A Clan Of Misfits (TTEOTS x BTS)

Chapter 27 - Let's Get...

- End of POV -

Sat at the table, everyone's spirits seemed lifted, as if nothing could touch you. The dining quarters even rivaled the bridge in size, so that the typical crew for this ship was really put into perspective. The eight of you barely covered one half of a table, and you guessed there were around twenty tables in all. Apparently, there were even more bedrooms on the lower levels of the ship, 298 to be precise, but they weren't first class like the ones you had all taken up on the top floor. The room itself was the tallest of all on the ship, your chattering echoing around the open space. It would normally feel off-putting, but right now you were all still dazzled by the idea of exploration. And the smell of food. Three was truly a wonder, he managed to whip up a beautiful breakfast within minutes for the entire group. You smiled in appreciation for the team you have. Zero - the dedicated, headstrong Infinite; Three - the compassionate and resourceful Oracle; Four - the resilient and reliable, if not troubled, Wraith; Five - the warm, dependable Shifter; Six - the cunning, yet wholly optimistic Specter; Eight - the charming and caring Siren; and finally Nine - knowledgeable and steadfast, the most worthy leader of the team, the Architect. You felt you fit in with them somehow, but often found yourself wondering about One and Two. Were there One and Two? Or have they not been found yet?

You chuckled as a slice of toast with a smiley face cut into it landed on your plate. Looking up, you saw Six grinning goofily at you, before his attention was drawn elsewhere. He had his feet propped up on the table, to the dismay of Four next to him, and was leisurely sipping at his tea. The battle to escape left very little marks or scrapes on him, probably typical for an operative of his class. However, you noted a few cuts on the hand holding his mug. Wait, is he left-handed? You'd never noticed. As if feeling your curious gaze, Six looked away from Eight who was carrying the conversation. He looked at you, into you. You saw the hint of a devilish smirk before you shied away, deciding it was probably best for you to eat anyway. It seems like Zero had the same idea. He was halfway through reaching over to you, eggroll in hand, when you turned back to your plate.
"Sev-" He cut himself short when the food smooshed onto your cheek. He let go and it landed unceremoniously onto your plate with a "plat". You sat there, frozen, before closing your eyes and exhaling. To the stunned onlookers, your breath was one of withheld violence, anger and annoyance. But... in reality you were just trying not to laugh.
"Zero, what exactly were you thinking with that move? It was obvious she was about to turn her head..." Nine tutted, barely taking his eyes off of his food to interject. Three shook his own head and wagged a scolding finger at the youngster, agreeing with the leader as he munched on his own food. Zero stammered for a second and blushed before apologising, albeit with a light chuckle. Maybe he does like you after all.
"Yeah, that was my bad, sorry Seven." He reached for his coffee and sipped at it hesitantly, all the while eyeing you with his baby blues as if you were a bomb about to go off. You remained still. Suddenly, your attention was caught by Five's laughter across from you.
"She still hasn't wiped it off!" Once again, you were caught off-guard, but this time by Five reaching over the table with his napkin and wiping your cheek clean. Once the job was done, he smiled proudly at you and nodded. "Much better." He really does like to baby me... Eight, who was sat between Five and Four, froze on the bench. His pink-speckled eyes darted curiously between the two of you as his spoon was hovering halfway up to his mouth, his soup threatening to spill off. The others seemed to have a similar reaction, but not as dramatic as the Siren's.
"Please, for all of our sakes, never do that again." Four muttered. Five looked around the group.
"You know, we can all be a little more friendly to each other, now. Who is there to stop us?" A few eyebrows were raised, but it seemed the general feeling was that of agreement around the table. It is true, you can't exactly get into more trouble than you are in now. Also, it's pretty much a given that you're not a part of PHASe anymore. Nine spoke next after neatly placing his cutlery on his plate, along with his napkin.
"There is a reason for the boundaries, Five. But... I suppose I can't complain with the team getting closer." His brows furrowed as he seemed genuinely torn on what to say. For the time being, he shook his head with a small smile. "Anyway, this isn't the time to be worrying about any of that. Three, your help in the cargo bay detailing and logging whatever equipment we have would be great. Four and Five, it would be much appreciated if you were to go back to the bridge and monitor our journey. The rest of you can go about the ship doing as you please, I believe the eighth floor is a recreation room very similar to that in headquarters if you are interested." It was odd to hear his orders thrown out so... kindly? No, he's always kind... But he was less fierce about it, asking the members instead of telling them their duties. You wondered if your team will be a little different from now on. Five pouted at having a job to do and Four pouted at having to be with Five, while Six and Eight looked at each other in excitement. You were a little excited, too. This ship was incredibly large and you doubted you would have enough time to explore all of it, so you were eager to see as much as you could. You knew instinctively that those two would find the rec room. Zero, however...
"And you-" Three pointed at Zero like he was about to berate a naughty child and paused. Everyone held their breath. But then he flopped on the table in a defeated manner and wailed weakly. "Please don't do anything stupid like before~ I don't think I can take any more stress. You see these wrinkles? Appeared overnight because of your antics - if this continues I'm going to look twice my age and then I'll never be voted Olympia's most handsome! You have no idea-"
"OKAY! Jeez... I'll stay away from the maintenance levels... But, you know, you're welcome that we escaped." Zero crossed his arms and looked away, muttering to himself. At this angle, you swore you could've been in danger from that sharp jawline. Your eyes flitted briefly to the pulse point on his neck, before you tore yourself away. If we don't have to worry about such extreme boundaries, now... Three perked up immediately and stood up, about to leave. However, he turned around at the last second to face you. He leaned in and mock whispered.
"You'll keep an eye on him, right?" You laughed and nodded.
"Sure thing, Three." You looked at Zero out of the corner of your eye and raised an eyebrow. You could barely tell if he was paying attention to you or not, but his knee started to jerk again. Eager to get out of this, huh? Suddenly, Five clasped his hands and saluted you all before marching to the bridge. You admired his energy, really. Four was the exact opposite in skulking after him. You hoped he would at least try and rebuild his relationship with Five.