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The first time he had been fascinated by the cosmos and all that which it withheld, was when he had stumbled across this little cartoon show that had become quite popular when he was around nine years old.
The main character was an air headed astronaut with a little green alien friend who took him places. Mr. Strong was his name and he travelled all over the universe. From one planet to the other, hopping from galaxy to galaxy; meeting more aliens (friends and foe alike) and other forms of life which lived in the realm beyond the skies. He fought the bad guys and had fun with the good guys. All in all he was a funny little man with an even funnier accent, one which he had struggled to understand as a kid, but the show had had him hooked .
He had bought glow in the dark constellations and stuck them all over the ceiling and walls in his bedroom. He ended up buying more than just one pack and it resulted in him somehow having two moons and three suns; not your typical solar system mind you, but it worked for him and that was how it stayed.
His very own universe, right where he would see it first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
Dual moons and triple suns aside, Kim Seokjin was an interesting kid with an interesting ambition. Ambition he had dragged with him right into his teenage years and well into his adulthood.
He spent years planning out his future. Deciding which university to go to, the places he would need to work at to gain the professional experience necessary, right down to when exactly he would have to join the military to receive the additional pilot training that would be an extra bonus to all his skills.
He had everything down pat, and his only worry for the longest time was his height, having had to at least be six foot two. Thank the stars for puberty.
Everything went smoothly, flawlessly and mostly, according to his plans.
He met his current husband Kim Taehyung, the love of his life, in the military. They officially began their relationship the day they were discharged. They drank to his first job application - and rejection - a few months after they got together. Celebrated with their joint group of friends with ridiculously expensive wine and seafood when his fifth attempt was accepted a year into their relationship. They moved in together as soon as they settled into their post military lives and loved each other more and more every day.
They shared their worries and tears together for days when he had to go on his first mission to space. His initiation. He had been scared right out of his socks but he had held it together. For Taehyung's sake if not his. Blasted off to space, finished his mission and made it back in twenty days; just in time to propose to his boyfriend of two years.
They had the wedding ceremony in summer, wore all the pretty colors of winter just because, and watched their friends cry when they had said their vows. They got a bigger place, because adoption was something they were thinking of in the future. Also, they just wanted a change from the little but homey apartment they lived in before.
He went on his second mission. A month this time, but he had still made it back in time for their looming one year wedding anniversary. Bought his husband a bouquet of flowers and shiny earrings - because he loved those kinds of things - and spent the whole night loving him the way he deserves.
They were thinking of adopting soon. They had been going through catalogues and visiting the orphanages. They had been meeting with advisors and other adoptive parents, talking about the best ways to raise children and how to make sure they knew they were loved and to raise them right.
Things were smooth sailing.
Until it wasn't.
They were on their way back to Earth when everything happened; in a blur of motion and within seconds. Seconds that were actually minutes. The crew of seven were thrown around in a panic as the unforeseen disaster rushed towards them like a hurricane, a tsunami and a few more disasters combined.
Blaring alarms. Automated voices calling out alerts; alerts way too late to act on. Their pilot tried to get in touch with the base. Their commander tried to calm them all with her soft, slightly trembling voice and her attempt at reassuring words. Trying her best to get them all into their space suits, get their helmets and oxygen tanks strapped in. Getting them to follow disaster protocol. Her words flew right over his head; all the sounds had become static to him.
White noise.
Taehyungie, I'm so sorry .
And then the first wall of the shuttle melted away.
Seokjin didn't really register how, but he ended up being carried away through the molten walls and into the bosoms of the universe.
He didn't even have his space suit on. Just his luck.
Darkness surrounded him from all sides except to his left, where the shuttle that had been his home for the past two weeks had gone aflame. The fire was more concentrated towards the external tanks. Something must have exploded. Let in the heat on their descent.
He couldn't see anyone else, they must all still be trapped within the shuttle. He wondered whether they realized he had disappeared. That his space suit was still in there but he himself was not.
Floating in between here and there, he watched as the shuttle continued hurtling down towards the earth's surface. Leaving him behind. Not that being inside a fiery ball was any better, but at least, it would take him back to home ground.
Right now, he was at the mercy of the stars.
What a way to die . Seokjin thought. In the midst of doing what I love. Well, there are worse ways to go .
His sight began to blacken at the corners as the lack of oxygen got to him, before he finally succumbed and let the darkness take him.
They say your whole life flashes before your eyes as you die.
Seokjin finds out that's only half true. It's not your entire life that flashes through your mind but more of a selection of fond memories and for him, it was all random moments of his childhood and the times he had spent with Taehyung.
The air headed astronaut and his alien. The universe he had created on the walls of his bedroom. His first fallen tooth. The pet puppy he had adopted off the streets when he was eleven and named it, unsurprisingly to everyone, Alien.
The first time he had a serious argument with his family because they couldn't understand why he was attracted to boys. Crying in his mother's arms when they had finally accepted him as he was.
Getting accepted to his first university of choice. Graduation, work and then military.
Meeting Taehyung
The first time they had kissed. Their very awkward first date. Moving in together. Waking up to each other's face on the other side of the bed. Softly placed touches and kisses. Their first actual fight, when they had thought it was all coming to an end, that this was it to them. Making up afterwards.
His proposal, Taehyung giddy and trembling as he had cried and said yes. Holding him close, overflowing with happiness and the promise of a new tomorrow. Their wedding. Their life together. Promises to always keep the younger happy and free of any worries.
A promise broken.
As he lost the battle between life and death, a soft tinkle sounded from afar and when he next opened his eyes, all he could see was the stars.
Is this heaven?
Seokjin stared at all the bright balls of flames, blinking in and out of sight like fireflies. No, it was even more amazing a sight than that of simple fireflies.
How does one even begin to describe such a thing? It was like millions of fairy lights strung together and lit up all at once. It was like fireworks against the night sky.
It was a sight to behold. And behold he did.
Completely enthralled with the fantasy around him, it took him a moment to realize he was no longer in the outfit he had on in the shuttle. His drab, accident damaged clothes had changed into a white shirt and pressed pants, a jacket tucked into the crook of his elbow.
If this was heaven, at least they had exquisite fashion senses.
His wandering thoughts were reeled in when a booming yet soft voice caught his ear. The words reverberated throughout whatever place he was in, be it heaven or elsewhere. All around him and inside him and Seokjin shivered as goosebumps raised atop his skin and the stars around him quivered.
If you could see your beloved one last time, would you take that chance?
What kind of question was that? Of course he would. Even if to leave behind one last fond memory… of course he would.
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind, he gasped as his body jerked forwards and a blinding light filled his sight.
Taehyung, stepping out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, tears streaking down his cheeks.
Taehyung, smiling at him, tears still in his eyes but also filled with joy.
The smile he loved so much, so bright and full of life.
The promise of breakfast, cheesy songs on the radio and dancing.
And then…
Darkness found him once again.
The sound of Taehyung crying wrenched at his heart strings and Seokjin found himself thrashing around in the dense blackness around him. Trying to reach out to his husband. Why was he crying? Why was he crying ? Taehyung shouldn't cry. He shouldn't . He made a promise to never let the younger be upset for long, so why was he crying?
Please don't cry my sun and stars. Please don't cry. I can't stand to hear you being so upset. Whatever it is will pass Taehyungie, so please, please stop crying my love .
He couldn't see him. Oh, where had Taehyung been taken to. Where has he been taken to?
Seokjin closed his eyes and sobbed, trying to reach out to the other. He was here, somewhere, he could feel it.
It'll all be alright my love. Everything would turn out just fine. I got you Taehyung, I still have you. Always will .
He tried to peer into the solid darkness and paused as a glowing figure bled into his sight. A ball of light so bright it could rival the sun. He could feel immense power radiate from it and when it shattered around him, he recoiled from the shock.
The shattered pieces formed constellations around him and he gaped in awe. A group of them merged together to form the outline of a person, and Seokjin regarded it in curiosity.
We have been watching over you, Moon Child. Your time upon the human realm has ended. It is time you join us now .
“Moon Child?” he asked the figure. Fingers fidgeting with a button on his shirt. A bad habit he hadn't been able to rid himself of even when he was alive; assuming he was dead now. He continued to tug at the button as he warily eyed the ‘person’ before him.
The figure wavered like a mirage before the voice spoke out again, the sound coming from both the figure and from the space around him. A slightly echo like feeling being created from that effect.
You are one of us, Moon Child. You wished to become human just to feel what it is like and now your time is up. You are to return back home .
“But- but what about Taehyung? I can't leave him behind!” he cried. The thought of Taehyung having to live for the rest of his life all alone was unbearable to him. The possibility that he might not even meet him in the afterlife because apparently he was a child of the moon, whatever that was, was even moreso.
When the time is right for him, just as it was for you, we will allow him to join you in our realm. Your bond with the human is special and the universe doesn't wish you apart for longer than needed.
Fret not, you will be reunited soon with your love .
With that the figure scattered into pieces, and once again he was surrounded by the stars. And like that he stayed.
Time was an unknown concept wherever he was and the days passed without him knowing. Never any older than the last day, never moving on to another. Maybe years had passed without him knowing, maybe it had only been a couple of months, but all he knew was he was slowly becoming one with the universe.
His human form grew more transparent and the light of the stars shined within him brighter than when he first arrived. He was lonely at first, until he gradually came to understand the tongue of the galaxies, conversing with the stars more fluidly with each passing day.
He grew more forgetful, unable to remember who he was, what he was doing, who he was waiting so patiently for.
Finally, the day came where the light brightened and the stars quivered once again.
Seokjin stared as the stars above him parted to let through a figure surrounded by light. He felt emotions he hadn't felt in a long, long time and a name he had quite forgotten slipped from his lips and into the galaxy, greeting the newcomer with a tinkle of soft bells.
Taehyungie, my sun and stars. Welcome home .