November 1st, 2016 - The Bunker:

Han Geng wastes no time in contributing to the Resistance effort. Just mere days after his recruitment, he wants to introduce the Resistance to two contacts he has in a nearby Cluster, a relatively short hike away.

“One of them I met because we were both stranded here away from our mother country,” he tells Jungsoo and Heechul with fresh excitement still dancing in his eyes. “He’s a caravaning merchant, so he’s a good person to know. The other is his friend, the one who owns the business.”

Heechul looks at Jungsoo, already convinced. “We could try to set up a supply deal. It’d be a better alternative to looting the Drones’ things every time we shut down a raid.”

“If we actually had any money left other than the last of our reserve funds. Somehow I’m guessing this merchant isn’t going to let anything go for free, no matter how nice he is.”

“Jungsoo. Now you’re just trying to be negative.”

A sigh from the Resistance leader. “Sorry, you’re right.” He turns apologetically to Han Geng. “It’s a good idea. If you lead the way, I’ll go talk to him as our representative.”

“And I’ll come along, too,” Heechul adds, ignoring the sharp look Jungsoo is throwing his way. “You’ll need someone to back you up if negotiations go sour.”

“There won’t be any danger if things don’t work out, but you’re more than welcome to come along if you want,” Han Geng agrees with a smile.

“Can’t get enough of me, huh?”

The other man’s smile widens, but before he can respond, Jungsoo is cutting in, “We should go right away. The longer we let ourselves go without supplies, the worse our chances. Han Geng, can you meet us at the entrance in a minute? There’s something I have to talk with Heechul about.”

Oh, great, here we go.

The moment said man is out the door, after assuring them that he’ll have everything ready for the trek, Jungsoo turns on Heechul.

“You’re going to scare him away. I know what I said earlier, but stop it.”

“That’s pretty hypocritical, considering I saw you face with Youngwoon in your office yesterday.”

He doesn’t think Jungsoo’s face has ever been this red.

“You…!? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I have pictures if you forgot.” When Jungsoo begins to advance on him threateningly, he immediately drops the act. “Okay, okay, I lied about that part. But I know what I saw.”

Jungsoo looks less panicked but no less embarrassed. “Look, it’s not...it wasn’t as scandalous as you’re making it sound, okay? We just kissed; it’s not like━” He takes one look at Heechul’s expression and stops. “Don’t give me that look! Why am I even telling you this?”

“Because it’s my solemn duty as your best friend to know all your secrets, so I can spill the really good ones.”

“No!”

The outburst takes Heechul by surprise, and even Jungsoo himself look startled.

“No,” he repeats. I know you might be joking, but I mean it: no one else can know.”

The grin falls from Heechul’s face. “Why be so against anyone finding out? It’s not like they won’t be happy for you. I mean, take Donghae and Hyukjae for example━”

“It’s different. As our leader, I need to be responsible. I shouldn’t be distracting myself. If they think I’m more focused on something else than I am on the Resistance…”

Heechul gives the other man a long look, not liking where this way of thinking is headed. “They wouldn’t think any less of you,” he says. “I’ll keep it between us if that’s what you really want, but don’t forget you’re not just our leader, okay? You’re a person. Don’t make yourself into an ideal.”

“You always worry about me too much,” Jungsoo tells him, avoiding an answer. “Let’s go and meet up with your latest conquest. We shouldn’t leave him waiting any longer.”

There’s much more Heechul would like to say, but maybe this isn’t the time. First they’ll secure their supply line, and then he can confront the other man without letting him get away with a change in subject ━ however tempting it may be.

It’s not as if the thought of getting back to Han Geng is a bad distraction.

~*~

The Cluster Han Geng takes them to isn’t an unknown one. It’s apparently quite popular among Outsiders for being a center of trade, since it’s located conveniently for merchants to stay when traveling to the Capital. It doesn’t exactly make Heechul the most confident as far as not being spotted and/or arrested, but he trusts Han Geng when the latter insists an Outsider would never turn them in to the Capital. He would know, being an Outsider himself.

Maybe the most impressive part of the Cluster is how much of the pre-apocalypse infrastructure is still intact. It’s not as if the area had been spared from the devastation entirely, but Heechul has seen worse. Much, much worse.

Han Geng walks faster the closer they seem to be to their destination, until Heechul and Jungsoo struggle not to break into a run while keeping up. It’s a relief when their guide finally stops at one of the shops.

“This is it?” Jungsoo asks him.

“I’d recognize this place anywhere. Can I go first?”

“After you.”

It turns out that letting their newest member be the first to enter is a good idea; Heechul watches with wide eyes as said man is hugged nearly to the point of suffocation by one merchant who introduces himself as Zhou Mi.

“And this is Henry,” Han Geng introduces the noticeably shorter merchant. “He runs the shop, but Zhou Mi is in charge of the caravan and handling supplies.”

Zhou Mi greets them all with a smile that even Heechul finds refreshing. “The Resistance is starting to have a reputation around here, you know,” he tells them. “The way you save people, the way you’re willing to fight back against the Capital...it doesn’t go unnoticed. By us Outsiders or the Capital themselves.”

“So they’re after us, then?” Jungsoo asks with a frown.

“Not in full force yet, but they’re definitely keeping an eye on you as much as they can,” Henry answers for the other man. “And speaking of the Capital...I think there’s something you wanted to discuss with us? I have a proposal in mind.”

Heechul finds himself skeptical. “You already know what we wanted to ask you? That seems impossible.”

“They’ve known for a while.” It’s Han Geng who answers this time. “It was always my plan to connect all of you from the day that I started seeking out the Resistance. I wanted to get their permission first.”

Fair enough. Han Geng had thought this through more than Heechul had assumed. It seems the man really isn't just another pretty face.

“We do still want to go over an agreement,” Jungsoo makes sure to emphasize. “It’s generous for you to offer in the first place, but I have to warn you that the Resistance is short on both supplies and currency.”

Henry shakes his head insistently. “We can work something out. Take a seat, and we can start.”

Heechul is about to take a seat by Jungsoo, but Han Geng’s voice stops him.

“There’s something else I have to show Heechul, so if you three are fine with handling negotiations…?”

Zhou Mi shoots Han Geng what Heechul swears is a knowing grin, but as soon as he and Leeteuk give the pair a go-ahead, they’re out the door.

(There’s actually a few moments between the time Heechul steps outside and when Han Geng joins him. A thought crosses his mind that Zhou Mi might have taken the time to elaborate on that grin, but he’s not sure if he’s being perceptive or just paranoid.)

If it were anyone else besides Han Geng, Heechul would definitely have an issue with being blindly led through a place he didn’t know. Curse his own weakness for the other man. Why is that in the first place? Han Geng has nice arms, sure, but even Youngwoon has nice arms, and it’s not like Youngwoon is unattractive, but he's...far from Heechul’s type. Also the inexplicable target of Jungsoo’s affections, but that's a question to ponder another day.

“You’re not even going to give me a hint about where we’re going?” Heechul finally asks as they walk.

“Where would the fun in that be?”

“Right. You know, I’m beginning to think you made this all up as an excuse to get me alone.”

Han Geng gives him a cryptic smile. “Who says the two things are mutually exclusive?”

“What does that even…? You stopped; are we here?”

Heechul drags his gaze away from the man next to him, and looks up to see they’re in the middle of what must be the Cluster’s marketplace. Remnants of old buildings have been rearranged to create spaces for vendors to set up shop, and there’s even an area in the center with tables and chairs. It’s far beyond any Cluster that Heechul has been in so far, that’s for sure.

By the time he stops staring, Han Geng is walking back to him with a steaming bowl of jajangmyeon held in each hand.

“Follow me to the tables,” he tells Heechul. “This is from my favorite shop here, so it should be delicious. Not quite food from home, but...it’s as close as I can get around here.”

The first question that pops into Heechul’s brain is how the hell Han Geng managed to pay for the meal when the Resistance is dead broke, but he has a sneaking suspicion.

“Zhou Mi slipped you cash before you left, didn’t he?” he asks. At the other man’s nod, he snorts, muttering under his breath, “Nice wingman you’ve got there.”

They sit at a table on the fringes, and Heechul takes a moment to unwrap his chopsticks and sample the noodles (Han Geng was right; they’re fantastic) before he asks the question that’s been nagging at him since the moment they left Henry and Zhou Mi’s shop.

“So, just to be clear...are you taking me on a date right now?”

Han Geng gives him another of his small, warm smiles. “Do you want me to be?” he asks, and Heechul can’t help but grin back, shaking his head good-naturedly.

“You’re one sly dog, Geng. It seems I’ve underestimated you.”

He can’t deny that he’s enjoying the other man’s forwardness. When was the last time someone was interested in him, not dreadfully boring, and not inexplicably scared of him? It’s not like he’s that intimidating, past the sarcasm, the prickly exterior, the wall of indifference he’s built to protect himself from ever getting hurt…

On second thought, never mind.

“Easy to do when you still don’t know enough about me,” Han Geng tells him. “That’s why I wanted to bring you here.”

“It wasn’t because of my strikingly good looks?”

It earns him a laugh. “And that, too.”

Heechul hides his victorious smirk in another mouthful of jajangmyeon, and Han Geng takes the opportunity to launch into a detailed account of his life before and after the end of the world. Once again, if it was anyone else...but Han Geng turns out to be as good at storytelling as he his at surprise dates.

“What about you, Heechul?” Han Geng asks when he’s finished. “Tell me about yourself.”

“My favorite topic, you mean? Well, I’m twenty-six years old, my parents are dead━”

Han Geng cuts him off with a hand on Heechul’s own. “No, tell me about you. Likes, dislikes, hopes and dreams. That sort of thing.”

“In that case: Hi, I’m Kim Heechul. I like the color yellow, long walks on the beach, and braiding hair at sleepovers.”

“So, red, plotting in the solitude of your room...and I’m not sure about the last one.”

Heechul pats the hand that’s still holding his. “And you were so close, too. I actually detest braids in general, but I’ll let you do my hair sometime. Deal?”

Han Geng lets out another laugh. “Deal. And on that note...as much as I’d like to stay here with you all day, we should probably head back.”

“Please, Jungsoo’s probably soaking up the chance to finally act like the leader. He’ll be talking for hours.”

“Heechul…”

“Ugh, fine, you’re right,” Heechul concedes. “Just let me finish my noodles. These are ridiculously delicious.”

When they finally do get back to the shop to meet up with Leeteuk, they find out that their leader has managed to work out the supply agreement with Henry ━ as well as secure Zhou Mi and his wagon as a (mostly) safe way to get straight into the heart of the Capital.

The two merchants also pass on an interesting tidbit of information: there’s rumours circulating throughout the Outsiders about a man who’s unaffected by radiation. There are no clues yet about his location, but it sounds like the Capital is interested. And if Mayor Park wants his hands on something, it’s worth paying attention to.

Heechul will also admit that he gets most of this information repeated to him later by Jungsoo, because he’s a bit busy mentally backpedaling and wondering what’s wrong with himself. Because wait, when had “I want to get in Han Geng’s pants” turned into “I want to hold Han Geng’s dumb hand and kiss him under the starlight” or some crap?

Heechul does kiss him, though. Not quite in that starry rom-com setting, being stuck in the Bunker and all, but a kiss nonetheless. And he’s not normally one to consider first kisses too important, especially ones so relatively chaste, but this one feels important, somehow.

Heechul thinks he may be in too deep.

~*~

“That’s...actually really sweet,” Kyuhyun admits. “I didn’t know you had it in you, Heechul.”

“Oh, like we haven’t all suffered through you and loverboy over there. I’m just trying to impart upon you all what an epic love story really looks like.”

One man not-so-subtly clears his throat, and Heechul’s eyes narrow to slits.

“Just try and one-up me, Hyukjae. Show-off.”

He feels Han Geng move to give him some sort of pacifying hug, but Heechul will have none of it ━ that would feel too much like admitting defeat.

“Anyway, as I was saying,” he says pointedly, “We had two new contacts and a way to stop running out of supplies, even if we were racking up a debt to Henry and his shop. That’s where our next member came in: Sungmin.”

“I met Sungmin a few weeks later while re-visiting Zhou Mi and Henry,” Han Geng continues. “He seemed trustworthy from the moment he introduced himself, and I had to bring him back after hearing his story. Which he should probably tell.”

Sungmin shrugs. “I’m sure all of you have heard about it through the years. My father made enemies with the wrong people after the Mayor seized control of the Capital, he made me flee the city with the family fortune to keep myself safe, and I ended up meeting Han Geng. After hearing rumours about the Resistance, and then talking to one of the members in person, I was sold. I knew I wanted to join.”

Heechul slings an arm around Han Geng’s shoulders. “So then this golddigger decided to bring him back to the Bunker without asking us first. I think Jungsoo just about had a heart attack from all the ways our security measures were violated, but I liked Sungmin right away, too. Geng made a good call. And I do like having a man who can support me financially.”

Sungmin gives him a sarcastic thumbs-up from across the room.

“Sungmin generously donated his funds,” Jungsoo takes up the story, “only on the condition that he could join the Resistance. It was an easy decision; he really wanted to help, and the money allowed us to pay back what we owed to Henry and Zhou Mi, as well as continue to pay for more of their supplies.”

Heechul nods in agreement. “He single-handedly lifted us out of poverty. Which was good, because we had enough issues without wondering if we would be able to eat the next week. And after Sungmin...damn. Hyukjae?”

The man in question snorts. “Me again? What did I…? Oh.” His expression sobers. “Go ahead, this one is important.”

“And here we were enjoying ourselves. I’ll do my best on this one.” Heechul taps his fingers to his temple, thinking of how to start.

“It was the beginning of the next month, and I was on a mission with Sungmin and Hyukjae. There was a Drone-infested outpost too close to the Bunker, so it was our job to wipe them out. There were really only about six or seven of them, I think. But as we approached the command room, that’s when things got interesting…