December 05, 2013

All the torment Minseok had to put up with over the past few days were compensated in full on the fifth of December, when he woke from a nap on the sofa and opened his eyes to complete darkness.

Gently picking the sleeping kitten off his face, he blinked open his eyes and … still had no idea what day it was. Late on the fourth, early on the fifth? The darkness outside confused his internal clock, so he had to check. The kitten blinked a few times in confusion as she was moved from her 'nest', but settled against his chest when he carried her into the kitchen.

Kyungsoo and Lay were in the kitchen. Minseok knew that was what had woken him up immediately; the soft clink of things being set out for what would soon be an eventful morning.

“Keep her out,” Lay warned, waving as though he were setting up a barrier to keep them from breaching the door. “I mean it. Anything furry is not allowed in the kitchen.”

Minseok widened his eyes and his lip. “And yet, here you are.”

Lay rolled his eyes and pulled out a tray from the cupboard. Kyungsoo clapped his hands together when he set down a bag of flour and said, “We're going to bake cookies. Put the cat down, go wash your hands and make sure the others do as well.”

“It's still dark outside,” Minseok said with a glance at the window. “What time is it, midnight?”

“Eight in the morning,” Kyungsoo corrected him. Which also meant it was the fifth, not late fourth as he'd suspected. “You fell asleep around eleven last night.”

“Yeah, well when you have to contend with SHINee, it's pretty exhausting.”

“They weren't that bad,” Lay murmured, straightening a spoon in a row on the counter top. “It was pretty funny.”

“Yeah, but they had foam spray, party poppers and party whistles. After about five minutes we were inhaling streamers.”

“And we had Chen. He's ten times worse. What's your point?”

He settled the purring bundle of fur on the sofa and went to wash his face and hands in the bathroom rather than the sink in the kitchen. Neat he may be, he wasn't willing to risk the wrath of the chefs by tainting their kitchen. They'll poison my food or put laxatives in it. Minseok shuddered at the thought.

Everyone woke up quietly, except Tao who panicked when he couldn't find the kitten. She had taken to sharing his bed, snuggling up on his pillow or curling up by his face, where his breath warmed her sleek black fur.

“Wash your hands if you're touching her!” Kyungsoo called out for the second time.

“She clawed her way up my leg last night,” Xiumin told him as he headed back to help with the baking preparations. “She has a thing for it, apparently.”

“There's nothing with nut in it here, is there?”

“No, we were careful. We don't want a repeat of last year.”

Suddenly the expert co-ordination seen in their dancing performances – and not seen in their domestic performances, if the tree incident was anything to go by – returned. Before they'd managed to catch Baekhyun (it was still an “accident”, him getting tied up) they'd practically trodden on five baubles, each others feet once for each member, and fallen into a dog pile twice.

They prepared two sets of cookie dough and passed them to Chanyeol, who deposited them in the oven. Luhan worked diligently with Tao to mix the dough; Suho washed the cutlery once they had been used, and he listened to Kris and Kai as they exchanged banter, smiling slightly.

Baekhyun laughed silently. At one point Chanyeol attempted to scoop some of the sugary dough with his finger, but Kyungsoo had quickly put an end to that. He'd wielded something Baekhyun hadn't seen, save a glint of silver. But he'd been given a spoon to before it was washed, so it was all good.

From his position spooning great lumps onto a tray, he glanced around when he realised his cooking helper had gone.

Baekhyun glanced over his shoulder, confused. He counted ten heads, minus his own. “Guys, where's Chen?”

“Uhh...”

“Chen?”

“RAAAGH!”

Tao padded into the other room. “Chen?”

There was an almighty crash and a roar from the front door – a terrible, startled screaming and a feline yowl of outrage. They rushed into the living room to see Tao on the floor covered in snow and a great blue, furry beast hopping from one foot to the other, streaking away from a tiny, spitting black kitten which chased it in circles, claws ripping at its heels.

It was the ing cookie monster, running away from a goddamn kitten.

“Awww, kitty's protecting Mama!”

“Oh my god.”

“I'm not helping.”

“I think Chen just got out-trolled.”