They may once have shared an unlikely smile, but today the Rev Ian Paisley refused point blank to offer any greeting to Martin McGuinness.
The two men who must find a way to work together at the head of any new power sharing executive established in Northern Ireland found themselves thrust together at the same Assembly election count centre.
Mr Paisley, the Democratic Unionist Party leader, arrived at the Seven Towers leisure centre in Ballymena, Co Antrim, and immediately turned in a Biblical tour de force, with the Sinn Fein chief negotiator his number one target.
Accompanied by his loyal wife Eileen and dressed in a full-length black coat and wide-brimmed hat, the preacher's rhetoric delighted a hardy knot of stalwart supporters gathered to greet him. "He needs to be converted to democracy," was his assessment of the man who could be appointed Deputy First Minister of the Stormont administration the firebrand DUP leader may one day head.
Hardened by the cheers of encouragement, Mr Paisley warmed to his theme by issuing instructions to Sinn Fein. "They need to repent and turn from their evil ways," he said.
Mr Paisley laughed off the possibility of a confrontation with Mr McGuinness during the count by saying: "Unfortunately I have to pass him continuously at the House of Commons." But behind the smile the message was clear. "I will not be greeting him," he stressed.
And with that he swept inside, seeking confirmation that all four DUP candidates in North Antrim had claimed seats. Minutes earlier an equally relaxed Mr McGuinness had come to the heartland of unionism to learn of his performance in the Mid Ulster contest. He even shared a story of a past encounter to show that the antagonism perhaps does not always boil over. "I met him once in the corridors at Stormont," Mr McGuinness recalled.
"He was standing on his own, I said 'how are you doing anyway' and he gave me a big smile." The Sinn Fein chief was also quick to offer assurances that there would be no clashes between the pair. He added: "I'm not going to do anything to embarrass him. I'm here to be sensible."
Once inside, however, the two political icons took to their respective corners of the hall like heavyweight boxers waiting for the bell. Only time will tell if any new Stormont regime will see a fight a day as the DUP has grimly predicted.
PA