So my computer had a virus and I had to wipe the disk... TT^TT

But I'm back! And this chapter is mainly fluff and nice domesticity--etc.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Leo remembered falling asleep by himself on N's bed. 

Strange that he should wake up with N slumped on top of him.

The redhead was fast asleep, despite being in a seemingly very uncomfortable position with Leo's shoulder jabbing into his chest and one arm trapped between them. Every exhale blew Leo's bangs further into his eyes, and he was tempted to kick his roommate off.

But he was very warm.

Quietly, Leo shifted so that N's arm was free and his head could rest more naturally on Leo's chest. 

The snowstorm that Mrs. Carleton had predicted was in full force outside. From the crack between the curtains, Leo could see nothing but a sheet of swirling white, and beyond the pane of glass there was the sound of howling wind. 

At that moment, Leo's phone buzzed, and he tilted his head to see the weather advisory appear on the screen.

A little late there, aren't we?

N grunted, and Leo his hair instinctively. Even with the ridiculous bedhead, N looked completely at peace. Leo gave him a soft kiss on the forehead, and N smiled in his sleep.

Around noon, people Leo had never seen started pouring in.

N watched silently from the top of the staircase as family, friends, and neighbors stomped off the snow from their boots and greeted the Carletons.

Leo sat down beside him. "Who are these people?"

"They're all here to celebrate," N said flatly.

Leo didn't have to ask to know what it was, exactly, that they were celebrating: the end of Mr. Cha's reign of terror.

"Is that why your mom's making a lot of food? Should we help her?"

"She doesn't like other people in her kitchen." N shrugged. 

"...you want to talk? You seem–"

"I'm fine." N looked away and folded his arms tightly across himself.

Leo got up and went back into N's room, returning with N's quilt. He draped it across the redhead's shoulders and joined N under the blanket.

"It's warmer this way," he said.

N leaned against Leo's shoulder. "I'm just...really tired. Of...of being tired. And hearing about my dad."

"I can see that."

"I'll be okay in like five minutes."

"You don't have to be."

N glanced up at Leo and smiled a soft little smile. "You're not supposed to let me sulk, Leo Jung," he said.

A very familiar set of voices floated from downstairs.

"God dammit, Ken, stop punching him–"

"I ain't punching no one!"

N and Leo leaped to their feet and dashed to the entryway to find their four friends standing around, yelling at each other.

Hyuk was the first person to see Leo and N, and he yelped, stretching out his arms in their direction. 

"Don't move," N cautioned. "I don't want you bleeding all over my nice floors." He gave Hyuk a tight hug. "Good to see you."

Hongbin was silent, staring down the halls and into the rooms, mouth open in awe. "You...this is your house?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, you've never been here before." N gave Hongbin a pat on the shoulder. "Feel free to take a look around."

Leo was helping Hyuk with his coat.

"How did you guys get out of the hospital?" he asked. "I'm pretty sure you–"

"Hongbin's dimple power," Ravi said.

"Of course."

Hongbin stopped in his study of the house. "Huh?"

Dinner that night was a feast.

Mr. and Mrs. Carleton bustled in and out of the kitchen, carrying plates in and out to accomodate the police officers, some family, some neighbors, and of course, the insatiable appetites of the teenage boys.

"Cheers!" the lady officer–Caroline, Leo recalled–said, and everyone at the table clinked their glasses. 

Ken elbowed Ravi in the side. "Dare you to switch our cider with their white wine," he hissed, not at all subtly. 

"And get kicked out into the snowstorm?" Ravi jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "We nearly died on the highway here, remember?"

"Did Ken drive?" N asked, cutting up a piece of chicken with vengeance. 

"No, Hyuk's mom did." Ken girmaced. "Some ahole tried to cut us off on the highway and nearly took us all out."

"Oh, lovely."

Hongbin had taken to feeding Hyuk, despite the sophomore's protests and the delight of the women at the table. 

"I can eat by myself!" Hyuk said, trying to swat away Hongbin's fork.

"But you're hurt!"

"I can use my hands! My hands are still good!"

"Oh, I think Hongbin knows that," Ken said with a smirk, and one of the nearby police officers nearly spat out his drink.

Mrs. Carleton spun out from the kitchen as gracefully as anything Leo had ever seen, baskets of bread balanced on her forearms.

"Don't eat too fast," she warned. 

Ken and N exchanged a look. A challenge.

Leo and Ravi exchanged a different look. Exasperation.

After dinner, Ken and N were sprawled on the couch, nursing aching stomachs and cans of ginger ale. 

"That was a bad idea," Ken moaned, letting out a gargantuan belch.

N just shook his head. 

Hongbin carried over two mugs of mint tea, provided by a very amused Mr. Carleton. "Your dad says this might help," he said. 

N sat up with what seemed like a Herculean effort. "Thanks, Beanie." He handed the other mug off to the near-crying Ken, who was grabbing onto Ravi's arm.

"Why didn't you stop me?" Ken demanded.

"I stopped caring a long time ago, dumba ." Ravi sighed and held the tea in front of Ken's face. "Drink it."

"Make me."

Leo sat down next to N and pulled his head down onto his shoulder, watching the two roommates bicker.

"I told you to stop after the third rotisserie," he said, mildly scolding.

N pouted but snuggled in closer. "I must've been pretty pathetic, huh?"

"Not gonna lie, you were. But that's okay." Leo smiled into the top of N's head.

"Rude."

Ravi got Ken into a solid headlock and waved for the mug of tea.