Later that evening, neither boy really knew what to do with themselves once again. There was a certain amount of residual awkwardness from their earlier discussion, so neither really knew what they should do to resolve it. They had committed to the fact that they wanted to be friends with one another, but saying it and doing it were different things.

Even another evening meal prepared by Jaejoong wasn't enough to lessen the pangs in his stomach. He wanted things to get better between the two of them, but things just never seemed to work out that way.

As a result he'd gotten out the two containers of take home ice cream he'd picked up when he went to buy the bookcase self-assembly kit. They'd been expensive, but their favourite ice cream flavours always had been.

The moment he'd put his own on the kitchen counter, Jaejoong's eyes had been trained upon him; first in interest then in jealousy. “Did you want some?” he questioned with a smile.

“Damn straight.” Jaejoong commented, hand open, waving Yunho over. The younger man smiled slightly, abandoning his own treat, to hand Jaejoong the one he'd picked up for the older man when he was out.

Jaejoong immediately dug into his container, eyes widening in pleasure, when he recognised the flavour the pack contained. He'd eaten whole tubs of the stuff before, back in the days when they used to pick some up on their way home from school. But he hadn't been able to have any for a while, and the flavour, without Yunho by his side, joking with him, only made his stomach ache with the loss of his best friend.

He hadn't been able to enjoy it the few times he'd had it. For the first time in years, the cool, creamy substance slid down the back of his throat, only to be met by pleasure welling up from within the older man. He moaned and giggled, scooping up more of the treat, barely noticing the way Yunho was watching him.

Yunho had to say he was pleased. He'd been a little worried that the older man would have changed his ice cream preference since those teenage days, and so his gift would have gone unwanted, though more than likely still eaten.

He eyed the older man's pleasure, for several moments, his own motivation to consume the sugary treat dwindling slightly. Jaejoong probably didn't realise it, but Yunho had bought the ice cream as a tributary gift; in the hopes that they could renew their old friendship properly from this moment on.

He flicked his spoon from side to side, as he considered the words he wanted to say to Jaejoong, right now.

“Jaejoong?” he queried, not fully certain about what he was about to say to the older male.

Jaejoong's eyes flicked across to him innocently, as the spoon remained lodged in his own mouth. He had his attention now, curiosity lingering behind his gaze, but he made no moves to speak. Yunho would elaborate, no doubt.

Yunho took a deep breath, trying to force the words to go past his lips, knowing that it was the only way they could even try and regain their friendship. The past lingered too heavily, shadowing every attempt to interact. To be friends properly, they would need to sever their ties with that past. They needed a fresh slate between them.

“We... I think we need... I want.. to start over.” Yunho stuttered, fumbling with his words, trying to avoid the implications each beginning might have, when considering his request.

Jaejoong's eyes were alight but for a moment he said nothing; pausing. Considering. He tentatively brought his spoon down, resting it in his ice cream tub. “I don't think we should.” he answered carefully.

Yunho's eye brows raised in his confusion, “But we have to... You said that you wanted us to be friends again..” he stated haltingly, appealing to Jaejoong to confirm he hadn't imagined that statement.

“I did.” Jaejoong chimed, nodding his head slightly, as he fiddled with his spoon idly.

“But with everything that happened between us... I don't think we can become friends, until we get rid of the past between us.” Yunho stated vehemently. He couldn't believe Jaejoong was being so stubborn about this. He only wanted what was best for the future of their relationship.

Actually, he could. Jaejoong's stubbornness could always be counted upon to rear its head right when Yunho least wanted it to.

“I don't think it's that easy!” Jaejoong exclaimed. “You can't just wave your wand and get rid of what happened Yunho! In case you didn't know it was a pretty big event in my ing life! Since then, everything has tried to go to , and I'm normally only a few centimetres away from having everything collapse. Pretending we never happened, isn't going to change that, and it certainly isn't going to help it.” he sighed, exasperated.

How was it physically possible that realistic, down-to-earth Yunho could be so stupid sometimes. Every now and then feet-on-the-ground Yunho would become convinced he could move mountains with a single word.

Yunho shrunk back a little, more than likely in guilt, if the sheepish look on his features were any indication. Jaejoong could tell he wouldn't say anything back to that comment. The Yunho he knew always took his role in things very seriously, and he had been pretty much the only actor in the murder of their friendship. Fair, just Yunho would accept whatever Jaejoong gave as punishment for that act; making no attempt to defend himself.

“And besides that, I still remember a very sweet-natured boy, who always tried to do the right thing. A very kind boy, who took on more than his fair share in everything. I'm not sure I want to let that boy go.” Jaejoong admitted, feeling almost as though the mention of that old Yunho were some sort of secret.

“But then what are we going to do?” Yunho questioned, bringing his own ice cream tub over to the lounge, taking up the other end, Jaejoong had left free, eyes not leaving the older male. “If we can't ignore it, then it'll keep affecting our relationship. We don't trust one another.” he whined.

Jaejoong smiled slightly into his ice cream container, “Well I see how it is!” he muttered, sounding as offended as he could, despite the grin trying to break across his features. “I do trust you Yunho, I'm just not sure where I stand in all of this. I mean we used to be such good friends, and now after years of not speaking we've been thrown back into each others lives again. I still see so much of that boy I was friends with, but people change, I never even knew why we stopped being friends!” he confessed, and Yunho groaned slightly at the comment.

This was why he wanted to put all that behind them.

“Why doesn't matter anymore. The fact is we were friends, and we can be friends again now.” he pushed. “But how are we going to go about it?” he demanded, as though Jaejoong would have the answers for him; that he just had to push the other boy that little bit harder, and he would reveal all.

Jaejoong glared at the other boy for his pushiness, but let it go, pondering for a moment. In truth, he did want them to be friends again, like the old days. But there was still so much they didn't know about one another. They had barely started speaking again, after years of silence.

“Well I guess, we could start spending more time together. Maybe if we see each other more, and are more involved in each other's lives we'll be able to rebuild that friendship?” Jaejoong suggested.

Yunho nodded excitedly, already mentally calculating how much of his day he could spend attached to Jaejoong, no doubt. “Good. I want to be close again.” he confessed tone strong, as though he were certain that this one move would be the answer to all of his prayers.

Jaejoong smiled slightly, “Are you sure about that? Being close would draw you even further into my ed up life.”

“Well, my life isn't exactly a bed of roses either you know?” Yunho joked, noting the way Jaejoong rolled his eyes at the statement. Maybe someday soon he could find out just how serious Yunho's words should be interpreted.

“Besides, if everything started going wrong when I stopped being friends with you, maybe I can fix everything, by being your friend again.” he suggested, thoughtfully.

“Yeah, and I'll fix yours.” Jaejoong offered, calmly, as he grabbed another scoop of his ice cream.

“God I hope so.” Yunho whispered to himself. Because he just knew after Seohyun's visit that everything would probably get a hundred times worse any day now.

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