Mists of Celeste - an Ateez Fanfic

act three ➻ part two

"We're actually not in space anymore." Wooyoung jabs a finger at Yeosang's chin and catches the man on the lip instead. Yeosang swats his hand away with a small grimace, but you can tell that Wooyoung's antics don't bother him too much. "We've already landed on Kebos. We're just waiting for Captain and the others to do whatever it is they need to do."

It's been a few days since your awkward panic attack in the training room, but the mention of Kebos still makes you tense up, and your breath catches a bit in your throat. Jongho notes the way your shoulders lift, and his hand reaches down to the bench between you two, brushing over your knuckles just enough. You shift to look at him, lips pressed tight together, but he doesn't look back at you. Instead, he keeps his eyes forward on Yeosang and Wooyoung as they continue their conversation.

"Stop being a smartass, Woo."

"I'm not being a smartass!"

"You'll get your ass beat if you aren't careful," Yeosang threatens, shaking his head a little while continuing to organize the deck of cards.

"You could never lay a finger on me. You love me too much." Wooyoung crosses his arms over his chest, leaning back to grin smugly at Yeosang. The blond doesn't even look at him before swinging his fist into Wooyoung's arm.

"Hey!" Wooyoung exclaims, pulling away from Yeosang and rubbing at the spot where he was hit. "Ow? What was that for?"

"You said I wouldn't hit you."

"I didn't mean for you to actually hit me though..." Wooyoung pouts and slaps Yeosang's arm in return.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt? I didn't do any actual damage, did I?"

"Ha! I knew you were soft for me!"

Yeosang huffs at Wooyoung's accusation but neglects to counter again, letting Wooyoung bask in his victory (if it can even be called a success). You sit up straight as movement flashes across the edge of your vision. Seonghwa and San step into the mess hall side by side, both out of their casual clothes and armed with two pistols each. Jongho slides closer to you to make room for them, but Seonghwa puts a hand up and shakes his head a little.

"We aren't staying. We'll be heading out with Captain in a few minutes. Jongho, would you go take inventory in the cargo hold with Mingi later."

"Sure thing, Lieutenant. Consider it done."

"We should be back shortly, but this will most likely take a few days. Maybe a week at most. Captain wants to scope out possible recruits for the crew."

"Why all of a sudden like this?" Yeosang cuts in, leaving the deck of cards forgotten under his fingers. Seonghwa glances over at him with wide eyes. A small smile takes over his lips.

"Hongjoong will explain in time."

"In time?" Yeosang scoffs. "So never."

"He's going to explain in time, Yeosang. If you expect me to tell you now, you're sorely mistaken, so I would suggest you keep your mouth shut and wait for the captain to address it later." Seonghwa levels Yeosang with a glare, the soft demeanor slipping away from his features, and for a moment, all you see is the Lieutenant of Death. Yeosang's jaw shifts, but he doesn't say anything else. "Y/N, could I borrow you for a second?" You become the focus of Seonghwa's stare, but the fury in his eyes drops away as he looks at you.

"Y-Yeah, sure." You push yourself up from the bench, stepping behind Seonghwa as he starts to walk towards a separate table. You turn to glance over at San, who takes your seat beside Jongho with a delicate frown pasted on his features. Even when you sit down beside Seonghwa, you can spot San over the lieutenant's shoulder. He looks back at you, eyes lingering and watching, but as soon as he sees that you're doing the same, he dips his chin towards the table in front of him instead.