Shared Melody (Fic Exchange: for twhitesakura)

[dentedsky.livejournal.com]

Title: Shared Melody
Author: dentedsky
Recipient: twhitesakura
Word count: 685
Characters: Yunho, Changmin, Jaejoong
Rating: PG
Author's Notes: Optional details included: Living habits of Yunho and Changmin who share a dorm and Jaejoong teaching Changmin to cook.



Yunho is in the shower when Changmin awakes. His neck is stiff from his awkward sleep on the couch. He’s aware that they had slept there together with Yunho’s head pillowed in Changmin’s lap.

It’s the intimate moments between men; secrets kept in mental shoe boxes and hidden away from seeking eyes.

Changmin hates taking a shower after Yunho because Yunho sometimes leaves the toothpaste in the shower and he always has to retrieve it. As soon as his socks get wet on tiles with now-cold water he lets out a soft aish and continues with his morning ritual –

And he always, always forgets that Yunho takes colder showers –

In the kitchen, Yunho takes a bite of his breakfast. The scream from the bathroom causes him to pause. A moment later he shrugs and continues to chew.

Twenty minutes later and they’re due to leave. Their driver is on his way with the van. At the door Yunho tilts his head to the side and his eyes ask, Are you ready to go?

Changmin puffs out his cheeks and glances quickly around. He purses his lips thoughtfully and nods; his expression says, Yes, I think so.

They make beautiful music during the day, their mornings are an instrumental cacophony of habits and routine and their evenings are sometimes spent at home where Changmin attempts to cook dinner. If Jaejoong were here –

Changmin squints into the pot and wonders if he should’ve put the meat in before the pasta for this dish. He’s tried spaghetti carbonara so many times and yet he can’t quite get it right just like he can’t quite remember what Jaejoong had taught him, those few years ago. He can remember the soft, raspy lilt of Jaejoong’s voice and the way his hands had wielded the wooden spoon as he’d carefully stirred the pot with finesse. His fringe would always fall into his eyes as he bent over the stove and Changmin’s fingers would twitch with the desire to gently push that fringe away.

He never did though. It was much easier to punch him on the arm with a demand for him to pin it back.

(Sometimes Changmin thinks Yunho is so beautiful he can barely stand to look at him. If looking at Yunho is like staring at the sun then thinking of Jaejoong is like the black spots after: memories blotted with tiny black pinpricks as time goes on.)

As Changmin’s serving dinner he thinks about all the little things he should have done differently and that this dish is subpar - then suddenly he wants to take it back – but then it’s already on the table and Yunho is already ready to eat.

Yunho picks up his fork and glances up at Changmin with eyes that say, Can I start now?

Go ahead, Changmin gestures with a lazy wave of his hand as he lowers himself into his own seat.

Yunho wolfs down two whole forkfuls before Changmin has a chance to pick up his own utensils, and Yunho makes a noise of appreciation in the back of his throat. He swallows and throws Changmin a satisfied look: This is delicious!

Changmin twists his lips into a half-smile before it fades. I’m grateful, it says, but I don’t think I did a very good job -

His depreciative thoughts jump away, because now Yunho’s expression is saying something else entirely. He’s blinking and frowning down at his meal.

I’m not allowed to eat carbohydrates this late at night, says Yunho soundlessly.

Changmin glances down at his own dinner and back. I don’t want to eat without you, Changmin replies. He fingers his fork hesitantly.

Yunho’s eyes widen. You’re supposed to be putting on weight. He throws Changmin an encouraging smile and stands up get something fat free for dinner. He gives Changmin one last glance, raising his eyebrows. Eat.

Changmin does. It tastes quite good, but –

He glances at Yunho who’s bent down, looking into the fridge –

Thinks about their shared melody –

Needs refinement, he thinks, but this time Yunho doesn’t catch his thoughts.

Yunho probably already knows anyway.

--End

Comments

[glitterburn.livejournal.com]

Ooh this was gorgeous and so lovingly precise in its execution! I love the way they communicate without the need for words. The way the fic flows like - not music, but the beat upon which music is built. Their lives together have a certain rhythm and the beat can always go in a different direction, or stop entirely, and then it goes on again.

If looking at Yunho is like staring at the sun then thinking of Jaejoong is like the black spots after

Beautifully worded.

Thank you for sharing.

[dentedsky.livejournal.com]

Nnngh the way you comment Xo But yes... there was this interview thingy they did where they had to guess animal noises? And the way they interacted, communicating with their eyes and sort of - well - reading each other's minds and feeding off the other's energy - I liked that, I wanted to explore it a bit.

Thank you! =D

[t-hikari.livejournal.com]

I’m not allowed to eat carbohydrates this late at night
Okay, my favorite line ヾ(´ε｀*)ゝ

Brb after I digest this fic *am slow*

[t-hikari.livejournal.com]

Okay I sort of get it!! ~ヽ('ー`)ノ~ ~ヽ('ー`)ノ~
It's about Chami running with his own thoughts when perhaps Yunho doesn't mean what he thinks at all! ...right? gyaaaa *am fail*

[cc9095.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I think that in real life they can read each others mind.

[dentedsky.livejournal.com]

Like in a real way? =0 I think that they can - I mean, whatever is physically possible with ESP, I reckon they have achieved it.

[dentedsky.livejournal.com]

I did think of you and our conversation kkkk their bromance is wonderful~

I know I got into soul fighters a bit too; we missed out! ;_;

Thank you bb ^o^

[trish3815.livejournal.com]

After so many years together I guess with little gestures and they already know what the other is thinking..
thank you.

[dentedsky.livejournal.com]

I like to think so ^^ Thank you bb!

[isaofdoom.livejournal.com]

i just want to give them. a thousand hugs. ; A ;♥ i do imagine that this is their silent communication that they're always bragging about~ loved it, as usual. \o/

[dentedsky.livejournal.com]

Thank you honey bunny! =*

[changmin-amour.livejournal.com]

loved this.. nice to see the bromance! and how the not-so-perfect can become perfect, if you give it the chance.
thank you for this!

[dentedsky.livejournal.com]

Thank you for reading! =3

[twhitesakura.livejournal.com]

Uh. Tremendous. And you threw in those little things about Jaejoong too! Be still my biased heart! I love that line about Yunho being compared to the sun and Jaejoong being the dark spots afterwards. I love how Yunho and Changmin aren't perfect (because they've admitted in real life before that they really are like opposites) but how much things work between them anyway, and how they accept each others' foibles (despite Changmin's grumbling). It's so like Changmin to keep thinking things need to improve, to be refined, but I think they're perfect the way they are in this story. Thank you for such a marvelous gift! *holds back impulse to ajfkjeiraihrerh*

[dentedsky.livejournal.com]

Aw =) I like to think they're a perfect duet but we also know that they're always striving for refinement and perfection, especially since they were so melodious when they had five members. In the wake of that perhaps they feel they need to connect again, in a different way.

Or something like that lol!

Thanks for your review and I'm glad you liked it =D

[snow-meow.livejournal.com]

I like the way you told the story.

They are not perfect yet as a duo but they are getting there to do what needs to be done.

[dentedsky.livejournal.com]

Yes! That's exactly the essence of the fic, I feel. Thank you =D

[xxfergiexx.livejournal.com]

He’s aware that they had slept there together with Yunho’s head pillowed in Changmin’s lap.

It’s the intimate moments between men; secrets kept in mental shoe boxes and hidden away from seeking eyes.


oh this part is lovely! Let's put aside how much I love that Yunho napped with his head on Min's lap, I really do wonder how many of those 'shoe box' moments exist between them.

Bet they go home and cuddle. LOL!

Love this fic, bb! A cute, endearing little snapshot of their daily life! That best part is they admit that they communicate just by looking at each other. Such perfect, beautiful bromance!!! <3

[dentedsky.livejournal.com]

Of course~ we know they 'embrace' at home lol! I'm re-translating that into 'cuddle' *nods*

Thank you honey funny bunny! =3

[satoshiice.livejournal.com]

Sometimes Changmin thinks Yunho is so beautiful he can barely stand to look at him. If looking at Yunho is like staring at the sun then thinking of Jaejoong is like the black spots after

favourite line <3 this whole piece was so soft and melancholy

[dentedsky.livejournal.com]

=') I'm glad you liked it, thank you!

[fibres.livejournal.com]

ooh, rae, this was beautiful.

the first few lines were a bit awkward to get into for me (they felt kind of choppy), but once it hit It’s the intimate moments between men; secrets kept in mental shoe boxes and hidden away from seeking eyes, it felt like your fic really began to, idk, take off? like, there was a innate rhythm to your words that worked well with the easy rhythm that is homin's relationship, and your cut-off sentences really helped with that feeling.

but oh my, if yunho and changmin really were this way irl ♥ i would imagine most of their conversations would be confusing to the nearby spectator since the other person wouldn't know what's going on, lol.

so much love. ♥

[dentedsky.livejournal.com]

they felt kind of choppy

Yeah they feel choppy to me too, in fact the first draft of this was even choppier =/ I don't know why I couldn't reword the first line properly, perhaps I should have taken the time to really work on it. Oh well, next time.

But aside from that I'm so happy to read that there was a rhythm to it. I mean, I tried to use music metaphors and all the rest as well as give it a certain flow... but it's nice to hear it was read that way.

And and and you read my fic! lololololol XD

Thank you Amy kisskiss!

[msamplified11.livejournal.com]

Beautifully written!! The flow was smooth and I always love HoMin ESP-i-know-watcha-thinkin moments. Couple or not (desperately hoping it's the former lolz) the best part of their relationship is their awesome friendship. It's built on years of trust, which explains their comfort level. And I'm damn sure they share alot of unspoken moments, said so themselves. Nice one! =]

[dentedsky.livejournal.com]

That's what I love about them too ^^ Best real life bromance. Thank you!

[keiko-kirin.livejournal.com]

Really like how much they understand each other, and that the true connection between them includes imperfections, because that's so realistic. So lovely! ♥

[dentedsky.livejournal.com]

Thank you~ ♥

[blueplue-hotaru.livejournal.com]

the only men i believe can read each other's thoughts like breathing the same air. ^^

[dentedsky.livejournal.com]

I think so too kkkk =3

[acornmama.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, that was beautiful. I love when things can be expressed sometimes without words, when they can "get it". can communicate. I heard the term elsewhere, but it applies in situations like this ... when couples have their own shorthand way of speaking. When they know each other that well. Beautiful.

[dentedsky.livejournal.com]

If you remember the term let me know because I'd like to get my hands on a word like that XD I love that homin have their own silent dialect, it's really beautiful to see if/when the camera ever catches it. Thank you, I'm glad you liked it =3