Mists of Celeste - an Ateez Fanfic

act four ➻ part five

"I hate playing a waiting game," Jongho mutters as he runs a finger over the rim of his glass. The liquor inside trembles from the faint touch, small waves rippling over the surface before coming to a rest again when Jongho pulls his hand back.

You pay little attention to the movements. You're far too preoccupied with the dainty hand-drawn map in front of you: the small blueprint you hastily drew before coming to the dingy bar thirty minutes ago. Too much of your time in the military is hazy, and the parts that are clear and at the forefront of your mind are most certainly not diagrams of whatever the military bases look like. You have little hope that your memory is serving you well, and even so, there is no guarantee that the military here on Kebos hasn't changed their systems in the past few years. Jongho holds much more faith in your abilities, however, and he hums as he glances over your work.

"It looks good."

You can't keep from rolling your eyes at the tone of his voice, mostly thanks to the constant thrum of anxiety in your gut.

"There's a big chance that this base won't even be built the same as in the past," you mumble. You retrace a few lines off to the side in efforts to busy yourself and quell your nerves, but it does little to help. Jongho shakes his head, and you catch the motion out the corner of your eye.

"This one has been standing for at least sixty years, according to Seonghwa. It's merely been repurposed time and time again, so... layout should be the same. Even if it's a little different, you know what you're talking about. Surely Yeosang can manage it too with his experience."

"No, he's – he wouldn't have spent his time in warehouses and inventory bases. Not with a royal background." You blink down at the table with little interest, taking your lower lip between your teeth and gnawing lightly at it. "It's too quiet. Isn't it? Are San and Yeosang okay?"

A sigh passes Jongho's lips as he looks over at you, then he shakes his head once more.

"They're probably fine. They–"

As though on cue, the comm pressed to the shell of your ear crackles to life, and Jongho winces as his does the same, the suddenness of the action catching you both off-guard.

"Hey, it's me." You and Jongho both exchange a glance, one that holds a bit of disappointment as it's only Seonghwa's voice that crackles through the comms channel. "I'm just checking in – have you made it yet?" You know that the 'you' in his sentence is figurative — something to keep Hongjoong from catching onto what's really going on behind the scenes.

"No, they haven't – we, I mean, we haven't gotten there yet," you reply, keeping your tone to a quiet minimum.

"Can you hear me? Hello?" Relief finally comes, and San's voice is like warm honey against your ear.

"San," you exhale. Your jaw stutters a bit as you try to come up with something else to say, but San continues speaking before you get the chance to say anything.

"We just got past a radio barrier. I've been trying to reach you guys for at least ten minutes."

"Well, comms are back online, it seems," Seonghwa responds, voice fading a bad at the tail end of his sentence. Jongho extends a hand towards you and drops it atop your thigh. It's a small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless, and you pass him a smile of gratitude.

"I told you not to worry," he murmurs quiet enough to escape the comms. Your smile devolves into a slight frown, and you bring your chin forward again.

"That was the easy part. Now they need to get past the militia barrier and scanners."

"You don't have any faith in us?" It's Yeosang's voice that crackles over the comms this time, and you huff out a laugh.