Chapter Text
“Uno!”
“Ah, fuck!” Seokjin’s exclamation follows quickly on the back of Taehyung’s, the younger man placing his second to last card down on the pile. “Seriously? Pick four? Right now?”
Hoseok lets out an evil cackle from across the table, half throwing himself into Taehyung’s lap as he laughs at Seokjin’s misfortune. Jimin gives a beatific smile, hands already empty of cards. “Rules are rules, hyung.”
Yoongi watches as Seokjin picks up four more cards, grumbling under his breath the whole time. “You’ve definitely been getting better at this, Taehyung-hyung,” Jungkook comments from where he’s sprawled half over the table, watching the game progress through his floppy fringe. “It was only a few nights ago that you were losing every game.”
“Hobi-hyung’s been giving me extra help some nights,” Taehyung says.
Jimin wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. “Extra help, you say?” Jungkook hi-fives him under the table. Yoongi rolls his eyes and places his last card down also.
“Extra help at cheating, yeah,” Seokjin mutters, forced to pick up yet another card as his turn comes round again. Taehyung places his last card down - a plus six card, just to make Seokjin’s life more miserable - and then that’s the end of the game.
“There’s nothing wrong with cheating,” Yoongi says, shooting sly glances around the table. “It’s only wrong if you get caught.” A card slaps him in the face, sent flying by Namjoon.
Jungkook can’t control his snorts from across the table. “You say that as if you’re not the most obvious cheater.”
“I don’t know why you’d lie like that, Jeon Jungkook,” Yoongi warns. “But I know where you sleep.”
“Oh, I’m so scared! What are you going to do, hyung, cuddle me to death?”
The rest of them burst into laughter once more as Yoongi flushes bright red, unable to argue back.
They’re a long way into their journey now - only two weeks from their destination! - and Yoongi’s spent more nights cuddling up with Jimin and Jungkook than he has in his own bed. At first it had been under the excuse of a broken heating system in his sector of Serendipity that had been quickly fixed after less than four days, but Yoongi had stayed, spending the nights with them. It had just seemed… easier. To keep that routine, that casual intimacy that was building up between them.
Yoongi was no idiot. Perhaps he’d been a bit oblivious at the start, still reeling from Jungkook’s apparent dislike of him, not realising the way both Jimin and Jungkook had been drawn towards him, orbiting closer and closer like he was a black hole and they were trapped in his gravity, unable to escape past the event horizon. Over time, he’d come to realise that the muddle of feelings he felt for them was reciprocated; in their lingering gazes, soft touches and gentle words.
They were taking baby steps, none of them brave enough to be the one who makes the first move, the one to tear apart the intimate friendship they had now in order to forge it into something new, something stronger than the tenuous bond they had now.
A foot wiggles onto Yoongi’s lap, disrupting his thoughts, and he raises his eyes to see Jimin giving him a cheeky smile. Embarrassed, hyung? is what it seemed to say, both a sly challenge and seeking gentle confirmation that they hadn’t pushed him too far. A warm rush of affection tingles throughout Yoongi, over his blushing cheeks all the way to the tips of his ears. He gives Jimin’s ankle a gentle rub, assuring him that everything was okay.
The sound of Seokjin’s whining brings his attention back to the table and the group gathered around it, Hoseok collecting up the Uno cards scattered across the tabletop. “We are absolutely not playing poker, Hoseok. No, I refuse.”
“Why?” Hoseok asks, mouth moulding into a wide, innocent-looking smile as he shuffles the cards together into a deck. “Tae’s already mastered Uno, so we need something else to play.”
“Afraid of losing all your money once Taehyung-ah learns the rules and starts beating all of us?” Jimin never misses an opportunity to rib Seokjin, and this time is no different.
“Not at all,” Seokjin blusters. “I wouldn’t lose all my money.”
“Please don’t say that,” Namjoon moans from beside him, head resting on his boyfriend’s broad shoulders. “You’re going to jinx it, and then we’re going to be bankrupt.”
“Redistribute your wealth,” Yoongi pipes up. “Come on now, don’t be shy.”
“Awfully brave to encourage us to play poker when you don’t have a single credit to your name, Yoongi-yah.”
“What’s Jimin and Jungkook’s is mine,” Yoongi says sagely, and Seokjin and Hoseok both make gagging sounds in the background while Jimin and Jungkook blush furiously. “Besides, I don’t need any money in my account to take all of yours. I grew up around traders and smugglers, I know poker.” That brings out a round of annoying whooping and jeering, punctuated by a quiet, muffled snort from Taehyung, who despite having travelled with them for some time now still feels the need to act as a polite guest.
Hoseok slings an arm around Taehyung’s shoulder, bringing him in for a close side hug that the younger man readily accepts. “How’re you keeping up, hm? You caught onto Uno quickly.”
Taehyung responds with barely contained excitement, hands fluttering all over Hoseok’s torso and biceps as if he doesn't know where to put them. “Yes! You helped a lot, Hobi-hyung.”
“Nah, that was all you.” Hoseok returns the compliment, giving Taehyung a gentle kiss on the top of his head, and Taehyung’s jaw gapes uselessly, surprised by the sudden affectionate motion. Yoongi feels a small smile curl at the edge of his lips. They’re almost worse than Jimin, Jungkook and I. At least we have the decency to be disgustingly sweet in private, and Namjoon and Seokjin-hyung have been together so long they’re practically an elderly couple.
Namjoon pipes up. “Don’t put yourself down, Tae-Tae. You’re picking up all these game rules extremely fast. I mean, hell, just a month or two ago you barely understood a word of Korean, and now look at you.”
“Yeah, it won’t be long before you’ve mastered coding languages too and are able to put Jimin and Jungkook out of their jobs,” Seokjin inserts, flawlessly hijacking the conversation, turning it into an opportunity to rib Jungkook, who bares his teeth in an approximation of a growl.
All of the attention seems to make Taehyung shy, and he flounders slightly, looking around at all their faces. “It’s not that impressive, really. Mina’s been practicing with me and teaching me whenever all of you are busy, and being surrounded by people who speak it definitely helps for the immersion.”
It’s extremely impressive, not that Taehyung would ever accept them saying that. The six of them are used to speaking solely Korean when it’s just them on Serendipity, and throwing Taehyung into the mix had been a bit of a shock at first, but the depths of his knowledge and memorisation skills have astounded all of them. In just a short time he’s nearly fluent. Seeing Yoongi once again had probably unlocked some forgotten childhood memories too, which has surely helped in picking the language back up again. If Yoongi had overheard correctly the other day, he’s now convinced Mina to teach him another language as well, which is progressing almost as quickly.
He had only known Taehyung as a young child of age four back on Earth, so he has no benchmark for how intelligent Taehyung was before he was taken in by his Parents and raised amongst hundreds of other humans and aliens together. Given the way Taehyung’s somehow naturally blond hair had faded to russet gold, then to dark brown, and then finally to black the longer they were away from the planet he had called home, Yoongi is inclined to believe that there’s something about that planet that had altered his body and his mind, even if just slightly.
He watches as Taehyung converses with Namjoon, stumbling over his words only slightly in his excitement to discuss whatever it is they’re talking about. Adding Taehyung to their crew seems to have been the final piece in some puzzle, the last bit of grease needed between the cogs of themselves in order for them to function cleanly and efficiently. He’s provided a same-age friend for Jimin to relax around, a partner who can keep up with all of his antics for Jungkook, and acted as an important temper for Hoseok’s abrasive and sudden mood swings.
For Seokjin, he’s someone who can match his playful energy, and for Namjoon he’s a like-minded person amongst a crew of science and technology nuts. For Yoongi… it’s more difficult. Since their talk all those months ago, Taehyung has kept the secret he promised, only informing the others that he remembered what his name was, and nothing more. Sharing the burden of knowledge with someone else has been indescribably freeing, Yoongi’s found.
Sometimes, on nights when the expanse of space just outside the porthole windows seems so big and cold and empty that Yoongi’s very existence feels like the smallest grain of rice, Taehyung finds him. He just knows, somehow, and he settles down beside Yoongi on his bunk and talks to him. Talks to him about Earth, the things he remembers and the things that he’s learnt now. Once he’d even brought out his list of ‘Human things he wants to understand’, and sandwiched between ‘rubber ducks’ and ‘how to use a blender’, Yoongi had been able to make out the words ‘Yoongi-hyung’, scribbled out and barely readable.
He never asks Yoongi more about those years on Earth alone, he knows that Yoongi doesn’t want to talk about, but he provides comfort and an acceptance and a feeling of home that Yoongi hasn’t known since he left.
But he’s also Yoongi’s memories and regrets made flesh, and a reminder of the secret that they now both carry. With every passing day and every step closer into Jimin and Jungkook’s close intimacy, it weighs heavier on him. Why is he keeping this secret? What worth does this hidden truth have in staying hidden, instead of exposed out in the open? It isn’t as if any of the others would call him a liar or judge him for telling them.
Every day, the reasons for staying quiet seem weaker and weaker.
So, it’s complicated with Taehyung, especially since the younger is so adamant on befriending Yoongi. It’s not that Yoongi is opposed to it, but he’s a solitary creature by nature, and there’s only so much friendliness he can take in one go. For his own good he’s taken to working on repairs in the engineering room in Serendipity’s belly whenever Taehyung becomes too much for him, rather than risk lashing out and upsetting the rhythm that they seem to now be settling into. Or facing Hoseok’s wrath.
Speaking of…
Yoongi regards Hoseok and Taehyung across the table. No matter how they move, throughout all the card games they’ve played this evening, those two haven’t stopped touching each other. Taehyung is a naturally tactile person, always ready to gently touch an elbow or drape himself over someone’s shoulders when he’s tired, but Hoseok is a different story. Perhaps he’s just now warming up, and Taehyung’s welcoming personality had been what was needed to pull him out of his closed off bubble, but Yoongi’s never seen him this handsy before.
He’d tried asking Jimin about it once, and he’d just shrugged, saying: “He’s probably just trying to get into Taehyung’s bed. I wouldn’t think too much of it, he’s always been weirdly closed off and yet oddly flirty.” With the soft eyes and heart-shaped smiles Hoseok’s shooting Taehyung every other minute, it doesn’t seem like just unattached flirting to Yoongi, but it isn’t like he’s an expert.
Not that it’s any of his business, ultimately. He likes Hoseok and Taehyung, and spending this time on Serendipity with them he’s come to regard them as friends, as people who he can trust to ask for help. But when they reach their destination, when they've achieved their goals, what will be left of the tenuous bond they’ve formed? What will happen to the lingering affection between Hoseok and Taehyung? A bounty hunter and a civilian who wants nothing to do with the Federation? It’s best not to get too invested.
With Jimin and Jungkook it’s different. Yoongi has no home to return to but with the two of them, here on Serendipity or wherever they end up.
A head of blue hair nuzzles into Yoongi’s neck and jaw. “Whatcha thinking about, hyung?”
“About how you look just as much like candyfloss with that hair as you did with the pink,” Yoongi lies. Jimin laughs, squishing his cheeks together and raising his eyebrows to make himself look even cuter.
“Is that your way of saying I look edible, hm?” His arms wrap comfortably around Yoongi’s shoulders, leaning over his back, a familiar warmth and solidity to him. “You gonna eat me?”
“If Jungkook-ah doesn’t get there first.” Yoongi reaches up to prod a faded love bite on the side of Jimin’s neck, feeling him squirm in embarrassment. “Seems like he’s already made a head start.”
“You’re welcome to join in,” Jungkook says, voice pitched low to avoid the others - already locked into their own conversations - overhearing. It sends a shiver down Yoongi’s spine and stokes a warm fire in his gut.
“Your hair looks good too,” Jimin adds, face nuzzling up to press his nose against the tips of Yoongi’s newly silver-grey hair, leaving his mouth directly next to Yoongi’s ear. Every move of those plush lips, forming words or smacking against each other, he can feel so intimately. “Makes you almost look edible too.” Yoongi gulps. “Don’t suppose you’d mind me and Jungkook taking a bite out of you?”
It’s easy to forget they’re in the middle of the dining hall, in front of their friends and crewmates, while Jimin’s nuzzling at his head and Jungkook’s giving him a heavy look from his seat, slowly inching closer and closer. Jungkook’s hair is no different from before, except considerably shorter. It somehow serves to make him look both younger and more mature, the shorter cut accentuating his round face but also highlighting the sharp angles of his jaw and eyebrows. They’d dyed them back on Taehyung’s planet, attempting to escape Federation notice without their signature hairstyles. Seokjin had bleached his blond, and Namjoon’s had been dyed a faded purple-grey, along with the changes to Jungkook’s, Yoongi’s and Jimin’s.
Truthfully, Yoongi doesn’t think that dyeing his hair from candyfloss pink to ocean blue is going to do much for flying under the radar, but he’s certainly not going to complain when Jimin looks as good as he does and is offering to get all hot and bothered with him.
Fragments of the others' conversation float over to him, reminding him where they are. “Finally we’re stopping somewhere tomorrow for supplies, it’ll be nice to put feet down on solid ground again.”
Jimin retracts from where he’d half merged into Yoongi, letting out a groan as he straightens his back. “I am not looking forward to trying to get supplies in the Big Market, though. It’s so damn busy there.”
“It’s a good place to stop, though,” Yoongi points out. “It’ll have a lot more of the stuff we need. Should be fairly easy to get some Chuseok supplies too for next week and have a proper feast.”
A sudden silence falls over the group, every eye swivelling towards Yoongi.
“Chuseok?” All of them blink at Yoongi in confusion except Hoseok, clearly the only one with any sense here.
“Chuseok?” Taehyung echoes. Hoseok pulls him aside to explain while the others continue to stare at Yoongi, their befuddled expressions entertaining him.
“Chuseok isn’t this week,” Seokjin says eventually, voice tinged with uncertainty.
“Um, yeah it is,” Yoongi replies with a scoff. “Seriously? None of you realised?”
Jungkook splutters. “It can’t be Chuseok yet! We’ve only been travelling for two weeks, and last I checked it was July when we left Taehyung’s planet.”
“Do the words ‘time dilation’ ring any bells with you guys?” Yoongi says, beginning to get exasperated. “We’ve been travelling at relativistic speeds, you know this.”
Scratching the back of his neck, Namjoon lets out an embarrassed laugh. “I knew, but it’s far too easy to forget and lose track of time in the real world.”
“I don’t think we’ve ever been travelling for this long,” Jimin adds, sharing a glance with Jungkook. “Normally the time differences for journeys are no more than a few days at maximum, not… months.”
“The months and years just seem to slip right by when you spend so much time in transit, don’t they?” Hoseok rejoins the conversation, having finished his explanation. Taehyung is busy typing away on a tablet, storing the new information he’s learnt away to explore later by himself. There’s a wistful look in Hoseok’s eyes, as if his mind is elsewhere, remembering the lost time and experiences that have passed him by.
“We’ve been travelling for three months onboard Serendipity in total, which means that a year and half has passed outside. When we were at Tae’s planet it was mid July, and two weeks onboard Serendipity is two and a half months real time. That puts us in September, near the end to be exact. So Chuseok is next week.”
“I don’t know how the fuck you know that,” Jungkook marvels.
Yoongi shrugs. “Like I said, I spent my teenage years on a trader ship. I got used to estimating time and dates. Mina lets me know the actual date every now and then, too, just to make sure I’m not completely off course.”
“I can’t believe I forgot about Chuseok,” Seokjin bemoans. “Imagine if it’d passed by without me realising… that would have been terrible.”
“We’ve got to get supplies from the Big Market first,” Jimin reminds him, a reluctant frown on his face. “Ugh, I’m really not looking forward to it.”
“Someone tried to stab me last time I was there,” Hoseok admits, disgruntled. “Not for any reason either, I think they just wanted to stab someone.”
“Worth it to have some songpyeon, though.” A chorus of agreeing murmurs fills the room. Yoongi’s mouth waters at the thought of the supplies they’ll be picking up. Fresh vegetables and fruits - along with enough seeds and preserved vegetables to keep them going on Serendipity for months more -, sugar and alcohol and all the good stuff they started having to ration a week or so ago, and eventually ran out of just a few days ago. There’s a chance to stock up on other things too - rare mechanical parts that Yoongi wants to tinker around with, some hardware for Jimin and Jungkook to continue upgrading and modding the wrist monitors with, random knick knacks that the others want, either to occupy themselves or to use for god knows what.
Some of the equipment on Serendipity has been getting a bit worn too, the kitchen utensils are nearing the end of their lives, and Yoongi doesn’t think anyone has cleaned the ship in years since the bottles of cleaning fluids are bone dry and coated in dust.
It isn’t much longer until they reach the galaxy that the Rebellion have apparently set up in, but who knows what will happen after that. Jimin and Jungkook had found out their exact location from a friend of theirs called Chaeyoung, but any attempts to make contact or probe their existence have returned nothing, so the Rebellion could be nothing but a pile of smoking wreckage for all they know. That, and there’s no guarantee of supplies. They may as well stock up now, and make the most of Seokjin’s endlessly deep bank account.
Just another two weeks now.
Two weeks. That’s when everything will start heating up. Until now they’ve been languidly trawling throughout the universe, but once they link up with the Rebellion everything’s going to change, and Yoongi doesn’t know if he’s ready for that. Despite everything, he’s become quite attached to this ragtag family on Serendipity, to their easy camaraderie and playful conversations. He’s not ready to face the harsh reality of life outside this little bubble yet. He hasn’t had the chance to enjoy this sense of belonging and family yet.
Jungkook lets out a loud yawn, eyes scrunching up as he does so. “It’s getting late,” Taehyung says. “Perhaps we should go to sleep?”
“You say that but you’ll be up for hours reading. I see the light coming from your room sometimes when I wake up for a drink of water.” Taehyung lets out a small laugh at Jimin’s statement, running a hand through his hair and ruffling the soft curls. “But you’re right. Jungkookie and I have to be up at 4am to do a system check with Mina, so we need our sleep.”
Yoongi hauls himself out of his chair with a groan. Guess that means he’s going to be up at 4am then, since the large bed is always too cold with just him in it. A yawn makes its way out of him, spurred on by Jungkook’s own. Fuck, he’s tired. He manages a solid eight hours most nights, but often he’s up late monitoring system functions with Mina, or woken in the middle of the night by an alert about sudden immediate repairs that need to be done.
Even then, sleeping solidly through the night with Jimin and Jungkook’s warmth wrapping tightly around him like a blanket, it isn’t enough to relieve the bone deep exhaustion he feels. They’re constantly on alert, constantly working and checking and double-checking, never a moment to let their guards down. After they’d been scooped up by Taehyung’s planet, that paranoia had only got worse. The stress is pervasive and all-encompassing, leaving all of them drained and worn down. Several times now, Yoongi has had to talk Jimin down from a panic about something stalking them, or watching them, or hacking them.
(Hands clutching tightly at Yoongi’s shoulders, sharp nails digging in uncomfortably as Jimin clings as close to him as possible. Wide, tired eyes roving around rapidly as they thoroughly examine every shadow and slight movement. Quick heaving breaths, and the feel of Jimin’s heart beating fast as a drum where his chest is pressed against Yoongi’s.)
But that’s just what life is. Yoongi doesn’t think he’s ever known a time where he was truly free from all burdens. Except for maybe when he settles down for bed each night. When the mattress dips behind him and bare arms wrap around him, skin on skin. That moment before everything fades into darkness, when all the heaviness and worry and anxiety leaches out of him and he’s left with that dreamlike weightlessness. That’s bliss.
Jimin’s hand find a resting place on his shoulder as they make their way back to their room, having already bid goodnight to the others (or rather, everyone else had bid each other goodnight, and Jungkook and Seokjin had continued to bully and rib each other for another five minutes before they were forcibly separated). Looking behind him, Yoongi can see the arm connecting Jimin’s hand to his body, which is slung over Jungkook’s back. The other arm is gripping Jungkook’s chest and shoulders tightly for support, and his legs are hooked around Jungkook’s waist.
His smile is cheeky and playful, but tinged with sleepy softness, and there’s a fondness in Jungkook’s eyes as he huffs out a sigh, hefting Jimin higher so he doesn’t fall off. “Oh, so Kitty gets carried back to bed just like a real kitten?” Yoongi asks. “I think this is favouritism.”
“It’s not!” Jungkook is quick to reassure, always earnest. “I’ll carry you instead, hyung.”
“Oi!”
Jimin’s indignant yell goes ignored as Jungkook drops him to the floor, limbs flailing. In one quick movement, Jungkook steps forward and places two hands squarely on Yoongi’s ass, applying pressure to convince him to jump up and wrap his legs around his waist. Yoongi does so, arms wrapping around Jungkook’s neck tightly in fear as he almost slips. Jungkook hefts Yoongi up and readjusts his hand, leaving the mechanic red-cheeked at the feeling of hands cupping his ass securely.
“Comfy?” Jungkook asks. Yoongi stutters, and Jungkook shoots him a shit-eating grin.
“No fair,” Jimin mutters, trailing behind the two of them as they walk and ignoring the silly faces Yoongi pulls at him over Jungkook’s shoulders. “Why’d he get to touch it first, huh?” He sticks his middle finger up at Yoongi, who responds in kind with his own.
It’s a refreshing experience, being carried around the corridors of the ship by his almost-boyfriend. He’s starting to see why Jimin enjoys it so much, always leaping onto Jungkook’s back at every opportunity, though the near misses of hitting his head on low hanging beams aren’t the most enjoyable.
The door to their room hisses open as they approach, and Jungkook ducks inside. He takes care to shield Yoongi’s head with one hand as he does so, sending a rush of affection through Yoongi. So considerate. Jimin attempts to kick Jungkook’s ankles.
“Oof.” Jungkook flings Yoongi down onto the bed, not too hard but enough to make him bounce. The neatly made covers beneath him, courtesy of Jungkook, sadly do not survive the attack and bunch up around Yoongi. “Couldn’t be any more rough, could you?”
“You might like that a bit too much,” Jimin quips, already stripping out of his oversized jumper and into a sleep shirt, back turned to Yoongi so he can admire the muscles rippling under his skin as he pulls a shirt over his head. Something soft hits Yoongi in the face, and he peels it off to see it’s one of his own shirts. Jungkook shoots him a look, saying stop ogling and get dressed.
With reluctance, Yoongi pulls himself to his feet and strips down himself, ignoring the glances he knows both Jimin and Jungkook are sneaking his way. He makes small talk as he does so.
“What’re you guys doing with Mina so early?” he asks.
Around a mouth of toothpaste and toothbrush, Jungkook gurgles intelligibly from the en suite bathroom. “We updated some of the navigation functions a while back, after getting advice from Taehyung’s family,” Jimin translates. “But a lot of it involves a full system reboot of some sectors, so we need to do it at a low-use time. Like 4am.”
“Grim.” Yoongi waves a hand in Jungkook’s general direction, accepting the toothbrush that’s passed to him wordlessly with a smile. Jimin reaches out, squeezing the last of the toothpaste out of the tube and onto Yoongi’s toothbrush. The sounds of brushing and rinsing fill the room, the three of them settling into a companionable silence.
By the time Yoongi’s finished washing up, Jungkook and Jimin have already settled down on the bed, Jungkook lying down and Jimin perched on the edge, busy applying moisturiser to his skin. Yoongi crawls across the sheets and flops down next to Jungkook. One of Jungkook’s arms wraps around Yoongi’s waist, pulling him in flush against his front.
Yoongi lets out a content sigh and relaxes into the hug. Behind them, there’s the sound of a draw opening and closing followed by the rustling of sheets as Jimin crawls under the covers with them. The lights dim to dark automatically.
“Goodnigh’,” Yoongi slurs, eyelids already heavy and drooping shut. Jungkook and Jimin both murmur it back to him. There’s the feeling of a hand running soothing strokes down his bare arm, and then a gentle kiss dropped at the corner of his mouth, plush lips barely brushing against his own.
Slowly, the darkness creeps in and whisks Yoongi away.
“Watch your step,” Hoseok calls over his shoulder, and then promptly screams as he runs headfirst into the ass of a giant, scaly alien. Taehyung looks aghast behind him, and Jungkook has to muffle his laughter.
“Great job, Hobi,” Namjoon snarks, and then promptly trips over as Hoseok’s whip wraps around his ankle. Beside him, Seokjin doesn’t even bother to fake sympathy.
“What did you think was going to happen, huh? You’re an idiot.”
Jungkook carefully sidesteps a glistening snail trail left by a slug-like alien, watching with equal fascination and terror as the slime corrodes away at the metal grating below like acid. Jimin isn’t so lucky, almost putting his foot straight through the newly corroded hole before Jungkook tugs on his sleeve. He shoots his boyfriend a thankful smile, and keeps his arm looped around Jungkook’s own as they walk.
Their bodies are laden down with bags after bags, boxes after boxes of goods, and Jimin’s bags keep clanking together as he walks, swinging side to side over his shoulders. Up ahead, Hoseok and Taehyung are carrying a heavy box between the two of them, and Seokjin’s broad shoulders are entirely eclipsed by the huge bag that he wears on his back. It’s all their supplies, neatly shrunk down and weight-minimised to help them carry it through the crowded streets of the Big Market.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jungkook can see Yoongi staring wide-eyed around him, lips parted in a small gasp of wonder as he peers over the boxes stacked high in his arms. It’s the same expression he’d seen on Taehyung’s face, and Namjoon’s and Seokjin’s too when they’d first stepped into this place. Shock, amazement, wonder, and a little bit of horror.
The Big Market is like a planet of its own, and it certainly has the population and capacity to be one. It’s an independent space station set in the orbit of a huge star; a sprawling structure that had started off as no more than the equivalent of an intergalactic petrol station, and over the years had spiralled into a hub of activity and a melting pot of alien cultures.
Inhabitants themselves only account for about a hundred million individuals, but the average daily capacity of the Big Market is in the billions. Jungkook’s heard from some people that the time taken to explore the entire Big Market would exceed the current age of the universe, but he doesn’t know how true that is. Certainly, it’s not beyond belief. This is his fifth visit to Big Market in his life - but his first visit in person, rather than over VR - and he’s yet to explore even a tenth of a percent of just the second level.
Big Market is divided into over a hundred levels that Jungkook knows of. The first level is for tourists, and is by far the biggest, full of trinkets and knick knacks and street food that smells as enticing as it does questionable. It’s vibrant and colourful, containing parks and gardens and music halls and restaurants, all packed into winding streets decorated with bright bunting.
After that, the levels just get darker and darker, creeping down below the surface. If one looks down from the first level, all the way down through the chasms that make up the airways of the Big Market, you can see all the way down to level fifteen, and after that it fades into darkness.
Jungkook’s never been lower than level two, which is where mostly supplies and embargoed goods can be found. A lot of the reputable cyber experts can be found on level two. Jimin’s visited level three on occasion, stooping into the shadows to acquire black market items that the Federation would froth at the mouth to get a hold of.
Hoseok had admitted to them he’s been all the way down to level five, but he’d done so with a face so pale it was as if he’d been drained of blood. Never again, he told them, eyes haunted. I’d been foolish, back then, but the nightmares still haunt me to this day.
There’s a sense of morbid curiosity Jungkook feels about the lower levels. Surely they can’t be that bad, he tells himself. But he doesn’t want to test it. There’s a reason that levels below five are so shrouded in darkness and mystery, because very few who go down that far ever come all the way back to the light.
The chasm gapes deep black and yearning just past the railing, and Jungkook shivers. Just how deep does it go?
Level two is a safe place to be. It’s definitely skeevy, and any unfortunate tourist who happens to make their way down here leaves infinitely lighter in credits than they began, but if you know how to handle yourself it’s not that different from the dark alleyways of Seoul.
Little light trickles down through the airway above, so everything is cast into a faded gloom, illuminated by faded orange lights and glitchy tech. The air is musty and hot, heavy in the lungs, and after a while the stench stops being as noticeable. It’s nowhere near as colourful as level one, with its bunting and lanterns and sunlight, but there’s bright fabrics that drape all around them, and if Jungkook looks across the chasm he can see the shops on the other side, colourful with wares and draped fabric canopies.
Metal walkways criss-cross across the chasm, varying in height and width and stability (Jungkook swears he sees a small agile alien crawling across what looks like a tightrope, but that’s none of his business). The sky isn’t visible from this far down, in the belly of level two, so all Jungkook can see as he peers over the barrier and upwards is the tangle of walkways, swarming with people.
A faded blue figure walks straight through him, scattering into a bunch of pixels before quickly reassembling itself into the form of a human giving him an irritated look. Jungkook gives an apologetic smile and continues on his way, trying to focus more on the crowds ahead of him. Most of the swarm here are aliens, and a group of humans - even dressed as they are in trader fashion - attract a lot of curious looks. The only other humans here are ones visiting through VR, composed of blue forms like the one Jungkook had bumped into.
“Pay attention, Kook,” Yoongi warns, just enough time for Jungkook to move aside as three hovering robots whizz past with sirens blaring, stirring up the dust in the air and making them all cough.
“I hate how busy it is here,” Jimin gripes, hair plastered to his forehead with the humid air. “It stinks, and there’s someone trying to knock you over or rob you every other second.” Up ahead, Seokjin has been accosted by a merchant trying to buy his wrist monitor off him, promising ‘absolutely legal and completely safe surgery to sever the neck implant connection’ which doesn’t sound like a lie at all.
“We’re almost out,” Jungkook says. “But I kinda like it here. There’s so much going, so much to explore!”
“Of course you’d like it,” Yoongi says with an indulgent smile. “I bet you’d spend forever tinkering around in those cyber cafes we passed back there.”
“Free refills on alien coffee and a bunch of illegal tech for me to hack into and mess around with? I’m sold!”
Yoongi’s laugh follows them as they weave through the crowd and into a dark alley, ducking past the draping fabrics. Hoseok waves his hand in front of a panel on the wall, and the doors to the elevator slide open. It’s packed with people already, but somehow they manage to fit in, and the doors shut behind them with a heavy creaking sound.
With rattles and groans, up they go. The volume inside the elevator is astronomical, the sounds of many alien languages and animals clucking and cooing and screeching all overlaying each other. They’re packed in like sardines, Jungkook’s back pressed up against the arm of a very intimidating looking cyborg strapped with enough weapons to fill an armoury. Hoseok looks completely at home here, of course, leaning up against the wall with a relaxed posture.
All of them let out a sigh of relief when the doors groan open once more and they spill out into the sunny courtyard, pain flaring up in Jungkook’s forehead at the sudden brightness. Around them, the courtyard stretches on for mile after mile, and stretches up above them even further. Behind them, the elevator doors close once more and it continues its transit upwards.
They’d parked Serendipity a fair distance away from the entrance, and Yoongi heaves a sigh beside Jungkook as he realises that means he can’t set his load down yet. Jungkook gives him a cheeky smile, barely even feeling the strain. “Tired, hyung?”
“We’re not all body-builders like you, Jungkook-ah,” Yoongi mutters back.
“Gym rat,” Jimin pipes up.
“I think it’s admirable that Jungkookie works out so much,” Taehyung says, turning back to shoot a smile.
Yoongi continues to mutter under his breath about big muscle people who think they’re better than the rest of us and when I destroy all of Jungkook’s weight machines, then he will see, but Jungkook can see the blush that dusts his cheeks.
They haven’t spoken about Jungkook’s mess up the other day. Well, he wouldn’t call it a mess up, but Jimin would, and had. Which… was fair. He hadn’t meant to kiss Yoongi goodnight! Fortunately he’d missed his mouth, otherwise Jimin would have never let him live it down, and they still don’t know whether Yoongi even remembers it.
Part of Jungkook hopes he doesn’t, so their proper first kiss will be the one he remembers, but at the same time he doesn’t want to forget the soft feeling of Yoongi’s lips and the curve of his cheek, the gentle flutter of his breath against Jungkook’s mouth as he exhaled.
He hasn’t got the courage to bring it up to Yoongi, so he guesses he’ll never know whether he remembers or not.
The loading bay of Serendipity begins to creak open as they come within view of her, aliens scuttering about underneath quickly moving out of her path to avoid being crushed. Yoongi sets his boxes down as soon as they step inside, letting out a relieved moan that has Jungkook’s ears going pink. “Finally!”
“Jimin-hyung and Hoseok-hyung, you two get us out of here,” Jungkook says, setting his bags down on the floor. He rolls his shoulders back, feeling the muscles shift and loosen. Despite all that posturing, I’m going to be sore tomorrow. “We’ll sort out the stuff here.”
“Alright.” The two of them disappear into the ship, and Jungkook turns to the others.
“You guys can pull everything further into the loading back, and then I’ll resize it up. Make sure you stand back.”
Everyone obediently takes a step back. Jungkook pulls a small device from his pocket, sized like an old mobile phone with a glass screen and chunky case. He holds it against the nearest box. With a beep and a flashing red light from the screen of the device, the box starts to vibrate slightly and grow bigger, phasing up and up like that silly red character in the game Seokjin loves, until finally it settles. The box sits, now three times the size it was before and almost ten times as heavy.
They make quick work of the rest of the supplies, everyone unpacking them all and Jungkook sizing them back up to their real sizes and weights. It’s some pretty impressive technology, and Jungkook himself only has the vaguest ideas about how it works. He’d love to crack open the scaling device and have a proper look at its inner workings, but Jimin had banned him from it after his last attempt to do so had resulted in them shrinking Jimin’s favourite pair of chelsea boots.
Beneath their feet, there’s the familiar rumble of Serendipity’s engines coming to life. Jungkook grips onto the nearest crate for support as they take off, G-force pushing him down and causing him to stumble.
As they breach the atmosphere, the pressure eases and Jungkook finds he can breathe again properly. He’ll never get used to that immense pressure threatening to split his head open, no matter how many times he’s felt it. Even the best gravity stabilisers can only make the experience bearable, not negating it completely.
Leaving the others to unpack and sort out their supplies, Jungkook pulls himself into the corridor and along to the cabin. Jimin and Hoseok are there, discussing the route with Mina.
“It would be safer to go via the Hidili’a gas clouds,” Hoseok argues, arms across his chest. “Less chance of bumping into anyone unsavoury.”
“We know where the rebellion are based,” Jimin replies, “and it’s somewhere near this cluster of stars.” He taps at a satellite image on his tablet. “There’s no point in going via the gas clouds, not when we’re so close and it would take us out of our way.”
Hoseok opens his mouth to rebuke Jimin, but Jungkook cuts in, moving to swing himself across Jimin’s lap in the captain’s chair. “Jiminie’s right. At this point there’s no need for detours. It’s just a week left, we can handle what comes.”
Looking back, Jungkook isn’t convinced that what happens isn’t some sort of divine retribution for his arrogance. A way for the universe to say, oh, what? You thought you could handle whatever I can throw at you?
It happens so fast Mina doesn’t even have time to process the shifts going on around them, all Jungkook knows is a feeling of intense nausea and vertigo, like he’s being tumbled around in the sky, falling downwards while spinning around and around and around. Outside the windows, that inky darkness blossoms into a swirl of bright colours. A mess of red and blue and yellow and purple, mixed together like a child spilling paints all over a pristine page.
Just as soon as it begins, it stops. “Fuck,” Jungkook slurs, half falling off Jimin’s lap. His vision swims before him, and if the retching coming from Hoseok’s direction is any indication, he’s not the only one who felt it.
“The fuck was that?” Jimin asks, face screwed up in pain.
“It feels like the worst hangover I’ve ever had.”
“God, you’re ri- Wait, look outside.”
Jungkook somehow manages to overcome the nausea and lift his head, squinting through blurred vision out the window. “Is that…” he begins. “Is that a planet?”
Through the thick glass, the view outside has changed. Gone is the star-studded landscape of vast, endless space. Instead, a huge planet dominates the view. Dirty, muddy blue, with rings of dust and debris around it. The planet must be at least two to three Jupiter masses. It’s enormous, and definitely wasn’t there a few seconds ago.
“Was it cloaked?” Jimin gasps out, struggling to his feet. “Like Taehyung’s planet. Mina?”
“Negative,” the AI responds. “I’ve double checked our navigation and it would appear that we have… shifted.”
“How far?”
“Precisely 0.00578 parsecs, or 0.0188 light years.”
Jungkook runs the numbers in his head. “But that means…”
“It can’t be,” Jimin intervenes. “We’re still a week away. Faster than light travel isn’t possible, and no one has warp capabilities anywhere near this level. This shouldn’t be physically possible.”
There’s a hissing behind them, the door to the cabin sliding open and everyone else stumbling in. Taehyung seems mostly okay somehow, but Yoongi and Namjoon are clutching their heads tightly. Seokjin looks about one unfortunate jostle away from spilling his guts.
“What the fuck just happened?” Namjoon asks. Then he pauses, and squints out the front window. “Down there, on the bottom corner of the planet, is that...?” He points with his finger and everyone follows its path.
There’s a disturbance on the surface of that dirty blue smoothness, jagged and bubbling like spots rising to the surface. It’s discoloured pale grey and dark near-black, spreading out across the surface like a spider wrapping its legs around. “A compound.”
“A rebellion compound.”
Jungkook doesn’t have any words, still reeling from the surprise circumstances that brought them here. We got here. We found it. The planet grows bigger and bigger in their view, swamping their entire perspective until everything is murky turquoise. We’re finally… here.