Notes: Aaand we're back! It's been a minute (or two) but I hope you enjoy this Isidore POV as we start to settle into the plot of The Beyond :)

Title: The Beyond: Chapter Four

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ChapterFour

Photo by Rafael Oliveira

Isidore couldn’t help but breathe a silentsigh of relief when they finally docked at Cloverleaf Station. “Welcome aboard,”the station master, Elia Accambray, relayed through the radio as their airlockrepressurized. “We’ve got your usual rooms set aside, and payment has alreadybeen made for your stay.”

Isidore frowned and waited for Wyl to saysomething about that, because prepayment wasn’t the standard for their stays atCloverleaf, not when they made most of their money from bartering for goods on thestation, but Wyl and Robbie were still wrapped around each other in the cockpit.He glanced at Kyle for a second, but Kyle was looking almost as out of it asRobbie, so after another moment Isidore took over. “That’s good to hear, if alittle surprising. Would you mind forwarding the transaction log over, Elia?”

“Not a problem,” Elia replied easily. “Ifigured you’d want to doublecheck that it was permissible, but it came from averified Alliance account with no red flags. I don’t recognize the name on theaccount, but you probably will.”

A second later the information came throughthe ship and registered in Isidore’s implant, which was still connected to theship’s control systems. They kept their connections open while they were in theBeyond as a safety measure, and it took Isidore a moment to realize he could turnhis receptivity down now. He did so, and was briefly startled by the silence inhis own mind.

Kyle jolted and looked over at him with asurprised, almost hurt expression.

“Oh, I didn’t—”

“No, it’s okay,” Kyle said, but he put afoot of space between them anyway. “I just keep forgetting that you’re leavingafter this.” He put on his Alexander smile. “Now’s as good a time as any to getused to it.”

Isidore wanted to reach out and pull himback in, to make it clear that there were no hard feelings on his side, but thedata from the station was blinking in his visual implant, waiting forattention. He opened it and verified the balance on their account, then immediatelychecked the payer information. The numbers were gibberish as far as he wasconcerned, but the name—Gerald Caradog—clarified the situation.

“Garrett footed the bill for our stay thistime,” Isidore said.

Kyle blinked. “Why would he do that?”

Isidore smiled. “Probably his version of a ‘welcomeback to civilization’ gift. This way we can keep more of what we earn from ourfinds, which will help a lot once I’m—” He stopped right before he put his footin his mouth, but Kyle caught it anyway.

“Once you’re gone.”

“Yeah.” Isidore wasn’t sure why he felt soawkward; he’d been living with Kyle for the past three years, as close as twopeople could be without living in each other’s skin, and even then they’dfucked around more than enough to qualify them as very good friends. “You knowthis isn’t the last time we’re going to see each other,” Isidore said as theship continued its power-down protocols. “I’ll be on my way to pick you up thesecond I hear that you’re clear.”

Kyle looked pensive. “You could be waiting avery long time.”

“I don’t think so.” Garrett was working ontheir behalf, after all, and it might be naïve thinking, but Isidore was prettysure that Garrett could do just about anything he set his mind to. “But even ifit takes fifty years, I’ll come for you.”

The younger man finally cracked a smile. “Yousuck at being comforting, Iz.”

“Do I?”

“Yeah.” He bumped his shoulder. “But that’sokay, you make up for it in other ways.” The airlock was almost clear. “I’llmiss you.” Kyle sounded a little wistful.

“I’ll miss you too,” Isidore said. “But I’m goingto be here for a few days. This isn’t goodbye yet.”

“I know.” Kyle’s eyes went vague in a waythat meant he was checking his implant, and Isidore was momentarily startled torealize he couldn’t feel the movement of the other man’s mind at all. He wasoutside of their little bubble now, four members of the team becoming three,and he hadn’t realized he’d miss it until it was too late to get back in. “ButI’ve got some stuff to handle and I’m not sure how long it will take, so don’twait around for me if I’m a little scarce, okay?”

“What kind of stuff?” Isidore thought heknew all of Kyle’s stuff.

Kyle just smiled, and then the door was openand he was out the airlock and down the ramp before Isidore could say anything elseto him. He even had his pack on his shoulder—when had he had time to pick thatup? Isidore wanted to go after him, but he still had his own bags to grab outof his tiny room, not to mention he needed to debrief with Wyl and Robbie ifthey were ready. Which…so far, not looking good.

Isidore sighed and walked back down the hallto the little bunk that he’d laid claim to three long years ago. It was theclosest to the mess, which suited him fine since he liked to get up for waterat night, but also the smallest of the bunks and the only one that required youto bend down to get into it. He wasn’t going to miss that, but as he lookedaround the space—barely enough floor for two people standing side by side, abunk that lifted up into the ceiling but was only wide enough for one personcomfortably, the myriad drawers that sometimes turned into a puzzle if youopened too many of them at once—and he felt a pang go through him.

This was the closest he’d come to havingfamily in a very long time. Even on Paradise, back before he’d been drawn into Garrett’sweb of high-level espionage, Isidore had been alone for years after his parentswere killed in a terrorist attack. Being imprisoned—either time—hadn’t beenfun, but he’d appreciated being a part of something bigger than himself. He’d appreciatedgetting the chance to do something important, something that would hopefullymake the universe a better place in the long run.

And now that part of his life was over. Hewas going to Solaydor, where Pence was already set up and where he had a homeand a job waiting for him to step into, and Isidore hated to admit it, but hewas ready for the change. Three years in a tiny spaceship doing thingsthat terrified him on the regular was long enough. He knew he was lucky to begetting this break, but he also thought he deserved it.

That didn’t mean he liked watching Kyle runaway from him like he was on fire.

Isidore picked up his two bags and walkedback into the mess, where he found Wyl waiting for him. “Where’s Robbie?”

“He’s getting a little rest before we headin,” Wyl said, and his blasé attitude was almost believable if not for thetight skin around his eyes. “The approach tired him out more than usual thistime.”

“That’s not surprising.” That was crazy,Isidore wanted to say, but Wyl didn’t like hearing words like “crazy” and “unreal”applied to what Robbie could do. Isidore couldn’t blame him. “I’m happy to waitwith you,” he offered instead, and got a small but genuine smile out of Wyl.

“It’s okay, I know you have to be eager tosee Pence again.”

“I am,” he admitted, and it was an easything to admit these days. Pence had gone from just another threat in Redstone tothe most solid, reliable friend that Isidore had, with the potential to be moreif the two of them had let themselves go like that. They hadn’t—it hadn’t feltright, when life in the Beyond was so unstable, and once Pence left the shipIsidore had assumed their chance was shot.

Then Pence had gotten an apartment on theplanet where Isidore was cleared to work, and found a job for himself there,and sent Isidore messages with startling frequency, many of them far moreromantic than he was expecting, and…the chance came back. It was here, rightnow, just outside the door to their ship’s berth, waiting for him.

“Good.” Wyl reached out and clasped hisshoulder. “You deserve to have all the nice things, Iz. Everything you’ve donefor us, everything you’ve been through to do it—I’ll never be able to repayyou. We’ll never be able to repay you.”

“You don’t have to,” Isidore said, a littlesurprised. “I wanted to stay and help you.”

“I’m talking before, Iz.” Wyl shook hishead. “Your connection was to Garrett, not to us. Not to Kyle, and definitelynot to Robbie. I know you could have left a lot sooner, but I’m really gratefulyou stuck around as long as you did. It made our time out there a little lessterrifying.”

“Wyl…” Isidore dropped his bags and pulledhim into a hug and Wyl went easily, almost eagerly, until they were holding eachother so tightly it hurt. Isidore felt a stab of unease go through him as he registeredthat Wyl was shaking ever so slightly, and maybe it was residual adrenalinefrom their passage to Cloverleaf, maybe it was sadness, or maybe it was becausehe was afraid for Robbie and doing his best not to show it.

Robbie and the coffee…that was unusual. Heloved coffee, even when other foods and drinks appealed to him less and less.And being able to manipulate their ship through so many close calls, all thanksto the passenger he bore that he hadn’t even asked for, that had been forced onhim by a psychopath who wanted to turn Robbie into his personal creation… “Icould stay,” he said before he could second-guess himself. “If you need me to.I can stay.”

It felt right to make the offer, but Isidorehad to admit he was relieved when Wyl immediately shook his head. “No, no,” hesaid.  “It’s time for you to go startliving your life, man. You’ve got a lot to look forward to. Don’t put it offany longer.”

“I’ll see you again.” Isidore wanted to makethat clear. “I’ll see all of you again.”

“Yeah, at dinner,” Wyl said easily. “I’vealready reserved one of the big rooms off the main mess hall for us tonight, sobe there. Drag Pence along too, I special ordered the booze he likes.”

Isidore made a face. “That stuff is foul.”

“I know, I think Redstone permanently fuckedup his taste buds,” Wyl agreed. “But I mean it. We’re not done yet, and even ifwe don’t see you in person for a while, I expect regular messages.”

“You’ll get them,” Isidore promised. Hefinally let go of Wyl and glanced down the hall at their closed door. “Want meto wait with you?”

Wyl waved him off. “Nah, Robbie might be a while.Go ahead, go say hi to Pence and we’ll see you at dinner.” He smiled sharply. “I’llmake sure Kyle is there too.”

“Thanks.” Isidore leaned in and kissed Wylon both cheeks, an old Paradisian greeting he hadn’t used in a while, thengrabbed his bags, turned, and headed down the ramp.

The shuttle bay was pretty spacious for alittle craft like theirs, but dark and cold, and the air seemed to fizzslightly in the way that a place that had been exposed to too much radiation sometimescould. Isidore knew that the radiation levels on Cloverleaf were strictlyaccounted for, but it still made him uneasy to be so close to the exterior ofthe station. He walked quickly to the exit, let the doors sense his presenceand open, and then—

Light, yellow and warm. Heat, and with it thescent of food and people and air that he hadn’t been recycling for months onend. And in the center of the hallway in front of him, arms crossed insouciantlybut face smiling a broad welcome, was Pence, familiar despite the loss of hismoustache and the new, vibrant blue suit he was wearing.

Isidore dropped his bags without realizingit and rushed over to the other man just in time for him to unfold his armswith a laugh and catch Isidore in them. He was subjected to a second crushinghug in as many minutes, but this one left him warm and happy, and the fizzseemed to be bubbling up inside of him now, overflowing into laughter as theyembraced, rocking from side to side.

“There you are,” Pence murmured. “At last.”

Isidore pressed suddenly wet eyes against hislover’s shoulder and sighed a tremendous sigh of relief.

“Here I am.”