Saracen Rue was bored. He was bored. Bored. Bored. Waiting had never been his strong point and now, waiting outside the airport for his friends to arrive, he was bored.

They were late. An hour late. Maybe the plane had been delayed, although he hadn't read anything about it on the websites. More likely that someone (*cough* Dexter) had done something wrong. Maybe Anton looked like a security threat. If he simply smiled once in a while...

"Excuse me, are you Saracen Rue?" a woman asked him. Saracen looked up and saw a woman wearing the airport uniform.

"Yes. What have my friends done?" He sighed.

"Oh, it's nothing. They've just...lost their suitcases. We contacted the Irish airport but there has been no record of them ever being on the plane."

"Who? My friends or the suitcases?"

"The suitcases."

"Just my luck." Saracen grumbled. "Send 'em out. I'll provide them with clothes and stuff." He said.

"Thank you, sir." The woman said and spoke into her walkie-talkie. "Yes, they can come out."

A moment later, a sheepish looking Dexter, an annoyed looking Anton and a grinning Erskine came out of the airport. The woman looked at Saracen. "Are these your friends?"

"Yes." Saracen said.

"Well, thank you for being co-operative about all this. Most people yell."

"It's fine." Saracen said and she walked away. He was going to ask her for her phone number but he was given a huge hug. "Ah, Vex, get off me."

"Look at you! With your shorts and sandals and sunglasses! Blimey it's hot here isn't it? I mean I've been stuck in Norway for the past three months so it's even hotter!" Dexter Vex, adventurer, Dead Man and ladies' man, said with a grin. He was wearing bright purple shorts and a white T-shirt.

Erskine patted Saracen on the head. "Alright, Rue? You look good. Have you grown? The plane was a nightmare. Remind me not to buy plane food again."

"Grand Mage." Saracen said sarcastically. Then Anton stepped forward, glaring.

"Guess what, Rue?"

"What?"

"This idiot," Anton shoved Dexter slightly. "Didn't put our suitcases on the carousel thing. He said that he left them there so someone else could put them on."

"I was distracted!" Dexter explained.

"And what were you distracted by?" Anton asked.

"A hot selection of women on a bachelorette party. One of them winked at me, Anton!"

"That's the dream." Saracen agreed. "Anyway I'll provide y'all with clothes."

"See? This worked out perfectly." Erskine got into Saracen's Porsche. "Woo, nice car, shortie."

"Please don't embarrass me." Saracen said to him.

"We won't." Dexter promised but then he laughed. "Sorry."

"I swear I won't embarrass you, Rue." Anton said. Then he looked out the window. "I better not get a tan though."

Saracen took a deep breath. This was going to be a long 'lad's holiday'.

...

Two hours later, Saracen was lying, face down, on his bed while Dexter and Erskine pranced around in his clothes. "Erskine's enjoying this." he commented and grinned.

"Hey! How did you know?"

"How did I know you've always secretly aspired to be a model?" Saracen sat up and raised an eyebrow. Dexter laughed.

"Shut up." Erskine scowled. "That's mean."

"Not as mean as Rick Morean bullying you last month when he caught you posing in front of a mirror."

"I know your power, Rue. I can tell people." Erskine said. Saracen shut up. Dexter looked at Erskine.

"Please tell me."

"No can do."

"I'll torture you."

"Threatening a grand mage is illegal, Vex."

Dexter adjusted his waistcoat and coughed. "Ahem. Ravel, I know plenty of your secrets."

Saracen shook his head. "He doesn't. Anton, my friend, stop lingering out on the balcony with that flat lemonade hoping that we'll forget about dressing you." He called. Anton walked in, frowning.

"I don't see the point of dressing in your clothes. They will not fit."

"My personal stylist, Marabeth, ordered me clothes in your size in preparation for your visit. I knew you'd be dressed like a gloomy guts."

"This is just a casual dinner."

"Anton, you are in LA now. Dress wisely." Saracen said. "You never know, you might bump into the girl from the airport with the hot ass again. And that's a direct quote from you."

"I never told you that." Anton said. Saracen tapped his nose.

"But I know."

Dexter grinned. "You're awesome."

"I know."

...

An hour later, the foursome were wearing designer clothes and drinking beer in a restaurant. "Welcome to my life, guys." Saracen said and they all clinked beer bottles. "First one to down the bottle gets first dibs on a lucky lady."

Anton was the first one but he just scowled and said that he didn't want a lucky lady.

"A lucky lad then?" Erskine suggested and he got hit on his arm.

31 minutes later...

Anton had spilt cranberry sauce on his white pants, courtesy of Dexter bumping into him. "Idiot!" Anton hissed.

"What? Just replace them!" Dexter slurred slightly and gulped down another bottle of beer.

14 minutes later...

They were all at Saracen's personal stylist's shop and Marabeth was staring at Anton. "Hmm, Saracen, honey, you didn't tell me your friend was so hot."

"I am hot." Dexter said from the floor, where he and Erskine were sitting.

"She thinks you're a drunken pig." Saracen told Dexter. Dexter pouted and Erskine snorted. "So, new outfit for my friend here?"

"New outfit for all of you sweethearts!"

1 hour later...

"Saracen?"

The gang were lying on Saracen's rotating bed in the guest bedroom and staring at the ceiling.

"Yes, Dexter?"

"How do you know things?"

"I'm magic."

Dexter laughed slightly. It turned into a sob.

"What's up, Dex?" Erskine asked.

"I think it happened to me."

"What?" Anton said.

"An epiphany. He thinks he's had an epiphany." Saracen explained.

"Oh. What about?" Erskine said.

"I'm not sure. About life really. Maybe I should explore a bit, expand my horizons. Flirt a little."

"You already do." Anton said then curled up in a ball. "Goodnight."

"Night, Anton."

Within seconds, Anton was asleep and Saracen went to his room for a nap too, leaving Dexter and Erskine discussing the positives and negatives of intergalactic travel.