"Jaejoong. What a pleasant surprise." Yunho sounded anything but pleased.

Jaejoong had hoped to pass through unnoticed but luck was not on his side that night. He had not wanted to cause any problems, had only wanted to see Yunho then leave. It had been two long years since he had last seen Yunho, and Jaejoong missed him.

He did not turn around immediately. He knew once he did that there was no going back. So he stood there for a few moments to collect his bearings before he faced Yunho's anger; but Yunho was impatient. There were hands on Jaejoong's shoulders and suddenly, he was spun around. He had always been unable to give Jaejoong the space he needed.

"What are you doing here?" Yunho asked, his voice quiet and dangerous.

"I just wanted to see you," Jaejoong said. There was no beating around the bush. Yunho would know right away if he was lying. They had spent years living together, sharing space and secrets and many long, lonely nights. It would take much longer than two years of misunderstandings and silence to erase all of that.

"You're ridiculous," Yunho snapped.

Jaejoong ignored him. He had not come here for a fight. He saw now that Yoochun had been right: he shouldn't have come. Of course Yunho wouldn't be happy to see him. There was too much pain, too much anger between them for things to ever truly be okay again.

"I'm sorry," Jaejoong whispered. "I just--"

"What, Jaejoong? You just what? Wanted to see what you're missing out on?" Yunho waved one hand around, gesturing towards the brightly colored banners that proudly proclaimed that DBSK had won another fancy award. "This was once all yours, too, Jaejoong," Yunho continued. "But you gave it all up. You threw it all away. And now look at you. They won't even broadcast your performances on television."

Unbidden, tears sprang to Jaejoong eyes and he closed them tightly to block out Yunho's anger. He had been so wrong to come here. But he was here and he was going to make the most of it.

"Yunho, I didn't come here tonight to fight with you," Jaejoong said.

"Then why did you come, Jaejoong? I see no reason for you to be here. If you had wanted to be here with me and Changmin, you wouldn't have left."

"That's not true," Jaejoong whispered. "I do want to be with you and Changmin. I care about you guys more than I care about anything."

"You have a funny way of showing it," Yunho said. He sounded bitter. Jaejoong wanted to reach out and caress away the pain and the anger that had settled in the furrow of Yunho's brow but he knew Yunho wouldn't welcome his touch. Those days were long gone. If only Yunho wasn't so damn stubborn all the time, this all could have been avoided.

"Now you're the one being ridiculous," Jaejoong said. "You know I would do anything for you and Changmin, and Yoochun and Junsu, too."

"Then why did you leave, Jaejoong? Why did you leave us behind?"

"You chose this path, Yunho. You chose this path just as Yoochun, Junsu, and I chose ours. But that is neither here nor there. I came tonight because I wanted to see you. I miss you so much, and I just wanted to make sure you're happy."

He had said what he wanted to and there was no more reason to stay. Jaejoong slipped out of the hold Yunho still had on his arms and walked quietly away. He didn't once look back, fearing that if he did he wouldn't be able to leave.

"Jaejoong, wait," Yunho called but Jaejoong was already out of ear-shot. Yunho chased after him and managed to catch up to him just outside the entrance to the building. He snagged Jaejoong by the wrist and pulled the slightly shorter man towards him.

"What do you want, Yunho?" Jaejoong sounded like he was close to tears.

Yunho didn't know what to say. He hadn't thought that far. He just knew he couldn't bear to watch Jaejoong walk away from him. Not again. The first time had nearly killed him. He couldn’t let Jaejoong walk out of his life a second time.

"Look Jaejoong, I--"

"Yunho, I have to get back. Yoochun and Junsu are waiting for me. We have an early flight to catch tomorrow and if I'm late again, they're going to kill me."

"I understand," Yunho said. "Just...wait. Let me..."

Jaejoong was watching him, his eyes intense. The light from the streetlamp above them was falling on them directly and Yunho could see every dip and curve of Jaejoong's face and body. He looked too pale, too skinny, and all Yunho wanted to do in that moment was pull Jaejoong close and hold him like he used to.

Jaejoong's eyes widened in surprise when he was suddenly pulled into a tight embrace. He stood still for a few moments, unsure if it was really happening. But when Yunho held him tighter, Jaejoong relaxed into the hold and rested his head on Yunho's shoulders.

"I miss you, Boo," Yunho whispered.

"I miss you, too," Jaejoong said and pressed even closer against Yunho. They stood that way for a long while, reveling in each other's presence. It had been far too long since they had been together like this, and neither of them wanted to let go. But Jaejoong knew he had to leave. With great effort, he pulled away from Yunho.

"I have to go," he said.

Yunho nodded. "Okay. Tell Yoochun and Junsu I said hi.”

"Alright."

Things had become awkward again.

"Well...bye," Jaejoong said and turned to leave. He walked down the sidewalk towards his car and clambered into the driver's seat. He turned to look at Yunho one last time to wave goodbye but Yunho had already disappeared, probably headed back to the party.

Jaejoong started the car and put it in drive. Before he pulled away from the curb, his phone began to vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and read the text Yunho sent him: Have a safe flight. I love you.

Suddenly, Jaejoong felt much lighter than he had in a long time.