Expectations: Begin Again
Series Expectations
Adventure Fifteen: Begin Again Part 2
Author: Aquariuslover
Pairings: KyuWook, Yunjae, Various
Rating: R
Genre: Crossover, Romance, Science Fiction, Adventure
Length: Chaptered
Beta: tahoeturquoise
A/N: This story is inspired by Star Trek and the Kpop community.
Summary: The cycle of life continues as alliances are made, love moves forward, a beloved infant is born, and the journey of two souls inches closer and closer to its inevitable end.
Prior Adventures
“And he just keeps on breaking my heart,” WooHyun lamented before grabbing another bottle of alcohol and guzzling it down. He was at the saloon with Sungmin and Eunhyuk sitting at the bar. The saloon was half empty with only a few patrons scattered throughout it, minding their own business.
Sungmin patted the doctor on the back. “It must be hard.”
WooHyun set the now empty bottle of alcohol down on the counter in front of them. “It’s not like he even means to…it’s like he put me in the friend zone, and all I can ever be to him now…is just a friend.”
Eunhyuk nodded his head and sympathized. “It sucks to be friend zoned.”
WooHyun grabbed another bottle, brought it to his lips and then set it back down without taking a drink. “It does…and I would do anything for him. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for him.”
“To be fair,” Eunhyuk said. “You haven’t known each other that long.”
Sungmin bumped Eunhyuk with his shoulder and protested, “That doesn’t matter…sometimes you just know.”
“I knew,” WooHyun said softly. “I knew I’d love him…for always. I just knew, but now I also know he will never relent. He has made a decision and he won’t change his mind.”
“Men like him…they don’t ever relent…do they?” Sungmin said wistfully. “When they decide to love someone they love them forever, and if they don’t love you-there isn’t anything you can do to make them love you.”
Eunhyuk turned his head to look at Sungmin, knowing exactly what experiences the other man spoke of. “Maybe it is a command thing…they can’t doubt themselves. They have to be confident and have strong convictions about what they do…the decisions they make. They can’t afford to have doubts.”
“Maybe,” WooHyun agreed. “I just wish…I just wish it was different, but I know it will only get harder for me.”
Sungmin winced, feeling the doctor’s pain. “Do you want me to move you to different quarters? I honestly don’t know why I ever had you two sharing quarters to begin with.”
WooHyun cleared his throat nervously; he remembered very well why Sungmin had roomed him with SungGyu. “I think I will just…I don’t want another room.”
Eunhyuk frowned, confused. “Why do you still want to room with him?”
“Because…because…I have to know what is going on,” WooHyun struggled to explain. “Even if it kills me…I have to know. I…I want to be with him…even if he doesn’t want me.”
Eunhyuk set his bottle of liquor down. “That is just pathetic.”
“No, no, no,” Sungmin chimed in. “It makes perfect sense. I completely understand. I knew Kyuhyun didn’t want me…but I wanted to live with him so badly.”
WooHyun sighed wistfully. “Love is so complicated.”
Sungmin gently clinked his bottle of alcohol against WooHyun’s and proclaimed, “Indeed it is.”
Eunhyuk, who had lowered his head and was resting it against the top of the bar whimpered, “Friendship…is hard, too. I was the worst friend to Junsu.”
“That is a lie,” Sungmin, who was sitting between the two men at the bar, admonished. “You are a wonderful friend. You are a wonderful friend to me, a wonderful friend to Donghae and you were a wonderful friend to Junsu.”
“No, I wasn’t…I have so many regrets.”
Sungmin involuntarily shuddered and reached for one of the many bottles of alcohol that lined the bar in front of them. “You are not alone…the regrets I have…they could fill the void of space.”
WooHyun turned to look at the security chief curiously and asked, “What kind of regrets do you have, Lieutenant?”
Sungmin took sip from his bottle and admitted, “I wasn’t even going to drink…and now look at me!”
“It’s okay; we are here to mourn…it must be hard for you,” WooHyun gently coaxed.
“It is,” Sungmin confessed, taking another drink. “I can never…I broke them.”
“Broke?”
“Kyuhyun and Ryeowook,” Sungmin answered the doctor sadly. “I broke them…and they were never made right again.”
Eunhyuk lifted his head and blurted out in the chief security officer’s defense, “Kyuhyun helped…he didn’t have to sleep with you. Nobody forced him.”
“Ryeowook was my best friend…and I coveted his husband our entire friendship,” Sungmin professed. “I destroyed them…they used to be so happy, and now they are dead and because of me they never found their lost happiness.”
WooHyun’s eyes widened, surprised by the declaration. “So you slept with Kyuhyun without Ryeowook’s permission?”
Sungmin solemnly nodded his head.
A drunken Eunhyuk slapped Sungmin’s back and said with a slurred voice, “You thought he was dead.”
WooHyun, who looked as confused as he felt, questioned, “Then it…was okay…Wasn’t it?”
“No,” Sungmin answered gravely. “It wasn’t…we didn’t even wait until his body was cold.”
“His body was dead...I mean he wasn’t dead, his body wasn’t ever cold,” Eunhyuk insisted. “It wasn’t really cheating…because…because you thought he was dead.”
Sungmin squeezed his eyes shut, letting a single tear escape. “I had it bad for Kyuhyun…since the first time I saw him…” Sungmin paused and looked at WooHyun. “Like you and SungGyu…you know what I am talking about.”
“Yeah.”
“Kyuhyun used to be such a jerk…a real asshole back in the academy…no one knew why then…we just followed him like little lambs…little lambs following their shepherd.”
“Why?”
“Because his parents were so powerful,” Eunhyuk answered. “His parents…they were very powerful admirals. His mom…man, I used to dream of serving under her.”
“That isn’t why I followed him,” Sungmin insisted. “I followed him because I dreamed of fixing him…making him a good person. No, that isn’t entirely true…I dreamed of being the one person he would be nice to…I wanted him to show a soft side to me. A soft side he showed to no one else. I wanted to be the exception.”
WooHyun took another drink. “And you weren’t?”
“No, he…he slept with everybody back then, but not with me,” Sungmin said with a sigh. “I used to think it was because…because I meant something to him…I was special.”
“No,” Eunhyuk added, shaking his head. “You were too pathetic even back then.”
Sungmin turned to glare at his friend.
“Umm…you really cared for him,” Eunhyuk quickly added. “He didn’t want that…he wanted meaningless sexual romps.”
WooHyun tilted to the side, almost falling off of his stool. “He sounds like a real gem to me.”
Sungmin slapped both hands down on the bar. “But that was just his image…his protective shield…not the real him. You can’t imagine how he suffered when he was a kid…but never mind that. The point is that he wasn’t really bad…he just acted badly to protect himself. Once he got with Ryeowook he completely changed…he became perfect, and I only wanted him more…I could see it happening, so I befriended Ryeowook…so I could be closer to Kyuhyun.”
WooHyun, who was tightly holding on to the bar in front of him to keep from losing his balance, scolded, “That wasn’t very nice.”
“Nope,” Eunhyuk agreed. “You were sneaky.”
“I was a backstabber…except I never stabbed anyone…not until I thought Ryeowook was dead…then I did the stabbing.”
A very drunk Eunhyuk teased, “Weren’t you the one stabbed?”
A confused Sungmin questioned, “Huh?”
Eunhyuk clarified, “Don’t you get it…you got stabbed by Kyuhyun’s cock.”
A tipsy WooHyun grimaced and declared, “You are kinda an idiot.”
“He is,” Sungmin agreed. “That he is.”
****************
“Do you really expect me to lower myself to such a level? Really?”
Yunho closed his eyes and called on his shortening supply of patience to calmly reply to his mate, “Yes, really.”
“First…I have to sleep…with all of them,” Jaejoong spat as he towered over his mate, who was lying on his back looking up at the fuming Joong. They were in the cave with the other crewmembers. All of them were resting in a circle surrounding the rocks they had warmed with the phaser, attempting to sleep.
Yoochun just groaned and rolled over on his belly, not even bothering with a sarcastic reply.
Yunho reached up and rubbed his forehead. “Jaejoong, everyone is tired.”
“You are not tired…you are just sleeping because they have to.”
“Believe me…I’m tired.”
“Is there innuendo in your statement?” Jaejoong asked, snapping at his mate. “Are you hinting perhaps that I am being tiring?”
“No.”
“Forgive me if the thought of sleeping on a dead animal’s pelt disgusts and horrifies me. On second thought, don’t you dare forgive me…there is nothing to forgive! I am right!”
Yunho slowly got up and picked up the fur that he and Jaejoong had been resting on and threw it at Ryeowook. The young doctor had spent most of the day preparing it for the pregnant Joong. “Here Dr. Cho, reap the reward of all your hard work today.”
Ryeowook grabbed the thick pelt. “Thanks, Captain. It will be nice and soft to sleep on.”
Yunho smiled back at Jaejoong. “There…we can sleep on grass and twigs like everyone else. Forgive me for thinking you might enjoy something softer.”
Jaejoong brushed his blond hair out of his face and snottily stated, “I can’t sleep in the same vicinity as Junsu-he stinks.”
Junsu started getting up. “I’m sorry. I promise to try eggs tomorrow. I don’t mean-”
“Junsu, lie back down and go to sleep,” Yunho ordered in a sharp tone and the ensign immediately followed the command.
“I refuse to sleep,” Jaejoong insisted. “If I fall asleep I will forget to hold my breath and I will once again be assaulted by that rancid smell!”
“Jaejoong…”
“Don’t you Jaejoong me, Yunho! And don’t you use that captain’s voice on me! It won’t work!” Jaejoong shouted. “We can walk farther down into one of the tunnels and sleep! We don’t need to stay here! We could go to a nice pool of water and relax! You know I love water!”
“No, we are not separating from the group! I have told you this repeatedly,” Yunho stated, his patience running low.
“And who declared you King?” Jaejoong asked, refusing to give in. “If I want to go down to a pool of water I will. I am the only royalty here! You are my consort at best!”
“I am going outside,” Kyuhyun, who had been trying his best to sleep, declared as he hastily got to his feet. “Maybe a dinosaur will eat me…I am sure it would be a more peaceful death than staying here and listening to this.”
Yunho’s mouth dropped open as he looked at the exasperated commander.
Kyuhyun quickly rethought his outburst and added, “If that is okay with you…Sir.”
“Yeah…it’s fine,” Yunho told the commander. “But take the phaser with you.”
Kyuhyun bent over and scooped up the phaser. “I will just be outside the cave.”
Ryeowook gave Yunho a look, seeking permission to follow after his husband. Yunho nodded his head and the doctor swiftly followed after Kyuhyun.
“What gall!” Jaejoong growled as he walked over and snatched up the pelt that Ryeowook had been resting on. “Like he and Ryeowook haven’t been having the same fight since the day I met them.”
Yunho side-eyed his mate as the Joong placed the pelt back on the ground beside Yunho and sat down on it. “So you want it now?”
Jaejoong scoffed as he motioned for his bondmate to join him. “I am tired, Yunho. You know Joongs can get tired and I can indulge myself with a little sleep if I want. This endless racket is keeping me awake. I am pregnant you know. I could give birth anytime. I need my rest, come hold me.”
**************
Ryeowook found Kyuhyun sitting on the ground leaning against the cave’s entrance. “You were being a little sassy.”
Kyuhyun patted the ground beside him and admitted, “I don’t know if sassy is the word I would use to describe my behavior but I was a little bit perturbed…but I also had an ulterior motive.”
The doctor grinned as he sat down by the commander and coyly asked, “Tell me about this ulterior motive?”
“I have noticed if you ruffle Jaejoong’s feathers he usually ends up taking the high road. He’s probably already asleep in there.”
Ryeowook quickly hid his disappointment. “That’s very insightful…I think you might be right.”
“I am,” Kyuhyun confidently stated. “This method will only work for a while though.”
“True…once Changmin is born Jaejoong will be on to you.”
“Yes, he will be,” Kyuhyun agreed as he raised an arm and draped it around Ryeowook. “Now, as to my second motivation…”
Ryeowook beamed with happiness. “And that is?”
“Some alone time…so we can we talk without prying ears.”
“Talking is good.”
“It is.”
Kyuhyun looked up at the stars and pointed out, “This is the second time you have been stranded on a planet.”
“It is.”
“It must bring back a lot of memories.”
“Not good memories.”
“I can only imagine,” Kyuhyun said, sympathizing. “You must have been fighting to keep Sulli and SooYoung alive.”
“I was,” Ryeowook agreed. “I was also struggling to keep Leeteuk alive. Their care required all of my attention for weeks.
“On the ship…it was no better. The dead were everywhere…and more were dying…it was like some living nightmare…and Heechul was no help, no help at all. I don’t know how the captain kept us alive and sane.”
“I am so sorry…you have to keep going through these things…these terrible things.”
Kyuhyun closed his eyes. “I must have been a really awful person in a previous life.”
“No,” Ryeowook disagreed. “My Grandma had a saying.”
“She had…has a lot of sayings.”
“She does, but this one I agree with,” Ryeowook told his husband. “She says God doesn’t give you more than you can handle.”
“That isn’t true,” Kyuhyun refuted. “I couldn’t handle you being gone…the thought of you being dead. Everything else life has thrown at me…I could handle, but the thought of never seeing you again…I couldn’t handle that.”
Ryeowook leaned against Kyuhyun and gently explained to his husband, “But don’t you see…that’s why he gave me back to you.”
***************************
SungGyu was sleeping soundly on the sofa.
He had collapsed on it after a grueling day in engineering, not bothering to change out of his uniform. He had only been asleep a couple of hours when the door chimed. His eyes flew open, he was immediately alert.
He got up, headed for the door, and commanded, “Open.”
The door whooshed open to show four very nervous looking ensigns. All of them were actual academy graduates, unlike SungGyu.
He recognized them as being the night crew that ran engineering. “Why are you not in engineering?”
The oldest of the ensigns, Ensign Lee, stepped forward and explained, “Commander Ji-Hoon dismissed us.”
“Dismissed you?”
The older ensign quickly nodded his head. “Yes, he dismissed all of us.”
SungGyu’s alarm grew. “When you say all of you…do you mean just the four of you?”
“No…he dismissed everyone from engineering.”
Another ensign spoke up to clarify, “He said he felt bad that we had to work so hard when others got to sleep. He told us to go get a good night’s sleep, so we could go on shore leave in the morning.”
“So who is running engineering?”
The ensigns grimaced and said together, “Commander Ji-Hoon.”
SungGyu’s tone went up several octaves as he blurted out, “Commander Ji-Hoon is the only one in engineering!”
The ensigns all nodded their heads and the oldest of them explained, “Commander Yoochun always said we should come to you with problems…and this is a big problem.”
“Crap!” was SungGyu’s only response as he pushed past the ensigns and ran down the corridor toward engineering.
WooHyun, who had been awakened by the commotion, stumbled out of the bedroom toward the door in time to see SungGyu rush off. WooHyun wiped his sleepy eyes and focused on the group of ensigns standing at the doorway. “What is going on?”
Ensign Lee explained, “Commander Ji-Hoon dismissed all of the crew working in engineering…he is attempting to run it by himself.”
Noticing the dire looks on the ensign’s faces, WooHyun quickly concluded, “And that is a bad thing?”
“It’s insane…insanely bad,” Ensign Lee quickly replied with the other ensigns vigorously nodding their heads in agreement. “Even Commander Yoochun would not have attempted it.”
“But why did you tell Ensign SungGyu and not the captain?” WooHyun asked as he anxiously looked down the corridor in the direction the other man had ran off in.
“Well…” Ensign Lee paused carefully. “The captain seems to think Commander Ji-Hoon is capable of running engineering…but neither one of them are engineers…so maybe they don’t know how dangerous it is…and it is very dangerous.”
“Crap,” WooHyun declared, echoing SungGyu as he took off after his roommate.
WooHyun sped down the corridor toward the lift, almost barreling into Ensign Henry as they both barged into the lift at the same time. Henry immediately ordered the lift to take them to the lower levels where the engineering department was.
“Henry, did someone tell you what is going on?”
“Yes,” Henry gasped, catching his breath. “SungGyu just called me…apparently Commander Ji-Hoon is running engineering by himself…and that is crazy. He isn’t an engineer, not even close…plus, he’s squirrely in the head.”
WooHyun darted his eyes at the frantic engineering prodigy. “It will be okay. I am sure you two can handle him.”
“I am not sure,” Henry admitted. “I can’t imagine that he’d let them go…so they could have a break. He has to have something in mind…some ulterior motive and that scares me.”
WooHyun’s concern grew. “What do you mean?”
The lift opened and Henry hurried out with WooHyun right behind him. “I mean he is crazy. Like, really crazy and he has the power to do anything in engineering…anything he wants.”
WooHyun thought back to all the times Commander Ji-Hoon had met with Dr. Heechul behind closed doors. “Do you think he-”
WooHyun stopped midsentence as red lights starting flashing and the ship’s computer announced, “RED ALERT! RED ALERT! WARP CORE BREACH IMMEDIATE. ALL HANDS ABANDON SHIP. ALL HANDS ABANDON SHIP.”
“Fuck!” Henry exclaimed and increased his pace to engineering only to be stopped by the confinement field that was now isolating engineering from the rest of the ship. “This is exactly what I feared.”
WooHyun reached out and touched the field and immediately jerked his hand back after being shocked. “We have to get to SungGyu”
Henry shook his head and he tried to catch a glance of what was going on inside engineering. “We can’t with the force field up.”
“Will the force field protect the ship?”
“No,” Henry answered. “It might give us an extra couple of seconds at most to evacuate the ship, but that is all. Nothing will protect us if the antimatter containment field is lost. If anti-matter and normal matter come in contact the explosion will be catastrophic and the ship will be destroyed.”
“I have to get in there.”
“You can’t.”
“No, you don’t understand. I have to get in there,” WooHyun insisted as he walked over to the emergency medical station located in the wall and grabbed a med kit. “If Commander Ji-Hoon is crazy, then maybe I can help.”
“No, you don’t understand. I couldn’t get you in there even if I wanted to,” Henry tried to explain. “I can’t drop this force field and you can’t beam through it.”
“I thought you were some kind of engineering genius? Surely you can get me in there,” a desperate WooHyun pleaded. “You have to try! He needs my help-he needs your help!”
A rattled Henry quickly explained, “I am a genius, but even if I could somehow pull off the impossible and beam you inside there…the transporters are all being used by people evacuating the ship…which is exactly what we should be doing.”
“No,” WooHyun stated defiantly. “I won’t abandon him. I know he is in there trying to save the ship…and he needs our help!”
Henry rubbed his head, focusing his mind on finding a solution to their problem. “I know…it’s just…it’s...”
“It’s what?” WooHyun asked as he noticed a change in the other man.
The progeny quickly headed toward a console and mumbled under his breath as his ran mental calculations in his head, “Perhaps I could weaken the force field just enough for you to pass through it.”
“Now, that is what I am talking about!”
**********************
“Ah, Lieutenant Donghae and Ensign Jonghyun, you two have finally arrived. Were you the last to abandon ship?”
Lieutenant Donghae, who had just beamed down to Zilax from the Expectations, answered, “No, Doctor Nam and Ensign Henry are still aboard the ship…they refused to be beamed down…since Ensign SungGyu was still aboard.”
“I understand,” Captain Leeteuk, who was surrounded by anxious crew members, answered in a mournful tone. “It is understandable; loyalty is an admirable characteristic among the brave. It is hard to leave a man behind, especially a friend.”
Ensign Eunhyuk grudgingly added, “And let’s not forget Commander Ji-Hoon who is still aboard the ship sabotaging it.”
Lieutenant Yesung, who was standing beside Eunhyuk, looked past the crowd gathered around Leeteuk to where Heechul was monitoring Sulli’s stasis chamber and mumbled under his breath, “Too bad nobody noticed he was bat-shit crazy.”
Lieutenant Donghae followed Yesung’s gaze but said nothing.
“I should have stayed on board,” Ensign Jonghyun said in a voice of regret. “I could have helped. I should be there with them. I shouldn’t be here.”
“Nonsense,” Ensign Minho told his friend as he walked up to stand beside him. “Ensign Henry is completely capable of running the transporters and Ensign SungGyu, too.”
“No, I still should have stayed. You don’t understand…” Jonghyun paused to look at Eunhyuk. “We are a team.”
Eunhyuk swallowed guiltily as he met the young transporter ensign’s gaze, knowing exactly how the other man felt.
Ensign Kangin, who stood beside the captain, eyed their leader critically. “Captain, why are you here?”
Leeteuk turned his focus on Kangin. “Perhaps, by any chance, did you miss the announcement about a pending warp core breach?”
Kangin did not bother to hide his scorn. “So you left the ship’s fate in the hands of two green ensigns and a doctor we picked up on some backwards planet?”
Leeteuk’s eyes slightly narrowed, but his voice remained calm. “Two engineering ensigns…who are far from green and who volunteered to stay behind. I am no engineer. What could I possibly contribute to the situation?”
Kangin just stared at the captain, unable to believe his ears.
Sungmin, who was on the other side of Leeteuk, immediately spoke up on the captain’s behalf. “Ensign Kangin, surely you don’t believe in that old saying that a captain must go down with the ship.”
Kangin, who had never liked Sungmin to begin with, sneered at him. “Yeah, I do. Maybe the captain could talk some sense into Commander Ji-Hoon…provide some leadership. Forgive me if I still believe the captain should be braver than two low ranking-”
“Kangin, let’s take a walk,” Lieutenant SooYoung stated firmly as she took Kangin by the hand.
Kangin whirled around having not even noticed the female lieutenant was nearby. “Why? Is it because I’m saying what everyone else is thinking…well everybody except for that weasel Sungmin? Commander Ji-Hoon should have never been in charge of engineering! Hell, he wasn’t an engineer to begin with!”
“Please!” SooYoung insisted as Ensigns Minho, DongWoo and MyungSoo appeared at her side.
Ensign DongWoo pleaded, “Sir, let us all take a walk, please.”
Sungmin, who was still standing beside Leeteuk, watched as Kangin was practically dragged off by the others. “Sir, I am so sorry. Should I do something?”
A slightly amused Leeteuk just shook his head. “Lieutenant Sungmin, it is a dire circumstance and he is still suffering from the loss of his closest friends. No doubt he is thinking the late Commander Jung would never have abandoned ship. His behavior is completely understandable.”
Sungmin frowned.
“Well, except the part where he called you a weasel. That was entirely inappropriate…you are exceptionally loyal and hardworking. You have absolutely nothing in common with weasels.”
**************
Ryeowook’s body slightly shook as he inhaled a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
For hours on end he had been fighting a constant battle to keep Junsu alive; a battle he had thought he had lost more than once.
Night had fallen on the portion of the planet they inhabited and the only light inside the cave was provided by the heated rocks. They all surrounded the critically ill man, safeguarding him.
Yunho, who sat across from Ryeowook, was holding Junsu’s hand as he watched the younger man’s chest rise and fall. “He really is breathing…he’s breathing.”
“Yes,” the doctor answered softly.
Hours earlier Junsu had taken a bite of eggs and only seconds later he had been gasping for breath as a severe allergic reaction attempted to rob him of life.
All the crew had taken turns breathing for the younger man as Ryeowook struggled to keep his heart going and his mind undamaged. He had to call upon every piece of medical knowledge he had ever learned…while being without any of the advanced medical equipment he so desperately needed.
Jaejoong, who was on Yunho’s left, asked, “Is he breathing through his mouth or the hole in his neck?”
“Through his mouth,” Ryeowook replied as he forced his hands to stop shaking. He took a small piece of uniform that had been cut off, sterilized by the phaser, and placed it over the hole in Junsu’s neck. “The swelling is down.”
Yoochun, who was sitting on Yunho’s right side, said nothing as he just stared at the younger man that had almost died several times during the day.
“Human life is so fragile…” Jaejoong declared, shaking his head. “You all should have Joong mates.”
Yunho leaned over and kissed his lover on the cheek. “Are you going to fix them up with some Joongs?”
Jaejoong met his lover’s gaze. “I might…it is very discomforting how you people are always trying to die. This is not the first time Junsu has almost died in my presence.”
“No,” Yunho agreed, looking back down at the ensign, who was steadily breathing on his own. “Vampires and eggs are not his friends.”
“Don’t forget, Changmin almost killed him on Belara,” Jaejoong reminded his mate.
Yunho looked at Ryeowook, remembering the other lives that had been in danger that day. “I haven’t forgotten.”
“And then there is you…you are always trying to die.”
“I am not always trying to die,” Yunho protested. “Can we not have this conversation again?”
“Yes, we are having it. You are always trying to die…if it were not for my healing abilities you would be dead by now. Like I said, humans are fragile.”
“I am not fragile.”
Kyuhyun, who was sitting by the doctor, ignored the couple and leaned in to whisper, “Is it safe for you to take a bit of a break?”
Ryeowook turned to look at Kyuhyun. “A bit?”
Kyuhyun encircled Ryeowook’s wrist with his hand. “Just for a few minutes.”
“Okay…” Ryeowook said hesitantly as he turned to face Yunho. “He should be fine…I will be back shortly. If anything changes…just yell for me.”
“I will,” Jaejoong replied for Yunho. “I will yell loudly, very loudly.”
“Go take a break,” Yunho told Ryeowook. “You deserve it.”
Ryeowook reluctantly got to his feet with Kyuhyun’s help. He felt unsteady, as if his legs weren’t touching the ground. He knew he was feeling the aftereffects of the enormous adrenaline rush he had been on.
Kyuhyun led him away from the others and into one of the tunnels that led to one of the hot springs that was further back in the cave. Ryeowook stopped and tugged on his husband’s arm. “I can’t be that far away. I wouldn’t feel right.”
The light was dim but Ryeowook could see Kyuhyun nod his head in agreement as he gently pushed Ryeowook up against the wall of the cave.
He opened his mouth to object but before he could say a word Kyuhyun’s mouth collided with his and all his protests fell away. The kiss was perfect and as sweet as any from their past. It didn’t hold any of the anger, blame, or hurt that had discolored all of their encounters since Sungmin had confessed all his sins in a fever induced delirium. The last two years of misery fell away and sweetness gave way to welcomed passion.
With one kiss he knew everything would be all right. For so long he had feared that this part of their relationship was lost, but as the intensity of the kiss built he knew he had been mistaken.
Memories of their first real kiss flashed in his mind and all the vows they had ever made to each other were reaffirmed. He felt the promise of the future; a future he would share with the only man he had ever loved, or would ever love.
Kyuhyun pulled away from the kiss and Ryeowook quickly leaned forward, searching for more of the beloved lips he had so desperately missed. Kyuhyun just smiled, pushing him back against the wall as he dropped to his knees. Ryeowook froze in anticipation as he felt Kyuhyun slide his pants down past his knees. Before he had time to even articulate a thought, Kyuhyun’s mouth was on him.
It has been too long, much too long.
Tears glided down his cheeks as happiness, relief, and passion all blurred into one overwhelming emotion. It was over almost before it started; Ryeowook cried out as Kyuhyun quickly brought him to climax. The stress he had been burdened with during the day…for the past few years slipped away as his whole body shuddered with release. His legs turned to jelly and his knees buckled as the tension left his body. He would have fallen if Kyuhyun hadn’t caught him and slowly lowered him to the ground.
Ryeowook sat in a blissful daze as Kyuhyun swiftly refastened his pants. His mind was unable to compute the miracle that had just happened.
Kyuhyun sat down beside him and asked, “Feel better?”
Ryeowook leaned against his husband and smiled brightly. “Yes…God, yes.”
Kyuhyun chuckled, wrapped an arm around his husband, and pulled him close. “Good.”
“I just…I just…thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me.”
“I…feel…feel…like I should…because…thank you. I should-”
“You should continue being amazing,” Kyuhyun said, interrupting the other man. “You are amazing.”
Ryeowook turned his head to look Kyuhyun in the face. He let out a small whimper when even through the dimness of the cave he could see the look of love and pride emanating from Kyuhyun’s face. Ryeowook reached up and wiped the side of Kyuhyun’s mouth. “I love you.”
“And I love you.”
“We are…we really are fixed?”
“Yeah.”
“We should have gotten stranded sooner.”
Kyuhyun laughed. “Now we know.”
“Next time we have martial problems we know what-”
“No,” Kyuhyun stated firmly, interrupting Ryeowook. “There will be no more. It isn’t allowed.”
“Agreed…no more.”
“Never, ever…” Kyuhyun vowed as he leaned forward and kissed his husband tenderly on the lips. Ryeowook kissed him back and secretly wished they could stay in the moment forever, but he knew better.
With deep regret Ryeowook groaned, hating himself as he broke free from the kiss and whined apologetically, “I have to get back…Junsu is too unstable for me to be away for this long.”
“I know,” Kyuhyun replied, standing up and reaching out his hand for his husband. “I hate it, but I completely understand.”
Ryeowook took Kyuhyun’s hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. “I really wish we…we had more time.”
Kyuhyun squeezed Ryeowook’s hand and led him back toward the others. “We will make time…we will.”
Ryeowook couldn’t stop smiling. “Do you think they heard?”
Kyuhyun looked down at his shorter husband. “They heard…you were kinda loud.”
Ryeowook stopped in his tracks and cringed. “It had been…a long…long time.”
“I know; believe me, I know,” Kyuhyun replied as he pushed Ryeowook toward the others. “You have to face them.”
“Oh, they are going to give me hell.”
“Well, Yoochun will,” Kyuhyun conceded.
“And Jaejoong, too.”
“You still have to face them…for Junsu.”
“I know,” the doctor agreed, then inhaled a deep breath and cast his embarrassment aside, refusing to let anything or anyone dampen the happiness he was feeling. He resolutely walked into the area of the cave the crew had made their home. He found Yoochun and Jaejoong sitting together with their arms tightly folded against their chests; they resembled pouting children who had just been scolded. Yunho, who was standing over them, looked at Kyuhyun and Ryeowook as they returned. “Doctor, he hasn’t woken up yet.”
“That’s good, he needs his rest,” Ryeowook stated as he sat back down by Junsu. “His breathing is still good.”
Kyuhyun sat down beside his husband. Yoochun and Jaejoong remained silent, like well-behaved children. Yunho hovered over them and said hopefully, “Nope, it hasn’t changed at all. Hopefully, the worst is over.”
The doctor smiled and glanced at Kyuhyun before declaring, “The worst is definitely over.”
*********************
SungGyu was pretty sure his number one life motto was about to be broken in a glorious fashion.
Commander Ji-Hoon had a maniacal look on his face and none of SungGyu’s reasonable words were penetrating through his madness. The commander was carefully balancing himself, while standing on the protective railing that surrounded the warp core. The hatch to the reaction chamber was wide open and SungGyu couldn’t even imagine what the commander had done.
“WARP CORE BREACH IMMINENT. ALL HANDS ABANDON SHIP. ALL HANDS ABANDON SHIP,” the computer announced.
“I will be free…free…free…free…free…” Commander Ji-Hoon sang. “I will finally be free. Free! Free!”
SungGyu was at the control panel closest to the warp core and the calculations that had been entered to bypass the ship’s safety measures were beyond his understanding. He was confidant they were also beyond the commander’s ability. “Sir, where did you get these calculations?”
“Free…free…free…free,” the commander continued to sing, ignoring the ensign. “Free…free…no more nothing…free…free.”
SungGyu hurried away from the control panel, rushed to the commander, and jerked him down from the railing. “Sir, I do not have time for this, stop this! Tell me how to stop the breach.”
“No!” Commander Ji-Hoon screamed as he pulled a concealed phaser out from underneath his clothing. “No! You can’t stop it! I will finally be free! It will be over! Even I can’t survive this!”
“Sir, nobody can survive this,” SungGyu stated, attempting to remain calm as he backed away. “You will destroy the ship.”
“I don’t care! I don’t care! It will be over! I don’t care about this stupid vessel or the measly lives on it! My suffering will be over!” the crazed commander yelled as he turned to aim his phaser at the reaction chamber. “If I fire this inside the chamber it will all be over even quicker. It will finally be over…all the nothingness will be over. They won’t stop me! They won’t!”
SungGyu stared at the phaser that was set on vaporize and struggled to think of a solution to the problem that did not end with his death and the destruction of the ship. “Sir, please don’t. You don’t have to do this.”
Commander Ji-Hoon smiled as he glanced back at SungGyu, while keeping the phaser aimed at the reaction chamber. “You are lucky you will soon be dead…you will never know my suffering. Goodbye archaic-”
Then to SungGyu’s great relief and surprise, before Commander Ji-Hoon could fire the phaser his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the deck. Unbeknownst to SungGyu, WooHyun had snuck up behind Commander Ji-Hoon while the other two men had had their confrontation. He had smoothly injected the insane commander with a powerful sedative without ever being detected.
“WooHyun!” SungGyu exclaimed as he swooped down, grabbed the phaser, and ran back to the engineering control panel. “If had time I’d hug you.”
“Rain check, then.”
“If we live.”
“If we live,” WooHyun repeated as he knelt down beside the commander, whose eyes were open and whose whole body was twitching. “He should be unconscious…I gave him enough to knock ten men out.”
“All of this is beyond me,” SungGyu declared as he stared helplessly at the controls, unable to stop the warp core breach. “How did he manage to accomplish this? He didn’t know enough…he barely knew anything about engineering. I can’t make sense of any of it.”
“You will think of something,” WooHyun replied distractedly as he pressed his hand against the commander’s chest to calm him. “Commander, calm down.”
“Not me! Not Me! Not me!” Commander Ji-Hoon shrieked as WooHyun touched him. “Please stop, not me!” The commander cried one last time before his whole body began to seize uncontrollably.
WooHyun pulled out another hypospray and injected the seizing man again. Commander Ji-Hoon immediately lost consciousness and stopped seizing.
“I can’t stop it…I can’t…” SungGyu admitted, shaking his head.
WooHyun looked at the ensign. “What are you saying?”
“You have to take Commander Ji-Hoon and get off this ship. I can’t stop the breach,” SungGyu replied, not taking his eyes off the controls. “He used some code that is far beyond my engineering abilities. I can’t stop this. It won’t even allow me to eject the warp core.”
WooHyun jumped to his feet, registering what the other man was telling him. “We all need to leave.”
“I have to try to stop this.”
“You just said you can’t!”
“But I still have to try!”
The computer immediately announced, “Warp Core breach in sixty seconds.”
“Like the hell you do, we are leaving,” WooHyun declared as he headed toward SungGyu, ready to drag him to the transporters.
“Or I could take a look,” Ensign Henry blurted out as he rushed to SungGyu’s side.
“Warp Core breach in fifty seconds.”
SungGyu’s mouth fell open as he backed away from the controls to let the engineering prodigy take over.
“Warp Core breach in forty seconds.”
WooHyun walked over to SungGyu, took his hand and squeezed it. They both watched as Henry’s hands flew over the control panel.
“Warp Core breach in thirty seconds.”
No one dared to breathe or say a word.
“Warp Core breach in twenty seconds,” the computer announced as it continued to count down to the ship’s destruction.
Ensign Henry’s mind raced as his hands struggled to keep pace with it.
SungGyu kept his eyes locked on Henry, willing him to do the impossible. WooHyun closed his eyes, forced regrets from his mind and said a small goodbye to the short life he had lived.”
“Warp Core Breach in ten seconds…9…8…7…6…5…4…Warp Core stabilized and ship out of danger.”
Adventure Fifteen: Begin Again Part 2
Author: Aquariuslover
Pairings: KyuWook, Yunjae, Various
Rating: R
Genre: Crossover, Romance, Science Fiction, Adventure
Length: Chaptered
Beta: tahoeturquoise
A/N: This story is inspired by Star Trek and the Kpop community.
Summary: The cycle of life continues as alliances are made, love moves forward, a beloved infant is born, and the journey of two souls inches closer and closer to its inevitable end.
Prior Adventures
“And he just keeps on breaking my heart,” WooHyun lamented before grabbing another bottle of alcohol and guzzling it down. He was at the saloon with Sungmin and Eunhyuk sitting at the bar. The saloon was half empty with only a few patrons scattered throughout it, minding their own business.
Sungmin patted the doctor on the back. “It must be hard.”
WooHyun set the now empty bottle of alcohol down on the counter in front of them. “It’s not like he even means to…it’s like he put me in the friend zone, and all I can ever be to him now…is just a friend.”
Eunhyuk nodded his head and sympathized. “It sucks to be friend zoned.”
WooHyun grabbed another bottle, brought it to his lips and then set it back down without taking a drink. “It does…and I would do anything for him. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for him.”
“To be fair,” Eunhyuk said. “You haven’t known each other that long.”
Sungmin bumped Eunhyuk with his shoulder and protested, “That doesn’t matter…sometimes you just know.”
“I knew,” WooHyun said softly. “I knew I’d love him…for always. I just knew, but now I also know he will never relent. He has made a decision and he won’t change his mind.”
“Men like him…they don’t ever relent…do they?” Sungmin said wistfully. “When they decide to love someone they love them forever, and if they don’t love you-there isn’t anything you can do to make them love you.”
Eunhyuk turned his head to look at Sungmin, knowing exactly what experiences the other man spoke of. “Maybe it is a command thing…they can’t doubt themselves. They have to be confident and have strong convictions about what they do…the decisions they make. They can’t afford to have doubts.”
“Maybe,” WooHyun agreed. “I just wish…I just wish it was different, but I know it will only get harder for me.”
Sungmin winced, feeling the doctor’s pain. “Do you want me to move you to different quarters? I honestly don’t know why I ever had you two sharing quarters to begin with.”
WooHyun cleared his throat nervously; he remembered very well why Sungmin had roomed him with SungGyu. “I think I will just…I don’t want another room.”
Eunhyuk frowned, confused. “Why do you still want to room with him?”
“Because…because…I have to know what is going on,” WooHyun struggled to explain. “Even if it kills me…I have to know. I…I want to be with him…even if he doesn’t want me.”
Eunhyuk set his bottle of liquor down. “That is just pathetic.”
“No, no, no,” Sungmin chimed in. “It makes perfect sense. I completely understand. I knew Kyuhyun didn’t want me…but I wanted to live with him so badly.”
WooHyun sighed wistfully. “Love is so complicated.”
Sungmin gently clinked his bottle of alcohol against WooHyun’s and proclaimed, “Indeed it is.”
Eunhyuk, who had lowered his head and was resting it against the top of the bar whimpered, “Friendship…is hard, too. I was the worst friend to Junsu.”
“That is a lie,” Sungmin, who was sitting between the two men at the bar, admonished. “You are a wonderful friend. You are a wonderful friend to me, a wonderful friend to Donghae and you were a wonderful friend to Junsu.”
“No, I wasn’t…I have so many regrets.”
Sungmin involuntarily shuddered and reached for one of the many bottles of alcohol that lined the bar in front of them. “You are not alone…the regrets I have…they could fill the void of space.”
WooHyun turned to look at the security chief curiously and asked, “What kind of regrets do you have, Lieutenant?”
Sungmin took sip from his bottle and admitted, “I wasn’t even going to drink…and now look at me!”
“It’s okay; we are here to mourn…it must be hard for you,” WooHyun gently coaxed.
“It is,” Sungmin confessed, taking another drink. “I can never…I broke them.”
“Broke?”
“Kyuhyun and Ryeowook,” Sungmin answered the doctor sadly. “I broke them…and they were never made right again.”
Eunhyuk lifted his head and blurted out in the chief security officer’s defense, “Kyuhyun helped…he didn’t have to sleep with you. Nobody forced him.”
“Ryeowook was my best friend…and I coveted his husband our entire friendship,” Sungmin professed. “I destroyed them…they used to be so happy, and now they are dead and because of me they never found their lost happiness.”
WooHyun’s eyes widened, surprised by the declaration. “So you slept with Kyuhyun without Ryeowook’s permission?”
Sungmin solemnly nodded his head.
A drunken Eunhyuk slapped Sungmin’s back and said with a slurred voice, “You thought he was dead.”
WooHyun, who looked as confused as he felt, questioned, “Then it…was okay…Wasn’t it?”
“No,” Sungmin answered gravely. “It wasn’t…we didn’t even wait until his body was cold.”
“His body was dead...I mean he wasn’t dead, his body wasn’t ever cold,” Eunhyuk insisted. “It wasn’t really cheating…because…because you thought he was dead.”
Sungmin squeezed his eyes shut, letting a single tear escape. “I had it bad for Kyuhyun…since the first time I saw him…” Sungmin paused and looked at WooHyun. “Like you and SungGyu…you know what I am talking about.”
“Yeah.”
“Kyuhyun used to be such a jerk…a real asshole back in the academy…no one knew why then…we just followed him like little lambs…little lambs following their shepherd.”
“Why?”
“Because his parents were so powerful,” Eunhyuk answered. “His parents…they were very powerful admirals. His mom…man, I used to dream of serving under her.”
“That isn’t why I followed him,” Sungmin insisted. “I followed him because I dreamed of fixing him…making him a good person. No, that isn’t entirely true…I dreamed of being the one person he would be nice to…I wanted him to show a soft side to me. A soft side he showed to no one else. I wanted to be the exception.”
WooHyun took another drink. “And you weren’t?”
“No, he…he slept with everybody back then, but not with me,” Sungmin said with a sigh. “I used to think it was because…because I meant something to him…I was special.”
“No,” Eunhyuk added, shaking his head. “You were too pathetic even back then.”
Sungmin turned to glare at his friend.
“Umm…you really cared for him,” Eunhyuk quickly added. “He didn’t want that…he wanted meaningless sexual romps.”
WooHyun tilted to the side, almost falling off of his stool. “He sounds like a real gem to me.”
Sungmin slapped both hands down on the bar. “But that was just his image…his protective shield…not the real him. You can’t imagine how he suffered when he was a kid…but never mind that. The point is that he wasn’t really bad…he just acted badly to protect himself. Once he got with Ryeowook he completely changed…he became perfect, and I only wanted him more…I could see it happening, so I befriended Ryeowook…so I could be closer to Kyuhyun.”
WooHyun, who was tightly holding on to the bar in front of him to keep from losing his balance, scolded, “That wasn’t very nice.”
“Nope,” Eunhyuk agreed. “You were sneaky.”
“I was a backstabber…except I never stabbed anyone…not until I thought Ryeowook was dead…then I did the stabbing.”
A very drunk Eunhyuk teased, “Weren’t you the one stabbed?”
A confused Sungmin questioned, “Huh?”
Eunhyuk clarified, “Don’t you get it…you got stabbed by Kyuhyun’s cock.”
A tipsy WooHyun grimaced and declared, “You are kinda an idiot.”
“He is,” Sungmin agreed. “That he is.”
****************
“Do you really expect me to lower myself to such a level? Really?”
Yunho closed his eyes and called on his shortening supply of patience to calmly reply to his mate, “Yes, really.”
“First…I have to sleep…with all of them,” Jaejoong spat as he towered over his mate, who was lying on his back looking up at the fuming Joong. They were in the cave with the other crewmembers. All of them were resting in a circle surrounding the rocks they had warmed with the phaser, attempting to sleep.
Yoochun just groaned and rolled over on his belly, not even bothering with a sarcastic reply.
Yunho reached up and rubbed his forehead. “Jaejoong, everyone is tired.”
“You are not tired…you are just sleeping because they have to.”
“Believe me…I’m tired.”
“Is there innuendo in your statement?” Jaejoong asked, snapping at his mate. “Are you hinting perhaps that I am being tiring?”
“No.”
“Forgive me if the thought of sleeping on a dead animal’s pelt disgusts and horrifies me. On second thought, don’t you dare forgive me…there is nothing to forgive! I am right!”
Yunho slowly got up and picked up the fur that he and Jaejoong had been resting on and threw it at Ryeowook. The young doctor had spent most of the day preparing it for the pregnant Joong. “Here Dr. Cho, reap the reward of all your hard work today.”
Ryeowook grabbed the thick pelt. “Thanks, Captain. It will be nice and soft to sleep on.”
Yunho smiled back at Jaejoong. “There…we can sleep on grass and twigs like everyone else. Forgive me for thinking you might enjoy something softer.”
Jaejoong brushed his blond hair out of his face and snottily stated, “I can’t sleep in the same vicinity as Junsu-he stinks.”
Junsu started getting up. “I’m sorry. I promise to try eggs tomorrow. I don’t mean-”
“Junsu, lie back down and go to sleep,” Yunho ordered in a sharp tone and the ensign immediately followed the command.
“I refuse to sleep,” Jaejoong insisted. “If I fall asleep I will forget to hold my breath and I will once again be assaulted by that rancid smell!”
“Jaejoong…”
“Don’t you Jaejoong me, Yunho! And don’t you use that captain’s voice on me! It won’t work!” Jaejoong shouted. “We can walk farther down into one of the tunnels and sleep! We don’t need to stay here! We could go to a nice pool of water and relax! You know I love water!”
“No, we are not separating from the group! I have told you this repeatedly,” Yunho stated, his patience running low.
“And who declared you King?” Jaejoong asked, refusing to give in. “If I want to go down to a pool of water I will. I am the only royalty here! You are my consort at best!”
“I am going outside,” Kyuhyun, who had been trying his best to sleep, declared as he hastily got to his feet. “Maybe a dinosaur will eat me…I am sure it would be a more peaceful death than staying here and listening to this.”
Yunho’s mouth dropped open as he looked at the exasperated commander.
Kyuhyun quickly rethought his outburst and added, “If that is okay with you…Sir.”
“Yeah…it’s fine,” Yunho told the commander. “But take the phaser with you.”
Kyuhyun bent over and scooped up the phaser. “I will just be outside the cave.”
Ryeowook gave Yunho a look, seeking permission to follow after his husband. Yunho nodded his head and the doctor swiftly followed after Kyuhyun.
“What gall!” Jaejoong growled as he walked over and snatched up the pelt that Ryeowook had been resting on. “Like he and Ryeowook haven’t been having the same fight since the day I met them.”
Yunho side-eyed his mate as the Joong placed the pelt back on the ground beside Yunho and sat down on it. “So you want it now?”
Jaejoong scoffed as he motioned for his bondmate to join him. “I am tired, Yunho. You know Joongs can get tired and I can indulge myself with a little sleep if I want. This endless racket is keeping me awake. I am pregnant you know. I could give birth anytime. I need my rest, come hold me.”
**************
Ryeowook found Kyuhyun sitting on the ground leaning against the cave’s entrance. “You were being a little sassy.”
Kyuhyun patted the ground beside him and admitted, “I don’t know if sassy is the word I would use to describe my behavior but I was a little bit perturbed…but I also had an ulterior motive.”
The doctor grinned as he sat down by the commander and coyly asked, “Tell me about this ulterior motive?”
“I have noticed if you ruffle Jaejoong’s feathers he usually ends up taking the high road. He’s probably already asleep in there.”
Ryeowook quickly hid his disappointment. “That’s very insightful…I think you might be right.”
“I am,” Kyuhyun confidently stated. “This method will only work for a while though.”
“True…once Changmin is born Jaejoong will be on to you.”
“Yes, he will be,” Kyuhyun agreed as he raised an arm and draped it around Ryeowook. “Now, as to my second motivation…”
Ryeowook beamed with happiness. “And that is?”
“Some alone time…so we can we talk without prying ears.”
“Talking is good.”
“It is.”
Kyuhyun looked up at the stars and pointed out, “This is the second time you have been stranded on a planet.”
“It is.”
“It must bring back a lot of memories.”
“Not good memories.”
“I can only imagine,” Kyuhyun said, sympathizing. “You must have been fighting to keep Sulli and SooYoung alive.”
“I was,” Ryeowook agreed. “I was also struggling to keep Leeteuk alive. Their care required all of my attention for weeks.
“On the ship…it was no better. The dead were everywhere…and more were dying…it was like some living nightmare…and Heechul was no help, no help at all. I don’t know how the captain kept us alive and sane.”
“I am so sorry…you have to keep going through these things…these terrible things.”
Kyuhyun closed his eyes. “I must have been a really awful person in a previous life.”
“No,” Ryeowook disagreed. “My Grandma had a saying.”
“She had…has a lot of sayings.”
“She does, but this one I agree with,” Ryeowook told his husband. “She says God doesn’t give you more than you can handle.”
“That isn’t true,” Kyuhyun refuted. “I couldn’t handle you being gone…the thought of you being dead. Everything else life has thrown at me…I could handle, but the thought of never seeing you again…I couldn’t handle that.”
Ryeowook leaned against Kyuhyun and gently explained to his husband, “But don’t you see…that’s why he gave me back to you.”
***************************
SungGyu was sleeping soundly on the sofa.
He had collapsed on it after a grueling day in engineering, not bothering to change out of his uniform. He had only been asleep a couple of hours when the door chimed. His eyes flew open, he was immediately alert.
He got up, headed for the door, and commanded, “Open.”
The door whooshed open to show four very nervous looking ensigns. All of them were actual academy graduates, unlike SungGyu.
He recognized them as being the night crew that ran engineering. “Why are you not in engineering?”
The oldest of the ensigns, Ensign Lee, stepped forward and explained, “Commander Ji-Hoon dismissed us.”
“Dismissed you?”
The older ensign quickly nodded his head. “Yes, he dismissed all of us.”
SungGyu’s alarm grew. “When you say all of you…do you mean just the four of you?”
“No…he dismissed everyone from engineering.”
Another ensign spoke up to clarify, “He said he felt bad that we had to work so hard when others got to sleep. He told us to go get a good night’s sleep, so we could go on shore leave in the morning.”
“So who is running engineering?”
The ensigns grimaced and said together, “Commander Ji-Hoon.”
SungGyu’s tone went up several octaves as he blurted out, “Commander Ji-Hoon is the only one in engineering!”
The ensigns all nodded their heads and the oldest of them explained, “Commander Yoochun always said we should come to you with problems…and this is a big problem.”
“Crap!” was SungGyu’s only response as he pushed past the ensigns and ran down the corridor toward engineering.
WooHyun, who had been awakened by the commotion, stumbled out of the bedroom toward the door in time to see SungGyu rush off. WooHyun wiped his sleepy eyes and focused on the group of ensigns standing at the doorway. “What is going on?”
Ensign Lee explained, “Commander Ji-Hoon dismissed all of the crew working in engineering…he is attempting to run it by himself.”
Noticing the dire looks on the ensign’s faces, WooHyun quickly concluded, “And that is a bad thing?”
“It’s insane…insanely bad,” Ensign Lee quickly replied with the other ensigns vigorously nodding their heads in agreement. “Even Commander Yoochun would not have attempted it.”
“But why did you tell Ensign SungGyu and not the captain?” WooHyun asked as he anxiously looked down the corridor in the direction the other man had ran off in.
“Well…” Ensign Lee paused carefully. “The captain seems to think Commander Ji-Hoon is capable of running engineering…but neither one of them are engineers…so maybe they don’t know how dangerous it is…and it is very dangerous.”
“Crap,” WooHyun declared, echoing SungGyu as he took off after his roommate.
WooHyun sped down the corridor toward the lift, almost barreling into Ensign Henry as they both barged into the lift at the same time. Henry immediately ordered the lift to take them to the lower levels where the engineering department was.
“Henry, did someone tell you what is going on?”
“Yes,” Henry gasped, catching his breath. “SungGyu just called me…apparently Commander Ji-Hoon is running engineering by himself…and that is crazy. He isn’t an engineer, not even close…plus, he’s squirrely in the head.”
WooHyun darted his eyes at the frantic engineering prodigy. “It will be okay. I am sure you two can handle him.”
“I am not sure,” Henry admitted. “I can’t imagine that he’d let them go…so they could have a break. He has to have something in mind…some ulterior motive and that scares me.”
WooHyun’s concern grew. “What do you mean?”
The lift opened and Henry hurried out with WooHyun right behind him. “I mean he is crazy. Like, really crazy and he has the power to do anything in engineering…anything he wants.”
WooHyun thought back to all the times Commander Ji-Hoon had met with Dr. Heechul behind closed doors. “Do you think he-”
WooHyun stopped midsentence as red lights starting flashing and the ship’s computer announced, “RED ALERT! RED ALERT! WARP CORE BREACH IMMEDIATE. ALL HANDS ABANDON SHIP. ALL HANDS ABANDON SHIP.”
“Fuck!” Henry exclaimed and increased his pace to engineering only to be stopped by the confinement field that was now isolating engineering from the rest of the ship. “This is exactly what I feared.”
WooHyun reached out and touched the field and immediately jerked his hand back after being shocked. “We have to get to SungGyu”
Henry shook his head and he tried to catch a glance of what was going on inside engineering. “We can’t with the force field up.”
“Will the force field protect the ship?”
“No,” Henry answered. “It might give us an extra couple of seconds at most to evacuate the ship, but that is all. Nothing will protect us if the antimatter containment field is lost. If anti-matter and normal matter come in contact the explosion will be catastrophic and the ship will be destroyed.”
“I have to get in there.”
“You can’t.”
“No, you don’t understand. I have to get in there,” WooHyun insisted as he walked over to the emergency medical station located in the wall and grabbed a med kit. “If Commander Ji-Hoon is crazy, then maybe I can help.”
“No, you don’t understand. I couldn’t get you in there even if I wanted to,” Henry tried to explain. “I can’t drop this force field and you can’t beam through it.”
“I thought you were some kind of engineering genius? Surely you can get me in there,” a desperate WooHyun pleaded. “You have to try! He needs my help-he needs your help!”
A rattled Henry quickly explained, “I am a genius, but even if I could somehow pull off the impossible and beam you inside there…the transporters are all being used by people evacuating the ship…which is exactly what we should be doing.”
“No,” WooHyun stated defiantly. “I won’t abandon him. I know he is in there trying to save the ship…and he needs our help!”
Henry rubbed his head, focusing his mind on finding a solution to their problem. “I know…it’s just…it’s...”
“It’s what?” WooHyun asked as he noticed a change in the other man.
The progeny quickly headed toward a console and mumbled under his breath as his ran mental calculations in his head, “Perhaps I could weaken the force field just enough for you to pass through it.”
“Now, that is what I am talking about!”
**********************
“Ah, Lieutenant Donghae and Ensign Jonghyun, you two have finally arrived. Were you the last to abandon ship?”
Lieutenant Donghae, who had just beamed down to Zilax from the Expectations, answered, “No, Doctor Nam and Ensign Henry are still aboard the ship…they refused to be beamed down…since Ensign SungGyu was still aboard.”
“I understand,” Captain Leeteuk, who was surrounded by anxious crew members, answered in a mournful tone. “It is understandable; loyalty is an admirable characteristic among the brave. It is hard to leave a man behind, especially a friend.”
Ensign Eunhyuk grudgingly added, “And let’s not forget Commander Ji-Hoon who is still aboard the ship sabotaging it.”
Lieutenant Yesung, who was standing beside Eunhyuk, looked past the crowd gathered around Leeteuk to where Heechul was monitoring Sulli’s stasis chamber and mumbled under his breath, “Too bad nobody noticed he was bat-shit crazy.”
Lieutenant Donghae followed Yesung’s gaze but said nothing.
“I should have stayed on board,” Ensign Jonghyun said in a voice of regret. “I could have helped. I should be there with them. I shouldn’t be here.”
“Nonsense,” Ensign Minho told his friend as he walked up to stand beside him. “Ensign Henry is completely capable of running the transporters and Ensign SungGyu, too.”
“No, I still should have stayed. You don’t understand…” Jonghyun paused to look at Eunhyuk. “We are a team.”
Eunhyuk swallowed guiltily as he met the young transporter ensign’s gaze, knowing exactly how the other man felt.
Ensign Kangin, who stood beside the captain, eyed their leader critically. “Captain, why are you here?”
Leeteuk turned his focus on Kangin. “Perhaps, by any chance, did you miss the announcement about a pending warp core breach?”
Kangin did not bother to hide his scorn. “So you left the ship’s fate in the hands of two green ensigns and a doctor we picked up on some backwards planet?”
Leeteuk’s eyes slightly narrowed, but his voice remained calm. “Two engineering ensigns…who are far from green and who volunteered to stay behind. I am no engineer. What could I possibly contribute to the situation?”
Kangin just stared at the captain, unable to believe his ears.
Sungmin, who was on the other side of Leeteuk, immediately spoke up on the captain’s behalf. “Ensign Kangin, surely you don’t believe in that old saying that a captain must go down with the ship.”
Kangin, who had never liked Sungmin to begin with, sneered at him. “Yeah, I do. Maybe the captain could talk some sense into Commander Ji-Hoon…provide some leadership. Forgive me if I still believe the captain should be braver than two low ranking-”
“Kangin, let’s take a walk,” Lieutenant SooYoung stated firmly as she took Kangin by the hand.
Kangin whirled around having not even noticed the female lieutenant was nearby. “Why? Is it because I’m saying what everyone else is thinking…well everybody except for that weasel Sungmin? Commander Ji-Hoon should have never been in charge of engineering! Hell, he wasn’t an engineer to begin with!”
“Please!” SooYoung insisted as Ensigns Minho, DongWoo and MyungSoo appeared at her side.
Ensign DongWoo pleaded, “Sir, let us all take a walk, please.”
Sungmin, who was still standing beside Leeteuk, watched as Kangin was practically dragged off by the others. “Sir, I am so sorry. Should I do something?”
A slightly amused Leeteuk just shook his head. “Lieutenant Sungmin, it is a dire circumstance and he is still suffering from the loss of his closest friends. No doubt he is thinking the late Commander Jung would never have abandoned ship. His behavior is completely understandable.”
Sungmin frowned.
“Well, except the part where he called you a weasel. That was entirely inappropriate…you are exceptionally loyal and hardworking. You have absolutely nothing in common with weasels.”
**************
Ryeowook’s body slightly shook as he inhaled a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
For hours on end he had been fighting a constant battle to keep Junsu alive; a battle he had thought he had lost more than once.
Night had fallen on the portion of the planet they inhabited and the only light inside the cave was provided by the heated rocks. They all surrounded the critically ill man, safeguarding him.
Yunho, who sat across from Ryeowook, was holding Junsu’s hand as he watched the younger man’s chest rise and fall. “He really is breathing…he’s breathing.”
“Yes,” the doctor answered softly.
Hours earlier Junsu had taken a bite of eggs and only seconds later he had been gasping for breath as a severe allergic reaction attempted to rob him of life.
All the crew had taken turns breathing for the younger man as Ryeowook struggled to keep his heart going and his mind undamaged. He had to call upon every piece of medical knowledge he had ever learned…while being without any of the advanced medical equipment he so desperately needed.
Jaejoong, who was on Yunho’s left, asked, “Is he breathing through his mouth or the hole in his neck?”
“Through his mouth,” Ryeowook replied as he forced his hands to stop shaking. He took a small piece of uniform that had been cut off, sterilized by the phaser, and placed it over the hole in Junsu’s neck. “The swelling is down.”
Yoochun, who was sitting on Yunho’s right side, said nothing as he just stared at the younger man that had almost died several times during the day.
“Human life is so fragile…” Jaejoong declared, shaking his head. “You all should have Joong mates.”
Yunho leaned over and kissed his lover on the cheek. “Are you going to fix them up with some Joongs?”
Jaejoong met his lover’s gaze. “I might…it is very discomforting how you people are always trying to die. This is not the first time Junsu has almost died in my presence.”
“No,” Yunho agreed, looking back down at the ensign, who was steadily breathing on his own. “Vampires and eggs are not his friends.”
“Don’t forget, Changmin almost killed him on Belara,” Jaejoong reminded his mate.
Yunho looked at Ryeowook, remembering the other lives that had been in danger that day. “I haven’t forgotten.”
“And then there is you…you are always trying to die.”
“I am not always trying to die,” Yunho protested. “Can we not have this conversation again?”
“Yes, we are having it. You are always trying to die…if it were not for my healing abilities you would be dead by now. Like I said, humans are fragile.”
“I am not fragile.”
Kyuhyun, who was sitting by the doctor, ignored the couple and leaned in to whisper, “Is it safe for you to take a bit of a break?”
Ryeowook turned to look at Kyuhyun. “A bit?”
Kyuhyun encircled Ryeowook’s wrist with his hand. “Just for a few minutes.”
“Okay…” Ryeowook said hesitantly as he turned to face Yunho. “He should be fine…I will be back shortly. If anything changes…just yell for me.”
“I will,” Jaejoong replied for Yunho. “I will yell loudly, very loudly.”
“Go take a break,” Yunho told Ryeowook. “You deserve it.”
Ryeowook reluctantly got to his feet with Kyuhyun’s help. He felt unsteady, as if his legs weren’t touching the ground. He knew he was feeling the aftereffects of the enormous adrenaline rush he had been on.
Kyuhyun led him away from the others and into one of the tunnels that led to one of the hot springs that was further back in the cave. Ryeowook stopped and tugged on his husband’s arm. “I can’t be that far away. I wouldn’t feel right.”
The light was dim but Ryeowook could see Kyuhyun nod his head in agreement as he gently pushed Ryeowook up against the wall of the cave.
He opened his mouth to object but before he could say a word Kyuhyun’s mouth collided with his and all his protests fell away. The kiss was perfect and as sweet as any from their past. It didn’t hold any of the anger, blame, or hurt that had discolored all of their encounters since Sungmin had confessed all his sins in a fever induced delirium. The last two years of misery fell away and sweetness gave way to welcomed passion.
With one kiss he knew everything would be all right. For so long he had feared that this part of their relationship was lost, but as the intensity of the kiss built he knew he had been mistaken.
Memories of their first real kiss flashed in his mind and all the vows they had ever made to each other were reaffirmed. He felt the promise of the future; a future he would share with the only man he had ever loved, or would ever love.
Kyuhyun pulled away from the kiss and Ryeowook quickly leaned forward, searching for more of the beloved lips he had so desperately missed. Kyuhyun just smiled, pushing him back against the wall as he dropped to his knees. Ryeowook froze in anticipation as he felt Kyuhyun slide his pants down past his knees. Before he had time to even articulate a thought, Kyuhyun’s mouth was on him.
It has been too long, much too long.
Tears glided down his cheeks as happiness, relief, and passion all blurred into one overwhelming emotion. It was over almost before it started; Ryeowook cried out as Kyuhyun quickly brought him to climax. The stress he had been burdened with during the day…for the past few years slipped away as his whole body shuddered with release. His legs turned to jelly and his knees buckled as the tension left his body. He would have fallen if Kyuhyun hadn’t caught him and slowly lowered him to the ground.
Ryeowook sat in a blissful daze as Kyuhyun swiftly refastened his pants. His mind was unable to compute the miracle that had just happened.
Kyuhyun sat down beside him and asked, “Feel better?”
Ryeowook leaned against his husband and smiled brightly. “Yes…God, yes.”
Kyuhyun chuckled, wrapped an arm around his husband, and pulled him close. “Good.”
“I just…I just…thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me.”
“I…feel…feel…like I should…because…thank you. I should-”
“You should continue being amazing,” Kyuhyun said, interrupting the other man. “You are amazing.”
Ryeowook turned his head to look Kyuhyun in the face. He let out a small whimper when even through the dimness of the cave he could see the look of love and pride emanating from Kyuhyun’s face. Ryeowook reached up and wiped the side of Kyuhyun’s mouth. “I love you.”
“And I love you.”
“We are…we really are fixed?”
“Yeah.”
“We should have gotten stranded sooner.”
Kyuhyun laughed. “Now we know.”
“Next time we have martial problems we know what-”
“No,” Kyuhyun stated firmly, interrupting Ryeowook. “There will be no more. It isn’t allowed.”
“Agreed…no more.”
“Never, ever…” Kyuhyun vowed as he leaned forward and kissed his husband tenderly on the lips. Ryeowook kissed him back and secretly wished they could stay in the moment forever, but he knew better.
With deep regret Ryeowook groaned, hating himself as he broke free from the kiss and whined apologetically, “I have to get back…Junsu is too unstable for me to be away for this long.”
“I know,” Kyuhyun replied, standing up and reaching out his hand for his husband. “I hate it, but I completely understand.”
Ryeowook took Kyuhyun’s hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. “I really wish we…we had more time.”
Kyuhyun squeezed Ryeowook’s hand and led him back toward the others. “We will make time…we will.”
Ryeowook couldn’t stop smiling. “Do you think they heard?”
Kyuhyun looked down at his shorter husband. “They heard…you were kinda loud.”
Ryeowook stopped in his tracks and cringed. “It had been…a long…long time.”
“I know; believe me, I know,” Kyuhyun replied as he pushed Ryeowook toward the others. “You have to face them.”
“Oh, they are going to give me hell.”
“Well, Yoochun will,” Kyuhyun conceded.
“And Jaejoong, too.”
“You still have to face them…for Junsu.”
“I know,” the doctor agreed, then inhaled a deep breath and cast his embarrassment aside, refusing to let anything or anyone dampen the happiness he was feeling. He resolutely walked into the area of the cave the crew had made their home. He found Yoochun and Jaejoong sitting together with their arms tightly folded against their chests; they resembled pouting children who had just been scolded. Yunho, who was standing over them, looked at Kyuhyun and Ryeowook as they returned. “Doctor, he hasn’t woken up yet.”
“That’s good, he needs his rest,” Ryeowook stated as he sat back down by Junsu. “His breathing is still good.”
Kyuhyun sat down beside his husband. Yoochun and Jaejoong remained silent, like well-behaved children. Yunho hovered over them and said hopefully, “Nope, it hasn’t changed at all. Hopefully, the worst is over.”
The doctor smiled and glanced at Kyuhyun before declaring, “The worst is definitely over.”
*********************
SungGyu was pretty sure his number one life motto was about to be broken in a glorious fashion.
Commander Ji-Hoon had a maniacal look on his face and none of SungGyu’s reasonable words were penetrating through his madness. The commander was carefully balancing himself, while standing on the protective railing that surrounded the warp core. The hatch to the reaction chamber was wide open and SungGyu couldn’t even imagine what the commander had done.
“WARP CORE BREACH IMMINENT. ALL HANDS ABANDON SHIP. ALL HANDS ABANDON SHIP,” the computer announced.
“I will be free…free…free…free…free…” Commander Ji-Hoon sang. “I will finally be free. Free! Free!”
SungGyu was at the control panel closest to the warp core and the calculations that had been entered to bypass the ship’s safety measures were beyond his understanding. He was confidant they were also beyond the commander’s ability. “Sir, where did you get these calculations?”
“Free…free…free…free,” the commander continued to sing, ignoring the ensign. “Free…free…no more nothing…free…free.”
SungGyu hurried away from the control panel, rushed to the commander, and jerked him down from the railing. “Sir, I do not have time for this, stop this! Tell me how to stop the breach.”
“No!” Commander Ji-Hoon screamed as he pulled a concealed phaser out from underneath his clothing. “No! You can’t stop it! I will finally be free! It will be over! Even I can’t survive this!”
“Sir, nobody can survive this,” SungGyu stated, attempting to remain calm as he backed away. “You will destroy the ship.”
“I don’t care! I don’t care! It will be over! I don’t care about this stupid vessel or the measly lives on it! My suffering will be over!” the crazed commander yelled as he turned to aim his phaser at the reaction chamber. “If I fire this inside the chamber it will all be over even quicker. It will finally be over…all the nothingness will be over. They won’t stop me! They won’t!”
SungGyu stared at the phaser that was set on vaporize and struggled to think of a solution to the problem that did not end with his death and the destruction of the ship. “Sir, please don’t. You don’t have to do this.”
Commander Ji-Hoon smiled as he glanced back at SungGyu, while keeping the phaser aimed at the reaction chamber. “You are lucky you will soon be dead…you will never know my suffering. Goodbye archaic-”
Then to SungGyu’s great relief and surprise, before Commander Ji-Hoon could fire the phaser his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the deck. Unbeknownst to SungGyu, WooHyun had snuck up behind Commander Ji-Hoon while the other two men had had their confrontation. He had smoothly injected the insane commander with a powerful sedative without ever being detected.
“WooHyun!” SungGyu exclaimed as he swooped down, grabbed the phaser, and ran back to the engineering control panel. “If had time I’d hug you.”
“Rain check, then.”
“If we live.”
“If we live,” WooHyun repeated as he knelt down beside the commander, whose eyes were open and whose whole body was twitching. “He should be unconscious…I gave him enough to knock ten men out.”
“All of this is beyond me,” SungGyu declared as he stared helplessly at the controls, unable to stop the warp core breach. “How did he manage to accomplish this? He didn’t know enough…he barely knew anything about engineering. I can’t make sense of any of it.”
“You will think of something,” WooHyun replied distractedly as he pressed his hand against the commander’s chest to calm him. “Commander, calm down.”
“Not me! Not Me! Not me!” Commander Ji-Hoon shrieked as WooHyun touched him. “Please stop, not me!” The commander cried one last time before his whole body began to seize uncontrollably.
WooHyun pulled out another hypospray and injected the seizing man again. Commander Ji-Hoon immediately lost consciousness and stopped seizing.
“I can’t stop it…I can’t…” SungGyu admitted, shaking his head.
WooHyun looked at the ensign. “What are you saying?”
“You have to take Commander Ji-Hoon and get off this ship. I can’t stop the breach,” SungGyu replied, not taking his eyes off the controls. “He used some code that is far beyond my engineering abilities. I can’t stop this. It won’t even allow me to eject the warp core.”
WooHyun jumped to his feet, registering what the other man was telling him. “We all need to leave.”
“I have to try to stop this.”
“You just said you can’t!”
“But I still have to try!”
The computer immediately announced, “Warp Core breach in sixty seconds.”
“Like the hell you do, we are leaving,” WooHyun declared as he headed toward SungGyu, ready to drag him to the transporters.
“Or I could take a look,” Ensign Henry blurted out as he rushed to SungGyu’s side.
“Warp Core breach in fifty seconds.”
SungGyu’s mouth fell open as he backed away from the controls to let the engineering prodigy take over.
“Warp Core breach in forty seconds.”
WooHyun walked over to SungGyu, took his hand and squeezed it. They both watched as Henry’s hands flew over the control panel.
“Warp Core breach in thirty seconds.”
No one dared to breathe or say a word.
“Warp Core breach in twenty seconds,” the computer announced as it continued to count down to the ship’s destruction.
Ensign Henry’s mind raced as his hands struggled to keep pace with it.
SungGyu kept his eyes locked on Henry, willing him to do the impossible. WooHyun closed his eyes, forced regrets from his mind and said a small goodbye to the short life he had lived.”
“Warp Core Breach in ten seconds…9…8…7…6…5…4…Warp Core stabilized and ship out of danger.”