Meet You There [8/?]
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?
Junsu sat himself on one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs outside the ward, watching as Yoochun cursed and kicked the vending machine with frustration, desperate to get a cup of black coffee.
“…you stupid piece of worthless metal! I’m gonna castrate you and then-”
(a/n: We shall attempt to keep this fic PG, shouldn’t we? ^^)
Junsu rolled his eyes slightly. It was one thing to hear your lover curse an inanimate object; it was another to hear him wanting to rob it of its family jewels.
The machine, however, seemed to feel sufficiently threatened. Junsu heard the whirring of the vending machine as it prepared a hot cup of coffee. Yoochun whooped with joy, bending down like a five year old kid to watch the coffee trickle into the paper cup before his attention shifted to the sound of his change clinking down in a separate compartment. He patiently waited, eyes wide, for the lights to stop blinking before he extracted the paper cup from the machine, sipping its contents happily.
“Su, you want some?”
Junsu shook his head lightly. “It’s okay, Chun. Knock yourself out.”
Yoochun froze in mid-sip, noticing the tone in which Junsu spoke. He quickly scooted over to sit beside Junsu, putting his coffee cup on a nearby chair, his fingers pulling his face into a familiar position.
“Susu-ah.”
Junsu turned at the nickname, only to see Yoochun’s eyes pulled to slits by his fingers, his nose upturned like a pig’s and his tongue lolling out of one corner of his mouth. He immediately giggled and gave Yoochun a hard shove in an attempt to stop him from mutilating his own face.
“Chunnie!! Stop it!” Junsu couldn’t stop laughing. “If you pull your face out of shape I’m not paying for any plastic surgery or botox.”
Yoochun let go of his face, a smile playing on his lips. “That was what your face looked like just now, Su.” He shifted slightly closer. “What were you thinking about?”
Junsu stiffened at Yoochun’s innocent question. “…n-nothing.”
Yoochun took another sip of coffee, his gaze not leaving Junsu’s face. “Don’t lie to me, Su. How long have we known each other for?” He tapped his head. “And you’re forgetting that I majored in psychology.” Yoochun crossed his legs, leaning towards Junsu. “Come on, Su. Tell all your worries to Dr. Park.”
Junsu played with his fingers, looking down at the floor. “It’s silly, Chun.”
Yoochun’s eyes twinkled. “Since when were you not?” He laughed as Junsu smacked his leg. “You know I’ll listen anyway, Su.”
Junsu shifted his seat, contemplating on how to start. “It’s just that…Yunho hyung and Jaejoong hyung were such a loving couple…and they had been dating for months… and Jaejoong hyung just forgot everything so fast.” He twiddled his thumbs together.
Yoochun could see where this was going. “And?”
Junsu thought for a moment before he blurted out his thoughts. “Is love really so fragile? Can it flood and overwhelm before it becomes a mere trickle? It…it can just disappear in a flash, with warning.” He turned his eyes to Yoochun, who gazed back at him steadily. “Is that how love works, Chun?”
Yoochun didn’t say anything, merely watching him silently, eyes fixed on his face. Junsu finally got uncomfortable with his intense scrutiny, standing and walking to face the window, searching for something to distract him from Yoochun’s gaze, thinking of how to fill the silence.
“I feel so sorry for Yunho hyung, Chun…” Junsu finally spoke. “But I can’t help but wonder…what if that happened to us? What if it were either of us lying inside that ward now, not able to recall the other? I mean, it’s like-”
Junsu suddenly felt a familiar, comforting warmth from behind as arms wrapped around his torso, drawing him in. “Chun-”
“Sshhh.” Yoochun quickly shushed him, turning his head to nuzzle at Junsu’s neck, providing comfort without words. They stood there for a while, not speaking, Yoochun gently rocking the both of them from side to side.
Junsu melted into Yoochun’s embrace, feeling his fears alleviate. He smiled softly to himself as Yoochun hummed a familiar tune, adding in his own wonky background effects and instrumentals to the piece.
“Feeling better now?”
Junsu nodded. “Yep.”
Yoochun didn’t let go of Junsu. “Su…we’ve been together for 4 years…nearly 5 now. I don’t think what we’ve shared will be so easily forgotten. ” He let out a small sigh. “Although sometimes things may be slightly unpredictable. I don’t think Yunho hyung was counting on Jaejoong hyung forgetting all about him.” He smiled into Junsu’s hair. “If it makes you feel better, I promise I’ll try not to forget about you if I ever got knocked down by a car. But you must promise not to hit my head if I do,” He pressed a small kiss to Junsu’s temple. “…although you do reserve the right to do so if I still can’t match your face to your name within three months.”
Junsu grinned, and reached up to hit his head.
~*~
Changmin was glad when they intelligently decided to take the lift up instead of using the stairs. Running down the stairs had been hell; walking up the stairs would have been…well…hellier.
Failing vocabulary. A sign of fatigue. Changmin resisted the urge to rub his eyes sleepily.
It had taken quite a while before Yunho’s sobs had subsided fully, but Changmin had been happy to provide that comfort. Always better out than in. He looked to his hyung walking beside him. Yunho’s eyes were red and slightly puffy, the only evidence that he had ever been crying. His face was set firmly, jaw tight and lips slightly trembling, putting on a strong front as they walked down the familiar corridor.
They spotted Yoochun and Junsu sitting outside the door, Junsu leaning slightly on Yoochun’s shoulder. Both of them looked up as footsteps echoed down the empty corridor. Junsu stood up immediately, looking worried.
“Yunho hyung! Are you okay?”
Changmin watched as Yunho nodded tiredly, a small smile on his face. “I’m okay, Junsu. You don’t have to worry about me.” His smile widened when Junsu came up to him to give him a huge hug. “Seriously! I’m fine now.”
Yoochun stood up, reaching over to clasp a hand on Yunho’s shoulder. “You sure?”
Yunho looked reassuringly into Yoochun’s eyes. “I’m sure.”
“You know we’ll be here anytime you need to talk, right?”
Changmin snorted. “I didn’t see you two running down the stairs with me.”
“HEY!!!” Yoochun’s eyes widened indignantly, pouting slightly. “Who was the tracker in high school? Junsu was in soccer and I was in the creative writing circle, for goodness sake!” He pointed at Junsu. “Anyway his butt’s grown too big for him to run fast.”
Junsu smacked him. “And what were YOU doing? Coming up with comforting, creative poetry?”
“You bet!” Yoochun turned to Yunho eagerly. “Wanna hear it?”
Yunho shook his head so fast his features were a blur. “Nah, it’s okay, Chun.” He tried to peek inside the ward but the blinds were shut. “Are Heechul hyung and Eunhyuk inside?”
Junsu shook his head. “Donghae came around just now and he sent them home again. They both need to work tomorrow so we thought it would be better if they went home to get some rest first.”
Yunho raised an eyebrow. “Don’t the both of you have work to do tomorrow?”
Yoochun smirked. “The benefits of being self-employed. No fixed working hours. Though we do have an upcoming project.”
Changmin tried his turn at peeking through the blinds. “Who’s in there then? You didn’t leave Jaejoong hyung alone, did you?”
“The nurses are in there now, doing a routine check.” Yoochun smirked suddenly. “Or maybe they’re checking Jaejoong hyung ou-”
Junsu covered Yoochun’s mouth quickly at the horrified look on Yunho’s face. “Don’t worry about him, hyung, he’s just blabbering.” He discreetly stepped on Yoochun’s foot, using his hand to cover Yoochun’s muffled groan.
Changmin smiled. Yoosu just had a way to brighten the atmosphere. He turned to Yunho.
“Hyung, why don’t you go wash up first? Your eyes are still slightly red.”
Yunho blinked. “I think I should. It’s not good for Jaejoong to see me like this.” He turned. “I’ll see you guys later then.”
“Do you want me to accompany you?”
“It’s okay.” Yunho waved Changmin off. “I think I know my way to the toilet.”
Junsu hopped up. “I’ll come with you hyung! I need to go, anyway.”
With that the two trotted down the corridor, disappearing while chatting happily about something.
Yoochun raised his eyebrows. “Do you think it’s a good idea to let two idiots with no direction sense try to find their way around?”
Changmin sighed. “Alas, their journey is doomed from the start. From what I remember the toilets were in the opposite direction.”
“Ah.” There was pause. “Do you think we should put the hospital intercom system on standby? You know…in case we need to ask for assistance in looking for them.”
Changmin shook his head. “No need for that yet, I think. But if they don’t return within the hour I’ll ask the nurses to search every floor.”
Yoochun turned to Changmin. “How are you holding up? Has the work been very heavy?”
Changmin hesitated before nodding. “It’s been okay…I’ve been managing so far…and Donghae hyung has been helping me with some of the work.”
Yoochun raised an eyebrow. “You sure?”
Changmin’s empty stomach chose to make itself known at that very moment.
“Changmin!” Yoochun glanced at his watch. “It’s already 9pm! Haven’t you had your dinner yet?” He looked amazed. “That’s a miracle! However unfortunate it may be!”
The expression on Changmin’s face was torn between annoyed and sheepish. “No I haven’t, I rushed to the hospital as soon as I could, and after that I was busy looking after the emotional welfare of a certain hyung. What could I have done, munched on a sandwich while he cried beside the road?” He finished his speech off softly. “And I haven’t even had lunch yet.”
Yoochun couldn’t believe his ears. “You what!?”
The other nodded softly. “I never cease to amaze others, including myself.” He laughed softly at his own bad humour. “Don’t worry hyung, I’ll grab a bite to eat later. There are more important things to settle now.”
A worried look crossed Yoochun’s face. “Min-ah…don’t push yourself too hard. You’ll meet your limits a lot sooner than you’re supposed to.”
Changmin smiled. “You have a long list of people to worry about, hyung, but I’m not on it.” Yet. “I think the nurses are nearly done with Jaejoong hyung. Let’s go in and keep him company for a while till Yunho hyung returns from his quest to find the toilet.”
~*~
Jaejoong let out a small sigh of relief when the nurses finally finished their probing, ending with a small jab to the IV needle inserted into his wrist.
“Are you sure you’re feeling absolutely alright, Mr. Kim?”
Jaejoong nodded his head for the umpteenth time. “Yes, I’m really, really sure.” Now can you leave me alone?
She nodded her head. “Everything seems to be in order.” She gestured to her colleague to leave. “We’ll check on you tomorrow morning. The doctor will be popping by as well to see how you are doing. Try to get some rest tonight.”
Jaejoong just nodded, eager to get the nurses out of the room so he could finally spend a few moments without being prodded all over the place. He leaned back, closing his eyes with a sigh. He heard the door open, feeling mildly irritated when he didn’t hear it click shut. Are they still examining me from the door?
He looked up, slightly irritated, all ready to tell the woman that she was invading his privacy when he saw the nurse talking to a certain familiar-looking young man. Changmin. After a short exchange of words (probably the nurse telling him not to keep me awake for too long) the nurse relented, letting Changmin into the room, followed by Yoochun, who was muttering something under his breath about “evil nurses with bad hair-dos”.
“Jaejoong hyung.” Changmin smiled warmly, approaching the bed. “How are you doing? Sorry for running off earlier like that. Something cropped up.”
Jaejoong suddenly felt extremely shy, like a deer caught in the headlights. “It’s okay…you’re here now, aren’t you?” He shifted uncomfortably, trying to get himself into a more relaxing position. The nurses had tilted the bed up during their inspection without remembering to let it back down again.
“I guess I am.” Changmin noticed his hyung’s discomfort. “Hang on, don’t move. I’ll help you adjust it so you can lie down properly…”
Jaejoong was about to open his mouth to protest but Changmin had already moved forward, searching for the lever that would tilt the bed back. He watched as Changmin frowned, slightly frustrated at being unable to find the elusive lever.
He decided to speak. “I-I think it was on this side…” He gestured to the opposite side of the bed.
What happened next caused Jaejoong to blush profusely. Jaejoong saw Yoochun looking over curiously. Changmin leaned over him, his lean form stretching a little to reach the lever. “There it is!” Changmin pulled on it, pushing the space on the bed beside Jaejoong’s head to move the bed downwards. He nodded with a satisfied look on his face, lifting himself up from the position. “Now you’ll be more comfortable.”
He felt his heart beat faster. It was something his eighteen year old self couldn’t help.
“Changmin hyung…”
Changmin looked sharply in his direction, eyes deeply amused. “Hyung! You’re my hyung, not the other way round. I know that you think you’re still eighteen…” He laughed. “But for my sake, please, just call me Changmin. It feels weird when you call me hyung.”
Jaejoong’s heart gave a small flutter at addressing the young man only by his name and nothing else. “Changmin…”
The other smiled. “Yep. You used to call me Min or Minnie, at times.”
“Changmin.” Jaejoong tried to get used to the sensation of the name rolling off his tongue.
“Alright, call my name a third time and there’ll be a name-calling fee of 1000 won.”
Jaejoong laughed, hearing Yoochun chuckle at the same time in the background. He suddenly had an urge to know something. “I…I have a question to ask you.”
Changmin raised an eyebrow, slipping one hand into his pocket and using the other to gesture for Jaejoong to continue. “Shoot away.”
“I…Were we…were we…you know….together, by any chance?”
The room went absolutely silent. Jaejoong saw the shock in Changmin’s eyes.
“W-What made you think that, hyung?”
Jaejoong blushed further. “I-I…I don’t know. I just had that feeling, I guess.”
Changmin shook his head urgently. “No hyung…we weren’t…together.”
The answer made him frown. He tried to bite back his disappointment. “Are you sure?”
Changmin opened his mouth to answer but Yoochun stepped in. “He’s right, hyung. The both of you weren’t a couple. I can testify to that.”
Jaejoong sank back a little more onto his pillows. “Oh.”
There was a pause in the conversation before Changmin finally spoke. “If there was ever someone who was with you hyung, it wasn’t me.” He gave a small smile. “And I think it’s time you had some rest.” He walked towards the door as Yoochun held it open. “Good night, hyung.”
Jaejoong tried to smile back. “Good night, Changmin.”
The lights in the room were turned off and the door was shut. Jaejoong was left in the darkness, wandering around in his own blank, limited thoughts before he finally succumbed to sleep.
~*~
Changmin shut the door, leaning against the wall immediately in exhaustion. What in the world…
“What just happened?”
Changmin shut his eyes. “You heard it for yourself, so why are you asking me?”
He heard Yoochun curse silently. “Shit. How did this happen?”
Changmin groaned. “I don’t know! I can’t dictate what Jaejoong hyung remembers and thinks.” This is bad… A thought suddenly occurred to him. His eyes whipped open.
“Yoochun hyung.”
Yoochun looked up. “Yeah?”
“We can’t let Yunho hyung know about this.”
Yoochun rolled his eyes. “No shit!”
“Which means you can’t tell Junsu hyung either.”
A frown. “Why not?”
Changmin sighed. “I can’t afford to let Yunho hyung know! I don’t want to see the look on his face when he finds out what Jaejoong hyung just said in that room! Please, hyung, you can’t let anyone know about what just happened!”
Yoochun watched in sympathy as his dong saeng brought his hand to his forehead, a big headache making itself known. “Alright. I won’t tell anyone.”
Changmin looked up gratefully. “Thank you, hyung.”
“But Min…there are no guarantees when Jaejoong hyung will blurt it out to Yunho hyung. And if Jaejoong hyung does feel that way, there’s no way you can change the way he thinks.”
“I know.” Changmin rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. “All I hope for is that Jaejoong hyung will regain his memories soon. Then perhaps everything will go back to being normal again.”
Yoochun looked at him. “I hope so.”
Changmin rested his head against the wall once more, just wishing that maybe, just maybe, if he closed his eyes tightly enough, the whole, horrible mess would disappear as fast as the rate work was piling on his table.
Just maybe.
End of chapter eight.
A/N: *hands you cookies and a pistol* take the former with my apologies, then use the latter to shoot me. DANG. I’m late o_o and I’M SO SORRY!! I had writer’s block again. I actually had to (for the very first time) get a bit of the chapter beta-ed by uknowandiknow because I wasn’t sure of whether the story flowed or not.
Hehe ^-^ another twist in the story!! Yes, there’s gonna be one-sided jaemin in this. Congratulations to the readers who managed to guess it!! haha! Don’t worry, the fic will still end with jaeho (:
And the Yoosu XD loved writing the Yoosu. Credits to joongielover, because I was inspired by the jaeho hug in her fic!!
Anyone wondering why Heechul has been so uncharacteristically quiet? Don’t worry ^___^ he’ll be back to his noisy, nosy self in a few more chapters.
Yunnie hasn’t been appearing a lot lately too, except for his angsty scenes and all. To me my fic doesn’t seem obviously jaeho anymore ^_~ dang. Gotta control that urge to write more Min!! ^__^
That’s all I think :D oh yeah!!! Thank you for all those who commented in the previous chapter!!!! The comments reached an all-time high of 118 (including all my replies. Hee hee. I haven’t had time to count how many people actually commented ^-^’) !!!! *bows till her forehead hits the ground* thank you guys so much for all your support!!! And I’m really sorry to keep you guys waiting!!! I thought I could have this chapter out in a day or two -_- guessed I over-estimated the effectiveness of my brain. Haha!!
Trotting off to bed now. I’m dead tired. O_o
Comments are loved!!!