Archive of Our Own

You may find what you need on Polaris-13.

These questionable words are the ones that have propelled him to travel across half the universe, chasing the elusive planet so brightly dubbed Polaris, back in 313 when it was first discovered. It's a smaller planet, the circumference of it less than even Dwarf-24 is.

All this considered, it would be a useless hunk of space, were it not for two things.

The first is that Polaris-13 does not orbit any sun or planet, does not have a set path across the universe, nor is it ever found in the same place twice. But the second thing, the one that made Changbin chase around the ghost planet for so long now, is that the few people who set foot on Polaris-13 came back having gotten exactly what they were looking for - though with no recollection of what had transpired while they were on the planet itself.

He doesn't care about the planet, doesn't care about the fame that comes with a Polaris visit, doesn't care about anything other than the heartbreakingly slim and terrifyingly last chance it offers him.

"Beloved."

Changbin turns to face his lover, his smile widening at the sight of him. Jisung is clad in an off-white suit that highlights his tan skin - the proof of his Viceran heritage. It's been diluted through two generations and yet there is no mistaking it. One of the few remaining descendants of the inhabitants of Vicera-11 (discovered in 111, not 311), the planet that was destroyed by a sudden, extreme flare of its nearest sunstar.

Only those who had been off-world when it happened survived, and Jisung is a direct descendant of one of them. Even in a universe more vast than could ever be imagined, there are perhaps only a handful more like him left.

Changbin was granted the privilege of getting to know him, getting to love him and, eventually, being loved by him in return.

"You have been staring at those stars for long enough now. Come to bed."

Jisung's posture is always straight, like he's incapable of bending his spine too much. It's probably healthier for his body than the way Changbin is draped all over his chair like a limp noodle, peering at his screen to figure out the best way to travel from Hunter-86 to Tendra-93.

"Beloved," Jisung tries again when his attention has subconsciously already trailed back to the screen. "I am cold."

The words draw him out of the chair like nothing else can, all of his research left forgotten in favour of walking over to his lover and reaching for his hands.

"We can't have that," he says, smirking, and Jisung's expression softens at the implications of his gaze.

"We cannot," his lover agrees, squeezing his hands before letting them go in favour of sliding hands up over his chest, letting them curl around the column of his neck. Changbin leans into the kiss that follows willingly.

"Let me warm you up," he suggests once they pull far enough away to breathe again. "I could think of a few ways to make sure you won't be cold again."

Jisung's eyes sparkle when they open to look at him, so much beauty in them, so much joy, so much life.

He startles awake, temporarily disoriented by the vibrant images from his dream, before he's pushing himself up and out of his seat. He's across the room in no time, fingers pressing against the fibreglass of the healing pod automatically as he takes in the data displayed on the screen.

The temperature's at sixteen for some reason, so he raises it back up to twenty-five.

Come to bed, his mind echoes at him torturously in Jisung's voice. I am cold.

"I'm sorry," he whispers to the reinforced glass behind which his beloved lies, artificially kept asleep so as to suffer less the horrors of the disease that is slowly destroying him from the inside out. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise. Thank you for coming to get me. I'll try to do better."

He'll try to be better. To be smarter, quicker. He'll try to find Polaris-13 and have it grant him but one request: for Jisung to be alright again.

It started just shy of five turningss ago, the first tremor in Jisung's body, the first sign of his muscles weakening. After the tremors came the loss of strength. A cup shattered on their kitchen floor when fingers could no longer hold onto it properly, narrowly avoiding an asteroid when the steering stick slipped from Jisung's grasp, the incapacity to dress himself when his fingers could no longer work the buttons.

It progressed slowly but steadily, until a full turning in they realised how serious it was and started to seek help. Doctors from every inhabitant planet tried to find what was wrong but could not find the cause. Temporary cures helped Jisung for a few months at a time, but he'd always deteriorate again, and over time that went faster and faster.

Until a woman from one of the darkzone planets gave them the terrible truth. She'd heard Changbin asking around for any doctors with knowledge about muscle disease and had come up to him at the bar.

"Is your patient Viceran?" She had asked, and he'd instantly straightened.

"Why?"

"There's a genetic disease that attacks the muscles. It is only found in certain Viceran descendants. If your patient is Viceran, that might be what he's suffering from. From what I heard you say before, it sounds like it to me anyway."

"You've… seen this before?" He'd asked, hesitant but hopeful. "Is there a cure?" The darkening of her expression had told him enough.

"If there is, we never found it. But we didn't have the means to get far off this planet. I'd say your best shot is looking for a doctor that has knowledge about Viceran anatomy. But I'd prepare for the worst if I were you. Every muscle will lose its strength until eventually the heart gives out last and the body dies."

Her sympathy had been clear, as had her grief. He'd thanked her profusely even for the limited information, transferring some credits for her help. A royal amount, really, but he had the credits to spare and she could clearly use them.

After that interaction, they'd scoured the universe looking for someone with further knowledge about the disease. Jisung had continued to deteriorate, requiring a walking aid at first and then becoming dependent on a floating chair to get around. Changbin had grown slowly hopeless, destroyed by the knowledge he would have to see his lover die, but Jisung had stayed positive and had pushed him to continue looking.

And then they'd found him: a doctor who knew of Vicerans, who knew of the disease. Autoimmune, he called it. The Viceran genes not matching with certain other genes. Seburan ones, in Jisung's case, the doctor told them. His father's origins were what were killing him.

Getting answers was a relief. An in-depth explanation of what was going on in Jisung's body and why the medication never helped more than a few months at a time; his body simply adapting and trying to fight off what it thought was an infection.

Sadly the explanation came with one more piece of the doctor's knowledge: there was no known cure. So far every known Viceran who suffered the disease had eventually died. Usually within five to six turnings after the first symptoms. If there was any kind of cure for it, it still had to be invented or it was known on a very distant, very solitary planet.

"Changbin," Jisung had said later that night, when they'd retreated back to their ship to process all the new information. Jisung's floating chair had been recharging, so he was seated on the bed, his back against the wall to keep him upright. Changbin had been on the edge of the bed, head in his hands, despairing.

"Beloved."

He'd turned to that soft calling, bound to his promise that, since Jisung couldn't come to him anymore, he would have to go to the other if called like that - to make sure that Jisung's illness would not bring imbalance between them. So their gazes had locked and Jisung had smiled at him so softly, so full of love.

"It's alright, beloved. It's okay. We can just spend our time together now, we can spend all the time we have left together."

Their eyes had stayed locked for several more moments in complete silence, before something had broken in Jisung's face.

"Beloved," he'd said, making the effort to lift his hand and reach out, and Changbin had gone to him, pushing his head into Jisung's touch, moving so close that he could cradle his lover's face. "Changbin," Jisung had pleaded. "Don't… You don't have to do that. Not for me, not for anyone. Please…"

But Changbin's decision had been made, his love too great for him to let Jisung slip away from him. "Of course I do," he'd replied, brushing his thumbs over Jisung's cheeks. "Of course I have to. I want to. I would do anything for you, stardust.”

He remembers well the way Jisung’s expression had softened at the nickname, yet grown more crestfallen at the same time. They’d both known what it would mean for Changbin. But there had been only one next step he could’ve taken, only one thing he could have done.

After fifteen turnings of absence, he would have to go back to his home planet.

The course he’s plotted is stable, but it brings no guarantees. So far trying to get to Polaris-13 has been much similar to trying to map out the trajectory of collision debris; that is to say impossible. He’s tapped into every possible channel to catch any broadcast of a Polaris sighting, mapping out its trajectory in order to try and figure out where he might be able to catch up with it.

It’s been two turnings now since he started trying and so far there is nothing. Jisung is alive almost solely due to the top of the line medical equipment he has invested in, his breathing regulated by the machines, his heart beating steadily only due to the occasional electric charge that is sent into the muscle.

He looks healthier now than he did before, his limbs having regained some of their strength, his body in better condition than it has possibly ever been, but it’s superficial. The second the protective glass casing comes off and they remove the machines, he would no doubt die before they could properly greet each other.

At this point, it’s nothing but sheer desperation that keeps him going. Jisung was lost to him not long after they started on the journey to Polaris-13, deciding himself that it would be better for him to be put under, so that he could hold out longer. If it weren’t for the occasional dreams Changbin has about his lover, he would no longer recall the sound of his voice or the way he looks when he smiles.

He’s been mourning a love that had sustained him for over ten turnings before it was lost to him, determined to find the ghost planet for it holds the only hope he has left. Until he sets foot on its surface and finds there is no way for him to get Jisung back, he won’t give up. Jisung means everything.

Everything.

As one of the core planets, Kadrant is large, luxurious and full of wealth. But that is only true for the five dome-cities on its surface. Outside of the domes, Kadrant is nothing but endless red sand deserts inhabited by creatures that most people cannot even imagine the dangers of. For the city dwellers, Kadrant is an oasis of ease and plenty. For those who roam the desert, it is the very core of their being, their feet bathed in the red sand, their faces painted with it. No desert folk will ever decide to live in a dome or abandon its tribe.

Except for Changbin.

There had always been a pull inside of him, calling him, challenging him to seek more. So once he’d grown into his weapons and destroyed his first desert creature, he’d started to plan for his departure. Instead of trading his kills for things only the dome could offer like his fellow tribe members did, he sold them for credits. Every so many moonfalls, he’d step inside the dome and use his credits to buy what he needed at only half of what he’d earned with his sales.

After about six turnings, he’d made enough to buy a home. After four more, he’d sold it at a higher price and bought a new one. By the time he was considered an adult in his tribe, the dome considered him one of its wealthier city members.

There had been only one person who knew what Changbin got up to in the dome. Only one person knew which path Changbin had started to take, and it had been an inevitability. There was nothing that could be hidden from the truthsayer, after all.

Hidden away deep beneath the red desert, in the underground caves, is an oasis only the tribes know how to find where the truthsayer tribe lives, named after their most prominent member and leader. The only reason Kadrant became as big as it is, is because of the truthsayer. Every time the truthsayer dies, someone new is burdened with this purpose, marked by the intricate, red lines that criss-cross the truthsayer's eyes.

Every truthsayer is physically blind, but it doesn’t cripple them, because the truthsayer knows everything that exists in the present. Nothing can be kept secret from the truthsayer. Neither does the truthsayer intervene, however, unless it’s in protection of the tribes and Kadrant itself.

At the time, the truthsayer privy to Changbin’s betrayal had been the boy he’d shared his youth with. The once other half of his beating heart, ripped away from him when the burden of truthsaying had claimed his life and taken his sight. It was only to him that Changbin had said his goodbyes when finally he’d left Kadrant for good. Whispered into the night air, he’d spoken the words of love and regret that he had long been forced to keep to himself, and then he’d stepped into the dome to never return.

A betrayal so grand and unprecedented, the tribes did not even have the words for it.

They made the words just for him, he found out from hearsay later. They put a price on his head, to be captured and delivered to the tribes if ever he set foot on Kadrant again. He was considered not a traitor, but a forgotten. One who had delivered the greatest insult to his tribe by considering them not good enough and leaving them behind.

His actions, however, had set an example, and he’s no longer the only Kadrant desert triber to have walked away. But he is still the first. The worst. The most insulting.

And yet; he had left Jisung in one of the dome-city’s best accommodations and flown their ship out into the red desert.

It had been strange for sure, to step off his ship and find his feet touching the red sand again. It wasn’t like coming home, because his home had long become Jisung, but it did feel right somehow, like this was the decision he had been destined to make. His old desert gear had long stopped fitting, but he’d made himself a new set, had even made himself a new scythe, and so he stepped confident and certain onto the red grain.

The path to the truthsayer caves had been familiar to him even after so many turnings. He’d walked it without hesitation. As if to prove the righteousness of his decision, not a single creature burst from the sand to lunge for his throat, not a single grain of sand so much as shifted, even. He’d made it all the way to the lower entrance before danger appeared. But when it did, it was impressive.

The last time he’d seen a desert prowler was when he was but a youngling, still wrapped in his mother’s leathers, pressed against her back as they traversed the red sand. The tribe had taken it down eventually, but it had claimed many lives before it fell. That had been an entire tribe. This time, when the prowler burst up from the sand with its eight pantser legs, two heads and three-pronged tail, Changbin was alone.

He hadn’t even tried to fight it, instead simply running to avoid its attacks, ducking and rolling, jumping and sprinting, until he somehow managed to slip past it, into the hole in the rock wall that led into the underground caves. Once he'd slid down to the bottom of the cavern, he’d been faced with the sharp edge of about twenty scythes and beyond them, the familiar face of an old friend who was to decide his fate.

"Forgotten," the truthsayer had said simply, that perfect face turned exactly towards him despite its closed eyes. "You are no longer welcome in the red desert sands. You have forsaken your home and in return Kadrant has forsaken you."

He'd casually pushed himself up from the ground, dusting off his pants and wiping his hands against each other, though he'd made no move to pick up his own fallen scythe.

"The truthsayer speaks to all," he'd said calmly, no hesitation, no fear. He had a goal and he was determined to reach it.

"You are not part of that. You are no one."

The man's words had been final, and yet he had not accepted them. "If I am no one, then how come you speak to me now. If I am no one then why are there so many scythes aimed at me. If I am no one, then why, truthsayer, do I stand before you now?"

He'd not even given the truthsayer a chance to respond, simply looked around the circle once before focusing on the man once more.

"I know your name," he'd said. The truthsayer tribe had gasped as one at the unspoken threat.

"You would betray your people further?" The truthsayer had asked him, still in that same even tone. Changbin had laughed.

"Am I not no one? I did not think the red sand still claimed any ties to me. You know why I am here, but I will say it plainly for all to hear. My stardust is dying. I seek a cure. I will not rest until one is found or it is proven there is no such thing. I've come to ask you my question and am prepared to pay the price like any other. But if you turn me away, I will use the name that was once yours and reduce you to less than what you once were. I might be forgotten, I might be no one, but you will be less than that. Even if one of your tribe attacks me now, my dying breath will be used to utter your name. Now tell me again that Kadrant has forsaken me, truthsayer, and I will help you understand how it feels."

The silence after his words had been heavy with tension. He'd still not picked up his weapon, but it wasn't necessary. His knowledge was his true weapon, stronger than any metal that could've been raised against him.

"You have completely lost your way," the truthsayer had said, but the tribe had lowered their weapons in defeat. He had the upper hand and they knew it. Changbin had simply laughed again, a mirthless sound.

"On the contrary, truthsayer. I have found my way. I have found something that is more important to me than anything in this entire universe. Name your price and I will pay it for the information I seek. Don't waste my time any longer trying to guilt me into repenting."

He'd leaned down then, picking up his scythe, curling his fingers around its heavy shaft and straightening with it in hand. The truthsayer had opened his eyes, staring at him with those sightless orbs.

"The price is for you to lose the name you claim to know, to never whisper or speak it again, to never threaten me with it again. To never reveal it to anyone else ever again."

He'd inclined his head to the words. "And my answer?"

"There is no known cure for what he suffers from, and no one is trying to find one either. Vicerans are a species on the brink of extinction, no one has invested in them in many a turning. As it is, your stardust will die within the next three turnings."

The words had slammed into him like boulders of rock hard despair, crushing the remnants of his determination. There, dusted in the red sands of his home planet, gazed upon by the blind, judging eyes of his oldest friend, Changbin had lost the last strands of hope he had been so tightly holding on to.

His dreams have become stranger and stranger throughout the time spent chasing Polaris-13. Considering how unhinged he feels it's not that strange, but he sometimes wakes up in a cold sweat having no recollection of them until a few rotations later when something happens and it feels like déjà-vu.

Sometimes Jisung visits his dreams, calling him beloved, reaching for him, holding him. Sometimes Jisung tells him how much he's missed, sometimes Jisung tells him how much he's loved. It's those times when Jisung tells him to give up the search that Changbin wakes up already crying and spends that rotation next to the healing pod, hands and forehead pressed to the glass, mourning his lost love.

He still keeps steering his ship into the vastness of space, trying to find a dwarf planet that does not seem to truly exist. How anyone had ever stumbled across it accidentally, he does not know. He's close to giving up, really, close to just letting their ship drift off into nothingness and lying down beside Jisung to share their final moments.

He lies down with that thought in mind and wakes up slowly, eyelids heavy, mind groggy.

"Good morning, beloved."

The voice pulls him to full consciousness, blinking open his eyes, taking in the face of his lover, the warm smile, the absolute tenderness in those features. Oh how he has missed…

"Stardust," he breathes, pushing himself up from his cot, walking over so that he can take Jisung's face in his hands, cradling it like it's the most precious thing he's ever held. "How long has it been? I miss you."

Jisung smiles, hands coming up to touch his face as well, fingers running through his hair, hands settling on the column of his neck.

"I miss you too, beloved. I have yearned to be with you for endless turnings. It's okay. We have this moment now. Talk to me. How are you? What do you feel? Tell me everything."

He stares into Jisung's eyes, drinking in the sight of them open and lively, consciously looking at him. It's almost too much. If he were not born and raised in the red sands, he might have cried. But his kind don't show tears, for they're simply a waste of the precious water that keeps them alive.

Jisung's fingers are cold against his skin, but not deathly cold. There is a comfort in knowing he is alive, he is breathing, he is surviving. For now.

"Come to bed with me," he says softly instead of answering Jisung's questions. "I do not want to waste time on words. You know my heart, stardust, you know my soul. I just want to hold you, touch you, breathe you in. Oh, I miss you so much."

Jisung follows him easily, slipping under the still warm blanket with him, cuddling up against his side. His scent is achingly familiar, reminding Changbin of many a night curled up together like this, so long ago now. He buries his face in the crook of Jisung's neck and just breathes him in until sleep takes him under again.

Jisung murmurs something but he doesn't properly catch it, mind already too hazy to process the words.

Leaving the way he had entered the truthsayer paths had been impossible, the prowler representing certain death. The truthsayer tribe had left him alone once the truthsayer had turned around and walked away. They would not kill him, but they would not guide him either, for he was no one. He did not exist as an entity within Kadrant - not to the tribes. They might not deliver him to the other tribes to face his death, but they would not show him the way through the endless tunnels either.

It was a good thing he'd learned them by heart in those times when he had still spent so much of his time there with his old friend, helping him to adapt to a new environment, to his blind eyes and his endless knowledge. There had been a time when the truthsayer was but a boy, burdened with life-altering purpose and Changbin was the one who held him through the first few, terrifying nights.

It was that boy who had shown up again a rotation later, when he'd been undeterringly headed for the higher entrypoint. When Changbin sat down to rest and eat, the footsteps had approached swift and certain. He had not even reached for his scythe, simply waiting.

Into the light had stepped not the truthsayer, but a man with blinded eyes and a loyal heart. Hyunjin had taken a seat next to Changbin without speaking, and reached for his hand without fail. Like that, they'd sat together for a long time, their skins touching, sharing their body heat, communicating without ever needing words. Even after so many turnings, some things would never change.

"It was smart to threaten my name," Hyunjin had eventually said, and he'd huffed out a smile.

"They hated it."

"It was the only thing dangerous enough to keep them from attacking you in any way. It was smart. You're smart. You always were."

Changbin had smiled wider, squeezed Hyunjin's hand briefly.

"You still remember the tunnels, too. They think you're aimlessly wandering somewhere, set to die from hunger or thirst when you run out of provisions. They should know better; you once headed the star tribe, it's no small feat."

Changbin had chuckled then. "I also betrayed the star tribe. It makes me worse than even they claim me to be."

"It's because you think you are bad for it that you are not," Hyunjin had said, spoken like his friend and not the red sand's voice of power. Then Hyunjin's hand had let go of his, moved to settle on his thigh.

"Wait out this rotation. There are tribes outside the high entrance. They should be gone by next nightfall. Your ship is still untouched, you chose your landing spot well. Leave Kadrant with the first light of morning, don't return."

There'd been a pause, a squeeze of his thigh. "I'm sorry about your stardust, my friend. I'm sorry about your pain. I know it all and I suffer it with you."

They were not empty words, no baseless comfort. Hyunjin had spoken the truth and Changbin had lowered his head a little in acceptance of both his sympathy and the heaviness of it.

"Your stardust has suffered the Kadrant climate, he'll be worse when you get to him, but he is not yet on the brink of death. There is no known medical cure for this disease but there might be a solution."

His entire body had tensed at the implications, his head lifting again to look straight at his old friend. "What is it?" He'd asked, breathless, disbelieving, hopeful once more.

"I can offer no certainty, but…" Hyunjin had said. Then, after a moment of hesitation. "You may find what you need on Polaris-13." The hand on his thigh had momentarily tensed as well, fingers digging into his desert suit. "The price may be more than you would bargain for, but I know that you are willing to pay whatever it takes. Good luck, my friend."

Then, Hyunjin had let go, had pulled away from him and stood. Before he'd disappeared fully into the shadows again, he had become the truthsayer once more.

"If you ever step foot on Kadrant soil again, I will make sure you are expected and you will face due punishment. Don't ever return, Changbin."

He'd nodded his head, and accepted the heavy weight of goodbye that settled like a rock in his stomach. He would always have a friend in Hyunjin, he knew, someone to root for him, but he'd never be able to see him again or the truthsayer would have him killed.

You may find what you need on Polaris-13.

He startles awake with a gasp, the feeling of Jisung's weight in his arms still so recent and yet already no longer true. Just a dream. Just a dream like every other.

When the fog clears from his mind, he suddenly remembers what Jisung had whispered to him in the end:

"Goodbye, Changbin, my beloved."

His whole body ices over and he's running before he fully realises it, hands pressing against the glass case, peering down at Jisung's face. It's still rosy and healthy, still with eyes closed. It's not sunken and unusually relaxed like it would be in his final rest. And yet…

There is no beeping of the machinery, no clinically aided sounds of breathing. No movement of Jisung's chest, of his eyes, of his anything.

Suddenly, the transmission receiver pings, crackles and the ship's familiar robotic voice sounds up.

"Landing sequence complete. You have arrived at Polaris-13. Atmosphere stable and accessible without protective gear."

The transmission receiver clicks off again and the whole ship falls silent. Changbin's heart beats in his throat as he looks around. Nothing is moving. It's not that the machinery is not monitoring Jisung anymore, all the vitals are still displayed, everything is still in order, but nothing's changing. As if the entire ship is frozen.0

Everything but him.

Then, the loading bay doors suddenly hiss loudly and slide open. When Changbin whirls around to face them, he looks back at his own reflection.

Then, slowly but surely, the face across from him changes into that of another man. Gentle features, soft smile, bright eyes. Very similar to his own look, but not the same. And yet; familiar in its similarity. Reassuring.

"Welcome," the man says in a soft voice that flows like liquid comfort over his skin. "To Polaris Tempus. I've been waiting for you."

Leaving Kadrant had been one of the hardest things he'd ever done, and yet once he did it, it instantly became the best thing he'd ever done as well. To not be tied down by the expectations of an entire people, to not be held to the standards any tribe leader had to adhere to. To be able to just be himself. Or more so discover who that person was, at first.

It hadn't been easy in the beginning, to adapt to a life outside of the desert, but it had been exciting. Exhilarating. His desert reflexes and fighting skills as well as his immense stash of credits had saved his life plenty of times throughout the first turning, too, but he took it all easily in stride.

And then he'd bought a ship, started a cargo business, and used the same tricks that had made him rich on Kadrant to make it big across the universe. His business mostly focused on delivering high-demand goods from darkzone planets to inhabitant planets as well as providing high safety inter-inhabitant transport.

It'd taken only a few turnings for him to go from a one-man, one ship delivery service to a full business with a multitude of pilots and crew, a fleet of starships and a name no one could get around anymore if they wanted to move something from one planet to another. Only ever things, though, never people.

Two turnings in, he hired someone to help handle overseeing the general business, moving into an operating hub on Spectre-35. Seungmin easily became his right hand man, and to this time is the one who actually runs Star-H while Changbin is off on what Seungmin likes to call 'chasing ghosts, but you do you, boss'.

Another turning later, among the batch of newly hired staff, in had walked a well-dressed, composed and multitalented translator. With his extensive knowledge of about twenty different core languages - including Kadrantian's dome and desert speech both - he'd been one of Changbin's best hires. His easygoing personality, quickfire humour and surprising maturity had made him one of Changbin's best friends.

And then; lover.

"Where- I- I need to find whoever or whatever it is that grants people their wishes, or something? My friend said I may find what I was looking for here. I don't have much time. I need to-"

He's already taken long strides across the space, towards the stranger, wanting to move past him, to get out of the ship and onto the planet. To find the solution that Hyunjin had told him could be found here. The man's hands catch his arms before he can go anywhere, gently squeezing, pushing him back slightly and then letting go again.

"Relax. You have all the time you need. Your friend will not deteriorate further while you are here. He is frozen in time. This entire ship is."

The man's voice is gentle, soothing. Changbin's muscles seem to relax on their own, his gaze returning to the features that are so reminiscent of his home planet. It's not just the familiarity that is reassuring, though, there is clearly something more about this man.

"Who- Who are you?" He asks, subconsciously reaching out until his fingers are suddenly touching skin and then he pulls back, realising how strange his behaviour is. "I'm sorry, I'm just- It's a little…"

The man shakes his head, clearly entirely unbothered by his behaviour. "There is no need for apologies or worry. I know you are overwhelmed. This must all be very strange and new to you. Take your time, there is plenty of it."

He glances over at the healing pod, where still absolutely nothing has changed, and then back to the man opposite him.

"I- My name is Changbin," he says then, trying to start over. "A good friend of mine told me that I may find what I need here. I need- I want- My-" The words fail him and he shakes his head, his hands suddenly trembling.

So much time spent hunting for a way to make it right, to keep Jisung by his side, and now that he's reached his final destination and the threat of losing his lover doesn't loom as closely as it had for the past few moonfalls, the relief brought on by the sudden absence of the incredible weight of impending death is more overwhelming than anything else has been so far.

"It's nice to meet you, Changbin," the man speaks softly. "You are safe on this planet, as is your companion. I am the last of the Polar people and welcome you to Polaris Tempus officially. I have taken a shape that is familiar to you to help you feel more at ease. We will speak of what it is you're searching for. Perhaps I can help you."

"Thank you," he says, polite despite everything. Respectful in return for the respect he is given. "May I know your name?"

The man tilts his head briefly to the side, a smile appearing on his face that dimples his cheeks lightly and softens his features even more.

"Come outside with me first, Changbin. You have been cooped up in this ship for a very long time. Some air will do you good. Come." The man motions him along with a hand and with a last look at Jisung's unmoving body, Changbin follows after him.

When they take the last step down onto Polaris' soil, the man turns to face him again, smiling still. Changbin is staring at the oasis of colourful greenery, but it doesn't keep him from hearing the man's next words.

"I have no set name to give you, but in this form you may call me Chan."

On a random rotation in the middle of Spectre-35's dry season, Jisung and he had stepped barefoot into the soft blue sand of their planet's single desert and started the walk across that took them eleven rotations.

When they arrived on the other side, Seungmin had been waiting for them with about twenty other people, give or take - their closest friends, many of them employees of Star-H as well. They'd been given wet cloths to wipe their faces with and water to drink. Then, still drenched in sweat and wearing the clothes they had crossed the blue desert in, they'd taken their places in front of the crowd.

The ceremony had been as spectacular as Jisung had always claimed it to be. Seungmin bound their wrists together two by two, Jisung's right to Changbin's left and the other way around, their arms crossed between them. Then they had spoken the ancient Viceran words of loyalty and trust, which had taken Changbin three moonfalls to learn well enough for something so important. After that, Seungmin had painted their faces with the blue sand of the Spectre desert, reminiscent of how a binding would be conducted on Kadrant.

Jisung had looked stunning with the blue paint lining his features. Changbin has no idea what he looked like, but Jisung had looked at him as if he carried the most beautiful star gems on his face; eyes sparkling and never straying. He drank in his lover's face with much the same fervour, really.

As was common on the midlevel planets, Changbin had lifted their hands above their heads and slowly spun Jisung around, until his arms were wrapped around his lover and Jisung's back was pressed against his chest.

So close together, they had told each other their chosen names, the true words for what they meant to each other. Jisung had gone first, turning just enough to be able to look at Changbin when he spoke.

"Beloved," he'd said, that moment for the very first time. "That which is closest and dearest to one's heart, which is treasured and cherished beyond everything else. That which brings joy, comfort and reassurance."

Changbin's upbringing didn't allow for tears to be shed, but they pooled in his eyes, then. Only for Jisung to see.

"Stardust," he had spoken next. "That which shimmers out in space like a million vibrant colours, worth more than anything. That which draws one in simply with its wondrous beauty. That which lights the way in the darkest corners of the universe."

Jisung's upbringing had no such qualms about crying, and so he'd spilled a few tears even while he'd been smiling, hands squeezing Changbin's tightly.

It had taken a few more ceremonial words from Seungmin for things to be official, but Changbin had not caught them anymore, because Jisung's face had drifted towards him and he'd answered the silent plea by covering the rest of the distance and connecting their lips.

There had been singing, then. Celebration, dance. Felix and Minho had taken to the drums, Seungmin and Jeongin lending their voices to the night. Changbin had stayed bound to Jisung for the rest of the night physically, but they'd been bound for the rest of their life emotionally.

Chan's hand is soft and warm in his as the man guides him further into the colourful oasis of life and light, quietly walking alongside him and letting him take in everything. It's all bright and so distractingly beautiful, plants and flowers he's never seen before growing high towards the sky, animals flitting in and out of sight all around, their overlapping calls a wondrous melody of sound.

As if aware of his hesitancy to leave Jisung too far behind, Chan never leads him anywhere his ship is no longer in sight, and so every time he startles and looks back, it sits reassuringly in the distance. Eventually, when they have circled around and come back to it, he tears his eyes away from the scenery to look back at Chan. His head feels clearer already, the fresh air definitely having helped.

When he thinks of what to say, Chan lets go of his hand and smiles. He returns it without thinking.

"Can we speak now?" He asks, to which Chan inclines his head, clearly giving him the space to talk first. He hesitates for a moment longer, but then just launches into it. "My companion is sick. For the last five turnings we've been looking into what it was and how to fix it, but there is no known cure. My friend - he knows everything that is true in the present - he said I might find what I need here. Is that- Is that true? Can you help us?"

He doesn't want to sound so weak and vulnerable, but this is the last remnant of hope he's had to cling to for two full turnings, there is truly no other place for him to go. If there's nothing on Polaris, then he will have already spoken his last words to Jisung, there will be no more dreams, no more chances to tell him how much he is loved, how wonderful his life has been because of his lover. There will be…. Nothing.

Chan's entire demeanour is full of sympathy, his lips shifting into a warm smile, his hand coming to rest companionably on Changbin's shoulder. For all that he has never minded touch, he minds this even less.

"I may be able to help you have more time together. Perhaps ten to fifteen more turnings, perhaps more. But I cannot give without taking. There is always a price."

"I'll pay anything you want," he instantly agrees, absolutely zero question about it. "If I can get it I will give it to you, just tell me what you ask for."

Chan smiles a bit wider, but it's not amusement, it's more sympathy, his eyes growing softer - sadder?

"You have to give me something of yours in return for what I will give you," the man says slowly, his hand coming up to forestall Changbin's agreement before he can even speak. "But it has to be something of equal worth."

He's instantly struck silent, blinking in disbelief at the man. What could he possibly give Chan that is worth as much as Jisung's life? What could possibly be equal to his lover's health? The only thing he can think of is to give his own life in turn, but then what would be the point of any of it? They're searching for a chance to be together again, not just for Jisung to live. It would not be worth it for him to be alone - just like it wouldn't be worth it for Changbin either.

"You can stay here while you think. Your companion is safe within your ship. We are in a separate pocket of time here, you have as long as you need, though your body will age while you're here. Take your time to find peace first, and when you have found something of equal worth, I will return your companion to prime health. But be warned: you will only have as long as it took him to get sick before."

With those words, Chan squeezes his shoulder lightly and then lets go. "Just call for me if you need me, I will be here." With that, the man leaves him again.

It had been two turnings of knowing each other before Changbin had felt confident enough to show his interest. After all; technically Jisung worked for him. Even if most of the operations were handled by Seungmin, occasionally aided by Jeongin, and the only interaction they had at the Star-H headquarters was saying hello to each other if they passed in the hallways.

Mostly, they got to know each other during the off-work gatherings. Changbin and Seungmin were close friends to start with, and then Seungmin sort of continued to show up with new people to join their evenings out. Except for Minho, who Changbin had befriended himself during one of these evenings out. It had taken some convincing, but eventually he'd managed not only to get Minho to join their group outings, but he'd also convinced the pilot to join Star-H.

From there, his friendly rivalry with Felix had started, both of them trying to get the fastest flight record on the roster. At the time, Changbin himself had still held it, but last he heard Minho had it under his name, with Felix still striving to beat the time.

The first time Seungmin brought Jisung to the bar, however, Changbin had sat down, taken one look at the Viceran and said: "Who invited you?"

Clearly insulted but too polite to get upset, Jisung had motioned at Seungmin, who'd been giving Changbin a disapproving frown for his rude words already. Yet all he'd done was reach out and clap Seungmin on the shoulder.

"You're getting a raise!" He'd claimed, after which he'd turned his brightest, smuggest grin on the Viceran. Jisung had blankly stared at him in surprise for a split second before his face had split into a grin to mirror his own. From there conversation between them had flowed smoothly, with Changbin asking about Jisung's origins and Jisung asking about the company.

Every outing after that, they'd sat next to each other, until eventually Changbin had invited Jisung out to lunch with just the two of them. It hadn't been awkward for a single moment, the both of them continuing to share stories about their lives as well as ask questions to figure each other out more. They'd parted with a promise to meet again soon, that sadly had to be broken because Changbin had to leave quite suddenly to deal with some of the company business on an inhabitant planet.

When he got back several moonfalls later, however, Jisung had been waiting for him in front of his apartment the very same rotation he arrived on Spectre-35. He'd been sitting on the steps of his house, but got up when he saw Changbin getting out of the transport. Confused by his unexpected presence, Changbin had frowned at him questioningly, worried that something was wrong.

"Jisung? Is everything alright?"

It had been the first time that Jisung's easy confidence temporarily faltered, the Viceran rubbing his hands on his trousers and then folding them in front of his stomach.

"I've missed you," He'd said then, more quiet than usual but still certain. "Seungmin told me you were coming home today and I just… really wanted to see you. If you do not feel similarly, please don't hesitate to tell me. But I would like it if we removed the last distance between us."

Changbin remembers looking at those honest eyes, that face of quiet but powerful conviction, and simply reaching out his hand, palm up. After a moment, Jisung had placed his own in it, offering him a simple smile. He'd smiled back, and then led Jisung into his house like it was the most normal thing in the world. Somehow, Jisung simply hadn't really left again.

He sits in the chair next to the healing pod, staring at Jisung's perfect but unmoving face. Like a painting it is now, or a sculpture, nothing changing, ethereal in its beauty. He yearns with a longing so deep that it nearly brings the tears into his eyes again, but he holds them back in favour of just sighing deeply as he leans his forehead against the glass.

"I don't know what to give him, stardust," he admits in the quiet of his unmoving cabin, his eyes closed as the cool glass slowly warms under his skin. "There is nothing that I have that could equal your life. Nothing could ever compare to being given more time with you."

He sighs again, lifting his head and glancing at the paused screen with all of his lover's vitals. Frozen in time like in the story of the princess in the ice. He looks down at Jisung's face and gently presses his fingers against the glass as if he would rest them against his lover's cheek. The gentlest of touches, soft as he always has been with him.

"Is this why you said goodbye? Because you will be frozen in time while I will have to keep moving and continue finding a way to save you? Or did you say goodbye because you know that I have nothing to give that will be enough to save you?"

He stares at his lover's face, the sadness and despair slowly tangling up in his chest, until he feels nothing but a deep, longing ache that doesn't seem like it'll go away anytime soon.

The intercom near the loading bay doors clicks, crackles and then a voice comes through.

"Changbin? You seem very upset. Can I come in?"

He frowns deeply at hearing Chan's voice over the speakers, but more importantly his words. How had he known? His confusion must be perceived in the same way, however, because the intercom crackles again.

"I am aware of everything on Polaris, so that I can make sure that the planet stays healthy. I don't know any details but I can feel that you are upset, worried and confused. If I can help with that I would like to."

Staring at the closed door for a moment longer, he decides to accept, pushing himself up from his seat to go press the button to open the door. It hisses before it slides open, revealing Chan behind it, who is already regarding him with a worried look.

"I'm alright," he says, feels almost obliged to, though he steps back willingly to allow Chan to enter. "I just don't know anything I could give you that would be equal to what having Jisung healthy again would mean to me. How does it work, anyway? Do I get one chance to offer something and if it's not enough tough luck, nice having you but now you're getting kicked off the planet, goodbye?"

Chan's sudden laughter twinkles in the space like starlight, his eyes crinkling with his mirth. "I would never kick you off the planet," the man reassures him, still amused but also clearly trying to communicate how much he means this. "Like I said, you can stay as long as you want, you can think about it. If you have an idea you can offer it, I will know whether it's sufficient. If it isn't, I will tell you and you can keep thinking."

Changbin glances away from Chan's open and honest face. "It's just that I- I don't know. Nothing is worth as much as Jisung's life because he is… he is everything."

Chan's smile then is soft, understanding. The man reaches out a hand and rests it on his shoulder, causing the tension to seep out of his frame slowly.

"You will find something. There is always something worthy to give. It doesn't necessarily need to be an actual thing, either."

"Can't you tell me what would suffice?" He asks, almost desperately. Chan's expression softens in sympathy once again. There's never pity, though, not in those warm brown eyes.

"I'm sorry, Changbin, I do not know either. It must come from you. But you must not be afraid anymore. Your companion will be fine for as long as you are here. No further harm will come to him here, this I promise you. You can stop worrying about that for now, Changbin. Relax. Breathe. Let go of your worries. Your mind will be free to think."

The hand on his shoulder squeezes lightly, then moves up to briefly rest against his cheek. He's leaning into the touch before he fully realises it, though once he does, they both seem to pull away simultaneously.

"Come outside," Chan says, almost pleading. It feels a little like Seungmin trying to get him to take a rest after endless rotations of working. Like Minho trying to convince him to go out again when he's been focused on nothing but the business for weeks.

It feels a little like a friend.

And so; Changbin lets himself be guided out.

Two moonfalls of practically living together had passed in blissful happiness before he'd fully realised it. By the time the reality of it seeped into him, they were halfway to the third. Jisung fit in his life like he'd always been part of it. Admittedly the Viceran made more compromises than Changbin, but even the added presence in his home felt like it had always been there. Almost like he'd been keeping a spot open for Jisung to fit into.

And then, not long past the third moonfall, Changbin had walked out onto the balcony one very random rotation, finding Jisung already there looking up at the sky. There was nothing special about the time nor the moment, but he'd looked at the Viceran then and felt such a rush of warmth that there had been no choice.

He'd crossed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around Jisung's middle, hugging him close. Jisung had chuckled, turning his head to look at him and inquire about his sudden clinginess. He'd merely smiled and dropped a kiss to Jisung's cheek.

"Forgiveness, Jisung," he'd said softly, nuzzling into the man's neck. He vividly remembers the way Jisung had tilted his head, humming a sound of contentment.

"What is it, love?" Jisung had asked, hand coming up to rest atop his. "Whatever it is, you know I'll forgive you."

"I-" He'd paused for a moment, humming while he thought over his words, and then he'd straightened slowly. Jisung had turned around in his hold, putting his hands on his arms and stroking them gently, as if trying to make him feel more at ease. This had brought a smile to his face.

"I don't think I show you well enough how meaningful you are to me," he'd said, and been able to witness Jisung's eyes widen a fraction. "Your absence from my life would be more strange than your presence has ever been. I hope you know that. I hope you also know that I appreciate the ways in which you have adapted to my lifestyle. It's not for everyone, I realise that."

Jisung had started smiling then, finally getting over his initial surprise, but Changbin had delivered the last blow by adding:

"I love you, you know? I feel it very strongly whenever I look at you, but I thought I should tell you as well, so that you don't have to wonder."

Jisung's smile had lit up his entire face then, baring his teeth in a way he didn't do often but that Changbin always loved.

"I love you too," he had said next, and Changbin had had no other choice but to lean in. Kissing, it turned out, was something he quite enjoyed, Jisung's fingers tightening in his hair, his own hands splayed out over Jisung's back, keeping him close, feeling him shift under his palms when he moved to lean in closer.

Eventually when they'd pulled away, Changbin had briefly smiled in a mirror of Jisung's, and lifted a hand to brush his thumb over the Viceran's cheek.

"Stay," he'd said. "Bring all your things here. I want to have you in my life permanently."

That time, Jisung had been the one to lean in. Or more like surge forward, his arms wrapping tightly around Changbin's neck and not letting go anytime soon.

Polaris is a planet so unlike his own that it takes some time to adapt. The creatures that roam among the plants and trees aren't dangerous, the select few among the present flora that are poisonous grow in a specific area Chan early on told him to try and avoid when alone, and every path he walks leads him through peaceful, colourful beauty.

The stream that runs all across its surface starts at the base of a small mountain and ends in the lake that lays half in the light of the sun and half in darkness. With time frozen outside of Polaris' surface, the sky doesn't change, the light doesn't come and go, so every time they want to sleep, they walk over to the side of the planet that is turned away from the stars that currently light it, where Chan has set up sleeping quarters for them.

Because the planet is smaller, he could walk across its entire surface easily, but he undertakes it in small parts, just wandering aimlessly. His thoughts often stray to Jisung, or to his friends. Sometimes he catches himself worrying if they're managing the business well before or even wanting to contact them to check in when he realises they, too, are frozen in time.

The last time he spoke to any of them was several moonfalls before he made it to Polaris. He wonders if they think he's lost to space. He wonders if they'll plan a ceremony for their last farewells. Perhaps Minho will remember he wants something small-scale and unobtrusive. Perhaps Seungmin will remember to visit the truthsayer to give him Changbin's final words - even though Hyunjin has long known them, since the moment Changbin wrote them down.

Whenever his thoughts get too gloomy, Chan finds him and distracts him with questions about his life. His inquiries are never too deep or personal, but Changbin finds himself telling the man of all the facets of his life anyway. The time on Kadrant with his feet in the red sand, his time building up his business, the worries he'd felt trying to make it bigger on his own, meeting Seungmin, sharing the burdens, meeting the others.

Eventually he also speaks of Jisung. Of meeting him, of employing him, of getting together with him. Chan listens to everything with the same genuine interest, smiling and laughing at his funny stories, eyes bright and warm when he speaks of his friends. That familiarity he'd felt with the man from the start only grows stronger over time, and he feels grateful for it, because it makes his stay on Polaris less lonely.

Especially when some rotations Chan leads him along by his hand, excitedly pointing out the flower fennec pups that have crawled out of their eggs, or the Brizantys that stands in full bloom only once every twenty or so turnings. Chan is light and warm, excited about the small things and full of a joy for life that Changbin doesn't necessarily lack but has never expressed so openly.

Chan is different from him in many ways, and yet it seems they're different in the ways that match together, each of their edges fitting perfectly between each other. Over time, he finds himself relaxing in the man's presence, allowing him to take the lead and just going along with whatever. There's a freedom to it. A relief, as well.

Just existing like that, slowly letting go of his worries, allowing them to stay frozen with the rest of the world. Whenever they come up again will be soon enough for them anyway.

"Bin?"

Chan's voice is soft as ever, the nickname familiar as well by now. He rubs his eyes before slowly opening them, blinking away the fogginess of his sight.

Chan stands in the opening of his room that leads outside. The bit of starlight coming in through the door is enough to reveal the smile on his face. For a moment he's quiet, just taking in the view, and then he realises there's a weight pressing down on his legs.

He looks over to see a Witherfowl curled up atop the blanket, its beak tucked under its tail. When he shifts experimentally, it opens one glowing eye, makes a sound akin to a harrumph and then slowly moves to stand, allowing him to pull his legs out from underneath it. When he's sitting on the edge of his bed, it lies down again, tucking its beak away once more before closing its eyes again - back to sleep.

He makes his way out of the room as quietly as possible, joining Chan outside, who is now grinning widely. When he feels Chan taking hold of his hand, it's not even strange anymore at all. He'd never been a very touchy person of his own and Jisung had always respected that, though he'd sought out touch more, but Chan seems to completely disregard it - and after so many moonfalls alone, Changbin finds that he doesn't mind as much as he thought he would.

Every time Chan's hand brushes the steadily growing locks of hair out of his face, he even leans in a little, and tilts his head towards it like he used to tilt it towards the warmth of Spectre-35's single blue sun.

"Why did you wake me up?" He asks when they're already an end away from their sleeping quarters. Chan's smile is so bright it's making him feel amused, a small smile threatening the corners of his lips as well.

"There is something I wanted to show you," is all the reply he's given, a soft squeeze of his hand accompanying it. He looks down at their clasped hands briefly, but makes no comment and simply follows Chan along across Polaris' surface.

When they come to a stop, they stand on the edge of a small cliff. Below is a field full of small, glowing orbs. The gentle orange hue of their glow is familiar, though he has no idea what he's looking at. It's beautiful, though, and eerie in its wild nature.

"What…?" He asks, slowly looking up at Chan from where his eyes were glued to the scene before them.

"The Perydactis have laid their eggs," Chan explains, still smiling brightly. "It only takes a single cycle for them to hatch so this is the only time you can see this." A cycle, he's learned, is Chan's word for a rotation. "Once the eggs break, they lose their glow. Isn't it beautiful?"

Changbin looks back at the scene below them and hums. His agreement goes unspoken but it's beyond question anyway.

It had taken not two turnings. Two turnings and then Jisung had been the one to take the next step.

"Changbin, my love," he'd said, and Changbin had turned to him, smiling as always whenever Jisung used that name for him. Still so unexpected as it was at the time.

"Yes, Jisung?"

"Let's have a binding ceremony."

That had given him pause for a brief moment.

"Are you sure?"

"I want you to finally stop calling me by just my name. Kadrant tribe custom says you can only do that after a binding ceremony, right? Let's have one."

"Jisung," he'd cautioned. "It's a big decision. It's a life altering thing. I won't ever perform an unbinding. If we do this it is for life. You can't just decide on that because you wish for me to give you a nickname."

He'd been so worried, too, righteous in his disbelief that Jisung could go so flippantly over something so big. Of course Jisung had laughed at him then, warmly, and came over to cup his face between those gentle hands.

"I decided on it because I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want people to know you are mine because I'm the only one you'll ever address with anything other than my name. I want the paint on your face to spell my name. I want…" There's a pause, Jisung breathing in, fingers digging into his skin a little harder. "You, Changbin, I want you. All of you, forever. To be mine. For me to be yours equally. That's why I want a binding ceremony."

A pause, a sudden soft smile breaking through the serious demeanour, and then: "Don't you?"

He'd tensed up completely then, hand coming up to settle on the side of Jisung's neck, his thumb finding the Viceran pulse point, pressing on it softly to feel the uneven beating of his heart. There had been no smile from his side, because this was serious. His words had been short, clipped, but full of meaning.

"Yes," he'd said, wholeheartedly. "Of course I do."

Within a single moonfall, Seungmin had arranged everything.

The soft breeze caressing his skin is comforting, he closes his eyes while he enjoys it, allowing his body to relax into the soft embrace of the tall grass. His head is gently pillowed by Chan's chest, solid but comfortable beneath him. When he opens his eyes, he stares up at the light pink sky. The perpetual moment of sunrise, here on the edge of dark and light.

"Tell me about yourself," he says, and for a moment everything around them stills. Just the briefest flicker before it all goes on. He wonders not for the first time what Chan is capable of, why time has paused outside of Polaris, whether he's been frozen in time before while the world around him went on.

"Me?" Chan asks, seeming confused or worried. He simply hums his agreement. "What would you like to know about me?"

"Anything. Can you tell me about Polaris? How come you're the only one left? How does the time thing work? What path does Polaris travel across the universe? How come you can grant people's needs? How would you grant mine? What-"

He falters, blinks up at the sky and then turns to look at Chan. The man's face is tilted towards him, the brown eyes meeting his instantly.

"What colour is your favourite, Chan?"

"Colour?" Chan echoes, and then suddenly breathes out a smile. "I like the colour of life, no matter what it looks like."

Changbin finds himself distracted, but before he can think on it further, Chan looks away and continues talking.

"My species had trouble… reproducing. That is why I'm the only one left. I'm not sure what you mean about the time thing. Polaris travels whatever way across the universe I want it to go. Giving people extra time helps with a lot of things, hence why I have been able to help most of the people who come here. For you, I would simply turn back your companion's body in time to when it was still healthy. As many turnings before the illness struck as you want me to - or as many turnings as your payment affords. Give and take."

Chan pauses and looks at him. "Does that answer those questions? I can tell you more about Polaris too but I'm not sure what you'd want to know exactly. Would you like me to tell you more about the species that live here or rather the planet itself?"

His mind's still reeling from all of the other explanations, but he answers the last question more on instinct. "The planet itself. What do you mean it travels whatever way you want? How?"

"Well, I am part of Polaris. Polaris is part of me. One of the others once described it as my planet-sized spaceship. It will travel whatever course I put it on, as long as it doesn't get caught in any other planet's gravitational sphere, it's hard to get out of one of those once we're caught up in it. Polaris can't move within a time pocket, so…"

Chan trails off with a shrug and a small smile. "We try to avoid danger. It's been very successful so far."

"How long have you been alone for by now?"

"Oh." Chan shrugs again. "In your ongoing reality probably since a few turnings before the inhabitant planets officially labelled us Polaris-13." That's over a hundred turnings, he realises absently, but Chan isn't done talking. "But at least four times as long if you count all the time I've spent in time pockets."

Changbin stares up at the sky while trying to process all of that. How long does a Polar live, he wonders. How long until even the last of their kind is gone? What he asks, though, is this: "Have you spent time in pockets with everyone else who came here?"

"Of course. However long they needed to figure out their payment."

"So has any one of them ever come back to visit?"

Chan's quiet for a moment and when he turns his head to look at him again, the expression on his face seems confused. "Why would they do that? They got what they wanted, didn't they?"

He frowns in return. "Yeah, but- After all that time together, hadn't you become… friends?"

Chan laughs again, the strangely loud but reassuring sound.

"Only a Kadrant triber would think of such loyalty, Changbin," he says after, like that explains everything.

Time passes. Changbin spends it learning about Polaris, learning the names of the species, the details of the flora. He learns all of its paths by heart until Chan no longer needs to accompany him on a walk to make sure he'll find his way back.

Every now and again, he visits the ship and spends some time talking to Jisung, but it hurts to have him so close yet not have him at all and - after some prying - Chan revealed that keeping him moving within the frozen ship requires a lot of energy and effort. So he goes inside less and less, until he just stands outside of the ship and speaks to his lover like that. It's not like Jisung can hear him, anyway.

His dreams are empty of Jisung's presence as well. Over time, he stops being able to recall his lover's voice, he can no longer imagine every detail of his face. He's not sure whether it's easier or harder this way.

Every rotation, he wanders the beautiful, lively expanse of Polaris and thinks of what he could give Chan that would suffice in payment for as many turnings of Jisung's healthy life as possible. Every rotation he comes up empty.

His thoughts begin to wander quicker, stray further. The guilt of that chokes him most nights. Chan was right, after all: only a Kadrant triber would think of such loyalty; would have such loyalty.

At times when the pain becomes too much to bear any longer, Chan finds him wherever he has sunken down onto the floor and carefully picks him up to carry him back to his bed. Once there, Chan will wrap himself around him until the cold, endless black hole inside of his chest fades a little and he can breathe again without feeling like the desert dust has invaded his lungs.

Sometimes, that means Chan stays long past when he's fallen asleep, and other times it means he wakes up still wrapped in the Polar's embrace. He doesn't know if Chan sleeps, if he requires it at all, because every time he is awake, so is the other man. And every time he turns his face towards him, he's greeted with a smile.

He thinks Jisung would like Chan, for he's always said he would want Changbin to smile more. If it weren't so against his Kadrant nature he would have easily complied. As it was, he always tried. Chan makes it seem so easy, however, he thinks Jisung would appreciate that.

If only he were around to do so.

"Changbin?"

He turns to look at Chan, where the man is watching him from a distance. There's a worried frown on Chan's face, but it smooths out a little as their eyes meet.

"If you want I can let you speak to your friends."

This immediately pulls all of his attention. "What? How?"

Chan looks a little sheepish. "I could keep only the healing pod locked in time and let everything else go on. I can only do it for a few moments because it takes a lot of effort, but…" There's a glance to the side. Shyness, he thinks. He's slowly learning the Polar's habits and expressions now. "I thought you might like to hear from them."

His expression must speak for him, because Chan starts to smile a mere moment later.

So before long he's seated behind his ship's control panel again for the first time in a long time. Time restarting happened with a nauseating lurch of his stomach, but no other signs, except the ship suddenly humming to life again as well. A mere few buttons pressed gets him a secure connection home.

"Changbin? How's it going? Any progress in your ghost chase?" Seungmin's voice is achingly familiar, even when he'd long forgotten what it sounds like.

"Is that the boss? How's he doing?" Unmistakably Minho's voice from further away.

"Hey guys," he says, voice surprisingly level. "I'm fine. I've finally located Polaris, but…" A pause and then a glance to the side. Chan isn't here, the Polar having decided to give him his privacy. Jisung is, though, still and unmoving, a glaringly obvious portrait of everything that is wrong. "Ah, I'm still working on the payment."

"Your trackers say you landed just now, Bin," Seungmin says, never having had his issue with giving people nicknames. So many inherently Kadrant customs he still carries around with him, over ten turnings after he'd supposedly left the planet behind. "And you're already discussing payment? Star-H works hard but its boss sure works harder."

"Show them who's the business man!" Minho adds. "Don't let them coax more money out of you than they deserve."

"Which means all of it if they can cure Sung," Seungmin adds in a deadpan that has Minho falling silent.

"Yes," Changbin agrees, and it's so fucking difficult, so he clears his throat. "I better get going, keep working on this. Everything good over there?"

"Business running as smooth as always, boss," Seungmin jokes lightly and Changbin hums. "Don't worry about us, just get your Stardust better."

He agrees even though they can't see him, greets them goodbye and then clicks off the transmission. A moment later, the steady humming of the ship dies out again. He doesn't even look at the healing pod on his way out, unable to bear any more of the pain.

That night, he falls asleep cradled in Chan's arms. He doesn't ask to speak to his friend's again.

"Do you not want to see other people?" He asks Chan one time. "Why don't you visit other planets?"

Chan's smile is achingly familiar in how it is suddenly filled with an infinite longing that Changbin knows all too well.

"I am the last Polar. Without me, Polaris will perish. There must always be one within its atmosphere to make sure it continues to exist. If I leave, I will have no home left to return to."

For once, it's Changbin who reaches out, pulling the other man into a tight embrace, hoping to communicate his own understanding and sympathy like that.

"How long has it been?" He asks another time, and he truly has no way to gauge the time that passes. The smile Chan shows him in response is faint and a little sad.

"A few turnings," the man says. It temporarily causes him to falter in his step.

Turnings? He thought it'd been a few moonfalls, sure, maybe close to a turning, but… Several turnings already?

Fear and sadness churn painfully in his gut, making it hard to breathe, even to just sit up. When Chan's hand reaches out to touch him, he lets the fingers brush over his cheek, cradle his face.

"It's okay," Chan says. "Only for us it's that much time. For your companion and the world, it will merely be seconds."

Somehow it's the most reassuring thing that could have been said at that moment in time. He inclines his head in acceptance, but doesn't pull away from the touch.

"What's wrong, beloved?"

He'd turned his head at the unexpected question, and just looked at Jisung for a few long moments in silence. Sensing the gravity of the situation, Jisung had stood there and waited for him to be able to speak.

"I've just received news," he'd said eventually, putting down the transmission log and turning fully towards his lover. "My mother has died."

Jisung's response had been instant, his lover surging forward to reach for the paper himself, eyes skimming over the words. From where he'd stood right next to him, Changbin was able to see his pupils shake.

It wasn't until Jisung's eyes had come back up to meet his that the full reality had hit.

Desert dwellers do not cry, he'd told his lover once, water is too precious to waste like that. But he'd cried that time, if only a single tear. Jisung had wrapped arms around his shoulders and squeezed him as close as he could.

He'd cried for his mother, maybe, the one who'd carried him the first few turnings of his life, taught him everything. But he'd also cried for the message, and the fact that its tone was achingly familiar. The only person in all of Kadrant who'd think to inform him of such news. The one friend he had somehow managed to retain in a world of red sand and desert dust.

"When you go, I go with you, stardust," he'd told Jisung later that night.

His lover had simply nodded.

"There's nowhere I would want to go without you, beloved," had been his reply.

"How many Perydactis have you seen hatch?"

The tilt of Chan's head is accompanied by an easy little smile, amusement visible in each line of his face.

"You're just trying to test my memory, aren't you? There were more than I could tell you in numbers that would make sense to you. Does that answer your question?"

"That depends," he replies with an offhanded shrug. "On how many that is."

Chan's laughter is bright. The animals on Polaris don't startle from it anymore. They've long stopped startling at the few sounds Changbin made as well. By now, he's as much a part of the planet as everything else is. It's a thought that would have filled him with dread before, but now it feels like belonging.

"More than there are strands of hair on your head. Less than there are grains of sand in a desert."

He nods, pretends he's capable of grasping such a vast amount. Chan sees right through him, of course, and reaches out to poke his side.

When he laughs, the animals startle and rush away. Chan, however, seems to brighten entirely and leans in.

"Happiness suits you," the man says so easily, like he's not speaking of the most vulnerable parts of Changbin's existence. He inclines his head in acceptance of the praise but doesn't continue the conversation.

One night, when he's walking to his room and Chan moves to head to his own, Changbin reaches out for the Polar's wrist.

"Sleep with me," he offers very simply. "We are both lonely, are we not? What point is there in staying apart?"

And so the Witherfowl clacks its beak at them angrily as it once again has to make way off the bed to allow them in it. It snaps at Chan's fingers in a sign of protest, but Chan only laughs softly and scratches it fondly beneath its feathers.

When they settle for sleep, Changbin asks the question he's been curious about for a while now.

"Do you sleep?" And then, out of curiosity: "Do you dream? Do you cry?"

Chan's smile is a gentle breath against the back of his neck, familiar and reassuring all in one.

"I do sleep. And I do dream. That is how I knew to expect you. Polars can cry, but it has been a long time since I have. We only cry when there is a reason to."

He moves his hand briefly atop Chan's on his stomach and then closes his eyes.

"How come you stopped being able to reproduce?"

This question is followed by silence so long he almost falls asleep. Before he does, though, Chan carefully replies.

"We require love for it to work. There was no more left."

Polaris-13, or Polaris Tempus, becomes home. It's in the way he automatically looks for the Silverwings when he gets up in the morning, how he treks into light and back to dark without thought. It's in the way he moves across its surface like it's habit, like this routine has been as ingrained into his system as the seasonal tempests in the red desert have been.

Sometimes he lounges in the tall grass with the Wilderbuns, sometimes he runs along the Perydactis, sometimes he jumps into the lake and plays with the Lakethings - so aptly named by a child, Chan tells him. Sometimes he works the land, helps growing their food. Whatever he does, Chan is never far, enjoying his company, or simply the existence of someone else on his planet.

It's comfortable. They start sharing the room so they can talk in the evenings. Chan drags in a second bed, though some nights he still ends up sharing Changbin's, arms wrapped around him, Changbin's head tucked away against his chest.

Some nights they speak of silly things, of the animals on Polaris, of the work they've done or the course their rotations have taken. Some nights they speak of the past. Changbin's history. Chan's history. Chan speaks of being raised by the planet, not just the other Polar but everything on it. The planet that lives and breathes alongside his kind.

One night, Chan speaks of how his people started dying, old age and depleted energy, giving too much to their visitors and taking too little in return. Slowly but surely their numbers had dwindled down until there were so few left they started to realise it was the beginning of the end. They'd tried to fix it, Chan says, but there'd been no way to do so and no one to help.

In the quiet of that night, Changbin slips out of his bed and crosses the room over to Chan's. He doesn't say anything as he slips under the blanket, wrapping his arms around Chan's frame, tucking the man's head against his chest and holding on to him like he'd been held so many a time.

Nothing happens at first, nothing big at least, but then Chan's solid frame seems to crumble a little, the man's hands clutching on to him. He feels the hot wetness of tears spill onto his collarbone, feels the heavy exhales of pain and loneliness puff against his chest. He simply holds Chan a little tighter, pulling him even closer.

"It's okay," he says softly, into the darkness of the night. "You're not alone. I'm here." He's reminded of the times when Jisung felt overwhelmed or incapable and Changbin held him like this. His heart twinges in his chest. He closes his own eyes and simply starts to move his hand up and down Chan's back. "I've got you," he reassures. Chan or himself, he isn't quite certain. He doesn't think it matters, anyway.

Over time, Jisung had more bad rotations than good, Changbin having to carry him from one spot to the other, having to steer the floating chair along with him because Jisung's fingers no longer had the strength to do even that. At least the little homing beacon helped it follow him around. He could see the toll it took on his lover, however, could see the way it darkened the light in Jisung's eyes.

Most nights they would lay in bed together with Changbin supporting most of Jisung's wait, making sure even throughout the night that nothing would befall his lover. For if Jisung were to accidentally roll onto his face, he'd not have the strength to free himself and could suffocate. They'd had a bed with restraints ready for when it would no longer be safe in their own bed, but really Changbin had been trying not to use it for as long as possible.

Because he'd felt like once Jisung moved to that bed, it'd be the beginning of the end. And really; it had been. They'd moved him there for the nights at first, but it had only taken a few of them before he'd simply not gotten up again. And then it'd been less than a moonfall before Jisung had decided to enter the healing pod. If he was stuck to a bed anyway, he'd said, he could just as well be stuck in the protective glass case and give Changbin some extra time to find a solution.

In the many lonely rotations that had followed said decision, Changbin had often wondered if that had been the real reason, or if Jisung had simply already given up.

"Changbin."

It's been a long time since Chan used his full name and not just Bin or even Binnie, so he looks over with a small frown from where he'd been clearing away the last of their breakfast.

"Yes, Chan?"

There's a momentary pause, Chan looking hesitant, but then he seems to give in. "I can help you with your companion now. What you have given is sufficient."

The words hit him like a prowler strike and he freezes in place momentarily. "I- What? What have I given? I didn't offer anything?"

He turns to the other man fully, then steps closer. Suddenly hope courses so heavily through his veins that it nearly has him vibrating, expectation but also fear thrumming just beneath his skin. "Chan?" He asks as he stands in front of the other man. "What did I give that's of equal worth?"

Instead of replying, Chan brings a hand up to put it on his shoulder, fingers digging gently into his muscle. Even now, he doesn't pull out of the hold, simply stands and waits. He trusts Chan, of course. After so many turnings spent together, he trusts him almost unconditionally.

Chan leans in, connects their lips together, presses close, and Changbin lets him do that, too. He even brings up a hand to put it on Chan's hip, stabilising him. When Chan pulls away, his smile is gentle, almost apologetic.

"Love," he says softly, almost nothing more than a whisper. "You have given me love. That which means everything to me in return for that which means everything to you. The bargain is complete. You didn't have to offer it explicitly because you've already given it freely."

He's frozen in place once more, watching the expression on Chan's face. It's clear the man is desperately trying to keep smiling at him reassuringly, but there is an inherent sadness to his entire frame that Changbin wishes he could simply brush away. Yet before he can put words to any of the feelings rushing through him, Chan pulls away.

"We should go," he says. "To your ship. I am bound to fulfill your request so we shouldn't wait any longer." And when he starts walking away, Changbin can only follow.

It's only when they step aboard the ship that he realises how long it's been since he was last there. It feels like several moonfalls, but he presumes it most likely has been several turnings all over again. Guilt slowly crawls its way up his throat and he tries desperately to swallow it away.

When they then step into the control room and his eyes land on Jisung's unchanged, frozen form, he falters at the loading bay doors.

"Wait," he says, reaching out and curling his fingers around Chan's wrist to keep him from walking any further. "Wait, Chan, what does this mean?"

Chan's expression is genuine confusion again, the sadness having disappeared. "What do you mean 'what does this mean'?" He asks. "I will turn your companion's body back in time to a point when he was still healthy. He will wake up and you can be together again. That is the wish you came here to fulfill."

He stares, still at a loss for the right words, and when Chan pulls his wrist free to continue on to the healing pod, he lets him go. When the Polar's hands touch the glass, the nauseating lurch of his stomach is almost familiar, except this time it's accompanied by the sudden continuation of the medical equipment's steady beeping and buzzing.

Only now that it has been so long since he heard it does he realise how heartbreaking of a sound it is. So loud and all-encompassing. So saddening, disheartening. He balls his hands to fists as he watches Chan almost reverently stroke the hair out of Jisung's face - and shouldn't he be doing this?

"Be warned," Chan speaks softly. "He will deteriorate before he'll look better because I am turning back time. Don't panic, he is not dying."

He steps forward then, because he needs to be closer, to see Jisung's face and to watch him breathe slowly, steadily.

"When he wakes up," Chan continues. "His body will be fine, but he might still be a little weak and disoriented, for his mind will need time to return to his skin. It's best if you-"

Chan freezes, looking down slowly at the hand he's grasped hold of. Then those brown eyes come up to meet with his, a question in them that he can't answer with words either. Instead, he gives Chan's hand a little squeeze, then nods his head. For a moment, their eyes stay locked, then Chan turns back to Jisung.

At first, nothing happens, but then he sees the healthy rosiness in Jisung's cheeks disappear, steadily returning the man to a sickly, pale pallor. It's good he was forewarned or he would have panicked indeed, he thinks. Worse and worse the colour of Jisung's skin gets, his cheeks hollowing out, his body turning to skin and bone, before it then slowly starts getting better again.

As Jisung's body returns to health at a steady pace, going through all the phases of the illness until it restores to before and then keeps looking younger and younger, more of the lines on his skin disappearing, Changbin holds Chan's hand and watches it all unfold. He can feel the effort Chan is expending from the subtle tremble of his hand and he wonders not for the first time how much longer Chan could possibly have to live himself.

And then, before he fully realises it, Jisung's eyelids flutter, squeeze closed and slowly open. The hazy gaze flicks around the ceiling before Jisung slowly turns his head and their eyes meet. A smile blooms almost instantly on Jisung's face, the fingers of his hand twitching before they reach out to him.

"Beloved," Jisung says, right there in front of him, not in a dream nor a memory. Like muscle memory, he reaches out as well, fingers brushing Jisung's until their hands clasp together. Chan's fingers slip out from his other hand at almost the same time.

"Stardust," Changbin breathes, and his universe finally rights itself.

"You look older." Jisung seems surprisingly clearheaded for what Chan said he'd be like. Changbin can only laugh at the playful accusation. Yet they grow serious again a moment later when Jisung adds: "How long has it been?"

"It took me almost two turnings after you went into the healing pod to find Polaris. I've been here probably close to ten turnings though I couldn't tell you for sure. I did not measure time. Chan would know, though."

He turns to ask Chan, but the man is nowhere to be found. It makes him frown, looking over towards the loading bay doors which have closed again. Most probably to give them their privacy once more.

"Chan?" Jisung asks and Changbin nods.

"He's the- He's the last remaining Polar. He saved you."

"But if it's been ten turnings…" Jisung pauses, frowns, seems to try and work something out and then frowns again. "Beloved, I said goodbye to you because I knew my body would not be able to hold out much longer. I could not have survived ten turnings."

He nods, then shakes his head, then nods again. "You were frozen in time. Polaris is- No, Chan is capable of altering the way time flows. Everything but the planet was frozen in time while I was given the time to figure out a payment. Everything comes with a price."

Jisung's features crease with worry. "What did you pay, beloved? What did you give away for me? Please tell me it's not your own life. Changbin, I-"

He shakes his head, and suddenly the guilt coils around his throat, makes him swallow once, twice. It doesn't matter, he still feels like it's choking him.

"I didn't know what to give him, stardust. It had to be something of equal value, but nothing…" He shakes his head again, distraught. Jisung's hands come up to cup his cheeks, to raise his head up again so they can lock eyes.

"Beloved. Please just tell me what you paid."

"Love," he chokes out. "I gave him love, I- We spent all that time together and…" He shakes his head. "Stardust, I'm so sorry."

Jisung looks confused, still holding on to his face, looking right into his eyes. "Why are you apologising, beloved? Do I have to leave without you? Is he keeping you here? Do you no longer love me? No, I can see in your eyes that you do. What is wrong? What is the problem?"

"I-" Changbin says softly, faltering in the face of Jisung's easy acceptance. When he can't find the words, it seems to be enough for Jisung to have a sudden realisation.

"Oh, beloved," he says, voice full of warmth and care. It has been forever since he last heard it, it feels like, and he slumps like a puppet with its strings cut when Jisung's thumbs brush over his cheeks. "You haven't betrayed me, my love. Your red sand customs are so rigid sometimes." There are lips pressing gently into his hair, then kissing his forehead, each of his cheeks. "It's okay, beloved, you're okay. How could you have betrayed me when all you have done ever since this illness struck has been to save me? I love you and your endless loyalty but don't let it kill you. If you still love me and want to be with me then there is no problem, do you hear me? Don't apologise for loving someone. You're so full of it, why would I ever mind you giving it to others as well?"

He stands with his forehead resting against Jisung's shoulder which, for the first time in a long time, is solid and holds his weight with no effort. As the words slowly sink in, the guilt coiled around his gut slowly starts to unwind, though he's incapable yet of looking up.

"Come," Jisung says when he seems to realise the same. "Come sit with me. Tell me everything. Tell me how you saved me and I'll tell you it's okay. It's fine. Thank you for saving me."

When Jisung tugs at him to sit, there is once again nothing he can do but follow.

He does tell Jisung everything. From the time spent flying alone across the universe to the way Jisung's occasional visits in his dreams had brought him comfort and relief. "I wish I'd been full Viceran," Jisung says to that, "then I could have visited you every night rather than so sporadically. It cost too much effort." But if Jisung had been full Viceran, the illness would not have come at all anyway.

He tells Jisung of Polaris as well, of the time he spent here. He speaks of the Perydactis and their glowing eggs, of the Witherfowl that had claimed his bed as its own, of the plants he's grown and the things he's built. He speaks endlessly of Chan, too, and with every word he says of the man, Jisung's smile grows.

When he speaks of the loneliness Chan and him had shared, Jisung's face falls, and when he speaks of the comfort they'd brought each other, it starts shining once more. In the end, when he's all done talking, when he's shared every memory he could think of and made sure Jisung knows everything there is to know about him again, his lover reaches for his hands and squeezes them softly.

"I'm so glad you didn't have to face all of this alone, beloved," he says softly, smiling at him warmly. "I'm so glad you had Chan beside you and that he was able to help us. I can't believe we get to have another ten turnings together. That's more than I had hoped for, do you know? We can go home and see our friends. We can do everything we regretted not having done together."

He nods his head, but his enthusiasm is not as big as Jisung's. "I'm glad as well, stardust," he says softly. "And I agree to all of that, but…" There's a moment of silence as he gathers his thoughts and Jisung easily gives him the time to. "I want to come back here regularly. I don't want to be one of those people who got what they wanted and never returned. Chan is- Chan is a friend. He can't leave Polaris so if I want to spend time with him it needs to be here. And I want to- I want to do that."

Jisung's eyes are soft when he glances up at them, his smile warm. "Of course, beloved. Of course we can come back here. As often as you want. I'm sure we could be friends as well, Chan and me. After all; he saved my life as well, didn't he?" Jisung's smile is so wide, so bright, so alive. Changbin wants to save the sight of it in his memories forever, to never forget again. "You should introduce me to him, this Chan you've told me all about. And show me this planet as well. I can't wait to walk around on my own two feet again!"

They find Chan outside the ship, not that far away. Changbin introduces the two of them to each other to Jisung's great delight, but though Chan is polite, he's distant. When Jisung thanks him for saving his life, Chan just calls it 'a bargain struck' and waves off the gratitude. Then, when Jisung wraps an arm around his middle, some sort of emotion starts appearing on Chan's face before it's suddenly entirely gone.

"Hey," he says without thinking, voice sharper with his displeasure. "Don't do that." Chan looks almost surprised, but Changbin shakes his head before he can speak. "Don't keep me out of the loop. You went into a pocket of time by yourself, didn't you?"

He steps forward and Jisung easily lets him go. He doesn't even fully realise as he reaches up and puts his hand on Chan's cheek. "What's wrong? You were already off when I woke up. Talk to me."

For a moment, Chan's eyes seem to be searching his for something, but then the man's shoulders slump and he sags a little with the telltale signs of defeat.

"You're leaving," he says softly, almost like a confession. "Your companion is better so you're going home. I will miss you."

"Of course," he says softly and gets to watch sadness shift Chan's features further, but he presses his fingertips a little more into the man's skin to keep him from slipping into another pocket of time without him. "I will miss you too when I leave. But I'm not gone yet. Like you said; it's been less than a cycle since I landed here as far as the universe is concerned. Jisung only just woke up. There's no rush."

"Mhm," Jisung agrees behind him. "Changbin's told me so much about you, I hoped we could at least spend some time together before you kick us off your planet. I totally understand that you'd want to get rid of this pest as soon as possible, of course, but I've learned that if you give him a job to do, his presence is a lot more easy to stand."

Jisung's playful jibe makes him smile automatically, glancing over to his lover to share his amusement with him. When he turns back to Chan, though, there's a heartbreaking sort of confusion visible on his features. He takes it in only for a short instant before addressing Jisung again.

"Stardust, we'll take a moment," he says, and then runs his thumb over Chan's cheek, nodding his head once. Everything but the two of them just stops. He doesn't look away to check their surrounding, simply stays focused on the man in front of him.

"In my heart, Jisung was never gone, Chan," he says after a moment. "It's not because he's awake that I suddenly don't love you anymore, that I don't want to see you anymore. These emotions grew alongside each other. We're going to leave, yes, because we want to see our friends again, but I also want to come back. If there's a way for us to find Polaris more easily that would be nice, but if there isn't I'd fly around the universe another three turnings just to get back to you."

He gently brushes a thumb over Chan's cheek, then lets his hand slide down to the man's shoulder, squeezing it gently.

"I'm not leaving forever, Chan. I'm a Kadrant triber, remember? We're seeped in loyalty."

This time, he's the one to lean in and connect their lips. Chan's hands immediately settle on his hips and he smiles against the man's lips before he pulls away.

"I love you," he admits softly, finding it a lot easier to admit to now that he's consciously aware of it. "Don't push me away."

Chan's soft gaze is almost liquid warmth. "I love you too, Bin."

He makes sure to wrap his arms around Jisung's middle and bury his face in the crook of his lover's neck before Chan lets the time pocket end. His lover startles in his arms immediately, hand coming up to slap whatever is suddenly there away, but he stops just before hitting.

"Oh stars!" Jisung curses when he realises, and then promptly laughs, putting the hand on his cheek and then turning to kiss him briefly. When he looks back at Chan, his eyes are sparkling with joy. Changbin doesn't even need to see them to know. In turn, however, Chan seems suddenly shy, and incapable of meeting Jisung's gaze. It's ridiculous.

Jisung, apparently, doesn't even notice. He demands a tour of the planet, which Changbin lets Chan provide. They walk around and it's somewhat new for him as well, because as they go, the light is slowly moving. By the time they've seen most of the planet, their sleeping quarters aren't actually in the darkness anymore, which is an even stranger phenomena.

But the building seems equipped for that, because Chan presses a button that promptly has all the outside blinds closing, bathing the small house in darkness. Changbin manoeuvres it easily on memory alone, guiding Jisung by his hand.

When they get to the bedroom a single, glowing eye opens. Then another. The soft light it emanates only makes the Witherfowl look even more judging. Yet it clicks its beak at them reproachfully before getting up and off the bed to make space.

At that, Changbin suddenly laughs.

"She likes you," he tells Jisung easily. "When she has to move for Chan or me she always makes a lot more noise." He guides Jisung over to the bed, and then sits down on it.

"Let's push the beds together," Jisung says excitedly, however, ushering him back up to do exactly that. "Chan, do you mind sleeping next to the wall? I've been lying still for so long I don't think I can stay in bed all night."

It's decided very easily, Chan taking his usual bed against the wall, Jisung manhandling Changbin into the middle and then instantly rolling into his arms to keep him there. Once he's settled, his lover reaches backwards over him, reaching for Chan's hand and just casually holding it. Before either Chan or him can even find the words for it all, Jisung has fallen asleep.

"He'll be out the whole night," Chan tells him softly, contradicting Jisung's claims entirely. "His mind needs the rest to adapt to everything that has happened and all these new impulses."

He nods his head, then turns his head to look back at his friend. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Binnie," Chan whispers, and on his hip, Changbin can feel Chan gently squeezing Jisung's hand that he's still holding.

Chan turns out to have been right. In the morning Jisung is still asleep, and he stays that way even when the blinds slowly open. Chan leaves the bed to go take care of the planet, but Changbin stays with his arms wrapped around Jisung's middle. It's only when the Witherfowl returns to the room, clicking its beak and prodding their feet with it that Jisung wakes again.

They spend some time petting the creature's feathers before they head over to the ship, having decided to contact their friends to let them know the good news. Chan finds them there right before they head inside.

"Bin?" He calls almost hesitantly, and it makes both of them stop and look back. "Are you going to talk to your friends?"

He nods. Chan nods in return.

"Could you maybe- Could you not tell them about the time thing?"

He frowns lightly. "I don't mind keeping it a secret, but I look older, Chan, how am I going to explain that?"

"I will make you younger as well if you want," Chan instantly replies. "So that you look as you did before. I was going to offer it anyway, but I thought it would be easier to make your companion understand if he could see the effect your time here has had on you."

"Like a preview of what you'll look like when we're older," Jisung agrees happily. "Sexy and mature, it turns out." Changbin frowns, Chan actually laughs. Jisung grins proudly at that, Changbin only frowns more.

"Sure, but then you'll have to do that now because we wanted to do a video conference with them, to let everyone know at once."

Chan nods his head once, then reaches out a hand. It's over in the blink of an eye, even before Chan's fingers touch his cheek. Something different in the way his shoulders stretch, something easier when he leans his head slowly into the palm of Chan's hand. They share a brief look, a smile, then he turns away again.

From right beside him, Jisung smiles at him warmly. "Just like how I remember first seeing you, beloved. I'm falling in love all over again." He brings a hand up to his forehead, pretending to swoon, and Changbin immediately reaches out to swat his hip.

"Don't be ridiculous," he scoffs, but then he's smiling as well. "Let's go tell our friends you're alive so Seungmin can start preparing the fourteen rotations of mourning the company will sink into once the news comes out."

"Beloved." Jisung is looking at him so seriously that he doesn't know if he'll like what's going to follow. "Do you want to do a binding ceremony?"

"What? Again? Why?"

"Not with me, my love, with Chan."

"I- What?"

"I see how you look at him, beloved. I see the way you hold yourself around him. I've known you long enough now. You've got a name for him already and the only reason you haven't even considered the idea is because we're bound."

"Well, we are. I'm not unbinding myself from you."

"I'm not saying you should."

"You're saying I should bind myself to you and to him? How would that even work? He can't leave Polaris, I told you before. I can't be with you both at the same time. You want to go home. No, I want to go home, too. He'd be alone for a long time, bound to me."

Jisung unceremoniously drops down onto his lap the way he's done so many times before, arms looping around his neck while he leans in for a kiss. A kiss that lasts longer than he thought it would before Jisung pulls back again.

"But then you could come back and spend as many turnings with him as you want and the world wouldn't be any the wiser. You could spend another ten turnings here and only a second would pass for the rest of us."

"What? Stardust, no. I'm not spending time without you again if I don't have to."

"Well, I'd love to spend those ten turnings here with you, but you know I have limited time, beloved."

He pauses at that, shakes his head, but before he can say anything, Jisung puts his fingers over his lips.

"Don't let him think you'd only want him when I'm not here, beloved. You're a hard man to read and he's insecure. Just tell him. Use all the words I taught you over our time together and tell him the truth."

He frowns, pulls away from Jisung's fingers. "Why are you trying to talk me into a binding ceremony with someone else?"

"Because I love you, and you love him, and I will always be dying, but maybe when that time comes again, you could stay and make his life a little less lonely. I know you want to. I know you want to help him. I know you, beloved." Jisung's hand settles on his chest, the other one carding gentle fingers through his hair. "Think about it. Take your time. We're not on Kadrant, you don't have to make a split second decision."

Jisung pats his chest once, twice, and then turns to the ship controls, starting up a transmission.

"You have got to be kidding me." Seungmin's voice is a familiar shade of exasperated, but the wide smile on his face belies his words. "Ten more turnings of Jisung at full health? I'd like to resign now."

Changbin smiles briefly, but it's a distracted thing, his thoughts elsewhere.

"Can't believe the Polaris stories are real," Minho hums after a moment. "What happened over there? Are you going to be the one who finally reveals its secrets, Changbin?"

Jeongin's bright eyes briefly flit to the screen from where he's standing behind Seungmin but he doesn't say anything. Changbin's gaze is glued to the screen, unseeing. It's only when Jisung snaps his fingers in front of his face that he startles back to the present moment.

"Huh?"

"Guess two turnings hunting ghosts left its mark," Seungmin teases. "Good thing Jisung is better so he can remind you what it's like to be a person."

Changbin's gaze moves to his lover, who looks at him in worry before the expression turns into an understanding smile. Then Jisung turns back to their friends.

"Hey, we've got to go for now. Changbin is going to bag a hot space man and I want to be there when he does."

There's a loud chorus of questions and protests from their friends that Jisung ends with a simple flick of his thumb across the transmission switch, and then Changbin's got a lapful of Jisung kissing him once more.

"I love you so much," his lover tells him between kisses, nuzzling his cheek and then hugging him close. "And I think if there had to be someone else to be called a nickname by you, I don't mind if it's Chan. He seems really nice. And he is very hot, but maybe that's because he looks like a hot Kadrant triber and that's exactly my type."

Jisung does the thing where he wiggles his eyebrows and makes Changbin want to either shove him off his lap or hug him for an entire rotation. Before he can decide on either, though, Jisung's already pulling him along by his hands, leaving the ship once more.

Chan's gaze flicks between him and Jisung continuously. "You want to-? Why?"

"Because," he says carefully, reaching for Chan's hands to take them in his. "I love you. I do want to go home but I don't want to leave you. I want to come back to you. I want to spend time with you. I want you to know you're not alone, that you have me."

Chan's face goes through several different emotions before his gaze switches over to Jisung again. "And you…?" He asks, concerned. Jisung grins under the attention.

"I'm cool with it if you are," Jisung says with a little shrug. "He's still mine but I guess I don't mind sharing with you. You helped him feel better when I was gone, I appreciate that. I've never been a big fan of getting in the way of love, anyway. Call me a romantic."

Jisung flashes Chan a cheesy grin. Changbin rolls his eyes at it, but when Chan looks back at him his expression softens again.

"Besides," Jisung says then. "I'll always be a dying man. It'll be easier knowing there is someone for Changbin to depend on when I'm gone."

Chan's expression clouds over a little as he looks back at Jisung. "That's- You can come back as many times as you want and I'd do the same thing I did now. You could live forever if you wanted to - for as long as I'm alive at least. Bin's love is… It's priceless. It's everything. I would give him-" Chan pauses, looks right at him again. "I would give you everything, Bin. Everything I can give you. A hundred lifetimes with him, a thousand turnings, whatever you want."

He stands completely frozen for a long moment, taking all that in, trying his best to process it.

"Okay," he says softly then, squeezing Chan's hands. "Okay. Thank you. That means a lot, Chan, but I…" He briefly glances over at Jisung again, who merely smiles and nods, and that gives him the last push necessary as he looks back at Chan. "But I want us to have a binding ceremony. I don't want you to be alone. I want you to know that you can contact me if you need me and I will find you."

He squeezes Chan's hands and keeps holding them, as if to show the man like this how much he means it. "I might have to bring the loud and obnoxious attachment along, but I'll always come to you," he adds then. Jisung lets out an outraged sound but it gets Chan to crack a smile, and then the man seems to finally accept the fact that he's being serious.

"Thank you," Chan says softly. "That… This… This means more than I can properly tell you. I-" Chan shakes his head, the hands holding his tighter, pulling him in. "I love you too, Changbin. I've- You-" He shakes his head again. "Thank you."

Their foreheads come to rest together and he closes his eyes. Then, as Jisung places a hand gently on his lower back, he finally feels the feeling of impending doom slowly let go of him.

There are no deserts on Polaris, but Jisung insisted that the roughly ten turnings spent living side by side on the planet would make do as the test of their bond. In honour of Polaris Tempus' customs, Chan opened a pocket of time for them to stand in, Jisung as their sole witness.

The ceremony is brief, much less grand as the one between Jisung and him had been, but it feels befitting. Jisung binds their wrists together. Changbin’s right to Chan's left and the other way around, their arms crossed between them. As they stand looking at each other, Jisung paints their hands with the white sand from near the Polaris lake, Changbin unable to ever completely forsake his Kadrant roots.

Chan pulls him in then, moves in a way he can't explain except that Chan is Polar and the first time they met, he'd changed his entire appearance in front of Changbin's eyes, and then suddenly he finds himself in Chan's embrace, pressed against the man's chest. Almost absentmindedly, Changbin reaches out a single hand for Jisung to take, needing him to be a part of this.

"Starlight," he says softly once his lover is at his side, their fingers interlaced even while he's still standing flush against Chan, looking up into the man's eyes only. "That which lights up the darkest nights, bringing comfort to the lost souls. That which sparkles vibrantly among the dull black, guiding the way. That which brings familiarity, reassurance and peace."

Jisung squeezes his hand briefly but says nothing. Chan's arms tighten their hold around him. For a moment there is silence, but then Chan speaks up as well.

"Love." There is a weight of meaning to the word when Chan says it that he can only hope to ever understand fully. "That which warms the coldest mornings and softens the harshest times. That which connects people throughout space and time. That which brings comfort, hope and life."

They don't bother with waiting for Jisung to speak the ceremonial words, Chan crossing the remainder of the distance to kiss him.

"Changbin," Chan calls a little later, when they're all sitting down at the edge of the lake, Jisung leaning against him while he leans against Chan. "Love."

He opens his eyes and smiles. "Yes, starlight?"

"What you've given me I can't properly put into words," Chan tells him solemnly. "It is everything and more. Because of you I can live. Because of you I can leave. If you'll have me." Chan stares into his eyes so intently it's almost too much, except he feels too comfortable for it to be bad. "If you'll have me I'll go with you."

He frowns in confusion, shaking his head. "What about- What about Polaris? You said without you it'd disappear. You'd have no home."

"I said without a Polar in its atmosphere, Polaris would disappear."

"But you are the last Polar."

"I was the last Polar. Without love we cannot repopulate. Without love we have no reason to leave and without reason to leave there is no reason for there to be more of us. But you… Oh, you. You've given me reason."

Chan just smiles, face so full of adoration that it's almost impossible to take it all in. There's a brief squeeze of his hand then, and he looks over just in time to see someone approaching. It's Jisung at first, much like Chan had been Changbin in those first moments at the very beginning, and then slowly it shifts until what stands before them looks like a fullblood Viceran.

"Hello," the man says, smiling at them easily. "Congratulations on your binding, my friend. We've prepared the lakehouse for you."

"Lakehouse?" Changbin echoes, confused. "There is no lakehouse. Wait- Weren't we in a time pocket?"

"There is now," the man contradicts, while Chan's lips briefly brush the apple of his cheek.

"Every Polar on Polaris Tempus controls its time," he is told softly by his lover. "It is not solely mine anymore now." There's a smile then, breathed out against his neck, one that he can't help but echo, because he can feel how relaxed Chan is, how happy. "I can leave," his lover repeats, and it sounds so much like relief that he automatically turns so he can pull Chan into a hug. Not a moment later, Jisung's arms wrap around the both of them.

"Cool. Let's leave tomorrow," his lover says brightly, running fingers through his hair and then settling a hand on Chan's shoulder as well. "I can't wait to rub it in our friend's faces how you bagged one of the hottest men the universe had to offer."

Chan cracks first, but Changbin is laughing along soon after, and Jisung grins at them proudly for his stellar joke.

"We can come back whenever," Chan says after a while. "But we should come back at least once every ten turnings. So I can keep Jisung healthy."

"How long do you live anyway?" Jisung instantly picks in. "How long can we keep doing this?"

"As long as there is Polaris, a Polar will live. We can keep doing this forever, if you'd want, or until you're tired of it."

Jisung's grin is bright, Changbin feels himself mirroring it with a smile. His hand automatically moves to run up and down Chan's back.

"Forever sounds nice," he admits to both his lovers. There's a lot of places forever can take them, after all, and he can't wait to see them all.