Title: N/A
Fandom: Eternity (manga)
Author: Ladye Black
Rating: FRT...for now (that's "Fan-rated Teen" for those of you who might be confused)
Warnings: Possible shounen-ai/yaoi
Dislclaimer: I don't own the characters. I do own this piece of fanfiction.
Notes: I have yet to see an Eternity fanfic, so, I thought I'd write one. I'm not really expecting any response, but if someone does happen to read it...
Chapter 1
At first, Jangbang ignored the pounding on his apartment door, hoping it would go away. When the annoying sound not only persisted, but also became louder, he groaned into his stained pillow and rolled off his bed.
"Alright, I'm coming!" he yelled in the direction of the door as he pulled on a pair ratty jeans. Carefully, he made his way around the junk that cluttered his floor to the door. Opening it, he was only mildly surprised at who he found on the other side.
"Yubin, what the hell are you doing here?"
"Um..." Yubin kept his face turned toward the carpet, as if afraid he'd earn more of the taller boy's ire by looking him in the face. "I, um, could I stay with you for awhile?"
Jangbang was puzzled. He'd never seen his usually carefree and happy friend so sad and scared-looking. At least, not without about five big guys running after him after he'd made some smart-ass comment to piss them off. Usually, when that happened, Jangbang had to fight them all off. He didn't really mind, though. Fighting was fun and exhilarating.
"Yeah, sure, come on in," he replied, opening the door wider. The smaller boy slipped in, and after he'd closed the door, Jangbang studied him for a moment.
"Sorry about the mess," he continued, picking up a few random pairs of boxers. "You can sleep on the couch."
"Okay."
The older boy frowned as he cleaned several things off the piece of dilapidated furniture. Something was very wrong. Even when Yubin got the shit beat out of him, he was still a smart-ass. This...complacency was disturbing.
"The couch doesn't fold out or anything, but you're small enough to fit," he said, eyeing up the smaller boy.
Yubin glared at him.
Now, that's more like the boy I know, Jangbang thought. "You've been here before, so you know where everything is. If that's all, I'm going back to bed. When I get back from work tonight, we'll discuss how long you'll be staying." Without waiting for a reply, Jangbang headed back to his bedroom.
Just as he was about to step into his room, he heard a soft 'thank you' coming from the couch. Jangbang smiled slightly before crawling back into bed.
********
When Jangbang entered his apartment later that day, it was to the wonderful smells of cooking. He slowly made his way to the kitchen where Yubin appeared to putting the finishing touches on the dinner he'd made. Jangbang watched for a moment, grateful for how much happier Yubin looked from when he'd first entered the apartment early that morning.
"Jangbang!" Having been discovered, the taller boy smiled slightly. However, it seemed to have the adverse affect in making Yubin nervous.
"I, uh, I made dinner. Was that okay? Some people-"
"Yubin."
"-are totally uptight about their kitchens. I almost-"
"Yubin."
"-got smacked for asking if I could-"
Jangbang sighed to himself before lightly grabbing Yubin's chin and forcing the boy to look at him. "Yubin, it's fine. I appreciate it."
"...oh."
Seeing that his friend appeared slightly flushed, Jangbang peered at him worriedly. "Are you okay?"
"What? Yeah, I'm fine." Yubin pulled away, going to the cupboard and getting out a few dishes. "Let's eat before the food gets cold."
"Yeah, okay."
As they sat down to eat, Jangbang studied his best friend surreptitiously. He hadn't had a chance to, yet. First, he'd been too tired, and then he'd had to rush out the door, nearly being late for work.
Looking at him now, the scared boy from earlier was nearly gone. In his place was a Yubin almost exactly as he should be. However, there were differences, like the small bruise on the left corner of Yubin's mouth. Others peeked out from the boy's loose clothing, but Jangbang couldn't identify the shape of them.
Another difference was that Yubin appeared to be getting thinner. Jangbang remembered when that shirt fit a little better than it did now. And that was when it hit him. He hadn't realized it before but, it had been nearly three weeks since he's last seen his friend. He used to see his friend nearly every day, especially when they attended the same school. Slowly, however, Yubin's near daily popping up had decreased. It would sometimes be days before he saw the other boy again.
Jangbang didn't know what could have changed Yubin's behavior, though given the bruises, he had a fairly good idea. And if it was what he thought it was, Jangbang meant to keep his friend safe. Yubin would stay with him, though how they'd survive on what little he made, he had no idea.
"Hey, Jangbang, you okay? You look a little spaced out there."
"Wha? Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."
"Must be hard for you," smirked Yubin.
"Shut up, brat," Jangbang smiled. Oh well, they'd make it somehow.
TBC...at some point in time...maybe...