[fic] Sub Rosa
Title: Sub Rosa
Author: sungie86
Rating: PG-13
A/N: Ahahaha... just read ^o~
Past Chapters: Prologue & Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8
9. Eight PM
~*~
Incendiary glance
Be come and collide in me
Zoom in enhance hold
While I go helplessly sky high
Magic eye sugar rushing don't stop
[yousendit | Frou Frou - Must Be Dreaming]
~*~
Rain poured down upon the academy in bucketfuls, drenching the student body in a vain attempt to thoroughly ruin Friday. With most of the students huddled away in the warmth of the dorms, the grounds were bare, the young grass bowing beneath the deluge.
It had begun to rain right around the time that the last class of the day let out, much to everyone's chagrin. However, Jaejoong was in fine spirits. He had all but floated through dinner, and while everyone else was rushing to and fro beneath the downpour, he seemed thoroughly unaffected as he walked along at a normal clip, though equally drenched.
With well over an hour left to kill after dinner, he wandered into his dorm room in a daze, peeling off his waterlogged blazer and dropping it on the back of his chair. Flopping down on the bed, he ran a hand through damp locks, combing them away from his face. Leaning back on his hands, he looked left, then right, seeking some sort of diversion with which to entertain himself til eight o'clock.
The only thing in sight was the required reading for the following week's Literature class. He picked it up with a mix of intrigue and doubt, and flipped it open to the assigned pages. Sliding back on the bed, he began reading - a rare activity in the world of Jaejoong. And rarer still - he found himself thoroughly engrossed.
To sleep, perchance to dream... Hamlet drained away the next hour with ease, much to his skeptical suprise and pleasure.
A while before eight, he rose from the bed and made his way to the bathroom to grab a quick shower. Skin clammy from the weather relished the warmth of the shower, porcelain pinked by the heat. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, letting the water run in crystal rivulets down his slender body. He was calm and excited all at once, as his mind coursed on a natural high. Making quick work of the cleansing, he stepped out of the shower minutes later, skin rosy and glossed. Dark spiky lashes beneath wavy tendrils of black framed eyes livelier than they'd been in a long time - if ever.
Returning to his room, Jaejoong gave himself a once over in the mirror, straightening the collar of his shirt. He snatched up a dry jacket from the closet and shrugged into it, smoothing away nonexistent wrinkles in a moment of paranoid vanity.
"Hot date?" His roommate asked from where he was bent studiously over his homework. Who did homework on a Friday night? Jaejoong was perplexed weekly by his bookworm cohabitant.
"...No." It wasn't a lie and it wasn't the truth. In Jaejoong's world, it was simply a convenient answer that halted conversation.
"Mm." Not even looking up, Jaejoong could hear a mixture of bored disinterest and dubious amusement in the boy's monosyllabic response. Hn. Shrugging it off, he returned his attention to the mirror. Once satisfied with his appearance, he collected his world history textbook and notes and set off for the eighth floor.
Giddy and lighthearted at the prospect of having an excuse to spend more than a few minutes in the presence of the radiant sophomore, Jaejoong might have appeared a little intoxicated to those more familiar with his understated loutishness, given his alert gaze and bright visage. As he approached the younger student's room, he bit his lip, nerves getting the best of him for a moment. But luckily he remembered that he had to knock for the door to open, so he did, putting an end to the staring contest he was engaged in with the door. Then he waited.
Two seconds felt like two hours, but nevertheless the door opened, the same warm spill of light washing over him, from a buttery lamp ensconced within, and the bright smile of the tutor himself.
"Heyyy, right on time. Come in." Changmin grinned and opened the door wider for Jaejoong to enter. Stepping across the threshold, he took note of the fact that the boy's roommate was nowhere to be seen, and of course it was the very first thing he inquired after.
"Oh, yeah he's not around much. It's almost like having a single." Changmin smiled. "I'm definitely not complaining." He moved with a graceful ease within the confined space, dropping into the chair before his desk, littered with books and papers. He gestured for Jaejoong to sit on the bed.
"So, I was thinking about this," Min began, "and I guess I need to know what you don't 'get' so I can best help you." His tone was amicable yet businesslike. It set Jaejoong at ease.
"Uh. Well. All of it?" The senior canted his head and felt very foolish indeed.
Min bit back his amusement out of decency, though Jaejoong could see the quirk in the boy's smile. "It's really a matter of memorization... I suppose I can just help you study and memorize things. It's unfortunate that it's not like math where I can help you work through a problem." He looked mildly remorseful about the fact.
That sounded reasonable enough. "Okay. Uh. I guess that works." Jaejoong pressed his lips together in thought for a moment. "About payment..." he began, leaving it open for elaboration.
"Ah, right. Well..." He hesitated and the older boy looked at him expectantly. "I do have kind of high rates."
Jaejoong shrugged. "That's fine." He was far from poor.
"I didn't even tell you what I charge yet and you're already agreeing." Changmin flashed his bright whites in amusement, in a way that made Jae feel as though he were laughing at him.
Which, essentially, he was.
"I doubt it'll be a problem, is what I meant." Jaejoong amended, a little sheepishly.
Changmin stood and sat down beside him on the bed. Jaejoong caught a whiff of the boy's cologne, a sweet smooth scent with a note of musk. Still waiting for a specific, he mentally slapped himself out of the stupor he was about to fall into at the close proximity - which really wasn't even that close.
"I'm sure you've... heard the rumors." Changmin said slowly, his deep brown gaze finding Jaejoong's.
"Huh? What rumors?" Jaejoong was perplexed - he wasn't even trying to play dumb, he simply was dumb at the moment. Being around Changmin was proving a more trying task than he imagined it would be. He was helplessly overwhelmed by the boy's charisma and charm. Not to mention other things.
"You must have..." Changmin's voice had dropped to a murmur, gaze fastened tightly upon the senior's.
"Oh! Oh... oh those...?" Jaejoong's brows raised in querulous doubt. "But... they're just rumors... right?" His brow furrowed in confusion.
"I'm... touched by the fact that you don't believe them. But... you see..." Changmin stalled.
Jaejoong waited, blinking at the boy in silence.
"You're... very cute, Jaejoong." Changmin lifted a hand and brushed fingertips along the older boy's jaw, subtly drawing his face nearer to his own. His voice mellowed to a husky murmur as his eyes traced over the delicate contour of Jaejoong's countenance.
"I- I am?" Jaejoong was a bit thrilled - as in, beyond comprehension.
"Don't be like that. You must know you are..." That easy smile slid over the younger boy's lips, and Jae could've sworn he melted. "I charge an even rate, Jaejoong." He spoke, his gaze rising from the older boy's luscious pout to his eyes. "I give you an hour... you give me an hour."
And from the look in his eyes, there was no mistaking what he implied.
Author: sungie86
Rating: PG-13
A/N: Ahahaha... just read ^o~
Past Chapters: Prologue & Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8
9. Eight PM
~*~
Incendiary glance
Be come and collide in me
Zoom in enhance hold
While I go helplessly sky high
Magic eye sugar rushing don't stop
[yousendit | Frou Frou - Must Be Dreaming]
~*~
Rain poured down upon the academy in bucketfuls, drenching the student body in a vain attempt to thoroughly ruin Friday. With most of the students huddled away in the warmth of the dorms, the grounds were bare, the young grass bowing beneath the deluge.
It had begun to rain right around the time that the last class of the day let out, much to everyone's chagrin. However, Jaejoong was in fine spirits. He had all but floated through dinner, and while everyone else was rushing to and fro beneath the downpour, he seemed thoroughly unaffected as he walked along at a normal clip, though equally drenched.
With well over an hour left to kill after dinner, he wandered into his dorm room in a daze, peeling off his waterlogged blazer and dropping it on the back of his chair. Flopping down on the bed, he ran a hand through damp locks, combing them away from his face. Leaning back on his hands, he looked left, then right, seeking some sort of diversion with which to entertain himself til eight o'clock.
The only thing in sight was the required reading for the following week's Literature class. He picked it up with a mix of intrigue and doubt, and flipped it open to the assigned pages. Sliding back on the bed, he began reading - a rare activity in the world of Jaejoong. And rarer still - he found himself thoroughly engrossed.
To sleep, perchance to dream... Hamlet drained away the next hour with ease, much to his skeptical suprise and pleasure.
A while before eight, he rose from the bed and made his way to the bathroom to grab a quick shower. Skin clammy from the weather relished the warmth of the shower, porcelain pinked by the heat. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, letting the water run in crystal rivulets down his slender body. He was calm and excited all at once, as his mind coursed on a natural high. Making quick work of the cleansing, he stepped out of the shower minutes later, skin rosy and glossed. Dark spiky lashes beneath wavy tendrils of black framed eyes livelier than they'd been in a long time - if ever.
Returning to his room, Jaejoong gave himself a once over in the mirror, straightening the collar of his shirt. He snatched up a dry jacket from the closet and shrugged into it, smoothing away nonexistent wrinkles in a moment of paranoid vanity.
"Hot date?" His roommate asked from where he was bent studiously over his homework. Who did homework on a Friday night? Jaejoong was perplexed weekly by his bookworm cohabitant.
"...No." It wasn't a lie and it wasn't the truth. In Jaejoong's world, it was simply a convenient answer that halted conversation.
"Mm." Not even looking up, Jaejoong could hear a mixture of bored disinterest and dubious amusement in the boy's monosyllabic response. Hn. Shrugging it off, he returned his attention to the mirror. Once satisfied with his appearance, he collected his world history textbook and notes and set off for the eighth floor.
Giddy and lighthearted at the prospect of having an excuse to spend more than a few minutes in the presence of the radiant sophomore, Jaejoong might have appeared a little intoxicated to those more familiar with his understated loutishness, given his alert gaze and bright visage. As he approached the younger student's room, he bit his lip, nerves getting the best of him for a moment. But luckily he remembered that he had to knock for the door to open, so he did, putting an end to the staring contest he was engaged in with the door. Then he waited.
Two seconds felt like two hours, but nevertheless the door opened, the same warm spill of light washing over him, from a buttery lamp ensconced within, and the bright smile of the tutor himself.
"Heyyy, right on time. Come in." Changmin grinned and opened the door wider for Jaejoong to enter. Stepping across the threshold, he took note of the fact that the boy's roommate was nowhere to be seen, and of course it was the very first thing he inquired after.
"Oh, yeah he's not around much. It's almost like having a single." Changmin smiled. "I'm definitely not complaining." He moved with a graceful ease within the confined space, dropping into the chair before his desk, littered with books and papers. He gestured for Jaejoong to sit on the bed.
"So, I was thinking about this," Min began, "and I guess I need to know what you don't 'get' so I can best help you." His tone was amicable yet businesslike. It set Jaejoong at ease.
"Uh. Well. All of it?" The senior canted his head and felt very foolish indeed.
Min bit back his amusement out of decency, though Jaejoong could see the quirk in the boy's smile. "It's really a matter of memorization... I suppose I can just help you study and memorize things. It's unfortunate that it's not like math where I can help you work through a problem." He looked mildly remorseful about the fact.
That sounded reasonable enough. "Okay. Uh. I guess that works." Jaejoong pressed his lips together in thought for a moment. "About payment..." he began, leaving it open for elaboration.
"Ah, right. Well..." He hesitated and the older boy looked at him expectantly. "I do have kind of high rates."
Jaejoong shrugged. "That's fine." He was far from poor.
"I didn't even tell you what I charge yet and you're already agreeing." Changmin flashed his bright whites in amusement, in a way that made Jae feel as though he were laughing at him.
Which, essentially, he was.
"I doubt it'll be a problem, is what I meant." Jaejoong amended, a little sheepishly.
Changmin stood and sat down beside him on the bed. Jaejoong caught a whiff of the boy's cologne, a sweet smooth scent with a note of musk. Still waiting for a specific, he mentally slapped himself out of the stupor he was about to fall into at the close proximity - which really wasn't even that close.
"I'm sure you've... heard the rumors." Changmin said slowly, his deep brown gaze finding Jaejoong's.
"Huh? What rumors?" Jaejoong was perplexed - he wasn't even trying to play dumb, he simply was dumb at the moment. Being around Changmin was proving a more trying task than he imagined it would be. He was helplessly overwhelmed by the boy's charisma and charm. Not to mention other things.
"You must have..." Changmin's voice had dropped to a murmur, gaze fastened tightly upon the senior's.
"Oh! Oh... oh those...?" Jaejoong's brows raised in querulous doubt. "But... they're just rumors... right?" His brow furrowed in confusion.
"I'm... touched by the fact that you don't believe them. But... you see..." Changmin stalled.
Jaejoong waited, blinking at the boy in silence.
"You're... very cute, Jaejoong." Changmin lifted a hand and brushed fingertips along the older boy's jaw, subtly drawing his face nearer to his own. His voice mellowed to a husky murmur as his eyes traced over the delicate contour of Jaejoong's countenance.
"I- I am?" Jaejoong was a bit thrilled - as in, beyond comprehension.
"Don't be like that. You must know you are..." That easy smile slid over the younger boy's lips, and Jae could've sworn he melted. "I charge an even rate, Jaejoong." He spoke, his gaze rising from the older boy's luscious pout to his eyes. "I give you an hour... you give me an hour."
And from the look in his eyes, there was no mistaking what he implied.