Mists of Celeste - an Ateez Fanfic

act five ➻ part 7.5

note: all interim chapters are optional to read and you do not have to read them if you don't want to. it is advised that you read the interim chapters after completing all the chapters in the act rather than reading them based off number order. they are based around the relationships between the crew and interactions they share. They are indicated with [x.5], x being the number of the part that came before it. this chapter specifically contains explicit mxm content, so please avoid if you aren't comfortable reading that. as far as smut warnings go there is explicit smut, as well as the usage of a safeword, so please also note that before reading!

There's not much to say upon returning to the ship. Hongjoong opts not to say anything to the man at his side, leaving Yeosang to head off in the opposite direction where he no doubt intends to find Wooyoung, and the captain cannot blame him in the slightest. As far as jobs go, this was a rough one, and it was equally rough on Hongjoong's body as well. His feet ache from the heeled boots strapped to his ankles, his back burns from the strain of having to stand up so straight for so long, and god damn the corset laced around his midsection has overstayed its welcome by several hours.

He knows he has two options at this moment. Hongjoong can either head up to his quarters without stopping to do anything else, or he can drop by Seonghwa's room to give him a debriefing on the mission. The wound between them, the confession that left Seonghwa's lips and had Hongjoong reeling (he's still reeling now if he's being honest), it's all still fresh and festering and sensitive to the touch now. How long has it even been? Bordering four months at this point, surely. Not as fresh as it could be, but still new enough to be uncomfortable and terse. Hongjoong is smart enough to know that if he bothers it anymore, it'll blossom into a nasty infection instead then it won't do either of them any good. The discomfort in his feet makes it an easy decision at least.

While it isn't always this way, today, the walk up to the bridge is nothing but lonely and quiet. His lieutenant isn't there to greet him and ask him how the mission went, no doubt asleep at this ungodly hour. His strategist went off to bed beside his lover and frankly, Yeosang deserves it for working overtime for Hongjoong (again). Hongjoong doesn't expect anyone else to be on the bridge, not even Mingi who sometimes stays up late waiting for an order from his captain. All that resounds across the bridge when he arrives is the sharp clicking and clacking of his heels against the metal paneling. The billowing skirt that bunches at his waist and cascades to the floor is near silent compared to the heels, and he's only now realizing how fucking heavy the dress hangs on his body.

It's a miracle the disguise pulled through between Yeosang's awkward and stilted attitude next to his pretend "wife" and Hongjoong's severe lack of more feminine features, but the corset helped shove his chest up just enough to carry out the illusion and keep them from getting found out.

"Come here often, doll?"

The voice nearly startles Hongjoong out of his skin as he steps into his chambers and looks up from the floor to greet whoever the hell is hiding away in his room. And there at the captain's desk with feet propped up on the edge of the wood sits none other than Yunho. There's a quick fizzle of disappointment when the realization settles in that Seonghwa didn't stay up waiting for him, but that's quickly replaced with some warmth when Yunho flashes a lopsided grin.

"I could get used to you playing dress-up if it means I get to see this vision more often." The way Yunho trails his gaze over the bare skin of Hongjoong's neck and shoulders, all the way down to where the billow sleeves begin around his biceps and across the flat neckline over his chest — it all leaves very little to the imagination, and the previous discomfort of having men's eyes on him like this all night is replaced by a certain sense of comfort. If it's Yunho, he doesn't mind being ogled and admired much at all.