Unfortunately for Jaejoong, that wouldn't prove to be the last time he spied Yoochun around the campus. He'd been hoping that since they no longer lived together and weren't being friends anymore, that maybe he could at least not see him anymore. But it seemed as though now he saw Yoochun more than ever.

It wasn't as obvious as Yunho waiting outside his lectures. That would have been too obvious, too intentional even for him. No he'd just pass him in offices, in hallways, coming out of rooms, he was going into that sort of thing. Though he couldn't recall ever having seen Yoochun before that. It seemed odd.

Whenever he was hanging out with Yunho on campus, he always found himself searching the crowd for those familiar dark eyes. Those eyes that always seemed to be observing the two of them curiously.

It was one of the times he allowed those harrowing thoughts to settle in his mind that he returned home to find Yunho in a bit of a panic. The other man looked so flustered, but before he could ask him what was going on, he realised the other man was on the phone.

“Yes mother.” he stated politely, sending Jaejoong a panicked look, that brought a smile to his lips, banishing his previous thoughts. Yunho sent him a look, practically begging him to save him from the phone call, and Jaejoong shrugged him off, heading for the kitchen.

Yunho was a big boy, surely he could handle one measly phone call from mummy.

As he brought a drink out from the fridge, an image of the woman came to mind. He remembered a fancily dressed woman who couldn't seem to appreciate the idea that people got older. He remembered a terse smile on her thin lips, as she observed Yunho at one of his games of soccer.

He didn't score enough goals, and his play was sloppy if he recalled correctly.

He frowned when he realised he had no idea whether Yunho still played or not. He would have to ask him when he finished with that phone call.

He decided after recalling the woman, that the only humane thing he could do would be to rescue Yunho like he'd been hoping for. “Ah! About that I can explain...” Yunho began uncertainly, clearly having been picked on for some failing or another, though exactly what, Jaejoong couldn't be certain.

Sighing, he decided to proceed with that thought, walking around the island bench, plucking the phone from between Yunho's loose fingers, and clicking the call end button.

Yunho's cheeks were tinged a slight pink colour, but whether it was from anger or embarrassment, Jaejoong couldn't be sure. “Oh thank god! That woman is going to be the death of me! You saved me!” he exclaimed sounding both relieved and playfully grateful, his arms encircling Jaejoong's waist in a friendly grip.

“What was she talking to you about?” Jaejoong enquired, curiously, trying to figure out what she could possibly have to complain about when it came to her son. Yunho released his childish hold on the older man, hands resting on his back in a tired manner, as though just thinking about her brought fatigue to his body.

“What else? She hates everything about me and my life. But at that moment she was in the midst of her rant about why I won't marry Seohyun.” Yunho explained, sighing.

“Maybe you should propose to her.” Jaejoong murmured thoughtfully, eyes raised in consideration.

Yunho blanched sending him a wary, surprised glance, “Eh? What on earth for? I can't stand her!” he exclaimed.

“Yes, but you're not even dating. Maybe if you turn around and propose to her out of the blue, then she'll think your nuts, and turn you down.” Jaejoong explained.

“I don't know if my pride could take a blow like that.” Yunho admitted.

Jaejoong narrowed his eyes at Yunho's obstinacy, “Yah! I'm trying to devise a way out for you. That way, she'll be the one to turn you down and so you won't here another word about it from your mother.” he clarified.

“Now, now. You don't give my mother enough credit; she's gotten better at belittling me in the years you've been gone. She'd probably demand every detail about how I did it, critiquing every element, abusing me with her rants, about how I didn't consider the girl's feelings in the whole thing.” Yunho decided, thoughtfully, before adding a sullen, “Besides, the obsessive would probably say yes no matter how insane I seemed. Then I'd be stuck with her.” he whined.

Jaejoong gave his friend a fake-mortified expression, “My, my! Since when does little Yunho swear like a grown-up? Your mother would be so ashamed if she heard you now!” he exclaimed, dramatically.

Yunho rolled his eyes slightly, “Good. That's why I started doing it in the first place.” he stated petulantly.

But their conversation was cut short as the phone rang again. Both boys eyed the phone like it was an alien creature of some description. “Are you going to answer it?” Jaejoong queried, noting Yunho's odd look to the phone.

Yunho sent him an 'Are-you-serious' look but his fingers twitched, knowing that it was his mother on the other end of the line. Yunho always was the good boy, so even if he didn't want to talk to her, he didn't really have it in him to ignore her, either.

If he'd been alone he would have answered it. Heck, he never would have hung up, no matter how intimate or personal the questions and the criticisms became. He would sit there and listen to them all, like a good son. Like a responsible, filial son.

But one look at Jaejoong was all it took to convince him to fight that instinct. He'd taken the phone back off of the older boy throwing it onto the lounge distractedly, he dragged Jaejoong out the front door, barely giving the older man time to drop his bag, and grab his keys before they were gone.

Out in the hallway, he froze slightly. Jaejoong's palm was clenched lightly in his own, the other boy barely a pace behind him, though because of where Yunho had stopped in his charge out of the room, the older man now threatened to topple over him dangerously.

“Sorry, but she's just going to keep calling. It'll just be easier to go out for a little while.” he explained, but he made no move to leave their front doorstep. He had no idea where they should go.

“Well if you're going to insist we go out, then feed me.” Jaejoong demanded, nudging Yunho's shoulder, irritated. He was exhausted from his day at university, and was about ready to murder anything that deprived him of sleep. Yunho was lucky to still be breathing right now.

After a day of class, with no meal to speak of in that time, he was starving. He'd just planned on raiding their cupboards, their fridge whatever he could get his fingers on first. He'd eaten an entirely block of family snack chocolate from this feeling in the past. Yoochun had ed about that for weeks. Served him right. That .

Yunho nodded, spurred into motion by Jaejoong's annoyed words, continuing to drag the older man behind him, first down the stairs of the apartment block and then through the streets.

It must've been at least 6:30pm given the number of people swarming the streets. If Yunho hadn't been dragging Jaejoong along behind him, he would very quickly have lost the younger man in the crowd. In that respect he was glad that his grip never wavered no matter the number of people attempting to push past, and sever their only connection in the crowd.

He had no idea where Yunho was dragging him, but inconceivably no matter where he turned, they always seemed to remain in the midst of that same swarming mass of people. He couldn't see anything beyond a blur of faces, and black hair, without the garishly bright neon lights of the businesses they passed every second blinding him. He couldn't even look down to the ground to ensure he kept his footing, the distance appearing too far away, such that he couldn't even make out his feet in the darkness at the level of the pavement.

As a result, Jaejoong felt himself stumble several times, grateful for the constant tug of Yunho's hand in his own. Without it he undoubtedly would have fallen to the ground, probably more than once. With crowds like this though, one never knew if falling below surface height might mean that you got trampled to death.

As they passed a slight alleyway beside the main road, he felt himself being tugged into the dimly lit space. The pull had been awkward and hard, such that when Jaejoong burst free from the crowd, Yunho had to press him sideways to stop him from hurtling face first into the wall of the opposite building.

Their faces were close, Yunho's eyes bright with excitement and concern. He'd always loved the bustle of the city at night; it was when the whole world seemed to truly come to life. During the day there was work and education, but at night their was leisure and pleasure, and that was where real life force shone its brightest.

A slight chill in the breeze that blew into the crack between the two buildings they found themselves huddled in, was enough to drag the slightest puff of air from their lips. “I was worried I'd lost you.” the younger man informed him lightly.

Jaejoong shook his head no, despite the redundancy of the action. Clearly not, or else he wouldn't be here now; he would have been trampled or swept further down the road amidst the masses, never even realising he'd lost Yunho along the way.

Yunho peered further along the alleyway thoughtfully, as though trying to place where they were. His eyes lit with recognition, and there was a brief look of calculation across his features. “This will actually work out quite well. Come on.” he dragged Jaejoong excitedly deeper into the alleyway.

Constant warnings about walking down dark alleys at night with strange men jumped to the forefront of his mind as they walked, but he tried to disregard the thought. Even so, he shifted just the slightest bit closer, shrinking away from the wall beside him, closer into Yunho's side.

His eyes were fixated on the end of the alleyway, which was thankfully within sight the whole way. It wasn't a very long alleyway, and it opened out into a lit entrance to a theatre of some sort. Despite it's setback entrance, the attention to detail in the doorway alone told the pair that it wasn't by any means poor, or doing badly for itself. It was probably a really exclusive place, only catering to a handful of events a year.

Though there was no indication of there being any show on at the moment, the place was lit up a brilliant white, almost dazzling in its intensity, that shone out into the street. There was no one around, and so it gave the pair a moment to breathe easily, without the claustrophobia of the footpath to ensnare them. There were just too many people.

For the first time in some time Jaejoong could not quite place, he observed his room mate, “So where were you planning on taking me?” he enquired, arms crossing in a huff. He really just wanted to eat and go to bed. The long journey only translated to a delay in his bedtime in Jaejoong's mind.

But Yunho either didn't notice or didn't care about the older man's tiredness, as he excitedly answered. “We're going to this really awesome restaurant I know. It should be just down there.” he answered, pointing across from where they currently stood, down another short alleyway facing onto a different but equally bustling street.

“Well come on then.” Jaejoong snarled, starting off down the alleyway. He knew Yunho was watching him, and so he willed himself not to give away just how uncomfortable he felt being in an alleyway like this. Yunho might even have believed it too, if only Jaejoong hadn't stumbled backing away in a fright when he got a little too close to the wall.

Yunho laughed, quickly catching up to Jaejoong's side, taking his hand in his, but saying nothing.

Within minutes they were back out in public again, but Yunho rushed him into the entrance of the building, before Jaejoong could struggle to take in a breath. The sounds of the city ended with that door, and he felt he could breathe again.

The interior was very dark, filled with sleek and modern furniture. Everything was black, grey or white; feeling sterile and professional. It probably catered to the business people who worked in the high rise office towers all around them. Everywhere in the city was like that these days. Jaejoong felt a little under dressed, annoyed that Yunho would take him out somewhere fancy and forget to inform him about the fact that three was a dress code.

But when his eyes took in Yunho's relaxed yet confident form, hailing a waitress while looking completely out of place without a button up shirt, he decided maybe the clothing didn't matter. At least, it didn't matter for Yunho.

They were lead past many tables, deeper into the restaurant. Though Yunho may have known the place, the waitress gave no indication of recognising him. Perhaps he wasn't a regular customer here? The place was full of people, chinking glasses and conversing softly amongst themselves.

Jaejoong kept his head ducked down, as he followed behind Yunho.

They were sat down at a small table, far away from the entrance, where the room seemed that little bit darker; more discrete. The only light came from a sconce above their heads, which only cast a small pool of light a few inches above their heads, and leaving the rest in muted darkness.

“I've never liked how posh this place is, but it makes lovely food.” Yunho confessed conspiratorially to Jaejoong as they tried to look at the menu. Jaejoong gave up after his third attempt, but in the bad lighting, the letters all seemed to run together.

“I wouldn't know. I can't even see what I'm ordering.” he returned in a huff.

“I know, it's useless trying to order from the menu during the evening. What are you in the mood for?” Yunho queried, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, despite the absence of a joke in his words.

“Hmm. Pork.” Jaejoong decided, mulling over his other options carefully. He didn't really care what he had if he were honest; he just wanted food. But Yunho would have dug his heels in like a mule, refusing to do anything until he picked something in particular. He just knew he would.

Yunho nodded to himself, eyes raising in thought for a moment, before he nodded slightly to himself, and gestured for the waitress to come back. He muttered something to the woman very soft but quick, his tone implying that the slightest delay would result in him complaining to the manager.

The woman disappeared quickly, and Jaejoong narrowed his eyes at the younger man.

“What?” Yunho queried innocently, as though he had no idea what Jaejoong could be annoyed by. “Don't act all innocent. What did you order for me?” he demanded, annoyed by the thought that he was going to get some surprise for his meal. He just wanted to eat and go home.

“Pork.” Yunho replied simply, shrugging his shoulders as though that answered everything. Jaejoong, decided he couldn't be bothered to try and talk with the younger man anymore, and simply slumped down over the table, resting his head against the surface.

A moment later the waitress returned, sliding two drinks onto the table, avoiding Jaejoong's head. The slam of Yunho's drink being placed on the table, sent a jolt of shock through him, sending Jaejoong to sit straight up once again, sending an embarrassed half-smile to both Yunho and the waitress.

Once again the woman left, and a scowl replaced his smile, which he made sure to send in Yunho's direction. The least the other man could have done would be to let him know the woman was coming so he wouldn't humiliate himself like that.

But Yunho seemed as though he didn't even see the look, his own gaze focused upon the drink that had been placed before Jaejoong. Annoyed by the distraction, Jaejoong lowered his gaze to the glass, wanting to know what was so fascinating about it. He stilled slightly when he recognised the fluid that Yunho had ordered for him.

“You remembered?” he queried, breathily, not quite sure how to react to the object staring back at him. It was the drink he would always make sure to have when he was younger; the one everyone used to say probably flowed through his veins in place of blood. He didn't have it as often anymore, and he was certain he hadn't had any of it since they'd started living together.

Yunho nodded, smiling in a relaxed manner at the man before him. He knew the older man was tired and hungry and hadn't really wanted to go out. He'd been so grumpy ever since he got home, that Yunho had hoped he might be able to make him a little happier by giving him his old favourite drink. Well, that and he also wanted to know whether or not his preferences had changed in the few years they'd been apart.

Jaejoong excitedly grabbed for his drink, taking a deep gulp in his excitement. He certainly did enjoy it, so it seemed as though his preferences hadn't changed after all.

The two men sat in silence for a moment just enjoying the moment, until a thoughtful look crossed Jaejoong's features. “Yunho? Do you still play soccer?” he enquired, curiously. The drink had reminded him of times past, and had brought that soccer match back to the forefront of his mind once more.

Yunho fixed the other boy with an odd look, eyebrows quirked unusually, as he answered “Yes, but the season isn't going to start for several months.” bemusedly. Jaejoong nodded slightly to himself at the response.

The conversation dropped off, neither boy really sure what they should be saying to one another. Their food came, Jaejoong eyeing his own distrustfully in the poorly lit area, not sure what to expect it to look like or taste like. Yunho rolled his eyes a little at Jaejoong's behaviour but was smiling all the same. He was sure Jaejoong would enjoy it when he finally got around to tasting it.

Hesitantly, Jaejoong gathered some of the food onto his fork, trying to get a better look at it, before finally deciding he wouldn't be able to look at the food, and would just have to take the plunge and try it in order to identify it. He chewed the food slowly, thoughtfully, trying to sort through the flavours on his tongue.

Swallowing that mouthful he decided that although he still wasn't quite certain about what he was eating, that it tasted fine, and so the second and third forkfuls came much more easily. The two boys ate in silence, and near darkness, until they had cleared their plates.

As Yunho had said, the place certainly did make good food, Jaejoong had decided by the end of it. By the time they had finished though, neither boy had any sense of time anymore, but their tiredness was also beginning to catch up to them. Yunho must have paid, Jaejoong reasoned, because the next thing he knew he was being dragged out of the restaurant out into the chilly streets, which thankfully had less people than before, to begin their short trek home.

An opportunity to get to know one another deeper, seemed to have past by with neither making any attempt to utilise it, and yet the silence seemed to have done them just as much good. Perhaps, it even did more for their relationship than if they'd continued talking given their current moods.

They didn't even look at one another when they returned, both more than ready to go to bed. The answering machine was flashing angrily, but Yunho guiltily ducked his eyesight, to make sure he couldn't see it. He'd deal with it tomorrow, or in a few days; but not now.

Wordlessly, Jaejoong unplugged the phone, not wanting to risk the chance that his sleep might be interrupted by Yunho being hounded by his mother in the middle of the night.

They were only wandering around the apartment for maybe another half an hour, before they were both wrapped up in their blankets, sleeping peacefully in the beds.

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