fic: The Long Exile {Chapter 8/?}
Title: The Long Exile
Length: Chaptered, Chapter 8/?
Author: M_K Yujji
Rating: PG-13, likely to go up eventually
Genre: Drama/Angst/Fantasy
Disclaimer: Though real people are used as characters, this fic bears no resemblance to Real Life and these people are not owned by me.
Notes: Inspired by the Tri-Angle PV. Though there will be a loose resemblance to various mythical/religious figures and places, it's not really intentional.
As always, the 'ie' is a cutsey shortening, not an intended honorific, though I suppose it fits as either here. The only real purpose for using any honorifics at all in this fic is to separate the AU side of the story from the more reality-based side. Also, to separate the paralleling differences between the characters.
Previous
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7
Summary:When the line between reality and dreaming begins to blur...
~*~*~*~
“You're upset.”
The changeling scowled at nothing in particular, refusing to look at the prince. “Why would I be upset? It's not like I caught you kissing one of those skinny little...little... bitches. Oh wait!” His glare turned on the other briefly before swinging back to the wall. “I did!”
Yunho sighed. “JaeJae... You're overreacting.”
Jealous hurt welled high under the rage, but Jaejoong did his best to ignore it. His pride had already taken a beating. No sense in shredding what little remained. “Well excuse me if it upsets me to see the only friend I've ever had all over one of the low born whores who has spent her entire life trying to make me miserable.”
“JaeJae...” Tentative hands settled on his shoulders, but he shrugged them off. “You were only there for a second. The exact wrong second, really...”
“Wrong for you since it meant you got caught.”
“No.” This time Yunho wouldn't allow Jaejoong to shake him. Gentle, but insistent, Yunho turned him around and forced his chin up so that their eyes met. “A second earlier, and you would have seen that she caught me by surprise and kissed me.” Jaejoong tried to interrupt, but Yunho pressed a soft hand over his mouth. “A second later and you would have seen me telling her that I wasn't interested.”
Nebulous and shaky, hope began to soothe away the hurt as he pulled the hand away from his mouth. “Why not?”
Warm breath tickled his upper lip as Yunho leaned closer. “Because my heart and interest have never been my own to freely give to anyone.”
He could have played coy, but the patience to do so had never been his forte. “Me?”
The kiss was as sweet as anything he'd ever allowed himself to imagine.
“Who else, Jae-mine?”
~*~*~
“Is it just me or are the mirrors all dirty?” Jaejoong sighed and gave the offending surface another swipe with his rag. The hazy, cloudy film simply would not go away no matter how many times he tried to clean it or how many different cleaners he used.
Junsu smirked at him. “How would anyone else know, hyung? No one else spends any time in front of them but you.”
“I think they're okay,” Yunho chimed in from the sofa as he threw a wad of paper at Junsu's head.
Rolling his eyes, Junsu batted the paper away and grabbed a pillow.
Jaejoong just laughed at the ensuing antics and shook his head before turning his attention back to his task. It just wasn't working though. It seemed like everything in the apartment was determined to make life difficult.
He stepped back quickly as the pair stumbled past him, fully embroiled in their impromptu pillow fight and gave up with a mental note to see if AVEX would send them a maintenance man.
How could anyone expect an apartment full of pop stars to live with foggy mirrors?
~*~*~
It was a rare thing for ‘taking a day off’ to actually mean there would be no work at all, so no one was surprised when their day out at a carnival involved having three cameramen following them around and security trailing with sharp eyes to keep overzealous fans from getting into the filming.
Since they’d been given instructions to ‘act natural’, the five agreed to completely ignore their entourage and have fun.
Used to following Japanese pop stars around, ones who were well indoctrinated in being mindful of the audience even when there was no audience, the poor harried cameramen were left scrambling after them.
Perhaps it was a little perverse of him, but Jaejoong took a great deal of pleasure in seeing how many times he could lose the men who’d been assigned to keep up with him. It was the most genuine fun he’d had in ages and even the half-hearted scolding Yunho gave him when their own paths crossed sometime in the afternoon didn’t put a dent in his mood - something helped, no doubt, by the fact that he’d seen the smile Yunho had struggled to hide during his lecture on kindness and responsibility to their elders.
Changmin and Yunho were hanging out together, moving sedately enough that their cameraman had no difficulty in following them. Their reputation as the ‘boring’ pair was their own fault, after all. Their sense of duty and responsibility kept them from causing trouble more often than not.
Jaejoong wasn’t entirely sure where Junsu and Yoochun had vanished to, though he suspected that Yoochun was once again having fun at his favorite ‘duckbutt’s expense. He grinned, imagining Yoochun dragging a protesting Junsu into some kind of kissing tunnel or fun house. The more Junsu put up a fuss about having to do YooSu fan service - or any kind of fan service between himself and the other members, really - the more determined Yoochun was to make him suffer through it.
Chuckling, Jaejoong ducked behind a game stand and wove his way towards the ice cream seller he’d spotted earlier. Everyone knew Yoochun only did it for the reaction he got from their resident uptight Christian, but Junsu couldn’t seem to ignore the prodding long enough for Yoochun to get bored of the game.
“Can I help you?”
Starting, Jaejoong grinned sheepishly as the girl at the small stand looked at him strangely. “Sorry. Umm... Two scoops of vanilla on a cone, please?”
As she turned to fill his order, Jaejoong looked away, trying to see if his cameraman or security had caught up yet. His grin widened briefly. He must have done a better job of losing them than he’d thought.
There weren’t even that many people in this little corner of the carnival, so he’d be easy enough to spot when they finally figured out which way to go.
“1400yen, sir.”
Jaejoong barely paid her any mind as he handed over the money, his mind already focusing on the sweet, cool treat. Perhaps he should get more than one? Surely Yunho and Changmin would want one...
“Eat up, Youngwoong Jaejoong...”
“Huh?”
Her eyes glowed lightly and her face seemed to shimmer for a moment as she grabbed his arm. He stared at her, snared by the sinister familiarity, the sudden sense of deja vu.
“Eat your ice cream.”
Somewhere in his mind, a thousand alarm bells were going off, screaming at him, insisting that the last thing he wanted to do was eat anything this girl, this... thing had given him, but somehow he was helpless against her command.
“That’s right.... Eat up, little Youngwoong... It’s time to come home....”
Against his will, he raised the ice cream to his mouth and took a big bite. He hissed, tears sliding down his face as the cold bite hit his teeth, but choked down a second bite before the first had managed to go far down his throat. Too cold, too fast, and his head hurt so fiercely. “Please-“
“Jaejoong?! What the- Get away from him!”
Yunho’s voice sounded so very far away as more of the ice cream disappeared.
The girl scowled somewhere past his shoulder and pushed him away. “Annoying, little-“
She took off at a run, but Jaejoong took no real notice of her anymore. Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, he collapsed to the ground unable to hold himself up. Fire seemed to lance it’s way through his body in sharp contrast to the icy fingers creeping through his head. Everything hurt.
Time seemed to slow down to a crawl, each agonizing beat of his heart spaced further and further apart.
Even when hands pulled him close to solid warmth, he felt like he was being dragged further and further under.
“Joongie... Come on, stay with us. Fuck... Changmin how long til the ambulance gets here?”
There were others around him, he could sense it, but only Yunho seemed to make any sense at all.
Firm hands and gentle fingers held his face, forcing him to look squarely into worried brown eyes. “You have to fight this, Boo... You have to stay. You want to stay with us, right? With me?”
It seemed to take every ounce of willpower and strength he had to flop his head in some approximation of a nod and his voice was a pale rasp of its usual full sounds, but Yunho smiled at him. “Then fight, Joongie. Fight with everything you have. You can do it.” He pulled Jaejoong against his chest and spread his hand over the fluttering thread of Jaejoong’s heart before leaning close and whispering. “I’m right here...”
Gentle warmth seemed to spread through his chest, radiating outwards from where Yunho’s hand was pressed, chasing the pain, the fire, and the ice away.
Dying in Yunho’s arms isn’t such a bad way to go, he thought idly before consciousness finally left him entirely.
~*~*~
Gentle hands threaded through his hair, drawing the long locks back and away from his face. “You’re so beautiful,” Yunho murmured softly.
Jaejoong laughed and opened his eyes to see the king staring at him with a look of absolute adoration. “I think you’re biased, Yunnie....”
“I love you.”
“Exactly.” He never tired of hearing the words, but they did reinforce his point.
Yunho pouted for a moment before pulling him close for a kiss. “Oh hush and learn to take a compliment. You are the most beautiful person in the entire kingdom.”
Another kiss followed the first and soon enough the changeling was rolling over onto his back, pulling Yunho on top of him.
Warmth that had nothing to do with more carnal heat filled him as he looked up at the man he’d loved all of his life.
“What?” Yunho asked, tilting his head to one side in curiosity.
Jaejoong just smiled and shook his head. He was exactly where he wanted to be and nothing was ever going to take it away from him.
~*~*~
Continue on to
Chapter 9
Length: Chaptered, Chapter 8/?
Author: M_K Yujji
Rating: PG-13, likely to go up eventually
Genre: Drama/Angst/Fantasy
Disclaimer: Though real people are used as characters, this fic bears no resemblance to Real Life and these people are not owned by me.
Notes: Inspired by the Tri-Angle PV. Though there will be a loose resemblance to various mythical/religious figures and places, it's not really intentional.
As always, the 'ie' is a cutsey shortening, not an intended honorific, though I suppose it fits as either here. The only real purpose for using any honorifics at all in this fic is to separate the AU side of the story from the more reality-based side. Also, to separate the paralleling differences between the characters.
Previous
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7
Summary:When the line between reality and dreaming begins to blur...
~*~*~*~
“You're upset.”
The changeling scowled at nothing in particular, refusing to look at the prince. “Why would I be upset? It's not like I caught you kissing one of those skinny little...little... bitches. Oh wait!” His glare turned on the other briefly before swinging back to the wall. “I did!”
Yunho sighed. “JaeJae... You're overreacting.”
Jealous hurt welled high under the rage, but Jaejoong did his best to ignore it. His pride had already taken a beating. No sense in shredding what little remained. “Well excuse me if it upsets me to see the only friend I've ever had all over one of the low born whores who has spent her entire life trying to make me miserable.”
“JaeJae...” Tentative hands settled on his shoulders, but he shrugged them off. “You were only there for a second. The exact wrong second, really...”
“Wrong for you since it meant you got caught.”
“No.” This time Yunho wouldn't allow Jaejoong to shake him. Gentle, but insistent, Yunho turned him around and forced his chin up so that their eyes met. “A second earlier, and you would have seen that she caught me by surprise and kissed me.” Jaejoong tried to interrupt, but Yunho pressed a soft hand over his mouth. “A second later and you would have seen me telling her that I wasn't interested.”
Nebulous and shaky, hope began to soothe away the hurt as he pulled the hand away from his mouth. “Why not?”
Warm breath tickled his upper lip as Yunho leaned closer. “Because my heart and interest have never been my own to freely give to anyone.”
He could have played coy, but the patience to do so had never been his forte. “Me?”
The kiss was as sweet as anything he'd ever allowed himself to imagine.
“Who else, Jae-mine?”
~*~*~
“Is it just me or are the mirrors all dirty?” Jaejoong sighed and gave the offending surface another swipe with his rag. The hazy, cloudy film simply would not go away no matter how many times he tried to clean it or how many different cleaners he used.
Junsu smirked at him. “How would anyone else know, hyung? No one else spends any time in front of them but you.”
“I think they're okay,” Yunho chimed in from the sofa as he threw a wad of paper at Junsu's head.
Rolling his eyes, Junsu batted the paper away and grabbed a pillow.
Jaejoong just laughed at the ensuing antics and shook his head before turning his attention back to his task. It just wasn't working though. It seemed like everything in the apartment was determined to make life difficult.
He stepped back quickly as the pair stumbled past him, fully embroiled in their impromptu pillow fight and gave up with a mental note to see if AVEX would send them a maintenance man.
How could anyone expect an apartment full of pop stars to live with foggy mirrors?
~*~*~
It was a rare thing for ‘taking a day off’ to actually mean there would be no work at all, so no one was surprised when their day out at a carnival involved having three cameramen following them around and security trailing with sharp eyes to keep overzealous fans from getting into the filming.
Since they’d been given instructions to ‘act natural’, the five agreed to completely ignore their entourage and have fun.
Used to following Japanese pop stars around, ones who were well indoctrinated in being mindful of the audience even when there was no audience, the poor harried cameramen were left scrambling after them.
Perhaps it was a little perverse of him, but Jaejoong took a great deal of pleasure in seeing how many times he could lose the men who’d been assigned to keep up with him. It was the most genuine fun he’d had in ages and even the half-hearted scolding Yunho gave him when their own paths crossed sometime in the afternoon didn’t put a dent in his mood - something helped, no doubt, by the fact that he’d seen the smile Yunho had struggled to hide during his lecture on kindness and responsibility to their elders.
Changmin and Yunho were hanging out together, moving sedately enough that their cameraman had no difficulty in following them. Their reputation as the ‘boring’ pair was their own fault, after all. Their sense of duty and responsibility kept them from causing trouble more often than not.
Jaejoong wasn’t entirely sure where Junsu and Yoochun had vanished to, though he suspected that Yoochun was once again having fun at his favorite ‘duckbutt’s expense. He grinned, imagining Yoochun dragging a protesting Junsu into some kind of kissing tunnel or fun house. The more Junsu put up a fuss about having to do YooSu fan service - or any kind of fan service between himself and the other members, really - the more determined Yoochun was to make him suffer through it.
Chuckling, Jaejoong ducked behind a game stand and wove his way towards the ice cream seller he’d spotted earlier. Everyone knew Yoochun only did it for the reaction he got from their resident uptight Christian, but Junsu couldn’t seem to ignore the prodding long enough for Yoochun to get bored of the game.
“Can I help you?”
Starting, Jaejoong grinned sheepishly as the girl at the small stand looked at him strangely. “Sorry. Umm... Two scoops of vanilla on a cone, please?”
As she turned to fill his order, Jaejoong looked away, trying to see if his cameraman or security had caught up yet. His grin widened briefly. He must have done a better job of losing them than he’d thought.
There weren’t even that many people in this little corner of the carnival, so he’d be easy enough to spot when they finally figured out which way to go.
“1400yen, sir.”
Jaejoong barely paid her any mind as he handed over the money, his mind already focusing on the sweet, cool treat. Perhaps he should get more than one? Surely Yunho and Changmin would want one...
“Eat up, Youngwoong Jaejoong...”
“Huh?”
Her eyes glowed lightly and her face seemed to shimmer for a moment as she grabbed his arm. He stared at her, snared by the sinister familiarity, the sudden sense of deja vu.
“Eat your ice cream.”
Somewhere in his mind, a thousand alarm bells were going off, screaming at him, insisting that the last thing he wanted to do was eat anything this girl, this... thing had given him, but somehow he was helpless against her command.
“That’s right.... Eat up, little Youngwoong... It’s time to come home....”
Against his will, he raised the ice cream to his mouth and took a big bite. He hissed, tears sliding down his face as the cold bite hit his teeth, but choked down a second bite before the first had managed to go far down his throat. Too cold, too fast, and his head hurt so fiercely. “Please-“
“Jaejoong?! What the- Get away from him!”
Yunho’s voice sounded so very far away as more of the ice cream disappeared.
The girl scowled somewhere past his shoulder and pushed him away. “Annoying, little-“
She took off at a run, but Jaejoong took no real notice of her anymore. Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, he collapsed to the ground unable to hold himself up. Fire seemed to lance it’s way through his body in sharp contrast to the icy fingers creeping through his head. Everything hurt.
Time seemed to slow down to a crawl, each agonizing beat of his heart spaced further and further apart.
Even when hands pulled him close to solid warmth, he felt like he was being dragged further and further under.
“Joongie... Come on, stay with us. Fuck... Changmin how long til the ambulance gets here?”
There were others around him, he could sense it, but only Yunho seemed to make any sense at all.
Firm hands and gentle fingers held his face, forcing him to look squarely into worried brown eyes. “You have to fight this, Boo... You have to stay. You want to stay with us, right? With me?”
It seemed to take every ounce of willpower and strength he had to flop his head in some approximation of a nod and his voice was a pale rasp of its usual full sounds, but Yunho smiled at him. “Then fight, Joongie. Fight with everything you have. You can do it.” He pulled Jaejoong against his chest and spread his hand over the fluttering thread of Jaejoong’s heart before leaning close and whispering. “I’m right here...”
Gentle warmth seemed to spread through his chest, radiating outwards from where Yunho’s hand was pressed, chasing the pain, the fire, and the ice away.
Dying in Yunho’s arms isn’t such a bad way to go, he thought idly before consciousness finally left him entirely.
~*~*~
Gentle hands threaded through his hair, drawing the long locks back and away from his face. “You’re so beautiful,” Yunho murmured softly.
Jaejoong laughed and opened his eyes to see the king staring at him with a look of absolute adoration. “I think you’re biased, Yunnie....”
“I love you.”
“Exactly.” He never tired of hearing the words, but they did reinforce his point.
Yunho pouted for a moment before pulling him close for a kiss. “Oh hush and learn to take a compliment. You are the most beautiful person in the entire kingdom.”
Another kiss followed the first and soon enough the changeling was rolling over onto his back, pulling Yunho on top of him.
Warmth that had nothing to do with more carnal heat filled him as he looked up at the man he’d loved all of his life.
“What?” Yunho asked, tilting his head to one side in curiosity.
Jaejoong just smiled and shook his head. He was exactly where he wanted to be and nothing was ever going to take it away from him.
~*~*~
Continue on to
Chapter 9