"You got the melody?"

"And the harmony," Jaejoong said and hid a smile behind fluttering fingertips.

Yoochun slowly let his fingers fall onto the ivory keys of the baby grand. They naturally fell into formation and slowly he plucked out the first chords of the song he had poured so much heart and soul into. He couldn't understand his hesitance. He and Jaejoong had been friends for so long--Jaejoong knew everything about him, knew all of his secrets, his hidden passions and desires and dreams.

But this one song, this outpouring of emotion, made Yoochun feel vulnerable in a way he had never felt before. He felt exposed, like a nerve. Like a wound.

"Yoochun?"

Yoochun looked past the keys and the sheet music and the gleam of the white paint. He looked into Jaejoong's eyes.

"It's okay," Jaejoong said simply.

Yes, it was okay. How could it be anything but? This was Jaejoong. Jaejoong was his friend, his soulmate. Jaejoong understood him in ways nobody else did. Jaejoong knew what he was thinking or feeling before Yoochun could even speak. If anybody could make this song soar, it was he.

"Sing," Yoochun said quietly, unable to express himself beyond that single word. He could barely hear his own voice over the chords he was still playing. But Jaejoong knew, somehow.

He sang.

Jaejoong was hesitant at first, his tongue and lips tripping over the unfamiliar English words. Yoochun silently urged him on, trying almost to telepathically help Jaejoong with his pronunciation. He didn't dare speak out loud, for fear of ruining the moment.

Yoochun's quiet support bolstered his courage, and Jaejoong gained confidence, his voicing ringing out strong, clear. Pure.

A chill ran down Yoochun's spine and he let his eyes slip shut to better appreciate Jaejoong's voice. Eleven years later and Jaejoong could still steal his breath away.

The crescendo was building--and Jaejoong's voice broke free from its earthly restraints to soar around and through Yoochun. It grabbed Yoochun with phantom hands by the heart and pulled him along, higher and higher until he was sure he would get lost amongst the clouds. And if he just opened his eyes, maybe, maybe he would see--

"Yoochun."

He came crashing back to earth with the taste of salt on his lips and the heavy weight of Jaejoong's gaze on his skin.

"Open your eyes," Jaejoong said quietly.

Yoochun did, slowly, and though he didn't see what he had been yearning for, the sight before him was as close to heaven as he was likely to get.

Jaejoong, silhoutted by the candles he had insisted on lighting, stood cradled in the curve of the baby grand. One hand rested on the gleaming paint, the silver and gold of his rings catching light from the fire and dancing. The other hand was raised imploringly in Yoochun's direction.

"It's a beautiful song," Jaejoong said.

Song? Yoochun didn't care about the song right now. All he cared about was the way Jaejoong looked in his low-slung cotton pants and threadbare tank-top. Jaejoong's eyes were dark, his hair was disheveled, like he had been pulling on it, and his lips were swollen. Swollen from biting on them as he sang Yoochun's song.

Yoochun would much rather them be swollen from his kisses.

He slowly slid off the bench and made his way around the baby grand. Jaejoong watched him approach, neither speaking nor moving, until Yoochun was flush against him.

"Are you sure?"

Yoochun had never been more sure of anything in his life. They had been dancing around the issue for eleven years, wanting nothing more than to take things further but always too scared to take that final step into each other's space. But Jaejoong's voice had reached into him and swept the cobwebs away, and suddenly Yoochun was experiencing a clarity of mind he had never experienced before.

In answer to Jaejoong's question, Yoochun's hands found Jaejoong's waist--Jaejoong moaned softly and oh god no music could ever compare to that sound--and he hoisted Jaejoong up and onto the piano. Jaejoong's legs spread naturally and Yoochun settled in between his thighs.

"I'm going to kiss you now," he whispered, giving Jaejoong one last chance to back out.

Jaejoong grabbed Yoochun by the hair and pulled him to him, into him. Yoochun pushed against Jaejoong's shoulders and followed him down until they were sprawled across the baby grand.

When oxygen became an issue, Yoochun pulled away from Jaejoong's mouth and trailed his lips across Jaejoong's jaw to nip at his birthmark. Jaejoong's breath hitched, like the string of a violin snapping, and Yoochun vowed before the night was over, he would hear that noise again.

"How fitting is it," Jaejoong said between kisses, "that our first time will happen on top of your piano?"

A possessive thrum warmed Yoochun's blood. He reached up and over to teasingly a few of the keys. "I knew she would come in handy," he said, and he began to idly rock his hips against Jaejoong.

"F-for what?" Jaejoong stuttered, his voice caught on the edge of a moan.

"I knew she would help me find my angel," Yoochun said deadpan and smothered Jaejoong's laughter with a kiss