Archive of Our Own ^beta

It's not the first time the two of them have been married. In fact, it's not even the only time they've been married mostly sober, so the event probably shouldn't stand out to Seungcheol as much as it does.

Jeonghan isn't even the only crew member he's married to, though he is the only one that Seungcheol has married more than once. The first time was a pure accident, the two of them blundering through a sale of some dubiously acquired engine parts that went all too well, and ending up drunk on an all too literal form of moonshine, and later locked in wedded bliss (courtesy of a courtship ritual that started with Jeonghan playing with his hair, of all things.)

But tonight isn't so much of a blunder. Though Seungcheol by no means stepped on this planet with the intent of marrying his unofficial right-hand man, but he's been through enough backwater marriage ceremonies to catch the signs by now. It's well past dusk, with a ripping bonfire in the center of the town they just managed to robin hood away from an annoying bureaucrat, and there's enough going on to keep the whole of Seungcheol’s crew occupied. These are the kinds of nights that he likes best when they're all warm and glowing with a fresh win and enough money they won't have to worry for awhile.

Jeonghan flops down next to him, a wide smile on his face and a crown of flowers that Seungcheol doesn't recognize perched on top of his head. Seungcheol reaches over, plucking a stray petal from his hair and giving it a critical look. “Better hope you aren't allergic to these too.”

In response, Jeonghan pouts at him and uses a hand to correct the crooked cricket. “That happened one time.”

“Usually people learn from that,” Seungcheol says, though he can't help but grin. The loose ponytail that Jeonghan has at the back of his head is keeping the crown from sitting right, and with a roll of his eyes, Seungcheol leans forward to fix it for him.

“Can't you just be a good friend and tell me I look cute, Captain,” Jeonghan says before Seungcheol finishes retying his hair. He doesn't move, letting Seungcheol do as he pleases even though he's more likely to make a mess of things.

“I dunno, you should do something cute for me,” Seungcheol says, dropping his hands slowly. Jeonghan gives him a look of such utter disdain that it makes Seungcheol laugh, a grin spreading wide on his face.

Whatever sharp retort Jeonghan has to that request is lost when the music starts playing around them. Jeonghan lifts his head, an eyebrow tilted curiously upwards as some of the villagers gather around the fire to dance. It's interesting to watch how they move, being that all of them look something like green, three-legged centaurs. It would be fun to sit and watch, if that was all Jeonghan seemed to have in mind. He reaches out, gripping around Seungcheol’s wrists and hauling him up to his feet.

“C’mon,” he says, laughing as he pulls Seungcheol along like dead weight. “Have fun for once.”

Seungcheol can hear Jihoon and Soonyoung hooting at them from their game of cards as if Yoon Jeonghan twisting his arm is at all an unfamiliar sight. With a sigh that's more for show than anything else, Seungcheol laces their fingers together and nods his head. “Just for a bit.”

It's impossible to follow the movements of their distinctly inhuman friends, so instead the two of them settle for following the rhythm of the music instead. Jeonghan laughs, freeing one hand to stick his crown of flowers on Seungcheol’s head, grinning when the rough motion makes white and pink petals shower around him.

There's a cheer, and the music comes to a slow close, and Seungcheol looks around in confusion, his fingers still twined with Jeonghan’s. For a moment, Seungcheol is at a loss for why the two of them are being stared at, and then he hears Jihoon’s all too familiar cackle.

“Again?” He asks, soft enough for only Jeonghan to hear. Jeonghan looks around before laughing and shrugging his shoulders. He leans in, planting a peck on Seungcheol’s cheek as if this were the most normal thing in the world. And maybe for them, it is.

“Seven,” he says, voice bright.

The accommodations they're given are nice, nicer than a group of what amounts to being nothing more than mercenaries probably deserve, but Seungcheol isn't about to start arguing with a soft bed for the night.

That is until the soft bed is no longer his alone, and Jeonghan is doing his best to pull him out of it. “Cheollie, come here.”

“What?” He groans, hardly coherent enough to scold Jeonghan, either for waking him or for the pet name. He cracks his eyes open, trying to reclaim his hands.

There’s a surprising amount of light shining in the small room for it being the middle of the night, the pale face of the planet’s moon visible through the open window. It illuminates Jeonghan’s profile, making the wide smile on his face glow, casting hard shadows over the defined angles of his cheekbones.

“Is someone dead?” He asks, pulling his hands free to sit up and rub at his eyes.

“Sure,” Jeonghan says, which is hardly what Seungcheol would call a trustworthy answer, even if he weren’t more asleep than awake. Still, he lets Jeonghan pull him along, because he’s never been very good at saying no to his crew.

What he doesn’t expect is for Jeonghan to take him all the way up to the roof of the small hotel they’re all staying in, using a winding, perilous set of stairs that wakes Seungcheol up as fast as a bucket of cold water. He’s about to open his mouth and complain again about being dragged out of bed so Jeonghan can try his level best to see Seungcheol with a broken ankle, but Jeonghan stops a foot away, pointing upward with a single finger.

Seungcheol has been roaming around in space since he was a teenager, and he always expects that years later it will stop seeming so vast and incredible. Like somehow he’ll come to the day when he’s seen all the wonders that the stars have to offer and get bored. But, when he follows Jeonghan’s suggestion and cranes his neck back, it seems like that day hasn’t yet arrived.

Above them, it seems like the entire galaxy is spread out, turning the sky a deep velvet purple, with streaks of blue and gold, littered endlessly with stars. Seungcheol stares, forgetting for a moment that he was dragged out of bed for this, or that tomorrow he’ll have to decide where they should go for more work. He practically forgets to breathe until he feels the familiar weight of Jeonghan’s head resting against his shoulder, using it as a support to look up at the sky as well.

“I figured you’d wanna see,” he says, and even though Seungcheol doesn’t look he can hear the smile in Jeonghan’s voice. “I haven’t seen a sky like this in a long time.”

“Yeah,” Seungcheol says, finding himself wrapping an arm around Jeonghan’s waist to keep the both of them steady. It’s impossible to pull his eyes away, and Seungcheol isn’t sure how long the two of them stand like that. Long enough, it seems, for the breeze to make him shiver slightly.

Jeonghan steps away with a soft laugh, his smile more subdued than before. “Sorry I married you again.”

Seungcheol shrugs. In part because it’s hard to consider it much of a big deal the seventh time, but mostly because really, the idea of being married to Jeonghan didn’t bother him that much from the start.

It has nothing to do with romance, of course, but Jeonghan is someone that Seungcheol expects to be around for the rest of his life. He’s someone that Seungcheol has always wanted to keep. Marriage is just… one word that describes that feeling.

“Don’t worry about it,” he says, separating from Jeonghan slowly. He didn’t realize how much warmth he’s been stealing until he releases Jeonghan and suddenly feels that much colder.

He shakes it off quickly, following Jeonghan back down the thin, perilous stairs with a slight shake of his head. He’s not even sure how Jeonghan found himself up here in the first place, but for the moment, the call of his bed is enough fo make him resist asking.

At the door, Jeonghan hesitates for a brief moment, his lips parting like there’s something he’s about to say. But, after a slight pause, he shakes his head, his lips still tilted up in a slight smile. “Good night, Captain.”

“Yeah, night,” he grumbles in return, doing his best to muffle a yawn. It seems like Jeonghan hovers just a moment longer than he needs to before turning and walking back to the room he’s sharing with Joshua.

Seungcheol shuts the door softly behind him and crashes into bed by himself, barely taking a moment to enjoy the soft pillow under his head before he’s asleep once again.

As a captain, Seungcheol knows the most important rule of space travel all too well; everything that can go wrong, will.

And yet the universe still manages to surprise him with contingencies that he isn’t prepared for, no matter how meticulously he tries to plan, or what kind of care he takes of his crew. Seungcheol knows well, too well, that even the simplest of plans is likely to go awry.

Losing contact with Jeonghan and Chan while they were meant to be making a quick supply run is only the beginning of just how wrong things wind up going.

It’s a stupid oversight on Seungcheol’s part that landed them on a Royal Armada occupied planet. It’s not the first time they’ve had to get supplies while sneaking around and lying about their identities, and Seungcheol trusts the two of them to stick together and get the job done.

But, he hasn’t heard from either of them in two days. Which means two days of hunkering down in the Diamond’s Edge and waiting. It’s driving more than just Seungcheol crazy, he knows, because Soonyoung has gone from helping Minghao recalibrate every possible piece of their navigational equipment to insisting that something must be wrong with their comm-array.

“We should be sending someone out to look,” Jihoon says with a sigh, curled up in the high-backed pilot's chair that practically dwarfs him. Soonyoung has himself wedged underneath the console, with a pair of pliers clutched between his teeth, though Seungcheol still isn’t sure which one of them he’s speaking to until he looks over with both of his eyebrows raised. “They should’ve been back by now.”

“I know,” Seungcheol says, pushing his fingers back through his hair with a sigh. “But without a signal, we don’t have anywhere to start looking.”

Jihoon frowns at that, though he doesn’t appear to have any kind of argument against it. It’s times like these that Seungcheol isn’t happy with the weight he has to carry as their captain. There’s no good choice to be made; even if he sends someone else to try and find the two of them, there’s no promise that they won’t be walking into a worse situation. But waiting is hard on all of their nerves.

Even Jihoon, who delights in acting like he doesn’t give a damn about any of them, has dark circles around his eyes like he’s spent the last two days awake. Seungcheol wouldn’t be surprised; every time he’s come down to monitor the comms in the middle of the night, Jihoon has already been there.

“I can’t find anything wrong with this,” Soonyoung says, setting the pliers to the side and staring at the brightly colored wires hanging above him. “I should call Minghao up here again…”

“There’s nothing wrong with it,” Jihoon huffs, aiming a kick at Soonyoung’s hip. “I told you that already and so did he.”

Soonyoung yelps, jerking upward too fast and managing to bash his head against the underside of the console. He lays back with a groan before carefully sliding himself out from under it, rubbing at the red patch on his forehead. For once, Jihoon doesn’t even laugh at him for it. Instead, he curls up tighter in his seat, his expression only growing sourer.

“We can’t keep sitting here doing nothing.” Jihoon says, his eyes cutting back over to Seungcheol. “Especially if they got caught.”

Soonyoung drops both hands to his lap, looking down at them with a small frown on his face. His shoulders are tight, and Seungcheol can understand why. None of them want to consider the possibility of Jeonghan and Chan having been found by the Armada, but it’s getting harder for Seungcheol to avoid.

“I know,” Seungcheol says again, his shoulders slouching. “If we don’t hear anything in 24 hours, I’ll go with Seokmin and see what we can find out.”

Jihoon doesn’t look entirely pleased with the solution, but he doesn’t push the point any further, and Soonyoung nods his head slightly. On days like this, Seungcheol sometimes wishes he weren’t the captain at all. On his own, he would just go and find out whatever he could and screw the consequences of getting caught. But he has far more than himself to think about, and in the end, he has to think about more than Jeonghan and Chan as well.

It’s a heavy weight, one that Seungcheol doesn’t have the option of sharing with anyone else. He nods at Jihoon, crossing his arms loosely over his chest. “You should go get some sleep. I’ll have Mingyu take over your watch.”

“I’m fine,” Jihoon says, though even Soonyoung rolls his eyes at that. Soonyoung stands, pulling Jihoon out of his chair.

“Captain’s ordering you to take a nap,” he scolds, though it’s gentle. “C’mon. It’ll be good for you.”

“I don’t need a damn nap,” Jihoon says, though there’s no heat to it. He lets Soonyoung pull him along, and Seungcheol gives Soonyoung a grateful nod for it. He settles into the pilot’s seat himself, rather than leaning against the console. He hasn’t been sleeping much either, and he can hardly blame Jihoon for it, but whatever happens next he needs all of them to be sharp and prepared. They’ll all have to be.

It’s the middle of the night when the comm system crackles suddenly to life, startling Seungcheol out of his half-dozing state. He narrowly avoids slamming his kneecap against the console, staring as it spits static. For a moment, he wonders if they’re just picking up interference from another ship passing through in orbit, and he almost gives into the temptation to close his eyes again.

But Chan’s voice breaks through the static, tinny and thin. “Is anybody there?”

Seungcheol jerks upright so fast he does bash his knee and hisses out a fast curse before his thumb can find the transmission button on the console. "Chan? Is that you?"

The signal is weak, but Seungcheol is sure he can hear the kid sigh out in relief. "Yeah! Captain? I've been trying to call in for hours."

There are too many questions buzzing too quickly through Seungcheol's head and he has to take a moment to sort them out for the most important things, trying to ignore the fast rush of adrenaline pumping through his veins. "What's your status?"

"Um," Chan says, and even with the weak connection, he sounds young and scared, and as soon as he starts talking his words rush out like he can't make himself stop. "Not good? I found Jeonghan but he's really out of it and he's bleeding still even though I tried to wrap his shoulder like Wonwoo showed me."

Seungcheol closes his eyes for a moment, trying to focus on anything other than just how bad that sounds. It'll do neither of them any good if he panics. "I need you to slow down, Chan. Are you two okay?"

From what he's heard already, Seungcheol is sure the answer is a very firm no, but he needs Chan to focus. Seungcheol turns in his seat, pressing the button for the intercom while he waits for Chan to respond. "Jihoon, I need you and Minghao on the bridge right now."

He's hoping, for once, that Jihoon's insomnia will be on his side, because from the sound of things he's going to need the both of them to find Chan.

"I'm okay," Chan says, his voice dropped so low that Seungcheol has to lean his ear close to the speaker to hear him at all. "We got caught by some Armada goons when we landed, but Jeonghan made sure that I got away."

"Why didn't you come back?" Seungcheol asks, doing his best to keep his voice level. He can hear the quiet tap of Jihoon's feet in the hall behind him, followed by the door hissing open. "Do you know where you two are now?"

"Not really... Uh, it's a building? I think it's kinda abandoned," Chan's voice wavers again, and Seungcheol glances up, catching Jihoon's eyes widening slightly in surprise before he drops into his seat, a sleepy Minghao trailing in after him. His hair is curled at the ends and sticking up in several directions, and he pauses in the middle of the room, rubbing at his eyes.

"What broke?"

"Ssh," Jihoon hisses, making Minghao blink his eyes in slow surprise.

"Ah, wait!" Chan says, his voice growing distant. Seungcheol squeezes his hand into a fist, staring down at the console like he could find the two of them through sheer force of will. Minghao seems to catch on to the situation, because he leans himself on the back of Jihoon's chair, already mumbling quiet directions.

"Cheollie?" Jeonghan says, his voice a slurred mumble. Seungcheol's heart does a funny, shuddering thing in his chest. "'M dizzy, and I can't remember where we parked."

He barked out a laugh, and there are the quiet sounds of what must be Chan taking the radio back. "Sorry. I don't think he knows what's going on."

Seungcheol turns his head and breathes out slowly, trying to keep his voice from shaking. "Okay. Jihoon is looking for you right now, alright? We're gonna come get you. You said Jeonghan was still bleeding? Is he hurt?"

"Y- yeah. There's a cut on his head, but I think that's okay. He got hit in the shoulder when we were running, though, and I tied it with my jacket since that's what Wonwoo said we were supposed to do for bullets..."

Chan's next words are snatched by more static and Jihoon casts a worried glance over at Seungcheol. "It'd be easier to find him if they move out in the open."

Seungcheol shakes his head, releasing the button on the transmitter. "Doesn't sound like he can move Jeonghan much more."

Jihoon nods, the tip of his tongue poking out between his lips as he returns to the task. Seungcheol is so surprised by Minghao's hand squeezing his shoulder that he almost jumps, looking up at him. Minghao manages a small, strained smile. "I'll wake up Wonwoo and tell him what's going on."

Seungcheol nods his head, his fingers twisting nervously around his wrist. As much as he'd like to put a brave face on the situation, he's having a hard enough time with his own anxiety. "Get Junhui and Mingyu too. Try not to wake anyone else up... I don't wanna have a mad house."

Minghao nods, jogging off the bridge with surprisingly quiet steps. Seungcheol swallows, turning back to the console.

"They're gonna be alright," Jihoon says, so quietly it might have been just for himself. But Seungcheol nods, glad to hear it anyway.

"Chan? We're on our way, okay? I just need you two to stay put, can you do that?" He says, ignoring the shake in his hand as he presses down on the button.

"Okay," Chan says, his voice small.

The building Chan's signal leads them to is half fallen in, with all the windows knocked out from an old blast and scorch marks on the outside. With the ship hovering low, Seungcheol can see the two of them inside, Chan crouching near a wall, looking dirty and wide-eyed up at them, and Jeonghan slumped against the old stone, pale, eyes closed, with Chan's jacket knotted awkwardly around his right shoulder.

Seungcheol's stomach lurches as they approach the ground like it's trying to climb up into his throat. Standing next to him in the open airlock, Junhui is quiet, an impassive expression settled over his face. Surprisingly, Seungcheol finds himself appreciating it. It would be impossible to mistake Junhui as someone who doesn't care, as soft-hearted as he is. Mingyu, on Seungcheol's other side, is twitching with nervous energy, and he nearly knocks himself over with the Diamond's Edge comes to rest on the dusty ground, jolting slightly from the impact.

The three of them end up in the building at a dead sprint, with Chan standing up to greet them. He's pulled into a rough hug by Junhui, yelping slightly at the surprise as his face winds up pressed against Junhui's bare chest, still naked to the waist and wearing the thin pants he sleeps in. With Mingyu's help, Seungcheol carefully leverages Jeonghan's good arm over his shoulder, lifting him up as slowly as he can manage. Mingyu bends to support his other side, one hand on Jeonghan's back, the other holding his side.

Jeonghan blinks his eyes open, hissing as he's lifted, looking at the both of them in confusion. His eyes are dilated and glassy, and when he looks at Seungcheol a loose smile breaks out on his face. "Found you."

His words slur together, and Seungcheol squeezes slightly tighter around his waist. Between him and Mingyu, it's easy to support the majority of Jeonghan's weight, half dragging him back onto the ship. Chan, still tucked under Junhui's arm, follows after them. "I think they gave him something. He was like that when I found him."

"Told'em I can't help find you," Jeonghan says, his voice barely above a mumble. His head lists sideways onto Seungcheol's shoulder like it's too heavy for him to hold up on his own. "They wanted to pay me for it."

"Ssh." Seungcheol tilts his head into Jeonghan's, cheek leaning on his matted hair. "Tell me later."

"We're married," Jeonghan says, a weak laugh accompanying his words. "I can't sell out my husband."

He and Mingyu carry Jeonghan to the bright, sterile medical office, and Seungcheol is glad to find Wonwoo already there, hair a mess and glasses crooked on his face. They leverage Jeonghan carefully onto the table, and after a quick explanation, Wonwoo shoos the both of them out, pausing to give Seungcheol an apologetic glance for it.

Slumping outside the door, his back against the cold steel wall, Seungcheol drops his head into his hands. His fingers push back through his hair with a groan, and Mingyu lays a large hand on the back of his neck. "He's gonna be alright."

"Tell Jihoon to get us out of here. We'll supply up somewhere safer."

"Got it," Mingyu says, patting Seungcheol on the shoulder before leaving, his feet ringing across the metal floor. Seungcheol sighs, sinking down to the floor and stretching his legs out ahead of him, doing his best to settle in for the wait.

It seems like hours before the door hisses open, Wonwoo pulling a pair of bloodied gloves off his hands and giving Seungcheol a small nod. "He's gonna be fine."

"Shoulder?" Seungcheol asks, grabbing Wonwoo's offered hand and pulling himself up.

"Bullet hit his collarbone. I got it out, he's just gonna have to put up with a sling for awhile," Wonwoo sighs, adjusting his glasses and doing his best to tame his hair. "The head wound wasn't bad, either."

"Chan said he thought they drugged him," Seungcheol hesitates just for a moment in the doorway, steeling himself before stepping through. Jeonghan is laid out on the low cot in the corner of the room, shirtless, with his shoulder carefully bandaged and his arm slung across his chest. There's a small bandage on his head, and an IV in his other arm.

"Yeah, some kind of blend, probably a sedative and something to make him talk. That he'll have to sleep off."

"How long?" Seungcheol asks, already dragging the single, uncomfortable chair up to the side of the bed, cringing at the sound it makes.

"Better part of a day, at least." Wonwoo doesn't even do him the courtesy of looking surprised, though he's hardly very expressive when he's tired. "I'll tell Soonyoung and Jihoon you're staying down here."

"Thanks. Can you make sure you check Chan over, too?"

"Next on my list," Wonwoo says, the corners of his mouth quirking slightly upward. "We'll take care of everything else, Captain. Don't worry."

Seungcheol nods, settling into the seat with a sigh. He waits until Wonwoo is out of the room to stroke Jeonghan's limp bangs away from his face, looking down at him with a slight frown. It's hardly his first time seeing Jeonghan asleep, but his face looks almost too peaceful, too at ease for everything going on around him. Even with the bandages covering his shoulder, Seungcheol can see plenty of evidence of Jeonghan putting up a fight, from the split at the corner of his lip to the blue bruises around his knuckles.

"You better have a damn good story behind this," Seungcheol says, to himself and to no one, still stroking his thumb over Jeonghan's smooth brow.

Seungcheol is dozing off in the chair when Jeonghan wakes, and so he's surprised by the fingers wrapping around his wrist. He opens his eyes slowly, groaning immediately at the pain in his back from falling asleep slumped over.

Jeonghan blinks up at him, still looking pale, shadows heavy under his eyes in spite of the fact that he's been asleep for at least eighteen hours.

"Where's Chan?" He asks, his voice croaking slightly. He tries pushing himself up with his left arm, leaning on his elbow and Seungcheol rolls his eyes.

"You wake up in the infirmary and that's the first thing you ask me?" He says. He means it to tease, really, but his voice cracks halfway through, and Jeonghan's expression tightens. "He's fine. He's probably still being fawned over by Soonyoung."

Jeonghan sighs in relief, dropping back to the bed. "Good."

"He came and told me what happened," Seungcheol says, reaching out to gather Jeonghan's hand in his. Jeonghan looks up, his lower lip caught between his teeth. "You gave yourself up so they wouldn't catch him."

"He's a kid," Jeonghan shakes his head, pulling his hand back gently and sitting up all the way this time. The movement of his shoulder makes him hiss, wrinkling his nose at the pain. "If we'd run they might have grabbed us both, and I wasn't gonna let him get dragged off with me."

"So he went in to save you," Seungcheol says, shaking his head. "I should punish you both for being reckless."

"He was just trying to do the right thing," Jeonghan says, trying to shrug. He stops halfway through the motion, groaning and gripping at his shoulder, squeezing one eye shut. "Fuck, ow."

"You got shot," Seungcheol says as if the reminder is a helpful one. It earns him a glare from Jeonghan, and for the first time since they carried him on board, Seungcheol has to fight back a smile. "Broken collarbone."

"Well, that's gonna suck." Jeonghan leans his head against the wall, smiling in return. It's strained, but Seungcheol appreciates seeing it anyway. "I'm not gonna say I'm sorry."

"I know," Seungcheol says, sighing. "I didn't expect you to be."

"You didn't marry Mingyu again while I was gone, did you?" He asks, voice light, and Seungcheol shakes his head.

“You said something about that when we found you,” Seungcheol says, ignoring the question. “You called me your husband.”

“I do that all the time, don’t I?” Jeonghan asks, but Seungcheol can see the way his smile goes tight and strained at the corners. He doesn’t, and they both know it. Short of jokes from Soonyoung or Seungkwan, their repeated marriages aren’t really discussed at all.

“You’ve never called me that before,” Seungcheol says, trying to laugh it off. But there’s something in the way that Jeonghan is looking up at him like he’s been caught doing something wrong, that makes him stop. “It’s not a big deal. We got married again like a month ago.”

“Yeah,” Jeonghan says, looking down at his lap, his eyes managing to be on anything in the room except for Seungcheol. “But it’s not for real, y’know? It just kinda… happens.”

For some reason, the words hit Seungcheol like a punch to the stomach. He’s not sure why because no, he and Jeonghan have never intentionally been wedded to each other. There’s no reason for them to be since the two of them are good friends and nothing else. Seungcheol stands, shaking his head and making a show of trying to stretch his sore back. “Yeah, I guess. You should get some more rest.”

“Ah,” Jeonghan reaches out, catching Seungcheol’s hand. He hesitates, staring like it was something he didn’t mean to do. “Can you be here again when I wake up?”

Jeonghan peeks up at him, hair sliding into his face and obscuring his expression. Seungcheol’s chest feels strangely tight. “Yeah. I’ll be here.”

He squeezes Jeonghan’s hand, helping him lay flat on his back once more. Jeonghan sighs, closing his eyes and slowly letting go of Seungcheol’s hand. “Thanks.”

#

It takes two days for Jeonghan to get fully back on his feet, and Seungcheol spends more of those two days than he needs to sitting in the infirmary with him. Things go mostly back to normal, with Jeonghan tormenting everyone he can for favors, leveraging pity for his injury for as long as he can. Seokmin and Junhui wind up saddled with most of the tasks, to the surprise of no one else on the crew.

(And if Seungcheol is guilty of helping him wrangle his shirts on or carrying a plate for him once or twice, it’s not really anyone else’s business.)

Except, Seungcheol should know better than assume anyone on his crew knows to keep to their own business, because as soon as he steps out of Jeonghan’s room, he’s met with Junhui and Seokmin, giving him equally scandalized looks. Seungcheol frowns at both of them, hesitating even though he’s hardly been caught doing anything unusual. He’s pretty sure that Seokmin has been roped into helping Jeonghan shower at least once.

Seokmin breaks into a warm smile, patting Seungcheol on the shoulder once. “I’m glad you two talked things out.”

He says it like Seungcheol is supposed to know what he’s referring to, and Junhui nods his head, a small smile on his face as well. Before Seungcheol can even begin to wrap his head around what that might mean, they both vanish around a corner, leaving him alone with his confusion.

“Cheollie, I’m serious,” Jeonghan says, though the pout on his face is hardly helping him with making his point. “I really need your help with this.”

“I thought you already made Seokmin your shower buddy,” he says with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers. It’s not that he has a specific problem with helping Jeonghan wash his hair, especially since his shoulder is still wrapped and hard to move. But, lately, it seems like the rest of the crew is watching everything that he does around Jeonghan. It’s made him feel oddly self-conscious like he’s doing something he isn’t supposed to.

“He’s terrible at it,” Jeonghan says, shaking his head mournfully. “He did his best but my hair was worse after I asked him to help wash it.”

“Then you should talk to Mingyu,” Seungcheol responds, shrugging his shoulders. He’s just barely keeping the smile off his face at the idea of the two of them attempting to navigate a task like that, and the suggestion clearly isn’t one that Jeonghan appreciates.

“C’mon,” Jeonghan stands, tilting his head slightly to the side. “It’ll be really fast, and I’ll feel so much better if I’m actually clean.”

“If I do this,” Seungcheol stands straight, crossing his arms and using his best Captain Tone. “You’d better not run around the whole ship bragging about it.”

Jeonghan immediately makes his eyes wide and innocent. “I’d never do that.”

Seungcheol decides not to call him out on the lie, waving his arm at the bathroom with a shake of his head. “Fine. Before Seungkwan or Joshua come back. Hurry up.”

Jeonghan sighs in relief, nodding and leading the way into the small bathroom of his suite. “Thanks, Cheollie.”

“And quit with that,” Seungcheol grumbles, kicking the door shut behind him.

Jeonghan stands in the middle of the room, his good arm at his side, looking at Seungcheol like he’s expecting something. For a moment, Seungcheol has no idea what it is, until he takes in the fact that the both of them are still fully dressed. With a groan, he shakes his head quickly. “You can get your own clothes off.”

“It’ll be faster if you just help,” Jeonghan says, raising both of his eyebrows and making a show of struggling with his shirt. Seungcheol’s stomach flips, stepping forward and gripping the hem of it with a showy roll of his eyes. He thought helping Jeonghan get his shirts on felt strange, but helping him take them off is…

Seungcheol drops his eyes as Jeonghan ducks his head out of the shirt, pulling it carefully over his right shoulder, doing his best not to jostle him too much. Once it’s off, Seungcheol drops the shirt to the side, reluctant to lift his head in case Jeonghan decides to tease him for the fact that he’s blushing.

“You can handle your pants,” he says. For a moment, he considers turning around, but it seems like that would make the whole thing more awkward, and so he just does his best not to watch Jeonghan wiggle his pants off, his good arm braced against the wall to help him keep balanced.

“Alright,” Jeonghan says, giving him another significant glance, and this time Seungcheol catches on more quickly.

“I’m not getting in there with you,” he says, holding both hands up and shaking his head. “I’m gonna hand you stuff and that’s it.”

“That’s no help at all,” Jeonghan frowns, tugging his hair out of its ponytail. “I just need you to wash my hair.”

Seungcheol chews the side of his tongue, considering the request once again. It seems strangely intimate, standing in the shower and washing Jeonghan’s hair. For all the times he’s touched it, it’s mostly been for casual reasons, and he’s hardly been gifted with Mingyu’s natural ability to get anyone’s hair to lie properly.

Jeonghan rolls his eyes, shifting his weight between his bare feet like he might be feeling as awkward as Seungcheol. Oddly, that’s the thing that also convinces him. He turns half to the side, pulling his shirt over his head and huffing out a single sigh, trying to sound more annoyed than he really feels.

“Fine, but I’m not getting naked.”

“You don’t have to be so shy,” Jeonghan says, his voice light and off-handed. Seungcheol just rolls his eyes, opting to leave his underwear on anyway, motioning for Jeonghan to get on with it. With a shrug of his good shoulder, Jeonghan twists the knob to turn the water on, presumably stepping out of his underwear before climbing under the pray of the water. Unsure what it is that’s making him feel so suddenly flustered, Seungcheol steps in after him, looking determinedly straight ahead.

It would be hard, with all the time he’s spent with Jeonghan, not to have noticed his body. At least, in a casual sense. Jeonghan has lean muscles and slender legs, and shoulders that look surprisingly broad from behind. Seungcheol swallows, hoping it’s not nearly as loud as it sounds to his own ears. Jeonghan’s head tips forward under the spray, wetting his hair and causing drops of water to roll down the arch of his back, following the path of his spine.

Blinking rapidly, Seungcheol tilts his head back to look at the ceiling instead. This was definitely a bad idea. After a moment, Jeonghan lifts his head, pushing the curtain of water heavy hair down his back and turning half toward Seungcheol, a bottle in his hand. Seungcheol drops his eyes only long enough to grab it, dumping far too much shampoo into one hand before setting it to the side again.

He has to step closer to actually dig his fingers into Jeonghan’s hair, leaving his chest a few inches from Jeonghan’s damp back. Jeonghan tilts his head back helpfully, and Seungcheol does his best to work the bubbly shampoo in all the way. He’s clumsy and uncertain at it, never having tried to wash anyone’s hair but his own before.

“Am I doing better than Seokmin?” He asks, desperate for anything to make him feel less tense. Jeonghan laughs, nodding as much as he’s able to with Seungcheol’s hands still in his hair.

“You’re doing fine,” he says, and Seungcheol feels a little silly for being so reassured by that. After another moment, he drops his hands, shaking as much of the soap off them as he can. Jeonghan bends forward again, using his one hand to rinse his hair as best as he can.

He passes another bottle back to Seungcheol, who again uses twice the amount that he’d use on his own. This time he works more slowly, trying to draw his fingers through Jeonghan’s hair from the roots, making sure there aren’t any tangles in it.

“You haven’t gotten a cut in awhile,” he says, brow furrowed slightly as he does his best to focus. The bottom layer of Jeonghan’s hair used to be shaved down close to his scalp, to keep it from being too thick and hot against his head. Now, that’s nearly as long as the rest.

Jeonghan hums, seeming distracted by the rhythmic movement of Seungcheol’s hands through his hair. “Haven’t really thought about it.”

Seungcheol nods, though he remembers after that Jeonghan can’t really see him. Usually, Seungcheol just has Mingyu cut his hair whenever it’s long enough to be annoying, but he’s not sure the same solution would work for Jeonghan. His feud with Mingyu is, for the most part, a joke, but that doesn’t mean Jeonghan doesn’t have plenty of reasons not to want Mingyu too close to his hair with a razor.

“Is that enough?” Seungcheol asks, uncertain, massaging his nails into Jeonghan’s scalp slowly. Jeonghan’s eyes flutter open, his head tilted enough that he manages to avoid getting water directly in them.

After a moment, he nods, pulling gently away. “That’s fine. Thanks.”

“Yeah,” Seungcheol says, unable to avoid the full view of Jeonghan’s back as he stands up straight once more. It’s after a moment that stretches on too long and silent that Seungcheol steps out of the shower, drying his hands on a towel and quickly gathering up his clothes. He’s not sure what he’s supposed to say after all that, and so he settles on nothing.

He was only helping out, after all. He steps back into the room, pulling his shirt over his head, then freezing when someone in the room screams.

When his head pops out of the top of his shirt, he’s more relieved to see Seungkwan than Seungkwan is to see him. Seungcheol is all too aware that he just left their bathroom with his clothes off, and his pants are still balled up in one hand.

“Um,” he says, eloquently.

“Captain,” Seungkwan responds, quickly covering his eyes with one hand. “I can come back later if you two are still…”

He trails off, and Seungcheol blinks his eyes. “Huh? I was just leaving. Jeonghan needed help with his hair.”

Seungkwan doesn’t drop his hand, though he sighs as if Seungcheol has just given him some kind of terrible news. “Whatever you two want to call it, could you please put your pants on?”

Seungcheol can’t help the flush that creeps into his face, shaking his head and turning around to finish getting dressed. It’s probably pointless to argue with whatever it is Seungkwan thinks the two of them were doing, and more pointless to ask him not to immediately run and tell Seokmin and Soonyoung.

Resigned to his fate, Seungcheol simply pats Seungkwan’s shoulder in apology as he leaves, trying to ignore Seungkwan grumbling about how he’s going to have to insist on having a signal for these kinds of things with Jeonghan.

There’s a single, blessed afternoon of peace before Soonyoung apparently hears the news from Seungkwan. More likely, he heard immediately after Seungcheol slunk back to his own quarters and was simply waiting for the right time to strike.

The right time being while Seungcheol is in the kitchen, nursing a cup of coffee by himself and enjoying every minute of it. Soonyoung manages a casual air as he walks into the kitchen, looking and Seungcheol with a bright smile.

“I’m glad you and Jeonghan figured things out,” he says, which is by far the most confusing way a conversation has ever been started between him and Soonyoung. Seungcheol raises both of his eyebrows, setting his cup down.

“Figured what out?” He asks, resting his palm on the counter. Soonyoung doesn’t seem deterred.

“Well you two have kinda been dancing around things forever,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck with a laugh. “Though I don’t think that’s exactly the way Seungkwannie expected to find out.”

“Found out… that I washed his hair?” Seungcheol asks, truly lost now. Soonyoung laughs, like Seungcheol is joking, then stops when Seungcheol doesn’t join him.

“You didn’t talk about things?” He blinks, mouth dropping open slightly. “After all that?”

“Talk about what!” Seungcheol groans. It’s getting more and more frustrating, that all of his crew is apparently in on something that he has no idea about. “What am I supposed to talk about with Jeonghan?”

“Well I assumed about the fact that you’re in love with him,” Soonyoung says, flippant and shrugging. Seungcheol isn’t sure if that’s supposed to be a joke, so he stands stock still for a moment, waiting for Soonyoung to laugh.

Soonyoung doesn’t, and Seungcheol doesn’t either. “I’m not in love with Jeonghan.”

“You’re married to him.”

At that, Seungcheol rolls his eyes, turning back to his coffee. “That? It’s not a big deal. I almost wound up married to Jihoon once.”

“You married Jeonghan seven times, Captain.” Soonyoung shakes his head, sighing. “It’s not exactly subtle.”

“I mean, it isn’t like that,” Seungcheol says, though he’s having a much harder time being certain of himself. “It’s just… something that happens. We spend a lot of time with alien cultures, they have a different idea of how things work.”

“You haven’t wondered why all the aliens think you and Jeonghan should be getting married?” Soonyoung asks with a laugh, shaking his head. “Seokmin is my best friend and I haven’t gotten married to him once.”

“I’m not in love with Jeonghan,” Seungcheol repeats, frowning into his cup.

“You should be talking to him about that, not me,” Soonyoung says, shrugging his shoulders, and at the suggestion, Seungcheol’s heart does something funny in his chest like it’s lurching against his ribs. Is Soonyoung suggesting that Jeonghan has feelings for him?

There’s no reason that should make him so nervous. If anything, it’s out of worry, because if Jeonghan does have feelings for him that might make their friendship awkward. Soonyoung clears his throat, a smile on his face once more.

“And, if you do it today I can probably get away with not owing Jihoon any money,” he says, grinning. “He bet that you two didn’t talk, so now is a chance to prove him wrong for once.”

“I’m not winning your bet for you,” Seungcheol says, rolling his eyes but finding he’s glad for the shift in subject. “You’re both wrong since there’s nothing for us to talk about.

“Sure, Captain,” Soonyoung says, in the tone that means he absolutely doesn’t believe anything that Seungcheol is saying.

Really, Seungcheol doesn’t even mean for the topic to come up between them. Even if in the days after his talk with Soonyoung, Seungcheol can’t get himself to stop thinking about Jeonghan.

It’s disturbing to realize that he’s not as sure of his feelings as he thought. A week ago, he was utterly certain that Jeonghan was just… his friend. Someone he could always rely on; someone that he would always want by his side. Now he’s wondering if that’s due to something else.

The fact that the image of Jeonghan naked and standing in the spray of the shower won’t leave him alone isn’t a help, either.

He’s able to keep it to himself, at least until the two of them are off the ship and on their own. The bar is dimly lit, but clean and not terribly busy. There’s quiet music coming from the speakers overhead, an old song that Seungcheol is sure he knows half the words to even though he can’t remember the name.

“Seungkwan thinks we’re sleeping together,” he says, which is not the best way to start a conversation, but does manage to make Jeonghan choke so hard he almost inhales alcohol through his nose.

Coughing, he leans his arms on the table, careful to balance most of his weight on the left. He’s no longer bandaged like he was before, but Wonwoo has insisted he continue with wearing the sling, much to Jeonghan’s annoyance.

“That’s why he’s being weird,” Jeonghan says once he’s regained his breath, laughing weakly. “I was wondering.”

“Apparently,” Seungcheol starts, fixing his gaze on the grain of the table under his arms, tracing his fingers over the old steel, feeling the grooves in it. “There’s a betting pool on the two of us.”

“Are they betting on the day I lead a mutiny against you and take over?” Jeonghan asks, flicking loose strands of hair behind his ear. “Because I haven’t mustered enough power yet. They all love you too much.”

“No,” Seungcheol says, a laugh startled out of him. “According to Soonyoung, it’s a bet on when we’ll realize that we have feelings for each other.”

“Oh?” Jeonghan says though it seems slightly forced. Seungcheol has a hard time making himself look up and meet Jeonghan’s eyes.

He doesn’t expect to find his own nerves mirrored so clearly on Jeonghan’s face. His lower lip is caught between his teeth, fingers curled tightly together.

“Is that something we should be realizing?” He asks, though judging by the way his stomach does it’s level best to twist into a knot, Seungcheol thinks he might already know the answer.

Jeonghan’s lips part, but he seems lost on how to actually respond. Nervously, Seungcheol licks his lips before leaning in slowly, the metal edge of the table between them digging into his ribs. He ignores it, and Jeonghan doesn’t back away.

He’s hardly the first person that Seungcheol has kissed, but pressing his lips softly against Jeonghan’s still feels like something entirely new. Jeonghan, for a moment, freezes like he’s not sure what he’s supposed to do in return before reaching forward with his good arm, his fingers catching in the back of Seungcheol’s hair and preventing him from pulling back. Seungcheol hardly minds the gesture, cupping his hand around the side of Jeonghan’s face in return.

When they do finally draw apart, Jeonghan smiles, biting softly on his lip and letting Seungcheol lean back again. “So that’s what you wanted to talk about?”

Seungcheol laughs, nodding his head, leaning in to kiss Jeonghan once again.

“We should get married sometime,” Jeonghan says, reclining in Seungcheol’s bed. The room is dark, and even having taken the largest bunk for himself, the two of them have to sleep crammed together to fit.

It’s either too early or too late to be having this conversation, Seungcheol isn’t sure. His thumb is resting on the slight circular scar on Jeonghan’s shoulder, the skin of it still shiny and pink. “We’re married already.”

“I mean for real,” Jeonghan says, rolling his eyes as if that was meant to be obvious. “On purpose.”

“Are you saying you didn’t want to marry me the first seven times?” Seungcheol asks, muffling laughter into Jeonghan’s collarbone. Jeonghan chuckles in return, his fingers stroking through the curls of Seungcheol’s hair, lulling him toward sleep once more.

“Maybe I did,” he responds, his grin bright even in the dark of the room. “You just take awhile to catch on.”

Seungcheol huffs, though he can’t exactly argue that point. He presses a kiss to the edge of Jeonghan’s neck instead, closing his eyes. It’s a good idea though, the kind that makes Seungcheol feel warm from his bones out.

Someday, they can have a real, planned wedding. For now, falling together has worked well enough.