Dinner is always a rowdy occasion on the Exodus. 

Chanyeol watches with mild amusement as half drunk pirates bellow from one end of the long, dining table to the other, throwing food and curses left, right and centre. The wooden table they're seated at stretches across the entirety of the communal dining hall, built to accommodate all bodies aboard the ship. It's as befitting as the chant of "we are one" that the miscreants cry out in place of a quiet grace and the redhead can't help but smile to himself. 'We are one indeed,' he thinks as he tips his head in acknowledgement to the pirate sitting next to him. He is replied with a toothy grin.

The first time Chanyeol joined the crew for dinner - courtesy of Kyungsoo beating down his door and dragging him out his room - the loud chatter and drunken slurs had intimidated him to no end. He had cowered in his seat at the corner of the table, silently squirming while the rest of the pirates went about their boisterous business. They'd paid no attention to him, those who did were hostile. Now, he laughs along with everyone else as Sehun, a young recruit from Mars, makes a fool of himself, alcohol circulating his system and tinging the tips of his ears pink. He even makes light conversation with other pirates at the table who no longer try to spit in his direction and instead offer him warm smiles of acceptance. They seem to have changed their opinion on him after the raid, though Chanyeol's sure the change in their attitudes could be attributed to a persuasive Kyungsoo and his machete.

Kris, master of guns and weaponry aboard the Exodus, has been not-so-subtly boring holes into the side of his face ever since the start of the meal and Chanyeol simpers under his gaze. He shoots a small, coy smile Kris' way, eyes purposely hooded, to let him know that he is aware of his attention. The blonde is quick to look away, though Chanyeol does not miss the smirk decorating his lips.

Chanyeol's not blind. He knows he's good looking - especially tonight, with his flaming red hair pushed back and light eyeliner framing his round eyes in a way that he knows makes him look irresistible. He's not sure where the sudden urge to doll up had come from, he hasn't done it since he left - was taken from(?) - Earth; perhaps it's just because he's been feeling a lot more like his usual self lately.

With his ego sufficiently inflated, Chanyeol brings his wine glass to his smug lips and chances a glance above the rim to lock onto a pair of dark kohl-rimmed eyes. He almost chokes on his drink. The heavy gaze on him leaves his skin itching. Perfectly kept eyebrows quirk up at him - challenging - but before Chanyeol can do anything in response, the owner of the gaze is shifting their focus, causing Chanyeol to fog up his wine glass with a short sigh of defeat.

'Kris is a handsome guy,' he thinks almost dismally, but it is someone else's attention that he is craving tonight.

Captain Byun Baekhyun is truly a sight to behold, decked out in his ever present chains and smokey eye makeup. The tantalising curl of his thin, tinted lips as he makes idle conversation with his men has Chanyeol's breath stuttering and his throat drying. With a hammering heart, he hurriedly inhales the rest of his red nectar, forcing himself to swallow it down along with all thoughts of the magnetic Captain. Regardless, the raging ball of want residing in the pit of his stomach continues to throb.

Bastard, he grumbles in his head before topping up his wine glass.

Somewhere in the background, a few fists are being waved around as a drunk Jongdae - surprise, surprise - marks his target for the night and calls someone out for being a " tryna steal ma man!"

It seems today's victim of Jongdae's flippant wrath is Luhan, a delicate little thing who injects as much venom into his voice as he can muster, words slurred with the influence of alcohol and anger as he shoots back, "he was ma man just last week before you and your flat stole him away!" The swirling spirals that make their way up the alabaster skin of the man's forearms glow a light blue hue and for a moment Chanyeol is entranced. They are the markings of the Veni, the dwindling population of the children of Venus. He doesn't know much about them. He'll have to ask Kyungsoo later.

Jongdae retaliates with a disbelieving scoff. His lover - Junmyeon, if Chanyeol remembers correctly - can only look on at the situation in amusement while Jongdae sinks his claws into the sleeve of his jumper. "Everyone was your man at one point in time. Heck, you even tried to get into the Captain's pants once!" Baekhyun has the audacity to chuckle and act like he has no part in the drama. At this, Chanyeol's grip around his butter knife unconsciously tightens.

"I'LL SHOOT YOU IN THE , I SWEAR IT."

"And I swear, Jongdae, that on the next planet we take a pit stop on, I'm leaving you behind," the man sat regally at the head of the table bemoans, his voice - though not raised - resounds around the room like a gunshot. A hush falls over the table that's really just everyone trying to hold in their snickers in at the expense of a red-faced Jongdae. A smirk even crawls onto Baekhyun's own face at the former's embarrassment before he resumes his task of daintily cutting up his vegetables as if nothing had happened. Everyone knows Baekhyun would never actually leave Jongdae behind - or any of his crew members for that matter - even if getting rid of the man would save him a whole lot of trouble.

Chanyeol meets Baekhyun's gaze again from across the table and his smirk slips off almost immediately. Speaking of trouble.

The Captain's face steels over, expression unreadable as the previous banter at the table starts up again. No one spares a second thought for their behaviour, just brushing it off as Captain Byun being hostile to their hostage as per usual. Nothing unusual. Nothing new.

Chanyeol begrudgingly supposes that a night of weakness and a morning of waking up alone and in a bed - even though it was Baekhyun's room - shouldn't really have changed things anyway. He just wishes that Baekhyun was not so insistent on making it so painfully obvious that he's avoiding him - it really doesn't do much for Chanyeol's bruising ego.

Maybe it's the hair, he thinks with a sad-ish scowl, running his fingers through the mentioned red locks with a frown. He ignores Kris' drooling in his peripheral vision.

Somewhere in the background, Junmyeon pulls a sulking Jongdae into his lap and a scowling Luhan looks on in disdain. "Don't be jealous, Lulu, why don't you just join us tonight?" Chanyeol regrets thinking for even a brief second that Junmyeon was normal as the dining hall promptly erupts in a chorus of wolf whistles.

//

The excited chatter - and Junmyeon's strange three-way with Luhan and Jongdae - is interrupted by the screeching scrape of the Captain's chair against the floor. It captures everyone's attention.

"Leaving before dessert?" Kyungsoo asks, looking up at the man he who was seated at his left, mouth agape. The Captain never leaves before dessert.

"Sorry, Kyungsoo, I have some things I need to do." Chanyeol doesn't miss the way Baekhyun's eyes flash in his direction. He does consider for a brief moment, though, that the dark gaze sliding up and down the length of his body is all a figment of his imagination. Baekhyun flashes everyone an apologetic smile as he tears his gaze away from his hostage. "You all continue with your fun, now," this triggers a ripple of laughter that washes over the hall. "Hell, you guys can even empty out our entire alcohol store, I don't mind. Just please don't disturb me. I suspect I shall be very busy tonight." His eyes are back on Chanyeol now, not that anyone notices. The promise swimming in them has the red head's heart beating like a drum and he can do nothing but pretend like his eyes aren't glued to the enticing sway of the Captain's hips as he struts out the room. He wouldn't be the only one to do so, that's for sure.

Needless to say, Chanyeol excuses himself not too long after.

//

The door to the Captain's quarters swings open and before his mentally pre-rehearsed remark of "so now you wish to acknowledge my existence?" can be spoken, Chanyeol is being pulled in by the collar of his shirt and slammed against the door while Baekhyun opts to kiss the words right out of his mouth instead. His head is reeling from the assault but soon his hands are clinging onto Baekhyun's hips for dear life and all concerns go flying out the window. Into the abyss.

"God, you look good with that hair, it's like I'm discovering a whole new world," the shorter purrs against his mouth, biting down onto the taller's lower lip in a way that has him seeing stars. It was like this the last time Baekhyun had his lips on his, too - and the time before that, and the time before that; it had felt like Baekhyun was carving out new galaxies across his skin.

Usually, Baekhyun's hands would be all in his hair: grabbing, pulling, destroying. Today they choose to roam his chest instead, slowly ing his grey silk shirt with elegant fingers in order to spare Chanyeol's nicely styled locks. The latter tries not to mourn the loss too much.

Since 'that night' this has become their daily routine: ignore each other during the day, make up for it during the night. It's a cycle that resets itself each morning, in which Chanyeol is shoved out of Baekhyun's room in the early hours "just to be safe" and the taller has to battle boredom and Baekhyun's feigned indifference towards him for hours on end before he can finally have the shorter to himself again. As time passes, the days grow longer and the itch in his fingers that beg to set the hands of the clock forward to a time when he can have a taste of the Captain again only grows stronger. The longing for the feeling of completion aches within his bones. The thirst for soft skin beneath his fingertips, scars across a broad chest and midnight stars hidden in darkened pupils consume him. 

He curses his growing greed; it should never have gotten to this point. He should never have gotten so attached to this feeling - whatever it is. Need? Want? Safety? But, of course, it's out of his control - it's not a choice to become so addicted to the Captain's glinting eyes. They're all encompassing. But Chanyeol knows they are also poisonous. And they will be his downfall.

"Thought you would like it," he breathes in amusement, silly grin painted across his face as the Captain of the Exodus kisses down his neck: biting, marking, claiming. "Saw you glancing at me one too many times more than usual." 

The feral growl that rumbles against his neck has Chanyeol's pants tightening impossibly. He tastes stardust on his tongue. Moonlight in his lungs.

"Kris seemed to like it quite a lot too."

"Oh, really?" the taller muses, taking in a few deep breaths to stop himself from chuckling or else he knows he'd be thrown out within a heartbeat. And then he'll never get another chance to revel in the feeling of Baekhyun setting his nerves alight. "I didn't even notice."

Baekhyun glares up at the fiery haired male. Chanyeol's eyes are glazed over, his pupils blown wide with wonder. Baekhyun would find him slightly endearing if he wasn't such an infuriating bastard. "Don't play dumb with me. I saw the way you looked at him." he hisses, dragging his teeth over already bruising skin as he speaks. Every inch of flesh he traces with a sinful of his tongue is a new conquest, new land to call his own. His and no one else's.

This time Chanyeol does chuckle. It's a low and breathless sound and Baekhyun feels the vibrations of it against his chest.

Chanyeol's hands are cold as he presses them against Baekhyun's jaw, forcing him to look upwards at him, but they still burn against his skin anyway.

"Captain Byun," the addressed shivers at the sound of the syllables that tumble from his conquest's throat, "could you possibly be jealous right now?" Another chuckle leaves the taller male as a calloused thumb gently swipes over soft, swollen lips. Infatuated eyes track its path with hunger.

Baekhyun hopes Chanyeol doesn't notice his flush in the dark unlit room as he grapples desperately at his dissipated dignity. "I just don't want Kris to be forgetting his alliances by frolicking around with our prisoner," he hisses, resorting to harsh words when he knows not what else to say. His eyes trail over Chanyeol's bobbing adam's apple, the light sheen decorating his forehead and the bruises colouring his skin from the last time - and the time before that and the time before that. He looks nothing short of a masterpiece but Baekhyun will be damned before he lets any of his inner thoughts be heard.

Chanyeol is not deterred in the least as he leans down to take the Captain's lower lip between his own, ever so lightly. Baekhyun's breathing quickens and his toes curl. "Isn't that what you are doing right now, Captain Byun?" The intimacy of the taller's gesture has warmth blooming under Baekhyun's flesh and his lungs scream for air. Distance. Space.

But his surroundings are nothing but space. It's been a constant in his life for a long time and he really ought to be sick of it by now but he doesn't know how to turn off the alarm bells ringing in his head. 'Don't let him close. Don't let him in. He's going to ruin you,' they screech. He almost listens to them. But Chanyeol is so, so warm under his fingertips and so Baekhyun pulls him impossibly closer even though every fibre of his being tries to protest. He doesn't know why he keeps trying to relapse back to what's familiar when all he's ever craved is right in front of him.

( He briefly wonders whether Chanyeol, with his eyes innocent like a child's and questions that slowly unwrap Baekhyun's bandaged essence, even has the capacity to ruin him. The thought almost reminds him of trust. )

He resumes his job of ridding the other male of his shirt. "I am the Captain and I can very much do whatever I please. Now stop talking and ing kiss me."

The first piece of clothing flutters to the floor and is discarded without a second thought, joining Chanyeol's self-control.

It feels like Baekhyun's mask coming undone.

//

"I really wish you'd stop vandalising my ship," Kyungsoo sighs out the next morning, perched on the edge of the Captain's lavish bed, sinking slightly into the foam of an unnecessarily soft mattress as he looks down at the broken lighting cylinder by his feet. He speaks as if it physically pains him to have to witness even a small part of the Exodus being damaged, but then again, his powers enable him to be somehow connected with the very metal that forms the Exodus, he can feel every pulse of every current and every spark of life within the ship, so it is not such an implausible sentiment.

Baekhyun bristles from his place in the corner of the room. He is a spider in black, aura dark as he rests against the wall nearest his ensuite. He looks unimpressed. "Your ship you say?"

"Our ship," Kyungsoo corrects himself, voice as sickly sweet as the smile he paints across his plump lips. Baekhyun isn't any more pleased. Kyungsoo - either unaware of or choosing to ignore the Captain's scowl - shifts his attention to playing with the streaks of violet light that snake and curl themselves around his forearms, dancing gracefully along his skin. It reminds him of a certain tanned man waiting for him back home.

The room is dark and unlit besides the brightness that filters out of Kyungsoo's palms and the single candle that flickers on the Captain's wooden desk, a contrast to the dark aura rolling off the latter in waves. "Can you hurry up? I asked you ages ago to come fix my lights and you choose to drop in whenever it suits you," the huff that leaves Baekhyun's lips is nothing short of bratty. It almost surprises Kyungsoo when there's not as much bite to his words as usual. He forgot the Captain was capable of being anything but unpleasant and snappish.

Kyungsoo clicks his tongue in a show of mild irritation. He enjoys taking the time to warm up his powers before getting straight to the task. His powers are not a part of him, they are a gift bestowed upon him, they are alive and thus need to be coaxed and persuaded to work with him. He twiddles his fingers lightly to manipulate the light between them, directing them to the newly replaced lighting cylinders on the ceiling above, working on pushing the whirring electricity into them. He feels it thrumming through the ship, senses the pulse of current under the pads of his fingers; it flows in time with the blood that courses through his veins. "If you hadn't thrown your sword at my poor lights this wouldn't have happened.

"I was in a mood," Baekhyun mumbles, his face colouring so faintly Kyungsoo blames the illusion on the dim lighting.

"You always are," he sighs in response.

There is a short pause as the Technician focuses on wiring the electricity properly. The Exodus is a temperamental ship - much like Her Captain - but he manages to make the light glow and illuminate the room while the Captain shifts his weight from foot to foot, for once not lost in the depths of his mind. The latter hisses as his pupils attempt to adjust to the sudden luminosity. "Care to make the lights a little dimmer? Us humans can't stand such intense light, unlike you."

The lights immediately dim after some more of Kyungsoo's tinkering but not before the man lets out an incredulous hum. "Strange. Thought you would've been used to it by now." He has the nerve to side eye the Captain, voice carrying a touch of mockery. "Unless Chanyeol said something to you that you actually took on board?"

Much to the alien's surprise, Baekhyun starts spluttering, his face turning red in a way that Kyungsoo does not think is normal. "Are you choking or is this a human thing-"

"I'm fine." Baekhyun insists, a beat too quick. He clears his throat and settles his features back into his regular stoic expression despite the burn in his cheeks. "And I'm not a complete monster I would like to make this ship a more comfortable place to live for the people aboard."

"Strange, indeed," Kyungsoo muses, obtuse suspicion bleeding into his voice as he flops back on Baekhyun's bed, letting the extra fluffy pillows devour him and congratulate him on another job well done.

Baekhyun is swift to snap back in his own defence. "How so?" He wonders fleetingly if Chanyeol has complained of him to Kyungsoo during one of their midnight snack sessions, wonders if they're even still carrying on with that arrangement. The thought alone has his fingertips prickling.

Kyungsoo eyes him with such wariness that the Captain wishes he could take back his words. Whether he's onto him or not, he's not sure but he does know that he's treading on thin ice. "We both know you've not been the nicest host to Chanyeol-"

"He's our prisoner, Kyungsoo. He's not exactly here for us to be chummy with." Though they were said to try and dishearten the Technician's growing surmise, Baekhyun's own words cause him to chew on his lower lip while his stomach turns uncomfortably. He doesn't know if he's telling Kyungsoo off or if he's trying to remind himself of Chanyeol's purpose in his life.

Glowing eyes fade back to their resting dark colour before rolling skywards, unaware of the Captain's shifting mood. "Maybe you should be nicer to the kid. I doubt you'll be spending much more time together anyway so I hope you can at least be civil for now."

The retort of 'we are being much more than just civil' dies on his tongue instantly. His eyebrows furrow together in confusion, a foretelling feeling of dread piling in his gut. "Why not?"

"Well, we received a telegram this morning. The army is willing to pay a ransom for his return."

//

It's only a few seconds after Kyungsoo leaves with a subtle smile and the door closes what a click that Chanyeol takes his cue and barges out of the ensuite.

Baekhyun doesn't even get to process his best friend's departure or his captive's entrance, too lost in his thoughts to notice either of them. The gap between his eyebrows only shortens in distance as he is suddenly shoved against the wall, pulling an unimpressed groan from his throat. But then a pair of warm lips are against his and he can't really bring himself to care anymore.

"God, I thought he'd never leave," a low voice reverberates against his mouth as calloused fingers snake themselves through Baekhyun's raven hair; the shorter male easily leans into the touch. Baekhyun squeezes his eyes shut at the sound of Chanyeol's voice, trying to lose himself in the kiss and let his rumbling baritone drown out all other distractions. But he can't. He can't when he feels as if he's been submerged underwater for hours on end, the pressure building up against his ribs unbearable. Chanyeol continuing to pepper his lips with short pecks that steal away what little reserves of air remain in his lungs isn't much help either. When they part for breath, Baekhyun is left with tingling lips and a sinking feeling in his chest. "I hope Kyungsoo's not too angry about that broken light."

Their breathless chuckles mingle and meld into a synchronised harmony at his little joke, despite Baekhyun's being a tad more strained, too breathy to be genuine. "He'll get over it," he assures him as he steals kisses of his own from chapped yet warm lips. He wants to stop thinking. He wants to lose himself. He wants to fall. His hands fist themselves at the hem of Chanyeol's shirt in desperation. Chanyeol doesn't notice.

"I didn't mean to make you mad last night," the taller tells him. His own form of an apology, the shorter suspects. "You're not actually as annoying as Jongdae." They hadn't spoken about it afterwards. Couldn't have after Baekhyun had so unceremoniously chased the taller out of his room in a fit of rage. Chanyeol had returned the next morning to collect the pants he'd been forced to leave behind with a sheepish smile, only to be pulled back into the room and under the sheets in the most innocent of ways by a half awake Baekhyun. He finds his persistent nightmares cease to plague him when Chanyeol is by his side.

"I didn't mean to throw my sword at you," Baekhyun whispers in mild amusement as the red haired man rests their foreheads together. The gesture makes kohl-rimmed eyes flutter lightly, his lips pressing together in a line. He still doesn't know how to handle such affectionate gazes and actions, still doesn't know the meanings behind Chanyeol's tender touches that seem to hold a lot more than just the need for one night of skin on skin. It feels different to the affections of his father who was always warm and loving because Chanyeol is nothing but hot and consuming. He doesn't know how to reciprocate it either, doesn't know how to react to it, doesn't know what to think of it. Not yet. Not after a lifetime of darkness. This bright light that has entered his life is nothing but foreign and now he fears he has no time left to get used to it.

"Yes, you did. You just didn't mean to miss so badly," the deep laugh that leaves Chanyeol's lips seeps into his skin, wraps around his heart and squeezes. He can't bring himself to say anything else. With a wave of unease washing over him and freezing in his veins, he realises that he might actually miss that stupid laugh if Chanyeol were to leave. He also realises that Chanyeol has to leave.

The taller male frowns at his lack of response, usually Baekhyun is always ready with snarky remarks or - more recently - with puckered lips ready to shut him up for good. It's disconcerting and has unease of his own sinking into his heart.

"Baekhyun, what's wrong?" he asks, voice softer than latter thinks he deserves. Large hands cup his cheeks, tilting his gaze upwards to lock onto a concerned stare. Chanyeol is too at ease with touching him, Baekhyun thinks. He doesn't know if it's a concern or a comfort.

It's the same as it was back then; when they'd shared a night under the light of a thousand burning balls of gas and each other's blazing eyes. It's the same as it's always been; Baekhyun running and Chanyeol desperately trying to keep up with him. And he guesses it's the same as it always will be; Baekhyun catching a tiny glimpse of what happiness could be and then having it coldly ripped from his hands. He doesn't know if he should willingly give it up before it's taken from him - it might save him the unbearable pain he knows is coming.

"They want you back," he says in a voice so small Chanyeol almost can't believe his ears.

Despite his delayed reaction - he spent a while processing the words - the redhead's reply is simple. "So?" he questions with furrowed brows and a puzzled expression. A few weeks ago he would've jumped at the chance to have gone back home, but not anymore. Not when he's no longer sure whether there even is a home for him to go back to. Not when he's started to build a new one right here in the heart of space. The Exodus, the crew members, Kyungsoo, Baekhyun. He can't just leave them.

But Baekhyun is always suffering on his own, always trapped inside his own head and never taking a step back to think about how people other than him could be feeling so he doesn't understand Chanyeol; doesn't want to listen to his reasoning, won't take no for an answer. "Chanyeol you have to go back-"

"And just leave you here? Are you crazy?" the taller's voice is harsh as he cuts him off. It's verging on anger, Baekhyun can tell. He presses his lips together tightly at the prickling sensation he feels behind his eyelids. Though they've found ways to fit together, they've always naturally repelled each other. They were always bound to fall apart.

Chanyeol tries desperately to find Baekhyun's gaze but he's running again. He's always running. He closes his eyes, closes his heart, forces himself to stop falling though he can hardly even feel the ground beneath his feet anymore.

"Earth's your home. You have to go back-"

"But Baek-"

A shaky exhale silences the taller.

"Just please stop talking," Baekhyun begs, eyes drooping downwards in a way that Chanyeol has grown accustomed to finding endearing. The corners of his mouth droop down with them - a gesture that Chanyeol has grown to enjoy significantly less. The Captain tiptoes up to press his lips gently against the red head's, signalling the end of the conversation. When Chanyeol tries to hold firm, not responding to the soft brush of lips against his, Baekhyun only sighs quietly and presses harder, his way into the taller's mouth, erasing the tension in his shoulders with a single swipe of his tongue.

And then Chanyeol relents. He always relents. He always gives way to Baekhyun and his iron will, melts under his touch like molten metal and lets Baekhyun mould him into structures of his own pleasing. In this battle - because it is always a battle between the two of them - Chanyeol doesn't know who the winner is.

He was never one to relent and bend under anyone else's rules. Back on Earth, Chanyeol got everything he wanted, whenever he wanted, it was all handed to him on a silver platter and he'd never thought to give anything back, just thought it was the way things were supposed to be. He was always used to having all the power, having everyone falling at his feet but then he met Baekhyun.

Baekhyun, when he'd first met him, had not cared about who he was - had not even known who he was - he had only cared about his goal and how to use Chanyeol for his own benefit. Chanyeol had felt as if he'd been challenged for the first time in his life and though he had tried to fight against him, to show Baekhyun that he was a noble man who demanded respect, he realises now, as he allows Baekhyun to push him down onto his back and sink him into an overly soft mattress, that he has met his match. Maybe even lost to him.

He allows him to straddle his hips and kiss away all his weak protests. He allows Baekhyun to steal the air from his lungs to claim as his own. He allows Baekhyun to work him open with nimble fingers, slow and deep. He allows Baekhyun to mend his broken soul with the shattered pieces of Chanyeol's own; mix and match and piece together shattered fragments of two scattered hearts to make one single shared being. Because that's all they have the capacity for.

He gives Baekhyun - who has lost everything under the hands of the tormenting universe - an element of power, the power to control an aspect of his life. The power to control Chanyeol. Even if it's only for a little bit. Even if it's not much. It is all he needs.

//

At first, Chanyeol made Baekhyun feel nothing but livid anger. His hatred towards the taller's father had seemed to carry through a generation and while Baekhyun knew he couldn't blame him for the mistakes of his predecessor, it had turned out the that the bold and pompous Captain Park Jr. could anger him all on his own. Now, Baekhyun realises that anger was just the catalyst. Once the Captain's wrath was triggered, it gave way for a million other emotions: sympathy, anxiety, a warmth that he does not want to place. And life. Chanyeol makes him feel alive, reminds him he's actually human.

But now all Baekhyun feels is fear. He's scared his one chance at happiness is going to slip through his fingers again and he's going to let it. He's learned now that you can't defy what the universe has in plan for you. The blessed will continue to be blessed, Chanyeol will be saved from his clutches and he will return to his perfect life at home, while the cursed will continue to be cursed and Baekhyun will rot the rest of his life away in the bleak entity of space. Alone.

//

That night, at dinner, Baekhyun does stay for dessert and he does allow himself a few fleeting glances in Chanyeol's direction. The taller has his hair quiffed up again today and his heart drums away in his chest without his permission when their gazes meet.

Clearing his throat and clearing his mind of round, penetrative orbs, Baekhyun stands up once everyone is full and satisfied. He gains their attention easily.

"We'll be making a stop tomorrow," he announces coolly as he straightens out his black dinner jacket before shifting his gaze to Kyungsoo, "to Technos, in fact. It's not far from here, so put the Exodus on a flight path to there. We're going to be taking a well-needed pitstop."

The room erupts in cheers at the thought of having a vacation after being in Space for so long, the thought of well-needed rest, interactions with other lifeforms outside of the crew, and more booze having the pirates buzzing. Many of the crew are from Technos - Kris and Junmyeon for example - and their faces beam with brilliant rays of happiness at finally being able to visit home after so long. Chanyeol smiles too, though he wonders why Baekhyun's face remains stoic and his eyes so downcast.

"Finally, it's been so long," Kyungsoo says with a wistful sigh by his side, disrupting Chanyeol's chain of thought. He smiles in his direction with glee, a gesture that the redhead can't help but return. "I can't wait to introduce you to my lover! His name is Jongin, I'm sure you'll love him."

His easy grin seems genuine enough but you can never be sure with Kyungsoo, he's an awfully good actor. Technicians aren't really one with their emotions, they're one with machines, technology, electricity. They have heightened senses, can detect ruptures in motors from a mile away, can tell when a person is on the edge of collapsing by studying the electrical impulses in their nervous systems but are unable to feel much for themselves. This doesn't mean that they can't convey feelings though. He can meld expressions and emotions over his features, mould them into believable stories like he could a sheet of metal - like an act in which he is both the puppet and the puppeteer. A smile to show he's happy, a frown to show he's sad, Kyungsoo works like a fine-tuned computer, running on algorithms.

Chanyeol seems to buy his act easily but that's only because he doesn't see the way Kyungsoo lets his mask slip, a frown taking the place of his once toothy grin when he locks eyes with Baekhyun.

Just what are you planning, Captain? He wonders, eyes squinting slightly as a wave of anxiety washes over him. Their next pit stop was scheduled to be on Mars some time next week. What could have caused the Captain to have changed his mind so suddenly?

//

Technos is one of the most developed ecosystems in the entire galaxy, Chanyeol is told by Baekhyun after the ship has docked. Not only are they the most technically advanced, but they're also the most socially advanced. Their people's ability is that they are one with technology and can craft metal into the finest of sculptures with a single touch, but their strength as a nation is that they believe in equality and fairness and such things as class or status or past mistakes don't divide them. This is why the pirates - outlawed by the Intergalactic Government - are welcomed there.

All the other pirates had already cleared off the ship a while ago, sprinting for the nearest night club or brothel with telecommunicators ringing in their ears and excitement singing in their blood. It is only Baekhyun and Chanyeol left aboard but despite being alone, the former still warily seems to be keeping his distance which irks his companion to no end.

With a sly smile, Chanyeol sneaks over to the smaller's side and links their pinky fingers together. He pretends to look away somewhere in the middle distance as he whistles in an act of nonchalance when Baekhyun whips around to shoot him a look of bewilderment.

"You'll have to take me to the nearest bar," Chanyeol muses after Baekhyun quickly tugs his hand away, scowling. "Maybe you'll loosen up with some alcohol in your system."

The Captain ignores his remark and scoffs quietly. "Loosen up, my ."

He realises his mistake as soon as those words leave his lips and when he sees Chanyeol's eyes light up. The latter moves in closer to him, patting his said tenderly. Baekhyun's body temperature hikes up a few degrees higher. "Already done, sweetheart."

The Captain can do nothing but swat the taller away like he is a swarm of raging flies before storming away with a huff, leaving his - not so unwilling - hostage bent over double laughing. "H-Hey, Baek wait up!" he calls between wheezes. Baekhyun doesn't hear him over his flustered grumbling.

//

After coming down from his little fit of rage, Baekhyun and Chanyeol find themselves walking down a busy street, the ever stoic Captain letting his cold facade drop for a second as he tells his companion about all his past life on Technos. The wind is warm and the two suns of Technos are shining bright and majestic in the paling sky, but all Chanyeol can focus on is the light, accidental brush of Baekhyun's hand against his. He wants to reach out and entwine their fingers together but holds still for fear of yet another rejection.

"And this restaurant is where I worked as a bus boy for around 4 moon cycles," Baekhyun says pointing at a thriving family diner with a fond little smile. "It was my first job after I got to Technos. I quit it after that because I was offered more money working at a nearby brothel-" His voice trails off as his light fades away from his face. Chanyeol's heart lurches in his chest. His eyes flash with something similar to fury at the universe for the ceaseless torture it plagues upon Baekhyun's life. His eyes are hard but his hands are gentle as he pulls Baekhyun in from around the shoulders, wordlessly brushes his lips against his temple.

The tenderness of the gesture takes Baekhyun aback and he has to pull away, dropping his act like a hot potato as a cheeky smile eats away at his face. "I only worked as a receptionist, you ." Chanyeol just blinks.

The dumbfounded look on the fiery haired male's face makes Baekhyun laugh, if only to try and drown out the hammering of his blood against his ears. "Do you really think I'd give myself away to people so easily? Who do you think I am?" Ever the stuck up little , Captain Byun lifts his nose up high in the air in a way that has Chanyeol's laugh blending in with his in a lovely duet. "I'm Captain Byun of the Exodus. I am untouchable," his high and mighty gaze falters slightly and Chanyeol's eyes tune into the gentle yet rapid fluttering of long, dark eyelashes. Up and down, up and down, much like their jumbled up feelings towards one another. "Well, untouchable to all but some."

A beam blossoms across Chanyeol's face. The taller man wraps strong arms around his captor's waist and pulls him in close, burying his face into his neck and even though a breathless Baekhyun goes stiff in his arms, not used to this kind of contact in any other setting besides dark nights in his bedroom, Chanyeol doesn't let go. They're on a foreign planet, all the other men of the Exodus have long since made themselves scarce and there is nothing to stop Chanyeol from doing whatever he wants, without reservations, without second guessings. There is no one there to see the way Baekhyun prays to the Deities for mercy. "God, you're so y when you're full of yourself." The Captain's stomach flops uselessly at his feet but he forces a pompous smile to keep their banter going.

"You know, more patrons came to stare at me working the front desk instead of actually booking a room." Chanyeol hums disbelieving into his ear and when Baekhyun yells again and again that "it's true, I tell you!" there is hardly any conviction in his words.

//

"Technos is where I spent most of my time after I escaped from space prison," Baekhyun says conversationally. It is just past mid day and the sweltering heat is getting to both of them, but even under the blinding rays of twin suns, the shorter can see the way Chanyeol's face darkens at the mention of the place his own father's actions had sent him. Baekhyun tries to ignore it. Just like he tries to ignore the sweat glistening along his hostage's collarbones. Both prove to be harder than he'd originally estimated. "It's like my second home."

"Where's your first?" Chanyeol asks, voice thick and heavy with an emotion Baekhyun can't bring himself to place. "Earth?"

"Hardly," he scoffs, "my time on Earth was nothing but dull and tortuous." A wistful look crosses his features and his eyes cloud over as he looks up into the clear sky. It is not a pale blue like it is back on Earth. Here on Technos, the light refracts and scatters in such a way that the sky is forever washed in a pastel purple tint. It's a befitting colour, Baekhyun thinks, remembering eyes that flare violet and bored into his with suspicion. The breeze rustles his raven hair ever so lightly, the only part of him that has managed to remain untouched and unaltered throughout his life, and Chanyeol lets his breath fly away with the wind when Baekhyun turns to him with lost eyes, eyes lost to his memories, to another time, to another place. "The sea was my first home," he whispers. "The sea was my first heartbreak."

Chanyeol's fingers ache to reach out to him, to hold onto him and offer him some form of comfort but he knows Baekhyun would never accept it, would push him away with a small smile that makes as if he bears entire worlds on his shoulders. He doesn't know what else he can do though, doesn't know how else he can soothe Baekhyun's aches, doesn't know how else he can tell Baekhyun he's here - he's listening, he cares - without facing the sting of dismissal. He can do nothing but look at the man with such confliction that Baekhyun has to turn away. 

"I guess Space is my third home, now," he says with an exhale. "Though it is bleak and lonely, it has done me no harm and I have accomplished more out there than I have my whole life."

'Can I be your home too?' Chanyeol wants to ask. "Why don't you just go back?" he says instead. "I mean you don't even have to go back to civilisation on Earth, you could just sail the seas. You know, find your peace there and all that."

Baekhyun's glances up at the giant who looks like a little boy asking too many questions about the big and strange universe. There's a reason children are born into this world dumb and innocent, it's to protect their goodness. If they were to learn of the injustices of the world then that would crush their view on it; crush their purity. Baekhyun almost doesn't want to answer. "It's better for me out there; in the abyss. No one will disturb me and I'll be out of harm's way."

"You just want to quietly rot away out here?"

"Essentially," thin lips painfully stretch themselves upwards. He's making an attempt to smile, but Chanyeol has never seen someone looking so forlorn. "It would be me doing the universe a favour. I'm a waste of space. Living but not alive. A waste of God's creation."

Chanyeol has to hold his tongue, has to tread carefully around the topic. He has to dance heedful circles around Baekhyun who is like a spooked animal. One wrong move and he'll bolt, end the conversation, shoot Chanyeol down. "You believe in God?"

To Chanyeol's relief, the raven haired male does none of the above and instead shakes his head. "No God would put me through this sort of hell. If there is a God out there, they must have decided that I'm not worth it. They've forsaken me and I them."

//

The bar they enter is run down and few people are there but it's warm and cozy and Baekhyun said it was a place he used to frequent often so Chanyeol doesn't really mind. He's happy the smaller is sharing another part of himself with him. He wonders how much more he can learn about the Captain today with the downing of another shot. Maybe his third - fifth? - of the night. From the nearby window, the pinkish hues of the oncoming sunset can be seen and the colours fit beautifully across Baekhyun's side profile. He is perched on the bar stool next to him, smooth fingers painting clear circles around the rim of his untouched drink.

"Come on, Baekhyun, I wanted you to loosen up and have a drink but it seems like I'm the only one doing so," Chanyeol whines before gesturing at the green skinned barkeep serving them for another refill. He's nowhere near drunk but the short chuckle Baekhyun lets out does have him feeling a little dizzy.

"I used to work nights here, you know," he says smoothly, saccharine beats of his honey velvet voice blending in with the quiet music that filters through the speakers. He gestures around them, at the small stage set up nearer the back of the bar and at the aliens who stumble out the toilets with boisterous guffaws, before stealing the shot of purple liquid from Chanyeol's reach, swallowing it down his already burning throat.

Chanyeol lifts an intrigued eyebrow at him, unfazed over his stolen drink. "Bartender?"

The shorter shakes his head, dark eyes glinting. "Singer."

The redhead's jaw drops open in disbelief. "You sing?" Baekhyun nods with a little grin. It soon slips off his face, disappearing like tides erase footprints imprinted in sand as his line of sight settles somewhere over Chanyeol's shoulder. The latter is too excited to notice. "Huh, who'd have thought? You'll have to let me hear someday."

Chanyeol turns back to his companion when he doesn't get a reply after a few beats of silence. He notices, now. He notices how Baekhyun's pale hands shake around his glass that he clings onto for dear life, how Baekhyun’s lips press white against each other as Chanyeol's questioning eyes bore into him and how he looks at the taller crestfallen, eyes swimming with guilt and a lump in his throat that he just can't seem to get rid of no matter how many shots he swallows. But there is also another emotion in Baekhyun's gaze that Chanyeol is quick to place, it's tender and gentle in the way he sweeps his line of sight over his face, as if memorising all the different curves and angles that make up his hostage. It feels like a bitter goodbye.

"Baekhyun, are you ok?"

His throat burns, the backs of his eyes burn, his chest burns. He's not ok.

Chanyeol looks at him with narrowed eyes, unsure why Baekhyun is suddenly tearing his stare away from him and rubbing at his watering eyes. But then he catches a glimpse of royal azure edging closer to them and his world shatters.

"Baekhyun-" he breathes. Betrayal poisons his blood. It sinks into the bottom of his heart and bleeds into his blood. It numbs him to the core so that he can't feel anything, neither in his fingertips nor in his chest. The situation feels so surreal. A part of him desperately wishes this were all a dream, that Baekhyun hasn't actually done this, that this was all some kind of sick joke. He suspects this is the feeling Baekhyun has had to live with his entire life.

Even now, until the bitter end, he is trying to understand Baekhyun. Baekhyun who is still so beautiful even as tears brim his eyes and he gets up shakily from his bar stool. Baekhyun who will always push him away no matter how hard he tries to get close.

"You have to go home. I can't keep dragging you down with me," his voice is a shaky whisper that breaks along with Chanyeol's heart. It is suspended in the air for a single second and then falls and shatters against the floor when a man dressed in an all too familiar navy garb shows up by his side. And then another and another. It feels like an arrest.

Chanyeol's eyes flicker between the men in blue that have come to take him and the man that is about to let them. Late nights, early mornings, Baekhyun's lips on his; it all seems like it's being thrown out the window. He remains mute as the sailor salutes him, lips pressing into a thin line as he forces a nod back in acknowledgement. His eyes, blazing with a concoction of anger, hurt, betrayal and confusion, never leave Baekhyun. The man in blue's don't either.

"Captain Park, it's good to see you healthy. My name's Lieutenant Kim." Chanyeol's eyes narrow slightly as the sailor's two partners take steps closer to Baekhyun. Something rings through him but he is too numb to act on it immediately. The sailor on Baekhyun's right reaches for something inside his pocket and all of a sudden Chanyeol realises this is all wrong. His eyes widen with panic as alarm bells blare within his mind. His gaze searches for no one but Baekhyun. Baekhyun, who can't even look at him, can't look up, can't sense the danger that Chanyeol suddenly can. "Thank you for bringing  leading criminal to us."

"Baekhyun!"

A needle of clear, malevolent liquid is plunged into the Captain's neck before Chanyeol can even get the last syllable of his name out. He tries to jump out his chair, onto his feet, to Baekhyun's side but another two naval sailors manifest out of thin air to grab onto his arms, grips stronger than his desperation as Baekhyun's body falls limp and into the hands of the man who he'd wrongly thought was here to take him away.

"Let him go!" Chanyeol spits, only earning himself a disparaging look from the Lieutenant. He feels trapped and useless and used all over again, like he had the first time he'd been dragged onto the Exodus.

He stares at Baekhyun in aggravation, with his dark eyelashes pressed lightly against pale white cheeks. ‘You beautiful fool.’ It is all the motivation he needs to the jab both the men who hold him still in the gut with his elbows, sending them stumbling backwards with twin groans. Spinning around and breathing harshly, he seethes. He feels his blood boil with an inferno of anger as he whips out his silver revolver and aims it at the Lieutenant, right between his eyes where his target cries for him to hit home. The high and mighty bravado crumbles away when the burly man flinches at the sight of the weapon. British Navy sailors are all the same; scared of conflict, scared of guns. Chanyeol's glad he's gotten over his fear.

"Now, now, Captain Park, you wouldn't actually turn a gun on one of your own would you?" Lieutenant Kim says to him, voice steady but his eyes widen in the subtlest acts of fear. Chanyeol can read such signs easily now after having spent ages trying to decipher entire stories in the way Baekhyun so much as tossed his hair "All this for a mere criminal? Seems a little much, don't you think?"

The way the man of lower rank spits out the degrading word triggers Chanyeol to click the gun off of safety. Pure wrath is in his eyes. It seems he's picked up a few things from Baekhyun. "Let him go. You barely have the authority to persecute him."

The Lieutenant, though held at gun point is as pompous and infuriating as all the other sailors back home. His stomach churns at the thought of how he was once like this too. "True true, but we can hand him into the intergalactic space police. Lord only knows that they'd pay a hefty sum for him after all the crimes he's committed and all the times he's gone against the government. He hijacked another spaceship just a few weeks ago, didn't he?" A few weeks. It's been a few weeks since they raided that alien ship. Since they freed a dozen children from a life of being trafficked. His blood boils. They don't know him. They have no right to put a price on his head. They have no right to talk about Baekhyun as if they knew him. It is a right that Chanyeol and only Chanyeol has earnt.

His finger twitches over the trigger. Bullets scream for the taste of blood. "So you're kidnapping him just so you can sell him to the intergalactic council. Do you have a warrant for that?"

"Do you have a warrant for that?" the Lieutenant seethes, gesturing with his chin at the gleaming weapon held in steady, sure hands. Chanyeol grits his teeth, a muscle jumping in his cheek. All the other sailors stand back, hands raised in the air as Chanyeol flits his raging gaze over them.

"Things are different out here in space."

"Clearly. And clearly, your captors have gotten into your head. Well, 4 months aboard a pirate ship should do those things to you." 4 months? So long already? "It's such a shame," the man says, one corner of his lip curling upwards in a show of irritation. Chanyeol gets ready to paint that look with red. "Your father was such a good man. He would be so disappointed in you."

The scorned Captain can't even get in another word before he feels a mind numbing pain hitting him against the back of his head, searing through his nerves all the way down to the base of his spine. He falls to the ground with a howl, only managing to catch the sight of one of the Lieutenant's sidemen gripping onto a broken beer bottle that drips with crimson anguish. His vision blurs and the sounds around him start to ebb away, like he is being submerged underwater, unable to hear words spoken above the surface. He curses his weakness. 

‘Get up, get up. Baekhyun. You have to save him.’

"Let's go, boys, we've got what we came here for." He tries to cry out, to curse the bastards to Earth and back but all he manages to get out is a mangled groan of pain as a wave of agony wracks through him.

"And the Captain, sir?"

"He was a useless Captain. Weak. The Navy won't miss him. If I'm lucky, I'll get to take over his ship as a reward for having captured such a high profile criminal. Show his low-life crew what a real Captain should be like." The last thing Chanyeol hears before he blacks out is the Lieutenant's cold laugh.

He now understands Baekhyun's thirst for revenge.

a/n - dUN DUN DUNNNNN

a part of me thought the sudden development in baekyeol's relationship was rushed and not true to them. but i think it is? and imma just explain why in case anyone was thinking it. For one, there is a little time jump of like 2-3 weeks between the end of last chaper and start of this one. And another thing to note is that Baekhyun has been deprived of love and affection for years. this is the first time baek has allowed himself to let go and actually accept someone's concern and whatever form of love chanyeol may give to him. both boys are lost af i think i've highlighted that enough and they're both just as ed up as each other tbh so they create their own world in each other, find solace and peace in each other's arms - though baek sturggles to express it in any ways other than - and they so desperately want to feel complete and normal that they stick together. I think these kind of things bring people closer together and cause them to depend on each other more. it's not love and it's not really trust either, it's just someting like 'i have problems, you have problems, might as well be there for each other.' 

bUT IT ALL GOES TO WHEN THE FIRE NATION ATTAKS okno.

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