protect me - Chapter 8: Epilogue
Semi-police AU. As a teenager, Yoochun was rescued by Yunho’s police officer father. Sixteen years later, his dark past comes back to haunt him.
Pairings: 2U, bff!Yunjae, bff!Yoosu, slight Minsu
Rated: PG-15 for mature themes, language
~
“I still don’t get why you can’t tell me where we’re going,” Yoochun complained from the bed, shifting in Yunho’s arms. The blindfold-made from a spare towel-was irritating him, bringing back an onslaught of memories, but then Yunho leaned closer and kissed him where his jawbone met his neck, and Yoochun relaxed.
Jaejoong was still rushing around the bedroom, and Yoochun could hear the swish of fabric and the clinking of clothes hangers as Junsu and Changmin helped them pack. “It’s supposed to be a surprise, sweetie,” Jaejoong said absently, and Yoochun imagined that he was trying to decide between a blue shirt and a red shirt, brows furrowed in concentration.
There was the sound of the suitcases being zipped shut, before Junsu and Changmin came over to remove the blindfolds from Yunho and Yoochun. Yoochun sighed with relief, allowing Yunho to help him off the bed. The doctors had managed to fix his crooked hip this time around, but he was still a little unsteady on his feet.
Changmin ushered them into the car, leaving Junsu and Jaejoong to haul the suitcases down. They were halfway to the airport before Jaejoong handed them their plane tickets, and Yoochun turned to Jaejoong with a raised eyebrow. “Portugal? Seriously?”
Jaejoong grinned back at him. “It’s nice this time of year,” he told him. “Sunny beaches and all. Plus, Junsu and Changmin had their wedding in Spain, and I thought it’d be boring if we went there again.”
Yunho just shook his head, and pulled Yoochun as close as his seatbelt would allow.
“None of us speak Portuguese though,” Yoochun pointed out, still slightly dumbfounded. “Or even Spanish.”
Jaejoong shrugged, clearly having already planned this out. “I’ve got a friend there who can help us.”
The plane ride was uneventful except for Changmin trying to sneak a few bites of Jaejoong’s meals and Junsu completely ignoring the bickering beside him. Yoochun leaned into Yunho, half an eye on the romance flick playing, and fluttered the fingers of his left hand experimentally, watching the ring flash in the dim lights of the cabin. “I can’t believe it,” he murmured quietly, mostly to himself.
“Me neither,” Yunho whispered. He wrapped an arm around Yoochun’s shoulders and covered his hand with his own, and Yoochun noticed the glint of the diamond on the ring that they’d picked out for the first proposal.
There was the flash of Jaejoong’s camera and both of them turned to frown at him. He grinned unrepentantly and clicked the shutter again.
Portugal was just as beautiful as Jaejoong had promised it would be, not too hot or too cold, with the sun shining down warmly on their backs as they followed their tour guide, aka Jaejoong’s friend Hyunjoong, around the streets of Albufeira. Hyunjoong pointed out several small cafés and the delicacies they were known for, as well as clothing shops (with a knowing glance at Jaejoong), and finally, took them to the beach.
Yoochun couldn’t hold back a gasp at the splendor of the landscape before him, pristine white sands joining naturally with the deep cerulean ocean. The beach wasn’t crowded, which was definitely a plus, and when he experimentally dipped a toe in the water, it was the perfect temperature.
All six of them splashed around for a bit, before Junsu got distracted by the sandpipers running about. Changmin laughed as Junsu tried to catch one of the birds and missed, slipping in the wet sand. Junsu shook his hair and pouted.
Yoochun didn’t venture very far, rolling up his jeans to his knees and refusing to go any further. Yunho, meanwhile, had taken off his shirt, leaving it on the beach with their shoes, and was swimming around, watching the surfers with envious looks.
“Yoochun ah,” he called out, wading back to where Yoochun was standing. “Won’t you come swim with me?”
“No thanks,” Yoochun replied, staggering slightly as a wave crashed over his legs. “I’m fine right here.”
“I won’t let you drown or anything,” Yunho told him teasingly. “You can swim, can’t you?”
“Yeah, but-” Yoochun was rudely interrupted when Yunho pulled him off his feet, dragging him into deeper water without any regard for the long-sleeved shirt that Yoochun was still wearing.
“Yunho hyung,” Yoochun cried reproachfully, and Yunho just grinned at him.
Another wave swept over and Yoochun found himself underwater for a few moments, tasting salt in his mouth. He grimaced slightly, shaking his hair, and then yelped as he felt arms wrap around him.
“Oh, look,” Yunho murmured lowly into his ear, “I caught something.”
Yoochun tipped his head back to look at his fiancé, smiling from ear to ear. “Indeed.”
Yunho nipped at his earlobe briefly, and Yoochun shivered. “I love you,” he said, a little breathlessly.
“I love you too,” Yunho said, turning Yoochun around to give him a proper kiss.
The sun was setting, leaving a trail of liquid gold across the ocean, and Yoochun nudged Yunho playfully. “You know, they say that if you follow the path of the setting sun, you’ll find mermaids and more riches than you could ever imagine.”
Yunho looked out across the ocean, smiling. “I don’t need any riches,” he said playfully, but his eyes were serious when he turned back to Yoochun. “Only you.”
Yoochun blushed, and tugged Yunho back to the shallow water, where the others were waiting for them, ready to go back to the beach house they had rented.
Yunho offered that they shower together, but Yoochun refused, smirking. “Isn’t it bad luck to see too much of the bride before the wedding?”
Yunho just laughed. “As you wish, bride,” he said, letting Yoochun have his privacy.
The next day-the day of our wedding, Yunho thought with no small amount of anxiety-was hectic, Jaejoong pulling Yoochun away shortly after breakfast to “prepare”.
“Preparations don’t take all day,” Yoochun tried to protest. “Not even for a wedding.”
“Oh, you have no idea,” Changmin snickered, pausing briefly in his eating. “Jaejoong willl make them last the whole day.”
Jaejoong shot Changmin a dirty look and dragged Yoochun away.
The wedding was scheduled for the afternoon and would take place outside, in an elegant, private gazebo overlooking the ocean, tresses of morning trumpet flowers twining around the whitewashed beams. Yunho arrived before Yoochun did, and waited apprehensively in a room of one of the beachfront houses-which the owner had kindly let them use for that purpose-until Changmin and Junsu came in to retrieve him, handing him a bouquet of red roses.
Changmin accompanied Yunho as his best man as they made their way to where Hyunjoong, as the minister, was waiting, bowing slightly to him. “Thank you for doing this for us,” Yunho said quietly.
“My pleasure,” Hyunjoong replied softly. “I wish you the best.”
Yoochun stepped out of his own waiting room, and Yunho turned to look at him, his jaw nearly dropping. Yoochun looked stunning in a formal navy blue suit with delicate jewels dangling artfully from the lapels, and his face was hidden by a red scarf that Jaejoong had draped over him as a veil. Jaejoong took his elbow and guided him to the gazebo, and the ceremony began.
It was a perfect mixture of a traditional Korean wedding and a Western one, and finally, Junsu brought the ring forth-the other half of the ring that Yunho had proposed with-and Yunho slid it onto Yoochun’s finger, completing the gold band. He passed Yoochun the roses, before leaning forward and taking off the veil, feeling his heart flutter again when Yoochun smiled up at him. Junsu brought forth another ring, which Yoochun took and slid onto Yunho’s finger.
“I now pronounce you man and husband,” Hyunjoong said, forgoing the part about kissing the bride.
Yunho smiled at Yoochun, taking his hands in both of his own, and kissed him gently. Yoochun threw the bouquet just for the heck of it, and it landed in Changmin’s hands, which the younger man promptly took as permission to pull Junsu in for a passionate kiss.
They took a walk by the beach afterwards, enjoying the tranquility. Hyunjoong detached himself from the group after a while, congratulating the newlyweds again before leaving to return to his own house. The five of them ambled around for a bit longer before returning to the house, where Yunho swiftly swept Yoochun into his arms and carried him into the bedroom.
They tumbled onto the bed and Yoochun pressed his lips to Yunho’s as the older man straddled him, tugging at the buttons of Yunho’s suit jacket and pushing the material off Yunho’s broad shoulders. Yunho was quicker, stripping Yoochun of his suit jacket and dress shirt in the same amount of time. Then his fingers brushed against the scar running the length of Yoochun’s left arm, and he froze, staring at the scar in horror and disgust.
Yoochun closed his eyes and rolled away from underneath him, yanking his shirt back onto his shoulders and hiding his arm. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled into the pillow.
Yunho reached out hesitantly and touched his shoulder. Yoochun flinched away, and Yunho felt like crying. “Yoochun ah,” he murmured, reaching out again. “Baby, please look at me.”
Yoochun finally rolled back over, refusing to meet Yunho’s eyes, his breath hitching. Yunho pulled Yoochun into his arms, ignoring his struggles, and wiped at the tears on his cheeks with his thumb before Yoochun buried his face in Yunho’s shoulder. “Please don’t cry,” he begged.
He felt Yoochun’s tears soak into the shoulder of his half-open shirt and Yoochun mumbled something that he couldn’t hear. “What?”
“I said, I disgust you, don’t I?” Yoochun repeated, raising his tear-streaked face to meet Yunho’s gaze. “You can’t even touch me without flinching.”
“No,” Yunho said, shocked. “No, that’s not it, Yoochun ah, please understand...”
“Then what is it?” Yoochun asked with a sigh.
“Promise me you’ll believe what I say,” Yunho whispered, tracing Yoochun’s high cheekbones again before leaning down to tug the shirt off Yoochun’s shoulders, baring his arm. “It’s myself I’m disgusted with, Yoochunnie.” He dropped a trail of kisses down Yoochun’s arm, tracing the scar, and Yoochun shivered. “I’m disgusted that I wasn’t able to protect you from your past.”
“It’s not your fault,” Yoochun interrupted, sniffling. He cradled Yunho’s face with his right hand. “Thank you,” he added in a softer voice. “Thank you for being there for me since I was thirteen and alone.”
Yunho smiled at him, leaning back up to kiss his tears away. “And I’ll be there for you for the rest of your life, baby.”