It wasn’t every day that Chanyeol stole a ship.

This was a nice one too: Akiva class with quad-core hyperspace engines, an elite weapons system, and even an Echelon Shield. Just sitting in the pilot’s seat had Chanyeol jittery with excitement. 

He’d taken off from Arridia about half an hour earlier, shifting the ship—The Sojourner, it was named—into stealth mode. That had been really cool. Not many ships nowadays had stealth modes anymore; such technology was supposed to be outlawed. Fortunately, whatever high-ranking politician or official had owned the ship probably didn’t care for such laws, allowing Chanyeol to sneak out of the hangar and into free space undetected.

Arridia was far behind him now, and only the stars were ahead. Just the thought had Chanyeol excited all over again. He could go anywhere, do anything, be anyone. The options were limitless. Arridia was all he’d ever known—now the entire universe was spread out before him, and Chanyeol didn’t know where to begin.

For the moment, he figured it’d be best to just get as far away as he could. People would probably begin searching for The Sojourner soon, and Chanyeol wanted to be sure that he was nowhere near Arridia airspace when that happened. The ship had half a tank of gas, which would get him maybe thirteen parsecs if he needed, so Chanyeol the ship’s navigational systems and searched.

There. Ten parsecs away was a small planet—a mining planet, it seemed. Ethios. It was perfect. Chanyeol set the course and strapped himself in as the ship made the jump to hyperspace. From there it was a matter of letting the autopilot do all the work, giving Chanyeol time to kill.

Back on Arridia, he’d jumped onto the ship and left as soon as possible, determined to get away undetected. Now that he had a chance to explore, he wasn’t about to waste it. The ship itself was large enough that it would take him at least an hour to see the whole thing. He needed to get started.

Outside the cockpit was the ship’s main deck. From it stretched a multitude of motion-activated doors and long hallways. The large door on the far left was the docking door; Chanyeol couldn’t have opened it while they were in flight even if he wanted to, so he left that one out as he tried to decide where to go.

In the end, the hallway to the back and right of the ship seemed to be the most interesting, so that was where he went.

Storage compartments and little side rooms—an eating area, what looked like a conference room, and a few bedrooms—lined the hallway. Chanyeol peered into each with little interest. Most of them were empty save for furniture and a few decorations on the wall. How boring. 

Chanyeol continued on.

It didn’t take him long to reach the end of the hallway. There was one final door there, but it didn’t open when Chanyeol approached it. Strange. Most of them had so far. That meant it was locked from the inside, and that definitely piqued Chanyeol’s curiosity. However, multiple attempts at trying to open did nothing. Chanyeol considered the blaster pistol at his hip and frowned.

He’d taken the weapon from the hangar as he’d left. It was nothing much, just a simple carbine-powered gun, but it would do the trick if he needed to fry the door’s controls to get it to open. After a few more unsuccessful attempts to open the door himself, Chanyeol gave in and pulled out the pistol. He set it to stun so it wouldn’t ricochet or do any major damage, cocked it, and pulled the trigger.

The aftershock surprised him a little; the little gun had more kick to it than he thought it would. But it had worked, and that was all that mattered. The door now stood open to him.

Chanyeol stepped inside.

It was another bedroom. The bed inside was a little messy, and there were personal items lying all around, but beside that there was nothing interesting. Chanyeol frowned, disappointed. Why had it been locked when such meaningless things were inside?

Thump.

Chanyeol went still. 

A noise. It had come from the closet on the opposite side of the bed. Chanyeol kept his blaster pistol in hand and stared at it, his imagination going wild with possibilities. Perhaps it was some rabid creature, perhaps it was a guard of the previous owner who was going to try and arrest him for theft, or perhaps the ship’s momentum had just knocked something in the closet over.

Either way, Chanyeol wasn’t about to let his guard down.

He made sure his blaster was still set to stun and stepped forward, keeping the open door at his back in case he needed to make a quick getaway. One step, two steps. Chanyeol moved as fast as he felt able, holding his breath, his hands shaking where he held the blaster. By the time he reached the closet door, he was so high-strung he felt like he’d snap at the first sign of danger.

Calm down, he told himself, there’s probably not even anything in there.

Repeating this in his head in order to get himself to relax, Chanyeol reached out with one hand, threw the door open, and brought his blaster up. His finger was on the trigger, ready to shoot should he need to. Then his eyes fell on the boy crouched inside the closet, crushed into the corner, and he went still.

A boy.

No older than himself, with wide, dark eyes and hair like the eternal black of space. A fine tunic spun from dark thread coupled with a pair of dark breeches were his attire, and both were gilded with silver buttons and trim to give it a very sleek, high-end air. In any other situation, he probably would’ve made an impressive figure. As it was, crouched in the corner with his knees pulled up to his chest and tears in his eyes, he looked anything but. 

Chanyeol felt himself falter. The poor guy looked terrified.

“No, no, please,” the boy gasped, crushing himself farther into the corner, “Don’t hurt me—please.”

Chanyeol lowered his blaster. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“You—you stole my ship.”

“Your ship?” Chanyeol echoed. “Who are you?”

“Who are you? Are you—are you a pirate?” The young man looked scared all over again. “A-are you looking for a ransom?”

“I’m not a pirate, I’m just a …” Chanyeol searched for the right word. “Traveler. I’m a traveler.”

The boy gave him a blank look. “Most travelers don’t steal other people’s ships.”

“Well, I’m not most travelers.” Chanyeol stepped forward and the other shied away, his breathing shallow.

“W-wait, wait, please.”

“I already said I wasn’t going to hurt you.”

“B-but—”

“I just wanted to help you up.” Chanyeol held out his hand, gesturing for the other to take it. The male stared. Then, after a few breathless moments, he took the proffered hand, not looking at Chanyeol as he got to his feet.

“Thanks,” he mumbled.

Chanyeol nodded and stepped back. “Who are you?”

“I, um …”

“I’m Chanyeol, if that helps.”

The male still didn’t look up. “Jongin,” he said.

“Jongin. You said this was your ship?”

“… Yeah.”

“You must be someone pretty important if you have an Akiva class ship. Some high-ranking official, or maybe even royalty—” Chanyeol cut himself off, his eyes widening as everything clicked into place all at once. The ship, the name, even the clothes he wore, they all made sense. Chanyeol was an idiot to have not noticed before. “,” he cursed. “.”

Jongin glanced up at him now. He looked scared again. “Wh-what?”

“You’re … damn the gods, you are royalty, aren’t you? You’re Kim Jongin.”

Jongin shook his head and backed away. “I-I’m not anyone, I’m just—”

“No, I recognize you now. I can’t believe I didn’t realize it before.” Chanyeol shook his head. “I’ve seen your face on TV and in magazines every once in a while. Not enough to recognize you on sight, obviously, but enough that I know now. You’re Kim Jongin. You’re the ing crown prince.” Chanyeol put a hand to his head. He didn’t feel so well. “I just accidentally kidnapped the crown prince of the Kakirnian Galactic Alliance.”

This was huge. This wasn’t about a stolen ship anymore. At least with that, Chanyeol could’ve gotten away with a fine and probation if he’d been apprehended, but now this was on a completely different level altogether. If he was caught—even if he tried to explain that it had been an accident—he’d be labeled a fugitive and would be sentenced for life. 

I just wanted to be free.

When Chanyeol looked back up, it was to see Jongin still standing there, staring at him with wide, fearful eyes. 

“What?” Chanyeol asked. It ended up coming out harsher than he’d meant, and Jongin jumped.

“I—I just … what’re you going to do with me now?”

He was trembling. Chanyeol felt pity strike through him when he noticed, and he forgot about himself for a moment. It must have been terrifying for Jongin to have had his ship stolen like that while he was still aboard. How he must’ve feared for his life, thinking, perhaps, that the ones who’d stolen the ship were after him.

But in the end, it had just been Chanyeol. Stupid, stupid Chanyeol who’d dreamt of other worlds and too many stars. Stupid.

“I have no quarrel with you,” Chanyeol said finally, “I didn’t even know you were on board. So if you want, I can drop you off at the next planet and give you a way to contact someone.”

Jongin’s eyes widened. “What? Really? But … aren’t you worried that I’ll tell everyone who stole the ship and send them after you?”

“I don’t see any other options.”

“Most …” Jongin hesitated. “M-most people would do anything just to keep themselves safe and out of trouble, no matter the cost.”

Chanyeol paused. The idea had never even crossed his mind. “I just wanted transport off Arridia, that’s all.”

“Where are you going?”

“… I don’t know. Wherever. I didn’t really have a plan except for get off Arridia.”

Jongin hesitated. He looked so young. Chanyeol knew he’d been set to be married soon, to some princess from a lesser noble family, and then made to accept his rightful place on the throne. Looking at him now, Chanyeol wondered if he was old enough. 

“Can I go with you?” Jongin blurted, and Chanyeol froze.

With me?

“I don’t really … want to go home,” Jongin mumbled, “At least not yet.”

Everything clicked into place for Chanyeol then.

Maybe Jongin had been confined too. Maybe, despite his status—or because of it—he’d been forced to live a sheltered life, never without the prescence of his guards, never allowed to go off on his own even just to get some peace and quiet. Maybe he’d gotten tired of the constant surveillance. Maybe he wanted to be free, like Chanyeol.

Maybe he just wanted to see more of the galaxy before he was forced to rule it.

So before Chanyeol could really think it through, before he could stop himself, he holstered his gun and offered Kim Jongin, the crown prince of the Kakirnian Galactic Alliance, a gentle smile.

“Of course you can.”

We could travel the stars.
It would be my honor.

a/n: I swear to God do not ask for a sequel.
If I write one, I write one.
If I don't, I don't.