MILKY WAY TIME: 4 YEARS AND 8 MONTHS SINCE NAMJOON AND SEHUN WENT MISSING

NAMJOON'S TIME: 46 HOURS SINCE HE WENT MISSING

Namjoon is at a loss for words, as is the rest of the crew. After traveling through the hell that was the water biome, they went through... well, Hell. Maroon ground, crimson sky, tiny maroon igloos that had runes carved into the sides of them. Now they're here, at the next region that terrifies all of them in a way none of them will speak about.

Pyramids. There are glowing pyramids in this region.

"We need to get out of here," Jungkook whispers. "The longer I'm here, the more I'm convinced this place is fucked beyond belief." The others don't disagree.

The terrain is cloaked in a mix of crimson from the sky and the golden shade illuminating from the pyramid. The pyramid itself isn't glowing, but near the tip of the triangular shape is where it splits off. A quarter of the way from the top, the limestone (or what Namjoon is assuming is limestone) breaks off, creating a glow. The top of the pyramid is flying, soaring above the base of the structure by a good two dozen feet. And that's not all: there are multiple pyramids scattered around.

They just arrived in this place, the soggy ground mixed with shallow water (Namjoon hopes it's water, anyway) and slippery mud. There's three pyramids in a row, runes on the sides of them. Namjoon studies them, narrowing his eyes. And that's when he realizes it: he's drawn some of those runes before. His heart stops while he stares. These are runes he's completely made up.

"Can I suggest a break? We've been walking for ten hours straight," Jihyun says. Akira agrees, the groups splitting off to sit, admiring the glow of the pyramids. Namjoon stares up at them as well, Sehun by his side. He's about to turn to speak to the Jeon, but he's interrupted by a flying orb coming to him.

"Mr. Park," Stevie says. "May I speak to you in private?" Namjoon hums, him giving Sehun's shoulder a squeeze before he follows the orb far away from the others.

"Uh, isn't this too far?"

"Nonsense, we're still in eyesight, but this is supposed to be private to you."

"What is?"

Stevie stops, hovering a few feet away and about chest-level to Namjoon. He knits his brows together. "I have years of messages stored from your father. I recorded every conversation we've ever had, and I think you might want to hear some of them." Namjoon freezes up, but he slowly nods. "Including from when you were gone, sir." He agrees again, Stevie backing up some more and projecting a hologram.

A hologram of Jimin sitting at a workbench, facing the camera.

Namjoon's heart stops, his hand covering his mouth as Jimin flips a wrench over and over again in his hands, his lips pressed against each other. "How we looking?" Jimin's voice asks.

"Good, sir," Stevie says in the recording, his voice much higher than it is now.

Jimin leans back in his chair, letting out a shaky breath. "Namjoon." He blinks back his tears. "You're expected in one week. One week left until I get to hold you in my arms and call you my firstborn son." Jimin pauses to sniffle, laughing ever so slightly. "When I was a kid, I was the dumbest person on the planet. Not even my brother was as dumb as me and he was younger."

His father stares at the screen, Namjoon doing the same, meeting his eyes. The eyes of his much-younger father, most likely thirty at this point. He has freckles near the lids of his eyes, and wrinkles, too. Wrinkles that only increased throughout the years, but never sagged his skin or made him any less flawless.

"I can't remember a time in my life where I was this happy. I have the most beautiful wife, the most beautiful son on the way, my best friends are all here, together. Everything I've done, everything I will do, this moment makes it worth it. I don't care what happens in the future anymore. I have you and my wife, my friends... my family. The list goes on and on. I've done, so, so many things. I'm the leader of the solar system, leading the Moonchild crew mixed with the Tokyo's crew. I have more awards and accomplishments than I can count. But none of that is as important as you, Joon."

Namjoon can't stop his tears now. Seeing his father this young, seeing the passion and care in his eyes? The guilt bites at Namjoon's heart, threatening to chomp off a large part of it. A part he'll never get back until he sees his father again.

"When you see this, you'll be much older. Probably an adult about to start your life away from the Tokyo. I'm not stupid anymore, I know being a Park will bring you a lot of difficulties. I've met someone who had to hide her sister because she was scared the media would come after her too. Funnily enough, her last name was Park too. We're all connected. I don't know how, but everything I've done and everything you'll do... I don't know, it feels like it all connects."

Jimin cuts himself off, wiping away a stray tear. He chuckles. "I was making this video to offer you advice, give you tips that I could've used growing up, but here I am crying. Huh, when Jungkook called me a crybaby, guess he wasn't lying." Jimin wipes a few more away, sniffing one more time. "Advice. Advice I wanted to give you, what was it?"

He stops, bringing his puffy eyes up to the camera. Namjoon's body shudders when Jimin gives him an eye smile, shaking his head and clicking his tongue.

"You know what? Never mind. I trust you, kiddo. Go out there and be who you want to be. Don't let your old man weigh you down, okay? Promise me that. Promise me you'll be who you want to be, not who anyone else wants you to be. If I could ask one thing of you in life, this would be it. Go explore. Be young and wild and free. I know we haven't even met yet, but I love you. I love you so much. And one last promise: promise me you'll always come home safe. By the time you see this, you'll know my overprotectiveness is my strongest trait. So please, be you and be safe. Promise me."

"I promise," Namjoon whispers in a cracking voice, the tears staining his cheeks illuminated by the glow of the pyramid. Stevie lets the recording end, Namjoon a complete mess. "I'm such a fucking idiot. I'm so fucking stupid." The whimpers quivering his tone have him crying more, his hands angrily wiping the tears away.

"Sir, I know this is emotional for you, but I have more. A lot more."

Namjoon sucks in deep breaths, straightening his posture. "We don't have time for all of them. Are there any really important ones?"

"One, sir. The one before he left to find you with Jungkook." Namjoon halts, his blood freezing with his body. Stevie takes Namjoon's silence as approval to play the next clip. The same man appears, this time much older. He must be forty-nine, maybe fifty at this point, but he still looks good. Exactly like the man Namjoon left. The only difference is, Namjoon can see the bags under his eyes.

"I don't know what to feel right now," Jimin says, rubbing his forehead with his fingers. "After a year and what? Two, three months? I don't know. It's been so long since I've seen him, and now Jungkook's telling me there's a chance we can find them. It's the first solid hope I've had in over a year. And I don't know how to feel about it." He removes his hands from his face, showing his slumping posture and eyes to the camera. "The worst part was never accepting that my son was gone, it was always having to explain to my kids that their big brother is off on a journey and will take a while. Once a week I have to tell them that. The look in their eyes when I tell them the same thing over and over again breaks my heart. And it's my fault, isn't it?"

"No, no please don't blame yourself you idiot," Namjoon begs, but he knows Jimin can't hear him.

"It's my fault I drove you away. That you're wherever you are, living with Sehun. I hope you two are happy, and I hope you can forgive me for anything I've done to push you that far."

"No, please. Please dad, please."

"But, if you're in trouble, and we're coming to rescue you from it, I hope you know I'll always forgive you. I know you have a lot of my traits, I'm sure the self-blame is one of them. Fuck, if you saw this you might be telling me to stop blaming myself. I don't want you to blame yourself. Namjoon, you're my dearest friend. My family and blood, but also my best friend. Hearing about your doodles, your boredom in school, your totally not obvious love for Sehun."

Namjoon laughs, Jimin breaking off to do the same. "The best moments in my life came from you. I couldn't ask for a better life... a better son. So no matter where you are, I hope you know I would never blame you. I'd always forgive you and love you unconditionally. You're the man I could only dream of being. Honorable and passionate, fun and bright. You're so many things, but I don't think you see it in yourself.

"People make mistakes, Namjoon. Sometimes big ones. Running away from my problems at such a young age might have been a mistake, I don't know, but what I do know is that those mistakes shaped who I am. Don't be ashamed of your mistakes. They make you Park Namjoon, the greatest man I've ever known. It's an absolute privilege to be able to call you my son. It's an even bigger privilege to have you call me dad. If I don't find you, or even if I never see you again, let me tell you this."

Jimin leans closer, resting his hand near the screen. Namjoon does the same, their skin almost touching, but not quite. The little spark Namjoon obtains from the screen has his body spinning.

"I'm okay," Jimin whispers, Namjoon breaking down at that. "Your mother is okay, your sisters and brothers are okay, we're okay. You can go and live your life. We'll always be here if you decide to come back, but if not, we'll be okay. I'm happy here. I'm living a happy, complete life. You gave me that chance to be complete. I didn't know it then, but when you were born, you gave me the closure I needed. I'm free and happy, and I don't recall a time I could say that with confidence, but now I can."

His father wipes his tears away, bringing his lips up to a smile. "I'm happy, Joon. I'm happy, and a lot of that is because of you. Thank you for being in my life. It's time for you to find your happiness. It's your turn to be able to say that to me. I forgive you. I love you. Go be strong for me. And Joon?" Jimin pauses, Namjoon wishing the video would never end. "You'll always be Little Park to me."

Jimin keeps his smile before shutting off the recording, Namjoon's hand hovering over the empty space. He stares at the horizon, ignoring Stevie's presence and the entire world.

"I love you too," he murmurs, his hand slowly falling back to his side. When the tears stop, Namjoon composes himself, meeting Stevie's cyan eyes.

"Would you like me to give you a minute, sir?"

"No, I'm... okay. I'm okay." Stevie, although hesitant, agrees, the two going back to the others.

Jungkook stands upon seeing him, coming over to Stevie. "We're resting for five more minutes. Can I borrow Stevie for a moment?" Stevie and Namjoon share a look. "I want to record a message. To Jimin." Namjoon nods his approval, Stevie and Jungkook going out to the same spot Namjoon was. His lips ghost up into a smile, his mind quiet despite all that just happened.

Namjoon sits next to Sehun, the two staring as they always do. "Want to talk about it?" Sehun asks.

He goes to say no, then, he chuckles. "Actually, I do." Sehun places a consoling hand over his, Namjoon scooting closer to him because of it. "This whole time, I've been focusing on the wrong things. The wrong sides of both myself and my dad."

"What sides should you focus on?"

"The sides of me that are determined like my mother and empathetic like my father, but also the creativity of me. The art side of me that I've only scratched the surface of." Namjoon takes a risk and comes even closer; it's to the point where their noses are inches away. "A side you have too. We can explore it together, if you'd like."

Sehun places a hand on Namjoon's cheek, their eyes meeting. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're flirting with me."

"I didn't know offering you an adventure meant I was gay for you."

"Oh for fuck's sake, I'll do it myself," Sehun says with a groan.

"Wait wha-"

Before Namjoon can finish his sentence, Sehun closes the small gap between them, pressing his rough lips on Joon's. He nearly jumps, but in seconds he kisses back, the two falling into their passion and closing their eyes. Namjoon shoots out a breath through his nose, his heart pumping in his ears. Their arms wrap around one another, both of their lips chapped from countless hours of no care.

Namjoon's soul borderline leaves his body, his hands grabbing at every inch of Sehun he can find. The man pulls back with a chuckle, switching sides and continuing their needy kiss. Joon returns that sentiment, pressing his lips harder against Sehun's, their tongues almost clashing despite neither of them meaning that to happen. They pull back and laugh, their hands on each other's cheeks now.

"We... need to work on our kissing tactics," Namjoon says.

Sehun whacks his shoulder, resting his hand there after. "I'd say we did just fine." The two smile, sparkles in their eyes as they stare, something they're accustomed to by now.

"Oh fucking finally," Akira says, approaching. "Oh wait, am I cockblocking? Should I step away so you can make out some more?" At their sour glares, Akira throws his hands up in defense. "I'm just saying. Since the day you touched down, we knew you two were made for each other."

"We?" Namjoon asks.

Sehun and Namjoon tilt their heads to see Jihyun and Rosalind laughing and waving at them, Sehun flipping them off. "God forbid we get a moment of privacy. Well, at least my dad-"

"Woo-hoo! Stevie got that on camera!"

"Oh fuck me."

Namjoon winks. "Gladly."

"Okay, bye," Akira says, turning on his heel and going back to his crewmates. Namjoon and Sehun blink at him as he goes, neither speaking for a few moments. Jungkook and Stevie come back before they think of words to say, Jungkook plopping down next to his son and wrapping an arm around him. Sehun gladly accepts the gesture.

"So... I raised a gay. My life is complete."

"Dad!"

"What?! This is seriously the best moment of my life!" Jungkook says. He pauses. "Don't tell your father that."

Namjoon snickers. Jimin and Jungkook both. The optimists in his life. Maybe Namjoon should start being more like that. It's not bad to be like his father or Uncle. Not bad at all.

"A Park and a Jeon are in love. This is seriously straight out of a movie. I can't not be excited over this," Jungkook says with a dreamy sigh.

"You're over fifteen years older than me yet you act like you're sixteen. How?" Sehun asks.

"Well, I'm not Yoongi."

"Why did that make sense," Namjoon mutters, Jungkook and Sehun laughing at his expense.

Jungkook wraps his other arm around Namjoon, Namjoon scooting closer and resting his head on his shoulder. They don't have much longer, but even five seconds of comfort with these two will make him happy. He doesn't have his father yet, but that's okay. Jimin's okay. His siblings are okay. His mother, too. Namjoon grins at the hellish sky, pressing one of his hands into the substance beneath him. His family is okay.

So he is too.

~~~

A/N: Fun fact: this is chapter 22. In chapter 22 of Adrift, Y/n and Jimin properly kissed for the first time :)