Frozen Sea

4. The Twisty Bridges

It was early the next morning that Yeosang came to wake Hongjoong to start their trip. The man had some energy bars with him that Hongjoong munched on as they made their way through the base, greeting team members that were in the middle of getting ready left and right. Jongho was apparently out with Seonghwa at the moment and gushing about the vehicles in the yard. Yeosang mentioned his boyfriend's name with fond eyes, a look that Hongjoong was all too familiar with.

As they exited the base to wander in the direction San had brought them from, Hongjoong found himself walking between Jongho and Seonghwa. The two of them were still blabbering at each other about Snow Foxes, and the Cyclops Jongho wanted to rebuild, and also a thing called a P.R.A.W.N. Suit. As it appeared, they had lots of new toys to play with that had Jongho all over the moon with his love for tech. Hongjoong had little knowledge of the stuff he told Seonghwa, but the android obviously did. He was nodding and humming along attentively, sometimes adding in random facts that would make any engineer fumble for their dictionary.

Hongjoong spent most of his time letting their conversation seep into white noise and looking out over the snowy cliffs surrounding them. No snow was falling, for now, and the two moons were still visible in the blue sky with their pale translucency. For once, the artic seemed peaceful. It seemed like above the ice, far fewer dangers would challenge them than below. The chilly air was clear and sharp today.

Wooyung and San had linked their hands were they were walking up in front. Their interwoven fingers were swinging between their bodies playfully, and the smiles they sometimes directed at each other were still full of the same affections they had a year ago.

Hongjoong found himself intrigued. Despite dating Seonghwa, the concept of interracial relationships was still bringing up new questions in his mind. He was sure that Wooyoung and San went about it very differently than they did, and his every knowledge-hungry biologist brain wanted to know all about it. Hongjoong had learned a lot already about Seonghwa and himself alike, but yet he found himself wondering from time to time how it worked out for the androids.

So he just watched them interact and laugh with each other naturally like any human couple would. Dating Seonghwa for a year had resulted in Hongjoong knowing him pretty well, but yet he caught himself secretly comparing their relationship to Wooyoung and San's. They had started off far more quickly and without the reminder of Hongjoong's burning hate and tendencies to put his foot in his mouth. They seemed much more carefree and natural than he and Seonghwa were.

Was Hongjoong doing everything, alright? Did Seonghwa sometimes talk to San and wonder about the same thing? Being around the group again, he felt his mind get fuzzy with more questions than usual. The insecurities his mind frequently carried around, threatened to poison his heart with ugly doubts.

Either his heart rate had spiked, or his distress had shown on his face, because in the next moment, Seonghwa's arm found his, hooking around the smaller man's elbow.

"What has you thinking so hard, my love? Have you rested enough?"

Jongho quietened down in his ramblings to listen in to their conversation carefully. Hongjoong blushed at the sudden shift of attention. He ducked slightly into Seonghwa's shoulder, not wanting either to see the suspicious flickering of his eyes.

"Just my brain being loud ever since we came here again. I'm kind of worried about the dangers in the water." It wasn't entirely a lie. These thoughts plagued his mind just the same, but he was not ready to talk to Seonghwa about his doubts in front of the others. Maybe he should ask either Jongho or Wooyoung first about it.

"We are approaching the Twisty Bridges, a biome full of flora and fauna. I imagine it to be similar to the shallow waters on the other side of 4546B. The most dangerous predators there are the many Brute Sharks that are indigenous to the area."