Of Swaggers, Saloons, And Star Badges - Chapter 6
Title: Of Swaggers, Saloons, And Star Badges - Chapter 6
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: 1,750
Disclaimer: I have a what?
Previous parts: Prologue , Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 , Chapter 3 , Chapter 4 , Chapter 5
What was supposed to have been a reunion that would have brought some closure to Yoochun’s life and would have allowed him to finally let go of Jaejoong was the very opposite. Jaejoong’s love confession - which was poorly timed - just about floored Yoochun (literally) and had changed the way he felt about everything. Confusion didn’t even begin to explain the turmoil Yoochun felt.
“Oh hyung, it was so romantic!” Junsu gushed as he threw himself down on the bed next to Yoochun who was currently trying to suffocate himself. This was certainly not how he thought things would go and certainly not how he thought he would feel about it.
“And did you see the way they were starring each other down! I could barely breathe through all the testosterone in the air. How exciting it must be to have two men vying for your affections. Aren’t you ecstatic?”
Yoochun let out a muffled groan that sounded like a dying cow. Junsu’s giggle caused him to lift his head and dish out his now signature scowl. “Did you see the way they were behaving? Like what I want is inconsequential. I am the one who should be making the decision of who gets my affections!” Yoochun stood and began to pace; hair wild and eyes determined.
“I need to clear my head!”
“Hyung~!” Junsu called after Yoochun as the older teen stormed out.
As Yoochun passed through the Saloon he saw Jaejoong and Changmin engaging in an arm wrestling match. He stopped at their table. Both greeted him with a grunt of his name but neither actually took more than a second to look at him; if they had, they would have seen the rage burning in his eyes. Yoochun kicked the table over with a feral growl and stomped out of the bar and went over to his horse while muttering every swear world he knew. Before either men could situate themselves and follow Yoochun outside the younger man was galloping off towards the West.
“Think he’s angry?” Jaejoong was leaning against the doorframe of the exit.
“You think this is funny?” Changmin was checking the saddle on his horse. “I’m going after him.”
“Not a good idea, Sheriff. Our Yoochun needs sometime to cool off and you and I have some talking to do.”
“What makes you think I want to do anymore talking with you?”
“Drinks are on me.” Jaejoong headed back into the bar. He figure with how badly his day was going it wasn’t too early to start drinking. Changmin grumbled but stalked back into the saloon.
“Whiskey for me. What’ll you have?” Jaejoong straddled a stool.
“It’s still a little early for me to be drinking, sarsaparilla please, Junho-shii.” Changmin took a seat next to the other man as the older Kim brother served out the drinks.
“Age.” Jaejoong said not even bothering to look at Changmin while he spoke to him.
“Excuse me?” Changmin said with more attitude then he usually gave, but he thought Jaejoong was lacking basic manners.
“What’s your age, Sheriff?” Jaejoong finally turned his head towards the other man and gave Changmin a cold look.
“Twenty-five.” Changmin hardened his own gaze.
“Hmm. Sheriff dongsaeng then. I’m twenty-six.” Jaejoong gave a rueful smile as he took his first shot in the late morning. Changmin frowned and gulped down his drink. Jaejoong was already pushing his buttons - he was going to need something stronger.
“Another round, gentlemen?” Junho asked, wholly amused by the Sheriff’s uncomfortable expression. He had only seen the law man this awkward around Yoochun before. Jaejoong nodded in response but Changmin shook his head.
“Soju, a bottle.” He straightened up his back as the green bottle was placed before him.
“How traditional Sheriff.” Jaejoong teased. He didn’t know why, but he was enjoying the way the Sheriff was reacting to him.
The two men drank in silence, taking the chance to study each other. Up close, Jaejoong was quite good looking. When he wasn’t teasing Changmin, the Sheriff was able to see past the rough arrogance and through to the beauty of Jaejoong’s face. He was like the opposite of, but similar to, Yoochun. Where the younger man had a warm, charming smile that made Changmin melt every time, Jaejoong had a cold stare that would leave him breathless - if he wasn’t so infuriated with the man.
Changmin seemed decent enough to Jaejoong. Certainly more straight-laced than himself, but the former Deputy supposed that he saw the appeal - objectively speaking. Changmin had a clean-cut look with slightly boyish features. He had seen the soft looks this man gave Yoochun, and plenty of frowning, but he had a desire to see the man smile; wanted to hear him laugh. Could that be why his mouth insisted on teasing the slightly younger man when his head was telling him that he should be keeping his love rival at arm’s length?
Each man shook the thoughts from their heads and swallowed some more liquor.
“He was a tiny thing when I first saw him about three years ago.” Jaejoong began to tell his story. “He was frail and beautiful and I just wanted to hold him. At first, I thought it was because I saw so much of myself in the scrawny pretty fifteen year old boy, but after taking him under my guidance he somehow became my whole world and I fell in love with him without ever really noticing.” He took another shot that Junho had been so very kind to put down in front of him. “I should have seen it coming after he went through that growth spurt when he was sixteen and started to look more like the man he is today. Or I at least should have known how much he meant to me when he became more important to me than my job as a Deputy.” He chuckled to himself; the sound bitter. “All the time I could have saved. All the time I could have kept him at my side.” Silence fell over the men again. Changmin let his eyes drift over to Jaejoong again. The older man’s form had gone slump and his head was bent low. Changmin shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He was starting to feel like the bad guy in this twisted love triangle.
“More of the same?” Junho asked the sullen looking new comer. Jaejoong shook his head.
“Whiskey is making me weepy; I think I’ll switch over to what the good Sheriff is having.” There was no malice in the way he spoke the official title for the first time.
“He made me forget everything the first time I saw him. No one before had ever taken my breath away.” Changmin offered. “He makes me want to focus on something other than being a Sheriff.” Jaejoong nodded in understanding.
“This is what they call love dongsaeng.” They clinked the neck of their bottles together in a silent cheers and downed the contents.
~*~
Yoochun rode out to the small spring he had passed on his way to town and got off his horse to stretch his legs. He led the gentle beast to the water to drink while he took a seat on one of the larger rock around the edge of the water bed. He picked up a stick and began to etch shapes into the sandy earth. Before he realized it, he had drawn a myriad of stars; like that of a Deputy or Sheriff’s badge.
“God damn it!” He yelled out into the wilderness and startled his horse Polaris. “Shh, sorry agi-ah. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He gently stroked the animal’s snout and received a snuffle in the crook of his neck in forgiveness. “Why thank you Polaris, I love you too.” He giggled, unembarrassed in his solitude. “My sweet agi-ah.” Feeling so carefree, he missed the sound of hooves approaching.
“Well, well, well.” A man sneered from up on his horse, his figure was backed by the sun and Yoochun had trouble making out the man’s face. “If it isn’t the little whore responsible for the arrest of my dear cousins.
When the three Jung Brothers had been late for their scheduled rendezvous with their older cousin the man wasn’t too surprised as the boys were often irresponsible, but when he got word that they had been arrested by a small town Sheriff, Song Seung-Heon knew it would be up to him to break the three idiots out of jail. He never would have imagined his luck when he stumbled upon the very person responsible for not only getting his cousins thrown in jail but also the boy that had distracted Yunho one too many times.
“How fortunate it is that I have found you here, Micky.” He drew his gun and cocked it before slowly descending, keeping an eye on his prey.
“Song-Shii,” it was a gasped whisper. Yoochun had met Song Seung-Heon only once - the night Yunho had raped him. Seung-Heon had been the one that had bribed his boss into letting Yunho do whatever he wanted to Yoochun for triple the normal cost. Seung-Heon had been very intimidating; seeing as the brothel had previously instilled a general ban against the Jung Brothers. Yoochun still remembered how Seung-Heon had look at him as some sort of piece of trash.
Had it been any other day Yoochun would have been armed with his two pistols which he had acquired with his left over wages after purchasing Polaris. However, Yoochun currently found himself without any weapons. In his rush to leave the saloon he forgot his six shooters and was now defenseless. Jaejoong may have taught him how to throw a punch but what good would boxing moves be against a speeding bullet.
“Hands up and turn around.” Yoochun obeyed but was startled when Seung-Heon roughly pulled his hands behind his back and tied them with a coarse rope. Did Seung-Heon mean to take him prisoner? Yoochun wasn’t sure if that was better than being shot.
“Come on Micky, we’ve got some business to attend to.” Though he couldn’t see it, the sneer in Seung-Heon’s voice was unmistakable. Yoochun was pushed up onto the other man’s horse before they took off back towards town. Hearing Polaris’ cry behind him, Yoochun’s heart clenched and he hoped that the animal would be better off than he was. That was Yoochun’s last thought before Seung-Heon knocked him unconscious with the butt of his pistol.
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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: 1,750
Disclaimer: I have a what?
Previous parts: Prologue , Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 , Chapter 3 , Chapter 4 , Chapter 5
What was supposed to have been a reunion that would have brought some closure to Yoochun’s life and would have allowed him to finally let go of Jaejoong was the very opposite. Jaejoong’s love confession - which was poorly timed - just about floored Yoochun (literally) and had changed the way he felt about everything. Confusion didn’t even begin to explain the turmoil Yoochun felt.
“Oh hyung, it was so romantic!” Junsu gushed as he threw himself down on the bed next to Yoochun who was currently trying to suffocate himself. This was certainly not how he thought things would go and certainly not how he thought he would feel about it.
“And did you see the way they were starring each other down! I could barely breathe through all the testosterone in the air. How exciting it must be to have two men vying for your affections. Aren’t you ecstatic?”
Yoochun let out a muffled groan that sounded like a dying cow. Junsu’s giggle caused him to lift his head and dish out his now signature scowl. “Did you see the way they were behaving? Like what I want is inconsequential. I am the one who should be making the decision of who gets my affections!” Yoochun stood and began to pace; hair wild and eyes determined.
“I need to clear my head!”
“Hyung~!” Junsu called after Yoochun as the older teen stormed out.
As Yoochun passed through the Saloon he saw Jaejoong and Changmin engaging in an arm wrestling match. He stopped at their table. Both greeted him with a grunt of his name but neither actually took more than a second to look at him; if they had, they would have seen the rage burning in his eyes. Yoochun kicked the table over with a feral growl and stomped out of the bar and went over to his horse while muttering every swear world he knew. Before either men could situate themselves and follow Yoochun outside the younger man was galloping off towards the West.
“Think he’s angry?” Jaejoong was leaning against the doorframe of the exit.
“You think this is funny?” Changmin was checking the saddle on his horse. “I’m going after him.”
“Not a good idea, Sheriff. Our Yoochun needs sometime to cool off and you and I have some talking to do.”
“What makes you think I want to do anymore talking with you?”
“Drinks are on me.” Jaejoong headed back into the bar. He figure with how badly his day was going it wasn’t too early to start drinking. Changmin grumbled but stalked back into the saloon.
“Whiskey for me. What’ll you have?” Jaejoong straddled a stool.
“It’s still a little early for me to be drinking, sarsaparilla please, Junho-shii.” Changmin took a seat next to the other man as the older Kim brother served out the drinks.
“Age.” Jaejoong said not even bothering to look at Changmin while he spoke to him.
“Excuse me?” Changmin said with more attitude then he usually gave, but he thought Jaejoong was lacking basic manners.
“What’s your age, Sheriff?” Jaejoong finally turned his head towards the other man and gave Changmin a cold look.
“Twenty-five.” Changmin hardened his own gaze.
“Hmm. Sheriff dongsaeng then. I’m twenty-six.” Jaejoong gave a rueful smile as he took his first shot in the late morning. Changmin frowned and gulped down his drink. Jaejoong was already pushing his buttons - he was going to need something stronger.
“Another round, gentlemen?” Junho asked, wholly amused by the Sheriff’s uncomfortable expression. He had only seen the law man this awkward around Yoochun before. Jaejoong nodded in response but Changmin shook his head.
“Soju, a bottle.” He straightened up his back as the green bottle was placed before him.
“How traditional Sheriff.” Jaejoong teased. He didn’t know why, but he was enjoying the way the Sheriff was reacting to him.
The two men drank in silence, taking the chance to study each other. Up close, Jaejoong was quite good looking. When he wasn’t teasing Changmin, the Sheriff was able to see past the rough arrogance and through to the beauty of Jaejoong’s face. He was like the opposite of, but similar to, Yoochun. Where the younger man had a warm, charming smile that made Changmin melt every time, Jaejoong had a cold stare that would leave him breathless - if he wasn’t so infuriated with the man.
Changmin seemed decent enough to Jaejoong. Certainly more straight-laced than himself, but the former Deputy supposed that he saw the appeal - objectively speaking. Changmin had a clean-cut look with slightly boyish features. He had seen the soft looks this man gave Yoochun, and plenty of frowning, but he had a desire to see the man smile; wanted to hear him laugh. Could that be why his mouth insisted on teasing the slightly younger man when his head was telling him that he should be keeping his love rival at arm’s length?
Each man shook the thoughts from their heads and swallowed some more liquor.
“He was a tiny thing when I first saw him about three years ago.” Jaejoong began to tell his story. “He was frail and beautiful and I just wanted to hold him. At first, I thought it was because I saw so much of myself in the scrawny pretty fifteen year old boy, but after taking him under my guidance he somehow became my whole world and I fell in love with him without ever really noticing.” He took another shot that Junho had been so very kind to put down in front of him. “I should have seen it coming after he went through that growth spurt when he was sixteen and started to look more like the man he is today. Or I at least should have known how much he meant to me when he became more important to me than my job as a Deputy.” He chuckled to himself; the sound bitter. “All the time I could have saved. All the time I could have kept him at my side.” Silence fell over the men again. Changmin let his eyes drift over to Jaejoong again. The older man’s form had gone slump and his head was bent low. Changmin shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He was starting to feel like the bad guy in this twisted love triangle.
“More of the same?” Junho asked the sullen looking new comer. Jaejoong shook his head.
“Whiskey is making me weepy; I think I’ll switch over to what the good Sheriff is having.” There was no malice in the way he spoke the official title for the first time.
“He made me forget everything the first time I saw him. No one before had ever taken my breath away.” Changmin offered. “He makes me want to focus on something other than being a Sheriff.” Jaejoong nodded in understanding.
“This is what they call love dongsaeng.” They clinked the neck of their bottles together in a silent cheers and downed the contents.
~*~
Yoochun rode out to the small spring he had passed on his way to town and got off his horse to stretch his legs. He led the gentle beast to the water to drink while he took a seat on one of the larger rock around the edge of the water bed. He picked up a stick and began to etch shapes into the sandy earth. Before he realized it, he had drawn a myriad of stars; like that of a Deputy or Sheriff’s badge.
“God damn it!” He yelled out into the wilderness and startled his horse Polaris. “Shh, sorry agi-ah. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He gently stroked the animal’s snout and received a snuffle in the crook of his neck in forgiveness. “Why thank you Polaris, I love you too.” He giggled, unembarrassed in his solitude. “My sweet agi-ah.” Feeling so carefree, he missed the sound of hooves approaching.
“Well, well, well.” A man sneered from up on his horse, his figure was backed by the sun and Yoochun had trouble making out the man’s face. “If it isn’t the little whore responsible for the arrest of my dear cousins.
When the three Jung Brothers had been late for their scheduled rendezvous with their older cousin the man wasn’t too surprised as the boys were often irresponsible, but when he got word that they had been arrested by a small town Sheriff, Song Seung-Heon knew it would be up to him to break the three idiots out of jail. He never would have imagined his luck when he stumbled upon the very person responsible for not only getting his cousins thrown in jail but also the boy that had distracted Yunho one too many times.
“How fortunate it is that I have found you here, Micky.” He drew his gun and cocked it before slowly descending, keeping an eye on his prey.
“Song-Shii,” it was a gasped whisper. Yoochun had met Song Seung-Heon only once - the night Yunho had raped him. Seung-Heon had been the one that had bribed his boss into letting Yunho do whatever he wanted to Yoochun for triple the normal cost. Seung-Heon had been very intimidating; seeing as the brothel had previously instilled a general ban against the Jung Brothers. Yoochun still remembered how Seung-Heon had look at him as some sort of piece of trash.
Had it been any other day Yoochun would have been armed with his two pistols which he had acquired with his left over wages after purchasing Polaris. However, Yoochun currently found himself without any weapons. In his rush to leave the saloon he forgot his six shooters and was now defenseless. Jaejoong may have taught him how to throw a punch but what good would boxing moves be against a speeding bullet.
“Hands up and turn around.” Yoochun obeyed but was startled when Seung-Heon roughly pulled his hands behind his back and tied them with a coarse rope. Did Seung-Heon mean to take him prisoner? Yoochun wasn’t sure if that was better than being shot.
“Come on Micky, we’ve got some business to attend to.” Though he couldn’t see it, the sneer in Seung-Heon’s voice was unmistakable. Yoochun was pushed up onto the other man’s horse before they took off back towards town. Hearing Polaris’ cry behind him, Yoochun’s heart clenched and he hoped that the animal would be better off than he was. That was Yoochun’s last thought before Seung-Heon knocked him unconscious with the butt of his pistol.
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