Jaejoong was determined that he would try and keep that mask held on as tightly as he possibly could from now on. He would make sure Yunho knew he'd gone back to the self-controlled loner the younger boy preferred, so that they could start being friends again.

For the next few days he kept it up. At first Yunho had looked at him with confusion written plain across his features. Jaejoong hoped that his confusion was a good thing in this case. After that, Yunho kept trying harder and harder to make Jaejoong open up to him more. The more he tried, the more the old part of him that felt familiar and comfortable with Yunho tried expressing itself, and the harder he had to try to keep it in check.

The situation came to a head that Thursday. On Thursdays Yunho made it back to the apartment several hours before Jaejoong did. He'd finally had a chance to get the new bookshelf for Jaejoong's room, and had the opportunity to set it up. He knew he wouldn't be able to move it around once it was completed, so he put it together in the room. Because there wasn't enough space for it the way the room was arranged earlier, he'd had to turn the whole room's arrangement around before he started.

By the time Jaejoong came home though, it was finished. He'd been excitedly grinning whenever he looked at it, seeing the room as that much closer to being complete. He'd even started putting the books onto the bookshelf for him. He couldn't wait until the moment Jaejoong came back home and saw it.

When Jaejoong got home, he'd had to resist the urge to call him into the room to look at it straight away. Jaejoong had made his own way to the room within moments. He went to walk into the room, and dump his bag down, when the new arrangement registered in his mind. He froze, and Yunho saw the look of delight that flashed in his eyes as he noticed Yunho stocking his books on the new bookshelf.

For a moment Yunho allowed himself to expect the old Jaejoong to shine through in response. Normally Jaejoong couldn't resist making a big deal about something that pleased him. He'd jump up and down, laughing and hugging, squeezing as many thank yous as he could into the mix. His eyes would sparkle with joy and a massive grin would overrun the bottom half of his face.

At least in the old days.

He'd seen some of that Jaejoong in those eyes he missed so much over these last few years, but then they were gone. The same impassive wall masking his features. “Thanks.” he commented, sounding constrained and awkward. Yunho's face fell slightly, not having received the reaction he expected. But he heard the tightness in the other boy's tone; he had wanted to say something more.

It was then that Yunho had his answer about what had been going on the last few days; Jaejoong was holding back from him; hiding from him. Within himself, but it was still hiding.

Jaejoong, seemed overcome by whatever he was trying to keep to himself and quickly tried to leave the room. He'd been doing this for days and Yunho was tired of it. He'd thought when Jaejoong had spoken to him so openly the previous weekend that they would open up to one another again. But since then, Jaejoong had only withdrawn more inside himself.

He wasn't going to allow Jaejoong to run away from him again. He'd gone through too much effort setting everything up for him, and was only looking for a little bit of pleasure from the other boy to make that effort worthwhile. If he wasn't getting that, he must've done something wrong, and he wanted to know what it was now, so he could correct it right away.

Dropping the few books he still held, he slid across the bed separating him from the other man's retreating figure, chasing after his hurried footsteps. He'd always been quicker than Jaejoong, so before the other boy had even realised he was being chased, his forearm had been roughly grasped in the younger man's strong grip.

“Yah! What's you're problem? What did I do?” Yunho demanded, eyes pleading with Jaejoong to just tell him everything.

Jaejoong's eyebrows quirked in confusion at the question, not having expected Yunho to react like that. He was only doing what he'd thought Yunho wanted him to do for so many years now. Maybe he wanted more recognition when he did something for Jaejoong?

“I don't have any. You didn't do anything wrong.” he answered quietly, not sure whether he should try meeting Yunho's gaze or not. He didn't want to see the other man was angry with him, for not recognising him, but nor did he want to see hurt in the other man's eyes either. He hadn't been trying to hurt his feelings.

“I must've. Do you not like the room? We can move everything back the way it was before if you prefer?” Yunho offered, trying to keep the hurt out of his tone. He didn't want to make Jaejoong feel guilty, even if he was disappointed that the other boy hadn't enjoyed his surprise. He was always reasonable, and he wasn't going to allow himself to stop being so, when he was dealing with Jaejoong.

“No. I like it this way.” Jaejoong spluttered, not wanting Yunho to try moving everything in his room back the way it was before. “I like it how it is now.” he reiterated, other hand trailing down Yunho's cheek gently, trying to emphasise his words.

He saw the way Yunho's eyes dilated in pleasure momentarily, before they clouded with confusion. “What do you want from me?” Yunho demanded, exasperatedly.

Jaejoong wasn't sure what Yunho meant by the question. “What do you mean?” he enquired hesitantly, trying to work out where Yunho was going with the question.

“I mean, you make no sense. One moment you're so cold then next your warm. I don't know where I stand with you from one moment to the next.” he exclaimed. Jaejoong wasn't sure what to say in response to a comment like that. “I just want to know, what you want this to be. Do you want us to be complete individuals sharing a house, or do you want us to be friends? I want to know where I stand in this.” Yunho explained carefully, knowing he had just handed full control over their future to Jaejoong.

His heart pounded slightly, a rush of fear and excitement racing through his bloodstream. He had tried anticipating Jaejoong's thoughts about all sorts of things since the boy had first walked into his life, a little over a week ago. But now he was actually asking for that opinion. He had no idea what he should expect, Jaejoong's complete personality change having thrown him through so many loops, he couldn't be sure what he would do.

Jaejoong fixed Yunho with a curious look. He'd never considered that two people could live together and not be involved in one another's lives. He considered commenting on Yunho's unfair binary about how their relationship will be, given all the different ways people can be involved in one another's lives. But he answered easily enough, quickly enough that Yunho hadn't even had a chance to start doubting what he'd just asked Jaejoong to decide about the both of them. “If those are my choices, I want us to be friends.” he answered quietly.

Yunho's features told Jaejoong he was relieved to hear so, telling Jaejoong he'd made the right choice. Still that left him in a bit of an odd position right now. He needed some time to think things through, but he couldn't leave things with that hazy air between them regarding his room.

The arm that had been near Yunho's face, carefully wound itself around his neck, his other arm, carefully twisting itself free of Yunho's relief-slackened grip and wrapping cautiously around the taller man's waist. The hug was loose, just as he'd intended it to be, and pulling back a moment later, there was a warm smile on his lips, shining through his cold demeanour from a few minutes earlier. “Thank you Yunho. I love the new bookcase, and my room works much better arranged this way. I know it must've taken you a while, so thank you.” he told the other carefully, knowing that the longer sentences would convince Yunho that they were genuine.

But for the moment, he really needed to go to the bathroom.