The rest of the break was spent in a blur of dancing around each other and their schedules, sorting out their next semester classes, work, and surviving post season practices. On Hajoon’s team, the captain was graduating and Hajoon herself was aiming for the spot next if she could win it. She did have some stiff competition to go up against though. Doyun was dead set on following in her big sister’s footsteps, though it was likely she’d never have the natural aptitude for it that Hajoon did. Siwoo pushed herself hard with her half-grav gymnastics activities, but she had no aspirations to try and go pro so she was fine with coasting during the rest of her break. And Daejung seemed content to focus on his games, the thought of learning hover boarding passing like a dream.

                Kibum’s work schedule remained mostly unchanged, so that was one constant between them, but more of Jinki’s time was claimed by their friend group at large. Henry picked up a part-time job as a waste disposal sorter in one of the poorer districts in their dome. It was a common university student and high school graduate job since skilled workers all found something else and robots weren’t widely used in such areas. They picked over the bits of non-biomass garbage and removed pieces that could be renovated, repaired, or broken down into component parts for reuse in similarly poor areas. Consignment shops were quite popular among a certain clientele after all.

                Like many other humanoid Varium, Larad joined a manual construction crew that worked with robots to handle some of the heavier lifting in the city. Nanomachines were great about maintaining the interiors of buildings, but for exterior repairs and renovations, good old fashioned hard work was the most cost-effective way of handling the situation. Unsurprisingly, Ercite was not far behind, though true to Dawbn form, they were relegated to planning and delegating tasks with the various leading foremen.

                With all their different responsibilities, it made meeting up together challenging. Not to mention that Henry also started dating the Varium Aanya and he was even more difficult to get in touch with after that. Of course, that didn’t mean that the others didn’t get together when an opportunity presented itself. Jinki and Ercite still helped at the University for the newbies and it wasn’t like Jinki or Kibum spent all that much time apart. Kibum still went to most of Jinki’s practice sessions and Jinki popped into Kibum’s work just as often. It was just that they also spent more time together outside of their usual meetups.

                By all counts, it was a fairly normal occurrence, with two notable exceptions.

                While Kibum knew what he wanted to do, and had for almost as long as he could remember, Jinki was not so fortunate in his future goals. Not definitively anyway. It led to an interesting conversation they shared while they were choosing classes for their next semester.

                Seated on the edge of Kibum’s bed in his dorm room, they scrolled through the lists of classes Jinki could choose from. Kibum wouldn’t be able to choose until tomorrow, due to the rolling enrollment schedule. With a sigh, Jinki leaned back and turned his face up towards the ceiling, not sure about his picks.

                “You still don’t know what you want to major in?” Kibum asked, leaning close to nudge his boyfriend’s shoulder with his own.

                Another sigh escaped before Jinki looked over with a shake of his head. “Honestly, I figured I’d have thought of something by now.”

                Kibum hummed and crossed his arms thoughtfully. “What do you want to do? I mean, you already know I want to be a captain. Really hoping those introductory flight classes aren’t full by tomorrow… “ he trailed off, partially worried already.

                Jinki chuckled and reached out to offer a comforting pat on his back. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. Everyone says they want to learn to fly but there are a lot of dropouts in the first couple days too.”

                “I know, but that’s my problem to figure out tomorrow,” Kibum laughed with a dismissive wave. “Right now, we’re talking about you. And I’ll ask again, what do you want to do, Jinki?”

                His expression was intense, eyes focused solely on Jinki’s and he wasn’t really sure anyone had every actually looked at him that way before. At least not the way that Kibum did. “I don’t know,” he admitted with a small frown. He might have an inkling of an idea, but he still wasn’t sure if it was because it was what he wanted to do or because it fit so well with what Kibum wanted to do…

                Suddenly energetic, Kibum pulled his feet up to sit cross legged on the bed, turning so he could face Jinki directly. “Okay. Well, you haven’t really told me much about what you wanted to do when you were younger. So let’s start there,” he said with a grin, nodding emphatically on the suggestion.

                It was amusing, to say the least. Jinki laughed and shook his head. “Like I said. I don’t know,” he explained with an embarrassed shrug. “I knew more about what I didn’t want to do than what actually interested me. Well, helping people but I think that could be because I’m good at it.”

                “Teacher’s pet,” Kibum teased, reaching out to brush at Jinki’s bangs with his fingertips, sweeping them out of the way before they settled back into place.

                “Not always,” Jinki retorted in a weak defense. Kibum didn’t say anything back yet, but his look didn’t waver. Clearly he was waiting for a better response. “I mean, you know my parents work in the salvage and maintenance industries. They didn’t want me to follow in their footsteps, so I figured I’d go to the university and figure it out when I got there. Not that there’s anything wrong with what they do,” he added quickly when it felt that could be taken the wrong way.

                Kibum held his hands up in surrender. “Never said there was. Your dad finds some pretty cool stuff out there sometimes. At least according to what he’s told me.”

                Jinki laughed and nodded in quiet agreement. “If it wasn’t such a dead-end job, I don’t think I’d mind.”

                “So maybe something to do with salvage or working around tech, like your mom,” Kibum offered thoughtfully, his hand gesturing in front of him like a restless butterfly.

                “Maybe,” he murmured with a pensive expression on his face.

                “Then again, you’re not half-bad at grav jumping,” his boyfriend added, a fluid shrug accompanying the suggestion.

                “Oof. No thank you. It’s bad enough we’ve got two in the family that want to go pro. At least one of which is actually likely to make it happen,” he explained with an emphatic shake of his head. “Did you know Hajoon had a scout asking about her?”

                “Really?” Kibum wondered in honest surprise. Clearly he’d missed that conversation at some point, or Jinki had forgotten to tell him.

                “Yeah. Not too long after the championship game. She’s still on cloud nine and Doyun is a little jealous,” he couldn’t help but add with a chuckle.

                “No wonder she’s seemed a bit down lately.”

                “Eh. She’ll be alright. Especially if she starts getting noticed when she gets to Hajoon’s level too,” Jinki explained. “So yeah. No sports for me.”

                “Okay. No sports and no planet side salvage and repair. You didn’t do half bad at The Stars Align with your debut performance. Ever thought about going into live shows?” Kibum asked, his expression playful but his tone at least partially serious.

                Jinki leveled a questionable look at him, one brow raised and his mouth quirked to the side. “That’s your domain. Not mine, Kibummie.”

                Kibum’s grin was delightful. He always smiled that way when Jinki called him by that nickname. “Yeah, yeah,” he waved, still giddy. “But seriously. Focus!” he shifted quickly, clapping his hands and catching Jinki off guard. “We’re trying to figure out how to guide the next two years of your life, here.”

                “Ugh,” Jinki grimaced as he leaned back. “When you put it that way…”

                “Jinki,” his boyfriend whined, leaning closer to smack his shoulder, all sound and no sting.

                He flinched away and laughed. But then his mirth tapered out and he quieted, chewing on his bottom lip in the meantime. “I’ve thought about maybe going into mentoring or teaching. Making the helping thing official, but… I don’t know. I don’t think it’s what I want to do for the rest of my life,” he admitted, reaching out to lay his hand on Kibum’s knee as if he was anchoring himself.

                “You know…” Kibum started to say as he put his hand on top of Jinki’s, curling his slender fingers under his palm to hold it lightly. “Never mind,” he abruptly said, changing course with a wave of his free hand. “I know what I would like but this is your choice. Not mine,” he stated firmly, not looking at Jinki as he did so.

                Jinki mulled over how he wanted to respond. Whatever he said next, it didn’t mean it would be law. He could still always change his mind later or make adjustments as needed, but he was curious to try the words out on his tongue. He curled his fingers around Kibum’s to hold his hand back and then looked straight ahead so that it would be easier to focus. “Before I met you, I had never really thought about leaving the planet. I mean, maybe heading to a different dome if something opened up in one of the newer ones or a position became available in one of the more established domes.” He felt Kibum go very still at the words and had to force himself not to look over. “But now…” he sighed, looking up as if he could see through the barrier above him and into the expansive space beyond it.

                “Oh…” Kibum sighed nearby, a breathy, excited sound. Jinki couldn’t help but glance over and make eye-contact. As soon as he did, his boyfriend grinned and bounced on the bed like a little kid. “Do you wanna join my crew?” His expression was blinding, but then it turned into a grimace as he smacked his mouth with his free hand. “Forget I asked. That’s what I want. This should be about what you want. Sorry,” he babbled, looking down in frustration.

                “Kibum,” he called so that the other man would look up and stop berating himself.

                “Huh?”

                His expression was so innocently surprised it made Jinki chuckle. “I am thinking about what I want. So you don’t have to apologize. And my answer is yes. Or at least maybe,” he conceded with a sideways tilt of his head while he rubbed the back of his neck.

                “Really?” Kibum gasped, his hand tightening around Jinki’s.

                “Kibum,” he called again, leveling a knowing look at his overly excited boyfriend.

                “Right. I’m listening,” he said, taking a breath as he forced himself to calm down and pay attention, back ramrod straight and expression focused.

                “I think…” he trailed off, chewing on the inside of his bottom lip. “I do want to go into space.” For such a hesitant admission, it actually felt pretty right when the words finally left his mouth. Kibum smiled at him, a flash response before he forced it away to a more neutral one. Jinki had to admire the effort. “And I say maybe to being in your crew because that’s three years out at the earliest and a lot can happen between now and then,” he reasoned with a shrug.

                Kibum rolled his eyes with a sigh and then leaned forward. “Anyone ever tell you that you think ahead a little too much sometimes?”

                “Anyone ever tell you that you might not think ahead enough?” Jinki countered, pointing his finger at Kibum’s forehead.

                “Hey! I knew I wanted to be a ship captain years ago,” he reminded the other man matter-of-factly, removing his hand so that he could cross his arms for dramatic effect.

                “Then I’m glad one of us knows what he wants to do,” Jinki smiled, lowering his hand to tap Kibum’s nose with his finger.

                “Hey!” his boyfriend yelped, reaching to grab the offending digit but falling forward in the process. He quieted suddenly when their faces became abruptly close and pursed his lips, a light flush suffusing his cheeks.

                Jinki smiled, bemused by the situation, and leaned forward to press his lips against Kibum’s forehead. “Really,” he whispered, shifting so that he could rest his forehead against Kibum’s. “I am glad that at least one of us has a direction in mind,” he reassured, looking at Kibum until the other man raised his eyes to meet his.

                Kibum sniffed once and sat up straight, crossing his arms again as he looked away. “It’s not fair that you can just stay so calm all the time like that,” he grumbled, the tips of his ears now quite pink.

                “Eh. I’m just better at hiding it,” he admitted, scooting closer so he could slide his arms around Kibum’s waist and draw him closer into a loose back hug.

                Kibum yelped and looked down, the flush growing brighter on his cheeks, but he didn’t try to escape. “You’re terrible,” he grumbled, finally pulling himself together enough to look up and meet Jinki’s gaze without turning scarlet.

                “Am I?” he wondered with a playful smile.

                “Ye-es!” he practically shrieked when Jinki dug his fingers into Kibum’s ribs, tickling him. Jinki laughed and Kibum smacked his hand before pointing a finger in his direction. “No!” Jinki pursed his lips and stopped for a second but then poked him in the side with a single finger instead. “Jinki!” Kibum yelped, dissolving into giggles that multiplied when his boyfriend continued his playful attack.

                “Give up?” Jinki asked with a wide grin, his fingers stilling for a second.

                “Never!” Kibum shot back, laughing and thrashing some more when the tickle attack continued. Breathless and tired, he finally panted, “Okay! Okay!” He went limp in Jinki’s arms and huffed, “I give up. Jerk,” he added with a chuckle.

                Jinki hugged Kibum close and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before letting him go gently. “You good?” he asked after a pause, one hand reaching up to rest on Kibum’s shoulder.

                “I’m good,” Kibum nodded in confirmation, holding one hand up to wave away the concern. “Just catching my breath. Next time, we’ll see how you like it,” he warned, a promising gleam in his eyes.

                “Fair enough,” Jinki laughed without complaint. “Alright. You can rest up. I still need to finish picking my classes. Probably something to do with space,” he mused, nodding to himself before he turned to pull the holoscreen back up and continue the selection process. Without a word, Kibum gathered himself on the bed and then crawled around to latch onto Jinki from behind, arms around his chest, legs around his waist, and chin resting on his shoulder. “Playing big spoon?” he asked with a quick sideways glance.

                “Backpack,” Kibum responded, holding tighter as if he was afraid Jinki would try to dislodge him.

                “Okay,” was all he said in response, reaching across to rest his left hand on top of Kibum’s while he used his right to continue checking and marking classes. Despite his oftentimes aloof demeanor in public, Jinki had discovered that Kibum liked to be physically close in private. It often felt like Kibum was trying to glue himself to Jinki, as if he was scared the other man would disappear or leave. He patted Kibum’s hand and then pointed at a class on the screen. “What do you think about this one?”

                “Mm,” Kibum agreed with a nod, shifting to settle in more comfortably.

                “An engineering class? Me?” he wondered, curious if his boyfriend was actually paying attention.

                “Why not? Your mom is sort of an engineer,” he explained with a shrug.

                “Huh. There is that,” he conceded, a thoughtful expression on his face.

                And that was how Jinki chose his classes for the upcoming semester: with Kibum on his back and offering commentary for each selection. Then again, the following day it was his turn, though it took Kibum far less time to decide. As he loved to remind his boyfriend, he knew what he wanted to do and how to do it. It was one of the things Jinki admired about him.

                On the other hand, when there was something he wasn’t entirely sure about, the situation could be vastly different. And that was the case when they got together with a group of friends and relatives to have a friendly grav jumping game on a day when everyone was free. It had to be a late morning, early afternoon event since Passeri and Jackson were invited, but most of everyone was able to make it.

                They rented a grav jumping hall in the city center to make it happen. Surprisingly, it was a favorite pastime of many citizens and often had to be booked days in advance for a slot. Jinki and Kibum arrived early so the latter could give his boyfriend some tips and pointers ahead of time. Or at least before everyone else arrived.

                “Can’t believe I let you talk me into doing this,” Kibum grumbled as he adjusted his gear and made sure it felt alright. He flinched away from Jinki’s fingers when the other man started to feel around to make sure.

                Jinki raised his hands in surrender immediately. “Just making sure everything’s good. No tickling. I promise.”

                “I’m watching you,” Kibum warned while he stepped back into range. As promised, his eyes followed Jinki’s hands like a hawk when he tested and adjusted various straps and sensors.

                “Okay. So it’s kind of like the gravity you feel when you’re on the mainstage, but it can and does shift when you’re in the air,” Jinki explained as they made their way to the grav jumping grounds to give it a try together.

                “I know that at least,” Kibum grumbled with a disappointed expression.

                “Sorry,” Jinki apologized quickly. “Used to covering all the bases. Okay. You ready to get in the air?” he asked as he approached the switch on the wall that would turn on the gravity well.

                “Not really, but sure,” his boyfriend exhaled, visibly shaking his nerves out.

                Jinki grinned and hit the switch. There was no immediate gravitational change but the well did emerge from a hole in the ground to rise up where it would sit for the duration of the session. “Okay! It’s set for static grav so no changes. You ready to turn it on?” he asked, coming close to point at the start indicator on Kibum’s wrist control.

                Kibum curled his lip and gave him a sidelong look but took a breath and nodded. “Sure. Why not? It can’t be that hard, can it?” he asked with a forced laugh.

                “Well… that does depend on if you’re asking someone like Hajoon versus someone like Daejung,” Jinki hedged with a mischievous smile. “Let’s see which one you are.” He teased with a wink and then turned his gear on, adjusting the settings so that he rose up gently towards the gravity well.

                “You’re not helping!” Kibum grumbled after him. But when Jinki didn’t come down to assist, he reluctantly the equipment himself and then adjusted the settings as he’d been instructed. “Woah!” he yelped when the gravity changed and he started floating up to join Jinki.

                To Kibum’s disappointment, he was not the natural savant he had obviously hoped to be when it came to grav jumping, but neither was he a lost cause. He was simply unpracticed. They got enough of an early start to help him get a grasp of the basics before the others started arriving, though it was clear he’d probably need assistance in any actual match.

                As hoped, everyone they invited was able to attend, and then some, to the rest of the general group’s surprise. Hajoon and Doyun came as the resident experts; Larad and Ercite arrived to support Jinki; Henry came with his new girlfriend Aanya – a slimmer and shorter Varium than they were all expecting, though she was still taller than him; Passeri and Jackson showed up for Kibum, though it was likely they’d just spectate or at the least, take it easy; and then Psitassi came with Crawven in tow, of all Moladhi. A handful of Kibum’s fan club were in attendance too but everyone was more surprised by Psitassi’s guest.

                “He’s promised to be on his best behavior,” she assured Kibum directly, gesturing in his direction when they got close enough. “Isn’t that right, Crawven?” she asked archly, turning her attention to settle on the Moladhi whose plumage and demeanor were muted in comparison to hers.

                “Yes,” he mumbled, keeping his head partially down so that he wasn’t looking directly at anybody in the process.

                Passeri cleared and Psitassi looked over to see a curious quirk of the other Moladhi’s eyebrow. Passeri smiled and gave a small shake of her head in answer to some unspoken question, though it seemed to satisfy the other female. Then her attention shifted to Kibum and she sidled over with all her usual gossipy energy. “But Kibum! A little birdy told me you and Jinki…” she trailed off, glancing between the pair expectantly, her eyes dancing in preemptive delight.

                “That’s right,” Jinki answered for him, inserting himself in front of Kibum so that he could block Crawven’s view.

                Voluntarily oblivious to his posturing, Psitassi giggled in delight and clapped her hands. “Oh! Can I run a piece on this on your fan page?” she asked, practically bouncing in place. “Your fans would love to hear this. Especially since it’s Jinki,” she preened, gesturing at said Terran noticeably.

                “Uh…” Kibum blurted while his expression blanked, apparently along with his mind.

                “Psitassi, my dear. May I speak with you?” Passeri asked as she glided close and gently escorted the other Moladhi to the side.

                “Of course,” she chirped, unoffended by the interruption. It was Passeri after all.

                “Jinki!” Henry called, happily inserting himself into the empty space left in her wake with his Varium friend at his side. “This is Aanya. My girlfriend. The one I told you about before. Remember?” he babbled quickly, grinning from ear to ear as he looked between the Varium and his friends.

                “Hi Aanya. Nice to meet you. I’m Jinki,” he responded, giving her a wave in greeting as he finally pulled his attention from Crawven. “And this is Kibum. My boyfriend.”

                “Oh! You must be Almighty Key then,” she smiled, waving at both of them energetically.

                Kibum was obviously caught off guard by the comment but he nodded. “I am.”

                “I have a friend that regularly goes to The Stars Align. You’re one of her favorites to watch. No offense Jackson. Passeri,” she called, nodding at the mainliners for that particular establishment.

                “If it was anyone else, I might be offended,” Jackson snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. “But it’s Kibum. How can I be otherwise?”

                While she was distracted, Kibum leaned close and whispered into Jinki’s ear, “Do you think it’s her friend or herself she’s actually talking about?”

                “Definitely herself,” Jinki laughed quietly, smoothing his expression when she turned back around to focus on the group at large.

                “And we’re Jinki’s sisters. Hi!” Hajoon pushed into the conversation with Doyun just behind her.

                Aanya gasped again upon recognizing her. “You’re with the Yonichi Alpha Wyverns. I watched your championship game. It was so good!”

                “Thanks,” Hajoon smiled politely, glancing at Henry with an uncertain look.

                “Oh! You might know our team too! We didn’t make it to the championships this year, but we got close,” Doyun stepped in, grinning in excitement.

                “Oh. That’s good,” Aanya said, obviously trying to be polite as she nodded her head.

                “They’ll probably do better next year,” Larad commented while he moved into the group, bringing Ercite with him.

                “Definitely!” Doyun agreed, giving an energetic fist pump.

                “Well good luck then,” she encouraged turning her attention back to Hajoon for a second. “I don’t suppose you know Captain Yarah?”

                It was at that point that Jinki lost interest as she was obviously fishing for information about Hajoon’s team captain. He turned to look and noticed that Kibum was still regarding Crawven though, the two sharing an uneasy visual exchange. They weren’t hostile exactly, but it was clear there might have still been bad blood between them. He grabbed Kibum’s hand and pulled him back to move out of the larger group just enough. It was very fortuitous timing apparently.

                Passeri swooped in and placed her feathery arms around both of them so she could lean close between the gap they made. “It’s not what it looks like,” she explained in a low voice, her expression easy and otherwise unreadable. “It’s mostly politics, though I do think Crawven fancies her,” she added with a wistful shrug.

                “She used to fancy him to. What changed?” Kibum grumbled, unable to maintain a neutral expression the way the Moladhi did.

                “You,” she grinned down at him. “Congratulations, Kibum. Simply by learning of the history between you two, she has decided that he is not marriageable material, but his father does own a series of shipping fleets that transport goods between domes and that make the occasional trip between planets.”

                “I knew his dad was a bigwig but wow,” Jinki murmured in obvious surprise.

                “Didn’t you know?” Passeri asked with a twinkle in her eye. “The newest domes are always hot spots for people of power to send their offspring for… educational purposes,” she explained, pausing long enough to show she was choosing her words with care. “Well, that and keeping them safe from the internal conflict present in established domes,” she added with a shrug.

                “You sound as if you know from experience,” Jinki commented, one brow raised.

                “I don’t, no,” she denied immediately, one hand elegantly placed against her as she shook her head. “But my father on the other hand…” she trailed off, letting the unsaid linger in the air between them.

                “I thought he was reti-”

                “Hey! Are we gonna play or not?” Doyun shouted into the general din of conversation and sound.

                 Jinki knew by her tone she was annoyed at not being paid attention to – Hajoon must have stolen the limelight again, but he wasn’t upset by the timing. “Yes!” he called out to let her know she’d been heard by somebody at least. “We’ll have to come back to that conversation at some point,” he smiled, shifting his attention to Passeri even as he reached out to grab Kibum’s hand.

                “I’m on Passeri’s team!” Jackson called as he sidled over to join said Moladhi, making his preference for players known immediately.

                “I’m with Aanya!” That from Henry of course.

                Jinki could feel Kibum’s eyes on him and he looked over with a reassuring smile. “Of course we’re going to be on the same team,” he promised.

                Though it made Kibum smile, it didn’t seem to be enough for him. “Jinki and I will be on the same team!” he announced, making sure his voice was heard by everyone in the area.

                As luck would have it, there were enough for two teams of five. Considering no one else wanted to split up, it actually worked out perfectly since Hajoon and Doyun could go head-to-head. “I’m on Jinki’s team!” Doyun announced quickly, raising her hand and running over to join her big brother.

                “Alright,” Hajoon nodded, dusting off her hands as she wandered to stand opposite them. “I’ll take…” she hesitated, looking over the remaining members with a keen eye. “Larad and Ercite,” she called, gesturing for the pair to join her side.

                There was a moment of intense deliberation then between Jinki, Kibum, and Doyun about who to choose next with Henry looking quite pitiful off to the side as he waved for them to pick him and Aanya. But Doyun was very much between a rock and a hard place and proximity ended up trumping Henry’s wishful thinking when she chose, “Passeri and Jackson.”

                “Yes!” Jackson cheered, bouncing over to join the three who were ready and waiting.

                Hajoon wasted no time in selecting, “Psitassi and Crawven.”

                “Jinki! Why didn’t you pick us first?” Henry bemoaned as he and Aanya made their way to join Doyun’s team as the last pair.

                “Sorry, Henry,” he apologized quickly with a gesture towards his sister and a careful effort not to look at Kibum. “You made it anyway though,” he grinned, clapping the other Terran on the shoulder reassuringly.

                Henry made a face but huffed and nodded in agreement. “I guess.”

                Despite Henry’s disappointment at being selected last, Jinki was pleased that Hajoon had opted to keep their teams relatively balanced. Ercite would likely be equally as effective as Kibum – given his beginner status and their diminutive stature, and there was a Varium and at least one Moladhi on both teams. He made sure to keep looking at her until she noticed and then nodded to show he understood what she’d done. She grinned back and gave a quick salute before gesturing for her team to round up so they could discuss strategy.

                Jinki found himself doing the same with Doyun and company. It wasn’t going to be a hard game. Or at least it wasn’t supposed to be. But you never knew when it came to grav jumping. The competitive nature of Doyun and Hajoon could well tip it into interesting territory, but in the meantime, the goal was simply to have fun.

                And for the most part, they did. Generally speaking, it was a lot of Doyun and Hajoon intentionally competing against each other and everyone else sort of just milling about, but it was fun. Despite being on opposite teams, Crawven wouldn’t touch Kibum with a ten-foot pole while Psitassi made an initial effort to play but then subsided to mostly watching instead. Aanya spent more time flitting about and observing the others play than actually trying to play herself, with Henry tagging along at her heels. And then there was Passeri and Jackson who were otherwise engaged in utilizing the full range of motion available with grav jumping gear and putting on an impromptu performance just because they could.

                Like Larad and Ercite, this seemed to suit Kibum just fine as he was having fun trying to figure the gear out and not get decked by anyone on the opposite team, especially Hajoon. He had seen what she was capable of in the championships. As for Jinki, he was just delighted to see everybody loosely interacting together, but he was especially focused on Kibum. An ugly duckling in this arena, with practice he could likely develop into a full-fledged swan, but for now, his floundering was reminiscent of Jinki’s early years in practicing and it was fun to step in and help him glide around the arena with practiced gravity shifts.

                Considering the hour-long match really ended up being a competition between Doyun and Hajoon, it was no surprise that the latter ended up winning, so to speak. Doyun was frustrated her big sister was still so much better than her, but it was hard to stay sad or upset when everyone else was wearing a smile from the unusual activity.

                But then most of everyone had something else to go to afterwards and they generally went their separate ways, but Kibum’s first official grav jumping lesson / session was otherwise a success! “We’ll have to do it again sometime,” Jinki grinned as he walked with Kibum out of the training center hand in hand.

                “I don’t know about a team event exactly, but I’m pretty sure I can get it figured out if we practice one on one,” Kibum grinned. “Bet I can even learn to beat you too,” he smirked, all bravado in that moment.

                “Yeah?” Jinki questioned, a pleased smile on his face.

                “One day,” he answered with a laugh. “You’ve had years of practice ahead of me. Give me time and I know I can do it,” he promised with a confident smile.

                “I do not doubt that at all,” Jinki chuckled, raising Kibum’s hand to kiss the back of it quickly. The fact it still made his boyfriend blush was part of the reason he did it, but it was also an easy way to show his affection without being too overt about it.

                “Well good,” he mumbled, ducking his head briefly in embarrassment before taking a breath and standing up straight. “Wanna get a bite to eat before I have to go to work?”

                “Sure. What were you thinking?”

                “Hmm… I heard there’s a new Terran restaurant near The Stars Align. Garum said it was pretty good actually,” he explained thoughtfully.

                “Yeah? Let’s give it a try then. I’m game.”

                “Great! Let’s go!” Kibum grinned, running ahead and turning back to wave at the other departing people. “See you guys next time!”

                “Later!”

                Following in Kibum’s wake, Jinki nodded in satisfaction. Grav jumping had been a good idea. He could only hope he’d have several more good ideas in the days to come.

 

(a/n: Okay! Finally found a bit of my inspiration and got a good flow going. haha Sorry this took me a bit longer than intended but we're starting to expand the world a little. Got caught up on some of the finer points and how to broach them. Not necessarily in this chapter but certainly related to it. heh I hope you've enjoyed this most recent installment and that you're looking forward to the next one. We (our characters especially) have a goal now and we should be seeing them working towards in in the next couple chapters. Maybe one if I can successfully and satisfactorily sum up everything neatly without being too rushed. We'll have to see how it goes. But as always, thank you for reading and I hope you continue to enjoy!)