FIC: Of Cheek-Gnawing and Leg-Pasting (The Caffè Espresso Remix) [Yunho/Changmin; Jaechun]
of cheek-gnawing and leg-pasting (the caffè espresso remix)
yunho/changmin, jaejoong/yoochun; 10,717
r
written for remixredux09 and remix of maskyouwear's of book stores and word vomit. i never thought i'd write a homin-centric fic before but this was a lot of fun and i ended up pounding out 8k in 30+ hours so obviously that just goes to show i know nothing. thank you sososo much to peppery and kallistei, and various other people for whipping this into shape and listening to me whine for hours on end. ♥
The end is a bit anticlimactic.
I love you but we are absolutely shitty together, Jaejoong tells him after another night of petty insults, low digs, and an attempt at resolution via therapeutic angry sex that ends up not very therapeutic. But two out of three isn't bad.
Yunho wakes up the next morning with a layer of dried something-he-really-needs-to-wash-off on his thighs and hair matted against one side of his face. The first thing out of his mouth when Jaejoong stirs is, "We can still live together though, right? I really like this apartment and it's close to my work and the parking fees aren't astronomic--."
"Fuck okay yes now shut up and let me sleep."
---
The text messages Yunho gets from Jaejoong two months later are a little different than the usual.
how long do u think i
should wait
b4 i can
start liking some1 else?
yunho answer me
omg did i upset u
Yunho sighs after losing his second attempt at a reply and decides to call Jaejoong instead. Jaejoong picks up on the first ring and says, "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings it's just he's really cute and adorable and has these puffy chipmunk cheeks that I just want to gnaw on is that weird and creepy I don't want to be weird and creepy oh my god Yunho say something you ass don't just ignore my midlife crisis!"
"My feelings aren't hurt, that could be creepy especially if you tell him that right now but who knows maybe he's into that, and you're only 23 so you can't be having a midlife crisis." Yunho sits down on the couch in the living room and puts Jaejoong on speaker next to him so he can flip through a catalogue of kindergarten school supplies for his classroom. "Where are you and who is he anyway?"
"I needed this book for my dissertation but the library didn't have it because the library is a shithole and Google told me this was the only bookstore within a 50-mile radius that carried it but I don't know why Google thought it wasn't necessary to also tell me the bookstore has an employee that would trigger my previously unknown cheek gnawing kink because it is totally necessary!"
Yunho forgets he's supposed to reply at the pause, too busy trying to pick between the dinosaur and zoo animal puzzles.
"Jung Yunho, stop looking at kiddy porn and help me!" Jaejoong hisses.
Yunho takes a moment to frown at the phone, then says, "I am not involved with child pornography and you are a bad man for suggesting it. Also, why are you whispering?"
"Because he was at the front when I came in but now he's not and I don't know where he is and I don't want him to hear me talking about how I want to chew on his face."
"Okay," Yunho sighs, closing the magazine since being distracted by Jaejoong makes him even more indecisive, "even if we haven't determined if your Mystery Man finds your obsession weird and creepy, I'm pretty sure I do. Please stop talking about it before I start associating you with cannibalism."
"Shut up, I'm not respecting your boundaries until you start being helpful."
"Aren't you there to buy a book? Why don't you actually go do that? Ask his name, make small talk. Social interaction 101, Jaejoong. It's what you're supposed to do when you leave the house," Yunho says, switching the speaker off and putting the phone to his ear again. He catches Jaejoong groaning and then hears a dull thunk. "Sorry, damaging store property is on the what not to do list."
"You know I'm absolute shit at small talk."
"He's working. I'm sure he'll welcome your supernatural ability to wax poetic about nothing in particular for hours on end with opens arms." He's actually only being half-sarcastic.
"Why can't you be a nice ex-boyfriend? I can't believe parents are entrusting their children to your care."
"Unless a freak accident happens and you regress into a five year old, you'll just have to deal with my brand of tough love," Yunho says. "Now will you go already?"
Jaejoong grumbles at him petulantly. Yunho considers mentioning he meant five years old physically, not just mentally. "Fine. Finefinefine. Okay. I'm going." A pause. "Right now." Yunho bites at a hangnail. "Heeeere I go."
"I'm hanging up on you."
"Wait, I shouldn't mention the cheek gnawing during small talk, right?"
Yunho hangs up on him.
---
When Jaejoong returns to the apartment later dragging his feet and sulking, Yunho takes it to mean things didn't really go according to plan. This is dangerous; if it went badly enough to make Jaejoong not feel like cooking tonight, it means Yunho might as well starve lest his cooking skills level up from only being able to boil water or make cereal.
"Does he already have someone?"
Jaejoong shrugs.
"Is he straight?"
Jaejoong shrugs again. The fact that he's not complaining loudly about how unfair his life is can only mean one thing.
Yunho sighs. "You didn't actually talk to him, did you?"
Jaejoong collapses at the dining table and buries his face in his arms, nodding. Yunho goes and grabs two beers from the fridge before joining him. "I choked like a choking thing!" Jaejoong says, pouting pathetically as he spins the bottle Yunho hands him. "He was like 'oh I really like this composer, you picked out a really good book, I hope you enjoy it' and all I could do was shove my credit card at him like I wanted to get out as fast as possible which is completely not what I wanted to do which was make out with him on the counter, I mean right, completely opposite, and then he was like 'have a good day, come again' and I. Fucking. Waved. Goodbye. I waved. I couldn't even say one word. One word! I am a failure."
Yunho scratches the back of his head. "I'm not sure if you should go that far -"
"I AM A FAILURE."
"Okay, okay. Whatever you want." Yunho pats Jaejoong's shoulder. "Are you going to go back and try again?"
"That would be even more embarrassing and failtastic."
"Has that actually ever stopped you from doing anything?" Yunho says. He continues before Jaejoong can say anything. "You could at least find out if he likes guys and is single before deciding all is lost."
The beer continues to be left untouched as Jaejoong drops his head onto the table, cheek pressed to the surface. He huffs, the rush of air making his lips vibrate and Yunho smiles at the scene Jaejoong is making, even if it's a more subdued version than usual.
"Should I be jealous that you're so head over heels for someone you've only seen for maybe ten minutes?" Yunho pushes his hand through Jaejoong's hair, a gesture of comfort he hasn't bothered to shake off yet despite its intimacy. It earns him a smile though, so it's a little bit worth it.
"You're so dumb," Jaejoong says, but it's all fondness. "I was just as bad with you. You were just really, really, really dense."
"Your depiction of my personality is so flattering I almost can't handle it," Yunho says dryly, but looking back on it, the incident with the air freshener, galbi grill, and Pokémon plushies makes a lot more sense now though no less horrifying. "What's stopping you from tackling the new guy then?"
Jaejoong's mouth twists to the left, the way it always does when Yunho says something that makes too much sense. It twists to the right when Yunho loses something and has to ask him where it is. "W-Well. Nothing. I guess," he murmurs. Yunho continues to wait patiently, knowing Jaejoong is trying to find a way to articulate the jumble of thoughts in his head so they actually make sense out loud. "I just," Jaejoong sighs. "We were together for so long. I've forgotten what it feels like to have a crush. It's really nerve-wracking, you know? And then I feel dumb for being so nervous when I'm nearly 25 years old."
Yunho scoots his chair closer and sits up a little straighter as he drapes his arm around Jaejoong's shoulders and pulls him in. "You're fine," he says warmly, resting his chin on Jaejoong's head when it falls against the crook of his neck. "Bet you've already knocked the kid off his feet."
He feels Jaejoong's arms wrap around his waist, hugging tightly. "You're going to keep being my cheerleader?" Jaejoong mumbles.
Chuckling, Yunho drops a brief kiss to Jaejoong's hair. "If that's what you need."
Jaejoong doesn't say anything back and a few minutes of silence pass before he finally sits up and smiles at Yunho, his demeanor no longer carrying that frazzled tension. There's no thank you, but he stands up and says, "What do you want for dinner?"
As far as Yunho is concerned, those words are a hundred times better than any gratitude.
---
A few weeks pass until Yunho wakes up one day and realizes there's a stack of books about dead composers growing on the coffee table. It's nearly two feet high and starting to teeter precariously, not to mention close to blocking his view of the television. He makes a note to talk to Jaejoong when the other returns from classes because as supportive as he wants to be, things are getting ridiculous.
In the afternoon, Yunho is catching up on episodes of One Piece when the apartment door slams open and Jaejoong runs in yelling Yunho's name. He rushes out, worried, and nearly collides into Jaejoong by the bathroom, ready to call the ambulance if necessary.
The emergency is this: "His name is Yoochun!"
Yunho stares at Jaejoong's face for a while, at his wide, excited eyes and the grin stretched ear to ear. Then he simply shakes his head and ruffles Jaejoong's hair, shaking the half-melted snow from clumped strands before walking back to his room.
It's lucky it was a good emergency instead of bad; when he sits down again, Yunho realizes he's lost his phone for the fourth time this week.
---
"Okay, you can't embarrass me, all right?"
Yunho smiles and looks over at Jaejoong who's straightening his clothes as they walk to the book store. He made Jaejoong agree that morning to let him tag along under the pretense that he wants to meet this Yoochun for himself, that it's imperative he gets Yunho's approval before anything serious should happen. It's not that he isn't concerned about that, because he does care, but mostly he wants to keep Jaejoong from buying more books as an excuse to talk to Yoochun.
"I promise not to tell him about the time you walked into a street lamp," he says, barely hiding his laugh. "Twice."
Jaejoong punches Yunho's arm lightly and pouts at him. For a moment, Yunho gets second thoughts about going with. He wonders if he's actually okay with Jaejoong caring about someone else or if he's just assumed he is, and it's easier to ignore Jaejoong's attention shifting away from him when he doesn't know what who it's shifting to looks like.
A block away from the store, Jaejoong stops and asks if he looks okay. Yunho's pretty sure Jaejoong doesn't realize he still has his bangs pinned up, something he does whenever he spends time writing term papers or studying for a big exam. He used to tell Jaejoong the geeky look was cute on him but only ever received scoffing and eye-rolling in return.
"You look fine," Yunho says, reaching up to fix the other's scarf. He figures Jaejoong can kill him later if he wants, but for now he thinks the real Jaejoong deserves a chance to shine.
---
It's kind of a blur, what happens.
The beginning's okay. After they walk in, Yoochun glares at him and nearly drools at Jaejoong. Yunho can tell immediately what Jaejoong sees in this guy and doesn't even care that he gets introduced as the Best Friend.
And then.
And then the door opens and a boy with the longest legs Yunho has ever seen walks in. His name is Changmin, he's Yoochun's friend, and suddenly Yunho is jealous of Yoochun for all the wrong reasons.
He thinks of that phone call with Jaejoong and decides maybe cheek gnawing isn't such a stupid thing to want to do to someone because all he can think of is how much he wants to paste himself to Changmin's legs and never, ever let go.
---
Jaejoong is wearing his Hamtaro pajamas when Yunho walks into his room that night and says, "So, tell me again, how come you get to keep the bedroom when you were the one that broke up with me?"
"Because you're a buttface who doesn't tell me I'm sporting really stupid hair right before I go meet the guy I like."
Yunho sits down at the foot of Jaejoong's bed. "Pout all you want," and Jaejoong is, a lot, "but I promise Yoochun couldn't stop staring at you."
"Yeah, because I looked stupid and people don't know how to look away from car accidents," Jaejoong says.
Rolling his eyes, Yunho doesn't even bother arguing with Jaejoong about all the ways he doesn't look like a car crash. "So. Yoochun's friend…." he says instead, picking at the comforter as he trails off.
"… Oh my god. You like him!"
Yunho sputters, but in the end offers nothing to prove Jaejoong wrong. He gives a pitiful Okay, Fine I Am shrug and then yells when Jaejoong tackles him into a headlock.
"I knew it! I thought you were going to burn a hole in that guy's crotch if you stared any harder."
"I was looking at his legs, not his crotch!" Yunho says, trying to pry away from Jaejoong's grip but failing miserably.
Jaejoong lets go eventually, but not without giving him a noogie first. "You know this means we're going on double dates."
Yunho rubs the side of his neck and looks at Jaejoong flatly. "Why don't you work on going on a date first and getting me Changmin's number," he says, getting up and walking towards the door. "I'll think about thinking about double dating with you."
Jaejoong picks up one of his pillows to throw at him. Yunho yawns a good night, still walking leisurely; he knows the pillow isn't going to make it that far past the end of the bed anyway.
---
Not only does Jaejoong get Changmin's number, but Yunho ends up with a piece of paper detailing the guy's workplace, email, IM usernames, and apartment address too. Yunho is impressed - and incredibly creeped out.
It turns out Changmin spends most afternoons working at the coffee shop across the street from the book store. Yunho waits about a day and a half before he caves and visits, muttering to himself while on the subway about what to say.
Except when he gets there, walks inside, and sees Changmin smiling as he takes a customer's order, Yunho feels like he's suddenly got numb tongue. His feet seem to be stuck to the ground, but then another person enters the shop and Yunho stumbles forward to the counter right as the former customer walks away.
"Hi, what can I get for - oh. Hey, you were at the book store the other day. Yunho, right?"
Changmin remembers him. Remembers his name. Yunho feels like hugging him and doesn't trust that he wouldn't if there wasn't a physical object between them. He clears his throat and nods. "Yes. Um. I… didn't know you worked here."
"Really." Changmin raises an eyebrow at him and Yunho is surprised by how intimidating it is. "So Jaejoong didn't take advantage of Yoochun's infatuation with him and pretty much squeeze out every piece of personal information about me short of giving you my national identification number?"
Yunho tries not to blush too hard. "Does that mean I can email you?"
Changmin glances behind him and Yunho realizes there's a line forming behind him. Now he's really blushing. "How about I get you something and then we'll talk," Changmin laughs.
Nodding, Yunho smiles and orders a shot of espresso.
"One vanilla latte with extra whipped cream, coming right up."
"… B-But I said espresso."
Changmin looks at him pointedly. "You are not a shot of espresso. You are a vanilla latte with extra whipped cream. Or a hot cocoa with extra whipped cream on bad days." He snatches a few bills from Yunho's hand as the register pops open. "Has anyone told you too much whipped cream is bad for you?"
Yunho frowns. "I like it."
Changmin laughs. "I like it too."
---
Yunho ends up waiting for over an hour before Changmin can get away from behind the counter. He finished his latte half an hour ago so when Changmin sits down with a new cup and slides it over, whipped cream piled even higher, Yunho's pride is the only thing keeping him from asking Changmin to pseudo-marry him.
Taking a sip and giving himself a cream mustache, he says, "I was thinking we could skip over the first date and go straight to the third where one of us goes over to the other's place."
Changmin smiles and reaches over to wipe Yunho's top lip clean with his thumb, then sucks it into his mouth. "That's so weird," he says around it, then slips it out. "I was thinking I make some mean hotpot."
Yunho doesn't know if he fully comprehends what he's getting himself into, but he's pretty sure it's awesome.
---
"Jesus, where have you been?" Jaejoong calls from the living room when Yunho gets home, sky outside mostly dark. "You'll probably have to reheat dinner."
Yunho plops down on the sofa next to him. "My face hurts," he says brightly.
"Call it a hunch, but I think it's because you're smiling so hard you're about to break it." Jaejoong sets aside all the papers in his lap. "Are you going to say why or is it just to creep me out?"
"He cooks!" Yunho says, grabbing Jaejoong's shoulders. "And he's going to cook for me! On a date! I have a date!"
"I'm assuming you mean Changmin," Jaejoong says, eyes wide but otherwise letting Yunho manhandle him freely. "Otherwise I'm calling you a slut."
Yunho rolls his eyes. "Yes, I mean Changmin," he says, falling back against the couch, grin still stuck. "He's kind of amazing. And by kind of, I mean ridiculously."
"Well, I'm glad it's going peachy for you," Jaejoong huffs.
Calming, Yunho turns to face Jaejoong, confused by the resentment he's hearing. "Did something happen with Yoochun?"
"No!"
Yunho blinks. "Okay. Did something else happen?"
Jaejoong groans, rubbing his face. "No, nothing happening is the problem! We've done nothing but talk for forever. Am I not being obvious enough? Does he not like me that way?"
"Maybe you should strip in front of him and see what happens." Jaejoong glares daggers at him and Yunho holds his hands up. "Okay, okay. Why don't you just ask him out?"
"Because," Jaejoong mumbles.
"Because what?"
Jaejoong makes some incoherent grumbling noises. "Because I want him to ask me out, okay?"
Yunho stares for a second, and then starts laughing. He continues laughing even when Jaejoong starts smacking him repeatedly while yelling for him to shut up. "You are such a girl!" he howls, falling back onto the armrest.
"I'm going to kill you!"
Yunho manages to hold Jaejoong off long enough to say, "Okay, okay, wait! I'll talk to Changmin about it, all right?"
Jaejoong backs off. "And you won't make fun of me about it?"
Yunho sits up and follows protocol, drawing an X over his heart. "And hope to die," he says. "By your hand."
"Thanks," Jaejoong says, sighing. "I just really like him, you know? Even if I'm being girly about it."
Pulling Jaejoong into a loose hug, Yunho strokes his back. "It'll work out. You've got me as your cheerleader, remember? I'm failproof." He smiles when he feels Jaejoong laugh against his chest.
After a while, Jaejoong says, "So Changmin cooks?"
"He can make hotpot."
"You're a lucky bastard, Jung Yunho, finding all these guys who know how to cook so you don't starve to death."
"I know."
---
Yunho thought that the weekend would take eons to arrive; but then he wakes up Friday morning, realizes that it's Friday morning and in 12 hours it'll be Friday evening, and promptly starts freaking out.
Also he's running late for work and kindergarteners are surprisingly punctual.
He rushes out to the kitchen where Jaejoong is waiting with pancakes wrapped in foil. "Hey, for tonight-"
"I'll pick out some clothes for you."
"Great. Also could you-"
"And I'll buy some wine after classes for you to take over."
"You're the best," Yunho says, grabbing his on-the-go breakfast. "I love you platonically very much."
Jaejoong literally kicks him out. "Go to work, you big pedo."
---
The building Changmin lives in is just off campus and instead of buzzing the intercom to be let in, he simply tailgates a group of guys with approximately ten 24-packs of beer in their arms. When he gets up there, the door to Changmin's apartment is slightly ajar and he hears faint kitchen noises coming from inside. Knocking loud enough to hopefully be heard, he lets himself in.
And immediately regrets it when he hears Changmin's voice shout, "Oh my god, get out!"
"I'm sorry the door was open I didn't mean to it's really rude of me I know I'll go stand outside and wait."
Changmin comes around the corner, wearing a red apron with the obligatory Kiss the Chef on it plus a wooden spoon in his hand. His eyes widen when he sees Yunho and he reaches out with the empty hand. "No, not you! You can stay. I definitely want you to stay."
"Oh."
"I was talking to Junsu," Changmin says, and as if on cue, a shorter man with a faux hawk appears in front of them. "He's my roommate and is just about to leave."
Even though Yunho thinks Changmin looks pretty scary glaring, Junsu just laughs and says, "He's hot, Changmin-ah. Nice job."
Yunho flushes and feels slightly uncomfortable. "Um. Thanks?"
"Dude, don't worry, you're all his," Junsu says, slipping on a jacket. "I like tits."
"Seriously, I'm going to throw you out the window if you don't leave soon," Changmin all but growls, teeth clenched.
"I'm going, I'm going!" Junsu toes his shoes on as he sneaks a peek at the wine Yunho's holding. "Good choice." He then pats Yunho's back as he leaves, calling over his shoulder, "Don't get too drunk and forget to put on a condom! Safe sex is what the cool kids do!"
Changmin slams the door shut, then turns and gives Yunho a relieved smile. "God, I'm really sorry you had to meet him. And um, hi, I guess."
Yunho chuckles. "Hi," he says. "And I, uh, I'm pretty good at holding my liquor so. We're okay."
Changmin's cheeks turn a fairly impressive shade of pink and Yunho bites down on his lip to keep from rushing forward and kissing him because this is still a first-third date, not a third-third date.
"Dinner's almost ready," Changmin says in a rush, pushing away from the door and slipping past Yunho back to the kitchen. "I'll show you where the glasses are."
As he follows, Yunho stares at Changmin's legs and thinks it's really good they'll be out of view while they eat.
---
It doesn't take long for Yunho to realize that the more Changmin talks, the more Yunho falls for him. He's a computer science major with a third year standing even though he's barely through with sophomore year, but is taking a minor in audio engineering, works at the coffee shop because he likes people-watching, and makes amazing hotpot.
"You know at concerts, there's the person who stands over that huge mixing board on the floor? I want to be that guy."
"Do you like music?" Yunho says, reaching for his wine. "Or is that a stupid question."
Changmin smiles for the hundredth time since they sat down and, like the last 99 times, Yunho melts a little more. "I do now. Hated practicing when I was little though and my parents signed me up for piano without asking, but it's nice to be able to sit down and sight read something with little trouble."
"Impressive. I can only play the drums."
"God, I wish my parents had let me learn that," Changmin says, shaking his head. "But it was hard enough convincing them that guitar was just as worthwhile as piano."
Yunho laughs shortly under his breath. "You play guitar too?"
Changmin flushes slightly. "And violin," he mumbles before biting the rim of his wine glass.
"You should play for me after dinner," Yunho says, ignoring Changmin's embarrassment. "I bet you're amazing."
"What? No. Nonono. I suck," Changmin says, shaking his head furiously. "Horrible. Atrocious. Repulsive."
"That's a little harsh," Yunho says. "I think you should give me a chance to judge for myself."
"Not gonna happen."
Yunho hums, studying Changmin for a few moments, and tries to hide a smile when Changmin starts squirming across from him. "What if I got you drunk?"
Changmin blinks at him before laughing. "I think you are the only guy in the world who's ever said that in order to get something that's not sex."
"Does that mean you'll play?" Yunho says, then squeaks when he feels something slide up his leg and pause over the curve of his knee.
"It means I hold my liquor pretty well too, but you're welcome to try."
---
Yunho does actually try, but he fails. Even though he made Changmin drink over half the bottle, leaving a permanent blush on his cheeks, he moves like he's still sober and definitely rejects Yunho's begging in the same manner.
"This movie okay?" Changmin says after Yunho drapes himself unceremoniously on the couch.
Yunho nods, barely looking at what Changmin's holding, because he really doesn't care what the hell they watch as long as it gets Changmin away from the DVD player and next to him. Which isn't what happens because the microwave beeps just then and Changmin goes to get the popcorn. Yunho decides popcorn is the food of the devil.
Changmin finally plops down next to him as the opening sequence starts, close enough so that their thighs touch, and leans into Yunho's side like it's the most natural thing in the world. It takes maybe half a second for Yunho to reciprocate likewise, arm wrapping around Changmin's shoulders, and he grins when Changmin presses some popcorn to his mouth. He reconsiders the devil food decision when his lips brush over skin and Changmin shifts surreptitiously beside him.
About fifteen minutes in, Yunho begins to realize that this close proximity is doing nothing for his attention span. Watching Changmin, however, gets better results so he ends up doing that instead. It's going pretty well until Changmin looks over ten minutes later, thus bringing their faces really, really close together.
He doesn't realize he's holding his breath until Changmin says evenly, "If you want to make out, you can just say so."
"What! No," Yunho says with more force than necessary. "No, the movie's - the movie's great. I love," he glances at the screen, "I absolutely love aerial shots. Bird's eye view is my favorite perspective. I really enjoy how… high. It is."
The light from the TV is enough to show Changmin trying to stifle a laugh.
"Okay, look, I've seen this before and you're just." Yunho trails off because Changmin's staring at him like he doesn't believe a word Yunho's saying. Which is fair because Yunho doesn't believe himself either. "Okay, yes. Yes, I would like to make out with you."
Changmin moves away just enough to put the popcorn bowl on the coffee table before straddling Yunho's lap. "You're really dumb," he murmurs, cupping Yunho's face. "Owning the movie means I've seen it too."
"I'm really dumb," Yunho says with a happy sigh.
He makes a small noise when Changmin's mouth finally touches his, just a little chapped but still so soft, and it's about a million times better than watching some ridiculous movie. It's about a million times infinity better when his hands settle on Changmin's thighs and slide up to grip where they meet Changmin's hips.
The hero is kissing the girl on-screen while triumphant music plays in the background when they finally pull apart for more than two seconds. They've moved to lying on the sofa, Changmin on top, with their shirts untucked and pushed halfway up their chests.
Yunho brushes his mouth over Changmin's and murmurs, "I'm going to say something you're going to hate right now."
"Then don't say it."
"I have to," Yunho says, pushing Changmin away maybe half a centimeter. "I should go soon."
Changmin pulls a face and groans. "Yeah, I hate it."
"I'm sorry. I'm tired."
Changmin raises an eyebrow, amused. "I bore you?" he says as his nails trail up and down lazily over Yunho's stomach, making Yunho moan softly.
"Oh god, that came out wrong." Yunho closes his eyes and tries to use whatever willpower he has to resist pressing up into the touch. "Not because of you, because of work. Kindergarteners are kind of a handful."
"Well, I don't think I can continue to seduce you after you've mentioned small children," Changmin says, slipping his hand out.
Yunho gives him another small kiss. "But I really want to see you again soon?"
Changmin sighs and it's definitely one of those bad sighs. He pushes against Yunho's chest and sits up, straightening his shirt. "I would love to say we could meet again tomorrow, but I have a 15-page paper due Wednesday that I told myself I would finish this weekend because it's worth 40% of my grade and I only have a title so far."
Yunho sits up too and attempts to straighten his hair. "I don't want you to fail college."
"How sweet of you," Changmin chuckles, then gets up to turn on the lights. Yunho squints as he tries to adjust to the sudden brightness. When he does, he sees a very thoroughly kissed Changmin standing at the foot of the couch and it is an awfully nice visual. "If you want, you can come over Wednesday night and celebrate me not failing college? Or is Mr. Jung not allowed out on school nights?" Changmin smirks.
"Haha," Yunho says flatly as he stands, but he's smiling a little, arms automatically linking around Changmin's waist when he reaches him. "I'll be here and I'll bring two bottles of wine."
"I accept your challenge," Changmin grins, leaning in again.
---
On Wednesday, Yunho leaves straight from work to go to Changmin's, sending Jaejoong a text to remind him he won't be home until late, and stops only to buy the promised bottles of wine. The scene he finds when he actually arrives at Changmin's is less than stellar.
For starters, Yoochun is there and he looks slightly drunk. And teary. That part's a little awkward. It's also a little awkward when Yoochun spots him and runs to him so fast he barely has time to pass the paper bag in his hands to Changmin in order to make room for an armful of Yoochun.
"He won't tell us what happened," Changmin says, setting the bag down in the kitchen. "Clearly he's reacting better to you so maybe you should try."
"Um, okay," Yunho says, then tries to maneuver over to the couch with Yoochun fused to his side. He is nearly starting to sweat when they finally sit down. "All right, what happened?"
Yoochun buries his face in Yunho's shoulder and shakes his head rapidly. Yunho makes a face at Changmin; this was as bad as getting one of his five year olds to admit that they ate some glue.
Junsu drops onto the beanbag a few feet away. "It's obviously about Jaejoong."
It is obvious, because Yoochun lets out a loud wail at Junsu's words. Yunho decides that if Yoochun's going to act like a child, he's going to get treated like one too. "If you don't tell us what's wrong by the time I count to three, I'm going to call Jaejoong and tell him you have a stuffed animal kink. 1… 2-"
"WORD VOMIT," Yoochun says into his shirt.
Yunho's eyes widen and he would jerk away if Yoochun wasn't holding on so tightly. "Um. Run that by me again?"
"He kissed me! Like, on the mouth and for more than two seconds and I tried to tell him 'I like you and that was really awesome and you should do it again' after but only gibberish came out and he was like 'what was that' and I said 'sorry, word vomit' and then he looked really upset and left!"
"… O-Oh." Yunho wonders if it's supposed to be funny, because it sounds funny, but Yoochun is upset so that means it's probably not. Yet he images Yoochun saying "word vomit" to Jaejoong in his head and he has to bite his lip really, really hard in order to not laugh. "Oh, Yoochun."
Junsu and Changmin excuse themselves to go laugh their asses off, a luxury Yunho is very jealous of right now.
"You two are impossible," he says, loosening Yoochun's death grip enough so he can breathe somewhat easier. "You like him. He likes you. Why aren't you going out yet?"
"Because I'm a word vomiter! Why would he ever go out with a word vomiter? I wouldn't."
Laughter erupts louder than before from the direction of the bedrooms and again, Yunho bites the inside of his cheek until he calms down. "He kissed you. He'll forgive you."
"I think you're lying."
"You don't have to believe me, but since I've known Jaejoong longer, it's probably best you do."
Yoochun finally pulls away, sniffling loudly as he does. "Thanks, Yunho. You're a good guy."
Yunho pats Yoochun's back awkwardly. "Don't mention it."
"Sorry I ruined your night with Changmin."
"It's okay."
And Yunho really tries to tell himself that when he goes to find Changmin to tell him he's leaving because he needs to go be a good best friend to Jaejoong.
"What's your Thursday schedule like though?"
"Only morning classes. Done by 10:30, home by 11."
"Can I call you during naptime?" Yunho says, smiling.
"That is so sexy," Changmin says wryly. "But sure. Of course."
Yunho tries to keep the goodbye kiss shorter this time. The kiss for Changmin's not failing college goes a little less according to plan.
--
As expected, when Yunho walks in the door at 6:03PM, Jaejoong is on the couch with his Hamtaro pajamas already on (hood drawn up and drawstrings pulled tight), giant down comforter wrapped around his frame, and a pint of chocolate chocolate chip Häagen-Dazs ice cream balanced on his knees.
"Oh sweetie," Yunho says, sitting down and immediately gathering Jaejoong to his chest after he pries the ice cream away for safety.
"I thought he really liked me, you know?"
"He does."
Jaejoong continues like he didn't even hear Yunho. "But I finally worked up the courage to kiss him and he just. He said. Or he didn't. I mean, like he didn't want to exert the effort to actually throw up or something, so I got some half-assed gibberish! I kissed him and pretty much laid it all out and he just - babbled at me. God, I feel so fucking stupid."
"You're not stupid and he wasn't rejecting you," Yunho says. "I was just at Changmin's and Yoochun was there-"
"You saw him? What the fuck-" Yunho slaps a hand over Jaejoong's mouth.
"Listen to me. He wasn't rejecting you. He is head over heels about you, okay? I promise. It was like the apocalypse was coming with the way he was acting. Look, he was crying on me." He slides his hand down and watches Jaejoong chew on his lower lip.
"Really?"
Yunho smiles a little, nodding. "Really. He likes you just as much as you like him. Your kiss just, broke his brain I think, so he forgot how to talk. In any case, I told him to call you tomorrow so you two can sort things out, and finally go out on a date even, god forbid."
Jaejoong is silent for a moment, then moves away to unravel the comforter and hold it open for Yunho. Yunho hesitates for a second, because technically he's going out with Changmin now and even if there isn't anything going on between him and Jaejoong anymore, there had been at one point so he's not sure if they should still be cuddling under blankets.
Except Yunho knows how bad it has to be for Jaejoong to put the hood up on his Hamtaro pajamas so he scoots close and lets Jaejoong wrap him up snugly.
"You're the best," Jaejoong murmurs.
Yunho laughs quietly. "So I've been told." He clears his throat, then adds, "Are you um. Going to tell Yoochun about our… history?"
Jaejoong doesn't acknowledge his question in any physical way, but murmurs after a beat, "I've thought about mentioning it before."
"Oh. Okay, 'cause. I think I'm going to tell Changmin tomorrow. Wanted to let you know."
This time Jaejoong looks at him with a smile. "Sounds like something you would do. I hope it goes well."
"Thanks." Yunho squeezes Jaejoong briefly. "So. Since you probably don't feel like cooking and it's best for all of humanity that I don't go near the kitchen, do you want to order some jajangmyeon with extra, extra, extra, extra pickled radish?"
"Yes, please. And one more extra."
---
Technically naptime is on the schedule from 12:30 to 1:15, but today Yunho has trouble getting Jinho to stay still for more than two minutes at a time. The little guy finally collapses from exhaustion at 12:50 after being chased around the room. Yunho feels like he could use a power nap too, but sits at his desk instead and calls Changmin, hoping he hasn't wandered off.
"…Mmph-'lo?"
"… Were you sleeping?"
"Oh. Hyung. Hi. Yeah, sorry," Changmin says, yawning. "Was up before seven this morning."
Yunho hmphs petulantly. "Everyone gets to rest except me."
Changmin chuckles low and scratchy into his ear, and it's soothing. "Aww. Is widdle Yunho jealous?"
"Shut up," Yunho mutters, but he's definitely grinning. "Anyway, do you have twenty minutes to talk?"
"Yes, but you know I don't condone exposing little kids to phone sex."
"God, you are hilarious," Yunho says, clearing his throat. He straightens in his chair too, even though Changmin can't see him. "Actually it's kind of serious."
"Oh." Yunho hears shuffling from Changmin's end. "Okay, promise I'm fully awake and listening."
"Okay, um," Yunho starts, trying to find the right words. "I guess there's no good way to get into this, or - I mean - maybe you've already noticed since you're good at that sort of thing. Observing, you know. So maybe this won't surprise you at all, but I just. Just wanted to get it out there because I really like you and don't want this hanging over me so yeah. Just. All out in the clear." He fails miserably.
"Maybe you should try that again," Changmin says, chuckling.
Yunho takes a deep breath. "I wanted to let you know that Jaejoong and I used to go out. It was pretty serious. Obviously, since we you know, moved in together. But we were horrible together and kept fighting so we're absolutely done and only friends. Strictly friends."
There's silence on the other end and Yunho looks at the screen of his mobile to see if Changmin's still on the line. He is.
"…Changmin? Hello?"
When Changmin's voice filters through again, it's much softer than before. "When did you break up?"
Yunho rubs his face, already not liking where this is going. "About four months ago? I know you're wondering why we're still living together," he says quickly. "It's only because the apartment's in a good location and not outrageously expensive. Really. That's it."
"You know, when I saw you in the book store I thought there was something off about you two, even though Yoochun said you were Jaejoong's best friend."
"Changmin," Yunho says softly. "Come on. I'm telling you this so you know you can trust me."
There's nothing but soft, fuzzy static again, then Changmin says tightly, "Maybe we should talk about this in person."
"Oh. Uh, yeah. Yeah, we can do that. Sure." Yunho closes his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'll come by after work? Around four?"
"I'll be here," Changmin says. "Bye."
Yunho hears a click before he can open his mouth. It's probably for the best since he thinks if he did now, he'd be sick. He sits there motionless with his head in his hands until the timer on the edge of his desk goes off, signaling the end of naptime. Yunho smacks at it harder than usual and swallows down the nausea.
He puts a smile on and goes to wake up the kids, but suddenly feels like he hasn't slept for days.
---
Yunho's glad Junsu's the one that buzzes him in. He's had the whole afternoon to think about it, but still isn't sure what he's going to say - mostly because he doesn't know what Changmin's going to do. He wishes he could say with certainty that Changmin just needs to look at his face to see that he's telling the truth, but he remembers the way Changmin's tone changed over the phone and he's fairly sure it's not going to be that easy.
He knocks on the door and waits, hands shoved deep into his coat pockets. He can hear the muffled sound of movement, but it takes a while before the latch clicks and slowly opens to reveal Changmin on the other side. Changmin only lets it go enough so that most of his body is visible; it's quite clear he doesn't intend to invite Yunho in.
"Hi," Yunho says, barely meeting Changmin's eyes. Over Changmin's shoulder, he catches a glimpse of Junsu. There's something off about him and it takes Yunho a few seconds to notice that it's the first time there's no smile on Junsu's face.
"Listen," Changmin mumbles, "I'm no good at stuff like this so-"
"Please don't say you can't do it, because you know that's not fair."
Changmin stiffens a little and Yunho knows he's caught him off guard. What he doesn't know is if he should be happy that he already knows Changmin so well or disheartened that that's really what Changmin was going to say.
"What if I ca - what if I'll always be paranoid about you guys getting together? I've only known you guys for two weeks but I've seen how affectionate both of you are and I just-" Changmin runs a hand through his hair, pulling on it briefly. "Since you called I've done nothing but think about you guys sharing the apartment and - I know it's stupid, but I still…"
"We don't do anything - we sleep in separate rooms!"
"I'm sorry," Changmin says. "I like you a lot but I'm also a dumb stubborn bastard. I promise I tried really hard, but I just can't get over it."
Yunho takes a step forward, frowning at the way Changmin tenses up again. He puts his hand on the doorframe. "Can you just let me in? We'll sit down and talk about it properly."
For a second, Changmin looks as if he'll cave, but Yunho's shoulders sag when Changmin just shakes his head again. "You're really great, Yunho. I'm just not so much, I guess."
"You're wonderful," Yunho says, voice bordering on pitiful. "Look, whatever you need to hear, I'll say it."
"Please, go home."
Yunho stares at Changmin. "Are you really doing this?" he says, needing to hear it because his brain isn't processing it. "You don't make sense! You're not even giving me a chance to prove I'm serious about you!"
"It's not worth it to get angry," Changmin says. "Just go."
"Changmin."
"Bye."
Yunho gets his fingers away just before the door slams shut.
---
It's almost dark by the time Yunho gets back to the apartment. The one he shares with Jaejoong. He had sat for an hour in his car outside Changmin's apartment, then another hour outside his, still trying to make sense of everything and still failing.
"Yunho?" Jaejoong voice calls from his room, then gets louder as he walks down the hall. "You didn't come back at the usual time so I thought you were staying at Changmin's. Did you ea - oh my god, what happened?"
Yunho's eyes sting when he looks up at Jaejoong's worried face so he clenches them shut, rubs at them hard. "Changmin didn't um - I thought he'd - look, don't tell Yoochun. It's a bad idea."
"Don't tell me what?" Yoochun's voice makes Yunho's head jerk up again and only now does he notice Jaejoong's state of undress, making it pretty obvious what he just interrupted. "Um. Shit. Should I go?" Yoochun says, looking uncomfortably between Yunho and Jaejoong.
Yunho shakes his head. "No, don't do that," he murmurs, dragging a palm over his face. "I'm happy you guys worked things out. I'll stay out of your way."
"Or you're going to come over here," Jaejoong grabs his arm and starts dragging him to the living room, "and tell us why the hell you look like shit."
Jaejoong dumps Yunho on the couch and he and Yoochun sit down on both sides. Yunho gives him a weak, pleading look, but Jaejoong doesn't have any of it.
"You've been fucking crying, Yunho. Do you know when the last time you did that was? When your dad said that shit about not wanting a son at all if he was just going to be a kindergarten teacher instead of a lawyer, so you better spill or else."
Yunho drops his head back and stares at the ceiling, blinking furiously. It feels like something is strangling him every time he breathes in. "I think. I think Changmin broke up with me."
"What?" Yoochun says. "That kid fucking worships you."
Not wanting to bring up why Changmin ended it, Yunho says, "It's not a big deal okay. He just did. I'll be fine," and moves to get up but this time two sets of hands push him back.
"It's a huge deal, I don't think he 'just did', and you're so not fine you're scaring me," Jaejoong says, voice quiet but leaving no room for argument. "Was it the thing you were talking about last night?"
"Yes," Yunho says, hoping Jaejoong leaves it at that. Of course he doesn't.
"What? What the hell is his problem?"
"He's insecure," Yunho says, looking over at Jaejoong. "Don't be mad at him. He can't help it."
"What the hell is he being insecure about? It's not like we're still fucking. We're just friends," Jaejoong says, and Yunho turns to look at Yoochun instead, wondering if Jaejoong already told him. By the expression on Yoochun's face, he guesses that's a no.
"Wait," Yoochun says slowly, then gestures between them. "You two…?"
Yunho nods and he feels rather than hears Jaejoong go absolutely silent. He sees Yoochun's eyes flicker down and realizes Jaejoong's holding his hand tightly. Immediately, he tries to detach himself but Jaejoong holds on firmly.
"Jaejoong, stop it," he says, trying to tug his hand away again. "There's nothing to prove."
"I'm not trying to prove anything," Jaejoong says. "I just want to know if there's going to be a problem so I can fix it now."
"Were you going to tell me if this hadn't happened?" Yoochun says, still staring occasionally at Yunho's hand clasped within Jaejoong's.
"If I thought it was necessary."
Yoochun sputters. "If? I think telling me that you guys were an item before falls under totally necessary."
Jaejoong sighs quietly and sounds much more patient when he speaks again. "Yes, Yunho and I went out, but we were absolutely shitty together and fought all the time. It was pretty much friends with benefits except if we were fighting - again, all the time - we weren't even friends. So we broke up and it's been awesome and we're ever only going to be friends from now on so if you have any doubts, you should get over them now because they're stupid and never going to come true."
Yunho jerks his hand away from Jaejoong's grip after he's done and stands up quickly, all the talking fast becoming too much. "Look, just," he says, glancing at Yoochun but mostly staring at the wall behind him. "You've been talking to Jaejoong for months. You should know what kind of person he is, what he's capable and not capable of doing. Don't ruin a really good thing." He turns toward Jaejoong. "And my dad's my dad. He was never going to go through with all that stuff he threatened me with. Changmin's barely known me for two weeks. Please don't comfort me like he's going to change his mind if he just sleeps on it. It's not going to happen and that's - I'll deal with it."
"Yunho-"
"No." Yunho sighs and rubs his temples. "I know you're worried and I'm sorry for worrying you, but I saw his face. He meant it. A week-long fling isn't worth all this drama." He slips past Jaejoong and heads toward his room without even saying good night.
Yunho doesn't bother with anything except crawling into his bed as soon as possible, ignoring the way his jeans twist uncomfortably as he burrows in. It'd be best if he could bury himself underneath a bunch of pillows and blankets and disappear; instead he just throws the blanket over his face when he remembers there's still work to go to tomorrow.
---
It's not easy trudging through each day, but at least it never gets any harder. Yunho's thankful that his job is so distracting, that there's no time to think about Changmin - or not think about him - when he's constantly trying to keep his kids from eating clay and fixing their boo-boos.
Even though he and Changmin only went out for a week, he feels like he's experiencing the break-up of a much longer relationship. He can't bring himself to delete Changmin's emails or text messages, and even seeing things like Yoochun bringing over coffee in the morning for Jaejoong makes his limbs feel heavy.
He knows Jaejoong's trying not to make it hard for him and, for the most part, either goes over to Yoochun's place or out period so Yunho doesn't have to see anything. Yunho supposes it helps, but it's also easier to think when there's no one around.
It's a bit ironic that just when he thinks he's starting to feel normal again, he gets a phone call from Junsu as he's leaving work one day.
"Can you come over?"
"Is something wrong?" Yunho keeps his tone even but prepares himself for the worst.
"Jaejoong's here. He's kind of - he's a wreck. Yoochun texted me earlier and said Jaejoong's mad at him but he has no idea why and we don't either."
Yunho leans against his car door and sighs quietly. "Is he sitting there with his hands over his head?"
"Um. Yeah. How did you know?"
"Doesn't matter," Yunho says. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."
Yunho hopes it's been long enough.
---
Junsu's waiting for him by the door when he arrives, which is odd.
"Jaejoong said he didn't want you to come over when we asked him earlier, that you were busy and didn't want to bother you," Junsu says as they walk up the stairs. "I thought if he heard your voice on the buzzer, he'd get angry at us or something."
It makes sense and Yunho nods. He hears Changmin's voice through the door before Junsu opens it, which means Junsu must have too. The glance thrown his way is hard to miss, but shakes his head. "I'll be fine."
Nothing inside the apartment has changed; but it's only been a few weeks - why would it?
He steps inside quietly and sees Changmin's head above the back of the couch and the top of Jaejoong's shoulders. Walking around, he sits down on Jaejoong's other side before either Jaejoong or Changmin can notice him.
"…Yunho? What are y-" Jaejoong gets cut off when Yunho pulls him in and hugs him tightly, fingers combing through Jaejoong's hair. Faintly, he hears Changmin hiss Junsu's name, but he ignores it. That's not what he came for.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" he says, feeling Jaejoong tense against him, but he just squeezes tighter. Changmin gets up and disappears somewhere behind Yunho, exchanging more harsh words with Junsu. Yunho tunes them out.
Jaejoong shakes his head and Yunho sighs, pulling away a bit to look at the other's face. "Have you seen yourself?" he says, wiping his thumbs under Jaejoong's eyes. "You look like shit. Remember what you said to me? Spill or else."
"It's stupid," Jaejoong says pathetically. "I can't say 'cause it's stupid and I hate feeling stupid and I'm sick of always being like this around him."
Yunho pulls his mouth tight, then reaches and takes his phone out, flipping it open and showing the screen to Jaejoong. "He's called me 8 times in the past half hour and I don't think it's because he just wants to hear my voice."
Jaejoong takes the phone from him, pressing a random key when the screen goes black so it lights up again. "I'm scared he doesn't find me attractive enough to do more than fool around," he says finally, so quiet that Yunho has to strain to hear him.
It sounds outrageous but Yunho knows that's the last thing Jaejoong needs to hear. "Honey, you made the guy word vomit from one kiss."
"But it's been over a month!" Jaejoong says, flinging his arms up. Yunho grabs his phone back before it gets accidentally thrown against a wall. "I walk around half naked in his apartment after taking a shower and he just. Fucking smiles at me! I mean - do I actually have to throw condoms at his face to get a reaction?"
Yunho looks at him sympathetically, propping one arm up on the back of the couch and resting the other on Jaejoong's legs that he has drawn up to his chest.
"I don't want to have to say everything out loud," Jaejoong mutters. "I know it shouldn't be, but it's embarrassing to go 'hey, you do want to have sex with me, right?', especially if the answer is no which will mean the end of the world and you'll never see me again because I'll have found a giant boulder to crawl under and die."
"Stop it," Yunho says, quiet but firm. He leans in and presses his mouth to Jaejoong's head, lingering. "I'm willing to bet everything I have that Yoochun most definitely wants to sleep with you. It's just sometimes you do have to ask."
His phone starts buzzing in his lap, Yoochun's name flashing on the screen.
"Will you please go back and talk to him?" Yunho says, shooting Jaejoong a small smile. "Other people need to use my voicemail too."
It's not a big one, but Jaejoong smiles back, nodding slightly. "Thanks for coming over," he says. "Though I guess I should thank Junsu too, huh?"
"For calling me?"
Jaejoong nods. "I was going to, but I didn't want to make things weird for you."
Yunho frowns. "You… were going to call me?"
"Yeah. I didn't want to be a burden on these guys since I know I'm a handful to deal with, but you were still at work and I didn't know where else to go."
"Junsu said you…" Pieces start connecting suddenly and Yunho whips around to look behind them, but no one's there. "I um. What?"
Jaejoong looks almost as confused as he is. "Am I missing something?"
Yunho looks back at Jaejoong and shakes his head. "No. Just that Junsu is surprising," he says. "Are you ready to go? You took the train, right? I didn't see your car out front."
"I can go back to Yoochun's by myself," Jaejoong says, gaze flickering over Yunho's shoulder for the briefest moment. "… Maybe you should stay."
Yunho snorts. "No. I - I'm done with this. I came here for you."
Jaejoong stares at him for a bit, then nods and stands up. "All right, let's go. I'll tell them we're leaving."
Yunho stays on the couch, listening to Jaejoong's muted voice down the hall. He gets up when Jaejoong returns, walking probably faster than he needs to back to the front door. But he falters when he passes the kitchen doorway. On the counter are the two bottles of wine he brought the last time he stepped inside this apartment, still sealed and turned so the labels face out neatly.
It almost makes Yunho turn around.
"Are you ready?" Jaejoong says, breaking Yunho's concentration. He's holding the door open, watching Yunho calmly.
"Yeah," Yunho says, and leaves.
---
The good thing about Jaejoong and Yoochun is that they always recover from any setbacks in record time. Yunho tells Jaejoong that he doesn't have to keep Yoochun away anymore, that he likes having Yoochun around - which is true. He's fun and Jaejoong laughs more when he's around.
The start of the last week of school comes around the corner faster than Yunho expects. This was his first very own kindergarten class and he's finding it a little hard to let go and entrust them to the care of a brand new group of teachers. They don't know that Jaehee only eats red apples or that Minjoo's favorite books are about puppies or that Yoori likes napping by the window because the sunlight keeps her warm while she sleeps.
Perhaps the slump he feels about the end of the school year is what brings him to the park a few blocks from his apartment. There's an old playground there, nothing more than a few swings and slides, but it's quiet and secluded. Yunho needs that.
But never in a million years would he have expected to see Changmin there, sitting crouched at the bottom of a slide as if he's waiting just for Yunho.
Before Yunho can walk away, Changmin spots him and they stare at each other until Yunho's feet seem to move on their own, bringing him closer until he's standing just beyond Changmin's reach.
There's a pink tinge on Changmin's cheeks and it's striking to see him look so vulnerable for a change.
"What are you doing here?" Yunho says.
"What are you doing here?"
"I come here to think."
Changmin kicks at the gravel beneath his feet. "Okay. I'm thinking then."
Sighing, Yunho moves the rest of the way closer and crouches down in front of Changmin. "Why are you drunk and hanging out in a playground by my place?"
He can see Changmin fighting with himself and wishes he could get rid of the part of Changmin that's always thinking, making things harder than they need to be. It's a fleeting wish because he doesn't know what kind of Changmin that would leave him.
"Because," Changmin mumbles, hands on his knees, "it sucks more without you."
Yunho drops his head, eyes closing momentarily. "You chose to do that," he says. "I wanted you to give me a real chance."
Changmin's pointer finger twitches. "What if I want to undo it?" he says. "What if I've been wanting to for a long time but I just. And you were."
Yunho lifts his head and gives a small, but reassuring smile. "Can you say it if I tell you I forgive you first?" Changmin looks shocked as Yunho stands up and holds out a hand. "Come on, I haven't eaten yet and I assume you haven't either? There's a bibimbap stand down the block. My treat."
Changmin stands but doesn't take Yunho's hand. "But I didn't say it."
Without missing a beat, Yunho slides his hand under Changmin's and holds on firmly. "You said it."
---
"Are you sure this is okay?"
Yunho unlocks the door and holds it open for Changmin. "It's okay."
"Is Jaejoong…?"
"He's at Yoochun's."
"So we're…"
"Alone."
Changmin stands in the living room awkwardly. "Oh."
Yunho hugs him from behind, chin tucked over Changmin's shoulder. "Popcorn and a movie?" He sees Changmin smile out the corner of his eye.
"Only if it has great aerial shots."
---
They put in the Princess Bride which does have some aerial shots, but not that many, though it doesn't matter anyway when they both fall asleep not an hour in, half-eaten bucket of popcorn perched dangerously between them.
The ending music wakes Yunho up and he grabs blindly for the remote, pressing random buttons until everything shuts off. Changmin is still sleeping like the dead, cheek pressed flat to Yunho's shoulder. He's loath to wake Changmin up, but the sofa is about five years too old to be slept on.
Changmin stirs a little bit as Yunho drags him down the hall to his room and they stumble along together, miraculously not running into anything with sharp edges.
Yunho drops Changmin on the bed, then pauses with his hands near the hem of Changmin's shirt. "Can I take your clothes off?" he says, ignoring the awkwardness of the question.
Changmin simply stretches on the bed and smiles at him, the glow of street lights barely seeping in enough for Yunho to catch it. "To sleep or to put out?"
"I didn't know there was a choice," Yunho says, reaching up and combing his fingers through Changmin's hair.
"There's a choice," Changmin says, slipping his own hand underneath Yunho's shirt. Yunho's reminded of the time on Changmin's couch. "Do you want to know something?"
"Hm?"
"I would've slept with you on the third date."
Yunho's breathing turns slow and even. "What would you do on a first date?"
"With you?" Changmin sits up and slides his other hand under Yunho's shirt too, pushing it up. "I'm not sure." Yunho's chest is bare before he realizes it and the puffs of air against his throat are warm. "Something like this maybe."
Pulling away a little, Yunho studies Changmin's face closely.
"I'm sober."
Yunho nods and doesn't wait a beat, cupping Changmin's face and kissing him slow and smooth. His hands drop to Changmin's waist again, shoving his t-shirt up and moaning softly at the feel of skin. He breaks the kiss long enough to tug Changmin's clothing off and lower Changmin onto the bed before climbing on top, chests pressed together as he captures Changmin's mouth again.
It's not frantic, but their hips move together steadily, belt buckle catching against buttons. Yunho keeps kissing Changmin messily as he reaches down to undo his pants, smiling and tugging on Changmin's lip when he feels Changmin's knuckles brush his in mirroring the action.
Yunho presses Changmin's hands into the bed at the first brush of skin against skin, and thinks the sound of his name being breathed the way Changmin's doing is the best thing he's ever heard. The heel of Changmin's foot digs into the back of his thigh as they move faster, Yunho's mouth held parted against Changmin's chin.
It's over faster than he wants it to be, but Changmin squeezes his hands and kisses his cheek, and Yunho can do nothing but think of next time, the one after that, and the one after that.
---
"Will you make me coffee in the morning?"
"No vanilla latte with extra whipped cream?"
"Someone told me too much was bad for me."
"Sounds like a smart guy."
"Yeah, I kind of like him a lot."
yunho/changmin, jaejoong/yoochun; 10,717
r
written for remixredux09 and remix of maskyouwear's of book stores and word vomit. i never thought i'd write a homin-centric fic before but this was a lot of fun and i ended up pounding out 8k in 30+ hours so obviously that just goes to show i know nothing. thank you sososo much to peppery and kallistei, and various other people for whipping this into shape and listening to me whine for hours on end. ♥
The end is a bit anticlimactic.
I love you but we are absolutely shitty together, Jaejoong tells him after another night of petty insults, low digs, and an attempt at resolution via therapeutic angry sex that ends up not very therapeutic. But two out of three isn't bad.
Yunho wakes up the next morning with a layer of dried something-he-really-needs-to-wash-off on his thighs and hair matted against one side of his face. The first thing out of his mouth when Jaejoong stirs is, "We can still live together though, right? I really like this apartment and it's close to my work and the parking fees aren't astronomic--."
"Fuck okay yes now shut up and let me sleep."
---
The text messages Yunho gets from Jaejoong two months later are a little different than the usual.
how long do u think i
should wait
b4 i can
start liking some1 else?
yunho answer me
omg did i upset u
Yunho sighs after losing his second attempt at a reply and decides to call Jaejoong instead. Jaejoong picks up on the first ring and says, "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings it's just he's really cute and adorable and has these puffy chipmunk cheeks that I just want to gnaw on is that weird and creepy I don't want to be weird and creepy oh my god Yunho say something you ass don't just ignore my midlife crisis!"
"My feelings aren't hurt, that could be creepy especially if you tell him that right now but who knows maybe he's into that, and you're only 23 so you can't be having a midlife crisis." Yunho sits down on the couch in the living room and puts Jaejoong on speaker next to him so he can flip through a catalogue of kindergarten school supplies for his classroom. "Where are you and who is he anyway?"
"I needed this book for my dissertation but the library didn't have it because the library is a shithole and Google told me this was the only bookstore within a 50-mile radius that carried it but I don't know why Google thought it wasn't necessary to also tell me the bookstore has an employee that would trigger my previously unknown cheek gnawing kink because it is totally necessary!"
Yunho forgets he's supposed to reply at the pause, too busy trying to pick between the dinosaur and zoo animal puzzles.
"Jung Yunho, stop looking at kiddy porn and help me!" Jaejoong hisses.
Yunho takes a moment to frown at the phone, then says, "I am not involved with child pornography and you are a bad man for suggesting it. Also, why are you whispering?"
"Because he was at the front when I came in but now he's not and I don't know where he is and I don't want him to hear me talking about how I want to chew on his face."
"Okay," Yunho sighs, closing the magazine since being distracted by Jaejoong makes him even more indecisive, "even if we haven't determined if your Mystery Man finds your obsession weird and creepy, I'm pretty sure I do. Please stop talking about it before I start associating you with cannibalism."
"Shut up, I'm not respecting your boundaries until you start being helpful."
"Aren't you there to buy a book? Why don't you actually go do that? Ask his name, make small talk. Social interaction 101, Jaejoong. It's what you're supposed to do when you leave the house," Yunho says, switching the speaker off and putting the phone to his ear again. He catches Jaejoong groaning and then hears a dull thunk. "Sorry, damaging store property is on the what not to do list."
"You know I'm absolute shit at small talk."
"He's working. I'm sure he'll welcome your supernatural ability to wax poetic about nothing in particular for hours on end with opens arms." He's actually only being half-sarcastic.
"Why can't you be a nice ex-boyfriend? I can't believe parents are entrusting their children to your care."
"Unless a freak accident happens and you regress into a five year old, you'll just have to deal with my brand of tough love," Yunho says. "Now will you go already?"
Jaejoong grumbles at him petulantly. Yunho considers mentioning he meant five years old physically, not just mentally. "Fine. Finefinefine. Okay. I'm going." A pause. "Right now." Yunho bites at a hangnail. "Heeeere I go."
"I'm hanging up on you."
"Wait, I shouldn't mention the cheek gnawing during small talk, right?"
Yunho hangs up on him.
---
When Jaejoong returns to the apartment later dragging his feet and sulking, Yunho takes it to mean things didn't really go according to plan. This is dangerous; if it went badly enough to make Jaejoong not feel like cooking tonight, it means Yunho might as well starve lest his cooking skills level up from only being able to boil water or make cereal.
"Does he already have someone?"
Jaejoong shrugs.
"Is he straight?"
Jaejoong shrugs again. The fact that he's not complaining loudly about how unfair his life is can only mean one thing.
Yunho sighs. "You didn't actually talk to him, did you?"
Jaejoong collapses at the dining table and buries his face in his arms, nodding. Yunho goes and grabs two beers from the fridge before joining him. "I choked like a choking thing!" Jaejoong says, pouting pathetically as he spins the bottle Yunho hands him. "He was like 'oh I really like this composer, you picked out a really good book, I hope you enjoy it' and all I could do was shove my credit card at him like I wanted to get out as fast as possible which is completely not what I wanted to do which was make out with him on the counter, I mean right, completely opposite, and then he was like 'have a good day, come again' and I. Fucking. Waved. Goodbye. I waved. I couldn't even say one word. One word! I am a failure."
Yunho scratches the back of his head. "I'm not sure if you should go that far -"
"I AM A FAILURE."
"Okay, okay. Whatever you want." Yunho pats Jaejoong's shoulder. "Are you going to go back and try again?"
"That would be even more embarrassing and failtastic."
"Has that actually ever stopped you from doing anything?" Yunho says. He continues before Jaejoong can say anything. "You could at least find out if he likes guys and is single before deciding all is lost."
The beer continues to be left untouched as Jaejoong drops his head onto the table, cheek pressed to the surface. He huffs, the rush of air making his lips vibrate and Yunho smiles at the scene Jaejoong is making, even if it's a more subdued version than usual.
"Should I be jealous that you're so head over heels for someone you've only seen for maybe ten minutes?" Yunho pushes his hand through Jaejoong's hair, a gesture of comfort he hasn't bothered to shake off yet despite its intimacy. It earns him a smile though, so it's a little bit worth it.
"You're so dumb," Jaejoong says, but it's all fondness. "I was just as bad with you. You were just really, really, really dense."
"Your depiction of my personality is so flattering I almost can't handle it," Yunho says dryly, but looking back on it, the incident with the air freshener, galbi grill, and Pokémon plushies makes a lot more sense now though no less horrifying. "What's stopping you from tackling the new guy then?"
Jaejoong's mouth twists to the left, the way it always does when Yunho says something that makes too much sense. It twists to the right when Yunho loses something and has to ask him where it is. "W-Well. Nothing. I guess," he murmurs. Yunho continues to wait patiently, knowing Jaejoong is trying to find a way to articulate the jumble of thoughts in his head so they actually make sense out loud. "I just," Jaejoong sighs. "We were together for so long. I've forgotten what it feels like to have a crush. It's really nerve-wracking, you know? And then I feel dumb for being so nervous when I'm nearly 25 years old."
Yunho scoots his chair closer and sits up a little straighter as he drapes his arm around Jaejoong's shoulders and pulls him in. "You're fine," he says warmly, resting his chin on Jaejoong's head when it falls against the crook of his neck. "Bet you've already knocked the kid off his feet."
He feels Jaejoong's arms wrap around his waist, hugging tightly. "You're going to keep being my cheerleader?" Jaejoong mumbles.
Chuckling, Yunho drops a brief kiss to Jaejoong's hair. "If that's what you need."
Jaejoong doesn't say anything back and a few minutes of silence pass before he finally sits up and smiles at Yunho, his demeanor no longer carrying that frazzled tension. There's no thank you, but he stands up and says, "What do you want for dinner?"
As far as Yunho is concerned, those words are a hundred times better than any gratitude.
---
A few weeks pass until Yunho wakes up one day and realizes there's a stack of books about dead composers growing on the coffee table. It's nearly two feet high and starting to teeter precariously, not to mention close to blocking his view of the television. He makes a note to talk to Jaejoong when the other returns from classes because as supportive as he wants to be, things are getting ridiculous.
In the afternoon, Yunho is catching up on episodes of One Piece when the apartment door slams open and Jaejoong runs in yelling Yunho's name. He rushes out, worried, and nearly collides into Jaejoong by the bathroom, ready to call the ambulance if necessary.
The emergency is this: "His name is Yoochun!"
Yunho stares at Jaejoong's face for a while, at his wide, excited eyes and the grin stretched ear to ear. Then he simply shakes his head and ruffles Jaejoong's hair, shaking the half-melted snow from clumped strands before walking back to his room.
It's lucky it was a good emergency instead of bad; when he sits down again, Yunho realizes he's lost his phone for the fourth time this week.
---
"Okay, you can't embarrass me, all right?"
Yunho smiles and looks over at Jaejoong who's straightening his clothes as they walk to the book store. He made Jaejoong agree that morning to let him tag along under the pretense that he wants to meet this Yoochun for himself, that it's imperative he gets Yunho's approval before anything serious should happen. It's not that he isn't concerned about that, because he does care, but mostly he wants to keep Jaejoong from buying more books as an excuse to talk to Yoochun.
"I promise not to tell him about the time you walked into a street lamp," he says, barely hiding his laugh. "Twice."
Jaejoong punches Yunho's arm lightly and pouts at him. For a moment, Yunho gets second thoughts about going with. He wonders if he's actually okay with Jaejoong caring about someone else or if he's just assumed he is, and it's easier to ignore Jaejoong's attention shifting away from him when he doesn't know what who it's shifting to looks like.
A block away from the store, Jaejoong stops and asks if he looks okay. Yunho's pretty sure Jaejoong doesn't realize he still has his bangs pinned up, something he does whenever he spends time writing term papers or studying for a big exam. He used to tell Jaejoong the geeky look was cute on him but only ever received scoffing and eye-rolling in return.
"You look fine," Yunho says, reaching up to fix the other's scarf. He figures Jaejoong can kill him later if he wants, but for now he thinks the real Jaejoong deserves a chance to shine.
---
It's kind of a blur, what happens.
The beginning's okay. After they walk in, Yoochun glares at him and nearly drools at Jaejoong. Yunho can tell immediately what Jaejoong sees in this guy and doesn't even care that he gets introduced as the Best Friend.
And then.
And then the door opens and a boy with the longest legs Yunho has ever seen walks in. His name is Changmin, he's Yoochun's friend, and suddenly Yunho is jealous of Yoochun for all the wrong reasons.
He thinks of that phone call with Jaejoong and decides maybe cheek gnawing isn't such a stupid thing to want to do to someone because all he can think of is how much he wants to paste himself to Changmin's legs and never, ever let go.
---
Jaejoong is wearing his Hamtaro pajamas when Yunho walks into his room that night and says, "So, tell me again, how come you get to keep the bedroom when you were the one that broke up with me?"
"Because you're a buttface who doesn't tell me I'm sporting really stupid hair right before I go meet the guy I like."
Yunho sits down at the foot of Jaejoong's bed. "Pout all you want," and Jaejoong is, a lot, "but I promise Yoochun couldn't stop staring at you."
"Yeah, because I looked stupid and people don't know how to look away from car accidents," Jaejoong says.
Rolling his eyes, Yunho doesn't even bother arguing with Jaejoong about all the ways he doesn't look like a car crash. "So. Yoochun's friend…." he says instead, picking at the comforter as he trails off.
"… Oh my god. You like him!"
Yunho sputters, but in the end offers nothing to prove Jaejoong wrong. He gives a pitiful Okay, Fine I Am shrug and then yells when Jaejoong tackles him into a headlock.
"I knew it! I thought you were going to burn a hole in that guy's crotch if you stared any harder."
"I was looking at his legs, not his crotch!" Yunho says, trying to pry away from Jaejoong's grip but failing miserably.
Jaejoong lets go eventually, but not without giving him a noogie first. "You know this means we're going on double dates."
Yunho rubs the side of his neck and looks at Jaejoong flatly. "Why don't you work on going on a date first and getting me Changmin's number," he says, getting up and walking towards the door. "I'll think about thinking about double dating with you."
Jaejoong picks up one of his pillows to throw at him. Yunho yawns a good night, still walking leisurely; he knows the pillow isn't going to make it that far past the end of the bed anyway.
---
Not only does Jaejoong get Changmin's number, but Yunho ends up with a piece of paper detailing the guy's workplace, email, IM usernames, and apartment address too. Yunho is impressed - and incredibly creeped out.
It turns out Changmin spends most afternoons working at the coffee shop across the street from the book store. Yunho waits about a day and a half before he caves and visits, muttering to himself while on the subway about what to say.
Except when he gets there, walks inside, and sees Changmin smiling as he takes a customer's order, Yunho feels like he's suddenly got numb tongue. His feet seem to be stuck to the ground, but then another person enters the shop and Yunho stumbles forward to the counter right as the former customer walks away.
"Hi, what can I get for - oh. Hey, you were at the book store the other day. Yunho, right?"
Changmin remembers him. Remembers his name. Yunho feels like hugging him and doesn't trust that he wouldn't if there wasn't a physical object between them. He clears his throat and nods. "Yes. Um. I… didn't know you worked here."
"Really." Changmin raises an eyebrow at him and Yunho is surprised by how intimidating it is. "So Jaejoong didn't take advantage of Yoochun's infatuation with him and pretty much squeeze out every piece of personal information about me short of giving you my national identification number?"
Yunho tries not to blush too hard. "Does that mean I can email you?"
Changmin glances behind him and Yunho realizes there's a line forming behind him. Now he's really blushing. "How about I get you something and then we'll talk," Changmin laughs.
Nodding, Yunho smiles and orders a shot of espresso.
"One vanilla latte with extra whipped cream, coming right up."
"… B-But I said espresso."
Changmin looks at him pointedly. "You are not a shot of espresso. You are a vanilla latte with extra whipped cream. Or a hot cocoa with extra whipped cream on bad days." He snatches a few bills from Yunho's hand as the register pops open. "Has anyone told you too much whipped cream is bad for you?"
Yunho frowns. "I like it."
Changmin laughs. "I like it too."
---
Yunho ends up waiting for over an hour before Changmin can get away from behind the counter. He finished his latte half an hour ago so when Changmin sits down with a new cup and slides it over, whipped cream piled even higher, Yunho's pride is the only thing keeping him from asking Changmin to pseudo-marry him.
Taking a sip and giving himself a cream mustache, he says, "I was thinking we could skip over the first date and go straight to the third where one of us goes over to the other's place."
Changmin smiles and reaches over to wipe Yunho's top lip clean with his thumb, then sucks it into his mouth. "That's so weird," he says around it, then slips it out. "I was thinking I make some mean hotpot."
Yunho doesn't know if he fully comprehends what he's getting himself into, but he's pretty sure it's awesome.
---
"Jesus, where have you been?" Jaejoong calls from the living room when Yunho gets home, sky outside mostly dark. "You'll probably have to reheat dinner."
Yunho plops down on the sofa next to him. "My face hurts," he says brightly.
"Call it a hunch, but I think it's because you're smiling so hard you're about to break it." Jaejoong sets aside all the papers in his lap. "Are you going to say why or is it just to creep me out?"
"He cooks!" Yunho says, grabbing Jaejoong's shoulders. "And he's going to cook for me! On a date! I have a date!"
"I'm assuming you mean Changmin," Jaejoong says, eyes wide but otherwise letting Yunho manhandle him freely. "Otherwise I'm calling you a slut."
Yunho rolls his eyes. "Yes, I mean Changmin," he says, falling back against the couch, grin still stuck. "He's kind of amazing. And by kind of, I mean ridiculously."
"Well, I'm glad it's going peachy for you," Jaejoong huffs.
Calming, Yunho turns to face Jaejoong, confused by the resentment he's hearing. "Did something happen with Yoochun?"
"No!"
Yunho blinks. "Okay. Did something else happen?"
Jaejoong groans, rubbing his face. "No, nothing happening is the problem! We've done nothing but talk for forever. Am I not being obvious enough? Does he not like me that way?"
"Maybe you should strip in front of him and see what happens." Jaejoong glares daggers at him and Yunho holds his hands up. "Okay, okay. Why don't you just ask him out?"
"Because," Jaejoong mumbles.
"Because what?"
Jaejoong makes some incoherent grumbling noises. "Because I want him to ask me out, okay?"
Yunho stares for a second, and then starts laughing. He continues laughing even when Jaejoong starts smacking him repeatedly while yelling for him to shut up. "You are such a girl!" he howls, falling back onto the armrest.
"I'm going to kill you!"
Yunho manages to hold Jaejoong off long enough to say, "Okay, okay, wait! I'll talk to Changmin about it, all right?"
Jaejoong backs off. "And you won't make fun of me about it?"
Yunho sits up and follows protocol, drawing an X over his heart. "And hope to die," he says. "By your hand."
"Thanks," Jaejoong says, sighing. "I just really like him, you know? Even if I'm being girly about it."
Pulling Jaejoong into a loose hug, Yunho strokes his back. "It'll work out. You've got me as your cheerleader, remember? I'm failproof." He smiles when he feels Jaejoong laugh against his chest.
After a while, Jaejoong says, "So Changmin cooks?"
"He can make hotpot."
"You're a lucky bastard, Jung Yunho, finding all these guys who know how to cook so you don't starve to death."
"I know."
---
Yunho thought that the weekend would take eons to arrive; but then he wakes up Friday morning, realizes that it's Friday morning and in 12 hours it'll be Friday evening, and promptly starts freaking out.
Also he's running late for work and kindergarteners are surprisingly punctual.
He rushes out to the kitchen where Jaejoong is waiting with pancakes wrapped in foil. "Hey, for tonight-"
"I'll pick out some clothes for you."
"Great. Also could you-"
"And I'll buy some wine after classes for you to take over."
"You're the best," Yunho says, grabbing his on-the-go breakfast. "I love you platonically very much."
Jaejoong literally kicks him out. "Go to work, you big pedo."
---
The building Changmin lives in is just off campus and instead of buzzing the intercom to be let in, he simply tailgates a group of guys with approximately ten 24-packs of beer in their arms. When he gets up there, the door to Changmin's apartment is slightly ajar and he hears faint kitchen noises coming from inside. Knocking loud enough to hopefully be heard, he lets himself in.
And immediately regrets it when he hears Changmin's voice shout, "Oh my god, get out!"
"I'm sorry the door was open I didn't mean to it's really rude of me I know I'll go stand outside and wait."
Changmin comes around the corner, wearing a red apron with the obligatory Kiss the Chef on it plus a wooden spoon in his hand. His eyes widen when he sees Yunho and he reaches out with the empty hand. "No, not you! You can stay. I definitely want you to stay."
"Oh."
"I was talking to Junsu," Changmin says, and as if on cue, a shorter man with a faux hawk appears in front of them. "He's my roommate and is just about to leave."
Even though Yunho thinks Changmin looks pretty scary glaring, Junsu just laughs and says, "He's hot, Changmin-ah. Nice job."
Yunho flushes and feels slightly uncomfortable. "Um. Thanks?"
"Dude, don't worry, you're all his," Junsu says, slipping on a jacket. "I like tits."
"Seriously, I'm going to throw you out the window if you don't leave soon," Changmin all but growls, teeth clenched.
"I'm going, I'm going!" Junsu toes his shoes on as he sneaks a peek at the wine Yunho's holding. "Good choice." He then pats Yunho's back as he leaves, calling over his shoulder, "Don't get too drunk and forget to put on a condom! Safe sex is what the cool kids do!"
Changmin slams the door shut, then turns and gives Yunho a relieved smile. "God, I'm really sorry you had to meet him. And um, hi, I guess."
Yunho chuckles. "Hi," he says. "And I, uh, I'm pretty good at holding my liquor so. We're okay."
Changmin's cheeks turn a fairly impressive shade of pink and Yunho bites down on his lip to keep from rushing forward and kissing him because this is still a first-third date, not a third-third date.
"Dinner's almost ready," Changmin says in a rush, pushing away from the door and slipping past Yunho back to the kitchen. "I'll show you where the glasses are."
As he follows, Yunho stares at Changmin's legs and thinks it's really good they'll be out of view while they eat.
---
It doesn't take long for Yunho to realize that the more Changmin talks, the more Yunho falls for him. He's a computer science major with a third year standing even though he's barely through with sophomore year, but is taking a minor in audio engineering, works at the coffee shop because he likes people-watching, and makes amazing hotpot.
"You know at concerts, there's the person who stands over that huge mixing board on the floor? I want to be that guy."
"Do you like music?" Yunho says, reaching for his wine. "Or is that a stupid question."
Changmin smiles for the hundredth time since they sat down and, like the last 99 times, Yunho melts a little more. "I do now. Hated practicing when I was little though and my parents signed me up for piano without asking, but it's nice to be able to sit down and sight read something with little trouble."
"Impressive. I can only play the drums."
"God, I wish my parents had let me learn that," Changmin says, shaking his head. "But it was hard enough convincing them that guitar was just as worthwhile as piano."
Yunho laughs shortly under his breath. "You play guitar too?"
Changmin flushes slightly. "And violin," he mumbles before biting the rim of his wine glass.
"You should play for me after dinner," Yunho says, ignoring Changmin's embarrassment. "I bet you're amazing."
"What? No. Nonono. I suck," Changmin says, shaking his head furiously. "Horrible. Atrocious. Repulsive."
"That's a little harsh," Yunho says. "I think you should give me a chance to judge for myself."
"Not gonna happen."
Yunho hums, studying Changmin for a few moments, and tries to hide a smile when Changmin starts squirming across from him. "What if I got you drunk?"
Changmin blinks at him before laughing. "I think you are the only guy in the world who's ever said that in order to get something that's not sex."
"Does that mean you'll play?" Yunho says, then squeaks when he feels something slide up his leg and pause over the curve of his knee.
"It means I hold my liquor pretty well too, but you're welcome to try."
---
Yunho does actually try, but he fails. Even though he made Changmin drink over half the bottle, leaving a permanent blush on his cheeks, he moves like he's still sober and definitely rejects Yunho's begging in the same manner.
"This movie okay?" Changmin says after Yunho drapes himself unceremoniously on the couch.
Yunho nods, barely looking at what Changmin's holding, because he really doesn't care what the hell they watch as long as it gets Changmin away from the DVD player and next to him. Which isn't what happens because the microwave beeps just then and Changmin goes to get the popcorn. Yunho decides popcorn is the food of the devil.
Changmin finally plops down next to him as the opening sequence starts, close enough so that their thighs touch, and leans into Yunho's side like it's the most natural thing in the world. It takes maybe half a second for Yunho to reciprocate likewise, arm wrapping around Changmin's shoulders, and he grins when Changmin presses some popcorn to his mouth. He reconsiders the devil food decision when his lips brush over skin and Changmin shifts surreptitiously beside him.
About fifteen minutes in, Yunho begins to realize that this close proximity is doing nothing for his attention span. Watching Changmin, however, gets better results so he ends up doing that instead. It's going pretty well until Changmin looks over ten minutes later, thus bringing their faces really, really close together.
He doesn't realize he's holding his breath until Changmin says evenly, "If you want to make out, you can just say so."
"What! No," Yunho says with more force than necessary. "No, the movie's - the movie's great. I love," he glances at the screen, "I absolutely love aerial shots. Bird's eye view is my favorite perspective. I really enjoy how… high. It is."
The light from the TV is enough to show Changmin trying to stifle a laugh.
"Okay, look, I've seen this before and you're just." Yunho trails off because Changmin's staring at him like he doesn't believe a word Yunho's saying. Which is fair because Yunho doesn't believe himself either. "Okay, yes. Yes, I would like to make out with you."
Changmin moves away just enough to put the popcorn bowl on the coffee table before straddling Yunho's lap. "You're really dumb," he murmurs, cupping Yunho's face. "Owning the movie means I've seen it too."
"I'm really dumb," Yunho says with a happy sigh.
He makes a small noise when Changmin's mouth finally touches his, just a little chapped but still so soft, and it's about a million times better than watching some ridiculous movie. It's about a million times infinity better when his hands settle on Changmin's thighs and slide up to grip where they meet Changmin's hips.
The hero is kissing the girl on-screen while triumphant music plays in the background when they finally pull apart for more than two seconds. They've moved to lying on the sofa, Changmin on top, with their shirts untucked and pushed halfway up their chests.
Yunho brushes his mouth over Changmin's and murmurs, "I'm going to say something you're going to hate right now."
"Then don't say it."
"I have to," Yunho says, pushing Changmin away maybe half a centimeter. "I should go soon."
Changmin pulls a face and groans. "Yeah, I hate it."
"I'm sorry. I'm tired."
Changmin raises an eyebrow, amused. "I bore you?" he says as his nails trail up and down lazily over Yunho's stomach, making Yunho moan softly.
"Oh god, that came out wrong." Yunho closes his eyes and tries to use whatever willpower he has to resist pressing up into the touch. "Not because of you, because of work. Kindergarteners are kind of a handful."
"Well, I don't think I can continue to seduce you after you've mentioned small children," Changmin says, slipping his hand out.
Yunho gives him another small kiss. "But I really want to see you again soon?"
Changmin sighs and it's definitely one of those bad sighs. He pushes against Yunho's chest and sits up, straightening his shirt. "I would love to say we could meet again tomorrow, but I have a 15-page paper due Wednesday that I told myself I would finish this weekend because it's worth 40% of my grade and I only have a title so far."
Yunho sits up too and attempts to straighten his hair. "I don't want you to fail college."
"How sweet of you," Changmin chuckles, then gets up to turn on the lights. Yunho squints as he tries to adjust to the sudden brightness. When he does, he sees a very thoroughly kissed Changmin standing at the foot of the couch and it is an awfully nice visual. "If you want, you can come over Wednesday night and celebrate me not failing college? Or is Mr. Jung not allowed out on school nights?" Changmin smirks.
"Haha," Yunho says flatly as he stands, but he's smiling a little, arms automatically linking around Changmin's waist when he reaches him. "I'll be here and I'll bring two bottles of wine."
"I accept your challenge," Changmin grins, leaning in again.
---
On Wednesday, Yunho leaves straight from work to go to Changmin's, sending Jaejoong a text to remind him he won't be home until late, and stops only to buy the promised bottles of wine. The scene he finds when he actually arrives at Changmin's is less than stellar.
For starters, Yoochun is there and he looks slightly drunk. And teary. That part's a little awkward. It's also a little awkward when Yoochun spots him and runs to him so fast he barely has time to pass the paper bag in his hands to Changmin in order to make room for an armful of Yoochun.
"He won't tell us what happened," Changmin says, setting the bag down in the kitchen. "Clearly he's reacting better to you so maybe you should try."
"Um, okay," Yunho says, then tries to maneuver over to the couch with Yoochun fused to his side. He is nearly starting to sweat when they finally sit down. "All right, what happened?"
Yoochun buries his face in Yunho's shoulder and shakes his head rapidly. Yunho makes a face at Changmin; this was as bad as getting one of his five year olds to admit that they ate some glue.
Junsu drops onto the beanbag a few feet away. "It's obviously about Jaejoong."
It is obvious, because Yoochun lets out a loud wail at Junsu's words. Yunho decides that if Yoochun's going to act like a child, he's going to get treated like one too. "If you don't tell us what's wrong by the time I count to three, I'm going to call Jaejoong and tell him you have a stuffed animal kink. 1… 2-"
"WORD VOMIT," Yoochun says into his shirt.
Yunho's eyes widen and he would jerk away if Yoochun wasn't holding on so tightly. "Um. Run that by me again?"
"He kissed me! Like, on the mouth and for more than two seconds and I tried to tell him 'I like you and that was really awesome and you should do it again' after but only gibberish came out and he was like 'what was that' and I said 'sorry, word vomit' and then he looked really upset and left!"
"… O-Oh." Yunho wonders if it's supposed to be funny, because it sounds funny, but Yoochun is upset so that means it's probably not. Yet he images Yoochun saying "word vomit" to Jaejoong in his head and he has to bite his lip really, really hard in order to not laugh. "Oh, Yoochun."
Junsu and Changmin excuse themselves to go laugh their asses off, a luxury Yunho is very jealous of right now.
"You two are impossible," he says, loosening Yoochun's death grip enough so he can breathe somewhat easier. "You like him. He likes you. Why aren't you going out yet?"
"Because I'm a word vomiter! Why would he ever go out with a word vomiter? I wouldn't."
Laughter erupts louder than before from the direction of the bedrooms and again, Yunho bites the inside of his cheek until he calms down. "He kissed you. He'll forgive you."
"I think you're lying."
"You don't have to believe me, but since I've known Jaejoong longer, it's probably best you do."
Yoochun finally pulls away, sniffling loudly as he does. "Thanks, Yunho. You're a good guy."
Yunho pats Yoochun's back awkwardly. "Don't mention it."
"Sorry I ruined your night with Changmin."
"It's okay."
And Yunho really tries to tell himself that when he goes to find Changmin to tell him he's leaving because he needs to go be a good best friend to Jaejoong.
"What's your Thursday schedule like though?"
"Only morning classes. Done by 10:30, home by 11."
"Can I call you during naptime?" Yunho says, smiling.
"That is so sexy," Changmin says wryly. "But sure. Of course."
Yunho tries to keep the goodbye kiss shorter this time. The kiss for Changmin's not failing college goes a little less according to plan.
--
As expected, when Yunho walks in the door at 6:03PM, Jaejoong is on the couch with his Hamtaro pajamas already on (hood drawn up and drawstrings pulled tight), giant down comforter wrapped around his frame, and a pint of chocolate chocolate chip Häagen-Dazs ice cream balanced on his knees.
"Oh sweetie," Yunho says, sitting down and immediately gathering Jaejoong to his chest after he pries the ice cream away for safety.
"I thought he really liked me, you know?"
"He does."
Jaejoong continues like he didn't even hear Yunho. "But I finally worked up the courage to kiss him and he just. He said. Or he didn't. I mean, like he didn't want to exert the effort to actually throw up or something, so I got some half-assed gibberish! I kissed him and pretty much laid it all out and he just - babbled at me. God, I feel so fucking stupid."
"You're not stupid and he wasn't rejecting you," Yunho says. "I was just at Changmin's and Yoochun was there-"
"You saw him? What the fuck-" Yunho slaps a hand over Jaejoong's mouth.
"Listen to me. He wasn't rejecting you. He is head over heels about you, okay? I promise. It was like the apocalypse was coming with the way he was acting. Look, he was crying on me." He slides his hand down and watches Jaejoong chew on his lower lip.
"Really?"
Yunho smiles a little, nodding. "Really. He likes you just as much as you like him. Your kiss just, broke his brain I think, so he forgot how to talk. In any case, I told him to call you tomorrow so you two can sort things out, and finally go out on a date even, god forbid."
Jaejoong is silent for a moment, then moves away to unravel the comforter and hold it open for Yunho. Yunho hesitates for a second, because technically he's going out with Changmin now and even if there isn't anything going on between him and Jaejoong anymore, there had been at one point so he's not sure if they should still be cuddling under blankets.
Except Yunho knows how bad it has to be for Jaejoong to put the hood up on his Hamtaro pajamas so he scoots close and lets Jaejoong wrap him up snugly.
"You're the best," Jaejoong murmurs.
Yunho laughs quietly. "So I've been told." He clears his throat, then adds, "Are you um. Going to tell Yoochun about our… history?"
Jaejoong doesn't acknowledge his question in any physical way, but murmurs after a beat, "I've thought about mentioning it before."
"Oh. Okay, 'cause. I think I'm going to tell Changmin tomorrow. Wanted to let you know."
This time Jaejoong looks at him with a smile. "Sounds like something you would do. I hope it goes well."
"Thanks." Yunho squeezes Jaejoong briefly. "So. Since you probably don't feel like cooking and it's best for all of humanity that I don't go near the kitchen, do you want to order some jajangmyeon with extra, extra, extra, extra pickled radish?"
"Yes, please. And one more extra."
---
Technically naptime is on the schedule from 12:30 to 1:15, but today Yunho has trouble getting Jinho to stay still for more than two minutes at a time. The little guy finally collapses from exhaustion at 12:50 after being chased around the room. Yunho feels like he could use a power nap too, but sits at his desk instead and calls Changmin, hoping he hasn't wandered off.
"…Mmph-'lo?"
"… Were you sleeping?"
"Oh. Hyung. Hi. Yeah, sorry," Changmin says, yawning. "Was up before seven this morning."
Yunho hmphs petulantly. "Everyone gets to rest except me."
Changmin chuckles low and scratchy into his ear, and it's soothing. "Aww. Is widdle Yunho jealous?"
"Shut up," Yunho mutters, but he's definitely grinning. "Anyway, do you have twenty minutes to talk?"
"Yes, but you know I don't condone exposing little kids to phone sex."
"God, you are hilarious," Yunho says, clearing his throat. He straightens in his chair too, even though Changmin can't see him. "Actually it's kind of serious."
"Oh." Yunho hears shuffling from Changmin's end. "Okay, promise I'm fully awake and listening."
"Okay, um," Yunho starts, trying to find the right words. "I guess there's no good way to get into this, or - I mean - maybe you've already noticed since you're good at that sort of thing. Observing, you know. So maybe this won't surprise you at all, but I just. Just wanted to get it out there because I really like you and don't want this hanging over me so yeah. Just. All out in the clear." He fails miserably.
"Maybe you should try that again," Changmin says, chuckling.
Yunho takes a deep breath. "I wanted to let you know that Jaejoong and I used to go out. It was pretty serious. Obviously, since we you know, moved in together. But we were horrible together and kept fighting so we're absolutely done and only friends. Strictly friends."
There's silence on the other end and Yunho looks at the screen of his mobile to see if Changmin's still on the line. He is.
"…Changmin? Hello?"
When Changmin's voice filters through again, it's much softer than before. "When did you break up?"
Yunho rubs his face, already not liking where this is going. "About four months ago? I know you're wondering why we're still living together," he says quickly. "It's only because the apartment's in a good location and not outrageously expensive. Really. That's it."
"You know, when I saw you in the book store I thought there was something off about you two, even though Yoochun said you were Jaejoong's best friend."
"Changmin," Yunho says softly. "Come on. I'm telling you this so you know you can trust me."
There's nothing but soft, fuzzy static again, then Changmin says tightly, "Maybe we should talk about this in person."
"Oh. Uh, yeah. Yeah, we can do that. Sure." Yunho closes his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'll come by after work? Around four?"
"I'll be here," Changmin says. "Bye."
Yunho hears a click before he can open his mouth. It's probably for the best since he thinks if he did now, he'd be sick. He sits there motionless with his head in his hands until the timer on the edge of his desk goes off, signaling the end of naptime. Yunho smacks at it harder than usual and swallows down the nausea.
He puts a smile on and goes to wake up the kids, but suddenly feels like he hasn't slept for days.
---
Yunho's glad Junsu's the one that buzzes him in. He's had the whole afternoon to think about it, but still isn't sure what he's going to say - mostly because he doesn't know what Changmin's going to do. He wishes he could say with certainty that Changmin just needs to look at his face to see that he's telling the truth, but he remembers the way Changmin's tone changed over the phone and he's fairly sure it's not going to be that easy.
He knocks on the door and waits, hands shoved deep into his coat pockets. He can hear the muffled sound of movement, but it takes a while before the latch clicks and slowly opens to reveal Changmin on the other side. Changmin only lets it go enough so that most of his body is visible; it's quite clear he doesn't intend to invite Yunho in.
"Hi," Yunho says, barely meeting Changmin's eyes. Over Changmin's shoulder, he catches a glimpse of Junsu. There's something off about him and it takes Yunho a few seconds to notice that it's the first time there's no smile on Junsu's face.
"Listen," Changmin mumbles, "I'm no good at stuff like this so-"
"Please don't say you can't do it, because you know that's not fair."
Changmin stiffens a little and Yunho knows he's caught him off guard. What he doesn't know is if he should be happy that he already knows Changmin so well or disheartened that that's really what Changmin was going to say.
"What if I ca - what if I'll always be paranoid about you guys getting together? I've only known you guys for two weeks but I've seen how affectionate both of you are and I just-" Changmin runs a hand through his hair, pulling on it briefly. "Since you called I've done nothing but think about you guys sharing the apartment and - I know it's stupid, but I still…"
"We don't do anything - we sleep in separate rooms!"
"I'm sorry," Changmin says. "I like you a lot but I'm also a dumb stubborn bastard. I promise I tried really hard, but I just can't get over it."
Yunho takes a step forward, frowning at the way Changmin tenses up again. He puts his hand on the doorframe. "Can you just let me in? We'll sit down and talk about it properly."
For a second, Changmin looks as if he'll cave, but Yunho's shoulders sag when Changmin just shakes his head again. "You're really great, Yunho. I'm just not so much, I guess."
"You're wonderful," Yunho says, voice bordering on pitiful. "Look, whatever you need to hear, I'll say it."
"Please, go home."
Yunho stares at Changmin. "Are you really doing this?" he says, needing to hear it because his brain isn't processing it. "You don't make sense! You're not even giving me a chance to prove I'm serious about you!"
"It's not worth it to get angry," Changmin says. "Just go."
"Changmin."
"Bye."
Yunho gets his fingers away just before the door slams shut.
---
It's almost dark by the time Yunho gets back to the apartment. The one he shares with Jaejoong. He had sat for an hour in his car outside Changmin's apartment, then another hour outside his, still trying to make sense of everything and still failing.
"Yunho?" Jaejoong voice calls from his room, then gets louder as he walks down the hall. "You didn't come back at the usual time so I thought you were staying at Changmin's. Did you ea - oh my god, what happened?"
Yunho's eyes sting when he looks up at Jaejoong's worried face so he clenches them shut, rubs at them hard. "Changmin didn't um - I thought he'd - look, don't tell Yoochun. It's a bad idea."
"Don't tell me what?" Yoochun's voice makes Yunho's head jerk up again and only now does he notice Jaejoong's state of undress, making it pretty obvious what he just interrupted. "Um. Shit. Should I go?" Yoochun says, looking uncomfortably between Yunho and Jaejoong.
Yunho shakes his head. "No, don't do that," he murmurs, dragging a palm over his face. "I'm happy you guys worked things out. I'll stay out of your way."
"Or you're going to come over here," Jaejoong grabs his arm and starts dragging him to the living room, "and tell us why the hell you look like shit."
Jaejoong dumps Yunho on the couch and he and Yoochun sit down on both sides. Yunho gives him a weak, pleading look, but Jaejoong doesn't have any of it.
"You've been fucking crying, Yunho. Do you know when the last time you did that was? When your dad said that shit about not wanting a son at all if he was just going to be a kindergarten teacher instead of a lawyer, so you better spill or else."
Yunho drops his head back and stares at the ceiling, blinking furiously. It feels like something is strangling him every time he breathes in. "I think. I think Changmin broke up with me."
"What?" Yoochun says. "That kid fucking worships you."
Not wanting to bring up why Changmin ended it, Yunho says, "It's not a big deal okay. He just did. I'll be fine," and moves to get up but this time two sets of hands push him back.
"It's a huge deal, I don't think he 'just did', and you're so not fine you're scaring me," Jaejoong says, voice quiet but leaving no room for argument. "Was it the thing you were talking about last night?"
"Yes," Yunho says, hoping Jaejoong leaves it at that. Of course he doesn't.
"What? What the hell is his problem?"
"He's insecure," Yunho says, looking over at Jaejoong. "Don't be mad at him. He can't help it."
"What the hell is he being insecure about? It's not like we're still fucking. We're just friends," Jaejoong says, and Yunho turns to look at Yoochun instead, wondering if Jaejoong already told him. By the expression on Yoochun's face, he guesses that's a no.
"Wait," Yoochun says slowly, then gestures between them. "You two…?"
Yunho nods and he feels rather than hears Jaejoong go absolutely silent. He sees Yoochun's eyes flicker down and realizes Jaejoong's holding his hand tightly. Immediately, he tries to detach himself but Jaejoong holds on firmly.
"Jaejoong, stop it," he says, trying to tug his hand away again. "There's nothing to prove."
"I'm not trying to prove anything," Jaejoong says. "I just want to know if there's going to be a problem so I can fix it now."
"Were you going to tell me if this hadn't happened?" Yoochun says, still staring occasionally at Yunho's hand clasped within Jaejoong's.
"If I thought it was necessary."
Yoochun sputters. "If? I think telling me that you guys were an item before falls under totally necessary."
Jaejoong sighs quietly and sounds much more patient when he speaks again. "Yes, Yunho and I went out, but we were absolutely shitty together and fought all the time. It was pretty much friends with benefits except if we were fighting - again, all the time - we weren't even friends. So we broke up and it's been awesome and we're ever only going to be friends from now on so if you have any doubts, you should get over them now because they're stupid and never going to come true."
Yunho jerks his hand away from Jaejoong's grip after he's done and stands up quickly, all the talking fast becoming too much. "Look, just," he says, glancing at Yoochun but mostly staring at the wall behind him. "You've been talking to Jaejoong for months. You should know what kind of person he is, what he's capable and not capable of doing. Don't ruin a really good thing." He turns toward Jaejoong. "And my dad's my dad. He was never going to go through with all that stuff he threatened me with. Changmin's barely known me for two weeks. Please don't comfort me like he's going to change his mind if he just sleeps on it. It's not going to happen and that's - I'll deal with it."
"Yunho-"
"No." Yunho sighs and rubs his temples. "I know you're worried and I'm sorry for worrying you, but I saw his face. He meant it. A week-long fling isn't worth all this drama." He slips past Jaejoong and heads toward his room without even saying good night.
Yunho doesn't bother with anything except crawling into his bed as soon as possible, ignoring the way his jeans twist uncomfortably as he burrows in. It'd be best if he could bury himself underneath a bunch of pillows and blankets and disappear; instead he just throws the blanket over his face when he remembers there's still work to go to tomorrow.
---
It's not easy trudging through each day, but at least it never gets any harder. Yunho's thankful that his job is so distracting, that there's no time to think about Changmin - or not think about him - when he's constantly trying to keep his kids from eating clay and fixing their boo-boos.
Even though he and Changmin only went out for a week, he feels like he's experiencing the break-up of a much longer relationship. He can't bring himself to delete Changmin's emails or text messages, and even seeing things like Yoochun bringing over coffee in the morning for Jaejoong makes his limbs feel heavy.
He knows Jaejoong's trying not to make it hard for him and, for the most part, either goes over to Yoochun's place or out period so Yunho doesn't have to see anything. Yunho supposes it helps, but it's also easier to think when there's no one around.
It's a bit ironic that just when he thinks he's starting to feel normal again, he gets a phone call from Junsu as he's leaving work one day.
"Can you come over?"
"Is something wrong?" Yunho keeps his tone even but prepares himself for the worst.
"Jaejoong's here. He's kind of - he's a wreck. Yoochun texted me earlier and said Jaejoong's mad at him but he has no idea why and we don't either."
Yunho leans against his car door and sighs quietly. "Is he sitting there with his hands over his head?"
"Um. Yeah. How did you know?"
"Doesn't matter," Yunho says. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."
Yunho hopes it's been long enough.
---
Junsu's waiting for him by the door when he arrives, which is odd.
"Jaejoong said he didn't want you to come over when we asked him earlier, that you were busy and didn't want to bother you," Junsu says as they walk up the stairs. "I thought if he heard your voice on the buzzer, he'd get angry at us or something."
It makes sense and Yunho nods. He hears Changmin's voice through the door before Junsu opens it, which means Junsu must have too. The glance thrown his way is hard to miss, but shakes his head. "I'll be fine."
Nothing inside the apartment has changed; but it's only been a few weeks - why would it?
He steps inside quietly and sees Changmin's head above the back of the couch and the top of Jaejoong's shoulders. Walking around, he sits down on Jaejoong's other side before either Jaejoong or Changmin can notice him.
"…Yunho? What are y-" Jaejoong gets cut off when Yunho pulls him in and hugs him tightly, fingers combing through Jaejoong's hair. Faintly, he hears Changmin hiss Junsu's name, but he ignores it. That's not what he came for.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" he says, feeling Jaejoong tense against him, but he just squeezes tighter. Changmin gets up and disappears somewhere behind Yunho, exchanging more harsh words with Junsu. Yunho tunes them out.
Jaejoong shakes his head and Yunho sighs, pulling away a bit to look at the other's face. "Have you seen yourself?" he says, wiping his thumbs under Jaejoong's eyes. "You look like shit. Remember what you said to me? Spill or else."
"It's stupid," Jaejoong says pathetically. "I can't say 'cause it's stupid and I hate feeling stupid and I'm sick of always being like this around him."
Yunho pulls his mouth tight, then reaches and takes his phone out, flipping it open and showing the screen to Jaejoong. "He's called me 8 times in the past half hour and I don't think it's because he just wants to hear my voice."
Jaejoong takes the phone from him, pressing a random key when the screen goes black so it lights up again. "I'm scared he doesn't find me attractive enough to do more than fool around," he says finally, so quiet that Yunho has to strain to hear him.
It sounds outrageous but Yunho knows that's the last thing Jaejoong needs to hear. "Honey, you made the guy word vomit from one kiss."
"But it's been over a month!" Jaejoong says, flinging his arms up. Yunho grabs his phone back before it gets accidentally thrown against a wall. "I walk around half naked in his apartment after taking a shower and he just. Fucking smiles at me! I mean - do I actually have to throw condoms at his face to get a reaction?"
Yunho looks at him sympathetically, propping one arm up on the back of the couch and resting the other on Jaejoong's legs that he has drawn up to his chest.
"I don't want to have to say everything out loud," Jaejoong mutters. "I know it shouldn't be, but it's embarrassing to go 'hey, you do want to have sex with me, right?', especially if the answer is no which will mean the end of the world and you'll never see me again because I'll have found a giant boulder to crawl under and die."
"Stop it," Yunho says, quiet but firm. He leans in and presses his mouth to Jaejoong's head, lingering. "I'm willing to bet everything I have that Yoochun most definitely wants to sleep with you. It's just sometimes you do have to ask."
His phone starts buzzing in his lap, Yoochun's name flashing on the screen.
"Will you please go back and talk to him?" Yunho says, shooting Jaejoong a small smile. "Other people need to use my voicemail too."
It's not a big one, but Jaejoong smiles back, nodding slightly. "Thanks for coming over," he says. "Though I guess I should thank Junsu too, huh?"
"For calling me?"
Jaejoong nods. "I was going to, but I didn't want to make things weird for you."
Yunho frowns. "You… were going to call me?"
"Yeah. I didn't want to be a burden on these guys since I know I'm a handful to deal with, but you were still at work and I didn't know where else to go."
"Junsu said you…" Pieces start connecting suddenly and Yunho whips around to look behind them, but no one's there. "I um. What?"
Jaejoong looks almost as confused as he is. "Am I missing something?"
Yunho looks back at Jaejoong and shakes his head. "No. Just that Junsu is surprising," he says. "Are you ready to go? You took the train, right? I didn't see your car out front."
"I can go back to Yoochun's by myself," Jaejoong says, gaze flickering over Yunho's shoulder for the briefest moment. "… Maybe you should stay."
Yunho snorts. "No. I - I'm done with this. I came here for you."
Jaejoong stares at him for a bit, then nods and stands up. "All right, let's go. I'll tell them we're leaving."
Yunho stays on the couch, listening to Jaejoong's muted voice down the hall. He gets up when Jaejoong returns, walking probably faster than he needs to back to the front door. But he falters when he passes the kitchen doorway. On the counter are the two bottles of wine he brought the last time he stepped inside this apartment, still sealed and turned so the labels face out neatly.
It almost makes Yunho turn around.
"Are you ready?" Jaejoong says, breaking Yunho's concentration. He's holding the door open, watching Yunho calmly.
"Yeah," Yunho says, and leaves.
---
The good thing about Jaejoong and Yoochun is that they always recover from any setbacks in record time. Yunho tells Jaejoong that he doesn't have to keep Yoochun away anymore, that he likes having Yoochun around - which is true. He's fun and Jaejoong laughs more when he's around.
The start of the last week of school comes around the corner faster than Yunho expects. This was his first very own kindergarten class and he's finding it a little hard to let go and entrust them to the care of a brand new group of teachers. They don't know that Jaehee only eats red apples or that Minjoo's favorite books are about puppies or that Yoori likes napping by the window because the sunlight keeps her warm while she sleeps.
Perhaps the slump he feels about the end of the school year is what brings him to the park a few blocks from his apartment. There's an old playground there, nothing more than a few swings and slides, but it's quiet and secluded. Yunho needs that.
But never in a million years would he have expected to see Changmin there, sitting crouched at the bottom of a slide as if he's waiting just for Yunho.
Before Yunho can walk away, Changmin spots him and they stare at each other until Yunho's feet seem to move on their own, bringing him closer until he's standing just beyond Changmin's reach.
There's a pink tinge on Changmin's cheeks and it's striking to see him look so vulnerable for a change.
"What are you doing here?" Yunho says.
"What are you doing here?"
"I come here to think."
Changmin kicks at the gravel beneath his feet. "Okay. I'm thinking then."
Sighing, Yunho moves the rest of the way closer and crouches down in front of Changmin. "Why are you drunk and hanging out in a playground by my place?"
He can see Changmin fighting with himself and wishes he could get rid of the part of Changmin that's always thinking, making things harder than they need to be. It's a fleeting wish because he doesn't know what kind of Changmin that would leave him.
"Because," Changmin mumbles, hands on his knees, "it sucks more without you."
Yunho drops his head, eyes closing momentarily. "You chose to do that," he says. "I wanted you to give me a real chance."
Changmin's pointer finger twitches. "What if I want to undo it?" he says. "What if I've been wanting to for a long time but I just. And you were."
Yunho lifts his head and gives a small, but reassuring smile. "Can you say it if I tell you I forgive you first?" Changmin looks shocked as Yunho stands up and holds out a hand. "Come on, I haven't eaten yet and I assume you haven't either? There's a bibimbap stand down the block. My treat."
Changmin stands but doesn't take Yunho's hand. "But I didn't say it."
Without missing a beat, Yunho slides his hand under Changmin's and holds on firmly. "You said it."
---
"Are you sure this is okay?"
Yunho unlocks the door and holds it open for Changmin. "It's okay."
"Is Jaejoong…?"
"He's at Yoochun's."
"So we're…"
"Alone."
Changmin stands in the living room awkwardly. "Oh."
Yunho hugs him from behind, chin tucked over Changmin's shoulder. "Popcorn and a movie?" He sees Changmin smile out the corner of his eye.
"Only if it has great aerial shots."
---
They put in the Princess Bride which does have some aerial shots, but not that many, though it doesn't matter anyway when they both fall asleep not an hour in, half-eaten bucket of popcorn perched dangerously between them.
The ending music wakes Yunho up and he grabs blindly for the remote, pressing random buttons until everything shuts off. Changmin is still sleeping like the dead, cheek pressed flat to Yunho's shoulder. He's loath to wake Changmin up, but the sofa is about five years too old to be slept on.
Changmin stirs a little bit as Yunho drags him down the hall to his room and they stumble along together, miraculously not running into anything with sharp edges.
Yunho drops Changmin on the bed, then pauses with his hands near the hem of Changmin's shirt. "Can I take your clothes off?" he says, ignoring the awkwardness of the question.
Changmin simply stretches on the bed and smiles at him, the glow of street lights barely seeping in enough for Yunho to catch it. "To sleep or to put out?"
"I didn't know there was a choice," Yunho says, reaching up and combing his fingers through Changmin's hair.
"There's a choice," Changmin says, slipping his own hand underneath Yunho's shirt. Yunho's reminded of the time on Changmin's couch. "Do you want to know something?"
"Hm?"
"I would've slept with you on the third date."
Yunho's breathing turns slow and even. "What would you do on a first date?"
"With you?" Changmin sits up and slides his other hand under Yunho's shirt too, pushing it up. "I'm not sure." Yunho's chest is bare before he realizes it and the puffs of air against his throat are warm. "Something like this maybe."
Pulling away a little, Yunho studies Changmin's face closely.
"I'm sober."
Yunho nods and doesn't wait a beat, cupping Changmin's face and kissing him slow and smooth. His hands drop to Changmin's waist again, shoving his t-shirt up and moaning softly at the feel of skin. He breaks the kiss long enough to tug Changmin's clothing off and lower Changmin onto the bed before climbing on top, chests pressed together as he captures Changmin's mouth again.
It's not frantic, but their hips move together steadily, belt buckle catching against buttons. Yunho keeps kissing Changmin messily as he reaches down to undo his pants, smiling and tugging on Changmin's lip when he feels Changmin's knuckles brush his in mirroring the action.
Yunho presses Changmin's hands into the bed at the first brush of skin against skin, and thinks the sound of his name being breathed the way Changmin's doing is the best thing he's ever heard. The heel of Changmin's foot digs into the back of his thigh as they move faster, Yunho's mouth held parted against Changmin's chin.
It's over faster than he wants it to be, but Changmin squeezes his hands and kisses his cheek, and Yunho can do nothing but think of next time, the one after that, and the one after that.
---
"Will you make me coffee in the morning?"
"No vanilla latte with extra whipped cream?"
"Someone told me too much was bad for me."
"Sounds like a smart guy."
"Yeah, I kind of like him a lot."