Last Christmas (I Gave You My Heart)

Pairing: Gen; Performance Unit

4. Soonyoung had been working sleepless nights for nearly two weeks, choreographing and re-choreographing the multitude of dances that would be performed at award assemblies. Junhui, Minghao, and Chan had found any possible ways of help, whether it was pointing out a smoother move from one step to another or simply bringing more coffee. Maybe it was because Chan had seen Soonyoung go over the routine so many times that he had to have memorized it by now, maybe it was his massive ego, but every sharp word Soonyoung uttered was like a knife to his heart.

"No. Again."

"Wrong direction, Chan. Again."

"You stepped out with the wrong foot. Chan, I'm talking to you. Right, not left. Again."

Soonyoung was being impossibly patient with Chan despite the constant mistakes, and after the twentieth time of the hour, he Chan let out a sigh of defeat and suggested they continue the following morning. "It's already four a.m. and the others are back in the dorms" was his excuse, and he was on his feet to sprint for the door before Soonyoung even had a chance to lock up the dance studio for the night.

A foot had just escaped the stuffy room when Soonyoung called his name. "You always had a hard time memorizing routines, so I don't blame you for little, detailed mistakes here and there. If you ever need an extra helping hand, I'm always here. You know that, right?" Chan nodded, a movement so small Soonyoung barely caught it, and left the building without another word.

3. They had ordered take out and some were taking the liberation of diets far too seriously. Wonwoo or Minghao didn't have to worry much about a diet in the first place ("Diet? What diet?" Wonwoo said smugly, biting into a juicy piece of chicken.), but Seungkwan, Chan, and a couple others stuck to a strict three-bananas-and-boiled-eggs-a-day diet. 

"Channie, this part is better," Minghao spoke in crude Korean, holding out a drumstick over Junhui's outstretched leg. However, he refused the offering with a curt "I'm on a diet" and announced that he would be heading back to the dance studio for clarification on a couple movements in their new choreography.

Before he could leave the apartment, Minghao ran up to him and shoved a small canvas bag into his hand. Without giving Chan a chance to question the action, he waved goodbye and turned away. When he opened the container inside, there were a few pieces of steaming chicken with a side of celery stalks. He dumped the contents into the nearest trashcan on his lonely walk down the road, wet from the downpour of rain and dry leaves flitting by his feet. 

2. The constant giggling coming from living room was bothering Chan a little more than it should be, and when he turned around to snap at them for being so loud, the words died on the tip of his tongue as his shoulders slumped slightly. Seungkwan was tangled with Hansol, his head resting on the other's chest and fingers skittering across his stomach. Chan could feel a vague sickness creeping in his stomach and swirled around in his seat, eyes focusing on the nicks in the kitchen table. 

He pretended not to feel Junhui's burning gaze burrowing into his skin as he nearly knocked over a chair in a hurry to leave. Hansol's concerned tone as he asked if something was wrong itched at his retreating footsteps because everything was wrong. He was wrong. It wasn't even Seungkwan's fault that Hansol had fallen for him and not Chan, but that didn't stop the waves of jealousy and hatred towards the harmless boy.

A hand grabbed his wrist and yanked him back, and a sound of protest snarled at the back of his throat. "Hey, you okay?" Junhui's voice was soft, gentle, as if he was afraid Chan would lash out or break down. He did neither but remained stoic, and that scared Junhui more than it would have if Chan had showed some sort of emotion.

"I'm fine, hyung" was all Chan said before slamming the door in Junhui's face.

1. Giggles and hushes permeated through the living room as Soonyoung jostled Junhui into silence after he tripped over his own feet and crashed into the ground. Minghao was still fretting about Junhui's ankle and asking consistently if it hurt too much.

("My god, Minghao, Junhui's going to be fine," Soonyoung sighed, exasperated, but Minghao simply wouldn't relent until he had confirmation from Junhui. Junhui smiled endearingly and ruffled Minghao's bangs despite his whines of protest, and Soonyoung complained loudly about "PDA and gross " until he heard a bedroom door open.)

Chan walked out, disgruntled and still very much asleep, scratching his nape with one eye screwed shut. "What's going on?" he asked, struggling to focus his blurry eyes on the three in front of him. 

"Merry Christmas!" They shouted, throwing confetti into the air and wrapping their arms around Chan. He was somewhat more awake at the sudden ruckus but confused at the amount of affection he was receiving. 

"Hyung—" He tried again, but to no avail, for the three excited boys ed a present into his hands. Pulses of chants to open the box and a very clingy Minghao was fought through until Chan could actually tear the wrapping paper and find...

A pair of Nikes. Chan had obsessed over shoes a week or two ago, imagining how nice it would be to have a replacement for his tattered dancing shoes. He had recently ripped a flap off the bottom of his pair after a strenous routine, and the damage had gotten increasingly worse, which eventually led to blisters on the pads of his feet. But here they were, shoes far too expensive for Chan to own, much less dream about, and they were all his.

His voice was a stutter of emotions. "H-how did you manage to buy this?" He was aware that most of the members in general received only a bare minimum from their families or none at all. Soonyoung smiled sheepishly, exchanging a proud glance with Junhui and Minghao.

"We scraped together our allowances over the years, and Junhui went to work at a convenience store after schedules for a couple weeks to compensate for anything we couldn't manage. You like it, right?" Chan's teary eyes wandered from Soonyoung's hopeful eyes to Junhui's quirked lip to Minghao's overjoyed expression before he dragged them into a group hug, crying and repeating a mantra of I'm sorry, thank you, I love you guys.

When they managed to pry Chan off, the silence was comforting and warm like a mother's embrace. That was, until Soonyoung spoke, wiggling his eyebrows playfully. "No homo, though, right?"