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kisskissbanggang · 2 years ago

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Jumpspace Renegade - ep. 16 ✨🚀

[2.7k words, 10min. read - Stray Kids Multi Fic, Scifi!au, Choose Your Own Adventure - Chan x Fem. Reader, Seungmin x Fem. Reader - SFW/Smut in Other Chapters- Navigating Feelings, Platonic(?) Intimacy, Ominous Plot Hints, Miserable Disappointment, TWO SMOOCHES, Coffee in the Morning, Terrible Mornings After, Chan is Such a Dick, Seungmin Might Actually be a Good Boy, Reader has a Terrible Idea, Always Check the Tags]

[Episodes on Fridays 7pm pst, Polling closes Saturdays 7pm pst]

[Series Masterlist | Come Say Hi!]

You didn't catch a single wink of sleep after what Chan said.

Chan, on the other hand, slept great judging by how chipper he was when you reluctantly awoke.

Fine. You did sleep, but it wasn't nearly enough, and it wasn't good sleep.

And there was a good, extra reason for that, besides the captain nonchalantly making you paranoid of practically the whole crew again in one fell swoop. Judging by the alarm clock on Chan’s bedside table, the two of you had slept in.

“Come on,” Chan whined, lobbing your shirt at you. “Everyone’s probably up by now.” He was wearing his bionic limbs and fully dressed, even smoking a clip before he realized he was publicly being a hypocrite, and now he was rushing you to put your clothes back on. The captain clicked off the clip and shoved it in his pocket before throwing you your shorts next.

You groggily pulled on your underwear and clothes, shuffling out of Chan’s bed so you could put on your shoes. He leaned against his desk, reading something on his tablet. You felt him looking at you. When you hazarded a glance back at him, he only smirked, like he had a little secret.

Chan easily intercepted you when you approached his door, caressing an arm around your shoulder and leading you to his closet instead before he briefly hugged you, his lips pressing to your temple.

“That was fun last night,” he said.

“It was,” you tepidly agreed. It was true, but that didn't mean you had to feel good about it. “Any reason I can't embark on my Walk of Shame?”

“Oh,” the captain chuckled before leaning down to open the hatch to the service access, “it’d be weird if the guys know we slept together again, that's all.”

“You can not be serious!” you groaned.

He flipped open the hatch. “I am!”

“Well, you should apologize!”

“I won't!”

You gawked at him, arms folded across your chest in offense. In response, Chan rolled his eyes, his stance complementing your own with his hands on his hips.

“Fine!” he relented. “What am I apologizing for?”

Your arms dropped to your sides, stunned. “For telling everyone in the first place!”

He shrugged and began ushering you into the hatch. “It’s not that big a deal, dude.”

“It is clearly a big deal to you, you prick!” You bristled, shoving yourself back against the wall of the closet in refusal of being coerced into the service access. This was achieving something with Chan, but it was difficult to parse out exactly what.

The captain cocked his head, looking away and just embarrassed enough to satisfy you. “Fine,” he repeated. “It matters, okay? It’s complicated. A lot of this is complicated. You are complicated.”

“Maybe because I’m a person?” you clarified.

Chan reluctantly nodded.

“Maybe because you humiliated and shamed me in front of the crew as some power move?”

There was a hesitance before Chan gave in and nodded again. He still wouldn’t look you in the eye.

“Fine,” he sighed a third time. “I’m sorry for telling everyone in the first place. Now will you do me this favor, please?”

“Holy shit,” you scoffed, lowering yourself down into the hatch, “you’re way cuter when you’re not being a narcissistic jackass.”

You hopped into the opening, stormed through the service access, and down into your cabin, almost audibly grumbling from how much the captain had got under your skin. First he pulled the rug out from under you with the entire nonsense with the ring, sending you spiraling into a whole mess of doubt and paranoia, but then he had to go and be a fickle asshole in the morning after being incredibly vulnerable and affectionate with you again. You were resigned to actually making good on the threat you’d originally made when you formed your alliance the previous night: if he ever touched you again, now you’d definitely break his knees.

That asshole.

Dreading running into anyone before you were mentally ready, you opted to simply gargle some mouthwash into the utility sink in the workshop before heading to the galley. You were far too discombobulated to bother with any surprises this morning. On the screen next to the kitchen, someone had put the flight path back on now that the detour to Phaborus was complete. The Ambler would dock at Sentury Station the following night. Jisung had told you that this would be where you would sell the ring if you wanted a good payday, but now you had his other lead as well. The clock was ticking.

You’d been pretty set on asking Seungmin for help with this when you couldn’t sleep, but now your doubts were far louder, forcing you to reconsider. Chan was unequivocally off the table after this morning. Jisung wasn’t on your shit list anymore, but there was still the troubling matter of him stealing from you in the first place. Felix would likely only be able to provide limited support with his skillset, unfortunately, and you didn’t like that Changbin was capable of keeping a giant secret from someone he was so close to. Then there was Hyunjin and Jeongin, who you simply didn’t know enough to trust. That did, once again, leave Seungmin.

The galley was sparsely populated when you took a look around. Felix and Changbin were nowhere to be seen, with the former likely still being knocked out on those painkillers Minho gave him. By now, it seemed like Minho thought the ranger should just sleep through recovery. You were relieved to not see Chan, and humored that maybe you delayed just enough to have missed him. Hyunjin sipped some coffee while he read his tablet in the booth, and Jisung was helping with dishes while Jeongin sat on the counter. Another hot ball of doubt was burning in your gut, but you knew you had to trust yourself. You could do this yourself, but you were in all new environments that you’d never worked in before, navigating social expectations and cultures you’d never experienced. Although it was hard to trust yourself, you knew that doing so and asking for help was the only answer.

The only problem was the navigator was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey,” Jisung kindly greeted you.

“Good morning,” Jeongin added. “Nova, can you take Lee’s food to him?”

“Sure,” you nodded, trying to be casual while you reached for the plate being handed to you. “Did everyone else eat?”

“Not everyone,” Jeongin shook his head. “Seungmin was first, just grabbed his food and went back to the bridge. He looked super busy. Changbin grabbed some grub for him and Felix, then Jisung and Hyunjin came. That just leaves you and–”

“Hey!” Chan cheerily greeted from the door.

You had to stop your eyes from rolling back into your head.

“Did I miss anything fun?” the captain added. You attempted to edge your way out of the kitchen. A straight shot to see Minho personally right now would help you to not have to bother with so much–

“Not really,” Jeongin shrugged. “Jisung is helping with the dishes and Nova is taking food down to the bounty.”

You almost preemptively sighed.

“Oh really?” Chan chuckled. “I don’t think so.”

A familiar bionic hand descended in your view to grab the plate in your hands. You turned to share a disgruntled look with Chan.

“You’re banned from waitress duties, remember?” he laughed.

You should’ve known an opportunity like that was too good to last. Instead of arguing, however, you let him leave, waiting until he was out of sight to slide out of the kitchen and head towards the bridge. It wouldn’t be worth bickering with Chan anyway.

The bridge was eerily quiet. Federal watch requirements were more lax in jumpspace, so especially with no one at the consoles, it was weirdly empty. Only uninterrupted space laid in front of you, with maybe a couple dots out in the distance that were actually other ships. You peeked into the empty nav office, where the only inhabitants were Seungmin’s charts, neatly stuffed into cubby holes lining the wall all the way up to the ceiling.

You checked on the empty library, someone’s unclaimed tablet laying on a charging pad by a plush easy chair in the small space, and then you took a quick glance at the medical office across the way. No sign of Seungmin anywhere, until you turned and saw the navigator’s cabin door open, only an inch or so. You edged your nose into the crack of the door, looking inside and finding no one.

However, when you turned back around, you screamed as you found yourself face to face with him.

“Seungmin!” you gasped, catching your breath.

“Spying on me?” he ribbed.

“Looking for you,” you corrected.

He grinned and scooted in next to you in the doorway before holding it open for you. “Well here I am,” he chuckled. “Wanna come in?”

“Sure,” you smiled bashfully. In a moment of terror, you wondered if your hickey from the other day had finally faded. Regardless, you followed Seungmin into his cabin, taking a second to enjoy the better view. Previously, you’d only had glances in here. The first thing you noticed was that Seungmin seemed to prefer much brighter settings, his light level far higher than everyone else, who apparently preferred dim or no lights at all. He had his own coffee machine tucked into the corner of his desk, along with some random trinkets. A stuffed bear, a pouch made of wood beads, a collection of pretty rocks – you found yourself wishing you could just forget the whole reason you came here and ask him about these items instead, simply enjoy your time with him like you found it so easy to do already.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. He walked over to the desk and grabbed a couple mugs from his personal collection.

The question was unexpectedly penetrating. There was a lot wrong. And it apparently showed on your face. Seungmin passed you a cup of coffee before climbing up onto his makeshift bed on the windowsill, his “nest” as you’d called it the first time you saw it. He patted the blanket next to him and he set his mug down. Seungmin took your coffee in one hand, and your hand in his other before hoisting you up. You tried the hot brew, enjoying it a surprising amount. The navigator was looking at you expectantly, and you nodded your approval of the coffee. His expression changed then, shifting right to a worried frown. He reached a hand over, cupping your cheek and encouraging you to look at him.

“Not the coffee,” he shook his head. “What’s wrong?”

The repeated question finally got an answer out of you. His hand was warm on your cheek. “So, about my ring…”

“Yeah? What about it?”

“I, er, wasn’t aware that it already had a reputation before I came on board.”

Seungmin retracted his hand at that point, returning to his mug. “Ah,” he nodded stoically. “I see.”

“And Chan told me last night that the bounty–”

“When did you talk to Chan? I don’t think I saw him after the launch last night so I assumed he was in his cabin all evening unless I was just missing him entirely.”

You and Seungmin locked eyes, and your resolve immediately crumbled.

“He told me in his cabin last night,” you admitted.

Seungmin’s eyebrows raised a little, but he didn’t look offended or anything similar. At minimum, his expression was cryptic. “Were you just… talking? In Chan’s cabin?”

A heavy silence filled Seungmin’s room. You were still taking in the whole space. A box with spare guitar strings and picks sat on a shelf. He had a pennant for military academy, full of written well wishes from friends.

“... No,” you finally told him. “Not just talking.”

Seungmin’s thumb was rigidly tracing the lip of his mug. He was no longer looking at you, but it appeared he was looking at your knee touching his where you sat together. “Anyone else’s cabin you’ve visited?” he asked.

You silently nodded.

It wasn’t lost on you that this was unexpectedly jealous of the navigator, or even a little possessive.

But you were flattered, despite the way it hurt to see him processing this.

Seungmin only nodded.

“I’ve wanted to visit your cabin, maybe the most,” you told him, “but there’s a lot that’s been fucking with me.”

This piqued his interest. His eye met yours again. “Fucking with you?” he repeated. “Like what?”

That was all it took for you to spill. You told Seungmin everything.

The alliances with Minho and Chan.

Sleeping with Minho and Chan.

Your weird pseudo-alliance with Jisung; sleeping with him.

Chan’s shitty little power move with the rifle back on Phaborus that landed Felix in the med bay.

The lead Jisung saved to share with you, and the bullshit stunt he pulled to get it.

Jisung kissing you on the beach.

Minho acting weird towards you.

Chan’s shitty little attitude after you slept with him again.

And the way Chan dropped this prior knowledge about Minho and the ring before you ever showed up with it.

By now, your mug was cool, almost devoid of coffee. You and Seungmin were sitting facing each other on his windowsill.

“That was… it’s a lot to take in,” Seungmin sighed.

“I know,” you winced. “You were the one person I could think of to ask for help.”

“And I appreciate that!” the navigator assured you. “And I would! I’ve never wanted to punch Chan so bad before in my life.”

At this point, you were certain that a shade of your embarrassing hickey was still there, or maybe there was a new one, the way Seungmin was staring at your neck.

Wait.

“And you… would?” you repeated back to Seungmin.

He bit his lip. “Yeah…” he trailed off and scooped your hand up in his. “I’m, uh, doing a negotiation at Sentury. I might have a new contract lined up.”

“Why does that sound bad?” you warily asked.

Seungmin sighed again, eyes downcast before he pulled on your hand in his, meeting you halfway so he could kiss you softly. The kiss only lasted a second, and you wanted to stick a pin in every single butterfly in your stomach. He fully sat back down, and you did the same. “Because I’d be leaving. My negotiation is with a new crew. I’d actually be a bridge captain.”

Your eyes regretfully lit up. That was an amazing opportunity, but it still stung.

“I don’t know when my meetings start,” Seungmin lamented, “but I don’t think I’ll be able to help you on Sentury, let alone help get this payload back to Victory Meridian. I’m sorry, Nova.”

“It’s alright,” you dismissed. “You need to do what makes you happy.”

Seungmin looked a little bruised by this. Maybe he would’ve been happy spending some more time with you.

You hated how self-important that felt.

“Does Chan know?” you finally added.

The navigator shook his head. “Dude would kill me,” he laughed forlornly. “He’d be happy for me, but he’d send me there in a body bag.”

More silence filled the air. This didn’t hurt so much as it stung.

“Are you mad at me?” Seungmin asked.

“No,” you answered. You also shook your head. “I just wish you told me before I spilled everything. But I’m sure you feel similarly, somewhat.”

It was difficult to decipher Seungmin’s expression again. Your stomach was aching, and you realized you never ate since dinner the previous night.

“I’ll catch up with you later, alright?” you soothed, putting on a small smile for reassurance. Seungmin tried to match you, before you leaned in and kissed him yourself. Still fleeting, still with unwanted butterflies. His smile looked easier when you pulled away, and you climbed out of his nest bed and smoothly crept out of his room.

But once outside, you were freaking out.

You were fucked.

No one to rely on at Sentury.

A whole new person who fully knew about Jisung’s lead.

Your mind raced while you jogged down the stairs to the galley.

For once, you could keep it to yourself.

However, you were all alone. You already gauged how messy that could get. There was always the truth that you could bypass a lot of this mess by talking to Minho directly.

You could finally loop Felix into this, maybe see if he could keep Changbin out of it until you could trust him more.

You could get to know Hyunjin more and see how helpful he’d be, or even Jeongin.

Or, a dark part of your mind suggested, there was a new option. You knew something that Seungmin didn’t want Chan to know. You had dirt now.

#straykidsland #neverendingdreams #stray kids fanfic #skz fanfic #kim seungmin fanfic #ALWAYS CHECK THE TAGS 💕#let's be real - what would bel do 😏#the answer is something dramatic and risky #but HONESTLY i'm thinking a very reasonable answer will win here #i have such fun ideas for sentury you have no idea

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