In honor of me finishing The Showdown, I've done a new chapter of this, which I think shall be the end of this story.

“How dare you!”  Key railed on, pacing in front of the other three members with his hands on his hips, except when he was pointing one thin finger accusingly at them as he emphasized how shamed they should be, or waving them in the air to accentuate his anger at them.    

Key made an interesting picture.  No make-up or hair products were in use yet so his skin was visibly flushed red with his anger and his hair flew all around his head as he shift and moved about the room with no product to hold it in place.  He had on pajamas with his violently pink apron on over it.  He periodically pulled a wooden spoon from the pocket of the apron and waved it in their faces, brandishing it like a magic wand.  And sometimes they felt like they would rather they would turn into frogs or mice than to have to endure this verbal filleting any longer.  As long as he stuck with the spoon and not the kitchen shears that were also in his apron’s pocket though they were considering themselves lucky. 

Onew, Jonghyun and Minho were seated on the couch, cringing and shrinking in on themselves as Key tore into them for forgetting the maknae’s birthday.  Taemin had been fidgeting in the doorway when Key had started, and the younger man had tried to call Key off early on, but Key was incensed and would not be stopped.  Taemin had thrown them an understanding look and mouthed, ‘I’m sorry,’ before he left the room as entirely to hole up in the room that he shared with Onew and Key. 

They however, were stuck on that coach hearing about how disappointed Key was in them, and how horrible they should feel, leaving Taemin alone on his birthday.  They hadn’t received such a scolding from their own mothers before so they were not quite sure how to react to Key’s rampage.  They felt awful, they really did.  They had honestly been so caught up in all the Japan promotions that they had just forgot about that day being Taemin’s birthday.

What made it all the worse was that Taemin hadn’t said anything, and they knew that he wouldn’t have.  Taemin was a quiet guy.  That shy persona that he tends to have on variety shows is how he actually acts.  It was only in the weeks leading up to their debut three years ago that Taemin finally opened up around all of them – and they had been living together and practicing together, spending practically all of their time together for months already at that point!  He would never make a big show of his birthday, he doesn’t go around for weeks ahead of time asking for anything specific or saying what he would like to do or dropping hints like the rest of them did.  And if Key hadn’t found out, Taemin probably would never have said anything at all and they would have been well into August probably before anyone realized that July had passed without a celebration for the dancer.    

They felt like scum on the bottom of a shoe and Key was the stick that was being used to peel them uncomfortably off the sole. 

“Seriously, do you know that he sat here alone all day?  Probably just hoping that one of you would remember and come home.  Didn’t you know the only reason we had that day off at all was because Taemin asked our manager to clear it for us?!” 

Onew winced.  He didn’t know that they had the day off because Taemin asked – that actually made it even worse.  On his birthday, it seemed that Taemin had given them all a gift instead of the other way around. 

“We’ll make it up to him,” Jonghyun said.

“How?”  Key asked, tipping his head to the side.  “We have schedules starting in two hours and we’re booked until night for the rest of the week… When exactly are you going to ‘make it up to him?’” Key even used air quotes with a sickly sweet voice that annoyed them, but drove his point home.

The three cowed performers sat stewing in their own misery, ashamed at their forgetfulness.  The shifted around like a five-year-old who knew that a spanking was coming, but also knew that they deserved it and would take it without running.

Key finally felt like he had yelled at them enough, and he had avenged his poor Taemin against his hyungs.  He took pity on their pitiful forms and sighed.  “I’ll tell you exactly how you’re going to make it up to him.”

Three heads shot up so quickly that Key suspected it physically hurt, if the crack the echoed through their living room from Jonghyun’s neck was any indication. 

“You guys know Taemin, he doesn’t want a big party or anything grand.  He just wants you to acknowledge him and his progress.  We have a night off on Saturday.  Any plans you have made for Saturday you can go ahead and cancel right now because you are going to spend the night here with Taemin, with a make-up birthday.” 

Key looked at them and was pleased that no one had contested canceling their plans.  He knew for a fact that Minho had planned to get in a basketball game with some friends, but he was proud that they were placing Taemin ahead of that.

“You guys have a couple of days to come up with a good present as well.  I’m not talking about a cop out card with money in it or a video game.  Put some effort into it and make it something that he will treasure.  I’ll take care of the food and decorations and everything, so you guys can focus on your gifts and just getting yourselves here alright?”  He has whisked out the spoon again and was waving it once more in their faces. 

“Yes Umma…” They said collectively, glad that Key was finishing his lecture and intent on going off to find a good present for the dancer.

*****

Key left and finished making breakfast, chocolate-chip pancakes, and placed some on a tray with whipped cream on top and some banana milk.  Leaving the rest on the kitchen table for the other members to help themselves to, he took his masterpiece into the bedroom for Taemin, only to find him with his back to the door, dressing for the day. 

Key stared at the of the maknae and felt his face flush and burn with excitement.  Key knew that Taemin had been working out with Minho lately and was starting to bulk up some, but the solid muscles that moved across his back as he bent and twisted to pull on his pants and adjust his belt made heat start to pool in another area of Key’s anatomy from his face. 

His mouth was suddenly dry and Key knew that if he even tried to speak, only a squeak would have worked its way out of his throat. 

He placed the tray silently on the dresser, and walked up behind the younger man silently.  Cool hands met warm back and Taemin jump in surprise.

“Hyung! You scared me!” Taemin laughed, turning around with the t-shirt he had been intended to wear bunched up in his bands by his abdomen, unconsciously trying to hide himself from view. 

If Key thought the back looked good, the front of even better.  The beginnings of a muscled physique could be seen.  If Taemin kept up the exercise he was going to have one hell of a six-pack one day and would turn a lot of heads.  That thought made Key intensely jealous – he wanted that all to himself.

Taemin, nervous under the intense gaze, attempted to put the shirt on but Key grabbed it from his hand and threw it behind him to land on the nearest bed.    

“What are you trying to hide?”  Key asked, his voice slightly shaky and higher than he would have liked to hear.

“Um, hyung…?” Taemin’s voice shook slightly, though not with fear.  “What are you doing?” he gasped quietly as Key moved closer, the elder’s hands splayed out, hovering just above the pale skin. 

Key’s eyes looked slightly glaze and his voice was huskily low, “I’m not really sure…” and his cool fingers finally contacted Taemin’s flesh.

The dancer released a hiss as the cool tips danced across his rapidly heating flesh.  His breath started coming in ragged gasps as Key explored his stomach and chest, one hand ghosting around to Taemin’s back to rub the smooth skin there.  This action pulled Taemin closer to his hyung, closing the illusion of space between them to practically nothing. 

It seemed perfectly natural to Taemin then to place his hands on Key’s slim hips.  And as Key explore Taemin’s torso with seeming abandon, Taemin sought to explore Key’s mouth with his own.  The kiss was just as exciting as Taemin remembered it being from the night before, made all the more intense by the fact that Taemin wasn’t fully clothed. 

A swipe past a pert brought an almost simultaneous gasp and groan from Taemin and a smirk from Key.  “Liked that huh?” His voice almost hoarse with passion. 

“Shut up,” Taemin hissed, biting Key’s lower lip gently before crashing his lips back down and sliding his own hands under the worn t-shirt that Key slept in.  Smirking when Key made an odd gurgling noise at the back of his throat as Taemin’s thumb lightly circled his belly button. 

“Found your spot too,” Taemin whispered pulling back and balancing his forehead against Key’s own, trying to find his breath and come back down from the intense high he had just experienced.  The dancer found himself secretly pleased at the fact that he, with so little experience, had managed to render his hyung just as strung out on the experience as he was. 

Key found his knees were actually a little weak and them trembled, along with his other limbs, and he pulled slightly on Taemin and dragged them over to one of the beds, Onew’s actually, which was closest to them. 

“That was…” Key began.

“…Intense.” Taemin finished. 

“Yeah…”

“Hyung?” Taemin began, sounding slightly nervous, “What are we doing?”

Key turned his body to fully face Taemin, who still sat shirtless, chest heaving slightly from their earlier actions, goose bumps starting to gloss over him as his skin rapidly cooled down. 

“I mean, last night we kissed…we kissed a lot…” Taemin said, blood returning to his face with a vengeance as he blushed at the memory.  “And just now…”

Taemin looked at Key with guarded eyes.  He was slightly afraid of what Key might say.  He didn’t want to be some fling, he liked Key too much for that.  He was also afraid that Key might also just be pitying him and trying to cheer him up in some bizarre way.  If either of those were the case, Taemin would need to stop all of this now and deal with the heartache he would already feel on his own. 

Key’s long fingers grasped Taemin’s chin lightly, and turned his head so that they were facing each other.  “I like you Tae.  As in I like you like you, not like a hyung should like his dongsaeng…”

“Really?”  Taemin asked quietly, hoping it was true, “You’re not just saying that…?”

“No Taemin, I really like you, I have for a while.  I didn’t know how to tell you and then last night it just kind of….spilled out…” Key stated awkwardly, shoving his arms out in front of him, palms up, looking very much like a five year old with the flailing expression. 

“I’ve liked you too.” Taemin gave Key a gentle smile with genuine happiness glowing through his eyes. 

“R-really?”  Key stuttered, sounding just as insecure as Taemin had felt. 

“Really.”  And Taemin ducked forward and placed a small peck on Key’s lips, feeling somehow really shy at their quiet declarations, regardless of the intense make-out session that they had just had. 

“Oh!” Key exclaimed suddenly, “I brought you in breakfast!  Ooohhh, but it’ll be ruined now, the whipped cream will have made them all soggy…”  Key whined, looking forlornly at the tray still sitting poised on the dresser top and pouting slightly.

“Aw, you look so cute like that,” Taemin grasped a little of Key’s cheek and squeezed it before Key swatted it away good naturedly.  “It’ll still be good, especially if you made it!”

Key jumped up with a childish smile and grabbed the tray and quickly settling it on Taemin’s lap.

Taemin had reached over to grab his shirt that sat pulled on the other end of the bed, but couldn’t put it on after Key had moved the tray into place without knocking it over. 

“Key can’t I put my shirt on first?”

“Aw, but I kind of like the view…”

“Key!” Taemin exclaimed in an amused kind of shock.  “Let me put my shirt on or your going to end up with some of this whipped cream on your face…”

“You wouldn’t…” Key warned.

So Taemin responded with a large dollop of cream on Key’s nose.

“Ya!  Lee Taemin!”  Key shouted, jumping off of the bed.

“Want more?”  Taemin laughed, moving the tray off to the bed and getting a larger glob of the white fluff on his hand. 

“Taemin…” Key warned, starting to step backward slowly.

“Advice to you: run…” Taemin smirked.

Key squealed and bolted to the tore, tearing it open and racing down the hallway.  He was followed closely by a still only partially clothed Taemin, his shirt clasped in one hand and a handful of whipped cream in the other. 

Neither noticed the confused looks on the other’s faces and they raced around the apartment with childish glee.  Laughing as Key literally was climbing over furniture and running circles around the table with the other members and thoroughly ignoring the questions being thrown their way. 

Along the way a lot of the whipped cream had flew off of Taemin’s hand, splattering on various surfaces of their apartment and Taemin was left with one glob on his finger and Key finally sought refuge back in their room where the chase had begun.  Out of view of the other members, Key turned the tables on the maknae, grabbing his wrist and engulfing the finger in his mouth with one swoop, all of the offending cream off.

his lips and quite enjoying the sudden change from playful to panting that the maknae exhibited, Key said, “Mmmm, delicious.”

 I hope you all enjoyed that addition to Lonely Birthday, but I promise that it IS actually complete now.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to comment.