Chapter Text
“Hyung…”
Jimin, this time it was Jimin. Yoongi buried his head deeper into the fold of his arms and screwed his eyes shut. He was not giving their youngest members the satisfaction of a reaction when he barely had enough energy to even walk to the drinks fridge to grab a coffee.
“Yoongi-hyung, come on,” Jungkook’s voice was right next to his ear and though Yoongi couldn’t see the maknae’s face, he knew the sound of a smile in the singer’s voice. “Can I please film a bit?”
Fighting a sigh, Yoongi ever-so-slightly lifted his head, meeting Jungkook’s warm brown eyes over the fold of his arms. It was a well-known fact that Yoongi could never resist Jungkook, even ARMY knew it. The maknae was one of Yoongi’s weaknesses, he would admit that.
“Can’t you film the others? Why do you need to film me?” Yoongi’s voice was tired, more gravely than normal from a morning of disuse as he rested for their concert tonight.
Jungkook’s expression faltered slightly and Yoongi knew he was done for. Before the boy even spoke, he knew that he’d agree with whatever was said.
“I was going to film the others…I wanted to film us all together, just being us, you know? You don’t have to do anything hyung, just be you,” Jungkook explained, though he looked more uncertain with each word out of his mouth.
Yoongi sighed, before nodding, resting a hand on the maknae’s head, fluffing his hair slightly, “Just make sure you get my good angle.”
There was a snort from across the table and Yoongi redirected his attention to Seokjin, midway through scarfing down a bowl of ramen, as Jungkook thanked him happily and moved away to prep his camera. Namjoon was next to their eldest, though clearly in his own world with headphones on and with a book in hand, leaning forwards with his elbows on the table and nose practically buried in the center crease of the book. Hoseok sat on Yoongi’s other side, eating his own bowl, eyes amused as he watched Jimin help Jungkook with his camera equipment in the far corner of the room. Taehyung was buried in his phone, sitting next to Hoseok and Jimin’s empty chair, a slight crease between his brow as he nibbled at a chip from the packet in front of him while he read something.
“You’re weak,” Seokjin laughed, grinning across the table.
Yoongi grimaced, shrugging, “It’s the eyes.”
Hoseok and Seokjin both laughed at that, both fully aware and susceptible to their maknae’s doe-eyed powers. Yoongi groaned, twisting and stretching out his back. Hoseok nodded sympathetically, instinctively sliding his iced coffee in front of Yoongi.
“Drink, you’ve barely slept, hyung,” Hoseok said, patting the lid, before going back to his ramen.
“And who’s fault is that?” Yoongi huffed, shooting a half-hearted glare at Taehyung as he took the coffee with a nod of thanks. The younger boy didn’t even notice the jab, eyes still stuck on the screen in front of him.
“Tae, head out of the webtoons for a second,” Hoseok nudged the boy with his shoulder. “Have you eaten?”
Taehyung didn’t respond, eyes flicking back and forth as he looked at his phone. The crease in his brow had deepened slightly, his shoulders hunching forwards.
Seokjin cleared his throat, leaning forwards to try and get in Taehyung’s line of sight, “Taehyung-ah, earth to V.”
Yoongi frowned at the boy’s continued lack of response. Hoseok paused, confused, before reaching over to the singer and putting a hand under his chin, forcing his eyes off his phone screen, “Tae? You okay?”
Taehyung blinked, seeming to remember where he was. He nodded, slowly, “Yeah…sorry hyung.” He glanced back at his phone again, eyebrows creasing. He looked shaken; eyes wide as he processed.
“Tae?” Jimin appeared at his back, resting his chin on his soulmate’s head, arms around his shoulders. “Okay?”
Taehyung hesitated, before shaking his head slightly, leaning back into Jimin. Yoongi found himself tensing. It was unusual for their second youngest to be rattled by anything and Yoongi’s body was telling him something was seriously wrong. Seokjin nudged Namjoon, the leader glancing up and removing his headphones with a questioning look that quickly turned concerned at Taehyung’s expression.
“Have you guys seen the news lately?” Taehyung asked, eyes flitting around to each of them.
Yoongi shook his head. He’d been exhausted after their last concert, jetlagged from the constant country-hopping, and had slept in late and before being rushed to the venue this morning for a press junket before soundchecks. It seemed the rest of the group was the same, all having similar responses. Jungkook appeared next to Yoongi, his camera placed on the table, forgotten at Taehyung’s apparent distress.
Taehyung passed the phone to Namjoon, before looking to the rest of them. He took a deep breath before speaking.
“Aliens attacked New York again.”
“What?!”
Jungkook’s hand was suddenly in a vice-like grip around Yoongi’s wrist, Hoseok’s back going dead straight next to him as they all gaped at Taehyung. Yoongi forced himself to take a breath, using his free hand to loosen Jungkook’s hold and instead weave their fingers together.
“It happened last night – well, night for us, it was day time there,” Taehyung explained, a hand having come up to grip at Jimin’s arm around his shoulders. “A massive ship. Iron Man, Spiderman, and Bruce Banner were there, along with some other guy in a cape.”
“Bruce Banner?” Jungkook asked, eyes wide. “He’s been missing for like a year or something though?”
Taehyung nodded, “It was definitely him. The reports said they fought these two aliens and then apparently got taken up to their ship. They saw Spiderman on the side of it, the cape-guy got beamed up. But, that’s not all of it.”
Yoongi tensed, seeing Namjoon’s eyes widen as their leader scanned Taehyung’s phone, his jaw dropping open.
“There is a massive attack happening right now,” Taehyung explained, “In Wakanda.”
“Wakanda?” Seokjin gaped, “Why there?”
Taehyung shrugged, shaking his head, “No idea. But there are thousands of them, hyung. There are some pictures in the report.”
“Captain America is there,” Namjoon cut in, eyes still on the phone, “And a bunch of the other Avengers. They’re giving live-updates on this news site.”
Yoongi reached a hand out for the phone and Namjoon handed it over. Jungkook and Hoseok both leaned forwards, looking over Yoongi’s shoulder as he scrolled to find images or footage. He wasn’t ready when he found them. Taehyung hadn’t been exaggerating. There were thousands, tens of thousands, of grotesque looking creatures, raging against the barrier to Wakanda. Multiple impossibly large, imposing ships that towered over the city were thrust into the ground in the forest behind them. And in the foreground, a small group stood, clearly braced for action, but woefully small in comparison to the invading forces.
Yoongi gripped at Jungkook’s hand in his own and felt Hoseok put a hand on his thigh, fingers digging in slightly as the dancer looked at the images with horror.
Yoongi shook his head, turning off the phone screen and handing the phone back to Taehyung. He focused on the hand on his thigh, grounding him, and his maknae’s hand in his, knuckles white with strain. He met Namjoon and Seokjin’s eyes across the table, both of them in shock, gripping each other’s hands with the same intensity that Jungkook had on Yoongi.
His eyes went to Taehyung, who was abnormally pale, eyes hollow as they stared down at the phone in his hands. The screen was dark, but Yoongi could still see the pictures, clear as day, like they were superimposed on his vision. Jimin had crouched down, arms still around Taehyung’s shoulders, but now with his face buried in his soulmate’s neck.
Yoongi shut his eyes, trying to chase away the images and his fear. None of them were dumb. They knew what was bound to come. The destruction and deaths in New York, London, Sokovia, the pain that always came when the Avengers were called to fight. Aliens were never a good sign, and this looked like it was going to rival the size of the battle of New York.
And they couldn’t do anything. They were helpless. He took a deep breath.
They weren’t helpless.
Opening his eyes, he glanced at the members all again. Hoseok was staring down at the table, trembling ever-so-slightly, his nails unconsciously digging into Yoongi’s leg. Jungkook had his eyes screwed shut, still gripping painfully at Yoongi’s hand. Taehyung’s head was dropped, his hands gripping at Jimin’s arms around his shoulders as his soulmate buried his face in the crook of his neck. Seokjin was pale, eyes unseeing as he stared at the bowl of ramen in front of him, now going cold. Namjoon had buried his face in his hands, elbows on the table, his fingers gripping at his hair in a way that was surely painful.
Yoongi frowned, taking another deep breath, and put his free hand on top of Hoseok’s as he gave Jungkook’s a small squeeze. “We’ve got to do this show.”
Everyone’s eyes snapped to him, all incredulous.
“Hyung-“
Yoongi shook his head, silencing Jungkook’s weak protest. “No. We have to. It’s the least we can do. There is going to be a lot of pain soon, and we can’t do anything to stop that. People are going to lose loved ones today, and the world will mourn. We can’t prevent that,” he said, meeting each of their eyes slowly as he spoke. Jimin’s eyes were wet, Hoseok’s weren’t far behind. Yoongi squeezed the dancer’s hand in his own as he continued. “But we can help. We can make people happy, help them forget for a bit. Give them a little bit of happiness before the real world comes back again. That’s our job, that’s why we do this.” He gripped Jungkook’s hand tighter and met Namjoon’s eyes.
Their leader’s expression was complex, Yoongi couldn’t fully decipher what was happening in his head, but after a few seconds it cleared, ever so slightly, and Namjoon offered a weak smile, nodding. “You’re right, hyung.” The leader looked around at the rest of the group, setting his shoulders, “Phones off until after the show, no looking at the news. I’ll tell the managers to update us if anything drastic happens, but otherwise, we need to focus on giving the best show we can, despite the circumstances. If we can give ARMY even a little bit of light right now, we’ve done our job.”
Yoongi nodded, releasing Hobi’s hand to reach into his pocket and grab his phone. He swiftly turned it off and placed it in the center of the table, face down. Namjoon was quick to do the same, and the other members followed their actions slowly. Surprisingly, Taehyung was the next, shoving his phone away with a bit of force, before reaching for Jimin’s. Jungkook, Hoseok, and Jin’s phones all joined the pile too, and the group sat for a second in silence, staring at the devices, before Namjoon stood and left to talk to their managers.
“Does anyone want to practice anything? We’ve got an hour until soundcheck. Any parts that need cleaning or refining?” Hoseok asked, his voice trembling a little as he tried to gain control of his emotions.
Seokjin cleared his throat, rising from his seat, “I messed up the spacing in the Fire dance break yesterday, I’d like to check that with yourself and Taehyung.”
Taehyung practically jumped to his feet, nodding. “Jiminie, you can join too. It’d be better to have that whole side so we can double-check it.” He grabbed Jimin’s arm, dragging him over to where Seokjin and Hoseok were moving a table to the side to create some space. No one commented on the tears Jimin quickly wiped from his eyes.
Yoongi watched them for a second. They all knew that Jin hadn’t messed up the formation. He’d been raving to Yoongi last night on the way back to the hotel about how he’d absolutely nailed the choreography yesterday in both Fire and Dope. But none of them mentioned that, either.
He looked to Jungkook, still sitting silently by Yoongi’s side. Their hands were still joined, though Jungkook was no long gripping on for dear life. He was starring at the pile of phones, eyes unfocused, and his jaw was clenched. It was as if he was frozen, stuck in thought.
Yoongi huffed, poking the maknae’s cheek with a bit of force, “Kook-ah, get out of your head. You can’t do anything about it so just do what you can. Don’t try and control what you can’t. Control your controllables.”
Jungkook blinked, coming back into the room, and looking at his hyung with wide eyes. Yoongi simply raised a brow, ruffling the kid’s hair with his free hand.
“Do you want to film the others practicing maybe? Get some footage for GCF so you can show ARMY later?” Yoongi finally suggested when Jungkook didn’t move. “I’m going to try and get a bit more sleep.”
Jungkook glanced over at the group practicing, watching for a second before nodding, “Good idea, hyung,” he said, more to himself than anything. He grabbed his camera off the table and set off towards the group, leaving Yoongi alone.
Refusing to look at the phones, Yoongi stood himself and ambled over to the couches in one corner of the green room. Seokjin and Taehyung were being silly, cracking jokes and making senseless mistakes, but their laughter was a bit too loud, a little forced. No one mentioned it. Yoongi smiled quietly to himself, watching the group as he situated himself on the couch, curling up and pillowing his head on one arm. He would never stop being thankful for this team. They’d gone through a lot together, and there was no doubt in his mind that today would be another day like that, but at least they would be doing it like they always do. Together.
Yoongi let his eyes drift shut, knowing it was unlikely that sleep would take him. Still, the rest on his eyes would help the headache building at the base of his skull, he was sure. He listened to the sounds of his bandmates’ voices, giving notes and cleaning the dance together.
“From the top? 5, 6, 7, 8-”
Hoseok counted out the dance break at a slower tempo and Yoongi could hear the group’s footsteps and several of the group humming the song as they performed the moves.
“Ah, sorry hyung, can we try that again? Didn’t get there in time,” Taehyung sighed.
“You go in front, Taehyung-ah.”
“Right, sorry.”
“Let’s try again? 5, 6, 7, 8-“
The footsteps resumed; Jin absent-mindedly singing the melody of the dance break under his breath. They got further this time, past where Yoongi knew the second transition of formation was. Jin’s humming faded off, replaced just by the sounds of rhythmic steps. There was suddenly a falter in the steps.
“Hobi-hyung?”
“Sorry, I just feel a bit faint …where’s-“
There was a crash and a yelp, making Yoongi startle. “Taehyung-!“
Yoongi opened his eyes, sitting up at the noise. He looked over to the group, opening his mouth to scold their loudness. The words died in his throat.
The room was empty.
Something settled in Yoongi gut, deep and uncomfortable.
“Guys?”
He stood from his spot, looking around.
“Ah, you all know I hate these hide-and-seek games,” he huffed, though something set the hairs on the back of his neck on edge.
The room was silent.
He clenched his jaw, slowly moving over to where the group had been. He frowned, kneeling down. Jungkook’s camera had been dropped, the microphone had broken off and with a quick look, Yoongi saw the lens was cracked. But it was still recording.
“Kook-ah, you left...”
His voice drifted off as he looked around the room. It really was empty.
Maybe they’d run outside?
Yoongi stopped the recording on the camera as he moved over to the door of the green room, opening it and sticking his head out. The hallway was vacant and eerily silent. He felt his brow furrow, “Guys? Stop being silly.”
He waited. No response.
“Hyung? Hoba?”
His voice echoed down the hallway. No response.
He glanced down at the camera in his hands, slipping back into the greenroom again. Why had Jungkook just dropped his camera like that? Where had they gone?
How’d they leave so fast?
Yoongi clicked a few buttons on the camera, swiftly finding the playback menu and clicking the latest video.
It started and there they were. Jimin, Hoseok, Taehyung, and Seokjin standing in formation, ready to try the dance break again. Jin pulled a face towards the camera while Hoseok corrected Taehyung’s position slightly. Hoseok then turned back to the full group, nodding.
“From the top?” the Hoseok on tape asked, receiving a nod from the rest, and began counting as he turned back to face the front. “5, 6, 7, 8-”
Yoongi watched as they danced, perfectly executing the moves at a slightly slower tempo. He could hear Jungkook on the other side of the camera, humming the tune of the dance break under his breath as he recorded. The continued until Taehyung failed to make it back to the center position for the third formation. The boy looked frustrated, immediately stopping and raising his hand.
“Ah, sorry hyung, can we try that again? Didn’t get there in time.”
Hoseok nodded and Jimin reached a hand out to Taehyung’s shoulder, “You go in front, Tae.”
“Right, sorry.”
“Let’s try again?” The group reset at Hoseok’s words and he counted them in again, “5, 6, 7, 8-“
They started again, dancing perfectly. This time Jin was the one Yoongi could hear singing along. They got past the transition Taehyung had messed up and continued. Unseen by the rest of the group because of his position, Jin suddenly paused in his movements, his humming stopping. Right as he stumbled back, Hoseok tripped over his own feet, stumbling forwards slightly. Jungkook dipped the camera, leaving Jin out of frame, as he moved forwards to steady the dancer.
“Hobi-hyung?” The camera swayed a bit, revealing the others again.
Yoongi’s eye widened.
That wasn’t possible.
Jin had disappeared. Jimin and Taehyung stepped forwards, eyes on Hoseok, not noticing.
“Sorry, I just feel a bit faint…” Hoseok said, an arm around his middle. He turned slightly, looking to the others, before him expression faltered, “where’s-“
Yoongi watched in horror as Hoseok’s figure suddenly dropped and crumbled into dust. Right as it happened the camera was dropped. Yoongi couldn’t breathe. He watched, helpless, as he saw Jimin drop to his knees, face scared and confused, reaching out for Taehyung with a yell of his name. Taehyung lunged forwards, equally as distressed, but before either of them reached each other, they were gone.
The dust was blown away by the fan in the corner of the room. The camera focused on the carpet.
He heard his own voice come through the speaker.
“Guys?”
Yoongi stopped the footage.
He couldn’t look away from the screen.
It didn’t make sense.
He was shaking. His breaths came in short and sharp, not reaching his lungs. Terror seeped into his heart.
He needed to find Namjoon.
He took off, sprinting out of the room, letting the green room doors slam behind him. He raced down the corridor towards where he knew the managers would be, where Namjoon would be. The camera was gripped in his hand.
“NAMJOON!”
His yell echoed down the empty hallway. It didn’t sound like his own voice.
This couldn’t be real.
“Yoongi-ssi!”
He skidded to a halt, eyes wide as one of their staff ran towards him. She looked terrified, tears streaming down her face. One of their translators, she’d worked with them for years. She came to a stop right in front of him, shaking like a leaf.
“Where is Namjoon?” Yoongi demanded immediately, pushing aside his sympathy for her distressed state. He needed to find their leader.
The girl let out a sob, hands coming to her face, “H-He-“
Yoongi reached forwards, grabbing her by her shoulders, probably hard enough to bruise. “Where is Namjoon?!”
“H-he disappeared,” she gasped out.
The world stopped moving.
“With all the managers, they all turned into dust- I don’t- I don’t know w-what happened-“
No.
No.
His hands dropped to his side, limp. The camera dangled; the strap caught on his wrist.
The girl was gasping and crying in front of him, frantically speaking. Yoongi couldn’t hear her.
It was as if someone had tuned the radio wrong. A ringing filled his ears.
No.
He turned on his heel, stumping back to the green room. He didn’t know if the girl followed him. He didn’t care. He pushed the door open.
The room was still empty.
He could hear footsteps, running from outside the room, yelling down the echo-y hallways. None of the voices were that of his bandmates.
This wasn’t possible.
Later, he would learn what had happened. He would find out about Thanos, about the plan, about how the world was breaking from the inside out.
He couldn’t bring himself to care.
He felt empty.
His world had already broken.
He was alone.