Every breath of dawn starts with hugs and kisses.

    Sehun brings Luhan closer, deeper, further into his arms. The older's face is peppered with kisses and loving whispers. The small hand ticks past 7 for the millionth time and yet they remain happily tucked under the covers. Monggu, being the rascal that he is, sneaks through the door and goes over to their dangling feets at the edge of the bed. The brown puppy takes a whiff of the wiggling toes then proceeds to bark them out of their slumber. A smile whips on Luhan's lips as he hears his lover groan out of their comfort zone in reluctance. The Chinese kisses his grumpy baby's nose in return, then rolls out of the warmth. He stands in front of the curtains, quickly pushes them apart and stretches. Sehun is like a slug, a sloth, or maybe a koala. The boy tackles the blond's hips and grins as he shooes Monggu away.

    Jongin laughs all the way from the kitchen while Kyungsoo cooes the pup out of the room from the hallway then ushers him to the living room. Sehun's head is pressed on his hyung's side, breathing in the smell of last night's events as his fingers linger under the latter's shirt. The older frowns and pinches the boy's ear then grins when the brat whines in return. He drags the younger over to the bathroom, locking Sehun in before his grabby hands could reach the older. The blond chuckles and leaves the baby blue room to prepare himself for the day. Sehun is all but smiles when the older sees him in their shared closet. Luhan ignores his cries of protests and looks for the sweater they purchased on their previous haul.

    "Don't be a baby. Now put this on and look cute for me." Luhan says, handing the topless boy a cute maroon sweater with reindeers on them. Sehun does as he is told and decides to put on some lip balm, surprising Luhan with a peck on his lips. His playfulness earns him a smack on his head and a proper good morning kiss from his hyung. The older takes his hand through breakfast in the living room with the gang. They managed to get everyone to come and as Luhan sits on his designated spot, he smiles at the happy reunion. Twelve at last.

    The table is packed with food, ones Kyungsoo tossed up and some the boys brought over as a peace treaty. They have fun catching up, from the dining table to the living room. The space is just enough for everyone and Baekhyun hands each of them a hot mug of cocoa from the kitchen, of course made by Chanyeol and his clumsy fingers. Tao straddles Candy on his lap and lets the baby play with its toy while Sehun helps Jongin fix the projector and screen they've borrowed especially for this occasion. Luhan is in a deep conversation with Minseok, although he allows himself to glance over at the maknae occasionally, the latter's face scrunched in confusion as he stared at the manual.

    Meanwhile, Yixing is resting on the couch, chuckling as he observes the two idiots trying to work the projector and Junmyeon joins him with a small smile. In front of the kitchen counter, Yifan cracks his bottle of wine open, ignoring Jongdae's the one I bought is better! and Baekhyun's wine and cocoa? Not a good idea. As everyone settles in their spot, Baekhyun grins and presses the button.

 

---

 

    In front of their eyes are their memories. Ones they had as trainees, as roommates, as a group; a family. They return to their past, the glory days, the blue ones and the days it rained a little heavier than expected. Countless times of rehearsing the same songs, the same routine, and with the same people. Faces each other can't forget even if they wanted to. They watch themselves go through each moment and event that has changed their life, from debut until the present. Many promises were broken, some fortunately unintentionally. And while new ones were made, a few lingered in the ifs. Now, time has passed and all of them have grown more than they've ever expected, despite of who they've lost along the way. The world goes round and round so if fate allowed them, they'll meet again, maybe with new memories of each other, or perhaps as strangers bounded by the invisible strings around them.

 

---

 

    Junmyeon slips his hand into Yixing's and the other doesn't wait to rest his head on the lad's in return. As he sits on the carpet, Yifan ends up bumping his shoulders to Tao's, lightly blushing as he pets Candy. Minseok shares a sip of wine with Jongdae, softly clicking his glass with the latter's as he chuckles out you were right about the wine. Jongin as usual, has his head on Kyungsoo's lap, quietly watching the film as a few tears slip through his eyes. The cook simply combs through his locks and rubs his arm. Chanyeol still has his apron on, sitting on the stool beside the couch with a dumb grin on his face as he spots Baekhyun hugging the pillow tighter than before. Last but not the least, Sehun is on the other couch, snuggled on Luhan's chest as he sniffs his sobs away. Luhan plays with the boy's fingers and presses a long kiss on the top of his head.

    Chanyeol switches the projector off and they clean up very quietly, making sure the job's done properly for a change. Jongdae and Minseok puts on tracks of Christmas songs to spice up the mood. Slowly, everyone starts conversing normally again and it doesn't take much longer for them to get hyped up over the holiday. Fortunately, the venue is big with plenty of rooms to spare and each of them starts unpacking in their own space.

    Luhan takes his time to freshen up in the toilet. Sehun knocks and enters as he pleases, holding the older's arms and kissing Luhan's shoulder. The Chinese male smiles and washes his hands before facing the younger and kissing him. Their activity deepens through time and suddenly they're on their bed and Sehun's hair is more than just ruffled by then.

    "I'm so glad this is happening right now. I've got you, the boys and my very own house. I can't wish for anything more. This, this is just perfect." Luhan breathes out. Sehun can see the worries on Luhan's forehead disappearing and he smiles as well, sharing his happiness with his lover.

    They walk over the plan again; shopping, lunch, decorating and dinner. As wonderful as it is having twelve grown men together again, the whole pack is way too big so they ended up splitting into smaller groups as usual. One man, eleven presents. Yifan groans and thinks of buying everyone fish as a joke but instantly laughs at the thought. He also thinks he'll prefer staying alive and well from Luhan's claws before the holidays end. Tao suddenly eyes him and glances over to Jongdae to whisper something in the man's ear. Cars begin to fill the empty parking spaces and some of them bid their lovers goodbye before going their own ways.

    Luhan kisses Sehun one last time and everyone, literally everyone groans as the public display of affection. Sehun blushes and Luhan simply starts walking with Baekhyun and Junmyeon.

    Sehun goes to his pack, consisting of Tao and Jongin while Yifan is stuck with Jongdae and Kyungsoo. Chanyeol decides to go off on his own, much to Baekhyun's surprise and Yixing pairs up with Minseok for the job. An hour passes with a flash and most of them are only a quarter or so done, except for the Christmas crazed trio; Junmyeon, Luhan and Baekhyun. Zitao and Yixing aren't doing that bad actually, Yifan gets a few things but he doesn't know what's for who while Sehun and Jongin are torn between buying things for themselves or for other people. Tick-tock, tick- it's lunch time and everyone settles for whatever's nearby to fill their stomachs.

    Jongin grabs a burger for himself even though Kyungsoo clearly reminded him to lay off the fast food before leaving the house. Tao has a salad and Sehun dips himself a cookie into the milk carton. They discuss over the gifts and eventually the youngest braces himself to bring up a special topic. The word, or thing has been floating around his mind for a while now- 2 months and 2 weeks to be exact. He hears a gasp slip through Tao's lips and Jongin eagerly chokes on his diet coke. They shift their butts closer and stare at the boy.

    "You want to what?" Zitao starts, asking not because he didn't hear but just so he could hear it again.

    Sehun groans and lightly pulls his hair, "I said, I was thinking of adopting. With Luhan. For Luhan. For Christmas."

   Both lads wait, signalling the youngest to continue.

   "I've been thinking about this for a really long time now. I mean, it's now or never right? I don't know anymore, say something. Please."

    His head is buried into his arms and Tao slaps his back in excitement. Jongin is still gaping at him and the oldest among the three sends him a glare. Tao is awfully glee about the whole idea and while Jongin hasn't mentioned any protests, he hasn't said anything nice either. A brief thought of having kids with Kyungsoo flashed on his mind and he gives Sehun a comforting but sad smile. Kyungsoo would probably want to wait, he thinks. Sehun feels more encouraged when Jongin pats his back and tells him not to call him a babysitter when the house is on fire.

    At the end of the day, everyone magically finds what they need at a small gift shop at the end of the mall. The first three cars head straight back while the last one stops by the supermarket for groceries. Luhan is a picky one so he drag's his lover along to the wet section for some fresh chicken. Kyungsoo takes his time to pick his herbs while Jongin plays with the trolley like the child he is and Kyungsoo has to shut him up twice before he actually stops. Their total comes up to a few hundreds, making Jongin whine at his wallet's cries of help. Luhan pitches in with some cash and Sehun sneakily puts a box of pocky in the cart.

    Back in the house, some are settled in their own room, either resting or wrapping gifts. Tao lets Candy play with Monggu and Jjanggu in the living room as he lazily surfs through the net. Minseok prepares the list Kyungsoo gave him earlier while Jongdae sets the X-Box out for Chanyeol and himself. Junmyeon sits next to Tao and watches the game in fascination. By the time the four are out in the front porch, Yixing is already deep in sleep and Yifan is all done wrapping his gifts. They manage dinner well, each with their own task except for Kyungsoo who receives a time off from kitchen duty.

    Sehun holds himself a prisoner in his room because Luhan had said, Sehun, I need you to stay and wraps your gifts now because I know I'm not going to let you trick me into doing it for you again this year. Have fun love! And that is how Oh Sehun ends up stuck with the heaps of wrapping paper scattered on his bed. Jongin checks on him after the first hour then lays on the floor with Jjangah, not wanting to help at all. Time passes by and Sehun gets into a nice gift wrapping rhythm while Jongin sleeps on the floor like a dork. He's on his last gift when Luhan enters and calls for Junmyeon to drag the sleeping log away. Luhan doesn't like snooping around but as he sees the all ready horribly but wrapped gifts on the bed, he sees 10 instead of 11. Sehun waddles away from the room once he scraps the remaining papers out and Luhan sadly, digs through each tag to see which member is missing.

    No Luhan?

     The older ends up lurking around their room, the house, the basement even to see if maybe his boyfriend wanted to surprise him. Alright Luhan, it's just a gift. I mean, he might be hiding it somewhere else or maybe it's on the way? Who cares? Not you, not the Chinese deer. Nope. Luhan chokes.

 

---

    "Dinner's ready!"

    The food goes out of the kitchen and into their mouths. Kyungsoo thanks them for the meal, although the potatoes are a little burnt, they were somewhat edible by Jongdae's lots of margerine, yup. That'll do the trick. They go through tomorrow's plans for skiing and wish each other goodnight a few hours later. Minseok ends up sharing some words with Junmyeon with some coffee out in the balcony before blinking their eyes shut.

    The next day is thrilling for everyone, especially for the twin towers, Yifan and Chanyeol due to their previous encounters with skiing. Baekhyun, on the other hand did a lot of screaming instead of the actual sport. Jongin and Luhan stick to the small sleds and Sehun tries to ski once before giving up and proceeding for safe snow ball fights with Tao and Junmyeon. Yixing and Minseok joins in after time and eventually most of them did. Kyungsoo does his fair share of throws as well although he manages to trick a few of the boys into thinking the culprit is someone else. What a devil.

    The group gets back with pants and shivers from the cold. Laughter fills the streets all the way to the house. They chuck out their wet clothes and dress warm for the evening. They are beginning to adjust to one another again and the feelings are mutual for many. The week is going by quickly and Sehun has less than two days to think about his gift to Luhan. The younger gets a day out on his own and Luhan can't help but think if the latter's going to get something for him. Sehun comes back empty handed once again and the smile on Luhan's face unexpectedly falters upon his entry.

    The older kisses him and walks into their room. He knows it's dumb to be sad over something like this and frankly he didn't even know why. Sehun comes in a minute later and swoops the lad into his arms. They cuddle for a while and neither mentions the little moment a while back in front of the door. That same night, Sehun finds his body lowered on Luhan's stomach, keeping himself close to his lover like that. When he wakes up the next morning, Luhan isn't by his side to keep him warm.

    He strolls around the cold with a cup of hot cocoa in one hand and the other linked with Minseok's. They're taking a walk to the nearest bakery for some breakfast. Luhan grabs an unusually large amount of pastries and hums as he passes his card to the cashier. Minseok is forced to carry the remaining bags of pies and croissants.

    Yifan is sprawled on the floor next to Baekhyun while Yixing takes the couch. The living room is warm thanks to the heater and six of them manages to occupy the space messily. Chanyeol yawns tiredly and walks out of his room as he ruffles his bed hair only to retreat the second his vision spots the lumps of bodies on the carpet.

    Luhan hisses at the wind as he unlocks his house and raises a brow upon the seeing the sleeping party. Junmyeon helps to prepare the plates while Minseok rushes to do his business. Sehun hasn't moved from his spot yet. The boy is counting how long it'll take for his Chinese lover to come back. 48 minutes and 26 seconds. He yanks his covers away once he smells the pastries from the kitchen and Luhan's fruity perfume. Sitting on his bed, he waits as the steps grow closer and eventually land in front of the bed. The boy tackles Luhan's legs, immediately putting him on the bed. The older doesn't appreciate the sudden attack but keeps his mouth shut as Sehun hugs him tight.

    "I missed you," he says through the muffled fabric.

   "I went to get breakfast silly," Luhan retorts, smiling as he pats the younger's hair.

 

---

    The sun sets with ease and bam-bam-bam! It's gift time!

    The whole group is sits in an ugly shaped circle with all of their presents clad around them. Each of them will open their gifts and leave their special partner for last. Fortunately, most are able to guess who the giver is for each gift. As the last round approaches, one is to be blindfolded as he receives his last gift. It's not exactly the way other normally do it but well, Luhan's one to spice up his Christmas'.

   Three giggles are heard when Tao gets an envelope on his palms. He opens it and gasps, two tickets to Canada. Jongin is next and he jumps a little when Kyungsoo hands him his gift and as expected, the boy screams in return and kisses Kyungsso until he's flushed and drained. Baekhyun's not sure who the gift is from, considering how on and off they have been lately but his wonders are pressed down once he feels the familiar hands on his, along with a token he had given Chanyeol back when they were still trainees. Then, Jongdae gets himself a bottle of vodka, courtesy of Minseok that paid a heavy price for it. Yixing receives a box, one that contained a new set of stethoscope as early congrats from Junmyeon on the internship. While the pairs exchanged their gifts, the ones awkwardly standing beside each other are Sehun and Luhan. Tao and Jongin giggled at each other as the others raised their brows in curiosity.

    "Come on now, we don't have all day," Yifan laughs from the corner.

    They fidget and along the way someone yells if you're not going to do anything then kiss! and they're 999% sure that it's Jongdae.

    "Where's my gift?" Luhan asks suddenly. Sehun shrugs and asks him the same thing. The older does the same and Baekhyun is groaning from the sidelines.

    "I need to tell you something," the older starts and oddly, Sehun says the exact same thing as well. "Same time?" Luhan nudges the boy and receives a nod in return. He starts counting under his breath, same as Sehun,

 

5..
 

4..

 

3..
 

2...

 

1!

    "Congrats, you're going be parents!!" Zitao screams.

 

    A few heads turn to Tao with gasps and gapes, including the couple as well.

 

    "Wait, which one of you is pregnant?"

    "No, they're adopting!"

    "What do you mean? Luhan's pregnant!"

    "Ooh you preggo like lego!"

    "Shut up Jongdae."

 

Hmmph, Luhan grunts and slaps his face into his palms.

 

    "Luhan, you're pregnant?!" Sehun shuts the crowd up and looks deep into his lover's eyes. The boy's hands are shaking and woah, what?

    The Chinese male nods and tilts his head down. Sehun wraps him tight and thanks him for being the best gift in his life. Between the sobs and cooes from the others, Luhan squeaks,

    "You wanted to adopt?"

    Sehun nods and kisses his lover hard on the lips. "Is that why you've been so hormonal lately?" Sehun teases. Minseok is a little too excited considering he's already popped the pretty bottle of wine amidst the chaos. They cheer and Yixing says a wonderful prayer for the blessed twins.

    Just as Sehun thinks of how wonderful it is, he wishes everyone a safe return. The year after, everyone gathers once again in Luhan's big beige mansion, with an addition of not just one, but two babies in the group. As mentioned before, the world goes round and round. When you meet once, even without fate's help, perhaps you'll meet again. Those that love can come back stronger than ever in spite of the downfalls. As the season reaches winter again, each of them wonder if their strings with bump into each other again.

 

---

Merry Christmas everyone! ♡