Beth searched for Mark.

  Tried to coincidentally bump into him at the cafeteria, in the hallway outside his office, and even near the restrooms.

  But despite all the planning and effort, he had become strangely elusive.

  When she interrogated the crew, they all shrugged. Either some only knew about the last lab reports Mark had authored (and his slow response time to their kind edits). The other, more socially aware colleagues all agreed with her assessment.

  He wasn’t seeing someone else.

  After days of frustration, she finally burst to Cal. “Damn it. Now that I have finally figured out that I like him and am geared up to ask him out, the man is nowhere to be found! He’s not dating anyone, he's not dying, he's not-”

  The little dragon kept scratching his back against the corner of a metal box. A pale, spidery mass pushed up against the pale skin, now picked free of scales. : I’ve been able to find him easily enough. Must be a you problem:

  She fell back into bed. “I don't know. We dated in high school, then broke up. But he’s the one who wanted to stay together then. And we met again here, he was so friendly. Things felt good. I thought we were getting along well enough that we could…”

  Cal shifted to his other side. : What? That you would resume your relationship where it had left off?:

  Beth fell silent.

  She had been the one to break things off. He had never brought it up. But, neither had she.

  Was that the problem? Was he waiting for some grand gesture of romance? Or an acknowledgment of the past? She had never given a single apology. Just a ton of rationalization that brooked no arguments. Perhaps he had wanted to talk about the situation more then, and ignoring it now might have affected his perception of her. What would have happened if they hadn't broken up?

  They could've gone to the same university.

  The same space tests.

  What had he been about to say in that gym when they broke up?

  And now, their relationship wasn't even centered around the two of them. It was all about Cal. Mark had made this clear through his avoidance. Without the random Martian egg studies, they had no reason to be together.

  And why should it?

  Why would he see a reason to continue a relationship that she had made clear she was willing to end and pick up without warning?

  Beth stared at the wall, rubbing at her wet eyes.

  She should just stop chasing.

  It would be easier on both of them.

  Beth took a deep breath, then released it as she stood.

  But that was the coward's way out. That was her making the decision on their relationship again.

  She wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

  …

  Markus stood outside as the tremulous blue sky was taken over by the lurid oranges and pinks that now regularly graced each sunset since a stable atmosphere had been introduced.

  Beth firmed her resolve and stepped up beside him.

  It had taken almost an hour to find him, which was unusual for a habitat where everyone knew everyone at least on sight. But she had been persistent and willing to cash in a few favors.

  She cleared her throat, coughed, then tried again. “Mark, I’ve come to really enjoy our time together and want to be more than just colleagues.”

  He didn’t turn or say anything.

  Beth took a deep breath and rushed out her next words, “Look, I’m sorry. I was a young and stupid teenager who thought that having a boyfriend would make things easier with my parents and society at large. I told myself that I didn’t want or need to fit in. But everyone was dating. And then I didn’t care enough about the relationship to continue it when I found a dream to chase that didn’t have room for any relationship.” She clenched her fists. “That I thought wouldn’t have any room. But I had a dream to pursue that made me too busy for anyone else, and I was right. And wrong. Maybe if I had let you have a say, it could have worked.” Her voice softened as she stared at his back, “Can’t we be friends again?”

  Mark continued to look forward and said softly, “I first had a crush on you in middle grade. You gave out tiny ammonites for Valentine's Day. You never cared that people thought that you were weird. Then later, you said yes when I asked you to be my girlfriend; it was amazing.” He leaned over the railing. “Then you broke it off without letting me respond and seemed to forget I ever existed." He turned just enough to look at her. "You didn’t even know who I was when we met here. Didn’t want to spend time with me, then suddenly changed your mind when we were forced together.'" He turned back to the sky. "I’ve dated other girls, you know. It didn’t work out. I’m not friends with exes.” He glanced down at her significantly. “I don’t want to be a good comfort friend. The one you pick up when you need it, then discard on a whim when you want to chase the next horizon.”

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  She winced internally at the accusation. Her secret dreams of new planets and rocks being thrown back at her. She fingered the ammonite hanging from her neck. “You were my last friend, and somehow, my first friend in over six years. And now, I can’t imagine a future without you. What's the point of finding a cool rock if you can’t share it?”

  “Meaning?”

  She blushed furiously, “I want– I mean, do you want to date again?”

  He drew closer, “Does this dating have any long-term goals in your future plan?”

  She exhaled tremulously and looked up at him. “Maybe, if things work out, marriage?”

  He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “Then I accept. In high school, I didn't know much, but I knew I couldn’t compete with your love of rocks. Things are different now. Now that my prefrontal cortex is mostly done cooking, maybe I have a chance?”

  A giddy laugh escaped her as anxiety flew out. “That, and your rock hard muscles.”

  …

  Mary-Beth grinned as the couple exited the observation deck. “Pay up, sonny boy. Not only are they leaving together, but they're holding hands.”

  Captain Archer sighed as he handed over fifty full MCs. Mars coins were stupid play money anyway.

  ...

  Several months passed, and with her growing relationship with Mark, Beth decided to bite the bullet on another relationship. When she got married, she wanted her parents involved.

  She opened her personal email and searched for the last message her parents had sent. Dated over a week ago. They used to come daily, but it had to get tiring to send messages with no response for that long. Beth hovered over the open button before Calamity interrupted her.

  : Hey, I’ll be gone again:

  She swiveled in her chair to face the increasingly absent creature.

  “Where are you off to? When will you be back? You sure it’s safe? Those bulges on your back look painful…”

  : Here and there. The usual. I’ll be fine:

  The dragon faded from existence before she could get clarifications.

  Beth sighed.

  While she was worried for the little Martian, it was old enough to take care of itself. She didn’t know what he was searching for, but the time he was gone had increased exponentially. Though he always checked in every day or so.

  So, everything should be fine?

  Her new relationship didn't seem to be helping matters in any case.

  Beth shook her head and pressed the button.

  Her father appeared dragged down by the weight of years, white hair trimmed short to keep out of his face. “Hi, honey. Read your new joint paper with that boy you dated in high school. Crazy coincidence, huh?” he laughed with too much air, and when he finished, he seemed deflated.

  Like there was nothing left.

  “Your mother hasn’t gotten better. We finally made the decision to put her in a hospital for care. Just until she can get around better.” He didn’t sound convinced of that statement. Beth didn’t bother listening to the closing remarks and went back to the first video to understand what had happened.

  Cancer.

  Despite all the leaps in technology, disease prevention, and mitigation, cancer was one thing they hadn’t figured out yet.

  And she was going through a particularly rough chemo treatment that he couldn't nurse her through.

  Beth rubbed her face.

  If only she hadn't been avoiding these things, she could have been on Earth for her mother and father all this time. It wasn't uncommon for some Mars inhabitants to leave occasionally. Or maybe if Cal got better at teleporting, he could drag her along, too. But as of now, both were impossible. Even if Beth left now, all of the critical treatments would be done by the time she got there. Mars and Earth were on an orbital path that took them further apart each day. It would be a nine-month trip. Her mother might even die during transit.

  But even if Cal could transport her, she wouldn't be able to bring her fiancé.

  Beth stood at the thought of him.

  They were partners in research, and would soon be partners in marriage. This was not a problem for her alone. He wouldn’t thank her for shielding him from her worries.

  Beth grabbed her identification badges and left her lab to find Mark.

  …

  Calamity had been fairly thorough.

  Since his own egg had been found in ice, he had searched the other planets with ice for an egg like his. Pluto had held the shards of one, but no one was there. The other dwarfs were a bust, as well as the other planets and big rocks he visited on his way closer to the sun. Now he teleported around the North Pole. Hopelessly poking through the drifts of snow and licking glaciers. Third best tasting glacier in the solar system.

  Many penguins waddled around him with no self preservation instinct.

  But he wasn’t hungry anyway.

  This was the last ice on Earth he hadn’t checked.

  The last in this solar system.

  After this, he would need to travel further into the Milky Way. Into that dark space in between stars where abandoned planets floated in utter darkness. He had tasted it. Gazed into the endless void specked with a million glitter bright worlds.

  A lot of nothing to search through just to find-

  His ears perked up.

  Cal bounded down the slope and found a crevice in the ice that plunged into dark waters. Without hesitation, he leapt in and felt the chilled darkness that always accompanied him in space. It soothed the hot itch that tingled his back at all hours. A seal swam up to him for a bite, but Cal got one first. It didn’t stay long, and didn’t taste good. But that didn’t matter.

  Kin called to kin.

  His search was over.

  Calamity bared his claws and set about freeing his lost sibling from the ice.