5 chapters left, my friends!
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Jongho was right there when Yeosang opened his pretty eyes again. He gave the confused android a dazzling smile before he moved to help him sit up. Yeosang blinked, momentarily confused, but wide awake.

"Where are we?"

Jongho looked around in the tiny base they were in - clearly not build for six people - and gave a little smile.

"Back on the surface. You were hit by an EMP blast and out cold for a while. I let your systems do some scans and kickstarted your energies again manually. How do you feel? Everything working fine?" He pulled the android close against his body by his waist, letting him lean comfortably against Jongho's shoulder. Yeosang seemed to check his systems, searching for memories.

"Ah, I see. I remember that Squid, yes. You managed to get us out?" Yeosang hummed gently, snuggling against Jongho's side contently. Jongho pecked his forehead, smiling when Yeosang erupted in giggles. He was glad to have his soft boyfriend back. As much as seeing him sleep like a delicate princess had made Jongho's heart sing, he preferred Yeosang's calming and blue eyes he could rely on.

"I did. We got attacked again on the way up but Hongjoong and Wooyoung gave it their best and we managed to get back to their base. You're the first to wake up but I already fixed the other's options too. They should be jumping and laughing again soon," Jongho smirked satisfiedly, playing with Yeosang's fingers as the man grabbed his hands. Yeosang gave a proud hum, listening to Jongho's heartbeat for a tender moment. Jongho swore it sped up when he saw a little smile gracing Yeosang's lips.

"You did well. So it's resting time now? We get to spend a day without hearing some leviathan roar at us?"

It sounded too good to be true. Not to be confined in such a little pod deep down on the ocean floor and without predators circling them at any times. 

Jongho felt way too smug when he gave a confident nod.

"Let's take a nice walk on the island in the morning. And later we can get to taking those bacteria apart with Hongjoong. Now that he isn't alone anymore we might be able to find a cure. And then we will eat something that isn't energy bars." The last part was a joy that only Jongho would get to relish in but Yeosang agreed, all the same, getting up swiftly. He offered his hand to Jongho and he took it, stepping out into the sun right after the other man.

He had to squint into the blinding light a bit, shadowing his eyes with his hand so he could see.

Wooyoung was leaning against a tree not far from them and staring out over the ocean. He appeared to be deeply lost in thought, his black hair wild where it grew clearly too long to be professional. Jongho decided it suited him.

He led Yeosang the other way, away from Wooyoung and further into the forest. It was pretty around here, the colors vibrant with life. Jongho had missed this so fucking much and seeing Yeosang glow in the sunlight was something he never wanted to miss again. Maybe they should move to a planet. And get a little cottage and a dog. And Jongho would feed off of Yeosang sunbathing. It sounded perfect.

Now they just had to get home.

Yeosang was swinging their hands between their bodies. He had turned his head towards the warm breeze coming from the west and his hair got tousled as the wind caressed him with appreciative fingers.

Jongho might have been biased but right now, bathed in sunlight and with his wild hair, Yeosang might just be the prettiest thing he had ever seen.

Jongho smiled to himself, grabbing Yeosang's hand tighter.

-

They had met up with Yunho and Mingi at noon. The two of them were the scientists that had already been infected with the bacterium years ago and used their time wisely to search for an antidote.

But with time passing Jongho felt his heart sink more and more. There was none. Yunho and Mingi had tried every plant, every animal, every method, and still hadn't been able to stop it. They could not even slow it down, no part of this planet safer than the rest. They agreed to let Hongjoong sample their blood to put it under a microscope but that was all they could help with.

Jongho felt torn looking at them. They had given up long ago.

Seonghwa had built a fabricator during the day with pieces of the equipment they had taken. The fabricator, on the other hand, allowed him to set up a few utensils for the three biologists to work with. They put the yellow blood of the two men into the machine and let it do its job while they went to get some food.

Wooyoung and San had caught some fishes earlier. They had insisted on making food to do their part and nobody managed to stop them from hunting the fish with spears like some barbarians. Yunho and Mingi were right there, ready to throw any fish at them they needed but those two had to be childish.

Jongho understood perfectly well.

Now, he was watching Hongjoong like a hawk throughout the whole evening. The man was unusually quiet today, remarkably less so than Wooyoung and San were. Jongho suspected that he was a bit jealous to not be able to receive Seonghwa with hugs and kisses just as they did.

So Jongho waited for him to make a move.

Hongjoong, however, remained silent. He was sitting with his shoulder and his thigh pressed to Seonghwa's as they cooked their fish over their campfire but he didn't dare speak up to address the elephant in the room (beach).

Instead, he was content nibbling away at his fish, giving Seonghwa heart eyes whenever the man lifted a mere finger. It was amusing and frustrating at the same time. Jongho doubted that Hongjoong was aware of how he was looking at the man.

The mood was surprisingly light. Instead of keeping to themselves and drowning in worries, they managed to laugh and joke together. The main role in this played Wooyoung with San as his dedicated cheerleader. Yunho and Mingi seemed to appreciate the fun too even if Jongho noticed himself glancing at them warily from time to time. As they were turning into some water creatures by time, the chance that they evolved to carnivores was pretty high. Jongho wouldn't want to be too close when that shift came.

They were laughing over the most simple and stupid things. They shared stories from the space base, from the times on Aurora and even after they had arrived on the planet. Seonghwa and Hongjoong mostly held back, watching the group with the fond eyes of tired parents. Jongho appreciated it, sharing his stories and their laughter just the same.

The sun had long since set and the night was dark around them. The water seemed treacherously peaceful and soon Yunho and Mingi were the first ones to leave. They promised to return in the morning to help with their research and then dived under, disappearing in the lazily licking waves.

Jongho was tired. He had been switching between waking and resting for some time now, Yeosang's head under his chin forming a welcoming pillow. He opened his eyes again sluggishly, though when Seonghwa suddenly spoke up quietly.

"Message incoming. Aurora Bridge, Bang Yongguk: This is Sunbeam. Y'know, Aurora, we're from a little trans-gov on the far side of Andromeda, and we have a saying there. There's no bad without the good, no good without the bad. Sounds like you tasted a bunch of the former, but that only means you're overdue a whole lot of the latter. Might just be we're it. We're scanning for somewhere to park as we speak, we'll be in touch when we find it. Sunbeam out."

Jongho frowned, seeing Hongjoong pick up his head from Seonghwa's shoulder too. The man had fallen asleep there and was now blinking disoriented. Seonghwa glanced at him, the corners of his mouth twitching into a smile. He focused on his arm then, calling back to the ship.

"Yongguk, are you alright? It is time to pick you up if they are in close proximity by now. Surely, you can send them some coordinates and leave the ship behind then, positive?" He spoke quietly as to not disturb them in their conversation but the talking had long since died down, everybody focusing their tired eyes on him.

Yongguk answered after another long minute. Jongho's eyes had fallen shut by then again and sleep was beckoning him closer. He heard the message as if underwater. It sounded dull and subdued.

"Ah, about that... Seonghwa, I don't think that's necessary." His deep voice sounded scratchy as if breathing was difficult for him and Jongho looked up again, observing. Seonghwa had frozen by now, sitting straight as a rock.

"What do you mean by that? Yongguk, we-"

"You knew it was going to be like that, no? You must be prepared."

Seonghwa jumped to his feet at that, making Hongjoong land in the sand with a yelp. Jongho didn't mind him spitting out the evil little grains, focusing Seonghwa. The group was getting more awake by the second, everybody exchanging concerned gazes with each other.

"No. Yongguk. I agreed because I knew that there was no discussion at that time. But they are so close now! We can get you home, and-" Jongho could see the flame in his eyes flicker, his confidence weakening.

Jongho hadn't been there when they had met the captain but he could imagine fairly well what he had done. And he saw it now. The pure devastation on Seonghwa's face.

"I know what I'm doing. I did my best to help. Now it's your time to leave. Don't look back."

A thick silence stretched on the beach, making the humans gulp nervously. Jongho had no idea what the issue was but he could imagine. The radiation was killing Yongguk. More slowly maybe, because of the suit, but anybody would die if the spent too much time there. It seemed he had reached the breaking point.

"Don't you dare play martyr. We are coming to get you and I will make sure that they save your life," Seonghwa growled back threateningly, pacing over the beach like an animal in its cage by now. Hongjoong watched them, his eyes big and panicked.

Yongguk gave a weak chuckle. "It's far too late for that. I'm going to send the Sunbeam the coordinates of the Mountain Island. The Aurora's systems are too weak to manage but I will tell them to search the signal of all the Lifepods and androids I have contacted so far. You will get a message to leave soon and then you will go. Don't let my suffering be in vain like that."

Seonghwa ran his hand through his hair, messing it up. However, before he managed to send an answer, another message already came in.

"I'm glad I could help you out. It makes me feel better as a Captain."

Seonghwa stayed quiet.

Nobody dared to breathe for a moment, waiting for something, anything.

Then, Seonghwa spoke again, his voice rough.

"Yongguk?"

No answer.

"Yongguk are you- Are you still there?" His voice broke around his words, making Jongho's heart clench in pain for him. He saw Wooyoung wipe his eyes furiously.

Tears glinted in Seonghwa's face as he cleared his throat. When he managed to speak again he sounded choked up, his voice timid and small.

"Yongguk?"

The silence that followed was one of the worst things Jongho had ever experienced.

A long, painful moment passed, then Seonghwa dropped his arm, looking out over the ocean, lost. His eyes were on the Aurora without really seeing it, all life had disappeared from his usually so expressive face.

And then, he turned and left.

They all froze for another minute, then Hongjoong scrambled up to his feet.

"Seonghwa! Seonghwa, wait!" He disappeared in the forest, yelling the other man's name. The hurt in his voice was tangible, making Jongho wince.

Yeosang snuggled into his arms again, hiding his face in Jongho's chest. Jongho held him, using him as an anchor to keep his own tears at bay.

Wooyoung and San cried quietly.