GOAL MET! :D

A VERY VERY VERY VERRRRRYYYYY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!!!!  I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE THE MOST AMAZING CHRISTMAS EVER <3

A special thanks to SHINeeGirl3, who created this absolutely wonderful Christmas poster for me!  It's absolutely, positively A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.!!!!

So, on behalf of myself, Yuki, Minho, Sihyun, Junghan, Haru, SHINee, EXO, and the rest of the cast of S.M. Spies:

HAVE A VERY MERRY AND SAFE CHRISTMAS!!

~Yuki ❄

Silence permeated the air of an abandoned town.  One quick look around at the buildings showed that the town was Busan.  Suddenly, two figures blew past one of the roads of the city.

One figure was a man and the other a woman, but their faces and features were blurred, as if one was looking at them through water.  [A/N:  You know, how things look blurry if you're not wearing goggles in a pool?].  The two figures appeared to be in a hurry as they quickly sprinted down the roads.  The pair's movements and appearances clearly showed that they were experienced spies.

"We must hurry," the female muttered to the male.  

"I agree, the tip off was given to us this morning.  It's already late.  The infiltrators could have left by now," the male replied.

Although they were running at a high speed, the pair spoke calmly, as if they were sitting at a café.

"I can't believe this," the woman suddenly said, "of all the rotten luck. . . we get an assignment on Christmas Eve."

"Don't worry," the man said in an attempt to soothe his partner, "if we get lucky, we can detain the target and get back before tomorrow morning."  The female nodded once, but her face was still creased with worry.

Suddenly, the pair stopped moving.  "It's too quiet," the woman said.  She was on alert.  Grabbing two throwing stars, her eyes scanned the city scape in front of her.  A horrible sense of uneasiness creeped into the man's stomach.  Something wasn't right, and he could feel it.  Before he could warn his companion, a figure stepped out from behind a building. 

"Don't move!" the man shouted, pointing a gun at the mysterious figure, "the jig is up.  You're coming with us."

The figure chuckled.  "Is something funny to you?" the female demanded, taking a dangerous step forward, "keep laughing like that, and I'll make sure that I rip out your tonsils."

"Oh, she's a fiery one," the mysterious figure said, smirking, "but unfortunately, my dear.  It seems like you two are going to be occupied for the time being."

"What do you-" the female's partner started to say.  Suddenly, multiple men appeared from the shadows, weapons in their hands.  The mysterious figure smirked once more before delivering the death sentence.

"Get them."

Yuki started thrashing around on her bed, screaming.

Minho was the first to get into her room, seeing as he was in the room right across from her.  "Ice Princess!" he shouted, running to her bed.  He looked around instinctively.  Seeing no one there, he turned his attention back to the thrashing girl on the mattress.  "Ice Princess!  WAKE UP!" he shouted, shaking the girl repeatedly.  The girl was only screaming one line over and over again.

"UMMA!  APPA!  RUN!"

"!" Minho yelled when Yuki unconsciously punched his jaw.  The boy grabbed both of Yuki's wrists and trapped her between both of his knees so she wouldn't move.  In a last ditch effort, Minho lowered his face to Yuki's ear and shouted "ICE PRINCESS!" one last time.  Finally, Yuki stilled.

The girl opened her eyes, panting harshly.  A sheen of sweat had built up on her forehead.  That was the fourth nightmare she had had that week.  "Finally, you're awake," Minho sighed.  Before Yuki could say anything, four boys came barrelling into the room.

"HOLY , WHO'S HURT?!" Jinki shouted.  When nobody responded, Jinki looked at Taemin, Jonghyun, and Key to find their jaws hitting the floor.  Finally, he followed their gazes and his eyes practically popped out of his sockets.

Well, wouldn't yours if you saw a girl in between a boy's knees and being pressed against a bed?

Yuki seemed to have made this realization when she looked up to find Minho on top of her.  Instinctively, she used her feet to push him off of her before sitting up straight.  Her face was the color of a tomato.  

"Um. . . did we. . . interrupt something?" Jinki asked.

"Yeesh Minho, It took you long enough.  I just hope you're using protection," Jonghyun said, smirking. 

"SHUT UP, JONGHYUN!" Minho shouted at the boy, his face, if possible, even redder than Yuki's.  Key smacked Jonghyun on the back of the head.  Even Taemin shoved the older boy.

"Ew, hyung.  That's gross," Taemin said, wrinkling his nose.  

"Yah!" Jonghyun said, "you DARE shove your hyung?  For SHAME Taeminnie!"

"Shut it, will you?" Key said.  He walked towards Yuki calmly, noticing that she was still shaken.

"It's happening again, isn't it?" he asked her softly.  Yuki nodded once, trying to wipe the sweat off of her face with her blanket.  "And you're still not going to tell me what this is about?" Key asked.  Instead of answering, Yuki looked away from Key and played with the edge of her blanket.  The man let out a frustrated sigh.

"Yuki, you haven't been sleeping properly for the past five days.  Yes, we know," Jinki said when she saw Yuki's look of surprise.  "Even though this was the first night you started screaming, your dark circles and jumpiness were dead give-aways."

"It's honestly nothing guys," Yuki said nervously, "I'm sorry for worrying you, but honestly, it's probably because I've been eating right before I go to sleep. . ."

"During the same week of every year, Yuki?" Jonghyun challenged, "nice try."

"Noona," Taemin said in concern, "why?  Why does it happen?"

Something seemed to click for Minho.  "You mean it never stopped?" he said in surprise, turning back to the girl on the bed.  Yuki sighed.  She didn't expect him to remember.  Jonghyun, Jinki, Key, and Taemin turned to look at Minho.

"You mean. . . she did this before she joined the agency?" Taemin asked in surprise.

"Guys," Minho said, "can you all step outside for a couple minutes?"  Minho's voice sounded strained.  Jonghyun walked over to Minho before exiting the room along with the others.

"Don't do anything stupid," was all he said.

When the boys left, Minho turned to face Yuki.  "YOU NEVER WENT TO SEE A PSYCHOLOGIST?!" Minho demanded.  Yuki jumped from the boy's sudden outburst.  She shook her head.

"Ice Princess, I'm not a doctor, but I can see the connections.  You know what day it is, don't you?" Minho asked, lowering his tone.

Yuki nodded almost imperceptibly.  It was December 24. . . Christmas Eve.  Minho sat down at the edge of Yuki's bed and sighed.  "I can't, Keroro. . . I can't forget," she whispered, staring at her blankets.

Then Minho did the unexpected.  He scooted over on the bed until he was sitting next to Yuki.  Then, without thinking, he gently put his arms around her.  "I know. . ." he muttered, rubbing comforting circles around her arm, "I know."  Yuki stiffened at the contact and tried to push Minho away, but the boy only held on tighter.  "Don't," he said firmly, "you need it.  Trust me."  Sighing, the girl stopped struggling and allowed Minho to hold her.

Just let someone try to protect you, Ice Princess. . . for once.

Yuki cleared after a few minutes of silence.  "Um. . . thank you, Keroro," she said, doing her best to hide her red cheeks.

"Sure," Minho said just as awkwardly.  Suddenly his mouth opened again of his own accord.   "Remember?  When we were little, I promised you that I would always be there to protect you.  The promise still holds."  MINHO YOU IDIOT, WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?!  First of all, it's not like she's gonna remember that.  Second of all, you sound like a creep.  Smooth, Choi.  REAL smooth.

To Minho's surprise, Yuki chuckled.  "You remember that?" she asked, "I would've thought that you would have forgotten such a silly little promise. . ."

"It wasn't silly," Minho said, slightly hurt at Yuki's words.  Then he heard Yuki mutter something.  He couldn't hear her properly, but he could have sworn that he heard something along the lines of:

"I never thought it was silly either. . ."

"Come again?" Minho asked, turning to Yuki.  His eyes widened in surprise when he saw Yuki's face only inches from his own.  Yuki seemed to be staring at a spot near Minho's lips.  The boy did his best to keep the heat from spreading to his face.  Then, Yuki touched the edge of Minho's lips, her eyes narrowed.  Minho tried to keep his heart from exploding out of his chest.  Oh god, calm down, Minho thought frantically, what is wrong with you?!  

"I guess I did this, huh?" Yuki asked, frowning at the purple bruise on Minho's jaw, "sorry. . . that was an accident."

"What?" Minho asked, not entirely processing what she was talking about.  "OH, that.  Uh. . . don't worry about it.  You weren't really paying attention to what you were doing.  I can't really blame you for it."  Silence.  Then. . . "The dream must have been really bad this time.  I've never seen you lose control like that before."  Yuki nodded.

"It was.  I mean. . . it always happens the night before but. . . " she said, "this time. . . I saw the ambush.  I-"

"Shhh," Minho said, tightening his hold on the girl once more, "don't think about it anymore.  Relax.  Breathe.  You're okay.  The boys are here.  Your friends are here.  I'm here."  Yuki nodded once more.  She certainly looked a little bit better than she did ten minutes ago.

"Thank you again, Keroro.  I don't know why you're being so nice to me but. . ."

"I'm making good on my promise, remember?" Minho said cheekily, causing Yuki to lightly shove him.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Yuki said, rolling her eyes, "I guess I'm going to go get ready.  We have to leave for S.M. soon anyways."

"Okay.  Whatever you say."

"Um. . . Keroro."

"What?"

Minho turned to look at Yuki, who was looking pointedly at Minho's arms, which were still around her shoulders.

"Oh!" the boy said, quickly removing his arms from around Yuki.  He felt his face get warm and quickly stood up from the bed before Yuki could see.  "Uh. . . I'm just gonna go now," Minho said awkwardly before quickly running out of Yuki's room.  

Yuki chuckled lightly once before getting off of her bed in order to prepare for the day.

It seemed as though Christmas had taken the Seoul Military Intelligence building by storm.  The entirety of S.M. was bathed in mountains of decorations.  S.M.'s lobby in particular was an eye-catcher.  The banisters of the staircases were wrapped in lush green garlands and golden ribbons.  The receptionist's desk had been practically buried under a storm of brightly colored tinsel and desk ornaments.  Even the chandeliers had little knick-knacks hanging from them.  The center of the lobby held a jaw-droppingly large Christmas tree, the main center piece of S.M.  Surrounding it were nutcrackers, Santa Clauses, and so many more lovely decorations.  

Christmas wreathes adorned every door, including the elevators.  Red and green bows were tied upon every available surface.  

The gadgets department played their part as well.  They created small robotic elves designed to sing Christmas carols whenever people walked past them.  They also created technologically active ornaments that decked the many halls of S.M.  Some that created holograms of Santa's Workshop and the North Pole and others that changed the quotes written on them every so often.

And, thanks to a very lovely troll (*cough* Chen *cough*) mistletoe adorned many areas of the building, forcing everyone to approach every doorway with caution.

Key put it best when he walked through the doors of S.M. that morning.  "It's definitely starting to look a lot like Christmas."

Actually, it seemed like the Christmas spirit infected everyone except Yuki.  Then again, it was the same for her every year.  Yuki's demeanor always changed on when it came close to Christmas.  Instead of the rowdy, funny tomboy that she usually was, Yuki would become a quiet, reserved, emotionless girl.  The girl who had once loved this time of year had come to hate it with a fiery passion.  One year, the SHINee boys confronted her about it.  The response that Yuki gave them left them at a loss for words:

"Why should I celebrate and enjoy a holiday that destroyed any chances of me living a normal life?"

The EXO members, who were closest to Yuki after the SHINee members, did their level best to keep the girl distracted and happy.  Unfortunately it didn't work.

Yuki winced in pain as Tao once again effortlessly managed to pin her to the ground.  "Again, Tao," the girl growled, shaking herself and moving into her standard fighting stance once more. 

"Yuki. . ." Suho said, looking at the girl in concern, "you should take a break.  This training is doing nothing but hurting you."

Yuki ignored Suho and glared at Tao.  "Don't even think about it, Tao," she warned, reading Tao's facial expression easily.  She knew that he was planning on going easier on her and she would have none of it.

"Jie-jie. . ." Tao said, his voice laced with worry.  As hard as he looked on the outside, Tao was a true softie panda on the inside when it came to those he cared about.

"Enough, Tao," Yuki snapped, "you either train with me or you don't.  Your pick."  Tao took a step back, surprised by Yuki's sudden harshness.  The girl immediately snapped out of it.  "Tao. . . I'm sorry.  I didn't. . . I don't know. . . I just. . ."

"It's okay, Jie-jie," Tao said, cutting the girl off, "you don't have to explain yourself."

"Just understand that we're legitimately concerned about your well-being," Kris said, looking up from his phone.  

"Well that, and Key said that he would personally kill us if we didn't help you feel better," Chen added.  He deftly avoid a swipe from Kai.  "I'm just kidding!  Although Key DID threaten us. . . We care about you too, Yuki."

"I know guys, I know," Yuki said, "thank you."  She smiled softly at the twelve boys, never being more grateful to have such caring friends.

"I've noticed that you always seem to look so down during the Christmas season," Sehun said thoughtlessly, "what is it that makes you so sad, Noona?"

Dead silence followed Sehun's question.  Then, Kyungsoo hit Sehun on the back as hard as he could.  "WAHHHHH~!!!" Sehun shouted as he hopped around, trying to grab his back in order to ease his pain.  Yuki and the others tried their best to suppress their laughter.  When Sehun finally calmed down, he turn around to glare at Kyungsoo.  "What the hell, D.O. Hyung?!" he demanded of the older boy.  D.O. shrugged innocently.

"I saw a fly on your back and tried to kill it," he said.  Sehun threw another disgruntled look at his hyung before turning back to Yuki. 

"So Noona?  Why don't you like Christmas?" he asked.

All eleven EXO boys face-palmed themselves simultaneously.  How could one boy be so clueless? Minseok wondered to himself.

OH.MY.GOD.SEHUN. Lay thought, can someone please smack this boy again?  On the head?

Sehunnie. . . Luhan thought in exasperation, what are we going to do with you. . .

Yuki gave Sehun a dry smile.  "Let's just say that a lot of things changed for me on Christmas Day, Sehunnie," she said.  "I think I'm going to go, guys.  You're right, Suho.  Training is doing absolutely nothing for me right now.  I'll see you all tomorrow, I guess."

"Yo, tomboy," Baekhyun said before Yuki could leave.

"What's up Pretty Boy Bacon?" the girl asked, turning to smirk at Baekhyun.

"Take care of yourself."  

Yuki nodded once before turned to leave the practice room.  Before she left, Yuki turned around at the doorway.  "Oh, and guys?" she said.  The boys turned to look at her.  "Thanks for caring," she said with a quick and genuine smile.  Then, she exited the room.  The boys smiled at Yuki's last words to them.

"What did she mean?" Sehun asked, turning to his friends.  Eleven towels were then thrown at Sehun.  

"FAIL SEHUN," Lay exclaimed, "way to go bro."

"What'd I do?!"

"Oh god," Kai said, slamming his head against the wall, "Sehun, she clearly didn't want to talk about it.  Was D.O.'s signal not clear enough for you?"

"Signal?" Sehun asked in confusion.

"Lord help this boy. . ." Minseok mumbled.

"I hope Jie-jie's okay. . ." Tao said, half-heartedly swinging his bamboo staff around.

"Stupid kid," Chanyeol muttered, "making us worry about her all the time."

"She doesn't mean to," Luhan said, "honestly it's just. . . she doesn't share her problems and-"

"We end up worrying about her," Chanyeol finished, "my point exactly."

"She'll be fine," Kris said, "don't worry.  She usually goes back to normal a couple of days after Christmas.  Now, can someone PLEASE tell me if Minho and Yuki and together yet?"

You thought SHINee were the only ones who were waiting for those two?  Think again.

"Don't worry, bro," Chen said, smirking evilly, "I got a plan."