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It was still early and Taemin shivered as the mountain air whipped his hair in his face.  He leaned a little farther out the window and held out his hand to feel the wind all down his arm, letting it snake up the sleeve of his shirt.  He breathed deep smelling dirt and pine heavy in the crisp air that filled the canyon below them. 

“Taemin if you fall out of this car your mother will kill me, get back in here.” Minho laughed grabbing the back of Taemin’s flapping shirt.

“But it feels so good up here. The air is so clean and everything is so green. I just want to hang out the window a little bit more.” Taemin did his best to make his eyes huge as he pleaded with Minho.  The older man only smiled behind his sunglasses and shook his head. Taemin rested his chin on his hands over the door. He breathed deeply again and felt Minho run his free hand over his back, thankful for the compromise.

“Hold on, Minnie, it gets curvy from here.” Minho shifted to a lower gear and let the car swing around the tight corners as they worked their way up the mountain.  The trees grew denser and the rocks turned from crumbles in to sheets of solid history slated against each other forming colossal walls.  Taemin tried to look up at the towering mountains as they drove through the man made passages.  It was amazing how big they were and how fast they drove by. 

He looked forward out the window at the other car in front of them. He could see Key’s blonde hair tussling in the wind of their own car and Onew’s arm was hanging out the passenger side window tapping the door with his thumb to the beat of what ever Jonghyun was making them listen to.  He smiled, over come with a wave of excitement. It’d been so long since they had all taken a trip together, between schedules, work and over all life it was amazing how hard it was to get a weekend they all were free. It was going to be perfect. 

They continued weaving up the path until they reached the dirt turn off marked with a wooden sign with a little yellow tent painted on it.  Jonghyun’s car turned in slowly and Minho followed carefully.  The dirt road wound around trees with sharp turns and a few steep inclines but when they reached the path that lead to the little clearing both cars sped up with anticipation.  They parked adjacent to each other between a few trees that encircled a dirt clearing.  They had been here before and it always amazed Taemin how perfect this spot was.  The wall of trees kept them secluded from everything and he had already picked out two that were just right for hanging up the hammock.  He nearly tumbled out of the car excited to able to run around.  He slid his tennis shoes around in the gravel and waited for Minho to crawl out of the Subaru and stretch. 

“Taemin quit it, you are kicking dust up everywhere,” Key was waving his hand in front of his face getting as he out of the car.

“You are gonna have dust everywhere after we spend a few days here, princess,” Jonghyun purposefully kicked a little dirt on Key’s white sneaker as he walked by to open the hatch of his car. 

“Quit bickering we just got, so no fighting already.” Onew wagged his finger at both of them and grabbed Taemin around the middle to make him stop sliding in the dirt and instead making him laugh.  Minho had opened up the back of the Subaru, pulled out the cooler and opened a beer.  He tossed one to Jonghyun and they clicked the cans together before partaking.  Taemin wiggled away from Onew and seizing the opportunity to start pulling things out of the Subaru looking for his hammock. 

“Ready to set up tents buddy?” Jonghyun crushed his can and set it on tope of Minho’s car.

“Let’s do this. Onew, grab the hammer and stakes, we’ll pitch Key’s first since it’ll be the hardest.” Minho finished his beer to and pulled the canvas out of his car after Taemin had grabbed what he needed. 

“Do you need help, Minho?” Taemin asked, he set his hammock down by the trees he had scoped out earlier.

“No, just set up your things Minnie, I’ll get our tent and then maybe we can hike up to the lake.” Taemin smiled sweetly at him and set to work tying the strings securely and making sure the swing was high enough off the ground.  Key sat in the open hatch of the Subaru and directed the others, only offering verbal support. He only got up to actually help when Taemin tested his work and fell hard on his bottom.

“You have to make sure it’s tied well or you’re just going to keep falling out of it.” He helped Taemin, but didn’t stop complaining about how he should be able to do it himself.  Once it was up Key helped Taemin in and crawled in beside him, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy. Their legs dangled over the edge of the cloth swing and they sat and watched the other three struggle with a mess of canvas and poles.  Key’s tent was forsaken and eventually put back in the Subaru after one of the poles had shot, spring loaded, out of the ground and somewhere in to the forest.

“Where the hell am I supposed to sleep?” he yelled form his spot in the hammock.

“You can sleep with either me or Onew, but that tent is not getting set up. It has too many pieces and not enough directions. Why in the world do you need a tent with separate rooms for a three day trip? And better yet, where in the world did you find it?” Jonghyun putted his hands on his hips as he yelled at Key, sweaty and agitated.

“I ordered it from sky mall last time I flew. I got a really good deal on, but it’s a few years old. I figured this would be the best time to use it.” Key pouted. He hoped off the hammock and gave Taemin a push before wondering off to at least find the pole that had flown away.  They finished setting up the three identical pop up tents. Taemin eventually fell asleep due to the rocking but he woke up when Minho came over and opened the cloth to find the sleeping boy.

“The tents are up, do you want to hike or keep sleeping, cutie?” Taemin rubbed his eyes and sat up.

“Let’s hike. The lake should only be a few miles from the main path right?” he hopped out and raised his hands above his head.

“I think so. Jonghyun and Key went off to find fire wood for later and Onew set up his chair in the sun over their after seeing you were asleep he wanted a nap too.” Minho grabbed their sun hats from the car and squished one on Taemin's head.

They hiked up the path taking in the quiet sounds of life around them.  The birds chirped happily and they saw a few fuzzy chipmunks scurry across their path. The sun was high and they both had to stop and rest under a tree before they even reached the lake.  The trees towered so high above them it made Taemin dizzy as he looked up from the ground and tried to count the branches.  They walked along, kicking pine cones and pointing out different things they saw. Eventually they made it to the lake. Taemin kicked off his shoes and rolled up the hem of his jeans.  He barely got his toes in the water before jumping back out.

“I told you it would be cold.  The water up here is always cold.” Minho laughed, watching Taemin try to get his feet used to the frigid water.

“But I’m so hot it should feel good. It’s so cold it hurts.”  He gave up and started skipping rocks across the surface.  Minho got one that skipped almost seven times and Taemin spent the rest of the time trying to get one to go eight.  They saw a few fish jump at the surface and Taemin swore he saw a bear across the lake somewhere in the trees.

“Bears don’t come out during the day, Taemin. And even if they did, with all the noise we were making they would avoid us.” Minho explained as they headed back.

“Wait, I was kidding. I didn’t really see a bear. But they really live up here?” His eyes were huge and his voice went slightly higher.

“Of course, silly. We are in the wild right now, a lot of things live up here.” Minho was carrying Taemin’s shoes after the boy didn’t want to put them back on.   

“Are we safe up here?” He unintentionally walked closer to Minho and looked hard into the trees lining the path.

“I won’t let anything get you, Minnie. Don’t be scared.” He hung his arm around Taemin's shoulders.

“I’m not scared,” he pouted but still pressed close to Minho the rest of the way back.

Once they got close they saw smoke coming from their site and smelled the distinct smell of fresh burning wood.  Key was knelt beside the fire with the cooler near him getting ready to start grilling. Jonghyun was playing his guitar in Taemin’s hammock and Onew was arranging larger logs on the other side of the fire for them to sit at later.

“You two weren’t gone all that long. Did you make it to the lake?” Onew asked when he saw them walking back.

~Did you make it to the lake? Jonghyun sang, and continuality played an easy melody.

“Yes, but it was way to cold to play in.” Taemin bounced over to help Key with dinner.

~Too cold for Minnie’s piggies.

“Taemin, where are your shoes. You’re going to step on a rock or something.” Key waved a pair of tongs at the boy.

~Tuff little piggies

“Minho has them.”

“Well go out them back on before getting too close to the fire.”

~Burnt little piggies

Taemin pouted but went to find his shoes before coming back to help. They rigged up a grill over the flames, cooking the meat on the first night to avoid spoiling, and to calm the ever dying need Onew had for chicken.  After dinner Jonghyun grabbed everything they needed for s’mores.  Taemin quickly lit his first marshmallow on fire and nearly cried when Key scolded him, telling him he was done using the fire.  Minho made him one before making one for himself.  Onew ate enough to make a normal person sick and Key didn’t eat one until Jonghyun fed it to him so he wouldn’t get sticky.

“I have marshmallow in my hair,” Taemin’s face was covered in smeared chocolate and he laughed hysterically as Minho tried to clean him up. Key handed Minho more wet wipes from where he sat across form them. Jonghyun was plucking a lively little tune on his guitar as he nestled up against Onew and they watched Minho struggle to win a losing fight.  They had all found seats around the fire and some point during dinner the sun had gone down and everybody needed a jacket.  Taemin’s laughter filled the small circle of trees and made everyone smile. 

They spent the rest of the evening laughing and singing together until their eyes were heavy.  They grabbed sleeping bags and made a circle around the fire. Despite setting up the tents earlier they decided to fall asleep under the stars together.  Jonghyun was half way through a rather tame horror story when he was interrupted by a single howl.

“What the hell was that?” Taemin’s eyes grew so wide they reflected the moon and he shot a concerned look to Minho, who was laying next to him.  They listened again hearing more small howls and yaps that sounded like laughter.

“They are coyotes, probably a family nearby, is all.” Onew explained.  Taemin wiggled a little closer to Minho’s sleeping bag.

“Will they come after us?” Taemin looked around at the dark trees surrounding them.

“No, especially if they have little pups. They are probably just out to enjoy the night together.” Minho ruffled Taemin's hair. Taemin seemed to consider what was said before he spoke again.

“We are kind of like coyotes aren’t we?”

“If you are talking about Jonghyun’s face, that is only one of us who looks like a dog,” Key felt the need to point out.

“No, I’m serious. We came up here to be together and I feel like we are all close like family. We always stick together like a little pack.” Taemin looked back up to the stars.

“Shut up Taemin. You are being too cute right now. If we were a coyote family you and Minho would defiantly be the babies. Always playing around.” Key remarked.

“Jonghyun would be the one that howls all the time and makes noise, and you and Onew would be the mama and papa. We are like a family.” Taemin happily exclaimed. “Even though our family is only a few years old, it’s like we all were meant to be a part of each others lives, you know?”

They all were silent. Taemin’s words really summed up what they were all thinking.  Each of them had meat in different way, and came from a different background but it was instantaneous that they needed each other.  One was always picking up another’s flaw, or when they all were together it was like clockwork, each fitting their own role, but interlocking as a whole.  They were family, brothers, but more than that. They knew no matter where life took them it was this moment, this feeling that would keep them together.

They fell asleep under the twinkling stars and listening to the happy chattering of the coyotes in the distance.  ~six years and counting 525