A friend of yours is a friend of mine

    "Here," Lisa says handing Taehyung a bowl from the person serving. "Maia is the best cook in Solis, it's always a good night when she's in the kitchen."

Taehyung smiles warily as he takes the bowl and spoon. "Thanks," He says to Maia and Lisa both.

    "I'm gonna go get Kira away from the fire," Lisa says catching sight of her daughter. "Take a seat anywhere, I'll tell Jeongguk you're here."

    "Oh, okay," Taehyung says, not really wanting to be alone but not really having a choice as Lisa rushes off after Kira. He sighs as he takes a seat in a spare chair, pushing the food around his bowl. His discomfort causing him to lose his appetite.

    "Don't tell me you'd rather have your food manufactured in a lab," Jeongguk's familiar voice says getting his attention.

    "A side of deadly toxins would be nice," Taehyung jokes, looking up at him with a small smile.

He chuckles, taking the blanket that was draped over his arm and wrapping it around Taehyung's shoulders. "My apologies, Maia's usually more hospitable."

Taehyung chuckles but he is frozen in his spot as Jeongguk wraps the blanket securely around him, pulling his hood over his head and gently tucking his hair away from his face.

    "Lisa's gonna kill you for messing up my hair." He finally manages to say.

    "I told her to leave it alone so it serves her right," Jeongguk says before dragging a free chair over to sit beside him. "Do you not like the food?"

    "No, it's great," Taehyung lies, he hadn't tasted it after all. "I'm just not hungry."

    "If you're too cold it's warmer closer to the fire,"

Taehyung shakes his head, insinuating that that wasn't the reason for his lack of appetite. "Y'know, Jeongguk I was thinking~"

"So you're the Taehyung this idiot won't stop talking about?"

"Shut up, Nikai,"

Jeongguk's expression shifts to one of delighted annoyance as three guys appear before them. "Why do you always show up just completely out of nowhere? The three of you are like a bunch of flies."

"If we're flies you're a piece of shit I guess," One of the guys laughs, ruffling Jeongguk's hair. "Is this Taehyung? You must be Taehyung."

"And you are?" Taehyung asks, feeling a little uncomfortable with their sudden presence.

"These are my friends, they live with Lisa and me," Jeongguk says kicking the one that messed up his hair. "That's Nikai, Illium, and Daebin. Nikai is Maia's disappointment of a son."

"Don't listen to him," Nikai says holding his hand out to Taehyung. "I'm Nikai."

"So I've been told," Taehyung smiles as he shakes his hand. "Taehyung."

"So I've been told," Nikai laughs. "It's good to finally put a face to a name."

Taehyung nods, he knew from Lisa—and from the few people that he's ran into while he's been here—that Jeongguk has probably told everyone he's close to who he was.

"Maia's your mom?" Taehyung asks, suddenly curious about how long this place has been here. "Where are you from originally?"

"I was born here," Nikai says. "My generation is considered the first generation since we were the first to be born in Solis."

"You're the only person that thinks that's something to brag about, Nikai," Daebin—Taehyung thinks that's his name—says. "No one cares."

"You're just mad because you and Jeongguk are basically outsiders," Nikai argues.

"Shut up, Nikai," The other guys groan, shaking their heads in mixture of annoyance and disbelief.

Outsiders.

Taehyung hasn't been referred to or heard anyone referred as an outsider in months. It was a familiar word and there were familiar feeling related to it, but he himself already felt so far removed from that life, even though he had only just escaped it.

    "So, Taehyung, are you staying in Solis for good?" Illium asks. He comes across more reserved than Nikai and Daebin, but apart from his soft spoken voice he fits right in with the other guys.

    "I don't know," Taehyung answers with a shrug. He can tell that Jeongguk is caught off guard by his response, a little while ago he was sure that he wasn't staying in Solis.

    "Why not?" Daebin asks. "Don't you like it here?"

    "Leave him alone," Jeongguk speaks up. "You don't get to interrogate him."

    "I'm sure your boyfriend doesn't mind, Gguk," Nikai chimes. "You don't mind do you, Taehyung?"

    "Nikai," Jeongguk says in a warning tone. "If I get up I'm kicking your ass. Leave him alone."

    "Whatever," Nikai says nonchalantly. Despite his careless response he doesn't continue to question Taehyung.

Before anyone can say anything else there is a loud whistling sound that rips through the chaos of the gathering. Silence spreads through the crowd like a wildfire.

Taehyung looks to Jeongguk, who's expression hardens as he stands, brows drawn together.

Taehyung stands with him, pushing the hood off his head as if that would help him see better. "What's going on?"

    "Iseul," Jeongguk mutters under his breath, his eyes focused past the fire.

    "What's he doing here?" Illium asks quietly as he and the others move to stand beside Jeongguk.

Taehyung doesn't get a glimpse of what they are looking at until two individuals past the fire.

He recognizes Noeul but he doesn't recognize the man he trails slightly behind as they walk in their direction. When he looks at Jeongguk again his eyes are on him, his expression incomprehensible.

He wants to ask him what's wrong but he doesn't get the chance as Noeul and the man approach them. Jeongguk silently steps out of the way, along with Daebin, Nikai, and Illium. 

    "Taehyung," Noeul starts when they are standing directly in front of him. "This is my father—Iseul."

Taehyung's eyes flicker to Jeongguk before traveling quickly over the crowd of people, all eyes are on him. "Oh, uhm, it's nice to meet you."

    "Kim Taehyung," Iseul says, his hands reaching out to cup either side of the silverette's face. "You look just like your mother."

Taehyung's eyes widen slightly as he resists the urge to pull away. "...Thanks?"

    "Come with me," The man says releasing his face before turning and continuing to walk forward—away from the gathering.

    "Let him go," Taehyung hears Noeul say, turning to find Jeongguk with a troubled expression.

Jeongguk's uneasy expression causes that feeling of unrest Taehyung has to intensify as he blindly follow Iseul away from the fire.

The further away they get the harsher the cold air becomes.

    "Y-You know my mom?" Taehyung asks, cringing inwardly at the way his voice cracks.

    "I knew your mom, yes,"

Taehyung's eyes threaten to roll at the emphasis of the past tense. "How?"

    "We worked together for some time before she died," Iseul says stopping and facing him. "She was a good woman, and your father was a good man."

    "Okay," Taehyung says, he wasn't interested in the sentiments.

Iseul chuckles at his reaction. "I know I'm a stranger to you, you are a stranger to me as well. But I made a promise to your parents before they died that if anything were to happen to them I would look after you. And I am deeply saddened that I wasn't able to uphold my promise to them for all these years."

Taehyung's frown deepens. "I don't understand, who are you to them?"

    "I tried to aid them in their invasion of the collective all those years ago," Iseul explains. "I tried to give them all the information I had from the crafts we'd collected over the years but it the end they were caught before they could even use it."

    "Yeah, I know the story," Taehyung says. He wasn't trying to be insensitive, he just hated hearing this stranger talk about his parents as if they were hero's when in reality their mission was the most important thing in their lives. More important than him even.

    "They knew that it was risky, but they did it for~"

    "The good of their people, I know,"

    "Your mother worried terribly about what would happen to you if they didn't make it out," Iseul says. "She made me promise to get you away from 613 if anything ever happened to them. She made me promise to keep you safe. And, although I was several years late, I tried to keep my promise by staging the spacecraft accident."

    "You almost killed Jeongguk, and you killed everyone else on the flight," Taehyung points out. "Am I supposed to be thanking you?"

    "Everyone on board that flight were knowing participants in the mission,"

    "Why would anyone die for me?"

    "Because your parents died trying to free them from the binds of the collective, they felt indebted to them. We all did in a way."

Taehyung shakes his head, but not in disagreement, mostly in disbelief.

    "As an attempt to somehow keep my promise to your parents I want to offer you a permanent place here," Iseul says. "You don't have to stay, and you can go and come as you please. But you will always be welcomed here as a part of our family. Our community."

Taehyung doesn't fully know how to respond to his words. Of course there was a part of him that longed to be apart of a community as close as this one, but there was also a part of him that wasn't ready to completely abandon his life at 613. Which was strange.

A few months ago he was ready to completely abandon the entire planet in search of somewhere to belong. Was he really that fickle?

His somewhere to belong was right here looking back at him and he still felt reluctant to accept the invitation.

Fickle may be the only way to describe it. Whether it be fickleness or not, he had a decision to make.

Was he ready to leave his life behind at 613 in exchange for the close-nit community that he sees here in Solis, the community that he once longed for?