Words for You (oneshot)
Title: Words For You
Rating: PG
Form: Oneshot
Words: 2 696
Genre: FLUFF
Summary: Yunho learns that you can find ways to void any obsticals, if given enough incentive. And it seems like Jae fits that bill quite nicely...
A/N: So after pulling a couple of stressful all-nighters for a project that I handed in yesterday, I was in need of some serious fluff. Hence, this silly story. (and hell, I couldn't give Jae another angsty ending)
He first meets Jaejoong at the ice-cream shop, where all the kids hang out after school (blissfully innocent, before they go home to their parties and drugs and alcohol). He’s eye-catching, sitting up at the counter, legs crossed almost daintily as he works his way slowly through a fudge sundae. His hair is silky and his lips luscious (oh how they curl around that spoon) and he keeps looking, loosing track of his own conversation.
Junsu notices, hard not to really, with the way Yunho is staring, and follows his gaze to the boy sitting alone at the counter, an oddity at the place filled with groups of friends.
“Oooh, he’s pretty,” Junsu teases Yunho, digging into his ribs with an elbow. Yunho jumps at the needling and blinks owlishly at his friend. “What, he is! And don’t tell me you’re not checking him out. You’re about as subtle as an elephant in a tea shop.” Changmin immediately ridicules him for getting his metaphors mixed up, and Yunho goes back to staring.
Once their bickering is done, Changmin kicks Yunho’s foot, and gives him a pointed look.
“Are you going to be a creepy stalker, or go actually talk to him?” he prods, and, blushing, Yunho does just that.
Except, when he comes up behind the boy and says ‘hi’, nothing happens. The boy doesn’t turn, doesn’t look at him, doesn’t do anything. Frowning and disheartened but not ready to give up, Yunho slides into the seat next to the boy, who finally looks over at him.
“Hi,” he says again, feeling foolish. The boy’s brow furrows, and he blinks at Yunho. Encouraged that he’s at least being paid attention to, Yunho rushes onward. “I was just wondering if you wanted to come sit with me and my friends, being that you’re alone and all.” The words come out in a rush, and Yunho tilts his head over towards Changmin and Junsu as he speaks. The boy looks at the table, where Junsu waves, and then back to Yunho, now looking worried.
“So-rry, slo-wer?” It’s Yunho’s turn to blink, taken aback by the distorted sound of the words the boy produces. The words don’t register properly and it takes Yunho’s brain a few extra seconds to figure out what they mean. By this time, the boy looks mortified, his face heating. He looks back to his sundae, biting his lip, and tries to hide behind the fall of his hair.
“Wait,” Yunho says, then shakes himself mentally. The reaches out tentatively and just barely brushes the boy’s arm. The light touch is enough, and the boy nearly jumps. But he looks at Yunho, and that’s all Yunho needs. He speaks slower this time, making sure to enunciate his words. “You’re deaf, aren’t you?”
The boy’s large eyes widen further in surprise and he nods, blushing again. He touches his ear, making a ‘no’ gesture with his hand, and then his mouth, making a shaking ‘so-so’ (or more likely ‘not really’) gesture. Yunho wracks his brain, thinking of every encounter he’d had with his cousin Stephanie over the years (which amounted to very little at all really), and tries to think of what to say.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to speak,” he reassures the boy, who bites his lip and then smiles shyly at him. Deaf from birth probably, and therefore not accustomed to the proper sounds words were meant to make. Stephanie had at least had 10 years to get the basics before the car crash took her hearing.
Wondering, Yunho looks into the open face of the boy, which shows every sign of embarrassment and keen self consciousness. Suddenly, Yunho smiles, and gestures for the boy to come with as he slides off the stool.
“Come sit with us,” he says simply, getting another surprised, somewhat incredulous look in return. He nods reassuringly and motions the boy to come again. Biting his lip still, the boy complies hesitantly, and Yunho helps him, scooping up his satchel from the floor as the boy takes his sundae and follows Yunho placidly to the table. He hovers uncertainly a few steps out for a while, but Yunho smiles at him again and gestures for him to sit in the far side of the booth chair and so he does, giving shy smiles to the two boys across the table.
“He’s deaf,” Yunho explains very quickly as Changmin opens his mouth. Changmin closes it just as fast. “He can read lips, just don’t speak too fast,” he adds in as he sits down. Junsu looks worried, and Changmin is just looking at the boy. The boy squirms a little, sinking into his seat, and Yunho rolls his eyes, shooting a glare across the table. He touches Jaejoong’s arm again to get his attention and tells him his name.
“I’m Yunho.” But he’s not sure that the boy will understand the word. Indeed, he gets a puzzled look in response and Yunho repeats the sentence, pointing to himself. The boy’s eyes light with understanding, but then he pauses, and Yunho realises he doesn’t like speaking. Snapping his fingers, he reaches down into his bag, pulling out a random bit of paper (his physics homework, actually, but he’s not in dire need of it), and a pen and hands them to the boy with a smile. He gets a pleased smile in return, and the boy bends over the paper, writing his name in neat, round characters.
“Jaejoong,” Yunho reads out loud, and looks to the boy for confirmation. He nods, smiling, and Yunho writes (his chicken scratch so large and messy under the neat characters) his own name down, and then writes ‘You-Know’ next to it, putting a speech bubble around it. Beaming, he slides the paper back, and Jaejoong processes the information. Yunho, he mouths.
Changmin and Junsu finally get over their awkwardness and fight for the pen to write out their names for Jaejoong, who laughs as they squabble.
That night, Yunho misses the party he was meant to go to, sitting with Jaejoong in the park, talking at him while Jaejoong wrote short, witty sentences all over his physics homework. And later still, when Yunho goes home, he logs onto the internet and looks up sign language.
He asks around a little, and then doesn’t tell his parents when he starts going to a class down at the community college. He emails Jaejoong, and they meet in the ice cream shop, drinking thick shakes while Jaejoong laughs, startlingly loud and joyful but with his hand over his mouth as Yunho proudly shows him his mastery of the alphabet. He’s got the Z the wrong way around, but the way Jaejoong looks at him, soft and almost heartbreakingly hopeful makes him ten times as eager to learn. They spend the rest of their time in an impromptu lesson, Jaejoong teaching him swear words and other such useful language.
They leave only when the shop closes, stepping out into the cool night air. Yunho grabs hold of Jaejoong’s hand and squeezes it.
“I had fun,” Yunho says, so very sincerely. Jaejoong’s smile lights up the night and the pale hand squeezes back.
“Me too,” Jaejoong returns shyly, slightly accented but there and Yunho is glad to hear his voice.
“Can we meet again?” he asks hopefully, and Jaejoong finally lets go of his hand, nodding and then making a simple sign, looking up at Yunho with expectation. Yunho grins, pleased that he knows what the gesture means.
“Friday?” he confirms, and Jaejoong nods again, patting his shoulder in praise, laughing a little at how chuffed Yunho seems.
So they meet again Friday, and on Sunday too. They spend Tuesday night chatting online, the hours slipping away from them until Jaejoong notes in alarm that they both need to get up in a few hours for school.
Yunho’s progress with sign language is slow but steady, and Jaejoong seems so very pleased at his effort, flattered that he would do so much just to communicate with him. In the mean time, their emails get longer, and when they meet Jaejoong tries his best with lip reading and Yunho has taken to carrying about a small notepad and pen where ever he goes.
They go to American movies, that have subtitles and big explosions, and Jaejoong grins as he eats popcorn by the handful. Yunho alternates between watching the screen and watching the boy beside him, the later keeping his attention far more thoroughly. They have coffee and tea and sodas and thickshakes and every other drink in between. Yunho starts to gesticulate more when he talks to his friends, vague formations of letters and words and thoughts unsaid. And when they have their first signed conversation (Yunho’s words over exaggerated and slow), Jaejoong leaps at him and hugs him tight, a big bundle of warmth in Yunho’s arms that he grabs hold of, hard.
Yunho meets Jae’s overprotective best friend Yoochun, who is only mostly deaf from what Yunho understands, and has hearing aids that allow him to hear almost fully. He watches Yunho like a hawk, and keeps making these strange flicking motions to Jaejoong that Yunho can’t decipher. Jae just rolls his eyes and shoves Yoochun, returning to Yunho’s side until Yoochun huffs in exasperation and finally stops glaring. Once he does that, Yunho finds him rather good company.
A week later, Jaejoong brings him home.
Mrs Kim looks him over, assessing. Jaejoong erupts into rapid-fire signing at her, and she frowns at him for a moment before turning back to Yunho, who’s still incredibly nervous under her scrutiny.
“Jaejoong says you’re learning sign language,” she says, and Yunho nods.
“Yes m’am.”
“How fluent are you?” she asks, and he makes a small grimace.
“Not very, but I am trying to learn,” he assures her.
“Why?” The question is simple and it takes Yunho aback somewhat. His eyes flick from Jaejoong to his mother and back, and then he reaches over and takes Jaejoong’s hand, looking into Mrs Kim’s face with a renewed determination.
“So I can talk to Jaejoong.” Jaejoong’s hand squeezes his, warm and reassuring. Mrs Kim’s whole face seems to soften, looking at the two young men.
“I’m glad,” is all she says. After that, it seems easy. Jaejoong shows him 'round the house, and Yunho eats dinner with him and his mother. It turns out both of them are very good cooks, and the meal is delicious.
“Mum… I want to bring someone to the barbeque,” Yunho says, heart thudding in his chest. He’s been pulling the courage up for days, weeks, to have this conversation.
“Hmm?” Soonyi hums absently, not looking up from the cucumber she’s slicing. “You know Junsu and Changmin are always welcome Yunho,” she says pre-emptively. Yunho’s face screws up a bit.
“No… uhm, someone else,” he says, and Soonyi does look up at this, her eyebrows raised.
“Oh? And who’s that?” she asks. It’s their traditional annual family barbeque, and, traditionally, it’s just family and a few very close family friends. Changmin and Junsu had been hanging off Yunho since they were tots, so they wouldn't be any surprise. Yunho wanting to bring someone new into the fold is definitely a surprise. And from the way her son is fidgeting and going slightly pink, Soonyi guesses it isn't just a new addition to the three amigos.
“My… friend. Jaejoong,” is all he says. Soonyi’s eyebrows jump again at the male name, looking at Yunho speculatively. But in the end, all she does is nod and smile, wiping her hands on her apron.
“I’m sure we can fit one more on the table,” she says, turning back to the vegetables, mind already in motion. She'll need have to have a little talk with her husband, she thinks to herself. As soon as Yunho leaves the kitchen though, she can't help but but smile to herself. Jaejoong, is it?
The morning of the barbeque, Yunho walks to the shops to pick up some extra carrots and onions his mother needs, and then across to Jaejoong’s house. He’s greeted by Mrs Kim at the door, and he bows politely as he’s ushered into the house to wait for the other boy, who is, by the sound of things, still running around upstairs getting ready.
Yunho and she talk briefly about the garden, and the mass amounts of food Yunho’s mother has made, before Jaejoong comes tumbling down the stairs out of breath and flushed. He gets even redder as he sees Yunho standing there, plastic shopping bag in hand, smiling at him.
“Ready?” Yunho asks, and Jae nods.
“Yes,” he says, and with a wave to Mrs Kim, they’re off, their hands finding each other as they walk down the footpath.
Jaejoong looks increasingly nervous as they approach the noisy house, and he bites worriedly on his lip.
Yunho squeezes his hand gently, and changes his grip to rest on the small of Jaejoong’s back as he opens the door and leads them into the hallway.
“Mum!” he calls, and follows the answering yell into the kitchen where his mother, his two aunts, his cousin and his cousin's wife are all busy, cooking. The room is filled with tantalising smells, and Jaejoong can’t help but find it welcoming even as he shrinks under the combined force of their gaze as of every person in the room turns to look at them.
Yunho clears his throat, and presses reassuringly on Jaejoong’s back.
“Everyone, this is Jaejoong,” he says clearly. There is a moment of stillness, until everyone bursts out in greetings and Yunho can just see his mother giving Jae the once over too. Jaejoong shrinks a little into his side at the attention, rather lost with all the people talking at him.
Yunho clears his throat again.
“Jaejoong is deaf,” he tells them plainly. “He can read lips, but only if you’re looking at him and speaking clearly.” He prays that this wasn’t the wrong decision. There are an awful lot of people there today, and he knows he’ll have to give them all an explanation like this, and that Jaejoong got nervous with even a few new people. But he wants Jaejoong to meet his family. So he holds his breath, waiting to see what happens.
He needn’t have worried though. His mother steps forward, wiping her hands off hurriedly before stepping forward to hug Jaejoong. And suddenly Jaejoong’s surrounded by females, drawing him into the kitchen. Yunho’s cousin amusedly sidles up to him and watches the mêlée when Jaejoong shyly admits he likes to cook.
“I think you’ve lost him to them,” his cousin remarks. Yunho can’t help but beam. Someone must be smiling down on him, to be this blessed, he thinks.
Jaejoong uses more words that afternoon then he probably has in weeks with Yunho, and for all his nervousness, seems to get on really well with all the people he’s introduced to. He’s quiet, of course, and rather confused a lot of the time, with too many people around. Yunho stays by him however, and Jaejoong tells him his family is amazing. He’s never quite looked at it that way, but he guesses it’s true. Coming out from the house after carrying some of the never-ending trays back to the kitchen for his mother, he sees them all in the back yard, all the people he’s grown up with, the people that make him who he is and the people that are deeply ingrained in his life. His eyes however seek out the newest addition to this group, someone he hopes will be part of his life for a long time to come.
Looking at Jaejoong, the raven-haired boy’s face alight with pleasure as he and Stephanie have a fast-paced signed conversation that Yunho can’t quite follow, Yunho realises he doesn’t really even think about Jaejoong’s deafness anymore.
He knows he hears Jaejoong loud and clear now, and will always listen to whatever he has to say. They’ve found enough ways to communicate, to say what needs to be said. And as he wanders over to join the pair, hand slipping effortlessly into Jaejoong’s, he realises that there are some things that just don’t need to be voiced at all.
Rating: PG
Form: Oneshot
Words: 2 696
Genre: FLUFF
Summary: Yunho learns that you can find ways to void any obsticals, if given enough incentive. And it seems like Jae fits that bill quite nicely...
A/N: So after pulling a couple of stressful all-nighters for a project that I handed in yesterday, I was in need of some serious fluff. Hence, this silly story. (and hell, I couldn't give Jae another angsty ending)
He first meets Jaejoong at the ice-cream shop, where all the kids hang out after school (blissfully innocent, before they go home to their parties and drugs and alcohol). He’s eye-catching, sitting up at the counter, legs crossed almost daintily as he works his way slowly through a fudge sundae. His hair is silky and his lips luscious (oh how they curl around that spoon) and he keeps looking, loosing track of his own conversation.
Junsu notices, hard not to really, with the way Yunho is staring, and follows his gaze to the boy sitting alone at the counter, an oddity at the place filled with groups of friends.
“Oooh, he’s pretty,” Junsu teases Yunho, digging into his ribs with an elbow. Yunho jumps at the needling and blinks owlishly at his friend. “What, he is! And don’t tell me you’re not checking him out. You’re about as subtle as an elephant in a tea shop.” Changmin immediately ridicules him for getting his metaphors mixed up, and Yunho goes back to staring.
Once their bickering is done, Changmin kicks Yunho’s foot, and gives him a pointed look.
“Are you going to be a creepy stalker, or go actually talk to him?” he prods, and, blushing, Yunho does just that.
Except, when he comes up behind the boy and says ‘hi’, nothing happens. The boy doesn’t turn, doesn’t look at him, doesn’t do anything. Frowning and disheartened but not ready to give up, Yunho slides into the seat next to the boy, who finally looks over at him.
“Hi,” he says again, feeling foolish. The boy’s brow furrows, and he blinks at Yunho. Encouraged that he’s at least being paid attention to, Yunho rushes onward. “I was just wondering if you wanted to come sit with me and my friends, being that you’re alone and all.” The words come out in a rush, and Yunho tilts his head over towards Changmin and Junsu as he speaks. The boy looks at the table, where Junsu waves, and then back to Yunho, now looking worried.
“So-rry, slo-wer?” It’s Yunho’s turn to blink, taken aback by the distorted sound of the words the boy produces. The words don’t register properly and it takes Yunho’s brain a few extra seconds to figure out what they mean. By this time, the boy looks mortified, his face heating. He looks back to his sundae, biting his lip, and tries to hide behind the fall of his hair.
“Wait,” Yunho says, then shakes himself mentally. The reaches out tentatively and just barely brushes the boy’s arm. The light touch is enough, and the boy nearly jumps. But he looks at Yunho, and that’s all Yunho needs. He speaks slower this time, making sure to enunciate his words. “You’re deaf, aren’t you?”
The boy’s large eyes widen further in surprise and he nods, blushing again. He touches his ear, making a ‘no’ gesture with his hand, and then his mouth, making a shaking ‘so-so’ (or more likely ‘not really’) gesture. Yunho wracks his brain, thinking of every encounter he’d had with his cousin Stephanie over the years (which amounted to very little at all really), and tries to think of what to say.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to speak,” he reassures the boy, who bites his lip and then smiles shyly at him. Deaf from birth probably, and therefore not accustomed to the proper sounds words were meant to make. Stephanie had at least had 10 years to get the basics before the car crash took her hearing.
Wondering, Yunho looks into the open face of the boy, which shows every sign of embarrassment and keen self consciousness. Suddenly, Yunho smiles, and gestures for the boy to come with as he slides off the stool.
“Come sit with us,” he says simply, getting another surprised, somewhat incredulous look in return. He nods reassuringly and motions the boy to come again. Biting his lip still, the boy complies hesitantly, and Yunho helps him, scooping up his satchel from the floor as the boy takes his sundae and follows Yunho placidly to the table. He hovers uncertainly a few steps out for a while, but Yunho smiles at him again and gestures for him to sit in the far side of the booth chair and so he does, giving shy smiles to the two boys across the table.
“He’s deaf,” Yunho explains very quickly as Changmin opens his mouth. Changmin closes it just as fast. “He can read lips, just don’t speak too fast,” he adds in as he sits down. Junsu looks worried, and Changmin is just looking at the boy. The boy squirms a little, sinking into his seat, and Yunho rolls his eyes, shooting a glare across the table. He touches Jaejoong’s arm again to get his attention and tells him his name.
“I’m Yunho.” But he’s not sure that the boy will understand the word. Indeed, he gets a puzzled look in response and Yunho repeats the sentence, pointing to himself. The boy’s eyes light with understanding, but then he pauses, and Yunho realises he doesn’t like speaking. Snapping his fingers, he reaches down into his bag, pulling out a random bit of paper (his physics homework, actually, but he’s not in dire need of it), and a pen and hands them to the boy with a smile. He gets a pleased smile in return, and the boy bends over the paper, writing his name in neat, round characters.
“Jaejoong,” Yunho reads out loud, and looks to the boy for confirmation. He nods, smiling, and Yunho writes (his chicken scratch so large and messy under the neat characters) his own name down, and then writes ‘You-Know’ next to it, putting a speech bubble around it. Beaming, he slides the paper back, and Jaejoong processes the information. Yunho, he mouths.
Changmin and Junsu finally get over their awkwardness and fight for the pen to write out their names for Jaejoong, who laughs as they squabble.
That night, Yunho misses the party he was meant to go to, sitting with Jaejoong in the park, talking at him while Jaejoong wrote short, witty sentences all over his physics homework. And later still, when Yunho goes home, he logs onto the internet and looks up sign language.
He asks around a little, and then doesn’t tell his parents when he starts going to a class down at the community college. He emails Jaejoong, and they meet in the ice cream shop, drinking thick shakes while Jaejoong laughs, startlingly loud and joyful but with his hand over his mouth as Yunho proudly shows him his mastery of the alphabet. He’s got the Z the wrong way around, but the way Jaejoong looks at him, soft and almost heartbreakingly hopeful makes him ten times as eager to learn. They spend the rest of their time in an impromptu lesson, Jaejoong teaching him swear words and other such useful language.
They leave only when the shop closes, stepping out into the cool night air. Yunho grabs hold of Jaejoong’s hand and squeezes it.
“I had fun,” Yunho says, so very sincerely. Jaejoong’s smile lights up the night and the pale hand squeezes back.
“Me too,” Jaejoong returns shyly, slightly accented but there and Yunho is glad to hear his voice.
“Can we meet again?” he asks hopefully, and Jaejoong finally lets go of his hand, nodding and then making a simple sign, looking up at Yunho with expectation. Yunho grins, pleased that he knows what the gesture means.
“Friday?” he confirms, and Jaejoong nods again, patting his shoulder in praise, laughing a little at how chuffed Yunho seems.
So they meet again Friday, and on Sunday too. They spend Tuesday night chatting online, the hours slipping away from them until Jaejoong notes in alarm that they both need to get up in a few hours for school.
Yunho’s progress with sign language is slow but steady, and Jaejoong seems so very pleased at his effort, flattered that he would do so much just to communicate with him. In the mean time, their emails get longer, and when they meet Jaejoong tries his best with lip reading and Yunho has taken to carrying about a small notepad and pen where ever he goes.
They go to American movies, that have subtitles and big explosions, and Jaejoong grins as he eats popcorn by the handful. Yunho alternates between watching the screen and watching the boy beside him, the later keeping his attention far more thoroughly. They have coffee and tea and sodas and thickshakes and every other drink in between. Yunho starts to gesticulate more when he talks to his friends, vague formations of letters and words and thoughts unsaid. And when they have their first signed conversation (Yunho’s words over exaggerated and slow), Jaejoong leaps at him and hugs him tight, a big bundle of warmth in Yunho’s arms that he grabs hold of, hard.
Yunho meets Jae’s overprotective best friend Yoochun, who is only mostly deaf from what Yunho understands, and has hearing aids that allow him to hear almost fully. He watches Yunho like a hawk, and keeps making these strange flicking motions to Jaejoong that Yunho can’t decipher. Jae just rolls his eyes and shoves Yoochun, returning to Yunho’s side until Yoochun huffs in exasperation and finally stops glaring. Once he does that, Yunho finds him rather good company.
A week later, Jaejoong brings him home.
Mrs Kim looks him over, assessing. Jaejoong erupts into rapid-fire signing at her, and she frowns at him for a moment before turning back to Yunho, who’s still incredibly nervous under her scrutiny.
“Jaejoong says you’re learning sign language,” she says, and Yunho nods.
“Yes m’am.”
“How fluent are you?” she asks, and he makes a small grimace.
“Not very, but I am trying to learn,” he assures her.
“Why?” The question is simple and it takes Yunho aback somewhat. His eyes flick from Jaejoong to his mother and back, and then he reaches over and takes Jaejoong’s hand, looking into Mrs Kim’s face with a renewed determination.
“So I can talk to Jaejoong.” Jaejoong’s hand squeezes his, warm and reassuring. Mrs Kim’s whole face seems to soften, looking at the two young men.
“I’m glad,” is all she says. After that, it seems easy. Jaejoong shows him 'round the house, and Yunho eats dinner with him and his mother. It turns out both of them are very good cooks, and the meal is delicious.
“Mum… I want to bring someone to the barbeque,” Yunho says, heart thudding in his chest. He’s been pulling the courage up for days, weeks, to have this conversation.
“Hmm?” Soonyi hums absently, not looking up from the cucumber she’s slicing. “You know Junsu and Changmin are always welcome Yunho,” she says pre-emptively. Yunho’s face screws up a bit.
“No… uhm, someone else,” he says, and Soonyi does look up at this, her eyebrows raised.
“Oh? And who’s that?” she asks. It’s their traditional annual family barbeque, and, traditionally, it’s just family and a few very close family friends. Changmin and Junsu had been hanging off Yunho since they were tots, so they wouldn't be any surprise. Yunho wanting to bring someone new into the fold is definitely a surprise. And from the way her son is fidgeting and going slightly pink, Soonyi guesses it isn't just a new addition to the three amigos.
“My… friend. Jaejoong,” is all he says. Soonyi’s eyebrows jump again at the male name, looking at Yunho speculatively. But in the end, all she does is nod and smile, wiping her hands on her apron.
“I’m sure we can fit one more on the table,” she says, turning back to the vegetables, mind already in motion. She'll need have to have a little talk with her husband, she thinks to herself. As soon as Yunho leaves the kitchen though, she can't help but but smile to herself. Jaejoong, is it?
The morning of the barbeque, Yunho walks to the shops to pick up some extra carrots and onions his mother needs, and then across to Jaejoong’s house. He’s greeted by Mrs Kim at the door, and he bows politely as he’s ushered into the house to wait for the other boy, who is, by the sound of things, still running around upstairs getting ready.
Yunho and she talk briefly about the garden, and the mass amounts of food Yunho’s mother has made, before Jaejoong comes tumbling down the stairs out of breath and flushed. He gets even redder as he sees Yunho standing there, plastic shopping bag in hand, smiling at him.
“Ready?” Yunho asks, and Jae nods.
“Yes,” he says, and with a wave to Mrs Kim, they’re off, their hands finding each other as they walk down the footpath.
Jaejoong looks increasingly nervous as they approach the noisy house, and he bites worriedly on his lip.
Yunho squeezes his hand gently, and changes his grip to rest on the small of Jaejoong’s back as he opens the door and leads them into the hallway.
“Mum!” he calls, and follows the answering yell into the kitchen where his mother, his two aunts, his cousin and his cousin's wife are all busy, cooking. The room is filled with tantalising smells, and Jaejoong can’t help but find it welcoming even as he shrinks under the combined force of their gaze as of every person in the room turns to look at them.
Yunho clears his throat, and presses reassuringly on Jaejoong’s back.
“Everyone, this is Jaejoong,” he says clearly. There is a moment of stillness, until everyone bursts out in greetings and Yunho can just see his mother giving Jae the once over too. Jaejoong shrinks a little into his side at the attention, rather lost with all the people talking at him.
Yunho clears his throat again.
“Jaejoong is deaf,” he tells them plainly. “He can read lips, but only if you’re looking at him and speaking clearly.” He prays that this wasn’t the wrong decision. There are an awful lot of people there today, and he knows he’ll have to give them all an explanation like this, and that Jaejoong got nervous with even a few new people. But he wants Jaejoong to meet his family. So he holds his breath, waiting to see what happens.
He needn’t have worried though. His mother steps forward, wiping her hands off hurriedly before stepping forward to hug Jaejoong. And suddenly Jaejoong’s surrounded by females, drawing him into the kitchen. Yunho’s cousin amusedly sidles up to him and watches the mêlée when Jaejoong shyly admits he likes to cook.
“I think you’ve lost him to them,” his cousin remarks. Yunho can’t help but beam. Someone must be smiling down on him, to be this blessed, he thinks.
Jaejoong uses more words that afternoon then he probably has in weeks with Yunho, and for all his nervousness, seems to get on really well with all the people he’s introduced to. He’s quiet, of course, and rather confused a lot of the time, with too many people around. Yunho stays by him however, and Jaejoong tells him his family is amazing. He’s never quite looked at it that way, but he guesses it’s true. Coming out from the house after carrying some of the never-ending trays back to the kitchen for his mother, he sees them all in the back yard, all the people he’s grown up with, the people that make him who he is and the people that are deeply ingrained in his life. His eyes however seek out the newest addition to this group, someone he hopes will be part of his life for a long time to come.
Looking at Jaejoong, the raven-haired boy’s face alight with pleasure as he and Stephanie have a fast-paced signed conversation that Yunho can’t quite follow, Yunho realises he doesn’t really even think about Jaejoong’s deafness anymore.
He knows he hears Jaejoong loud and clear now, and will always listen to whatever he has to say. They’ve found enough ways to communicate, to say what needs to be said. And as he wanders over to join the pair, hand slipping effortlessly into Jaejoong’s, he realises that there are some things that just don’t need to be voiced at all.