Of Swaggers, Saloons, And Star Badges - Chapter 3
Title: Of Swaggers, Saloons, And Star Badges - Chapter 3
Character/Pairing: Jae/Min/Chun and variations of, minor one-sided YunChun, YooSu bffery
Genre: drama/angst, romance, and a bit of comedy and action, Korean Wild West AU!
Rating: PG-13 to be safe (for now)
Word Count: 1,313
Disclaimer: I have a what?
Previous parts: Prologue , Chapter 1 , Chapter 2
Yoochun drifted in and out of consciousness. He remembered rolling out of bed a couple of times to empty his bladder in the chamber pot but even those instances felt like dreams. When he was finally able to fully open his eyes and sit up on his own he could roughly make out the dark figure sitting in a chair in the corner of the room.
“Jaejoong-ah?” He whispered, able to make out the shining star on the man’s chest.
“You’re awake. Do you need anything?” the man leaned into the moonlight streaming in from the window to reveal his face. Yoochun didn’t know if he should laugh or cry.
“Sheriff Shim. What the hell are you doing here?” He wrapped his blankets around his almost naked body, feeling vulnerable as the tall man loomed over him now.
“You seem to be back to fighting shape.” He dragged his chair closer to the bed. “You’ve been unconscious for three days - turns out that that bump on your head was worse than we thought.”
“Three days!” He jumped out of bed only to almost topple over once more; if not for the sturdy hands of the Sheriff gripping his hips tightly from his seated position.
Yoochun swatted at the unwanted hold that the Sheriff had on him and tried to extract himself from the bear grip.
“Whoa now tiger. You gotta get your sea legs first.” The teasing grin on Changmin’s face would have seemed handsome to Yoochun if he wasn’t so annoyed with the man suddenly.
Yoochun scoffed at the patronizing tone, “Let me go. I need to leave. I gotta get out of here.”
“Why do you always do that?” The hurt in the Sheriff’s voice was unmistakable.
“Do what?” Yoochun asked as he tried to hop into a pair of pants only to fall back on the bed. Changmin chuckled at the prone figure. Yoochun scowled at him but it just made the Sheriff laugh more.
“This is not funny, I have to get out of this place as soon as possible - it might already be too late.” He voice got higher with desperation.
Changmin wasted no time in straddling Yoochun’s squirming body still on the bed. He wrapped a hand around each of Yoochun’s wrists and the fumbling hands stilled as Changmin brought his arms over his head. Yoochun couldn’t bear to look at the man’s face so close to his; Changmin’s breath ghosted over his lips and he resisted the urge to shiver in response.
“Park Yoochun, I have been - look at me when I’m talking to you - I have been at your bed side for three days waiting and praying for you to gain consciousness. I fought off an overwrought Kim Junsu; who I can assure you is worse than a mother hen and cared for you myself. I even helped you to relieve your bladder!” This caused a blush to sweep across most of Yoochun's body. “All I want from you before you go off running away from me again is an explanation.”
After a moment on contemplation Yoochun spoke. “Are you gonna sit on me all night?”
“If that keeps you here, then I’ll do what I have to.” The flash of danger in Changmin’s eyes reminded him of Jaejoong and he had to take a deep breath and focus on the ceiling.
“I came here looking for someone and Jung Yunho says he saw this man not a day’s journey away - but that was over three days ago. The man I’m looking for could be long gone by now, so you see I need to catch up to him. If I had known I was so close to him this whole time -” Yoochun didn’t get to finish his sentence as Changmin interrupted him with an angry burst of words.
“Then what? You would have just left here?” Why did that hurt so much?
“Well of course. I have been searching for him for weeks now!” Yoochun began to struggle again and Changmin rolled off him to sit next to him on the bed.
“Is it Jaejoong?” Changmin’s voice was just above a whisper; he didn’t really want to know the answer to that question.
Yoochun stiffened at the name and Changmin could read the surprised expression on his face.
“You called out for him in the night,” He shrugged his shoulders as he took a deep breath. “I figured he was someone special to you…” he let his words trial off; his throat tightening. There was a long suffocating silence before Yoochun answered.
“Jaejoong was a Deputy in my home town. He saved my life once and sort of took me under his wing - but one day he ran off and I waited for him but after three weeks he never came back. So I went to go find him.” Yoochun fastened his pants and went looking for a clean shirt in his still packed bag.
“Why did he leave you?” It came out more of a whisper and Changmin had to clear his throat to regain his voice but Yoochun still heard it.
“He walked in on me with a client and I suppose he was so disgusted by what he saw that he couldn’t be around me anymore.” Yoochun stopped to breathe, fighting against the tears that threatened to fall. “I need to find him to make sure he is alright and to apologize.” He sifted through his bag trying to distract himself more than to find a shirt.
“Apologize for what? How is what happened your fault?” Changmin was sure he was missing a part of the story.
Yoochun shook his head. “No, you don’t understand. I need to apologize for wasting his time. He tried so hard to teach me and make me better but I’m no good. I’ll always be a whore.” He slipped a shirt over his head and as the fabric came down two strong arms wrapped around his waist and a warm chest pressed up against his back.
“You, Park Yoochun are no whore.” The breath was hot against his neck; the physical intimacy was too much for him and he broke down. It had been so long since he had felt safe and cared for - not since Jaejoong had left. Changmin held him up as his tears fell and his body shook.
“You are a good person. You are not Micky anymore; you are Park Yoochun who tunes church pianos for free and befriended Kim Junsu.” Changmin tightened his hold around Yoochun’s almost too thin form and mentally frowned and the feel of the young man’s ribs. “You believe in hope - so don’t give up on yourself so easily.” Yoochun let a sob out. Changmin had been watching him - looking over him this whole time. Why was someone as good and righteous as Shim Changmin interested in someone as dirty as him? Why did he make Yoochun’s heart feel the same way Jaejoong does?
“And now you need to rest some more-” Yoochun turned in his arms to protest by Changmin silenced him with a gentle kiss; a whisper of lips against lips. “Sleep for the remainder of the night and we’ll figure things out in the morning.” His voice was soft, all traces of the stern Sheriff gone. Yoochun nodded dumbly; shock from the almost kiss clouding his mind, and let Changmin guide him to the bed. He should have been surprised when Changmin climbed under the blanket after him and pulled him into his chest but he was too exhausted from his outburst to express any more emotions for the night. The two men fell asleep wrapped up in each other’s arms. For the first time in weeks Yoochun didn’t dream of Jaejoong’s horrified face and had a peaceful dreamless sleep. He didn’t even call out for Jaejoong once in the night.
A/N: Another short chapter I know and still no Jaejoong - but don't worry! I promise to update Friday (late night) and Chapter 4 will be all about Jaejoong!
Free Web Counters
Character/Pairing: Jae/Min/Chun and variations of, minor one-sided YunChun, YooSu bffery
Genre: drama/angst, romance, and a bit of comedy and action, Korean Wild West AU!
Rating: PG-13 to be safe (for now)
Word Count: 1,313
Disclaimer: I have a what?
Previous parts: Prologue , Chapter 1 , Chapter 2
Yoochun drifted in and out of consciousness. He remembered rolling out of bed a couple of times to empty his bladder in the chamber pot but even those instances felt like dreams. When he was finally able to fully open his eyes and sit up on his own he could roughly make out the dark figure sitting in a chair in the corner of the room.
“Jaejoong-ah?” He whispered, able to make out the shining star on the man’s chest.
“You’re awake. Do you need anything?” the man leaned into the moonlight streaming in from the window to reveal his face. Yoochun didn’t know if he should laugh or cry.
“Sheriff Shim. What the hell are you doing here?” He wrapped his blankets around his almost naked body, feeling vulnerable as the tall man loomed over him now.
“You seem to be back to fighting shape.” He dragged his chair closer to the bed. “You’ve been unconscious for three days - turns out that that bump on your head was worse than we thought.”
“Three days!” He jumped out of bed only to almost topple over once more; if not for the sturdy hands of the Sheriff gripping his hips tightly from his seated position.
Yoochun swatted at the unwanted hold that the Sheriff had on him and tried to extract himself from the bear grip.
“Whoa now tiger. You gotta get your sea legs first.” The teasing grin on Changmin’s face would have seemed handsome to Yoochun if he wasn’t so annoyed with the man suddenly.
Yoochun scoffed at the patronizing tone, “Let me go. I need to leave. I gotta get out of here.”
“Why do you always do that?” The hurt in the Sheriff’s voice was unmistakable.
“Do what?” Yoochun asked as he tried to hop into a pair of pants only to fall back on the bed. Changmin chuckled at the prone figure. Yoochun scowled at him but it just made the Sheriff laugh more.
“This is not funny, I have to get out of this place as soon as possible - it might already be too late.” He voice got higher with desperation.
Changmin wasted no time in straddling Yoochun’s squirming body still on the bed. He wrapped a hand around each of Yoochun’s wrists and the fumbling hands stilled as Changmin brought his arms over his head. Yoochun couldn’t bear to look at the man’s face so close to his; Changmin’s breath ghosted over his lips and he resisted the urge to shiver in response.
“Park Yoochun, I have been - look at me when I’m talking to you - I have been at your bed side for three days waiting and praying for you to gain consciousness. I fought off an overwrought Kim Junsu; who I can assure you is worse than a mother hen and cared for you myself. I even helped you to relieve your bladder!” This caused a blush to sweep across most of Yoochun's body. “All I want from you before you go off running away from me again is an explanation.”
After a moment on contemplation Yoochun spoke. “Are you gonna sit on me all night?”
“If that keeps you here, then I’ll do what I have to.” The flash of danger in Changmin’s eyes reminded him of Jaejoong and he had to take a deep breath and focus on the ceiling.
“I came here looking for someone and Jung Yunho says he saw this man not a day’s journey away - but that was over three days ago. The man I’m looking for could be long gone by now, so you see I need to catch up to him. If I had known I was so close to him this whole time -” Yoochun didn’t get to finish his sentence as Changmin interrupted him with an angry burst of words.
“Then what? You would have just left here?” Why did that hurt so much?
“Well of course. I have been searching for him for weeks now!” Yoochun began to struggle again and Changmin rolled off him to sit next to him on the bed.
“Is it Jaejoong?” Changmin’s voice was just above a whisper; he didn’t really want to know the answer to that question.
Yoochun stiffened at the name and Changmin could read the surprised expression on his face.
“You called out for him in the night,” He shrugged his shoulders as he took a deep breath. “I figured he was someone special to you…” he let his words trial off; his throat tightening. There was a long suffocating silence before Yoochun answered.
“Jaejoong was a Deputy in my home town. He saved my life once and sort of took me under his wing - but one day he ran off and I waited for him but after three weeks he never came back. So I went to go find him.” Yoochun fastened his pants and went looking for a clean shirt in his still packed bag.
“Why did he leave you?” It came out more of a whisper and Changmin had to clear his throat to regain his voice but Yoochun still heard it.
“He walked in on me with a client and I suppose he was so disgusted by what he saw that he couldn’t be around me anymore.” Yoochun stopped to breathe, fighting against the tears that threatened to fall. “I need to find him to make sure he is alright and to apologize.” He sifted through his bag trying to distract himself more than to find a shirt.
“Apologize for what? How is what happened your fault?” Changmin was sure he was missing a part of the story.
Yoochun shook his head. “No, you don’t understand. I need to apologize for wasting his time. He tried so hard to teach me and make me better but I’m no good. I’ll always be a whore.” He slipped a shirt over his head and as the fabric came down two strong arms wrapped around his waist and a warm chest pressed up against his back.
“You, Park Yoochun are no whore.” The breath was hot against his neck; the physical intimacy was too much for him and he broke down. It had been so long since he had felt safe and cared for - not since Jaejoong had left. Changmin held him up as his tears fell and his body shook.
“You are a good person. You are not Micky anymore; you are Park Yoochun who tunes church pianos for free and befriended Kim Junsu.” Changmin tightened his hold around Yoochun’s almost too thin form and mentally frowned and the feel of the young man’s ribs. “You believe in hope - so don’t give up on yourself so easily.” Yoochun let a sob out. Changmin had been watching him - looking over him this whole time. Why was someone as good and righteous as Shim Changmin interested in someone as dirty as him? Why did he make Yoochun’s heart feel the same way Jaejoong does?
“And now you need to rest some more-” Yoochun turned in his arms to protest by Changmin silenced him with a gentle kiss; a whisper of lips against lips. “Sleep for the remainder of the night and we’ll figure things out in the morning.” His voice was soft, all traces of the stern Sheriff gone. Yoochun nodded dumbly; shock from the almost kiss clouding his mind, and let Changmin guide him to the bed. He should have been surprised when Changmin climbed under the blanket after him and pulled him into his chest but he was too exhausted from his outburst to express any more emotions for the night. The two men fell asleep wrapped up in each other’s arms. For the first time in weeks Yoochun didn’t dream of Jaejoong’s horrified face and had a peaceful dreamless sleep. He didn’t even call out for Jaejoong once in the night.
A/N: Another short chapter I know and still no Jaejoong - but don't worry! I promise to update Friday (late night) and Chapter 4 will be all about Jaejoong!
Free Web Counters