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All Taehyung has ever known was bright, neverending night skies and the feeling of longing for more.
Born and raised on Quana, the farthest planet from the Red Sun, Taehyung could never know financial stability, and therefore he could never know emotional stability, as well. Always having to strive for your basic needs takes its toll on you.
“Move the fuck on, asshole!” Someone shouts at him, and then he’s shoved to the side of the corridor by a few pairs of hands. It's, more often than not, it’s kind of dangerous to be an airhead. He falls square on his ass, watching the crowd pass by him.
After the flow of people boarding the ship thins out a bit, Taehyung stands up to blend in with the crowd. The room after the corridor is luckily larger, with enough space between the merchant booths to prevent theft as much as possible.
The Black Market ship is an extremely well maintained one. With it flying through the richest planets in the solar constellation, it has to be, even if it doesn't exactly blend in with planets like Taehyung’s. Not like it matters, since the local leadership itself partakes in the illegal trading.
The crowd is strangely ordinary. Sure, there are the obvious intimidating large men walking around the weapons and armor stalls, but there are also regular looking people buying electronics, food and even furniture for their homes. Children’s toys and rare drugs are sold side by side. You could say that resources are pretty scarce around here.
Taehyung goes straight to his regular mechanics dealer, Ash. He has a few customers looking through the tools and upgrades on display, but he smiles when he recognizes Taehyung.
“Hey, Taehyung. How're you holding up?” He asks, a smile adorning his unproportionally small features.
Taehyung shrugs, smiling back. “Alright, I guess. In need for some of the Good Stuff.”
This is the exact same dialogue they've been having since the day he has first started buying here.
“You know I gotcha,” Ash winks and dives beneath the table and pulls out a medium sized plastic box which he gives to Taehyung, who slips a decent amount of credits into his hand. “Have a good one!”
He walks away with the box under his left arm, waving goodbye to Ash.
His next station is a tough one to come by. Not only is it small and in the back of the ship, it’s also not always present. Taehyung mentally crosses his fingers while walking there, since he hasn't encountered this stall in six months already.
He almost bursts in tears once he sees that the merchant is there, holding himself back from jumping at her with kisses and hugs.
“Mitchell!” He still squeals, instantly examining the goods she has.
She laughs. “You yell like you're happy to see me but you just want me for my sick merch.”
“No way, you're the coolest person in the universe.”
Mitchell is an art merchant. While art is hard to come by, it's also not that popular, so her hard work is very low paying. Taehyung hasn't been in a house decorated by paintings and statues, making all the ones he’d visited before all lifeless and boring. Except for his own, naturally.
Her small table is filled with rolled up paintings, smaller hand drawn pictures and even a few painting materials. The art isn't original, of course, but Mitchell has once told him that even printers are hard to come by.
Taehyung grabs a pair of bristol posters, pays the merchant and walks out of the ship and into the cold of his home planet.
He tightens his heavy coat around his shoulders and gets into the same boat he came here in, placing his purchases on its floor and waiting for it to start up.
Everything here glows. The sky is always bright because the planet is surrounded with endless reflective frozen crystals, which shed their light down into the sea. A soft, blue glow surrounds the few islands on the planet, making artificial light almost irrelevant with how much the planet illuminates itself. The boats in the ocean are dark, dirty spots on the pristine clear surface of the water.
Taehyung arrives at his island, a small, secluded area which is a house only for him and his best friend. Across from it there's another one, but it's made mostly of ice, making it unsuitable to live in and useless. He can see Jeongguk’s eyes looking at him through the single window in their house. He gets out when Taehyung jumps out of the boat.
“Got your fix, Gukkie. Your sorry metal limbs won't be creaking anymore.”
“Shut up, I haven't gotten to the point of creaking,” Jeongguk says, even though they both know it's a lie. He takes the plastic box from Taehyung and they walk into the house.
As soon as they get in, Taehyung starts sweating his ass off. They've attached a few heaters to the walls of the metal cabin, making it forever too warm, like their own little oven to bake in.
When Jeongguk gets in, he starts oiling and polishing his metal arm. Everything is cheap around here, the metal visibly rusty, and the furnitures barely holding themselves together, but Jeongguk’s arm and legs are the opposite. They're matte black, flexible and function of real limbs, unlike his old, worn out winter gear.
Taehyung sets his own stuff on the low coffee table and goes to make some food for the both of them. Their meals always consist of boiled fish. There's nothing else to eat on the planet, and they don't mind enough to buy special seasoning or rare foods that come in once in a while in the black market or through other questionable sources.
“You're back at it with the art stuff? Taehyung, you know that's-” Jeongguk says as soon as he's finished taking care of himself and taking notice of the items Taehyung has dropped in. This is not a new topic for them.
“What's the problem? It's not hurting anyone.”
“You know it might. It might hurt us. Might hurt you.”
“Let me have this one thing. Don't I deserve to be happy? Don't we? Art is-”
“But what if it comes at the cost of our power generator getting shut down? Of our boat having no fuel? What then? ”
“It’s never happened up ‘till now, did it? For seven years, nothing happened.”
“What if one day, something happens? What will you do?”
Taehyung doesn't say anything for a moment. He thinks of how easier everything would have been if they didn't have to argue about all this in the first place. Thinks of how good they'd have it anywhere else.
“My first priority is always you, Jeonggukie, so don't worry about that. Nothing will hurt you.”
+++
When night comes and Jeongguk is safely tucked into their shared twin sized mattress, Taehyung walks out of the cabin to sit on the edge of the island and looks up at the night sky. The crystals are clearer in the dark, only a few of them lazily reflecting leftover sunlight, soothingly shining on the sleeping world. Taehyung has heard stories about the Mother Planet, about people going out at night to watch the star constellations, each one with a different meaning, a different story, something unique to aspire to. Now, the stars don't have any meaning at all.
Taehyung watches the white cloud of warmth his breath makes in the air, feels the cold stinging his fingertips, hears the sea colliding with the shore.
He looks up at the sky only to notice it's lighting up with flames.
---
We're fucked, Yoongi thinks, watching the sky going by him in a blur as his ship dives down to the ground.
“We're fucked!” Namjoon, his pilot, screams as he scrambles with the controls.
“ Joey, no--!” They hear a distressed shout and then the telltale vacuum sound of the airlock opening. After a few grunts of struggle, the airlock closes and the only sound is that of the atmosphere rejecting them with all its force, gravity winning the battle for their ship.
“The parachutes are rigged, you stupid motherfucker,” Yoongi mutters to himself, watching four bodies flying down to the sea, struggling with their parachutes. He wishes he could hear the bastard’s cry of distress as he free falls down to his death.
“Get a fucking grip, this is a far end planet. There’s probably a ton of snow around here, crash on some island,” Yoongi says. He’s scared shitless, but as the new captain, he has to show stoicism and brave leadership, or something.
“Right, Cap,” Namjoon says and takes a deep breath. Yoongi sits in his chair and fastens his seatbelt tight, closing his eyes and bracing himself for impact.
+++
The ship still lets out a small amount of smoke and flames into the sky in the morning. Taehyung and Jeongguk stand in front of their house, watching the crashed spacecraft with a cup of steaming hot boiled water in each of their hands.
“I’m gonna get dressed and see what I can salvage off it,” Taehyung says, sipping a large gulp of water before spilling the rest of it on the ground to hear it hissing in the snow.
“Awesome. I’m going to the garage so don’t die.”
“No problem, steelhead.”
Jeongguk shoves Taehyung’s shoulder and then leaves the island on their motor boat. Taehyung himself gears up to travel in the second, less fancy fishing boat they have for cases when the both of them need to go different places. These occasions are fairly rare, thus the gross wood boat.
The island in front of their house is padded entirely with soft snow, no paths to indicate human settlement on it. The crashed spacecraft is emitting a soft kind of warmth.
Taehyung circles the ship to find its entrance. It’s not a large ship, fit for about a ten people crew if the living quarters are tight enough. From up close, Taehyung sees that most of it isn’t burning; only the back is, meaning someone has sabotaged the drive core. He attaches a hacking device to the door’s controls and gets in once they slide open.
Only once he’s inside does he realize just how much fire smoke hurts your throat. He coughs a bit before covering the lower half of his face with his undershirt, going through the corridors tilted ship. It’s mostly unharmed, except for the remains of small fires that scorched the walls quite a bit. Taehyung decides to go straight for the pilot cockpit, navigating through some metal obstacles that fell off during the crash.
He’s not surprised to see bodies in the cockpit, each person sat in their seat with their eyes closed. Nothing you can do about that, really. Taehyung approaches what seems to be a tool box on the floor by one of the bodies, and makes to open it.
“Think again, you thief,” Says a voice coming from above him. Taehyung feels a tight grip around his wrist and he lets out a high whine of surprise, looking up in shock at its owner.
The first thought that crosses is mind is: this man looks like the finest piece of art I've ever seen. His features are soft, with his cheeks squishy like those of an angel and his lips pouty and pink and his nose small and cute but his eyes sharp, blazing with intimidation--
“Oh shit!” Taehyung yells, trying to free his hand from the man's hold. “Sorry! It's just, I live a-around here and saw the crash and--”
“Shut up and listen, you sorry piece of garbage,” The man says, unbuckling his seatbelt and then pulling a gun out of his pant pocket. A gun. Out of his pant pocket. “No one steals from my ship, no matter what your bean of a brain concluded. You give me one good reason not to blow your brains out right here and I… I'll heavily consider what to do with you. Don't think too slow.”
Taehyung’s brain completely empties out at this point. He's never been held at gunpoint, has never met anyone like this person. He feels his hands and lips wobbling with fear, and suddenly the press of his bladder was too much to bear for any longer.
“I- I can he-help you fix your sh-ship, man! I can help you fix your ship!” His voice is strained with anxiety.
The man looks at him as if considering his words for a moment. He then lets go of Taehyung’s arm, making him fall on all fours on the floor, trembling with the aftershock. “What's your name, out-lander?”
“T… It's Taehyung.”
“Why should I believe what you say to me?”
“I've got-- I've got no reason to lie, please. I can show you, I can fix the flight controls.”
“Do it then, Taehyung. With this toolbox.” The man nudges the box to Taehyung using his foot, still with the gun in his hand.
Taehyung slowly gets up and grabs the toolbox, walking to the large spaceship dashboard in the front of the ship. He opens the control panel and gets to work.
---
Taehyung takes quite a lot of time working on the control panel. He does everything without saying a word, just pulls out and reconnects or replaces wires in it. He seems to relax after the first hour, and Yoongi retrieves his gun back to his pocket.
“This took you long enough,” Yoongi says when the other man wipes his forehead and says that he's done.
“Your ship still can't fly though, since the drive core is busted,” Taehyung says and powers the controls to show that they're working.
“That damned Joey…” Yoongi mutters to himself which earns him a confused look from Taehyung. “Can you fix that, as well?”
“I told you I can…”
“Right. Name's Yoongi, by the way. How far do you live from here? I'm damn hungry.”
“Uh, not too far. Food’s disgusting, though.”
“Whatever, I just need to eat. Let's get out of here.”
“What about your other… crew members?”
“They’re either dead or alive, nothing I can do to help ‘em. There's medical supplies around here somewhere, and if you live nearby I'll know if they try to leave.” Yoongi looks out the window to see that they're surrounded by a shining ocean. In the distance, there’s an island with a small cabin right across from his point of view. His eyes hurt from how bright everything is, so he looks back at Taehyung and finds that he's just as hard to look at. He opts to watch Namjoon’s unconscious body.
“Good points,” Taehyung says and picks up the backpack he has earlier discarded.
They leave the ship and Yoongi internally mourns the fact that he's just gotten it and it already looks like this.
“The fuck!” He shouts as the cold hits him face first. He wears only a light jacket and a long shirt, and his boots sink in the snow, which is seeping into his socks. Taehyung seems unaffected with his larger than life coat and the warm hat covering his ears. Once he looks at Yoongi, he decides to have mercy on him and hands him a long wool scarf. After that, they get into a small fishing boat to row their way to the island Yoongi’s seen just a minute earlier.
Taehyung takes off his coat and about three additional clothing layers and that's when Yoongi notices just how lean Taehyung is. His back has this careless confident curve to it, one that Yoongi could only achieve by practicing his stance for hours. His legs are long and perfectly proportioned to his body and man could he use a haircut, but his soft brown locks frame his features perfectly. He looks kind and gentle and sweet and trusting. He looks like everything Yoongi has come to despise.
After Yoongi sits down on the ratty couch, he notices how uncomfortably warm it is in here. “Why is it so damn hot in here?”
“Well, since the house is made of metal, and attaching heaters to the walls are the best way to spread heat evenly, once it gets hot, it gets really hot,” Taehyung explains as he drops a fish in a pot.
Taehyung is so relaxed, pouring salt and some sort of chopped vegetable into the pot. Yoongi could kill him right now. Could rob him and run away. He wouldn't even need his gun, he could just come up behind him and--
“I'm home!” A voice calls, stopping Yoongi’s homicidal train of thought.
Of course Taehyung lives with another person.
“Just in time for dinner!” Taehyung calls back.
“What-- Who the fuck is that?” The man asks, pointing his finger at Yoongi. He seems more like a boy, now that Yoongi sees him. A brat.
“Ah, that’s Yoongi. He's from the ship that crashed yesterday.”
“What the hell, Taehyung.” The boy seems displeased. He takes his coats off, a pout on his lips and a distrusting gaze pointed at Yoongi, when he first notices his arms.
Matte black and no doubt bulletproof, they let out a soft, muted glow under the yellow lighting of the house. They bulge and shift at his biceps like real muscles under skin.
“He just needs help, so I'm helping out, what's wrong with that, Jeongguk?”
“He can be a damn serial killer for all you know! Can be a pirate!” Jeongguk is frowning, stomping around the place as he arranges the table.
“Calm down, alright? We'll talk about it at the table.”
Jeongguk grumbles to himself and plops his ass down on a chair, his gaze unmoving from Yoongi until Taehyung announces that dinner’s ready.
“How can you be so calm?” Jeongguk asks once they're all seated across the table.
Yoongi looks at his serving of boiled fish before starting to devour it, only understanding how hungry he is once the food settles in his stomach.
"Relax, you big baby, he’ll explain.”
Yoongi looks up from his plate and decides that he likes the Jeongguk guy. Both him and Taehyung look at him with expecting looks in their eyes, though Jeongguk’s gaze is a ready to blame kind, and Taehyung’s is an encouraging kind.
“Alright. Me and my crew are part of the Resistance. We were sent to get info on the General Authority but one person decided that he wants to turn us in for some of that sweet cash money.”
Taehyung and Jeongguk carry on looking at him without saying a word.
“What? Do you want to hear my childhood memories as well? I'm the captain of the crew, I need to get back to the operation base, I-”
“Prove it,” Jeongguk says.
“How the fuck…? I don't have any license saying I'm in a damn underworld organization.”
“Show us the data you retrieved, then.”
“That's classified information.”
“Who the hell are you working for, then? Aren't organizations like yours for the people?”
Yoongi groans, but has to agree. He pulls out a small chip out of an inside pocket in his coat. “Connect this to any screen and you'll see the ship count around Mother Planet.”
Taehyung gasps and gets up on his feet. “Are you taking Mother Planet back?”
“Eventually, that's the plan… we gotta scout the area beforehand and--”
“Load it up on your padtool, Taehyung,” That Jeongguk is cold as ice.
Taehyung carefully takes the chip off Yoongi’s hand, like it will break if treated wrong. He grabs a flat device with a screen built in and connects the little plugin. Him and Jeongguk connect the sides of their heads to watch it together, eyes flying from side to side with an immense concentration as information fills the screen.
Jeongguk finally sits back. “Alright, whatever. But you still gotta be careful, Taehyung, he could've been anyone.”
“I wanna come with you,” Taehyung says, his gaze focused on Yoongi.
“What? No way,” Yoongi shoots back immediately. “What use would you be to me?”
“I'm a great mechanic, if you haven't noticed? Also, I'm great with computers and all. And Jeongguk is super strong and can deconstruct and reconstruct a gun in like four seconds-”
“Five, and since when am I joining th-”
“-and would totally follow me wherever I go. We can help each other, Yoongi, come on.”
Yoongi quiets down at that, considering what Taehyung has just said. “We’ll discuss it with whoever was left alive from the crew.”
Taehyung literally jumps with joy. Yoongi cringes. Jeongguk sighs in defeat.
---
They're back in the ship in the morning, with the addition of Jeongguk and Yoongi’s alive crew members.
Those members being cranky pilot Namjoon, nervous assistant pilot Samira and sleepy gunner Rosa.
Samira and Rosa are cuddling somewhere in the pilot cockpit while Namjoon runs Taehyung over how the drive core works. It's a fairly small one, so Taehyung tells him that it will be fixed in less than a week.
“And you're doing it for free. Man, how could we get so lucky?” Namjoon side glances at Yoongi, who sighs and rubs his forehead.
“That's the thing I wanted to talk to you about. He… wants to join in.”
“What? Is he any use?”
“I'm right here, you know. Plus, why don't you want people to join? Isn't that like, your goal?”
“But it's like… it's strange, I don't--” Yoongi starts.
“Whatever. It's up to you to decide anyway, since you're boss now,” Namjoon says. “I'm gonna bring some tools for you.”
Yoongi is left alone, feeling betrayed. “Yeah, so. Welcome to the Resistance.”
+++
Taehyung and Jeongguk get to work on the ship with no delay. They first work on the ventilation system so they don't have to walk around like teddy bears with their huge coats on, and they strip down to their garage suits. Jeongguk is a show-off, so he ties the top part of it around his waist so the only thing covering his torso is a tank top. Which impresses no one, really (everyone sends him an appreciative glance once in a while, but let's not mention it).
The pair of them are relentlessly fixing the drive core with the help of the occasional cup of coffee. Taehyung has never tried coffee before but he immediately decides it's disgusting while Jeongguk says it's a gift from God. Namjoon and Samira ask them about their home planet to pass the time and Rosa joins in sometimes to inspect their occupation. Taehyung has no idea where Yoongi ran off to.
“He's sleeping,” Samira helpfully supplies him with the information, smiling.
“Doesn't all sleep and no work make Jack a dull boy?” Taehyung asks.
“The continuation of that one is all work and no play make Jack a mere toy, so try telling him that,” Namjoon says, bouncing a rubber ball against the wall. “Plus, what the fuck do you want him to do? Dude can manipulate and intimidate the toughest motherfuckers to submission but can't fix a toaster to save his life.”
“Tested and proven,” Samira snatches the ball off the wall next time it bounces off it.
“Lazy bones kind of captain. But you guys are pretty hardworking,” Namjoon remarks.
“Yeah, well, we gotta be, or we won't be able to afford a nice place like that and freeze our asses off,” Jeongguk says, not facing Namjoon, but Taehyung does. He sees a look akin to pity in his eyes.
“Don't look at him like that, it's the best choice we've got. There are cities full of houses made of ice. Houses out of clay that melt because of unexpected heat waves. We've got it good.”
Namjoon looks down at his lap.
“We don't need anyone’s pity. We can fend for ourselves. Just because we come from shitty circumstances-- it doesn't make us weaker. It makes us stronger because we survived. It-”
“That's enough, Tae,” Jeongguk says softly. Taehyung notices he's been clenching his fists. “I think he understands.”
“Yeah, I’m… sorry for disrespecting you.”
Taehyung inhales. Exhales. “It’s fine.”
“Listen, I’m hungry as shit,” They suddenly hear Yoongi’s voice, and there he is, rubbing sleepily at his eyes. Taehyung can’t help thinking that he looks cute like that.
“Why are you always either hungry or tired?” Jeongguk asks.
“Don’t even mind him, we’ve got a ton of frozen food and food cans,” Samira says, unimpressed.
“What if I commanded you to get me a soup can, Samira?”
“Then I’d kick-flip you to the sun, sir .”
“Whatever. What’s the magic duo up to?”
“Like you’d understand,” Namjoon snickers. Samira passes him the rubber ball, which he throws at Yoongi. Yoongi ignores it like a stone wall.
“True,” He says and sits down on the floor to watch the both of them work. Jeongguk is probably his focus, though, with his metal arms bulging like that and his chest sweaty.
Rosa, codename Angel, comes with a handful of snacks a few minutes later.
+++
It's the night of their fourth day of work. Jeongguk and Taehyung sharing a mattress in a bunk bed.
Each of them could have a whole bunk bed of their own, really, but it just feels too strange, not sharing a bed after getting so used to it.
Taehyung lies on his back with his eyes facing the bottom of the top bunk. Jeongguk is curled by his side with his back to Taehyung’s body.
“Gukkie?” He whispers.
“What?” He gets a sleepy whisper back.
“Do you think about it a lot? Getting out? Flying away?”
“Yeah, I… I guess so. With us always being here and all.”
“Are you scared?”
“Nah. Everyone's super chill. Food’s nice. I don't feel sweat gathering in my butthole by just breathing. You?”
Taehyung grins and elbows the younger. “I'm excited. We're going on a damn adventure, my man.”
“What if you're gonna be stuck doing an office job?”
“No way! My concentration span is shit and I forget my own name sometimes.”
“I’m just messing with you,” Jeongguk laughs and kicks Taehyung in the shin before turning to face him. “You're gonna be kicking Authority ass in no time, so don't worry.”
“Right, rebel boy. Good night.”
---
A week passes by Yoongi like nothing. At the same time, a week passes by Yoongi like a decade.
Between talking to Taehyung and Jeongguk about everything that came to mind and his endless naps and fishing with Rosa and Samira out of sheer boredom, he finds that he has such a warm place in his heart for everyone. Not that he'd admit that, but he admires - has always admired - his crew mates. And he likes the new additions. He likes Taehyung’s dumb jokes and Jeongguk’s endearing kind of sarcasm. He likes drinking coffee with Jeongguk and discussing past missions with him. He likes goofing around with Taehyung and watching him work with so much determination and maybe he likes the way his voice sounds after a full day of work when he tells him “good night”.
He likes the way that Taehyung is so warm even though he grew up in a planet so cold. Likes that his fingers are long and the way they wrap around colorful wires. Likes to--
“We're ready for take off!” Namjoon’s voice cuts through his thoughts.
Taehyung and Jeongguk have just gotten back from packing up everything they need. They have taken their backpacks off in their shared room and then came out to sit in the pilot cockpit, to watch the take off.
Most of the seats are empty. There are eight circling the room, four from each side, and two for the pilot and co-pilot. Namjoon and Samira are, naturally, busy with cranking the systems up. Rosa takes the chair closest to Samira while Taehyung and Jeongguk are sitting on the opposite side. Jeongguk looks at the window, wide eyed, and Taehyung has his lip between his teeth in excitement, tapping his legs on the floor. Yoongi sits by himself, on the other end of Samira’s row.
Yoongi hears the drive core whirring to life and closes his eyes. He has this kind of mental sickness in his stomach in takeoffs - not like he's about to vomit, but like he has to scream. His heart pressure goes up and his head spins, until the strong sound of launching out of the atmosphere fades to the quiet serenity of space.
“Woah!” He hears Taehyung saying. Yoongi doesn’t open his eyes just yet, waiting for his breathing to go back to normal.
“Damn, these crystals sure look pretty from up close,” Namjoon says.
Yoongi opens his eyes to see that they're surrounded by the softest glow. Crystals as big as their ship and as small as his fingers are floating around them. They're colorless, but the moon shines blue, so they look like they hold the sea in them. From somewhere far away, the red glow of the sun is still visible. The crew watches silently as a few orange rays replace the blue ones as all of the crystals sparkle and shine around them.
He watches Taehyung. He's gotten used to this in the last week, always diverting his attention to Taehyung. The boy seems at complete peace, almost like he's sleeping. His relaxed features illuminated by the bright lights, Taehyung’s eyes reflect their light like the sea on his frozen planet. He's breathtaking.
He meets gazes with Yoongi and smiles, almost lazily. He smiles like peaceful Sunday mornings; like flower petals opening up, like a clench in your heart that makes you want to tear up.
“Beautiful, isn't it?” He asks, his voice tender like he's afraid of breaking something by raising it.
“It is,” Yoongi gasps out. “It really is.”
---
Flying to the main Resistance base has always been a bit boring. Somehow, the way back home is always longer than the way to your destination.
Taehyung and Jungkook have passed out to deep slumber, finally being able to rest for real after going to sleep late and waking up early to work.
The Resistance base is only a few hours away. They've been unlucky to crash so close to it and get held up like that.
He talks to Namjoon and catches another quick nap while waiting to dock already, but he mainly walks around with no goal in mind. He wishes space travel would be like road travel and they could pull off to the side and eat shitty food.
Yoongi's told to wake Taehyung and Jeongguk up and grumbles something about being a captain but still getting commands from everyone.
“We're gonna be there in ten,” He says. The pair sits up and as they walk back to the pilot cockpit, Jeongguk asks what waits for them as newcomers in the station.
“Well, someone will give you a small history presentation which will turn into a motivational speech. Meanwhile, someone background checks you to see that you're not from the government. Then, you're in, and we wait for our next mission.”
The space station is already in sight. It's large, well lit by fluorescent lights, and the fact that it's more like a building than like a ship is more visible from up close. Namjoon says some things to the comms, which ends with him announcing that they're all clear. Yoongi closes his eyes again as they start the descent down toward the docking bay.
+++
The Resistance’s space station is unlike anything Taehyung has ever seen before.
Not only is the station itself large, but even the docking bay gives Taehyung a headache with how spacious it is. All the other ships are sleeping giants, mass weapons of destruction with their turrets on display. Some maintenance bots are flying around the ships, fixing them up.
They enter through a sleeve which is attached from the airlock of their ship to the station’s airlock.
It's warm inside. Taehyung sees people walking with only t-shirts on, sees women with knee length, skin tight skirts. There is no one lighting source but rather it seems that the light is everywhere, making the enormous room they're in look like more of a nice building lobby than an underground organization base.
“Hey, you guys!” A voice calls out and then a mass of limbs and orange hair is launched at Yoongi, making him stagger backwards in surprise.
Yoongi hugs the small body in front of him, his expression turning from surprised to a mischievous smirk as he pinches the boy’s sides.
He squeals and pushes Yoongi away, a pout on his full lips. “Guess I should've blessed Namjoonie with my greetings, you mean old aunt.”
“Maybe,” Yoongi says and ruffles his hair.
“Anyway, who are those?” He glances at Taehyung and Jeongguk.
“Why are you people talking like we're not here? I'm Taehyung and that's my friend Jeongguk,” Taehyung answers.
“I'm Jimin,” The boy says with a dazzling smile. “Are you new joiners?”
“No, Jimin, they're dinner meat,” Yoongi rolls his eyes. “‘course they're new joiners. Come on, I'll show you around.”
Taehyung and Jeongguk follow Yoongi as he points to different directions and briefly mentions what's there, the information no doubt to be forgotten in moments. After fifteen minutes of speed walking through a couple of hallways, they enter an elevator which takes them to the highest floor of the building. They stop in front of an ordinary looking door.
“Alright, that's the person in charge of lecturing you newcomers. He'll introduce himself and talk for years and you gotta say ‘I do’ at the end, just like getting married.”
Yoongi presses the button and the door slides open.
Inside, there's a neat looking man seated at a table in front of a computer screen. He has a white dress shirt on, two buttons of it open, and a pair of reading glasses perched on his nose. He is ridiculously handsome, in a way that makes Taehyung want to smile. His features are soft and welcoming. Taehyung believes that any facial expression would suit him.
Taehyung diverts his attention to them once the door clicks back in place. He feels completely out of place with his thick wool pants and dirty work shirt, the backpack strapped to his shoulders.
“Hello, Yoongi,” The man says, his voice easy on the ears. “Newcomers?”
“Yeah, uh… register them. I'm going to report about my mission.”
“ Your mission? Nevermind, I'm not the one you should report to. I'll take care of them.”
He smiles at the pair of them once Yoongi is out of the room. “My name is Seokjin and I'm in charge of registering newcomers. Your names and home planet?”
They tell him and he invites them to take a seat, so they do.
“As you know,” He starts, completely turning his body to face them. “Some 450 years ago, humanity has left Mother Planet, a planet which was then called Earth, in the Sol system, to--”
Taehyung nods. “Let it recover from--”
“No Interruptions,” Seokjin says, his smile twitching just a bit so it looks intimidating. “Questions at the end.”
“So as I was saying, the Mother Planet’s ecosystems were failing. We had to leave it to let it breathe, and to let the restoration systems get into action. Nevertheless, a small portion of people have decided to stay. Most of humanity has occupied another solar system in the cluster. The richest settled on the planet closest to the sun available while the poor settled on cold, faraway planets that barely allowed living, amplifying the social hierarchy which existed on the Mother Planet. Humanity has even advanced onto two other solar systems, preserving the same social order by planets.
“Recently, a lot of suspicion started rising; is Mother Planet still unlivable? Why doesn't the General Authority send people there? Logically, the restoration systems should have already cured the Mother Planet. The Resistance is an organization that voices these concerns and works to claim our home back for over fifty years already.
“Do you, Taehyung and Jeongguk of Quana, swear to always serve humanity's best interest? To venture bravely into an unknown space in order to restore order and make justice one of humanity’s most important values once again? Do you swear you'll never hurt a human being to achieve our goals unless completely necessary?”
“I do,” They say unanimously.
“Great. Congratulations, you're soldiers of the Resistance.”
Seokjin smiles kindly at them and pulls out two padtools.
“Just fill this basic information in for me and you're all set. I'll assign you to Yoongi’s squad, it will be a lot more comfortable for you guys and everyone else.”
Taehyung and Jeongguk occupy themselves with filling out the forms for the next fifteen minutes. Taehyung grins at Jeongguk once their backs are to Seokjin, and they meet Yoongi on the other side of the door.
“Welcome aboard or something,” Yoongi says. “I'll show you to your room.”
Their room is on the third floor of the space station and they share it with Jimin, the guy they've met earlier. There's a spare bed in there, and Yoongi tells them that one of the past members of his squad used to live here as well.
“Is Jimin part of your squad?” Jeongguk asks, dropping his bag off on the floor.
“Nah, not really. He's more like, general support. Good with weapon systems. I was on like, three missions with him on board.”
“So Namjoon, Samira and Rosa are permanent crew?”
“Rosa isn't, since she's a gunwoman. They're stationed where they're needed. You mechanics usually get assigned to ships, but I've got a mission coming soon so you'll be with me.”
“Really? What mission?” Taehyung asks, his eyes widening in excitement.
“It's not... a hundred percent confirmed yet, so you'll know later. Just settle in for the time being.”
+++
Living in comfort is a hard thing to get used to.
It begins with the small things. Taehyung and Jeongguk are the first ones to wake up to almost empty halls, the first to use the showers and to enjoy scalding hot water. They get their breakfast the minute the cafeteria opens, just the variety of foods from all around the cluster enough to make their heads spin and their mouths water.
A week passes by before Jimin tells them about the gym. They jog and lift and squat until they're too tired to move, and then they fall asleep, rinse and repeat. Taehyung doesn't really understand why Jeongguk does it, since all his limbs are made of metal, but he guesses that it's out of sheer boredom.
“Hey, guys, you awake?” Jimin whispers one night. They grumble in confirmation.
“Sorry if it's like, sensitive or something, but… Jeongguk, why are your limbs made from metal?”
Taehyung looks up at Jeongguk’s bunk bed, waiting to see if he wants to answer.
“Taehyung, tell him about the riots and I'll tell him about the… rest.”
Taehyung sighs. “So, uh, about ten years ago, our local authority - the Quana Council - started charging everyone more for services like power and gas. Everyone first thought that, y’know, alright, gas and electricity are scarce, there's no choice but to pay up and pray for more fortune next year. But it went on. for a year and a half, the taxes just got higher. Until someone uncovered what's really going on.
The Council officials were using the money to power up luxury equipment from the black market, like televisions and microwaves and hot baths. While most of the planet was rationing electricity and gathering up in fewer houses to use less of it, the Council was playing video games and having yacht parties. Naturally, an ‘off with their heads’ policy got in place.”
“So how does Jeongguk come in?” Jimin asked, his chin perched on his palms.
“I was the son of a Council official,” Jeongguk says, his voice quiet. “My dad, he… didn't want to give in. He hid our family in a bunker. We were oblivious to everything going on the ground… until our food has ran out. He opened the bunker just to be dragged outside by the hair, and my mom, she was…”
“You don't have to tell the whole story, Jeonggukie.”
“They tortured us. They made us pay and my parents died and I was left by myself, my back broken and... crying on the snow. Taehyung found me.”
He doesn't say anything after that, so Taehyung takes it as a cue to continue. “I'm really good with machines. My dad was in the Council too, but the people who found us were a lot more merciful. I was fifteen at the time. Me and a friend who is a doctor fixed Jeonggukie up.”
“That's… terrible,” Jimin says, seemingly at a loss for words.
“There are people who've had it worse. Would've been harder if we lived in a better place.”
“That makes sense, I guess. Still sounds like it roughened you up good.”
“Yeah, well… it's inevitable, isn't it?”
+++
On their third week on the ship, they get to know the shooting range.
They get lessons from a goon named Hoseok, who sits with Yoongi and Namjoon at lunch. Taehyung suspects Yoongi has asked him to teach them how to handle a pistol but Yoongi would never admit it, because he’s just like that.
Hoseok likes to brag about how much he knows about guns but all he teaches them is about pistols.Like every time they enter the range, they have to deconstruct and reconstruct their pistols. When they finally enter it, Hoseok shows them how to properly shoot. Even though he has showed them a million times already, they don’t comment on it. They practice for three to four hours and then go about their nonexistent business.
Someone has noticed that they mostly walk around aimlessly and die of boredom, so they’ve been assigned to a temporary ship. They’re taught about handling and regulating stealth drives and newer control panels, which has them busy enough for the time being.
Yoongi seems busy. Taehyung only sees him a few minutes in the hallway each time, when he passes by them hurriedly without sparing anyone a look. Jimin tells them that he always gets like that before a big mission and that this one has to be huge.
Soon enough, they're gathered in a meeting room with a large table in the middle and light refreshments by the wall. Yoongi sits at the head of the table, tapping his foot on the floor and chewing on his fingernail. Namjoon and Samira are chewing on cookies from the refreshments table, and Jimin sits by Yoongi and hums an unfamiliar tune. Taehyung and Jeongguk sit beside him, and Yoongi calls the meeting to begin.
“Alright, I know that it's a bit different without Joey’s slide presentations, but listen up and we'll make do. This is really huge, so shut up. And no questions in the middle, Namjoon.”
“I have never--”
“With the stealth drive cores tested through and through, and our success as a small strike team, the board has given us the honor of being the first scouts to go inside the Sol system and to the Mother Planet.”
Someone gasps and someone bangs a fist on the table. Taehyung’s eyes widen and he feels his heart beating in his chest.
“Now, this is very exciting and positive news, but… this is also a one way ticket, since the stealth drive core won't be able to hide us on the way back. You're free to leave at any point until takeoff if you don't want to risk your life for this. And, uh...” Yoongi looks at a note he has in front of himself, “Yeah. That's about it. Questions?”
“What are we gonna do there?” Jimin asks. “Like, are we just gonna be stuck in the ship forever?”
“We’ll attempt to settle the Mother Planet and see if there are… natives. If not, we'll wait for the next group of scouts to come. That's a risk we're taking,” Yoongi says. Taehyung senses that even though his voice is confident, he's pretty damn scared himself.
Yoongi takes a breath and gets off his chair. “Keep it low profile, we don't want people fussing too much about it, and… uh, if that's it, meeting adjourned. Mission taking off in a week.”
+++
The following week is spent a lot less hectically than Taehyung has anticipated, but there are a few exceptions.
Jimin seems pretty anxious.
“Are you okay?” Taehyung asks him one day. They're getting ready to take a shower after they finish a workout session at the gym.
“Yeah, I mean… I don't know. It's just that I've been living on space stations all my life, and now…” Jimin sighs and steps under the hot stream of water.
“How was it? Never staying on ground for a lot and all that?”
“It's pretty normal for me, since I've never known anything else. I was born in a space station and then worked on one for the General Authority and then got here. The idea of settling on solid ground seems surreal.”
“You don't have to come if you don't want to. No one will judge you, you know.”
“I know, but still. With me being here so long, it seems like a betrayal if I don't take my first chance to get to Mother Planet. I've gotten pretty connected to the ideology.”
“That's fair, I suppose.”
Jimin doesn't seem a lot more relaxed after that, but he does look like a man who's accepted his fate. Like getting that out of his system has lifted a weight off his heart.
The second exception is Yoongi.
He sits with the crew at lunch and greets everyone like a normal person. He seems to be taking his showers and smiling more, and he always smells nice, of mint and coffee instead of coffee and despair. He jokes around with Jimin and Taehyung, indulges Jeongguk with mission stories and doesn't bicker with Namjoon as much.
His newly-found easy-going demeanor is so unusual for Taehyung that it adds to his anxiety from the mission, and he can't really confront Yoongi about that. What would he say? “Stop being happy and go back to being grumpy because it's weird”? No way in sweet hell.
Other than that, he's become a lot more physical. Not in a Jimin kind of way, but a subtler, less noticeable acts. They could be hanging out at Yoongi’s room until late night and he would fall asleep on Taehyung’s shoulder, all soft and nice smelling, so Taehyung doesn't have a choice but to transfer him to his lap and drape a blanket over him. For comfort, of course. It's not like he likes watching Yoongi’s eyelashes flutter in his sleep and his barely audible, adorable sleep noises.
On the day of the mission, though, Yoongi is as tough as ever, entering the ship and telling everyone to take their seats, which is kinda hot. Namjoon talks to the command center in the comms and takes off when he gets a confirmation.
They're on a different ship, this time made for eight people, so excluding the pilots’ seats there are six chairs in a row behind them. Jeongguk sits to Taehyung’s right while Yoongi sits to his left.
As the drive core whirrs to life, Taehyung can't help but notice that Yoongi has closed his eyes. He doesn't seem peaceful like in his sleep, though. His eyelids are clenched tight and his brows are furrowed, his hand shaking. Without thinking too much, Taehyung grabs it. He thinks of dropping it right after, but there's no going back.
Yoongi reflexively tries to release his hand. He opens his eyes to meet gazes with Taehyung, who returns him the same wide eyed stare. After a moment, though, Yoongi tightens his hold on Taehyung’s hand and relaxes in his seat. He closes his eyes again, but this time he seems to be at peace.
They keep their hands held together long after the take off.
---
Yoongi has always considered himself an overall smart guy.
Sure, he doesn't know shit about technology, but he's more of a street smart type. Life smart.
And as the intelligent, insightful man that he is, he knows to recognize when he's crushing. Problem is, this one has taken him an embarrassing amount of time to catch feelings.
A lot of people see him as a stone cold killer, which he sometimes is, but he's actually pretty sensitive. After getting past his initial discomfort with Taehyung being so damn trusting, he's realized that Taehyung is actually kind and understanding and fun to talk to. He's realized that he looks at him with more than aesthetic appreciation.
Namjoon and Samira are currently conversing in the pilot cockpit. Jimin teaches Jeongguk and Taehyung games on the entertainment system, a challenge they seem to take very seriously.
Taehyung seems to notice him lingering at the entrance to the room they're in because he walks over to Yoongi and asks him, “What's wrong?”
“Nothing, it's… nothing.”
“You look super worried. Join us, maybe?”
“Not really feeling like it.”
Jimin and Jeongguk argue in front of the flat screen, their voices rising in volume as their arguments rise in irrelevancy.
“Alright. If you want to talk or something, you can always talk to me. Even later.” Taehyung smiles and goes back to his friends.
Yoongi walks away.
It happens only four to five days later. Namjoon comes into Yoongi’s room and starts his sentence with “captain”. He never calls anyone by their authoritative title. They go to the pilot cockpit, which is vacant except for the two of them.
“So, umm…” Namjoon begins, scratching his nape.
“Spit it out, Namjoon.”
“Okay. Okay. You know how we've left the solar system a few days ago? and how we're kind of floating in between systems now until we get to the Milky Way?”
“Yeah…” Yoongi says slowly, because of course he knows that.
“Well, we're uh… don't lose it, but the comms are busted. We can't contact the base.”
“What the fuck? Can't we turn back? We can't be by ourselves, not in this mission.”
“We don't have enough fuel, you know that. And this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, this ship’s rotation around the Milky Way won't be possible, like, ever again--”
Yoongi is freaking out on the inside. He imagines a miniature version of himself running around in a closed space, hands holding his own face, screaming. He breathes through his nose, slowly but surely. “You can't let anyone know about this.”
“What? We have to tell them, it's--”
“Namjoon, we can't let anyone fucking know! We'll deal with this. Think with that huge head of yours.”
“Right. Right, captain, you're so fucking right. Plus, there might be reception when we're inside a system, you know? There's still that.”
Yoongi slumps on a seat, forearm covering his eyes. “There's still that.”
---
There’s one large window in the ship, currently facing out to a cluster Yoongi doesn’t know the name of. It’s swirling yellow and purple in the midst of a galaxy devoid of color, making the shiny tiles of the ship this beautiful mess of a kaleidoscope. It’s bedtime in the ship, their watches indicating that it’s three in the morning, but it’s impossible to differentiate day from night in space.
The drive core humming away makes a great white noise for Yoongi to get lost in thinking about nothing for hours. That is, until he hears footsteps approaching in his direction. He stays seated on the floor in front of the window without checking who has just come in.
“Got us tea and cookies,” Taehyung says, handing Yoongi a cup of tea and sitting beside him, tearing a bag of chocolate chip cookies open.
“How’d you know i’m here?” Yoongi asks, taking a sip from his tea only to burn his tongue.
“You’re always here when you can’t sleep, which is all the time,” Taehyung replies, staring off to the distance.
“Are you making fun of me, you brat?” Yoongi asks, but there’s no bite in it.
“I’ve got enough other reasons to make fun of you,” Taehyung smiles.
Yoongi clicks his tongue but doesn’t say anything, smiling back at Taehyung. They sit in silence for some time and it’s nice, not bothersome at all. If anything, Taehyung’s slow breathing relaxes Yoongi. He wonders how it would be to sleep next to him.
“I’ve been wondering,” Taehyung starts, fidgeting with the cup in his hands.
“You better tell me now, since I won’t answer your deep ass thought at any different time.”
Taehyung elbows him in the arm. “Why did you join the Resistance?”
“It’s kind of a long story,” Yoongi says.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but… you know, like, everything about me, including super embarrassing stuff, so I won’t judge ya,” Taehyung pauses. “We’ve got time.”
“Right. Just let me, uh, collect my thoughts a second,” He takes a slow breath. “I was born on Sharring, the middle of our cluster. Everything is just kind of average over there, you know? I lived in an average house with my average parents who had average jobs. I got away from home because… my dad was an ass, and I used to sell drugs in back alleys. I worked with private people first, but I got discovered by a local gang, who taught me how to handle a knife. And then a gun. Then, they said that I’m pretty intimidating, so they got me into extortion. I moved to their base in space. They sold guns to the Resistance a few times, and I joined them one of those times. If I do bad shit, it can at least do good for somebody, right?”
“You know, you like to present yourself as an asshole but you’re one of the kindest people I’ve ever met.”
“What are you even talking about? I just told you that I threatened people for a living by choice.”
“You quit a high position in a gang where you could make tons of money to join a voluntary organization that liberates humankind. How is that asshole-ish in any way? Honestly, I don’t think I’d do it, myself.”
“I call bullshit. You invited me to eat at your place after I pointed a gun in your face, then asked to join me. Which was, honestly, kind of stupid, and I hated you for it at first--”
“Wait, what? I didn’t know about that.”
“Yeah, um, I don’t hate you now. But you’re… you’re too quick to trust. What if I really was a pirate?”
“I’ve got nothing to lose, I guess. And whatever comes to me… it always works out somehow. If I experience it, it’s meant to happen.”
“I dunno. I think that a person should earn your trust and respect, not for them to start with it; it gives them something over you. Makes you weaker.”
“Are you alright with me being this way, now? I wouldn’t have acted differently, given the chance.”
“Maybe I just got used to you,” Maybe I’ve started to like you. “I realize traits like kindness can be viewed positively and I… alright, I admire those traits in you. They make you stronger rather than weaker, and even though you could end up as a total mess, you aren't. You’re alright.”
“I kind of envy you as well, though. Like, I couldn’t stand up to anyone threatening me, and I freeze when it’s even slightly dangerous.”
“It’s an acquired trait,” Yoongi snickers. They fall silent after that.
“I really like talking to you, Yoongi. I’m thankful we got the chance to know each other.”
Yoongi looks at Taehyung and sees that he smiles at him. It’s a smile he’s only seen directed at Jeongguk before, with the boy’s smile turning into something like a rectangle, his eyes squeezing shut. Yoongi stares for a second, speechless to such energy being directed at him.
“Yeah, um… me too, Great talk, I’m going to. Sleep. Bye.”
He awkwardly gets up and power walks back to his room.
+++
Taehyung notices that Yoongi’s acting weird. He’s not the only one, but Namjoon and Samira only giggle, evil something, when he starts with his strange behavior.
“Today is the day,” Yoongi says in a team meeting, which is actually just a shared meal, “That we turn off the barrier batteries in Mars. We’re going to get there in just a few days, so hold on tight.”
Namjoon eyes Yoongi with a look Taehyung can’t decipher.
“We’re going into an Authority facility, highly secured. We’ve got blueprints of the place and an inside man who tells us the shift rotations of the guards, but it’s still going to be dangerous as hell. Not all of us are going, just a small ground team of two people. After a, uh, debate over the matter, it’s been decided that the team will consist of me and Taehyung. Namjoon and Samira will be ready to leave with the ship and Jimin is in charge of the ship’s weapon system. We’re gonna focus on making it out fast and fucking outta there.”
“Here’s to making it out fast and fucking outta there,” Jimin raises a cracker in mock salute. Yoongi slaps the back of his head, and Taehyung laughs at him.
---
“Your gun is for extreme emergency, Taehyung. Your goal is not to fight, but to take the barrier down. I’m going to cover you.”
Yoongi inserts his gun to its holster. Both of them are in tight suits of armor, matte black so they won’t reflect any stray lights. Taehyung fidgets with his pistol grip, his lip bitten between his teeth.
“Don’t worry, Taehyungie,” Yoongi instantly regrets calling him that, because Taehyung shoots a wide eyed glance his way. Yoongi feels his cheeks reddening. “It’s gonna be just fine.”
“I’m not worried, I’m… excited. I’m finally doing something important.”
The ship lands Mars’ ground at that moment. They land a few kilometers away from the base they’re supposed to infiltrate, hidden by a hill of orange sand. A vast desert of sand surrounds them with no building in sight except for the base. They put their helmets on and get out of the airlock, walking quickly to get into the building from the back entrance their inside man mentioned.
The base is a large metal building which, according to the data they possess, houses fifty military personnel and thirty science personnel. It is surrounded by an electricity field that Taehyung hacks in a nearby emergency output, and they get in. They seem to be in a long service corridor, judging by the smell of old trash that hits them.
“Ew. Let’s head out,” Yoongi looks at the device on his forearm, which displays an interactive printout of the place.
They climb up a few flights of stairs with no one bothering them for the first few minutes, until they reach a corridor Yoongi signals they have to go through. There are doors lining the sides of it and they’re about to jog through it when suddenly, there’s the sound of footsteps approaching, and Yoongi grabs Taehyung’s wrist to pull him into one of the nearby rooms.
“Shit,” Yoongi curses when he notices that it’s locked.
“Lemme take care of that,” Taehyung whispers, and then pulls out a small hacking device out of his backpack and kneels in front of the lock. The voices keep coming closer and Yoongi feels tension rising in his chest, until the door makes a faint sound and they burst into the room. When they recognize that it’s empty, they hide behind the office desk in the room corner, their pistols in hand.
The faint sounds of conversation from outside can be heard, which makes Yoongi internally groan and opt to make good use of his time. He looks at the table they’re hiding behind, and turns on a few padtools. His eyes widen when he realizes that those are Mother Planet related files, and he grabs a random few to shove them in Taehyung’s backpack. He makes a “what’s up” face which Yoongi answers to with an “I’ll explain later” face.
Once the conversation outside dies out and the footsteps proceed on, Taehyung and Yoongi get up to continue going through corridors and up another staircase. They finally enter the room they’re supposed to reach, which is completely unguarded. Makes sense, since nobody has made it here in the past four hundred years.
“Do your thing, Taehyung,” Yoongi says. The room looks like some sort of control room and there are many devices he can’t recognize in it. Taehyung approaches one of them while Yoongi stays by the door to guard it.
“Oh, man, this is way too old. Last update was probably, like, fifty years back.”
“Is this an issue?”
“No way, this is going just perfect.”
Taehyung gets to work on the device. It takes about half an hour, and then there’s a mechanical deflating sound. Taehyung says, “I messed it up good.”
“Good. Let’s get the fuck away from here.”
“Gotcha,” Taehyung puts the tools he has used back in his bag and gets up, ready to follow Yoongi’s lead.
However, when they reach the second floor, a pair of people notice them.
“Oh fuck,” Yoongi says.
The pair runs away, wide eyed, and an alarm sounds in the building.
“Run run run run run!” Yoongi yells, pulling the gun out of its holster. Taehyung’s hands tremble as he does the same. The pair sprints down the flight of stairs leading down to the ground floor. Guards are running their way, and Yoongi shoots them, going for the upper parts of their bodies but not high enough for it to be lethal. A few of them tumble down and shout in pain, and they’re almost at the door and then there’s just a short distance left to run to the ship and they’re safe because of the stealth core just a few steps and--
Yoongi hears a gunshot that seems to be louder than all the others, Taehyung screaming, and then another gunshot.
“Yoongi, Yoongi,” He calls out, his voice broken and lost.
Yoongi glances to see Taehyung sliding down the wall, his features confused and scared, a bleeding gape in his suit right where his shoulder is. There’s a bleeding body beside him, by a door which he hasn’t paid attention to. He shoots the few remaining guards still after them, and ducks down to Taehyung.
“Taehyung, get up. We have to go, there’s backup coming.”
“I… can’t get up, I can’t, we’re screwed, we’re so fucking screwed and dead and screwed,” Taehyung babbles.
“Up, now, soldier! We have to get back to the ship!” Yoongi grabs Taehyung’s good arm, pulling him up by it.
“Right, right, smart move-- it hurts so much, it hurts really bad!” Taehyung finally gets up, leaning his weight on Yoongi. He supports him as they run out, but the corridor they have first came through suddenly seems much longer. Taehyung whimpers and whines nonsense all the way to the door.
“Good night, Yoongi,” Taehyung says when they're just a few steps away. Yoongi glances at only for him to see blood everywhere.
“No, no, Taehyung, stay up,” Yoongi keeps going but Taehyung is heavier now, barely dragging his feet on the floor.
Taehyung’s head drops on Yoongi’s shoulder. “So weak…”
“Taehyung… Taehyung, doll, stay with me, don't fall asleep,” Yoongi says as Taehyung stops altogether.
“So tired, I'm… so tired, Yoongi…”
It's then that they hear more footsteps approaching, followed by screams of “they've got the files”. Yoongi lifts Taehyung by his thighs on his back and walks to the door. He opens it and runs faster than he has ever ran, almost falling off in relief when he spots the ship.
“Open the goddamn airlock!” He screams into his communication device. The ship is opened and Yoongi enters as soon as there's a crack in the door.
Samira is there to greet him. “Taehyung, he-- he's been shot.”
Yoongi feels like he's coming back to his body right now, not having realized that he's left it in the first place. As soon as Samira grabs hold of Taehyung, Jeongguk joins them in the airlock area. Yoongi feels the ship taking off and he hears bullets hitting its body and God, there's blood on his temple, sticky and dense, and Jeongguk is looking at him.
It's with something akin to a punch in the gut, and he doesn't say it but Yoongi knows that Jeongguk will kill him if anything happens to Taehyung. He doesn't say anything, but his features spell murder loud and clear.
Yoongi gets up and follows Samira and Taehyung on shaky legs. Taehyung lays down on a bed in the small medical bay of the ship, struggling in his sleep. Yoongi sits beside him and puts Taehyung’s head on his own lap, caressing his sweaty forehead with his sweaty hands, suddenly finding that his blood isn’t the only liquid running down his face.
+++
Taehyung wakes up to a horrible pain in his shoulder.
He groans and there are suddenly a few gasps coming from above him, and Samira’s voice calling, “He's awake!”
Suddenly, his vision is much more crowded with the faces of his friends.
“Did you miss me that much?” Taehyung asks, and Jeongguk throws himself around his neck, definitely sobbing.
“How… long was I out?” He asks with Jeongguk still muttering around his neck.
“Just a few days,” Samira says with a smile.
“Four. Four days,” Namjoon comments, his voice relieved.
Jimin pushes Namjoon to stand closer to him. “How's your shoulder? Do you remember what happened? What year is it? Wh--”
“Let him breath, God,” Yoongi says, and Taehyung’s heart skips a beat. Which is kind of painful, actually.
“Right, get lost, you freeloaders,” Samira says, making a waving move with her hands to signal that they have to get out.
After she conducts a few tests to see that there’s no damage besides the shoulder, she gets out of the room to let Jeongguk in.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” He says, his eyes still a bit red-rimmed.
“Me too, believe m--”
“But this was extremely stupid, do you realize how stupid that was? God, I was so worried I didn’t eat, you put yourself in real danger, and--”
“Jeongguk -”
“--it’s all because of Yoongi. You’re in this situation because of him. He’s the one who--”
“Shut up already!” Taehyung yells to stop Jeongguk’s rambling. “Do you think I’m a child? I’m a grown ass man and I can make my own damn decisions. Yoongi fucking carried me out of there, if you haven’t noticed. I’m the one responsible for my situation. I’m the one responsible to my fate, and if you need to direct your anger at anybody, direct it at me.”
Jeongguk doesn’t say anything, or looks at Taehyung, for a while. “You’re… right. I’m sorry. It’s no one’s fault you’ve got shot. Well, except for the person who shot you.”
“Yeah,” Taehyung grins. Their arguments don’t last that long, ever.
“Really missed you, though,” Jeongguk pats his healthy arm. “I’m going to apologize to Yoongi, as well. Been feeding him shit for five days.”
Taehyung finds that he’s become tired after that outburst, so he closes his eyes and falls asleep just like that.
---
They’re still for another day after Taehyung wakes up. They’ve been orbiting Venus with the scorching heat from the sun tangible through the window Yoongi has liked to sit in front of so much.
He’s sipping tea and stares off to the terrestrial planet they’ve been around for the past day.
“Hey,” Someone says. He hasn’t noticed the footsteps this time around.
“Are you sure you’re supposed to be out of bed?” Yoongi asks. Taehyung sits beside him, leaning his weight against Yoongi.
“Maybe. Samira isn’t there to scold me and my legs seem to be working alright.”
“Whatever, you runaway criminal.”
“And what about you, mister shooting the bad guys’ face off! That was hardcore.”
Yoongi doesn't comment about that. Instead, what he says is, “I was so worried about you.”
“Everyone seems to be so worried about me.”
“You were completely out of it. You were talking about how tired you are and I thought that if you fell asleep, you would die. I was too afraid to keep going so I postponed everything. The mission is on hold. I’m seeing mainly yellow and white with how long I’ve been staring at fucking Venus.”
“Sorry,” Taehyung mutters.
“Don’t apologize, you idiot. ‘S not your fault.”
Taehyung nuzzles into Yoongi’s neck, which makes him blush and stammer, “What are you doing?”
“I’m injured. I’m allowed to.” Taehyung responds, and that shuts Yoongi up. “Stop talking about my injury like it killed me. I’m alive.”
“I’m really glad you are,” Yoongi whispers, and runs his hand through Taehyung’s hair. When he reaches his nape, Taehyung looks up at him.
There’s a bemused glint in his eyes that doesn’t come from any outside source; like his damn soul shines through. It’s something like the blue crystal lights from Quana, but warmer, closer. His lip is quirked up just a bit.
“You’re really something, aren’t you?” Yoongi asks, which makes Taehyung deepen his smile, now scrunching his nose.
With the sound of the drive core humming around them and the white light of Venus shining on them, Yoongi moves his face until his lips collide with Taehyung’s. The man doesn’t make a surprised sound, but rather melts into the kiss with a sigh. Like it’s their thousandth time kissing, and not the first. Like sinking into your favorite cushion when coming home after a long day. He kisses him like home.
When they break away, Taehyung says, “You really don’t like putting any sugar in your tea, do you.”
Yoongi laughs with utter joy and kisses him again.
+++
They’re going to be there in less than a day. The ship and crew are back in action, all safe and sound except for Taehyung’s still aching shoulder. All of them are in the pilot cockpit, watching the stars pass by them as Namjoon navigates them back to Mother Planet. Back home.
There’s a collective gasp when they finally arrive. The planet is beautiful. The single most inspiring object Taehyung has ever seen. It glows blue and white and green, no ships around it. Clean and pure, accompanied by the moon like a guardian angel. It’s so serene, he swears he sees Jeongguk wiping off tears from his eyes.
“All of it… it was worth it,” Jimin whispers, and they all agree. How can this beautiful planet be hidden away? Doesn’t everyone deserve to have a look at such an image at least once in their lives?
Taehyung starts laughing, his eyes prickling with tears. “We fucking made it, you guys!”
They start cheering at that, everyone hugging everyone. Right after Taehyung gets out of Jeongguk’s embrace, he gets dragged to Jimin, and then Namjoon and Samira, and finally Yoongi. They stare at each other with amazed disbelief.
Taehyung dives in to kiss the life out of him, his heart thudding in his ears with excitement, their teeth clacking as they crash into each other. He swears he’s not crying into the kiss.
And Yoongi looks like a painting, he always has and he always will, and that makes Taehyung cry even harder, burying his head in Yoongi’s shoulder, hugging him tight without letting go.
“We- we have to let them know we’re here, God-” Samira sobs, turning on the comms. Yoongi stiffens in his arms. Taehyung lets go of him for a moment, still tearful, to shout into the comm.
“We made it, we're here, we made it we made it we made it!”
He kisses Yoongi time and time again, thinking that he’ll never get enough. He’ll never have a happier moment in his life, he won’t ever find a better person than Yoongi to be in love with. He thinks that Yoongi… he feels that Yoongi is it for him and he sees that reflecting in his eyes, he sees that in Yoongi’s tearful eyes.
“Where are we gonna go?” Taehyung asks.
Yoongi’s face is red and his eyes are brimming with tears. He’s shorter than Taehyung but he caresses the back of his head like something precious.
“Baby, we can go anywhere you want.”