"It's 4am, why are we worried about airport fashion? And who in the world told ARMY when we're leaving?" Crystal gripes, begrudgingly pulling out an actual outfit to wear to the airport.
"Your guess is as good as mine. I think you look fine," Yoongi shrugs lazily, slipping his feet into his slides.
He was wearing an all black outfit, the first hat, shirt and pants he'd happened to run across in his suitcase first.
"In your hoodie and my sleep shorts? It would've been fine if we were going straight to the jet like last time, but in front of your fans? Hell no, it would end up being scandalous. I can see the headlines now—"Suga of BTS's soulmate "staKes HeR clAiM" by wearing only his hoodie to the airport." she says in a mocking tone as she pulls on some black, ripped jeans and a gray tshirt that said "Phenomenal Woman."
Yoongi just chuckles at his soulmate's antics, knowing she was grumpy from only getting about an hour of sleep before they had to be up again to get ready for the airport. He was used to this, but was still annoyed himself with whoever's decision it was to do this. He understands that ARMY wants to see them and that they're supposed to be practically flaunting their relationships, but this seemed like overkill. He was never a fan of airport walk throughs. They could be chaotic and dangerous depending on the fans they encountered; and even if the fans were chill, it wasn't like they could interact with any of them past a wave or bow. In short, he just doesn't see the point.
Crystal didn't see the point either. They were flying in a private jet. Why not just go straight to the runway like last time? BTS gets enough publicly without having to do all this. Airport photos aren't going to catapult them to another level like a video game. She huffs, placing her lounge clothes in her suitcase and zipping it back up before slipping her feet into her slides.
"Ready?" he asks and she nods, slipping her Ray Bans out of their case and tossing it in her bag before sliding them on her face.
She was not looking forward to the media being there at all and hoped the flashes would be more bearable with shades on.
Both soulmates tired, the ride to the airport was a quiet one. They were in one car while Sehee and JK shared one, Jin and Joon shared, and Tae, Hobi, and Jimin shared another.
Crystals eyes widened at the sight of the crowd outside the airport. There was a purple glow visible from the entrance of the parking lot from the army bombs that shone in the dark. The closer the black trucks got to the crowd, the more you could hear the excited chatter amongst the fans present.
"I don't think I've ever liked a celeb this much," Crystal thinks to herself as she mentally prepares herself to deal with the chaos.
"Stay close," Yoongi says as their car rolls to a stop.
There were no barricades so security stood close and made a human barrier between them and the fans. From what she could see through the heavily tinted windows, the fans were standing at respectable distances, screaming but not trying to rush the security. She watched as each grouping of members went before it was their turn. JK and Sehee would be last, their car right behind theirs.
Security opened the door and more screaming commences as Yoongi got out, waving before reaching for her hand. He helps her out and wraps his arm around her shoulder, her arm going around his back to rest on his hip as he keeps her close, an added layer of protection. Reporters as well as fans yell things in their direction and there's constant flashing from the cameras as they're moved along the sea of bodies. Crystal's heart felt like it was in her throat, claustrophobia kicking in temporarily as they're ushered along.
Screams from behind them let her know that Sehee and JK had just gotten out. Crystal and Yoongi had just joined the other members when a scream, followed by commotion from behind them made them all look back. That wasn't just any scream. That was Sehee's scream. Just as Crystal takes a step forward, security is pushing a very angry JK forward, who has Sehee wrapped in his arms, but is still going off about something.
The group immediately shoots questions at them, wanting to know what happened, but security insists on keeping them moving forward so they could get to the private waiting area as soon as possible.
"Some fucking idiot just grabbed her," JK fumes, practically carrying Sehee, who has her face buried in his chest, still shaken.
"See this is why this was a stupid fucking idea from the start. There are hundreds of people out there, no barricades, and minimal security. What the fuck did they think was going to happen? We're lucky it wasn't worse," Crystal rants heatedly.
Even now, there were people stopping and recording, some shouting out greetings. Most of the security had to stay back for crowd control so they were surrounded with about 8 security guards. Even so, she still felt so very exposed. Yoongi was silent, still holding onto her tightly, but flashes of red popped across her vision like fireworks as they made it to the privacy of the waiting area that had been booked for them.
There was a collective feeling of relief once those doors closed behind them, half the security they were with staying back to guard them.
"What the fuck was that?! Who's idea was this?" Yoongi explodes, making Crystal jump at the sudden volume of his voice.
"Right, because this was not in the schedule. We've haven't had an airport experience so disorganized in years! Someone could've really gotten hurt," Joon adds, speaking to one of the travel managers.
"I-Mr. Lee said—" the man answers with his hands up in surrender.
"With all due respect, Mr. Lee is not your boss. You don't do what he says unless it's been discussed with our team," Jin cuts in, his hands on his hips.
"Of fucking course. It would be him," Crystal sighs heavily, looking over at Sehee worriedly.
She still hadn't budged from JK's chest and he was now hugging her, speaking with her lowly, his hand visibly shaking against the back of her head. Upon hearing Mr. Lee's name, his head shot up, his nostrils flaring with anger.
"Since you answer to him now, you can tell him if these are the lengths he wants to go to, I will pull the plug on all of this shit and the world won't see my soulmate again until she'd good and fucking ready. She's already sacrificing her privacy. I won't have her put in harm's way like that ever again—even if that means never making another airport appearance in all the rest of my days," he spits, low and angry before carrying Sehee over to the furthest corner of the room, sitting down and pulling her onto his lap.
The room went quiet again as the manager apologized profusely and stepped out to make a phone call. No one had ever seen the maknae so furious before and it wasn't a pretty sight. He looked about ready to kill whomever it was that had grabbed Sehee back there, his usual easygoing smile nowhere to be found.
"Where the hell is Sejin-nim?" Yoongi asks, pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand.
"That's a good question hyung. I haven't seen him," Joon says, digging his phone out of his pocket and stepping off to the side to call.
Crystal squeezes Yoongi's side to get his attention so she could lead them to a nearby couch. He sat with a long exhale, sitting his bag down my his feet.
"You okay?" He asks and she nods.
"Fine," she replies honestly, her feelings of anxiety washed away by her worry for Sehee at the moment.
"Are you?" she asks, angling her body towards his so she could see his face more.
She'd never heard him raise his voice before and knew that it was uncharacteristic of him.
"I'm good. I just got so worried. For you, for them, shit for us," he says exasperatedly, his worried gaze on JK and Sehee as well.
"Why can't people just fucking behave? Now what was the point in grabbing her? This is crazy. I felt it in my gut that something was gonna go wrong when I didn't see any barricades. Mr. Lee and his team are half ass idiots and he's definitely gonna hear from me as soon as we land in Chicago," Crystal rants, pushing her hair back out of her face.
"If he isn't fired by then, he will be. I don't throw my power around often, but after a move like this, he has to go. He obviously doesn't care about any of our safety vs our images. He's made many stupid decisions, but this one takes the fucking cake. He's not gonna get away with putting you in danger. If I was JK, I'd be losing my shit right now too," Yoongi replies, his jaw ticking and his knee bouncing as he readjusts his hat.
Crystal found herself appreciating his energy towards the situation as well as his protectiveness. It made her feel a way, but now was not the time or place to express it so she settles for showing her appreciation in a more apt way, leaning over and pecking his cheek before resting her head on his shoulder. He kisses her forehead in return, his hand briefly resting on the side of her face before resting on top of hers in her lap.
They finally board the plane a little less than an hour later, JK and Sehee heading straight back to the bedroom while Yoongi and Crystal sat in the back, covered by a blanket she'd had in her bag. She was asleep before the plane even took off, turnt sideways in her seat with the armrest between them up and her legs resting across Yoongi's lap. He falls asleep as well, the thoughts in his head a big contrast to the soothing motions of this thumbs sweeping across her calves. He wanted to be well rested for the endeavors that would come once they landed in Chicago. He has some things he needs to get off his chest.
A/N: Sorry for the wait! I had terrible writers block with this story but I'm back with some new ideas 💜