Title: Overdue
Pairings: JaeMin, YooSu
Rating: PG-13ish
Notes: Hey, all! Sorry, this is out a little bit later than I wanted, but I got home super late from work due to freakin' damn snow. Damn it. Stupid snow… *grumbles* Anywayz! It's still Friday, though (at least in my time zone), so at least I didn't break my promise. *nods, grins* Stilllll not a whole lot of action in this one, but it'll start picking up from here.
Summary: Sequel to Possession. Falling can mean so many things: falling into his arms, falling in love, falling out, falling to pieces, falling apart...
Previous: Possession, Bonus Scenes, Falling: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Poetry, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12

Chapter 13: Overdue

You're worried; there's no denying how scared you are at this point. And it's not just for Min but all of you. Scared for Jae because his life seems to revolve around Min right now. Scared for Chun, who can't seem to deal with the stress circulating around the situation. Scared for Su because he's trying so hard to be so strong for all of you.

Terrified for yourself, the supposed leader. You're the one they should all be able to depend on, the one that should be able to take care of them. You haven't taken much care of anything so far. The five of you are falling apart, and you'd be lying if you said you had any idea what to do about it.

Yoochun blames Changmin for all of it. You saw it in his eyes this morning when Min shuffled into the kitchen. You wonder, though. Maybe this has been building and growing inside all of you for some time now. Perhaps Changmin was just the catalyst, not the cause.

Jae's posture screams his fear as he opens the bathroom door. You worry about what the two of you will find when you get into the room. You hope all your worst ideas stay simply figments of your imagination. As frustrating as Min's been lately, you don't think you could deal with anything happening to him. Again.

Jae takes a couple steps into the bathroom before kneeling down next to Min. Your youngest is curled on his side, eyes closed, breath even. He's asleep again, and you can't really blame him. It's so obvious now how hard he's been fighting against himself; the sleep is probably good for a brief reprieve, at least.

Jae runs his fingers through Min's hair once, twice. You watch over his shoulder. On the third pass, he pauses and furrows his brow. He rubs his fingers back and forth on one spot, and Min groans in his sleep. "Jae? What's wrong?"

"He's got a huge knot on the back of his head. How- I don't- Do you… No, that's ridiculous." His words start and stop, blend together then fade off. He's got an idea, but he's second-guessing himself. Usually an indication that he doesn't like the conclusion he's come to.

"Jae, slow down for a minute. Take a breath, put your thoughts together, then tell me what in the world you're trying to say." You stare at him intently until he follows your suggestion.

His eyes close as he inhales deeply and attempts to organize his thoughts. "Those sounds we heard while we couldn't get the door open, the constant thuds… I assumed he was just punching the wall or the floor or something. But what if he wasn't? How would he get this kind of knot on his head unless he did it to himself?"

Maybe you should have seen it coming. Maybe you should be as good at putting pieces together as Jaejoong is. You're not, sadly, and that's why you rely so heavily on him at times. You don't want to admit that his suggestion is a possibility. How can you deny the facts that are staring you in the face, though? The two of you would have heard a fall that was hard enough to make that kind of injury. It never happened. So it's entirely likely that Jae's right.

You curse. Violently.

Changmin stirs then, his eyelids fluttering, and you shut yourself up immediately. When he wakes completely, he stares up at first you then Jae. He doesn't attempt to explain anything. (He doesn't even know you know.) Jae breaks the silence first. "Hey, Minnie. How you feeling?"

Min half-shrugs, attempts to sit up but ends up mostly leaning against Jae's chest. You finally crouch down so that you're on the same level. You want to start questioning him right away, figure out how far he's gone so you know how far you have to go to fix it, but he looks so tired. Exhaustion that no amount of sleep will alleviate. You look at Jae instead. "Why don't you help him to bed? I'll go get him some water and aspirin. He's probably got a killer headache if that bump on his head is anything to go by."

Jae flashes you a relieved smile; Min simply watches passively, as if you're not even talking about him. That's not how it should be. He should be fighting tooth and nail, insisting that he's not hurt and doesn't need to be babied. And you're so scared. Because what if you're just too damn late to fix this? What if you've already lost him?