After what seemed hours the two boys finally left the dance studio. They walked through the dark hallway. Minho looked at his watch and gulped.

"Taemin, it's already one o' clock. We should really get some sleep. Key-hyung will be mad if he discovered I kept you awake for so long." He said.

"You didn't keep me awake, Minho! It was my own fault. I'm just afraid I can't sleep right now." Taemin said and he shivered. 

Minho smiled and a plan formed in his head. "How late do you have to leave?" He asked.

Taemin thought for a while. "Around eight o'clock tomorrow night I think." He said and Minho nodded.

"This is what we're going to do: you're coming with me. You're sleeping in my room tonight. I don't want to leave you alone right now. You can sleep late and then I'll help you pack everything, arrasso?" The older said and he looked at Taemin. The latter looked at him and smiled.

"Thank you, Minho. I would love that." He answered and they walked on in silence. Just before they left the hallway with all the dance studios, Taemin slit his slender hand into Minho's and their fingers locked almost automatically. The boys both smiled, but acted like it was the most normal thing in the world. 

The warm hand of Minho around his reassured Taemin a little and he slowly began to feel sleepy. By the time they reached Minho's room, Taemin almost couldn't keep his eyes open. All the trainees were sleeping in the SM building, so they were closer to their training rooms and stuff. Usually more boys slept in one room, but Minho was one of the few who had a room for himself. But not tonight... 

"You're tired, right?" Minho asked when he saw his friends sleepy eyes. Taemin yawned and nodded. "You can take my bed. I'll take the couch." He said and Taemin was too tired to disagree. He just sank down on the bed and immediately fell asleep. Minho looked at the sleeping boy and smiled. 

*He's going to get a hard time from now on. I have to be there for him, even if he doesn't want that.* He thought and he kneeled down next to Taemin's head. He softly pattered the boy's hair and sighed. *I promise by my dream of become a famous rapper I'll always protect him and be there for him.* He thought. "Good night, sleepy head." He whispered and then he went to get himself ready to sleep.

It was around four in the morning when Minho woke up by some strange sounds. Sleepy he looked around and he saw Taemin tossing and turning in his bed. *That poor boy is having a nightmare. Well, not really surprising seeing the circumstances.* He thought and he silently walked to Taemin. 

"Tae... Wake up... You're having a nightmare." He whispered in his ear and with a shock Taemin woke up. His big eyes shimmered in the dark and Minho saw a few tears appearing.

"M-Minho... I-It was horrible." The maknae said and he shivered.

Minho lay his hand on his friends shoulder and smiled reassuring. "Don't worry, Tae. I'm with you. Try to get some more sleep." He said and he wanted to stand up again, but Taemin grabbed his wrist.

"Please, stay with me." The youngster said so softly Minho had to try hard to hear him.

"I"m staying with you, silly. I'm just on the couch." He answered laughing.

"N-No... I mean... Stay with me in bed." Taemin said and he blushed.

Minho was speechless for a second. Although the two of them were best friends, this was the first time Taemin had asked him that. Still Minho didn't hesitated a moment and he pushed back the blanket.

"Come on, move." He said teasingly and Taemin immediately obeyed. Minho lay next to him and lend him his arm as a pillow. Taemin smiled and lay his head on Minho's arm.

"Thank you, Min~." He said softly and he closed his eyes. A few minutes later Minho could hear the calmed down breathing of Teamin and he knew the boy was sleeping again. Not much later he fell asleep himself and it became quiet in the room again.

"Yah, Minho! Do you know where Tae-"

Key came running in, but immediately stopped when he saw the scene. His two best friends were soundly asleep in one bed and Taemin had his head on Minho's chest. Minho's arm lay around Taemin's waist.

"Did you find him, Key?" Jonghyun asked worried behind him and Key smiled.

"Oh, I did find them. Look at this." He said softly and he gestured Jonghyun and Onew to come closer. They walked into the room and smiled when they saw the two sleeping.

"Should we wake them?" Onew asked after a while, but the two boys immediately shook their heads.

"No, let them enjoy it while it lasts. We all know how much those two need each other. And it's only ten o'clock. If they wake up, Taemin will still have enough time to pack up. Let's just leave them for now." Key said and Jonghyun nodded. Onew still looked a little worried, but then agreed. Silently the three boys left the room again, all smiling brightly.

Slowly Taemin opened his eyes and yawned. It had been a long time ago he had slept so well. He wiped the sleep out of his eyes and looked up. He smiled when he looked into Minho's sleeping face. Then he remembered everything from yesterday and his smile disappeared. He knew he would never be able to do this again. He squeezed his eyes shot and tried to push the though away.

"What are you thinking about?" 

The voice of Minho made him open his eyes again and Taemin sighed. "Nothing." He said, but Minho frowned. 

"You can't lie to me, Tae. You're thinking about yesterday and what is to come, right?" The older one asked and Taemin just nodded. He wasn't even surprised that Minho knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Don't worry. Let's just not think about it right now. First things first, so let's eat!" Minho said and Taemin laughed.

"You almost sound like Onew-hyung right now." He teased his friend and Minho laughed too.

They left the bed and made themselves ready for breakfast. Together they walked to the living room they shared with the other three boys.   

"Good morning, sleepy heads." Key said smiling. The three boys had already eaten and were now just talking in the living room. "Had a good night sleep?" He asked innocently and Taemin blushed. He immediately knew Key had seen them in Minho's room. 

"Yes, thank you, Umma." He said softly and Key laughed. 

Minho acted like he didn't noticed Key teasing and put some rice in the cooker. "You want some too, Tae?" He asked and Taemin nodded thankfully. 

"What would you like to do today, Tae?" Jonghyun asked and Taemin looked at him surprised. 

"W-What do you mean, Hyung? I have to pack. I have to be gone here by eight o'clock tonight and it's already twelve o'clock." The youngster said and he frowned. 

The three boys looked at each other meaningful and smiled.

"No, you don't." Onew said and Taemin looked at him surprised. "We talked to Lee Soo-man and he agreed to letting you stay till twelve o'clock tonight. We can still do something today. We even got all day off to have some fun time with you." Onew went on and Taemin's eyes grew big.

"Are you serious? Did he really say that? I never expected him to agree with that." The maknae said and he smiled. At least he could have one last day with his friends. 

"We neither." Key said. "We kind of suspect something is up, but we don't care. As long as we can spent time with you, we're fine with whatever is waiting for us." He said and Taemin hugged him tightly. 

"Thank you!" He squealed and then he sat down.

Minho placed a cup of rice before him and sat down next to him. "Here, eat this. You'll need your strength for today." The older said and he winked. Taemin nodded and began eating.

"Mmm... It's delicious, Min! Never expected you to be such a good cook." He teased his friend and Minho slapped him lightly while laughing. 

"Yah, that's mean! I can cook very well and you know that." He said and Taemin laughed. 

"Boys, just eat your food and don't play with it!" Key came between the two and they immediately went silent and went on with eating. 

"Yes, Umma." They both automatically said and Taemin smiled. 

*I'll miss this life I'm living.* He thought to himself while he let his eyes glide over his four friends.