Archive of Our Own

Hoseok was an uncommon Martian.

He had been an Agent in the Intergalactic Police Force for five years already when he met Jungkook. It was common for the Agents to work in partnership because solo activities often resulted in death. Hoseok wouldn’t be opposed to a permanent coworker, but things had always been difficult for him.

You see, Mars was a hostile planet on its own - the difficult weather and the vastly known sand storms already being enough reasons for non-Martians to keep their distance - and its population wasn’t any better. Mostly Martians were, in fact, as unwelcoming as their planet.

But then there was Hoseok.

He was one of the few pure-bloodied Martians living outside of the planet. He was part of the small group that had left Mars right before their leader presented the planet’s new Public Relations Policy, which made clear Mars wouldn’t be part of the Planetary Union - a group of planets under a political and economic integration plan, where the World Nations worked together in many areas. Apparently, Mars had no intention of collaborating with anyone else, not really interested in any planet’s social development but their own.

Mars' representatives refused the invitation, claiming that the mutual responsibility clause (which said every planet had the duty of sharing its natural resources with the allies in a codependent system) was way too dangerous, because being the planet with the largest amount of metal carmine - a spacecraft fuel - Mars’ leader feared their resources would be used to the limit. So Mars remained as one of the few inhabited planets of the Milky Way Galaxy not to be part of the Planetary Union and continued with the dictatorial system, this time with even less rights to the lower class citizens, reason why many groups tried to leave the planet when all the warning signs got too big to still be ignored.

Two out of the five planes scheduled to leave Mars that day were intercepted before they could take flight and the remaining three escaped under the cacophony of screams and gunshots. They asked for refuge to the Planetary Union’s base and it was granted. It took almost three years for the Martians refugees to get their lives back together, not ever leaving the Base because the other planets were a little wary of them thanks to the new reputation the Martians acquired: of being selfish, violent and trustless.

Hoseok was only thirteen years old when he arrived at the Base, and seventeen years old when he was accepted into the Intergalactic Police Academy. He spent his three years of training completely friendless and focused on keeping up with his grades. He wasn’t an unsocial person but it was impossible to hide his origin because of his gray eyes, wine colored hair and tanned skin, common characteristics of his planet’s people. His darker fingertips also screamed Martian and Hoseok never had the energy to try hiding his identity with colored lens and hair dye. It always came to the surface sooner or later and the drama would only be even bigger.

Nobody wanted to work with a Martian. Even when people said they would be okay with Hoseok’s presence on a mission, it was clear by the way they completely ignored his input that the prejudice was still going strong. Hoseok was used to not having a fixed partner and he didn’t really care about the hostility because he still managed to do his job despite the unfair treatment and the constant changes of colleagues.

Hoseok was an amazing Agent and he knew it.

He was smart, fast and soon he had a reputation that earned him a whole spacecraft under his command. He managed to gain the respect of his crewmen and supervisors and even if he wasn’t liked by the people around him, he also wasn’t ignored anymore. And it was all Hoseok could have asked for.

Hoseok slipped his black glove on his right hand and sighed before looking up at the small mirror hanging on the wall. His hair was pushed off of his forehead and his face didn’t have a single dirty spot. He was about to nod in satisfaction when he lowered his gaze a little bit more and saw the first two buttons of his vest were open. He clicked his tongue and started buttoning them up until the skin of his collarbone was out of sight and the collar of his blouse was touching the beginning of his neck.

The cloth was a little bit stiff and not the most comfortable thing to have around the base of his throat but it was made of Plutonian diamond dust, which was harder than most metals, and even if it was useless against some special kinds of weapons (he would never forget his experience with a damned dart that was stopped by his vest but had a poison strong enough to penetrate the cloth and touch slightly the skin of his forearm. It was safe to say it was the most painful memory Hoseok had), it had saved his life too many times to count.

He glimpsed down at his heavy boots one last time to be sure they were properly tied and finally left the room, which was designated to him every time he was at the Base, to attend the Captain’s call.

He knew it was probably about his new partner, as the previous one had asked to be replaced three days prior. Hoseok was a little bit relieved if he was being honest. He just couldn’t get along with the woman and it was affecting their work. They almost lost a crew member because she made Hoseok’s skin crawl to the point where he got distracted in the middle of a mission, annoyed with all the snarky comments and offensive remarks she made without worrying about being discreet. The slip up was followed by a fight that escalated more and more until Hoseok lost his cool and confronted her about it, and if it wasn’t for the interference of his engineer, Jimin, she’d have slapped him in the face and things would have been more complicated than it already was.

Hoseok sighed as he walked down the corridor, ignoring the side glances some passersby were giving him. He just couldn’t wait to be back on his spacecraft and around his crew, as he knew they respected him, some even admired him, for his leadership. Thinking about starting the whole process with a new partner again made his head hurt. He hoped this person at least treated his subordinates with respect.

Hoseok knocked on the door of the Captain’s office and waited for him to allow his entrance.

“Come on in.”

He entered the room and furrowed his brown when he didn’t see another person in front of the Captain’s desk. He blinked in confusion and the man only smiled at Hoseok’s expression.

Captain Seokjin was a good person; Hoseok remembered having that thought the first time they met. He was Venusian (his long limbs and lean body making it as clear as day) and one of the few who didn’t judge Hoseok for his origin, always treating him as any other subordinate, without side-eyed glances or suspicion. Every time he had to look for a new partner for Hoseok he only sighed and sent the Martian a small smile before dismissing him.

This time, there was no one there and Hoseok wondered if his superiors got tired of trying to find the perfect coworker for him and would finally allow him to make a solo trip with his crew. He had already a few names on his mind to work as a copilot and was seriously thinking about it when Seokjin finally spoke:

“Have you ever heard about the Cross Gene Project?”

Hoseok blinked before he furrowed his brows and tried to remember what he knew about it, the words sounding familiar.

“It’s a genetic program from Earth, if I’m right.”

Seokjin nodded, seeming satisfied with his answer.

“Yes. They manipulate human genes to come up with stronger medicines and vaccines.”

Hoseok waited before talking, knowing the Captain didn’t want to just market Earth’s successful genetic program. Seokjin opened one of the drawers on the lower half of his table, its compartments hidden from Hoseok’s view, and pulled out a black folder, offering for Hoseok to take. He took it and opened the front page, frowning at the written material.

He never learned any Earth language and wondered why it wasn’t translated to the Intergalactic alphabet, what was usually spoken at the base as well as the majority of the planets. Seokjin saw his expression and explained, “I asked to see the files before it was translated because I was-” he stopped to think about the right word, “-euphoric about their last project.”

Hoseok cocked his head to the side.

“A new project?”

Seokjin smiled.

“Not so new. They already showed great results.” Seokjin shifted on his chair to get more comfortable before continuing. “They tried for years to start it, but there were groups on Earth that were against it. They claimed it was unethical and that it was disrespectful to try playing God.” he stopped. “You know about human religions, right?” Hoseok nodded. “Then you must know what I’m talking about.”

“It was a moral issue.”

“Yes.” Seokjin agreed.  “But it’s an amazing program and the allies were pressuring the Earth government to begin the research stage. They won and the humans officially started the new phase of the project twenty-six years ago. They had their first successful result a few years down the road and have been helping other planets ever since.”

Hoseok didn’t open the folder again, knowing he wouldn’t be able to read a thing.

“What the new phase is about?”

Seokjin smiled.

“They combined the genes of humans and earth’s animals to create a whole new kind.”

Hoseok’s eyes widened.

“Artificial life?”

Seokjin chuckled.

“No, organic life. Completely created in the laboratory.” Hoseok nodded because it wasn’t a strange notion, as some planets made similar experiments. “They combined the genes and created the embryos that were later implanted in the female human volunteer, whose body had been examined beforehand and could afford the pregnancy.” Seokjin shrugged. “Of course, they had some problems. Sometimes the embryo couldn’t adjust to the female’s uterus. In other cases, they had to end the embryo’s life because the volunteer would be at risk.” he smiled. “But yeah, they managed.”  

The Captain pointed to the folder. “This is the documentation and medical history of a grown Hybrid.”

“Hybrid?”

“Yes. It’s the name they called the new kind. This hybrid was trained at the Intergalactic Police Academy branch on Earth. He just graduated and was sent to the base because of our demand.” Hoseok nodded, knowing full well they were low on Agents, and if this Hybrid just graduated he was probably a few ranks below Hoseok. “I requested him as your partner.”

Hoseok smiled a little, immediately understanding Seokjin's logic. Being created in a laboratory, this hybrid hadn’t grown up in society. Hoseok knew for a fact that the majority of Humans wouldn’t easily accept a creature like him. They were too worried about what they considered ethical, way too consumed by archaic beliefs to cohabit with something they probably considered unnatural. Growing up within the Planetary Union Station on Earth, this hybrid lived his whole life with an unbiased vision.

It was clear that the probability of this Hybrid being Hoseok’s perfect partner was high enough to make Seokjin optimistic.

“When he’s arriving?”

“Tomorrow,” Seokjin asked the folder back and Hoseok gave it to him, watching the Captain flip through the pages as he spoke. “I’ll call you to meet him here at my office.” he raised his eyes with a small smile on his lips. “I just wanted to give you a heads up about who you’ll meet. I do think you’ve seen beings more peculiar than he is, but I still want him to feel welcome in here.” Seokjin pulled one of the paper sheets from the middle of the folder and offered to Hoseok. “That's him.”

Hoseok took the paper and sent a last glance in Seokjin's direction before lowering his gaze to the picture occupying the upper half of the paper, the bottom half full of human writing.

The hybrid was a young man with black hair, slightly tanned skin (still paler than Hoseok’s), sharp jawline and round eyes, and Hoseok immediately caught on his not-so-human traits. The first foreign thing he saw was the dark spots coming from his hairline in his temple’s direction, framing his face and going down his neck and under his formal shirt’s collar. The spots grew bigger the closer they got to his eyes, allowing Hoseok to identify the rosettes’ shapes. He had yellow irises and his pupils were the same color, only darker. There was a pair of small, triangular ears on top of his head. They were pale golden, its inner part being one shade lighter.

Seokjin was right. Hoseok had seen creatures with an appearance more peculiar than the Hybrid boy's, but he was glad Seokjin showed him this picture before he met his future partner because Hoseok was having a hard time trying to look away from his yellow eyes.

“What’s his name?”

“Jungkook.” Seokjin answered. “We registered him as Jeon Jungkook, the surname of the scientist who raised him.” Hoseok nodded and finally raised his eyes from the picture to Seokjin. “He’s nineteen years old, but he graduated as the first of his class, so we see great potential in him.” he smiled. “He’s not so different from you in this case, is he?”

Hoseok smiled in response and shook his head before handing the paper back to Seokjin, who caught it and put back in its right place on the folder, cursing lowly about being given this annoying paper instead of digital files.

“Wait for my call tomorrow, Agent Jung.” Hoseok understood their informal moment was over. “You’re dismissed.”

Hoseok saluted his superior and left the office.

It took more than a whole month of them working together for Hoseok to see how different it was to have Jungkook as his partner.

They never had a real disagreement since they were introduced to each other and Hoseok discovered how comfortable it was to spend hours locked up in the cockpit with Jungkook. He didn’t talk much, speaking only when necessary, but there was no hostility coming from him and this was enough to make Hoseok at ease. He knew he wasn’t being ignored when he spoke because even if Jungkook didn’t look at him, his golden ears always flicked in the direction of Hoseok’s voice before he gave a small nod as if to say he understood what he was being said.

Jungkook also learned how the spacecraft panel worked faster than Hoseok thought he would and he always paid rapt attention to the navigation system, noticing the low fuel warning before anyone else. He was efficient, polite and smart.

However, even if he was the better partner Hoseok ever had, the first month of mutual work wasn’t so different from any other mission Hoseok did. He wasn’t being insulted on a daily basis but the silence was almost the same. Hoseok was starting to wonder if maybe Jungkook wasn’t too fond of him when he noticed the brunet acted the same way with the whole crew. Hoseok’s men, and now Jungkook’s too, often tried to make him open up. They asked questions about his academic days and his more animalistic traits. Jungkook always answered them politely but he never really engaged in the small talk, opting to stay quiet and watch the others do the talking. Something similar was currently happening.

“So, if you’re a Hybrid you’re a mix between human and another…” the man looked for a word.”…species?”

Jungkook nodded, and if he wasn’t offended by such personal questions, Hoseok wouldn’t scold the man who asked.

“I have leopard genes.” the ones paying attention to what he was saying kept looking at him, clearly not having a clue about what he was talking about. The only reaction offered by Jungkook was the small flick of his left triangular ear. “It’s an animal from Earth. Similar to the panthers the Union found in Andromeda.”

The discovery was a huge deal a few years back because it was the most developed being ever found in the Andromeda Galaxy and was what triggered the newest recognition program. Some officers working on the project were optimistic enough to say maybe they could find civilization in some bigger planets and were already talking about expanding the Union to Andromeda. At the time, pictures of what was called Blue Panther could be found in every printed magazine and online journal. It was a dark blue animal, quadruped, and furry.

The crew started talking animatedly about how this leopard animal must look like, and when Hoseok glanced at Jungkook he still didn’t look bothered. He was sitting on a small bench near the wall, the underside of his tail touching the ground while the white tip curled upward. He watched the golden fur full of black rosettes for a while before raising his head and locking eyes with Jungkook.

Hoseok thought he would look away and keep his aloof persona, but he cocked his head to the side before moving his elegant tail from side to side a few times and Hoseok waited, not knowing what the action meant.  When Jungkook spoke, he was the only one who heard because of how close they were to each other.

“Do you have any question?”

Hoseok blinked and leaned a bit down so Jungkook wouldn’t have to crane his neck to see his face.

“Hum. Not really.” he pointed at the appendage still swinging behind him. “I just think it’s pretty.”

Jungkook blinked and looked to the side at the same time he curled his tail around his middle. The tip straightened up for a while before it curling back in a languid motion.

“My tail?”

Hoseok nodded. “I like the pattern.”

“Oh.” the Hybrid watched his own tail flicking around for a while before he let it fall back down and turned in Hoseok’s direction, smiling at him. “Thank you.”

He froze in place, watching the way the corner of Jungkook’s lips stretched. He had seen many people smile, of course, but this was the first time someone other than Seokjin and his own crew smiled at him without some kind of sarcasm. It was also the first time Hoseok noticed Jungkook’s upper front teeth were slightly bigger than the others and he couldn’t avoid the thought that he looked endearing like that. Hoseok smiled back, albeit a little uncertain.

“You’re welcome, I guess.”

Jungkook nodded and cocked his head to the side, the smiley face giving place to a thoughtful expression.

“Should I say a compliment back?” his voice was a little shy and Hoseok widened his eyes before opening his mouth to say he didn’t have to, but Jungkook apparently didn’t saw the bemused expression he had and spoke again before he could form any word: “I like your mouth.”

Hoseok opened and closed his mouth a few times, not knowing what to say. Meanwhile, Jungkook had a new smile on his face, clearly satisfied with his choice of compliment, even if he wasn’t looking directly at Hoseok’s face anymore and his cheeks were a little bit redder than they were a few seconds before. Hoseok looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to them and crouched beside Jungkook, who followed his actions with his yellow irises. When he spoke again his voice was lower and Jungkook’s closer ear flicked a little to capture the sound.

“What do you mean ‘my mouth’?”

He felt a little bit pathetic asking about it, but he wasn’t used to kind words and taking into account everything he went through, he believed nobody had the right to judge him. He noticed Jungkook was feeling a bit shy (what made him realize his almost aloof personality was actually timidity) but he still answered the question as if he saw nothing wrong in telling the truth despite his own embarrassment.

“It’s heart-shaped.”

He answered in a low voice and Hoseok frowned for a while before he remembered how humans tended to represent hearts. He chuckled and nodded. “Why, thank you.”

Jungkook beamed while his tail restarted the gentle swinging.

They didn’t know at the time, but this little private conversation as they were surrounded by their loud crewmen (Hoseok pretended he never saw Jimin passing small bottles of hard liquor around) was everything they needed to cross the line between acquaintances and friends.

One year.

Hoseok and Jungkook were working as partners for a whole year already and Hoseok felt incredibly lucky.

He never really thought that one day he’d meet someone who’d treat him like an equal and not as some kind of untrustworthy man that could betray everyone at any given time. But a year had already passed and he and Jungkook only grew closer.

It took a while for Hoseok to stop being surprised at Jungkook’s lack of filter, but he managed. He didn’t know if he got completely used to his antics or if Jungkook finally understood some things aren’t socially acceptable to be said in public, maybe both happened. The point was that they got along well.

Jungkook unlocked his seat belt and stood up from his chair, following Hoseok out of the cockpit and gesturing for one of the crewmen to take his place in front of the panels. The man already knew how to proceed and only nodded before doing as Jungkook said.

Hoseok put his helmet on and turned it a little to the side until he heard the noise of it locking into the collar of his vest. He pressed the button next to his ear to release the oxygen and nodded, satisfied it was in perfect condition. When he looked at Jungkook he was doing the same.

He entered the teleporter and Jungkook soon followed before turning around to close the door and type the right coordinates on the small digital panel, taking off the glove on his right hand to put his palm on the identifier. Hoseok mimicked the action and clenched his jaw at the uncomfortable sensation. He got a glimpse of Jungkook’s claws before he put the glove back on (adapted to his needs, with hardened tips). When the teleporter confirmed their identities, it started functioning automatically and soon they were on the meteoroid surface.

“Your claws are too big again.”

Hoseok spoke as a way to see if his helmet’s communicator was working. Jungkook answering groan told him it was.

“I know.” his slightly cracked voice sounded near Hoseok’s ear. “It’s just so annoying having to cut them.”

“Just don’t scratch your belly again.”

He saw with the corner of his eyes how Jungkook turned in his direction, probably glaring at him.

“That was one time.” Hoseok chuckled as he took his gun from the holster secured around his hips. They were on a mission to catch a Plutonian murderer that broke away from his prison. It wasn’t a Red Level, so they were both quite relaxed. “And it doesn’t even hurt. I barely felt it.”

Hoseok scoffed.

“Why did you cut them off, then?”

Something appeared in the corner of the infrared of his visor and he made a gesture for Jungkook to go in its direction while he approached from the other side to catch whatever it was if it tried to run away. Jungkook's tail made no movement, falling down his legs with the tip curled upward. Hoseok thought nothing about it because he knew that he tended to keep it frozen when they were on a chase.

“Because I didn’t wanna hurt you.”

Hoseok smiled.

“I’m charmed, Jungkookie.”

Before Jungkook could answer, the creature hiding in the shadows jumped in his direction and he immediately aimed and shot. The being fell back and Hoseok walked closer, seeing a hole on his forehead, created by Jungkook’s bullet, who was already pulling his mobile identifier and collecting a few droplets of the stranger’s blood to be analyzed. A few seconds later the device showed the profile of the Plutonian fugitive.

“It’s him.”

Hoseok nodded and attached the locator around the fugitive’s neck before pressing its side to turn it on. He didn’t need to look up to know Jungkook was calling the nearer cleaning staff to take the body away. It was good that the meteoroid wasn’t moving fast enough to be off the Police’s radar. They’d have no problem to come get the body and Hoseok was happy about it because it wasn’t a fun activity to carry a dead fugitive in the spacecraft. He knew from some previous first-hand experiences.

He saw Jungkook lowering his arm after sending the message and was about to speak when he saw his ears perking up and his tail straightening in what Hoseok knew was a clear sign of distress.

Jungkook frowned and his ears flicked around while he sniffed the air, stopping and looking at the body on the floor. He bent down and sniffed around the Plutonian’s body, stopping over his chest and getting closer to smell it better. Then his face changed from suspicion to alarm.

“Jungkook, what-”

Jungkook didn’t let him finish his question and spun around before blindly grabbing Hoseok arms and throwing it over his own shoulders. He hoisted him up against his back and Hoseok placed his legs around Jungkook’s waist automatically.

And Jungkook ran.

Hoseok screamed at the speed and clutched his limbs tighter around Jungkook, who flattened his ears against his hair and cursed lowly as he ran. Then, behind them, they heard the thundering sound of an explosion coming from the Plutonian’s body, followed by the growing heat getting closer and closer to Hoseok's back.

The fugitive must have connected his vital signs to a short distance digital bomb (probably coupled to his chest), that started the countdown after his brain activity stopped. Many rebels were doing this as a last effort to kill the Agents and Hoseok cursed himself for being so careless.

He tightened his eyes shut and yelled at how hot it was getting. It wouldn’t take much longer for his vest to burn, and then his oxygen supply was going to stop. His skin was thicker than Jungkook’s, who had human-like skin, but it wasn’t immune to fire, despite Mars proximity to the Sun.

Jungkook threw Hoseok to the floor and the air left his lungs with the impact. Before he could react there was a body over his own pressing him to the ground. Not long after, there was fire everywhere and pieces of the meteoroid flew around and hit them, hard enough to leave bruises on their skin but too weak to break through their vests.

When the explosion finally ceased, Hoseok lifted his head, groaning in pain, and saw they were inside a crater, which must have saved them from certain death. Hoseok let his head hit the ground and he took a deep breath, relieved there was still oxygen being pumped for him.

“Jungkook, let’s set the teleporter. We need to go back.” he felt him nodding against his shoulder before planting his palms on the ground at the sides of Hoseok’s head. Jungkook’s arms shook and he fell back down before he could even raise his body more than a few centimeters. He frowned. “Jungkook?”

Hoseok grabbed the sides of Jungkook’s helmet and lifted his face to look at him, getting alarmed at the way he seemed dazed. He growled painfully, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth while his ears flopped against his skull in pain and Hoseok looked over Jungkook’s right shoulder, widening his eyes at what he saw.

Starting from right under his shoulder blades and until the beginning of his lower back, Jungkook’s vest was almost completely burned, the skin of his back red and raw and the black rosettes Jungkook had all over his spine were almost completely gone. Jungkook took a deep breath before choking in the middle of it, and it was enough to remind Hoseok that with his vest ruined, Jungkook oxygen supply was compromised and probably failing him already.

He cursed aloud and curled his arms around Jungkook’s head to set the teleporter back to the spacecraft, wishing it would be powerful enough to teleport two bodies, as Jungkook’s own device was probably broken. He gave the command and hugged his partner, closing his eyes.

Hoseok watched as Jungkook finished his food and set the plate aside before moving closer to help him lay down on his front again. Jungkook groaned but accepted the aid.

Two weeks had passed since the bomb episode and Jungkook was slowly getting back into shape. His back was healing slower than he anticipated and Hoseok knew he hated to sleep on his front, but there was nothing they could do about it.

He sat at the small space beside Jungkook’s head and started combing his fingers through his dark strands, trying to comfort him, who closed his eyes and sighed at the caress, his shoulders relaxing.

“Is everything okay?”

Hoseok nodded.

“Yeah. The tank is full and I have two days off because we managed to stop the gang.” he sighed and moved his neck from side to side, feeling tense with the memory of last week’s job.

“I’m sorry you had to work with them.”

“It wasn’t so bad.” he scratched a spot behind Jungkook’s left ear and the man shuddered at the feeling, a small noise coming from his chest. He had no clue what this was, but it wasn't the first time it happened and Hoseok started to think of it as a sign he was doing something really good with his fingers. “They mostly ignored me, so I didn’t have a hard time.”

Jungkook snorted.

“I don’t know how you can keep so quiet when you’re with them.” he yawned before speaking again. “You usually never shut up.”

Hoseok pulled his ear on retaliation and Jungkook chuckled sleepily.

“What happened to all that politeness you had when we first met?”

“It melted away with your cool façade.”

He clicked his tongue and resumed his movements on Jungkook’s scalp, secretly loving the way he sighed as if Hoseok’s touch was enough to make him forget everything that was stressing him out.

“Brat.”

Hoseok knew he had fallen asleep when there was no answer. He looked down and smiled a little at how innocent Jungkook looked with his mouth slightly open. He stood up from his bed and was turning around to walk back to his own room when he heard Jungkook sleepy voice:

“You should sleep here.”

Hoseok laughed before spinning around to look back at him.

“Should I?”

“Hum.” Jungkook agreed. “I can never sleep a full night like this.” He gestured at his position. “I get bored.”

The redhead arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest.

“And I can make this better?”

Jungkook opened one eye and smiled.

“I can wake you up to talk.”

His cheeky reply ripped a laugh out of Hoseok.

“You’re such a brat!” but he did lie down, taking care not to hurt him. He shifted around and frowned because the bed was the perfect size for one person, but two grown up men were a tight fit. Before he could voice his thoughts Jungkook lifted himself on his forearms, groaning when the movement of his shoulder blades bothered the wounds on his back. “What’re you doing?”

Hoseok’s voice was alarmed and he reached out to grab Jungkook’s elbow, but he stopped when the tip of Jungkook's tail brushed his wrist, barely touching it because of the distance between their bodies. Jungkook crawled closer and his tail curled around Hoseok’s wrist to move it away from his own arms. He took the hint and pulled his hand away but Jungkook still wasn’t satisfied, apparently, because his tail touched Hoseok’s chest and pushed. It was a soft pressure, but he still complied with what his partner wanted and let himself be guided by the tail. The slight pushing feeling stopped when he was lying down on his back again and Jungkook gritted his teeth and shifted closer before Hoseok could voice his confusion. He only stopped moving when he was lying with half of his body over Hoseok’s while the other half was on the mattress.

Hoseok passed his arm under Jungkook’s head in an almost automatic response as the brunet got comfortable, moving down a little to put his head on the left side of Hoseok’s chest. Only then did his body relax again and he sighed, but the little furrow between his eyebrows told Hoseok the change in position was enough to make his burns hurt again.

Jungkook put one of his legs around Hoseok’s left one as if it was the most natural thing to do and he couldn’t avoid the smile that appeared on his lips as he started running his fingers through Jungkook’s hair again, glad that his weight wasn’t on his arm. The leopard tail was thrown over their bodies with its tip flicking absent-mindedly near Hoseok’s waist.

“Why’re you so hot?”

Hoseok hummed.

“I don’t know.” he scratched near Jungkook’s ear and his ear flicked. “Maybe it’s because I exercise regularly or plain genetics. I am considered pretty attractive on my planet's standards.”

Jungkook raised his head enough to glare at him, not looking amused. Hoseok laughed out loud and the movements of his chest jolted Jungkook, who growled lowly in pain.

“Sorry, sorry.” he resumed the caress of his fingers on his scalp as a way to apologize. “I don’t really know the biology behind it and all that bullshit Seokjin would love explaining to you.” Jungkook snorted and mumbled something along the lines of yeah, he would . “But I noticed all Martians have a higher temperature than most races.” he looked down at Jungkook, who had his eyes closed and cheek pressed against the soft material of Hoseok’s shirt. “Is it bothering you?”

“No.” his voice sounded sleepy again and Hoseok ran his index fingertip up and down Jungkook’s ear in a tentative caress, smiling at the small shiver that ran the younger’s body. Then Hoseok felt a stronger vibration against his stomach. He also heard a loud noise and he craned his neck to watch Jungkook's face better. “What was that?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jungkook dismissed it and resumed what they were talking before he could insist. “Can you read minds?”

Hoseok snorted.

“No, I can’t.” he shifted his head to the side and closed his eyes, starting to feel a little sleepy. He took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh, knowing the clean smell he felt was coming from Jungkook’s hair. “I don't know why you're so curious after a whole year, but any more questions?”

“Do you have tentacles?”

Hoseok opened his eyes and frowned.

“Where could I’ve been hiding tentacles, Jungkook?”

“Well, I’ve been reading some books Jimin lent me-”

Hearing the name of their engineer was enough for Hoseok to interrupt him.

“Ok, I get it.” he spoke a little too loudly. “No, I don’t have any tentacles.” Hoseok gulped. “And don’t take those books too seriously. I don’t think some things they say are even anatomically possible.”

“Oh.” Jungkook seemed to think for a while. “Yes, it seemed kinda painful.” his voice was slightly muffled because of his position against Hoseok, but still loud enough to be heard. “So you’re not too different from humans?”

“I don’t think so. Only my skin color and such.” he made a pause. “We tolerate higher temperatures and higher altitudes, nothing too drastic. But it’s expected. You do know the first Martians were humans sent to Mars on a colonizing mission, right? They adapted to the climate changes and later reproduced with other races.” Hoseok thought for a little while. “Anatomically compatible races.”

Jungkook’s shoulders shook a little with his chuckle and Hoseok let his hand wander to the bare skin between his shoulder blades, the burn not allowing Jungkook to sleep with his upper body covered yet. Maybe that’s the reason he wasn’t bothered by Hoseok’s high temperature as the room was quite chilly. Hoseok ran the tip of his fingers gently on the naked skin before moving back up his nape. He couldn’t see, but he knew he was touching the place where the black rosettes were located.

“You’re a good partner, you know,” Jungkook said. Hoseok smiled, wondering if the medicine Jungkook was taking was making his filter even looser. “It’s their loss.”

“I’m just too gorgeous for them to handle.” he ran his fingers up Jungkook’s ear and he made the same noise again, the one that made his whole body vibrate strongly. “They couldn’t concentrate with my good looks near them.”

“Hum. Understandable.”  Jungkook mumbled before he let out a yawn. His voice was low and dragged and he was asleep, breathing patterns even, right after he said his next phrase: “I do want to kiss you half the time.”

Hoseok’s movements stilled on the boy’s head and he blinked.

He wanted to do what?

Hoseok programmed the autopilot to their next stop and relaxed in his plush seat, rubbing a palm over his eyes. He had almost forgotten how difficult it was to complete the missions alone. Jungkook was feeling much better than he was one week earlier but Hoseok wasn't letting him leave the ship until his sick leave period ended, and he knew the Hybrid was annoyed with him by the way he started ignoring Hoseok’s presence.

He didn’t want to admit it hurt. To talk to Jungkook, not receive an answer and see him walk away as if Hoseok wasn’t even there. It was way too similar to how things used to go with his previous partners and it left a bitter taste in his mouth. He knew Jungkook was only tired, and a little bit bored, of staying inside all day while he left to complete the missions with temporary groups. Jungkook tried to help as much as he could with the planning but he had a frown on his face every time Hoseok put his helmet on and left.

And there was what Jungkook said right before he fell asleep a whole week before. Maybe he was just teasing, talking bullshit to rile Hoseok up as he liked to do. But the memory never left Hoseok’s mind and he tried to keep himself busy to avoid thinking about it.

It wasn’t as if Hoseok never experienced sexual attraction before because even with his origin it wasn’t difficult to find people willing to share the sheets with him. He was an attractive man, as he had previously pointed out to Jungkook, and he was confident in his appearance. He’d be infinitely more at ease if what he felt for Jungkook was only something physical or nothing at all. But that wasn’t the case.

He liked Jungkook. He liked him since the first time they had a real conversation and he wasn't ignorant about Jungkook’s good-looks, but he never seriously thought about him as something more than a friend until last week.

It was almost as if Jungkook’s sleepy confession opened some kind of gate in his mind and suddenly he couldn’t stop thinking about things he never before paid attention to. Stupid little things like the pretty shadows Jungkook's eyelashes cast on his cheeks when he was sleepy and blinking slowly, or how his nose wrinkled in the most adorable way when he smiled. Jungkook was always cute in Hoseok’s eyes. The way he let his guard down when he was with him and put his head on Hoseok's shoulder as he drifted in and out of sleep, his ears flicking with every unusual sound while little grunts left his mouth from time to time. For someone who was taller than Hoseok and all strong and broad-shouldered, he was surprisingly adorable.

Hoseok was ripped out of his thoughts by the sound of approaching steps, and taking into account how soft the noises were he knew it was Jungkook. He sighed and let his hand fall to his lap before opening his eyes. He turned his head in the direction of the copilot’s seat just in time to see Jungkook sitting on it. He tried to pretend he didn’t feel anything with the movements, but the way his shoulders tensed were enough to tell Hoseok the stretch he felt around his healing burns were still a little bothersome. He decided not to comment on it, knowing by Jungkook’s expression that he wouldn’t enjoy the conversation.

“I wanna be in the next mission.”

Hoseok sighed, feeling tired.

“You’ve been in all of them, Jungkook.” he lost count of how many times he said similar words in the last week.

Jungkook frowned.

“You know what I’m talking about, don’t play dumb.” Hoseok sent a warning glare in his direction. “I wanna go back into action! Do you have any idea how horrible it is to see you leave while I have to stay on the ship like I’m useless?”

Hoseok licked his lips, knowing he wouldn't be able to avoid this conversation the way he did the previous times. He shifted until his side was touching the backrest of his seat and he was face to face with Jungkook.

“You’re not useless, Jungkook. I know you’re feeling restless, but you need to fully recover before you make any physical activity.” he leaned forward and Jungkook blinked at their proximity, his ears shifting. Hoseok remembered that Jungkook admitted being distracted by him and closed his eyes, willing the thoughts away. When he opened them the surprise had already faded from Jungkook’s face. “I can’t afford to let you worsen your injuries.”

“It’s a burn.” Jungkook rolled his eyes. “It not a cut to reopen with exercises.”

“It’ll hurt, Jungkook.” Hoseok’s voice was serious and he snapped his fingers in front of Jungkook’s face, what made him grit his teeth in annoyance. “Wake up! You’re not stupid. You know you can’t go back to the field right now. Your healing process will be all messed up!”

Jungkook stood up and walked around his seat before turning back to him, a few steps away now. He was getting riled up and Hoseok knew it. He knew he should keep his cool and talk Jungkook out of what he wanted, but he was exhausted. His mind and body were tired and all he wanted to do was to lie down and sleep for a few hours. Jungkook couldn’t have chosen a worse time to have this conversation.

“You’re being unreasonable!” Hoseok sent him an incredulous expression. “I can take care of myself! You don’t need to worry so much about me. I know my limits and that’s not a reason for you to lock me up here.”

Jungkook’s ears were slightly pushed back while his tail was shifting behind him, restless. He had a flame burning in his eyes and Hoseok felt his own blood boil. He stood up from his chair and put his hands on his waist.

“Fine. You want another reason?” Jungkook nodded, his fists balled at his sides. “I’ll give you another reason.” he pointed a finger in Jungkook’s direction. “You’ll get in the way.” Hoseok saw the way Jungkook took a surprised breath and his eyes widened, and he knew he would regret all of this but it was too late to take it back. He was talking again before his brain processed the words. “You’ll get in my way! You’ll slow me down and put my life at risk because you couldn’t wait two more weeks to be completely recovered.”

Jungkook’s bravado vanished as Hoseok spoke. He had a small frown between his eyebrows and his ears were now a little curved forward, forlornly.

“I-”

Hoseok lifted his finger to shut him up.

“You talked too much already.” he walked until he was close enough to touch Jungkook, the copilot's seat between them. He pressed his index finger to Jungkook’s chest. “Now you’ll listen to me.” he licked his lips. “You’re being nothing but a selfish, immature boy right now. You know you’re not healthy enough to go back to the field; you’re only nagging me to go because you’re bored here. You can kill me out there if you’re not in shape and you know that and you just don’t care! Stop thinking about what you want for a minute and think about what you need. What we need. And what we need right now is for you to use this last two weeks of your sick leave to rest and heal.” Hoseok took a deep breath and pulled his hand away from Jungkook to run its palm through his wine-colored hair. When he looked back at him the vision pulled at his heartstrings.

Jungkook was looking at the floor as he bit his lower lip. His ears were still flat against his head and his tail was pushed between his legs, the tip uncurled and touching the ground. He looked sad and a little pathetic, and Hoseok suddenly wanted to punch himself.

But he stopped himself before he apologized. He was a little bit cruel but he wasn’t wrong, and Jungkook needed to hear the truth and stop acting like a spoiled child. Maybe Hoseok didn’t have to be so harsh, but he couldn’t, and wouldn’t, take it back now.

“You need to remember I’m still your superior. I’m saying you won’t be back before your prescribed sick leave ends and that’s final.”

Hoseok sent Jungkook a last look before turning around and leaving the cockpit. He ignored the way some of his crewmen glared at him, certainly having heard the fight and taking Jungkook’s side. He sent a grateful nod in Jimin’s direction when the engineer hit the back of one of the men’s head and told them to go back to work.

For the first time in a week, Hoseok slept in his own room instead of Jungkook’s.

Hoseok thought he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep, but he was out cold not long after his head touched the pillow. His tiredness was stronger than his worries about the fight, so it was no wonder.

He woke up the next day with a well-rested body and a troubled mind, leaving to meet his temporary group without seeing Jungkook. He spaced out a few times during the mission, thinking about what he said to Jungkook and how he said it, the vision of him looking so sad never leaving his mind. It would’ve been a problem in any other case, but the group Hoseok was in seemed relieved about his disinterest in the current mission because it meant he’d be quiet most of the time and wouldn’t try to be more active, so it would be easier to ignore him.

Hoseok went back to his spacecraft after a whole day of walking around, not caring when the group’s navigators were clearly wrong. He wasn’t feeling good enough to try and be productive so he sighed gratefully when he teleported back to the spacecraft, wanting nothing more than change clothes and lie down.

He took a shower and walked to his bedroom, but stopped in his tracks when he slid his room’s door open and came face to face with Jungkook.

He was sitting on Hoseok’s bed with his knees drawn to his chest and his arms around his legs in a position that was probably making his back hurt. His tail was on the bed, framing the right side of his body, with the white tip flicking from side to side in a nervous action. His ears were a little flat against his skull, in a way that reminded Hoseok of the day before, as if he was scared of how Hoseok would react to his presence. His chin was over his left knee and he was looking at Hoseok without averting his gaze despite the signs of distress he was showing.

He watched Jungkook for a while before fully entering the room and sliding the door to close it. He knew by Jungkook’s body language that he wasn’t there to fight, so he let his guard down and sat beside him on the bed, waiting for him to say what he wanted. It didn’t take long.

“I’m sorry.” Jungkook’s voice was lower than usual and Hoseok looked at him, watching his side profile while he kept talking. “You’re right. I was immature and selfish.” he moved his arms until they were looped around his knees and touched his forehead to his arm, hiding his face. “I didn’t want to put you in danger or get in your way.”

Hoseok sighed before smiling tiredly.

“It’s okay.” Jungkook’s closest ear flicked at the sound of his voice and his tail moved a little closer to Hoseok as if attracted to his body heat. “We all make mistakes. It’s okay, Jungkook. I know you hate to be locked in here, but it’s necessary.” he nodded against his forearm and Hoseok reached out to softly touch his dark hair, relief washing over him when Jungkook didn’t flinch at his touch. “I’m hating this too, you know.”

This finally made him raise his head and look at Hoseok, his face adorably confused.

“You do?”

Hoseok nodded.

“It’s terrible having to work with those people.” he rolled his eyes. “They ignore everything I say and pretend I’m not even there. I’m so used to work with you that I get so annoyed I have to control myself not to slap someone. Hard.”

The corner of Jungkook’s lips lifted in a small smile.

“They deserve a slap, to be honest.”

Hoseok hummed in agreement.

“They do.” he watched Jungkook for a while. “Are you comfortable like that?” he made a gesture to indicate the younger’s position, who made a face.

“Not really. I was just nervous and it didn’t feel right to lie on your bed without you here.” He glimpsed at Hoseok’s face before averting his gaze. “I didn’t know if you’d want to see me.”

Hoseok smiled, thinking that Jungkook deserved to hear the truth from him as he was always so honest.

“I’m always wanting to see you, Jungkook.” Jungkook’s ears flicked before he turned to fully face Hoseok, and his eyes were wide in wonder, his face a little red. Hoseok opened his arms and gestured for him to come closer. “Come here.”

Jungkook didn’t waste time to uncurl his legs and shift closer, frowning at the slight pain on his back for being so long in such a bad position. Hoseok curled one arm around Jungkook’s shoulders, who straightened his own legs around Hoseok’s before hiding his face in the curve of his neck and taking a deep breath.

“Are we gonna make this a habit?” Jungkook groaned in confusion.  “Are we gonna make a habit of cuddling like this?”

“Oh.” instead of shifting away as Hoseok half expected, Jungkook rubbed his nose against the warm skin of his neck. Hoseok laughed a little, feeling his chest full of something he couldn't describe at Jungkook's little display of affection. “I’d like to, yes.”

“I like your honesty, you know.” Jungkook mumbled something he didn’t catch and he shook his head, amused, as he moved his arm to run his fingers through Jungkook’s hair, scratching behind his ear in the place he knew would make his chest vibrate and bring that curious sound to the surface. Hoseok wasn’t disappointed, the noise being louder than the other nights, probably because of how Jungkook was leaning entirely on him and not half on the mattress like the other times. “What is this, Jungkook?”

“What?”

“This sound you do when I touch your ear. That makes your chest quiver.”

Jungkook groaned out loud.

“I can’t control it. Sorry if it bothers you.”

“It doesn’t,”  Hoseok assured him. “I just wanna know what it is.”

Jungkook sighed.

“It’s a purr.”

Hoseok frowned, his hand stilling its movements briefly.

“Purr?”

“It’s a sound that comes from my vocal chords every time I feel something good. I blame my Leopard side.”

“Oh.” Hoseok blinked at the new information. “I thought it came from your chest.” he mumbled before shaking his head, deciding this wasn’t important. “This means you like when I do this, then?” he ran his nails on the spot at the base of Jungkook’s ear and chuckled happily when he purred. Jungkook groaned when he could control his own vocal chords again, not seeming so content about it. “Don’t be shy, it’s adorable.”

Jungkook sighed and relaxed against the smaller body.

“If you say so.”

Hoseok laid Jungkook down on the mattress after a while, not wanting him to bother the wounds on his back more than he already did. The boy complied and let himself be manhandled until they were in a similar position to the one they’ve been sleeping in for the last week, with Jungkook half on top of Hoseok and half on the bed.

“Jungkook.” they were silent for a while before Hoseok spoke, but the way Jungkook immediately hummed in response made it clear he wasn’t sleepy yet. “That night you said you wanted to kiss me. Is it true?”

For the first time, Jungkook didn’t answer something straight after he was asked. He kept quiet for a while and even his tail, that was moving lazily on the mattress between their legs, froze. Hoseok looked down, worried, and blinked at how Jungkook’s face was painted red. He knew he should look away to give him some privacy to calm down, but it was always adorable the way Jungkook showed shyness.

Hoseok couldn’t help the way he moved his free hand to Jungkook’s face and rubbed the pad of his thumb against one hot cheek, sliding his finger up his skin until he was tracing the biggest black rosette near his temple. Jungkook startled at the touch, his ears flicking, and raised his head to look at Hoseok’s face, and the redhead blinked at the way his face got even redder. He wondered if Jungkook's yellow eyes were indeed shinier than usual or if he was imagining it.

It was incredibly endearing.

Jungkook didn’t open his mouth to say a thing, he only buried the bottom half of his face into the fabric of Hoseok’s shirt and nodded as an answer to his question.

Hoseok licked his lips, feeling his chest full of fondness and a desire so strong to kiss Jungkook he didn’t even know he could feel. He gently lifted Jungkook’s head from his chest and cupped his face with one hand, feeling how warm his skin was under his touch, even if his own body functioned at a higher temperature. He guided Jungkook’s head up and watched his face for a while.

“I’m gonna kiss you, alright?”

Jungkook’s ears flicked quickly down to his hair before coming back up, and the tip of his tail was hitting Hoseok’s calf in a nervous motion.  He licked his lips before finally making eye contact and nodding.

Hoseok needed to shift down the expanse of the bed a little to be able to lean his head down and touch Jungkook’s mouth with his own in a chaste kiss.

Jungkook breathed against his face, the warm puff of air barely strong enough to be felt. Hoseok ran his free hand through his hair as an attempt to relax him before guiding his face a little to the side for their lips to fit better together. Jungkook got a little too excited when he kissed his bottom lip with a slightly wet sound and his chest was heaving up and down, what worked to remember Hoseok this was probably his first intimate contact with another person, prompting him to withdraw with one last peck before smiling at the way Jungkook still had his eyes closed, his mouth a little parted. His ears shifted every time Hoseok scratched a certain place on his scalp and his tail was now secured around Hoseok’s leg, holding onto him. He looked adorable.

Adorable, beautiful and everything Hoseok didn’t know he wanted.

But oh, did he want Jungkook.

He rubbed his thumb on Jungkook’s cheek again and he opened his eyes, searching Hoseok’s.

“Does this mean you like me, too?” he cocked his head to the side. “Because according to Jimin’s books, when two people kiss it’s because they like each other.”

Hoseok’s brain registered how Jungkook confessed without clear words and smiled fondly.

“You need to stop comparing everything you do to Jimin's books, seriously.” he dropped a small kiss on Jungkook’s forehead. “But yeah, in this case, it does mean I like you, I guess.”

Jungkook smiled and rubbed the tip of his nose up Hoseok’s jawline until the point their position allowed.  Hoseok caressed the base of Jungkook’s ears just to hear him purr, smiling satisfied when his body vibrated against his own.

He shifted Jungkook to a more comfortable position for him to fall asleep in, and he was dozing off himself when Jungkook called him again:

“Hoseok?”

“Hum?”

“Does this mean you want to kiss me until I lose my breath, too?”

“You seriously need to stop reading Jimin’s books.”

“So you don’t want to?”

A second went by.

“I do, actually.”

“Good.”