Meet You There [6/?]
Title: Meet You There
Pairings: Jaeho, Yoosu
Length: Chapter fic
Author: rainbowpebbles
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama, Humour, Fluff, Angst (not in any particular order)
Summary: Sequel to A World of Colour. Who said that the road after the first kiss would ever be smooth?
Yunho woke up in a field of flowers.
The more practical and realistic part of his mind told him that it was not remotely possible. One: when he last remembered, he had been in a hospital lying by Jaejoong’s bed side. Two: what sort of wonky world would have yellow flowers with bright pink polka dots, anyway? And why were there so many friggin’ butterflies?
Yunho concluded that it was a dream. A very overly-happy kinda dream.
A dream…I haven’t had one in years. Not that I can remember, anyway. Not since the time mom died. Yunho stared out into the distance, where all he could see was the rolling green hills and beautiful flowers. I don’t mind staying here like this. Beats the real world any day. No paperwork, no meetings with grumpy old men, no Donghae accusing me of stealing his peanut butter jelly sandwiches…
The serene peacefulness continued for several minutes.
A young bluebird twittered and flew across to the next tree.
More butterflies entered the scene, landing on the randomly polka-dotted flowers.
Yunho sweatdropped.
Alright. I’m gonna freak out. This stupid dream is becoming too scarily perfect-
“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
Yunho sighed in relief. Finally, something that he was more accustomed to hearing in real life.
Yunho turned to the source of commotion. What he saw made him gawk.
A picnic mat had been laid neatly near the bottom of the tree, covered by the tree’s shade. Seated on the mat were three very familiar looking children: one was digging through the picnic basket, another had been the source of the sudden scream while the last child was staring at the second, his hand clasped over his heart in surprise, his messy hair messier than Yunho remembered.
Changmin, Junsu and Yoochun. Yunho looked at his pudgy hands. Shit. I’m a kid. Changmin looks like he’s around four…so I’m six?
Mini Junsu’s face scrunched up, his eyes slightly wet with tears, his small form shaking as he sniffled. “Yoochunnie…we forgot to pack the soccer ball!”
Yunho chuckled. Chun was in trouble now…
Yoochun, who was seated with his legs half-outstretched in front of him, quickly spoke to assure the younger boy. “That’s okay, Junsu-ah…we can still have fun without playing soccer!”
Junsu’s bottom lip trembled. “But…but…I wanted to play soccer so badly! Umma made me do homework all week…I thought I could finally play today…but I…I forgot to bring the ball!” A few tears leaked out of his eyes. “I’m so stupid!”
Yoochun frowned slightly, as if contemplating on how to make Junsu feel better. Finally he decided on opening his arms slightly, outstretched in Junsu’s direction. Yunho watched as Junsu waddled (a habit the adult version never really got rid of) into Yoochun’s embrace. Yoochun hugged Junsu as the other hiccupped, patting his back lightly to ease his breathing.
Yunho smirked. To think these two denied liking each other till they were nineteen. He vaguely wondered if it was possible to take photographs in dreams. He needed to catch up with Changmin on Yoosu blackmail material.
A sudden movement at the side caught Yunho’s attention.
In the midst of a patch of red flowers was a small, pale boy, his features slightly scrunched up in concentration as he squatted next to a flower, observing it closely. His eyes were wide, and he was pretty; almost pretty enough to pass off as a girl. And there was something about him that seemed so familiar…
Joongie. It’s Joongie.
Yunho had seen pictures of a younger Jaejoong at his apartment before, but never so young. He marveled at his brain’s ability to conjure such a realistic image of a six-year-old Jaejoong. Not too shabby, brain. He would have patted himself on the head if it didn’t make him look stupid. Not too bad at all.
He was about to ski over to ask the miniature Jaejoong what the hell was so interesting about the flower when yet another shriek sounded out in the air.
“WAAAAAAEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”
Yunho immediately dashed over, his brotherly (cousin-ly?) instincts kicking in. He ran all the way, not stopping till he reached his younger cousin.
“Minnie? What’s wrong?”
Changmin turned watery eyes upon Yunho. “Hyung…”
“What happened? Are you hurt? Did you hurt yourself?” Worry flooded Yunho. Changmin wasn’t the kind of kid to kick up a fuss unless it was important…
Or unless it involved…
“Umma forgot to pack the kimbap we made yesterday…”
…food.
Yunho sighed and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He moved forward to envelop his dong saeng in his arms.
“It’s ok Min…we have other kinds of food! We won’t starve…” You’re lucky you’re still so cute at this age. But watch out, kid. Things won’t be the same a few more years down the road when you develop that annoying smirk-
Changmin buried his head into Yunho’s shoulder. “Hyung…”
Yunho shushed him, patting his back. When Changmin finally calmed down, he turned his big eyes upon Yunho, a sweet smile adorning his face.
“Thanks hyung. I feel lots better!” He peeked into the basket. “Wanna peanut butter ketchup sandwich?”
Ugh. “Uhh, no thanks, Min. You can make one for yourself. I’ll eat later, I’m not that hungry.” Does weird food make you grow tall or something?
Changmin nodded happily and set about making his new creation. Satisfied now that his dong saeng was safe and on his way to making himself full, Yunho looked around for butterfly-watching Jaejoong. His eyes traveled to the same patch of red flowers where he had seen the beautiful boy.
But he was nowhere to be found.
Shit.
And then Jung Yunho woke up. For real this time.
~*~
The minute he opened his eyes he immediately began searching for Jaejoong’s face, and after several moments of frantic, incoherent mumbling, Yunho realized that the person he was looking for was directly in front of him, and he had the other’s hand tightly clasped within his own. He heaved a sigh of relief. You’re still here…
Although I wish you weren’t lying in a hospital right now…
Yunho gently lifted his other hand, trailing it down one pale cheek before trying to tidy the bits of hair sticking out from under the bandage that wound around Jaejoong’s head. He felt slightly disheartened when Jaejoong didn’t even give a small flinch, but the steady beating of the heart monitor put his mind slightly more at ease.
You’ll wake up soon. I know it. Yunho smiled at Jaejoong’s pale, unmoving face. I’ll be here. I’ll be here when you do.
He glanced up at the clock. Shit. I have to go. Heechul hyung will be coming any moment now… “Joongie…I’m sorry. I have to leave now. Heechul hyung will kill me if he finds me in here…” He gave Jaejoong a brief kiss on the forehead, picking up his jacket which he had left on the bed beside him and struggling to put it on.
“Who will kill you?”
“Heechul hyung.” Yunho replied, distracted with trying to get his arm to enter the arms of the jacket.
There was a pause. “And what if Heechul hyung told you that Heechul hyung was here?”
Yunho scrambled frantically, startled, tripping over one of the legs of the chair he had been sitting on the whole night and sending his tall frame sprawling onto the floor.
Heechul’s eyebrow twitched.
Yunho looked at him with wide, fearful eyes. “Please don’t kill me.”
Heechul fought to keep his face straight.
Yunho swallowed, his throat dry. “Hyung…I’m sorry…but I really had to see him. You can’t keep him away from me, especially not when he’s like this.” Where’s Yoochun when you need him? Yunho thought to himself. Dang…the only exit is through the door…unless I ninja my way out through the window…
Heechul took one step forward towards Yunho. “Jung Yunho…”
Oh no shit what the hell should I crawl under Jaejoong’s bed?
The cup of coffee made itself known in front of Yunho’s face. “This is for you.”
Yunho stared at the cup of coffee in disbelief. Maybe it’s…
“No, Jung Yunho, it’s not poisoned. It’s not a concoction of mud and kidney beans either. It was bought from the vending machine along the corridor, but Changmin paid for it since I didn’t have change on me. And yes, I can read minds.”
Yunho stared. What the…
Heechul chuckled slightly. “Get off the floor. I know you feel the urge to bow to me, but now’s neither the time nor the place…”
Yunho accepted the cup of coffee gingerly, standing up slowly. Heechul took a seat on the sofa and gestured for Yunho to sit next to him. Yunho spoke first.
“So you’re not mad at me anymore?”
Heechul shook his head. “Nope. And I’m sorry for what I said. You shouldn’t be blamed for anything.”
Yunho’s hands tightened around the cup. “But it was partially my fault…I could have tried to see Jaejoong in between my meetings-”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Donghae told me you only had 15-30 minute breaks in your schedule, and that’s definitely not enough time for you to see Joongie and then rush back to your office again. You would probably have been the one to meet with a car accident if that were the case.” He looked at Jaejoong’s prone form, watching his chest rise and fall slowly. “You would have been the one there. It wasn’t your fault. And…” Heechul took a small breath. “It was mine to have accused you last night.”
Yunho looked at the man seated next to him. “Hyung…”
Heechul’s eyes were wet, and he used a hand to wipe the tears away roughly. “I’m really sorry…I took out my anger and hurt on you. It’s just that it’s so hard, you know?” His voice trembled slightly. “I was just talking to him on the phone a few minutes before he got knocked down…he told me that he knew he was being followed…I should have told him to get into a cab or something…I should have told him that before he hung up! Then maybe I would be in his apartment now, trying to get him up and making breakfast for him…”
Yunho thought for a moment before he spoke. “Hyung…if you’re not going to blame me for what happened, then I don’t think you should blame yourself either. Nobody could have predicted what was going to happen…nobody should shoulder full responsibility for what happened.” Yunho looked at Jaejoong. “And he’s gonna wake up. He’s gonna wake up very soon. He’s gonna wake up and tell us that it doesn’t hurt, even though it does. He’s gonna smile and it’ll be so infectious that the rest of us in the room would smile too. And then soon he’ll be discharged, and we’ll all put this matter behind us. He’s gonna wake up.” He turned to smile at Heechul. “I know it, hyung.”
“Yunho…” Heechul hugged him tightly. “Thank you.”
Yunho hugged him back. “Anytime, hyung.”
The touching moment was spoilt all too soon by a certain short-haired, bubbly, over-energetic boy bouncing into the room. “YUNHO HYUUNNGGG!!! CHUNNIE AND I BOUGHT BREAKFAST!!”
Yunho and Heechul stared blankly at Junsu. Who was still bouncing on the spot.
A pale, tired looking Yoochun ran in suddenly, panting heavily. “Sorry hyungs…I forgot that Junsu’s not supposed to take ice-cream in the morning…”
Yunho raised an eyebrow. “A little too late for apologies now, I think.” Junsu had his arms wrapped around his neck, and he had just given Yunho a wet, sloppy kiss on the cheek.
Heechul quickly wiped any remaining tears away, eager for the rest not to see his tears. He contemplated for a while. “He’s behaving like a puppy.” He eyed Junsu. “A puppy who’s been fed nothing but drugs for a week.” He yelped as Junsu jumped from Yunho to him, giving him the exact same treatment.
Yoochun stood there, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. “Changmin should be coming soon. We left him in the cafeteria…”
Yunho’s eyes widened in fear. “You what!?”
Yoochun’s face suddenly paled further. “Oh crud.”
Changmin decided to make his entrance at that moment, pushing in a trolley full of food. “Ohayogozaimasu, hyung.” He stopped the trolley beside the table near the wall and began unloading his food. “Want some breakfast?”
Yunho gulped. “O-Okay…” Is that all he bought?
A knock on the door answered Yunho’s question. “Excuse me? Mr. Shim? I got the rest of the cafeteria staff to push up the other 4 trolleys so you wouldn’t have to make so many trips…”
Changmin practically bounded to the door. “Oh my gosh, thank you so much! Saves me a whole lot of trouble. Help me thank the staff, please.”
The older man beamed. “No problem, Mr. Shim! Always happy to help.”
Yunho groaned. Damn straight you are. Especially since my dong saeng practically bought over your whole cafeteria.
The four other trolleys were finally pushed in, and Changmin shut the door. “Eat up, everyone!” He beamed. “Food is good for your health and your soul!”
The only other person in the room who shared his enthusiasm was the sugar-high Junsu, who bounded over and began eating ice-cream waffles.
Yoochun paled further. If it were physically possible.
Heechul sat there, dumb-struck.
Yunho took a sip of his coffee. There you go, Joongie. He looked pointedly at the man lying on the bed. Our weird family of sorts.
We’re just waiting for you to come home.
~*~
A week had passed since Yunho had found out from Donghae about what had happened to Jaejoong. And it had been a long, tiring week.
Yunho had paid a visit to the centre at last, and all the children were delighted to see him, asking him questions about why he hadn’t visited for so long and where Jaejoong hyung/oppa was. He had faked some story about Jaejoong being unable to come because he was busy packing for the holiday which the both of them would be going for, and it was gonna be one looooooooong holiday. The kids, being kids, quickly bought the story, but the ache in Yunho’s heart for lying lasted him for quite some time.
People came to visit of course: Changmin’s parents, Yoochun, Junsu, Heechul (an exceptionally regular patron despite the fact that he had a lot of work), Eunhyuk, Donghae, Youngah-noona, workers at the ‘Sky Garden’…but only Yunho was able to keep by his side religiously.
Yunho felt slightly guilty for leaving Changmin with all the work, juggling everything by himself. He had already shuttled to and fro from Japan twice during the same week, and exhaustion was evident on his young face. Yunho had offered to go back to work, saying that he would come up with a shift schedule with Heechul hyung, but Changmin had blatantly refused, stating that if Yunho stepped one step into the hotel, he would personally drive him back to the hospital ward to lock him in with Jaejoong himself.
Yunho couldn’t have asked for a better dong saeng.
Currently Yunho was seated on the couch in the room, reading a book silently. Heechul had come to visit, and he was using a small face towel to clean Jaejoong’s face and arms, taking care not to disturb the IV line or push the bandages.
So far Jaejoong had been unresponsive to all their calls, although the doctor said that there was a significant improvement in the level of his brain activity. The doctor encouraged them to talk to Jaejoong more often. The possibility of Jaejoong waking up would be higher if there was constant conversation to keep his brain active. Heechul was now taking the opportunity to nag at Jaejoong, telling him about how his apartment was collecting dust.
“You had better wake up soon, Joongie. I’m refusing to clean your apartment, forever, you hear me? At the rate I’m going I’ll find your secret diary soon…you want that to happen? If you don’t you better get up, if not I’ll rip all the floorboards off the floor and search for it…”
Yunho sniggered. Heechul turned around to give him a glare. Yunho tried to set his face straight again.
Both of them were oblivious to Jaejoong scrunching up his eyebrows.
A blink.
Then two.
Finally his eyes opened fully.
“…hyun-g…”
Heechul dropped the face towel.
“Jaejoong…” his eyes widened in disbelief. “Jaejoong-ah!”
Jaejoong blinked slowly. “Hyung…water…”
Heechul scrambled to pour him a glass of water, his hands shaking as he lifted the glass up to Jaejoong’s lips. Yunho slowly got up, his book falling to the floor. Joongie…?
“Joongie! You’re finally awake!” Yunho felt his heart swell with happiness. Finally…
Jaejoong took a few sips of water, his hands trembling slightly. “Heechul hyung…where is this place?”
Heechul’s voice nearly cracked. “You’re in the hospital, Joongie…you got knocked down by a car…”
Jaejoong looked confused. “I did?” He glanced around the room. “Where’s umma?”
Yunho felt his heart sink like a stone.
“Umma?” Heechul’s voice was tinged with fear. “Joongie, your umma died in a car crash…years ago…”
Jaejoong’s eyes widened. “What?” He looked straight into Heechul’s eyes, trying to figure out whether he was lying or not. “Please don’t joke around with me, hyung! Where is umma?” He finally turned his eyes on Yunho.
“And who is he?”
End of chapter six.
A/N: There you go!! Joongie’s finally awake!!
*crickets chirp*
Sorry this chapter took so long ^-^’’’ I know I said I would update more regularly, but activities just kept piling on and on out of my control. That and I had a terrible writer’s block: I sorta lost the spark of inspiration because I put fic-writing off for too long. I was planning to post the chapter by Sunday, but up to yesterday I only had one sentence down. So yeah. But I think after this chapter I will definitely update more regularly. I need your comments fresh in my mind to keep me writing smoothly!
There wasn’t really much humour in this chapter…*ducks rotten eggs* don’t kill me!! My brain was really deprived of ideas.
Have to rush off for something now!! *zooms*
Comments are very much appreciated!! And <333-ed. :D