Tarnished Angels (SMM Universe) Section Ten
Title: Tarnished Angels
Section: 10
Pairing: Min/Other (some jaeho and yoosu along the way)
Section Rating: Rish
Overall Rating: NC-17
Blame: ranalore
Summary: Hot Korean boys. A seduction. An alluring. A temptation. And Min's self-discovery.
Sections: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Se7en, Eight, Nine
Related Fics: So Much Mine and Lavender Bunny. Links go to PDFs. Other related fics can be found at my LJ: wedspawn
“It’s a kumiho.” Changmin smiled, his voice soft as he accepted the small plush toy from Se7en’s hand. “And it has seven tails.”
“In Japan, it’s called a kitsune. And unlike at home, they’re supposed to be good.” Se7en bumped shoulders with Min as they walked through the crowded fairgrounds. “The more tails they have, the wiser they are.”
“Really?” Changmin contemplated the plush, stroking at its fur. The tails were soft on his skin, nearly as gentle as Se7en’s hand on his waist. “Tell me more.”
“That’s all I know.” Dong-Wook admitted bashfully. “I’m not much of a reader. Well, I read but I’m not…hell, I don’t know what I’m saying here.”
“I’ll read up on it.” Min grinned, thinking of delving into folk tales. “Thank you for getting it for me. It looks like you.”
“You’re welcome.” Se7en rotated his arm, working out the soreness in his shoulder.
Throwing twenty baseballs in a row left him with a nasty ache, one that would probably leave a bruise along his arm but the silly grin the kitsune brought to Changmin’s face was well worth every inch of pain. He’d spotted the seven-tailed kitsune among the more expensive prizes and knew the plush fox would have to go home with Changmin.
“I won something too.” Min replied with a wicked grin. Se7en liked that smile much more than the joyful he’d gotten with the fox. It held a lot more promise for delicious, dirty things to come. “I pitched pebbles into a bowl while you were in the bathroom.”
“Ah, I leave you for a few minutes and you become a gambler?” Se7en laughed hard at Min’s tongue sticking out at him. “What did you win, Minku?”
“A CD.” Changmin held up a bootleg copy of Se7olution, the cheap paper wrapper stinking of fresh ink. “I thought maybe I could get the singer to sign it for me. Do you think he would do that?”
“God, that looks horrible,” Se7en took the jewel case from his future lover. “Do you have a pen?”
“No,” The young man made a face. “I left the house only with my wallet. I should have brought my backpack but I thought that would look a bit childish.”
“I don’t know.” There was a hint of wickedness in Se7en’s wink. “We could always pretend you are a school boy that the evil nasty letch of a singer wants to debauch.”
“Is that really pretending?” Min stuck his hands into his jacket pockets, laughing hard when Se7en placed a dramatic hand to his chest as if Min’s words struck him deep. “You’re silly. You’re making me silly in return. If this keeps up, I’ll be like Junsu laughing at my own stupid jokes.”
“Sometimes,” The singer admitted. “Silly isn’t bad, Minku. Sometimes it’s a lot of fun. Other times, silly can lead to some very nice things.”
“I’m not good with silly.” Changmin responded. “Well, sometimes with the other members. I’m silly with Jaejoong.”
“How do you get along with the other members?” Dong-Wook asked. “And tell me the truth, not what your label wants everyone to believe.”
“The truth is,” Min said. “We’re closer than what we can show. And it’s nice. We’re like a family of brothers.”
“How so?”
“We fight,” Changmin wrinkled his mouth into a moue, recalling some of the more legendary arguments they’d had. “I think it’s because we’re all stubborn, well except for Yoochun who just refuses to listen. He’s the only one of us who doesn’t scream and yell. I hate fighting with him because he doesn’t give you the satisfaction you need.”
“So you fight a lot?” Se7en contemplated a small kiosk that sold hard candies, buying a handful of sugar-dipped lemon drops to share with the younger man.
“In the beginning, we did.” Min took a candy, popping it into his mouth and licking off the sugar left on his lips.
Se7en thought he would die before the powdered white frost was gone.
“Now, it’s different.” Contemplative, Changmin fell into step beside Se7en. “Now, Yunho really is the leader, and the rest of us know that the only way we’re going to achieve what we all want is to push forward together.”
“You get along with Yunho?”
“Hyung is easy to get along with,” Min laughed at Se7en’s sour face when he mentioned the group’s leader. “You’re the only one who doesn’t.”
“I know a couple of people who are leery of Yunho.” The older man commented. “And you’ve never been on the receiving end of a dodge ball thrown by him. He hits hard.”
“You know why he threw that ball hard.”
“I know that he never aimed for Jaejoong.” Se7en grinned knowingly. “It’s not a secret that the two of them are close. No matter how well everyone tries to hide it.”
“Yunho and Jaejoong try to be discreet.” Changmin blushed. “But I share a wall with their room and I had to move my bed to the far side so I didn’t hear them. They’re also very loud sometimes.”
“Ah, that’s a good secret.” Se7en wiggled his eyebrows at the younger man, making Changmin laugh. “I promise, I won’t say anything.”
“Junsu and Yoochun are louder.” The young singer sighed. “I’m glad they’re at the other end of the hall. They’re also less cautious about where they start things. Jaejoong is always shooing them off to their room. And you can’t trust them to be home alone with one another. They have no respect for the common area.”
“They sound like the typical younger brothers,” Dong-Wook said. “Well the no respect part. I don’t mean incest is typical for brothers. Ah, I’m not making much sense.”
“You are.” Min nodded. “They’re all brothers to me, and to the other members who aren’t their lovers.”
“Good.” Se7en look relieved. “So you don’t fight anymore?”
“We do.” Changmin shook his head. “But only about things that matter and never about ego. In the beginning, I think we argued a lot because we each needed to prove to one another that we deserved to be there. Over time, we found out each others’ strengths and weaknesses. We still fight about things.”
“Who do you fight with the most?” Se7en asked. The insight to the close knit group was fascinating to him. TVXQ was very protective of itself, closing in ranks when anyone on the outside so much as poked at one of the members. Even people who worked for the group were still circling the five, never truly let into their tight enclave.
“I fight with Yoochun the most.” Min said bashfully. “I get mad at him for being too emotional. He feels everything and reacts, sometimes without thinking. I’m not patient enough with his emotions and push too hard at him to withstand hardships.”
“You said you hated fighting with him.”
“I hate fighting with him because he walks away.” Changmin admitted. “When he’s mad, he turns around and walks away from you. The others, they step right into it and you can at least release some of your anger in yelling.”
“With Chunnie-ah, you’re the only one doing the yelling. It’s not very satisfying. And I always feel stupid because when he does that, to me it feels like he’s running away but to someone watching from the outside of the argument, it looks like he’s being the mature one.” A gaggle of young boys ran past the pair, a loud boisterous noisy group seeking out one of the rides. “I’d rather someone yell back at me.”
“For the most part, we get along.” Changmin said. “And I hardly argue with Yunho. He feels very much like an older wiser brother. But he’s hard to talk to about more intimate things. He gets shy. For those things, I have to go to Jaejoong, who doesn’t have any shame really.”
“He always strikes me as the shy one.”
“Joongie-ah is bashful.” Min countered. “He really opens up to you if you’re close to him. And people like him a lot but he doesn’t really like them back in return as quickly. It takes a long time for him to feel comfortable with someone. And still, that doesn’t mean he tells you his secrets.”
“I’m not going to ask for any of Jaejoong’s secrets.” Se7en promised. “I think I know a few. You can see it in how he reacts to people coming near him. Some people he lets close to him and others make him flee to the group.”
Changmin nodded. “Jaejoong is our lost kitten. He has claws and bites but really, just wants food and love. He doesn’t feel as if he deserves it though. Yunho says that one day, he will. And the world will see the Joongie-ah that we all do.”
“Until then, we protect him.” Min shrugged, dismissing the dichotomy of Jae’s life as a necessity for the older man to survive. “Yunho says I’m like him but for different reasons.”
“Sadly, I have to agree with your hyung.” Se7en admitted. “You don’t let people in close to you. And you don’t think you deserve affection and love.”
“You do, you know.” Dong-Wook tugged at Changmin’s waist, running his hand down the length of the younger man’s back in a quick caress. “You deserve a lot of affection. And definitely to be loved.”
“I’m not looking for love, remember?” Min’s plaintive words broke off a bit of Se7en’s empathy, lodging deep into his heart.
“Ah, Minku.” Se7en said. “Even if you’re not looking to be in love, you still should be loved. They’re not mutually exclusive. Your hyungs love you, but aren’t in love with you.”
“True.” Changmin acknowledged slowly.
“I wouldn’t mind loving you, Minku.” Se7en said casually. He liked the look of shock on Min’s face. He’d enjoy taking that look off with a few well placed kisses. “I’m man enough to admit it.”
“I wouldn’t mind if you loved me.”
Se7en barely heard Changmin’s response, a half-murmured reply nearly lost in the bustle of the crowd but he did hear it. And it warmed his belly.
They continued to walk through the crowd, weaving around entire families out for the evening. Laughter and shrieks tore through the air, a tilting ride swinging cars about the air in haphazard circles. Lights flashed and popped as a strength testing game announced a winner, a booming train whistle going off above them.
Min hid his smile when Se7en’s fingers brushed against his palm, their eyes meeting in a slow dance around other people before they were separated by a little girl running between them. Joining again, their hands touched, binding them together for the briefest of moments that they carried with them, a ghostly line between their bodies.
“What do you want to do now?” Dong-Wook looked about, slightly overwhelmed by the glut of people around them. “Hungry?”
“Would you believe, no?” Changmin patted his belly. “I’m still full.”
“Good.” Se7en winked. “I don’t think my heart could take it if I had to watch you eat something else. If you take as much time on me as you do your food, I’m going to die a happy man.”
Min didn’t know what to say. Not to the blatant flirtation out in the open among other people. To Se7en, it was easy, just a breath in and then, seduction out. As easy as blinking. Changmin felt none of that ease when he spoke. But then, being around the older man did make his mind cloud. It was hard to think when all he wanted to do was suck the air from Se7en’s mouth and pull it down into his belly.
Control. Take some control, he admonished his tongue. Talk, damn it; his mind sighed.
“How about a ride in the back of that limo?” Min asked, his voice deepening with a sly teasing. “Maybe we can go visit the river again?”
“Who called earlier, Boo?” Yunho stripped his t-shirt off, pulling it free from his arms. He debated pulling on a pair of sweats to sleep in but one look at Jaejoong’s lean body framed against the bathroom door changed Yunho’s mind.
Jae worked his toothbrush around his teeth, spitting out the excess foam in his mouth before rinsing. Leaning over the bathroom counter, the thin fabric of his drawstring pants molded over Jae’s body, drawing down into the crease of his backside. Standing in the bedroom, Yunho could appreciate the shadowed cleft, even more so knowing that the rounded ass around it was his.
“Stop leering at me.” Jae washed his face, scrubbing at his cheeks with a soapy wash cloth. “I can see you in the mirror.”
“Can’t help it, baby.” Yunho responded with a smile. “You’d hate it if I stopped.”
True, Jae thought. But seeing the want in Yunho’s face made it difficult to get his face washed. It was hard to lean against the cold marble with his sex thickening between his legs.
“And who called?” The leader pulled back the covers of their bed, moving the pillows back into place. He’d never understood Jae’s need to nest but the soft feather forms made it easier to cuddle the other man against him. Jaejoong was easy to find in bed, herded in by his nest of softness and open to Yunho’s kisses on the other side. “Was it Changmin? He’s not back yet.”
“He said he’d be late.” Flicking off the bathroom light, Jae padded into the room, crawling onto the bed on all fours. “Something about wanting to hear some poetry after he got some dinner.”
“He’s odd.” Yunho shook his head, amazed at what their youngest did to pass the time. Turning off the main light, Yunho slid under the covers, letting his eyes adjust to the ambient light coming from the windows. In a few moments, his lover’s face became clear to him, the shadows drawing away from Jae’s pretty features. Moving in closer, Yunho wrapped his arms around Jae’s waist, kissing at the other’s lower lip.
“You taste good. Like mint.” Murmuring, the leader felt Jaejoong’s body respond, a heaviness trapped between their pressed in bodies. “So if it wasn’t Changmin, who was it?”
“Rain.” Jaejoong listened expectantly for Yunho’s curse. He wasn’t disappointed. The leader responded with one nearly immediately.
“What did that asshole want?”
“He wanted to know if we had someone talking about him.” Jaejoong snuggled into Yunho’s grasp, luxuriating under the feel of his lover’s hands roaming over his rear and back. “He seems to think that we’ve got someone sniffing around him. Asking about Minnie-ah.”
“Someone’s asking about him and Changmin?” Yunho frowned, his thoughts racing.
“No, there wasn’t any mention about Min. Just someone asking if Rain liked virgins.” Jaejoong replied. “So Rain immediately thought about our Changmin and called me.”
“I think after what happened, Rain’s not going to look at another virgin for the rest of his life.”
“Probably not.” Jae allowed himself to be turned over onto his back, Yunho’s fingers stroking at his stomach. “But why would someone start asking about Rain?”
“Could be because he’s an asshole?” Yunho tugged Jae free of his shirt, tossing the garment to the floor. “That’s better, Boo. I don’t know why you even wear anything to bed.”
“Because it’s cold.” Jaejoong snorted. “And stop for a minute. Do you think he hit on someone else? Do you think he hurt someone?”
“I don’t know, Boo.” The other man lay half on top of his lover, knowing the contact would alleviate Jae’s stress. “Do you want me to have someone we know ask? Rain’s been pretty mellow since that thing with Changmin. He didn’t even say much when we broke the stage he had to use after us.”
“I think he was more scared of you than anything else.” Yunho’s belly against him was too much to ignore and Jae ran his fingers along his lover’s ribs, outlining the hard muscles on Yunnie’s torso. “I know you hit him before those guys came around. He said that they broke his nose but I saw the mark on his skin. That was from your ring. I know that ring. It’s left its mark on me after we’ve made love and got too enthusiastic.”
“And you’ve never said anything?”
“What was I going to say?” Jae asked, sticking his tongue out at his partner. “Yunho, thanks for beating Rain up for Minnie. Or at least softening him up for the thugs Scarlet’s boyfriend sent over later?”
“I asked for no secrets between us and I kept that one.” Yunho at least had the decency to look contrite in the wash of moonlight in the room. “And for a long time. You told me about Scarlet’s guys.”
“That…well, let’s face it.” The singer made a face. “God, I didn’t want anything to happen to him. Not really. I didn’t want Rain to get hurt. I was happy you hit him. Hell, I wanted to hit him.”
“Well, those guys took care of it.” Yunho nestled into Jae’s side. “Did Rain ever tell you I hit him?”
“No,” Jae admitted. “But I think he was ashamed about it. He can kind of laugh off getting beat up by a bunch of guys but getting his nose broken by you would be too embarrassing for him. I thought he suffered enough.”
“I don’t.” Yunho shrugged. “But I don’t forgive. Someone only has to smile at you and you forgive them.”
Jaejoong slapped his lover on the thigh. “I do not. I hold grudges.”
“Rarely.” The other man teased, his deep voice a pleasant rumble in Jae’s ears. “You never hold one against me.”
“That’s because I love you.” Jae retorted. “And I forgive all of the stupid things that you do. I have to. I love you.”
The town car glided smoothly through the streets, its driver a silent, stone-faced man that kept his eyes on the road and the privacy screen raised to block him from viewing the back. Se7en appreciated the man’s discretion. In fact, he wasn’t certain the driver spoke more than a few words. But then he wasn’t paying the man to talk. Dong-Wook was paying him to drive and keep mum about the young man with him.
His driver slowed the car when it got to the banks of the Sumida river, coming to a complete stop at one of the many gardens dotting its banks. With a short buzz of the intercom, the man informed Se7en that he would be taking his break and go looking for a cup of tea.
“I’ll be reachable through my cell phone, sir.”
“Ah, one thing,” Se7en said.
“Yes, sir?”
“I’d like for you to not have seen anything back here tonight.”
“Your car is driven by a blind man, Sir.”
The man walked away from the town car, distancing himself from the men sitting in back. With a push of a button, Se7en lowered the windows overlooking the garden and the river, a ribbon of gently moving waters stretching through the city.
“I have to go home soon.” Changmin whispered. “They’ll worry about me. I’ll start getting phone calls soon.”
“Can you stay about half an hour?” Se7en pulled the younger man into his lap, settling Changmin into the crux of his arm and stroking his fingers on the back of Min’s neck. “I can get you home before midnight.”
“Midnight sounds fine, Mitsu.” The other man’s touch left Min’s belly in knots and turned his legs into jelly. “I think if I stay with you any longer, I won’t want to leave.”
“I like the sound of that.” Se7en replied. “Now, lean a bit, Iro. My mouth’s lonely without you.”
Section: 10
Pairing: Min/Other (some jaeho and yoosu along the way)
Section Rating: Rish
Overall Rating: NC-17
Blame: ranalore
Summary: Hot Korean boys. A seduction. An alluring. A temptation. And Min's self-discovery.
Sections: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Se7en, Eight, Nine
Related Fics: So Much Mine and Lavender Bunny. Links go to PDFs. Other related fics can be found at my LJ: wedspawn
“It’s a kumiho.” Changmin smiled, his voice soft as he accepted the small plush toy from Se7en’s hand. “And it has seven tails.”
“In Japan, it’s called a kitsune. And unlike at home, they’re supposed to be good.” Se7en bumped shoulders with Min as they walked through the crowded fairgrounds. “The more tails they have, the wiser they are.”
“Really?” Changmin contemplated the plush, stroking at its fur. The tails were soft on his skin, nearly as gentle as Se7en’s hand on his waist. “Tell me more.”
“That’s all I know.” Dong-Wook admitted bashfully. “I’m not much of a reader. Well, I read but I’m not…hell, I don’t know what I’m saying here.”
“I’ll read up on it.” Min grinned, thinking of delving into folk tales. “Thank you for getting it for me. It looks like you.”
“You’re welcome.” Se7en rotated his arm, working out the soreness in his shoulder.
Throwing twenty baseballs in a row left him with a nasty ache, one that would probably leave a bruise along his arm but the silly grin the kitsune brought to Changmin’s face was well worth every inch of pain. He’d spotted the seven-tailed kitsune among the more expensive prizes and knew the plush fox would have to go home with Changmin.
“I won something too.” Min replied with a wicked grin. Se7en liked that smile much more than the joyful he’d gotten with the fox. It held a lot more promise for delicious, dirty things to come. “I pitched pebbles into a bowl while you were in the bathroom.”
“Ah, I leave you for a few minutes and you become a gambler?” Se7en laughed hard at Min’s tongue sticking out at him. “What did you win, Minku?”
“A CD.” Changmin held up a bootleg copy of Se7olution, the cheap paper wrapper stinking of fresh ink. “I thought maybe I could get the singer to sign it for me. Do you think he would do that?”
“God, that looks horrible,” Se7en took the jewel case from his future lover. “Do you have a pen?”
“No,” The young man made a face. “I left the house only with my wallet. I should have brought my backpack but I thought that would look a bit childish.”
“I don’t know.” There was a hint of wickedness in Se7en’s wink. “We could always pretend you are a school boy that the evil nasty letch of a singer wants to debauch.”
“Is that really pretending?” Min stuck his hands into his jacket pockets, laughing hard when Se7en placed a dramatic hand to his chest as if Min’s words struck him deep. “You’re silly. You’re making me silly in return. If this keeps up, I’ll be like Junsu laughing at my own stupid jokes.”
“Sometimes,” The singer admitted. “Silly isn’t bad, Minku. Sometimes it’s a lot of fun. Other times, silly can lead to some very nice things.”
“I’m not good with silly.” Changmin responded. “Well, sometimes with the other members. I’m silly with Jaejoong.”
“How do you get along with the other members?” Dong-Wook asked. “And tell me the truth, not what your label wants everyone to believe.”
“The truth is,” Min said. “We’re closer than what we can show. And it’s nice. We’re like a family of brothers.”
“How so?”
“We fight,” Changmin wrinkled his mouth into a moue, recalling some of the more legendary arguments they’d had. “I think it’s because we’re all stubborn, well except for Yoochun who just refuses to listen. He’s the only one of us who doesn’t scream and yell. I hate fighting with him because he doesn’t give you the satisfaction you need.”
“So you fight a lot?” Se7en contemplated a small kiosk that sold hard candies, buying a handful of sugar-dipped lemon drops to share with the younger man.
“In the beginning, we did.” Min took a candy, popping it into his mouth and licking off the sugar left on his lips.
Se7en thought he would die before the powdered white frost was gone.
“Now, it’s different.” Contemplative, Changmin fell into step beside Se7en. “Now, Yunho really is the leader, and the rest of us know that the only way we’re going to achieve what we all want is to push forward together.”
“You get along with Yunho?”
“Hyung is easy to get along with,” Min laughed at Se7en’s sour face when he mentioned the group’s leader. “You’re the only one who doesn’t.”
“I know a couple of people who are leery of Yunho.” The older man commented. “And you’ve never been on the receiving end of a dodge ball thrown by him. He hits hard.”
“You know why he threw that ball hard.”
“I know that he never aimed for Jaejoong.” Se7en grinned knowingly. “It’s not a secret that the two of them are close. No matter how well everyone tries to hide it.”
“Yunho and Jaejoong try to be discreet.” Changmin blushed. “But I share a wall with their room and I had to move my bed to the far side so I didn’t hear them. They’re also very loud sometimes.”
“Ah, that’s a good secret.” Se7en wiggled his eyebrows at the younger man, making Changmin laugh. “I promise, I won’t say anything.”
“Junsu and Yoochun are louder.” The young singer sighed. “I’m glad they’re at the other end of the hall. They’re also less cautious about where they start things. Jaejoong is always shooing them off to their room. And you can’t trust them to be home alone with one another. They have no respect for the common area.”
“They sound like the typical younger brothers,” Dong-Wook said. “Well the no respect part. I don’t mean incest is typical for brothers. Ah, I’m not making much sense.”
“You are.” Min nodded. “They’re all brothers to me, and to the other members who aren’t their lovers.”
“Good.” Se7en look relieved. “So you don’t fight anymore?”
“We do.” Changmin shook his head. “But only about things that matter and never about ego. In the beginning, I think we argued a lot because we each needed to prove to one another that we deserved to be there. Over time, we found out each others’ strengths and weaknesses. We still fight about things.”
“Who do you fight with the most?” Se7en asked. The insight to the close knit group was fascinating to him. TVXQ was very protective of itself, closing in ranks when anyone on the outside so much as poked at one of the members. Even people who worked for the group were still circling the five, never truly let into their tight enclave.
“I fight with Yoochun the most.” Min said bashfully. “I get mad at him for being too emotional. He feels everything and reacts, sometimes without thinking. I’m not patient enough with his emotions and push too hard at him to withstand hardships.”
“You said you hated fighting with him.”
“I hate fighting with him because he walks away.” Changmin admitted. “When he’s mad, he turns around and walks away from you. The others, they step right into it and you can at least release some of your anger in yelling.”
“With Chunnie-ah, you’re the only one doing the yelling. It’s not very satisfying. And I always feel stupid because when he does that, to me it feels like he’s running away but to someone watching from the outside of the argument, it looks like he’s being the mature one.” A gaggle of young boys ran past the pair, a loud boisterous noisy group seeking out one of the rides. “I’d rather someone yell back at me.”
“For the most part, we get along.” Changmin said. “And I hardly argue with Yunho. He feels very much like an older wiser brother. But he’s hard to talk to about more intimate things. He gets shy. For those things, I have to go to Jaejoong, who doesn’t have any shame really.”
“He always strikes me as the shy one.”
“Joongie-ah is bashful.” Min countered. “He really opens up to you if you’re close to him. And people like him a lot but he doesn’t really like them back in return as quickly. It takes a long time for him to feel comfortable with someone. And still, that doesn’t mean he tells you his secrets.”
“I’m not going to ask for any of Jaejoong’s secrets.” Se7en promised. “I think I know a few. You can see it in how he reacts to people coming near him. Some people he lets close to him and others make him flee to the group.”
Changmin nodded. “Jaejoong is our lost kitten. He has claws and bites but really, just wants food and love. He doesn’t feel as if he deserves it though. Yunho says that one day, he will. And the world will see the Joongie-ah that we all do.”
“Until then, we protect him.” Min shrugged, dismissing the dichotomy of Jae’s life as a necessity for the older man to survive. “Yunho says I’m like him but for different reasons.”
“Sadly, I have to agree with your hyung.” Se7en admitted. “You don’t let people in close to you. And you don’t think you deserve affection and love.”
“You do, you know.” Dong-Wook tugged at Changmin’s waist, running his hand down the length of the younger man’s back in a quick caress. “You deserve a lot of affection. And definitely to be loved.”
“I’m not looking for love, remember?” Min’s plaintive words broke off a bit of Se7en’s empathy, lodging deep into his heart.
“Ah, Minku.” Se7en said. “Even if you’re not looking to be in love, you still should be loved. They’re not mutually exclusive. Your hyungs love you, but aren’t in love with you.”
“True.” Changmin acknowledged slowly.
“I wouldn’t mind loving you, Minku.” Se7en said casually. He liked the look of shock on Min’s face. He’d enjoy taking that look off with a few well placed kisses. “I’m man enough to admit it.”
“I wouldn’t mind if you loved me.”
Se7en barely heard Changmin’s response, a half-murmured reply nearly lost in the bustle of the crowd but he did hear it. And it warmed his belly.
They continued to walk through the crowd, weaving around entire families out for the evening. Laughter and shrieks tore through the air, a tilting ride swinging cars about the air in haphazard circles. Lights flashed and popped as a strength testing game announced a winner, a booming train whistle going off above them.
Min hid his smile when Se7en’s fingers brushed against his palm, their eyes meeting in a slow dance around other people before they were separated by a little girl running between them. Joining again, their hands touched, binding them together for the briefest of moments that they carried with them, a ghostly line between their bodies.
“What do you want to do now?” Dong-Wook looked about, slightly overwhelmed by the glut of people around them. “Hungry?”
“Would you believe, no?” Changmin patted his belly. “I’m still full.”
“Good.” Se7en winked. “I don’t think my heart could take it if I had to watch you eat something else. If you take as much time on me as you do your food, I’m going to die a happy man.”
Min didn’t know what to say. Not to the blatant flirtation out in the open among other people. To Se7en, it was easy, just a breath in and then, seduction out. As easy as blinking. Changmin felt none of that ease when he spoke. But then, being around the older man did make his mind cloud. It was hard to think when all he wanted to do was suck the air from Se7en’s mouth and pull it down into his belly.
Control. Take some control, he admonished his tongue. Talk, damn it; his mind sighed.
“How about a ride in the back of that limo?” Min asked, his voice deepening with a sly teasing. “Maybe we can go visit the river again?”
“Who called earlier, Boo?” Yunho stripped his t-shirt off, pulling it free from his arms. He debated pulling on a pair of sweats to sleep in but one look at Jaejoong’s lean body framed against the bathroom door changed Yunho’s mind.
Jae worked his toothbrush around his teeth, spitting out the excess foam in his mouth before rinsing. Leaning over the bathroom counter, the thin fabric of his drawstring pants molded over Jae’s body, drawing down into the crease of his backside. Standing in the bedroom, Yunho could appreciate the shadowed cleft, even more so knowing that the rounded ass around it was his.
“Stop leering at me.” Jae washed his face, scrubbing at his cheeks with a soapy wash cloth. “I can see you in the mirror.”
“Can’t help it, baby.” Yunho responded with a smile. “You’d hate it if I stopped.”
True, Jae thought. But seeing the want in Yunho’s face made it difficult to get his face washed. It was hard to lean against the cold marble with his sex thickening between his legs.
“And who called?” The leader pulled back the covers of their bed, moving the pillows back into place. He’d never understood Jae’s need to nest but the soft feather forms made it easier to cuddle the other man against him. Jaejoong was easy to find in bed, herded in by his nest of softness and open to Yunho’s kisses on the other side. “Was it Changmin? He’s not back yet.”
“He said he’d be late.” Flicking off the bathroom light, Jae padded into the room, crawling onto the bed on all fours. “Something about wanting to hear some poetry after he got some dinner.”
“He’s odd.” Yunho shook his head, amazed at what their youngest did to pass the time. Turning off the main light, Yunho slid under the covers, letting his eyes adjust to the ambient light coming from the windows. In a few moments, his lover’s face became clear to him, the shadows drawing away from Jae’s pretty features. Moving in closer, Yunho wrapped his arms around Jae’s waist, kissing at the other’s lower lip.
“You taste good. Like mint.” Murmuring, the leader felt Jaejoong’s body respond, a heaviness trapped between their pressed in bodies. “So if it wasn’t Changmin, who was it?”
“Rain.” Jaejoong listened expectantly for Yunho’s curse. He wasn’t disappointed. The leader responded with one nearly immediately.
“What did that asshole want?”
“He wanted to know if we had someone talking about him.” Jaejoong snuggled into Yunho’s grasp, luxuriating under the feel of his lover’s hands roaming over his rear and back. “He seems to think that we’ve got someone sniffing around him. Asking about Minnie-ah.”
“Someone’s asking about him and Changmin?” Yunho frowned, his thoughts racing.
“No, there wasn’t any mention about Min. Just someone asking if Rain liked virgins.” Jaejoong replied. “So Rain immediately thought about our Changmin and called me.”
“I think after what happened, Rain’s not going to look at another virgin for the rest of his life.”
“Probably not.” Jae allowed himself to be turned over onto his back, Yunho’s fingers stroking at his stomach. “But why would someone start asking about Rain?”
“Could be because he’s an asshole?” Yunho tugged Jae free of his shirt, tossing the garment to the floor. “That’s better, Boo. I don’t know why you even wear anything to bed.”
“Because it’s cold.” Jaejoong snorted. “And stop for a minute. Do you think he hit on someone else? Do you think he hurt someone?”
“I don’t know, Boo.” The other man lay half on top of his lover, knowing the contact would alleviate Jae’s stress. “Do you want me to have someone we know ask? Rain’s been pretty mellow since that thing with Changmin. He didn’t even say much when we broke the stage he had to use after us.”
“I think he was more scared of you than anything else.” Yunho’s belly against him was too much to ignore and Jae ran his fingers along his lover’s ribs, outlining the hard muscles on Yunnie’s torso. “I know you hit him before those guys came around. He said that they broke his nose but I saw the mark on his skin. That was from your ring. I know that ring. It’s left its mark on me after we’ve made love and got too enthusiastic.”
“And you’ve never said anything?”
“What was I going to say?” Jae asked, sticking his tongue out at his partner. “Yunho, thanks for beating Rain up for Minnie. Or at least softening him up for the thugs Scarlet’s boyfriend sent over later?”
“I asked for no secrets between us and I kept that one.” Yunho at least had the decency to look contrite in the wash of moonlight in the room. “And for a long time. You told me about Scarlet’s guys.”
“That…well, let’s face it.” The singer made a face. “God, I didn’t want anything to happen to him. Not really. I didn’t want Rain to get hurt. I was happy you hit him. Hell, I wanted to hit him.”
“Well, those guys took care of it.” Yunho nestled into Jae’s side. “Did Rain ever tell you I hit him?”
“No,” Jae admitted. “But I think he was ashamed about it. He can kind of laugh off getting beat up by a bunch of guys but getting his nose broken by you would be too embarrassing for him. I thought he suffered enough.”
“I don’t.” Yunho shrugged. “But I don’t forgive. Someone only has to smile at you and you forgive them.”
Jaejoong slapped his lover on the thigh. “I do not. I hold grudges.”
“Rarely.” The other man teased, his deep voice a pleasant rumble in Jae’s ears. “You never hold one against me.”
“That’s because I love you.” Jae retorted. “And I forgive all of the stupid things that you do. I have to. I love you.”
The town car glided smoothly through the streets, its driver a silent, stone-faced man that kept his eyes on the road and the privacy screen raised to block him from viewing the back. Se7en appreciated the man’s discretion. In fact, he wasn’t certain the driver spoke more than a few words. But then he wasn’t paying the man to talk. Dong-Wook was paying him to drive and keep mum about the young man with him.
His driver slowed the car when it got to the banks of the Sumida river, coming to a complete stop at one of the many gardens dotting its banks. With a short buzz of the intercom, the man informed Se7en that he would be taking his break and go looking for a cup of tea.
“I’ll be reachable through my cell phone, sir.”
“Ah, one thing,” Se7en said.
“Yes, sir?”
“I’d like for you to not have seen anything back here tonight.”
“Your car is driven by a blind man, Sir.”
The man walked away from the town car, distancing himself from the men sitting in back. With a push of a button, Se7en lowered the windows overlooking the garden and the river, a ribbon of gently moving waters stretching through the city.
“I have to go home soon.” Changmin whispered. “They’ll worry about me. I’ll start getting phone calls soon.”
“Can you stay about half an hour?” Se7en pulled the younger man into his lap, settling Changmin into the crux of his arm and stroking his fingers on the back of Min’s neck. “I can get you home before midnight.”
“Midnight sounds fine, Mitsu.” The other man’s touch left Min’s belly in knots and turned his legs into jelly. “I think if I stay with you any longer, I won’t want to leave.”
“I like the sound of that.” Se7en replied. “Now, lean a bit, Iro. My mouth’s lonely without you.”