Key sipped at his tea, savoring it's warmth and flavor.  Really good Oolong was expensive and not the easiest to find, but his grandmother managed to always keep some on hand.  He sat with her in her parlour, at one of the small, white, wrought iron tables, conversing lightly with her.  Though the conversation was superficial, he was enjoying himself...

Bang!  Bang!  Bang!

"What the hell was that?"  Key asked, whipping his head around.  His grandmother raised a brow at the profanity.

"I suppose someone is at the door," she said steadily, nonplussed.  "Whoever it is, they can wait until I'm done having tea with my grandson."

It was silent again, so Key returned his attention to the cup and saucer in front of him.  Just as he picked up his cup, however, the pounding came again, causing him to drop it with a jolt.  The pretty China shattered, Key swearing ripely.  "Go away!" He shouted.

However, the pounding continued, and his grandmother disappeared-- as did the parlour around him...

Bang!  Bang!  Bang!

Key opened bleary eyes, squinting in annoyance and at the sun.  The knocking sounded again as he reached for his clock.  It was around ten in the morning.  The banging on the door continued.

"I'm coming!"  He screamed irritably, kicking the blankets off of him.  Cursing under his breath, he dragged his pajama-clad self out of bed and into the living room, where Taemin, too, was rubbing his sleepy eyes in confusion on the couch.  Key nearly smiled at the disheveled state of his hair; it looked like a red dandelion.  But the start of the smile contorted into unadulturated fury when the knock at the door came yet again.

That.

Was. 

It.

- A few minutes earlier -

"Maybe they got an early start today?"  

"I don't know," Minho sighed.  "They work late, so I doubt it.  They're probably sleeping in, which means it's probably a bad idea to be--"

Jonghyun knocked again, and hissed when Minho slapped his hand.  "What was that for?" He whined.

Minho opened his mouth to answer, but the words died on his tongue as they heard an ominous thudding from the other side of the door.  It sounded like impending doom.  They both shrank back as the door was swung open by a black-and-burgundy-haired demon wearing a pink T-shirt and rubber ducky pajama pants.

"WHAT?!?!"  The Key-demon screamed.  It took about three seconds for his half-asleep brain to register who the stunned men at his door were.  "You!"  He growled.  "What the hell are you two doing here?"

Jonghyun poked his head out from behind Minho, grinning lop-sidedly.  "We came to see if you two wanted to come out today."

Key's eyes narrowed.  "How do you even know we're free today?"

"Lucky guess?"  Jonghyun shrugged.  In truth, he'd thrown a bit of money at one of the bouncers for this tidbit of information.

"How did you know which apartment I lived in?"

Jonghyun looked sheepish at first, then just widened his grin.  "Well... I definitely did not push a bunch of random buttons and question all the neighbors that came out."

"Oh my god..."  Key grumbled, rubbing his temples.  "You're something else."

"Komowayo," Jonghyun replied, failing to realize it wasn't a compliment.  "So, what do you say?  Wanna come out today?"

With a groan, Key slammed the door in his face.  Jonghyun tapped on it lightly.

"Is that a maybe?"

Minho and Taemin walked behind Jonghyun and Key.  Their breaths fogged in the chilly air, but at least the sun was shining.  Key pulled his face deeper into his jacket, teeth chattering.

"You really are annoyingly persistent, short-stack," he grumbled at Jonghyun, whose lip twitched at the remark about his height.  Key did not feel bad about making the brunette and his amphibious friend wait outside the door for over half an hour while he and Taemin took their time drinking coffee and getting ready.  The way he saw it, stringbean and shorty should feel honored that he and Taemin came out with them after being so rudely awakened on their day off.  Honored!

"What, are you saying you're not worth it?"  Jonghyun countered charmingly.

Key sputtered, the logical compliment taking the wind out of his sails.  His back straightened and his chest puffed out a bit.  He flipped the scarf around his neck haughtily.  "Psh!  Of course I am!"

Taemin giggled tinklingly as he watched the pair, the sound charming to Minho's ears.  The older boy was playing it more subtly with Taemin, guessing (correctly) that he would only be intimidated by aggressive come-ons.  Minho smiled easily at him.  "Is he always like this?" he asked, gesturing to Key.

Taemin smiled.  "Yes and no.  The attitude is definitely part of his personality, but it's usually more of a buffer than anything.  He's much more kind and low-key when he's around close friends, or when we're alone."

Minho nodded understandingly, keeping up light chatter as the four marched on over the icy sidewalks.  Jonghyun led them all to a nice fusion restaraunt, where they gratefully shed their heavy coats once they were seated.  Key's brow arched a little as he looked at the menu, which was written in French.  He spoke very little, but knew just enough to allow him to find something he wanted.  

When the waiter came to take their orders, Minho and Jonghyun stared in quiet amazment as Taemin ordered in French.  When the appetizer came, his eating etiquette was flawless.  Key, who was unsurprised since he knew Taemin's background, allowed himself a tiny smile at the way stringbean and shorty gawped.

Minho didn't venture any questions, but he was burning with curiosity.  There was much more to Taemin than he would have ever guessed.

After lunch, Jonghyun and Minho treated Key and Taemin to a movie.  Jonghyun took the opportunity to get a little more affectionate with Key, who was in a more receptive mood than he had been earlier.  The elder bucked up and put an arm around Key, who side-eyed him at first, but didn't protest.  Minho, on the other hand, was content to simply sit next to Taemin and share popcorn.

When the foursome exited the theater, Key stretched his arms languidly over his head.  "Well, gentlemen, today has been fun and I appreciate your gestures, but I think we need to do something a bit more... carefree now.  I've had my fill of the upper-crust crowd.  Savvy?"

The other three looked at each other, shrugged and followed Key.

Their fellow feline led them to a dive noraepang, where they spent a few hours drinking beer and soju, singing karaoke.  Key's somewhat nasal voice had a unique sound.  Minho was discovered to have a deep, smooth timbre.  Taemin, when he shyly took his turn, sounded angelic.  But they were all surprised at the power vocals Jonghyun belted out.  Key would never admit it, but the Jurassic man's voice gave him pleasant shivers.

Whey they were all in varying levels of intoxication and the hour grew late, Minho and Jonghyun walked the other two back to their apartment.

"We had a really great time," Minho said sincerely.

"Mm, so did we," replied Key.

Jonghyun stepped nearer to Key.  "Sooo, does this mean we can do it again?"

Key's lips curved and his eyes narrowed.  He leaned closer, until he was about an inch from Jonghyun's face, the elder's breath shaky at their proximity.  "Perhaps," he said cheekily, spinning on his heel and taking Taemin's hand.

They dashed happily into the building, leaving a smiling and bewildered pair on sidewalk.

** A/N:

Yay, I'm back!

I know, I know... I've been away for months.  I apologize for that.  Between burning out, new family life and a new job with crazy hours, I haven't had much time or inclination to write.  I hope my hiatus is over; we will see. ^^

To those of you that have been patient and didn't unsub, I thank you very much!  To all my new subbies, welcome!  

Oh, and I know there are some formatting issues on this chapter and that some things that shoud be italicized are not, but it's because of the transfer from my word processor.  I was unable to fix the glitches. :(

All of you be good! **