lotus_beauty: (jaesuho)
lotus_beauty ([personal profile] lotus_beauty) wrote2009-09-22 02:40 am
Entry tags:

[Fic] Redefine: Part 18/21

Title: Redefine
Author: LotusBeauty
Type: Multi-chapter
Rating: R to NC-17
Pairings: JaeChun, JaeHo, other ot5 stuff eventually
Genre: AU, fantasy, crossover, comedy/drama/emo
Summary: He was trying to keep me safe. I wished he was wrong, but he was right. (Sequel to Feel)
Notes: you know the drill. disastrous win, etc :)
Disclaimer: Not mine, never were, but a girl can dream through fiction.


For previous chapters, please refer to the main post HERE, which also has links for the previous arc.




18: can’t get back (mediafire)


“We might need everyone today.”

Jae frowned at Micky’s voice through his cell and shifted in his graduation gown. “Why?”

“Because we can feel something powerful coming.”

Jae sighed and checked his watch. “Can it wait til after graduation?” he asked as Kendra tilted her head at him.

“It shouldn’t get here until after…” Micky didn’t sound confident.

“Are you guys going to come to our graduation or are you skipping?” Jae rolled his eyes as he heard talking on the other end. “They’re not coming,” he told Kendra so he could guilt them into coming when they overheard him.

“What?” She frowned worried. “Why not?”

“They’re being manly and tracking something dangerous in the woods,” he told her to earn a giggle from her and a few of their classmates. Too bad they didn’t know the reality of it.

“I’m coming,” Yunho’s voice came through the speaker. “We should be there anyway in case whatever it is comes to the graduation so we can stop it.” It sounded like he was talking to the group as much as he was to Jae.

“A hurricane couldn’t stop you,” Jae replied with amusement. Yunho scoffed a little and promised to be there. Jae rolled his eyes as he said goodbye and closed the phone—so whipped.

“I better get to my spot,” Kendra said and pulled him into a hug. “Enjoy your American graduation.” She winked.

“Let’s see who gets the most cheers,” Jae replied with a grin as she skipped away to take her place.

Graduation was everything Jae expected it to be; boring, a bit moving and exciting with a smidgen of sadness punctuating the end. The sad parts were ruined a bit by a girl on Jae’s right that started sobbing dramatically and he had to force himself not to stare at her in bewilderment. At the end a bunch of kids threw their caps in the air and were immediately scolded by the teachers. Jae was just glad he had his real diploma in his hands as they all filed out of the auditorium. This was the one moment he actually had felt relaxed in quite a while. These weeks leading up to his graduation had been extremely nerve wracking. After prom, school had gotten in gear for finals and Jae had participated in one vampire takedown while another team had caught another during one of his exams. It wasn’t that he wanted to be part of it, but he worried if anyone got hurt again.

The way Micky spoke on the phone earlier really made Jae concerned though. What was so powerful that made everyone pull together to go after it? Jae had kept his shields tight around himself, not venturing to sense anything because he didn’t want to attract attention to the ceremony, but now that he was out, he had to ditch his friends to go find the group.

“Jaejoong!”

Jae smiled as his father waved. He jogged over to be pulled into a hug.

“I’m proud of you,” he told the young man who glanced down, hoping he wasn’t blushing.

“Pictures!” Kendra called as she grabbed Jae and dragged him over to everyone else. All of the seniors posed for their parents to take pictures—normal and crazy. Jae particularly liked the one where it looked like he was about to eat Chester’s ear. Kendra demanded one of them hugging and Jae obliged happily. Once the excitement died down, everyone trailed after their parents to get ready for graduation parties or to go out to celebrate.

“Shall we go have lunch?” Mr. Kim suggested. “We can talk about that trip to Seattle you told me about.”

“Actually, I was hoping to hang out with my friends,” Jae admitted, shifting from foot to foot. He knew his father would assume the friends he’d just graduated with, but Jae needed to get to Yunho and Micky.

A hand clapped him on the shoulder. “Yeah, we’d like to steal him,” Yunho told Mr. Kim with a large grin.

“Be home at a decent time,” his father warned before giving Yunho a smile and Jae’s time for the afternoon and evening. Jae breathed a sigh of relief as he steered him towards the car.

“Have your guns?” Yunho asked.

“They’re at home,” Jae told him. “All I have on me is my knife and a vial.”

“Better than nothing,” Yunho said with a shrug as he waved to the car that started up at their approach.

“Shall we do some hunting?” Micky asked with a grin from the driver’s seat where he waited as the two slipped into the car. Jae gave him a nod with a grin as the vampire put the car into gear and set off.

Jae sat by himself in the back seat with his eyes closed and shifted his shields to let his senses roam over the area. He jerked back a bit when he encountered the something they’d been talking about. Whatever it was, they weren’t lying when they said it was powerful, but it was chaotic. He tracked it slowly moving closer to the town as they drove. When he glanced out the window, he confirmed his suspicion that they were on the highway, heading toward the threat. Jae squirmed out of his graduation gown, happy that he’d just worn jeans and a button up shirt over a tank top.

He pulled out the knife Kumi had given him and spent the rest of the ride flipping it open and shut as he twirled it between his fingers as she’d taught him. It made him stop for a moment to stare at the blade. If he did this in front of someone on the street, he might scare them. He would look dangerous. Is this what it took to protect people? He sent a silent query to Micky who turned to glance back at him. The vampire reached a hand back and Jae took it to feel a squeeze. At least he wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

“It’s getting closer,” he told them as he felt the course of the ‘something’ shift.

“He’s right,” Yunho said as Micky nodded and they pulled off the road to park on the side in the trees.

Micky flipped his phone open and dialed as they got out of the car. “Where are you?” he asked into the phone as Jae undid the buttons on his shirt. It was a beautiful, warm day out, but it just felt off—like the way the air felt right before a thunderstorm was about to hit. He could feel other groups gathering in the area as their… well, monster, got closer. He pulled his shirt off and tied it around his waist, a feeling of wrongness settling in his stomach.

“This feels all wrong.” Yunho shook his head confirming Jae’s thoughts as the young man moved closer to him. Somehow he felt safer with Yunho by his side. “We have a huge team and I still feel outnumbered.”

“They’re supposed to make you feel that way,” Micky told them as he pocketed the phone. “Everyone is here, so let’s get to it. I think I know what it is.”

“What is it?” Jae asked as he and Yunho followed Micky into the trees.

“I think it’s a werewolf,” he replied and glanced back as they hiked through the brush. “A real one.”

Jae and Yunho glanced at one another. They’d never met a werewolf that wasn’t a shapeshifter like his pack. Jae wondered if the real one or the shapeshifters were more powerful. From what he’d learned about them, it seemed they had about the same power level and that they’d have an even fight. At least it was outnumbered with all of them together. But Jae still felt like that just might not be enough for some odd reason.

As they made their way through the forest, the feeling of wrongness kept getting worse, weighing over him. It made him feel sick to his stomach. He tripped as they crossed over the top of a rise and caught himself with his hands against the ground, panting as if he’d been running for hours. He heard the other two asking if he was okay and shook his head. This was wrong; this was all wrong.

Jae wiped his forehead as he told them he didn’t feel good and began to notice just how much he’d been sweating. It was then he realized he hadn’t been shielding like he should have been since he’d been spreading his senses when they were in the car. Resting on his knees, Jae carefully built his shields back up, reinforcing them to keep the feeling at bay. It worked for the most part, but if he shielded too much, he wouldn’t be able to track it, and at the moment, it was so strong, he wasn’t sure which direction it was coming from besides—

His eyes flew open. “It’s right on top of us.”

What?!

Jae would never get the sound of the snarl out of his mind for as long as he lived, the sound echoing in the forest as something slammed into the spot where Micky had just been. Jae felt himself being tugged away and knew Micky was the one pulling him. The vampire was yelling something about staying out of range as Yunho yelled back and snarling echoed all around. Jae tried to reach into his pocket, but Micky yanked him in yet another direction just as he got his hand around the vial. He was then thrown away and hit the ground, his breath knocked from his chest as he heard Micky cursing from behind him as the vial flew from his hand and rolled across the ground.

A glance back showed him the paw of the beast swiping at Micky who ducked just in time and Jae scrambled away without a thought and went after the vial. He knew Micky had failed in shielding him when he heard a yell and a thud against a tree trunk behind him, the vampire’s yelp of pain causing fear to pump through his veins to get him to move faster. He skidded to a stop, relieved when he had the tube in his hand. Jae then glanced back to see something large, hairy and very, very angry coming at him. With a fearful holler, Jae wrenched himself up and began to run, knowing he’d never outrun the thing. He was thankful when Micky attacked the feral beast with a kick to distract it.

“Don’t let it get near you!” Micky yelled over the werewolf’s growling. “Stay out of its range and don’t let it bite you!”

Jae didn’t care, he just kept running. When the snarls were less loud, he finally ripped the top off of the vial and downed the drug before he coughed at the taste. He dropped the empty tube as he grabbed the tree next to him to stay upright and felt a rush of air behind him as he heard a thud and snarling. A glance told him Yunho had attacked the werewolf this time, their fur blurring at the edge of his vision. Micky was yelling at Yunho to get away from the werewolf and Jae had to silently agree. Who knew if it could bite Yunho and change him into a real one?

“Look out!” Jae heard Micky snap clearly as the drug kicked in. With a shift of his shields, Jae knew the werewolf was coming at his back.

With a push off the ground, Jae ran up the trunk of the tree that he’d been leaning on. The werewolf used its claws in the bark to chase after Jae and the young man didn’t feel like playing along anymore. He changed his direction by kicking off a branch with his foot and pushed to launch himself straight down toward the werewolf. Flipping his body so that he plummeted feet first, Jae kicked the werewolf in the face before he landed on the ground in a crouch, growls piercing the air all around. He pulled out his knife and knew if he could kill the werewolf now, it would be over.

“No! Jaejoong! GET OUT OF ITS RANGE!!”

The werewolf hit the ground beside him and lashed out, swiping at Jae to connect with his arm, claws digging across the skin. With a howl, Jae fell back as Yunho arrived to distract the werewolf and Micky dragged him away to a safer distance. Jae cursed at his mistake and apologized for not listening as Micky snapped a lecture at him. Micky was just pulling his phone out when a large group of vampires converged upon their area and sped past him to attack the werewolves. Micky cursed and shoved his phone into Jae’s hands and started to yell as the vampires attacked both of the wolves.

Jae tried to move as confusion disorganized the group around him, but winced when his arm throbbed in pain. It was then he heard yelling from the phone in his hand and held it up to his ear. It sounded like Changmin at first, but then Jae heard Junsu say they were on their way and the line cut off. Ignoring that Junsu had hung up on him, Jae closed the phone and shoved it in his pocket as he glanced up to see a human Yunho shuffling toward him with a bottle of water. Who he’d managed to get that from, Jae would never know. Behind him, the vampires regrouped and converged on the feral werewolf to subdue it with all their effort. Jae didn’t have it in him to watch them kill it and decided to concentrate on his own injury instead.

Jae hissed as Yunho poured water over the deep cuts. “They’re healing quickly,” Yunho commented as he pulled his shirt out of his back pocket and dabbed at the slashes to dry them.

“Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt,” Jae growled.

“Stop being such a girl,” Yunho teased as Jae leveled him a glare. “They’ll be scabbed over by the time you change back.”

“How am I supposed to tell my dad?” Jae asked in annoyance.

“Uh, hide it the way you try to hide the hickeys?” Yunho gave him that ‘duh’ look.

Jae rolled his eyes hard. “Fine.”

“Don’t be such a brat,” Yunho replied and kissed his forehead as Jae made a face. His lover just grinned, knowing Jae didn’t mean it. Deep down, Jae knew he didn’t either. With a sigh, Jae waited as Yunho wrapped his shirt around the cuts to keep him from bleeding all over and tied it tight.

“You don’t have to ruin your shirt,” Jae offered.

Yunho shrugged. “It’s just a shirt. I don’t think we’ll have time to think of luxuries when we head to the city,” the man reminded Jae. “We’ll have to think on the fly like this because we know people are going to get hurt.” He paused and added quietly, “We might even lose some.”

“Don’t remind me,” Jae muttered sadly. He didn’t want to think about it, but Yunho was right. They might not return with the same amount of people that left. He didn’t want to be part of that number that never came back either. He felt a squeeze on his hand and smiled to see Yunho’s hand over his.

“We’ll get through it and come back to have a party,” Yunho offered softly.

Jae smiled a little at the way Yunho tried to cheer him up. “A big party.”

“Big,” Yunho confirmed with a nod. Jae could only smile at the way looked very serious about this party.

Once the fighting finished, Micky returned to them, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

“So…” Jae prompted from his spot leaning against a tree, cradling his wounded arm in his lap as Yunho lounged beside him.

“That’s the Lee family,” Micky said as he jerked his head at the group subduing the werewolf and smiled a little sheepishly. “I didn’t realize this was the feral werewolf they were tracking. Not that anyone would realize it really.”

“I thought you said they were in northern Canada,” Yunho reminded him.

“They were, but Tablo got hurt and they stopped for a night. After they got back to tracking it, they realized it had swung south, but miscalculated how far it could get,” Micky explained. “We’re probably lucky it came this way instead of going somewhere more populated.”

Jae glanced up to see everyone else showing up now and the new group of vampires eyeing them curiously from around their kill. “I don’t think that word means what you think it means,” he teased quietly.

“You just wait. I know the meaning of lucky.” Micky winked as he called to the groups to meet at the Park residence.

“I’m not sure he does,” Jae muttered at Yunho.

“Have a little faith,” Yunho answered with a smile.

“Don’t take his side.” He pouted.

Yunho scoffed as he helped Jae up. “Stop whining just because you got injured.”

Yunho never saw the punch to his stomach coming, but Jae had a feeling it hurt his hand more than it did Yunho’s stomach. He did his best to glare when Yunho kissed the top of his hand better as they were about to get into the car and Jae refused to admit that it put butterflies in his stomach. He did however give in when Yunho slid into the back seat with him and gave him a shoulder to rest on.

“Should I feel so tired?” he asked with a yawn as Micky began to drive. He wasn’t as sleepy as he was dizzy.

“Might be the injury,” Micky offered from the driver seat. “Takes energy to heal it so fast, even if you are a… kind of… vampire. If you were really a vampire, you probably wouldn’t have felt as much of the pain if at all. And you would be able to feed.” He then muttered something about making notes for Rain and Jae rolled his eyes.

The pain turned into a numb throbbing that was much less intense by the time they arrived at the Park home. Once inside, Micky zipped into the kitchen and returned to shove a glass of water in Jae’s face.

“Your body might need this, considering the healing and all,” Micky answered with a shrug when Jae gave him a look of confusion. “It seems like the best option since I’ve never seen anything like you before and I’m not exactly sure what your body needs right now. Even the two Rain was experimenting with up north aren’t as strong as you.”

Jae pondered that last bit as he gulped down most of the water. It didn’t quench his thirst like he knew that blood would—simply because of that one encounter while with Kumi—but he did feel a bit better afterward. He sighed as he set the empty glass on the counter. If only he could go back to a time when things weren’t so dangerous nor so serious.

The other family—the Lee family—filed in soon after, along with Yunho’s pack and before long everyone had arranged themselves in the large living room as Rain and Yunho greeted everyone and began talking about what had just happened. Jae half-listened, perched on a stool at the kitchen island. Kumi sat on his right and Changmin to hers, Junsu standing just next to Changmin. Jae watched as Rain next introduced the Lee family.

Junghyun, as the leader of the Lee clan, was more petite than Jae expected her to be, but carried herself in a way that told him she could handle herself. She wasn’t beautiful like Hyori, but in her own way Jae found her to be very pretty. She acted as elder to the rest and Jae estimated her age to be closer to Rain’s than that of someone like Micky. She introduced each member of her family in turn.

Liyin was slender and beautiful, and seemed to know Junsu well as she had caught his eye and they shared a smile at one another. Aya and Anna were both quiet and from Japan, but Jae hardly thought that bit of information mattered as they seemed to be fluent in quite a few languages. Sarah had darker skin whose looks resembled those of Yunho’s packmates, and even then she had a sharper look to her. Jae briefly wondered if she was Inuit. Lastly, Junghyun introduced Tablo and Boa, two younger vampires from Korea. Jae found it amusing that the Lee family seemed to be a mirror image of the Park family—all guys with one girl versus all girls with one guy. He wondered how Tablo put up with it as he knew what it was like living with girls. He had a feeling he understood though, when he managed to catch the way Tablo and Boa looked at one another. Now that look he recognized quite well. As Rain took the floor and introduced their merry band and wolves, Jae started to lose interest.

“How’s your arm?” Micky’s velvety voice purred in his left ear suddenly. Jae fought the urge to shiver and turned.

“It’s fine,” he managed quietly.

“Let’s have a look. Come on.” He tugged Jae off the stool and led him up to the bathroom.

Jae regrettably left the group and followed Micky up the stairs. Once in the bathroom, he held his arm over the counter as Micky unwrapped it. Talk quietly floated up from the main room as Micky clicked his tongue at Jae’s arm. Jae’s mind still smoldered with disappointment and embarrassment over his injury. It was only a matter of time, but he didn’t have to like it. Micky moved away to carefully set Yunho’s ruined shirt in the sink and then wet a cloth. With a look to Jae who nodded, Micky set about carefully cleaning the wounds, which looked far less deep now that they were inside. Jae sent a wordless question about it to Micky who nodded.

“You’ve healed most of the inner damage. The skin should heal just fine over the top and there won’t be any scars if I make sure nothing is in it to cause an infection. I assume you might scar since you’re still human,” he murmured as he worked. He soon deemed the cuts clean before he opened a cabinet and pulled a first aid kit from it. He fished a roll of gauze out of it and began to wrap it around the wound.

“Is this necessary?” Jae asked nervously as the vampire carefully wrapped his arm, his cool hands gentle.

“I don’t know how well the drug will heal you, or if you’ll need a wrap when you change back, so let’s stay on the safe side.” He winked and Jae couldn’t help but smile. Why was the damn vampire making him smile?

“You don’t need to be so nice to me.” Jae tilted his head, wondering just what Micky was up to.

“We’re friends aren’t we?” Micky chuckled as he closed the kit. “I’m still hoping that we can be more than just friends again… eventually,” he added softly.

“Micky,” Jae warned with a sigh as the vampire shook his head and finished.

“I really think you should talk about it with Yunho sooner than later,” he interrupted and caught Jae’s hands the breath caught in Jae’s throat. “I don’t think he’d be bothered as much as you think he will. I know I said he wants to be alone with you, but I think he’ll be more open than you think.”

Jae frowned and thought back to the things Changmin told him. “Did something happen that I don’t know about? It’s like you know more about what he thinks than I do.” He rolled his eyes at the stupidity of the statement. “Though it’s not as if you weren’t reading his mind just recently.”

Micky laughed. “Think about it, okay?” He reached up to touch Jae’s cheek and the young man felt his knees go weak at the simple touch. “I still believe what you said about soulmates to be true, and that we can love more than one person in our lives.”

“You remember that?” Jae blinked as his heart leaped at the vampire’s words.

Micky smiled softly. “I wouldn’t forget something that helped put my feelings into words,” he murmured and kissed Jae’s forehead.

The words pierced his heart more than he imagined they ever could. It was so simple that he couldn’t let it go and yet so powerful that it wouldn’t let him go. He couldn’t stop himself. Jae closed his eyes and shifted his mental shields to include Micky as he felt his heart leap in his chest at the gasp he heard. He let his thoughts and feelings for the vampire flow out and heard his name echo softly in the small room. It didn’t surprise him when their lips met, and though he was scared someone might find them, he was also scared he’d never get to express the way he felt to Micky again. Yunho was right, some of them might not come back and he wanted Micky to know how he felt, despite his feelings for everyone else—including Yunho. But somehow, all these things he felt were painful and Jae hid his face against Micky’s shoulder as the kiss ended and vampire held him.

“I love you so much it hurts? That’s a bit overdone, isn’t it?” Micky asked in response to Jae’s thought.

The young man managed a smile against Micky’s shoulder. “What am I supposed to do if it’s true?”

“Do you feel the same about Yunho?” the vampire asked as they pulled apart.

Jae glanced down at their hands that were still wound together, his heart feeling light at the sight. “Depends on the situation.”

“Your heart feels light now.” Micky was like a running commentary for his mind and while amused, Jae found the vampire to be rather silly.

“I feel everything around both of you,” he whispered softly. “Is that wrong?” His eyes strayed up when Micky’s hand rested on his shoulder and he saw the dancing eyes of a lover not willing to give up. It was like they’d never been apart.

“Not at all,” Micky told him and squeezed his shoulder. “We’ll all three of us talk after we get back from Seattle. I think it’s best we put it off until then. It’s not as important as stopping Jin.”

“I agree,” Jae nodded as he pulled his shields back around himself. Just because it was on the backburner didn’t mean they would forget about it. Yunho was likely to want to talk about it when they had more free time as well. He let Micky pull him into a tight hug and rested against the vampire. They wouldn’t get a respite like this for some time, and Jae knew it well. He wished that the carefree time they’d had together last year hadn’t gone away. Many times he’d desperately wished for it again, but he now knew—they couldn’t get back to that time again. Would it come back again once this was all over?

A sigh escaped both of them as they broke apart.

The best they could do was hope.


~***~


too tired to think of anything to say. started on the outline for Gravity. comments are ♥

Part 19

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