[FIC] Time Crossing
So... I should be working and packing, but with secret santa and things, I needed to do this. *bricked*
Title: Time Crossing
Pairing: JaeSu
Rating: PG
Genre: AU
A/N: I have always wanted to give my first JaeSu fic to milena_1980 (especially since she's the biggest JaeSu fan I know), and this plunnie finally came to me. I'm not sure how to really describe or classify this. It has a bit of the fantastical, a bit of the dark, a bit of the macabre. I don't want to say much more (since it might give it away), but I hope you enjoy!
The dense forest feels softer today, a thick fog settling and blurring the lines of brown and green. A trail of crumbs won't help (not that it ever does anyway), so he pulls out his line of red thread, ties it to a branch and winds it high, lets it catch against the trees, the evergreens. The air is chill, damp, and the sound of crunching leaves from his boots feels muted.
He comes to it, the Tree of Many Ages, as he has deemed it, large and hollowed out with his makeshift shelter, a bit of tarp, dead pine needles, dried flowers tucked in the crevices. He checks his watch, an old timepiece from his godfather, the kind that needs to be wound up every now and then. But it never needs batteries and he can trust on it to run as long as he can turn it.
It's just about 3 o'clock when it starts to mist, and Jaejoong feels cold. He's hugging himself, knees tucked under his chin when he sees a pair of boots stop right in front of him. He knows who it is and looks up eagerly to see Junsu, who is grinning wide. There's always a faint glow about him, something bright that lures Jaejoong in every time.
"C'mon Jaejoong, let's go!" and Junsu hands him a makeshift hat of a rhubarb leaf and they go tearing through the woods, hands clasped tight, red thread forgotten in the rush but it doesn't matter because Junsu knows these woods, knows where everything is, every tree, every bush. His keen memory always surprises Jaejoong, who finds himself adjusting to pick up on details in this environment.
Jaejoong never remembers exactly what they do, what they see, what they hear. He only has a sense of exhilaration and a post-high, always left with trying to catch his breath and so incredibly content and happy that he almost, almost forgets and wants to be here forever.
But when he dreams at night, moments will come, flashes of images, of things he's never seen before and Junsu will be there, his hand outstretched, beckoning him and he follows. They climb trees, they peer at bird's nests that have no more eggs in them this time of year, they wade the brooks until Jaejoong's boots start to feel cold, they build structures of stone and branches and search for berries, tucked deep past thorns and poison ivy.
Everything is always quiet in his dreams. There are no sounds except their footfalls, no birds, no animals, no insects. But Jaejoong is with Junsu, he need only look over at him, see the smile that greets him every time and he isn't afraid. He isn't alone.
The years pass, quickly and easily until Jaejoong is 16. Things are changing and he's finding himself close friends with a Yoochun and a Yunho, cousins who live near him. For some reason, he can't bring himself to talk to them about Junsu, about the woods, so he never takes them there, never goes to the Tree of Many Ages, doesn't string his red thread.
He still goes back every so often, but each time he has to wait longer and longer for Junsu to arrive. The hours fade into twilight, into dusk, until it becomes night and Jaejoong almost always is about to leave when he'll see a spot of light, then two, then three, then a scattering of fireflies until Junsu appears, luminescent but smiling, as always.
"Let's go, Jaejoong."
It's calm walks now in the woods, it's gazing up at the night sky, it's letting branches stir up lake water to see stars in the water, it's soaking up all the moonlight that filters through the trees.
But one afternoon (he always starts at 3 PM, no matter what), when Jaejoong is waiting, he hears a sound, harsh, loud and a rush of birds scatter up into the sky. It's suddenly eerily quiet and he looks around. There's nothing, no one, and Jaejoong shakes his head. Probably somewhere else far away from here.
Something drips on his nose and he absentmindedly wipes at it, looks at his fingers.
It's red.
His eyes glance up and he's staring at a dead body hanging from the tree. Jaejoong stumbles, tumbles, finds himself scattering backwards, can barely breathe, manages to get on his feet and runs, dashes desperate but trips and plunges into icy river water. He bobs up, gasping for breath, floundering, scrabbles up the muddy bank with the help of a branch and pulls himself up.
He lies on the bank, needing to catch his breath and finds himself closing his eyes.
Something grabs his arm and he jerks away, almost falls back in the river when a hand pulls him back.
"Jaejoong? What's wrong? You alright?" Jaejoong blinks up to see the face of Yoochun, concerned and worried.
He breathes a sigh of relief. And then remembers that body, that face, can't get it out of his mind and he's choking, feels like he's about to throw up. "Jaejoong!"
"Please," he begs. "Take me home." Yoochun nods and helps him up, manages to walk them both home.
Yoochun is adamant about him not going back, but Jaejoong needs to know if he imagined it all. He ends up having Yoochun and Yunho both come with him, and they make their way to the Tree.
He sees someone, but it's not the hanging body; instead, it's a tall youth placing flowers near the tree. The flowers have been tied together with red string and Jaejoong instinctively clutches his pocket, to finger the fibers in there. Jaejoong is about to call to the boy when he ducks behind a tree and is gone, nowhere to be seen.
"Did you see him, where he went?" Jaejoong turns to Yunho and Yoochun.
Yunho looks quizzical. "Who?" Jaejoong looks to Yoochun, who just shrugs and shakes his head. "I didn't see him either."
"The boy, he left flowers, right..." but the flowers that had looked fresh are wilted, brown now. He looks up at the tree, but there's no sign of a body either, nothing. Only the wind, which rustles the leaves, wails through the air.
"Jaejoong...?" Yoochun's voice catches Jaejoong's attention and he looks at where Yoochun is pointing.
There's a small stone, almost hidden, but bright white standing out from the rest of the brown grass and pine needles. Jaejoong squats down and exclaims.
'Kim Junsu. The best brother in the world.'
There's no date, nothing at all but Jaejoong can only stare, can only rub the engraving on the stone.
"Maybe he died here," Yunho says.
He's touching the stone when he accidentally pushes it too hard and it rolls aside. He hurriedly reaches for it, about to put it back when he sees a glint of metal. Curious, he begins scraping away to reveal a smooth circle.
"What is it?" Both Yunho and Yoochun crowd around him as they look on.
It's an old watch, that reads 3 o'clock. Jaejoong presses it against his ear, but the mechanism sounds off, start stopping, an odd rhythm.
He's not sure what compels him, but he pockets the watch, tells Yunho and Yoochun that he needs to go to his godfather's, right now and dashes off, leaving them behind and utterly confused.
Kim Changmin. Adopted by the family years ago and Jaejoong's godfather, who spends his time now fixing clocks and timepieces. Jaejoong manages to catch him just as he's about to close shop and grabs his arm.
"Godfather, I need you to fix this. Please." He takes out the watch, lets it dangle from the chain. His godfather stares at it, then his eyes suddenly widen.
"Boy, where did you get this?" His voice is shaky and Jaejoong has never seen his godfather like this. "I found it in the woods, under a stone that said 'Kim Junsu.' Did you know Junsu, godfather? Who was he?" His godfather lets out a shaky breath. "Boy, come in and sit down."
It's a few minutes before his godfather can speak, and Jaejoong listens, never knowing of this past.
It's a story of two close brothers, except, they aren't brothers tied by blood. It doesn't matter to either of them, though Changmin has to deal with teasings at school, for being an orphan. Changmin doesn't care; he keeps quiet, he ignores them and is happy when the school day is over so he can play with hyung, his SuSu.
It's like any other day, where they whoop and shout and run about until they're exhausted. But Junsu wants to try one more thing, his newest invention and he climbs high up in the trees. It's turning dark, rapidly, quickly and Changmin is worried. Their mother doesn't like them to be out too late and will scold them. "Hyung, we need to go, we shouldn't stay," Changmin pleads.
"Just this one thing, see, I made a swing! It's perfect, we can see almost above the trees," and Junsu scampers up the tree to adjust the rope on the branch. Changmin looks at his pocket watch noticing how late it is.
Something cracks, fumbles and Changmin manages to look up to see Junsu tangled treacherously hanging and clinging. He tries to see clearer, but there are too many branches in the way and he can't see what's going on.
"Hyung!!" Junsu doesn't answer him and Changmin rushes to the tree, tries to climb but he can't get up. "Hyung!!"
"Changminah," Junsu finally responds, but it's trembling slightly. "Changminah, listen to me, you need to get help, okay? Call for father, tell him to bring the tall ladder, you need to go get help."
"Hyung, I can't, I can't just leave--"
"Changmin. You have to go, you can't help me by yourself. GO." Changmin is swallowing tears and wails and he stumbles a little before he runs, jumps over the brook, goes under the trees, through the bushes to their home.
Junsu waits, precariously caught in the branches. He has to adjust, to move so that he doesn't fall, but his grip is slipping and it's getting later, darker. He's tired, he's sore, but he hangs on, desperate. Sometimes he can lie against the rope, let his body rest, but the wind rustles and he has to scrabble to hold on again.
Changmin can't find his father at home, his mother is in hysterics and he runs around the town, yelling, hoping someone will hear him, will help him. He finally dashes to the lumberyard where he sees his father signing some papers and manages to explain what's happening, tugs on his sleeve urgently, and they both run, into the dark woods with ladder and torches.
Junsu can't hold much longer and he slips, finds himself tangled and choking on rope, suffocating. He manages to pull himself up, to move, but the branches creak and he's choking again, desperate for air. It's utterly quiet, dark, nothing, no one, and he's so, so tired and he can't, can't hold, the air gone gone, his eyes slip close and it's dark.
"Hyung!!" His father manages to find Junsu, after hacking branches and leaves away and cuts him free, slowly eases down the ladder to lie him down on the ground.
It's too late. The moon is out and Changmin hears the church bells toll. It's 9 o'clock.
Jaejoong can only tremble, can only shiver as his godfather relates the tale. Tears are welling in his godfather's eyes and Jaejoong doesn't know what to say, to do. But suddenly his godfather stands up, clears his throat.
"I'll fix it. For him." Jaejoong follows and watches his godfather carefully take apart the watch, each screw and mechanism, tests for each part. He doesn't know how long he sits there, watching, but at last it's fixed and his godfather slowly winds the clock and adjusts the time. 8:55.
Jaejoong swallows. He needs to ask, to know. "Godfather, I. I think I've seen Junsu." He stares at the watch. "Is there a photo--" But something catches his eye and he notices a firefly in the room. It gets brighter, more and more and Jaejoong turns around to see him, Junsu. "Godfather!"
Changmin turns around and gasps. "Hyung," he says, almost unbelieving.
"Changminah. Jaejoong. Thank you." The figure hugs his godfather, and kisses Jaejoong on the forehead. The light suddenly extinguishes and Jaejoong is alone with his godfather. Jaejoong looks over and is startled to see his godfather, slumped over.
"Godfather? Godfather!" But it's no use and already his skin feels cold against Jaejoong's fingertips.
~~~~~~~~
Jaejoong is a senior, grudgingly going through the processes of applying for universities. But he needs to leave this small town, go far off, explore.
It's lunchtime and Yoochun keeps going on and on about the new basketball transfer, some hotshot sophomore that has all the seniors anxious (except for Yunho, because well, he's Yunho). Jaejoong shrugs it off, not really caring too much about sports.
"Look! There he is. And with all those girls around him too, the nerve."
Jaejoong drops his sandwich.
"His name's Junsu or something," Yunho says, who seemingly has appeared from nowhere.
"Where did you come from?" Yoochun stares at him, protectively covering his lunch.
"I had a free period since music class got cancelled. No worries, I don't want that stuff anyway Chun. Hey, wait, where are you going?"
Jaejoong doesn't hear them, he finds himself striding over right to where the boy is, who looks at him quizzically, but smiles, gentle and kind.
Jaejoong grins back.
Title: Time Crossing
Pairing: JaeSu
Rating: PG
Genre: AU
A/N: I have always wanted to give my first JaeSu fic to milena_1980 (especially since she's the biggest JaeSu fan I know), and this plunnie finally came to me. I'm not sure how to really describe or classify this. It has a bit of the fantastical, a bit of the dark, a bit of the macabre. I don't want to say much more (since it might give it away), but I hope you enjoy!
The dense forest feels softer today, a thick fog settling and blurring the lines of brown and green. A trail of crumbs won't help (not that it ever does anyway), so he pulls out his line of red thread, ties it to a branch and winds it high, lets it catch against the trees, the evergreens. The air is chill, damp, and the sound of crunching leaves from his boots feels muted.
He comes to it, the Tree of Many Ages, as he has deemed it, large and hollowed out with his makeshift shelter, a bit of tarp, dead pine needles, dried flowers tucked in the crevices. He checks his watch, an old timepiece from his godfather, the kind that needs to be wound up every now and then. But it never needs batteries and he can trust on it to run as long as he can turn it.
It's just about 3 o'clock when it starts to mist, and Jaejoong feels cold. He's hugging himself, knees tucked under his chin when he sees a pair of boots stop right in front of him. He knows who it is and looks up eagerly to see Junsu, who is grinning wide. There's always a faint glow about him, something bright that lures Jaejoong in every time.
"C'mon Jaejoong, let's go!" and Junsu hands him a makeshift hat of a rhubarb leaf and they go tearing through the woods, hands clasped tight, red thread forgotten in the rush but it doesn't matter because Junsu knows these woods, knows where everything is, every tree, every bush. His keen memory always surprises Jaejoong, who finds himself adjusting to pick up on details in this environment.
Jaejoong never remembers exactly what they do, what they see, what they hear. He only has a sense of exhilaration and a post-high, always left with trying to catch his breath and so incredibly content and happy that he almost, almost forgets and wants to be here forever.
But when he dreams at night, moments will come, flashes of images, of things he's never seen before and Junsu will be there, his hand outstretched, beckoning him and he follows. They climb trees, they peer at bird's nests that have no more eggs in them this time of year, they wade the brooks until Jaejoong's boots start to feel cold, they build structures of stone and branches and search for berries, tucked deep past thorns and poison ivy.
Everything is always quiet in his dreams. There are no sounds except their footfalls, no birds, no animals, no insects. But Jaejoong is with Junsu, he need only look over at him, see the smile that greets him every time and he isn't afraid. He isn't alone.
The years pass, quickly and easily until Jaejoong is 16. Things are changing and he's finding himself close friends with a Yoochun and a Yunho, cousins who live near him. For some reason, he can't bring himself to talk to them about Junsu, about the woods, so he never takes them there, never goes to the Tree of Many Ages, doesn't string his red thread.
He still goes back every so often, but each time he has to wait longer and longer for Junsu to arrive. The hours fade into twilight, into dusk, until it becomes night and Jaejoong almost always is about to leave when he'll see a spot of light, then two, then three, then a scattering of fireflies until Junsu appears, luminescent but smiling, as always.
"Let's go, Jaejoong."
It's calm walks now in the woods, it's gazing up at the night sky, it's letting branches stir up lake water to see stars in the water, it's soaking up all the moonlight that filters through the trees.
But one afternoon (he always starts at 3 PM, no matter what), when Jaejoong is waiting, he hears a sound, harsh, loud and a rush of birds scatter up into the sky. It's suddenly eerily quiet and he looks around. There's nothing, no one, and Jaejoong shakes his head. Probably somewhere else far away from here.
Something drips on his nose and he absentmindedly wipes at it, looks at his fingers.
It's red.
His eyes glance up and he's staring at a dead body hanging from the tree. Jaejoong stumbles, tumbles, finds himself scattering backwards, can barely breathe, manages to get on his feet and runs, dashes desperate but trips and plunges into icy river water. He bobs up, gasping for breath, floundering, scrabbles up the muddy bank with the help of a branch and pulls himself up.
He lies on the bank, needing to catch his breath and finds himself closing his eyes.
Something grabs his arm and he jerks away, almost falls back in the river when a hand pulls him back.
"Jaejoong? What's wrong? You alright?" Jaejoong blinks up to see the face of Yoochun, concerned and worried.
He breathes a sigh of relief. And then remembers that body, that face, can't get it out of his mind and he's choking, feels like he's about to throw up. "Jaejoong!"
"Please," he begs. "Take me home." Yoochun nods and helps him up, manages to walk them both home.
Yoochun is adamant about him not going back, but Jaejoong needs to know if he imagined it all. He ends up having Yoochun and Yunho both come with him, and they make their way to the Tree.
He sees someone, but it's not the hanging body; instead, it's a tall youth placing flowers near the tree. The flowers have been tied together with red string and Jaejoong instinctively clutches his pocket, to finger the fibers in there. Jaejoong is about to call to the boy when he ducks behind a tree and is gone, nowhere to be seen.
"Did you see him, where he went?" Jaejoong turns to Yunho and Yoochun.
Yunho looks quizzical. "Who?" Jaejoong looks to Yoochun, who just shrugs and shakes his head. "I didn't see him either."
"The boy, he left flowers, right..." but the flowers that had looked fresh are wilted, brown now. He looks up at the tree, but there's no sign of a body either, nothing. Only the wind, which rustles the leaves, wails through the air.
"Jaejoong...?" Yoochun's voice catches Jaejoong's attention and he looks at where Yoochun is pointing.
There's a small stone, almost hidden, but bright white standing out from the rest of the brown grass and pine needles. Jaejoong squats down and exclaims.
'Kim Junsu. The best brother in the world.'
There's no date, nothing at all but Jaejoong can only stare, can only rub the engraving on the stone.
"Maybe he died here," Yunho says.
He's touching the stone when he accidentally pushes it too hard and it rolls aside. He hurriedly reaches for it, about to put it back when he sees a glint of metal. Curious, he begins scraping away to reveal a smooth circle.
"What is it?" Both Yunho and Yoochun crowd around him as they look on.
It's an old watch, that reads 3 o'clock. Jaejoong presses it against his ear, but the mechanism sounds off, start stopping, an odd rhythm.
He's not sure what compels him, but he pockets the watch, tells Yunho and Yoochun that he needs to go to his godfather's, right now and dashes off, leaving them behind and utterly confused.
Kim Changmin. Adopted by the family years ago and Jaejoong's godfather, who spends his time now fixing clocks and timepieces. Jaejoong manages to catch him just as he's about to close shop and grabs his arm.
"Godfather, I need you to fix this. Please." He takes out the watch, lets it dangle from the chain. His godfather stares at it, then his eyes suddenly widen.
"Boy, where did you get this?" His voice is shaky and Jaejoong has never seen his godfather like this. "I found it in the woods, under a stone that said 'Kim Junsu.' Did you know Junsu, godfather? Who was he?" His godfather lets out a shaky breath. "Boy, come in and sit down."
It's a few minutes before his godfather can speak, and Jaejoong listens, never knowing of this past.
It's a story of two close brothers, except, they aren't brothers tied by blood. It doesn't matter to either of them, though Changmin has to deal with teasings at school, for being an orphan. Changmin doesn't care; he keeps quiet, he ignores them and is happy when the school day is over so he can play with hyung, his SuSu.
It's like any other day, where they whoop and shout and run about until they're exhausted. But Junsu wants to try one more thing, his newest invention and he climbs high up in the trees. It's turning dark, rapidly, quickly and Changmin is worried. Their mother doesn't like them to be out too late and will scold them. "Hyung, we need to go, we shouldn't stay," Changmin pleads.
"Just this one thing, see, I made a swing! It's perfect, we can see almost above the trees," and Junsu scampers up the tree to adjust the rope on the branch. Changmin looks at his pocket watch noticing how late it is.
Something cracks, fumbles and Changmin manages to look up to see Junsu tangled treacherously hanging and clinging. He tries to see clearer, but there are too many branches in the way and he can't see what's going on.
"Hyung!!" Junsu doesn't answer him and Changmin rushes to the tree, tries to climb but he can't get up. "Hyung!!"
"Changminah," Junsu finally responds, but it's trembling slightly. "Changminah, listen to me, you need to get help, okay? Call for father, tell him to bring the tall ladder, you need to go get help."
"Hyung, I can't, I can't just leave--"
"Changmin. You have to go, you can't help me by yourself. GO." Changmin is swallowing tears and wails and he stumbles a little before he runs, jumps over the brook, goes under the trees, through the bushes to their home.
Junsu waits, precariously caught in the branches. He has to adjust, to move so that he doesn't fall, but his grip is slipping and it's getting later, darker. He's tired, he's sore, but he hangs on, desperate. Sometimes he can lie against the rope, let his body rest, but the wind rustles and he has to scrabble to hold on again.
Changmin can't find his father at home, his mother is in hysterics and he runs around the town, yelling, hoping someone will hear him, will help him. He finally dashes to the lumberyard where he sees his father signing some papers and manages to explain what's happening, tugs on his sleeve urgently, and they both run, into the dark woods with ladder and torches.
Junsu can't hold much longer and he slips, finds himself tangled and choking on rope, suffocating. He manages to pull himself up, to move, but the branches creak and he's choking again, desperate for air. It's utterly quiet, dark, nothing, no one, and he's so, so tired and he can't, can't hold, the air gone gone, his eyes slip close and it's dark.
"Hyung!!" His father manages to find Junsu, after hacking branches and leaves away and cuts him free, slowly eases down the ladder to lie him down on the ground.
It's too late. The moon is out and Changmin hears the church bells toll. It's 9 o'clock.
Jaejoong can only tremble, can only shiver as his godfather relates the tale. Tears are welling in his godfather's eyes and Jaejoong doesn't know what to say, to do. But suddenly his godfather stands up, clears his throat.
"I'll fix it. For him." Jaejoong follows and watches his godfather carefully take apart the watch, each screw and mechanism, tests for each part. He doesn't know how long he sits there, watching, but at last it's fixed and his godfather slowly winds the clock and adjusts the time. 8:55.
Jaejoong swallows. He needs to ask, to know. "Godfather, I. I think I've seen Junsu." He stares at the watch. "Is there a photo--" But something catches his eye and he notices a firefly in the room. It gets brighter, more and more and Jaejoong turns around to see him, Junsu. "Godfather!"
Changmin turns around and gasps. "Hyung," he says, almost unbelieving.
"Changminah. Jaejoong. Thank you." The figure hugs his godfather, and kisses Jaejoong on the forehead. The light suddenly extinguishes and Jaejoong is alone with his godfather. Jaejoong looks over and is startled to see his godfather, slumped over.
"Godfather? Godfather!" But it's no use and already his skin feels cold against Jaejoong's fingertips.
~~~~~~~~
Jaejoong is a senior, grudgingly going through the processes of applying for universities. But he needs to leave this small town, go far off, explore.
It's lunchtime and Yoochun keeps going on and on about the new basketball transfer, some hotshot sophomore that has all the seniors anxious (except for Yunho, because well, he's Yunho). Jaejoong shrugs it off, not really caring too much about sports.
"Look! There he is. And with all those girls around him too, the nerve."
Jaejoong drops his sandwich.
"His name's Junsu or something," Yunho says, who seemingly has appeared from nowhere.
"Where did you come from?" Yoochun stares at him, protectively covering his lunch.
"I had a free period since music class got cancelled. No worries, I don't want that stuff anyway Chun. Hey, wait, where are you going?"
Jaejoong doesn't hear them, he finds himself striding over right to where the boy is, who looks at him quizzically, but smiles, gentle and kind.
Jaejoong grins back.