Chapter Text
Seokjin looked at his surroundings. For some reason, the entire scenario brought him a sense of deja vu.
Seeking an ally, Seokjin looked at Jimin, the silver haired alien. He was a little too smiley for his liking— actually, Seokjin was certain he was positively delighted about Yoongi’s words. Jimin stared at Yoongi intensely as he spoke and wouldn’t take his eyes off him. He was a fool in love that much was obvious.
Next, there was Jungkook, who seemed definitely lost in thought. A fly could pass him by and settle on top of him and he wouldn’t even flinch. Seokjin wanted to shake him in that moment. Where was the brotherly love he’d professed so passionately five seconds ago? He didn’t seem so eager now to prove his loyalty but then again, Jungkook had punched him in the face five minutes ago too, and didn’t bother to apologize. Maybe his affections weren’t so reliable, Seokjin scoffed in his direction. And then, there was Taehyung...
Taehyung’s name rings a bell.
“So, what will it be?” prompted Yoongi, turning his hand and flexing his fingers without a care in the world.
Seokjin turned, felt a droplet sweat roll down his temple. “Are you willing to go through my method, or…” Resumed the alien, extending his other arm; a new set of claws appeared to his aid.
Yoongi grinned, pleased as Seokjin couldn’t help but to side-eye these carefully. “...will it be your way?”
Seokjin got the message. It was either Yoongi’s way or Yoongi’s way. It wasn’t like he didn’t have a third choice though. If anyone was brave enough, there was always a third option. Only Seokjin wasn’t sure whether he should take the risk. The truth was, if he dared to rebel, it would go against his chances of survival. After all, Yoongi was the one with the upper hand.
There were just too many factors to consider. They were aliens with unknown abilities and powers, and Seokjin was… unfortunately as normal as a human could be. They had knowledge about their surroundings, a crew full of trained individuals and other weapons at their disposal. Seokjin didn’t even know where in the galaxy he had landed, or if there was a feasible way out of there to begin with. Not to mention that even if he managed to escape, he wouldn’t know where to go to actually leave the ship.
He figured he could find out on the way though, but that’s beside the point.
For the sake of brevity, let’s just say that It would have been discouraging to continue to ponder on it. It was a fight that he had already lost, if he was being honest with himself.
Seokjin concluded with sobriety that it was easier to yield to Yoongi. The scale wasn’t tipped on his side. Not in the slightest.
Seokjin licked his lips, ignoring reason (as per usual) and weighing the odds against his better judgement.
He never did say he wasn’t reckless.
“How about--” he started, and then a shadow stepped in front of him.
“Over my dead body.”
Lo and behold, Seokjin’s eyes widened in surprise, it was the prince that had stepped forward. Jungkook unsheathed a saber from his belt; a along, pointy sword that emitted a light that would have blinded him had he stared at it for too long.
Jungkook shifted his weapon to his side and drove Seokjin behind his back, pushing him with his free hand. Wordlessly, he surged the tip of the sword to Yoongi’s chin, making the captain lean back.
Yoongi furrowed his brows, appraising the prince with what he could only assume was amusement.
“Are we playing some kind of game, your highness?” mocked Yoongi, easily reaching out and grasping the sword between his fingers.
Seokjin could hear as the sword hissed, the sight of smoke swirling in the air, the scent of burnt flesh branding Yoongi’s hand.
And yet, when Yoongi pushed it off, his skin was bare of wounds, expression unchanged. “I thought we had a deal.”
“That deal was broken the second you decided to threaten my fiance.” gritted Jungkook between his teeth. He was looking somewhat feral, grasping the sword with both of his hands like his life depended on it. Seokjin knew that if Yoongi had taken a step closer, closer than he stood at the moment, all hell would break loose.
Seokjin wasn’t sure he was the same person from a minute ago.
The shift was too sudden. But his best bet was to rely on him for now, as nobody else had taken his side until then.
He shouldn’t be hesitant in that moment, and yet all he could think of is that it was as surreal as it was confusing.
Seokjin was hoping he would stop feeling like an outsider, and more as the main character, soon. Some time.
Any time now
“Your fiance ?” emphasized Yoongi, shaking his head. “I doubt he wants anything to do with you, your highness.” guffawed Yoongi, smirking.
“You gave him a black eye. Or have you forgotten?”
Much like a child would when getting caught with his hand on the cookie jar; Jungkook froze in the spot, hunched his shoulders lightly as a flush reached his neck. Seokjin couldn't see it from where he was, but he was sure the comment bothered him; embarrassed him, truly.
He had not believed him before. Now, it seemed as clear as the day.
Jungkook averted his gaze from Yoongi; slowly, he lowered his weapon. He stood like a kicked puppy seeking for his forgiveness, all round and bright puppy eyes and soke after Seokjin’s gaze, expectant. Seokjin could have sworn he was on the verge of pouting.
He made sure to keep his face perfectly neutral.
“I don’t mind it anymore.” affirmed Seokjin with veiled indifference, waving his hand dismissively.
Admittedly, It had been hard to swallow his pride. Again. Inwardly, he wanted to punch the brat to jupiter and the fact he dared to put on a harmless, cute pet act did not move his heart in the slightest. He would have bristled had he the opportunity to show his feelings. He also wished he had added “No promises about the marriage. ” but it seemed too early to say.
Sadly, if it was ultimately beneficial, he’d do anything to secure his boarding pass to earth. Seokjin had to find an edge here. It was his only hope for getting back home.
Not that there was a lot to miss back on earth.
But it was better than being stuck somewhere in the universe, floating in space, constantly having his life threatened. Seokjin was missing the mundane aspects of his previous life already. He was craving a cup of coffee, too.
Unable to discern from Seokjin’s intentions, Jungkook’s face lit up at his words. He turned to Yoongi as if to say “See?” with a self-contented, childish lopsided grin and picked up his sword again. Yoongi rolled his eyes, glaring at Seokjin for longer than usual.
Seokjin had the inkling of a feeling he could see through him, but he’d never give him the satisfaction of it. He shrugged as if unable to help it, which only earned him a loud ‘tsk’ in return.
Yoongi must have felt Jungkook’s intentions true, and maybe even his abilities challenging in comparison to his crew’s because he stepped back with a sour look at once.
“Fine.” he barked, tilting his head. “What do you suggest, my prince?” asked Yoongi begrudgingly.
It wasn’t clear whether Jungkook was of royal origin or not. At least not for Seokjin, who despite having recognized Jungkook’s clothing as different from the crew’s, he had yet to understand the hierarchy of command of the ship. He surmised from common knowledge that if Jungkook was the prince, and Yoongi and the others were officers of some kind, Jungkook stood on top of them.
And yet, Yoongi spoke to Jungkook as if he was everyone’s prince but his own. Every time Yoongi had verified the prince’s title, it had been with either disdain or sarcasm; using it to look down on him, or perhaps even to make fun of the situation. He wasn’t sure why but every time he did this, it annoyed him. Seokjin had to fight the urge to infuriate Yoongi on purpose. He wanted to live beyond his years, thank you very much.
It still annoyed him though.
Pleased, Jungkook’s sword disappeared under his hood. “If…” he hesitated, stealing a glance to Seokjin. “If Seokjin isn’t Jun…” he trailed off, pondering to the ground. “...then i will allow you to do as you wish.” said Jungkook with finality.
Seokjin wordlessly stared at Jungkook, panic creeping up his throat. He had to have a plan for this. If his feelings were true, he had to-
“-But if he is, and for some reason, he really doesn’t remember me or any of us-” Jungkook looked up, determined. “-I will punish your insult as I see fit, under the name of the andromeda intergalactic force: The commander of the hyperion, and the human crown prince, Im Seokjun.”
A hush descended the room.
And then, Taehyung started clapping slowly. “Amazing.” he began, stepping midst the fight of glares the captain and the prince had started after this. “That sounded so legit, my prince. I’m honored-” said Taehyung with a flourish, pressing one arm against his middle as he bowed to Jungkook. “-to be in your presence.”
Yoongi broke from the glaring contest first, ignoring a smug Jungkook who understood this as his surrender. He smacked Taehyung up in the head.
“Stop fooling around and call Namjoon.” ordered Yoongi with irritation
Taehyung grumbled at the assault, rubbing his head. “Fine. Fine.” He straightened and tapped on his intercom; his irises crystallized with a faraway look, staring straight ahead. It was in less than a minute before he spoke to them again.
“Done.” proclaimed Taehyung, grinning from ear to ear. “Namjoon said he’d meet us at the cockpit.”
-
“So you’re kind of like an astrophysicist?” Seokjin added after swallowing a mouthful of bread. It was hard and dry, but he couldn’t complain.
Although he admitted, anything was good after not having eaten for who knows how long.
Namjoon nodded, bringing small cylinder to his lips. “—Well, yes. I’m also a scholar—-” Taehyung coughed, interrupting. “—nerd—” earning himself a glare from Yoongi and a raise of a single brow from Namjoon as he took a swig of his drink. “—of sorts. I attend the Andromeda University of Science and Arts. I have graduated already, but biology and forensics isn’t my forte. Hence why I don’t think I’m the most qualified in testing you.”
Seokjin chewed on his last bit of food, closing his eyes. Unsure if Seokjin pertained to the species they knew him to be before, Jungkook had suggested to be cautious of his pick in case he got ill. After Jungkook had introduced them to their living quarters and showed him their stash, Seokjin had chosen carefully based on its origin, scent and looks, as well as its taste. The best he could choose had been that hard piece of dough that he figured akin to bread.
It could have been a gamble, to choose wrongfully— Seokjin was certain he wasn’t an alien. But the only way to prove it was through the very block of his cells; his DNA.
Unfortunately, as Namjoon has mentioned, nobody on the ship had the knowledge to test him. They had the tools; the Hyperion was packed with its own laboratory close to their personal headquarters, and yet they had no one to manage it.
“We used to.” Jimin had said with sheepishness. “But she’s a busy person and she couldn’t join us this time.”
It dawned on Seokjin then that the people around him weren’t exactly nobody important.
“Great.” remarked Yoongi sarcastically. “Let’s do it my way, then.” he gave Seokjin a wolfish, positively predatory sneer.
Seokjin almost choked on his own saliva.
“-wait—“ croaked Seokjin, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “-hold on a second—“
“It’s not his fault Namjoon isn't capable of testing him.” Jungkook protested, barging in.
Seokjin felt a sense of relief when he came in to view. He’d been almost tempted to throw him a pleading gaze but the guy had his back faster than he could blink. It was getting hard not to depend on Jungkook when everyone kept looking at him like a liar. He was starting to look at him like his knight in shinning armor.
“Put yourself in his shoes, Yoongi.” Jungkook argued, voice softening at the edges. Seokjin observed the captain closely. However, Yoongi’s poker face was impenetrable. “We should at least give him the chance.”
In the background, he could see Namjoon nodding his head despite Yoongi’s deafening, silent disapproval. Hoseok kept to himself, whistling a somewhat familiar tune as he veered the ship. Sana busied herself with a weapon of sorts, twisting and shifting its contents, and Momo stared at her tablet with newly acquired interest.
Jimin and Taehyung were the only ones listening — as well as Jungkook, standing next to a sensibly wary Seokjin — less than a feet close to Yoongi in support. Their body language underlined their opinions loud enough, albeit ambiguously if one nit picked at the details. One was grinning at the show, the other was in an enamored gaze directed at the captain still.
Yoongi painstakingly sighed.
“Do you happen to know anyone that could do this, your highness?” He began with skepticism.
Jungkook opened his mouth to answer only to be interrupted by him. “-someone that wouldn’t ask questions, would not demand an insufferable amount of money or goods in exchange of their services, and would keep this a secret?” he added with a complacent, barely concealed smirk.
Jungkook furrowed his brows, deep in thought.
A minute passed and then, all of a sudden, Namjoon snapped his fingers.
“Ah!” he started, visibly excited. “I know someone!” Yoongi hissed at him. “— or not?” Namjoon rushed to correct in a smaller voice.
Yoongi groaned. He strode to a chair and sprawled his body on it in defeat, crossing his arms against his chest and closing his eyes.
Namjoon took this as his sign to continue.
”—Although, they’re still a scholar as well, I think it’s worth trying.” he resumed, finally undeterred, a dimpled appearing on his cheek. “We’ll have to return to Meridian though, it’s not too far from the capitol.”
Seokjin felt some tension leave his body. If he ever got to escape, he knew there was a possibility that Namjoon would be an ally. It occurred to him that if he spent more time with him, perhaps he could lure him to his side and acquire the information he needed to leave.
Jungkook smiled gratefully to Namjoon, slapping his shoulder with a laugh. He nearly ended up nearly shoving the guy to the ground from the sheer force.
“Sounds good enough to me.” said Jungkook with a grin, completely ignorant of a wincing Namjoon rubbing his shoulder, looking at the captain for the final verdict.
Yoongi must have felt his eyes on him because he spoke up right on cue. “Hoseok, get Namjoon’s coordinates.” he ordered.
“On it, Cap.” Immediately replied Hoseok, throwing a wink over his shoulder.
Not wanting to give Yoongi the opportunity to change his mind, Namjoon rushed to the seat next to his crew mate and began to describe the coordinates to him.
-
Seokjin let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, deflating on what looked like a couch etched into the wall. He stretched his arms above his head and began to massage his temples. Jungkook joined him and placed a hand over his shoulder.
“Don’t worry, hyung.” reassured Jungkook, squeezing him. “You’ll be okay. No matter what happens, Im here.” Jungkook said.
Seokjin bit his lip, looking up to the prince.
At the beginning, his impression of him hadn’t been the greatest. But now, seeing that he’d stood up for him despite their initial confrontation, it was getting increasingly difficult to question his words.
There was no way of telling whether he was telling the truth or not, and if he really was the person they thought he was; if he had lost his memory, and the only people that knew him before this were them. They could easily manipulate him into believing whatever they wanted him to believe, so long they gained his trust.
Unfortunately, looking at it from his perspective, it wouldn’t be that different from his present situation.
Regardless, the knowledge they would, hypothetically, hold above his head was concerning enough due to their behavior towards him. After all, they hadn’t been exactly the most welcoming bunch. They had him locked in a room without food for quite a while, interrogated him for possibly hours, threatened him, and then even punched him in the face for no plausible reason.
This brought him to question: Who were all of them to begin with? What were they to him? With the exception of Jungkook, the crew had either stood up behind Yoongi or had decided to feign ignorance about the entire ordeal as if it wasn’t happening to begin with, which brought even less clarity than answers.
He had a vague idea of their titles and their function, but that did not shed light to the whole picture at all. He’d been given fragments of the story, and Seokjin was breaking his head to be given at least a piece of it, as well as to prove his innocence without risking his safety.
It was frustrating, and Seokjin was getting so, so tired.
Somehow reading Seokjin’s growing stress and swirling doubts in his gaze, Jungkook scooted closer to Seokjin and tentatively placed his hand parallel to his. Seokjin eyed Jungkook’s long fingers with curiosity rather than the undeniable irritation he’d felt before at the hall.
Seokjin wasn’t blind to Jungkook’s glances, really. He wasn’t stupid enough to think that his feelings were completely platonic. He had not forgotten the fact that they were supposed to be fiancés, nor that he had cared whether Seokjin still considered this true despite his supposed lack of memory.
In spite of not even being certain he was his actual fiancé.
Adeptly, Seokjin had brushed it aside because it was easier to deal with in concept. Back on earth, he had his fair share of crushes and lovers but none of them had ever come to anything fruitful. Seokjin wasn’t sure if it had been because of him or the other party, but part of him had been mildly aware that it hadn’t exactly troubled him to know. If anything, he had felt… relief as soon as they had ended.
And that was what bugged him.
Be that as it may, Jungkook wasn’t brave enough to cross the invisible boundary Seokjin had drawn between them. He didn’t have the heart to be rejected again. He made himself appear small next to Seokjin, folding a leg to his chest and hunching his shoulders. He propped his cheek on his knee and peeked at the male from underneath his bangs, and said absolutely nothing, and yet everything with his eyes.
I want to push his hair back, Seokjin found himself thinking, and then very suddenly … wanting.
Startled by his feelings, it was the flash of a memory and the rampant, vivid sound of Jungkook’s laughter — a field of green and an endless sky in the middle of nothing but wind and reaching hands — and the feeling of his hair, soft and light beneath his fingertips that burst from the back of his head that made Seokjin jump away as if scalded.
Jungkook, the real one, flinched unknowingly; confused and bearing a bitter smile, he made his way to stand.
Influx of unknown feelings trampling Seokjin, he reached across the distance they had between them and snatched his wrist, pulling him back.
“I’m sorry.” whispered Seokjin in a rush, sincere. “Please, stay.”
Jungkook’s eyes softened, and without questioning Seokjin’s actions, it took him less than a second to approach the couch slowly anew, as if not wanting to scare Seokjin away. He sat next to him, albeit at a farther distance than he had maintained before, and didn’t ask a single thing.
Seokjin tried to not be offended by this. He tampered with all his might the yearning, the nearly suffocating longing and want by clenching his jaw. He cleared his mind, and managed to take a calming breath in spite his racing thoughts. He gathered himself, and eventually put his brain to use.
They have met before , Seokjin concluded, head space a lot clearer. They were close. Jungkook wasn’t lying.
Seokjin, consequently, came to a revelation.
Maybe, just maybe, Jun and me…
“Hyung?” pried Jungkook, chewing on his bottom lip, nudging a pondering Seokjin with a poke to his thigh.
Seokjin broke from his daze, startled, but he made sure not to jump this time.
“Jungkook, I think—“
“Preparing for landing. Beginning count down: five seconds, guys. It’s gonna get shaky.” Hoseok’s voice suddenly interrupted, booming through the intercom.
Any crew member standing rushed to their seats. Seokjin mimicked Jungkook, buckling up from across his shoulders, chest and waist. Once attached securely to their positions, Jungkook started anew.
“Hyung. What were you going to say?” he insisted.
Three seconds, Hoseok’s countdown progressed from above.
“It’s just that I think-”
Two .
Seokjin looked up, cursing to himself.
“What?” tríed Jungkook again, impatient.
One