For the purpose of my fic, my story is going to run exactly on SJ's timeline, except that Hangeng, Kibum and Kangin never left :)

Warning: minor!Qmi from here

-

Heechul's mouth curled up into a wicked grin. 'So fight back.'

Sungmin's grip finally slackened to Leeteuk's relief and he slumped back onto his heels. 'What?'

'You heard me. Pick yourself up. Don't mope around. You don't cry Sungmin-ah. And look what you've done, you've cried more in the past one week then you have in all your years. You are stronger than this,' Heechul jabbed a finger into the centre of Sungmin's chest and the younger man winced, feeling his sharply manicured nails. 'Don't let that of a nerd bring you down. So pick yourself up and move on, or so help me I will make sure you do.'

'I don't know where to start,' Sungmin bit his lip and Heechul hit the back of his head with the flat of his palm.

'Idiot,' Heechul emphasized it with a snort. 'What do you think we're here for? Display? Leeteuk hyung will do everything.'

Leeteuk's eyes widened. 'I will?'

Heechul considered it for awhile, 'Okay no you won't. You'd mess everything up ('Yah!' Leeteuk pouted and Sungmin laughed for the first time in a long while.) First thing we should do is change your hairstyle. Nothing like a new hairstyle to get something new going.' Heechul flung open his wardrobe and tossed clothes at him.

Sungmin started crying again and Leeteuk started flapping his hands around, trying to calm the boy down but Sungmin just threw his arms around his neck. Leeteuk swallowed hard as he felt Sungmin shake in his arms. Sungmin then slid over to where Heechul was and held him in a death grip as well.

'Choking here,' Heechul scrabbled at his arms.

'Thank you,' Sungmin whispered. 'Both of you. Everyone of you here.'

Heechul relaxed and patted him almost fondly. 'Anything to get you to stop crying?' Heechul wiped the last traces of tears from under Sungmin's eyes and Sungmin could have sworn he saw something akin to sadness swimming in Heechul's own eyes. 'Did you actually think we would let you wallow forever?'

Sungmin thought hard, before replying. 'Yes,' he smiled before escaping from both enraged men.

Sungmin smiled at the worried look that Donghae was giving him, smiling and patting the younger's knee to reassure him. He had been spacing out while the younger was asking him something about his latest music, and he shook himself before returning to their conversation about upbeat and downbeat.

Life was more or less back to normal after the members' return last week. Of course he had to watch himself around Kyuhyun, and remind himself constantly that he was different now, he didn't need him to feel validated anymore. He no longer needed Kyuhyun. Sungmin felt freer, he snorted. It was so ironic that in trying to get away from Sungmin, Kyuhyun had made him free as well. Even more so in fact, seeing as how the younger man kept chasing after Zhou Mi only to be denied time and time again.

Sungmin laughed and stretched leisurely, smiling at the delight on Donghae's face at hearing Sungmin laugh and he tossed a pillow in his face, starting a pillow fight. 

Forty minutes later, with two pillow battered beyond repair and feathers littering the room and an exhausted Eunhyuk on the ground with his head in Donghae's lap, Sungmin thought he could get used to this new life.

-

Sungmin hummed as he tapped out a random rhythm on Siwon's denim clad knee out of mere boredom, annoying the man as he tried to sit up straight and proper to wait for their president. Siwon just laughed at him and crossed one leg over another, providing further tapping access to him. He grinned and beat out a mini rhythm on his dongsaeng as they all waited for the arrival of the big shots.

It was the usual meeting a few months before their next comeback to nail down the concept and songs and all that. He sneaked a peek across the room where Kyuhyun was sprawled out over the couch, snoring away as a result of his overnight marathon of Starcraft. It was getting easier now to ignore the polyphonic tones of gunfire and Sungmin was pleased that his eyebags were finally receding. 

It was much easier in the beginning, when Kyuhyun was an ocean away and all he had to do was keep his thoughts away from the offending maknae. Busying himself by going out with Shindong and having vocal lessons with Yesung, it was easy enough to pretend that all was right in the world. With the members back and that annoying mop of hair barely ten feet away from him, Sungmin had to work harder not to think of Kyuhyun. It was getting duller, the pain in his heart. Slowly but sure, Sungmin knew. He wasn't sure if it would ever go away totally, but he knew that one day he'd be okay. He hoped.

Sighing, he flicked his dark fringe out of his eyes and settled comfortably into his chair. His fringe was growing out a bit long, he should have it trimmed again soon. Maybe he could get his revenge on Heechul this time. Heechul had dragged him to their company's salon all those months back, dumping him into a chair and ordering the stylist to make him y.

'I am y,' Sungmin protested indignantly.

'Your hair is floppy, it's been dyed over from blonde so I can't tell what kind of crappy colour is it, your front is uneven and the back is getting to be a little too draggy,' Heechul droned out tiredly before getting ushered to his own chair for a beauty treatment.

Sungmin had harrumphed before finally settling into a discussion with the stylist noona. He was deciding between a dark brown colour and a coppery colour when a bottle of black hair dye was shoved into the stylist's hands. 

'Use black,' Heechul hissed, the cloth turban on his head doing nothing to detract from the scary aura around him that had the both of them agreeing to whatever Heechul said.

And so his hair was decided, the colour, decided for him by Heechul, the style, also decided by Heechul, when Heechul started stalking over again when they were discussing the length, Sungmin quickly leaned back into the chair in a posture of submission, closing his eyes and praying he wouldn't hear 'shoulder-length'.

He only dared to open his eyes after the ordeal was over and he shook his black fringe out of his eyes casually with a flick of his head, one that he had perfected long ago during the Don't Don era and he almost heard the salon noona moan audibly. He grinned and touched the back of his hair gently, before he got his hand slapped away by Heechul.

'Yah! What are you? A trainee? Don't touch your hair when it's newly dyed,' Heechul snapped, before taking a step back to look at Sungmin's new hair. His mouth fell open just a little and he dragged him home, shoving him through the doors and calling out all the members.

'What do you think?'

Sungmin scowled and rubbed his wrists gently before shuffling on the spot self-consciously again. It had been awhile before he had appeared before any of the members without tears or sobs racking his chest and he tried to offer a small smile.

'Wow,' Kangin breathed out slowly before the jab in his stomach from Leeteuk's bony elbow turned it into a cough and an 'Um, it looks good on you Sungminnie.' 

If Eunhyuk's slack jaw was any indication, Sungmin looked good and he smirked experimentally. Heechul snorted and flicked him on the forehead. 'Don't get all cocky on me idiot.'

Heechul dragged him into his room and sat on him while he brandished eyeliner. He fought the squirming boy under him while maintaining a slow and steady around his eyes and it was a good twenty minutes before he let Sungmin up to go take a look in the mirror. Sungmin had worn eyeliner before but that was different, that was a thin line that helped define his eyes. This was, well, Sungmin finally understood the meaning of fox eyes. 

Ryeowook tapped him on the shoulder, shaking Sungmin out of his thoughts when the president walked in. They all stood hurriedly and offered greetings and bows before they were waved back into their seats again.

'Now,' Lee Soo Man steepled his hands on the table. 'We've decided that your concept will be darker this time. More brooding and y. I think it's time to show that you boys are all growing up. Not that the previous few concepts weren't mature but we can go with a more well, look at Sungmin and you get the idea.'

Eyebrows were raised all across the room and everyone turned their heads.

'Sungmin's new look has inspired us for the new album and we're going to go along with his style for now. So that means dark hair, leather, and a more playboy style shall we say? You guys are dismissed!' He clapped his hands.

Leeteuk slung an arm over Sungmin's shoulders on the way out and leant down, 'Well now, looks like your new look is working.'

Sungmin grinned.

-

Kyuhyun flopped onto his bed after the meeting and groaned. He was not good at being y. He could smirk yes, but he did not exude from every pore. Sungmin coming into the room startled him and he pretended not to look as Sungmin stripped off his leather jacket, hung it up and left the room again. 

Well whatever he said a few months ago, he couldn't deny that Sungmin looked good in a leather jacket. With his pouty lips, it was a killer combination. Zhou Mi was a very far second. 

Speaking of Zhou Mi, he grabbed for his phone and made a phone.

'Hello?'

'Mi ge, it's me. Want to go out tonight?' Kyuhyun crossed his fingers behind his back.

'Hm? I'm kinda busy tonight Kui Xian, I'm meeting a couple of my friends.'

Kyuhyun nearly choked as he hurried to say, 'I could come along. We haven't spent time together in awhile I want to see you.'

Zhou Mi laughed, 'Kui Xian we came back from China two weeks ago, that's hardly a long time. Go spend time with the rest of your members.'

'But I - '

'I gotta go. See you soon Kui Xian!'

Kyuhyun stared dumbly at his phone. Maybe this was how Sungmin felt like everything he would brush the older man off to play his games or to go out without him. Small and insignificant and he wandered out of the room to look for Leeteuk. He found the leader in the room firming up the schedule for the next few days and he waited patiently, sitting at the foot of the bed waiting for the man to be done.

'Okay,' Leeteuk set down his pen. 'What can I do for you?'

Kyuhyun sighed. 'Wipe that disapproving look off your face Teukie hyung, you are being too obvious.'

'Well I am disapproving.'

'I did what I had to do.'

'Do you know how much Sungmin cried after you left? How much it cost him to see you on tv every day being close to other people? Do you know how much we had to work to get him to pick himself back up again?'

'No but - '

'Then you cannot tell me that I'm being disapproving. But yes what can I do for you?'

'Zhou Mi hyung is not receiving me well. Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. I thought he liked me in the beginning but then it turned out to be nothing. Is it always like this hyung?'

Leeteuk stared. 'Idiot. That's how all unrequited love is. Know what you did to Sungmin now?'

Kyuhyun got up in a huff and left the room.

-

That night, after he finished his gaming and finally made his way to the bed, he sat on it for awhile, and stared at Sungmin as he slept. Sungmin snored just a little and shifted his head on the pillow, before going back to sleep with a smile. Kyuhyun sighed, he had forgotten what it was to see a real Sungmin smile that was for him, the last few months of their relationship had been so rocky, well for him anyway. He didn't know if Sungmin had picked up on it or not but he had felt so restless, tied down like that. Kyuhyun supposed it was retribution for him not that he was chasing after Zhou Mi.

He stretched and his foot hit the end of his bed with a loud thump. Sungmin yawned and opened his eyes blearily.

'Kyu?'

Kyuhyun caught a quick burst of warmth before the coolness shuttered over Sungmin's eyes. 'Sorry my fault hyung, go back to sleep.'

'Not playing games tonight?'

'I finished early today I didn't like playing much.'

Sungmin hummed and Kyuhyun acted on his gut. 'Hyung can we be friends?'

'Friends?' Sungmin stopped and he stared at Kyuhyun.

'Yeah, we're okay right?'

'Sure,' Sungmin nodded slowly. 'I guess we could be friends.'

Kyuhyun nodded back before settling back into his blankets. 'Goodnight.'

'Goodnight.' Sungmin rolled over and went back to snoring.

Kyuhyun felt a sense of calm settle over him, almost as if he had finally done something right and he drifted off to sleep slowly.

Sungmin stared a hole into the wall next to his bed and he sighed. It was getting easier but that didn't mean that the feelings were completely gone. Fine by him though, if Kyuhyun wanted to be friends, he'd show him that he could be cordial.

After all, he didn't need Kyuhyun anymore.