Onew groaned softly as light filtered through his window and fell across his face. Falling asleep after last night had been nearly impossible. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see Key's beautiful face, feel the softness of his skin. It was still hard for him to believe. I kissed him, he thought to himself, staring at the ceiling, I finally kissed Kim Kibum. A great big grin broke out across his face. Today was going to be great. He just knew it. But first, he had to get out of bed.

The older man pouted for a moment and then dragged himself out of his covers. He grabbed some clothes and headed for the bathroom. A shower sounded awesome. Half an hour later, the leader sauntered into the kitchen, a bright smile on his face. Minho looked up from his coffee and grinned.

“Someone's in a good mood this morning,” he commented slyly.

Onew blushed and ducked his head, heading for the fridge to find some breakfast. Minho just shook his head and continued sipping his coffee. An hour later, Key finally emerged from his room, hair perfectly styled, clothed in black with hot pink detailing. God, Onew loved it when Key wore pink. Talk about y. The diva held his head high as he grabbed something simple for breakfast and perched himself at the table. Onew noticed that the smaller man had yet to meet his eyes. That's okay. He thought. Just give him time.

All three of them looked up as they heard the door open. The group's leader barely kept himself from cringing as Jonghyun's cheerful voice carried through the dorm.

“Good morning! Where is everyone? I need to know where to put these!”

Puzzled, the three men headed towards the door, only to see the vocalist with his arms wrapped around the biggest, most disgustingly extravagant bouquet of flowers in all of existence (or so it seemed to Onew). Key squealed and scurried over to Jjong, scooping up the multicolored flowers.

“These had better be for me!” the diva crowed.

“Of course they are,” Jjong replied with a grin, “unless there's someone else I've been an utter prick towards.”

The other man moved in closer to Key, his tone dropping sincerely, “I really am sorry, Kibummie. I don't mean to push you away. Forgive me?”

Key scowled for a moment and then broke into a broad grin, “Of course. You know I can't stay mad at you.”

That one sentence slid ice down Onew's spine and jammed a dagger into his heart. No. No no no NO. It's not FAIR. The eldest man managed to keep his silence, leaning against a wall and staring at his feet, arms crossed over his chest. Minho rested a hand on his shoulder, attempting to be both discreet and comforting. He only succeeded at the first half.

“So, I was thinking,” Jjong continued, oblivious to his leader's pain, “since I have spent WAY too much time NOT paying attention to you, why don't you and I spend the day together? I mean, we finally have the day off. I figured we could do some shopping.”

Key beamed and squealed happily, agreeing instantly. He ran off to his room to change into something suitable for a day of shopping, completely absorbed in his plans for the day. Minho had moved to talk to Jonghyun when Onew slammed his fist against the wall, surprising the two men by the door. The leader said nothing however. He simply shot an icy glare, muttered a quick “Have fun,” and then stormed back into his bedroom. He barely managed to restrain himself from slamming the door. Onew took several deep breaths, pressing the heels of his hands firmly into his eyes, telling himself very strictly that he was not allowed to cry.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Nine hours later, Jjong and Key had still not returned from their 'shopping trip.' Onew was fuming with jealousy and worry. Could he have lost his beloved so easily? Key had seemed so ready to accept him last night. I knew that confession had bad timing, he scolded himself, now everything's been ruined. And there's no one to blame but myself.

The leader sat in his room, silently stewing in his own emotions. A light knock on the door forced him to lift his head.

“Eh?”

“Hyung,” Minho called from the other side of the door, “I'm going over to Taemin's for dinner. There are some left-overs in the fridge if you get hungry, okay?”

“That's fine. Have fun.”

Onew tried to keep his anger to himself. It wasn't Minho's fault that he had a reliable boyfriend and the older man didn't. He heard the rapper hesitate outside his door for a moment before walking away. Onew let out a heavy sigh.

“A fine mess you've gotten yourself into, Jinki,” the man grumbled to himself, flopping backwards onto his bed.

He didn't even realize that he had fallen asleep until he was woken by the front door closing hard, a few decibels shy of slamming. He peeked his head out the door, curious about the noise. A soft sniffling echoed through the dorm. Alarmed, Onew quickly strode down the hall, pausing in the doorway to the kitchen. Key sat slumped at the table, a couple of shopping bags at his feet. Normally, a full day of buying things he adores would leave the diva in an ecstatic mood, but his face plainly told the leader that the other man was miserable.

“Kibum?” Onew called softly.

The other man sniffled and wiped at his damp eyes before replying, “I must be the biggest idiot ever born.”

The leader sighed softly and moved up behind Key, slipping his arms around the smaller vocalist. He closed his eyes, feeling the other man lean back into his embrace.

“What happened?” Onew finally asked, suspecting he knew the answer.

“What always happens,” the diva replied morosely, “A pretty girl walked by and Jjong forgot all about me. Why do I do this to myself? Why am I chasing a man who so obviously doesn't want me?”

Onew chose not to reply. Nothing he could say would be helpful at this point, considering all he wanted was for the smaller man to love him instead. Delicate fingers the larger man's arms and the vocalist his lips, trying not to fidget.

“You must be really mad at me,” the fashion-dol said after a few moments of silence, “I've been... really cruel to you.”

The blond man stood very still, not saying a word. He wanted to hear what his beloved had to say.

“Just last night, you offered me your love. You did all that you could to make my pain go away. And how do I repay you? By spending the whole day with him. God, I'm such a ing .”

Key's voice began to thicken, and Onew could tell his dongseng was about to start crying again. He tightened his grip on the younger man and nuzzled into the side of his neck. It's true that the leader was upset with the diva, not to mention insanely jealous of Jonghyun, but telling Key that wouldn't help anyone. He was a little startled when Kibum turned in his arms and looked into his eyes.

“I'm sorry, hyung,” the diva said softly, his small hand gripping the older man's shirt.

Key hesitated for a moment before leaning in and placing a small, tender kiss on said hyung's lips. Onew closed his eyes and savored the sweetness of it for a minute, then pulled away. The diva looked at him with confusion and Onew sighed.

“I don't want the scraps, Kibum,” he said softly, but firmly, “I don't want to be the one you turn to when things don't work with someone else. I love you. I want to spend each day beside you. I want to fall asleep with you in my arms and wake up to your beautiful face every morning. I want to hold you in my arms and know that no one else makes you feel the way I do. I want you for my own and I want to be only yours. I won't follow along behind you like a lost puppy forever. No matter how much I love you.”

Tears slid down Key's cheeks as he listened to the words and really took them in. Onew willed him to understand, to see that he had always been there for the other man; to know just how much he loved him, know how far he was willing to go for him, and how far was too far.

The leader watched Key search for the right words, watched him struggle and desperately wanted to help him. He wanted to take the smaller man in his arms and claim his mouth once more; wanted to take away the look of hurt and fear and never let it return. But he had meant what he said. He wouldn't commit to a one-sided relationship. He wanted all of Key, not just the weepy leftovers.

Finally, the diva nodded, “I understand. And you deserve no less. Jonghyun... he's no good for me. I can see that now. I don't know if I can forget my love for him, but, for you, Jinki-hyung... I can try.”

Key smiled a little, echoing Onew's own words. It wasn't much of a promise, but the leader decided it was good enough. He held his arms out and the smaller man came to him willingly, pressing tender kisses to his jaw as they both wrapped their arms around one another. As the elder man moved his head to capture Key's lips in a kiss, he prayed silently to whoever might be listening, Please let us make this work.