A/N: Set a couple of weeks after Green Lantern Corps #19, though #20 kind of puts this in murky continuity.

"...And then she was all crying and stuff, you know. 'Guy, don't go!' Let me tell you, it was tough to pull myself away with her lookin' at me with those tears in her pretty blue eyes, but hey, you know, duty calls. She's a good girl, she understands that, so she'll be okay. But I know she's just counting down the hours 'til our date!" Guy Gardner grinned and took another bite of... whatever it was that Greet had tried to pass off as edible by Terrans today. Having more experience with Earth foods than most alien Lanterns, Kilowog thought it was supposed to be spaghetti of some sort and had chosen some for himself, but when he looked at it for too long, the noodles appeared to be squirming, and there was a funny sort of squish in his mouth whenever he took a bite. Kyle was poking at his own plate of spaghetti-whatsit somewhat dubiously, but it made Kilowog smile to note that Guy was chomping away with no care for what he might be putting in his mouth.

Isamot Kol smirked (or at least Kilowog thought it was a smirk -- it was hard to tell when a Lizarkon was smiling, grimacing, or threatening to eat you), shaking his head. "Earthmen and Rannians are even more alike than I thought."

"Yeah?"

"You're both full of it when it comes to women. She didn't really say 'Oh Guy, take me now!'"

Guy's brows drew together and he raised his chin obstinantly. "Well, maybe not word for word, but that was the gist of it!"

Isamot rolled his eyes and exchanged a glance with his Rannian partner, Vath Sarn. Vath didn't smile often, but one corner of his mouth twitched upward in amusement despite the jibe against his own race. Their respective races were still more or less at war, and it wasn't that long ago that Isamot and Vath had been less than enthusiastic partners, but it was obvious now that somewhere along the way, they had put their differences behind them and become friends. Then again, they were both soldiers, and fighting on the same side tended to do that to people, so Kilowog wondered why he was as surprised as he was by it. No, Isamot and Vath were going to be fine. It was Sector 1417 that he was worried most about at the moment. Soranik Natu had the makings of a fine Lantern, but was still tormented by doubt at the worst possible moments. He scanned the cafeteria for a glimpse of her, but no, she wouldn't be here. Probably still on the med-level taking care of the many Lanterns injured in the war with the Sinestro Corps. He ought to go see her later, make sure she was getting enough rest and not pushing herself too hard. And where was her partner, Iolande? Still playing queen on her home planet? It was a situation that needed to be remedied, sooner rather than later.

"I think your story put Kilowog to sleep, Guy," Kyle was saying.

Kilowog huffed as he realized he had been caught out, and one tiny pink ear flicked in mock irritation. The "hippo flip," Guy called it, and Kilowog knew enough about hippopotami to know that it was a valid comparison, but not enough about them to take offense at it. Besides, if you didn't learn to let half of what Guy Gardner said slide off your back, you'd wear yourself out being mad at him all the time. "Ya caught me. Guy's love life makes me drowsy. Sorry."

"Guy's love life probably makes her drowsy, too," Kyle answered brightly as he got up with his empty tray, laughing when Guy brandished a fist at him. It was good to see Kyle happy, Kilowog reflected. He had been a little too quiet since returning to Oa, and it was worrying, but maybe all that worry had been needless. The young Earthman wouldn't ever be able to forget the things he had done when Parallax was in control of him, and maybe he hadn't yet completely forgiven himself for killing Jack T. Chance, but he was trying to move on one step at a time.

"Yeah," Guy called after Kyle, "You better run!" Of course it didn't really look as if he was running away so much as just strolling with a deliberately unconcerned air.

Isamot and Vath got up, too. Whatever had been on Isamot's tray had been moving when it was first put on there and had squealed once when he bit into it, but there was nothing left now, not even bones. "Well, it's been nice, guys, but Salaak told us to get back to our sector two hours ago, so..."

"Did he say right now?" Guy asked.

"Well, no, but..."

"Then you're in the clear! Just, you know, amble your way over there eventually."

Isamot's lips peeled back again in a sharp-toothed grin and Vath just shook his head as they left, but like Kyle, they didn't seem in a terribly big hurry to get where they were going. No one was really ready to head back into action just yet, it seemed.

When Guy got up to follow, however, Kilowog reached up and put one big hand on his arm. "Hang back a second. I wanna talk to you."

The blue eyes that gazed back at him, like the crooked grin they complimented, were somehow too bright to be genuine. They had been all along. No one else knew Guy well enough to notice, not even Kyle, but Kilowog did. "I already toldja, we didn't have much time, so there's no spicy details to give!"

"You know damn well I don't wanna know your spicy details anyway, poozer. Sit yer ass down." Guy made a show of considering this, but it was just that -- show. He just couldn't let anyone think for a second that he might do something that someone told him to do, could he? Kilowog rolled his eyes. "Sit yer ass down, please."

"...Well, since you asked nice..." He sat down. Though his eyes met his friend's straight on, one hand picked up his fork and started twirling it idly in the remnants of his lunch. "What's on your mind?"

"What really happened? With Tora?"

Guy opened his mouth to give the first flip response that came to mind (possibly something along the lines of "I just told you, has too much hippo flip made you deaf?"), but stopped. There weren't many people who could have made him pause and think, and Kilowog recognized that, and smiled to himself at the realization that he was one of them. Maybe they had gotten off to a rocky start when they first met (not unlike Isamot and Vath, curiously), but a lot of time had passed since then, and they had spent far more time as friends than they ever had as enemies. When the rest of the Corps was still avoiding Guy like the plague, Kilowog was fighting with him for fun and then joining him for a drink or twelve afterwards. In recent years, Guy had gotten better at acquiring "buddies," but back then, there had only been Kilowog. And G'nort, but if you asked Guy, he was friends with G'nort in about the same way that G'nort was friends with his own fleas. Which is to say not at all.

After a long moment, Guy shook his head. "How do you always know?"

Kilowog didn't have eyebrows, exactly, but his brow raised expectantly just the same. He wasn't going to let Mister Lantern Number One of the Honor Guard change the subject on him so easily.

Guy's eyes darted left and right, and it was only when he was absolutely sure that no one who actually cared was within earshot that his shoulders slumped ever so slightly. Not many would have noticed. Kilowog did. "She says she 'needs time'."

The big Lantern mulled that over for a moment. "Sounds reasonable t'me, Guy," he said with a shrug. "She's been dead for a long time. Or not-dead. Or whatever she was. It's gotta be tough, all of a sudden being alive again when you didn't even know you were dead in the first place."

"Yeah. I'd imagine it's a lot like, I don't know, being in a coma for a few years and then waking up in a world that kept turnin' while you were sleeping," Guy answered flatly, but there was a bitter edge to the words that would have sounded at home on his lips years ago, but only rarely colored his speech these days. Still, Kilowog had never known him to complain about that time... or even really to talk about it at all. He never talked about his torture in the Phantom Zone, or about Kari Limbo, or about the years of his life wasting away in a hospital bed, years he could never get back. Kilowog was no longer quite sure how brain-damaged Guy still was, or if that damage had somehow been healed, or whether the man's new, more bearable attitude was just the result of time and maturity.

"Well, there ya go, then. There's nobody better qualified than you to talk to her about what she's feelin'," he answered finally, more gently than any of the rookie Lanterns would have suspected him capable of. "She knows you. She knows that, too, and I bet she'll come right back to you, once she's had a little time to remember why she loved you so much in the first place. ...You did give her the time she asked for, right?"

"Well, yeah! I'm not an ape, y'know. Despite what you might've heard from some people... Salaak... the Smurfs..."

Kilowog held up his hands. "I know, I know! Just makin' sure. You're not exactly known for your patience, if you hadn't heard."

"Yeah, yeah." Guy's fingers drummed on the table. "Talked to Bea after I left Tora."

"Didn't Arisia tell me you slept with her or something?"

"Pfft. Don't remind me." He cocked his head, peering irritably down into his empty glass. "Nothing against Bea, I mean, just... it sort of makes all this more complicated. Anyway... she said that just before Tora died, she'd told her that she was gonna break up with me." His eyes found Kilowog's again, and he spread his arms in a gesture of helplessness. "So I guess that's the last memory she had of me 'til now. Being through with me."

Even though there were only a few drops left in his own glass, Kilowog picked it up and tilted it back, considering very carefully before replying. "You were pretty tough to get along with back then," he said finally, honestly.

"I know."

"You said some pretty mean things to her sometimes."

"I know!"

"But look... if it means anything, I think you two're meant to be. She loved you the way you were then, so it's gotta be way easier to love you the way you are now!" His face lit into a grin as a certain memory from their Justice League days struck him. "Y'know, she always said there wasn't but two things she'd ever change about you."

Guy quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"She wished you'd just get a haircut, and settle down a little. And look at you, you've gone and done at least one and a half of those things! Yer practically her dream Guy now!"

"Har har." He reached up and ran his hand through his spiky red hair. Only a couple of grays, barely noticable, he had been happy to note last time he had looked in the mirror. "And she didn't even say a thing about my hair! Maybe she was just speechless 'cause of my mature good looks. Or maybe she just 'needs time' to go get a new outfit and a haircut, herself, so she'll be ready to greet me right and proper. She doesn't need to do all that on my account 'cause she looks perfect the way she is, but you know how the ladies are about their looks." His voice took on a screechy falsetto. "'I can't go out looking like this! I don't even have my makeup on! There's a run in my hose! I broke a nail and everybody will be able to tell!'"

And that was the Guy Gardner that Kilowog knew, and felt a little guilty for doubting. He didn't know why he felt so obligated to look after everyone -- maybe it was just because he was Bolovaxian, and Bolovaxians grew up caring about each other because the happiness of one contributed to the happiness of all -- but sometimes, he had to remind himself that Guy was more than capable of taking care of himself. The Earthman was deeper than most people gave him credit for, but he was also not one to dwell overlong on unpleasantries, or to harbor secret doubts and fears. Sometimes, he was exactly what he appeared to be.

And sometimes he was nothing at all like he appeared to be, but maybe Kilowog didn't need to worry about that side of Guy, either.

"I don't know why I even bother worryin' about you," he said, giving Guy a good-natured thump on the arm. "It don't change your mind about nothing, and it just gives me a headache!"

"Worrying's what we keep you around for. It ain't for your good looks, that's for damn sure." He stood up, picking up his tray. "Gee whiz, Pop, I ate all my vegetables and had your little heart-to-heart -- can I go outside and play now?"

"Go on, get outta here. And I don't wanna see your ugly mug again until you've got the girl! There is really a date, right?"

"You know it." Guy flashed him a thumb's up with his free hand and turned to go.

"And I bet she really is countin' down the hours, too, huh?" Kilowog paused, waiting until Guy was halfway to the tray drop-off before calling after him: "So how many is it, now?"

"Four-hundred thirty-two hours, twenty-seven minutes!" he called back without pausing or turning around.

Kilowog grinned and shook his head, taking a big bite of spaghetti-things that were cold now and no longer squished quite so enthusiastically when he chewed. They weren't so bad, really. For that matter, nothing seemed quite so bad anymore all of a sudden. He sensed more than heard Salaak's quiet approach behind him.

"Did I hear something about Guy Gardner having a run in his hose?" the Slyggian asked with a sniff that clearly said he wouldn't put such a thing past the Honor Lantern.

"Aw, don't worry about Guy, Sal." Kilowog slurped the last of his spaghetti. Yep, it was turning into a fine day, indeed. "I'm sure he's got it under control."