Blackbird - ATEEZ Pirate!AU

Burning Up

Burning up...
Fire, fire, fire, fire.
...
Live however you want, it's your life anyway.
Stop trying, it's okay to lose.
Everybody say la-la-la-la-la,
Say la-la-la-la-la.
Throw your hands up, scream, burn it up.
...
Burning up,
Set everything on fire,
Bow-wow-wow!
...
Hey, burn it up.
Like you're gonna set everything on fire.
Hey, turn it up,
Until the dawn is gone.
It's okay to just live,  because we're still young.
Who do you think you are to say otherwise?
Stop comparing, I'm only human.
So what?
...
Hot, hot, hot, hotter.
Set everything on fire,
Bow-wow-wow!
...
I'll forgive you...

"Burning Up (Fire)" - BTS

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I was halfway to the kitchen, with my head still spinning and my lips still tingling, when Jongho turned a corner and stepped into the hallway. We both stopped dead in our tracks, each awkwardly staring at the other for a moment, before the each starting to speak.

"I'm sorry--" I started, stepping toward him with a frown.

"I want to apolo--" Jongho had started too, stopping short to shake his head. We were both quiet for a moment, and I laughed to break the tension I was feeling. In turn, he laughed too. "What are you sorry for?"

"I'm sorry for getting you in trouble with The Captain, and for making you feel like I wasn't trustworthy." I felt my shoulders curl inward shyly, my fingers lacing together to twist. "I know I've caused a lot of tension, but I mean it when I say I don't know how I know some things, I just do."

"No, Miss Nightingale, please don't apologize to me." Jongho took a sheepish step closer, further closing the gap between us. From this distance I could see the whites of his eyes, and could truly appreciate the warm chocolate umberwine color of his irises. "I was completely out of line, and I should have never reacted the way I did."

"I can understand why you had that reaction though, Jongho." I offered gently, reaching out to place my hand on his shoulder. 

"Pardon?" The Sparrow pulled a small smirk, scoffing as if I had said something absurd. "You can understand why I would threaten your life?" 

"I am basically a stranger to you, aren't I? This is your home, these people are your family, and I am an outlier in what you've come to know as normal. I'm not angry at you, Sparrow. If anything, I was moved by your eagerness to protect your comrades. It was awe inspiring really, all except for the part where you wanted to murder me." Snorting softly, I shook my head, taking a small breath. "If you must apologize, then I forgive you, okay?"

"I--" Jongho looked away, his mouth parting to let out another small laugh. For a moment he looked as if he were going to protest, but his mouth snapped shut after a moment, and his eyes settled back on mine. "Thank you, noona."

I gasped, partly because the utterance of the term 'noona' had sent butterflies into my stomach, and the way he was looking down at me fondly, with bright red cheeks. And, partly because I didn't think I looked that much fucking older than him! The nerve!

"Omo, do I look that old!?" I scoffed, pulling my hand from his shoulder to cover my mouth for a moment before running that same hand through my tangled tresses. "Have I started to wrinkle? Am I sprouting grays?"

"Aishhhh, I didn't call you halmeoni." Jongho chuckled, his laughter as unsurprisingly melodic as his singing, and I watched as both his eyebrows lofted high in amusement. I was taken back by how wholesome he looked, with his gummy smile and his cute scrunched up nose, and the way his cheekbones sat rounded by the gesture.