Work Text:
Through the ship’s windows, the emptiness of space somehow feels more infinite. Jungkook presses a palm to the glass and feels the coolness, watches the mark fade into the darkness when he removes it.
“Yoongi,” he says, and the ship hums.
“How may I be of service?”
“Where are we?”
The lights pulse softly as Yoongi calculates. “Just outside the Tiemel System.”
“How much longer to our destination?”
“Three light-years, sir.”
Jungkook sighs and rests his forehead against the window. Usually, he can sit here for hours watching the stars pass by and not get tired, but not today. Something’s different today.
“Yoongi?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do you ever get lonely?”
The lights dim and flicker for a moment. Jungkook stands perfectly still, pressing his forehead to the glass, and waits.
When Yoongi replies, it’s in the same controlled, even tone as always. “I do not understand your question.”
“You understand human emotions though, right?”
“That is correct.”
“Well…” Jungkook steps back from the window, sits down on the metal floor. “Loneliness is a human emotion. Everyone has it sometimes.”
“I do not know what ‘loneliness’ is. I do not know if I have ever felt it.”
Jungkook tugs at a lock of hair, unsure how to explain it. “It’s… like sadness. It’s kind of a sad emotion. But it comes from… I don’t know, from not being around people. Or- you can be around people, but not feel welcomed or understood or liked. It’s like a big hole in your chest that makes you feel hollow, like you can’t fill it up no matter how hard you try.”
Yoongi is silent for a long moment. The lights pulse still, but slower now. “That sounds painful.”
“It is, I guess.”
Yoongi hums. “I do not believe I have ever felt lonely, then.”
“Lucky you.”
The lights brighten, and Jungkook feels the temperature of the room rise a few degrees. He smiles slightly. “I’m okay, Yoongi, you don’t have to comfort me.”
“Do you…” Yoongi pauses. “Do you feel lonely?”
Jungkook laughs quietly. “All the time. But it’s okay; I’m used to it.”
Another soft hum. “You need human companionship.”
“That would help,” Jungkook admits, “but I doubt there’s much to find this far from Earth.”
“I was programmed to simulate human companionship.” Yoongi’s voice is measured, but Jungkook can detect an undercurrent of sadness. He wonders if he’s imagining it.
“I know.”
“I was made to prevent loneliness, as you call it.”
“I know.”
“But you are lonely. I have failed.”
Jungkook shakes his head then. “No. No, you haven’t. There’s no true way to simulate human interaction, and even with it, people feel lonely. I’m in the middle of space light years from home; I’m bound to get lonely from time to time. But without you, I’d have gone insane long ago.”
The lights brighten a bit, but dim almost immediately. “It is a strange thing,” Yoongi muses. “I have always been… on my own. Alone. It is our fate.”
“You have me.”
“I do. And you, me. I wish I could be more.”
When Jungkook smiles, there is sadness in every line. “You are enough.”