MILKY WAY TIME: 1 YEAR 3 MONTHS SINCE NAMJOON AND SEHUN WENT MISSING

NAMJOON'S TIME: 12 HOURS SINCE HE WENT MISSING

Namjoon grabs Sehun's hand, staring at where the fish went. Literally a flying fish. An enormous, larger than life fish. He'd recognize those fins and scales anywhere. It even had gills, but here it is swimming on air. Or maybe that's what the fog is for. But how is it surviving? Why didn't it attack them? What the fuck is this place?!

"We need to go, and we need to go it now," Namjoon says.

Sehun agrees, pulling on Akira's sleeve to get his attention. The commander, still in awe like most of them, reluctantly tears his eyes away and keeps up the pace. The others follow. For a solid ten minutes, no one speaks. No one dares say a word about what happened. Everyone's thinking the same thing: 'we need to leave'. That's Namjoon's guess, anyway. The realization that all this is happening to him is starting to hit his core. His life is coming crashing down all at once. He's missed probably over a year of life back home. His father is wondering where he is. His mother is spending more time with the other kids thinking it'll ease the pain. Jungkook and Taehyung are heartbroken. His siblings...

Namjoon wants to grab the crest he has in his pocket, but Rosalind and Sehun are both holding his arms, preventing him from grabbing anything on his body. He tears up, blinking them back, but it barely works. One slips free. No one notices. Or maybe they do, he's not sure. He hopes they don't. Either way, he's grateful that even if they do, they aren't commenting on his weakness.

"The biomes are large," Akira says, finally breaking their silence. "It could be a while before we get to the end. Anyone want to talk about what happened? I know we don't want to, but it may be best if we're going to stay healthy mentally. I'm no therapist, and quite frankly I'm not interested in being yours, but I also don't want anyone shitting out on me when I need you most. Is that clear?" No answer. It's assumed as a yes. "Let's start with the kids. Boys, anything you want to say?"

Sehun and Namjoon stay quiet a moment. Then, Sehun sighs. "I'm trying to wrap my head around it. I mean, a fish. A fish with glowing eyes was flying above us. Does anyone understand that?" They shake their heads. "I can make theories about the time, the biomes, even the creatures to a certain extent. But a flying fish?"

"It supports your theory that this place is a bunch of planets combined rather than just one. Different environments exist back home, but not to this extent," Akira says. Sehun and Namjoon agree. Namjoon's not sure if they want him to say anything or not, so for now, he pretends he's okay. He pretends and he pretends and he-

No.

Namjoon plants his feet, the rest of the crew stopping with him. Akira turns to him, as does Sehun, the two of them raising brows. The last time he bottled up his emotions instead of talking about it, it led him here. It led him to asking Sehun to drive them out of the solar system. It led to them worrying their fathers. It led to Jimin, Y/n, Jungkook, and Taehyung thinking they're bad parents. Not this time. Not again.

"I'm not okay," he says. The words stab his throat as they leave it, but he keeps going. "I'm not okay at all. How can I be okay? Flying fish, some two-armed creature on a rock, crashed ship, maybe the Ring, whatever. It's all here, and there's nothing we can do except deal with it. But you want to know the worst part? The part I find ironic? I'm a Park. Jihyun's a Park. Sehun's a Jeon. Our last names didn't mean shit here. No matter who we are, it doesn't matter. We're here in this hellhole of a planet or solar system or some shit place. My last name didn't stop me." Namjoon shifts his eyes to Sehun, not hiding his tears anymore. "And it's all my fault for telling you to go. I couldn't talk to my father about my issues. I couldn't understand what my last name really means."

"What does it mean?" Sehun asks.

"Absolutely fucking nothing. My last name isn't who I am. What I do with the last name, though? That's who I am. I'm so sorry, Sehun. You wouldn't be here if it weren't for me."

Sehun breaks formation to hug his friend, Namjoon crying against his shoulder. The others, although pressed for time, allow the brief exchange. Sehun shushes his soft cries and rubs his back, holding him close. "I'm sorry too," Sehun whispers. "I agreed with you, Joon. Weren't you the one who told me to stop blaming myself?"

"That's different."

"How is it different, huh? You made the suggestion, but neither of us stopped to think for a moment that we could get in trouble like this. We're both equally to blame. Stop doing this to yourself, we need to focus, okay?" Sehun says. Namjoon listens, figuring he's spent up enough time. He backs away from Sehun, staring into his eyes for a second. A second too long. "We'll be okay."

"How do you know?" Namjoon asks.

"Because," Sehun says with a laugh, tears rolling down his cheeks. "We have a dumbass Park and a smartass Jeon."

"Don't forget the wiseass Park," Jihyun says. Namjoon and Sehun chuckle at him, Namjoon wiping Sehun's tears with his thumbs. When he's done, Sehun returns the action. "Let's get moving. Everything okay now?"

"Pretty good, Uncle Ji."

"I know you didn't call me that," Jihyun murmurs.

The crew smiles, and Namjoon knows he's grateful for the small break. This breakdown was eighteen years in the making; he probably should've had it sixteen years ago. Or even one would've sufficed. Instead, he let it fester. It grew inside him until he made a dumb decision without consulting his father. The kindest man in the solar system.

An optimist.

Namjoon follows the others down the glowing path, more fog waltzing around their faces. No one speaks again, not even Akira to ask how his crew is doing. Or maybe he did and Namjoon zoned out for that part. He's known for doing things such as that; zoning out while he's painting a picture or drawing a doodle in his notebook.

He vividly remembers drawing a doodle for Sehun. It was a simple picture, one of him on stage dancing for adoring fans. Namjoon wonders if he still has it. Truthfully, he made that for Sehun as a sort of love confession. To show how Namjoon views Sehun in a spotlight, as someone worthy of respect and adoration. Namjoon adores Sehun with all his heart. But how does he show it more than he already has?

"Welcome to the Walmart Ring. I'm your tour guide, Jihyun, and thank you for joining me. On your left you'll see fog. On your right there's more fog. Oh, and in front of you. Don't forget behind you too," Jihyun says. Rosalind nudges him, Akira not reacting to his poor attempt at humor. Namjoon smiles, needing yet another distraction.

Sehun lets go of Namjoon to bite at his nails, then, realizing his mistake, grabs Namjoon's arm as fast as he can. He shoots Namjoon a sheepish smile, the younger of the two returning it. Poor guy is more stressed than he let on. Namjoon's assuming that, anyway. He can't know for sure.

Akira leads them out of the fog, Namjoon letting out a breath as if the fog was choking him that whole time. "Oh this is fucking great. Right out of the horror movie and right into the tundra," Akira says, grunting right after he does.

They let go of each other, Sehun and Namjoon both biting their nails now. The crew stands side-by-side on top of a small hill, snow not far from them. This is by far the biome closest to home. This looks like something pulled straight from Earth. Mountains, trees with leaves, and snow.

"Where do we go?" Sehun asks.

Jihyun kneels, picking up snow with his hand while Rosalind kneels next to him, doing the same. Namjoon doesn't question either of them. "Well, Jihyun said creepy mountains. I'd say this entire place is creepy, so let's start there. We won't scale anything too high, but we'll need to find a cave to get some warmth. It'll take us a few hours to scale, we'll most likely need sleep by the time we get there. To save time, six hours max, got it?" Akira asks.

"On it." Rosalind pauses to sigh. "What are the odds the next biome is a desert?"

"Not another word or I'm demoting you. Don't put such thoughts in my brain," Akira replies, starting their trek to through the snow. Rosalind snickers, Akira giving her a sour gaze that only makes her snicker more. "Alright, enjoy Bronze Medic Rosalind. Or should I call you Rosa?"

"Rosita," Jihyun says with an accent Namjoon can't quite distinguish.

"You're both in punching distance. Or, even better: you're both in shooting distance," Rosalind, or should Namjoon say Rosita, says.

"Is now a good time to say I want to die, or is that a joke I should make when we're out of here?" Jihyun asks.

"Out of here," Namjoon says, glancing at the man as they walk. "Probably best not to jinx it. You say something like that and suddenly a flying pig comes out of no where."

"So I'll learn to fly?" Jihyun asks.

That earns him a nudge from Akira, Rosalind, Sehun, and Namjoon. All four of them nudge the engineer, the man whining in dismay. Ah, that's Jimin's brother, that's for sure. For a moment, Namjoon softens. He sees the eyes of Park Jimin there, not Park Jihyun. He shakes it away as quickly as possible, but it doesn't change that he saw it. He saw Park Jimin. His father. Namjoon rubs his fingers against his temple before going back to biting his nails, the cold doing the same to his skin.

The sudden temperature decrease doesn't go unnoticed by the crew. A shiver falls over them, Namjoon and Sehun holding hands despite being out of the fog. Akira sees this and snorts, but doesn't comment. Namjoon chooses not to say anything either.

Several minutes of them walking leads to them reaching the first mountain. For a mountain, it doesn't seem that tall. Taller than Namjoon and Jimin (not that that's much surprise), but it's not like Mount Everest back on Earth that Jimin always complained about.

"Alright, let's get moving. There's a snow bank here. If we go up, we can scout out the place and see where we're going from here. Getting the high ground means we'll be able to see most of the land. Rosa, you're literally getting demoted if the next area is a desert."

"But what if it's a dessert, sir?" Rosa asks.

"Then I'm promoting you to diamond. Commander Park can suck my dick." Akira turns to Namjoon and Jihyun, patting them on the shoulder. "No offense, of course."

"None taken. Honestly, Jimin would probably be into that," Jihyun says.

Namjoon groans. "You had to put up with his hormones too?"

"Oh my God, he doesn't censor it around his children?!"

Sehun slowly raises his hand. "He doesn't censor it around me either. He's not exactly good at subtlety."

Jihyun, Akira, and Namjoon grunt, deciding against replying. Instead, they traverse up the snowy hill, the mountain next to them intimidating and standing at several hundred feet above them. Namjoon's sure they can find a cave on the side of the mountain, but climbing it without gear might be tricky. By might be, he means definitely would be.

"We have to keep moving. See anything?" Akira asks as they get to the top of the small bank.

"Nothing of note. We need to be higher. There's another bank over here," Sehun says, pointing to their right. The group is quick to follow his instructions, Sehun and Namjoon staying cuddled together as they go. Sehun shivers, Namjoon attempting to warm him up. "You know, this isn't so bad. I get an excuse to be closer to you."

"Your gay is showing," Namjoon says.

"Isn't it always?"

Namjoon nudges him, more time passing. Each second that ticks by hurts Namjoon's heart even more. What are the odds there's a portal up here with their name on it? The white substance covering the ground squishes into their shoes, no caves in sight. Also meaning no portals in sight. Namjoon sighs. All they can do is keep moving.

Despite it all, it's rather pretty. The landscape they're on is covered in a blanket of thick snow, Jihyun darting his eyes around as if he's in love with the place. Namjoon bites his lower lip, the lower lip that's cracking under the cool winds zooming by. It brushes his hair back, doing the same to Sehun's dark locks.

Namjoon glances at his friend, noting his side profile and sharp jawline that he used to not have. Sehun used to be rather chubby, actually. He had puffy cheeks and a round jaw, lots of fat hanging from it. Now he has more muscle than Namjoon would like to admit to have seeing. He tries not to think about what his best friend is hiding underneath his clothes. After all, now's not a time for a boner.

A screech sounds off, Namjoon and Sehun jumping. Namjoon and the rest of the crew turn their attention to the sky, where wings are. Not just wings, but a creature is attached to said wings. The tail it has sparks with electricity, almost like a stingray despite it looking nothing like one. Electricity sparks throughout its tiny body, little claws on the tips of its hands. Namjoon smiles upon seeing the thing hovering around, enjoying flying in the sky.

"Okay, nightmare fuel. Let's keep going," Rosalind says with an eye roll. Namjoon agrees, everyone going further up the hill. Further and further. An hour passes, Namjoon biting back an urge to whine both from the time and the coldness pricking at his bones.

The crew comes to a halt in front of a cave. Finally, a cave after an hour. One problem: there's a creature standing there. Not the one from before, the one flying in the sky with an electric tail. This one has fur. A lot of it. Fur that Namjoon can't tell the color of thanks to the crimson sky. He's assuming its fur is white, but under the lighting it appears dark red. Namjoon plants his feet, the three crew members drawing their weapons.

Good news is the creature doesn't appear to be tall and muscular. It's on the frail side, no visible eyes or defining features. Actually, it looks kind of human with two legs, two arms, a head, and a torso. Except instead of having human features like a face, it has only fur. It's a human-sized furball.

"Is this the part where we say we come in peace?" Jihyun asks.

No one answers. Instead, Akira steps closer, slipping his weapon inside his holster. Everyone freezes at that, them watching their commanding officer closely. "I doubt you can understand English, but can we please pass? We don't mean to do any harm, we just want to go home and never come back here. We're upsetting the balance this planet has. We're sorry for that, can we please rest in the cave?"

Namjoon stands in front of Sehun, the man accepting Namjoon's offer. The five of them stay silent, waiting for the creature to move. Sehun taps on Namjoon's shoulder, but Namjoon doesn't budge. Sehun sighs, slipping away from him. "Wha- Jeon? What are you doing?" Namjoon asks, but Sehun motions for him to stay still.

Akira blinks as Sehun passes him, the man approaching the creature. Out of fear of startling it, no one calls out to Sehun to stop him. Namjoon's heart jumps between his feet and his head, his pulse threatening to pump his veins out of his skin. "It's alright," Sehun says, but his soft tone doesn't ease Namjoon's rapid mind. Sehun doesn't pay the others any mind when he halts in front of the creature. Then, he pokes the thing's shoulder.

No reaction.

The crew finally starts to understand, Sehun taking another risk and poking its neck. Again, it doesn't budge. "Might be a scarecrow," Sehun says. "Which means something weak could be inside. Why else would they use a scarecrow? It's to keep predators away."

"Oh yeah, that's just fucking great. Loving the idea that the aliens know how to use scarecrows in the middle of a tundra," Rosalind replies, kicking at the snow. Akira pokes the thing too, but it doesn't so much as flinch. "What is it made of? It can't be made of snow, where did they get that fur from? Or even better, why did they build it in a human shape?"

"Or maybe a human came here and this is the end result," Sehun suggests.

"Jeon, kindly stop talking. Every theory that comes out of your mouth makes me shit my pants a little bit more every time," Akira says, patting Sehun on the shoulder before moving inside the cave.

"We said taking risks, right? That's what I'm doing, taking risks." Namjoon goes over to Sehun, Rosalind and Jihyun entering the cave behind their leader. Before Sehun can join, Namjoon gets in front of him. Sehun sighs. "If I'm gonna be reckless, this time I want to do it to benefit us, not to hurt us."

"I understand, I'm hoping I can be the same way. But you worry me, you know that?" Namjoon asks.

Sehun takes Namjoon's hand, entwining his fingers with the younger's. The two of them lock eyes, smiling brightly. "I know. Do I make your heart beat faster?"

"Alright Jeon, you're getting cocky now."

"You know who my father is."

Funnily enough, Namjoon knows right off the bat which father he's talking about. Crazy how that works. But, Namjoon's thoughts are interrupted. Interrupted in a way he didn't think was possible. Sehun leans up ever so slightly, pressing his lips against Namjoon's cheek. Namjoon halts his body, a crimson shade creeping up the back of his neck and his ears. Despite his state, he has enough sense to know not to speak to ruin the mood.

When Sehun parts from Namjoon, he gives him the warmest look Namjoon's ever seen. It fills him with a spark. A desire. Not to have him, although that emotion still stirs inside him, but to protect him. Cherish him. Namjoon's heart jumps at the thought of losing the man in front of him. So much so that he almost throws away the concept of friendship to kiss him.

"You worry me too, Joon," Sehun says, giving his hand a squeeze.

"Park."

Sehun raises a brow. "I'm sorry?"

Namjoon stares at Sehun with the same love and passion he's always had. The same desire that'll always be there. Sure, they may be kids, but Namjoon knows without a doubt that this man in front of him is the one he loves. The one he wants. So, Namjoon grins, showing off his dimples.

"Park... you can call me Park."