Trinity Six | NCT DREAM

038

We had to do a stopover this time, which added an extra two hours to our already long trip home. My mood had taken a 180° turn, and despite Jisung, Chenle, and Renjun's efforts at making me smile, I had stayed in my seat, staring out of the small window beside me with a dull and empty look in my eyes. At one point it had all become too much, though, and I felt a strong urge to be alone with my overwhelming thoughts which brought me to the king-sized bed in the Master's Suite. Crawling under the soft covers, I let out a sigh as I turned around and closed my eyes for a moment, enjoying the consistent hum of the motors that could be heard from the other side of the windows that lines the room in neat rows. This had been an adventure from day one when I got the call from Baekhyun. I let my thoughts drift back to the ball in Venice where I had crossed the point-of-no-return when I met Jeno for the first time and stuck my nose somewhere it shouldn't have been. I couldn't help but let a small smile tug at the corners of my lips as I went over each little memory I had collected in the last couple of weeks, slowly falling asleep.

I was woken up by noises, but as I scrunched my nose and turned around, pulling the covers even further over my head, I realized that it wasn't the noise of the motor that had lulled me to sleep earlier. They were voices. I got out of bed, rubbing my eyes and giving myself a couple of seconds to stretch my tired body when my eyes suddenly flew open. I felt wide awake as my hand curled around the bump in my pocket that I had forgotten everything about during our chaotic departure from Florence.

"Guys," I said, pushing the door open with a bright smile, only to halt in my steps as I took in the scene that was unfolding before me in the aisle in the middle of the cabin. Haechan was straddling Mark who was on the floor, shaking the man underneath him by the shoulders as the others, the ones who were well enough at least, tried to get him off. "Guys!" I yelled, finally getting their attention. "What's going on?" I asked, but Jisung and Chenle simply bit their lips and looked away. Renjun wouldn't meet my eyes either, walking back to his seat beside Jaemin and Jeno who were both watching the fight from afar. "Let go of him, Hyuck," I said, staring at Haechan and waiting for him to stop acting like a child. he pouted, but he stayed put. Mark hadn't moved an inch, and it looked like he hadn't put up much of a fight, either. "Donghyuck," I said, using his real name as I took a step closer, "I have something to tell you, and your aggressive attitude is really ruining my mood."

That seemed to do it, and as Haechan passed me on the way back to his seat, I gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze before offering my hand to Mark, helping him up from the floor. I turned around to face the group who all looked guiltily back at me. "I know you all have some unsolved issues with Mark but if you want to fight it out instead of talk, you should do it after I'm gone," I said, taking a deep breath, "I know what he has done and I know that he was wrong, but he was the one who warned me about 127 during the heist, and he was the one who got you all back safe and sound afterward, so maybe he doesn't deserve to be killed, hmm, Hyuck?" I said, turning to Haechan with a sharp glare. "He betrayed me once as well and as revenge, he got a good slap to the head with my gun. I can definitely recommend it. It works wonders, and it's not nearly as messy as murder." Jeno gave me a proud smile at that.

"Now," I began, clapping my hands together as the smile from before returned tenfold, tugging at the corners of my lips, "I have great news for all of you. As you may well remember, we all went through one hell of a heist last night." The others nodded their heads, though they shared the same expressions of confusion on their faces as well, throwing each other worried looks as they looked back and forth between me and the other members. Chenle mouthed the word "crazy" to Jisung, but I pretended as if I hadn't seen it. "Now, you may also remember that we seemingly had to flee the palace empty-handed and with more wounds and bruises than originally anticipated." It wouldn't have surprised me if I looked like a psychopath at that moment, standing in my all-black mission gear with a gun still in my belt, smiling madly at a crowd of beaten-up criminals.

"Well, do I have a surprise for you," I said, reaching for my pocket where my fingers curled around the cold surface of the precious stone inside. I raised my arm in front of me, holding the golden diamond out for the group to see, "My dear Trinity Six, I, D'Artagnan, would like to present you with the Florentine Diamond." My smile grew tenfold as I waited for their reactions.

It took a couple of seconds. A couple of seconds before the entire cabin erupted in yells and cheers. And a couple of seconds before I was tackled to the ground by Jisung, the youngest of the group laughing into the side of my neck as he gave me the biggest hug he could muster. I laughed as well, tears springing to my eyes as I felt a weight being lifted off my shoulders. We had succeeded. And we were alive. "Are you serious? How did you-" Jeno began as he made his way over to me, carefully taking the diamond out of my outstretched hands as I handed it to him. He raised the stone in the air, letting it catch the light coming from the many windows and cabin lights, reflecting them all over the walls and floors like little stars. I noticed a certain glint in his eyes that I had never seen before, and it made me smile all the more.

Getting up, I made my way back to my seat, watching Jaemin as he carefully studied the diamond after Jeno had handed it to him. "How?" he asked, turning to me with a look of confusion and surprise in his eyes. "I traded something very precious to me in order for it to work," I said, watching as the confusion on Jaemin's face grew even stronger. "I was really down after the whole Leonardo-thing," I admitted, turning to Aramis, "and Jisung and Chenle took me out where I bought a souvenir in this wonderful little shop. As a reminder of everything once we got home and had to part ways." I said, giving the others another smile, though my heart felt heavy as the words slipped past my lips.

"You tricked Lee Taeyong, a top-tier mafia boss, one of the biggest in Korea, at that, with a souvenir?" Jaemin said, complete disbelief as well as a hint of pride in his voice, "You tricked him and got away with it?" I nodded, feeling proud at the look Jaemin was giving me. "You are very nimble indeed," Jeno said, reminding me of the first time Trinity Six had told me I would be joining them on their heist. Nimble, was what he had called me when he described my theft during the ball in Venice.

"That was incredibly stupid," Renjun said. I whipped my head in his direction, feeling a pit of dread forming in my stomach. It had been stupid, and I already knew it as I stood on that rooftop surrounded by my unconscious friends and a group of murderous criminals. "It was also incredibly brave," Mark said, giving me a small smile, though his words warmed my heart. "Do I need to remind you, that you would all be dead if it wasn't for me?" I said. "We held them off, though," Chenle muttered, reaching out for the stone to get a chance at holding it as well. "Not all of them," I said, "Someone was after me. Someone with white hair. I think he killed a guard."

"Were you hurt?" Jaemin asked, making a move to get out of his chair, wincing in the process. I rushed up from my own seat, carefully pushing him down again. "No, I'm okay," I said, feeling heat rush to my cheeks at the fact that Jaemin had openly expressed his concern for me. He moved his hand on top of mine, squeezing it a little. "You shouldn't worry about everyone else all the time. You should tend to yourself first," Jaemin continued, searching my face with his eyes as if to make sure that I really wasn't hurt. I squirmed a little under his gaze, trying to move away and get back to my seat, but his grip on my hand tightened as the worry in his eyes seemed to get stronger. "Promise me," he said, "Promise me that you'll never put us first. We shouldn't come before your own well-being."

I hesitated for a moment, my heartbeat picking up as I realized that my words would disappoint him. But I couldn't bring myself to lie to him. I couldn't lie to the others, either. Not after what we had been through together. "I can't" I admitted, "Because you already do."

A/N:
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