Jongho had had a long two weeks. And he'd like to say that those two weeks ended after that unfamiliar android opened the hatch above his head to get them the hell out of the freezing biome but as it seemed that was not the end yet.

Jongho was inside of their orderly ship now, the Cyclops, as he had read on the metal on the side. And while he could not be any more happier about finally seeing his team leader again, their joyous reunification came up short.

There was no time for emotional hugs and words of reassurance. Jongho had barely dropped to the floor heavily when the whole ship was in chaos already. The smaller of the two androids made a leap over his body and ran right into another room with Doctor Jung hot on his heels. Jongho knew the physicist, after all, they had sometimes passed each other in the break room when Jongho got himself his daily fix of three liters of coffee. He was a kind man that Jongho was not opposed to seeing here.

It was Hongjoong who stayed kneeling at his side when the other android also took off with another glance at Hongjoong that went undetected by the oblivious human.

And oh, Jongho knew that gaze. He had watched it for years on Jung's android's face whenever the sweet man thought Jung wasn't looking.

Jongho sat up with Hongjoong's help, shivering after the mere 10 minutes he had to spend in the water. From the looks of Hongjoong's dark hair, their team leader had done the same thing not that long ago. Jongho wouldn't ever have guessed that their chef was built like that, not bad.

"I'm so fucking glad to have you back. I was worried sick about you. You too, Yeosang." Hongjoong hugged Jongho despite their current situation, even if it was cut short when he also hurried to hug Yeosang. The android blinked, surprised by the sudden closeness. When their gazes met Jongho gave a nonchalant shrug.

Hongjoong was moving in a flurry through the now moving ship, helping Jongho rise. He ushered both of them into what appeared to be the sickbay hastily, telling them to sit down as he hurried to get a blanket just like his for Jongho.

With a grimace Jongho peeled his suit off, wrapping the blanket around his muscles that kept spasming from cold shocks. Yeosang gently rubbed one corner of the blanket through Jongho's hair for him, leaving a wet patch on the cot himself.

"Are you alright? Hurt anywhere? Need some food?"

It was unlikely for Hongjoong to be so blinded by his need to help. Usually, he would try to juggle every task and need on the ship at the same time.

Jongho exchanged another gaze with Yeosang who had already started scanning Hongjoong by now, his brows furrowed. In the end, the android's eyes got stuck to the man's arms. He didn't point it out but he let his eyes flicker over to Jongho and back, giving a secret hint.

Jongho took a good look at their leader too, at the way his bloodied nails were nervously scratching over the skin of his arms. Jongho spotted the odd rash on his body immediately. Hongjoong must have been to busy to notice but just how on Jongho's skin, there was a faint discoloration to his veins. They protruded more under his skin, shimmering in a faint green.

Jongho wasn't sure yet what kind of bacteria it was, any theory that he and Yeosang had come up with had been in vain. However, he hoped that the other team had more answers for them. While a sneeze here and there was the only symptom that Jongho had noticed apart from the skin irritation, he feared it could escalate soon.

"Could you get us your android? The tall one?" Yeosang asked calmly, his deep voice composed as ever and his light brown hair slicked back to dry. Hongjoong nodded immediately, hurrying to leave. Jongho grimaced when he noticed an even more obvious web of veins on Hongjoong's back. There were even some brightly glowing patches of green.

The door had barely closed behind him when Yeosang was already all over Jongho.

Jongho caught his weight easily, barely noticing it in order to concentrate on the feeling of Yeosang's lips finding his. The android kissed feverishly, every drop of relief pouring out from him. Jongho took it, embracing the man's waist tightly while he gently accepted every press of soft lips. His hands splayed over the android's hips, pulling him comfortably into his lap.

"We did it. We actually managed to get out of there finally," Yeosang murmured between kisses as if he could barely believe it himself. Jongho embraced him with as much assurance as possible, making sure Yeosang could feel most of his sturdy body. They were not dreaming. They would finally see the light of the day again.

"Yes. You did so well, Yeosang. I would've gone crazy down there without you." It was no lie. Being confined in such a small space for weeks without any hope of survival and hordes of weird creatures swimming around them had gnawed on Jongho's nerves horribly. He had no idea what he would have done had Yeosang not been there.

Jongho was just moving to pull Yeosang in even further, to deepen their kiss when a gentle cough interrupted them. Yeosang immediately ducked to hide his face in Jongho's neck, the human courageously fighting his blush down.

Hongjoong was back with his android. It was a pretty guy (not as gorgeous as Yeosang, of course) with a slender build and carved features. Jongho knew enough about the Aurora's androids to be aware that this one was an older model that they normally used for emergencies only. He was glad that Hongjoong had found him. With Kris gone at the time and Hongjoong having disappeared despite the Aurora literally crashing it was no wonder that Yeosang had grabbed Jongho and fled. They had been worried about Hongjoong's wellbeing.

"I see you were occupied down here, huh?" Hongjoong stepped in first, his eyes twinkling with mirth. Jongho was honestly surprised. He had expected Hongjoon to react with disgust or contempt. This was new.

Jongho's gaze strayed from the human to his android, trying to connect the dots. They didn't appear to be in a relationship so why...

"We had to pass the time somehow. Will you allow Yeosang to exchange data with your android? Then we won't have to explain every detail now." Jongho gave a cheeky grin, waiting for Hongjoong's reaction.

And oh, what was that? He hesitated.

Hongjoong's eyes flickered over to the other man with a carefully hidden apprehension in his eyes, making Jongho narrow his eyes at him again. There was something in the bush indeed.

"Go on, I won't stop you." He seemed just a tad dissatisfied, moving away so Yeosang could rise and access his android. Jongho understood far too well. While he had no problems with seeing the androids kiss for informational purposes it still looked so entirely wrong to see Yeosang's lips press against those of the taller male.

At least, the moment didn't take long, Yeosang stepping back respectfully.

"I see this planet is much to take in. Be ready for some more leviathans, Jongho," Yeosang commented dryly when he dropped down next to the man again. He seemed to shift through his new data for a moment, filing it away before he nodded calmly.

"Alright. I wanted to ask you about the bacterium anyway. I see you made some progress with it."

Jongho's curious glance got him a quick rundown of how the bacterium was responsible for transforming and mutating their genes so they would become part of this planet. Apparently, there were also two guys around here that were already contaminated with it and currently helping their escape. Jongho would dwell more on it later. For now, it was more important to gather the basics.

They had a safe base on land, it was now the six of them and a ship was coming to get them. That was good news. The rest was all about survival.

"So tell us then. What happened during the crash? How did you even get that far down into a cave?" Hongjoong was the one asking, his curiosity apparent in his voice. Jongho noticed how he stood leaned against his android's shoulder, both of them very attached to each other.

Jongho had to get the gossip from Wooyoung as soon as it was time. Their busy and hard-working team leader falling for an android of all things? No way.

"Well, you were out to get your coffee, and Kris wanted to check on the samples in the other lab. Basically it was only the four of us, including Lydia and Yugyeom inside there. We lost track of her on our escape, Yeosang naturally paired up with me. We also dropped into the water somewhere and it was all fun until some weird... what did you call them?" Jongho turned to Yeosang for help, receiving a patient smile.

"A Reaper Leviathan. It was a Reaper Leviathan," he supplied helpfully, Jongho resuming to talk.

"Right. A Reaper Leviathan dragged us down through like so many caves. There was so much getting thrown around, so much to see while it played with the life pod. In the end, it dropped us in the skeleton because it got scared off by the Ghost Leviathan. The creatures down there were less interested in us but maybe they mistook us as part of the skeleton anyway." He sure as hell was thankful for that.

"Anyway. I couldn't leave the thing because of the water and the danger and whenever Yeosang went out he found it too dangerous to cross in order to flee. We had to wait for somebody and I very much appreciate being saved." Jongho smiled at Hongjoong's android who smiled right back, seeming content himself.

Hongjoong just opened his mouth to speak when the power went out abruptly.

Jongho shut up too, confused. It didn't seem like silent running mode, especially when they had just been using all power cells for their escape. Why in the hell would they shut down?

He yelled, startled, when Yeosang suddenly dropped into his lap, his body limp. Jongho caught him quickly, arranging him back so he could lay down comfortably. Hongjoong across from him seemed to have the same struggle if the little tense grunts he gave were any indication.

"What is it, what happened?!" Jongho nervously cried, shaking the still Yeosang who was not moving at all. Hongjoong carefully laid his android down on the floor, running to open the door.

"Wooyoung?! What's going on?!"

A yell from further down the ship answered.

"San just collapsed! We are crashing into a wall, be careful!"

At that, Jongho grabbed Yeosang's peaceful form tightly, curling above him in order to protect him from the impact. Hongjoong managed to grab onto a cupboard just in time.

The ship connected with the stone with an ugly screech, throwing them off balance. Jongho made sure that Yeosang wouldn't get hurt anywhere, rolling him back against the wall after the worst had passed.

Wooyoung came running not soon after, joining Hongjoong in the doorway.

"There was this giant squid and he did something, some energy impulse and now all of the machines are turned off! San won't wake up anymore!" He was panicking, his scratchy voice breaking around his yelling. Hongjoong reached out to comfort him immediately while Jongho quickly rose too.

He collected the other android from the floor, laying it down next to Yeosang so they would be safe. Then he turned back to the other two, serious.

"I can make the ship work again, but not the androids. Get San over here too, I will make sure that we will get out of here." He would deny how much his own voice was shaking. He gave a reassuring smile in the darkness.

Wooyoung nodded quickly, scrambling away to go get San while Hongjoong accompanied Jongho to the hull. The faint glow from some plants outside made it easier to detect the things here so Jongho quickly went over to their computer, pulling up the menu for information on what the hell just happened.

"EMP blast, alright. Guys, get your oxygen tanks, just in case. I can make this work." The power was already coming back, if slowly. He turned the lights off still, preferring to work in the darkness if that squid attacked power cells.

The only thing that bothered him was the eerie yellow glow coming from outside though. As he was walking over to the main control panel he threw an annoyed glance outside, glaring at whatever plant that was shining so brightly at them.

It was hiding in the dark, twelve huge yellow dots directed right at them and filling the waters with their glow.

Jongho blinked angrily, willing it to go out so he could work in peace.

And it blinked right back.