Crumbling Bridges {YuJae} | complete

six

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"Yuta?"

Jaehyun's lips move before his brain, and he recoils away from the elder man with his gaze cast low and fingers twisting together behind his back to channel his anxiety away from his face.

Yuta's eyes burn dark when he shrugs on his coat and hums in vague acknowledgement. Jaehyun's tongue sits heavy in his mouth, clumsy and buried under the stack of words he has to say until it has no space to move, and he stumbles a few times before he manages to pronounce something more than a pathetic stutter.

"I'm sorry."

His scrambled thoughts make no sense, and he despises himself for losing control once again, this time at the cost of a friendship that could hold the promise of more.

Yuta narrows his eyes. He looks Jaehyun up and down for seven unbearable seconds. The younger sucks in a breath and bites the inside of his cheeks, willing his mind to shut up and stop threatening to blurt out another pointless lie. Eventually, Yuta's stare comes to settle in line with Jaehyun's. His pupils tug Jaehyun in, and the younger tumbles into their pit of regret and yearning with the dizzy realisation that Johnny was right.

"Please can we... can we move on? Like, forget it ever happened?" Jaehyun tries again. Yuta tilts his head to the side. The silent air turns the staffroom into a cell Jaehyun swears he's been stuck in for half his life.

Then, Yuta smiles. His lips curl into a delighted smirk, cheeky and playful, and he reaches out to give the younger's shoulder a gentle punch.

"I thought you hated me." Yuta exclaims through a breathy laugh. Jaehyun laughs in time with him, if a little awkward. He hopes his body language conceals the frantic pulse of his heart and tension of his fingers. "I'd be more than happy to move on. I'm sorry, too. Everyone has personal stuff, and I shouldn't have pushed. I don't care who the tampons were for. Really."

Jaehyun bites his lips to soften the giddiness in his own smile as he lets his body relax into Yuta's arms. He caught a stiff hug with Hyejin before she left for school while an impatient Donghyuck lingered in the hallway but that hardly satiated his urge for some physical affection, so now that Yuta rubs small circles into his back his mind explodes in happiness. Shards of pure elation dissolve through his limbs and Jaehyun swears this is the best he's felt all month.

Even when Yuta pulls away, his warmth calms him. Jaehyun pushes his hands into his pockets so they can't cling onto the Japanese's leather jacket and admires his outfit instead. The small ponytail is held together by silver bobby pins that match the gleam of his belt; his loose-fitting, white shirt is tucked in to highlight his slim waist that Jaehyun so wants to hold.

"You scared me." Yuta adds once they've reached the shop floor. The sun hangs low in the sky and reveals the smears on the front windows, the orange glow just peeking over the horizon, and Jaehyun doesn't care for his long list of evening chores. He's just happy to break the silence. Curious, he frowns and glances sideways at the elder to get him to elaborate. "I'd never seen you lash out like that. But I'm glad things are okay between us now. You're a nice guy."

Jaehyun's chest warms. He'll take that compliment. His heart very much appreciates it. Yuta flicks through a box of discounted LPs, humming as he does so, and Jaehyun leans in to listen as though there were a natural force attracting him to the song. It's upbeat, and the knowledge that Yuta is happy settles his mind.

"Pick one. I'll buy it for you."

Jaehyun looks at the elder, unsure if he heard the words correctly, then lowers his gaze to Yuta's hands that point to the LPs. The feeling isn't unusual, but today more than ever Jaehyun's head hisses that he doesn't deserve a gift, and he falters for a few seconds.