Before we jump into the story again, I want to wish SHINee a very very very happy seventh anniversary!

Ironically, this is the second anniversary that'll we'll be commemorating on S.M. Spies LOL so anyways:

SHINee, I don't really have words to explain the effect you've had on me. You were the first band I was introduced to when I entered the K-Pop world and you easily became my favorite. Your music has helped me through some really bad times and you guys never fail to make me smile with your ridiculous antics. Congratulations on your success with your new album, Odd, which I personally think is absolutely amazing. You guys have grown so much from when you first debuted, it's almost scary. But even under that growth, your guys' childishness is unmistakeable. There's so much more I want to say, but I can't really put it into words. I just. . . wow. Please don't forget to rest once in a while! Good luck in all your future endeavors, and thank you for inspiring me to write this story. Please continue to shine as SHINee for a long, long time! Here's to many more years of celebrating your success! And the last thing I have to say is. . .

Thanks. For everything.

Demonic eyes bore into her own. That familiar, sickening smile spread across his face as his fingers delicately touched the Nine Tails whip. "It didn't take long for your parents to succumb, child," came the hiss of her captor, "what makes you think you can survive me?"

Wu's dead laugh filled the air as he brought the whip crashing down on Yuki's back.

Yuki woke with a start, her body drenched in a cold sweat, her breathing irregular and her heart frantic. Images of Wu's face were still burned into her mind's eye.

It had been almost a year since Yuki had been saved from North Korea's clutches, a year since she had suffered through torture worse than most could imagine, a year since she had been pushed to the extent of her final breaking point.

The girl leaned against her bed post, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths to calm her rapidly beating heart. She checked the digital clock on her bedside. It was 3:30 in the morning. This hadn't been the first time she had woken up at an odd hour and Yuki knew that it certainly wouldn't be the last. As much as she hated to acknowledge it, what happened to her in North Korea hadn't left her unmarked. Minho's betrayal set aside, the truths she was forced to face and the torture she was forced to endure had left her with more than just physical scars.

The sound of the door creaking open made Yuki look up, startled. A tall figure poked his head in the room. "You okay?" Minho asked.

"Yeah," Yuki said automatically, "I'm fine. What are you doing up so late?" 

"I should be asking you the same question," the boy shot back, stepping into Yuki's room, "but I just went to grab a glass of water when I heard something in your room. I just came to check it out."  Minho's eyes prompted the girl to respond.

"Well I WAS sleeping. I just woke up randomly."

"A nightmare." It wasn't a question. Yuki sighed and said nothing. "Do you want to talk about it?" Minho asked.

"I. . . I don't know," Yuki replied, hugging her knees, "I don't really understand what's wrong with me."

"Well for starters," Minho said, walking towards her, "I know that this isn't the first time you've woken up at this hour. You've been doing it a lot lately, which tells me that something is definitely on your mind. And I know it's been a while, but it doesn't really take a genius to guess what's wrong. I see how badly you flinch when someone touches you. I've noticed that you have started to avoid the interrogation rooms. I've seen how you can't even look Jinki Hyung in the eye anymore."

Yuki ran a hand through her hair. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. "It's almost been a year, Keroro. Why am I not over this already?"

"Ice Princess, this isn't something that you can get over in such a short amount of time," the boy said gently, "what you went through, what. . . what I put you through. . ." The pain in Minho's eyes was obvious. To him, everything that had happened was his fault. He had betrayed her trust, he had gotten her trapped in a room at the mercy of one of the world's most reknown psychopaths, he had hurt her.

"Don't you dare say another word," Yuki said sharply, "you were following orders. You can never blame yourself for the consequences. You did what was best for the country. Never forget that."

Minho said nothing. No matter what Yuki said. . .

she was not the only one that was haunted by the memories of those few days.

A silence settled between the two. Ever since Yuki had returned to S.M., SHINee had been especially cautious around her. Minho in particular made sure he thought about anything he did in front of Yuki at least five times before he actually acted. He worked furiously to regain the trust Yuki once put in him. He remained patient, taking things slowly. A few months later, however, his efforts seemed to be bearing fruit. Yuki had recently begun lowering her guard around the boy, acting a bit more naturally around him. The changes were small, but they felt infinitely large to Minho.

The pregnant silence between the pair was finally broken by Yuki. "You can go back to bed, Keroro. We still have a lot of time before we need to actually wake up for work."  Minho looked at the clock. It was nearing 4 in the morning. Yuki was right; SHINee wasn't scheduled to come in until around noon the next day. The boy's eyes traveled back to Yuki, who, though she tried to hide it, still seemed visibly shaken from her nightmare. "Keroro?" Yuki asked, "you still there?"

"Uh. . . yeah," Minho said. He debated with himself for another five seconds. Even though the pair had known each other since childhood, they were still relatively new in terms of the relationship they now shared. . . and still relatively new in acting naturally around each other again. Minho's mouth ended up opening of its own accord. "Listen. . . do you. . . uh. . . do you want me to. . . to stay here? For the. . .rest of the night? I'm sure it'll be. . . uh. . . easier for me to. . . to make you tired, you know?"

Yuki felt like the temperature inside her room increased by about a hundred degrees. Her cheeks went from pale to red so fast it was almost as though someone had hit her in the face with a water balloon filled with red food coloring. It wasn't until that moment that Yuki became hyperaware of the fact that the boy was wearing his usual pajamas, which consisted of only a pair of sweatpants. A crazy thought passed Yuki's mind for a split second:  Has he gotten more muscular since the last time I saw him without a shirt on? "Wh-what?!" she almost shrieked, trying to keep her voice down so as not to disturb the other SHINee members. She averted her eyes to a corner of the room, refusing to look at the boy.

Minho, it seemed, had not yet spotted the problem with the wording of his question. "Uh. . .yeah," he said, clearing his throat, "I feel like you would. . . you know. . .relax a bit more."

At this point, Yuki's eyes had widened to the size of dish plates. Minho stared at her oddly. "I'm. . .I'm sorry?" he said, "I know the whole relationship thing is kind of new, but I figured. . . that we could do things. . . like that, now. Right? Also, I'm over here. Why are you looking at your desk?"

"M-M-Minho," Yuki said, unable to keep the stutter out of her voice, "I-"

"Are you okay, Ice Princess?" the still-oblivious Minho asked, "are you feeling sick?"

Yuki cleared , attempting to speak properly. "Y-you. . . want to sl-sleep w-with me?"

Finally, the look on Yuki's face and the sound of her voice made perfect sense to Minho. His face turned ten different shades of red. He waved his arms in front of his face wildly. "O-oh god, Ice Princess n-no. Th-hat's not what I meant! No! I just- I didn't mean- Oh god, this is so awkward."

"Don't blame me!" Yuki said in a hushed yell, "your phrasing totally threw me off!"

"My mind wasn't even going there! Clearly we know what you're thinking about though," Minho retorted, quickly recovering from his earlier embarrassment. A smirk settled on his lips as he crossed his arms and leaned against the threshold of Yuki's door. He chuckled inwardly as he watched Yuki try to regain her composure at his last remark. She's cute when she gets embarrassed, he thought idly.

Yuki shot Minho a glare and cleared , looking at a corner of her room again. Minho's teasing comment had only managed to distract her for a few seconds. She couldn't explain the feeling. Was it dread? Fear? Anxiety? A combination of the three? 

It felt like she was falling from the largest tower in the world.

Except she never hit the bottom. 

There was fear. Oh yes, there was definitely fear. But fear of what? Of being subjected once again to the type of torture she suffered in North Korea? Or of being betrayed? 

There was anxiety. Oh yes, there was definitely anxiety. But anxiety regarding what? South Korea losing the war? Losing someone she cared about? 

There was dread. Oh yes, there was definitely dread. But a dread of what? Of losing? Of knowing that no matter what she did, there would probably be no difference?

Yuki was so used to feeling confident and fearless. Why were these feelings she was currently running through her mind not going away? Had she changed that much?

The concept of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was not something Yuki was unaware of. It was just something that she was so sure would never happen to her. 

At that moment, a frightening thought struck Yuki.

Will I. . . will I ever be able to be the same spy I was before?

Minho cleared his throat one more, making Yuki jump slightly. She had forgotten that he was still there. "Ice Princess," he said once he had gotten the girl's attention, "do you want me to stay with you for the rest of the night?" The girl remained quiet for a few seconds, thinking. Minho spoke again. "I can just sleep on the floor next to your bed," he explained, "all I need to do is grab my blanket and pillow from my room."

Yuki stared at Minho for a second or two. An odd, warm feeling that she couldn't identify was bubbling in her stomach. A thought registered for a brief second.

He cares.

They had seen each other at their best and their worst. They had been through hell and back together. 

This boy, who had been her worst enemy, her biggest competition, the bane of her existence. . . was now standing in front of her as a pillar of support and trust.

My, how things have changed, the girl thought.

"Ice Princess?" Minho asked.

"What? Uh. . . oh. . . um. . . you don't have to. I think I'll be fine," Yuki said quickly.tes 

"Almost eleven years later and you still can't lie to me properly," Minho said with a roll of his eyes, "I'll be right back." The boy briefly disappeared from the threshold of Yuki's door, reappearing moments later with his blanket and pillow. He walked over, quietly setting up his bed on the floor as Yuki watched, still hugging her knees.

Minho laid down, crossing his arms behind his head with a sigh.

"Um. . . good night then," Yuki said quietly after a minute of silence.

"Night," Minho said back. "Oh and by the way, I personally think I've gotten more buff since the last time you saw me shirtless. Don't you?"

Yuki could practically hear the smirk playing on Minho's lips.

"Sh-shut up," she said, her cheeks heating, "you're so annoying."

A small laugh left Minho's lips, but otherwise he remained silent. The early morning became quiet once again as Yuki stared at the dark ceiling of her room. A few minutes passed before Yuki rolled over to peek at Minho's still form from the edge of her bed. "K-Keroro?" she asked after a moment's hesitation.

"Hm?" the deep voice of her boyfriend responded. Yuki scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. 

"The uh. . . the floor doesn't seem very comfortable. . ."

"Ice Princess, we're spies. We've slept on much less comfortable surfaces, trust me."

"But. . . but there's no need to do that. . . if uh. . . if there's a bed. . . right next to you."

Minho opened an eye. Trying to keep his tone serious, he asked, "What exactly are you trying to get at?"

Yuki was glad the dark hid her red cheeks. "I'm saying that. . . as long as you stay on the very far side. . . you can um. . . sleep up here."

Minho wasn't an idiot, but he knew Yuki would rather die than admit that she was. . . well. . . a bit scared of sleeping on her bed alone. Therefore, instead of teasing her as he normally would, he simply stretched and stood up. "You know," he said, "I'll probably just take you up on that offer." The boy walked over to the other side of the bed. Yuki scooted as far to the edge of her side of the bed as she physically could without falling off. Minho rolled his eyes at the girl's silly antics but said nothing as he pulled aside the covers. He decided to make himself comfortable, not bothering with following Yuki's rule of remaining as close to the edge as possible. He looked over to see Yuki lying on her side as stiff as a board, her back facing away from him. He rolled his eyes again. Honestly, this girl, he thought to himself.

Yuki tried to make her mind focus on things that would make her tired: the sound of her own breathing, the surrounding darkness, the softness of her pillow. . . But. . . she was afraid to close her eyes, afraid to see Wu's face appear in front of her again. She frowned into the darkness, upset at how she was feeling. Get it together, you coward, she scolded herself, a spy is supposed to feel no fear. What is wrong with you? 

Yuki's self-scolding was suddenly interrupted by the feeling of an arm wrapping around her waist. Before the girl could shout, the arm sharply dragged her backwards, away from the edge of the bed, until her back collided with Minho's warm, bare chest. Yuki gasped loudly, growling when she felt Minho laugh into her hair. Her face felt like it had caught fire. She turned around sharply, eyes blazing. "What the  was that for?!" she demanded in a whisper. 

Minho simply smiled, taking the opportunity to tighten his grip around Yuki. "I just remembered that I left my teddy bear inside my room and I'm too lazy to go get it," he said innocently, "so I'll have to make do with you."

"You don't have a teddy bear."

"I do now."

"Why are you so annoying?!"

"Same reason that you love me," Minho said easily, "I'm basically irresistible."

"That didn't even make sense!" 

Minho shifted his position so that he was lying on his back, allowing Yuki to use his arm as a pillow. Yuki tried to scoot out of his embrace, but Minho kept his hold firm. 

"This is unreasonable."

"What? Me hugging my girlfriend is unreasonable?"

"You-"

"Just shut up and go to sleep, Ice Princess," Minho said with a roll of his eyes, "by the way, do you have a fever, or are you blushing at the awesomeness of your boyfriend's muscles?"

Yuki scoffed, her eyes now feeling a bit heavy. "You're absolutely impossible," she muttered.

The last thing she heard before a dreamless sleep overtook her was a deep, quiet chuckle.

The amount you all must hate me must be RIDICULOUSLY high, LOL. I feel like I'm gonna lose quite a few flurries after posting this but oh well! I'm sorry that I was gone for so long :/ It's my senior year of high school and honestly there was so much craziness going on.

I just wanted to let you guys know that as I have already stated, this story is going to reach its completion soon, something that I am both dreading and anticipating. Please continue sticking with this story until the end! <3 I have the next few chapters planned out, so hopefully I can have them up soon? Let's hope so!

Sooo, let's go ahead and greet some new flurries, yeah? :D Welcome, and thank you for subscribing!!

Violet_luv

jackieway

zinebamara

shivasina

AND WHOA SURPRISE ANOTHER UP-VOTER!!! Thank you very much for thinking this story was good enough for an up-vote!! I appreciate it!! <3

Please continue to comment, subscribe, and up-vote everyone! I hope you're enjoying the story!! <3 I WILL SEE YOU VERY SOON WITH ANOTHER CHAPTER I PROMISE. But for now: Let's do a 7th anniversary SHINee spam, yeah? :3

~Yuki ❄