Science fiction’s relationship with, well, relationships has long been tempestuous. It’s a genre for fantastical thinkers and insatiable dreamers, and nothing brings a fantasy crashing back to earth like the angst of bad romance. Mere mortals like us may not know how to joust with Lightsabers or manipulate the inside of a computerized world with our minds or cast an Unforgivable curse or send aliens packing.

But we know plenty about love.

Too much romance can kill a fantasy — but not enough romance can kill it too. Here are ten (hot!) couples who navigated the line between snogging and flying (shagging and saving the world) with precision and grace (and hotness!).

Chuck Bartowski and Agent Sarah Walker, Chuck

Agent Sarah Walker’s job was to asses Chuck, then to protect him, then to train him, all of which she did perfectly — while falling hopelessly in love with him. And Chuck? Well, Sarah had him at “Vicki Vale, V-V-Vicki Vale.” She’s the bad-ass CIA agent with guns and knives and swords and kung fu. He’s the lovable nerd with a supercomputer stuck inside his brain. Together, they’re awesome-er than Captain Awesome.

WALL-E and EVE, WALL-E

The last robot on earth, WALL-E did his job by day and organized his trinket collection and danced to Hello, Dolly! by night. Then he met EVE, whose classified directive made her so emotionally distant that she finally just shut down. WALL-E gave EVE everything: a light bulb, a frisbee, an eggbeater, bubble wrap, a Rubik’s Cube. And in the end she gave him the only thing he ever wanted — a hand to hold.

Beverly Crusher and Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: Next Generation

Two words: Telepathic hookups.

Ianto Jones and Captain Jack Harkness, Torchwood

Ianto Jones was one of those people with quaint little categories about sexuality, and then he fell in accidental love with the immortal (and eternally sexy) Captain Jack Harkness. It started when Ianto said he’d go out with Jack as long as he didn’t have to play out his office fetish. It turned into casual shagging. But around the time The 456 showed their ugly, pedophilic faces in London, Ianto was so smitten that he came out to his sister, explaining that it was only Jack, and it was way more than a fling. And I refuse to talk about what happened next.

Willow and Tara, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Just like with Ianto and Jack, I can only talk about Willow and Tara up to a specific point in time, because things end very differently in my imagination. Willow brought out the best in Tara, giving her courage and confidence in her magical abilities, and empowering her to be the lovable, clever witch we all grew to adore before that thing happened that we won’t be discussing.

Lois Lane and Clark Kent, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

Clark and Lois. Lois and Clark. Lois and Superman. They’ve been falling in and out of love since the Golden Age of comics, but it was sexier than ever when they publicly bickered and secretly swooned in Lois & Clark. And oh, don’t even get me started on Terri Hatcher wrapped up in Superman’s cape in those ABC promos shots in 1994.

Trinity and Neo, The Matrix

Trinity and Neo were destiny. Or were they? Is our destiny chosen for us, or do we chose our destiny? Either way, they were super sexy together. Not just the making out part, but the teaming up to save humanity with gravity-defying slow-mo stunts part. Somehow, the fact that they always wore black makes them seem even hotter to me.

Tonks and Lupin, Harry Potter (books)

The only thing to make me smile/stop sobbing in the last three chapters of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was when Tonks finally came clean about being desperately in love with Lupin. Yes, he was a werewolf. And yes, there was (quite) an age difference between them, but if there’s anything that would have made Dumbledore happy — besides, you know, not dying — it would have been seeing more love in the world. More love and a litter of little werepups.

Buffy and Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

It’s a hard choice between Buffy and Angel, and Buffy and Spike. You’ve got the star-crossed thing, and the cheekbone thing, and the jawline thing, and the overcoming death to be with one another thing. I mean, for both couples. But in the end, soul mates is sexier than hate sex — but just barely.

Han Solo and Princess Leia, Star Wars

What can I say about Han Solo and Princess Leia that hasn’t been said a million times before? Though it bears repeating that these two should make every hot list for the simple reason that their romance kept Leia from hooking up with her brother, because let’s be honest: That almost happened.

Who did I miss? Who’s your favorite sci-fi couple?

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