Luhan doesn’t hear it at first, but what he first notices when he wakes up is the pressure on his hand still clutching Minseok’s.  If this is Jinki’s or Victoria’s or whoever’s idea of waking me up on Christmas morning then they’re wrong, it’s not amusing at all.  Luhan opens his eyes, expecting to see Jinki or Victoria or whoever laughing and smiling at him, but sees no one.  Surprised, he tries to rub his eyes with his other hand just to make sure.  That’s when he hears it, the groan followed by the whimper. 

The sounds were just soft that you could miss it if you’re not listening carefully but Luhan hears it, and he’s awake within two seconds.  He sits up, looking around him, and that’s when he sees it—his hand.  It’s still clutching Minseok’s but, Minseok’s clutching back so tight that Luhan feels like his hand’s going to break.  He stares at it for a good one, two, three seconds before he hears the whimper once again, then he snaps his attention to Minseok’s face.  It’s still peaceful as always, but his eyes are moving behind his closed eyelids and his Adam’s apple is bobbing up and down, and his heart is speeding up and Luhan can’t believe this.  Ohmygod, ohmygod.  He’s caught in between getting up and shouting for someone or just waiting when the door opens, revealing Jinki who’s carrying a tray of breakfast.

“Hey Luhan.  I brought…” he begins but is cut off my Luhan’s expression.  “Luhan, what’s wrong?”

“Jinki,” Luhan whispers and Jinki is forced to step closer just to hear the rest, “I think he’s waking up.”

Jinki’s eyes widen the same size as saucers and within two seconds he’s by the bed, the tray left on the table near the couch, and checking Minseok.  He listens to Minseok’s heartbeat using a stethoscope and checks his pulse when Minseok groans, much louder this time.  Jinki and Luhan both jump in surprise before looking at each other.

“Minseok?  Minseok, can you hear me?”  Jinki asks Minseok, fingers threading through the younger boy’s hair.  Minseok just groans again.

“Min?  Min, can you hear me?”  Luhan asks this time, and they can see Minseok struggling to open his eyes.  They both gasp, and Minseok tightens his hold on Luhan’s hand.

“Ouch, Min.  It hurts, you know.”  Luhan says and Minseok lets go a little, causing Jinki and Luhan to look at each other.  “Did he just…?”

“Yeah, yeah.”  Jinki says in disbelief.  “He just—he can hear you, Luhan.  He—“ Jinki says, at a loss for words.  Minseok whimpers and tries once again to open his eyes.

“Minseok, come on, you can do it.  Open your eyes.”  Jinki says.

“Yeah, Min, come on.  Open your eyes.”  Luhan says, staring at Minseok.  “You can do it, come on, don’t give up.”

Minseok tries once again, and it takes a little more of Jinki and Luhan’s coaching until he finally succeeds.  Luhan thinks he’s never been more relieved his entire life when Minseok finally opens his eyes, revealing his chocolate brown eyes.  Luhan just cries, tears streaming down his face, while he says, “Thank you, thank you, oh god, thank you,” over and over again just as Jinki says, “Good job, Minseok, good job,” over and over again.  Minseok just looks at the two of them and then tightens his hold on Luhan’s hand once again.

“I’m here, Min, I’m here.  I’m not going anywhere.”  Luhan says and then kisses Minseok on the forehead.

“Luhan, I need to check if to see if there’s any brain damage.”  Jinki replies and Luhan nods, getting off the bed and sitting on the chair near it, hand still clutching Minseok’s.

Jinki checks Minseok; asking him if he remembers who he is, or if he knows who they are, whether he can feel this or that, can we wiggle his fingers and toes, and finally, “Can you say something for me, Minseok?”

Minseok tries his best, but his throat feels dry and scratchy.  He groans at first, causing Luhan and Jinki to lean closer in concern before he his lips and tries again, managing to croak “Water,” out.  Everything’s silent for about one, two, three seconds before Jinki burst out laughing and crying and saying, “Ohmygoodness.  Water—of course you’d want water!  Lemme get it for you,” and suddenly he’s handing Minseok a cup of water and Luhan’s helping Minseok sit up so that he can drink it.

Minseok leans into Luhan’s support once he’s done drinking, and Jinki takes this as his cue to leave.  He says he’ll just go and tell Victoria and update the status of his records and that he’ll be back later before he leaves, leaving Minseok and Luhan alone.  This time, there’s no awkward silence, there’s no nervousness, just plain happiness.

“Minseok.” Luhan says as they both lie down on the bed.

“Hi.”  Minseok replies, facing and smiling sleepily at Luhan.

“Hi.”  Luhan replies and Minseok’s cheek, smiling back.  They stay just like that, smiling at each other like idiots until Minseok lets out a yawn, and then an idea pops into Luhan’s head.  “You should rest,” he tells Minseok as he sits up, “I just have to do something, okay?  I’ll be back by lunch.”  He finishes and Minseok just nods in return before going back to sleep.  Luhan smiles, kissing the younger boy on the cheek, and then he sets to work.  He grabs his coat and goes out of the room, dialing Minho and telling him to pick him up by the hospital’s entrance.  While waiting at the lobby, he dials Henry’s number.

“Luhan?  What’s up?  You suddenly disappeared last night.”

“Henry Lau, can you do a favor for me?”

“Uh, yeah.  Sure.”

“Can you bake some Pumpkin Muffins, lots of them?”

“Yeah, sure.  What for?”

“You’ll find out later.  Changmin will probably be there later so give them to him, okay?”

“Okay.”

Minho arrives and Luhan jumps into the car, telling Minho to head straight for the penthouse.  He dials Yunho along the way, hoping that the other would pick up.

“Luhan?  We missed you last night.”

“Yunho, can you meet me at Starbucks later?  Oh, and can you tell Sehun and Yeol too?”

“Okay, but why?”

“Just do it, okay?  I’ll tell you later.”

Luhan rushes to his room once he gets to the penthouse, leaving a very confused Minho to wait downstairs.  He showers quickly, changes his clothes, and brings the goddamn Santa hat that Minseok bought him last Christmas.  He also grabs a few more clothes and runs back into the SUV.  They then go into Starbucks where Yeol, Yunho, Sehun, Yifan, Jongdae, and Baekhyun are already waiting.

“Yunho,” Luhan breathes once he enters.

“Luhan, what the hell is going on?”  Yunho asks, confused.

“I…” Luhan says, catching his breath.  “I need you to teach me how to play the piano.”

“What?!”  Yunho replies.  He’s about to say something else when he sees the smile playing on Luhan’s lips.  “Are you… are you serious?”

“What’s going on?”  Chanyeol asks, looking at the two curiously just like the rest.

“When?”  Yunho asks breathlessly.

“Just this morning and I never thought I’d see it again.”  Luhan says, smiling like a crazed lunatic.  “I never thought I’d see those eyes again.”  He finishes and that’s when Chanyeol gets it.

“Minseok…”  Chanyeol asks, stepping forward.

“Yeah, just this morning, just a couple of hours ago.”  Luhan replies and then suddenly Chanyeol’s hugging him and Yunho’s laughing like a lunatic.

“What’s going on?  What happened to Minseok?”  Sehun asks and Yunho looks at him in disbelief.

“Minseok just woke up, you idiot.”  Yunho replies.  Sehun processes it for one, two seconds before he’s laughing and crying and hugging just like everyone else.  They form a giant bear hug centered on Luhan and laugh, the nervousness and sadness slipping away.

“Finally!” Sehun exclaims once they let go of each other, “I gotta tell Zitao.”  He finishes and fishes out his phone.

“I gotta tell Yifan.”  Chanyeol says.

“I’m right here.”  Yifan says, raising a hand.

“Oh,” Chanyeol says then faces Jongdae.  “You have to tell Joonmyeon.”  He orders, pointing a finger at Jongdae.

“Well, .”  Jongdae replies but still whips out his phone.

“And you,” Luhan begins, facing Yunho.  “Gotta tell Changmin.”

“By all means.”  Yunho replies as Luhan drags him out of Starbucks. 

“Oh, by the way, welcome back party for Minseok today at the hospital, after lunch.  Be there.”  Luhan tells them.

It’s already lunchtime when Luhan slips back into Minseok’s room, carrying a bag with some slices of Duck s with Raspberry Sauce.  He finds Minseok, still fast asleep, and he lays down the bag by the foot of the bed before he wakes Minseok up.

“Oh, hey, you’re back.”  Minseok says, smiling softly at Luhan.

“Yeah.  Where’s you know… uh… the thing?”  Luhan asks, talking about the cannula.

“Oh, the cannula, Victoria the nurse removed it a while ago.”  Minseok replies, trying to sit up.  Luhan helps him and smiles at him once he finally manages to do so.

“What’s up?”  Minseok asks, looking at Luhan weirdly.

“You were out for a week, Minseok.”  Luhan says.

“A week?!”  Minseok squeaks.  His voice is still not yet back to normal but he’s working on that.  “Does that mean…”

“Yeah.”  Luhan says as he takes out the bag and puts it on the bed.  “Merry Christmas, Min.”

Minseok stares at him in disbelief, and then at the bag, and then at Luhan once again.

“Aren’t you going to open it?  You really need this right now.”  Luhan says, smiling.

Minseok takes the bag curiously.  He spares Luhan another look before he finally peeks inside the bag.  He lifts the Tupperware containing the Duck s and studies it, trying to figure out the contents.

“Food?”  Minseok asks, regarding the Tupperware curiously.  Luhan just smiles as he sits beside Minseok, taking out a pair of chopsticks from the bag before opening the Tupperware’s lid.

“Duck with Raspberry Sauce.”  Luhan declares as he picks out a slice using the chopsticks.  “You need to eat since you were asleep for so long.”

“I’m cleared to eat?”  Minseok asks, eyeing the slice warily.

Luhan nods.  “Now eat or I’ll kiss you.” Luhan declares, leaning in closer to Minseok.  Minseok quickly takes the offered slice and does his best to finish chewing before Luhan gets a chance to do anything to him; however, days of disuse have proven to be disadvantageous for his face muscles and he finds it hard to chew.  In the middle of swallowing, Luhan suddenly hugs him, causing him to almost choke on his food.

“Luhan?”  Minseok asks as the other buries his face in the crook of Minseok’s neck.  He feels the other’s hands going up and down on his back in a soothing manner, and he ends up doing the same thing for the other.

“Just let me—“ Luhan cuts off his own sentence, opting to grasp Minseok’s hospital gown in a tight grip instead.  Minseok frowns at the action.

“Is everything alright?”  He asks, but Luhan just stays silent and continues to hug him.  The Tupperware containing the duck lays forgotten on Luhan’s lap, and Minseok’s hands itch to relocate it to a safer part of the room despite knowing that he’s still too weak to stand.

“I love you, Min.  I love you so much.”  Luhan suddenly says from the embrace and Minseok’s thought process just stops because what.  Soon, he becomes all too aware of the sudden wetness he can feel by his neck.

“Geez, I’m such a baby.”  Luhan declares with a chuckle and then he’s pulling away and wiping his tears with the back of his hands.  Luhan laughs, soft and sweet, before he takes Minseok in his arms once again and kisses the top of the others head. 

“What are you doing, Han?”  Minseok asks as he watches Luhan place the Tupperware on the bedside table.  Luhan laughs, louder this time, more carefree, and kisses Minseok’s uninjured temple before replying.

“Surprise!”  Chanyeol exclaims from the door before Sehun and Jongdae push in from his sides, both grinning like idiots.  “Merry Christmas, Minseok!” 

“Yeol!  Sehun!  Jongdae!”  Minseok exclaims as cheerful as he could without his voice breaking.  He lifts his arms up as high as he can as his three friends hug him and Luhan; all five of them laughing like crazy.

“Hey, Min!  Miss us?!”  Yifan says from the door, carrying two bags full of cups of coffee.  Zitao, Baekhyun, and Joonmyeon appear beside him, closely followed by Jongin and Taemin.

“And all this time I thought I would be spending Christmas alone.”  Minseok says as he watches all his friends put down the food and drinks all over the room.  “Hey, where’s Yunho?”

“Yeah, where’s Yunho?  And Changmin?”  Luhan asks, curious.

“Hm… who knows?”  Jongdae replies with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle.  Sehun playfully hits his arm in reply.

“Hey, did you really think you will be spending Christmas alone?”  Luhan asks Minseok in a low voice while everyone else is busy fixing the food.

“Yeah.  Since I moved out and well… Yixing is with you—wait, what about Yixing?”  Minseok asks, suddenly nervous.  What if this is all just a dream?  What if he’s still in a coma?  If that’s the case, I hope that I won’t wake up anymore, then.

“Yixing and I kind of broke up.”  Luhan replies.

“Kind of?”

“It’s not official yet but he’s already with someone else so… I guess it’s official, then.”  Luhan replies, thinking deeply.

“So you weren’t being paranoid?”

“Nope.  He was with Kim Kibum.”  Luhan replies.

“Guys, we don’t want to interrupt the disgustingly sweet moment but the food’s getting cold.  And Minseok, you have to eat; no excuses.”  Yifan says, startling the two of them.

“Disgusting?”  Minseok asks Luhan, his face scrunched up in confusion.

“That’s what they say.”  Luhan replies before snorting.  “But you should see Yeol and Yifan, and Baekhyun and Kyungsoo, and Joonmyeon and Jongdae, and Zitao and Sehun.”

“I knew there was something between Baekhyun and Kyungsoo!”  Minseok exclaims, a little louder and everyone hears it, causing Baekhyun to blush.  Minseok then raises an eyebrow at Jongdae.  Jongdae just groans and rolls his eyes.

“I’m going to forgive you today, Minseok, but just because it’s Christmas and you just woke up.”  Joonmyeon says, handing Minseok a slice of the Raspberry Truffle Tart.  “Eat all of that.  No complaining.”

“Yes, mom.”  Minseok replies just as Luhan says, “Don’t be a to my baby.”

“Now that Minseok said it, Joonmyeon does sound like my mother.”  Chanyeol says, a hand on his chin.  “Oh, and by the way, my parents want to greet you a Merry Christmas, Min.  They were supposed to send some pumpkin pie but I told them not to bother ‘cause there’ll be a lot of food already.”

“That’s so nice of them!  I definitely miss your mom’s pumpkin pie!”  Minseok softly exclaims and he and Chanyeol launch into a conversation about pumpkin-flavored pastries.  Luhan receives a plate of the duck s and eats it while talking to Baekhyun.  Changmin and Yunho arrive with Jinki and Victoria a little later, apparently they spent the entire time looking for the two hospital workers, and they join the party.

Luhan knows that Minseok’s not fully healed yet—the sleepy eyes and weak limbs are signs of that—but he’s getting there and Luhan’s going to be with him every step of the way.  Minseok’s smile is small and tired, but it’s Minseok, and for that he’s thankful.  They settle for watching TV after they’ve eaten, flipping through the channels until they land on Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show reruns (“Victoria’s Secret!!”  Zitao exclaims, grabbing the remote from Baekhyun and increasing the television’s volume.), while Baekhyun and Yifan hand out cups of Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha to warm them up.  Minseok receives some warm water instead of coffee, but he still can’t hold his cup properly because of his shaky hands and weak arms so Luhan holds both of their cups and brings his to Minseok’s lips when the other wants to drink.  Jongdae and Chanyeol start a running commentary on the fashion show models and their outfits just to spite Zitao (“They’re called Angels for a reason!”  Zitao exclaims, pointing at a model’s wings.  “That’s why they have wings!!”).  Minseok lies back on the bed once he finishes his drink, Luhan’s arms still supporting his shoulders.

“Tired?”  Luhan asks once he notices Minseok’s change of position.

“Is it okay if I sleep?”  Minseok replies, stifling a yawn.

“Jesus,” Luhan replies while rolling his eyes, “of course it’s okay.  You need to rest.  I’ll wake you up if it’s time for dinner.”  Luhan replies before planting a kiss on Minseok’s forehead.  Minseok leans against Luhan as they continue to watch TV, waiting for sleep to finally take over.  Luhan hears him sigh a couple of seconds after, and he looks at Minseok only to see the other sleeping soundly.  Luhan’s scared that Minseok might slip into a coma once again, that Minseok won’t wake up, but he pushes those thoughts away. 

Luhan thinks that this is one of the weirdest Christmases he’s ever had.  Spending it in a hospital with Minseok wasn’t really what he was expecting for this year, but he can’t really complain.  Jinki and Changmin are now arguing about who is more childish while Victoria and Yunho watch the two of them with amusement.  Chanyeol and Yifan are helping finish each other’s drinks while Sehun and Zitao are having their second round of drinks.  Joonmyeon is now eating a slice of Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake while Jongdae is checking out the Pumpkin Muffins, trying to decide if they’re worth tasting.  Jongin and Taemin look at the models’ clothes with interest.  Minseok’s asleep, the constant nuzzling of his arm an indication that he’s having sweet dreams.  Luhan knows that they will end up staying for dinner and they’re once again going to create a ruckus once they start eating but he’s pretty sure no one will mind, it’s Christmas after all.

The snow is still falling, giving everyone a white Christmas.  Sehun looks around at the room and his eyes land on Zitao, who’s blowing at his drink so that the heat will be reduced, and he smiles.  Zitao smiles back and points towards the bed so Sehun looks towards it.  Minseok and Luhan are both lying down, seemingly watching TV.  But upon closer inspection; Minseok is actually leaning against Luhan, fast asleep, while Luhan is watching TV.  Sehun smiles at the two before he looks back at Zitao who is now looking out the window.  He looks out too, and sees white everywhere.  He remembers the last few days spent with Minseok in a coma—and the scathing uncertainty and fear—and he suddenly feels cold.  But then Zitao is pressing another cup of coffee against his hand and placing a plate of the Raspberry Truffle Tart on his thigh and he can’t help but smile back.  He feels warm while surrounded by all of this—his friends, but mostly, by Zitao—and he relaxes, leaning back against the couch.

He’s beginning to appreciate the white Christmas once again.

A/N: Let's not forget to vote for EXO in MAMA 2014! <3