---Sehun’s POV---

Despite having rehearsal the next day, the next couple days were consumed with sneaky planning of Cat’s birthday.  The guys tore around down town, searching for the “right” gift to give to the young girl, but not as much as Sehun did.

His mind raced as he slunk around some of the shops, rubbing the back of his neck as he stared at the various items in the shop.  Chanyeol was with him, murmuring to him quietly as they attempted to stay incognito.  Both had sunglasses and face masks to hide from the fans that had their faces pressed against the glass, trying to catch a glimpse of the idols.

“Hyung… I don’t know what to get her.  Help!”  Sehun pleaded to Chanyeol, who was busying himself by trying on various animal hats.  “…You’re not helping.”

“Well I have to get something too!!  It’s not all about you, Sehun-ah.”  Chanyeol smirked, picking up a Panda hat and looking at it curiously.  “I think I’ll get her this one.  She mentioned to me once that she likes pandas.  What do you think?” 

Leaning over, he frowned, pouting slightly as he looked at the hat in Chanyeol’s outstretched hand.  “Aishh… That’s a good gift.  Why didn’t I think of that?!”

“Sehun, this is your girl here.  You should get her something better than a hat.  You need to outdo yourself on her birthday!  I mean, Christmas you got her a scarf.  A scarf, Sehun.”  Chanyeol mocked quietly, raising his eyebrow.

Flushing, Sehun turned his face away, his mind racing again as her thought things over.  “Weeelll… do you have any better ideas?”

“Something from the heart, idiot!”  Xiumin called from the back room, as both he and D.O. came forward with bags in their hands.  “You love her, don’t you?” He spoke quietly, very aware of the fangirls watching every move he did.

“Obviously he does, hyung.”  D.O. chuckled, shaking his head as he shuffled the bag to his other hand.  “Or he wouldn’t be this concerned about what to get her.”

“Well what did you two get her then?”  Sehun demanded, folding his arms over his chest.  When his hyungs didn’t move, he raised his eyebrow at them, tilting his head to the side. 

Xiumin chuckled and opened his bag.  “I got her a whole bunch of makeup supplies.  The woman at the counter realized who I was she kept shoving freebies at me…”  He murmured, digging around it inside.  “Eyeliners… mascaras… blusher… bronzer… and a bunch of other stuff.”

Groaning, Sehun ran his hand through his hair, which was still multi-colored from their comeback, but not as vibrant.  “Another good gift.”  He murmured.  He was becoming very nervous about this choice, and then looked up at D.O. expectantly.

Sighing, D.O. looked into his own bag, pulling out a sweatshirt from his bag with a bemused expression.  “I don’t know if she’d like it… but it looked really comfortable so I figured she could wear it to our rehearsals or something.”  Shrugging he tucked it back into his bag, and looked at Chanyeol.  “Are you getting her that hat?”

“Duh.” Chanyeol replied, shoving another hat onto his head as he looked in the mirror.  “She likes pandas.”

Blankly Sehun stared at the display case in front of him, only vaguely aware of the shop mistress offering to show him the inside items.  After a moment, something caught his eye, and he pointed to it, his face serious.  “I’d like to see that, please.”  He murmured, and the mistress nodded excitedly, unlocking the case and pulling it out.

“Do you have a girl, sir?  I’m sure it’d look beautiful on her.”  She chirped excitedly, but something about her statement caused him to pause, and he looked up at her suspiciously. 

“She’s a friend.  Her birthday is coming up and that’s her favorite color.”  He shrugged casually, suddenly on edge with how she stared at him, as if trying to read his thoughts.  Behind him he heard the other EXO boys pause, shuffling quietly as they turned to listen.  Chanyeol came up to the counter, distracting the other mistress as he purchased the hat, all while keeping his eye on his friend.  “I’d like to purchase this, please.  But can you hurry?  We’re in a rush.”  

As soon as the purchases were completed, and their masks and sunglasses back firmly in place they left the room, holding their bags firmly in hand. The saesangs surged, but a few brave fans had linked arms and created a human barrier, preventing the saesangs from attacking.

As they ran by, they smiled at the brave fans, bowing politely and thankfully to them. Once back into their van, they rolled down the windows and cried out their thanks to them, causing the girls to swoon but link even tighter. Settling back into their seats, they all paused and realized what had happened. "Guys... our fans had just protected us." D.O. muttered, looking over at the others with wide eyes.

"They held the saesangs back..." Xiumin muttered with equal wonder. "They're protecting us..."

Sehun chuckled, nodding happily. "I'm sure the girls will be happy to hear that! They were very worried about how we would go about in public together." He grinned, sitting back, clutching the bag on his lap.

"What did you decide on, Sehun-ah?" Xiumin grinned, leaning over Chanyeol's lap to try to catch a glimpse of what Sehun had held onto.

"You'll have to wait, just like everyone else. Chanyeol saw, to distract the shop mistress." Sehun smirked, pulling the bag away from his idol's prying eyes and hiding it under his sweater.

"You're going to be on the news for that, you know.." Chanyeol muttered, leaning over to Sehun as Xiumin and D.O. chattered together. "She saw your reaction to her asking if you have a girl. And she knows that the fans would eat that up. You might want to let Mr. President know ahead of time."

Sighing heavily, Sehun nodded, then looked over at Chanyeol, his expression worried. "Who are they going to place me with?"

"Well, luckily you haven't been seen with anyone yet. I doubt you'll be put with anyone, but the fans and fansites will have a field day if they see Cat wearing that... you know that right?"

Sehun paused, then an odd smile came onto his face and he nodded, pursing his lips. "Let them."