A/N: Yay, my first real story in forever! So this is MST3K SLASH (don't like, don't read) of the Joike variety (that'd be Joel/Mike, my guilty pleasure). I love Mystery Science Theater 3000 and all the characters, but I certainly don't own them. If I did, I'd spend my time playing with Servo's head bubble and hugging Joel instead of writing fanfic. This is pretty much EPIC FLUFF, so watch out;) It was mostly written for my own amusement, so any flames will be used to fuel the fire. Comments and criticisms are always welcome, so please review!

~LoverBoyWonder

Mike sighed. Space, space, as far as the eye could see, and then some. Sure, the stars were pretty…but there was almost nothing he wouldn't give for another day with his feet planted on solid Earth ground, eating Earth food, looking at a light blue sky for a change, and watching movies that he liked because he wanted to…Butstill. Being in space wasn't all bad, right? He had friends…sort of. The experiment could be a lot worse…like, he could be physically tortured or something, right? So really, he was okay. Space was great! Yeah!

Mike sighed. Okay, so he wasn't satisfied with his life. In his position, who would be? Oh right, Mike thought. Joel would be happy. Joel seemed perfectly content to while away the hours fiddling with machinery and "fixing" the bots. He was like their father, anyway. Of course they loved him. Mike was like the awkward cousin that nobody liked to have around the house. Mike must have made some sort of grumpy noise out loud, cause the bots and Joel looked up at him with confused faces.

"Whoa, Mike," Tom said. "Are you okay? You sound kinda…angry." "Yeah, Mike," Crow piped up. "Ya sure you're not going crazy on us? Have the Mads finally broken you?" Mike made another noncommittal grumpy noise. "Waaaahhhh, Daddy," the bots yelled and hugged Joel tightly. "Mommy's all grumpy," Tom whined. "Okay," Joel said and patted Tom's dome. "Bedtime for you two." "But Joooeeeel," Crow complained. "Five more minutes? Pleeeease?" "Absolutely not," Joel was firm. Mike huffed and turned so he was facing the wall, arms crossed over his chest. "Fiiiine," Crow said, and he and Tom whizzed off to their rooms to do God knew what all night. Do the bots even sleep? Mike thought fleetingly.

"Hey, honey, you okay?" Joel said, rubbing Mike's back soothingly. Mike jumped. He hadn't even heard Joel approach; the man was a ninja. A space ninja. "Uh," he said out loud. Real smooth, Mike. Reeeeal manly. Joel chuckled, in that cute way he had. Damn his, his…cuteness. "Desist, foul space ninja, for I am immune to your charms," Mike said, jumping away and holding his arms up in front of him as if to guard from attack. Joel cracked a sleepy smile. "Space ninja? I think someone might be a little stir-crazy," Joel commented. "Am not," Mike complained, trying his best not to blush furiously like a fourteen-year-old girl.

Joel just smiled some more, and Mike's stomach did a weird flippy thing, like it didn't know if it wanted to be sick or not. Mike tried to save the situation. "I, uh, meant that, you just, I dunno, crept up on me like that, and I wasn't ready." "Relax," Joel said soothingly. "It's cute." He wrapped an arm around Mike's shoulders and gave a reassuring squeeze. Mike yelped, or tried to, but the sound caught in his throat and came out as a…well, a squeak. No, no, inner Mike said. That was a boyish shout, at least.

"Joooeeel," he grumbled after a few minutes, sounding like Crow. "Whas'sup?" Joel said, cracking an eyelid; he'd begun to fall asleep on Mike's shoulder. That man could sleep through a train crash and not wake up, Mike thought. "Gerr'off meeeee." "Oh, sorry," Joel said, not sounding sorry at all. He didn't move. "At least can we sit on the couch?" Mike had resorted to whining like a spoiled kid. It was only fair, though, with Joel draped over his shoulders like a blanket. A warm, cozy, huggable blanket.

The pair stumbled over to the couch, Mike tripping over one of Joel's feet and then Joel collapsing on top of Mike. "Oof, sorry," Joel said with a grin. He turned, trying to get into a more comfortable position, and ended up digging an elbow into Mike's ribs. "Hey!" Mike protested. "C'mon! Joel!" Joel- Joel was giggling. Mike's eyes narrowed. Tripping, he could see, and accidentally falling, but giggling? This was unforgivable. Mike sat up as much as he could with Joel on top of him, and began wriggling in order to free him arms. "Mike?" Joel asked. "What're you- aaah!" Mike, having succeeded at freeing his arms, had begun tickling Joel.

"Mike! Mike! Stop it!" Joel was practically shrieking, his cool façade faltering as he was relentlessly tickled. "Miiike!" Mike was laughing now, too, and Joel saw his opportunity. He jumped up, causing Mike to fall off the couch, and then Joel jumped on top of him and attacked his ribs. It was Mike's turn to be tickled, and he was squirming and laughing and trying to escape, but Joel held fast, his head close to Mike's and his warm breath hitting Mike's ear. Finally, Joel stopped, and they both sat back, panting and trying to catch their breath.

"Feel better now?" Joel asked Mike with a sly grin. "Or do I need to tickle you some more?" Mike made a face at Joel, and then smiled. "Yeah, I do. Guess I needed that." Joel just kept grinning, and then he scooted over on the floor so he could sit next to Mike. Mike suddenly found himself a bit nervous. Get a grip, Mike, he chastised himself. To cover his nerves, he picked up a pillow and whacked Joel with it. "Ow!" Joel said. "What, are we having a pillow fight now?" he asked with a smirk. "That was for tickling me, Joel Robinson!" Mike declared. Joel raised his arms over his head. "Okay, I surrender." Mike lowered the pillow suspiciously. "Really?" he asked, his tone guarded."Really." Joel cocked his head at Mike innocently.

Mike cautiously approached Joel again and sat down, hugging the pillow to his knees. "Okay then," he said. They sat in silence for a few minutes, and then Mike couldn't take it anymore. He leaned down and pushed against Joel, trying to get comfortable. "Mike? What are you-" Joel stopped talking abruptly as Mike came to a stop, resting his head on Joel's shoulder. Mike let out a contented sigh. Mission complete! Joel shifted away, the warmth left, and Mike immediately mewled like a starved kitten. Joel laughed. "Relax, I'm not going anywhere. But can we maybe move back to the couch? If we have to sit in the theater tomorrow, my ass might just give up and fall off…up you go."

Joel took hold of Mike under his arms and hoisted him up, then pulled him back so they were on top of the couch again, Mike sprawled in an ungainly way over Joel, practically covering the other man. "Mike…this isn't what I meant…!" Joel wiggled. A lot. Finally, they both got comfortable, comfortable meaning, Mike was still on top of Joel, only now his head was tucked under the engineer's chin and Joel's hands were tracing up and down his back. If Mike was a cat, he would have purred. "Mike, did you just purr?" Joel asked, his voice hiding laughter. Oops. "Uh, no," Mike mumbled into Joel's chest. "That was, uh, Crow snoring down the hall."

Joel gave Mike a funny look, and Mike picked his head up. "What?" Mike demanded. "Mike, the bots don't snore. They don't even sleep." Mike, interested despite himself, heard himself say, "Well, what do they do in there all night?" Joel kept making a funny face, so of course Mike had to keep pestering him. "Joel," he begged. "You can't just say that without telling me. What is it? What? Joel. Pleeeease?" "Okay, fine," Joel acquiesced. Then he mumbled something, and Mike didn't catch it. "What?" Joel's face turned a little red, along with the tips of his ears. "I said, they, uh, well, I think, they, uh…they watch porn and dare each other to sneak into your room and steal things." He blurted out the last bit all in a rush, and when Mike's brain caught up with Joel's statement, he paled. Visibly.

"So that's where my tube socks keep disappearing to!" Then Mike looked at Joel. "Wait, why do they want my-" Joel shook his head vehemently. "Don't ask," he said, sounding so serious that Mike dropped the subject immediately. "Joel?" "Hmmm?"Joel answered. "…How long has this been going on? And how long have you known about it?" Joel looked rather sheepish. "Uh, I've only known for a few days. It was Tom's idea. They've probably been doing it since…well…since you got here, most likely." "Oh no," Mike groaned, and Joel chuckled. Mike sat there glaring at Joel, until Joel laughed again.

"What?" Mike asked, sounding vaguely annoyed. They're taking my socks, and all you can do is laugh? "You just look so cute when you're angry," Joel said. "Uh-!" Mike, unprepared for that lovely bombshell, had just wrapped his mind around the statement when he found Joel leaning up, inches from his face. Mike panicked, sitting bolt upright. "Waugh! Joel!" Joel looked hurt. "Uh…sorry…" he said, his face reddening again. Mike's chest heaved. "No, it's…it's okay. I was just surprised, that's all." Damn. Damn, damn, damn. Why didn't I let him kiss me? Joel grinned into the silence as Inner Mike berated himself. "Do you mean it?" "Mean what?' Mike asked, distracted. "That…it's okay," Joel said softly. Mike noticed that the whole satellite had suddenly gotten much quieter, but didn't think much of it, because his mind was on Joel Robinson and his adorable sleepy eyes. Seriously, he's like a big teddy bear. Just go hug him, Inner Mike said happily.

"Sure…sure it is, Joel," Mike choked out. Joel's grin widened into a real smile, the kind of smile he reserved for Mike, and sometimes for the bots' inner workings. Ew. Mike didn't really want to think about that right now. Mike walked back over to the couch and sat down, curling up next to Joel and resting his face on the junction between Joel's neck and his collarbone. He hesitated, then pressed a small kiss to Joel's neck. Joel snaked an arm around Mike's body and held him closer. Joel tentatively nuzzled the top of Mike's head with his chin, then tilted his face down and pressed a soft kiss to the top of Mike's head, feeling how soft the other man's hair was.

Mike wiggled a bit, then pressed his face into Joel's neck even more. Joel smiled, a little smile that Mike couldn't see, and then he used his free hand to start petting Mike's head gently. After a little while, Mike made a move to get up, and Joel attempted to release him. "What're you doing?" Mike asked. Joel looked confused. "Were you trying to get up?" "No," Mike laughed, "I just wanted to do this." He leaned over and kissed Joel on the mouth, a soft kiss that had a question buried in it. Joel answered as best he could by returning the kiss, keeping their lips locked together until they both needed to stop for air.

Mike sighed happily, then snuggled back down on Joel's chest. Joel went back to petting Mike's head. A couple of minutes later, Joel asked, "Mike?" quietly. Mike didn't answer. Joel tapped Mike's shoulder, but the only reply he received was a little snore. Joel had to stifle a laugh; Mike was already asleep. Joel carefully reached around Mike's body, trying not to wake him up, in order to grab the blanket conveniently sitting on the floor under the couch. "Lights out," Joel commanded quietly, and the ship's voice recognition accepted the command and bathed them in darkness. Joel arranged the blanket over himself and Mike's sleeping form, then closed his eyes and went to sleep.

"Urgh," Mike said as he woke up a few hours later, alone on the couch. "Joel?" He stirred sleepily, then yawned and stretched until he felt like his morning ritual was complete and he could get up. He padded into the kitchen, and found himself attacked by something; two somethings, actually. "Crow? Tom?" Mike staggered at the sudden onslaught. "Did you sleep well, Mike?" the robots chorused, and Mike could practically hear the smirk in their voices. "Yes, I did, in fact," Mike said with a scowl, and then noticed Joel and caught his eye with a bashful smile. Joel, who was cooking at the stove, sent a wink in Mike's direction.

"Morning, honey. Want a waffle?" Mike walked over and wrapped an arm around Joel's waist. Joel turned his head, and Mike kissed his cheek. "Sure." The bots groaned and made commentary in the background. "Waffles again?" Tom complained. "Yeah! Plus, I don't need to see you two make out right before I eat," Crow said, sounding aggravated. "We weren't making out," Mike said defensively. "And waffles are good for growing 'bots," Joel added. "I liked them better when they didn't love each other this much," Tom whispered discreetly to Crow. Crow burst into a raucous cackle, and Mike, who hadn't heard what they said, sent a suspicious glare in Tom's direction. Joel shook his head. "Just let it go," he advised. Mike sighed ruefully, then smiled as Joel placed a waffle in front of him.

Maybe being stuck in space wasn't all that bad.