[JE] [JEF #5] Universal Appeal 10/10
Title: JE Fleet V: Universal Appeal 10/10
Series: JE Fleet
Fandom: KAT-TUN
Pairing: Akame
Rating: R (m/m activity)
Genre: AU, crack, sci-fi
Word count: 35,850
Disclaimer: Not mine, damnit.
Summary: The JE Fleet ship KAT-TUN goes AWOL in more ways than one.
A/N: Takes place straight after III, but won't make any sense unless you've read IV, so if you're new to the series, you might want to read them in order.
Chapter 10
Kame's fingers were still crooked in position, holding empty air. Of his other self, not so much as a strand of hair remained. "How did I..."
"Maybe one of you was made of anti-matter," Yamapi muttered, but Koki talked him out of that theory on the grounds that none of them would still be here if that was the case.
"What did you do with him?" Alter!Jin was understandably distraught. "Bring him back!" He made a grab for Kame's still outstretched hand, but Jin got there first, pulling him back with an arm around his waist.
The aforementioned waist went 'pop' and disappeared, along with its owner.
The sound of Jin crashing to the floor knocked Kame out of his daze. "Come on," he said, giving Jin a hand up. "I think we'd better go before we destroy the universe. I guess we weren't supposed to interact with our other selves."
It was far too late for Kame to substitute for himself in the baseball game, and Junno had definitely missed throwing the first ball. Yamapi had succeeded in his task, though not as he'd planned, and he was meek to the point of sullenness as the four of them made their way back to the T-junction, where they found Ueda, Nakamaru and Junno waiting for them. Ueda's annoyance at missing the game lasted only as long as it took for Kame's glee to become infectious - about thirty seconds - and before long, all of them were elated about going after the diamond.
Not that anyone except Kame and Jin could follow what was going on, mind. Nakamaru had to stop whining about it after Koki pointed out that he'd wanted a bit of excitement in his life and he was certainly getting it now.
"But why did the other two disappear?" Junno asked. "Were they holograms, not clones?"
Koki opened the door that took them back to the stadium. "There weren't any clones. I don't know what they were, but they weren't clones."
"No clones," Kame admitted. "And no curse, either. But we do need that diamond. That'll be the end of it, I promise."
"Just get me back home before the end of my holiday," Nakamaru said. "That's all I want."
-----
Getting out of the Crescent Moon Stadium was much easier than getting in had been. The majority of the crowd was watching the game. Kame almost felt guilty about destroying the Lunatics' chance of victory, but in his mind, they'd been destined to fail anyway. In that way, at least, the universe had been restored.
To no one's surprise, Yamapi refused to go with. Watching his best friend vanish into thin air, apparently destroyed by a double, was too much for him to deal with. He asked for no explanation and received none, leaving to report in to his superiors, for all the good it would do him.
They knew where they had to go. Alter!Kame's apartment was a brief train ride and a short walk away from the stadium, one of a hundred identical units reaching for the protective dome above. Using the electronic lock pick borrowed from his other self, Jin let them in.
Kame entered first, eager to see what kind of life his other self had. His passion was obvious. There were framed posters of historically famous baseball teams, an autographed ball in a glass case, a wall-mounted plaque in the shape of a bat... There were also signs of Kame's other passion, as pictures of Jin - sometimes alone, sometimes with Kame - were pinned up on a corkboard. They looked happy. Frequently dorky, but happy.
The safe wasn't hard to find, unless you counted the neat stack of laundry piled on the top, lemony-fresh and waiting to be packed away. Kame resisted the urge to do it, figuring the laundry's existence would soon be wiped out - either that, or the whole thing would come crashing down around their ears and he'd be forced to take over his double's life, apartment included, in which case the laundry could wait until after the shock had worn off. It seemed so stupid now, thinking that talking to a diamond could fix things. What if he was wrong? What if the security guard at the bank had traumatised him so badly he'd simply imagined the whole thing? What if-
"Stop thinking, start cracking," Jin said. "My pick won't work on the lock and we don't know the combination."
But Kame did. 1-5-8-2, same as always. He crouched down to open the safe, feeling like he was there to disarm a bomb since everyone else was waiting well back, just in case. A few quick turns and the door swung open. Kame removed the small velvet case from the shelf, popped the clasp, and felt his elation slip away when he saw the Kizuna-shaped indent in the cushion.
They searched the apartment from top to bottom. Where might a capricious diamond hide? In such a neat, orderly home, surely it would stand out, whether lurking amongst the plants on the windowsill or masquerading as a pair of socks, arranged by colour in the uppermost dresser drawer.
It was inevitable that Kame was the one who found it, resting on a single pillow at the end of the bed. Jin was right behind him, of course. He wasn't risking separation again.
"Found it," Kame murmured. "Now what? If I sit here and talk to it the others are going to think I'm crazy."
Jin shrugged. "If it listens, it's not going to matter what they think, is it? Only me, and I already know you're crazy."
Kame knew he was being fed a line, but still... "Yeah, crazy about you." He turned around to call the others over, only to find the apartment deserted. "Jin, look behind you."
"You take your eyes off those guys for a second and they vanish," Jin complained. "Again." Shades of Red Spot Terminal. He was afraid to open the front door in case the rest of the building had disappeared.
"So much for the privacy issue." Kame sat gingerly on the edge of the bed, regarding Kizuna with the sort of wariness that one would ordinarily reserve for a caged tiger, albeit one suspected of having universe-twisting abilities. "Um...hi? My name is...oh, I guess you already know who I am." He wasn't sure what to say that wouldn't make him sound like a complete idiot.
"You're floundering."
"And you're not helping." Kame touched his index finger to the diamond; when nothing lethal happened, he risked picking it up.
Since that left Kame with one free hand, Jin took it. If anything happened to Kame, Jin wanted it to happen to both of them, no matter what. He wasn't going to be left behind. "Do you think it's alive?"
"I don't know that 'alive' is how I'd- Look! In the centre!" Kame held the diamond up for Jin to see.
The wings were twitching, beating a pattern so small no real butterfly could've flown it. Jin found it unnerving, even grotesque, to watch the tiny, should-be static rings flicker between his blinks; he held his gaze nonetheless, searching for confirmation that they could, in some way, communicate with the diamond, make it understand what they wanted. To go home.
"Please," Jin said softly. "Please change it all back."
Kame tried to remember what he'd said before. Happy memories of playing baseball as a child, hopes and dreams he'd never been able to realise as an adult, of being the number one baseball player in the Sol System. He'd been saying what he'd wanted - once. If given the choice between the two lives, he knew which one he'd pick. There was no question about it.
"Please," he added his voice to Jin's. "I don't know what you are, or what you've done or why, but if you can understand me, please give us our lives back. We want to be back with our friends on the KAT-TUN, as part of the JE Fleet, in a universe where Imai Tsubasa is Earth President and Yamapi's a commodore with a mad crush on Admiral Takki. Where I can wake up every morning with Jin next to me, stealing all the covers."
"Wait a second," Jin began, but Kame squeezed his hand and continued.
"Where the only time I get to play professional baseball is in a virtual game, and I'm okay with that because it's what I've chosen for myself. Because I've chosen to live this life, to be with these people. It's never going to be perfect, but it makes me happy. Can you understand that?"
Another flicker. Kame wondered if it was code that he was somehow supposed to interpret. That was more in Junno's line of work; all he could do was keep going and hope he was getting through.
If he wasn't wasting his time. Talking to a jewel as though it were a small child, or a pet. He'd carried it around from time to time like he'd been taking it out for a walk, off for a stroll like a beloved cat or dog. It was the symbol of the friendship they shared, all six of them, representing the bonds they'd forged through stolen ships and shots fired and had broken Kame free, finally, from the shackles of his former life. It was only natural he'd formed an attachment to it.
But was it really sentient?
"I wish you could talk back," Kame said. "Then I wouldn't feel so stupid saying all this. How am I even supposed to know if you're listening?"
"No need to feel stupid. I like to hear it." Jin closed his free hand over the diamond, so he and Kame held it between them. It hurt, a little, but not being able to see the flickers was a definite plus in his book. "Because it's what I want too. You're all my family, even when we fight." He started laughing. "Just listen to us! We've spent over a week lying through our teeth to everyone we meet, and now we're telling the truth like our lives depend on it."
"We weren't very good at the lying part, even if some of it did turn out to be true - a number of the stories you told, in fact, starting with that nightmare of yours. Sure you're not the one who changed the universe?"
"I know I'm amazing, but I don't think I'm omnipotent. Maybe the freaky little thing likes me as much as it likes you, so it took me into account as well."
That was unexpected. Kame almost dropped the diamond. "You think it likes me?"
"Of course it likes you. You took it for walks and talked to it. so it gave you what it thought you wanted. I don't know what it is but it's obviously the only one around, so I figure it was lonely." Jin was feeling pretty lonely himself. All through the dome, the sky had been set to 'night' and with no one save the two of them in this familiar stranger's apartment the impending darkness brought with it cold isolation and a fear that they might never get home again.
Kame could feel Jin's shivers in both hands, wanted to tuck them both under the blanket and hold on till they both forgot they were alone now. The friends they'd made over the last week and a half had slipped away from them, and he suspected if they returned to the spaceport, the Sakura would no longer be docked. They were back where they started, with no one but each other for comfort.
"I'm lonely now. It hurts here." Kame brought their joined hands up to his chest. He couldn't reach his heart, but he got close enough to give Jin the general idea. "There are a few pieces missing."
"Same with mine." Jin untangled his fingers from Kame's, using them to remove Kame's fedora. He'd lost his own back at the stadium, but like an old holovid action hero, Kame had managed to hang onto his hat. Removing the hat didn't mean he saw any more of Kame's face - though the curtains were still open, the lights were off, and the only source of illumination was the streetlights outside. They were six storeys up; that was just enough light for an outline. Neither of them was in a rush to switch on the lamps.
"Cold?" Kame asked.
"Freezing. These uniforms are pathetically thin."
"Then," Kame shifted on the bed so he could kick the blankets down with his legs, "should we? I don't think the owner's going to be coming back to complain."
It wasn't quite like sliding into the bed of a dead man, since the man in question might not even have existed, but it still felt strange for them to kick off their boots and wriggle under the covers, keeping the diamond held between them. Jin immediately felt warmer, though he suspected that had more to do with the way Kame was lying half on top of him, mouth pressed to the edge of his jaw. "You think we're more likely to get home if we give it a show?"
Kame laughed against Jin's skin, a warm tickle of air. "You can't blame me for getting carried away. The last time we got near an actual bed, you turned me down in case I knocked you up."
He silenced Jin's outrage with slow, lingering kisses, each one a welcome reminder of home. Jin let him in, lips parting in invitation while his free hand crept across Kame's back, drawing him nearer. Holding the diamond grew uncomfortable, but they kept their fingers twined around it.
"I was okay with the chairs," Jin muttered. "Couches, loveseats, rocking chairs, horrible wicker contraptions...I could live with those. But there's a limit to how much I'm prepared to share you with inanimate objects."
"It's not exactly inanimate," Kame pointed out. "And the rocking chair was a mistake. We're not doing that again. Too dangerous."
"Whatever you say, Captain Kamenashi."
"Captain Kamenashi says Captain Akanishi should move his snazzy customised blaster because it's digging into him."
"That's not my blaster." Jin jiggled his shoulder so his jacket slipped down. "It's Yamapi's stunner. I never gave it back. I can still feel the teddy bear."
Kame didn't want any reminders clinging to them. He fished around for the teddy, seized the stunner, and dropped it gently over the side of the bed. "I'm not snuggling up to someone who's carrying more weapons than me."
"I'd be hard-pressed to shoot you from this angle." Jin sighed happily, content to have Kame settle over him, body warm and not too heavy, just right, the way they'd always fit together. Affection, friendship and a shared sense of fun went a long way towards overcoming the problems they faced. Jin knew in his heart that they could do anything, so long as they were together.
"You're giving me that sappy smile again."
Jin smirked. "How the hell would you know? You can't see my face in this light."
"True. I can't even see the window now. There must be a blackout if all the lights have gone outside too."
"Then we really are alone in the dark." Jin closed his eyes. It made no difference.
"Together in the dark. Just like being back in your cabin or mine, lights off, shutters down over the portholes so the starlight can't come in." Kame nuzzled his cheek against Jin's. "Is that so bad?"
Jin opened his eyes when Kame's hand sliding under his shirt made him jump. The darkness wasn't as complete as he'd thought. "You see the same glowing numbers I do?"
"Glowing numbers?" Kame looked up to find a faint red light, telling him the time in three different locations. Ship, local space, and Earth. It was Jin's alarm clock, last seen next to Jin's bed, in Jin's cabin...on board the KAT-TUN. "Jin!"
Kame didn't have to tell him twice. Jin reached for the nightlight, knowing exactly where the switch would be. Faint light chased the shadows away, leaving them excited and amazed and relieved in equal measure. They were home.
Jin didn't even notice the diamond had disappeared until Kame cupped his face with both hands. "We're back," Kame whispered, voice catching. "Aren't we?"
They had to be. Jin didn't trust his own voice to remain steady, didn't even want to contemplate what would happen if he walked out his cabin door and found an empty ship beyond. He wanted them to be home so badly it overwhelmed every other feeling...every other feeling, save another, equally powerful desire, this one for Kame. Couldn't they have this one moment before they found out for sure?
"We're home," Jin said firmly. It had to be true. It had to be. "Can you hit the light?"
Kame plunged them back into darkness, no longer cold and threatening but comfortable, like a well-worn blanket, shielding them from the world as they communicated by touch alone, every movement familiar and reassuring. There was nothing now to interfere, nothing to stop Jin shedding the remains of his stolen LIPS uniform and nesting in a tangle of clothing and limbs as Kame rocked against him.
Nothing but the cabin door sliding open to reveal Ensign Taguchi Junnosuke, silhouetted against the light from the corridor. "Guys? Koki told me now would be a good time to ask for a promotion."
Jin threw a pillow at him. Junno retreated, door closing behind him; they could hear him outside, being lectured by Koki about the importance of timing and how he should've waited another two minutes.
"We're home!" Kame whooped, hugging Jin fiercely and not caring that yet again, they'd been interrupted at an inconvenient moment. "Home!"
Home. Back with the people they loved. Jin thought about it for a second. "Junno?" he yelled. "You can have the promotion on one condition - if you call engineering and get the lock fixed!"
Series: JE Fleet
Fandom: KAT-TUN
Pairing: Akame
Rating: R (m/m activity)
Genre: AU, crack, sci-fi
Word count: 35,850
Disclaimer: Not mine, damnit.
Summary: The JE Fleet ship KAT-TUN goes AWOL in more ways than one.
A/N: Takes place straight after III, but won't make any sense unless you've read IV, so if you're new to the series, you might want to read them in order.
Chapter 10
Kame's fingers were still crooked in position, holding empty air. Of his other self, not so much as a strand of hair remained. "How did I..."
"Maybe one of you was made of anti-matter," Yamapi muttered, but Koki talked him out of that theory on the grounds that none of them would still be here if that was the case.
"What did you do with him?" Alter!Jin was understandably distraught. "Bring him back!" He made a grab for Kame's still outstretched hand, but Jin got there first, pulling him back with an arm around his waist.
The aforementioned waist went 'pop' and disappeared, along with its owner.
The sound of Jin crashing to the floor knocked Kame out of his daze. "Come on," he said, giving Jin a hand up. "I think we'd better go before we destroy the universe. I guess we weren't supposed to interact with our other selves."
It was far too late for Kame to substitute for himself in the baseball game, and Junno had definitely missed throwing the first ball. Yamapi had succeeded in his task, though not as he'd planned, and he was meek to the point of sullenness as the four of them made their way back to the T-junction, where they found Ueda, Nakamaru and Junno waiting for them. Ueda's annoyance at missing the game lasted only as long as it took for Kame's glee to become infectious - about thirty seconds - and before long, all of them were elated about going after the diamond.
Not that anyone except Kame and Jin could follow what was going on, mind. Nakamaru had to stop whining about it after Koki pointed out that he'd wanted a bit of excitement in his life and he was certainly getting it now.
"But why did the other two disappear?" Junno asked. "Were they holograms, not clones?"
Koki opened the door that took them back to the stadium. "There weren't any clones. I don't know what they were, but they weren't clones."
"No clones," Kame admitted. "And no curse, either. But we do need that diamond. That'll be the end of it, I promise."
"Just get me back home before the end of my holiday," Nakamaru said. "That's all I want."
-----
Getting out of the Crescent Moon Stadium was much easier than getting in had been. The majority of the crowd was watching the game. Kame almost felt guilty about destroying the Lunatics' chance of victory, but in his mind, they'd been destined to fail anyway. In that way, at least, the universe had been restored.
To no one's surprise, Yamapi refused to go with. Watching his best friend vanish into thin air, apparently destroyed by a double, was too much for him to deal with. He asked for no explanation and received none, leaving to report in to his superiors, for all the good it would do him.
They knew where they had to go. Alter!Kame's apartment was a brief train ride and a short walk away from the stadium, one of a hundred identical units reaching for the protective dome above. Using the electronic lock pick borrowed from his other self, Jin let them in.
Kame entered first, eager to see what kind of life his other self had. His passion was obvious. There were framed posters of historically famous baseball teams, an autographed ball in a glass case, a wall-mounted plaque in the shape of a bat... There were also signs of Kame's other passion, as pictures of Jin - sometimes alone, sometimes with Kame - were pinned up on a corkboard. They looked happy. Frequently dorky, but happy.
The safe wasn't hard to find, unless you counted the neat stack of laundry piled on the top, lemony-fresh and waiting to be packed away. Kame resisted the urge to do it, figuring the laundry's existence would soon be wiped out - either that, or the whole thing would come crashing down around their ears and he'd be forced to take over his double's life, apartment included, in which case the laundry could wait until after the shock had worn off. It seemed so stupid now, thinking that talking to a diamond could fix things. What if he was wrong? What if the security guard at the bank had traumatised him so badly he'd simply imagined the whole thing? What if-
"Stop thinking, start cracking," Jin said. "My pick won't work on the lock and we don't know the combination."
But Kame did. 1-5-8-2, same as always. He crouched down to open the safe, feeling like he was there to disarm a bomb since everyone else was waiting well back, just in case. A few quick turns and the door swung open. Kame removed the small velvet case from the shelf, popped the clasp, and felt his elation slip away when he saw the Kizuna-shaped indent in the cushion.
They searched the apartment from top to bottom. Where might a capricious diamond hide? In such a neat, orderly home, surely it would stand out, whether lurking amongst the plants on the windowsill or masquerading as a pair of socks, arranged by colour in the uppermost dresser drawer.
It was inevitable that Kame was the one who found it, resting on a single pillow at the end of the bed. Jin was right behind him, of course. He wasn't risking separation again.
"Found it," Kame murmured. "Now what? If I sit here and talk to it the others are going to think I'm crazy."
Jin shrugged. "If it listens, it's not going to matter what they think, is it? Only me, and I already know you're crazy."
Kame knew he was being fed a line, but still... "Yeah, crazy about you." He turned around to call the others over, only to find the apartment deserted. "Jin, look behind you."
"You take your eyes off those guys for a second and they vanish," Jin complained. "Again." Shades of Red Spot Terminal. He was afraid to open the front door in case the rest of the building had disappeared.
"So much for the privacy issue." Kame sat gingerly on the edge of the bed, regarding Kizuna with the sort of wariness that one would ordinarily reserve for a caged tiger, albeit one suspected of having universe-twisting abilities. "Um...hi? My name is...oh, I guess you already know who I am." He wasn't sure what to say that wouldn't make him sound like a complete idiot.
"You're floundering."
"And you're not helping." Kame touched his index finger to the diamond; when nothing lethal happened, he risked picking it up.
Since that left Kame with one free hand, Jin took it. If anything happened to Kame, Jin wanted it to happen to both of them, no matter what. He wasn't going to be left behind. "Do you think it's alive?"
"I don't know that 'alive' is how I'd- Look! In the centre!" Kame held the diamond up for Jin to see.
The wings were twitching, beating a pattern so small no real butterfly could've flown it. Jin found it unnerving, even grotesque, to watch the tiny, should-be static rings flicker between his blinks; he held his gaze nonetheless, searching for confirmation that they could, in some way, communicate with the diamond, make it understand what they wanted. To go home.
"Please," Jin said softly. "Please change it all back."
Kame tried to remember what he'd said before. Happy memories of playing baseball as a child, hopes and dreams he'd never been able to realise as an adult, of being the number one baseball player in the Sol System. He'd been saying what he'd wanted - once. If given the choice between the two lives, he knew which one he'd pick. There was no question about it.
"Please," he added his voice to Jin's. "I don't know what you are, or what you've done or why, but if you can understand me, please give us our lives back. We want to be back with our friends on the KAT-TUN, as part of the JE Fleet, in a universe where Imai Tsubasa is Earth President and Yamapi's a commodore with a mad crush on Admiral Takki. Where I can wake up every morning with Jin next to me, stealing all the covers."
"Wait a second," Jin began, but Kame squeezed his hand and continued.
"Where the only time I get to play professional baseball is in a virtual game, and I'm okay with that because it's what I've chosen for myself. Because I've chosen to live this life, to be with these people. It's never going to be perfect, but it makes me happy. Can you understand that?"
Another flicker. Kame wondered if it was code that he was somehow supposed to interpret. That was more in Junno's line of work; all he could do was keep going and hope he was getting through.
If he wasn't wasting his time. Talking to a jewel as though it were a small child, or a pet. He'd carried it around from time to time like he'd been taking it out for a walk, off for a stroll like a beloved cat or dog. It was the symbol of the friendship they shared, all six of them, representing the bonds they'd forged through stolen ships and shots fired and had broken Kame free, finally, from the shackles of his former life. It was only natural he'd formed an attachment to it.
But was it really sentient?
"I wish you could talk back," Kame said. "Then I wouldn't feel so stupid saying all this. How am I even supposed to know if you're listening?"
"No need to feel stupid. I like to hear it." Jin closed his free hand over the diamond, so he and Kame held it between them. It hurt, a little, but not being able to see the flickers was a definite plus in his book. "Because it's what I want too. You're all my family, even when we fight." He started laughing. "Just listen to us! We've spent over a week lying through our teeth to everyone we meet, and now we're telling the truth like our lives depend on it."
"We weren't very good at the lying part, even if some of it did turn out to be true - a number of the stories you told, in fact, starting with that nightmare of yours. Sure you're not the one who changed the universe?"
"I know I'm amazing, but I don't think I'm omnipotent. Maybe the freaky little thing likes me as much as it likes you, so it took me into account as well."
That was unexpected. Kame almost dropped the diamond. "You think it likes me?"
"Of course it likes you. You took it for walks and talked to it. so it gave you what it thought you wanted. I don't know what it is but it's obviously the only one around, so I figure it was lonely." Jin was feeling pretty lonely himself. All through the dome, the sky had been set to 'night' and with no one save the two of them in this familiar stranger's apartment the impending darkness brought with it cold isolation and a fear that they might never get home again.
Kame could feel Jin's shivers in both hands, wanted to tuck them both under the blanket and hold on till they both forgot they were alone now. The friends they'd made over the last week and a half had slipped away from them, and he suspected if they returned to the spaceport, the Sakura would no longer be docked. They were back where they started, with no one but each other for comfort.
"I'm lonely now. It hurts here." Kame brought their joined hands up to his chest. He couldn't reach his heart, but he got close enough to give Jin the general idea. "There are a few pieces missing."
"Same with mine." Jin untangled his fingers from Kame's, using them to remove Kame's fedora. He'd lost his own back at the stadium, but like an old holovid action hero, Kame had managed to hang onto his hat. Removing the hat didn't mean he saw any more of Kame's face - though the curtains were still open, the lights were off, and the only source of illumination was the streetlights outside. They were six storeys up; that was just enough light for an outline. Neither of them was in a rush to switch on the lamps.
"Cold?" Kame asked.
"Freezing. These uniforms are pathetically thin."
"Then," Kame shifted on the bed so he could kick the blankets down with his legs, "should we? I don't think the owner's going to be coming back to complain."
It wasn't quite like sliding into the bed of a dead man, since the man in question might not even have existed, but it still felt strange for them to kick off their boots and wriggle under the covers, keeping the diamond held between them. Jin immediately felt warmer, though he suspected that had more to do with the way Kame was lying half on top of him, mouth pressed to the edge of his jaw. "You think we're more likely to get home if we give it a show?"
Kame laughed against Jin's skin, a warm tickle of air. "You can't blame me for getting carried away. The last time we got near an actual bed, you turned me down in case I knocked you up."
He silenced Jin's outrage with slow, lingering kisses, each one a welcome reminder of home. Jin let him in, lips parting in invitation while his free hand crept across Kame's back, drawing him nearer. Holding the diamond grew uncomfortable, but they kept their fingers twined around it.
"I was okay with the chairs," Jin muttered. "Couches, loveseats, rocking chairs, horrible wicker contraptions...I could live with those. But there's a limit to how much I'm prepared to share you with inanimate objects."
"It's not exactly inanimate," Kame pointed out. "And the rocking chair was a mistake. We're not doing that again. Too dangerous."
"Whatever you say, Captain Kamenashi."
"Captain Kamenashi says Captain Akanishi should move his snazzy customised blaster because it's digging into him."
"That's not my blaster." Jin jiggled his shoulder so his jacket slipped down. "It's Yamapi's stunner. I never gave it back. I can still feel the teddy bear."
Kame didn't want any reminders clinging to them. He fished around for the teddy, seized the stunner, and dropped it gently over the side of the bed. "I'm not snuggling up to someone who's carrying more weapons than me."
"I'd be hard-pressed to shoot you from this angle." Jin sighed happily, content to have Kame settle over him, body warm and not too heavy, just right, the way they'd always fit together. Affection, friendship and a shared sense of fun went a long way towards overcoming the problems they faced. Jin knew in his heart that they could do anything, so long as they were together.
"You're giving me that sappy smile again."
Jin smirked. "How the hell would you know? You can't see my face in this light."
"True. I can't even see the window now. There must be a blackout if all the lights have gone outside too."
"Then we really are alone in the dark." Jin closed his eyes. It made no difference.
"Together in the dark. Just like being back in your cabin or mine, lights off, shutters down over the portholes so the starlight can't come in." Kame nuzzled his cheek against Jin's. "Is that so bad?"
Jin opened his eyes when Kame's hand sliding under his shirt made him jump. The darkness wasn't as complete as he'd thought. "You see the same glowing numbers I do?"
"Glowing numbers?" Kame looked up to find a faint red light, telling him the time in three different locations. Ship, local space, and Earth. It was Jin's alarm clock, last seen next to Jin's bed, in Jin's cabin...on board the KAT-TUN. "Jin!"
Kame didn't have to tell him twice. Jin reached for the nightlight, knowing exactly where the switch would be. Faint light chased the shadows away, leaving them excited and amazed and relieved in equal measure. They were home.
Jin didn't even notice the diamond had disappeared until Kame cupped his face with both hands. "We're back," Kame whispered, voice catching. "Aren't we?"
They had to be. Jin didn't trust his own voice to remain steady, didn't even want to contemplate what would happen if he walked out his cabin door and found an empty ship beyond. He wanted them to be home so badly it overwhelmed every other feeling...every other feeling, save another, equally powerful desire, this one for Kame. Couldn't they have this one moment before they found out for sure?
"We're home," Jin said firmly. It had to be true. It had to be. "Can you hit the light?"
Kame plunged them back into darkness, no longer cold and threatening but comfortable, like a well-worn blanket, shielding them from the world as they communicated by touch alone, every movement familiar and reassuring. There was nothing now to interfere, nothing to stop Jin shedding the remains of his stolen LIPS uniform and nesting in a tangle of clothing and limbs as Kame rocked against him.
Nothing but the cabin door sliding open to reveal Ensign Taguchi Junnosuke, silhouetted against the light from the corridor. "Guys? Koki told me now would be a good time to ask for a promotion."
Jin threw a pillow at him. Junno retreated, door closing behind him; they could hear him outside, being lectured by Koki about the importance of timing and how he should've waited another two minutes.
"We're home!" Kame whooped, hugging Jin fiercely and not caring that yet again, they'd been interrupted at an inconvenient moment. "Home!"
Home. Back with the people they loved. Jin thought about it for a second. "Junno?" he yelled. "You can have the promotion on one condition - if you call engineering and get the lock fixed!"