fic: The Game {Chapter 2}
Title: The Game - Chapter 2
Length: Chaptered
Author: M_K Yujji
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Angst
Pairing/Characters: MinHo; implied past JaeHo, YunChul
Disclaimer: Though real people are used as characters, this fic bears no resemblance to Real Life and these people are not owned by me.
Comments/Notes:
Prologue | Chapter 1
Summary: Being the leader was hard, sometimes...
~*~*~
Yunho didn't confront Changmin with his suspicions. He couldn't.
What if he was wrong?
What if he was right?
He wasn't entirely sure which would be more awkward.
It didn't help that he had both Changmin's and Jaejoong's words floating around in his head, making him pay closer attention to the younger man, his own illusions of 'baby Minnie' eroding by simple over thought.
He blamed Jaejoong more than Changmin. Changmin's insistence that he was all grown up was easy enough to ignore - Yunho had been ignoring it for years. Jaejoong's insistence that Changmin was 'hot' on the other hand, was more difficult. If there was nothing else he trusted the eldest's opinion on, it was the relative attractiveness of any given individual. It was the one area where Jaejoong could fully put aside any personal feelings he had at stake and give a starkly honest evaluation. Even HeeChul, whom Jaejoong hated with a passion, was grudgingly admitted to be 'pretty'.
If Jaejoong thought Changmin grown up enough to be sexually attractive, then it was likely true.
He brooded over the entire issue, staring blankly at his book. It wasn't fair. He was supposed to be re-reading the Harry Potter books in preparation for the big release of the final chapter, not stressing out about whether or not his youngest band mate's sex appeal had finally exploded out of the cuteness box in which it had been hiding.
“It's you,” Jaejoong declared, flopping down onto his lap and cuddling close. “I cornered him in the kitchen this morning and almost got a black eye for my efforts.”
“Oomph.” Letting out a rush of air as the other boy's weight settled against his middle, Yunho gave the book up as a lost cause and set it on the nearest flat surface. “Jaejoong.... You shouldn't mess with him like that.”
That only earned him a roll of dark eyes. “What? You didn't want to know for sure?”
“If he wants us - me - to know, he'll tell us - me.” It was too much to wrap his mind around.
“He did tell you, remember? You're just too dense to read between the lines.” Jaejoong laced their hands together and rested them against his own stomach. “So I guess the real question is how do you feel about it?”
“How do I feel about what? All we have now is speculation and suspicion. You can't prosecute on such flimsy evidence.”
“No lawyer talk, please,” Jaejoong begged, wrinkling his nose. “Just because you're taking those stupid classes doesn't give you the right to force us to listen to the jargon.”
He reached back and tickled Yunho's side, causing the younger man to snicker and twist helplessly against the questing fingers.
“Get a fucking room,” Changmin muttered as he stomped through the room, throwing himself into the nearby recliner and rubbing his eyes tiredly. His shirt was unbuttoned to reveal the sleek, toned body underneath.
“Yummy,” Jaejoong murmured into Yunho's ear as he ceased his tickle attack and twisted around so that he could watch their bandmate.
Yunho just pinched his friend in the arm, neatly dumping Jaejoong onto the sofa beside him as he sat up. “Sorry, Changmin, I didn't see you come in.”
There was a distinctly sour look on Changmin's face as he glowered at them. “Obviously.”
“Umm....” Yunho bit his lip and stared at his hands for a moment. “How's... how's studying going?”
Jaejoong snorted with abbreviated laughter and pushed himself up. “I'm going to order take out. Anyone have a preference?”
Neither of the other two said anything, although Yoochun stuck his head out of the workroom. “Can you order extra kimchi, Jaejoong?”
The dark clouds surrounding their youngest had effected all of them, to one extent or another. Yoochun and Junsu had taken to sequestering themselves in whichever room was least likely to be invaded by the others. Yunho wasn't quite sure what they were doing, but he suspected video games interspersed with vague half formed plans on what to do if intervention was needed between the elder pair and youngest.
“Extra kimchi, sure.”
Then he disappeared into the kitchen with the phone and Yunho was left sitting with Changmin and unsure of what he could say, exactly.
He bit his lip and moved his hands to rest on his thighs. “So.... Are you ready for the Deathly Hollows release?”
It wasn't perhaps the best question to ask someone who was so stridently pushing forward their adulthood, but, well... He was looking forward to it.
Changmin sighed and stood up, making Yunho lean back to look up at him with concern. “You are so.... So....” But whatever Yunho was never quite made it out of his mouth. He just gritted his teeth and clenched his fists for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and relaxed. “Of course.”
He walked over to the sofa where Yunho was sitting and put a knee on the cushions. When he leaned forward, Yunho had to lean back to keep from ending up with a mouthful of bare skin. He half wondered if this was some kind of strange new seduction technique that Changmin had gotten through watching too much internet porn.
All the younger man did was reach over the back of the couch to fetch the date planner sitting on the table there. It would have been easier to just walk around the sofa, but Yunho didn't point that out. Any more than he commented on it when Changmin brought his other knee up so that he could sit straddled across Yunho's lap rather than stand back up or sit on the other side of the sofa.
Jaejoong sat on his lap all the time. It didn't mean anything except that they were comfortable enough with one another to invade each other's space. And perhaps it wasn't something that Yoochun or Junsu would have done, but other friends had. Heechul, for example.
He chose to ignore the little voice that reminded him that he'd dated both Jaejoong and Heechul, however briefly.
The date planner was flipped through and then Yunho was having to lean back again so he could see the page Changmin had in front of his face. “Oh right.... We're dressing up, right?”
He'd forgotten that they'd wheedled the entire weekend off from their manager so that they could all get the book and read it. That way no one could torment one of the others with the knowledge of what happened.
“Unless you want to get mobbed...” Changmin let the book fall to the sofa beside them and leaned forward, his hands coming up to settle onto the soft cushioned back behind Yunho's head. His voice grew soft and husky as he dipped his face close to Yunho's. “We'll wear goggles with our quidditch uniforms.... no one will... ever even notice....”
Yunho raised one hand to hold firm against the younger man's chest. “Changmin.... You know that.... You're a very dear friend and I care a lot about you....”
“Just a friend?” The hesitance and dreadful hope was painful to see. Yunho hated the idea that he had to be the one to crush that hope, but better now than later. Better to nip it in the bud now, before Changmin's feelings had a chance to develop into something that would just cause him even more pain.
“Just a friend,” he confirmed.
Changmin closed his eyes and dropped his head against Yunho's shoulder. “At least you didn't call me your little brother'....”
Hiding a wince - the words had occurred to him - Yunho wrapped his arms around Changmin and held him close.
He didn't apologize. One day, when Changmin found someone he actually loved, his young friend would thank him. Until then, all Yunho could do was soothe away the pain he'd inflicted as best he could.
~*~*~
Chapter 3
Length: Chaptered
Author: M_K Yujji
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Angst
Pairing/Characters: MinHo; implied past JaeHo, YunChul
Disclaimer: Though real people are used as characters, this fic bears no resemblance to Real Life and these people are not owned by me.
Comments/Notes:
Prologue | Chapter 1
Summary: Being the leader was hard, sometimes...
~*~*~
Yunho didn't confront Changmin with his suspicions. He couldn't.
What if he was wrong?
What if he was right?
He wasn't entirely sure which would be more awkward.
It didn't help that he had both Changmin's and Jaejoong's words floating around in his head, making him pay closer attention to the younger man, his own illusions of 'baby Minnie' eroding by simple over thought.
He blamed Jaejoong more than Changmin. Changmin's insistence that he was all grown up was easy enough to ignore - Yunho had been ignoring it for years. Jaejoong's insistence that Changmin was 'hot' on the other hand, was more difficult. If there was nothing else he trusted the eldest's opinion on, it was the relative attractiveness of any given individual. It was the one area where Jaejoong could fully put aside any personal feelings he had at stake and give a starkly honest evaluation. Even HeeChul, whom Jaejoong hated with a passion, was grudgingly admitted to be 'pretty'.
If Jaejoong thought Changmin grown up enough to be sexually attractive, then it was likely true.
He brooded over the entire issue, staring blankly at his book. It wasn't fair. He was supposed to be re-reading the Harry Potter books in preparation for the big release of the final chapter, not stressing out about whether or not his youngest band mate's sex appeal had finally exploded out of the cuteness box in which it had been hiding.
“It's you,” Jaejoong declared, flopping down onto his lap and cuddling close. “I cornered him in the kitchen this morning and almost got a black eye for my efforts.”
“Oomph.” Letting out a rush of air as the other boy's weight settled against his middle, Yunho gave the book up as a lost cause and set it on the nearest flat surface. “Jaejoong.... You shouldn't mess with him like that.”
That only earned him a roll of dark eyes. “What? You didn't want to know for sure?”
“If he wants us - me - to know, he'll tell us - me.” It was too much to wrap his mind around.
“He did tell you, remember? You're just too dense to read between the lines.” Jaejoong laced their hands together and rested them against his own stomach. “So I guess the real question is how do you feel about it?”
“How do I feel about what? All we have now is speculation and suspicion. You can't prosecute on such flimsy evidence.”
“No lawyer talk, please,” Jaejoong begged, wrinkling his nose. “Just because you're taking those stupid classes doesn't give you the right to force us to listen to the jargon.”
He reached back and tickled Yunho's side, causing the younger man to snicker and twist helplessly against the questing fingers.
“Get a fucking room,” Changmin muttered as he stomped through the room, throwing himself into the nearby recliner and rubbing his eyes tiredly. His shirt was unbuttoned to reveal the sleek, toned body underneath.
“Yummy,” Jaejoong murmured into Yunho's ear as he ceased his tickle attack and twisted around so that he could watch their bandmate.
Yunho just pinched his friend in the arm, neatly dumping Jaejoong onto the sofa beside him as he sat up. “Sorry, Changmin, I didn't see you come in.”
There was a distinctly sour look on Changmin's face as he glowered at them. “Obviously.”
“Umm....” Yunho bit his lip and stared at his hands for a moment. “How's... how's studying going?”
Jaejoong snorted with abbreviated laughter and pushed himself up. “I'm going to order take out. Anyone have a preference?”
Neither of the other two said anything, although Yoochun stuck his head out of the workroom. “Can you order extra kimchi, Jaejoong?”
The dark clouds surrounding their youngest had effected all of them, to one extent or another. Yoochun and Junsu had taken to sequestering themselves in whichever room was least likely to be invaded by the others. Yunho wasn't quite sure what they were doing, but he suspected video games interspersed with vague half formed plans on what to do if intervention was needed between the elder pair and youngest.
“Extra kimchi, sure.”
Then he disappeared into the kitchen with the phone and Yunho was left sitting with Changmin and unsure of what he could say, exactly.
He bit his lip and moved his hands to rest on his thighs. “So.... Are you ready for the Deathly Hollows release?”
It wasn't perhaps the best question to ask someone who was so stridently pushing forward their adulthood, but, well... He was looking forward to it.
Changmin sighed and stood up, making Yunho lean back to look up at him with concern. “You are so.... So....” But whatever Yunho was never quite made it out of his mouth. He just gritted his teeth and clenched his fists for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and relaxed. “Of course.”
He walked over to the sofa where Yunho was sitting and put a knee on the cushions. When he leaned forward, Yunho had to lean back to keep from ending up with a mouthful of bare skin. He half wondered if this was some kind of strange new seduction technique that Changmin had gotten through watching too much internet porn.
All the younger man did was reach over the back of the couch to fetch the date planner sitting on the table there. It would have been easier to just walk around the sofa, but Yunho didn't point that out. Any more than he commented on it when Changmin brought his other knee up so that he could sit straddled across Yunho's lap rather than stand back up or sit on the other side of the sofa.
Jaejoong sat on his lap all the time. It didn't mean anything except that they were comfortable enough with one another to invade each other's space. And perhaps it wasn't something that Yoochun or Junsu would have done, but other friends had. Heechul, for example.
He chose to ignore the little voice that reminded him that he'd dated both Jaejoong and Heechul, however briefly.
The date planner was flipped through and then Yunho was having to lean back again so he could see the page Changmin had in front of his face. “Oh right.... We're dressing up, right?”
He'd forgotten that they'd wheedled the entire weekend off from their manager so that they could all get the book and read it. That way no one could torment one of the others with the knowledge of what happened.
“Unless you want to get mobbed...” Changmin let the book fall to the sofa beside them and leaned forward, his hands coming up to settle onto the soft cushioned back behind Yunho's head. His voice grew soft and husky as he dipped his face close to Yunho's. “We'll wear goggles with our quidditch uniforms.... no one will... ever even notice....”
Yunho raised one hand to hold firm against the younger man's chest. “Changmin.... You know that.... You're a very dear friend and I care a lot about you....”
“Just a friend?” The hesitance and dreadful hope was painful to see. Yunho hated the idea that he had to be the one to crush that hope, but better now than later. Better to nip it in the bud now, before Changmin's feelings had a chance to develop into something that would just cause him even more pain.
“Just a friend,” he confirmed.
Changmin closed his eyes and dropped his head against Yunho's shoulder. “At least you didn't call me your little brother'....”
Hiding a wince - the words had occurred to him - Yunho wrapped his arms around Changmin and held him close.
He didn't apologize. One day, when Changmin found someone he actually loved, his young friend would thank him. Until then, all Yunho could do was soothe away the pain he'd inflicted as best he could.
~*~*~
Chapter 3