Keep Your Head Down [6]
Pairings: YunJaeMin
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: boyxboy, mature content.
Summary: Jaejoong wants to be forgiven for leaving HoMin and they know what they want as retribution.
A/N: An update, finally :)
Yunho fought against flinching at Yoochun’s gaze. The man sitting across from him never showed anything more than his usual care-free expressions, rarely if ever becoming angry beyond slightly irritated from lack of sleep. But the Yoochun before him was not the Yoochun that had lived in the same apartment as him two years ago.
His loyalty always resided with Jaejoong, Yunho mused darkly, but it seemed then that he had lost any respect he used to have for his previous leader.
Yunho did not reply, choosing to take a sip from the sugary drink in front of him. The cold on his tongue was a momentary relief from the scorching fire in Yoochun’s eyes.
“Jaejoong is a grown man capable of making his own decisions,” he said finally.
“You know very well he isn’t,” seethed Yoochun, “Not when you and Changmin have messed with his emotions like that.”
“No, Yoochun, I don’t know!” Yunho countered, the intensity of his gaze rivaling Yoochun’s. “You three walked out on us one day without so much as saying good-bye. What happened to our dream? Were any of you truthful about it anyways? Then how can you say I know any of you when you became strangers the second you walked out that door?”
“That’s still no reason to torture him,” Yoochun said. His fingers tightened around the warm Styrofoam container in his hand, the lid threatening to pop off.
For a moment neither spoke. They looked at each other, as if sizing the other up, while tension hung thick in the air.
“You know what? I don’t have to listen to you. You lost that right the moment you left the group,” Yunho said and stood up, cradling the plastic cup with what remained of his coffee in one hand.
“Okay, don’t listen. But the next time I hear about you getting twenty feet close to Jaejoong I’m not just going to talk you out of it,” Yoochun threatened but made no move to stand up.
“Let’s see about that,” Yunho whispered harshly as he left, arm bumping against Yoochun’s shoulder as he walked past.
♦♦♦♦♦
“And last shot! That was wonderful, Changmin-ssi. Let’s take a break before going through the pictures, okay?”
The staff and Changmin all nodded at the photographer’s words, scrambling away towards their work stations or, in Changmin’s case, the beaten couch with pain splatters in the photography studio. It was very old and the springs were starting to poke through but it was comfortable in the way only old furniture is.
He grabbed his bag holding his belongings and took out his phone, intend on checking any messages he could have missed during the shoot. With quick fingers he tapped the password on the device, unlocking it. He frowned upon what he saw.
A missed call and an unread message from Jaejoong.
Yunho had advised him against further encouraging contact with Jaejoong, at least for a while. To be honest, he could not get that desperate image of his hyung stripping as soon as he entered the apartment and running towards Yunho’s room when Changmin would not take him. At that moment Changmin felt something he thought he could never feel for his ex-band mate again; concern.
It’s not like they had a plan of action. They just knew they had fucked up and Jaejoong had taken the worst of the whole messed up situation. Every day he wished he hadn’t joined Yunho, but something dark had taken over his mind and body, turning his every thought into hurting and destroying and breaking apart. He couldn’t blame Yunho either; he knew it had been the same for him as well. Jaejoong was just the unfortunate trigger and victim.
After all they have done would indifference be the best path to take? He fumbled with the buttons, pressing the keys to a familiar number but deleting it before he could press the call button. Yunho had gone out that morning to meet with Yoochun. Changmin wanted to believe he had no idea what he wanted to talk about but he knew it had to be about Jaejoong.
He pressed the sequence of keys once more and absentmindedly pressed the phone to his ear, pulling his feet up on the beaten couch and leaning his head on the armrest as he did so. His feet moved in time with the ringing tone of the phone, up and down, making the light reflect off the shiny surface of the leather boots he was given for the photoshoot.
“Yeoboseyo?”
Changmin’s breath froze in his throat. He hadn’t really planned what he was going to say.
“…hyung,” he breathed softly into the phone.
“Changmin-ah.”
Jaejoong’s voice sounded raspy and with a sickly tone to it, almost as if it took a great effort for him to talk.
“Y-you sound terrible, hyung,” Changmin said, slapping himself mentally for his nervousness. He cleared his throat. “Are you sick?”
“A little,” the eldest replied through the phone before breaking into a fit of coughing.
Changmin’s heart clenched with guilt at the harsh sound of Jaejoong’s breathing once the coughs faded out.
“Listen, hyung, that doesn’t sound like a little sick. Do you need me to get you anything?”
“Aren’t you busy?”
“I can spare a couple of hours,” replied Changmin. He switched from his lying down position to a sitting one, supporting his elbows against his knees. There was a pause on the other side of the line and Changmin chewed on his lip nervously while waiting for a reply.
“Could you come over?” came the soft whisper of a reply.
Changmin looked around, spotting the chief photographer going over the photographs. When he caught Changmin’s eye he smiled and gave him a thumbs up.
“I’ll be there in half an hour,” said Changmin, ending the call.
♦♦♦♦♦
The ride to Jaejoong’s apartment went by relatively fast even after taking a detour to the pharmacy, maybe because it was early enough that traffic was light, maybe because Changmin was not sure he wanted to get there.
Any person would feel guilty, he couldn’t be blamed.
Upon arriving he was led to the elevator without questions asked. The button to Jaejoong’s floor already pressed, Changmin noticed, as he made his ascend. The AC in the elevator was turned on, causing a shiver to run down the tall man’s back. He had not taken a jacket with him.
The elevator bell dinged once the metallic box reached its destination. Changmin stepped into the small lobby just before the elevator’s doors closed behind him. The door to Jaejoong’s apartment was unlocked and partly opened. Jaejoong must’ve done it as soon as Changmin agreed to come, the youngest thought. Clutching the plastic bag with medicine in his hand, he entered the apartment.
“Hyung?” he asked tentatively.
“In here,” he barely heard Jaejoong’s hoarse whisper in the otherwise empty apartment.
He walked towards the direction of his hyung’s voice; passing through exquisitely decorated areas until he reached what he presumed was the eldest’s bedroom. Peeking inside he spotted the older man curled up under the covers.
“How are you feeling?” Changmin asked while making his way inside. He walked towards the bed, sitting on the edge next to Jaejoong.
His hyung looked paler than normal and his bangs were sticking to his forehead in a sweaty mess. Changmin touched Jaejoong’s forehead. He was burning up.
“I’ve been better,” Jaejoong tried to smile, but could only grimace at the hoarseness of his voice.
“I brought you medicine,” Changmin said, setting the bag on top of Jaejoong’s night table. “But you have a fever. Let me get something to cool you down with.”
Jaejoong nodded, closing his eyes.
In the bathroom Changmin found a small face towel that he ran under the tap, drenching it in cool water. Wringing the excess water he took it with him back to Jaejoong’s room.
Changmin thought Jaejoong had fallen asleep but when he brushed away the damp bangs and pressed the cool towel on his forehead, the latter moaned softly in appreciation.
“Are you hungry?” Jaejoong asked, his voice barely above a whisper. “There are some leftovers you can heat if you want.”
“Maybe later,” Changmin replied, fumbling with the box of medicine. When he had finally opened it and had two pills on his palm ready to give to Jaejoong he noticed his hyung was watching him.
“I haven’t been a very good hyung eh, Changmin-ah?”
“Don’t say that. Take these, I’ll bring you some water,” Changmin responded, handing Jaejoong the pair of pills and leaving the room.
Holding a glass under the water filter, Changmin could do nothing more than muse over Jaejoong’s words. It was incredible, unbelievable, that after everything Yunho and he made Jaejoong go through his hyung still thought he was the villain.
Changmin slammed his fist against the counter. How were they going to fix something that was so messed up?
He took the glass of water back to Jaejoong’s room and helped him sit up so he could swallow the medicine. He settled next to Jaejoong and climbed under the covers with him, cradling the older man against his warm body. Taking out his cell phone he started canceling his activities for the day.
“You idiot, getting sick like that. I’ll be staying to take care of you today.”
Jaejoong saw it and tried to say something but he erupted in a fit of coughing before Changmin could make out anything of what he had said.
“Easy, hyung. What was that?” he asked, rubbing soothing circles on Jaejoong’s back when he bent over to cough. Putting the wet towel back on Jaejoong’s forehead when it fell off he helped him lie back down again.
“I don’t want you to get sick,” said Jaejoong after taking a big gulp of air.
Changmin snorted.
“Nonsense. Do you want to watch a movie or something? We can download something on your computer.”
They ended up watching some terrible action movie Changmin found randomly, however neither one of them protested against the movie choice. Jaejoong was being lulled to sleep and Changmin was entertained enough not to care about the clichéd kung fu fighting scenes.
“Changmin-ah,” Jaejoong whispered, eyes closed and head lying on Changmin’s shoulder.
“Hmm?”
“Sorry for making everything more complicated,” Jaejoong mumbled before his breathing evened out and he was fast asleep.
Changmin watched his sick hyung sleep peacefully. The towel on Jaejoong’s forehead was getting warm so he turned it around, pressing the cool side on the still warm skin.
“It’s not your fault, hyung, nothing was ever your fault,” Changmin replied to the sleeping Jaejoong.
♦♦♦♦♦
Yunho was driving when suddenly his phone vibrated in the passenger’s seat. Waiting for a red light, he reached for the phone and saw he had a new message from Changmin.
I’ll be late today. I’m at Jaejoong-hyung’s apartment. He’s sick.
Yunho read the message again before pressing the ‘call’ button and putting the phone against his ear. The light turned green and he sped on, changing lanes and taking a completely different direction, Yoochun’s words ringing in his ears.
>>______________________________________________________
Guys, guys!! Since this fic is being continued mostly out of popular demand, I want to ask you something:
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: boyxboy, mature content.
Summary: Jaejoong wants to be forgiven for leaving HoMin and they know what they want as retribution.
A/N: An update, finally :)
Yunho fought against flinching at Yoochun’s gaze. The man sitting across from him never showed anything more than his usual care-free expressions, rarely if ever becoming angry beyond slightly irritated from lack of sleep. But the Yoochun before him was not the Yoochun that had lived in the same apartment as him two years ago.
His loyalty always resided with Jaejoong, Yunho mused darkly, but it seemed then that he had lost any respect he used to have for his previous leader.
Yunho did not reply, choosing to take a sip from the sugary drink in front of him. The cold on his tongue was a momentary relief from the scorching fire in Yoochun’s eyes.
“Jaejoong is a grown man capable of making his own decisions,” he said finally.
“You know very well he isn’t,” seethed Yoochun, “Not when you and Changmin have messed with his emotions like that.”
“No, Yoochun, I don’t know!” Yunho countered, the intensity of his gaze rivaling Yoochun’s. “You three walked out on us one day without so much as saying good-bye. What happened to our dream? Were any of you truthful about it anyways? Then how can you say I know any of you when you became strangers the second you walked out that door?”
“That’s still no reason to torture him,” Yoochun said. His fingers tightened around the warm Styrofoam container in his hand, the lid threatening to pop off.
For a moment neither spoke. They looked at each other, as if sizing the other up, while tension hung thick in the air.
“You know what? I don’t have to listen to you. You lost that right the moment you left the group,” Yunho said and stood up, cradling the plastic cup with what remained of his coffee in one hand.
“Okay, don’t listen. But the next time I hear about you getting twenty feet close to Jaejoong I’m not just going to talk you out of it,” Yoochun threatened but made no move to stand up.
“Let’s see about that,” Yunho whispered harshly as he left, arm bumping against Yoochun’s shoulder as he walked past.
♦♦♦♦♦
“And last shot! That was wonderful, Changmin-ssi. Let’s take a break before going through the pictures, okay?”
The staff and Changmin all nodded at the photographer’s words, scrambling away towards their work stations or, in Changmin’s case, the beaten couch with pain splatters in the photography studio. It was very old and the springs were starting to poke through but it was comfortable in the way only old furniture is.
He grabbed his bag holding his belongings and took out his phone, intend on checking any messages he could have missed during the shoot. With quick fingers he tapped the password on the device, unlocking it. He frowned upon what he saw.
A missed call and an unread message from Jaejoong.
Yunho had advised him against further encouraging contact with Jaejoong, at least for a while. To be honest, he could not get that desperate image of his hyung stripping as soon as he entered the apartment and running towards Yunho’s room when Changmin would not take him. At that moment Changmin felt something he thought he could never feel for his ex-band mate again; concern.
It’s not like they had a plan of action. They just knew they had fucked up and Jaejoong had taken the worst of the whole messed up situation. Every day he wished he hadn’t joined Yunho, but something dark had taken over his mind and body, turning his every thought into hurting and destroying and breaking apart. He couldn’t blame Yunho either; he knew it had been the same for him as well. Jaejoong was just the unfortunate trigger and victim.
After all they have done would indifference be the best path to take? He fumbled with the buttons, pressing the keys to a familiar number but deleting it before he could press the call button. Yunho had gone out that morning to meet with Yoochun. Changmin wanted to believe he had no idea what he wanted to talk about but he knew it had to be about Jaejoong.
He pressed the sequence of keys once more and absentmindedly pressed the phone to his ear, pulling his feet up on the beaten couch and leaning his head on the armrest as he did so. His feet moved in time with the ringing tone of the phone, up and down, making the light reflect off the shiny surface of the leather boots he was given for the photoshoot.
“Yeoboseyo?”
Changmin’s breath froze in his throat. He hadn’t really planned what he was going to say.
“…hyung,” he breathed softly into the phone.
“Changmin-ah.”
Jaejoong’s voice sounded raspy and with a sickly tone to it, almost as if it took a great effort for him to talk.
“Y-you sound terrible, hyung,” Changmin said, slapping himself mentally for his nervousness. He cleared his throat. “Are you sick?”
“A little,” the eldest replied through the phone before breaking into a fit of coughing.
Changmin’s heart clenched with guilt at the harsh sound of Jaejoong’s breathing once the coughs faded out.
“Listen, hyung, that doesn’t sound like a little sick. Do you need me to get you anything?”
“Aren’t you busy?”
“I can spare a couple of hours,” replied Changmin. He switched from his lying down position to a sitting one, supporting his elbows against his knees. There was a pause on the other side of the line and Changmin chewed on his lip nervously while waiting for a reply.
“Could you come over?” came the soft whisper of a reply.
Changmin looked around, spotting the chief photographer going over the photographs. When he caught Changmin’s eye he smiled and gave him a thumbs up.
“I’ll be there in half an hour,” said Changmin, ending the call.
♦♦♦♦♦
The ride to Jaejoong’s apartment went by relatively fast even after taking a detour to the pharmacy, maybe because it was early enough that traffic was light, maybe because Changmin was not sure he wanted to get there.
Any person would feel guilty, he couldn’t be blamed.
Upon arriving he was led to the elevator without questions asked. The button to Jaejoong’s floor already pressed, Changmin noticed, as he made his ascend. The AC in the elevator was turned on, causing a shiver to run down the tall man’s back. He had not taken a jacket with him.
The elevator bell dinged once the metallic box reached its destination. Changmin stepped into the small lobby just before the elevator’s doors closed behind him. The door to Jaejoong’s apartment was unlocked and partly opened. Jaejoong must’ve done it as soon as Changmin agreed to come, the youngest thought. Clutching the plastic bag with medicine in his hand, he entered the apartment.
“Hyung?” he asked tentatively.
“In here,” he barely heard Jaejoong’s hoarse whisper in the otherwise empty apartment.
He walked towards the direction of his hyung’s voice; passing through exquisitely decorated areas until he reached what he presumed was the eldest’s bedroom. Peeking inside he spotted the older man curled up under the covers.
“How are you feeling?” Changmin asked while making his way inside. He walked towards the bed, sitting on the edge next to Jaejoong.
His hyung looked paler than normal and his bangs were sticking to his forehead in a sweaty mess. Changmin touched Jaejoong’s forehead. He was burning up.
“I’ve been better,” Jaejoong tried to smile, but could only grimace at the hoarseness of his voice.
“I brought you medicine,” Changmin said, setting the bag on top of Jaejoong’s night table. “But you have a fever. Let me get something to cool you down with.”
Jaejoong nodded, closing his eyes.
In the bathroom Changmin found a small face towel that he ran under the tap, drenching it in cool water. Wringing the excess water he took it with him back to Jaejoong’s room.
Changmin thought Jaejoong had fallen asleep but when he brushed away the damp bangs and pressed the cool towel on his forehead, the latter moaned softly in appreciation.
“Are you hungry?” Jaejoong asked, his voice barely above a whisper. “There are some leftovers you can heat if you want.”
“Maybe later,” Changmin replied, fumbling with the box of medicine. When he had finally opened it and had two pills on his palm ready to give to Jaejoong he noticed his hyung was watching him.
“I haven’t been a very good hyung eh, Changmin-ah?”
“Don’t say that. Take these, I’ll bring you some water,” Changmin responded, handing Jaejoong the pair of pills and leaving the room.
Holding a glass under the water filter, Changmin could do nothing more than muse over Jaejoong’s words. It was incredible, unbelievable, that after everything Yunho and he made Jaejoong go through his hyung still thought he was the villain.
Changmin slammed his fist against the counter. How were they going to fix something that was so messed up?
He took the glass of water back to Jaejoong’s room and helped him sit up so he could swallow the medicine. He settled next to Jaejoong and climbed under the covers with him, cradling the older man against his warm body. Taking out his cell phone he started canceling his activities for the day.
“You idiot, getting sick like that. I’ll be staying to take care of you today.”
Jaejoong saw it and tried to say something but he erupted in a fit of coughing before Changmin could make out anything of what he had said.
“Easy, hyung. What was that?” he asked, rubbing soothing circles on Jaejoong’s back when he bent over to cough. Putting the wet towel back on Jaejoong’s forehead when it fell off he helped him lie back down again.
“I don’t want you to get sick,” said Jaejoong after taking a big gulp of air.
Changmin snorted.
“Nonsense. Do you want to watch a movie or something? We can download something on your computer.”
They ended up watching some terrible action movie Changmin found randomly, however neither one of them protested against the movie choice. Jaejoong was being lulled to sleep and Changmin was entertained enough not to care about the clichéd kung fu fighting scenes.
“Changmin-ah,” Jaejoong whispered, eyes closed and head lying on Changmin’s shoulder.
“Hmm?”
“Sorry for making everything more complicated,” Jaejoong mumbled before his breathing evened out and he was fast asleep.
Changmin watched his sick hyung sleep peacefully. The towel on Jaejoong’s forehead was getting warm so he turned it around, pressing the cool side on the still warm skin.
“It’s not your fault, hyung, nothing was ever your fault,” Changmin replied to the sleeping Jaejoong.
♦♦♦♦♦
Yunho was driving when suddenly his phone vibrated in the passenger’s seat. Waiting for a red light, he reached for the phone and saw he had a new message from Changmin.
I’ll be late today. I’m at Jaejoong-hyung’s apartment. He’s sick.
Yunho read the message again before pressing the ‘call’ button and putting the phone against his ear. The light turned green and he sped on, changing lanes and taking a completely different direction, Yoochun’s words ringing in his ears.
>>______________________________________________________
Guys, guys!! Since this fic is being continued mostly out of popular demand, I want to ask you something: