Author's Note: I'm so so so so sorry for not updating for a month! In between exams before Thanksgiving Break, visits home, and making posters for the Starry Night Review and Grpahic Shop, I haven't had much time to write! Well that and I've had a difficult time figuring out Jonghyun's character. I wanted things to stay interesting and I didn't want things to end up cliche like a lot of stories I see. Well, please enjoy and give me feedback! I love feedback, criticisms, complements~ I love them all! thanks to jess_mmam for the last productive criticism! I thought alot about what she said and I made sure to take it into serious consideration when writing this chapter. I love you guys! Enjoy~

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♫ ♪ “Won’t you try~

Boku no te wo tori, run run run with me~

Koukai sasenai to chikau yuko, run run run with me~ ♫ ♪

Taemin voice harmonized with the radio softly as Minho dozed off beside him; his head slowly drooping onto the younger’s shoulder. The warm flow of air from the car gently blew into his hair and the car rocked in a soothing rhythm, causing the maknae to feel a bit sleepy as well. His eyelids flickered as he gave in to exhaustion and let his head meet Minho’s.

Onew’s eyes flickered back from the rearview mirror with a smile. ‘Those two are adorable.’ Glancing back at the mirror, Jonghyun held Key’s limp hand tenderly as the diva slept. His thumb ran over his hand, gently rubbing Key’s index finger. The idol gazed in deep thought at their hands.

Onew frowned in sympathy for the pair. ‘He seems conflicted… Both of them do. I don’t even think I can help…’ Then he smiled slightly as Jonghyun squeezed the other’s hand.

“What is that I see?” Onew commented quietly with a quirky grin, turning his attention back to the road.

Jonghyun’s eyes never looked up from Key’s fingers as he continued to caress the diva’s soft hand.

“Experimenting,” The dino stated simply.

“Ah.” Onew replied, his grin faltering. “Don’t know how you feel?”

Sighing, the idol shook his head. “I haven’t the slightest idea.”

“Like he said before, I hope you aren’t forcing yourself…” Onew started.

“No. I’m not.”

Onew internally sighed with relief and looked back up at the mirror.

Jonghyun’s face had a look that was torn between confusion and something more.

“You’re trying really hard to figure things out… aren’t you?” Onew mumbled softly.

“I don’t want to make him wait… yet I need time.” Jonghyun sighed.

Onew turned the steering wheel into the dorm’s parking lot and killed the engine. Getting out and opening the van door, he poked his head into the back seat, nudging Minho’s shoulder. Minho opened his eyes sleepily and Onew nodded toward the maknae before giving Jonghyun the same look.

“He’s all yours today, Jonghyun.” The idol mouthed silently and grinned before taking the keys to unlock the door. Jonghyun rolled his eyes and shook his head with a soft chuckle as he climbed out of the van.

Key slid slightly in his seat toward where the dino had been sitting but stayed asleep in his warm coat. Jonghyun scooped the sleepy diva into his arms and the boy shivered at the change in temperature, furrowing his eyebrows slightly. As the dino carried Key into the dorm, Minho poked Taemin awake. The maknae let out a yawn and reached his arms out to the rapper, squinting his eyes shut and whimpering at the cold.

“Come ‘ere.” Minho lifted the younger and smiled as Taemin latched on in a koala-like fashion, hiding his face into his shoulder away from the chilly weather. The door of the van slid closed as Onew held automatic key from the dorm door.

“Hurry up, it’s cold!” Onew called.

“I’m coming, you sissy.” Minho retorted as he lumbered inside, placing Taemin on the couch. The younger opened his eyes sleepily and grabbed a blanket on the arm of the couch, wrapping himself up in the fabric.

Minho took off his jacket and turned to hang it up on the coat rack until he heard a small protest from the couch.

“Hey, you were warm. Who said you could just leave?” Taemin complained sleepily.

Minho chuckled as he hung up his coat and returned to the “cold” maknae. “Who told me that I had to stay?” he asked with a smile.

“Me. That’s who.” Taemin caught hold of the rapper’s sleeve, pulling him onto the couch next to him.

“If that’s the case, I get some blanket too.” Minho grabbed at the blanket in Taemin’s lap and dragged it across his legs as well.

“Okay~” Taemin yawned cutely and leaned on Minho’s broad shoulder. Minho blushed a slight shade of pink and bit his lip as the boy became comfortable, snuggling up to his waist. Onew grinned and chuckled at the sight of the “strong and silent” Minho getting flustered over the group’s maknae.

“Awh~” he cooed with a smile.

“S-shut up, hyung!” Minho retorted softly, his face growing even a darker shade of pink. Onew just shrugged with a confident smirk and started toward their bedroom.

“You can try to hide it, Minho. But it’s so obvious that it literally hurts to watch you guys deny it.” Onew grinned mischievously. “You two are just as bad as Key and the dino.”

“Shut it, hyung…” Minho mumbled as the elder left the room with a cheesy smile growing across his face.

“I love being me.” He grinned happily.

--

“Oh… are we home?” Key mumbled as he forced his eyes open, his head leaning onto someone’s chest. Whoever it was, he was warm… and Key welcomed it. Snuggling his head into their sweatshirt, the diva smiled and sighed. That scent… That musky scent. So familiar. So comforting… Wait. A musky fragrance. Couldn’t be Onew… or Minho. And Taemin’s definitely not strong enough to pick him up. Forcing his eyes open, Key looked up at his source of heat.

Muscular. Slight musky scent. Puppy pout. Mussy brown locks… Jonghyun.

Key sighed as two brown puppy eyes peered down at him. ‘Thanks Onew…You traitor.’ he thought tiredly.

“Hey… How are you feeling?” Jonghyun smiled slightly and pushed the bedroom door open with his foot before flipping the light switch with his elbow.

“Like …” Key mumbled, giving up on the whole “I’m fine” façade. He leaned his head back on Jonghyun’s chest as he carried him to his bed, enjoying any contact he could get from the boy. His eyes started to grow heavy again but he fought to stay awake. If he was going to be sick, Key wanted to enjoy this.

Jonghyun noticed Key’s struggling against sleep and smiled. Gently setting him down on his bed, the dino covered him with a soft warm quilt. Key looked curiously up at the elder, wondering what he was thinking.

“You’re smiling… what did you do?” Key inquired with a small smirk. Jonghyun just chuckled softly and sat at the end of the bed.

“Nothing…” He gazed at the floor with his hands in his lap. Key frowned. His eyes looked sad. Confused even.

“If it’s me… you can just forget I said anything. I understand this is weird…” Key whispered softly. Jonghyun looked up, giving him a small smile before getting up, placing a hand on Key’s forehead.

“You’re fever hasn’t gone away… I’ll go get you some medication from Onew.” Jonghyun quickly walked away from the boy and out the door, shutting it quietly.

Key sighed, his head pounding even more than before.

“Stupid dino…” he mumbled before laying his head down on the pillow. “I don’t want to deal with this anymore…” Key whispered as his eyes closed, submitting to sleep.

--

“Where are you going, Jjong?” Onew inquired as the dino closed the door to the bedroom.

“Just getting some stuff for Key, his fever hasn’t gone down.” Jonghyun replied with a slight smile.

Onew crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow in doubt. “Stop being a jerk, Jong.”

“How am I being a jerk? You told me to take care of him!” Jonghyun rolled his eyes as he made his way to the medicine cabinet in the kitchen, with Onew close behind.

“You’re avoiding him, you realize that right? No matter what you choose to do about the situation, Jonghyun, you can’t avoid him. You two need to talk.” Onew warned sternly before walking away, book in hand.

Jonghyun stopped arguing, staring down at the bottle of ibuprofen in his hands.

‘I don’t know what to do… I can’t do anything right I guess.’ He thought.

Grabbing a water bottle from the counter, Jonghyun silently made his way back to the bedroom… to Key. The dino opened the door to the room, and walked over to Key’s bed only to find the sick boy sleeping. Placing the bottles on the nightstand, Jonghyun sat up against Key’s headboard and rested his head on his knees.  

“Key… I’m stuck. I don’t know what to do.” Jonghyun confessed softly, knowing full well that the sleeping diva couldn’t hear him.

He rolled his head towards Key, peeking at him from behind his knees. His hair was lying flawlessly on his pillow and his chest rose and fell with each breath.

‘He’s my best friend. He’s my coworker. He’s a at times. He’s our ‘umma.’ He’s… Key. But… could I possibly ever look at him as my… lover?’ Jonghyun head pounded with frustration. How did he feel towards this boy?

‘I can’t possibly be… gay. Could I? Not that it matters for him though… Key’s always been a bit… different. But, not in a bad way. He’s still my best friend, gay or not. Nothing’s changed.’ The dino massaged his temples in an effort to make his headache leave him. Didn’t help.

“Mmmm…” Key groaned softly in his sleep, rolling over so that he was facing Jonghyun. The sheets clumped up near his knees as he drew them up into his chest, hugging his pillow. Jonghyun smiled as Key’s hair fell in front of his face, hitting to the mattress.

‘Even in his sleep, sick and exhausted, he still manages to look flawless…’ Jonghyun pushed the diva’s hair to the side, revealing his resting eyes.

Wait. Flawless?

‘Sure, Key looks a little feminine… okay. Really feminine, but … does that mean I like him… that way? Tae’s girly too but he’s like my little brother. So obviously, that’s not it...’

“Pabo, if you like her, then go for it! You’ll regret it for the rest of your life if she’s the one you’re looking for.” Key urged, pushing Jonghyun in the direction of a group of girls.

“I don’t know, Key. What if she doesn’t like me?” Jonghyun asked nervously, scratching his head.

“Then she doesn’t deserve you. And you’re Kim Jonghyun for God’s sake! Who wouldn’t like you? Get out there!” the diva rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in annoyance.

Jonghyun grinned and pounced Key with a hug, squeezing the hell out the boy.

“I love you, Kim Kibum! You’re the best friend anyone could ever ask for! I’m so lucky to have you!” Jonghyun spazzed, kissing his cheek before running off towards his “love.”

“Yeah, I know…” Key’s face flushed bright red. “Love you too, you dino.”

Jonghyun sighed, looking back on that moment that played out earlier this month. ‘Key’s always so sweet and supportive, even if it doesn’t benefit him…God I feel horrible. Torturing him like that when it’s obvious he feels differently…’ he thought miserably.

‘And Key’s always been like that. So sacrificial. Always pretending to be strong when he’s not. I’ve always admired him for that but now… he’s tearing himself apart. How can he act like nothing’s wrong?’ Jonghyun gazed at the sleeping boy next to him with confusion. This beautiful, strong, hardworking boy.

Jonghyun wiped the beads of sweat on Key’s forehead with a towel and pulled the blanket over the diva’s bare shoulder. He stirred under the blankets but did not wake.

‘He must be overworking himself more than usual… I was probably contributing to that.’ Jonghyun thought sadly.

“I know you’re tired of hearing this but… I’m sorry, Kibum. For being so oblivious and hurting you.” Jonghyun whispered softly. “I’m just a stupid dog.”

“I know you are.”

Jonghyun’s head lifted quickly from his knees to see a sleepy-eyed Key looking back at him.

“It’s kinda nice to hear it from your mouth for once,” Key chuckled softly as he rubbed his eyes.

“You should be sleeping, Key. You’re fever hasn’t gone down yet.” The dino’s face flushed a slight pink as Key rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, well your constant moping woke me up so you can’t blame anyone but yourself. Hand me some of that ibuprofen.” Key sat up and pushed himself up against the headboard.

Jonghyun’s face turned a deep shade of red as he quickly grabbed the bottle of medication and water, giving them to the diva.

Swallowing the pills and swiping his mouth with his hand, Key handed the bottles back to the dino. Jonghyun placed them back onto the night stand and they sat there in an awkward silence.

“I forgive you though… Jonghyun.” Key mumbled softly. Jonghyun looked at Key in confusion.

“Why?” he asked quietly. “You really have no reason to…”

“Did you forget already, Jjong?” Key looked straight into Jonghyun’s eyes with an earnest gaze that caused goose bumps to crawl up his arms.

“I’ll always forgive you because… well, I love you. That’s not going to change.” Key face turned a shade of dark red, whether he was blushing or it was from the fever, Jonghyun couldn’t tell.

“W-What is it about me that makes you feel that way…?” the dino blushed furiously but he kept eye contact. No matter how embarrassing or awkward this was, he needed to know.

Key looked down at his hands and pulled at the covers. “Well, it’s not that hard to figure out. You’re always there when I need you. At times, you’re there when I don’t, but you end up making me smile anyways… You are always making me laugh, even when I don’t want to. When you smile, it just lights up the room. Cheesy, but I’m not going to lie… There are just so many things, Jjong… You’re my best friend. This is really weird… I know, but… I can’t help it. It is what it is I guess.”

Jonghyun was speechless. ‘He really loves me… I… I don’t even know.’ His mind was blank. What was he supposed to say?

Key looked up and chuckled a bit. “Is it really that much of a surprise? Sometimes I wonder about you, Jong.”

Jonghyun swallowed nervously, “Why…Why did you help me get with Se Kyung then? Why would you put yourself through that? It doesn’t make sense…”

“Well… she seemed to make you happy. And I didn’t want to ruin what we had. But lately, it’s been getting to me, as you can see. I mean when Onew’s able to figure it out, you know it’s bad.” Key chuckled sadly and tucked some of his hair behind his ear.

‘He’s so… selfless. What is it about this boy that keeps my head spinning? I can’t figure it out…’ Jonghyun bit his lip feeling a bit guilty.

“But Jonghyun, I need you to promise me something.” Key looked him square in the eye. “If you don’t like me that way, don’t give in because you feel bad. I hate pity. You should know that better than anyone.”

“I know… I’m just… confused, that’s all.” Jonghyun scratched his head awkwardly. “If I knew how I felt, I would have told you already, you know that. I wouldn’t dare play with your feelings… that would be cruel.”

“It’s just… I’ve felt something these past few weeks. Seeing you… makes me feel…augh! I-I don’t know! It’s frustrating!” Jonghyun blushed as he hid his head in his hands.

Key looked at the puppy nervously. ‘I’ve never seen him this confused… Maybe…’ His heart fluttered at the thought.

“Umm… Maybe we… we could test it.” Key mumbled, fiddling with the sheets in his lap. Jonghyun looked up in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“Ah… I mean, we could…um…” Key’s heart felt like it was about to implode from how fast it was beating. “Promise me you won’t freak at this suggestion… Just hear me out, okay?”

“I’ll try anything at this point, Key… I don’t think anything you say can make my head spin more than it already is…” Jonghyun smiled slightly, curious to what the boy was thinking of.

“Well, if you don’t know how you feel, we could experiment… It wouldn’t mean anything, but it could help you figure things out. If you truly felt something… we could-” Key’s heart fluttered uncontrollably.

“Kiss?” a voice suggested from the door, causing both idols to jump slightly.

Jonghyun sighed in relief, “Oh it’s just Onew… Wait, did he say kiss? We should… kiss?”

Key’s face flushed horribly and he hid his face in his hands.

‘Things are about to get interesting.’