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“Have you bought it?” Jungkook asks.
“Yep.” Taehyung holds the fuse against the odd reddish light of Altarak. They both stare at the tiny piece of metal for a moment. Hours ago, a similar fuse stopped working in their spacecraft and it almost got them killed. Altarak came into view just on time for them to land in emergency mode.
“Sometimes I can’t believe our luck.” Taehyung says, putting the fuse safely inside the pocket of his jacket. Jungkook blinks like he has just gotten out of a trance. He looks around.
“Yeah… almost too lucky.”
“What’s wrong?” Taehyung asks, scooting closer. He has seen this look of apprehension before. They’ve been traveling through space for quite a while now to know how to trust each other’s instincts.
“Don’t you find suspicious how active the market of this planet is? It is a dwarf planet in the middle of nowhere.”
They are back to back now. Taehyung quickly analyzes the crowded fair they’re in. There are mostly people and creatures from planets they’ve been to, while others look completely alien to them. There are some humans here and there. Most of them have their faces covered with some kind of mask.
“Oh.” Taehyung breathes, the pieces of the puzzle finally coming together. “This place is run by black market folks. Of course. It was almost too easy to find to find the specific fuse we needed. These guys have everything.” He says, lifting the black bandana he had on his neck to cover half of his face.
“Yes. Did you notice how the planet didn’t even appear on our ship’s radar? This place is hidden even from maps for a reason.” Jungkook covers his face as well.
“And they know we’re foreigners.” Taehyung says.
“Yes. We need to get out of here now. Come on.”
They head east. Jungkook had parked their ship behind a huge tent that sells mostly spacecraft junk. As they head there he wonders if that was really a good idea.
“There it is.” Taehyung points.
They can see the faint glow of their white spacecraft shield from that distance and it looks undamaged. Jungkook and Taehyung let out the breath they didn’t know they were holding. Taehyung slides the door open and he’s heading in when desperate muffled screams make him turn. A huge humanoid creature covers Jungkook’s mouth with a hand while holds his arms with the other.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck” Taehyung closes the door of the ship behind him just a moment before someone shoots it from the outside. He peeks quickly at the scene. A tiny bald man in what can only be described as a space cowboy outfit and huge goggles stares back at him and smiles cruelly.
“Open the door, boy.” He hisses, shooting one more time.
Taehyung’s heart is beating so fast he can hear it in his ears like drums and his hands are shaking so hard he almost drops the fuse he’s just pulled out of his pocket. As much as he’s dead worried about Jungkook he knows there’s no way they can escape if he doesn’t plug in the new fuse. No ship, no escape. That’s what he imagines Jungkook would say to him, at least.
So he gets to work, hands moving fast to deal with the wires.
Outside, the tiny man turns to Jungkook. “You’re with the red-hair, huh?”
Jungkook sees his reflection in the man’s goggles. His eyes are wide and he looks absolutely terrified. The creature behind him continues to cover his mouth and arms in a tight grip and it’s getting hard to breath. He couldn’t say a thing even if he wanted to.
“That’s a nice ship you two got there.” The man says, shooting another time at the ship as if to prove his point. Jungkook winces. “Bulletproof. Nice, indeed. Not one of the best, but I bet I could get some good cash selling its pieces.”
Jungkook tries to reach for the gun in his pocket but it catches the man’s attention. The crook laughs, getting closer. “Well, what do you got there, boy?”
It all happens too fast. The creature sees Taehyung first, the element of surprise making it loosen its grip on Jungkook’s mouth and arms for a second. Meanwhile, the loud sound of a gunshot. Jungkook takes the opportunity to crouch and run to Taehyung’s side.
“Are you ok?” Taehyung asks Jungkook promptly, a gun pointing at the tiny man who’s been hurt on the shoulder. His huge giant-pet-humanoid thing hovers over him, as if it’s worried with his master or is simply waiting for orders.
“Yes, I am.” Jungkook answers, but he’s bending down breathing hard and Taehyung can see his arms are hurt from the creature’s tight grip. This makes his blood boil. He turns to the man, face contorted with rage.
“Stay the fuck away!” He shouts, furiously. “I don’t wanna shoot you again but I will if I need it.”
The man laughs and the husky sound of it sends shivers down their spines. “You two are pathetic.” He covers the wound in his shoulders with two hands, but a mere shake of his head is enough for the creature to understand him. It turns to the boys, growling.
Taehyung puts himself in front of Jungkook and shoots. The bullet is buried deep in the creature’s chest but it seems to cause it no harm as it keep approaching. Taehyung shoots again, this time aiming at its hungry yellow eyes. He misses. He’s shaking too much. “Jungkook, get in the ship!” He yells. The creature is about to jump at him with its nightmarish hands. Taehyung has one last chance to shoot before it gets him and he shoots, but it’s not his bullet that hits his target.
The creature falls to ground with a heavy thump, crying in agony while one of its eyes bleeds.
Taehyung turns to Jungkook, who seems to be completely frozen except for the shaking hands that holds the gun.
“Good job, babe.” Taehyung’s voice seems to wake him up. He blinks.
They get in the ship and leave Altarak as fast as they can.
xxx
Jungkook is the first one who breaks the silence. They are in space now, the calming vastness of the universe staring back at them. Still, their hearts are beating fast.
“You fixed the ship quite fast, how did you do that?.”
Taehyung looks at him. “It’s not that hard, actually. The fuse is held by three simple wires. I plugged them. Ta-da!”
Jungkook smiles, closing his eyes and leaning back in his pilot chair. “We almost died today. I’m tir— ouch! ” He opens his eyes and finds Taehyung kneeling at his side, touching the bruises on his arms.
“We need to treat those.” Taehyung states, brows furrowed in concern.
“I’m fine. They’re just scratches.” Jungkook says.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Does this hurt?” Taehyung plants a tiny kiss on one of Jungkook’s bruises. It only causes him to giggle. “No.” Jungkook says.
“What about this?” Taehyung kisses another bruise, this one worse looking than the other.
“Ew! Don’t kiss those, they’re a little bloody.” Jungkook says, but he’s amused.
“Does this hurt?” Taehyung kisses it again, this time pressing harder.
“Ouch!” The pain makes Jungkook sits up straight. “Are you crazy or what?”
Taehyung smiles widely. He begins to get up, leaning over Jungkook for a second to give him a quick peck on the lips. “We need to treat those.” He repeats, retreating to the back of the ship to look for the first aid-kit.
Jungkook snickers, closing his eyes and leaning against the chair once more. He could fight a whole galaxy of monsters but there’s no way he can win over Taehyung’s stubbornness.
Sometimes he just can't believe his luck.