can you pull up the security cams for the common room? I want to see what they're doing!"

Yeshi is kind of done trying to protest by now, since even Lienza is convinced that Sventi and Talik aren't dating already. If Lienza doesn't see it, there's no way Syla will. She sighs in resignation and pulls up the security feed.

Apparently the two of them aren't in the mood or something, as Syla seems rather disappointed when all she gets is an hour of Talik and Sventi discussing Talik's new song and piloting techniques.

Though Yeshi doesn't think she noticed the pair linking pinkies behind the couch.

---

Zyke is excited.

He knows that it's only a matter of time before his bro finally puts the moves on his pink-haired best friend, and then Sventi will owe him a favor and a wide assortment of broccoli dishes when they get to Xetra (he's read that broccoli is supposedly healthy and tasty from a Xetran website named 'vegetariansonly.com'. And it looks like him. How could he go to Xetra and not try a vegetable that looks like him?). Also he won't have to deal with the bimonthly 'gush about Talik' sessions. Or he'll have to deal with bi weekly 'gush about Talik' sessions. Whatever the case, he'll be happy for them.

So in order to make that dream a reality, he and Syla sneak into Sventi and Talik's rooms respectively and steal their clothes while the two are grabbing a late dinner. Not all of them of course – they're not that weird. And Syla isn't that kind of fangirl. No, they just take their shirts.

Zyke spots Sventi's hoodies and decides, to hell with it , and grabs them as well.

He passes a deviously grinning Syla in the hallway as he crosses to Talik's room. They do their secret Operation: SvenTali handshake as they pass.

Zyke grins and says, "Good luck, Agent S."

"Same to you, Agent Z."

He haphazardly stuffs the clothes into the drawer Syla left open. He's never really been one for tidiness. Sue him.

On the way out, he twiddles the thermostat in the room to cool it down, not enough that Flower Boy will notice right away, but enough for him to be a little chilly in the morning. Zyke knows he's not a morning person, so hopefully he won't notice that none of the clothes in his drawer are his.

"Done!" Zyke announces, striding out the door and nearly colliding with Syla.

"Shh!" she hisses. "They're coming back!"

"Abort!" he whispers giddily, the two of them giggling (like idiots, as Lienza would say) as they make their escape.

The next morning, the rest of the crew sans Yeshi gathers for breakfast early at Syla's request.

Sventi walks in, awake as he always is in the mornings, but instead of the usual bright grin, he's sporting a slight frown and no shirt.

"Guys," he says, sounding confused. "Why the hell have all of my shirts gone?"

"I don't know," Lienza says coolly as Syla fights to keep a straight face. "Was your drawer empty?"

"No," Sventi replies, "It was full of Talik's shirts, but his are too small for... me..." He trails off as his best friend enters the kitchen, yawning and wearing one of Sventi's shirts. It's definitely too big for him, hanging off his lithe frame and revealing his collarbones and part of one  shoulder.

Apparently that's too much for him to handle, Zyke observes amusedly as his bro's jaw drops open and his face flushes. He's disappointed to see that Talik didn't grab one of the hoodies, but he supposes he can't win them all.

Talik is too tired to notice that his best friend and long time crush isn't wearing a shirt. And struggling to pick his jaw up off the floor.

"Sventi," Talik whiles drowsily. "I'm cooooold."

Sventi tries to reply, but whatever he was going to say gets lost in a strangled gurgling noise as Talik walks up to him and hugs his torso, nuzzling his face into his bare chest.

As much experience as Sventi has with his best friend, apparently it doesn't extend to half-naked, half-asleep hugs in the middle of the kitchen.

Lienza, much to his and Syla's displeasure, sighs and decides to take pity on the not-quite-lovebirds. "Sventi, why don't you go get a shirt for yourself and get one for Talik that's not half falling off him." Sventi nods dazedly.

"Oi-" Syla starts before being cut off by Lienza's sharp glare. She deflates.

Zyke whispers to her mock-seriously, "Don't worry, Agent S, the damage has already been done. It's only a matter of time before the poison takes effect."

Syla grins slyly. "The poison of love~"

That one gets her a heavy eyeroll from Lienza and a flick on the head from Veztsle.

Nevertheless, she throws up a double thumbs-up and winks as Sventi shuffles out of the room with his Talik-barnacle. "Phase three: success!"

---

Lienza knows Syla means well, but the plan doesn't seem to be working. Despite the many ideas she has to get the two co-pilots together, they never react to their crewmates' antics the way she hopes for.

At this point, Lienza has to intervene.

The operation Syla set up has sent the sexual tension skyrocketing, but none of the phases have given any romantic opportunities. Logically, one of them is bound to snap if she just gives them a tiny nudge in the romantic direction. Lienza calculates that it will most likely be Sventi, since he's more impulsive, and Talik hasn't done anything about his feelings for over half a decade.

So during the next game night, Lienza overrides Veztsle's suggestion of playing BS (she only wants to play that because she always notices if someone is lying) by proposing a team-building activity.

Sventi grins and says, "Sounds fun." His best friend shrugs in agreement.

Yeshi gives the slightest nod, probably aware of what Lienza is planning. Veztsle looks a little put out, but doesn't protest. And of course, the trouble-making duo agrees immediately after Lienza gives them a pointed look.

"So, what's the activity?" Syla asks, sounding a little too excited.

"Everyone sit in a circle," Lienza directs. Sventi moves the coffee table and the crew settles down. Thankfully, Talik has seated himself to Sventi's left, so Lienza doesn't have to make any strange requests to switch the order.

"Now we're going to go around the circle and compliment the person to your left," she instructs, thinking Talik is more susceptible for what she has in mind. "I'll start."

She looks to her left and realizes she may have made a mistake. Groaning internally, she says, "Zyke, you're... Surprisingly thoughtful when you need to be."

Zyke grins. "I guess I'll take that as a compliment. Thanks mom!" Lienza tries to cover how warm that makes her feel.

"Okaaaaay, my turn. Yeshi, you're a really interesting person to talk to and I'd like to hang out more often." Yeshi looks slightly surprised, but nods her thanks and turns to her left.

"Veztsle," she starts in her quiet voice. "You're very talented and kind, and you deserve to be on this mission as much as the rest of us, despite your age."

Veztsle flushes. As always, her words hit right on target, addressing something she knows bothers the youngest member of the crew.

"Th-Thanks," Veztsle mumbles. "Um, Syla, you're like an older sister to me and I'm very grateful for your friendship."

Syla wipes a fake tear from her eye and tackle-hugs the girl next to her, cooing, "Aww, Veztsle, I love you too!"

Once she's collected herself, she tells Sventi, "You're not as stupid as I thought you were and I'm glad Talik has someone like you."

Sventi grins. "Me too! And thanks for the first part I guess?"

Syla nods. Lienza can already see her planning the shovel talk.

Finally, Sventi looks at Talik. The poor thesic's ears are blending in with his hair.

That didn't take long, Lienza thinks. Well, here goes nothing. Sventi is rather long-winded when it comes to Talik. This might take a while.

"Tali," Sventi begins. "You are my best friend in the whole universe. I know you know that already, and I've told you this probably more times than I can count, but I am the luckiest person in the entire universe to have you in my life. I'll never get tired of being around you, and I'm so proud of you for all the hard work you did to get where you are." His eyes soften. Talik is bright red, as predicted. However, he seems... annoyed? It's hard to tell when his face is so flushed. Syla might know. 

"You're so beautiful and perfect and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." In the name of Leclexda, this sounds like a proposal. "I know you've heard it before but I really, really love you- mmph!"

Sventi's confession is suddenly cut off when an enraged, glowing red Talik leans over, grabs the front of his shirt, pulls him down and kisses him.

And the entire crew bursts into cheers.

Talik and Sventi break apart, both of them blushing now. Syla is making incoherent squealing noises and violently shaking Veztsle while Zyke whoops, "Get it, bro!"

"What is going on?" Sventi asks, looking incredibly lost. On his left, Talik still looks like a tomato despite his tan skin.

"Finally!" Syla virtually screams.

Veztsle grins widely. "Congrats, you two!"

"Yes, I'm glad that finally happened. Congratulations," Lienza says. She knows she's failing to keep a smile off her face.

Fanning his face to cool himself off, Talik tilts his head and says, "Congratulations for what?"

"For finally getting your shit together?" Zyke supplies helpfully.

"And for acknowledging over seven years of tension and mushy feelings," Syla adds.

"Guys," Sventi says carefully. "You do know we've been together for over a week, right?"

All the noise in the room dies instantly. Everyone, save for Sventi, Talik, and Yeshi are frozen.

"What."

Yeshi calmly turns to Lienza and holds out her hand. She groans and reaches into her pocket for cash. She should've known not to bet against her.

"Were you betting on us?!" Talik demands incredulously as the money changes hands.

"Yes," Yeshi deadpans. "They thought you two weren't dating yet and wouldn't listen to me when I said you were."

"Really? I thought we were being pretty obvious," Sventi remarks, scratching his head.

"How?! I didn't notice anything!" Veztsle grumbles.

"Yeah, there was nothing different with your emotions!" Syla inserts. "But then again, you guys have always been disgustingly in love with each other... Damn it! I can't believe I missed that!"

"They came up with this whole plan to get you together," Yeshi tells them smugly amidst the rest of the crew's groans. "They even made me help with it. It was worth it to see the looks on their faces, though."

Sventi laughs as Talik buries his face in his hands and proclaims, "You're all idiots."

"Wait!" Syla says, popping up from where she'd been moping on the floor. "Then how and when did you really get together?"

Zyke joins her. "Yeah, bro, give us the deets!"

Sventi says, "It was right after the wormhole incident," at the same time as Talik exclaims, "We're not telling you!"

Talik glares at his best friend- er, Lienza supposes it's actually boyfriend.

"Of course!" Veztsle blurts. "Talik and Sventi came running through the common room! That was it!"

"Ugh, I should've known!" Syla cries. "I knew something was different!"

Lienza sighs, "I suppose that was the logical conclusion. However, I guess I was too unconvinced that either of you would get your heads out of your asses long enough to confess."

"I knew it!" Zyke yells, pointing at her. "It annoys her that she wasn't right!"

Zyke is correct, but there's no way Lienza is giving him the satisfaction of confirming his statement.

"So," Sventi interrupts Zyke's hollering abruptly, standing and tugging Talik towards the door. "Now that you know about us, don't interrupt us for the next couple hours!"

He winks suggestively and exits, pulling an indignant, blushing Talik out into the hallway towards his room.

A beat of silence passes, and then the room breaks into cacophony again.