---Tao + Nana, a few days after the showcase---

Nana stared at Tao with determination in her eyes, her entire body aching as she watched him pace around her in the practice room, a smug smirk on his face.  “You’re not playing nice.”   She panted, subtly adjusting her footing to a stronger stance as he walked behind her, out of her view.

“I’m not trying to be.”  He chuckled, watching her carefully.  In the past few months he had been training her he had seen a vast improvement in not only her strength, but her confidence and mental stability.  They hadn’t truly discussed what had happened to Nana in the past before they had met, but he could see that she wasn’t as afraid anymore.  “You need to remember that people won’t always play nice.  They’ll taunt you, find your weakness and exploit it.”

Sighing, Nana rolled her head, rubbing the back of her neck as she listened to him carefully.  “Yea yeaaa… I know.  You’ve only told me this like 20 times.”  Despite her eyes being closed, she could hear him pad around the room in his soft shoes, hear him breathing as he watched her.  They had been sparring for the past hour, and both had taken blows that left them winded and sore.   A thought sprang to her mind and she slumped, groaning. 

Tao paused as he watched her crumple in on herself, and his eyebrow rose as he surveyed her.  “Nana-ah…?  Are you look okay?”  He murmured, tilting his head as he stepped over, gently resting his hand on her shoulder.  “We can stop if you’re that tired.”

“I’m fine, Tao-ah… But you’re not.”  With a spin that startled even him, Nana knocked his feet out from under him, causing him to land on the floor with a thud, and she hovered over him, her hand clasped to his neck as she pressed him into the ground.  She grinned playfully, looking at him from head to toe.  “Exploiting weaknesses, hm?”

Once he recovered from his shock he couldn’t help but laugh, tears streaming down his face as he sprawled out, giving up.  “I get it, you win.  That was very clever.”  He chuckled, wiping his face with his sleeve, wrapping one arm around Nana’s waist as she sat back on her knees beside him, her hands on her lap. 

“I learned from the best.”  She grinned, pushing back a strand of her multi-colored hair that had escaped from her ponytail.  “Are you okay?  I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No, just my pride.”  He chuckled, shrugging as he pushed himself up to a seated position as he heard the door open, looking over to see Cat and Sehun walking in.  “Hey guys!”

“Hello Tao, hi Nana!”  Cat chirped, waving at the two on the ground.  “We saw you two sparring through the window in the door.  Funny how that works, hm?”  She winked, fondly remembering the time Tao said he had seen her and Sehun in that very same window.

Sehun laughed, running his hand through his hair as he remembered as well, faintly embarrassed.  “They seriously need to black that window out…”

“Ahhh, but if they did, I wouldn’t have been able to force you two together, now could I?”  Tao grinned, causing Nana to scoff, lightly swatting his shoulder.

“Pretty sure they were doing that on their own, Tao-ah.”  She teased, waggling her brows at Cat who flushed pink.  “And if I’m not mistakennn… there’s a certain swagger to a certain maknae lately.  Did something happen, oh Cat daaaarling?” 

Cat’s mouth clamped shut tightly, her face suddenly crimson while Sehun struggled to hide his own grin.  Tao laughed at upon seeing their varied expressions, and he dug around in his pocket, handing Nana a small roll of bills.  “You win.”

“Win?  Win what!?”  Cat cried, looking between the two as Nana crowed happily, shoving the money into her pocket.  Realization hit her and dropped open.  “You two made a bet?!”

“Well yea!  With the dress you were wearing, the looks he was giving you, and the tension between you two, we were betting how long it would take for you two to finally fall into bed together.”  Nana grinned, throwing her arms around Tao’s shoulders and smirking at the couple in front of them.  “Took you long enough.  I almost didn’t win.”

“Guys, that’s not nice.”  Sehun chuckled, hiding his mirth behind a mock frown face, his eyes crinkling as he struggled not to smile.  Sliding his arm around Cat’s shoulder, he tugged her into his chest as she turned and hid her embarrassment.  Winking at Tao, he punched the air excitedly, causing Tao to roar with laughter. 

“You two are terrible.”  Nana shook her head, smiling wryly. 

“Says the girl who decided to make the bet in the first place.”  Sehun teased, wrapping his arms around Cat and looking at her face, smiling.  “You’re not red anymore, you can stop hiding.”  He murmured, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

“Aaaand the maknae becomes a man!”  Tao crowed, clambering to his feet and walking over to clap Sehun on the back.  “Welcome to the party.”

“Oh shut up Taoooo…”  Cat whined, flushing pink again.

“Okay, okay, enough with the teasing, guys.  We know what happened; they know what happened, so let’s just drop the jokes.  We’re happy for you two, really.”  Nana grinned, hugging Cat warmly. 

“And now, I don’t mean to be rude, but I have to steal Tao and get to rehearsal.  Are you guys going to come with?”  Sehun murmured, looking at Cat with affection in his eyes.

“I suppose so.  It’ll be nice to see everyone all together again, and not from the floor in front of the stage.”  Nana grinned, linking arms with Cat as they walked from the small room, toward the larger one they’ve grown to love so much.  “So it finally happened, eh?  Was it all you hoped for?  I know you were worried.”  Nana whispered conspiratorially, leaning close to Cat.

Blushing Cat nodded, chewing on her lip for a moment before breathing out loudly.  “Ohhhh yes… Let’s just say I’m very impressed.”  Laughing, Cat sighed, her cheeks still pink as they walked into the rehearsal space, seeing the rest of the guys stretching in various parts of the room.  “Hello everyone!”  She called, waving excitedly to the guys.

“Cat-ah!  Nana-ah!”  A chorus of voices cried, and the two girls were soon swarmed by 9 of the remaining 10 members as they surrounded them, hugging tightly.  The girls squealed in protest as they were smooshed somewhere between Suho, Chen and Baekhyun, reaching out to Sehun and Tao for help and gasping when they grinned and shook their heads.

“Betrayal!”  Cat cried, chuckling as she tried to break free from Luhan’s grasp, only falling into D.O.’s chest.  “Aishh… I’m sorry Kyungsoo!”

He grinned, shrugging.  “It’s alright.  You didn’t hurt me.”  Hugging her briefly, he peeled himself out of the group and allowed her and Nana to crawl out from the mass, coughing between their laughs.

“You know, we have ribs guys.  And generally, they’re not supposed to hug against our spines.”  Nana groaned, rubbing her sore middle.  “Wait… Lay… wh-what are you doing? NO!!”  She cried out in laughter as the tall man ran over, scooping her onto his shoulder and parading her around the room. 

“We’re just happy you guys are here.”  He grinned, poking Nana’s knees as they danged against his chest.

“Oh, yea.  Because hanging over a guy’s shoulder is a really super fun time.”  Nana droned, allowing her hands to swing behind his back, falling limp on his shoulder.  “Y’know Tao… you could help out any time here.”

“Nahhh.  It’s more fun to watch.”  He snickered, folding his arms over his chest as he watched the antics in the room in front of him.  Lay was now chanting something absently, as he marched around the room, Nana resigning herself to being his victim. 

Cat giggled and then paused as she realized her sister wasn’t here.  “Anyone know where Liz is?”  Looking around at the guys’ blank expressions it was clear that they hadn’t heard anything, and her eyes settled on Chanyeol, who had remained in the far corner watching the antics.  “…Chanyeol?”

“How should I know?”  He grunted, sitting down on the floor, refusing to look at either girl.  “Probably out.”

Cat frowned, steeling herself before shaking her head clear and walking toward the stereo, clipping her iPod into the dock.  “Alright… Then I guess I’ll help run you through some basics, then?  C’mon guys, it’ll kill time before Liz shows up.”

Sehun grinned at Cat’s enthusiasm, and then felt his phone buzz in his pocket.  Holding his hand up apologetically, he slid from the room and pressed it to his ear.  “Sehun.  Oh, hi Liz.  Where are you?  Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.  Are you guys at the studio?”  Her voice crackled on the end of the line.

“Yea, where are you?”

“I’m in town.  I just realized that Cat’s birthday is next month, and we need to do something for her.  I was making arrangements with the BBQ place where you two first met to celebrate; sound good?”  She chirped on the line, causing him to grin.

“I had no idea her birthday was coming up!  Wow… I’m terrible for not asking..”  He chuckled weakly, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

Liz laughed.  “Oh no, don’t worry about it.  She isn’t really open about this sort of thing.”

“But wait… you two were born close together, albeit a year apart… when’s YOUR birthday, noona?”  Sehun muttered, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

“….Don’t worry about it.  Gotta go! I’ll-see-you-soon-BYEEEE.” 

As she hung up the phone, Sehun laughed and shoved his phone back into his pocket, coming back into the room to see Cat taking his place in the “Wolf” tree, standing flawlessly in position.  Interested to see how she would do, he didn’t interrupt, and instead stood to the side where the mirrors couldn’t see him as well and he wouldn’t be in the way.

The music came to a head, and they split apart, a faint smile coming to his mouth as she repeated his own choreography almost flawlessly, but with a faint feminine twist.  When it came to his own vocal part, she ignored how everyone else was lip-syncing and belted out his lines, causing his mouth to drop open.  Her hair had fallen from its high ponytail and hung around her face in loose waves, and the emotion on her face caused his heart to lurch. 

Silently he watched for the rest of the choreography, before he strode over, pulled her from the final pose and pressed his mouth against hers firmly, causing the rest of the guys to laugh and mock gag. 

“What was that for?!”  She cried when he pulled away, and he grinned, shrugging. 

“I like watching you dance.”  He replied quietly, and winked at her as she sheepishly slunk back to the iPod, her face burning in blush. 

At that moment Liz walked in, and was greeted by the guys, though not as uproariously as Cat and Nana since they were already slightly winded.  “Hey everyone, sorry I’m late.”  She bowed apologetically, skittering to her sister and smiling.  “Did you keep them moving?”

“Yea, I even got out there with them; Sehun had a phone call so I took his place.”  Cat smiled, shrugging carelessly as she sat down next to Nana on a rolled up gym mat to watch. 

Dropping her stuff on the floor, Liz pulled her hair up into a high knot and smiled at the guys in front of the room.  “What did you do already?”

“Wolf!” Xiumin chirped, grinning at Liz excitedly.  While Liz and Cat were preoccupied, Sehun had quickly spread the news of Cat’s impending birthday, to which all the guys responded enthusiastically. 

“Alright!  Good.  We should do ‘Mama’ next, then ‘History’ and followed up with ‘Growl.’  Gotta keep you guys loose!”  She grinned, winking at them as she nodded to Cat, who pressed play on the iPod.  “5, 6, 7, 8!”

All thirteen leapt into motion with Mama, with Liz watching them carefully but occasionally joining on moves she knew they had some troubles with.  At times she would call out to members, asking them to pick up the pace, tone it down, keep up, or other instructions, though she kept her statements to Chanyeol very quiet.

A few hours later, the boys were lying down on the floor, panting and staring at the ceiling while Liz clucked at them disapprovingly.  “You guyssss… We barely scratched the surfaaace…”  She groaned, sighing heavily.  “Cat?  Would you mind going to get some water for these guys?  I don’t know if they’ll make it.”

Standing quickly, Cat nodded and scurried from the room.  Once the door closed behind her, Liz grinned and sat down amongst all the guys, grinning conspiratorially.  “Okay, so guys… Cat’s birthday is coming up.  I’ve spoken with Mr. President, and he’s agreed to rent out that restaurant where you all met her for a party!  What do you think?”

“That’s great!  What should we do?  What should we get her?!”  Luhan grinned, practically bursting with his excitement as he stared at Liz.

“Calm down, Lulu.  We’ll figure it out.  But she likes makeup, obviously.  And she adores fashion even if she can’t afford them.  Anything that’s cute, cuddly, or pretty.”  She smiled at the crew as they began to chatter amongst themselves about what they’d get her, and then turned to Sehun.

“Sehun-ah!  What are you going to get her?”  Suho smirked, nudging the maknae playfully.  “She deserves something special for putting up with you for so long.”

Laughing, Sehun shrugged, flushing slightly.  “I’m not sure.  I have to think about that one.”

“I’ll tell you right now.  You ask her to marry you and I’ll punch you in your wiener.”  Liz threatened, raising her eyebrow at the boy.  “She already has to deal with the fact your fans think she’s dating Key, she couldn’t deal with keeping that secret from the world.”

The boys chuckled as Sehun flushed pink and looked away, suddenly very embarrassed.  At that moment, Cat returned, carrying a few bags of bottled water, her chest heaving.  “I had to run up the stairs!  The elevator is broken… damn thing.”  With a grunt she dropped the bottles in the middle of their circle.  “I wouldn’t mind never doing that… again.”

D.O. looked up as he unscrewed a bottle, smirking as he took a sip.  “But if the elevator is broken… you’ll have to do that to go home, won’t you?”

Turning her head very slowly to him, her eyes narrowed as she huffed.  “Don’t make me hurt you.” 

Chuckling, Sehun army-crawled over to her and grabbed her hand to tug her down to the floor and onto his lap.  “Calm down, little one.”  He smiled, kissing her cheek.

“Little one!?!  Look!  Just because you’re a freakin’ giant and I’m not doesn’t give you the right to call me names!”  She grumbled, squirming in his hands.

“Seriously.  What do they feed you guys here?!  You grow like weeds!”  Liz laughed, her eyes unconsciously gravitating to Chanyeol, who was fighting his own smile.  Looking down at her watch, she sighed heavily.  “Well it seems like we’re running a bit too late… We’ll pick up rehearsals tomorrow, okay?  You guys can go home.”

Tired cheers came from the members as they stood up, wearily shuffling their way back to their shoes, excited to discuss the plans on what they wanted to do for Cat’s birthday once they got back in the dorm. 

Cat walked over to Liz, smiling at her sister.  “What were you doing in town?  Everything okay?”

“Hm?  Oh, yea, everything’s fine.  No problem.  Are you going to be home tonight?  Or are you going to Sehun’s room again?”  She replied as she stuffed her iPod into her pocket, turning off all the electronics in the side booth and slung her backpack onto her shoulder.

“Oh I’ll be home tonight; Sehun said he has some stuff to do.  Probably catch up on his gaming with the rest of the guys.”  Giggling, Cat shrugged and linked her arm through Liz as she watched Nana scurry off after Tao.  “But it looks like Tao will be… preoccupied.”

Liz laughed, shaking her head.  “Those two…  They never stop, do they?!”

“Like rabbits, they are!”  Cat crowed, then squeaked as Liz elbowed her in the side.  “Whaaat?!”

“You never told me what you want for your birthday… Little one.”  She smirked, raising her eyebrow as Cat’s mouth dropped open, gaping. 

“You too?!! Aishh… I don’t know! Uhm… I really have no idea.  Why do you care?  You get me same thing every year; makeup.”  Pausing for a moment, her eyes narrowed as she looked up at Liz suspiciously.  “Sehun.  You told him my birthday was coming up!”

“He’s your boy!  He deserves to know that your birthday is coming up, right?  He wants to get you something, but doesn’t know what.”  Liz protested weakly, feigning innocence.  Internally she crossed her finger that Cat wouldn’t think about the rest of the guys, as the cover would be blown. 

A faint smile came over Cat's face, and she looked at the floor, shrugging gently. Truth be told, she didn't know that someone would want to know about her birthday... besides Liz of course. The others she had dated in the past had never cared... and now she had a boyfriend who did. Rubbing the back of her neck, she meekly followed Liz from the room, her mind lost in the concept of someone caring... what a foreign concept.

Hey lovies!!  I'm sorry for the large gap in posts. ;_;  I've been really busy, visited my co-author over the weekend, and now?  Now I'm sick.  WOO.  BUT!  I hope you like it!!  <3  Post, like, comment, share, etc.  I love reading comments, too!  :D