‘It’s only for one evening, Yoochun, nothing bad is going to happen to it’ Jaejoong looked at him with his large eyes, lips pulled in a pout. He could be cute if he wanted to.

‘But only because-’

‘Of Junsu’ he grinned and snatched the expensive suit out of the other’s trembling hands, ‘I know’

‘What the was I thinking’ Jaejoong grumbled as he kept scrubbing the jacket in the sink of the opera’s cramped bathroom. He was running ten minutes late for the second act and the stain wasn’t giving in. Oh, and what a stain it was. A huge, red, ugly one, right there where he had knocked the glass over and poured it all on himself. Not even Junsu would save him from the certain death he was facing because this was seriously the single, most prized piece of clothing Yoochun owned. It was not only designer, it was one of a kind. If anything, Junsu would assist his boyfriend in the murder.

‘’ he concluded after five more minutes of scrubbing, hanging his head in defeat. He was a dead man, this was not going to work. All this trouble and all because of Yunho. So much for trying to pretend to be civil.

‘Are you alright?’ a neatly combed head of hair found its way inside of the room and a pair of eyes looked at him in confusion ‘what are you doing?’

The hopeless state of his date was enough to convince Yunho that his assistance here was needed.

‘Give me that’ he said and, with a childlike pout on his lips, Jaejoong handed the jacket over. It was ruined anyway, what good could Yunho do?

The taller took a look at the wet piece of fabric dripping in sadness and inspected the damage done to it.

‘You should have told me when I asked you if you were alright instead of trying... something. Especially if that something involves water. We’ll drop it off at the dry cleaner's on the way home. I have a good one in mind so maybe it's salvageable’

‘But-’

‘And you’re going to stay at my place which will give you an alibi as to why you cannot give the jacket back to your friend’

'But-'

How did Yunho know it wasn’t his jacket?

‘If you’re wondering how I was able to tell it’s not your jacket, let's just say that it hardly fits in a closet with your usual attire’

Oh, yes, Yunho was not found of his style and didn’t hesitate to comment on it. It grew old fast but for now it was kind of fun and Jaejoong loved watching the other's eyes grow wide whenever he deemed something Jaejoong was wearing inappropriate.

‘Won’t Changmin mind if I stay?’ Jaejoong wondered, fairly confused as to why was Yunho folding the jacket, taking it under his arm, and heading out of the bathroom, but he followed him anyway.

They had one more act to attend so why was Yunho leaving?

‘Yunho, where are we-’

‘Home. You’re worried about this more than anything else so there’s no use in watching something you won’t be able to enjoy'

Awww, sweet. But heck those tickets had cost a fortune, Jaejoong bit his lip. He'd checked and the idea that Yunho spent so much money on him didn't sit well with him. The idea that Yunho was wasting his money on him was downright terrifying.

‘We could still watch it’ he tried, stuffing his hands in his pockets, while following the other's lead ‘the opera, you know’ but when Yunho stopped, Jaejoong considered that he should just shut up and stop trying to be helpful. Turning around, the taller man pinned him down with a hard look.

‘Honestly?’ that look was full of determination ‘I’m glad you accepted my invitation and all but I don't want you to think that you have to change because of me. I've clearly made you uncomfortable so, if anything, I have to apologize to you for that. Besides’ his voice drastically decreased in tone and turned into a whisper ‘I don't like people staring at you and I’m more interested in us spending time together than the second act’

With that Yunho turned and started walking towards the exit even faster so Jaejoong had to run after him to catch up. Who was he to disagree? Yunho sure had his way with words.

Still, Changmin...

___

‘What are you doing?’ Yunho demanded after Jaejoong had been hiding behind his back for the biggest part of their journey home.

‘Hiding, obviously’

Sometimes Yunho asked the weirdest questions.

With a sigh Yunho patted the other's head, acknowledging that he was just an overgrown kid in need of constant surveillance.

‘I'm sorry but it’s not working, Jaejoong. Why would you feel the need to hide if I may ask?’

‘Because Changmin’

Now this was another issue Yunho couldn’t understand. He did learn that Jaejoong and Changmin had gone on a date once, but really, it was more of a misunderstanding than anything else. That didn't mean they couldn't be friends now. Just because they had had a bad first meeting wasn't a reason to start a war.

‘I cannot risk letting two of my arch enemies learn about my weaknesses’ Jaejoong explained although Yunho hadn’t asked.

‘Two?’

‘Well, Yoochun was the original one, just to be clear’

'No, Jaejoong, it does not work like that. You can't have two archenemies because that title implies that there's only one.

Jaejoong's looked up at Yunho as if he were insane, his eyes full of mistrust.

‘No. I have two. Just because Changmin appeared later doesn’t mean I can let my guard dow-’

‘You!’

Why were people so keen on interrupting him mid-sentence?

‘You!’ Jaejoong mocked back, leaping from behind of Yunho, pointing a finger towards his enemy. Yunho looked from his brother to his boyfriend, trying to find a rational explanation to this irrational behavior before he decided that this had to be some kind of a game to them.

‘Yell all you want, squirt, but it’s really me’

Yunho looked at his brother again, wondering about Jaejoong's choice of words. There, at the door, stood Changmin. A tall, young man. He was tall, way too tall for his young age, uncomfortably tall, scary tall even. He was basically towering at the doorway over the rest of the world.

‘Whom do you think you just called a squirt?’ a vein popped on the younger’s forehead, his eyes burning with fire.

‘It’s you, Changminny. It’s you’

All of sudden Yunho felt like he wasn’t even there. What was this feeling of complete abandonment? Like a cold breeze of air the feeling of invisibility washed over him.

‘I guess it’s better than being a ’ Changmin shot back, regaining his mightier-than-thou attitude, leaving Jaejoong red-faced.

Now that was really uncalled for.

‘Brother, could you please stop that?’ he asked and Changmin looked up at him as if only now having noticed his existence. His expression changed immediately, his features gaining a softer edge to them. Jaejoong wasn’t sure what exactly had happened but Chamgmin looked like a kid who had been scolded. He assumed it being the effect of Yunho’s ability to emit absolute authority.

For a moment Changmin just stood there, looking like he had a lot to say, before he pressed his lips together and swept past both men, determined to get away as fast as possible.

‘So shall we?’ Yunho smiled as if nothing had happened, looking at his date and motioning to the door.