[Oneshot] 가족 (Family)
Written for shiorichan -bb. <3 She said she enjoyed it (it was a request), so I'm posting it as a regular fic here. :]
Title: 가족 (Family)
Rating: G
Pairings: OT5 friendship, and lots of it. YunJae, YooSu, and a dash of everybody-loves-Min on the side.
Summary: Changmin liked being the quiet onlooker. Sometimes.
There was no deep, underlying reason for it.
Maybe it was because it was Sunday afternoon and everyone needed something to do, a distraction. Junsu was good at diverting attention from the more important things. Jaejoong was good at going off on tangents. Yoochun was always in the innovative sort. Yunho was always quick to agree.
And Changmin liked being the quiet onlooker. Sometimes.
So they found an old jigsaw puzzle up in Yoochun’s and Jaejoong’s closet, brought it out to the coffee table lying in between the living room couches, and spilled it out to get started solving it. They were lucky to have the original box (albeit slightly dented) to reference the finished product’s image from.
They were lucky to have an opportunity like this to make a memory like this.
Changmin was on the couch closer to the window, trying to decide which pieces belonged to his corner when he saw it. The slightest twitch of Jaejoong’s lips while the lead singer was seated on the couch next to Junsu - there had to be a deeper reason for that. But Changmin already had his hunches; not that it was terribly hard to guess.
Yunho was home because there was no filming today, after all.
And while everyone dug through the pile of unattached pieces, Changmin pretended not to see how Yunho’s eyes lit up when his fingers brushed against Jaejoong’s in the process, the subtle nod when the unspoken question was asked. Of course.
They were dancing around the subject. Again.
Close without meaning to be intimate. Speaking gently without meaning to relinquish firmness. Jaejoong would stay up until two in the morning with a flight to catch by six to greet Yunho when he came back home from filming. Yunho would come back early on Saturday evenings with takeout food and open arms for when Jaejoong and Yoochun would walk through the front door, back from their week away hard at work promoting in Japan.
They definitely aren’t fooling anyone, Changmin thought with a slight grin. Not the fans or the observant bystander and definitely not him.
Then, there was Junsu curled between him and Jaejoong, lower lip caught between a line of pearly whites as he stared at his side of the puzzle, determined to add give the bird a face. When he let his gaze wander back to the other couch opposite them where Yunho and Yoochun sat, he caught the latter dropping his head quickly, embarrassed.
Almost caught staring at Junsu. Again.
Normally, Yoochun couldn’t keep his hands off Junsu while he was home. Today, Junsu announced that he wanted to sit with Jaejoong. Sometimes, Changmin knew, the youngest of his hyung-deul just needed his space; space to think, space to breathe, space to consider the future that was uncertain as it was these days. Junsu was a closed book unless he was alone with Yoochun, whispered secrets and secret whispers constant comfort for him. Yoochun was an open book with his emotions when it came to Junsu, warm reassurance in the form of soft touches, soft laughter in return warm reassurance to Yoochun.
They aren’t fooling anyone, either, Changmin thought, unable to keep his smile hidden this time around.
“Changminah,” Yunho suddenly called from the kitchen, waving lightly at the magnae when he looked up. “You want anything to drink while I’m in here?”
“I’m fine, hyung.” Holding up his water bottle. “Thanks anyway, though.”
Changmin turned his attention back to the jigsaw puzzle, glancing at Junsu’s side - and his jaw dropped.
“Junsu.” Swallowing hard and feeling very inadequate all at once. “You’re…you’re already done?”
“Uh-huh.” Junsu beamed, standing abruptly. “I’m gonna go steal Yoochunnie’s seat now, though.” The aforementioned male had excused himself to use the bathroom. Jaejoong raised an eyebrow, giving Changmin that ‘is he serious’ look. “It was nice sitting with you, Jaejoongie.”
“Nice sitting with you, too, Suyah.” As if the entire exchange wasn’t bizarre enough, Changmin noted how Jaejoong’s lips quirked into a vague smile as he stood, too, tapping Junsu’s bottom on his way past the other couch. “I’ll grab you a soda while I’m up, okay?”
Disgruntled by Jaejoong’s earlier offense to his backside, Junsu pouted. “Two sodas, thank you. No, wait - ” As if he just realized something, “ - Three sodas and a snack. You owe me now.”
“I’ll get it.” Both of them turned to stare at Changmin, incredulous. “Might as well, since I’m apparently not needed here.” He didn’t really mean it, but he had to be sure of something. Talking like this was the only way he could think of to do test his theory.
“Ah! Thanks, Yunhoyah.” Jaejoong reached over Changmin’s shoulder to take his drink from Yunho, offering a dazzling smile to their leader. “I appreciate it.”
“…And further proving my point,” Changmin sighed, mock exasperation writ across his countenance as Yunho suddenly scooped a shrieking Jaejoong into his arms and carried him to the other couch, the both of them falling over each other, elated laughter filling the air. “Whatever. I’ll get your snack.”
Junsu insisted on hovered by Changmin as he headed for the kitchen, though.
“It’s okay, you know.” Not wanting to look Junsu in the eye, Changmin tried to brush past him. “Look,” groping for an excuse, “Yoochun’s back. Don’t you want to go see him?”
He wasn’t surprised when Junsu didn’t believe him. “Yeah, right! I’m not falling for that, Minah…”
“C’mon,” Junsu’s genuinely worried tone was a bit pleading, “tell me what’s wrong. If something’s bothering you, I wanna know-”
“Su. Baby…” Junsu yelped when Yoochun’s arms wrapped around his waist from behind. “It’s cold outside.” Judging from the color in Junsu’s face, though, Changmin mused, I don’t think he agrees with you, Yoochun. “Warm me up?”
Jaejoong peeked over the back of the couch, hair rumpled and an indulgent smile sent in the YooSu pair’s direction. Changmin assumed he and Yunho were done romping on the sofa - for now. “Any more cheesy one-liners for us, Yoochunah?”
“Besides,” Junsu chirruped, giggling despite himself over Yoochun’s brief lapse into childish behavior, “what happened to us finishing that puzzle?”
“It’s never gonna get finished,” Changmin snapped, “with the four of you acting like lovesick fools the way you have been.”
He received a poignant silence and three blank stares (at least Yunho has the grace to look scandalized at the implication of Changmin’s words) from the other members. The stares remained on him for a total of ten seconds.
The silence lasted barely three, before everyone began speaking at once.
“Changminah-” Yunho gaped. “You mean-?”
“Minnie-” Yoochun smirked. “I never knew-”
“You’re jealous-” Jaejoong crooned. “-of us?”
Another pregnant pause. Changmin felt his heart skip a beat.
“Guys!” Junsu shouted, tittering. “You know what this means, right?”
Yoochun snapped his fingers, sending Junsu an enlightened look. “Oh, yeah…time for a Minnie Mouse sandwich, right?”
“Better yet,” Jaejoong crowed, “a DongBang dog pile!”
“Alright, Changminah.” Even Yunho was absolutely full to the brim with excitement as he spoke, rounding in on Changmin with the rest. “You want attention from all of us? Just remember,” chuckling, “you asked for this…”
There was no deep, underlying reason for it.
Changmin was never really jealous from the start. Of course, he did think his hyung-deul were idiots sometimes. Junsu was too naïve for his own good; and sometimes, he was a little too smart. Jaejoong had a penchant for stupid ideas; like that jigsaw puzzle, for example. Yoochun never knew when to keep his hands to himself; especially when it came to Junsu. Yunho had a natural affinity for Jaejoong; and Changmin was starting to realize maybe that was the truest kind of love.
Or maybe this was the truest kind of love:
Jaejoong and Junsu outright tackling Changmin to the kitchen floor; Yoochun clinging to the former and trying to exact revenge or something similar on Changmin for sitting with Junsu for so long in the form of tickle torture; Yunho settling onto Changmin’s stomach and pinning the youngest down to keep him from getting away; and Changmin, cackling away from the combined efforts of his fellow members to make him so close to tears of hysterical laughter and sheer sentimentality that this ridiculous situation the five of them had gotten into that crisp Sunday afternoon incited in him.
Changmin liked being the quiet onlooker sometimes. But he liked being witness to moments like these - when they could just be twenty-something-odd year olds and not what the world expected them to be, what SM was fighting against them to become - when they could feel free and absolutely bonded to something much greater than a contract or even a shared dedication to song and music.
When they could be just the five of them, together, always - because that was the only way Changmin felt the world was right.
Like a family.
-fin.-