Kicks

A/N: The story is nearing it’s end. :] I know, how depressing! Lolz. Don’t worry, I think I’ll be starting a webcomic soon… it’s a vague idea and I need to outline more details for it, but don’t worry. Any opinions? Webcomic yay or nay? x]



Also, I hope that the fanart I drew for you in the last chapter gave you a better description of how the characters are meant to look. I’ll admit I’m not the best artist and Penny and Bam are the only ones that turned out how I wanted them to.. xD;;; but alas. Any takers on fanart? XDD



There were also a lot of errors in the last chapter. I\'m too lazy to fix. XD I was tired when I wrote it. @_@;



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For some reason Sae felt like something was really, really wrong. Not like, dangerous wrong. Oh no, he was safe and he knew that. He felt like something in general was wrong… like when papers were handed to him and he had no idea what they were, Bam calmly took them and put on a pair of reading glasses, skimming over the details and explaining in short what the document meant, and then had the Prince sign on the dotted line. Something about that felt wrong.



Like Sae was a puppet and Bam was the master.



Of course Sae knew he was supposed to be relatively clueless, and he was learning things as he went about his duties – he was learning more of the history of their clan, the names of his current family members, and a bit about the financial duties he was to be worried about. But still, there was an underlying sense that there was… something else that was being hidden from him.



“Bam?”



The teal-haired man glanced up from his desk, his azure eyes settling on the teen that had taken residency in the doorway to Bam’s office. Blinking, Bam took off his glasses and set his pen down, giving Sae his full attention.



“Yes, Your Highness?”



Ah, another part of ‘wrong’. Since they had settled in, no one was calling Sae by his name – save for Penny. She only called him Prince when she was being sarcastic. Bam wasn’t even referring to the teen as ‘Kicks’ anymore, which slightly disconcerted the burgundy-haired youth. He wasn’t uncomfortable by any means, he knew he was growing to get adjusted, but until then he wished Bam would just refer to him normally.



“I’m bored,” Sae said idly, picking at the doorframe with his fingernails, which were manicured neatly. Bam’s silence confirmed the fact that the older man knew there was something else going on in the Prince’s mind, so Sae conceded. “And I have a few things on my mind…”



Bam smiled crookedly; despite addressing Sae in such respectable manners, he still treated Sae the same and the teen was entirely grateful for that.



“A walk? No one’s on the beach and I’m dying to get out of this stupid office,” Bam said, standing up immediately and locking up his laptop, stacking his papers neatly and securing his pens before ushering Sae out of his office and pushing him down the corridor.



Sae was giggling lightly as he was practically shooed out of the mansion, Bam stripping on their way out. Off came the suit jacket, the tie loosened, the belt undone and discarded. The maids would pick up later and return the garments to the correct closet anyway. Once they were outside Bam unbuttoned his shirt and let the white material billow in the slight breeze, his mauve tie flapping along with it idly as he ran a hand through his shaggy locks and then rubbed the side of his cheek.



“Aaah, much better. If you hadn’t come around I was going to steal you away from wherever you were.” He admitted, chuckling lightly and turning to wink at Sae, who blushed lightly under the familiar scrutiny of his cousin.



Barefooted and happy, the pair paced along the expanse of beach that the family owned. Miles of it, as far as the eye could see, surrounded by nature. It was beautiful and Sae wondered how the family had managed to find such land… then he remembered the money that Bam had taken from Park and figured that must have been the majority of it. Then again he wasn’t sure of the amount of money so he couldn’t be for sure…



“So what’s on your mind, Sire?” Bam asked, picking up a flat rock and trying his best to skip it across the small ocean waves that were dancing along the shore. The rock skipped about four times before sinking, Sae taking his time in answering.



“Hm… a lot and a little, I suppose,” Sae shrugged, unbuttoning his lilac-colored shirt all the way and letting the breeze caress his skin like a sigh. “I’ve been here almost two weeks now. I’m starting to get the hang of things but at the same time little things are grabbing at my attention…” Bam nodded for him to continue. “Like, I know you should know more about this than me because you’ve been involved with this your whole life. But the clan duties… they should have gone to Soo Mi, who’s older than you and was in direct lineage.”



At that notion, Bam bit his lower lip and scratched idly at his nose, a habit that Sae learned the older man did when was either caught lying or about to reveal information that he wasn’t too keen on giving.



“Bam…” Sae said in a bit of a warnig tone, slowing his steps to a halt and narrowing his gaze to a serious stare as he regarded his cousin.



“Well it’s not that… you see, it’s like…” Bam licked his lips and ruffled his hair this time with both hands, purposefully messing it up and putting it in disarray to shield his azure eyes from Sae’s pinning gaze. “I know a lot more because…”



“… because…?” Sae prompted, leaning forward to encourage Bam, who only took a defensive step back, his heels treading on the wet sand.



“Becauseit’sactuallymeindirectlineagetoyouwhichmakesusfirstcousinssothatmeansItookoverwhilewesearchedforyou,” he said in a rush, making the Prince blink and tilt his head, hanging on each syllable as it all registered in his head.



“I- … so you’re a Prince too!?”



Bam hung his head in defeat. “Well, yeah, but not in the ‘head of clan’ type of way… just that your dad and my dad were brothers…”



Sae wobbled a bit before dropping back onto the sand, burying his hands under the coolness of the grains and staring out at the sea, trying to grasp all of the information. No wonder Bam had known so much, and no wonder he was Sae’s right hand… he wasn’t a servant, he was another Prince, and had been taking care of the clan for the past thirty-seven years!



“Sire!” Bam knelt down the instant Sae flopped onto his ass in the sand, strong hands reaching up tentatively, hovering in the air as if not sure what to do. Worried cerulean eyes searched stunned sapphire, before Sae burst out in peals of laughter, flopping over onto his side in the sand, nearly rolling around in fits.



Utterly confused, Bam sank back onto his haunches and scrunched his features into that of slight worry as his Prince rolled around in the sand, getting the granules in every crevice knowing full well he would only stand up and complain about it. But Sae continued to laugh, reaching up and failing a few times to grasp at Bam’s sleeve.



“Bam… Bam…!” Sae finally sat up a bit and tugged the teal-haired man down, their lips meeting in a kiss, Sae smiling into it as he threw his arms around the older Prince. Bam’s eyes widened momentarily, a hand resting on the sand to keep them both upright and the other arm wrapping around Sae’s shoulders.



Sae pulled away, chuckling lightly and gently knocking their foreheads together. “You’re such a dunce. You could have told me that from the beginning!”



Bam blinked.



The young Prince flicked his nose. “Be a role model you bum!”



The elder laughed lightly and pushed Sae’s finger away, growling playfully and pushing the teen back onto the sand, straddling him and tickling his sides mercilessly. Sae squealed out and writhed, legs and arms flailing as he tried to get out from underneath the man that was currently taking his breath away – and not in the most pleasant of ways. Snorting, guffawing and chortling, Sae’s skin was flushing as white sand sprayed all about the Princes as they started to tumble on the beach, the younger one finally upsetting Bam’s balance and knocking him over. Sae moved atop his cousin and smirked in triumph, straddling the man’s hips and pinning his hands over his head to prevent any more tickle attacks, and jerked his head a bit to get some of the burgundy hair out of his eyes.



“Hah! Some fight, old man.” Sae teased, sticking his tongue out. Bam returned the childish gesture, and Sae let out a breath before tilting his head and giving the older man another intuitive look. “So… now that I know how old you are, can I know your real name, too? I haven’t really heard anyone else address you so I don’t even know if you have another name…”



Bam laughed lightly and relaxed underneath the lithe body above him, shrugging his shoulders lightly. “You think this old man can remember his real name?”



Sapphire eyes rolled and Sae huffed lightly, flicking Bam’s nose. “Come on, it’s only fair.”



“You know,” Bam shifted a bit as Sae’s hold on his wrists finally loosened, his large hands resting on the boy’s hips lightly. “No one calls me by my real name. No one ever did. I got my nickname a long time ago, when I was about four and made my first stick of dynamite.”



The young Prince blinked and laughed lightly. “What a pyro,” he commented, before leaning down and kissing Bam sweetly. He didn’t know why he was so affectionate with his cousin… he shouldn’t be, should he? This was his cousin – he didn’t mind that he was a man – but they shared blood. But it felt so right, this was the man that had changed and saved his life and made him so happy. Bam returned the light kiss and sighed in defeat, turning his head out towards the sea where the sun reflected off of the waves and made his features look strikingly young.



There was so much to learn about the Joo family.



“Shin. Shin Hae is my real name,” Bam admitted, turning his head up to face Sae, who was currently testing the name out on his lips, repeating it softly.



Shin Hae Joo. A slight representation of the bit of Japanese that flowed through the older Prince, but staying true to his lineage. Sae smiled and lifted a hand to let his fingers run along the stubble of the man’s chin, making the man purr lightly.



“I dunno… seems kinda weird.” Sae finally said, scrunching up his features as he said the name again. “Shin Hae Joo. Sounds too Princely.”



Bam barked out a laugh, “And Sae Rang doesn’t?” He shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Your name means ‘love’ after all.”



Sae blushed furiously and prodded Bam violently in the chest. “Shut up! Like I had anything to do with that!”



The teal-haired Prince hushed the younger sire by pulling their exposed chests together and rolling around a bit on the beach, both of them laughing and holding each other tightly, catching each others lips in light kisses as they continued to horse around. The waves kissed at their toes and the sand caressed their skin, the wind gently tousling their hair as they finally settled and decided to head back to the mansion.



Penny and Soo Mi were in the kitchen, watching the exchange through the large glass windows, Penny letting out a dreamy sigh that chilled the Joo’s spine and caused Soo Mi to growl.



“Quit being such a fangirl,” Soo Mi reprimanded, fighting down her own blush as she watched the two handsome men head back to the mansion. She turned around and fixed her drink before she returned to her work, intent on pushing the imagery away from the forefront of her mind. Penny giggled and followed, starting to braid Soo Mi’s hair.



Soo Mi still couldn’t see or hear Penny, but they had their own ways of interacting. They got along well enough in a teasing manner, sisterly if you would, and Soo Mi even got used to the chilling air around Penny’s aura. Nobody questioned Soo Mi’s hair sticking straight out behind her, an invisible force braiding it neatly as she stalked back to her office.



Chung was in Soo Mi’s office, organizing some of her paperwork when the two women entered. He was visible to Soo Mi, probably because he had contact with her first. Soon enough he figured that Penny and Soo Mi would be able to make full contact with each other the more they interacted, but for now their arrangement was fine. Penny helped Soo Mi with her relaxation, and Chung helped out around the office. Soo Mi didn’t want or need the help, but she wasn’t going to refuse the bored ghosts. They would just bug everyone else anyway.



“Prince Sae seems like a really good leader,” Chung commented off-handedly as he started putting papers into a filing cabinet.



“Hn.” Soo Mi made a grunting sound to show she was listening to Chung as he spoke, while she booted up her laptop.



“Soo Mi, do you not like His Majesty?” Chung asked shyly, still carefully alphabetizing the papers as he stowed them away.



“He’s caused a lot of issues.”



Penny piped up, her voice heard due to the special device that Soo Mi had made to pick up the low frequency sound. “That’s only because Bam has tossed him around so much, though!”



Soo Mi’s glare hardened, her gaze wandering to the general area she knew Penny to be hovering in. Penny instinctively shrunk back.



“All of that could have been avoided if Bam would have just taken care of things himself. But he was hellbent on finding that brat and making him head of the clan. For twenty years we were stuck in a debt to the stupid Kim family because of that boy.”



Chung stayed silent, and Penny seethed silently.



The raven-haired woman sat back in her seat, pinching the bridge of her nose as she glanced out of her office window. “Bam is basically leading right now. He’s just letting Sae put his name down on all of the paperwork.”



“Are there any ulterior motives?” Penny asked, not knowing whether or not she wanted the truth. Bam was such a nice guy and did so much for them – would he doublecross Sae for a second time?



Soo Mi sighed and drummed the table with her long, elegant hands. “That, Penny, I’m not sure of. But I’m going to find out.”



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The following Saturday was a ball held in honor of the Prince’s return. Sae tried to do his best to blend in with the crowd instead of taking the spotlight, which Bam seemed to look so comfortable in, wineglass in hand as he smiled and conversed with family, friends, and civilians alike. It was no secret to the country that the Joo clan had been on the rise and was now finally back on top, the Kim regime having fallen beneath the teenaged Prince that had righted all of their wrongs. Of course details were hidden, but Sae was being referred to as the ‘modern day Robin Hood’ – and that was beginning to be a bit much for him. He moved over to the bar and sighed, glancing around the ballroom of the expensive, large hotel that the family had rented out for all of the visitors. From all over the world people came to see the Robin Hood and his friends and family, and for a bit Sae felt lighthearted. He united people that would normally not give each other a second glance on the street. A handsome man was talking to a mild-mannered, homely looking girl in an elegant handmade dress. Two elderly men, one wealthy and one poor, were discussing the wine and their knowledge about vineyards. Sae felt warm and glad that he could feel somewhat at ease during this turbulent time.



“Need a glass?”



The Prince turned around to look at the bartender, a young woman wearing a kimono with her elegant black hair done up with chopsticks. She was holding out a glass with some wine in it, and Sae took it politely with a smile.



“Thank you,” he said, taking a sip. It was delicious.



“You looked pretty tense there for a minute,” she said conversationally as she poured another glass for a different patron. “I would be too if I had all these cameras and people centered on me…” She laughed lightly. “Sorry. That probably just reminded you of the stress huh?”



Sae laughed lightly and shrugged, “Not really. I guess I’m just glad that in the end it all pulled together. It took a lot of work you know?” Well of course she didn’t know. They both knew that. But it was the thought that count. She smiled and lowered her pretty eyes, helping the next customer. Sae smiled and went on his way, meandering through the crowds once more.



For the gala Bam had insisted that they dress their best. Though Sae had sworn not to ever again, he was once more in a tuxedo that was fitted just perfectly. This time the measurements were less invasive and more guestimated – correctly, if you could imagine. It was tailored to accentuate his slim frame and bring out his curves, and in the back of his mind when he first tried it on he thought it made him look a little more on the feminine side. His hair was still a rich shade of burgundy and he decided he rather liked it and would continue to color it so, as it brought out his eyes wonderfully and set him apart. Not to mention his odd colored hair, along with Bam’s, was what brought them together and reminded them of their adventures.



Instead of a bowtie, which the male guests were wearing, there were no neck decorations for either Bam or Sae. Sae’s vest was a soft teal color, the undershirt ruffled regally – Bam had a powdered purple color to accent his outfit. If Sae had actually stopped to think about it, he would have noticed that they indeed were wearing couple’s tuxes – something neither of them noticed or requested. A few party goers noticed and whispered amongst themselves, but nothing else was mentioned.



By the time the end of the ball rolled around Sae realized that he had consumed quite a bit of wine. He noticed it in the way that some of the colors fuzzily blurred together, how when a few people came up and congratulated him on a job well done he couldn’t tell if their nostrils were eyes or if their eyes were two or four or Cyclops. He made his way to a pillar, quite proud of himself for not stumbling once, lifting a hand to steady himself and try to get his head to stop from spinning. Taking a deep breath, he glanced up and hiccupped when Bam’s bright smile met his own slightly dopey one.



“Hi, Shin~” Sae said, almost leaning in for a kiss before he remembered where they were. Instead, he lifted his free hand and patted Bam’s chest lightly, nodding in affirmation before glancing around. Penny and Chung were dancing around couples, playing a few ghostly tricks and giggling to themselves, and Soo Mi was tucked away in a corner, scowling per usual. But she looked gorgeous in a red silk evening dress, Sae noted. Why doesn’t she ever smile?



“I think it’s about time His Majesty makes a royal departure,” Bam chuckled lightly, linking his arm through Sae’s as they started through the crowd, telling passersby that they would be leaving. A few disappointed looks were about all they got, some pouts and a few grabs at the pair, asking for one last dance and maybe one last drink (all done with a suggestive flair), the Princes politely declining as they made their way to the exit.



Of course they wouldn’t get away scot-free – the news crews instantly hoarded them with microphones, cameras and booms as the two men started to descend the stairs. Sae was trying his best to stay upright and was doing a rather good job, holding onto Bam as best as possible. He didn’t want to make an ass of himself on international television, he could see it now:



“PRINCE OF JOO CLAN MINDLESS DRUNKARD”



Yeah, that would be wonderful.



“I’m terribly sorry but the Prince has had a long night and needs to retire for the evening before we begin a long day tomorrow.” Bam said kindly, flashing his million-dollar smile at all of the cameras. Sae flashed a smile as well, making a group of girls outside scream and hold up signs. These were most likely the girls that couldn’t get into the gala, some men were in the crowd too; they were all screaming at Sae and Bam to profess their undying love for both of the handsome man.



Sae managed to duck out from under the cameras and mics and get away from Bam, who blinked dazedly for a second before laughing lightly as he watched his cousin saunter over to the girls that were kept from tackling him by a thick red rope and rather mean looking security guards.



“Sae! Sae! I love you so much, Sae!” A cute middle-school girl was screaming at him, holding out a home made sign that had his name on it. She had a sharpie clutched in her hand, and she was jumping up and down and near tears. Since when was he a celebrity?, he wondered. But before he knew it, he smiled and leaned forward, asking her name.



“Hi there,” he said sweetly. The crowd was small, less than ten, and he could talk to them all at once. Where was this confidence coming from!? Inside he was shaking, he’d never talked to this many strangers at once so casually, especially ones that were – was that girl even wearing a shirt!?



“What’s your name?” He asked the girl with the sign, grabbing the sharpie and taking the sign, hoping that his ears weren’t bleeding as the girl started wailing her name. He wrote her name, and then “you’re beautiful”, and then signed his name gaudily, before handing the items back to her. She smiled brightly and bowed profusely, her best friends dragging her away as she continued to wail. A few other girls appeared, sharpies in hand and body parts exposed.



“I want you to sign here!”



“And Bam here~”



“I want both of you to sign here!!”



Sae blushed brightly; he’d never seen so much female flesh in his life. He wondered what the kids at home were thinking, seeing him on the news autographing women’s bodies like this, being Prince of the Joo clan? They were probably rolling over. Bam chuckled and clapped Sae on the back, the look in his eyes obviously wondering where Sae had gotten the confidence as well. Technically, the crying girl with the sign had tugged at Sae’s heart, but these other girls… oh jeez.



The boys came up, one with braces and a book, the other extremely attractive and a bit younger than Sae himself.



“H-Hi,” the boy with braces stammered, and the attractive one elbowed him before rolling his eyes.



“He wants you to sign his book,” the older one drawled, folding his arms over his chest. The younger boy blushed brightly and shot his book forward along with a pen, Sae taking it and reading the cover.



Mind Over Matter: How To Be Comfortable In Your Own Skin



Sae smiled lightly and opened the book up, settling the pen on the inside of the cover. As he was writing, he heard Bam talking to the boy’s, assumedly, brother.



“Y’know,” Bam started, raising a brow and knocking the kid on the head. “With an attitude like that you’ll never grow up to be Prince of anything.”



“Che, yah right. I have no royal lineage in me anyway.”



Bam grinned and pointed at Sae, who glanced up briefly and smiled shyly. “This kid thought he didn’t, now look at him. A world icon. Like Prince Edward or something.” The teal-haired man leaned down and got close to the boy, narrowing his eyes a bit. “And you’d better watch that attitude of yours. One of these days your brother here is gonna be way over your head.”



The boy’s eyes widened just as Sae signed his name in the book along with a heart and the date, shutting it softly and handing the items back to the boy, who took them and bowed deeply. Sae placed a warm hand on the boy’s slightly greasy hair, smiling warmly. The boy smiled back and they both scurried off back to their mom, who was waiting with a smile on her features as she ushered her boys back into the car.



“So, what did you write in the book?” Bam asked, elbowing Sae lightly as they headed for their limo.



Cameras and flashes accompanied them, and once they were in the safety of the limousine and driving away, Sae rested his head on Bam’s shoulder as he closed his eyes and shrugged. Bam shrugged, too; it was none of his business anyway. It seemed to put Sae at peace and that was all that was needed. It didn’t take long for the rocking of the limo to lull the teen to sleep, Bam’s arms wrapped around him.



No matter who you are, or where you’re from, you will always be you. Feel safe in the fact that when life manages to give you setbacks and manages to get you down, you are you… and there is always one person in the world that knows you, and will remind you. Your strength comes from within and only you can find it; books, television, and music can’t help you search for it. But you are bright, you are special, and you… are you.



~ Sae Rang Joo ♥



TBC….



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A/N: This chapter was split in half cuz I try to keep them all about the same length. e_e; Idk how I’m doing at that lol. Around 5k words @_@;; annnyway. Oh Soo Mi. Oh Bam. Oh Sae. Oh fangirls. Oh me oh my.



INSPIRATIONAL WORDS FTW.

Almost done.

Webcomic?

Review please. :D