Shim Changmin was not given to sappiness. Which didn't mean he couldn't be nice, of course. Or thoughtful. He just... wasn't sappy. Overblown romantic gestures were Yunho's thing, not his. But really, this wasn't romantic. They were being filmed. There were people all around them. No way was this romantic.

And not for a single moment had Changmin thought that it would actually work.

Somehow, in his always busy mind, their most recent dome tour schedule had connected with an article he'd read about a Nagoya strawberry farmer. Add one certified strawberry addict, and the leap in logic that Changmin's mind had cooked up at 3am didn't seem all that far.

He'd contacted the grower, had explained what he wanted and the man—bless his socks!—had only been too delighted to help. He'd even refused to take Changmin's money, however many times Min had insisted. The only thing he'd asked for was to be allowed to present the fruits of his labours to Yunho before the Nagoya concert. And while Changmin had originally wanted them for Yunho's birthday, he very readily agreed.

All through rehearsals for the Nagoya stage, he'd kept an eye on the doors, looking for messengers coming and going, for packages arriving. But the grower was a smart man who seemed to know the right people, and it wasn't until during the interview, when Changmin lifted the lid from the box, that he realised his plan had worked.

And how it had worked!

In the box were the six biggest ing strawberries he'd ever seen! And they were white!

There was something inherently wrong about white strawberries, and for a single heartbeat, Changmin wondered if the things were fake. Or maybe marzipan. Then he heard Yunho's delighted cry and nothing else mattered. Grabby hands took hold of the box and Yunho almost squashed the fruit with his nose in his exuberance.

In less time than humanly possible, Yunho had extracted one of the strawberry-shaped objects and shoved it in his mouth. The happy sounds and wave of scent wafting across to Changmin put the remainder of his doubts to rest. He knew what Yunho sounded like when he indulged in his favourite treat. He could also have recognised the scent of strawberries blindfolded and fast asleep. And yep, what Yunho was happily stuffing into his face right then were giant, juicy strawberries. Never mind that the things were white.

Changmin knew he was risking his life, but he plucked the companion to Yunho's strawberry from the box and took a careful bite. The colour did give him pause, as did the hurt look his leader shot him while he chewed.

But really, the things weren't half bad. And he'd worked hard to get them here. So, surely, he deserved a share.

"This note says that the box contains three different varieties," he tried to distract Yunho from his portrayal of a glutton while on national TV. "Two of each and they all taste different."

"How can they taste different?" Yunho questioned. "They're strawberries."

"How do I know? I don't grow strawberries. But it says here that the one in the middle tastes—"

Yunho had the large berry in his mouth before Changmin could finish reading the note out to him. His cheeks hollowed as he on the luscious pale flesh, his lips were glistening… and Changmin thought of slugs. And dead bunnies. And fist-sized cockroaches. Anything, really, to take his mind of the image of Yunho—

"Pineapple!" Yunho suddenly yelled to the amusement of everyone around him.

"What?"

"It tastes of pineapple."

"Don't be silly,"Changmin admonished, but he reached for the other strawberry in the middle row and sniffed. Strawberry. He stuck his tongue out and it carefully. Strawberry. He took a bite, feeling and hearing the tiny seeds crunch between his teeth, chewed and— Pineapple.

"Holy !" he breathed reverently. "I'm scared to try the last one."

"I'm not." Yunho strawberry—or should that be pineapple?—juice from his lips and Changmin's mind disconnected once more at the sight. "But maybe we should keep it for later."

"Later? Why?"

"Because a romantic gesture like this deserves a romantic gesture in return," Yunho whispered to him while he smiled for the camera, making sure that nobody could doubt his delight with the gift.

"It's not romantic," Changmin argued back in a whisper. "It's not as if it's Valentine's Day or White Day or something."

"Yah, that's what makes your whole idea so romantic, Min-ah. It's like White Day come early. Which is also why I want to save the last strawberry."

"Why?" The interview was winding down and they both smiled and bowed with practised ease, despite carrying on a whispered conversation. The cameras weren't really on them anymore when Yunho finally turned, picked up one of the remaining two strawberries and held it up, looking straight at Changmin.

"I'm saving this one, so I can eat it with cream. Off your washboard abs."

… Many hours later, after the concert, and the after party, after too much noise and far too much food, Changmin admitted that his idea of finding rare variety strawberries for Yunho hadn't been crazy at all. In actual fact, it had been ing inspired.