Mists of Celeste - an Ateez Fanfic

act seven ➻ part two

warnings: just language this time tehe

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The transport can barely hold the entirety of your crew as it stands now — your extra guests included — and it makes for a rather cramped setting. Part of that feeling could be due to how San stands close to you still, his hand overlapping yours on the handle hanging down from the ceiling of the vehicle as you stick to the edges where it gives you a clear view out the windows. Hongjoong's figure lingers in your peripherals, seated not far from where you've parked yourself, but as the rest of the crew fidgets to make themselves comfortable, San shifts to block your line of sight with the captain. You turn to the right and look across the transport. Mirroring you on the opposite end stands both Berserkers, but it's Mingi who you make direct eye contact with. In a movement that's invisible to all but prying eyes, he shakes his head every so slightly left and right.

It's a pointless gesture, as you had already settled to resign yourself to the fate Hongjoong laid out for you in this mission. Maybe he's simply warning you against fighting back again. Maybe he's answering some unknown question you haven't even thought to ask yet. He knows more than he lets on, that much is true, and now you know it for certain given his presence at the pinnacle of your humiliation thus far.

You've been asking yourself what your defiance is for a great many times since sharing that conversation with him, however, for better or for worse. The answer is always the same anyway.

The transport lurches as it moves off the dock. Far below, the waters running through the gorge glisten with the sunshine reflecting off its surface. Though a vibrant bright green, the color appears more milky than it is clear even at this distance, and thick tendrils of fog paint the darker corners of the base of the gorge. A far cry from the beauty you saw waiting across the dock, what lies below doesn't look at all inviting.

Beside you, San is picking at a loose thread on his form-fitting top, and you lightly swat his hand away from the spot before he pulls a hole in the fabric.

"Hey," he murmurs just quietly enough to avoid prying ears.

"Hey," you echo back. Silently, you push your body closer to his until you're close enough to feel his breath on your skin.

"Nervous?"

"A bit."

San presses his cheek against the side of your head.

"Just like any other mission. You've got this."

"One without you. And Seonghwa."

San tuts gently as he leans further down to your ear. "But with Jongho and Mingi." He passes you as reassuring a smile as he can manage, and it does little to ease the bundle of nerves coiling in your gut. Your brief time in the open air on this planet was enough to make your skin crawl and itch. "I would go if I could," he continues, and his gaze flits like he wants to look back over his shoulder at his captain but thinks better of it at the last second.

The barge lurches to a halt, and you lay a hand against San's jacket to keep yourself steady when your body threatens to throw you backward. He covers your fingers with his own, remaining that way until everyone has filed out of the transport. A man stands beside the doors, though he isn't much of a friendly face with the way a scowl seems to be permanently etched into his features. He shoves something into your hands and then into San's before slapping the side of the transport to signal for the doors to shut.

"Remember protocol unless you're looking to be outta your damn minds!" he yells across the small crowd that forms your crew. One glance down shows you that he's handed you a gas mask, and everyone around you bears a matching one. He wears one similar, bound around his neck with a clasp that must be like the one attached to the back of yours. San silently takes it from your grasp and brings it up and around your neck — a crude echo of a romantic gesture one might do with a real necklace. "Masks up when the church bell rings three times at night, no later than that. Kid'll need a smaller one from one of the stalls in the market, so be sure to get 'im one before nightfall. As for where you stay at night, be sure to find some reputable spot with air filters. Otherwise, you'll be wanting to wear them masks while you sleep too."