“Um...” Kyle finally spoke up after another moment of them watching that particularly intimate greeting between their great protector and their elusive ghost.

Upon hearing Kyle’s interruption, Will’s only response was to step back from the kiss ever so slightly and smile down at Ian, “I missed you...missed being with you” he clarified.

Ian awkwardly cleared his throat, his tension obvious as he tried not to make eye contact with any of his other companions just then, “yes it was a good fishing trip. Nice to see you again too” he managed as he took another step back, despite the way Will was letting his fingertips gently trail over Ian’s arms just then.

“I meant after...when we...”

“Hey, uh yeah” Ian quickly interrupted, “I’m pretty sure Kyle needed to talk to you” he stated as he broke off their closeness and headed back inside, ignoring the slightly perplexed way Will cocked his head at Ian’s quick departure.

“Ok then” Kyle stated with his own awkwardness as Jared quickly forced his eyes away and back to his plants, not sure what to say right then himself. However, Lili’s response was a bit more obvious, as she let out an unreadable sigh of her own before just as quickly heading into the shack behind Ian.

“You needed to talk?” Will stated as he turned back to Kyle, a slight trace of disappointment in his voice as he did.

“Um yeah” Kyle returned, not able to help another shake of his long brown curls before moving onward through that more than uncomfortable scene, “I actually was going to go out to the pod today; our pod” he clarified, “I’ve been attempting to contact our ship again if I even can, and find out where it is, if not here” he began.

“Pod?” Will returned as he moved to look down at the small computer that Kyle almost always had on him.

“Yeah, it’s what we call the smaller ship we arrived in. It’s a lot like your parents had, but newer. It’s here” he pointed to a spot on the computerized map he had since called up on the screen.

“Yes, been there” Will agreed, barely even looking down at the spot on the small screen that Kyle indicated, “want to go now?” he asked as he looked back at Kyle, awaiting a response.

“Well I mean, I guess we could. But it’s like half a day’s...” though before Kyle could finish that sentence, Will’s hand closed over his arm and the two disappeared, the way Will tended to do more often than not.

When Lili entered the shack, her eyes first went to Hope’s crib, where Ian was found most days. However, he wasn’t there with their daughter this time. Instead, he had hidden himself away behind the partial walls that separated his sleeping quarters from the main room of their home.

With a sigh, she pushed past the draped cloth doorway to his quarters to find him sitting somberly upon his bedding, staring at some random spot atop his covers, and displaying what almost looked like the anxiety that was usually the forte of everyone else in their group, rather than Ian.

“Of course it’d be you” Ian stated, more to himself as she stepped through the doorway.

Lili just shook her head and took a step inside as the draped cloth fell shut behind her, “I thought you’d changed” was her quiet greeting.

Ian couldn’t help scoffing, though he still could not bring those beautiful eyes back up to hers, “Changed how exactly, Lili? Like I’m straight now? Or like I’d only ever be with one person ever for the rest of my life? Even though....” he just shook his head rather than finishing that sentence.

“That’s not what I meant” she attempted in the same quiet tone as she took another step closer to his bedding.

Almost seeming not to hear her last statement, Ian continued, “because honestly, Lili, I wouldn’t think you’d be preaching monogamy, all things considered” he couldn’t help adding.

Lili swallowed hard at that particular comment before replying, “that’s not how I meant” she repeated once more.

That was when Ian barely lifted his eyes to hers, looking at her skeptically, “then how exactly did you think I changed?”

Lili took a breath, trying to find the words, “I meant, I thought the way you treated others changed. I thought the way you treated your lovers had changed” she clarified.

That statement caused Ian to scoff more loudly as he sat up straighter then, “and you say this isn’t about monogamy?” he asked smartly.

Lili just shook her head, “no, it’s not” she repeated.

“Then what the hell do you even mean?” he had to ask.

“I mean, the way you just wrote him off, acted like nothing even happened. I didn’t think that was you anymore” Lili stated after a long moment and another step closer to him.

Ian was more than a bit thrown by that particular answer as he took another moment to reply, “excuse me?”

Lili swallowed again, moving to take a seat at the foot of his makeshift bed before she found any more words to try and further explain her disappointment. “Whatever happened between you and him,” a slight breath, “it obviously meant something to him. And you acted like it never even happened at all” she told him with a trace of accusation in her voice. “Do you know how much that would hurt? Especially if it was his first time being with anyone, which I can only assume it was, considering.”

Ian just looked over at her with disbelief, never having expected that to be the reason for her obvious disappointment in him. It took him another long moment to find his own response then before he spoke up again, “I didn’t want to advertise what happened because...” he took a breath as he allowed a glance her way where she was obviously awaiting the rest of the sentence, “because of you being there right then. I just thought...” he just shook his head again, eyes cast down once more.

“Thought that I’d be pissed off at you for fucking someone else?” Lili offered with an almost scolding look.

Ian let out another slight scoff, “well, yeah.”

“So you did fuck him” Lili stated, almost to herself, before quickly looking back up at Ian, “you really think I’m that big of a hypocrite?” she had to ask.

Ian was caught a moment as he awkwardly looked away before responding, “no but you are a girl” Ian replied only to see her brief scowl and quickly adding, “and you have been...pretty easily upset lately” he decided on.

Lili just sighed at the second of his reasons at least being accurate. She then took another breath before replying, “actually, I think I’m almost relieved.”

“Pardon?” Ian returned, looking back at her with more than a bit of surprise at that comment.

“I’ve been freaking out ever since the baby. And at least half of those freak-outs are about when the three of you might expect sex from me again” she admitted quietly.

Ian shook his head at that, “I’m pretty sure none of us are expecting to get laid only three weeks after you had to have a baby cut out of you and nearly died anyway” he assured.

“Really?” she asked as she looked back at him with a raised brow.

Ian was caught as he looked down with a small smile before correcting his last comment, “none of us are expecting to get laid by you” he edited the claim. Lili almost smiled too then, almost. After allowing himself a moment to enjoy seeing that smile again, tiny though it was, Ian spoke once more, “so, should I go attempt to make you even happier by trying my hand at seducing Kyle and Jared too? Three birds, one cock” he teased.

Lili almost laughed then, but couldn’t quite let the sound out as she looked back up at him, the smile actually managing to live on her lips a second longer that time, “that I’d like to see.”

“I’m sure it could be arranged, if I tried, really hard” Ian teased further.

“Honestly, what you could do for me is try to make it better with ghost...Will” she corrected. “He did save me, and her” she glanced toward the doorway, “I don’t think breaking his heart would be a very good way of thanking him.”

Ian nodded softly as he got up from the bed and reached out a hand to help her to her feet as well. He then gave her a slight squeeze and a kiss on the top of her head before looking back down at her face, “you have a point, but FYI, I did kinda already thank him...thoroughly” he teased once more as he placed another kiss on her forehead and headed back out of his quarters with a smile of his own then.

Once Ian stepped back out into the morning sun, he glanced around, noting that Jared seemed to be the only one in sight then.

“Where’d they go?”

“They?” Jared asked as he looked up, letting his eyes travel over Ian again, many things unspoken after the previous encounter that day.

“Will and Kyle” Ian stated matter-of-factly.

“Will whisked him away to the pod” Jared answered with a shrug. He then couldn’t help adding, “why? Did you wanna go ‘fishing’ with him again?”

Ian just allowed a brief glare back at Jared, then added his own smart comment, “Jealous?” Of course, Jared only rolled his eyes in response as he turned his attention back to his plants once more.

Kyle spent most of that day out at the pod attempting to question Will about his powers in the hopes of better understanding or even unlocking some of his own. It started out a bit rough, considering Will’s limited comprehension of most of the language, but it got much easier when Kyle attempted to telepathically communicate with him instead of simply using words, as thoughts truly had no language. That was a lesson Kyle learned on the day Lili brought the goats home with her.

It was nearly evening when Ian reached the pod; traveling by foot was obviously much slower than Will’s preferred method of travel, after all. As he stepped out of the trees and into their sight, Kyle and Will were sitting quietly talking on the steps that led up to the pod. Will immediately smiled up at Ian in greeting. Though, this time, he didn’t rush over to embrace the older man as he was still a bit confused by the way Ian had behaved when he had seen him earlier that day.

“What? No kiss this time?” Ian asked as he stepped closer, dropping the bag of supplies he had brought with him on the long walk.

Will’s smile widened then as he took the cue to stand and move over to Ian, where he easily covered his mouth in a warm kiss once more. Though, much to his relief, Ian actually seemed to return the kiss this time, and even moved his hands up over the younger man’s back to pull him closer as they continued that kiss.

“Ok then” Kyle repeated a moment later.

Ian did break off the kiss then, but still held the younger man close to him, “we really gotta talk about that repression, Kyle” he teased, though his eyes remained on Will rather than Kyle for the moment.

Kyle just shook his head as he also stood, moving slowly toward where the two men continued standing close together, their arms wrapped lightly around each others’ waist still.

“Actually we have something else to talk about” Kyle awkwardly interjected.

“What now?” Ian sighed, finally moving back from Will as he glanced back toward Kyle at last.

“That” Kyle responded as he gestured toward that very distant dark spot in the sky far above them.

“And, what is that?” Ian asked as his eyes moved to the spot Kyle had indicated.

“That’s the twin planet. It’s close enough you can actually see it, just barely, but still, that’s really close” he stressed.

“The what now?” Ian asked as he squinted at the spot for another moment.

“The second planet. Remember there were two. Both capable of supporting life, according to our tests. We just chose this one simply because it was closer” Kyle explained, with a trace of that condescension that made him so popular back on the ship.

“Ok...and why do we care?” Ian asked as he looked back at him, “not like we could get there, even if anything is there.”

“The ship most likely crashed there” Kyle told him pointedly.

“Ok, great, see last comment” Ian returned.

Kyle just scoffed as he gestured to Will, “the pod may not be the only way to get there now, though!”