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Film nights in the bunkroom were becoming less and less of a rarity in recent years, turning into an almost twice-weekly occurrence once the movie catalogue had been fixed, courtesy of Kryten. And Lister more than anyone, was smegging delighted by the prospect.
It meant evenings cosying up to Rimmer, usually on the sofa, sometimes on the bottom bunk (less often due to the high probability of whacking one's head on the metal). Though whichever it happened to be resulted in the same thing; a whole lot of grumbling and feigned annoyance from the hologram, and Lister beaming at him when he eventually scooted up, leaving enough room for the both of them. Usually a preemptive complaint about Lister leaving crisp crumbs or popcorn kernels all over the sofa was a standard custom - and frequently one about the choice of movie if it happened to be Lister's turn to choose.
And sure, the complaining was annoying, but Lister looked upon it as some sort of unskippable side quest to complete first, just like the games in the AR suite. Present, but soon over. And anyway, it was worth it just to shuffle closer (and closer) over to Rimmer, until their shoulders were touching, sides pressed closely together. Rimmer would pretend to be majorly smegged-off, frowning and grunting about it, like Kryters when all the washing had been done for the day. But twenty or so minutes into whatever film they were watching, a brief glance over to Rimmer would confirm the guy's actual contentedness with the situation, judging by the small smile and relaxed expression.
One day in the very near future, Lister hoped to try his luck further; throw a casual arm 'round the man's shoulders, give him a peck on the cheek just to see his reaction. He doubted it'd be too badly received. Unless of course the film playing was Grease, Mamma Mia, or pretty much any retro chick flick or sappy rom-com - Lister's personal favourites, and decidedly not Rimmer's. Because while it was a joy to watch the guy pull all manner of disgruntled facial expressions when the cast started singing Dancing Queen, Rimmer's mood was not dissimilar to that of Hogey when a duel was refused. Or Kryten lacking laundry again. It really did depend.
But either way, on those specific evenings...he'd have more luck attempting to plant a kiss on a slippery eel.