His fingers danced over the keys, tapping out the familiar melody. Yixing didn't need the sheet music; he'd played this piece so many times before. He kept it propped up against the stand only as a formality, so he didn't seem over-confident.

His four friends stood on their small platform, microphones in hand. Their exhaustion was apparent to anyone who made even the slightest attempt to look below their painted-on faces, below their soft sweaters, below their small smiles. With the fake snow drifting from the ceiling, though, that was hard to do. The cotton swirled around them, settling in their hair and on their shoulders.

Maybe it wasn't as obvious as he thought. Yixing could tell because he'd spent the last year living in the same dormitory as them, and he knew so much more about these boys than the average fan ever would. He knew that Baekhyun snored in his sleep, he knew Kyungsoo tossed and turned. He knew that Luhan wasn't sleeping enough.

Luhan was being pushed too hard, working himself straight into the hospital. He spent mornings in the studio, afternoons on the stage, nights in the hospital. Yixing sat at Luhan's bedside as the tubes connected to his veins pumped life-giving fluids into his body, cracking jokes in an attempt to make him smile, and made excuses to leave whenever he couldn't hold back his tears.

Yixing continued to play, glancing up at Luhan as often as he could. Their voices steady, the four sang their Christmas song, Miracles in December.

"Luhan could really use a miracle," Yixing thought.

It was a good show, everyone performing to the best of their capabilities, just how they'd practiced. When they'd finished, Luhan had stepped off the platform, his knees wobbling ever-so-slightly. Yixing caught his arm, steadying Luhan's step. Luhan gave Yixing a small, grateful smile, and looped his arm around Yixing's waist. Yixing was too warm, Luhan's friendly gesture releasing not-exactly-friendly feelings he'd buried deep in the shadowy alcoves of his heart.

"Lu, are you okay?" Luhan didn't answer for a moment, his tiny smile appearing again.

"You watching out for me is all I need."

Yes, Yixing was much too warm. "Us Chinese have to stick together, hmm?" Yixing murmured, a matching smile on his face, his dimple barely visible. Luhan didn't say anything, just barely tightened his arm around Yixing's waist.

"You know I have to leave, Yixing."

"Yeah, Lu, I know."

The thought of Luhan leaving sent a selfish shard of ice into Yixing's stomach. "Stay as long as you can." "Please, god, don't go." "You can't leave, I need you here... with me."

"I wish I didn't have to."

"Yeah, Lu, I know."