Location:
System: Sol
Faction: United Colonies
Planet: Earth
Place: Earth's orbit
A/N: Welp, you guys got 30 votes on the last chapter in like 2 seconds, so I figured an early chapter might be a good way to show my appreciation. Thank you for all the love on the last chapter, I appreciate it! If you want quicker updates like the one I'm giving rn, keep voting! The more you vote, the more updates you'll get!
If Jimin looked at me like that, I think I'd just simultaneously combust ngl.
☆☆☆
Y/n
"On the left, Jimin!"
Y/n yelped as a bang! hit the side of the ship. She got thrown back into her seat, and the force caused her to lose her grip on the yoke. It yanked down, as did the ship. More pressure applied to her cheeks and sent them flying back, tears staining her eyes and trailing across her skin sideways. Warning alarms blared for all the systems that went haywire. Life support, dead. Drive, dead. Lasers, dead.
Missiles, engines, air conditioning: online.
"I said the left!" she shouted over the alarms, and Jimin grunted and rubbed his head with his gloved hand. A bruise formed there, and he placed his elbows against the console in front of him.
"Two Ecliptic, coming in hot. Sam, you got one?"
Sam, in one of the seats in the corridor between the cockpit and the bridge, loaded up his screen and tapped on it. "One missile out! Y/n, you want to use that fancy weapon of yours?"
"We only have so many uses of it, let's not use it for Ecliptic scum if we don't have to. If this escalates, get Barrett on guns and Jimin on shields."
Sam and Jimin agreed. From there, the firefight continued. The vastness of space embraced her as she ducked and dove the ship through the storm of lasers originating from the two Ecliptic ships attacking them. Earth awaited in between a bed of stars and debris. Broken satellites hovered in the vicinity. Some bumped off the wings of their vessel, but Y/n kept going. She twisted the yoke and tilted the vehicle on its side, waiting for the first Ecliptic to come into view.
As soon as it did, she got a clear shot at it. The missile Sam had launched swirled around it but didn't hit, so he had to fire another while Jimin manned the ballistic weapons. The pellets hissed out of the cannons and melted into the enemy, burning them from the sky. Fires erupted in the engines until they didn't, and what replaced where the Ecliptic had been was more debris to add to Earth's field.
Their second foe whammed them with lasers, and their ballistic weapons shattered. Their shields dropped to low energy, and Y/n took control of the missiles to launch a counterattack. With her involvement, the Ecliptic stood no chance and burst into millions of pieces. Some of them skimmed by the exterior and damaged their shields further, but considering they were due for maintenance anyway, she figured it wouldn't hurt to get all the booboos then rather than later.
"Nice flying," her co-pilot said in a heave.
She reached out and powered down Jimin's console. "I would say nice shooting, but you almost got us killed. I told you fifteen times to watch our flank."
He threw his hands up in defense. "I'm not a pilot. Put Barrett on guns next time."
"You're Vanguard," she said, standing and placing her hands on her hips. "You signed up to be a pilot. It's been months, Jimin. You should know better by now. Barrett's staying on guns until you get more training."
He sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry."
She mimicked his action, then kissed the top of his head. "Don't be. We made it out, that's what matters. Let's get some food, okay?"
He agreed. Together, they said their goodbyes to Sam, checked in on the rest of their crew to make sure they survived the firefight, and went to the cafeteria to grab lunch. Or, lunch by UTC standards. For them, it was more like dinner.
Not much sleep came for the crew. With Londinion on their radar, Tuala assigned them more Vanguard missions to get them as much experience as possible before the Terrormorph task fell in their laps. No one from the crew had mentioned Londinion, not even Jungkook, who had fanboyed over Commander Min's leadership abilities every day ever since they had gone to Narion, which had been a key part of their upcoming Terrormorph assignment.
Inside the "cafeteria" was a small space with a microwave, an electric stove with a fire extinguisher propped above it, metal cabinets with built-in locks, and a low-rise table that held four boxy chairs. It had a gray and white color scheme, and a rectangular window on the side of the wall. From their position, Earth was visible. She could see how dry it was. It had no life like the textbooks described it had hundreds of years prior to their births. Humanity's beginning stared back at her, yet she felt nothing other than her stomach rumbling.
Captain Park plopped down in one of the chairs and brought his wrist comm to his mouth. "Jungkook, start repairs on the engines and shields. Get us back to operating capacity. If you see anything on the radar, let us know, and make sure Sam does heatleech cleaning."
"Yes sir."
The frequency died as soon as it came. Y/n dished out cereal since she was far too exhausted to cook a whole meal. Besides, cereal was superior. One thing that had survived Earth, other than padauk from Myanmar, was American cereal. Honey Nut Cheerios were her personal favorite because anyone who ate the original version was a psychopath.
She placed one bowl in front of Jimin, then one on her side, dunked the spoons in both containers, then tossed the milk jug down as their centerpiece. She slumped in her seat and shifted from how the metal "cushion" dug into her butt. Her legs ended up crossed.
"Why is Ecliptic hanging out by Earth?" he asked as he poured milk into his portion.
"Tuala didn't say exactly why, but if I were to guess, it's for the battleground. They want to kill as many Vanguard as possible, and Earth is the place to do it. Not an easy place to fight."
Although Tuala was giving them more assignments, she would've gotten that one anyway. Few Vanguard had the experience necessary to handle Earth's debris. It was like an asteroid field on steroids. Their ship was stationary, meaning no substantial harm could come their way if debris somehow made contact with the exterior, but that didn't mean they wouldn't jump out of there as soon as the repairs were completed.
"Psychos." Jimin paused to take a bite, then leaned back in his chair and observed her. He swallowed before speaking. "Have you ever been to the surface?"
"Never."
"Do you want to see it one day?"
She shrugged. "No atmosphere, constant heat, sand dunes... sounds like a great vacation. You?"
"I don't know," he said, craning his neck to peer out the window behind him. "It's where we started, right? Maybe it'd be nice to see." He squinted and pointed. "There. That's Korea. That's where my ancestors are from."
She snorted. "That's Australia, goofball."
"Oh. Well, I never went to school, give me some credit."
She abandoned her cereal to instead guide him to the window to teach him about all the continents of Earth. Though he knew them, he didn't know where they belonged, and she helped fill in the gaps. Then, she tapped on the window, and her index finger revealed the true South Korea.
"There," she whispered. "That's your home."
He wrapped his arm around her. "I bet it was beautiful."
She nuzzled up on his shoulder and hummed. "It was. Lots of street food, pretty nature, huge skyscrapers. One of the strongest economies on Earth, and some of the best music, too."
"I didn't realize you knew so much about Korea."
She traced her finger up and down the glass as if painting a smiley face there. "Only the basics, but it's fascinating, isn't it? So many different cultures and places throughout history. It's impossible to learn them all, but maybe I want to try. Maybe I want to learn every language and see every monument."
He chuckled. "I thought you said you didn't want to go to Earth's surface."
"Well, that's different. It's hot. Ew."
He kissed her head and stayed quiet after that. They gazed at Earth in all her glory. No one knew how Earth had died, though one day, the atmosphere showed signs of burning up. Humanity had less than a year to vacate, and most had perished in the evacuations. For once, it had been balanced. While the rich and powerful had gone first, every citizen had been offered a ride off the rock for free. Between Neon's dictator Benjamin Bayu and the Cabinet who valued their reputation more than human lives, Y/n found comfort in knowing at least one period of human history put the money aside and focused on survival. She wondered if it was possible in their modern age.
"Maybe we should see it while we're here," he said, and she snuggled closer to him.
"Do you really have the energy to put your suit on?
Jimin brought his free hand, the bare one, to his lips and chewed on his nails. In between chews, he said, "No."
"Well, too bad, we need to gear up anyway," a male voice interrupted from behind them.
They whipped around and saw a greasy Jungkook stepping toward them with a giant wrench the size of his entire arm hoisted over his shoulder and goggles moved up to sit on his messy hair. Sweat and dirt covered his entire face to the point where he seemed unrecognizable, and the gray jumpsuit he wore had the sleeves rolled up so they could see his veins and calloused hands.
"What's wrong?" Y/n asked, and Jungkook shrugged.
"Nothing. The ship is operational, but Sam told me to tell you we need to go to Mars. We got a transmission from Jin. Apparently he has the solution to stop the Terrormorphs, and he needs your help to make it."
Y/n slumped her shoulders. "Londinion?"
Jungkook stayed quiet for a long beat. "I think so."
"All roads lead to Londinion," Jimin said with a tongue click. "Alright, thank you, Jungkook. Go take a shower, but be warned, we're jumping soon. Is the drive fully operational?"
"Yes, Captain. Would you like me to send Jin an ETA?"
"Thirty minutes. I have something to discuss with my wife first."
Jungkook dipped his head in a partial bow. "Understood, sir. I'll get to the shower, then."
The SysDef officer turned engineer swiveled on his heels and strutted away with the wrench rubbing against his neck. Y/n winced when she spotted the pink rash forming on Jungkook's skin, but she didn't bother saying anything. That was the reality of ship maintenance. If you didn't get a hundred rashes after cleaning the engines, you did it wrong.
"What's to discuss?" she asked as soon as Jungkook left.
Jimin didn't answer at first. He went back to the window and placed his gloved hand flat against it, his eyes lighting up with a hint of blue, and she saw sparkles flying off his limp hand's fingertips. She came over and shut his fist for him, and he let out a sharp breath when he saw what she did.
She leaned on his shoulder. "It's getting harder to control, isn't it?"
He kissed the top of her head. The action meant yes more than the actual word did.
"It's about Sarah," he said instead of verbally answering her question. "Sam, Cora, Barrett, VASCO, you, and I are on this ship, and that's like half of Constellation. If half of us are here, don't you think the chairwoman should be here too?"
She shrugged. "Maybe. You want to ask her to join the crew?"
"Yeah, why not? I know Walter and Vladimir won't join, but we should ask the rest of Constellation. There's plenty of room. Plus, I don't want my alpaca getting lonely." He took her hand and kissed the back of it. "Do you think she'd be interested?"
"I know she has a lot of work to do as chairwoman, but I'm sure you of all people can convince her. Show her that new power of yours and she'll be hooked."
As if on cue, Jimin snapped his fingers and brought a green glow to his eyes. The same color soared out of his fingers, and the sparkles floated in the air before he deactivated the power.
"I'll add it to the plan. We kinda need her, y'know."
Y/n quirked a brow. "Do we now?"
"Yeah. Sarah has a brain, maybe she'll finally give our ship a name."
Y/n chuckled, and after a moment, she motioned to the window. Jimin followed her gaze, and she pointed to all the stars glittering in the otherwise dark vacuum of space. Earth was dead, but the area around it had more life than even the most vibrant planets. Each star represented a new world waiting for exploration.
"The stars," she said, burying her head against him as she said it. "Name it after the stars."
"Oh yeah? Why's that, honey?"
"Your freckles. They look like stars. And, y'know, we're space explorers. We live in the stars. Only fitting we name our home after them too, right?"
He hugged her and tilted her chin up so he could kiss her forehead. "Right."
They didn't speak after that. The word Londinion hung over them, waiting to be said, but Y/n didn't have the courage to dare utter the single word. It carried more weight than any paragraph could, and she wished she could chuck it out of existence. Maybe throw it in a black hole and send a few missiles in after it just to be sure. However, avoiding it wasn't an option. Especially when Jimin was the captain of the ship, and Captain Park of the Vanguard. She was Commander L/n. Both of them had to go to Londinion, so they had to discuss it if they wanted a chance at survival.
"Tuala said he'll try to keep our team small so no one new learns about your powers," she said, and he nodded without speaking. "I'm guessing we're the A team, so get ready to lead the charge."
He shook his head. Some of his locks fell in his face and covered his freckles. "I don't want to."
"I know, I don't either."
When he didn't say anything further, she took it as a sign to drop the topic, but there was one idea that could make him feel better. Or, at the very least, get his mind off the situation for a bit.
"Hey," she said, giving him a soft nudge. "You told Jungkook thirty minutes, so we probably have twenty-five left. That's plenty of time for a distraction."
"What do you have in mind?"
"Us." She paused and cleared her throat with a sheepish smile. "Y'know... like..."
"Oh," he said without meeting her eyes. He paid more attention to the window, and she noticed he kept staring at Korea. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"I don't mind-"
"But I do." When his voice raised, he stopped and brought in a breath through his nose. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice. It's just... ever since Neon, I haven't felt the same. Not about my powers..." Like they heard Jimin talking about them, his eyes lit up with a shade of blue, and he had to move his arms away from her to prevent himself from burning her. "I can't stop thinking about it."
She closed his fist and kissed the back of it. A wave of heat hit her lips, but she didn't mind. "Your childhood?"
"If you can call it that," he said in a whisper. Then, he guided her back to his chest to hold her. "I have a list of names in my mind. Larry, Hoseok, Delgado, Austin..." He trailed off and cleared his throat. "Jessica, Holden, a teenager I never learned the name of. All people I've tortured or killed. Then there's Valentina, Fiona, Jackson. People who-" He cut himself off, and his lower lip quivered. "People who tortured... me."
Based on his low tone, she knew he didn't mean "torture" in the traditional sense.
"I'm so sorry, Minnie. You know I'm always here for you, and you know we never have to do anything unless we both want to, right? Please tell me you know that. I would never, ever do anything you're not completely comfortable with."
"I know," he murmured, pausing to give her a quick kiss. "I know. And... thank you. For not leaving me alone that night. I need help, I'm not okay."
"Whatever you need, I'll give it to you."
"Strength." He hesitated, and the voice that came next was filled with cracks and stutters. "I need strength to get through this."
She took his hand, kissed it again, and pressed it against her steady heartbeat. He peered at her, and her at him. No space was left between them. Heat soothed her figure as he kept his body on hers. Then, she squeezed his skin and smiled.
"Take as much as you need."
☆☆☆
Mars had a raging sandstorm.
The UC military spacesuit clung to her figure as she trudged one magnetic boot up, then the other. Jimin held her hand and helped her up the path toward the Red Devils Headquarters, where Jin worked. Back when the Colony War had broken out, the base had been used as a major research facility. Due to his father's connections, Jin had been a higher-up for the longest time. Then, of course, tragedy struck Londinion, and all that washed away. At least for a little while.
Robots trotted around the electric fence, which seemed counterproductive, but Y/n didn't question it. They were dog models, meaning they were on all fours, and their legs were lanky like VASCO's fingers. Strong winds swirled red dust all around them. Not even the mag boots kept her grounded, so she needed additional help from the human guards out front to get her into the elevator with Jimin. As soon as the doors shut, he gave them a half-hearted kick.
"Metal box of doom," he muttered while taking off his helmet. His dark hair sprung free and covered his face. The highlights had dulled, and his locks had gotten longer. It hadn't been long since they had visited his mother, yet it seemed his entire appearance had changed since then. "If Jin has the solution, why do you think we need to go to Londinion?"
"Not sure I want to know, but we don't have much of a choice."
Jimin agreed, and they waited for the ride to end. When it did, they stepped into the headquarters and found several robots rushing around. They were VAS units like VASCO, only they had red and black paint to match the color scheme of Mars. Scientists wearing blue and white stretchy lab gear rushed around, and they had plastic face masks covering their mouths and noses.
Y/n and Jimin were on a catwalk that oversaw the ground floor, which had containment chambers of various species, mainly Terrormorphs. How they managed to capture Terrormorphs were beyond her, but it was good exposure therapy. Seeing them behind locked doors and impenetrable glass brought more comfort than she would have imagined.
They descended the stairs and spotted Jin hanging out in front of one of the chambers with Kaiser by his side. The military robot glimmered from a fresh red paint coat and clean, loaded weapons. His armor had been reinforced, and his circular head had two tiny glowing dots the same color as the rest of his body. She figured those were meant to resemble eyes, but she didn't bother asking.
"Don't you have any shame?" Jin asked with a scoff, directing the question to Jimin. "How dare you come into my lab looking like a ragamuffin. Have some dignity, Captain."
Captain Park grunted and ran his hand through his messy, sweaty hair. "We're not here for small talk. Tell us what solution you have for the Terrormorphs and why Londinion is involved."
Jin crossed his arms over his lab coat. It was the only plain white one in the vicinity. "Kaiser, explain."
"Yes, sir. According to basic statistics and knowledge, the Terrormorphs are too wide spread for humans to handle manually. They must be disposed of using alternative options. After searching the Archive's record of the Terrormorphs, we discovered an extinct species known as the Aceles, killed off during the Colony War when UC soldiers ran out of synthetic food and chose those creatures as opposed to cannibalism. The Aceles used to eat Terrormorphs but were not hostile to humans. The records had their gene code, so we took that and cloned it."
"Cloned?" Jimin asked with knitted brows. "I thought that was outlawed. Who approved that?"
Jin averted his eyes. "I did."
"Why would you-"
"I'm a clone," he interrupted in a snap. Then, he sighed and leaned against the window of the chamber. "I'm sorry, I... I don't want to talk about it."
"A clone of your father?" Y/n asked, and Jin hung his head as he nodded.
Jimin made a huh sound. "I can see the resemblance."
Jin glanced up at that. "You... can?"
"What? I saw his picture in UC textbooks," Jimin said in a rush. He fired the words out as fast as Jungkook talked, and she tilted her head at that. Behind his back, he waved his hand, signaling her to stay quiet. Jin couldn't see, so she knew it was meant for her, and she also knew Jimin would never pick up a UC textbook as long as he lived. If anything, he'd burn all of them.
And just like that, she figured out the "special person" Jimin had spoken to.
"Oh my God," she muttered, and he glared at her. To cover it up, she met Jin's eyes and offered him a frown. "I'm so sorry, I can't believe the UC would clone such a person then blame you for their own actions. That's unfair."
"It's okay. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, but as much as I hate to say it, we have more pressing matters. We thought the Aceles were completely extinct, but the data showed some planets with remaining specimen, and one was in Alpha Centauri. We took it back here, and using the cloning technology they used to create me, we brought the Aceles back."
Jin turned and went to the console in front of the chamber. Everything was gray with hints of beige, making for a color scheme that hurt the eyes. Inside the chamber were lights that casted a beige glow on the concrete floor. Jin pressed on one of the buttons, and although the interior had soundproofing, she could still hear the front speakers, the ones near the window, playing a Terrormorph roar. Right away, a giant creature rushed over with its pointy head whipping around to find the fake Terrormorph.
Before her was a creature crafted by God himself. Larger than anything she had ever seen, its triangular head almost hit the high ceiling, and its body had the width of five Jungkooks. It had three horns attached to its head, no visible eyes, and a long tail that swiped back and forth behind it. It sat down like a dog, and she scanned over its four legs with "feet" the size of dinosaur claws. It had an outer shell on its face that trailed down its neck, hanging off its rubbery skin. Its body beneath the shell had an army green-like shade while the shell was lighter and more like papaya, or a very pale yellow. Due to the intensity of the beige background, the exact color was hard to figure out.
"This is solution one where we breed more populations of them and distribute them to human worlds. It'll take longer and may take several years to become extremely effective, but it's a natural solution we have more control over. We even believe that over time we can use the Aceles' hunting skills to track down the origin of Terrormorphs and put a stop to it once and for all."
Jimin rolled his eyes. "Using aliens to solve our problems... hmm, this sounds familiar, maybe the xenowarfare department during the Colony War that almost unleashed Terrormorphs on the entire population of the Freestar Collective? Yeah, natural or not, control or not, I'd rather not find out if the UC plans on using Aceles as their next superweapon."
"Depends on the other option," Y/n said. "Jin, you make it sound like there's two."
"Correct. We have another option. It's... faster, but riskier, and we have little to no control over it."
Jimin scoffed. "Well, if it kills the Freestar, at least we'll know it wasn't intentional. Let's go with that."
"Jimin," she whispered, and he huffed but agreed to stay quiet.
"If you're quite finished, I was about to explain option two: a microbe. Something we could aerosolize, let spread, and have it clean up anything with Terrormorph DNA for us, which would include the Morphs and, we expect, their transmission method. It'll still take time to build and test, but no other method could hold a candle to it when it comes to sheer efficiency. Not even the Aceles. The problem is, we have no control over them after we distribute them. If they evolve, they could kill other species, too."
"Humans?" she asked.
Jin shook her off. "Almost zero percent change."
"Almost zero?"
"We're designing it to destroy something with completely different DNA and structure than us. The chances of it evolving to even harm humans let alone kill them is astronomically slim. The chances of it evolving to kill other creatures is slim, but not as slim as it evolving to harm us."
Jimin beamed. "Great, I vote that. It kills the Morphs, and with a little luck, it'll kill all of us and get me out of social interaction, including this conversation, so can we skip to the part where you tell us how this involves Londinion?"
"Fine. Both plans will require major investments and time, including highly specialized materials. For the microbe, we'd need Terrormorph cell lines we can breed quickly and consistently to test on, and we don't have enough Terrormorphs here to give us what we need for any of that. For Aceles, we need gene samples to rebuild their bloodlines, or sharpen our microbe's tracking skills. Cloning can only take us so far if we don't have enough genes to clone. Not the sort of things any lab's got laying around."
Jimin grunted. "Wait, wait, let me guess: Londinion has those things."
Jin frowned. "That's... yeah, that's right. It has all the materials we need in one place. Instead of taking years to clone what little we have or extract the information from the few Terrormorphs we've hunted, we can get it all in Londinion. It'd save us years of work. The UC has a small operating base on Londinion's outskirts. We're cleared for access, but Londinion belongs to Terrormorphs, so we need to stay careful. Multiple teams will be deployed to search for what we need, but if our data on Londinion is correct, there's a field cache with Aceles data. I'll have Commander Tuala on comms scanning for the other samples once we're there. Closest team to the samples gets to have them."
"Which means we'll be the ones getting them," Jimin said with a forced smile. "Because why wouldn't we, right? That would make our lives too easy if we didn't have to fight any Terrormorphs and the other teams could find something for once."
Y/n rested her hand on his shoulder. "It'll be okay, we'll have some of the strongest fighters in the UC by our side, plus a cute robot."
Kaiser waved at that, and Y/n waved back.
"Y/n's right," Jin said, stepping away from the glass as the Aceles moved back to the corner, out of sight and hiding in the shadows. "We have representatives from Londinion's base traveling here to work on Kaiser and give him access codes to the city. If there's anything powered down, he can power it back up. We'll give the codes to robots the other teams have, but Kaiser's the lead."
Jimin rolled his eyes. "So we really are doing everything, huh?"
"Pretty much, but I'd feel more comfortable that way. I want to see those samples myself. Hey, look at it this way: you're pretty special to get assigned on this mission. What'd you do to impress the UC?"
"Don't know. I spend my free time pissing on UC graves."
Jin winced. "Okay then, thanks for the info. Back to the point, you have time to gather whatever weapons you'll need, though there'll be anti-xeno weaponry at the base. Don't worry, you'll be on a team only with people who know about your... condition. There's no cameras in Londinion, so nothing to worry about there unless we stumble upon another team, which I doubt. Londinion's a little too big for that. Meet me at Forward Base 441 tomorrow night, 20:00 UTC. If you're a minute late, you're kicked out of the Vanguard and banned from UC space."
"Is that... supposed to be a threat? No more UC? Yippee!"
"Just be there," Jin said with a groan before turning back to Kaiser and getting to work.
Jimin stormed off, and Y/n sprinted to follow him. They returned to the elevator, and Jimin put his helmet back on. Y/n had never bothered with taking hers off, so hers cuddled with her head and caused her to overheat. Oh well.
"The Aceles is the better option," she said, and Jimin didn't reply. "The UC doesn't want another Colony War, they won't use it against the Freestar-"
"How do you know? Did you ask them? Do you think they'd tell you the truth if they did?" Jimin slapped the ascend button on the elevator and kicked its doors as it closed and rumbled them up toward Mars' surface. "You got mad at me for the mech parts since there's no way I can know where those parts go. Maybe the Freestar are building mechs in secret, and the parts I gave helped make them." Jimin paused and turned to her, and though he had his Vanguard gear on, so his face was hidden, she could imagine the desperation painted across his expression. "What if the Aceles are an excuse to wipe out the Freestar?"
"What if the microbe is?"
"Too uncontrollable. I didn't go to school, but I know basic biology. That's too much of a risk, but the Aceles aren't. I don't care if they don't want to use the Aceles to hurt the Freestar cause I'm not gonna give them the fucking chance. They could kill my mother, Y/n. Her and I may be in a shit place right now, but I'm not letting her die. Especially when there's something I can do about it. I'm Captain Park Jimin, slayer of Terrormorphs with a body holding more power than any human being's ever had. They'll listen to me. I know it."
She couldn't answer. Out of all the time she had spent with Jimin, she hadn't expected him to say such words. Any jokes about using his powers for personal gain were just that: jokes. But what he said wasn't a joke.
"I don't like you talking like that," she muttered as the raging storm grew louder the closer they got to the surface.
He squeezed her hand. "I'm not going to apologize for protecting my home, but I'm sorry if it scares you. You know I'd never go out of my way to hurt people, right? You know what that would do to me, so please don't doubt me."
"I trust you more than I trust my own parents, Jimin. Just... I don't trust what's in you."
"The powers?"
She trembled despite telling herself not to. "Yeah."
He went quiet for a few seconds. "I don't either."
The elevator doors whipped open and whacked them in the face with crimson dust. Jimin held her and helped her through the violent mass of wind slowing them down. Jungkook waited for them by the ramp of their ship and closed it as soon as they entered. When the door shut and sweet relief of calm air met them, she removed her suit and thanked Jungkook for being there.
"Can we have a moment?" she asked, and Jungkook peeked between her and Jimin before agreeing and leaving, making sure the rest of the crew wasn't in the vicinity before shutting the bay's door behind him.
Jimin removed his helmet. "What's wrong?"
"The UC lied about Jin's father's execution?"
"Obviously, it's the UC. Now do you see why I don't want the Aceles in their hands?"
"Jimin, if we go to Londinion, we're giving the UC the gene codes they need to duplicate the Aceles anyway. If they really wanted to unleash them on the Freestar, they'd do it."
He set his jaw. "But at least we'd make it harder if we spend all their resources on a microbe."
She could see, and even agree, with Jimin's point, but a microbe that had a chance of wiping out more life than intended didn't appeal to her or her beliefs. Preserving life was priority number one for Universals. Seeing as she was Vanguard, she had a feeling that belief didn't matter to her as much as she wanted it to, but she could try nonetheless.
"I respect your opinion, I just can't agree with all the risks the microbe has. But, we can save that for after Londinion. Tell me about Jin's father instead."
"He's kind of an asshole. Had the audacity to ask about Jin when he literally abandoned him and got him framed for all his crimes. Sounds like a peachy family, huh? And I thought my mom was fucked up. Never complaining again."
"Ouch. Tuala told me a little bit about your meeting, but not everything. Why did he want you?"
"I'm popular, darling," he said, drawing out every syllable of each word. "I have the most interesting reputation in the entire UC. He wanted me to hunt down that Reginald dude, where I got the mech parts."
"And you don't think he's going to frame you for that and throw you under the bus to boost his reputation?"
Jimin stopped and shrugged. "Don't think he'd get much of a reputation boost from throwing me of all people under the bus. It's not like the UC likes me, so that's not much of a bust. What does he gain from me hunting down on an old colleague?"
"Not sure, but I don't want to find out. Let's just get home and sleep, we've had a long day."
"Can't argue with that."
She made sure all her gear got set down before walking away, but right as she did, he grabbed her elbow and brought her back. All at once, she found herself on Jimin's chest with his arms wrapped around her waist and his forehead nearing hers. His lips came close. Close enough to feel his warm breath that smelled of cereal.
"I know we disagree on the Aceles, but thank you for listening to me," he whispered, and every deep syllable in his words made her heart bounce around inside her. "I love you so much. Thank you for being here."
The temptation overwhelmed her, and she closed the distance. She kissed him and closed her eyes into it, not caring if anyone walked in and saw their lip lock. Jimin traced his grip down to her thigh and held it, lifting her leg to spin it around his hips. The kiss could have gone longer, but she pulled back and rubbed her finger across his soft, squishy cheek. She memorized each freckle waiting there, and she made a mental vow to kiss every one that night when they cuddled.
"I love you too. I'll always be here. Always."
☆☆☆
A/N: Next chapter is the s2 finale already...
It's gonna be crazy ngl, and s3 is going to change a lot. Jimin is going to go THROUGH IT more than he ever has before, and it'll be a huge test for his character.
Hope you guys liked this chapter, remember to vote, and I'll see you in the finale!
Omg I can't believe we're wrapping up s2 already-
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