Minho ran.

He had gotten Key's phone call as he was leaving the bar with Jinki. He was not as drunk as he would've liked and it was with trepidation that he answered the call; he was not sure if he could handle a lovey-dovey Key at that moment. But when he picked up, there was no-one on the other end; or rather, he could hear the passing traffic and nothing else. "Key?" Minho asked into the phone, "Hello? Are you there?"

There was more silence until Key's strained voice carried over on a whisper, "Minho ... I don't know how to get home."

"What are you talking about?" Minho wondered what nonsense trip he had gotten himself into with Taemin. If they were lost, well, they could just figure it out themselves. His patience was wearing thin when he thought of the other boy and their shared dazzling smiles.

"Minho."

Minho stopped walking, causing Jinki to stop too. The other stood with a quizzical look but Minho was not paying him any attention. He had heard the quiet pain behind Key's voice; it was hidden and barely noticeable to anyone but him.

"Where are you?" he demanded and Key described the shops in front of him. And so Minho ran to find his broken friend.

Minho had recognised one of the shops Key had described and was now standing off to the side of the bus stop. He stayed out of Key’s peripheral vision, although it appeared that it would not have mattered. Key was staring lifelessly at the passing traffic. A bus stopped and opened its doors and then drove off with an air of disgust when he made no move to get on.

Minho looked around for Taemin but could not find the boy in question. He turned back to Key and understood the situation. His blood boiled with anger at Taemin’s cowardice and he struggled to keep it in check; the alcohol he had drunk earlier was not helping him. Nevertheless, it was with a gentleness that he stepped into Key’s field of vision and sat next to him. Key made no move to acknowledge him; he remained trapped within his thoughts.

They stayed like that as a few more buses passed by them. It was when Minho noticed Key shiver from the 2AM cold that he took his hand and pulled him up. Key moved like a puppet: he flopped a little to the side and his steps were sluggish. His butterfly wings were gone. Minho bit hard into his tongue to control his fury and managed to get them onto the next bus and on their way back home.

Minho woke up to the sounds of scrubbing and cursing. He blearily looked at his clock and groaned at the 6:04 that flashed back at him. His head still felt foggy from the night before. He considered crawling back into sleep when he heard the sound of broken glass and Key’s gasp of pain. In a flash, Minho was up and out of his room to discover a cup on the kitchen bench, flecks of blood along its jagged edge. Key was running his finger under the tap.

Minho’s eyes widened as he registered the appearance of their shared house. It was spotless – sparkling even. The things that Key had thrown over the balcony the previous afternoon were rescued from the yard and returned to their rightful places. The magazines and newspapers were stacked neatly next to the wiped coffee table. His video games were in their rack, alphabetised. Their TV looked as if it was brand new, free of its layer of dust. And it seemed that Key was channelling his cleaning whirlwind into the kitchen.

“Oh hey,” Key greeted him, as he wiped his injured hand with a paper towel and placed a Band-Aid over the cut. “We’re going to have guests over today,” he continued, “Jonghyun and Jinki will be here for lunch.”

“Key ... it’s Sunday. You didn’t call them this early on a Sunday, did you?” Minho said the words slowly as if asking him if he was sane. No one interrupted a young man’s sleep-in; even the President would know better. He could imagine Jonghyun’s irate yells when he received Key’s phone call; but he was immensely surprised that he had managed to get a hold onto Jinki, who was notorious for choosing sleep over everything else.

“Oh, I had called about 20 times before he deigned to pick up,” Key answered the riddle.  

Their doorbell rang just before 1PM. Key was in the kitchen making pasta; Minho was lounging on the couch, watching Key. He rolled off and onto his feet when Key gave him a pointed look to answer the door. Jinki shuffled in, made a beeline towards Key, and pushed him.

“Hey!” Key protested as righted himself and returned to the stove. “What was that for?”

“What was that for?!” Jinki mockingly repeated, “For waking me up so early, you bastard.”

Minho laughed from his position in the hallway when their doorbell began a furious ringing. Minho returned to the front door to let Jonghyun in, who charged past him and straight towards Key. He jumped onto the other’s shoulders to bring down his head for a noogie.

“What the hell?!” Key protested and pushed Jonghyun off him.

Jonghyun made a growl of anger and stalked to the couch to flop down next to Jinki. Minho joined them and quietly filled them in of the previous night’s events. Jonghyun grumbled a little with understanding but insisted that the early wakeup call was still unwelcomed and better not happen again. He said the last with a pointed look towards Minho, who shrugged his incomprehension of Jonghyun’s hidden message. Jinki sighed and told him under his breath that at least Minho has his chance back. Minho continued to look perplexed and was saved when Key announced that their food was ready.

The four friends kept each other’s company through the night. They were playing a game of charades when Key’s phone rang. Its ringtone was lost in the noise of raucous laughter – Minho was grossly exaggerating the movements of a duck for some unknown prompt. Key and Jonghyun were rolling around on the floor with laughter, both deliberately pretending not to know the answer so they could watch Minho become flustered with his acting. Everyone stopped when the doorbell rang and Minho gave up in favour to see who was visiting them. He kicked Key on his way because he knew that the other knew the answer and had not saved him from the embarrassment.

It was then that Key noticed his phone glow with notifications. He picked it up to clear them off and grew solemn at the caller ID of the half-dozen missed calls; Taemin.

“Key,” Minho called out to him and he looked up to see the figure in the doorway; Taemin.

Key reluctantly stood up from his seat on the floor and made his way to the door. He considered shutting it in Taemin’s face. He could clearly visualise the scene; but when he came face to face with him and saw the apology in the other’s eyes, his resolve crumbled. Key patted Minho’s arm in reassurance as he stepped outside with Taemin and closed the door behind him.

On the other side, Minho leaned forward and rested his head on the door in defeat.

Taemin shuffled on his feet, unsure of how to begin. He avoided Key’s folded arms and pointed looks. It was when Key sighed and turned to go back in that Taemin jerked forward and grabbed the other’s arm. Taemin’s apology rushed out of him – he was sorry; he was shocked at first; he was unsure about how he felt but now he knows; he wants to give them a try.

A/N: The chapter length was getting too crazy, so I had to cut it into two.