fic: The Long Exile {Chapter 7/?}
YAY~ This is what I got up to yesterday~<3 It's been almost ten months since I last did any serious writing on this fic. I feel so bad about that. But it's moving again! ^_^ I'm so happy~ Yujji
Title: The Long Exile
Length: Chaptered, Chapter 7/?
Author: M_K Yujji
Rating: PG, 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
Summary:When the line between reality and dreaming begins to blur...
~*~*~*~
“Maybe they're right. Maybe I am crazy.”
He was gratified to see Yunho wince as the younger man entered the room. “You're supposed to be asleep.”
“You honestly think I can sleep?” He shivered and wrapped his arms around his own waist, wishing he could banish the uneasy, trembling tension that still held him tight even though he'd been safely inside for hours.
Yunho sighed and moved over to pull Jaejoong close. “You're not crazy, Jaejoong-ah... at least... no more so than usual.”
If it was supposed to be a joke, Jaejoong wasn't humored. Yunho seemed to realize that and hugged him. “You're not crazy. That wind almost knocked me off the balcony.” The arms around him tightened slightly. “You could have fallen too easily...”
“And the voices?” Jaejoong had been almost hysterical and had spilled the entire thing before Yunho had gotten him calmed down again.
Yunho pulled back and tilted his chin up. “You shouldn't have been watching that movie, Joongie... Don't you remember what happened the one time you guys managed to get Chunnie and I to watch it?”
In spite of himself, Jaejoong felt his lips twitch in remembered amusement. “You made us all sleep on a makeshift pallet in the living room with the two of you in the middle for an entire week.”
It had been annoying, but endearingly cute. And even though Changmin and Junsu had groused even more than Jaejoong had, he knew that, like him, they'd both secretly enjoyed the sleep over style closeness it had allowed them to share.
“Exactly. That movie was made to get inside your head and rattle you.”
“But I've seen it dozens of times. It's never bothered me before.” No movie had ever effected him like that before.
“Joongie...” Yunho sighed and hugged him close again. “We've all been under a lot of stress. And you've been having nightmares. I'd think it'd be pretty normal to be a little jumpy.”
“Yunnie...” Slowly Jaejoong relaxed and wrapped his own arms around Yunho. “It's more than a little jumpy...”
Sighing, Yunho just held him tighter. “It'll be okay, Joongie. You'll see. We'll get a break soon, you can get some real rest, cook to your heart's content, and everything will settle back down.”
Jaejoong could only hope his friend was right because otherwise, he thought he might really lose his mind.
~*~*~
“Dammit..” Jaejoong looked up to see Changmin frowning and rattling the door that led out to the balcony. It had rained non-stop for a week and no one had wanted to risk another near accident like Jaejoong's.
The sun had finally come out though, and Yoochun had been muttering about the potted plants that were still filed around the door.
“Need some help, Min-ah?” He didn't particularly want to go back out there, but if his dongsaeng needed help, he'd just have to grit his teeth and bear it.
The door rattled some more and their youngest reared back and kicked it, hard. “The stupid door is jammed.”
“Really?” Jaejoong frowned, both at Changmin's actions and his words, as he got up and went to investigate. “No one's touched it all week, right? And it worked fine... before.”
Everyone had been politely dancing around the subject of what had happened. Yunho had declared it an accident of natural origins, citing the wind and rain coupled with the movie, for both the near fall and the 'voices'. The others had accepted it with little protest after the first night, though sometimes they looked at him as if they were trying to decide if he really might be losing his grip on sanity.
Even more often, though, he'd caught Changmin staring at Yunho, a thoughtful, vaguely puzzled look on his face.
A look a lot like the one he was wearing now as he stared at the jammed door. “It was. And no, no one has messed with it that I've seen.”
“That's weird.” Jaejoong poked at it himself, but could see no reason for the apparent malfunction. Of course, he was a singer, not a carpenter. It could have had some very obvious issue and he just didn't recognize it.
Long fingers ran along the seam around the door latch, then Changmin was staring at him. “You know... Something else is weird... Was weird... whatever....”
Jaejoong wanted to fidget under the weight of Changmin's gaze, even though he wasn't sure why. They joked about it, but sometimes it really did feel like an old soul was peering out at him from behind those dark eyes.
“We weren't anywhere near the apartment when Yunho-hyung took off like someone had lit a fire under his feet. One second we were just leaving the restaurant, laughing about how pathetically enamored of the waitress Junsu-yah was, the next Yunho-hyung was just gone.”
A warm, fluttery feeling welled up in Jaejoong's chest. “He knew I was in trouble.”
Somehow, some way, Yunho had known.
And he'd arrived just in time to keep Jaejoong from plunging to his death - because swept away by wind or pulled off by vicious, imaginary, shadow creatures, the fall from the balcony would have killed him just as dead either way.
“Apparently,” Changmin agreed though he was shaking his head, his expression still puzzled. “But that's not really the part that bothers me.”
“What do you mean?”
Changmin's expression darkened slightly and he gave the door latch one final shimmy before giving up. “It took us twenty minutes to get back here at a flat out run. I thought Yoochun-ah was going to asphyxiate - especially once we got to the building and the elevator wasn't working. But when we found the two of you, he already had you changed and in bed and he wasn't even winded.”
Jaejoong could only gape at him. The entire night had been a blur, he didn't even remember the others coming home, just Yunho protecting and comforting him. And later, when they'd been discussing what had happened while he was supposed to be sleeping.
He remembered that part of the night just fine.
“That's pretty weird, don't you think, hyung?”
~*~*~
“I'm fine, Yunnie.” Despite the brave-faced words, there was still a little catch in his breath, a sniffle he couldn't quite conceal.
Fury darkened the young prince's face as he wiped away the blood and dirt that mixed together on Jaejoong's knees. “I'm going to tell my father. It isn't right. You didn't do anything to them.”
The changeling caught the other boy's hand and held it close, forcing Yunho to focus on him rather than his injuries. “Don't. It's not worth it. If they get into trouble, it will just be worse.”
“Still-“
“No. Please.” He hated to see the thwarted look of frustration on his friend's face, but experience had taught them both that telling only made it worse. “I'll just try harder to avoid them next time.”
“You shouldn't have to. You have just as much right to be here as anyone else.”
Jaejoong shrugged. Outside of the palace, there wasn't a single soul in the kingdom that didn't look on him with malice and discontent. It had been that way for as long as he could remember and he'd grown used to it. “They don't see it that way.”
He'd heard the whispers, seen the hostile looks.
He knew the prophecy.
And he couldn't entirely blame them for their hatred. If he ever hurt his friend like they said he would... Well, he'd hate himself a lot more than they ever could.
Yunho pulled his hands away to finish cleaning the scrapped skin of his knees, some of the anger and frustration bleeding away as he was able to do something to help Jaejoong even if he couldn't stop the bullying. “I see it that way. My father sees it that way.”
“Your father may be the King and you may be the heir apparent, but you can't control people's hearts and minds, Yunnie.” However much Jaejoong sometimes wished they could. “You can force them to pay lip service to accepting me, but you can't force them to truly want me here.”
“We should be able to stop them from hurting you.”
Sighing, Jaejoong slipped down off the bed and wrapped his arms around Yunho's neck. His knees stung where they pressed into the carpet, but Yunho's tight hug made up for it. “I'll live, Yunnie.”
Then soft, wet lips pressed against his neck and Jaejoong shivered. Yunho had always done that - kissed his neck or his head or nose - but recently it had started to cause a pleasant sensation that had nothing to do with the comfort it was offering.
Choikang had seen it and the way he looked at them - knowing and amused - made Jaejoong uncomfortable.
“I'm sorry they hurt you, JaeJae. I wish I could promise you it wouldn't happen again.”
Jaejoong smiled and tightened his grip on the prince's neck. “How about... you promise to kiss it better each time and we'll consider any misguided attempts at guilt on your part to be soothed and dealt with, all right?”
An answering smile curled against his skin. “I promise.”
~*~*~
Continue on to
Chapter 8
Title: The Long Exile
Length: Chaptered, Chapter 7/?
Author: M_K Yujji
Rating: PG, 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
Summary:When the line between reality and dreaming begins to blur...
~*~*~*~
“Maybe they're right. Maybe I am crazy.”
He was gratified to see Yunho wince as the younger man entered the room. “You're supposed to be asleep.”
“You honestly think I can sleep?” He shivered and wrapped his arms around his own waist, wishing he could banish the uneasy, trembling tension that still held him tight even though he'd been safely inside for hours.
Yunho sighed and moved over to pull Jaejoong close. “You're not crazy, Jaejoong-ah... at least... no more so than usual.”
If it was supposed to be a joke, Jaejoong wasn't humored. Yunho seemed to realize that and hugged him. “You're not crazy. That wind almost knocked me off the balcony.” The arms around him tightened slightly. “You could have fallen too easily...”
“And the voices?” Jaejoong had been almost hysterical and had spilled the entire thing before Yunho had gotten him calmed down again.
Yunho pulled back and tilted his chin up. “You shouldn't have been watching that movie, Joongie... Don't you remember what happened the one time you guys managed to get Chunnie and I to watch it?”
In spite of himself, Jaejoong felt his lips twitch in remembered amusement. “You made us all sleep on a makeshift pallet in the living room with the two of you in the middle for an entire week.”
It had been annoying, but endearingly cute. And even though Changmin and Junsu had groused even more than Jaejoong had, he knew that, like him, they'd both secretly enjoyed the sleep over style closeness it had allowed them to share.
“Exactly. That movie was made to get inside your head and rattle you.”
“But I've seen it dozens of times. It's never bothered me before.” No movie had ever effected him like that before.
“Joongie...” Yunho sighed and hugged him close again. “We've all been under a lot of stress. And you've been having nightmares. I'd think it'd be pretty normal to be a little jumpy.”
“Yunnie...” Slowly Jaejoong relaxed and wrapped his own arms around Yunho. “It's more than a little jumpy...”
Sighing, Yunho just held him tighter. “It'll be okay, Joongie. You'll see. We'll get a break soon, you can get some real rest, cook to your heart's content, and everything will settle back down.”
Jaejoong could only hope his friend was right because otherwise, he thought he might really lose his mind.
~*~*~
“Dammit..” Jaejoong looked up to see Changmin frowning and rattling the door that led out to the balcony. It had rained non-stop for a week and no one had wanted to risk another near accident like Jaejoong's.
The sun had finally come out though, and Yoochun had been muttering about the potted plants that were still filed around the door.
“Need some help, Min-ah?” He didn't particularly want to go back out there, but if his dongsaeng needed help, he'd just have to grit his teeth and bear it.
The door rattled some more and their youngest reared back and kicked it, hard. “The stupid door is jammed.”
“Really?” Jaejoong frowned, both at Changmin's actions and his words, as he got up and went to investigate. “No one's touched it all week, right? And it worked fine... before.”
Everyone had been politely dancing around the subject of what had happened. Yunho had declared it an accident of natural origins, citing the wind and rain coupled with the movie, for both the near fall and the 'voices'. The others had accepted it with little protest after the first night, though sometimes they looked at him as if they were trying to decide if he really might be losing his grip on sanity.
Even more often, though, he'd caught Changmin staring at Yunho, a thoughtful, vaguely puzzled look on his face.
A look a lot like the one he was wearing now as he stared at the jammed door. “It was. And no, no one has messed with it that I've seen.”
“That's weird.” Jaejoong poked at it himself, but could see no reason for the apparent malfunction. Of course, he was a singer, not a carpenter. It could have had some very obvious issue and he just didn't recognize it.
Long fingers ran along the seam around the door latch, then Changmin was staring at him. “You know... Something else is weird... Was weird... whatever....”
Jaejoong wanted to fidget under the weight of Changmin's gaze, even though he wasn't sure why. They joked about it, but sometimes it really did feel like an old soul was peering out at him from behind those dark eyes.
“We weren't anywhere near the apartment when Yunho-hyung took off like someone had lit a fire under his feet. One second we were just leaving the restaurant, laughing about how pathetically enamored of the waitress Junsu-yah was, the next Yunho-hyung was just gone.”
A warm, fluttery feeling welled up in Jaejoong's chest. “He knew I was in trouble.”
Somehow, some way, Yunho had known.
And he'd arrived just in time to keep Jaejoong from plunging to his death - because swept away by wind or pulled off by vicious, imaginary, shadow creatures, the fall from the balcony would have killed him just as dead either way.
“Apparently,” Changmin agreed though he was shaking his head, his expression still puzzled. “But that's not really the part that bothers me.”
“What do you mean?”
Changmin's expression darkened slightly and he gave the door latch one final shimmy before giving up. “It took us twenty minutes to get back here at a flat out run. I thought Yoochun-ah was going to asphyxiate - especially once we got to the building and the elevator wasn't working. But when we found the two of you, he already had you changed and in bed and he wasn't even winded.”
Jaejoong could only gape at him. The entire night had been a blur, he didn't even remember the others coming home, just Yunho protecting and comforting him. And later, when they'd been discussing what had happened while he was supposed to be sleeping.
He remembered that part of the night just fine.
“That's pretty weird, don't you think, hyung?”
~*~*~
“I'm fine, Yunnie.” Despite the brave-faced words, there was still a little catch in his breath, a sniffle he couldn't quite conceal.
Fury darkened the young prince's face as he wiped away the blood and dirt that mixed together on Jaejoong's knees. “I'm going to tell my father. It isn't right. You didn't do anything to them.”
The changeling caught the other boy's hand and held it close, forcing Yunho to focus on him rather than his injuries. “Don't. It's not worth it. If they get into trouble, it will just be worse.”
“Still-“
“No. Please.” He hated to see the thwarted look of frustration on his friend's face, but experience had taught them both that telling only made it worse. “I'll just try harder to avoid them next time.”
“You shouldn't have to. You have just as much right to be here as anyone else.”
Jaejoong shrugged. Outside of the palace, there wasn't a single soul in the kingdom that didn't look on him with malice and discontent. It had been that way for as long as he could remember and he'd grown used to it. “They don't see it that way.”
He'd heard the whispers, seen the hostile looks.
He knew the prophecy.
And he couldn't entirely blame them for their hatred. If he ever hurt his friend like they said he would... Well, he'd hate himself a lot more than they ever could.
Yunho pulled his hands away to finish cleaning the scrapped skin of his knees, some of the anger and frustration bleeding away as he was able to do something to help Jaejoong even if he couldn't stop the bullying. “I see it that way. My father sees it that way.”
“Your father may be the King and you may be the heir apparent, but you can't control people's hearts and minds, Yunnie.” However much Jaejoong sometimes wished they could. “You can force them to pay lip service to accepting me, but you can't force them to truly want me here.”
“We should be able to stop them from hurting you.”
Sighing, Jaejoong slipped down off the bed and wrapped his arms around Yunho's neck. His knees stung where they pressed into the carpet, but Yunho's tight hug made up for it. “I'll live, Yunnie.”
Then soft, wet lips pressed against his neck and Jaejoong shivered. Yunho had always done that - kissed his neck or his head or nose - but recently it had started to cause a pleasant sensation that had nothing to do with the comfort it was offering.
Choikang had seen it and the way he looked at them - knowing and amused - made Jaejoong uncomfortable.
“I'm sorry they hurt you, JaeJae. I wish I could promise you it wouldn't happen again.”
Jaejoong smiled and tightened his grip on the prince's neck. “How about... you promise to kiss it better each time and we'll consider any misguided attempts at guilt on your part to be soothed and dealt with, all right?”
An answering smile curled against his skin. “I promise.”
~*~*~
Continue on to
Chapter 8