Over the Hump | Rise as One #19

[owned_by_a_cat]

Series: Rise as One
Rating: R / NC-17
Pairing: HoMin/MinHo
Summary: A series of connected shorts, chronicling Yunho and Changmin's enlistment and getting me through the hiatus. Changmin hates change. Yunho accepts it more readily. But both now have to come to terms with not seeing each other or working together for two years. How will the experience shape them? Will they, when their enlistments are done, still be able to Rise as One?

A/N: Where Yunho makes a video.
I wrote this some time in early September when I felt like celebrating that we were over the hump. The downward slide started on August 3rd and it's now less than a year to go until the two are re-united. Roughly at the same time there were pictures online of Changmin and Siwon at SUM Cafe, and Changmin had long marks on his neck which may or may not have been the result of a massage to help with migraines.
I've no idea why I didn't post it back then. Maybe life happened or something. But the Muse is catching up and here we are…

Over the Hump

"What is all this?" Changmin took a firm hold of the crate he was handed, momentarily surprised by how heavy it was.

"Oh, just a little something the company put together for you," his manager placated.

"It doesn't feel little. It's damned heavy."

"There're water bottles at the bottom. The rest is all snacks and treats and boxes of ginseng."

"What?"

"TVXQ branded snacks, Changmin-ssi? You remember those?"

"Well, of course, but—"

"The company thought your comrades might like a few samples. To try themselves, and maybe as gifts for their friends?"

Changmin sighed. He was used to marketing ploys. Of course he was. His whole fucking life was one big marketing effort.When he felt truly off-centre he was known to point out that he he could just spend his life flying from Korea to Japan and back, doing nothing more taxing than walk through the airport to earn the company money.

"Stop being so grumpy. I might start to think you didn't speak to Yunho for a year and I know that's not true."

"It's been almost ten days," Changmin ground out.

"Six days. He's been away performing for exactly six days, Changmin-ssi. And before I forget—" the man reached into his jacket and pulled out a packet. Something small and solid wrapped in plain paper was pressed into Changmin's palm before he could react. "Don't open this until you're completely alone. And please read the note before you use it."

Changmin lifted the crate and balanced it on his head so he had a hand free and could inspect the item he'd just been given. It didn't look much. A small, flat rectangle, a fraction of the size of a matchbox. He could see Yunho's handwriting on the paper wrapping the item, the pen strokes almost breaking through. Not enough to read what it said, though. For that he'd have to unwrap the thing. Which… apparently… he shouldn't do unless he was entirely alone. As if that was likely to happen any time soon. What was this? Annoy Changmin Day?

It very clearly was because it was nearly midnight when Changmin was finally alone and undisturbed. He carefully dug the little packet out of his pocket and used his nail to cut through the tape.

Then he stopped.

They didn't really do gifts, he and Yunho. Something that came wrapped didn't necessarily mean it was good news. And he certainly wasn't ready to hear the bad stuff.

He stared at the little rectangle. Turned it this way and that as if he could discern what it held by glaring at it.

Could he, maybe… hide it and forget about it? But what if it was a gift and he never thanked Yunho for it?

"Shim, you're a pathetic disgrace. Yunho should toss your ass out on the street next chance he gets."

He couldn't, of course. Wouldn't want to, either. Hopefully. But therein lay the problem. Being apart for so long, after spending so much time together, brought its own dangers. They spoke, they saw each other occasionally, but they spent the majority of their time with other people and Yunho… Yunho was a force of nature, impossible to resist. He made friends where he went while Changmin—

"Oh, get a fucking grip, Shim!"

Changmin unfolded the paper wrapper, tearing it a little in his haste, and then stared wide-eyed at a tiny memory stick and Yunho's letter. The gift, if it was a gift, made no immediate sense, so Changmin took a deep breath and pulled up the note. He was supposed to read it first, after all.

Changminnie,

I know you're struggling. Yes, I know the signs and how to read them. I'll kill Siwon & co. next time I see them. They're supposed to look after you, not give you migraines.

Still, we're over the hump, and it's less than a year now.

Time should pass faster now we're on the slide. Remember how you kept telling me that in the days when things were not so good? I'm hoping you'll believe it yourself. I'm doing my best here.

If there's one thing you're so much better at than I am, it's imagining outcomes. Remember when you found that old washboard and stuck it to the fridge? Yeah, I know, I was making fun of you for it all the time, but… you were right and I'm enjoying the results very much. As are the fans, judging by the mayhem that breaks out every time you take your shirt off on stage. So I'm thinking this is the same as your washboard.

The outcome. You just need to imagine it. Visualise it. Focus on it.

And I really can't wait for the result.

Y

Changmin slipped the memory stick into his tablet. There would be music, he knew that much without asking. He hadn't expected Rise as One to come from the speakers, though. His anthem, his declaration to the two of them… sung by Yunho.

And it sounded entirely other.

The background track was softer, richer somehow, and Yunho sang the familiar lyrics very differently. He didn't go for defiance and denial. His song was hopeful, joyful, convinced and convincing.

Changmin choked up while he listened.

Until a flash of something caught at the corner of his eye and he realised he'd been so caught up in Yunho singing that he'd missed half of Yunho's gift. There was a slide show to go with the music and Changmin started to howl with laughter before he was halfway through. The screen was split to show images of the two of them, but while Changmin started out in black silk shorts Yunho was fully dressed. As the music wound up, Yunho lost item after item of clothing until he was the one in the shorts and Changmin was impeccably decked out in Armani.

He had memories to go with every single one of the images, memories that had nothing to do with concerts or fan meets or photo shoots. They were, however, images that reminded him of what he'd had and what he had to look forward to in a few more months.

Powerful images. Memories that heated his blood and his ears. And music that made him smile in helpless adoration.

It was the outcome Yunho wanted him to visualise. And coupled with the track that was his, the gift couldn't have been more perfect.