Jonghyun repeatedly, but softly, hit his forehead against the wall beside the door to his grandmother’s hospital room, grumbling under his breath.

He kind of just blew his chance.

Well, at least it felt like he had kind of just blown his chance.

He had been right beside the troubled stranger he now knew was called Minho and what did he do? He lost all his ability to speak! There was so much he wanted to know and he had even taken the time to think of things to say in case he would meet him again as he made his way to the third floor. But when he finally saw him, every single coherent sentence just turned into empty echoing space inside his head and he was stuck with nothing helpful at all except for his own name.

It might have been a good thing though, Jonghyun consoled himself, since Minho had seemed more at ease when he didn’t say anything at all. Maybe he should just wait for him to start speaking instead. He was glad he had gotten to know his name at least.

“Minho,” he whispered to himself and smiled.

He liked the name, even if it was fairly common. It fit.

He shook himself out of his thoughts when he noticed a passing nurse, who he knew as nurse Song, eye him suspiciously. He gave her a small smile and a nod before quietly slipping into his grandmother’s room, which was only illuminated by the soft glow of the muted TV, stopping to watch her breathe peacefully for a moment. Then he walked over to her bedside and picked up the remote to turn the TV off, pulling her cover a little higher to tuck her in properly. After another moment of watching her, making sure everything seemed in order, he took his backpack and just as quietly left. He needed to get to work early the next morning and his apartment was closer to the hotel than the hospital.

Jonghyun entered the elevator and was about to press the button for the bottom floor when he suddenly realised he felt a little hungry. He had completely forgotten he was supposed to get something to eat as well when he had gone to the coffee machine. Minho had totally side tracked his mind.

He bit his lip in contemplation and eyed the buttons with the floor numbers, deciding he could as well get something small from the vending machine as he initially had planned and pressed the button for floor three determinedly.

He smiled at a few nurses he recognised as he made his way down the hallway to the vending machine for the second time that night, trying not to feed the thought of the possibility of meeting Minho again with any hope. The guy probably had other things to do than sit on the ugly green couch the entire night.

And quite predictably, the couch was as unoccupied as it used to be before Jonghyun had chanced upon the sad young man one night ago.

He let out a soft sigh and forced himself to not feel any sort of disappointment. Instead, he picked up his pace and chose something to munch on while he made his way home. He bent down to get the M ‘n M’s he had bought and straightened up in time to see another young man with golden hair step out of one of the many rooms in the hallway leading from the elevator to the vending machine. He was steering his steps away from Jonghyun, but not before a soft ‘Let’s go home and get some rest, Minho. I’ll get the car,’ floated over to Jonghyun in the quiet night air.

Jonghyun's eyes widened and he unconsciously held his breath as he watched the blond man disappear down the hallway. For some reason he felt as if he was doing something he shouldn’t be and was risking getting caught – which was insane, because who wasn’t allowed to get something from the vending machine? Even if it was way past midnight.

He glanced around nervously anyway before almost tiptoeing over to the door the man had exited and peeking through the small window.

His breath caught when he saw Minho sitting hunched over in a chair by a bed on which a boy, who couldn’t be much younger than him, laid unmoving. He was very pale and had ugly looking bruises and cuts on his face, one of his arms was wrapped in a cast and he was hooked up to so many machines and tubes it had Jonghyun feeling extremely uneasy. As he looked between the steady rhythm of the heart monitor and the medical ventilator moving the boy’s chest with artificial breaths it suddenly hit him he was in the ward for intensive care, which meant that the boy on the bed was most likely in a coma.

Jonghyun chewed his bottom lip and his eyes shifted back to Minho, his heart feeling heavy at the sight of his dishevelled state – even more so now than before.

Minho was sitting with his back turned towards him, his elbows on his knees and his hands in his hair, not quite pulling but still keeping a tight grip on the dark strands as if it would keep him from falling apart completely. As he looked closer, he saw the smallest tremble in Minho's body. As if he was trying his best not to cry or was already letting tears fall while keeping his sobs in.

Jonghyun was chewing on his lip so hard by now he could taste blood and he wanted nothing more than to walk over and pull Minho into a hug.

But he didn’t. Because he didn’t have that privilege. He had not even had a proper conversation with Minho, so he couldn’t very well waltz into the room and comfort him.

So instead, he did what he had done the previous two times he had happened upon Minho – he went and bought him hot cocoa. It seemed like a good idea since Minho had at least looked a little better the other two times he had given it to him. Even if the second time had been just a few hours ago.

He started second-guessing himself as he made his way back a few minutes later with the warm beverage in hand, not sure how he would explain himself or if Minho would even want the cocoa. He stopped outside the door again, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, hesitating.

The ding from the elevator around the corner made him look up and his heart skipped a beat as the blond man returned, giving him a curious look. He looked kind enough, his hair not quite as tousled as Minho's, although it had probably seen better days as it was sticking up in different directions. His warm, brown eyes were bloodshot from either lack of sleep or crying or both and his clothes were rumpled.

“Hello?” he said, inquiring, as he came close enough and Jonghyun swallowed nervously, shrinking back and feeling very out of place suddenly. “Can I help you?”

“Um…” Jonghyun couldn’t find anything to say and blushed a little.

Then he decided he didn’t need to explain himself and held out the cup to the man, hoping Minho would understand when he got it.

The man eyed it sceptically, frowning slightly as he looked back up at him.

“What is that?”

“H-hot cocoa,” Jonghyun explained, fidgeting self-consciously under the scrutinizing stare of the new stranger.

A sudden flash of realisation passed the man’s features and his eyes widened.

“The stranger!” he exclaimed incredulously, although quietly, and Jonghyun flinched a little in surprise. “Huh, you seem alright,” he added, eyeing him again – only less suspicious and a lot more interested this time. “Minho really was telling the truth then.”

Jonghyun frowned in confusion but didn’t get the chance to ask as the man took the cup from his hand with a kind smile, which he returned hesitantly.

“This is for Minho, correct?” he asked and Jonghyun nodded bashfully. “Thank you.”

They both smiled at each other for a second before the man glanced through the window and let out a heavy sigh. Jonghyun followed his gaze and saw that the trembling in Minho's body had evolved to shaking and he clenched his fists at his sides, feeling utterly helpless.

“I need to get him home,” the man mumbled more to himself than for Jonghyun's benefit. Then he glanced at him. “He’s going to fall apart at this rate.”

Jonghyun gave him an understanding nod; feeling a little relived knowing that Minho wasn’t all alone at least while at the same time worrying over the man's words.

“Are you staying with him,” he asked after another silent moment of watching Minho cry, suddenly finding enough courage to ask questions.

The man looked back at him and shook his head.

“No,” he said sadly. “But I probably should. At least until Taemin wakes up.”

“Taemin, huh…” Jonghyun mumbled as he looked through the window at the boy in the bed. So that was his name.

“Yeah,” the man said. “He was hit by a speeding car and was lucky enough to survive, if you call needing life support lucky. He and Minho were really close so this has hit him really hard.”

“Oh…”

Well, at least he had a little more understanding of why Minho was so devastated. He was pretty sure that if his best friend ended up in a coma, he would just curl into a ball and cry his eyes out. Minho seemed to have some hold on himself, as he  interacted a little with others it would seem – which was a bit relieving.

And once again, Jonghyun was probably butting into someone else’s business. He shouldn’t let this affect him so much. They were practically still strangers.

Jonghyun bit his lip again and gave the two inside the room a last look before turning away with a soft sigh. The man gave him a small, wistful smile.

“Are you leaving?” he asked.

Jonghyun nodded.

“Well, it was nice meeting you…?” the man said, letting the end of his sentence trail off questioningly.

“Jonghyun,” he filled in and the man smiled.

“Jonghyun,” he repeated. “I’m Jinki. And thank you again for the chocolate. I’m sure Minho will like it.”

Jonghyun managed a small smile of his own. They gave each other a little wave in goodbye as one went down the hallway to the elevator and the other went back into the room.

There was something about Minho that made it hard for Jonghyun to stay away and mind his own business, he thought worriedly as he entered the elevator. And he didn’t particularly like admitting that he pretty much knew that ‘something’ was a fair amount of attraction.

~*~

“Here.”

Minho blinked at the paper cup shoved in his face when he stood up to turn towards Jinki after managing to calm his sobs.

Jinki had just returned from getting the car, having entered the room and quietly waited for Minho to collect himself enough to face him. Then he had walked up to him and gently patted his back in comfort before telling him they should leave before pushing that thing in his face without any sort of warning.

He ignored the cup in favour of drying his still wet cheeks, taking a shaky breath.

“What’s this?” Minho asked in a gravelly voice while giving Jinki a small scowl, not in the mood for any games.

“A gift,” he said cryptically and Minho's scowl intensified.

“Then gift it to yourself. I’m not interested,” he growled.

Jinki raised his eyebrows and pursed his mouth a little, though there was the slightest glint of amusement in his eyes.

“It’s not from me,” he said and Minho raised his own eyebrows questioningly. “It’s from a nice young man I ran into on my way back.”

Minho frowned in thought, for a moment not at all able to come up with who it could be. He was pretty sure that the only people he knew well enough to do such a thing in the hospital were Jinki and Taemin – one of which hadn’t moved a single nanometre for over seventy-two hours. Then his eyes fell onto the light brown liquid inside the cup and he almost let out a small snort while at the same time wanting to sink through the floor, the puzzle pieces falling into place.

Jonghyun.

Jonghyun had bought him another hot chocolate. Which probably meant Jonghyun had seen him through the window in the door and also witnessed him crying. And that was certainly not something Minho would like an almost stranger to see. He barely even let his parents see him cry.

He groaned quietly and Jinki let out a soft chuckle.

“I think you’ve made a good friend,” he said and Minho shot him a burning look. He rolled his eyes. “What? He was worried.”

“He saw me cry,” Minho grumbled, strangely embarrassed. “And I usually don’t cry. Besides, I’ve only met him two times, so I wouldn’t consider him that much of a friend.”

Jinki simply shook his head and pushed the cup into his hands, turning around to lead the way out the door.

Minho stared down at the hot chocolate for a moment, a little surprised at the calmness that washed over him at the sight, before he shook his head as well. He stepped over to Taemin's still form and placed a soft kiss on his forehead before slowly backing away towards the door with the promise of being back soon, not taking his eyes off him until he absolutely had to.

Jinki patiently waited for him just beside the door and they quietly made their way over to the elevator, Minho taking a small sip of the hot chocolate.

“Is it any good?” Jinki asked after he had taken another sip and they had shared a moment of silence as they rode the elevator.

He shrugged.

“I never saw the appeal of such a sugar bomb like this,” he muttered. “But Taemin loves it, and that guy you met says it helps when you feel down, so I guess it has its perks.”

Jinki let out a small, amused snort.

“So, does it make you feel better then?” he asked, glancing at him curiously as they stepped outside.

Minho looked down at the now half empty cup thoughtfully, taking another sip before handing it over to Jinki.

“I… guess…” he said uncertainly as he took the car keys Jinki gave him in return. He unlocked the car and they both got in before he continued. “It does kind of make me feel warmer and calmer, so yeah…”

“Hm,” Jinki hummed and took a sip as well. “It’s not so bad.”

Minho started the car and it was filled with silence for a moment as they drove a few blocks. Minho concentrated on the road in front of him while Jinki continued sipping on the hot chocolate, watching the passing buildings and people.

It had already become a lot quieter in Minho's life the past two days and he was sure it was going to stay that way for a while even if he had high hopes Taemin would come back soon. The quietness wouldn’t have been very notable hadn’t it been for the fact that Taemin often made all the noise since neither Minho nor Jinki felt the need to talk unnecessarily – although what Taemin said was never unnecessary to begin with. He was just always the one with a lot to say and made the atmosphere lighter. And even if Minho didn’t dislike the silence he often shared with Jinki and Jinki didn’t either, he knew both of them felt a little out of place without the babbling presence they were used to.

“I’m moving in with you,” Jinki suddenly stated softly as they neared his apartment complex, bringing him out of his thoughts.

“O…kay…?” Minho said slowly at the abruptness.

Not that he would mind. It was better than being alone, he guessed.

Jinki glanced over at him, his expression serious.

“I don’t want you to be alone at the moment and I would also feel calmer knowing you’re not hurting yourself.”

Minho pressed his lips together, narrowing his eyes at the red light they had stopped at.

Jinki had a right to worry. Minho knew he had seemed quite despaired. But that didn’t mean he liked putting his friend in that position and mind-set and it made him feel extremely guilty. He glanced at Jinki, who was still watching him seriously. Then he sighed and shook his head a little.

“Thank you, Hyung,” he mumbled. “I haven’t thought of harming myself except for the first day of Taemin's coma, though,” he tried to reassure. “But I know that won’t do anything. Besides, I don’t think I want to be alone anyway.”

Jinki smiled at him and ruffled his hair.

“Okay then. Let’s just get my stuff and then go buy something to eat,” he said. “I bet you haven’t eaten even though I told you to. There’s an open supermarket just around the corner from my apartment complex.”

Minho gave him a small smile in return, actually feeling a little relieved.

~*~

Jonghyun tiredly dragged himself through the sliding doors of the hospital’s entrance, greeting the receptionist with a listless wave of his hand and a weak smile before slowly making his way over to the elevator. There he let out an enormous yawn, leaning his head against the cool metal doors and waiting for the elevator to make its way down.

He hadn’t gotten much sleep last night. The vision of Minho crying while trying so hard not to had kept him up for hours, making him toss and turn and resulting in him only managing to get an hour’s worth of sleep. It was ridiculous how Minho managed to make him that worried and anxious just after the two times of meeting him. And Jonghyun knew he was probably sticking his nose where it didn’t belong, but he couldn’t stop himself. Even though it could potentially hurt very much if he continued with what he was doing.

He let out a heavy sigh, pressing his forehead harder against the cool metal.

A soft, surprised ‘Oh?’ pulled him from his thoughts and he spun around so fast he got dizzy and stumbled backwards. His back hit the elevator doors, but not before a pair of warm, strong hands closed around his upper arms in an attempt to stop his fall. He looked up just in time to see a panicked Minho flail a little before his arms shot out and he stopped his body from crashing into Jonghyun by catching himself against the doors with a hand on either side of Jonghyun's head.

“Minho,” Jonghyun breathed incredulously after a beat of awkward silence staring at him, for the first time noticing how tall he was. His heart beat a little faster.

Minho looked down at him through the hair that had fallen into his eyes. Jonghyun could feel his face warm up and Minho's cheeks were also turning pink at their sudden close proximity.

“Uh, yeah…” Minho answered sheepishly, pushing away from the doors and taking a step back to put some more space between them, pulling a hand through his dark locks. “Hi.”

Jonghyun laughed lightly, not so discreetly staring at the motion of Minho's hand. He tried but couldn't help feeling the slightest bit disappointed the space between them had increased. His heart was still racing a little.

“Hi,” he said anyway, managing to sound normal enough though he felt anything but.

Minho let his hand continue to the back of his head and scratched it awkwardly, looking sideways. Jonghyun couldn’t tear his eyes away from his ruffled hair. He wanted to reach out and touch it, put it back in place. Minho cleared his throat, forcing him to snap his eyes back down to his face. They stared at each other.

“Um, sorry about…” Minho started in a mumble after a few seconds of silence and gestured meekly at Jonghyun, who raised his eyebrows questioningly. “Startling you and all…”

“That’s okay,” Jonghyun reassured hurriedly. “I was too caught up in my own thoughts, so it’s really not your fault.”

The sudden ding indicating the elevator had arrived made them both jump and they had to step aside to let an elderly man slowly make his way out. Realising he was too lethargic to make it out before the doors would close, Jonghyun swiftly pressed the button to hold them open for him, smiling and bowing as the man gave him a small, thankful bow of his own.

Then he watched the old man make his way down the hallway, to make sure he would be all right. When he was halfway down Jonghyun deemed him safe enough and looked back at Minho, giving him an apologetic wrinkle of his nose.

“Sorry. Are you going up?” he asked and Minho nodded after a silent moment of staring at him. “Cool, then we can go together.”

Minho's lips quirked the slightest and he followed Jonghyun inside the elevator, pressing the button for floor three while Jonghyun pressed number five. They watched the doors close in silence before Minho let out a soft sigh, his expression turning heavy.

Jonghyun bit his lip, stealing several quick glances at him, and contemplated whether he should ask or not.

“Um–”

“So–”

They had both spoken at the same time. Jonghyun chuckled nervously and gestured for Minho to speak first.

“You can go first,” he said.

Minho gave him another nod.

“I just wanted to say thank you for the hot chocolate yesterday,” he mumbled and Jonghyun smiled warmly, blushing a little again. “My friend told me you had bought it,” he added as an explanation.

“Oh yeah, Jinki,” Jonghyun said as he remembered the blond man from last night.

“Yeah…” Minho trailed off, looking a little embarrassed.

The elevator slowed to a stop before either of them could say anything else and Minho glanced at him. Jonghyun smiled again and gave him a small wave as he stepped out.

“I guess I’ll see you in the middle of the night… if you’re up for another hot cocoa, that is,” Jonghyun said, pulling up a shoulder and trying no to sound too hopeful.

“Yeah, maybe,” Minho said as the doors started closing. “Bye, Jonghyun."

Leaning back against the wall, Jonghyun bit his lip and let the blush he had tried to keep down ever since Minho had almost fallen on top of him blossom in full.

God, did he like the way Minho said his name.

~*~

Minho had not expected to see the short – he noticed now – blond man he had met the two previous nights by the elevators as he returned to the hospital after having given Jinki a ride to work. It completely took him by surprise and he suddenly felt a little nervous for some reason, not able to stop the strange anticipation rising in him.

And he couldn’t stop the soft, surprised ‘Oh?’ that left his mouth either, however much he wanted to.

Jonghyun spun around so fast he lost his balance. Minho instinctively reached out to grab his arms in an attempt to keep him from crashing into the elevator doors, but the momentum of their movements pulled him forward as well and he panicked for a moment, not wanting to crash into Jonghyun. He managed to put his arms up and catch himself against the cool metal behind him.

“Minho,” he heard Jonghyun breathe incredulously after an awkward moment of silence.

He looked down through the hair that had fallen into his eyes to see him staring up at him with wide, surprised eyes, only then realising how close they were. He couldn’t help the faint blush that warmed his cheeks and saw Jonghyun's face turn pink as well.

“Uh, yeah…” he said sheepishly in lack of a better greeting and pushed away from Jonghyun, taking a step back as well to put some more space between them. He had been far too close for comfort.

“Hi,” he remembered to add as he pulled his hand through his hair to get it back in order.

Jonghyun let out a little laugh and Minho felt silly for the lame greeting. He scratched the back of his head, feeling all around awkward for what had happened a few seconds ago, and couldn't quite bring himself to look at Jonghyun.

Suddenly he remembered the few times he had ended up in awkward situations with Taemin and how he would let out a low laugh at Minho's beet-red face; memories which usually put a goofy smile on his face but now only made a lump grow in his throat and a cold spread through his stomach and chest. He wanted to rip his brain out.

“Hi,” Jonghyun greeted back, pulling him back to reality again, which he was quite thankful for.

Minho gave him a quick glance and cleared his throat. Jonghyun hadn’t seemed to notice his moment of zooning out as he had been staring at his hair. It must be looking dishevelled again.

“Um, sorry about,” Minho started in a mumble, not quite sure how he should phrase his apology. Jonghyun raised his eyebrows at him questioningly and he felt even sillier. “Startling you and all…” he continued anyway.

A look of understanding passed Jonghyun's features.

“That’s okay,” he reassured. “I was too caught up in my own thoughts, so it’s really not your fault.”

Minho was about to argue that he still should apologise when the ding of the elevator distracted him and he and Jonghyun had to step aside to let an old man pass by them. Jonghyun politely pressed the button to keep the doors open since the man was taking ages to get out and then proceeded to watch him until he had made it halfway down the hallway, apparently deeming him stable enough. Which was actually kind of sweet of him. Minho had never met anyone that thoughtful of others, especially strangers, and it amazed him a little.

Jonghyun turned to him again and he suddenly felt caught, as if he had been cheating or stealing or something of the like.

“Are you going up?” Jonghyun asked, apparently not noticing how put on the spot Minho felt.

Minho nodded.

“Cool,” Jonghyun said. “Then we can go together.”

As he followed him into the elevator, Minho couldn’t help the twitch of the corners of his mouth at the exited expression on Jonghyun's face, as if he was a child who had just gotten a ticket to some theme park or something. His heart stuttered painfully as he remembered Taemin would sometimes have that same excited look, whenever they went out to go to a café or on a trip or to the cinema.

He let out a small sigh and in an attempt to get his mind of painful topics he opened his mouth to thank Jonghyun for the hot chocolate, which he kind of just remembered.

Only, Jonghyun opened his mouth at the same time to say something too and they fell silent again after speaking simultaneously. Then Jonghyun let out a chuckle, gesturing for him to speak.

“You can go first,” he said and Minho nodded his thanks.

“I just wanted to say thank you for the hot chocolate,” he mumbled and glanced up in time to see Jonghyun smile warmly while blushing a little. “My friend told me you had bought it,” he added as an explanation.

“Oh yeah, Jinki,” Jonghyun said and Minho felt a little weird having him know the name of one of his best friends.

“Yeah…” he said slowly, trailing off since he really didn’t have anything better to say. He certainly didn’t feel like explaining why he had been crying in the first place… and now he was feeling embarrassed that a guy he barely knew had witnessed him break down. Great.

Minho was about to ask him to continue what he had wanted to say earlier but didn’t have the time as they arrived at the third floor. He glanced at Jonghyun and received a white-toothed smile along with a small wave.

“I guess I’ll see you in the middle of the night,” he said with a half shrug. Then added; “If you’re up for another hot cocoa, that is.”

Minho wasn’t sure if he was up for it at all and he hesitated, not wanting to give Jonghyun too much hope but not wanting to disappoint him either.

He settled for a:

“Yeah, maybe.”

The doors started closing then and Minho decided he could be at least a little more polite than he had been up until that point.

“Bye, Jonghyun,” he hurried to say just right before the doors closed completely.

The name felt foreign in his mouth. It was a nice name, though, he thought as he turned and made his way over to Taemin's room with a heavy feeling in his heart, which he had managed to forget during the few seconds it had taken him to ride the elevator with Jonghyun.

He might need that hot chocolate after all.

A/N: Heeeeey... Look who's finally managed to put another chapter together, haha... I don't really know what to say about it though *shrug* Awkwardness, I guess ;P

So, yeah, I've been very busy and I will continue being very busy for a while which means not very fast updates OTL sorry

And nothing's proof read, just so you know... not even the first and second chapter or any of my stories for that matter >_<

Anyhoo, I hope you enjoyed it! I'm really tired so I'll go to sleep now -.-

Lots of love to y'all! <3

Bye~!