Colorful lights dotted the walls in the club as Onew made his rounds.  He periodically stopped at tables to greet regulars, checked the bar to make sure things were going smoothly, then paused to admire Joon's undulating body on the stage.  He caught the subtle wink and smirk from his lover, threw a wink back, and watched as Key bounced, smiling, off the stage.  He'd noticed a change in Key's demeanor, lately.  Sure, Key was generally a happy guy, but there was something different about the bounce in his step these days.  He'd seen a similar change in Taemin, as well, in the way he smiled a lot more and did his job more enthusiastically.

"Sajang-nim," Key greeted breathily, teeth dazzling.  He kept it professional when they were in the presence of patrons.

"Kibum," Onew greeted back with a smile of his own.  "You going on break?"

"Neh."

"Good.  Take a walk with me, if you would."  He led them through the back and out onto the blacony, where he watched Key take an appreciative breath of the cool, night air. 

"Everything ok?"  Key asked as he lit a cigarette.

"I thought you quit."

"I did," Key grinned.  "So, what's up?"

Hands in his pockets, Onew looked out over the city lights.  "I've noticed a change in you and Taemin, Kibum.  A good one," he added hurriedly at the look of concern on Key's face.  "You two seem... happier.  I can tell in how you both do your jobs.  You're more upbeat and friendly toward the customers, and Taemin has been more productive and attentive in his work.  It's a huge positive."

"Kamsahamnida," Key replied with a short bow.

"You're welcome.  I don't suppose this change has anything to do with those two handsome gentlemen that have been here so frequently, lately, does it?"

Key didn't respond.  He fidgeted uncomfortably as he wondered where the damn lump in his throat had suddenly come from.  He opened his mouth to say... something, but nothing came out.

"You know..."  Onew scraped at some bits of gravel with the toe of his shoe.  "It's kind of hard to believe that you, of all people, would go back on your own hard, fast rule.  You're always so dilligent and steadfast.  I've never had an employee that drew such a hard line between their work and personal lives.

"But I guess I don't really have much room to talk, given my situation with Joon."

"You and Joon-hyung -- that's different.  No force on earth could've stopped that.  You two were, like, meant to be."

Onew tilted his head in contemplative agreement.  "Look, I'm not telling you what to do, or what not to do.  You're an adult, you can do what you want as long as you're discreet."

"Arasso.  I'm sorry this happened, sajang-nim."

"Don't be sorry, Kibum.  This isn't anything you should feel bad about.  To be frank, what I'm most concerned about is something happening to you.  Or Taemin, for that matter."

Key laughed sardonically.  "Please.  If that raptor or his beanpole friend even thought about laying an unkind hand on Taemin or I, I'd beat them into unrecognizable mush!"

"I'm not just talking about it in the physical sense," Onew said levelly.  

"Yeah..."  Key sighed.  "I figured you weren't."

"Anyway, let's not mull this over too much.  I trust you and hope things work out for the best."  He patted his friend on the shoulder, smiled and went back inside, leaving Key with some food for thought.

When Key finished his shift and left, it was with a slight, but nagging, sense of guilt over the fact that he and Taemin had been out with Minho and Jonghyun a few times.  In a way that didn't really make sense to him, he felt as though he were betraying Onew, who had been kind enough to become both his employer and friend when Key had rolled into this part of town, shabby and down on his luck.

The thing about strip clubs, Key had come to learn, was that you didn't start off in a place as nice as Club MVP.  Oh, no, you had to start from the bottom and work your way up.  He had definitely started from the bottom, working in nasty, shady places for awhile.  In the last, dingy club he'd worked, the owner had been ripping him off; taking huge cuts that were bleeding Key dry.  Key had confronted him before a shift, demanding that he be allowed to take home more of his money.  Initially, the owner had tried to proposition Key, offering the youngster a bigger cut in exchange for sleeping with him.  Key was young, but he was no fool, and he told the owner right where he could stick that offer. When the man came around the desk and tried to force himself onto his feline worker, Key had soundly smashed him in the side of the head with a paperweight, grabbed what money he could from what the owner had been counting out on the desk, and fled. 

That very day, he packed up his few belongings from the fleabag hotel room he'd been staying in, and used the little bit of stolen money to hop a train to the hub of the city.  That night, looking as tired and stressed as he was, he strolled into Club MVP and asked to speak to whomever was in charge of hiring.  He introduced himself to Onew and, before the elder even had a chance to ask questions, got up on the nearest stage, still fully clothed, and danced.  Only his face and clothes betrayed how tired he really was, because he danced with grace, power and iness.  

The rest, as they say, was history.

Key smiled to himself at the memories of how his and Onew's relationship had built, and decided to stop worrying so much.  It was still early in the evening and he had to get showered and changed.  After all, tonight was his and Jonghyun's first date sans Minho and Taemin.

It was sure to be a good night.

** A/N:

Well, at least this update wasn't as far spaced as the last one. >.<"

Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me, even during my sporadic periods.  I hope you all enjoyed this little peek into how things are, and came to be, between OnKey.  Their friendship gives me happies. ^_^  **