Work Text
Im Nayeon - Earth Birthday: 22nd September 1995 - Temporal Rewind
Nayeon finds it funny, as she twirls her pencil around her fingers, that she’s gifted with the power of time, especially when she feels like she never has enough of it.The pencil slips from her fingertips and clatters against the floor for a moment, and she watches it for a moment before drawing time back, like she always does. The pencil returns to her hand and Chaeyoung tsks from her bed, flicking through a page she now has to reread.“You were too lazy to pick it up?” Chaeyoung asks with a lift of her brows, eyes never leaving her book. It’s another book about another artist, another time, and Nayeon wonders what is must be like to live like Chaeyoung, to see the world through such different eyes. To want to know so much about a world that was never their own.Nayeon doesn't ask about that, of course, not when Chaeyoung remembers so little of it. Instead she scoffs and crosses her arms, a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips. “That’s rich coming from someone using her powers to hold her book up.”Chaeyoung’s lips curve into a smile, and Nayeon admires once more how deep her dimple is, how her hair falls over her shoulders, how beautiful she looks just lying there, bathed in pale golden light. “Fair point.”“Of course, I’m almost always right,” Nayeon replies, turning back to the shopping list before her, half-finished but already an entire page long.“Well, you know what they say,” Chaeyoung starts,and the teasing lilt in her voice draws Nayeon’s gaze back towards her. Chaeyoung's grin only widens as Nayeon's eyes narrow. “Elders are very wise.”Nayeon lets out a noise of outrage at Chaeyoung’s words, and not even Chaeyoung’s powers can deter Nayeon from pouncing upon her to assault her sides. Their afternoon, filled with shrieking laughter and breathless protests, melts into a simple forehead press and languid kisses, a moment of peace in the chaos of their room.“We have time,” Chaeyoung reminds her, thumb tracing over the crimson of Nayeon’s bottom lip, and Nayeon wonders about how Chaeyoung knows what she’s thinking before she even says anything.“Sure you’re not a mind reader?” Nayeon asks, fingers combing through Chaeyoung’s dark hair, her heart brimming with affection for the girl before her. Chaeyoung only gives a cheeky grin, eyes sparkling, before kissing her once more, sweet and leaving Nayeon aching to follow.Chaeyoung kisses her and Nayeon can't help but believe her, deeply and completely. For both of their sakes.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“What are you thinking about?”
Jihyo’s distracted voice sounds in her ears, and Jeongyeon smiles easily, chin propped up on the palm of her hand. “You.”
Jihyo only scoffs and tosses a balled up piece of paper at her, but Jeongyeon’s wrist flicks up before she can get back to her work. The wad of paper is still, right before her nose, and Jeongyeon almost feels bad moving it out of the way. She admires Jihyo’s perfect aim almost as much as the girl herself. The present seeps back in with another flick of her wrist, and Jihyo’s lips quirk into a fond smile as the paper bounces off the wall on the other side of the room.
“Cheater.” Still, Jihyo doesn't say any more about the fact that she’s paying more attention to her than the heavy book split open before her, and Jeongyeon’s smile widens, feeling Sana’s hand creeping around her waist from behind.
“Morning,” Sana murmurs, nosing against Jeongyeon’s shoulder, pressing a kiss to the skin exposed by Jeongyeon’s loose t-shirt. Jeongyeon brushes her hand over Sana’s, their fingers slotting together easily over Jeongyeon’s stomach.
“It’s almost 3 in the afternoon,” Jeongyeon tells her, voice lilting in amusement, thumb running over Sana’s semi-transparent hand. “Not all here yet, huh?”
“I think I need Jihyo’s cuddles, too,” Sana answers with a smirk hidden against her skin, and Jihyo lifts her head with an eyebrow quirked. Jeongyeon only shrugs, beckoning her over with a look.
“You heard our princess,” Jeongyeon states simply, and Jihyo groans but both she and Sana know she’s happy to be away from fixing the mess Dahyun and Chaeyoung’s made that week. Sock clad feet drag over cool wood floors, and soon the bed dips with its third occupant, happily engulfed by a Sana who climbs right over Jeongyeon to settle in the middle.
“Ouch, Sana,” Jeongyeon grouches, but Sana only laughs, drawing both her and Jihyo’s arms around her. Jihyo smiles at her over Sana’s head, and Jeongyeon sighs and sinks into the bed, scooting a little closer.
They lie together in the mess of their sheets, bathed in the soft warmth of the sunlight filtering through the windows and time seems to stop then, too. Jihyo croons a soft, old song with no name on Earth, Sana joins her, and Jeongyeon knows that if she could still time for a single moment for the rest of her life, it would be this one.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“You’ll give me a kiss?”
Momo rests a hand on either side of Dahyun’s chair, tilting her head and giving her girlfriend a hopeful smile. Dahyun’s pale cheeks flood with colour at her words, and Momo can’t help the way her heart skips a beat, with how pretty Dahyun looks, sitting so lovely in the shade and scribbling down notes in Jihyo’s little record book.
“You can't just say things like that, Momo unnie,” Dahyun murmurs, but tucks a loose strand of hair behind Momo’s ear, thumb running over soft skin. “But, I’ll give you a deal.”
“A deal?” Momo entertains the idea, leaning into Dahyun’s touch as her thumb continues its journey, tracing along her jawline.
“For every lap you make around the track in a minute, I’ll make a Dahyun for you to kiss.” Momo brightens at her words, and almost kisses her right then, if it weren't for the way Dahyun cups her cheeks, holding her still. “
After
your laps, unnie.”
“You
owe
me, Kim Dahyun,” Momo says with a pout before taking off to stand at the starting line like she does every week, the track worn and well-loved from the constant tests Jihyo liked to conduct. She takes a deep breath, casting one more look towards Dahyun before she speeds away, lost in her thoughts once more.
Momo wonders just how many people wished they could have her power.
The sun filtering through the trees beat down on her skin as her feet beat against the weathered trail she’s run a million times before and she can't help but wonder. Wonder how many wish they could just run away, how many wish they could leave everything behind, just disappear with a flash. Wonder if she could ever run fast enough to get back home.
Her watch beeps, indicating that a minute has passed, shattering her thoughts and slowing her to a stop. A small breath tumbles past her lips as she places her hands on her hips, before she turns to Dahyun - or rather, Dahyun
s -
and Momo wonders how she could ever think about leaving.
“
You broke your record, unnie,” Dahyun calls out to her, smile as radiant as the sun, and she can barely finish her sentence before Momo’s zipped over, a pleased and expectant smile on her face. Dahyun only shakes her head, grin bashful, but she gives Momo her kiss, and another, and another, and another….
Momo breaks her record, Dahyun gives her kisses, and Momo decides that she wouldn't ever want to be anywhere but here.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Can we buy fried chicken for dinner?”
Jihyo looks up from the two jars of sauce in her hands at Chaeyoung’s question, who’s propped up against the shopping cart beside Sana. Sana doesn't look up from their grocery list, trying to make sense of Nayeon’s writing, the mix of languages it’s written in. Sana isn't even sure Nayeon
noticed
. Still, her lips quirk into a smirk, too faint for Chaeyoung to notice in the moment.
“Nayeon unnie is cooking dinner tonight, remember?” Sana says in an innocent tone, and she bites her lip to stop her laughter from bursting out at the way Chaeyoung stiffens beside her. She loves her girlfriend, Sana’s sure, but all three of them know that the kitchen was
not
Nayeon’s place of strength here on Earth.
Surprisingly, Jihyo is the one who breaks the charade, laughing as she places a jar of tomato sauce and cream sauce into the shopping cart. “Sana, how could you just lie to our Chaeyoung like that?”
“I was just teasing our baby,” Sana waves off the accusations, feeling Chaeyoung slump with relief before she sees it. She wraps her arms around Chaeyoung’s shoulders, pressing a few kisses to her dark hair. “She still won't admit that Nayeon unnie isn't the best cook.”
“I’m 20 years old!” Chaeyoung complains, but seems to accept her fate as Jihyo takes over pushing the cart, taking them into the next aisle. Sana clings to her, happy that Chaeyoung doesn't evade her hugs like Jeongyeon does sometimes.
“Well, I can see right through you, Minatozaki,” Jihyo jokes, her eye flashing blue for a moment, and Sana bursts out into laughter, head resting against the top of Chaeyoung’s.
“That was bad, even for me.” Chaeyoung looks unamused, holding their grocery list and seemingly ready to abandon them in the middle of the snack aisle. “Neither of you answered my question either.”
“We can have fried chicken with the pasta Mina’s making later,” Sana tells her, squeezing Chaeyoung closer as they follow after Jihyo and trying not to think about all of the snacks that were floating into their shopping cart. “Anything to make our baby happy.”
“Not if she doesn't drop the fifth bag of salt and vinegar chips she’s put into the cart,” Jihyo warns over her shoulder, but Sana only smiles and gives a puppy-eyed Chaeyoung a wink.
“Your secret’s safe with me,” Sana stage-whispers, loud enough to earn a fond eye roll from Jihyo and a brilliant grin from Chaeyoung.
“I knew you were my favourite,” Chaeyoung hums decidedly, and Sana’s smile only widens. Jihyo meets her gaze, just like she did galaxies and light years away, and it feels just like home.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Can’t sleep?”
Jihyo doesn't turn her head at Jeongyeon’s voice, only sinking into her embrace, Jeongyeon’s touch warm even through her shirt. “It would have been my sister’s birthday today.”
Jeongyeon quiets then, but her silence is deafening. Jihyo understands, knows that even in the years they’ve spent on Earth, it never got easier to speak of their home. The people they’ve left behind. “She would have been as old as Tzuyu and Chaeyoung, right?”
Jihyo hums softly, gazing upon the stars that dotted Earth’s dark night sky, nothing like the curtain of diamonds that draped over their planet back home. “Just as beautiful too, I’m sure.”
A laugh tumbles from Jeongyeon’s lips, soft and low and warm, her breath tickling Jihyo’s ear. It draws a smile onto Jihyo’s face, the heaviness in her chest and tightness of her throat fading away, even just for this moment. “Can you see it?”
“No,” Jihyo answers, resting her head against Jeongyeon’s when she plants her chin onto her shoulder. “Every time I try to get past the next galaxy it’s just… empty. Empty where it shouldn’t be.”
Jeongyeon only nods then, tightening her hold around Jihyo and Jihyo lets her, sinks further into her arms and lets the blue fade away from her eye. “I’ve been here for so long but it feels like Nayeon and I just landed yesterday. I can’t imagine how Mina and the younger kids must feel. In no time, they’ll have spent more time here than they have there.”
“Sometimes I wonder if they even remember it,” Jihyo admits, her fingers tracing over the ones Jeongyeon linked over her stomach, over the faded scars from their first crash. She still remembers it, pulling Nayeon and Jeongyeon from what couldn't even be called a ship anymore. “Sometimes I start to forget, too.”
“We’ll build our own memories then,” Jeongyeon murmurs, lacing her fingers through Jihyo’s. “With Sana, with Nayeon and Chaeng, Mina, Tzuyu… Dahyun and Momo.” Jeongyeon takes a breath, and Jihyo knows how difficult it must be to say regardless of the truth behind her words. “Our family.”
Sana calls for them then, whining about the emptiness of their bed, and she and Jeongyeon share a smile, starting to make their way back to bed. Sana grumbles about the cold, about how she and Jeongyeon always seem to go missing in the middle of the night.
“As someone who has invisibility,” Sana mumbles, voice thick with sleep and near slurred. “You two make a very good job of disappearing.”
But she plants kisses on their cheeks, tender and understanding, and Jihyo smiles, meeting Jeongyeon’s eyes from over Sana’s head. She watches them, watches Jeongyeon whisper reluctant apologies against a sleepy Sana’s shoulders and Jihyo sighs, settling into their tousled sheets.
The old radio on the windowsill crackles, for the first time in years, but Jihyo doesn't bother to get up, not when Jeongyeon draws her closer, not when Sana tucks herself underneath the crook of her chin. She smiles, and she closes her eyes and she knows.
This is their home now.