Time apart hadn't changed the important things. Like their respective heights. Standing that close, Jaejoong had to look up just a bit to catch his eye—and Yunho saw that it still irked him just as much as it had always done when they'd argued in the past. They both remembered at the same time, and each took a small step back.

Breaths deepened and grins grew sheepish as they looked each other over.

Time hadn't wrought any great changes in Jaejoong. His friend held himself with the same unconscious grace that once earned him the title of enigma. Like a cat, he was smooth and aloof and mysterious. And while he still looked very much the same, Yunho had noted that here on the base, Jaejoong was quieter. The irrepressible, snarky boy who could swear in the most angelic voice was tucked away out of sight. The soft smile might hover in a corner of Jae's mouth, but it only rarely bloomed in full. Yunho had no idea if it was because of where they were or if Jae had hidden himself so completely to protect himself from further hurt. But he did wonder if Junsu and Yoochun were the only ones Jae let close these days.

And why that thought hurt so much.

Jae's eyes were fathoms deep. They drew Yunho's attention to Jae's damp lashes and the fact that Jae's brave little smile never made it into his gaze. Given their history—the parts outside the hype and speculation, the parts they both remembered as real—none of that was a surprise. There were reasons they hadn't spoken in all the time since the breakup, reasons beyond contracts and agreements. And despite being stationed on the same base, Yunho was sure they wouldn't have done any more than lock gazes each morning, had it not been for their troop mates' interference.

Resentment smoldered, brought memories of a TV interview they'd done in the middle of all the upheaval. The stylists had stuck them in black, even their hairstyles sedate and sombre. They'd all been uncomfortable, trying to put a brave face on their struggles, divided as they'd never been before. Jae had sat half turned away from him, legs crossed and shoulders hunched forward as if in pain. He'd been unable to even look at Yunho, and Yunho had been grateful for that. He couldn't have faced the grief in Jae's face and answered the MC's questions.

Why did it always come back to that?

Yunho tried to push down the sudden burst of anger, tried to ignore the memories of failure and discord and pain. He thought of Changmin's soft smile, of an arm around his shoulder and a hand in his hair to hold him together when everything around them fell apart. They had done it. They'd recovered, and continued and been successful.

And with that thought Yunho straightened and once more looked at Jaejoong.

Even unadorned and unstyled, in uniform, boots, and regulation haircut Jaejoong brightened the training room. Yunho had always known that Jaejoong's hair colour had nothing to do with the glow that surrounded him wherever he went, the glow that simply was part of Jae's appeal. Right now, the glow was muted and the pain in Jae's gaze was less well hidden. He was hunched over a little as if bracing for a blow, just as Yunho had been. And Yunho realised that—as so many times before—Jaejoong had heard every word that Yunho hadn't said.

You're looking great was what he meant to say next. What he said instead was, "I never hated you."

And there I was meaning to leave it. But in truth, I've started to wonder over Junsu, Yoochun and Changmin's reactions. Especially as Junsu started out rather perceptive here... ;-)

And this is the image that told me half that story. They're really not looking at each other, all through the interview.