Chapter Text
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…
It is a period of chaos and despair in the galaxy. After the collapse of the GALACTIC REPUBLIC and the ascension of the EMPEROR, Imperial forces have moved in on thousands of peaceful and unsuspecting worlds. The few Jedi Knights that managed to escape the massacre of the Jedi Order have continued their work, attempting to keep peace throughout the galaxy.
Among those few are MARK, JENO, DONGHYUCK, and JAEMIN, who are on a secret mission to retrieve a mysterious Jedi artefact lost to the mists of time. After yet another failed reconnaissance mission, the courageous quartet attempt to flee the clutches of the EMPIRE as they make a daring escape from the remote desert planet of PALLAS…
Renjun drops out of hyperspace right in the middle of a battle, because of course he does.
“Shit, shit, shit,” He mutters, pulling desperately at the controls in an effort to turn away as fast as possible. His scanners are lit up like the Coruscant skyline with all of the ship pings, and a few of those ships are starting to notice his presence.
“Chenle, get the fuck up here,” He yells into his commlink, but if the noise of Imperial fighter guns firing 10 feet from their little freighter isn’t enough to wake his co-pilot, Renjun doubts yelling will do much. A blast suddenly rocks the ship, and the green light indicating that their passive shield is up flickers pitifully. Another hit, and it goes out.
“Fuck!” Renjun curses before gunning it, the only destination in his head just away.
“Jisung! Are you seeing this?” Renjun hits the button for the gunner bay comms channel just as he throws them into a sharp right, hoping to shake some of the Tie fighters tailing them.
“Yeah, yeah, give me a second. What's going on?” Jisung’s voice is thick with sleep, but the fact that he’s answering from the gunner’s chair at least means that they’ll have some kind of offense.
“No idea. They all look like Imperial ships, I can’t tell who they’re fighting. Whoa- hang onto something!” Renjun cries suddenly before yanking the throttle back and pulling them vertical to avoid a sudden shower of laser fire.
A staticky scream comes through from Jisung’s end, and Chenle’s voice suddenly bursts out of the speaker: “Renjun, what the fuck.”
With Chenle finally awake and Renjun and Jisung accounted for at their stations, that makes up the whole crew of the Contrita Stella. They’re a scrappy little trio, but they’ve managed to secure decent work as deliverymen in the three years they've been working together.
“I don’t think we shook them,” Renjun mutters into his comm. Jisung makes an unintelligible noise in response. Chenle bursts into the cockpit, dressed in nothing but boxers and a NAEVIS CALLING TOUR 7957 T-shirt, his hair sticking up on one side.
“Move,” He grunts, sliding into Renjun’s seat with Renjun still in it.
“I regret trying to wake you up,” Renjun retorts, wiggling out of the seat and standing to start redirecting power to their heavy-duty shields.
“Oh, I’m sure,” Chenle replies. He kicks up the speed and dives into the fray, attempting to shake their tails in the chaos of the main battle.
“Unidentified freighter, come in. Come in, freighter,” Their external communicator suddenly crackles to life. Renjun keeps flipping switches with one hand and leans over Chenle to grab the mic with the other.
“Affirmative. This is Huang Renjun of the Contrita Stella, ITA number 32300. We’re just en-route to a delivery, we mean no harm,” Renjun rattles off, hoping against hope that this is all some misunderstanding and they'll be able to just laugh this off and walk away. He finally manages to engage their rear shield, and drops into the seat next to Chenle to begin work on the frontal shield.
“Hi, Huang Renjun of the Contrita Stella. Come here often?” That same voice asks.
“Do I- who is this?” Renjun responds, aghast. Chenle snorts. A rush of static bursts out of the communicator before a different voice comes through.
“Jaemin, oh my god, can you focus on flying? Sorry, sorry about that. And sorry that you got caught up in all this. Listen, uh, Renjun, my name’s Jeno, we’re in a bit of trouble.”
“More than just a bit,” Chenle mutters, and Renjun can't help but agree.
“We’re just barely holding together through this, can you.. can you maybe help us out? Just.. I don’t know how much heat you’re packing but maybe we could, like, team up or something?” As the voice is speaking, Renjun starts assessing the situation more closely. He realizes that there’s only one ship in this whole mess that’s getting fired on, a dinky little diplomat’s cruiser. Renjun gets a sinking feeling in his chest.
“Stars above, what the hell have we gotten ourselves into?” He murmurs, staring as the other ship suddenly takes a dive, guns burning holes into Tie fighters left and right. But for every enemy ship it takes out, the little cruiser seems to have three more on its tail.
“Please, we could really use any help we can get,” The person on the other end of the communicator sounds close to tears at this point. Despite himself, Renjun’s heart goes out to them.
“We’ll help as much as we can, but we’re a delivery craft, we only have one gunner,” He says, but the voice on the other end of the call whoops like Renjun had just told him he’s bringing a whole fleet.
“Our plan right now is to lead them in the direction of these coordinates, try to keep them separated from their base on Pallas. They’re small fighters, so if we can isolate them enough they won’t be able to call in reinforcements,” Renjun nods and inputs the coordinates, Chenle simply grunting and turning sharply in the right direction. Neither of them mention that they were on their way to that base.
“Jisung, did you hear that?” Renjun asks.
“Yeah, I got it Junnie,” Jisung sounds uneasy, and Renjun doesn’t blame him. What could a little transport ship have done to piss off this many Imperial fighters? And what the hell are they thinking, getting involved with them?
“Survive now, think later,” Chenle says, elbowing Renjun gently the way he does when he knows Renjun’s getting too into his own head.
“Right. Right,” Renjun murmurs, fingers returning to the console to work on getting the rest of the shields up.
Renjun's still wary of their tentative allies, but the ship seems to at least have the skills to back up whatever insane actions got it into this situation in the first place. The pilot - Jaemin, Renjun remembers - is top notch, weaving in and out of Tie fighters with ease and setting up their gunners perfectly. It’s a little scary, almost like the pilot knows where their targets are going to be before they get there.
“Who are these guys?” Chenle asks, staring as a ship that had gotten on their case explodes after their allies land a perfect shot to its starboard engine. Renjun is starting to get more than a little nervous to find out.
By the time they reach the coordinates the friendly ship had sent over, a small asteroid moving with a low enough velocity to appear stationary, there are only four ships on their tails.
“Out of the way!” The first voice, Jaemin's, suddenly echoes out of their speaker. Chenle doesn’t have to be told twice and floors it, just in time for their allies to zip through the space they had just been and maneuver through the remaining fighters, taking them out with such ease it sends a shiver down Renjun’s spine. But one of the fighters manages to get in a shot before it's shot down, and the friendly ship spirals out of control with one of its engines heavily damaged.
“Oh my god, we have to help them!” Renjun cries, and Chenle is already there, zipping after the little ship as Renjun runs down to the bay doors. He hears Chenle’s communications over the ship’s PA, “Jeno, prepare to evacuate, prepare to board,” and preps the magnetizer, hands shaking with fear and adrenaline. His heart hammers as he crouches next to the control panel in the bay, one hand on his blaster and one on the buttons. The Stella shudders as they come into contact with the damaged cruiser. Once the airlock is secured, Renjun takes a deep breath and opens the door, keeping one hand on the blaster at his hip.
He isn’t quite sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t four boys his age to tumble into the airlock. No Imperial uniforms, though they are all dressed in similar-looking robes. Two appear to be human, and two are Twi’leks, head-tails halfway down their backs. None of them seem to be armed, so Renjun shakes himself out of his surprise and moves, allowing them into the bay proper before unsealing the airlock and detaching from the boys’ sputtering ship.
“Chenle, go!” He yells into his comm, and Renjun and the boys all stumble as the Stella lurches away. Just in the nick of time too, as not long after the boys’ ship has shrunk in the distance, it explodes into a supernova of flame.
“Mondays, am I right?” One of the Twi’leks says, as though they’d had a tough morning at the office and not almost died in a violent battle. He grins at Renjun with entirely too many teeth.
“You could say that again,” One of the humans whines, shrugging his cloak off and starfishing on the floor.
“C’mon, man,” The other human groans, grabbing his friend by the hand and attempting to hoist him up.
“Leave me to die, Mark Lee,” The one on the floor wails dramatically, but he acquiesces to Mark’s tugging and sits up.
“Uh, sorry about them,” The other Twi’lek approaches Renjun, hand outstretched for a handshake. His robe is tossed over his other arm. He has an angular face that softens as he smiles in greeting.
“I’m Jeno, thank you so much for your help. These are my crewmates, Donghyuck, Jaemin and Mark. It’s an honour to meet you,” Jeno says. Renjun blushes at the flattery and accepts his handshake.
“Glad we could… help…” Renjun trails off as he glances down. He had previously thought all the boys were unarmed, but something glitters at Jeno’s hip. It almost looks like…
Renjun slowly glances around at the other boys. They aren’t dressed too conspicuously aside from the cloaks, but they all have those weapons belts. Stories that Renjun’s heard from other smugglers at bars suddenly flood his head, about arrogant, brash warriors quick to antagonize any outside their ranks and quicker still to resort to violence. Suddenly, Renjun understands the scarily accurate shooting, the unbelievable flying.
The thing on Jeno’s belt is a lightsaber.
These boys are Jedi knights.
Renjun is so fucked.
Renjun eyes the Jedi carefully. They stand in a line as everyone gathers in the main cabin and introduces themselves, having refused when Renjun asked if they wanted to sit. He’s never met any in-person before. These four look so… normal. Well, aside from the lightsabers on their belts that are setting Renjun on edge. He shifts a little closer to Jisung on the bench the two of them are sharing.
“So… do we get, like, rooms in here?” The one who had lain on the floor of the bay, Donghyuck, asks. Renjun rolls his eyes.
“It’s a cargo ship. There are two sleeping cabins, so we can share one and you guys can share the other. If you wanted luxury you should’ve commandeered another ship,” Renjun replies testily. Donghyuck blinks in surprise, and Jisung elbows Renjun.
“Where are you headed?” Jisung shifts the subject quickly.
“Out to Jedda, if it’s not too much trouble! We’re in search of-” Jeno is cut off by the Twi’lek with all the teeth, Jaemin, forcefully slapping a hand on his shoulder in the imitation of a friendly gesture.
“Jedda is our destination. Can you get us there or not?” He asks, his voice flat in contrast to the artificial smile plastered on his ridiculously handsome face. Renjun dislikes him instantly.
“Yes, we can get you there,” Renjun says, equally flatly, glaring daggers at Jaemin.
“Are you the pilot?” Jaemin asks, raising an eyebrow. Renjun's face goes hot.
“Excuse me?” Renjun stands, approaching Jaemin. He hadn’t realized how much taller the other boy is until he was standing right in front of him. Jaemin stares him down, an amused grin playing at his lips that just pisses Renjun off even more.
“Jaemin, be nice,” Jeno whines at him, but he doesn’t elaborate further on whatever it is they’re searching for. Renjun’s eyes narrow. He doesn’t like not knowing what he’s hauling.
“Hope it’s not too out of your way, guys,” The other human, Mark, says apologetically, fidgeting with the edges of his sleeves. Renjun’s eye twitches. If he thinks too long about how much time and fuel they’re going to use up going all the way out to Jedda, he’ll combust on the spot.
“Oh, it’s very much out of our way,” Chenle says from where he’s lounging against the doorframe. He has a smile on his face, and Mark, confused, tries to smile back.
“And we do need to stop to make a delivery first,” Jisung chimes in. Renjun’s eyes widen. With all the excitement of the morning, he’d almost forgotten the reason they were here.
“Delivery?” Jaemin asks, cocking his hip and raising an eyebrow. Renjun is honestly a little impressed at how even someone’s posture can irritate him.
“We’re delivering an important parcel to a merchant on Pallas,” Renjun says, making direct eye contact with Jaemin. Jaemin raises an eyebrow, his lips quirking into an amused half-smirk. Finally, Renjun looks away, to Jeno, who’s cursing under his breath.
“We just escaped from there!” Donghyuck exclaims, collapsing dramatically onto the bench opposite Jisung.
“But we need that money… Especially if we’re going to be fuelling up to fly all the way to Jedda,” Jisung says, quiet but firm. The Jedi exchange glances. The look exchanged between Mark and Jaemin seems longest of all.
“Fine,” Mark finally says, “But we’ll need to stay hidden.” Renjun decides Mark must be the leader of this ragtag little group of Jedi. He seems to have an authority that they all bend to.
“Don’t worry. You should all be able to fit in the smuggling compartments,” Chenle says, his face stretching into a cat-like grin when Mark’s face blanches.
“What’s the, uh… legality of this parcel?” Jeno asks, looking around at Renjun, Chenle and Jisung with a new expression. Chenle snorts.
“I think harbouring Jedi fugitives is a bit more of a crime than hauling exotic fruit,” Renjun grumbles. To his surprise, Jaemin laughs, short and harsh.
“Yeah, you could say that again,” He says with a forced levity, and turns to Jisung.
“Could you show us to our room, Jisung?” He asks. Jisung nods, standing abruptly and nearly smashing his knee into the table. All the Jedi follow behind Jaemin as they leave the main cabin, Jeno and Donghyuck whispering to each other with heads tilted together.
“Are we really taking them all the way to Jedda?” Chenle asks disdainfully, finally moving from his defensive position in the doorway to go rifle through the snack cabinet. Renjun fantasizes, for a brief moment, about saying no. Kicking the Jedi out and leaving them to find their own way in the deserts of Pallas. He and Chenle and Jisung have fought so hard for their quiet little life aboard the Contrita Stella, and these Jedi and their stupid mystery quest could ruin all of that.
“Yeah,” Renjun says instead, remembering Jeno’s desperation, Mark’s gratitude, and on top of all of that, Jaemin’s upturned nose, “We’re taking them to Jedda.”
They decide to wait a few days to return to Pallas, worried about one of the fighters having gotten away or radioed in with reports of their ship helping out in the battle. After spending an hour bickering in the cockpit despite agreeing on just about everything and sending a message to Ningning telling her they’ll be late on their delivery, Renjun and Chenle head to the kitchen to scrape together a meal.
Jeno and Jaemin are standing at the little single-burner stove, heads bent together as they talk in low tones. Jaemin has something boiling in a pot. Renjun and Chenle glance at each other. It feels a bit like intruding, even though it’s their kitchen.
“What are you making?” Chenle asks loudly. Okay, so maybe Renjun was the only one who felt like they were intruding. Jeno jumps, clearly not having noticed their arrival, but Jaemin doesn’t even look up from his dish.
“Just a vegetable stew. Hopefully there’s enough for everyone, your pantry’s pretty bare,” Jaemin says lightly. Renjun glares at him.
“Yeah, well, we were supposed to be restocking on Pallas right now. Sorry to disappoint,” He mutters. Jaemin finally looks up, eyeing Renjun with amusement.
“Do you want some stew or not?” Jaemin asks. Is he laughing? Renjun stares, unsure how to react. Jaemin stares back.
“I want some stew,” Chenle declares after a few moments of uncomfortable silence, sitting down at the table and crossing one leg over the other. Renjun silently sits down beside him. Jeno sits with them, seemingly unperturbed by the general awkward vibes.
“Sorry for laughing, you’re just so cute when you’re mad, Renjunnie,” Jaemin says, beginning to spoon the stew into bowls. Chenle bursts out laughing. Renjun elbows him, glaring at Jaemin even harder.
“I’m not- What-” Renjun blusters, hoping the tips of his ears aren’t as red as they feel. Jeno’s green skin has gone pale, eyes flickering nervously between Renjun and Jaemin.
“Jaem, maybe don’t antagonize the people who are very kindly giving us a ride?” He suggests. Renjun is inclined to agree with him.
“Antagonize? Who’s antagonizing? If anything, I’m protagonizing. Here, eat up!” Jaemin says, voice sugary sweet as he sets a bowl of stew down in front of Renjun. They only have three bowls on board, so after Jaemin’s served the three of them, he sits down next to Jeno and starts eating directly out of the pot.
Renjun scoops a spoonful of stew into his mouth and nearly moans. He and Jisung are both helpless in the kitchen, and while Chenle isn’t a half-bad chef, it’s rare that he musters up the willpower and energy to cook them a meal. Renjun’s pretty sure the last time he ate anything close to home-cooked was the last time they delivered to Ningning.
“This is amazing,” He breathes. He kind of expects Jaemin to tease him again, but instead he looks up to find a warm, genuine smile on his face. Renjun has eyes, so he’d noticed how handsome Jaemin is, but the soft look in his eyes is the first thing that’s really given Renjun butterflies.
“I’m glad,” Jaemin replies quietly. Renjun feels a blush rise to his cheeks. He curls further into himself and eats his stew.
Chenle returns to the cockpit after enveloping Renjun in a rare hug and telling him to get some sleep. Renjun goes to do just that. He gets a fitful three hours in Jisung’s bunk while Chenle sets down on an asteroid. When Renjun does get to sleep, he dreams of home. The endless rolling sand dunes, the sun beating down on him as he tends to their meager garden, his grandmother’s hand pointing to the stars. When he wakes, he can feel the itch of sand grains on his skin and shudders.
He gets up to go take a shower, but on his way to the refresher, he hears murmuring voices in his and Chenle’s room. Renjun glances both ways down the halls, and makes a split decision. He shifts closer to the wall, kneels, pretending to be tying his boot, and presses his ear to the door.
“It’s not like they can be of much help, anyway. This is our business, our mess to clean up. I already don’t like relying on them to get us to Jedda. Will this hunk of junk even hold together to get us there?” It’s Jaemin’s voice, low and irritated.
“I don’t like it either… We’re putting them in danger just by being here. But we don’t have much of a choice, our ship literally exploded, dude. And… well, it seems like they’re not new to operating outside of the law,” Mark’s voice responds.
“Yeah, I don’t like that either. How are we supposed to trust that they won’t rat us out? Plus…” Renjun stands abruptly, not caring to hear the rest of Jaemin’s sentence. His boot squeaks loudly against the floor as he stands, but he doesn’t care, power-walking away as fast as possible, even when he hears the creak of his door opening and Mark calling his name.
“Oh, Renjun! Will you come play sabacc with us?” Jeno calls as Renjun is passing through the main cabin. He, Donghyuck and Jisung are sitting around the main table, cards already dealt.
“Um…” The last thing he wants to do is play cards with a bunch of arrogant pricks who barely trust him and his crew, but Jisung looks nervous, and Renjun doesn’t want to abandon him, “Sure. But I’m a little rusty.”
“We’ll go easy on you,” Donghyuck simpers, in a tone of voice that makes Renjun think that he will definitely not go easy on him.
“Here, I’ll deal you in. We’re just betting with these dried fruits,” Jeno says, sliding Renjun an open bag of his own favourite snack.
“Jisung. Is this the last bag?” He asks, glaring at Jisung as he sits. Jisung shrugs.
“It was yours or mine.” He says. Renjun rolls his eyes.
“So, how did you guys meet?” Jeno asks conversationally as he smoothly stacks Renjun’s cards.
“Jisungie and I?” Renjun asks, glancing at Jisung and then back to Jeno. After overhearing that conversation between Mark and Jaemin, he’s on edge, and worried about telling the Jedi too much. But Jeno, at least, seems nice enough, and Renjun can’t think of a way to refuse to answer without seeming rude.
“Well, we each knew Chenle first. Chenle and I grew up together, on Pallas, actually,” Renjun explains as he looks through his cards.
“Damn, what a coincidence. I’d never heard of it before we went there,” Donghyuck says, popping one of his betting tokens into his mouth.
“Yeah. Most people haven’t,” Renjun replies.
“Chenle and I met at…” Jisung swallows, “At the Imperial Academy.” Donghyuck draws, and immediately places the card in the center.
“Ugh. That stupid Academy,” He mutters. Renjun hums in agreement.
“You didn’t go to the Academy, Renjun?” Jeno asks. Renjun draws a card, more for lack of anything to do than because he thinks he needs it.
“No,” He says simply. He’ll divulge some things to the Jedi, but not this.
“How did you guys meet?” Jisung asks, passing his turn entirely.
“Oh, well… It’s a long story,” Jeno says, a wistful look on his face.
“Oh, darling, the story’s not so long!” Donghyuck interrupts, “You see, Jeno had been in love with me for years at the Jedi Academy, until one day I finally deigned to give him the time of day-”
“Okay, well, that’s not exactly how the story goes,” Jeno cuts in, but Donghyuck is on a roll.
“And he finally confessed to me on a moonlit night, on the roof of the Jedi temple overlooking the Coruscant skyline, with a bouquet of sunflowers…”
“Hyuck, you’re embarrassing me in front of the cool smugglers,” Jeno whines, his green cheeks darkening in a blush.
“I think it’s sweet,” Jisung says, a small smile on his face, “Chenle confessed to me in the dark in our shared room at the Academy. Way less romantic. He said it was because of the lights-out curfew, but I think it was because he was too embarrassed to be vulnerable with me when I could see him.” Renjun giggles. Sounds like Chenle.
“Ahh, so cute," Donghyuck simpers, reaching over the table like he wants to pinch Jisung's cheek, which Jisung immediately shrinks away from, "How long have you been together?”
“Four years,” Jisung says, smiling small and tender, “Almost the same amount of time we’ve been with Renjun and the Contrita Stella.”
“Round’s over,” Jeno declares after drawing. Everyone lays down their cards.
“Twenty-two!” Donghyuck crows, and sweeps the dried fruit in the center of the table closer to himself. Jeno groans and knocks his shoulder as he deals a new round.
“Renjunnie!” Chenle appears in the doorway, imitating Jaemin’s voice from earlier. Renjun wrinkles his nose.
“What?” He asks, flatly.
“Come swap with me, I’m tired and I hate monitoring the ship,” Chenle announces, sweeping into the room and collapsing onto the bench next to Jisung. Jisung absentmindedly wraps an arm around his boyfriend, the gesture practically automatic.
“Alright, alright,” Renjun grumbles, passing Chenle his deck and standing.
“It was nice playing with you,” Jeno says, his smile so wide it curves his eyes into crescents.
“We’ll play again soon so I can beat you properly,” Donghyuck says, a matching yet much more mischievous grin on his face.
“Maybe I would’ve won next round,” Renjun retorts. Donghyuck merely winks and waggles his fingers as Renjun leaves and heads up to the cockpit.
When he gets there, Mark is waiting for him.
“Hey, uh, Renjun, listen, can we talk?” Mark asks, the words stumbling out of his mouth like he’d been afraid Renjun wouldn’t let him speak. Renjun sighs.
“Yeah, Mark. Let’s talk,” He says, sitting down in the pilot’s chair and double-checking that their readings are still normal. Well, aside from all the wonky stats from the hyperdrive, which had been damaged in the battle. They’ll need to spend some time on Pallas to repair that before they can go anywhere.
“I just… look, what Jaemin said wasn’t cool. You guys are being, like, so generous and kind by helping us at all, let alone flying us all the way to Jedda, and we’re super grateful. But, you have to understand… Jaemin is just. He’s, like, super hard to get a handle on, I don't know. And he can be suspicious of basically anyone outside of our group, man, like even the attention he’s paying you is out of the ordinary for him. Just…” Mark pauses, seeming to realize that he’s rambling. Renjun gives him a moment to collect himself.
“What I’m trying to say is, please don’t hold what he said against him. It wasn’t out of malice, seriously, he’s a good guy,” Mark concludes. Renjun’s heart instantly thaws.
“Mark, don’t worry. I wasn’t exactly so warm and welcoming to him either. I get it, I promise. And… the fact that he has such a nice friend, who’s willing to stand up for him like this, says a lot about him, I think,” Renjun says, offering Mark a smile. Mark smiles back.
They spend the next few days developing a sort of routine. Renjun and Chenle trade shifts monitoring the Stella’s vitals, watching nervously as the hyperdrive seems to degrade more and more with each passing hour. Jaemin somehow manages to take their barren pantry (Renjun can say that because it’s his pantry, okay?) and whip up decent meals out of it. The Jedi find ways to occupy themselves, either playing cards or bothering Jisung or working out. There’s one memorable incident where Donghyuck nearly beheads Renjun while practicing lightsaber stances in the main cabin. He spends the rest of the day in the cockpit with him, keeping him company to make up for it.
And Renjun tries to make an effort to be nicer to Jaemin, he really does. But it’s hard to do when Jaemin keeps attacking him at his most vulnerable.
Renjun’s just finished his shift in the cockpit, and he slips into a cramped, shadowy passageway just off of his and Chenle’s room, and then hoists himself up onto the ledge that leads to his favourite area of the whole ship. He’s still unsure of whether this little nook was a purposeful design choice on the part of the manufacturer or just an accident. Right where the topmost window begins, there’s a small, flat ledge, just long enough to lie down on and wide enough for two people to fit side by side. When you look up through the window, you can see the entire vastness of space above you, almost close enough to touch.
Chenle and Jisung join him sometimes, and on one memorable occasion the three of them had tried (and failed) to squish in together, but usually, Renjun prefers to come alone. On days when the world feels like it doesn’t extend beyond the metal walls of their little ship, he comes to collect his thoughts, to remind himself of his small place in the grand universe.
Entirely out of habit, he begins picking out the constellations that he can see. Ursa Major, the Little Dipper, Drall’s Hat, the Silly Rabbit, the Burning Snake. When he was a child, he used to know them all. His grandmother had taught them to him.
Suddenly, he feels a hand clamp down on his ankle. He screams and bolts upright, smacking his head against the window in the process, and kicking out violently with his other leg. His foot makes contact with hard muscle and he hears a groan, the grip on his ankle loosening instantly.
“Who’s there?” Renjun demands, slithering out of the crawl space and landing in a crouch with the knife he keeps strapped to the inside of his boot in his hand. It’s Jaemin, clutching his chest and cursing in Twi’leki.
“Renjun, what the hell?” He croaks.
“Me what the hell? What about you? You can’t just show up here grabbing my ankle like that! How the hell do you even know about this place?” Renjun asks. He’s angry and shaking with the vestiges of fear and panic, but he puts his knife away and guides Jaemin to sit on the floor with him.
“I… I like quiet spaces like this. I didn’t know you would be there, I was just trying to get up,” Jaemin’s still clutching his chest and struggling to get words out.
“Ah… well. I’m sorry about, uh, kicking you. You just caught me off guard,” Renjun mumbles, wanting to reach out and help Jaemin but not quite sure how to do that.
“S’fine,” Jaemin murmurs.
“And… I’m sorry for other things too. For being so hostile towards you,” Renjun says quietly. Jaemin merely hums in response.
“I guess Mark spoke to you?" Jaemin asks, voice serious for just a moment. Renjun feels a moment of panic before Jaemin laughs.
"It’s chill, I don’t mind the hostility. I was serious about you being cute when you’re mad,” He says, and Renjun groans, knocking his shoulder against Jaemin’s.
“You can’t just say things like that,” He says.
“Why not? It’s true,” Jaemin says, that toothy smile on his face.
“Just… whatever,” Renjun mumbles, feeling heat rise to his cheeks. He thinks he’s blushed more times in the past few days than he has in the entire rest of his life.
“What were you doing up there?” Jaemin asks, mercifully changing the subject.
“Ah, just… stargazing,” Renjun says quietly.
“Stargazing? You live on a spaceship,” Jaemin says, not unkindly. Renjun laughs.
“I know, I know. But… it’s different. Reminds me of home. Of… of looking up at the stars and knowing that everyone in the universe can see those same stars. Feeling connected to the whole galaxy,” Renjun explains. For a moment, he’s worried Jaemin’s gonna laugh at him. But he just hums.
“You sound like Doyoung. My Jedi master,” Jaemin says. Renjun can hear the smile in his voice.
“He was all about the mystical, spiritual nature of the Force. That’s how he thought of it. This energy that connects everything in the entire galaxy, from the smallest worm to the cities of Coruscant,” Jaemin explains.
“And how do you think of it?” Renjun asks. Jaemin looks at him, eyebrows furrowed as if he’s thinking deeply about the question.
“The Force… it’s power. The Jedi use that power to protect the things and the people they care about. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. That’s what being a Jedi means to me,” Jaemin says simply. His expression is fierce, almost defensive, as though he’s expecting Renjun to argue with him.
“I think that’s beautiful,” Renjun whispers. Jaemin’s eyes widen.
“Beautiful?” He asks, sounding confused.
“Yeah. I can’t think of anything more noble than wanting to protect the people you love,” Renjun says, smiling softly. Jaemin smiles back, and Renjun finds himself thinking that Jaemin is beautiful too.
“Do you… do you want to stargaze with me?” Renjun asks, quiet and vulnerable. Jaemin’s smile grows into a full-blown grin, and he nods. He stands, and holds out a hand to help Renjun up. Renjun is taken aback for a moment by the strength of his grip.
They clamber up into the crawl space together, giggling when their elbows and knees knock together. They lie side by side, and Renjun begins pointing out the constellations.
“Do you know any?” Renjun asks. Jaemin is silent for a few seconds.
“No,” He says, “Show me.”
So Renjun does.