Finders keepers for mutantbic
For: mutantbic
Title: Finders Keepers
Pairing(s): Chanyeol/Chen
Rating: PG-13
Warning(s): language, gun fights, criminal activity
Length: 10.2k
Summary: Chanyeol was supposed to raid the abandoned ship for food supplies, not bring back a stray that may not be as innocent as his smile suggests.
Author's note: Firefly/spaceoutlaws!au. To my recipient - thank you so much for the amazing prompts! I was scared to do a complete Firefly!au in case I messed up details, so this is a mix of Firefly!au and general spaceoutlaws!au. I hope that’s okay! Also, I’m sorry this turned out more fluff than action?
For controlling such a large part of space, Chanyeol doesn’t really understand why the Alliance carries such horrible food on its ships.
He pouts as he opens yet another box of protein bars, the third one he’s uncovered in the five minutes he’s been in the dining area. It’s been a long time since they’ve had a feast of any kind, not since Baekhyun wasted an entire job’s pay on beef and Kyungsoo confiscated all financial responsibilities from him. The beef had been amazing and Chanyeol would gladly give up his pay for the next three jobs just to taste it again. Their kitchen holds stocks of mostly Alliance food though, scavenged from abandoned ships that float around the edges of Alliance space and sometimes just outside of it. The Alliance calls them criminals for it, for raiding dead ships without the proper license to do so, but, in Chanyeol’s opinion, if the Alliance hasn’t sent anyone out to retrieve it, then they must not need it that badly. Baekhyun likes to refer to their little group as ghost hunters, adventurers who explore the spooky places everyone else is afraid to, and anything found abandoned is fair game.
Finders keepers, losers weepers, and all.
The ship they’re currently rummaging through is extremely spooky though, with red emergency lights that flash along the walls every few seconds and put Chanyeol’s nerves on edge. They light up silhouettes against the wall that he swears weren’t there a moment ago and the stillness of the air makes the creaking of the ship echo even louder, as if it’s growling at him in warning. Normally he stays behind, tucked safely away on the bridge of their ship while Baekhyun and Kyungsoo brave the unknown. But this Alliance ship is larger than normal, with enough supplies to support dozens of crew members, and an extra hand was needed to get the job done quickly.
He’ll never show or admit it to Baekhyun or Kyungsoo, but a part of him is terrified when they come across one of these unknown ships. There could be a multitude of reasons as to why a ship suddenly has no crew, and thoughts of a captain gone mad and still lurking in the shadows, a deadly disease still lingering in the air and poisoning his lungs with every breath he takes, or a violent attack by a species waiting just outside the airlocks go through Chanyeol’s mind as he slides another box of protein bars next to the ones he’s already found. At least they sell for a decent price. Settlements on the outer planets are always more than happy to have food to feed their populations, legal or not.
There’s a loud clatter that vibrates through the air and his hand stills as it reaches for another box. A curse that sounds a lot like Baekhyun follows it and Chanyeol’s hand drops limply, the breath he’d been holding let out slowly in relief. The quicker he went, the quicker he could be back in his haven and speeding them far away from this place. The flap is already open on this box and it holds packages of what look like, wafers? Cookies? No, he can’t get his hopes up. His mouth waters anyway as he picks one of the packages up to inspect.
“Those aren’t nearly as good as they look.”
Chanyeol gives a startled cry and whirls around, hands trembling as he shines his flashlight rapidly in the direction of the voice. “Baekhyun? Kyungsoo?”
“Whoa!”
His light passes by the countertop and makes the figure sitting on it flinch away and scrunch its eyes at the sudden brightness. It’s neither Baekhyun, nor Kyungsoo, and Chanyeol pulls his pistol out from the holster at his waist. “H-How long have you been sitting there?”
“Long enough. Can you please?” The figure motions downward with its arm and Chanyeol slowly complies, keeping the flashlight at its feet which swing back and forth in the air. The figure’s face is a mixture of dim lighting, shadows and a red glow from the emergency lights, but Chanyeol can see that it’s a young man who doesn’t look nearly as afraid as Chanyeol feels at the moment. In fact, he looks quite comfortable on his perch and a small voice in Chanyeol’s head reminds him this could be a captain gone mad.
“Who are you and where did the rest of the people on this ship go?”
“I’m Kim Jongdae.” He holds out a hand to shake, which Chanyeol ignores. “As for everyone else, I think they left on the life boats? There don’t seem to be any left, so, yeah?”
“So why are you still here?”
Jongdae laughs, the sound bouncing off the steel walls and making Chanyeol’s nerves tingle with warning. “That’s a long story. I’ll tell you another time maybe?”
“No, thank you.” Chanyeol slowly picks up the box and edges away from Jongdae, deciding to sacrifice the protein bars even if it means an earful from Kyungsoo later. He’s sure Kyungsoo would appreciate their pilot returning to the ship alive over losing a little money. Maybe.
Holding the box, pistol and flashlight make his movements awkward as he backs up towards the direction he’d come from, all while Jongdae sits on the countertop watching him curiously, legs still swinging gently in the air. It’s unnerving, and his grip on the box slips for a moment and forces him to lift a knee to regroup. The second he rounds the corner, Chanyeol turns and half walks, half runs towards the ship. His heart thumps rapidly in his chest and part of him wants to look over his shoulder to see if he’s being followed, but the other part is too afraid of the answer to follow through with it.
He nearly trips over the lip of the cargo bay door as he crosses into the safety of their ship, letting the box fall to the floor and following soon after when his knees finally give out on him. The flashlight is tossed aside and forgotten as he digs into his pocket for the communicator. “Guys, get back to the ship now!”
It takes a moment before Baekhyun’s voice crackles back with a, “Why? What’s wrong?” and Chanyeol has his hand on the button, ready to respond, when a second box suddenly gets dropped to the ground in front of him. A shriek is what’s sent back to Baekhyun, followed by the communicator tumbling from his grasp as Chanyeol scrambles backwards on his haunches.
“Why did you take the one box I told you wasn’t very good?” Jongdae asks, hands on his hips as he stares down at Chanyeol, amused. “There’s soup in this one. Wouldn’t you rather have that?” Chanyeol looks around for the communicator and remembers the pistol in his hand, aiming it much too late at Jongdae, who is walking deeper into the cargo bay and looking around. “It’s kind of empty in here but it’ll do.”
Chanyeol narrows his eyes, all kinds of horrible scenarios running through his mind. “It’ll do for what?”
“For a home.” Jongdae’s smiling softly and running his hand over the land speeder and Chanyeol blinks uncomfortably, at a loss for how to handle the situation.
“Um, you can’t really… stay here.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, we’re not allowed to bring on additional crew without Kyungsoo’s permission. There’s been some…. incidents in the past.”
“Is Kyungsoo your captain?”
Chanyeol snorts. “He’d like to be. Baekhyun’s the captain but he gets us into awkward situations. Makes things difficult sometimes.” He leaves out the fact that the rule had been imposed because of his own indiscretions. “I’ll get in a lot of trouble if he sees you here, so I hope you can understand.”
“You’re taking my food and leaving me alone in the middle of nowhere on a dead ship to rot for eternity just so you don’t get in trouble, and you hope I can understand?”
“Um, well, when you put it that way…” He gulps and scrambles to his feet as Jongdae advances towards him.
“If you leave me to die, I swear I will cross the universe and hunt you down and haunt you every day for the rest of your life.” Jongdae’s hand clasps around his and the pistol, which Chanyeol, again, remembers far too late, frozen stiff instead under the intensity of Jongdae’s eyes. They kind of sparkle, like he thinks a raging captain’s would when he corners his prey.
“Chanyeol!”
He looks over to see Baekhyun and Kyungsoo run breathlessly into the cargo bay and he wants to melt with relief.
“What’s going on? What happened?”
Kyungsoo has guns in both hands which he immediately trains on Jongdae, then switches one to Chanyeol once he takes in the situation. “Are you kidding me? What did I tell you about bringing strays onto this ship? Didn’t you learn your lesson with Jongin?”
Chanyeol splutters. “I didn’t! It’s not!”
“He locked us in our rooms and left you naked and tied to your chair and stole our shuttle! Which we still haven’t been able to replace!”
Jongdae raises an eyebrow at him and Chanyeol’s cheeks burn because it’s not a memory he wants to remember ever again (the end anyways, the rest of his memories of Jongin were nice). “Like you weren’t pining after him as well.” Chanyeol mumbles instead and Kyungsoo starts to move forward but is stopped by Baekhyun’s arm.
“Not on my ship.” He warns them both in a serious tone he rarely uses. Kyungsoo lowers his guns immediately and Chanyeol looks away uncomfortably, like a child being scolded. “Now, you,” Baekhyun points to Jongdae, who flinches and drops his hand from Chanyeol’s. “What’s your name?”
“J-Jongdae.”
“Are you with the Alliance?”
“No.”
“Do you have any problem with us taking everything valuable from your ship and selling it, in exchange for room and board on our ship?”
“No.”
“Great!” Baekhyun claps his hands once. “Then we have no problems here. Let’s get our stuff loaded and go get paid.”
Chanyeol gets put on cleaning duty, even though Kyungsoo is completely aware that it wasn’t Chanyeol’s fault Jongdae joined their crew. The engine room is disgusting because the three of them avoid cleaning it until it visibly starts to affect their travels, and doing the job solo leaves Chanyeol with grease stains up his arms and down the front of his shirt. He tries to wipe as much off him with a towel as he can while he walks back to the bridge but he still feels the sticky residue clinging to his skin.
It’s quiet, probably past midnight if he has to guess, and he takes a detour into the kitchen for a small snack. Kyungsoo and Baekhyun are probably sleeping and won’t even know. They’re not allowed to touch the food they’ll be selling when they reach the settlement, but Jongdae had convinced Baekhyun the packages of what Chanyeol now knows are biscuits were no good to sell, so he grabs one and heads towards the bridge again. The biscuits are kind of stale and bland, but they’re enough to settle his growling stomach. He shoves two in his mouth and munches happily as he steps through the doorway.
His pilot’s chair turns around suddenly and he jumps backward in surprise, spitting out some crumbs along with a gasp. “I thought everyone was asleep.”
Jongdae smiles and glances over towards the windows. “I just wanted to look at the view for awhile. Remind myself we’re really moving and I’m not just seeing the same stars every night.” He looks back at Chanyeol and scrunches his nose up when he sees the biscuits. “Don’t tell me you actually like those?”
“They’re okay.” Chanyeol pops another in his mouth just to show he’s fine with them and waves with one hand for Jongdae to get out of his seat. As Jongdae settles into the co-pilot’s chair, Chanyeol notices one of his hands is holding Chanyeol’s Velociraptor, with his Pteranodon caught in its mouth. “Why are you making Iggy eat Taz? They’re friends.”
Jongdae stares at him, then down at the dinosaurs. “They have names?”
“Iggy, Taz, Hero and Constance.” Chanyeol points to the two in Jongdae’s hands and the other two still sitting on the navigation console where he had left them. “Constance and Iggy go at it sometimes, but there’s no eating each other on this ship.”
“Sorry?” Jongdae separates the two dinosaurs and puts them back with the others, folding his hands on his lap where Chanyeol could see them.
There’s a nebula off in the distance, it’s purple and blue hues glowing brightly and newly-born stars glittering against the black backdrop of space, and Chanyeol leans back in his chair comfortably as he watches it. For all the time they spend off the ground, it never gets monotonous to him. There’s so many people they meet in settlements and cities that have never left their little worlds and don’t know the breathtaking views they’re missing. Chanyeol’s parents had been among those, and Chanyeol would have been as well had he never spilled cheap red wine on Baekhyun’s shoes and gained an instant friend. Baekhyun was always talking about exploring the universe but Chanyeol hadn’t thought he was completely serious until he showed up at Chanyeol’s door one day with a grin and a ship.
Now it’s Chanyeol’s home, the universe his backyard. The ship’s flight controls are fitted to his grip and he instinctively knows how much push and pull to give them, knows how close he can push the limits of the engine when they outrun Alliance ships, knows the right touch for the gentlest of landings. He wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else, with anyone else. For all of the trouble he causes, Baekhyun is good at reading people and Chanyeol knows Kyungsoo’s got his back without question, and they, in turn, know that Chanyeol will get them there and back safely.
“Sorry you got in trouble.”
“Hmm?” Chanyeol looks over at Jongdae.
“I’m sorry you got in trouble because of me. I didn’t think you were serious about that.”
“Oh. It’s okay. The place needs to be cleaned anyway and someone has to do it.”
Jongdae, though, Chanyeol is unsure of. He frequents Chanyeol’s pilot’s chair like he’s keeping it warm until he comes back, laughs with Baekhyun like a long lost friend, and ruffles Kyungsoo’s hair like a diver completely unafraid of touching a shark. He fits so seamlessly onto the ship and yet Chanyeol still finds himself on edge around him, watching his every movement from the corner of his eye because for all of Jongdae’s easy laughs and smiles, Chanyeol knows nothing about him. Jongdae talks about food and stars and being alone, but never his family or origins or even birthdate. He likes to stare and wink at and tease Chanyeol, but curls back in on himself when Chanyeol stares back.
Like now, as Chanyeol gets lost in thought while holding Jongdae’s gaze, and the other looks back out the window, drawing his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on them. Chanyeol wants to ask where Jongdae was born, why he was alone on that ship, how long he’s planning to stay with them and where he’s going to get off at. He wants to know what Jongdae’s thinking about when he looks out Chanyeol’s backyard and stares so seriously at the sprawling nothingness.
Chanyeol doesn’t though, because the atmosphere on the ship is nice and quiet tonight. He holds one of the biscuits in front of him and frowns. “These tasted alright at first, but after awhile they’re kind of blah.”
“Told you so. I don’t know why you were so determined to not believe me.”
Chanyeol shrugs and tosses the half eaten package next to the dinosaurs. “Food is a personal preference. Baekhyun likes to mix the canned vegetables together in a bowl of mush and we judge him constantly for it. You can judge me for thinking these biscuits are okay if you want.”
“Offer accepted.” Jongdae turns to smile at him, looking a little sleepy with one cheek pressed against his knees and the corners of his mouth turned up lazily. Chanyeol’s left again feeling unsure of Jongdae, unsure if he should let his guard down or keep it up protectively.
He settles for looking at the window instead, watching the last colors of the nebula pass by. “You should get some sleep. It’s pretty late.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll nap in awhile.”
Jongdae looks unconvinced, but gets up anyway and walks over to the door, stopping just for a moment to say, “Good night,” and leaving Chanyeol alone with his unasked questions and curiosities.
When they arrive at the settlement, Chanyeol and Jongdae stay back to watch the ship while Baekhyun and Kyungsoo take the land speeder to sell the food boxes and restock. It’ll be hours before they’re back, so Chanyeol pulls out the folding lounge chairs and sets them up on the cargo bay ramp with Jongdae’s help. Although the sand and dunes they’ve landed near are not the most exciting backdrop, this galaxy’s sun is high in the sky and it’s been so, so long since Chanyeol has felt its warmth. Even longer for Jongdae.
“This is the life.” Jongdae comments as he lays sprawled out, eyes closed peacefully and hands dangling over the sides. There’s a patch of sunscreen above his eyebrow that hasn’t been rubbed in all the way and Chanyeol should let him know, but he leaves it be.
“We should stay here for a night or two. We can have a bonfire and star-gaze and sleep outside.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever slept outside before.”
“Never?” He looks over at Jongdae, who shakes his head and stays silent, lost in something Chanyeol wishes he’d share. “That settles it then. We’re sleeping outside tonight.”
Jongdae says nothing, but has a smile on his face and Chanyeol has at least one new piece of information about him to consider the day a victory. He stretches out on the chair and settles his arms behind his head as he closes his eyes as well. It’s easy to drift off to the peace and quiet and warm sunshine, with solid, stable ground under him instead of the hum and vibration of the engine keeping them floating and moving forward. Minutes turn into hours without him being aware, and he only comes to again when Jongdae shakes him violently. He blinks and starts to ask why when the communicator next to him buzzes frantically to life.
“Fucking hell, Park Chanyeol! Where you are?”
He sits up so quickly he nearly smacks his head into Jongdae’s and grabs the device. “What’s wrong?”
“Baekhyun’s fucking mouth is what’s wrong!”
“I said I’m sorry!” Chanyeol can hear Baekhyun in the background through the rustling of wind and gunshots, before Kyungsoo is speaking to him again.
“Just get the ship ready to leave right now and get Jongdae a gun. We’re almost there.”
“Okay.”
Chanyeol stuffs the communicator into his pocket and drags his chair back inside behind Jongdae. Their weapons locker is kept behind a false wall panel, designed to maintain the ship’s appearance as a simple, harmless transporter, and Chanyeol pries it off. After the Jongin incident, Kyungsoo had installed a security lock so nobody but the three of them could access it, but Chanyeol doesn’t bother shielding it from Jongdae as he punches in the numbers and tugs on the handle to open it. He takes a pistol for himself and tries to hand another one to Jongdae but gets his hand pushed away. Jongdae grabs the sniper rifle instead and extra cartridges and walks back over to the ramp.
“Are you sure you…” Chanyeol trails off when Jongdae looks up at him with a grin and loads a cartridge into the chamber, the loud click as it locks into place at odds with his innocent demeanor.
“You should get the ship ready.”
“Okay.” Chanyeol says unsurely and leaves the locker open just in case. Kyungsoo and Baekhyun can usually hold their own so he brushes off any worries about Jongdae’s abilities. He’s probably better than Chanyeol is, whose only training came from shooting tin cans right there in the cargo bay. “As soon as everyone is on board, use the speaker button over there to let me know we’re ready to hit the sky.”
“Got it.”
He gives one last look over his shoulder before racing through the ship to the bridge and dropping into his chair. His fingers fly over the knobs and buttons, flipping the switch to make the engine purrs to life before strapping the safety belt around his waist. The sun shines in through the windows and he gives it one last, longing look, filing the brief but wonderful memory away for later. It really would have been nice if they could have anchored here for a few days. His hand clenches and unclenches around the accelerator and his leg bounces with nervous energy. The bridge is too silent as he waits, and he finally pulls the communicator out of his pocket.
“Are you almost here?”
It’s Baekhyun who responds this time. “The ship is in sight. Just another moment. Holy shit! Kyungsoo, did you see-“ The communicator cuts off before Chanyeol can hear the rest and he rapidly hits the device’s button.
“See what? What happened? Baekhyun?”
No response comes.
Chanyeol’s halfway out of the safety belt when there’s a loud thud deep in the ship and he freezes as the sound of gunfire echoes through the corridor. He fixes his belt and has his hands back on the controls just as Jongdae’s voice comes over the speakers telling him to go and he wastes no time in lifting the ship off the ground and pushing the accelerator as far as he knows the ship can handle. The sand disappears beneath them and Chanyeol’s grateful he doesn’t have trees or other obstacles to worry about, just a straight shot across the dunes and into the sky.
There’s a commotion behind him as the other three come onto the bridge, Baekhyun collapsing into the co-pilots chair, out of breath but laughing from the adrenaline rush that a chase gives. Kyungsoo comes up behind him and gives the chair a violent shake. “I don’t know how you’ve even lived this long, Byun Baekhyun.”
“Friends.” Chanyeol answers for him. “Is anyone following us?”
“No, we’re good. They only had land speeders.”
He eases off the accelerator just as there’s a soft bump from the ship breaking the atmosphere and the bright sunshine streaming in the windows is replaced once more with the dark blanket of space. Chanyeol feels eyes on him and turns to see Kyungsoo staring hard. He’s about to ask what his problem is when he notices Kyungsoo’s actually staring at Jongdae instead, who is standing behind Chanyeol’s chair and completely oblivious as he looks out the window. He clears his throat and undoes his safety belt. “So did you at least stay long enough to get the money?”
“Got the money and kept half of the food. They tried to say the food wasn’t worth the price, so I only gave them what I thought their money was worth.”
“And some insults that I’m sure will make it so we can never sell in this quadrant again.” Kyungsoo adds and pulls on Baekhyun’s shirt until he’s out of the chair. “Come on. You’re cleaning up the cargo bay with me.”
Baekhyun protests as he’s dragged through the doorway and Chanyeol laughs quietly to himself when their voices carry down the corridor. At least they got paid this time. He settles more comfortably on his chair and turns the ship into the direction of a small space emporium they frequent so they can restock their supplies.
“Guess we’re not sleeping outside tonight?”
He looks over as Jongdae sits in the co-pilot’s chair, face a mirror of disappointment, and Chanyeol feels the need to make it up to him. “Sorry. We can throw blankets and pillows on the floor in here though and pretend we are. Same view of the stars, kind of. I have some awesome ghost stories to tell too.”
Jongdae stares at him for a long moment and then smiles a little and nods his head. “Okay. Just us though. The others ruined it so no star-gazing for them.”
“O-okay. Just us.” His heart is humming with excitement and he wonders why the adrenaline rush from flying the ship to safety is still lingering.
Because they didn’t make as much money off the last load as they’d have liked, Baekhyun decides to go big with the next one. There’s been talk of a pirate ship that met an unfortunate end with an Alliance attacker, its crew arrested but booty still there due to the severity of the damage it took from battle. It’s one of the scary ones, with the pop and fizz of electricity all around. There’d been a hole punctured through the side of the ship when they approached it and Chanyeol didn’t want to go anywhere near it, let alone on it, but here he is, suited up in protective gear and a helmet and taking tiny hesitant steps. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo have already ventured further in to scour for weapons and functioning engine parts, and Chanyeol has been tasked to search for money or anything else useful, though this time he at least has Jongdae walking ahead of him.
His flashlight wobbles a little in his hand as he steps carefully around fallen wall panels and displaced flooring. He’s grateful the ship’s gravity controls are still functioning or else the debris field would be a pain in the ass to work through. There’s a sudden spark to his left and Jongdae happens to be looking back at him when he jumps and yelps with surprise. The other man laughs loud enough that Chanyeol can hear it through his helmet and it does nothing to ease the discomfort he’s feeling.
“Do you need me to hold your hand?”
“No, I’m fine.” Chanyeol insists and hugs the wall tight as he slips past the exposed wiring.
“There’s nobody else here, you know?”
“That’s what we thought about the last ship. What if there’s another you lurking in the shadows, waiting to sneak up on us when we least expect it?”
Jongdae laughs again and stops in the middle of the corridor. He puts his hands on his hips and looks ridiculous because of the bulky suit. “Do you seriously think I snuck up on you on purpose? I was trying to come up with a way to tell you I was there without scaring you but there was nothing I could think of. If I’d said, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ you’d have screamed. If I’d tapped your shoulder, you’d have screamed. Even if I’d have coughed, you’d have screamed.”
“Still, you didn’t have to watch me for that long.”
“It was cute. You were pouting over protein bars and flinching every five seconds.”
Chanyeol’s face flushes at the memory and he’s suddenly happy have the helmet on so Jongdae could never know. “Was not,” is all he can mutter and he pushes past Jongdae just to prove he can handle the spooky ship. He half expects Jongdae to creep up on him from behind and scare him like Baekhyun probably would, but the opposite actually happens. Whenever he flinches at a pop echoing in the air, he feels a hand pressed against his back or hears the sound of Jongdae’s soft laughter behind him. It’s comforting and it helps him relax just a little, no longer worried that something will come up on him unexpectedly.
The captain’s quarters is in awful shape with furniture upturned and clothing scattered around. There’s an ancient sword dangling halfway off its display on the wall and Jongdae brandishes it, swiping it in an infinity sign. “This is cool. Do I look cool with it?” He doesn’t, not with the space suit, but Chanyeol gives him a big, gloved thumbs up anyways. “Nobody will sneak up on us now. I’ll just whip this out and they’ll run away.”
“Far away.” Chanyeol humors him as he rummages through a small desk. There’s no way he won’t find any money here. He crouches down, looking up from underneath it and feels around the paneling. His fingers hit a soft spot in the back and there’s a small divot just wide enough for a finger to reach under that helps him pull it off. “Jackpot.” He announces, coming up with a handful of high value Alliance currency.
Jongdae cheers, hands and sword high in the air. “We’re rich!”
“Damn, this is a lot.” Chanyeol whistles, mentally counting it all up in his head and dividing it four ways. It might be the most money he’s ever had in his life.
“We should just go after pirate ships from now on.”
“I don’t think we’ll be so lucky next time. The Alliance did most of the work with this one.”
“I could take them on.” Jongdae says, eyes twinkling in a way that seem almost excited at the prospect, but then he stabs the sword outward and Chanyeol just laughs at him.
“Yeah, I’m sure you could.”
Chanyeol’s in good spirits when they leave the room, smiling and thinking about what he should spend his cut of the money on, but turning the corridor brings him back to reality, to the random sparks of electrical bursts in the shadows and the groaning of the ship, as if it’s ready to fall apart at any second. He gulps and hesitates a moment too long. Jongdae’s hand sneaks into his and gives it a squeeze, as best as it can through the thick gloves, and Chanyeol looks to his side to see Jongdae smiling at him without fear. He takes a step forward and Chanyeol is forced to follow, telling himself it’s alright, it’s okay, he’s not alone.
Baekhyun and Kyungsoo find multiple weapons on the pirate ship and the pay from the haul is huge. They decide to blow their money on a shopping trip to one of the largest space emporiums, the kind that has five decks of shops, food and entertainment, and Chanyeol’s so excited he can barely dock the ship, the landing so rough it knocks Iggy and Taz off the console. Jongdae grabs his hand the second they disembark and doesn’t let go, which isn’t a problem except Chanyeol can’t figure out if this is like a date or something. They’ve never really discussed anything and Chanyeol himself isn’t even sure, but he does know that their hands now tangle together whenever they walk down the corridors or sit alone on the bridge, and he feels warm and fuzzy knowing that Jongdae spends most of his time up there with him. The co-pilot’s chair has become Jongdae’s chair and Chanyeol finds a little part of himself agitated whenever anyone else sits in it.
He thinks he gets his answer though a couple hours into the day when Jongdae pauses in front of a robotic pet shop and bites his lip thoughtfully. Chanyeol’s about to ask what he’s doing when Jongdae turns to him with what he’s come to refer to as Jongdae’s Special Smile, the one he shows to Chanyeol only. “Hey, let’s get a dog.”
Chanyeol’s halfway to smiling for the sake of it when he freezes. “A what?”
“A dog. Let’s get one.”
“Like, together?”
“Yeah. There’s that empty corner on the bridge that’ll be perfect for a small dog bed, and since it’s a robot we don’t have to worry about feeding it or taking it to the bathroom. It’ll be perfect for traveling on a ship.”
“Um, well.” Chanyeol had a dog once, a real one back when he lived with his parents, and he makes the mistake of looking into the window. In front of him are a dozen small dogs, all sitting and staring back at him with wagging tails and big eyes. He can’t do this. Kyungsoo will kill him, or worse, make him clean the engine permanently solo. “Sure.”
He’s tugged into the shop before he realizes what he’s said and Jongdae’s looking over his shoulder and grinning at him and he wouldn’t take it back even if he could. The dogs scamper to be near them, falling over each other like real ones do, and Chanyeol grows to like the idea as he pets their heads and feels their tongues lap at his hand, all warm and lifelike from the circuits running through them. They’re small and won’t take up much room, plus Baekhyun would be all for having one aboard, and he has the ultimate say as captain.
“Which one?” Jongdae asks.
“I don’t know. They’re all so cute. You decide.”
While most of them have been fighting for affection from Chanyeol’s hand, one light brown one with a few small splotches of white is sitting in front of Jongdae, wagging his tail expectantly, and he scoops him up. “Do you want to come home with us?” He coos at him and turns to Chanyeol with all the excitement in the universe shining from him. “This one will be ours then.”
They pick out a bed and collar and argue awhile over what name to have engraved on it, finally agreeing on Bolt because of his mechanical nature and the zig zag of white down his leg that resembles a lightning bolt. Jongdae reluctantly hands him over to the shop keeper to have his name and theirs programmed into his memory and to be delivered later to their ship, along with everything else they’d picked out.
“Thank you.” Jongdae says after they’ve left the shop, after he’s looped his arm through Chanyeol’s and pressed himself snugly against it. “I’ve always wanted a dog.”
“You have to be the one to explain this to the others though.”
“Of course.” Jongdae reaches out to pat his chest teasingly and leaves butterflies flittering around in it when he draws his hand back. “Come on. I’ll buy you a new friend for Iggy, Taz, Hero and Constance.”
The hours pass quickly and the energy and excitement wears off and gives way to growling stomachs as the emporium’s simulated sky begins to turn to dusk. They’d agreed to meet back with the others at the food plaza in the evening but they take their time getting there, pointing into shop windows and wandering lazily through the crowds, which have thinned out a bit. Chanyeol has a brand new Triceratops that Jongdae’s named Anabelle and it swings happily back and forth in the bag he’s holding. The Pre-historic Earth section in the figurine shop had been a dismal three shelves, making him think he should be buying them while he can because they’ll disappear soon to make room for more twenty-fourth century pop icons and famous captains.
He’s still lamenting on it when Jongdae suddenly gasps and fists his hand on Chanyeol’s sleeve.
“What is it?”
He points and Chanyeol follows his finger to a food stall.
“Pancakes?”
“Pancakes.” Jongdae confirms with a whisper. “I know we’re about to have dinner but, please, pancakes. It’s my favorite food, favorite everything.”
Chanyeol can smell it now that he’s aware of it, the batter, the sweet maple of syrup wafting in the air and how long has it been since he’s smelled and tasted pancakes? It’s probably been even longer for Jongdae and he’s standing in front of the stall before he even knows it, ordering two for each of them and watching with a watering mouth as the cook pours the batter into a skillet. There’s bottles of maple syrup and even strawberry, artificial though because of the rarity and expense of real fruit, and he has a battle waging in his head on which to choose.
“Fuck.” Jongdae mutters and grips his arm tightly, huddling close. “Alliance officers coming. We have to go. We can’t let them see us.”
“What? But I already paid-“
“Now.”
Jongdae pulls him away in a rush and he has no idea where they’re headed because he’s focused on not hitting anyone with his bag or tripping on his long legs. People glare at them as they push by and Chanyeol calls out apologies that he’s not sure make it to their recipients, until finally Jongdae comes to a stop in a small courtyard outside the food plaza
“We should have come here with hats or disguises or something. Shit, we’re so stupid.” Jongdae mumbles between heavy breathing.
“It’s fine. I doubt they saw us. I mean, I stand out a bit but there’s a lot of people here.” Chanyeol doesn’t know what the big deal is and when Jongdae starts to shake his head in disagreement, he reaches out and cups his hands around Jongdae’s face. “It’s fine.” He says more firmly, staring until Jongdae visibly relaxes. “They obviously didn’t see us, and even if they had, we’re just petty criminals and troublemakers. I doubt we’re important enough for them to cause a scene.”
Jongdae’s laugh is more breathy than reassured. “Yeah. You’re right.”
“What’s going- whoops, sorry, didn’t know you were having a moment.” Baekhyun’s voice comes up from behind them and Chanyeol awkwardly drops his hands, not knowing what to do with them. “We saw you rush over here suddenly and thought something was wrong.”
“We just saw some Alliance officers, that’s all.”
Baekhyun’s wearing a hat and frames that he reaches up to adjust. “Oh, so did we. Hopefully the same ones. Why didn’t you grab a hat before you left the ship?”
“Told you.” Jongdae says and pinches Chanyeol’s side, making him yelp.
“Because someone,” Chanyeol emphasizes between gritted teeth. “Was too eager to go on a date and dragged me out too quickly.”
“So I was interrupting a moment.” Baekhyun’s grin makes them both blush and Jongdae elbows Chanyeol’s arm lightly, who retaliates by wrapping his arm around Jongdae’s shoulders and trapping him against his side.
Chanyeol decides to hell with it all and announces, “Jongdae and I got a dog!” which earns outbursts and makes people look their way. He doesn’t care if they stare.
The morning of Jongdae’s four month anniversary on the ship, because he’s been counting, Chanyeol gets up early and prepares a surprise that he’s been working on for awhile. It had been difficult to gather everything he needed in secret because Jongdae is usually glued to his side, or is he glued to Jongdae’s side? He can’t really tell anymore. But he finally had everything he needed, and as he walks quietly towards the living quarters, he has no doubt that Jongdae will love it.
He rings the small bell outside Jongdae’s room and hears Bolt yapping from inside in response. It makes him tense up and look around, hoping Kyungsoo won’t poke his head out of his own room to glare at him for their dog being a nuisance. They’d already programmed his bark to be on the lowest volume, but at six in the morning it doesn’t seem to matter. As soon as he hears the click of the door unlocking, he straightens up and puts a smile on his face.
The door slides open to first revel Bolt, who scampers at Chanyeol’s feet, and then Jongdae, with hair sticking up on only one side and eyes scrunched, and Chanyeol’s heart gives a jolt so sudden and strong he nearly drops everything he’s holding. “G-good morning.” He manages. “Happy four months on the ship! And since I don’t know when your birthday is, happy birthday!”
Jongdae stares at him wordlessly for a long moment, then finally seems to snap out of it when he smells what’s on the tray in Chanyeol’s hands. “Are those…?” He steps aside so Chanyeol can come in and lets the door close behind them.
“You didn’t get to have them the other week, so I thought I would try to make them.” Chanyeol waits until Jongdae climbs back into his bed before setting the tray of pancakes in front of him and climbing in next to him as well. Bolt curls up next to them, resting his chin on Chanyeol’s outstretched leg and he gives him a few scratches. “I couldn’t find an easy way to get syrup though, so I hope it’s okay.”
“It’s more than okay. I mean, wow. I can’t believe this.” Jongdae closes his eyes and leans forward to breathe in the scent and he looks so, so pretty with his eyelashes fanned softly across his cheeks and hair a mess. Chanyeol would go through the trouble every single morning if it amounted to this. It takes a moment for him to realize Jongdae’s staring back at him with one of the Special Smiles, and Chanyeol takes in a deep breath as Jongdae leans towards him. For all the hand holding and shoulder resting they’ve done, up until now they’ve never done this before, and Chanyeol feels his world coming to a complete stop the second Jongdae’s lips touch his. It’s soft and unsure, delicate in a way Chanyeol wouldn’t have expected from someone who had such a confidence and intensity the first time Chanyeol had met him. It makes him want to fly and protect and give back, and his fingertips ghost across Jongdae’s cheek before he pulls him just a bit closer and kisses him back in a way he’s thought of, wanted to for awhile now.
He feels the way Jongdae sighs into him when he pulls his bottom lip between his own and loves the way Jongdae fists the tshirt at his waist, touch warm and accompanied by a wonderful hum spreading throughout his body. The kiss tapers off into smaller ones, punctuated by small laughs and smiles, until Jongdae’s leaning away just to have Chanyeol give chase and kiss him once more. It’s nice and he thinks could stay like this forever with Jongdae in his arms.
“I really want to keep kissing you but-” Jongdae begins, words swallowed up by another kiss.
“But?”
“But-“
Another kiss.
“Pancakes.” Jongdae finally breathes out and Chanyeol laughs.
“You want pancakes more than me?”
“I already had you. I want pancakes now and then afterwards I want you again.”
That’ll do.
Chanyeol’s evening breaks become dog walking time, as he puts the leash on Bolt and walks him around the ship. They’re due to arrive on a planet tomorrow that has a decently sized city they’ve visited a few times. He recalls some nice lakes nearby and wonders if they’ll get paid enough from the goods they recovered off a small freighter to buy picnic items and spend the day by the water.
“It’s too bad you’re not one of the waterproof models so you could play in the lake. I don’t want you to short circuit so you’ll have to stay here tomorrow.” He says sadly to Bolt, who looks at him without any understanding and then notices his own tail twitching and chases it around for a couple revolutions. “Hey, we’re here to go on a walk, not play around. Come on, keep going.” Chanyeol starts walking and tugs on the leash to get the dog to do the same.
He can hear music thumping out of the cargo bay and Baekhyun singing loudly while he replaces some lights on the land speeder. Bolt starts to move in that direction but Chanyeol steers him away because Baekhyun likes to use any distraction he can find to get himself out of doing any work. The music lingers through the corridors though and Chanyeol bops his head back and forth to the catchy beat as they come back around to the living quarters. The dog had been on the bridge with Chanyeol most of the morning, but he decides to drop it off at Jongdae’s room because they haven’t let it recharge for a few days and Baekhyun’s condition for allowing the dog on board is to have it guard the ship when they’re all away.
They pass by Kyungsoo’s room on their way to Jongdae’s, but he freezes when he hears Jongdae’s voice, which is odd because Jongdae frequently tells him that he thinks Kyungsoo doesn’t like him very much. He shouldn’t, but Jongdae has a way of leaving him curious and wondering, so he presses his ear to the door.
“Do you know how much danger we’re in just having you here, Jongdae? If I’d have known-“
“If you’d have known, you’d have left me to die on that ship? Like they did?”
“No, but I would have dropped you off somewhere immediately after, not let you drag us into your mess. Does Chanyeol even know?”
There’s hesitation in Jongdae’s voice and Chanyeol swallows the lump in his throat. “It’s not something that can easily come up in conversation.”
“I swear, if he gets hurt in any way over this I will personally walk you to the nearest Alliance officer and not look back.”
Chanyeol jumps when he feels Bolt pawing at his leg and he quickly steps away from the door with a shaky breath. He had decided to let his guard down when it came to Jongdae, but slowly, with every step he takes back to the bridge, the feeling of unsureness he’d let go of starts to creep its way back and he doesn’t like it one bit.
Chanyeol doesn’t know how to bring it up to Jongdae and Jongdae doesn’t bring it up either, so he keeps his new questions locked in with the old ones, choosing to wait to let them out in just one, two, three more days if it meant going to sleep and waking up to kisses and cuddles. If his hugs become just a little bit tighter, Jongdae doesn’t seem to notice.
This works well and good for him for another month until they’re sitting at a tavern on a planet just on the edge of Alliance space and five officers walk in. He notices the way Jongdae immediately tenses up and leans his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder in a way that blocks him from view, the way he nods to Baekhyun’s story but keeps his eyes on the uniforms. Kyungsoo’s watching him as well and even through Baekhyun’s lively and tipsy voice, he feels the table grow cold with tension. Chanyeol holds his breath but when he notices the bartender point towards their table, he knows they’re done for.
He kicks Baekhyun from under the table, stopping the storyteller in midsentence and earning an annoyed, “What?”
“Alliance officers coming to our table. We need to leave now.”
Baekhyun does exactly what he’d expected, and feared, he’d do. He turns in his seat to look at them, leaning his elbow on the table and resting his head on his hand as they approach. “Are you boys even allowed to drink while on duty?”
One of the officers smiles humorlessly. “I’m not really interested in you.” He leans over to get a good look at Jongdae, who keeps his eyes steadfast on the table. “Though I would be, if you were to get in the way.”
“I have a habit of getting into the way of things. What would I be getting in the way of this time though?”
Chanyeol can feel Jongdae’s hand move to his lap and his ears heat up even though he knows Jongdae’s only pulling the pistol out of his holster. He covers up the click of the hammer being pulled back with a cough and a thump of his glass and tries to keep his thoughts on the situation they’re in and not on Jongdae’s hand as it stretches out across his thigh for better aim under the table.
“The arrest of a killer and traitor to the Alliance.”
The bar hushes, as if they were all listening in, and Baekhyun’s eyes flicker over to Jongdae’s before looking back at the officer. “Are you sure you have the right person?”
The officer laughs and leans down next to Baekhyun, grabbing his hair and making him look across the table. “His face is at the top of every wanted list. I’m pretty sure we have the right person.”
“Okay.” Baekhyun reaches up and grabs onto his hands, prying them off his hair but keeping them in his hold. “I just wanted to make sure before we shot you.”
Jongdae pulls the trigger and Chanyeol feels the pistol kick back against his leg. He would wince at the welt it’s going to leave behind but all of the other uniforms converge on the table as the officer’s leg buckles from under him and Baekhyun shoves him away. Chanyeol uses his long legs to kick back the first officer who reaches the table, then jumps up and smashes his glass against the guy’s head. Shards sparkle down to the ground but he doesn’t get the chance to admire his work as someone grabs his shoulder, whips him around and delivers a blow across his cheek, making him stumble backwards onto another table.
Slightly disoriented, he stands up in time to watch Kyungsoo slide across the table and lower his shoulders as he barrels into the officer, driving him backwards against a wall before kicking his legs out from underneath him. The officer hits a chair on his way down and rolls away holding his head, leaving Kyungsoo free to grab another from behind who has Baekhyun in a head lock. That leaves one officer left and Chanyeol turns to find him with his hands up, slowly backing up as Jongdae points the pistol at him.
“Everyone good?” Kyungsoo asks as they all move to stand beside Jongdae, inching their way towards the tavern’s entrance.
“Let’s go.” Jongdae says and follows last as they file out the door.
It’s dark outside and Chanyeol’s sliding into the driver’s seat of the land speeder and starting it up when there’s a shout behind them, and he turns to find dozens of Alliance soldiers running towards them. “Fuck, get on! Get on!” He slams his foot on the accelerator and the force of it has the engine spluttering for a brief moment before firing to life and shooting them down the street. The corners weren’t meant for these speeds and he grips the wheel until his knuckles turn white from the pressure, turning it as much as it can be turned. People ahead of them scream and dive out of the way and his sigh of relief when they break out into open ground is short lived as gunshots go flying by.
Three speeders come up behind them quickly, made for these kind of chases, unlike their own which Baekhyun won in a poker game off a semi-wealthy rancher. Kyungsoo reaches in the back to open the small weapons locker and hands an assault rifle up to Jongdae, who turns to face backwards, one foot braced on the floor of the speeder and kneeling with the other leg on the passenger seat. The volley of fire is loud in Chanyeol’s ear and he tries to not let it distract him but his hands start to sweat because Jongdae’s not holding onto anything but the gun and they’re coming up on the tree line that he’ll have to maneuver the speeder through.
There’s a loud crash and Baekhyun whoops from the back seat. Chanyeol looks into the side mirror to see a ball of flames and then trees are whipping past and blocking his view of the other speeders. He eases off the accelerator to help him wind through the twisting path in the brush and turns sharply when shots fly past them. If he remembers correctly, the path makes a big loop around the small grove they’d touched down in. The other speeders are too close to give them any time to get onto the ship and close the ramp, so he’s left with only one option really that can give them a chance. He purses his lips and pulls Jongdae down, making him sit back in the seat, before he cuts off to the right of the path and takes them directly into the brush.
They’re hit with leaves and branches and tree roots that are too high to pass under the hovering vehicle and Chanyeol hopes it can hold up, never having pushed it this far before. The dark gray of the ship’s exterior shows faintly through the trees and Chanyeol has never, never, been more happy to see that beautiful color as they shoot out of the trees and into the grove. Even with his foot completely down on the brake, they still hit the ramp too fast and the back of the speeder hits the lip, making them skid across the cargo bay flooring. They come to a stop just short of the wall and Kyungsoo’s quickly out of his seat and running to close the ramp while Chanyeol races through the corridors to the bridge.
Bolt meets him in the doorway, barking and jumping and happy to see him and Chanyeol nearly trips over his feet to avoid stepping on him. “Lay down! This is going to be rough.” He says as he falls into his chair and switches the engine on, forgoing his safety belt in favor of pushing the communications button for the cargo bay.
“Are we clear?”
“Yes, go!”
He lifts the ship upwards, the navigation console and his seat rattling as it struggles to reach the speeds he’s pushing it to. “Come on, please.” He murmurs. The engine eases into it just before they break the atmosphere and Chanyeol lets out the breath he hadn’t known he was holding. He relaxes his grip, fingers aching from the strain, and leans bonelessly back into his seat. That had been too close. He checks the radar but doesn’t see any ships with Alliance tags in close proximity and rests his head back, running a hand through his hair as he exhales slowly.
“Shit, we’re in so much trouble now!” Baekhyun half shouts, half laughs as he stumbles onto the bridge and falls into the other chair. “Do you think we’ve been upgraded from petty criminals to full blown outlaws?”
“Probably.” Chanyeol smiles weakly and tries to hide the slight tremble that’s started in his hands by setting them on a course far outside Alliance space, far outside the ship’s maps. “It’s going to be harder to find people who’ll do business with us now.”
Baekhyun hums in agreement and they’re both quiet as the glow from the planet fades away and all that’s out there are stars and darkness. Chanyeol wonders what lies ahead of them, beyond Alliance space. The ones who travel that far are outlaws, like them now, he supposes, and they keep hidden and to themselves. Exploring the spooky places is what their ship’s always been about though, and Chanyeol thinks he’ll have to work on his flinching because it’s about to get much spookier.
“Did you know about Jongdae?”
“Sort of.” Chanyeol admits. “I didn’t know anything specific though. Just that he was hiding something. But I think Kyungsoo knew.”
Baekhyun nods and leaves soon after, giving him a pat on the shoulder as he passes by, and Chanyeol’s glad for the time alone. Or mostly alone, as he picks up Bolt and sets him on his lap, hand getting an immediate tongue bath. “Well, at least we got some answers today.” He says as he scratches the dog’s belly. “The question is, does it change anything?”
Jongdae avoids him for the next two days, and Chanyeol spends most of his time on the bridge, alternating between being lost in thought and asking Bolt to go find Jongdae (which he won’t; maybe the next generation models will have a broader list of commands that include “ask if he’s okay” and “tell him I miss him.”). He almost doesn’t hear the knock when it does come, too busy staring down Anabelle with his head pillowed under his arms and the thrum of the navigation control beneath him.
“Is it okay if I come in?”
He turns his head to find Jongdae leaning against the wall, tiny, unsure smile on his face and Chanyeol nods immediately. “Of course.”
Jongdae settles into the co-pilot’s chair, his chair, and fidgets with his hands. “Baekhyun’s letting me stay on the ship.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“They’re both punishing me, though, for causing trouble.”
Chanyeol laughs a little. “What do you have to do?”
“I have to be Baekhyun’s bodyguard whenever we leave the ship, unless he gives permission otherwise. And Kyungsoo said I have to answer any and every question you have, any time you have one.”
“I have a lot of questions.” Chanyeol warns him.
“I know.” There’s a beat of silence as Jongdae bites his lip and turns in the chair so he’s facing Chanyeol. “Can I ask one first, before you do?”
“We’re okay.” Jongdae looks over at him, eyes wide, and Chanyeol smiles and reaches out to hold onto his hand. “If that’s what you were going to ask. I hope that’s what you were going to ask, at least.”
It earns him a small laugh and Jongdae squeezes his hand, Special Smile threatening to show even through the nervousness on his face. “Since you robbed me of my first question, I’m going to ask another one. Remember when we first met, and I told you I’d tell you my long story another time? You said no and ran?”
“That was not a good first impression to make.”
Jongdae lets the smile take over his face. “Not at all. Will you finally let me tell you it?” Chanyeol nods, thumb brushing lightly against the back of Jongdae’s hand. “My parents are both Alliance military, so I was born in space and lived on ships my whole life. I didn’t really have a choice but to follow in their footsteps, and I wanted to make them proud so I worked so hard at the academy. I was a good marksman and I did everything the Alliance asked me to do, even when it was things that I know weren’t right. When you decide you don’t want to do it anymore, you don’t want to be that anymore, they call you a traitor and a killer and throw your name on a wanted list.
I thought it’d be no big deal. The universe is never-ending. They couldn’t possibly be everywhere, watching everything, and hiding should be easy. The truth though, is that hiding just buys you time. It doesn’t solve the problem. I hopped from transporter to transporter and made it all the way to the edges of the Alliance when they found me.”
“Is that why you were on that ship?”
Jongdae nods. “I was stuck in a holding cell when they all left. Of course they weren’t going to save a seat on a life boat for me. The only reason I got out is because they had to disable to security functions, otherwise they would have left me in the cell to die. Not that I wouldn’t have died anyway had you guys not shown up.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For taking your food and trying to leave you there. I thought you were crazy and had killed everyone on the ship.”
Jongdae laughs and the sound makes Chanyeol tug on his hand and pull him onto his lap. “I was nothing but nice to you!”
“You said you would haunt me for the rest of my life! If you had watched me flinch at every sound, you should have known I had a sensitive heart.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t make a good first impression either, alright?”
“It’s alright.” He puckers his lips expectantly and is pleased when Jongdae quickly swoops down to kiss him. “I heard you talking to Kyungsoo one day and I might have eavesdropped a little. How did he find out?”
“I don’t miss my shots.” Jongdae smiles, leaning into Chanyeol and wrapping his arms around his middle. “I think he was suspicious so he looked at the wanted lists. Probably didn’t take him long to find me.”
“Probably. Hey, when’s your birthday?”
“September 21st. Why?”
Chanyeol frowns. “That’s coming up soon. I already gave you a gift, do I have to give another one?”
“Of course you do!” Jongdae slaps his chest. “If breakfast is all you’re going to give me for my birthday then drop me off at the next stop.”
“You can’t do that. I found you and I get to keep you.”
“Um, I saw you first so it’s more like I found you. I also held your hand first and kissed you first, so you’re mine.”
“You kissed me because I made you breakfast, that should count-“
Jongdae puts a finger to his lips, then replaces it with his own and kisses him until Chanyeol no longer cares about who found who, as long as they’re keeping each other.
Title: Finders Keepers
Pairing(s): Chanyeol/Chen
Rating: PG-13
Warning(s): language, gun fights, criminal activity
Length: 10.2k
Summary: Chanyeol was supposed to raid the abandoned ship for food supplies, not bring back a stray that may not be as innocent as his smile suggests.
Author's note: Firefly/spaceoutlaws!au. To my recipient - thank you so much for the amazing prompts! I was scared to do a complete Firefly!au in case I messed up details, so this is a mix of Firefly!au and general spaceoutlaws!au. I hope that’s okay! Also, I’m sorry this turned out more fluff than action?
For controlling such a large part of space, Chanyeol doesn’t really understand why the Alliance carries such horrible food on its ships.
He pouts as he opens yet another box of protein bars, the third one he’s uncovered in the five minutes he’s been in the dining area. It’s been a long time since they’ve had a feast of any kind, not since Baekhyun wasted an entire job’s pay on beef and Kyungsoo confiscated all financial responsibilities from him. The beef had been amazing and Chanyeol would gladly give up his pay for the next three jobs just to taste it again. Their kitchen holds stocks of mostly Alliance food though, scavenged from abandoned ships that float around the edges of Alliance space and sometimes just outside of it. The Alliance calls them criminals for it, for raiding dead ships without the proper license to do so, but, in Chanyeol’s opinion, if the Alliance hasn’t sent anyone out to retrieve it, then they must not need it that badly. Baekhyun likes to refer to their little group as ghost hunters, adventurers who explore the spooky places everyone else is afraid to, and anything found abandoned is fair game.
Finders keepers, losers weepers, and all.
The ship they’re currently rummaging through is extremely spooky though, with red emergency lights that flash along the walls every few seconds and put Chanyeol’s nerves on edge. They light up silhouettes against the wall that he swears weren’t there a moment ago and the stillness of the air makes the creaking of the ship echo even louder, as if it’s growling at him in warning. Normally he stays behind, tucked safely away on the bridge of their ship while Baekhyun and Kyungsoo brave the unknown. But this Alliance ship is larger than normal, with enough supplies to support dozens of crew members, and an extra hand was needed to get the job done quickly.
He’ll never show or admit it to Baekhyun or Kyungsoo, but a part of him is terrified when they come across one of these unknown ships. There could be a multitude of reasons as to why a ship suddenly has no crew, and thoughts of a captain gone mad and still lurking in the shadows, a deadly disease still lingering in the air and poisoning his lungs with every breath he takes, or a violent attack by a species waiting just outside the airlocks go through Chanyeol’s mind as he slides another box of protein bars next to the ones he’s already found. At least they sell for a decent price. Settlements on the outer planets are always more than happy to have food to feed their populations, legal or not.
There’s a loud clatter that vibrates through the air and his hand stills as it reaches for another box. A curse that sounds a lot like Baekhyun follows it and Chanyeol’s hand drops limply, the breath he’d been holding let out slowly in relief. The quicker he went, the quicker he could be back in his haven and speeding them far away from this place. The flap is already open on this box and it holds packages of what look like, wafers? Cookies? No, he can’t get his hopes up. His mouth waters anyway as he picks one of the packages up to inspect.
“Those aren’t nearly as good as they look.”
Chanyeol gives a startled cry and whirls around, hands trembling as he shines his flashlight rapidly in the direction of the voice. “Baekhyun? Kyungsoo?”
“Whoa!”
His light passes by the countertop and makes the figure sitting on it flinch away and scrunch its eyes at the sudden brightness. It’s neither Baekhyun, nor Kyungsoo, and Chanyeol pulls his pistol out from the holster at his waist. “H-How long have you been sitting there?”
“Long enough. Can you please?” The figure motions downward with its arm and Chanyeol slowly complies, keeping the flashlight at its feet which swing back and forth in the air. The figure’s face is a mixture of dim lighting, shadows and a red glow from the emergency lights, but Chanyeol can see that it’s a young man who doesn’t look nearly as afraid as Chanyeol feels at the moment. In fact, he looks quite comfortable on his perch and a small voice in Chanyeol’s head reminds him this could be a captain gone mad.
“Who are you and where did the rest of the people on this ship go?”
“I’m Kim Jongdae.” He holds out a hand to shake, which Chanyeol ignores. “As for everyone else, I think they left on the life boats? There don’t seem to be any left, so, yeah?”
“So why are you still here?”
Jongdae laughs, the sound bouncing off the steel walls and making Chanyeol’s nerves tingle with warning. “That’s a long story. I’ll tell you another time maybe?”
“No, thank you.” Chanyeol slowly picks up the box and edges away from Jongdae, deciding to sacrifice the protein bars even if it means an earful from Kyungsoo later. He’s sure Kyungsoo would appreciate their pilot returning to the ship alive over losing a little money. Maybe.
Holding the box, pistol and flashlight make his movements awkward as he backs up towards the direction he’d come from, all while Jongdae sits on the countertop watching him curiously, legs still swinging gently in the air. It’s unnerving, and his grip on the box slips for a moment and forces him to lift a knee to regroup. The second he rounds the corner, Chanyeol turns and half walks, half runs towards the ship. His heart thumps rapidly in his chest and part of him wants to look over his shoulder to see if he’s being followed, but the other part is too afraid of the answer to follow through with it.
He nearly trips over the lip of the cargo bay door as he crosses into the safety of their ship, letting the box fall to the floor and following soon after when his knees finally give out on him. The flashlight is tossed aside and forgotten as he digs into his pocket for the communicator. “Guys, get back to the ship now!”
It takes a moment before Baekhyun’s voice crackles back with a, “Why? What’s wrong?” and Chanyeol has his hand on the button, ready to respond, when a second box suddenly gets dropped to the ground in front of him. A shriek is what’s sent back to Baekhyun, followed by the communicator tumbling from his grasp as Chanyeol scrambles backwards on his haunches.
“Why did you take the one box I told you wasn’t very good?” Jongdae asks, hands on his hips as he stares down at Chanyeol, amused. “There’s soup in this one. Wouldn’t you rather have that?” Chanyeol looks around for the communicator and remembers the pistol in his hand, aiming it much too late at Jongdae, who is walking deeper into the cargo bay and looking around. “It’s kind of empty in here but it’ll do.”
Chanyeol narrows his eyes, all kinds of horrible scenarios running through his mind. “It’ll do for what?”
“For a home.” Jongdae’s smiling softly and running his hand over the land speeder and Chanyeol blinks uncomfortably, at a loss for how to handle the situation.
“Um, you can’t really… stay here.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, we’re not allowed to bring on additional crew without Kyungsoo’s permission. There’s been some…. incidents in the past.”
“Is Kyungsoo your captain?”
Chanyeol snorts. “He’d like to be. Baekhyun’s the captain but he gets us into awkward situations. Makes things difficult sometimes.” He leaves out the fact that the rule had been imposed because of his own indiscretions. “I’ll get in a lot of trouble if he sees you here, so I hope you can understand.”
“You’re taking my food and leaving me alone in the middle of nowhere on a dead ship to rot for eternity just so you don’t get in trouble, and you hope I can understand?”
“Um, well, when you put it that way…” He gulps and scrambles to his feet as Jongdae advances towards him.
“If you leave me to die, I swear I will cross the universe and hunt you down and haunt you every day for the rest of your life.” Jongdae’s hand clasps around his and the pistol, which Chanyeol, again, remembers far too late, frozen stiff instead under the intensity of Jongdae’s eyes. They kind of sparkle, like he thinks a raging captain’s would when he corners his prey.
“Chanyeol!”
He looks over to see Baekhyun and Kyungsoo run breathlessly into the cargo bay and he wants to melt with relief.
“What’s going on? What happened?”
Kyungsoo has guns in both hands which he immediately trains on Jongdae, then switches one to Chanyeol once he takes in the situation. “Are you kidding me? What did I tell you about bringing strays onto this ship? Didn’t you learn your lesson with Jongin?”
Chanyeol splutters. “I didn’t! It’s not!”
“He locked us in our rooms and left you naked and tied to your chair and stole our shuttle! Which we still haven’t been able to replace!”
Jongdae raises an eyebrow at him and Chanyeol’s cheeks burn because it’s not a memory he wants to remember ever again (the end anyways, the rest of his memories of Jongin were nice). “Like you weren’t pining after him as well.” Chanyeol mumbles instead and Kyungsoo starts to move forward but is stopped by Baekhyun’s arm.
“Not on my ship.” He warns them both in a serious tone he rarely uses. Kyungsoo lowers his guns immediately and Chanyeol looks away uncomfortably, like a child being scolded. “Now, you,” Baekhyun points to Jongdae, who flinches and drops his hand from Chanyeol’s. “What’s your name?”
“J-Jongdae.”
“Are you with the Alliance?”
“No.”
“Do you have any problem with us taking everything valuable from your ship and selling it, in exchange for room and board on our ship?”
“No.”
“Great!” Baekhyun claps his hands once. “Then we have no problems here. Let’s get our stuff loaded and go get paid.”
Chanyeol gets put on cleaning duty, even though Kyungsoo is completely aware that it wasn’t Chanyeol’s fault Jongdae joined their crew. The engine room is disgusting because the three of them avoid cleaning it until it visibly starts to affect their travels, and doing the job solo leaves Chanyeol with grease stains up his arms and down the front of his shirt. He tries to wipe as much off him with a towel as he can while he walks back to the bridge but he still feels the sticky residue clinging to his skin.
It’s quiet, probably past midnight if he has to guess, and he takes a detour into the kitchen for a small snack. Kyungsoo and Baekhyun are probably sleeping and won’t even know. They’re not allowed to touch the food they’ll be selling when they reach the settlement, but Jongdae had convinced Baekhyun the packages of what Chanyeol now knows are biscuits were no good to sell, so he grabs one and heads towards the bridge again. The biscuits are kind of stale and bland, but they’re enough to settle his growling stomach. He shoves two in his mouth and munches happily as he steps through the doorway.
His pilot’s chair turns around suddenly and he jumps backward in surprise, spitting out some crumbs along with a gasp. “I thought everyone was asleep.”
Jongdae smiles and glances over towards the windows. “I just wanted to look at the view for awhile. Remind myself we’re really moving and I’m not just seeing the same stars every night.” He looks back at Chanyeol and scrunches his nose up when he sees the biscuits. “Don’t tell me you actually like those?”
“They’re okay.” Chanyeol pops another in his mouth just to show he’s fine with them and waves with one hand for Jongdae to get out of his seat. As Jongdae settles into the co-pilot’s chair, Chanyeol notices one of his hands is holding Chanyeol’s Velociraptor, with his Pteranodon caught in its mouth. “Why are you making Iggy eat Taz? They’re friends.”
Jongdae stares at him, then down at the dinosaurs. “They have names?”
“Iggy, Taz, Hero and Constance.” Chanyeol points to the two in Jongdae’s hands and the other two still sitting on the navigation console where he had left them. “Constance and Iggy go at it sometimes, but there’s no eating each other on this ship.”
“Sorry?” Jongdae separates the two dinosaurs and puts them back with the others, folding his hands on his lap where Chanyeol could see them.
There’s a nebula off in the distance, it’s purple and blue hues glowing brightly and newly-born stars glittering against the black backdrop of space, and Chanyeol leans back in his chair comfortably as he watches it. For all the time they spend off the ground, it never gets monotonous to him. There’s so many people they meet in settlements and cities that have never left their little worlds and don’t know the breathtaking views they’re missing. Chanyeol’s parents had been among those, and Chanyeol would have been as well had he never spilled cheap red wine on Baekhyun’s shoes and gained an instant friend. Baekhyun was always talking about exploring the universe but Chanyeol hadn’t thought he was completely serious until he showed up at Chanyeol’s door one day with a grin and a ship.
Now it’s Chanyeol’s home, the universe his backyard. The ship’s flight controls are fitted to his grip and he instinctively knows how much push and pull to give them, knows how close he can push the limits of the engine when they outrun Alliance ships, knows the right touch for the gentlest of landings. He wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else, with anyone else. For all of the trouble he causes, Baekhyun is good at reading people and Chanyeol knows Kyungsoo’s got his back without question, and they, in turn, know that Chanyeol will get them there and back safely.
“Sorry you got in trouble.”
“Hmm?” Chanyeol looks over at Jongdae.
“I’m sorry you got in trouble because of me. I didn’t think you were serious about that.”
“Oh. It’s okay. The place needs to be cleaned anyway and someone has to do it.”
Jongdae, though, Chanyeol is unsure of. He frequents Chanyeol’s pilot’s chair like he’s keeping it warm until he comes back, laughs with Baekhyun like a long lost friend, and ruffles Kyungsoo’s hair like a diver completely unafraid of touching a shark. He fits so seamlessly onto the ship and yet Chanyeol still finds himself on edge around him, watching his every movement from the corner of his eye because for all of Jongdae’s easy laughs and smiles, Chanyeol knows nothing about him. Jongdae talks about food and stars and being alone, but never his family or origins or even birthdate. He likes to stare and wink at and tease Chanyeol, but curls back in on himself when Chanyeol stares back.
Like now, as Chanyeol gets lost in thought while holding Jongdae’s gaze, and the other looks back out the window, drawing his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on them. Chanyeol wants to ask where Jongdae was born, why he was alone on that ship, how long he’s planning to stay with them and where he’s going to get off at. He wants to know what Jongdae’s thinking about when he looks out Chanyeol’s backyard and stares so seriously at the sprawling nothingness.
Chanyeol doesn’t though, because the atmosphere on the ship is nice and quiet tonight. He holds one of the biscuits in front of him and frowns. “These tasted alright at first, but after awhile they’re kind of blah.”
“Told you so. I don’t know why you were so determined to not believe me.”
Chanyeol shrugs and tosses the half eaten package next to the dinosaurs. “Food is a personal preference. Baekhyun likes to mix the canned vegetables together in a bowl of mush and we judge him constantly for it. You can judge me for thinking these biscuits are okay if you want.”
“Offer accepted.” Jongdae turns to smile at him, looking a little sleepy with one cheek pressed against his knees and the corners of his mouth turned up lazily. Chanyeol’s left again feeling unsure of Jongdae, unsure if he should let his guard down or keep it up protectively.
He settles for looking at the window instead, watching the last colors of the nebula pass by. “You should get some sleep. It’s pretty late.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll nap in awhile.”
Jongdae looks unconvinced, but gets up anyway and walks over to the door, stopping just for a moment to say, “Good night,” and leaving Chanyeol alone with his unasked questions and curiosities.
When they arrive at the settlement, Chanyeol and Jongdae stay back to watch the ship while Baekhyun and Kyungsoo take the land speeder to sell the food boxes and restock. It’ll be hours before they’re back, so Chanyeol pulls out the folding lounge chairs and sets them up on the cargo bay ramp with Jongdae’s help. Although the sand and dunes they’ve landed near are not the most exciting backdrop, this galaxy’s sun is high in the sky and it’s been so, so long since Chanyeol has felt its warmth. Even longer for Jongdae.
“This is the life.” Jongdae comments as he lays sprawled out, eyes closed peacefully and hands dangling over the sides. There’s a patch of sunscreen above his eyebrow that hasn’t been rubbed in all the way and Chanyeol should let him know, but he leaves it be.
“We should stay here for a night or two. We can have a bonfire and star-gaze and sleep outside.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever slept outside before.”
“Never?” He looks over at Jongdae, who shakes his head and stays silent, lost in something Chanyeol wishes he’d share. “That settles it then. We’re sleeping outside tonight.”
Jongdae says nothing, but has a smile on his face and Chanyeol has at least one new piece of information about him to consider the day a victory. He stretches out on the chair and settles his arms behind his head as he closes his eyes as well. It’s easy to drift off to the peace and quiet and warm sunshine, with solid, stable ground under him instead of the hum and vibration of the engine keeping them floating and moving forward. Minutes turn into hours without him being aware, and he only comes to again when Jongdae shakes him violently. He blinks and starts to ask why when the communicator next to him buzzes frantically to life.
“Fucking hell, Park Chanyeol! Where you are?”
He sits up so quickly he nearly smacks his head into Jongdae’s and grabs the device. “What’s wrong?”
“Baekhyun’s fucking mouth is what’s wrong!”
“I said I’m sorry!” Chanyeol can hear Baekhyun in the background through the rustling of wind and gunshots, before Kyungsoo is speaking to him again.
“Just get the ship ready to leave right now and get Jongdae a gun. We’re almost there.”
“Okay.”
Chanyeol stuffs the communicator into his pocket and drags his chair back inside behind Jongdae. Their weapons locker is kept behind a false wall panel, designed to maintain the ship’s appearance as a simple, harmless transporter, and Chanyeol pries it off. After the Jongin incident, Kyungsoo had installed a security lock so nobody but the three of them could access it, but Chanyeol doesn’t bother shielding it from Jongdae as he punches in the numbers and tugs on the handle to open it. He takes a pistol for himself and tries to hand another one to Jongdae but gets his hand pushed away. Jongdae grabs the sniper rifle instead and extra cartridges and walks back over to the ramp.
“Are you sure you…” Chanyeol trails off when Jongdae looks up at him with a grin and loads a cartridge into the chamber, the loud click as it locks into place at odds with his innocent demeanor.
“You should get the ship ready.”
“Okay.” Chanyeol says unsurely and leaves the locker open just in case. Kyungsoo and Baekhyun can usually hold their own so he brushes off any worries about Jongdae’s abilities. He’s probably better than Chanyeol is, whose only training came from shooting tin cans right there in the cargo bay. “As soon as everyone is on board, use the speaker button over there to let me know we’re ready to hit the sky.”
“Got it.”
He gives one last look over his shoulder before racing through the ship to the bridge and dropping into his chair. His fingers fly over the knobs and buttons, flipping the switch to make the engine purrs to life before strapping the safety belt around his waist. The sun shines in through the windows and he gives it one last, longing look, filing the brief but wonderful memory away for later. It really would have been nice if they could have anchored here for a few days. His hand clenches and unclenches around the accelerator and his leg bounces with nervous energy. The bridge is too silent as he waits, and he finally pulls the communicator out of his pocket.
“Are you almost here?”
It’s Baekhyun who responds this time. “The ship is in sight. Just another moment. Holy shit! Kyungsoo, did you see-“ The communicator cuts off before Chanyeol can hear the rest and he rapidly hits the device’s button.
“See what? What happened? Baekhyun?”
No response comes.
Chanyeol’s halfway out of the safety belt when there’s a loud thud deep in the ship and he freezes as the sound of gunfire echoes through the corridor. He fixes his belt and has his hands back on the controls just as Jongdae’s voice comes over the speakers telling him to go and he wastes no time in lifting the ship off the ground and pushing the accelerator as far as he knows the ship can handle. The sand disappears beneath them and Chanyeol’s grateful he doesn’t have trees or other obstacles to worry about, just a straight shot across the dunes and into the sky.
There’s a commotion behind him as the other three come onto the bridge, Baekhyun collapsing into the co-pilots chair, out of breath but laughing from the adrenaline rush that a chase gives. Kyungsoo comes up behind him and gives the chair a violent shake. “I don’t know how you’ve even lived this long, Byun Baekhyun.”
“Friends.” Chanyeol answers for him. “Is anyone following us?”
“No, we’re good. They only had land speeders.”
He eases off the accelerator just as there’s a soft bump from the ship breaking the atmosphere and the bright sunshine streaming in the windows is replaced once more with the dark blanket of space. Chanyeol feels eyes on him and turns to see Kyungsoo staring hard. He’s about to ask what his problem is when he notices Kyungsoo’s actually staring at Jongdae instead, who is standing behind Chanyeol’s chair and completely oblivious as he looks out the window. He clears his throat and undoes his safety belt. “So did you at least stay long enough to get the money?”
“Got the money and kept half of the food. They tried to say the food wasn’t worth the price, so I only gave them what I thought their money was worth.”
“And some insults that I’m sure will make it so we can never sell in this quadrant again.” Kyungsoo adds and pulls on Baekhyun’s shirt until he’s out of the chair. “Come on. You’re cleaning up the cargo bay with me.”
Baekhyun protests as he’s dragged through the doorway and Chanyeol laughs quietly to himself when their voices carry down the corridor. At least they got paid this time. He settles more comfortably on his chair and turns the ship into the direction of a small space emporium they frequent so they can restock their supplies.
“Guess we’re not sleeping outside tonight?”
He looks over as Jongdae sits in the co-pilot’s chair, face a mirror of disappointment, and Chanyeol feels the need to make it up to him. “Sorry. We can throw blankets and pillows on the floor in here though and pretend we are. Same view of the stars, kind of. I have some awesome ghost stories to tell too.”
Jongdae stares at him for a long moment and then smiles a little and nods his head. “Okay. Just us though. The others ruined it so no star-gazing for them.”
“O-okay. Just us.” His heart is humming with excitement and he wonders why the adrenaline rush from flying the ship to safety is still lingering.
Because they didn’t make as much money off the last load as they’d have liked, Baekhyun decides to go big with the next one. There’s been talk of a pirate ship that met an unfortunate end with an Alliance attacker, its crew arrested but booty still there due to the severity of the damage it took from battle. It’s one of the scary ones, with the pop and fizz of electricity all around. There’d been a hole punctured through the side of the ship when they approached it and Chanyeol didn’t want to go anywhere near it, let alone on it, but here he is, suited up in protective gear and a helmet and taking tiny hesitant steps. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo have already ventured further in to scour for weapons and functioning engine parts, and Chanyeol has been tasked to search for money or anything else useful, though this time he at least has Jongdae walking ahead of him.
His flashlight wobbles a little in his hand as he steps carefully around fallen wall panels and displaced flooring. He’s grateful the ship’s gravity controls are still functioning or else the debris field would be a pain in the ass to work through. There’s a sudden spark to his left and Jongdae happens to be looking back at him when he jumps and yelps with surprise. The other man laughs loud enough that Chanyeol can hear it through his helmet and it does nothing to ease the discomfort he’s feeling.
“Do you need me to hold your hand?”
“No, I’m fine.” Chanyeol insists and hugs the wall tight as he slips past the exposed wiring.
“There’s nobody else here, you know?”
“That’s what we thought about the last ship. What if there’s another you lurking in the shadows, waiting to sneak up on us when we least expect it?”
Jongdae laughs again and stops in the middle of the corridor. He puts his hands on his hips and looks ridiculous because of the bulky suit. “Do you seriously think I snuck up on you on purpose? I was trying to come up with a way to tell you I was there without scaring you but there was nothing I could think of. If I’d said, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ you’d have screamed. If I’d tapped your shoulder, you’d have screamed. Even if I’d have coughed, you’d have screamed.”
“Still, you didn’t have to watch me for that long.”
“It was cute. You were pouting over protein bars and flinching every five seconds.”
Chanyeol’s face flushes at the memory and he’s suddenly happy have the helmet on so Jongdae could never know. “Was not,” is all he can mutter and he pushes past Jongdae just to prove he can handle the spooky ship. He half expects Jongdae to creep up on him from behind and scare him like Baekhyun probably would, but the opposite actually happens. Whenever he flinches at a pop echoing in the air, he feels a hand pressed against his back or hears the sound of Jongdae’s soft laughter behind him. It’s comforting and it helps him relax just a little, no longer worried that something will come up on him unexpectedly.
The captain’s quarters is in awful shape with furniture upturned and clothing scattered around. There’s an ancient sword dangling halfway off its display on the wall and Jongdae brandishes it, swiping it in an infinity sign. “This is cool. Do I look cool with it?” He doesn’t, not with the space suit, but Chanyeol gives him a big, gloved thumbs up anyways. “Nobody will sneak up on us now. I’ll just whip this out and they’ll run away.”
“Far away.” Chanyeol humors him as he rummages through a small desk. There’s no way he won’t find any money here. He crouches down, looking up from underneath it and feels around the paneling. His fingers hit a soft spot in the back and there’s a small divot just wide enough for a finger to reach under that helps him pull it off. “Jackpot.” He announces, coming up with a handful of high value Alliance currency.
Jongdae cheers, hands and sword high in the air. “We’re rich!”
“Damn, this is a lot.” Chanyeol whistles, mentally counting it all up in his head and dividing it four ways. It might be the most money he’s ever had in his life.
“We should just go after pirate ships from now on.”
“I don’t think we’ll be so lucky next time. The Alliance did most of the work with this one.”
“I could take them on.” Jongdae says, eyes twinkling in a way that seem almost excited at the prospect, but then he stabs the sword outward and Chanyeol just laughs at him.
“Yeah, I’m sure you could.”
Chanyeol’s in good spirits when they leave the room, smiling and thinking about what he should spend his cut of the money on, but turning the corridor brings him back to reality, to the random sparks of electrical bursts in the shadows and the groaning of the ship, as if it’s ready to fall apart at any second. He gulps and hesitates a moment too long. Jongdae’s hand sneaks into his and gives it a squeeze, as best as it can through the thick gloves, and Chanyeol looks to his side to see Jongdae smiling at him without fear. He takes a step forward and Chanyeol is forced to follow, telling himself it’s alright, it’s okay, he’s not alone.
Baekhyun and Kyungsoo find multiple weapons on the pirate ship and the pay from the haul is huge. They decide to blow their money on a shopping trip to one of the largest space emporiums, the kind that has five decks of shops, food and entertainment, and Chanyeol’s so excited he can barely dock the ship, the landing so rough it knocks Iggy and Taz off the console. Jongdae grabs his hand the second they disembark and doesn’t let go, which isn’t a problem except Chanyeol can’t figure out if this is like a date or something. They’ve never really discussed anything and Chanyeol himself isn’t even sure, but he does know that their hands now tangle together whenever they walk down the corridors or sit alone on the bridge, and he feels warm and fuzzy knowing that Jongdae spends most of his time up there with him. The co-pilot’s chair has become Jongdae’s chair and Chanyeol finds a little part of himself agitated whenever anyone else sits in it.
He thinks he gets his answer though a couple hours into the day when Jongdae pauses in front of a robotic pet shop and bites his lip thoughtfully. Chanyeol’s about to ask what he’s doing when Jongdae turns to him with what he’s come to refer to as Jongdae’s Special Smile, the one he shows to Chanyeol only. “Hey, let’s get a dog.”
Chanyeol’s halfway to smiling for the sake of it when he freezes. “A what?”
“A dog. Let’s get one.”
“Like, together?”
“Yeah. There’s that empty corner on the bridge that’ll be perfect for a small dog bed, and since it’s a robot we don’t have to worry about feeding it or taking it to the bathroom. It’ll be perfect for traveling on a ship.”
“Um, well.” Chanyeol had a dog once, a real one back when he lived with his parents, and he makes the mistake of looking into the window. In front of him are a dozen small dogs, all sitting and staring back at him with wagging tails and big eyes. He can’t do this. Kyungsoo will kill him, or worse, make him clean the engine permanently solo. “Sure.”
He’s tugged into the shop before he realizes what he’s said and Jongdae’s looking over his shoulder and grinning at him and he wouldn’t take it back even if he could. The dogs scamper to be near them, falling over each other like real ones do, and Chanyeol grows to like the idea as he pets their heads and feels their tongues lap at his hand, all warm and lifelike from the circuits running through them. They’re small and won’t take up much room, plus Baekhyun would be all for having one aboard, and he has the ultimate say as captain.
“Which one?” Jongdae asks.
“I don’t know. They’re all so cute. You decide.”
While most of them have been fighting for affection from Chanyeol’s hand, one light brown one with a few small splotches of white is sitting in front of Jongdae, wagging his tail expectantly, and he scoops him up. “Do you want to come home with us?” He coos at him and turns to Chanyeol with all the excitement in the universe shining from him. “This one will be ours then.”
They pick out a bed and collar and argue awhile over what name to have engraved on it, finally agreeing on Bolt because of his mechanical nature and the zig zag of white down his leg that resembles a lightning bolt. Jongdae reluctantly hands him over to the shop keeper to have his name and theirs programmed into his memory and to be delivered later to their ship, along with everything else they’d picked out.
“Thank you.” Jongdae says after they’ve left the shop, after he’s looped his arm through Chanyeol’s and pressed himself snugly against it. “I’ve always wanted a dog.”
“You have to be the one to explain this to the others though.”
“Of course.” Jongdae reaches out to pat his chest teasingly and leaves butterflies flittering around in it when he draws his hand back. “Come on. I’ll buy you a new friend for Iggy, Taz, Hero and Constance.”
The hours pass quickly and the energy and excitement wears off and gives way to growling stomachs as the emporium’s simulated sky begins to turn to dusk. They’d agreed to meet back with the others at the food plaza in the evening but they take their time getting there, pointing into shop windows and wandering lazily through the crowds, which have thinned out a bit. Chanyeol has a brand new Triceratops that Jongdae’s named Anabelle and it swings happily back and forth in the bag he’s holding. The Pre-historic Earth section in the figurine shop had been a dismal three shelves, making him think he should be buying them while he can because they’ll disappear soon to make room for more twenty-fourth century pop icons and famous captains.
He’s still lamenting on it when Jongdae suddenly gasps and fists his hand on Chanyeol’s sleeve.
“What is it?”
He points and Chanyeol follows his finger to a food stall.
“Pancakes?”
“Pancakes.” Jongdae confirms with a whisper. “I know we’re about to have dinner but, please, pancakes. It’s my favorite food, favorite everything.”
Chanyeol can smell it now that he’s aware of it, the batter, the sweet maple of syrup wafting in the air and how long has it been since he’s smelled and tasted pancakes? It’s probably been even longer for Jongdae and he’s standing in front of the stall before he even knows it, ordering two for each of them and watching with a watering mouth as the cook pours the batter into a skillet. There’s bottles of maple syrup and even strawberry, artificial though because of the rarity and expense of real fruit, and he has a battle waging in his head on which to choose.
“Fuck.” Jongdae mutters and grips his arm tightly, huddling close. “Alliance officers coming. We have to go. We can’t let them see us.”
“What? But I already paid-“
“Now.”
Jongdae pulls him away in a rush and he has no idea where they’re headed because he’s focused on not hitting anyone with his bag or tripping on his long legs. People glare at them as they push by and Chanyeol calls out apologies that he’s not sure make it to their recipients, until finally Jongdae comes to a stop in a small courtyard outside the food plaza
“We should have come here with hats or disguises or something. Shit, we’re so stupid.” Jongdae mumbles between heavy breathing.
“It’s fine. I doubt they saw us. I mean, I stand out a bit but there’s a lot of people here.” Chanyeol doesn’t know what the big deal is and when Jongdae starts to shake his head in disagreement, he reaches out and cups his hands around Jongdae’s face. “It’s fine.” He says more firmly, staring until Jongdae visibly relaxes. “They obviously didn’t see us, and even if they had, we’re just petty criminals and troublemakers. I doubt we’re important enough for them to cause a scene.”
Jongdae’s laugh is more breathy than reassured. “Yeah. You’re right.”
“What’s going- whoops, sorry, didn’t know you were having a moment.” Baekhyun’s voice comes up from behind them and Chanyeol awkwardly drops his hands, not knowing what to do with them. “We saw you rush over here suddenly and thought something was wrong.”
“We just saw some Alliance officers, that’s all.”
Baekhyun’s wearing a hat and frames that he reaches up to adjust. “Oh, so did we. Hopefully the same ones. Why didn’t you grab a hat before you left the ship?”
“Told you.” Jongdae says and pinches Chanyeol’s side, making him yelp.
“Because someone,” Chanyeol emphasizes between gritted teeth. “Was too eager to go on a date and dragged me out too quickly.”
“So I was interrupting a moment.” Baekhyun’s grin makes them both blush and Jongdae elbows Chanyeol’s arm lightly, who retaliates by wrapping his arm around Jongdae’s shoulders and trapping him against his side.
Chanyeol decides to hell with it all and announces, “Jongdae and I got a dog!” which earns outbursts and makes people look their way. He doesn’t care if they stare.
The morning of Jongdae’s four month anniversary on the ship, because he’s been counting, Chanyeol gets up early and prepares a surprise that he’s been working on for awhile. It had been difficult to gather everything he needed in secret because Jongdae is usually glued to his side, or is he glued to Jongdae’s side? He can’t really tell anymore. But he finally had everything he needed, and as he walks quietly towards the living quarters, he has no doubt that Jongdae will love it.
He rings the small bell outside Jongdae’s room and hears Bolt yapping from inside in response. It makes him tense up and look around, hoping Kyungsoo won’t poke his head out of his own room to glare at him for their dog being a nuisance. They’d already programmed his bark to be on the lowest volume, but at six in the morning it doesn’t seem to matter. As soon as he hears the click of the door unlocking, he straightens up and puts a smile on his face.
The door slides open to first revel Bolt, who scampers at Chanyeol’s feet, and then Jongdae, with hair sticking up on only one side and eyes scrunched, and Chanyeol’s heart gives a jolt so sudden and strong he nearly drops everything he’s holding. “G-good morning.” He manages. “Happy four months on the ship! And since I don’t know when your birthday is, happy birthday!”
Jongdae stares at him wordlessly for a long moment, then finally seems to snap out of it when he smells what’s on the tray in Chanyeol’s hands. “Are those…?” He steps aside so Chanyeol can come in and lets the door close behind them.
“You didn’t get to have them the other week, so I thought I would try to make them.” Chanyeol waits until Jongdae climbs back into his bed before setting the tray of pancakes in front of him and climbing in next to him as well. Bolt curls up next to them, resting his chin on Chanyeol’s outstretched leg and he gives him a few scratches. “I couldn’t find an easy way to get syrup though, so I hope it’s okay.”
“It’s more than okay. I mean, wow. I can’t believe this.” Jongdae closes his eyes and leans forward to breathe in the scent and he looks so, so pretty with his eyelashes fanned softly across his cheeks and hair a mess. Chanyeol would go through the trouble every single morning if it amounted to this. It takes a moment for him to realize Jongdae’s staring back at him with one of the Special Smiles, and Chanyeol takes in a deep breath as Jongdae leans towards him. For all the hand holding and shoulder resting they’ve done, up until now they’ve never done this before, and Chanyeol feels his world coming to a complete stop the second Jongdae’s lips touch his. It’s soft and unsure, delicate in a way Chanyeol wouldn’t have expected from someone who had such a confidence and intensity the first time Chanyeol had met him. It makes him want to fly and protect and give back, and his fingertips ghost across Jongdae’s cheek before he pulls him just a bit closer and kisses him back in a way he’s thought of, wanted to for awhile now.
He feels the way Jongdae sighs into him when he pulls his bottom lip between his own and loves the way Jongdae fists the tshirt at his waist, touch warm and accompanied by a wonderful hum spreading throughout his body. The kiss tapers off into smaller ones, punctuated by small laughs and smiles, until Jongdae’s leaning away just to have Chanyeol give chase and kiss him once more. It’s nice and he thinks could stay like this forever with Jongdae in his arms.
“I really want to keep kissing you but-” Jongdae begins, words swallowed up by another kiss.
“But?”
“But-“
Another kiss.
“Pancakes.” Jongdae finally breathes out and Chanyeol laughs.
“You want pancakes more than me?”
“I already had you. I want pancakes now and then afterwards I want you again.”
That’ll do.
Chanyeol’s evening breaks become dog walking time, as he puts the leash on Bolt and walks him around the ship. They’re due to arrive on a planet tomorrow that has a decently sized city they’ve visited a few times. He recalls some nice lakes nearby and wonders if they’ll get paid enough from the goods they recovered off a small freighter to buy picnic items and spend the day by the water.
“It’s too bad you’re not one of the waterproof models so you could play in the lake. I don’t want you to short circuit so you’ll have to stay here tomorrow.” He says sadly to Bolt, who looks at him without any understanding and then notices his own tail twitching and chases it around for a couple revolutions. “Hey, we’re here to go on a walk, not play around. Come on, keep going.” Chanyeol starts walking and tugs on the leash to get the dog to do the same.
He can hear music thumping out of the cargo bay and Baekhyun singing loudly while he replaces some lights on the land speeder. Bolt starts to move in that direction but Chanyeol steers him away because Baekhyun likes to use any distraction he can find to get himself out of doing any work. The music lingers through the corridors though and Chanyeol bops his head back and forth to the catchy beat as they come back around to the living quarters. The dog had been on the bridge with Chanyeol most of the morning, but he decides to drop it off at Jongdae’s room because they haven’t let it recharge for a few days and Baekhyun’s condition for allowing the dog on board is to have it guard the ship when they’re all away.
They pass by Kyungsoo’s room on their way to Jongdae’s, but he freezes when he hears Jongdae’s voice, which is odd because Jongdae frequently tells him that he thinks Kyungsoo doesn’t like him very much. He shouldn’t, but Jongdae has a way of leaving him curious and wondering, so he presses his ear to the door.
“Do you know how much danger we’re in just having you here, Jongdae? If I’d have known-“
“If you’d have known, you’d have left me to die on that ship? Like they did?”
“No, but I would have dropped you off somewhere immediately after, not let you drag us into your mess. Does Chanyeol even know?”
There’s hesitation in Jongdae’s voice and Chanyeol swallows the lump in his throat. “It’s not something that can easily come up in conversation.”
“I swear, if he gets hurt in any way over this I will personally walk you to the nearest Alliance officer and not look back.”
Chanyeol jumps when he feels Bolt pawing at his leg and he quickly steps away from the door with a shaky breath. He had decided to let his guard down when it came to Jongdae, but slowly, with every step he takes back to the bridge, the feeling of unsureness he’d let go of starts to creep its way back and he doesn’t like it one bit.
Chanyeol doesn’t know how to bring it up to Jongdae and Jongdae doesn’t bring it up either, so he keeps his new questions locked in with the old ones, choosing to wait to let them out in just one, two, three more days if it meant going to sleep and waking up to kisses and cuddles. If his hugs become just a little bit tighter, Jongdae doesn’t seem to notice.
This works well and good for him for another month until they’re sitting at a tavern on a planet just on the edge of Alliance space and five officers walk in. He notices the way Jongdae immediately tenses up and leans his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder in a way that blocks him from view, the way he nods to Baekhyun’s story but keeps his eyes on the uniforms. Kyungsoo’s watching him as well and even through Baekhyun’s lively and tipsy voice, he feels the table grow cold with tension. Chanyeol holds his breath but when he notices the bartender point towards their table, he knows they’re done for.
He kicks Baekhyun from under the table, stopping the storyteller in midsentence and earning an annoyed, “What?”
“Alliance officers coming to our table. We need to leave now.”
Baekhyun does exactly what he’d expected, and feared, he’d do. He turns in his seat to look at them, leaning his elbow on the table and resting his head on his hand as they approach. “Are you boys even allowed to drink while on duty?”
One of the officers smiles humorlessly. “I’m not really interested in you.” He leans over to get a good look at Jongdae, who keeps his eyes steadfast on the table. “Though I would be, if you were to get in the way.”
“I have a habit of getting into the way of things. What would I be getting in the way of this time though?”
Chanyeol can feel Jongdae’s hand move to his lap and his ears heat up even though he knows Jongdae’s only pulling the pistol out of his holster. He covers up the click of the hammer being pulled back with a cough and a thump of his glass and tries to keep his thoughts on the situation they’re in and not on Jongdae’s hand as it stretches out across his thigh for better aim under the table.
“The arrest of a killer and traitor to the Alliance.”
The bar hushes, as if they were all listening in, and Baekhyun’s eyes flicker over to Jongdae’s before looking back at the officer. “Are you sure you have the right person?”
The officer laughs and leans down next to Baekhyun, grabbing his hair and making him look across the table. “His face is at the top of every wanted list. I’m pretty sure we have the right person.”
“Okay.” Baekhyun reaches up and grabs onto his hands, prying them off his hair but keeping them in his hold. “I just wanted to make sure before we shot you.”
Jongdae pulls the trigger and Chanyeol feels the pistol kick back against his leg. He would wince at the welt it’s going to leave behind but all of the other uniforms converge on the table as the officer’s leg buckles from under him and Baekhyun shoves him away. Chanyeol uses his long legs to kick back the first officer who reaches the table, then jumps up and smashes his glass against the guy’s head. Shards sparkle down to the ground but he doesn’t get the chance to admire his work as someone grabs his shoulder, whips him around and delivers a blow across his cheek, making him stumble backwards onto another table.
Slightly disoriented, he stands up in time to watch Kyungsoo slide across the table and lower his shoulders as he barrels into the officer, driving him backwards against a wall before kicking his legs out from underneath him. The officer hits a chair on his way down and rolls away holding his head, leaving Kyungsoo free to grab another from behind who has Baekhyun in a head lock. That leaves one officer left and Chanyeol turns to find him with his hands up, slowly backing up as Jongdae points the pistol at him.
“Everyone good?” Kyungsoo asks as they all move to stand beside Jongdae, inching their way towards the tavern’s entrance.
“Let’s go.” Jongdae says and follows last as they file out the door.
It’s dark outside and Chanyeol’s sliding into the driver’s seat of the land speeder and starting it up when there’s a shout behind them, and he turns to find dozens of Alliance soldiers running towards them. “Fuck, get on! Get on!” He slams his foot on the accelerator and the force of it has the engine spluttering for a brief moment before firing to life and shooting them down the street. The corners weren’t meant for these speeds and he grips the wheel until his knuckles turn white from the pressure, turning it as much as it can be turned. People ahead of them scream and dive out of the way and his sigh of relief when they break out into open ground is short lived as gunshots go flying by.
Three speeders come up behind them quickly, made for these kind of chases, unlike their own which Baekhyun won in a poker game off a semi-wealthy rancher. Kyungsoo reaches in the back to open the small weapons locker and hands an assault rifle up to Jongdae, who turns to face backwards, one foot braced on the floor of the speeder and kneeling with the other leg on the passenger seat. The volley of fire is loud in Chanyeol’s ear and he tries to not let it distract him but his hands start to sweat because Jongdae’s not holding onto anything but the gun and they’re coming up on the tree line that he’ll have to maneuver the speeder through.
There’s a loud crash and Baekhyun whoops from the back seat. Chanyeol looks into the side mirror to see a ball of flames and then trees are whipping past and blocking his view of the other speeders. He eases off the accelerator to help him wind through the twisting path in the brush and turns sharply when shots fly past them. If he remembers correctly, the path makes a big loop around the small grove they’d touched down in. The other speeders are too close to give them any time to get onto the ship and close the ramp, so he’s left with only one option really that can give them a chance. He purses his lips and pulls Jongdae down, making him sit back in the seat, before he cuts off to the right of the path and takes them directly into the brush.
They’re hit with leaves and branches and tree roots that are too high to pass under the hovering vehicle and Chanyeol hopes it can hold up, never having pushed it this far before. The dark gray of the ship’s exterior shows faintly through the trees and Chanyeol has never, never, been more happy to see that beautiful color as they shoot out of the trees and into the grove. Even with his foot completely down on the brake, they still hit the ramp too fast and the back of the speeder hits the lip, making them skid across the cargo bay flooring. They come to a stop just short of the wall and Kyungsoo’s quickly out of his seat and running to close the ramp while Chanyeol races through the corridors to the bridge.
Bolt meets him in the doorway, barking and jumping and happy to see him and Chanyeol nearly trips over his feet to avoid stepping on him. “Lay down! This is going to be rough.” He says as he falls into his chair and switches the engine on, forgoing his safety belt in favor of pushing the communications button for the cargo bay.
“Are we clear?”
“Yes, go!”
He lifts the ship upwards, the navigation console and his seat rattling as it struggles to reach the speeds he’s pushing it to. “Come on, please.” He murmurs. The engine eases into it just before they break the atmosphere and Chanyeol lets out the breath he hadn’t known he was holding. He relaxes his grip, fingers aching from the strain, and leans bonelessly back into his seat. That had been too close. He checks the radar but doesn’t see any ships with Alliance tags in close proximity and rests his head back, running a hand through his hair as he exhales slowly.
“Shit, we’re in so much trouble now!” Baekhyun half shouts, half laughs as he stumbles onto the bridge and falls into the other chair. “Do you think we’ve been upgraded from petty criminals to full blown outlaws?”
“Probably.” Chanyeol smiles weakly and tries to hide the slight tremble that’s started in his hands by setting them on a course far outside Alliance space, far outside the ship’s maps. “It’s going to be harder to find people who’ll do business with us now.”
Baekhyun hums in agreement and they’re both quiet as the glow from the planet fades away and all that’s out there are stars and darkness. Chanyeol wonders what lies ahead of them, beyond Alliance space. The ones who travel that far are outlaws, like them now, he supposes, and they keep hidden and to themselves. Exploring the spooky places is what their ship’s always been about though, and Chanyeol thinks he’ll have to work on his flinching because it’s about to get much spookier.
“Did you know about Jongdae?”
“Sort of.” Chanyeol admits. “I didn’t know anything specific though. Just that he was hiding something. But I think Kyungsoo knew.”
Baekhyun nods and leaves soon after, giving him a pat on the shoulder as he passes by, and Chanyeol’s glad for the time alone. Or mostly alone, as he picks up Bolt and sets him on his lap, hand getting an immediate tongue bath. “Well, at least we got some answers today.” He says as he scratches the dog’s belly. “The question is, does it change anything?”
Jongdae avoids him for the next two days, and Chanyeol spends most of his time on the bridge, alternating between being lost in thought and asking Bolt to go find Jongdae (which he won’t; maybe the next generation models will have a broader list of commands that include “ask if he’s okay” and “tell him I miss him.”). He almost doesn’t hear the knock when it does come, too busy staring down Anabelle with his head pillowed under his arms and the thrum of the navigation control beneath him.
“Is it okay if I come in?”
He turns his head to find Jongdae leaning against the wall, tiny, unsure smile on his face and Chanyeol nods immediately. “Of course.”
Jongdae settles into the co-pilot’s chair, his chair, and fidgets with his hands. “Baekhyun’s letting me stay on the ship.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“They’re both punishing me, though, for causing trouble.”
Chanyeol laughs a little. “What do you have to do?”
“I have to be Baekhyun’s bodyguard whenever we leave the ship, unless he gives permission otherwise. And Kyungsoo said I have to answer any and every question you have, any time you have one.”
“I have a lot of questions.” Chanyeol warns him.
“I know.” There’s a beat of silence as Jongdae bites his lip and turns in the chair so he’s facing Chanyeol. “Can I ask one first, before you do?”
“We’re okay.” Jongdae looks over at him, eyes wide, and Chanyeol smiles and reaches out to hold onto his hand. “If that’s what you were going to ask. I hope that’s what you were going to ask, at least.”
It earns him a small laugh and Jongdae squeezes his hand, Special Smile threatening to show even through the nervousness on his face. “Since you robbed me of my first question, I’m going to ask another one. Remember when we first met, and I told you I’d tell you my long story another time? You said no and ran?”
“That was not a good first impression to make.”
Jongdae lets the smile take over his face. “Not at all. Will you finally let me tell you it?” Chanyeol nods, thumb brushing lightly against the back of Jongdae’s hand. “My parents are both Alliance military, so I was born in space and lived on ships my whole life. I didn’t really have a choice but to follow in their footsteps, and I wanted to make them proud so I worked so hard at the academy. I was a good marksman and I did everything the Alliance asked me to do, even when it was things that I know weren’t right. When you decide you don’t want to do it anymore, you don’t want to be that anymore, they call you a traitor and a killer and throw your name on a wanted list.
I thought it’d be no big deal. The universe is never-ending. They couldn’t possibly be everywhere, watching everything, and hiding should be easy. The truth though, is that hiding just buys you time. It doesn’t solve the problem. I hopped from transporter to transporter and made it all the way to the edges of the Alliance when they found me.”
“Is that why you were on that ship?”
Jongdae nods. “I was stuck in a holding cell when they all left. Of course they weren’t going to save a seat on a life boat for me. The only reason I got out is because they had to disable to security functions, otherwise they would have left me in the cell to die. Not that I wouldn’t have died anyway had you guys not shown up.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For taking your food and trying to leave you there. I thought you were crazy and had killed everyone on the ship.”
Jongdae laughs and the sound makes Chanyeol tug on his hand and pull him onto his lap. “I was nothing but nice to you!”
“You said you would haunt me for the rest of my life! If you had watched me flinch at every sound, you should have known I had a sensitive heart.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t make a good first impression either, alright?”
“It’s alright.” He puckers his lips expectantly and is pleased when Jongdae quickly swoops down to kiss him. “I heard you talking to Kyungsoo one day and I might have eavesdropped a little. How did he find out?”
“I don’t miss my shots.” Jongdae smiles, leaning into Chanyeol and wrapping his arms around his middle. “I think he was suspicious so he looked at the wanted lists. Probably didn’t take him long to find me.”
“Probably. Hey, when’s your birthday?”
“September 21st. Why?”
Chanyeol frowns. “That’s coming up soon. I already gave you a gift, do I have to give another one?”
“Of course you do!” Jongdae slaps his chest. “If breakfast is all you’re going to give me for my birthday then drop me off at the next stop.”
“You can’t do that. I found you and I get to keep you.”
“Um, I saw you first so it’s more like I found you. I also held your hand first and kissed you first, so you’re mine.”
“You kissed me because I made you breakfast, that should count-“
Jongdae puts a finger to his lips, then replaces it with his own and kisses him until Chanyeol no longer cares about who found who, as long as they’re keeping each other.