Slowly the party began to wind down, and everyone was seated around a table that was covered in sweets and fruits.  Cat was seated between Sehun and Xiumin, while Nana was on Tao’s lap and Liz leaned against the wall behind Chanyeol’s chair.  Sehun had his arm slung around her shoulder, and she leaned against his side wearily as she nibbled on a chocolate covered strawberry.

Looking down at the sleepy girl, Sehun chuckled and wiped his mouth with a napkin, gently pulling her onto his lap.  “Everyone, it seems that Cat-ah is worn out.”

“Not the type of worn out you like, eh Sehun?”  Kris crowed, laughing until Nana leaned over and socked him in the arm.  “Whaaaaat was that for?!”

“Shut up, Yifan.”  Nana muttered, looking over at Key quickly and chewing on her lip as she saw the darkened expression he wore on his face.  “Don’t make me sic Tao on you.”

“So scary.”  Kris rolled his eyes, and as Tao jumped up, smoothly placing Nana back on his chair, he yelped and jumped, falling out of his own chair onto the ground.

Liz laughed, shaking her head as she walked over to help the fallen boy.  “You need to learn when to shut up.”  She chuckled, holding her hand down to help him stand.  Brushing the lint off his jacket, she looked over at Cat and smiled softly.  “I think it’s time for the party to come to a close, guys.  Cat’s passed out.” 

“Am not…”  She murmured sleepily, twisting her face into Sehun’s shoulder and wrapping her arm around his neck, her fingers knotting into the high collar of his shirt.  “Just resting my eyes.”

“Well regardless.  Its 3am, so we all need to get back home and to bed.”  Nana chuckled as she stood up and grabbed Tao’s arm, pulling him away from Kris, whom he had been busy annoying.  “All of us.”  She smirked as she leaned into Tao’s side, arching her eyebrow suggestively.

“OOOOKAYYYY.  Before we see Tao and Nana go at it amongst the cakes here, let’s get home.  I’ll call the cabs, can you guys collect Cat’s things?”  Liz chuckled, raising her eyebrow and gesturing to the presents that still lingered by the ‘birthday chair.’

“You got it!”  D.O. chirped as he stood, walking over to the chair, the rest of the guys following. 

Liz shuffled out into the hallway, yawning as she dug her phone out of her pocket.  Dialing the number, she quickly relayed instructions to the drivers before leaning against the wall by the door.  Groaning, she saw that fans were still outside, bleary eyed and shivering in the summer night chill.  Spinning on her heel, she walked into the kitchen and bowed to the chef, smiling prettily.  “Can I bother you to ask for a carafe of tea?  We have some fans outside that are quite sleepy, and cold.” 

“Absolutely!  Just give me a few minutes; is one enough?”

Pursing her lips, she tapped her chin in thought.  “Actually, two would be perfect.  And do you have foam cups too?”

“I sure do.  It’ll be ready in just a few minutes.”

Smiling, she walked back into the room, grabbing Nana’s arm and practically peeling her off of Tao’s form from the back corner.  “C’mon, I need your help.  Where’s Cat?”

“I don’t knowwww…  And I was busy!  Why’d you do that?”  She whined, pulling free of Liz’s arm and adjusting her clothes. 

“We’re going to give some tea to the fans; they look really cold.”   Liz grinned, looking around for Cat but instead seeing Sehun.  “Sehun-ah!  Where’s Cat?”

“She’s in the restroom, why?”

“No reason!  Thanks!”  She grinned, turning around and walked towards the restroom, pushing it open and seeing Cat staring at herself in the mirror, gently touching the key hanging from her neck.  “Staring at yourself?  Jeez.  Full of yourself much?”

“Oh ha ha.  I was thinking.”

“Be careful; that can be dangerous.”  Nana teased, winking at the birthday girl.

“Anywho, we need your help.  There are still fans out there, but they’re cold.  I thought we could bring them some tea.”  Turning around, she left the bathroom, Cat running to catch up after her. 

“But... the last time we interacted with them it didn’t necessarily end nicely!”  Cat groaned, grabbing Liz’s arm.  “Why should we do this?  It’s their fault they stayed outside.”

“Plus, it’s summer!  Not necessarily freezing out.”  Nana nodded, standing beside Cat with her arms folded over her chest.  “They should be fine.”

Sighing heavily, Liz turned around to face the two girls, her eyebrow arched and fists on her hips.  “These are the guys’ fans!  They love the guys in that room, probably just as much as we do.  They want to love us, too, but they see us as a threat!  If we show them we care, they will calm down.  Don’t you agree?”

For a moment Cat stood there, chewing on her lip and nervously fidgeting with the key on her necklace.  “Fine.  But the minute they do or say something I don’t like… It’s back inside with the body guards, for all of us.  Deal?”

­“Fiiiiine, birthday girl.  You win.”  Chuckling, Liz walked to the chef’s door again and grinned as she saw two carafes of hot tea and a stack of cups waiting for them on a nearby table. "Come on, let's go."

Nana grabbed the other carafe, and Cat the cups, and the three of them made their way outside. Immediately the fans perked up, cameras flashing as they snapped pictures of everything the girls did. Nana immediately prickled, but Cat bumped her with her hip and grinned. "Remain caaaaalm." She chuckled, walking over to the first cluster of fans.

The three of them bowed to the group, causing them to squeal loudly. "We've brought you all some tea. It's a little chilly out here, eh?" Liz smiled sweetly, holding up her carafe. "It's good, I promise!"

"Cat-ssi! What's it like dating Key-ssi?!" One cried as she accepted a cup from her hands, then eyed the necklace around her neck. The fan's eyes widened and Liz grumbled; exactly what she had predicted would happen had happened. The fan's eyes then gravitated toward the ring on her hand and she gasped, shaking her hands. "Cat-ssi!? Is that what I think it is?! Guys! SHE'S ENGAGED!"

The fans immediately started screaming, and Cat's pleas for them to listen to her fell on deaf ears. After a moment Liz grumbled and glared at the young fan. "She's not engaged! I gave her that ring for her birthday! It was our grandmother's!" She snarled, glaring at the fan who immediately backed up. "Stop jumping to conclusions!"

"But... does that mean it's her birthday?" The same fan murmured, her eyes wide as she stared at the enraged woman. "W-We didn't know." She whimpered under Liz's glare.

"Of course you didn't know. You just assumed." Nana spat, grumbling as she poured out tea for the rest of the fans. "Now please stop assuming things of us, okay?"

The fans nodded eagerly, bowing as they were handed cups of tea. Cat was quiet as she handed the cups out, no longer making eye contact with the fans, but instead staring intently at the cups she had on her plate. Once they were handed out, she quietly bowed, smiling wanly before turning around.

Liz looked at her sister, and sighed. "Come on Nana." She murmured quietly, glaring one more time at the fans. "You're welcome." She grumbled as she turned around and walked back inside after her sister, closing the door securely.

"I told you this would be a bad idea!!!" Cat cried, nervously tugging at her necklace.

"What's wrong?" Key murmured as he came around the corner, confusion written on his face.

"The fans outside thought...thought we were engaged." Cat grumbled, staring at the floor by his feet.

For a moment Key felt a shiver race up his spine, and he struggled to keep that image from his mind. A glare from Liz kept the smile from his face, and he frowned, struggling to figure out what to say. "Mr. President will squash any rumors that come about."

"It just means we'll have to go public sooner than we thought." Tao declared as he came around the corner, seeing the concerned Cat and putting two and two together. "That means Nana will have to come clean when it comes to Kris, and Liz, you'll have to come clean when it comes to Onew, and of course Cat with Key."

Sehun came out too, his arms laden with packages from Cat's birthday and arched his brow at the group. "What's going on?"

"The fans thought that Cat and Key were engaged, thanks to the combination of your ring and his necklace. So we have to talk to Mr. President and explain what's going on... you guys are going to have to go public." Nana murmured as she sidled up to Tao, tucking herself under his arm.

A grin split Sehun's mouth, and he laughed, kissing Cat on the forehead. "Well, I suppose that's very good news." He smirked, looking at her with very obvious intent. "We might have to celebrate later."

"Yaaaa..." Key hissed as he walked away, grumbling and shoving his hands into his pockets.

"What's wrong with him?" He muttered, watching his hyung leave.

"Think about it, Sehun. Why would a guy be upset about another guy talking about with a girl?" Nana grumbled, rolling her eyes at the maknae. "I swear, you are dense."

"Well come on. Let's go home. We're going to have a long couple of days if the press gets wind of fans thinking you two are engaged." Liz sighed, taking her, Nana's and Cat's coat from Xiumin as he walked up. "The vans are outside. Everyone, be quick about it!"