They pelted down the street. Minho was ahead of Key, still the superior athlete. He was waving at the retreating bus, trying to get the driver's attention. They were going to be late for their classes if they did not get on that bus. But the bus picked up speed and changed lanes - it was not going to stop for missing passengers. Minho stopped chasing, with his hands in his hair as he fought for breath. He let loose a snarl of frustration and gave the driver an imaginary kick up his backside for ignoring him.

Key eventually made it to his side, his face red and mouth gasping for air. "What...? Ha... damn!" he tried to communicate. Minho pulled out a bottle of water and gave it to the other, who accepted it with a nod of thanks. "What the hell?!" Key eventually spluttered, "Dammit! We're going to be late."

"What will you be missing?" Minho asked him as they walked back to the bus stop. He had a sports science class that he would be late for. He would need to ask Jonghyun to share his notes, again.

"Physics 101," replied Key. "We are meant to begin our assignments for the semester and I wanted to get a good project. Now I will have to pick from the unwanted left overs!" He grumbled some more and they waited for the next bus that will take them to their university.

The next day, Key packed his things and slid across the bench to the stairs that will take him down to the exit of the lecture theatre. He was passing the lectern when the Professor called out for him to wait. There was an event he may be interested in.

"So what was it?" Jinki asked Key. They were now on the side of one of the tennis courts, watching Minho teach the sport to a group of high school students. “Hey, Key?” Jinki prodded him. Key looked up, occupied and confused until Jinki’s words registered in his mind. He was scrolling through his iPad and jotting down notes for his physics project. He was left with the topic of gravity and he had no clue what to do with it.

“Oh, a conference at another university. He said that I could catch a lift with him,” Key answered him.

“It sounds boring,” Jinki commented and he nodded in agreement. He was only interested when the Professor mentioned that he would gain extra credit for attending.

They watched Minho wrap up the lesson. A group of girls gathered about him, hanging back to ask unimportant questions; they just wanted to be with him for a little longer. “Do you want to come and have ice-cream with us?” one of the girls asked him.

“Ice-cream?” Minho’s eyes lit up like a baby kid and the girls blushed and giggled. Key watched it all and told Jinki that Minho was too cute for his own good and will eventually get thrown into jail for it. He dusted off his pants and went to save his friend from persecuting himself with the lure of ice-cream and sweet smiles.

Jinki threw a wad of paper at the trash can. He held his breath with silent anticipation and gave a loud cheer into Minho’s ear when it sailed smoothly in. They were bored on a lazy Saturday afternoon and were wasting their hours by seeing who could throw things into the kitchen bin from the lounge room.

Jinki blew air through his cheeks. “Do you want to go out to one of the bars tonight?” he asked Minho, as the other carelessly sank another ball of paper into the bin. Minho made a noncommittal sound in his throat. It had been a while since he had gone out, maybe he will go out with him.

An hour later, when they ran out of things to throw at the bin, they were ready to leave. Both boys were putting their shoes on when the front door sluggishly opened and a zombie Key shuffled inside. He had just finished a gruelling shift at work. Jinki and Minho watched him drop his gear on the floor, shuffle towards a couch to trip on his feet and collapse face-first onto the floor.

They peered over the coffee table. Minho stretched out to prod him with his foot. “Hey, Key,” he said, not ceasing his prodding of the human rug. It made an incomprehensible noise. “I’m going out with Jinki, ok?” Key lifted a feeble hand to wave him away.

And so Minho went to collect their house keys and met Jinki at the front door. He looked back at the comatose on the floor, and then turned to Jinki with an apology in his eyes. Jinki sighed and nodded at Minho’s decision. “It’s ok,” he said, “we’ll go out another night. I’ll go find Jonghyun; you stay here with Key.” Jinki waved his farewell and Minho turned back to look after his best friend through the night.

Key ran up the hill towards the University Physics building. The Professor had told him to meet him at his office in the early morning so they could register for the conference. Yet another exhausting shift at work the day before had left him bone-tired and he unfortunately slept in. He had not heard his alarm go off in his room because that morning he found himself on the lounge room floor, again. He was tucked in some sleeping blankets, with his pillow beneath his head. Minho was sleeping on the couch, a hand and foot dangling off its edge, a novel discarded and forgotten on the floor. Key moved quickly and quietly so as not to disturb him. He left hot coffee on the kitchen table as a token of thanks.

Key entered the Physics building and was trotting up the staircase when he saw a green pear roll down the steps. He rubbed at his bleary eyes and looked again. The pear was followed by a red apple, which stopped in between his feet. He bent down to pick up the apple and was surprised by the appearance of another rolling down the stairs.

“Crap, no!” a voice shouted from the top of the staircase. Key looked up and saw a thin, red-haired boy with thick black-rimmed glasses try to gather the rest of his food that was spilling from his broken backpack. Key picked up the fruit near him and approached the other, who looked up and gave a small smile of thanks as he took back the apples and pear.

“I am sorry about that. I am such a clutz,” he apologised and fixed his things before he stood up and properly faced Key. Recognition flashed in his eyes and he began to say something when they heard the Professor come down the hallway towards them.

“Taemin!” the Professor called out and handed the boy a water bottle. “This dropped out of your bag when you left. I keep telling you to get a new bag.” The Professor then noticed and greeted Key. He introduced Taemin as his son; he would be joining them too.

Taemin smiled at Key again and told him that it was nice to finally meet him.

Key was hypnotised by Taemin. The younger boy was full of energy. His hands were constantly moving and sometimes he would sway to music he only heard in his own mind. His face would scrunch up when he talked around the huge smile that never seemed to disappear. Key often lost himself in Taemin’s bright eyes that sparkled with mirth.

“He is like the sun,” Key told Minho one Saturday. Minho was leaning against their balcony railing and watching Key throw random things out onto their lawn. Key was frustrated with his physics project and had declared that he will test whether the laws of gravity worked all the time. Minho raised his eyebrow and followed with anticipation of witnessing a good joke; but what he got was a confession of Key’s fascination with Taemin.

Key and Taemin had kept in contact with each other since their first meeting and often caught up over coffee on campus or went out at night to various events. Minho had met Taemin when Key had dragged him to the tennis courts. Key still kept an eagle eye on the girls that Minho coached; but once the lessons were over, Key would follow his new friend and leave Minho with Jinki.

Every time Key left with Taemin, he would ask Minho if it was ok with him; and Minho had always said yes.

Key disappeared back into the house to find more gear to throw over the balcony. He was wasting time, waiting for Taemin; they were going out again that night. Minho stayed outside and fought to keep calm. He was confused by Key’s confession about the boy. Taemin seemed nice and happy to have new friends, but Minho was unsure whether Taemin felt the same way as Key did.

Minho refocused his attention onto Key as the other came back outside, lost in thought as he held a baseball in his hand. It was old and heavy, flecks of black paint on its white skin.

“You’re not going to throw that over, are you?” Minho asked him, ready to grab it out of his hands if he had said yes. But Key shook his head and settled himself next to him.

“I don’t know how I would’ve survived school without you.” Key startled Minho with this new confession. “Back then, no-one wanted to play with me much. I was too weird. I was like the moon, an outcast. But then you came along and you became my Earth.”

Minho became embarrassed and chuckled to ease the awkward feelings he felt stir at Key’s words. He took the baseball from Key’s hand and complained that he wasn’t too sure about being the Earth – that would mean that his existence was attracted to the sun, who Key had just labelled Taemin as.

Key stood still as he realised the relationship before he crackled with laughter. “No!” Key denied Minho, “Taemin is my sunshine!”

Their doorbell rang and Key went to let Taemin in. Minho followed and gave their guest a wave hello as Key went to get his things. Taemin smiled brightly and Minho felt his heart twist a little in pain. He felt the frown of confusion across his forehead, which only became more pronounced when Key came back out with one of his dazzling smiles.

“Minho,” Key addressed him from the front door, “I’m going out with Taemin, is that ok?”

Minho coughed a little and swallowed some moisture back into his throat. “Sure,” he answered and gave him a wave of farewell.

The moment the door closed Minho pulled out his phone and called Jinki. He wanted to go out and drink himself senseless.

Taemin led Key to an inconspicuous white door facing the street. On the door was a single painted image of a black grand piano. Above the door was the name of the cafe, ‘Piano’. Taemin grinned at Key and beckoned him inside.

They followed the long hallway and entered a ballroom littered with small clusters of crazy assorted furniture. There were low tables as well as proper-height tables. An eclectic mix of seats and chairs were arranged about these tables – bar stools, wooden chairs, and sofa seats of different materials and colours. But what commanded the attention of the room was the black grand piano on a small raised stage.

There were a few patrons seated, enjoying conversation over tea and coffee. As Key settled into his seat, one of the girls from another table stood up to the cheers of her group. She made her way up to the piano and gave a fancy bow to the crowd. She settled herself on the piano stool and began to play an upbeat jazzy piece. She finished to a round of applause, and another person from a different group tapped on her shoulder and took her seat to play another item. It was an open stage.

Key turned to Taemin with excitement – he had never heard of this place before! Taemin only grinned with amusement at his obvious enthusiasm.

“Can you play?” Key asked him, and he nodded. He rose after the end of a rendition of the Star Wars theme and gave a little bow to Key when he was on stage. A few of the other patrons recognised Taemin and cheered with anticipation.

Key watched Taemin flex his slim fingers, take a breath, and play the most beautiful piece of music he had ever heard in his life. It felt like he was flying with Taemin’s piano, Key could not stop himself. And then Taemin sang. And Key’s heart was no longer his own.

It was only when Taemin finished his piece to the loud applause of everyone in the cafe that Key remembered to breathe. He stood up and cheered loudly with the others. Taemin gave a humble bow of thanks to the audience and stepped off the stage. No one came up to replace him; no one felt brave enough to top that last performance.

Taemin did not return directly to Key. He made his way to the barista to order some drinks and was waylaid by other regular customers for small chats. Key watched it all with a glowing pride – this was the person he fell in love with. He stood from his seat and went to help him carry the drinks over and told him that it was a wonderful performance.

Taemin blushed as he smiled his thanks. He was about to say something in return when his phone rang within his bag. Taemin fumbled through his things when its zipper broke even more, causing him to curse.

“Why won’t you get a new bag?” Key asked him.

“I don’t want to,” Taemin answered, and his smile made Key light-headed. “This is my lucky bag.”

He missed the call and checked the caller ID. It was his father, which reminded him to ask Key about his project. Key made a noise at the back of his throat and started to complain about the lack of flexibility his topic had. He told him of his little experiment earlier that day. “Gravity has been solved!” Key declared to no-one in particular.

Taemin giggled at Key’s frustration and insisted that there had to be something that he could do. Key mused for a little bit more. “Everything is governed by the physics of gravity. Everything,” he began, “The planets and stars move according to gravity. People are bound by its rules, too. Galileo, Newton and Einstein worked on the gravitational theory; but we don’t know how it really works, do we?”

Taemin only shrugged at Key’s question. It was too advanced for him since he had yet to take any classes. Key caught his eye and held it whilst he continued his musings.

“Einstein was a smart man,” he said, “and there was something he said about gravity that makes me think is not true.” Key nodded with decision, “I think I can prove him wrong.” Taemin raised an eyebrow over his mug of coffee, prompting Key to explain himself.

“Einstein says that gravity is not responsible for people falling in love. But the laws of gravity are universal – so he must be wrong too.”

Taemin was becoming sleepy. It was now past midnight and they had stayed within The Piano and a dozen or more caffeinated drinks and live performances and random conversations. He smiled sheepishly at Key when the other lifted him up onto his feet to stumble outside.

“Geez, if this is what you’re like high on coffee, I’d hate to see you when we replace those cups of caffeine with alcohol,” Key complained. Taemin senselessly giggled and asked Key if he wanted to find out for himself, right now. Key looked down at Taemin, whose eyelids were drooping low. He could see hints of bags forming under his eyes. ‘No, not tonight,’ he decided and pulled themselves to the nearest bus stop.

Taemin rested his head against Key’s shoulder as they waited for the next bus. His glasses were slipping down his nose, encouraging Key to quietly fix it. His hand lingered on Taemin’s face for a little longer than necessary and he found Taemin’s dark eyes stare up at him. Key’s heart froze and he fought to breathe.

“Taemin,” he whispered and leaned forwards to softly brush their lips together.

Taemin pulled away, white with shock and a little panic. His eyes were now alert and he was no longer sleepy with the caffeine running through his body. But it was when he wiped his lips with the back of his hand that crushed Key’s heart. And it ripped in two when Taemin apologised and made a hasty retreat.

Key felt like he was falling to the ground - falling hard and fast - with his wings burnt away by the sun.

- KISSING THE SUN –

A/N: Don't panic! This is definitely a MinKey fic!!