Expectations: Adventures in Baby Making Part 2 of 3
Series: Expectations
Adventure Nine: Adventures in Baby Making Part 2 of 3
Author: Aquariuslover
Pairings: Yunjae, KyuWook, Various
Rating: R
Genre: Crossover, Science Fiction, Romance, Humor
Beta: tahoeturquoise
Summary: Yunho and Jaejoong are fully enjoying the third stage of shifting, when the captain’s presence is required. Ryeowook and Kyuhyun are at odds. Kangin, Eunhyuk, Siwon, and Sungmin find themselves in a smelly situation. Changmin has a most unusual encounter. A battle ensues, and the outcome surprises all.
Prior Adventures
Yunho suddenly appeared in the middle of sickbay and called out, “Doctor, I need your immediate attention.”
“Captain, what are you doing out of your room?” Ryeowook asked as he stepped out of his office to speak to the captain. “Has Changmin been conceived yet?”
“No,” Yunho answered as he headed toward an exam bed. “But I need you to do whatever you have to do to get me thinking like the captain of this ship, and not like some sex obsessed animal.”
Ryeowook followed after the captain. “The pheromones?”
Yunho lay down on the exam bed, and the sensors immediately gave Ryeowook a full reading on the captain’s condition. “I know he warned us, but they are overwhelming. I can’t think about anything else. They are too powerful.”
“I suspected as much, and that’s why the filtration system on your quarters is set at maximum,” Dr. Cho informed the captain as he studied the readings.
“Well, it didn’t help me any.”
“No, but it kept the ship from becoming a sex crazed mess,” Ryeowook told him as he reached for a hypospray. “You were in their direct path, and being telepathically bonded to a shifting Joong did not help matters.”
Yunho sat up quickly and asked, “What would happen if we had sex outside of our quarters?”
“You didn’t, did you?” Ryeowook asked, alarmed.
“No.”
“The ship’s filtrations systems would start working immediately, but I wouldn’t want any of the crew in the nearby vicinity of those pheromones,” Ryeowook told Yunho as he injected him with the hypospray. “They would be just as overwhelmed as you, if not more so, and they would not have a bondmate to focus their attention on.”
“I don’t know, that sounds like a fun time to me,” Commander Yoochun replied as he entered the room.
“Yoochun!” Yunho said with relief as he jumped off the exam bed. “I want a full report, now.”
Ryeowook smiled and asked, “May I assume the injection worked?”
Yunho turned, looked down at Ryeowook thankfully and told him, “I don’t even want to know what it was, but yes, it worked. Thank you, Doctor.”
“Worked?” Yoochun asked.
Ryeowook answered, “The captain is no longer under the influence of pheromones.”
“No,” Yunho said with a huge smile. “I’m back to my old self.”
“Captain, the injection will be rendered useless if you expose yourself again. There isn’t anything I can do to you that Jaejoong can’t undo. He had me remove your infertility implant with ease. I didn’t even know I was doing it until it was already done. Also, you are bonded to a highly aroused Joong…the shot can only do so much. You are not immune to his feelings,” RyeoWook warned.
“Well, right now his pater…maternal feelings are ruling supreme and he is focused on Changmin, so I am safe for the moment,” Yunho told the doctor. He then turned to Yoochun. “I want to know everything that has been happening on my ship for the past five days.”
Yoochun grinned and happily started explaining the situation to the captain, “Well, right now we are orbiting the planet Valmont. We heard the people of this planet trade directly with the Warlord Hangeng, and they apparently have information on Lieutenant SooYoung’s whereabouts. Unfortunately, they are a primitive warrior race that likes to fling shit on visitors…and they insist on only talking to you.”
Yunho’s smile faded. “Great.”
*************************
“Well, how does it taste?” Jaejoong asked, beaming down at his son, who had a look of divine bliss on his face.
“Oh…oh….good,” Changmin said with his mouth full of hot crab fondue. In front of Changmin sat multiple dishes, all consisting of crab; crab casserole, crab dips, golden crab puffs, crab stuffed mushrooms, boiled crab soaked in butter, and crab fettuccini.
Sulli, who was sitting beside Changmin, laughed as she told Jaejoong, “It’s very delicious.”
“Thank you, Sulli,” Jaejoong said as he headed back to his stove to check on something else that was still cooking. Hunting his son down had proved difficult due to Changmin wearing the necklace in order to hide from what he considered his overly affectionate parent. Changmin had been smart enough to not let anybody else know where he was hiding. In the end Jaejoong had enlisted the help of the ship’s computer to find his son. Once he had found Changmin and explained that he had prepared him a large meal, Changmin had followed him back to his quarters without hesitation.
Jaejoong had also invited Sulli to eat, much to Changmin’s irritation, but Jaejoong couldn’t resist. He was very curious about the girl. Jaejoong adjusted the heat on the stove, walked back to the table, and stood beside his son. He looked down at the girl. “Sulli, your mental shielding is very complex for a human.”
“Can you not read my mind?” Sulli asked, looking up at Jaejoong; surprised by his admission.
Jaejoong laughed at the thought. “No, I just meant your surface thoughts are undistinguishable. I do have to put a little effort into reading them. Most humans just broadcast their surface thoughts, and I have to actually close my mind to them. Of all the humans on this ship, well, with exception of my beloved, your thoughts are the hardest to read. The easiest thought in your head to read is…” Jaejoong paused, smiled and delightedly said, “Is how pretty you think I am.”
Sulli beamed up at Jaejoong. “You are very beautiful in any form, but your Joong form is exquisite.”
Jaejoong bent down and whispered in Changmin’s ear, “I like her.”
Changmin groaned, dreading what Jaejoong might have planned for the future and asked, “What about my surface thoughts? I thought you said my mind-”
“Darling, you are half Joong, you don’t count as a human any longer.”
Changmin pondered Jaejoong’s words, trying to decide if he was pleased or displeased. He eventually decided he didn’t care, and stuffed more food in his mouth.
Sulli put down her silverware and focused on Jaejoong. “I am not surprised that I am difficult to read. On my father’s side of the family I have many relatives that are psi null, including my father and my cousin SooYoung.”
“Psi null?” Jaejoong asked.
“An incorrect, but widely accepted term used to describe humans who are born with mental shields that block any kind of telepathy or empathy,” Changmin answered before stuffing a piece of buttered crab in his mouth.
Jaejoong’s eyes widened, intrigued, and asked, “Who determines they are psi null?”
“Our medical science; and often members of the telepathic races of our galaxy would mention this to my father as well,” Sulli explained. “The Betazoid Ambassador often said that being around my father was very refreshing.”
“Betazoids? Aren’t they one of the telepathic races of your galaxy?” Jaejoong questioned.
“Yes,” Sulli answered.
“There are also a few people in this galaxy that are…what you call psi null. It is usually the side effect of some kind of head trauma, I don’t know if I have ever heard of somebody being born psi null in this galaxy. Some Joongs find these people enjoyable to be around, but I would much rather know what somebody is up to,” Jaejoong explained, looking perplexed.
Sulli noticed the look of confusion on Jaejoong’s face and asked, “Is something wrong, Jaejoong?”
“This SooYoung, your cousin; you said she was psi null?” Jaejoong questioned.
“Yes,” Sulli confirmed.
“Sometime in the future I will hand a very young Changmin over to her…she takes Changmin back in time to Earth,” Jaejoong said with obvious disbelief. “I can’t imagine trusting somebody whose mind I can’t read, enough to hand my baby over to them.”
Changmin swallowed his mouth full of food and responded, “At the time you are not in the best physical condition, and perhaps because she is unreadable is the reason you chose her to deliver me to my grandparents and Yunho.”
Jaejoong headed back to the stove. “True, if I can’t read her then nobody else could.”
“Or maybe she won’t be psi null to you?” Sulli offered.
“True,” Changmin replied as he eyed his food longingly. “Your telepathic abilities are superior to those of the Vulcans and Betazoids. She may be open to you.”
Jaejoong picked up a spoon and started stirring a pot of food. “That must be the reason, or perhaps it’s because the future is already known to me. I will know she succeeds in her mission.”
“What else are you making us to eat?” Changmin asked as he turned his attention to Jaejoong at the stove.
“Oh, this isn’t for you. This is for your father. He hasn’t eaten in five days, and he’s starting to feel it.”
“Five days,” Sulli repeated, concerned.
Changmin frowned. “Why can’t I have any?”
Sulli kicked Changmin from underneath the table. “Changmin, the captain hasn’t eaten in five days.”
“Oh, well…I am sure he is fine,” Changmin insisted after giving Sulli a hurt look.
“He’s perfectly fine, the bond was sustaining him,” Jaejoong explained as he started spooning out the food onto a plate.
“It smells good? What is it?” Changmin questioned, his focus back on the forbidden food. “Perhaps, I should taste test it first?”
Jaejoong smiled and answered, “Nice try, but I don’t think so. This is a special surprise for your father.”
************************
“We inadvertently insulted them with our very presence. The leaders of this world…will only speak directly to other leaders that they consider their equals,” Sungmin explained.
Ensign Kangin, who was still fuming from having feces thrown on him declared, “I was ready to pull out my phaser and show those primitive, thick necked assholes just how unequal we really were.”
Commander Yoochun leaned into his old friend and whispered, “This is why you are still an ensign.”
“I would like to see how you would handle getting shit thrown all over you,” Kangin spat back at Yoochun.
Yoochun leaned back in his chair unable to stop grinning. “Hey, if later there was an accidental discharge of photon torpedoes that wiped out parts of the planet, that wouldn’t be my fault.”
Siwon, who sat at the conference table with Kangin, Dr. Cho, Sungmin, Yoochun, and the captain, calmly stated, “I realize it was not a pleasant experience for any of us, but it was preferable to a fight to the death. This way their honor was restored…”
Siwon paused as the people at the table turned to look at the captain, whose stomach had let out a loud growl.
“Captain, when was the last time you ate?” Dr. Cho asked concerned.
Yunho opened his mouth, and then closed it, pausing to think before he answered, “I actually have no memory of eating…in days.”
“It must be terrible to be so absorbed in mind blowing sex that you forget to eat. I really feel sorry for you,” Commander Yoochun said with fake sympathy. “Would you like to break for some milk and cookies?”
“That won’t be necessary,” Jaejoong replied as he breezed into the room in all his Joong splendor carrying a big plate of food.
Yunho immediately turned toward Jaejoong, pointing at him. “No, no, no! You need to get out of here. I am thinking. I need to stay thinking.”
Jaejoong sat the plate of food on the table in front of Yunho and took the hand that was pointing at him in both of his. “I am on my best behavior right now. All my pheromones are firmly under tight control.”
“You promise?”
“I promise,” Jaejoong assured Yunho as he sat down in the chair beside Yunho that would normally have been taken by Commander Cho.
Yoochun snorted and pointed to Yunho’s plate. “Why, that’s an interesting array of food you have there, Captain.” Yunho’s plate of food consisted of foods known throughout their galaxy for increasing male potency.
Yunho turned and glared at Yoochun, and then turned to Siwon and asked, “Siwon, would you please continue.”
“I was saying the Warrior King had his honor restored by that most unfortunate act. The Warrior King has ordered that the away team with the exception of Lieutenant Sungmin be exiled from the planet forever, but he will talk with you directly about SooYoung’s whereabouts.”
Yunho turned to Sungmin and asked, “Why are you allowed back?”
Sungmin blushed and Kangin happily answered, “He thought Sungmin was cute…a cute, little woman.”
“It seems that one’s genitalia is not the only deciding factor on determining one’s gender on the planet. Height plays an important role in establishing one’s femininity or masculinity as they reach adulthood,” Siwon further explained.
“So the Warlord Hangeng deals directly with this Warrior King?” Yunho asked as he watched Jaejoong glaring at Yoochun who was just smiling back at the Joong. “Jaejoong, why are you looking at Yoochun like that?”
“The bastard is staring at my…he finds my lack of…he finds my breasts very disappointing. I swear if he wasn’t your oldest friend I’d fry that bastard’s brains for dinner!”
Yunho squeezed his eyes shut and prayed for patience. “Why do you care what he thinks?”
“I don’t…it’s just...I will block him out now.”
“It appears so, Sir. This is the most powerful tribe on the planet and it controls the majority of the mines,” Sungmin explained. “These mines are rich in minerals that the Warlord Hangeng and others of this galaxy greatly prize.”
“Then, I will just go talk to him,” Yunho told them, refocusing on the important matter at hand.
Siwon sighed and explained further, “Although the insult we gave him was corrected, he will not hand over the information freely.”
“You have to fight him for it,” Kangin just blurted out, getting straight to the point.
“Fight him?” Yunho questioned.
“Yes, they are insisting on man to man combat. The people of Valmont respect the Warlord Hangeng as a great warrior, and for them to give up their information…what they consider a betrayal of him, you will have to prove yourself a superior warrior,” Siwon explained.
“How exciting!” Jaejoong exclaimed, rubbing his hands together. “Nothing better than some sweaty man on man action!”
Ryeowook, who was sitting next to Jaejoong, turned to face him and asked full of surprise, “You want Yunho to fight?”
“Unlike you, who will not let poor Kyuhyun resume his duties, I think it’s good for a man to prove himself physically. And what better way than some masculine combat. I can’t wait to watch,” Jaejoong said with a big smile and turned to Yunho, and added mentally, “Darling, your body is in need of nutrients. If you were a young child…or a precious infant, you could just live off the bond, but alas I’m without the babe I crave. You have to eat. You can eat of your own free will or I can force feed you in front of your officers. You decide on how you want to eat…because you are going to eat.”
Yunho picked up a piece of food and tossed in his mouth. He knew that Jaejoong wasn’t kidding.
Ryeowook turned to Siwon. “What kind of fight would it be? Would it be to the death?”
“It depends on the victor,” Siwon explained. “The fight will consist of three rounds, and there is a panel made up of elders that will determine the winner of each round. After the three rounds have been completed, then the panel will ask the victor if he chooses to be lethal or merciful.”
“What would you do if Yunho lost and the Warrior King decided to kill him?” Ryeowook demanded of Jaejoong.
“Pleeeaaaasssse!” Jaejoong sneered, showing just how ridiculous he found that idea. “If anybody tried to kill my Yunho they would be dead before they could complete the thought. He might get some injuries fighting, but nothing I can’t heal. The combat would be worth some scrapes and bruises…it would be invigorating!”
“Why can’t we just send Jaejoong down to the planet? He can get whatever information we require from the Warrior King’s mind and they would be none the wiser,” Yoochun suggested.
“That’s totally unethical,” Jaejoong quickly responded. “Yunho isn’t that kind of leader, and that isn’t the reputation he wants.”
“If they don’t remember…then what does it matter?” Sungmin questioned. “How do we know Hangeng didn’t just have his mate convince the Warrior King that he had beaten him in a fair fight? Hangeng is bonded to a Joong also.”
“Just because they are cheaters doesn’t mean we are,” Jaejoong answered. “I simply won’t do it. I am a royal prince of Joong. I have high ethical standards, even if you lowly humans don’t.”
Yunho resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his mate, knowing Jaejoong’s ethics were highly dependent on the situation. “So, let me guess. You think fighting for my life will increase my sperm count?”
“It couldn’t hurt! It would get all your manly juices flowing! Plus, just the thought of you all covered in sweat, and fighting…you have to be shirtless. Fighting shirtless…it is a must!”
“Cool down. If you think fighting is so sexy, you should fight him yourself.”
“I’m much too pretty to fight!”
“You are starting to sound like Heechul!”
“Except, unlike him, I really am too pretty to fight.”
“So, you really want me to fight?”
Jaejoong licked his lips. “I can almost taste it.”
“Taste what? The blood from all the gaping wounds he might inflict on me?”
“That’s not funny, Yunho! I would never allow you to be seriously injured. You are not afraid, are you?”
“No!”
“Good! I might be spectacularly beautiful, but if somebody messes with my man, I will slaughter them where they stand, so you have nothing to fear.”
“The reason I am not afraid is not because of you. I am confident in my own fighting abilities,” Yunho told Jaejoong mentally and then told his officers. “At 1500 hours we will beam down to the planet. Sungmin, you arrange the away team. I will fight the Warrior King for the information. We all know what kind of person Hangeng sold Sulli to, and I can’t in good conscience let any opportunity for rescuing SooYoung slip past us,” Yunho explained standing up. “You all are dismissed.”
“I cooked that especially for you, and you are going to eat all of it,” Jaejoong told Yunho as the crew members exited the room.
Yunho picked up his fork and pointed to a round purple glob on the plate that Jaejoong was eyeing. “Do you know what this is?”
“I cooked it, so of course I know what it is.”
Yunho folded his arms ignoring his growling stomach. “I’m not eating the scrotum of a Bals Bear Wombat.”
“All the ingredients had to be synthesized, Yunho. It isn’t like there are Bals Bear Wombats running freely on the ship,” Jaejoong explained, but then frowned as he considered something. “This probably cuts down on its potency, come to think of it.”
Ryeowook, who had not gotten up and left with the others, pointed out, “There is nothing wrong with Yunho. He’s plenty fertile. The difficulty most likely lies in the fact that you are a Joong and he’s human.”
“Yeah! Listen to my doctor,” Yunho said proudly. “There is nothing wrong with me.”
Jaejoong grunted and turned to Ryeowook. “We already know Yunho and I are compatible…duh, have you met Changmin? You are just being huffy with me.”
“You are huffy, Doctor?” Yunho asked Ryeowook, while still eyeing the purple blob on his plate apprehensively.
“No,” Ryeowook lied.
“He is mad because I made that remark about him not letting Kyuhyun resume his duties,” Jaejoong corrected. “Kyuhyun has been giving him hell for his mothering hen tendencies, too.”
“I also have not let Changmin or Shindong resume their duties,” Ryeowook reminded the Joong.
“My son is absolutely perfect, not to mention brilliant,” Jaejoong pointed out proudly.
“Changmin may be brilliant but he’s had a lot to adapt to in a short amount of time, not to mention his headaches,” Ryeowook reminded Jaejoong.
“Changmin has headaches?” Yunho asked, instantly worried. He remembered hearing something earlier about Changmin having headaches, but his mind had still been clouded by the effects of the pheromones at that time.
“It’s just an unfortunate side effect of being empathic, one he needs to adapt to,” Jaejoong explained as he took Yunho’s fork and stabbed the Bals Bear Wombat’s scrotum and held it up to Yunho’s mouth. Yunho clamped his mouth shut, and glared at his mate.
“Exactly, and it takes time to adapt. Just like Kyuhyun and Shindong need time to adapt to what happened to them. It takes time to recover from that kind of torture,” Ryeowook explained, trying his best to pretend the mated pair were acting normally.
Jaejoong dropped the fork, paled, gulped guiltily, squeezed his eyes shut and blurted out, “In the interest of honesty…since you two are my favorite humans…ummm…Kyuhyun might not need as long to recover as you think.”
“What did you do?” RyeoWook stood up and demanded. Something about Kyuhyun’s recovery had been strangely off for days now.
Jaejoong opened his eyes, looked up at Ryeowook and confessed, “I helped someone that underwent hours of torture for the sake of my son. He knows what happened to him…I just diluted the terribleness of it. I can’t heal him, but I can manipulate his memories in a way that will decrease their awfulness. He has wonderful coping mechanisms already, but why should he have to waste them for the likes of that bastard ZhouMi. I just did what any good hearted telepath would do.”
“Jaejoong…” Ryeowook began.
“I won’t undo it,” Jaejoong informed him, as he turned to Yunho and asked mentally, “What are you thinking? I am not feeling waves of disappointment or anger emanating off of you.”
“Changmin knows what you did?” Yunho asked aloud, already knowing the answer before he asked.
Jaejoong nodded his head and answered aloud, “Changmin knows and he was grateful that I spared Kyuhyun more pain.”
Ryeowook sat back down at the table feeling terribly torn. “What you did is ethically wrong…but…but…”
“Do you want him to suffer?” Jaejoong asked Ryeowook.
“Of course I don’t! I just…I know how I should feel as a doctor, but that is directly in conflict with how I feel as somebody who loves him. He has suffered enough, but as his husband I can’t say that I’m unhappy.”
“I just wanted to help him…he did this to spare Changmin,” Jaejoong explained, looking back and forth from Ryeowook to Yunho. “If what had happened to Kyuhyun happened to Changmin…”
“He would not have recovered,” Yunho finished.
“He would have withdrawn so deeply inside himself that even I would not have been able to coax him out. Changmin would have been lost to us, either in death, or in his own mental hell. Kyuhyun saved Changmin. I couldn’t let him suffer…when I could help. I did what time would have eventually done over a period of years.”
RyeoWook shook his head, remembering how frustrated Kyuhyun had been. “This explains some of his insistence that he is fine.”
Jaejoong smiled when he realized that neither of the two humans were angry at him. “I did a good thing.”
“You did,” Ryeowook agreed.
Yunho, who had taken in both Ryeowook’s and Jaejoong’s words, told them, “He has to know, though. He has a right to know.”
Ryeowook nodded his head. “I will tell him.”
A very pleased Jaejoong told Ryeowook, “Good, you go find him. Yunho has things he needs to eat.”
“I am not eating this. I think I will go to the mess hall and get a sandwich,” Yunho informed his mate.
Ryeowook laughed at the look of outrage on Jaejoong’s face as he exited the room on his way to find Kyuhyun. The last words he heard before the doors shut behind him were an highly insulted Jaejoong screaming, “I slaved over a hot stove for you and this is the thanks I-”
************************
“Why didn’t you answer me?” Ryeowook asked as he walked into the bedroom of his and Kyuhyun’s quarters.
Kyuhyun, who was laid out on the bed staring up at the ceiling, answered, “I didn’t want to talk to you.”
Ryeowook walked up to the bed and sighed, “Don’t be like this.”
“I want to be like this.”
“Sulky?”
“Yes, I want to sulk.”
Ryeowook sat down on the bed. “You are bored.”
“Very bored.”
“Boredom has never suited you. You always got yourself into trouble at the academy when you got bored,” Ryeowook told his husband as he looked down at him lovingly.
“I don’t remember getting into trouble at the academy. I just remember having lots and lots of sex.”
“Boredom isn’t the reason you had lots and lots of sex at the academy, and we both know it.”
Kyuhyun brought up his hands and covered his face, groaning. “Can we not talk about that? Can you try not psychoanalyzing me for once? I promise you sex of any kind is the farthest thing from my mind.”
Ryeowook frowned. “Really? Not even with me?”
Kyuhyun uncovered his face and looked up at Ryeowook, startled by the question; also noticing that his husband sounded disappointed. “No, not even with you.”
“And you mean that? You aren’t just saying it because your crafty mind thinks that I will see it as some sign of you not coping with what happened to you?”
“No, we’ve shared a bed since I returned to the ship. If I was attracted to you, I wouldn’t have been able to hide it…not from you,” Kyuhyun said, sitting up, and studying his husband. “You sure haven’t been able to hide it from me.”
Ryeowook blushed.
“You didn’t just blush?”
“Don’t.”
“Your embarrassment is ridiculous; we are married. I’m the traumatized one, not you. I mean, how long as it been for you now? It’s been almost two years…well, unless you were doing something else on that planet besides running from bears.”
“You know I wasn’t.”
“I do know.”
“I just find it strange,” Ryeowook said, studying Kyuhyun intently.
“What? That I believe you didn’t hook up with Kangin or Siwon while stranded on that planet? Well, you see I am the trusting type, unlike-”
“I had reason not to trust you,” Ryeowook interrupted to remind Kyuhyun.
“No, you didn’t,” Kyuhyun told him firmly. “I thought you were dead, so I wasn’t betraying you.”
“I don’t have time for this old argument; we are never going to agree. There is something I have to tell you,” Ryeowook informed Kyuhyun.
“Do I want to know?”
“Probably not, but you have a right to know. I am not sure how you are going to take it. I was surprised by my own reaction when I found out. It’s a little unsettling.”
Kyuhyun scooted closer to Ryeowook until they were sitting side by side on the bed. “Just tell me.”
“I am not sure when, but Jaejoong manipulated your memories from the time you spent with that bastard…he diluted the awfulness of them,” Ryeowook explained as he reached over and squeezed Kyuhyun’s knee. “He just confessed all to me and the captain. The captain said you had to know.”
Kyuhyun’s eyes widened. “He did? What…but I remember it…diluted the awfulness of it? Do you mean it was worse than what I remember?”
“No, I don’t think so. He said he did what time would normally have done over a period of years…he didn’t take your memories. He made it clear that he can’t heal you, but he could dilute the memories, so they aren’t as vivid in your mind,” Ryeowook explained. “He saw it as some sort of debt he had to repay.”
Kyuhyun reached down and covered Ryeowook’s hand that was resting on his knee with his own. “I don’t even know what to say-I mean, it felt different, but I thought maybe it was because I was older. I thought age just made me handle it differently.”
Ryeowook turned to face his husband and apologized, “I’m sorry. You kept insisting you were fine…all the tests agreed with what you were saying, but I didn’t believe it could be true.”
Kyuhyun, who was still in a daze, ignored Ryeowook’s apology and asked, “What should I do? I mean, is this okay? He’s been in my mind.”
“I don’t know how to feel either. I mean, is it really wrong for a telepath to…to do what he did? Our beliefs are not the same as other species. I mean, it isn’t the first time that telepathy has been used in other species to treat trauma,” Ryeowook reasoned. “The Federation mostly frowns on it because it can quickly turn into a slippery slope.”
“This is not Cassion 5, where the telepaths of that planet mentally brainwashed anybody who disagreed with their political policies. I don’t see Jaejoong going around and mentally manipulating everybody who disagrees with him. I mean, he could have done that from the beginning, but he didn’t. He kept his connection to Changmin a secret, but I really think in the end he did fear the consequences of us knowing.”
Ryeowook nodded his head. “I know he did.”
Kyuhyun turned and met Ryeowook’s gaze. “Does Changmin know?”
“Apparently Changmin gave his blessing.”
Kyuhyun looked doubtful and stated, “Changmin isn’t exactly himself.”
“No.”
“I would be really stupid to reject this gift, wouldn’t I?”
“I think so, but it’s up to you. You can feel about this any way you want to feel. It’s your mind. I think enough choices have been taken away from you. Whatever you decide, I will support you.”
“I think…I am going to take it as a blessing then.”
“Then I will too.”
Kyuhyun nodded his head in an agreement. “So, I can resume my duties?”
Ryeowook winced, knowing his answer was not going to be embraced by his husband. “I have to beam down to Valmont with the away team. When I get back…we will discuss this further.”
Kyuhyun stood up and demanded, “What is there to discuss? You know now that Jaejoong has progressed my healing by years. I’m ready to resume my duties. You need to reinstate me.”
“I need a little more time to be sure. He’s been inside your head. I just want to run a few more tests and to check-”
Kyuhyun’s eyes narrowed, he didn’t spare Ryeowook any of his anger as he said hatefully, “Is this because I don’t want to have sex with you?”
Ryeowook stood up quickly and denied, “No!”
“Are you sure? You yourself just said it was strange. It’s obviously been on your mind,” Kyuhyun reminded Ryeowook.
Ryeowook inhaled a deep breath and exhaled slowly, attempting to keep his calm. He got up from the bed and headed toward the door, avoiding his husband’s gaze and replied, “I have to go.”
“Are you sure? I mean, if you have five minutes? I am sure I could manage something. If it means getting to return to duty it just might get my passions stirring,” an agitated Kyuhyun told a retreating Ryeowook.
Ryeowook came to a sudden stop at the door, not turning around to face Kyuhyun. “I understand that you are angry. It’s probably the only normal thing going on right now, so if you need to be angry with me…that’s okay. I can handle it,” Ryeowook assured Kyuhyun as he quickly left their bedroom.
Kyuhyun winced as if Ryeowook had slapped him. “Ryeowook,” he called guiltily as he swiftly moved to bridge the distance between them. He caught up with Ryeowook before the other man could escape their quarters and wrapped his arms around the smaller man from behind, holding him in place. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m acting like this…if Jaejoong fixed me.”
Ryeowook turned quickly in Kyuhyun’s arms and reached up with a hand, cupping his husband’s cheek, “Jaejoong is not an expert on humanity. He doesn’t even know how to handle Yunho half the time. Changmin is a mystery to him. He is not the cure all. If he helped you then that is wonderful, but it’s you who has to do the healing…lashing out at people you love is completely understandable behavior for somebody who has experienced your level of trauma.”
“I do love you,” Kyuhyun vowed as he pulled Ryeowook into a hug.
“I know you do, and I love you,” Ryeowook assured Kyuhyun. “I’m not angry at you. I am in this with you for the long haul. For better or worse…remember?”
Kyuhyun pulled away and smiled down at his husband. “I remember.”
Ryeowook smiled back at him and took a step back toward the door. “I have to go…I can’t be late.”
“Be safe.”
“Always,” Ryeowook promised.
************************
“Garganchum? Really, that’s his real name?” Yunho mentally asked Jaejoong, who stood beside him. They were both looking up at the tall Warrior King, in his royal chambers inside the huge arena where the fight would take place. Sungmin, Ryeowook, and Junsu stood behind them.
“He isn’t as big as the Zusaders and there were five of them.”
“It is my great honor to respect your traditions and join you in combat today,” Yunho was telling the Warrior King. “Well, I had some help then,” Yunho reminded Jaejoong telepathically.
Jaejoong looked up at the Warrior King Garganchum, unimpressed. “He might be tall but look how bulky he is. I bet he’s slow.”
“He is the Warrior King for a reason. He wasn’t born the king, he earned it. Did you not read the reports? He had to fight his way to the top.”
“There is nothing wrong with being born into royalty. Some of us are just better than others, and this is so obvious it is known even before we are born.”
“Says the Royal Prince of Joong,” Yunho teased mentally as he exchanged bows with the Warrior King. “You know, a week ago I would have looked forward to kicking some ass,” Yunho told Jaejoong, telepathically thinking back on how frustrated his mate had made him.
“Poor Yunnie; I was so mean to you.”
“Did you just call me Yunnie?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t.”
“It’s cute.”
“Don’t, unless you want me to start calling you Jaejoongie.”
“Understood…Yunho”
“This is my woman, the Warrior Queen Reem,” the Warrior King declared as a short, masculine appearing woman stepped forward. “She will escort you to the royal seats where your women can watch our honorable fight.”
Sungmin quickly stepped forward to explain, “Your Highness, I must stand beside my captain.”
The Warrior King reached out and patted Sungmin on the head as if he were an adorable pet. “Such a strange little woman.”
“Lieutenant Sungmin is responsible for my safety,” Yunho explained.
The Warrior King looked at Yunho in disbelief. “You must be very weak to have this little one responsible for your safety.”
“You cannot always judge a person by their size,” Yunho said, pointing towards Sungmin. “He is very skilled in combat.”
The Warrior King looked doubtful, and could not keep his amusement out of his voice, and asked Yunho, “Will he claim vengeance when I defeat you?”
“No, if I am defeated then-”
Jaejoong stepped forward, interrupting Yunho, “If Yunho is defeated due to any unfairness by your actions or the actions of others…I will be the one claiming vengeance.”
The Warrior King flinched as he stared down at the small, blonde, beautiful Joong, whose crystal blue eyes pierced through his soul. “We are not a dishonorable people…we would not do such a thing,” the Warrior King nervously told the Joong, unable to maintain his bravado.
“You better not,” Jaejoong warned with a wicked smile.
Adventure Nine: Adventures in Baby Making Part 2 of 3
Author: Aquariuslover
Pairings: Yunjae, KyuWook, Various
Rating: R
Genre: Crossover, Science Fiction, Romance, Humor
Beta: tahoeturquoise
Summary: Yunho and Jaejoong are fully enjoying the third stage of shifting, when the captain’s presence is required. Ryeowook and Kyuhyun are at odds. Kangin, Eunhyuk, Siwon, and Sungmin find themselves in a smelly situation. Changmin has a most unusual encounter. A battle ensues, and the outcome surprises all.
Prior Adventures
Yunho suddenly appeared in the middle of sickbay and called out, “Doctor, I need your immediate attention.”
“Captain, what are you doing out of your room?” Ryeowook asked as he stepped out of his office to speak to the captain. “Has Changmin been conceived yet?”
“No,” Yunho answered as he headed toward an exam bed. “But I need you to do whatever you have to do to get me thinking like the captain of this ship, and not like some sex obsessed animal.”
Ryeowook followed after the captain. “The pheromones?”
Yunho lay down on the exam bed, and the sensors immediately gave Ryeowook a full reading on the captain’s condition. “I know he warned us, but they are overwhelming. I can’t think about anything else. They are too powerful.”
“I suspected as much, and that’s why the filtration system on your quarters is set at maximum,” Dr. Cho informed the captain as he studied the readings.
“Well, it didn’t help me any.”
“No, but it kept the ship from becoming a sex crazed mess,” Ryeowook told him as he reached for a hypospray. “You were in their direct path, and being telepathically bonded to a shifting Joong did not help matters.”
Yunho sat up quickly and asked, “What would happen if we had sex outside of our quarters?”
“You didn’t, did you?” Ryeowook asked, alarmed.
“No.”
“The ship’s filtrations systems would start working immediately, but I wouldn’t want any of the crew in the nearby vicinity of those pheromones,” Ryeowook told Yunho as he injected him with the hypospray. “They would be just as overwhelmed as you, if not more so, and they would not have a bondmate to focus their attention on.”
“I don’t know, that sounds like a fun time to me,” Commander Yoochun replied as he entered the room.
“Yoochun!” Yunho said with relief as he jumped off the exam bed. “I want a full report, now.”
Ryeowook smiled and asked, “May I assume the injection worked?”
Yunho turned, looked down at Ryeowook thankfully and told him, “I don’t even want to know what it was, but yes, it worked. Thank you, Doctor.”
“Worked?” Yoochun asked.
Ryeowook answered, “The captain is no longer under the influence of pheromones.”
“No,” Yunho said with a huge smile. “I’m back to my old self.”
“Captain, the injection will be rendered useless if you expose yourself again. There isn’t anything I can do to you that Jaejoong can’t undo. He had me remove your infertility implant with ease. I didn’t even know I was doing it until it was already done. Also, you are bonded to a highly aroused Joong…the shot can only do so much. You are not immune to his feelings,” RyeoWook warned.
“Well, right now his pater…maternal feelings are ruling supreme and he is focused on Changmin, so I am safe for the moment,” Yunho told the doctor. He then turned to Yoochun. “I want to know everything that has been happening on my ship for the past five days.”
Yoochun grinned and happily started explaining the situation to the captain, “Well, right now we are orbiting the planet Valmont. We heard the people of this planet trade directly with the Warlord Hangeng, and they apparently have information on Lieutenant SooYoung’s whereabouts. Unfortunately, they are a primitive warrior race that likes to fling shit on visitors…and they insist on only talking to you.”
Yunho’s smile faded. “Great.”
*************************
“Well, how does it taste?” Jaejoong asked, beaming down at his son, who had a look of divine bliss on his face.
“Oh…oh….good,” Changmin said with his mouth full of hot crab fondue. In front of Changmin sat multiple dishes, all consisting of crab; crab casserole, crab dips, golden crab puffs, crab stuffed mushrooms, boiled crab soaked in butter, and crab fettuccini.
Sulli, who was sitting beside Changmin, laughed as she told Jaejoong, “It’s very delicious.”
“Thank you, Sulli,” Jaejoong said as he headed back to his stove to check on something else that was still cooking. Hunting his son down had proved difficult due to Changmin wearing the necklace in order to hide from what he considered his overly affectionate parent. Changmin had been smart enough to not let anybody else know where he was hiding. In the end Jaejoong had enlisted the help of the ship’s computer to find his son. Once he had found Changmin and explained that he had prepared him a large meal, Changmin had followed him back to his quarters without hesitation.
Jaejoong had also invited Sulli to eat, much to Changmin’s irritation, but Jaejoong couldn’t resist. He was very curious about the girl. Jaejoong adjusted the heat on the stove, walked back to the table, and stood beside his son. He looked down at the girl. “Sulli, your mental shielding is very complex for a human.”
“Can you not read my mind?” Sulli asked, looking up at Jaejoong; surprised by his admission.
Jaejoong laughed at the thought. “No, I just meant your surface thoughts are undistinguishable. I do have to put a little effort into reading them. Most humans just broadcast their surface thoughts, and I have to actually close my mind to them. Of all the humans on this ship, well, with exception of my beloved, your thoughts are the hardest to read. The easiest thought in your head to read is…” Jaejoong paused, smiled and delightedly said, “Is how pretty you think I am.”
Sulli beamed up at Jaejoong. “You are very beautiful in any form, but your Joong form is exquisite.”
Jaejoong bent down and whispered in Changmin’s ear, “I like her.”
Changmin groaned, dreading what Jaejoong might have planned for the future and asked, “What about my surface thoughts? I thought you said my mind-”
“Darling, you are half Joong, you don’t count as a human any longer.”
Changmin pondered Jaejoong’s words, trying to decide if he was pleased or displeased. He eventually decided he didn’t care, and stuffed more food in his mouth.
Sulli put down her silverware and focused on Jaejoong. “I am not surprised that I am difficult to read. On my father’s side of the family I have many relatives that are psi null, including my father and my cousin SooYoung.”
“Psi null?” Jaejoong asked.
“An incorrect, but widely accepted term used to describe humans who are born with mental shields that block any kind of telepathy or empathy,” Changmin answered before stuffing a piece of buttered crab in his mouth.
Jaejoong’s eyes widened, intrigued, and asked, “Who determines they are psi null?”
“Our medical science; and often members of the telepathic races of our galaxy would mention this to my father as well,” Sulli explained. “The Betazoid Ambassador often said that being around my father was very refreshing.”
“Betazoids? Aren’t they one of the telepathic races of your galaxy?” Jaejoong questioned.
“Yes,” Sulli answered.
“There are also a few people in this galaxy that are…what you call psi null. It is usually the side effect of some kind of head trauma, I don’t know if I have ever heard of somebody being born psi null in this galaxy. Some Joongs find these people enjoyable to be around, but I would much rather know what somebody is up to,” Jaejoong explained, looking perplexed.
Sulli noticed the look of confusion on Jaejoong’s face and asked, “Is something wrong, Jaejoong?”
“This SooYoung, your cousin; you said she was psi null?” Jaejoong questioned.
“Yes,” Sulli confirmed.
“Sometime in the future I will hand a very young Changmin over to her…she takes Changmin back in time to Earth,” Jaejoong said with obvious disbelief. “I can’t imagine trusting somebody whose mind I can’t read, enough to hand my baby over to them.”
Changmin swallowed his mouth full of food and responded, “At the time you are not in the best physical condition, and perhaps because she is unreadable is the reason you chose her to deliver me to my grandparents and Yunho.”
Jaejoong headed back to the stove. “True, if I can’t read her then nobody else could.”
“Or maybe she won’t be psi null to you?” Sulli offered.
“True,” Changmin replied as he eyed his food longingly. “Your telepathic abilities are superior to those of the Vulcans and Betazoids. She may be open to you.”
Jaejoong picked up a spoon and started stirring a pot of food. “That must be the reason, or perhaps it’s because the future is already known to me. I will know she succeeds in her mission.”
“What else are you making us to eat?” Changmin asked as he turned his attention to Jaejoong at the stove.
“Oh, this isn’t for you. This is for your father. He hasn’t eaten in five days, and he’s starting to feel it.”
“Five days,” Sulli repeated, concerned.
Changmin frowned. “Why can’t I have any?”
Sulli kicked Changmin from underneath the table. “Changmin, the captain hasn’t eaten in five days.”
“Oh, well…I am sure he is fine,” Changmin insisted after giving Sulli a hurt look.
“He’s perfectly fine, the bond was sustaining him,” Jaejoong explained as he started spooning out the food onto a plate.
“It smells good? What is it?” Changmin questioned, his focus back on the forbidden food. “Perhaps, I should taste test it first?”
Jaejoong smiled and answered, “Nice try, but I don’t think so. This is a special surprise for your father.”
************************
“We inadvertently insulted them with our very presence. The leaders of this world…will only speak directly to other leaders that they consider their equals,” Sungmin explained.
Ensign Kangin, who was still fuming from having feces thrown on him declared, “I was ready to pull out my phaser and show those primitive, thick necked assholes just how unequal we really were.”
Commander Yoochun leaned into his old friend and whispered, “This is why you are still an ensign.”
“I would like to see how you would handle getting shit thrown all over you,” Kangin spat back at Yoochun.
Yoochun leaned back in his chair unable to stop grinning. “Hey, if later there was an accidental discharge of photon torpedoes that wiped out parts of the planet, that wouldn’t be my fault.”
Siwon, who sat at the conference table with Kangin, Dr. Cho, Sungmin, Yoochun, and the captain, calmly stated, “I realize it was not a pleasant experience for any of us, but it was preferable to a fight to the death. This way their honor was restored…”
Siwon paused as the people at the table turned to look at the captain, whose stomach had let out a loud growl.
“Captain, when was the last time you ate?” Dr. Cho asked concerned.
Yunho opened his mouth, and then closed it, pausing to think before he answered, “I actually have no memory of eating…in days.”
“It must be terrible to be so absorbed in mind blowing sex that you forget to eat. I really feel sorry for you,” Commander Yoochun said with fake sympathy. “Would you like to break for some milk and cookies?”
“That won’t be necessary,” Jaejoong replied as he breezed into the room in all his Joong splendor carrying a big plate of food.
Yunho immediately turned toward Jaejoong, pointing at him. “No, no, no! You need to get out of here. I am thinking. I need to stay thinking.”
Jaejoong sat the plate of food on the table in front of Yunho and took the hand that was pointing at him in both of his. “I am on my best behavior right now. All my pheromones are firmly under tight control.”
“You promise?”
“I promise,” Jaejoong assured Yunho as he sat down in the chair beside Yunho that would normally have been taken by Commander Cho.
Yoochun snorted and pointed to Yunho’s plate. “Why, that’s an interesting array of food you have there, Captain.” Yunho’s plate of food consisted of foods known throughout their galaxy for increasing male potency.
Yunho turned and glared at Yoochun, and then turned to Siwon and asked, “Siwon, would you please continue.”
“I was saying the Warrior King had his honor restored by that most unfortunate act. The Warrior King has ordered that the away team with the exception of Lieutenant Sungmin be exiled from the planet forever, but he will talk with you directly about SooYoung’s whereabouts.”
Yunho turned to Sungmin and asked, “Why are you allowed back?”
Sungmin blushed and Kangin happily answered, “He thought Sungmin was cute…a cute, little woman.”
“It seems that one’s genitalia is not the only deciding factor on determining one’s gender on the planet. Height plays an important role in establishing one’s femininity or masculinity as they reach adulthood,” Siwon further explained.
“So the Warlord Hangeng deals directly with this Warrior King?” Yunho asked as he watched Jaejoong glaring at Yoochun who was just smiling back at the Joong. “Jaejoong, why are you looking at Yoochun like that?”
“The bastard is staring at my…he finds my lack of…he finds my breasts very disappointing. I swear if he wasn’t your oldest friend I’d fry that bastard’s brains for dinner!”
Yunho squeezed his eyes shut and prayed for patience. “Why do you care what he thinks?”
“I don’t…it’s just...I will block him out now.”
“It appears so, Sir. This is the most powerful tribe on the planet and it controls the majority of the mines,” Sungmin explained. “These mines are rich in minerals that the Warlord Hangeng and others of this galaxy greatly prize.”
“Then, I will just go talk to him,” Yunho told them, refocusing on the important matter at hand.
Siwon sighed and explained further, “Although the insult we gave him was corrected, he will not hand over the information freely.”
“You have to fight him for it,” Kangin just blurted out, getting straight to the point.
“Fight him?” Yunho questioned.
“Yes, they are insisting on man to man combat. The people of Valmont respect the Warlord Hangeng as a great warrior, and for them to give up their information…what they consider a betrayal of him, you will have to prove yourself a superior warrior,” Siwon explained.
“How exciting!” Jaejoong exclaimed, rubbing his hands together. “Nothing better than some sweaty man on man action!”
Ryeowook, who was sitting next to Jaejoong, turned to face him and asked full of surprise, “You want Yunho to fight?”
“Unlike you, who will not let poor Kyuhyun resume his duties, I think it’s good for a man to prove himself physically. And what better way than some masculine combat. I can’t wait to watch,” Jaejoong said with a big smile and turned to Yunho, and added mentally, “Darling, your body is in need of nutrients. If you were a young child…or a precious infant, you could just live off the bond, but alas I’m without the babe I crave. You have to eat. You can eat of your own free will or I can force feed you in front of your officers. You decide on how you want to eat…because you are going to eat.”
Yunho picked up a piece of food and tossed in his mouth. He knew that Jaejoong wasn’t kidding.
Ryeowook turned to Siwon. “What kind of fight would it be? Would it be to the death?”
“It depends on the victor,” Siwon explained. “The fight will consist of three rounds, and there is a panel made up of elders that will determine the winner of each round. After the three rounds have been completed, then the panel will ask the victor if he chooses to be lethal or merciful.”
“What would you do if Yunho lost and the Warrior King decided to kill him?” Ryeowook demanded of Jaejoong.
“Pleeeaaaasssse!” Jaejoong sneered, showing just how ridiculous he found that idea. “If anybody tried to kill my Yunho they would be dead before they could complete the thought. He might get some injuries fighting, but nothing I can’t heal. The combat would be worth some scrapes and bruises…it would be invigorating!”
“Why can’t we just send Jaejoong down to the planet? He can get whatever information we require from the Warrior King’s mind and they would be none the wiser,” Yoochun suggested.
“That’s totally unethical,” Jaejoong quickly responded. “Yunho isn’t that kind of leader, and that isn’t the reputation he wants.”
“If they don’t remember…then what does it matter?” Sungmin questioned. “How do we know Hangeng didn’t just have his mate convince the Warrior King that he had beaten him in a fair fight? Hangeng is bonded to a Joong also.”
“Just because they are cheaters doesn’t mean we are,” Jaejoong answered. “I simply won’t do it. I am a royal prince of Joong. I have high ethical standards, even if you lowly humans don’t.”
Yunho resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his mate, knowing Jaejoong’s ethics were highly dependent on the situation. “So, let me guess. You think fighting for my life will increase my sperm count?”
“It couldn’t hurt! It would get all your manly juices flowing! Plus, just the thought of you all covered in sweat, and fighting…you have to be shirtless. Fighting shirtless…it is a must!”
“Cool down. If you think fighting is so sexy, you should fight him yourself.”
“I’m much too pretty to fight!”
“You are starting to sound like Heechul!”
“Except, unlike him, I really am too pretty to fight.”
“So, you really want me to fight?”
Jaejoong licked his lips. “I can almost taste it.”
“Taste what? The blood from all the gaping wounds he might inflict on me?”
“That’s not funny, Yunho! I would never allow you to be seriously injured. You are not afraid, are you?”
“No!”
“Good! I might be spectacularly beautiful, but if somebody messes with my man, I will slaughter them where they stand, so you have nothing to fear.”
“The reason I am not afraid is not because of you. I am confident in my own fighting abilities,” Yunho told Jaejoong mentally and then told his officers. “At 1500 hours we will beam down to the planet. Sungmin, you arrange the away team. I will fight the Warrior King for the information. We all know what kind of person Hangeng sold Sulli to, and I can’t in good conscience let any opportunity for rescuing SooYoung slip past us,” Yunho explained standing up. “You all are dismissed.”
“I cooked that especially for you, and you are going to eat all of it,” Jaejoong told Yunho as the crew members exited the room.
Yunho picked up his fork and pointed to a round purple glob on the plate that Jaejoong was eyeing. “Do you know what this is?”
“I cooked it, so of course I know what it is.”
Yunho folded his arms ignoring his growling stomach. “I’m not eating the scrotum of a Bals Bear Wombat.”
“All the ingredients had to be synthesized, Yunho. It isn’t like there are Bals Bear Wombats running freely on the ship,” Jaejoong explained, but then frowned as he considered something. “This probably cuts down on its potency, come to think of it.”
Ryeowook, who had not gotten up and left with the others, pointed out, “There is nothing wrong with Yunho. He’s plenty fertile. The difficulty most likely lies in the fact that you are a Joong and he’s human.”
“Yeah! Listen to my doctor,” Yunho said proudly. “There is nothing wrong with me.”
Jaejoong grunted and turned to Ryeowook. “We already know Yunho and I are compatible…duh, have you met Changmin? You are just being huffy with me.”
“You are huffy, Doctor?” Yunho asked Ryeowook, while still eyeing the purple blob on his plate apprehensively.
“No,” Ryeowook lied.
“He is mad because I made that remark about him not letting Kyuhyun resume his duties,” Jaejoong corrected. “Kyuhyun has been giving him hell for his mothering hen tendencies, too.”
“I also have not let Changmin or Shindong resume their duties,” Ryeowook reminded the Joong.
“My son is absolutely perfect, not to mention brilliant,” Jaejoong pointed out proudly.
“Changmin may be brilliant but he’s had a lot to adapt to in a short amount of time, not to mention his headaches,” Ryeowook reminded Jaejoong.
“Changmin has headaches?” Yunho asked, instantly worried. He remembered hearing something earlier about Changmin having headaches, but his mind had still been clouded by the effects of the pheromones at that time.
“It’s just an unfortunate side effect of being empathic, one he needs to adapt to,” Jaejoong explained as he took Yunho’s fork and stabbed the Bals Bear Wombat’s scrotum and held it up to Yunho’s mouth. Yunho clamped his mouth shut, and glared at his mate.
“Exactly, and it takes time to adapt. Just like Kyuhyun and Shindong need time to adapt to what happened to them. It takes time to recover from that kind of torture,” Ryeowook explained, trying his best to pretend the mated pair were acting normally.
Jaejoong dropped the fork, paled, gulped guiltily, squeezed his eyes shut and blurted out, “In the interest of honesty…since you two are my favorite humans…ummm…Kyuhyun might not need as long to recover as you think.”
“What did you do?” RyeoWook stood up and demanded. Something about Kyuhyun’s recovery had been strangely off for days now.
Jaejoong opened his eyes, looked up at Ryeowook and confessed, “I helped someone that underwent hours of torture for the sake of my son. He knows what happened to him…I just diluted the terribleness of it. I can’t heal him, but I can manipulate his memories in a way that will decrease their awfulness. He has wonderful coping mechanisms already, but why should he have to waste them for the likes of that bastard ZhouMi. I just did what any good hearted telepath would do.”
“Jaejoong…” Ryeowook began.
“I won’t undo it,” Jaejoong informed him, as he turned to Yunho and asked mentally, “What are you thinking? I am not feeling waves of disappointment or anger emanating off of you.”
“Changmin knows what you did?” Yunho asked aloud, already knowing the answer before he asked.
Jaejoong nodded his head and answered aloud, “Changmin knows and he was grateful that I spared Kyuhyun more pain.”
Ryeowook sat back down at the table feeling terribly torn. “What you did is ethically wrong…but…but…”
“Do you want him to suffer?” Jaejoong asked Ryeowook.
“Of course I don’t! I just…I know how I should feel as a doctor, but that is directly in conflict with how I feel as somebody who loves him. He has suffered enough, but as his husband I can’t say that I’m unhappy.”
“I just wanted to help him…he did this to spare Changmin,” Jaejoong explained, looking back and forth from Ryeowook to Yunho. “If what had happened to Kyuhyun happened to Changmin…”
“He would not have recovered,” Yunho finished.
“He would have withdrawn so deeply inside himself that even I would not have been able to coax him out. Changmin would have been lost to us, either in death, or in his own mental hell. Kyuhyun saved Changmin. I couldn’t let him suffer…when I could help. I did what time would have eventually done over a period of years.”
RyeoWook shook his head, remembering how frustrated Kyuhyun had been. “This explains some of his insistence that he is fine.”
Jaejoong smiled when he realized that neither of the two humans were angry at him. “I did a good thing.”
“You did,” Ryeowook agreed.
Yunho, who had taken in both Ryeowook’s and Jaejoong’s words, told them, “He has to know, though. He has a right to know.”
Ryeowook nodded his head. “I will tell him.”
A very pleased Jaejoong told Ryeowook, “Good, you go find him. Yunho has things he needs to eat.”
“I am not eating this. I think I will go to the mess hall and get a sandwich,” Yunho informed his mate.
Ryeowook laughed at the look of outrage on Jaejoong’s face as he exited the room on his way to find Kyuhyun. The last words he heard before the doors shut behind him were an highly insulted Jaejoong screaming, “I slaved over a hot stove for you and this is the thanks I-”
************************
“Why didn’t you answer me?” Ryeowook asked as he walked into the bedroom of his and Kyuhyun’s quarters.
Kyuhyun, who was laid out on the bed staring up at the ceiling, answered, “I didn’t want to talk to you.”
Ryeowook walked up to the bed and sighed, “Don’t be like this.”
“I want to be like this.”
“Sulky?”
“Yes, I want to sulk.”
Ryeowook sat down on the bed. “You are bored.”
“Very bored.”
“Boredom has never suited you. You always got yourself into trouble at the academy when you got bored,” Ryeowook told his husband as he looked down at him lovingly.
“I don’t remember getting into trouble at the academy. I just remember having lots and lots of sex.”
“Boredom isn’t the reason you had lots and lots of sex at the academy, and we both know it.”
Kyuhyun brought up his hands and covered his face, groaning. “Can we not talk about that? Can you try not psychoanalyzing me for once? I promise you sex of any kind is the farthest thing from my mind.”
Ryeowook frowned. “Really? Not even with me?”
Kyuhyun uncovered his face and looked up at Ryeowook, startled by the question; also noticing that his husband sounded disappointed. “No, not even with you.”
“And you mean that? You aren’t just saying it because your crafty mind thinks that I will see it as some sign of you not coping with what happened to you?”
“No, we’ve shared a bed since I returned to the ship. If I was attracted to you, I wouldn’t have been able to hide it…not from you,” Kyuhyun said, sitting up, and studying his husband. “You sure haven’t been able to hide it from me.”
Ryeowook blushed.
“You didn’t just blush?”
“Don’t.”
“Your embarrassment is ridiculous; we are married. I’m the traumatized one, not you. I mean, how long as it been for you now? It’s been almost two years…well, unless you were doing something else on that planet besides running from bears.”
“You know I wasn’t.”
“I do know.”
“I just find it strange,” Ryeowook said, studying Kyuhyun intently.
“What? That I believe you didn’t hook up with Kangin or Siwon while stranded on that planet? Well, you see I am the trusting type, unlike-”
“I had reason not to trust you,” Ryeowook interrupted to remind Kyuhyun.
“No, you didn’t,” Kyuhyun told him firmly. “I thought you were dead, so I wasn’t betraying you.”
“I don’t have time for this old argument; we are never going to agree. There is something I have to tell you,” Ryeowook informed Kyuhyun.
“Do I want to know?”
“Probably not, but you have a right to know. I am not sure how you are going to take it. I was surprised by my own reaction when I found out. It’s a little unsettling.”
Kyuhyun scooted closer to Ryeowook until they were sitting side by side on the bed. “Just tell me.”
“I am not sure when, but Jaejoong manipulated your memories from the time you spent with that bastard…he diluted the awfulness of them,” Ryeowook explained as he reached over and squeezed Kyuhyun’s knee. “He just confessed all to me and the captain. The captain said you had to know.”
Kyuhyun’s eyes widened. “He did? What…but I remember it…diluted the awfulness of it? Do you mean it was worse than what I remember?”
“No, I don’t think so. He said he did what time would normally have done over a period of years…he didn’t take your memories. He made it clear that he can’t heal you, but he could dilute the memories, so they aren’t as vivid in your mind,” Ryeowook explained. “He saw it as some sort of debt he had to repay.”
Kyuhyun reached down and covered Ryeowook’s hand that was resting on his knee with his own. “I don’t even know what to say-I mean, it felt different, but I thought maybe it was because I was older. I thought age just made me handle it differently.”
Ryeowook turned to face his husband and apologized, “I’m sorry. You kept insisting you were fine…all the tests agreed with what you were saying, but I didn’t believe it could be true.”
Kyuhyun, who was still in a daze, ignored Ryeowook’s apology and asked, “What should I do? I mean, is this okay? He’s been in my mind.”
“I don’t know how to feel either. I mean, is it really wrong for a telepath to…to do what he did? Our beliefs are not the same as other species. I mean, it isn’t the first time that telepathy has been used in other species to treat trauma,” Ryeowook reasoned. “The Federation mostly frowns on it because it can quickly turn into a slippery slope.”
“This is not Cassion 5, where the telepaths of that planet mentally brainwashed anybody who disagreed with their political policies. I don’t see Jaejoong going around and mentally manipulating everybody who disagrees with him. I mean, he could have done that from the beginning, but he didn’t. He kept his connection to Changmin a secret, but I really think in the end he did fear the consequences of us knowing.”
Ryeowook nodded his head. “I know he did.”
Kyuhyun turned and met Ryeowook’s gaze. “Does Changmin know?”
“Apparently Changmin gave his blessing.”
Kyuhyun looked doubtful and stated, “Changmin isn’t exactly himself.”
“No.”
“I would be really stupid to reject this gift, wouldn’t I?”
“I think so, but it’s up to you. You can feel about this any way you want to feel. It’s your mind. I think enough choices have been taken away from you. Whatever you decide, I will support you.”
“I think…I am going to take it as a blessing then.”
“Then I will too.”
Kyuhyun nodded his head in an agreement. “So, I can resume my duties?”
Ryeowook winced, knowing his answer was not going to be embraced by his husband. “I have to beam down to Valmont with the away team. When I get back…we will discuss this further.”
Kyuhyun stood up and demanded, “What is there to discuss? You know now that Jaejoong has progressed my healing by years. I’m ready to resume my duties. You need to reinstate me.”
“I need a little more time to be sure. He’s been inside your head. I just want to run a few more tests and to check-”
Kyuhyun’s eyes narrowed, he didn’t spare Ryeowook any of his anger as he said hatefully, “Is this because I don’t want to have sex with you?”
Ryeowook stood up quickly and denied, “No!”
“Are you sure? You yourself just said it was strange. It’s obviously been on your mind,” Kyuhyun reminded Ryeowook.
Ryeowook inhaled a deep breath and exhaled slowly, attempting to keep his calm. He got up from the bed and headed toward the door, avoiding his husband’s gaze and replied, “I have to go.”
“Are you sure? I mean, if you have five minutes? I am sure I could manage something. If it means getting to return to duty it just might get my passions stirring,” an agitated Kyuhyun told a retreating Ryeowook.
Ryeowook came to a sudden stop at the door, not turning around to face Kyuhyun. “I understand that you are angry. It’s probably the only normal thing going on right now, so if you need to be angry with me…that’s okay. I can handle it,” Ryeowook assured Kyuhyun as he quickly left their bedroom.
Kyuhyun winced as if Ryeowook had slapped him. “Ryeowook,” he called guiltily as he swiftly moved to bridge the distance between them. He caught up with Ryeowook before the other man could escape their quarters and wrapped his arms around the smaller man from behind, holding him in place. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m acting like this…if Jaejoong fixed me.”
Ryeowook turned quickly in Kyuhyun’s arms and reached up with a hand, cupping his husband’s cheek, “Jaejoong is not an expert on humanity. He doesn’t even know how to handle Yunho half the time. Changmin is a mystery to him. He is not the cure all. If he helped you then that is wonderful, but it’s you who has to do the healing…lashing out at people you love is completely understandable behavior for somebody who has experienced your level of trauma.”
“I do love you,” Kyuhyun vowed as he pulled Ryeowook into a hug.
“I know you do, and I love you,” Ryeowook assured Kyuhyun. “I’m not angry at you. I am in this with you for the long haul. For better or worse…remember?”
Kyuhyun pulled away and smiled down at his husband. “I remember.”
Ryeowook smiled back at him and took a step back toward the door. “I have to go…I can’t be late.”
“Be safe.”
“Always,” Ryeowook promised.
************************
“Garganchum? Really, that’s his real name?” Yunho mentally asked Jaejoong, who stood beside him. They were both looking up at the tall Warrior King, in his royal chambers inside the huge arena where the fight would take place. Sungmin, Ryeowook, and Junsu stood behind them.
“He isn’t as big as the Zusaders and there were five of them.”
“It is my great honor to respect your traditions and join you in combat today,” Yunho was telling the Warrior King. “Well, I had some help then,” Yunho reminded Jaejoong telepathically.
Jaejoong looked up at the Warrior King Garganchum, unimpressed. “He might be tall but look how bulky he is. I bet he’s slow.”
“He is the Warrior King for a reason. He wasn’t born the king, he earned it. Did you not read the reports? He had to fight his way to the top.”
“There is nothing wrong with being born into royalty. Some of us are just better than others, and this is so obvious it is known even before we are born.”
“Says the Royal Prince of Joong,” Yunho teased mentally as he exchanged bows with the Warrior King. “You know, a week ago I would have looked forward to kicking some ass,” Yunho told Jaejoong, telepathically thinking back on how frustrated his mate had made him.
“Poor Yunnie; I was so mean to you.”
“Did you just call me Yunnie?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t.”
“It’s cute.”
“Don’t, unless you want me to start calling you Jaejoongie.”
“Understood…Yunho”
“This is my woman, the Warrior Queen Reem,” the Warrior King declared as a short, masculine appearing woman stepped forward. “She will escort you to the royal seats where your women can watch our honorable fight.”
Sungmin quickly stepped forward to explain, “Your Highness, I must stand beside my captain.”
The Warrior King reached out and patted Sungmin on the head as if he were an adorable pet. “Such a strange little woman.”
“Lieutenant Sungmin is responsible for my safety,” Yunho explained.
The Warrior King looked at Yunho in disbelief. “You must be very weak to have this little one responsible for your safety.”
“You cannot always judge a person by their size,” Yunho said, pointing towards Sungmin. “He is very skilled in combat.”
The Warrior King looked doubtful, and could not keep his amusement out of his voice, and asked Yunho, “Will he claim vengeance when I defeat you?”
“No, if I am defeated then-”
Jaejoong stepped forward, interrupting Yunho, “If Yunho is defeated due to any unfairness by your actions or the actions of others…I will be the one claiming vengeance.”
The Warrior King flinched as he stared down at the small, blonde, beautiful Joong, whose crystal blue eyes pierced through his soul. “We are not a dishonorable people…we would not do such a thing,” the Warrior King nervously told the Joong, unable to maintain his bravado.
“You better not,” Jaejoong warned with a wicked smile.